Introduction to Astanga Yoga

Rishi Vamana was a vedic seer who live approximately 4,000 years ago in India's Golden Age. He compiled the ancient scripture "The Yoga Korunta (Sequential Yoga)" which scientifically describes the complete system of Ashtanga Yoga. This Yoga was handed down through a long lineage of Masters.

The term Ashtanga Yoga is derived from Patanjali's Yoga Sutras It eventually became lost in the dark age of Kali Yuga (the middle ages) and was rediscovered in the 1930s by the Sanskrit Professor and Yoga Master T. Krishnamacharya, who found the manuscript documented on a collection of palm leaves in the Royal Library of Calcutta. Krishnamacharya assigned his principle student K. Pattabhi Jois to devote himself to the study, translation and teaching of this practice.

Pattabhi Jois is a Professor of Sanskrit and holds a degree in Indian Philosophy. At 90 years he continues to teach Ashtanga Yoga in Mysore, South India.

When practiced traditionally Astnaga is a 6 day a week practice.  For beginners practices takes 1-2 hours and for more advanced the practice can be between 2 and 4 hours including pranayama. New and Full moon days are taken as rest. 

Vinyasa:

Vinyasa means breathing and movement system. For each movement, there is one breath. For example, in Surya Namskar there are nine vinyasas. The first vinyasa is inhaling while raising your arms over your head, and putting your hands together; the second is exhaling while bending forward, placing your hands next to your feet, etc. In this way all asanas are assigned a certain number of vinyasas.  The purpose of vinyasa is for internal cleansing. Breathing and moving together while performing asanas makes the blood hot, or as Pattabhi Jois says, boils the blood. Thick blood is dirty and causes disease in the body. The heat created from yoga cleans the blood and makes it thin, so that it may circulate freely. The combination of the asanas with movement and breath make the blood circulate freely around all the joints, taking away body pains. When there is a lack of circulation, pain occurs. The heated blood also moves through all the internal organs removing impurities and disease, which are brought out of the body by the sweat that occurs during practice.

After the body is purified, it is possible to purify the nervous system, and then the sense organs. These first steps are very difficult and require many years of practice. The sense organs are always looking outside, and the body is always giving into laziness. However, through determination and diligent practice, these can be controlled. After this is accomplished, mind control comes automatically. Vinyasa creates the foundation for this to occur.'

The Ujayi Breath:

The reason that proper breathing is vital to the practice of yoga is that it enables you to calm your mind, and allows good thoughts to filter in. Without it, disorientation of the mind will occur and breathing patterns will become seriously affected. The whole basis of proper breathing is to insure a perfect state of mind, and a mind that is not agitated, angry and unstable... So, if you inhale for ten seconds... you should also exhale for the same length of time. This will insure the maintenance of the body’s equilibrium.

"Breathing should be felt from the throat to the heart while making a deep, hollow, sonorous sound."

The sound for both exhalation (recaka) and inhalation (puraka) should come smoothly and steadily from the same place deep in the throat & chest. As well, the duration for both of these must also be equal and the rhythm from breath to breath kept even. Breathing evenly with the sound deep in the chest harmonizes the body’s metabolic functions, internalizes the mind, balances effort & relaxation, and keeps the mind focused & balanced.

Tristhana:

This means the three places of attention or action: posture, breathing system and looking place. These three are very important for yoga practice, and cover three levels of purification: the body, nervous system and mind. They are always performed in conjunction with each other.''Asanas purify, strengthen and give flexibility to the body.Breathing is rechaka and puraka, that means inhale and exhale. Both the inhale and exhale should be steady and even, the length of the inhale should be the same length as the exhale. Breathing in this manner purifies the nervous system. Dristhi is the place where you look while in the asana.

Dristhis : Dristhi purifies and stabilizes the functioning of the mind.

The nose
Between the eyebrows
Navel
Thumb
Hands
Feet, up
Right side and left side.
Bandhas:
For cleaning the body internally two factors are necessary, air and fire. The place of fire in our bodies is four inches below the navel. This is the standing place of our life force. In order for fire to burn, air is necessary, hence the necessity of the breath. If you stoke a fire with a blower, evenness is required so that the flame is not smothered out, or blown out of control.

An important component of the breathing system is mula and uddiyana bandha. These are the anal and lower abdominal locks which seal in energy, give lightness, strength and health to the body, and help to build a strong internal fire. Without bandhas, breathing will not be correct, and the asanas will give no benefit. When mula bandha is perfect, mind control is automatic.

Bandhas are an essential part of breathing correctly, and are to be done steadily throughout one's entire yoga practice. They bring together and stablize prana, mind and body, while developing strength, vitality and concentration.

Mula bandha:

moola = root; bandha = Bind the steady contraction & lifting of the anus.'“The lower abdomen and the anus should be taken in fully and held tightly.”

Uddiyana bandha:

uD-Deeyaana = upward-flying;

The muscles below the navel remain contracted while breathing. Do not breathe downwardly into the lower belly; but rather, in conjunction with the bandhas, lift the breath up into the rib cage so that the bandhas can remain utterly contracted. The contraction four inches below the navel.

Internal & External Cleanliness:

It is highly advantageous to follow the guidelines of cleanliness in all aspects of our lives: mental, dietary & bathing; and this includes in our practice on the yoga mat too — e.g. showering before practice, wearing freshly laundered yoga clothes & washing your mat and rug regularly —

“Yoga is the steadiness of the mind throughout both success & failure.”

Eating, Drinking & Practicing:

During yoga practice, the body needs an even distribution and circulation of blood and energy. For this reason do not to drink water during yoga. Furthermore, when drinking water before yoga, allow enough time [at least 30-60 minutes] before practice for the water to absorb beyond the stomach and into the body, and wait long enough after practice [15-30 minutes] for the blood to normalize before consuming food and water. These guidlines support the process of purification and healthy digestion thus enhancing the benefits derived from practice.

Water should be taken no less than thirty to sixty minutes prior to practice, and no sooner than fifteen minutes after practice.

Food should be taken no less than several hours prior to practice, and no sooner than thirty minutes after practice.

Sweating:

The sweat generated by yoga should be gradually dried by rubbing it into the body with the hands, and not by exposing it to the air or by drying it with a towel or cloth... After half an hour, it is good to bathe in hot water.

Diet:

For the practitioner of yoga, the rules regarding food, sex, and speech are very important. Among the foods, those called sattvic (pure) are the best... Indeed, foods that extend the life span; foods that increase sattvic qualities, as well as strength, health, happiness, and love; foods that are easily digested; and foods that are natural, genuine, and follow the seasons — these are the most suitable. If a person's food is pure, then his mind becomes pure, since the mind assumes the qualities of whatever food is consumed... The practitioner of yoga should therefore eat only food possessed of sattvic qualities.

Only half the stomach should be taken up by the food that is eaten. One half of the other half should be given over to water and the remaining quarter left to the movement of air. Consuming too much food or no food at all... should be given up as much as possible, as it is an obstacle to the practice of yoga...

*(Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, Yoga Mala ).”
*Quotes taken from Yoga Mala