Articles

VINYASA

What makes the practice of asana in Ashtanga Yoga so particular is the Vinyasa system of Breath Co-ordinated movement. Following the teachings of his Guru Rama Mohan Brahmacharya, Sri T. Krishnamacharya faithfully passed on the method of Vinyasa Krama to Sri. K Pattabhi Jois, our Guru, who has devotedly maintained this teaching at the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore. In this way, the system has been passed down from Guru to student, generation after generation for thousands of years. 

Vinyasa means 'special placing' and Krama means 'step'. In the Vinyasa system each asana is performed in a set order or series and further, the precise steps in terms of breathing and movement to perform each individual asana is clearly defined. Every asana has a specific number of vinyasa, or movements co-ordinated with breaths, for instance, Trikonasana has 5 vinyasa, Paschimottanasana 16 and Marichiasana A 22. Furthermore, a specialized way of breathing is utilized in this system, called Ujjaya Breath, and in every posture, there is a specific gazing point or Drishti, on which to focus.

Thus the vinyasa system has three actions, or Tristhana. The asana itself works on the body, the Ujjaya breath, which involves the use of Bandha, or Energy Locks, works on the nervous system, and the drishti works on the mind. In this way, we can see that the practice of asana in Ashtanga actually incorporates all eight limbs of Ashtanga Yoga (click here for the article on the 8 limbs). Obviously we are performing asana and, with Ujjaya breathing, pranayama. The drishti helps to draw the attention inward (pratyahara) allowing the mind to become focused completely in the practice (dharana) so that it becomes a moving meditation (dhyana). The practice in this way becomes a joyful experience, the body, breath and mind in union, asana leading to samadhi.  The principles of yama and niyama should naturally underscore our practice at all times and this is discussed fully in the article 'Ashtanga Yoga and Injuries'.

SATTWA SADHANA

The practice of Yoga is about developing clarity of understanding. It is about removing misapprehensions of any kind, about refining and purifying ourselves on all levels, from the physical to the spiritual. It is Sattwa Sadhana or a 'Practice to develop the quality of Sattwa, or purity'. To be able to perform the Ashtanga asana practice according to the correct vinyasa system requires patient effort and commitment over a long period of time, exactly as Patanjali advises in Sutra 1:14. The result of such painstaking effort is guaranteed. More clarity. More sattwa. An outward sign of this increase in the sattwic quality in our nature can be seen in the grace and fluidity of our movement in asana, in the softness and lightness in our bodies. These things are not ends to be sought after for themselves, merely by-products of practice, signs that we are taking steps in the right direction. If proficiency in the vinyasa system is developing, the more profound effects of Yoga practice are certainly also taking place. 

The great gift of the vinyasa system is that it cannot be forced or mastered externally. In order to achieve it one must go inwards, one must soften, one must focus on the breath and give up struggling after the outer shape of an asana. One must accept the present condition and capacity of the body and work patiently and without attachment on a daily basis. The sequence of asana is designed to open the body gradually and we should be conscientious not to skip over any asana or to move on to an asana without achieving proficiency in the proceeding one. In this way we learn about patience and perseverence and in the long run we will progress much more than if we try to move too quickly or without a correct foundation in the mastery of previous asana. As Guruji says 'One asana perfecting, next asana doing, slowly, slowly, every day taking practice'.

The vinyasa system is not arbitrary in any way and if we adhere to it we will develop a clear and healthy practice, if not we take only from ourselves. The deepest benefits of Ashtanga Yoga will elude us and we may cause ourselves distress or even injury. It is advisable therefore to study this practice only with a teacher who understands and teaches the correct vinyasa system and has deep personal experience of many years of daily practice.