Ashtanga Yoga Palace

Yoga Tradition
The word ‘yoga’ comes from yuj, meaning ‘union’, and implies the union of mind, body and spirit with the highest power. Yoga is not a religion, but rather one of six traditional philosophical systems in India. It strives to create a healthy person in mind, body and soul. This millennia old system leads the human being to health, freedom from mental barriers, and from internal and external restraints. This freedom allows the human being to view his or her life in all its facets and to live in harmony with his or her environment.

Ashtanga Yoga

Literally translated, the term Ashtanga means:
Ashta (eight) Anga (limbs) = eight limbs The first writings about the eight limbs appear in the 195 yoga sutras written by the sage Patanjali. Little is known about Patanjali, but it is believed that he lived between 200 BC and 400 AD. The eight limbs form the philosophical basis of yoga. They are:

1. Yama	(ethical disciplines)
2. Niyama	(self observation)
3. Asana	(posture)
4. Pranayama	(breath control)
5. Pratyahara	(sense withdrawal)
6. Dharana	(concentration)
7. Dyhana	(meditation)
8. Samadhi	(a state of joy and peace)

History
The roots of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga as it practised today go back to Sri Tirumali Krishnamacharya, who spent seven and a half years at the beginning of the last century living with his guru, Rama Mohan Brahmachari, in the Himalayas, learning yoga and pranayama. Krishnamacharya then went to Mysore, a city in Southern India, where he taught yoga at Mysore Palace. Sri K. Pattabhi Jois (Guruji) met his teacher Shri T. Krishnamacharya in Mysore in 1927 and remained his pupil until 1945. Guruji has been teaching Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga for over seventy years now at the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore. His grandson Sharat Rangaswamy now teaches alongside him.

Sri K. Pattabhi Jois und Sri Tirumali Krishnamacharya

The Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga method
The Ashtanga Vinyasa method differentiates itself from many forms of yoga through its emphasis on vinyasa. Vinyasa refers to the synchronisation of breath and movement in the asana practice. The vinyasa system joins the postures (asanas) together in a flowing sequence in which each position is held for five breaths.
“Oh Yogi, don’t do Yoga without Vinyasa” (Vama Richi).

Tristana: Ujjayi – Bandha – Dristi
UJJAYI BREATHING
The breath is regulated by ujjayi breathing – a resonant breathing through the nose while the mouth is kept closed – throughout the practice.
BANDHAS
When movement and ujjayi breathing are synchronised and the energy locks mula bandha and uddiyana bandha are also activated, a strong inner heat is produced. This heat purifies muscles and organs, expels unwanted toxins and burns excess fat. The prana (energy) taken in through the breath is kept in the body via the bandhas. DRISTI
The focus of the gaze or the point of concentration is laid out for each asana and enables us to practice in a disciplined and focussed manner. Via the dristi we are able to observe the ‘inner process’ and to withdraw our senses rather than looking outside with our thoughts and our awareness.
The practitioner of yoga experiences its essence through these three elements – ujjayi breathing, the bandhas and the dristi. An energetic practice emerges from this physical sequence of movements which leads to changes on a mental level.

Asana Practice
Ashtanga Yoga is structured into six series of postures (asanas). The first series is known as Yoga Chikitsa (yoga therapy) and is a holistic sequence of movements which can be practised throughout one’s life. The asanas disperse negative postures and areas of blocked energy and make the body strong, flexible and resistant to illness. Depending on the student, it can take several years before one is ready to begin with the second series, Nadi Shodhana (nerve cleansing). A regular practice results in a healthy, strong body, a purified nervous system and a clear, agile mind.

At Ashtanga Yoga Palace we are committed to the living tradition of Ashtanga Yoga and teach this method as it taught by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois in Mysore, India.

"If we practice the science of yoga, which is useful to the entire human community and which yields happiness both here and hereafter - if we practice it without fail, we will then attain physical, mental, and spiritual happiness, and our minds will flood towards the Self."
(Sri K. Pattabhi Jois)