Aštanga joga (angl. Ashtanga yoga ali Ashtanga vinyasa yoga; v nadaljevanju AJ) je postala zelo priljubljena v 90. letih prejšnjega stoletja. Bila je prva vadba hatha joge (tj. joge, ki na poti do višjih tehnik duhovnega razvoja uporablja posebne telesne položaje in dihalne vaje), pri kateri se je vadeči med vadbo ne le sprostil in umiril, temveč tudi prepotil. Sčasoma so iz nje zrasli številne druge vrste joge, ki jih danes poznamo pod imeni vinjasa, power, flow joga itd. O razlogu za njihov nastanek lahko samo ugibamo: ali je bil pri delu ego, ki hoče vedno izumiti kaj novega, naravna evolucija ali iskanje nečesa vedno boljšega ... Karkoli že je razlog, številni, ki jih je AJ, kot jo je učil Sri Krishna Pattabhi Jois, sprva navdušila, so se sčasoma od nje odvrnili, kot da njen preizkušeni sistem zanje ne bi več deloval. Pa je res kriv sistem ali je morda kriv način, na katerega je ta sistem pogosto predstavljen? Odgovore smo poskušali poiskati v pogovoru z avtoriziranim učiteljem AJ, ki se je nekoč tudi sam spopadal z dvomi o sistemu, vendar ga ni zapustil, ko so se stvari po večletnem študiju in ob pomoči pravih učiteljev končno postavile na pravo mesto.
Thomas je praktikant in učitelj AJ. Prakticirati jo je začel leta 2000. Dnevno vadi asane, pranajamo in meditacijo. Učil se je pri številnih svetovno znanih senior učiteljih, vključno s Sri K. P. Joisom, njegov glavni učitelj pa je Manju Pattabhi Jois, najstarejši sin Sri K. P. Joisa in najbolj izkušen učitelj AJ na svetu – uči že od leta 1959. Thomas je bil med prvimi učitelji, ki jih je avtoriziral Manju P. Jois. Hvaležen je tudi za vse, kar se je naučil od Davida Williamsa, prvega Zahodnjaka, ki se je naučil in tudi poučeval celoten sistem AJ (asane in pranajamo) in med drugimi učil tudi znane praktikante AJ, kot sta Nancy Gilgoff in David Swenson. Thomas prevaja knjige Manjuja P. Joisa in Davida Williamsa v nemščino. Mnogo let je študiral osupljiv sistem AJ, da bi ga razumel v celoti, in na podlagi svojih spoznanj je napisal knjigo “1 Percent Theory: An Attempt to Reconstruct the Forgotten Lessons of Ashtanga Yoga as Taught by Shri K. Pattabhi Jois”, ki je izšla l. 2014.”
Aštanga joga, znana tudi kot aštanga vinjasa joga, je najbolj intenzivna vrsta hatha joge, morda za nekatere celo preveč. Vendar učitelji AJ trdijo, da je ta sistem primeren za vsakogar. Kako je to mogoče?
Sklicujete se na vrstico iz Hatha Yoga Pradipike (HYP), enega klasičnih besedil joge, na katerih temelji sistem AJ. Ta pravi:
»One succeeds in all Yogas through energetic practice – even if one is young, old, very old, sick or weak.« (HYP 64) (»Z energično vadbo se uspe v vseh jogah – naj bo kdo mlad, star, zelo star, bolan ali šibek.«)
Tako je ta sistem izvorno uporabljal Sri K. P. Jois v zgodnjih letih. Bil je fasciniran nad zdravilnimi učinki tega sistema in sprva, preden so se k njemu začele zgrinjati množice učencev z Zahoda, je vadbo prilagajal posamezniku. To je bilo v časih, ko je imel malo učencev, pa tudi sam je bil mlajši in je z lahkoto obvladoval dogajanje v prostoru za vadbo. V edini knjigi, ki jo je kdaj objavil (Yoga Mala, 1962, v angleščini od l. 1999, slovenskega prevoda nimamo), je zapisal, da vsaka asana ni primerna za vsako telo in da so posamezne asane za nekatere ljudi lahko boleče, zato jih je treba prilagoditi ali se jim izogniti:
»Ker je telesni ustroj različnih ljudi različen, je pomembno, da vadimo asane temu primerno. Koristi, ki jih lahko imamo od neke asane ali pranajame, lahko prav tako dobimo od kakšne druge, ki je za posameznika ustreznejša. Nekatere asane za določene ljudi niso primerne in so lahko boleče.« (str. 29–30, prva angleška izdaja)
Namen je bil vsakemu posamezniku ponuditi možnost, da ima koristi od te vadbe, četudi ima ta človek določene ovire. Tako je K. P. Jois učil v svojih zgodnjih letih in tako moj učitelj Manju P. Jois uči še danes. Nikdar mi ni odrekel prilagoditve asane, ki za moje telo preprosto ni primerna. Nikdar me ni ustavil pri mojem napredovanju skozi serijo. Manju P. Jois mi je pojasnil, da je njegov oče spremenil način poučevanja šele pozneje zaradi različnih razlogov; eden od njih je bila njegova starost (rojen leta 1915 je bil za indijske standarde že star mož, ko je AJ postala priljubljena), drugi veliko število učencev, ki so začeli prihajati k njemu in je bilo preprosto nemogoče vsakemu posvečati toliko pozornosti (K. P. Jois je imel že 92 indijskih učencev, ki so vsak dan prihajali v njegovo malo šolo v eni sami sobi, ko je David Williams leta 1973 prvič prišel tja), tretji razlog pa je bil ego njegovih (zahodnjaških) učencev, ki so pretiravali s fizičnim delom vadbe in začeli dodajati piruete, kot je stoja na rokah, v prakso asan, ki je bila izvirno mnogo preprostejša. Če torej odgovorim na vaše vprašanje: ja, vsakdo lahko vadi. Vendar mora biti vadba prilagojena posamezniku.
Kaže, da je AJ privlačna za zahodne učence zaradi velikega poudarka na fizičnem vidiku vadbe. Pa je to res vse, za kar pri njej gre?
Ne. Sistem AJ ima tri ravni (in ne šest, kot je pogosto napačno razumljeno). To so primarna, srednja in napredna raven. Prva, primarna serija, deluje na grobo snov, fizično telo, zato se imenuje ‘bolezenska terapija’ (‘disease therapy’, ‘roga čikitsa‘ v sanskrtu). Druga, srednja serija, okrepi delovanje na finejše plasti uma (‘čiščenje živcev’, ‘nerve cleansing‘, ‘nadi šodhana‘). Ko imaš čisto telo in čist um, vstopiš na napredno raven (‘božansko mirovanje’, ‘divine steadiness‘,’sthira bhaga‘). Praksa AJ je sredstvo za dosego zdravega telesa, ki nato lahko obmiruje v meditaciji za daljša obdobja.
Sistem AJ je posebno primeren za bolj fizično usmerjene ljudi. Veliko poti joge je, nekatere med njimi niti ne uporabljajo telesa kot sredstva za duhovno rast, vse pa imajo isti cilj – duhovni napredek. AJ je posebno privlačna za ljudi, ki jih ne zanimajo toliko intelektualne ali predanostne metode joge. Manju P. Jois mi je nekoč rekel: »Ta metoda je posebno primerna za zahodnjake, ker morajo biti ves čas s čim zaposleni (nasmeh).«
Je to pomen znanega izreka: Vadi in vse bo prišlo (Practise and all is coming)?
Ja. Vadba asan te nekaj časa nosi po poti duhovnega napredovanja, dokler ne vstopiš na novo področje. Po primarni in srednji seriji se od bolj grobega telesa pomakneš k finejši metodi diha: v vadbo začneš vključevati pranajamo. Nato pride meditacija. Asane so le del osemčlene poti, kot je orisana v Patandžalijevih sutrah, ki skupaj z drugimi teksti, kot sta Hatha Yoga Pradipika in Bhagavad Gita, pomeni osnovo AJ. To, čemur danes rečemo AJ, je K. P. Jois videl le kot en del dejanske AJ, kot je opisana v sutrah (Jama, Nijama, Asana, Pranajama, Pratjahara, Dharana, Dhjana, Samadhi). Fizična vadba pritegne fizično usmerjene ljudi v sistem, ki je sam po sebi mnogo širši. Morda je zanimivo, da je K. P. Jois na začetku učil ne le asane (in pranajamo za naprednejše učence), temveč tudi čantanje, jogijsko teorijo in meditacijo. Ker pa so se njegovi zahodni učenci večinoma zanimali le za asane in morda pranajamo – hkrati pa K. P. Jois ni govoril prav dobro angleško –, se je osredotočil na poučevanje asan. In tako se je ta sistem, ki je bil sprva precej bolj kompleksen, razvil v nekaj, kar je videti kot rigorozna vadba asan za močne mlade ljudi (slišal sem že poimenovanje »joga za marince«). Pa to ni.
Večina mlajših učiteljev, ki so začeli sistem AJ raziskovati v drugi polovici 80. let, se ni nikdar srečala s temi vidiki sistema, kot ga je izvirno poučeval K. P. Jois.
Ena od stvari, ki AJ razlikujejo od drugih vrst hatha joge, so tudi močne nastavitve/poravnave (angl. adjustments) s strani učiteljev. Kaj stoji za tem? V čem je njihov namen?
Pri AJ gre za zdravljenje. Bistvo nastavitev je učencu pomagati v položaj, ki sprošča napetosti in odpira energijske kanale. Temu so namenjene asane začetne in srednje serije (poleg tega da pomagajo pri fizičnih motnjah, npr. pri zaprtju …).
Včasih se ljudje pri teh nastavitvah poškodujejo. Kako je to mogoče, če je ta vadba namenjena zdravljenju?
Vem, kaj mislite. Tudi sam sem poškodoval zaradi slabo poučenega in preveč ambicioznega učitelja AJ.
Opozoril bi na tri stvari. Prva je, da številni, ki se počutijo poklicani učiti AJ, niso bili deležni ustreznega usposabljanja in nudenja naravnav. Drugič, mislijo, da je treba posameznika prilagoditi »idealu« asane, čeprav bi moralo biti v resnici obratno: vadba se mora prilagajati posamezniku. Le tako je ta sistem lahko koristen. Tretjič, številni učitelji podzavestno postavljajo svoj ego nad učenčev napredek. Tako imenitno je pokazati čudaški položaj in nato voljnega učenca potisniti/zviti vanj; občudovali te bodo zaradi tega. Tak pristop uporabljajo učitelji, ki so jih učili zahodnjaki, ki so se – ali pa tudi ne – učili pod vodstvom osemdeset ali devetdeset let starega moža, ki je moral učiti veliko število učencev hkrati in ni utegnil vadbe prilagajati posamezniku. Ta (napačni) pristop temelji na nerazumevanju.
Sam sprejmem naravnave samo od zelo izkušenih učiteljev, ki so svoj ego pustili daleč za sabo.
Kako, mislite, so naravnave sploh prišle v sistem AJ?
Po mojem mnenju se je to začelo s T. Krishnamacaryo, učiteljem K. P. Joisa. Kot sem že rekel, so naravnave namenjene kot pomoč pri procesu zdravljenja, ki poteka, in T. Krishnamacarya je želel pomagati svojim učencem. Vendar bi pri tem rad dodal nekaj o osebnosti človeka, ki je po vsej verjetnosti zasnoval ta sistem joge (o razlogih, zakaj ni verjetno, da sistem izvira iz starodavnega rokopisa joga korunta, med drugim govorim v svoji knjigi). Krishnamacarya je bil zelo učen in mnogoveden mož, posebno v svojih zgodnjih letih pa je bil tudi zelo strog in nepotrpežljiv (preberite npr. pričevanje njegovega sina, priznanega učitelja joge T. K. V. Desikacharja). In morda je pri tem nekoliko pretiraval. Svoje učence je neredko kaznoval in jih včasih tudi poškodoval pri tem, ko jih je učil. Tako so se njegovi neposredni učenci iz 30. let, kot sta B. K. S. Iyengar in K. P. Jois, učili jogo na zelo težaven način in ne preseneča me, da je to pustilo sledi tudi na njihovem načinu učenja.
Značilnost AJ je tudi predpisano zaporedje asan. Ko se jo poučuje na t. i. tradicionalen način misore, gre učenec skozi zaporedje do asane, ki je ne more izvesti, in sme nadaljevati naslednjo asano v seriji šele, ko je »obvladal« prejšnjo.
Tako se ni delalo od nekdaj in to sploh ni »tradicionalno«. Ustavljanje učencev, kar je K. P. Jois počel v poznejših letih, je način, da je K. P. Jois sploh lahko obvladal tolikšno število učencev hkrati. Na začetku, ko je bil K. P. Jois še mlajši in število njegovih učencev manjše, je bilo normalno, da si prilagodil asano, ki je bila v tistem trenutku pretežka za tvojo konstitucijo, in nadaljeval z naslednjo. Moj učitelj Manju P. Jois še vedno uči na ta način. Tudi mene je uvedel v napredno serijo, čeprav nekatere moje asane iz začetne in srednje serije niso »popolne« zaradi anatomije mojega telesa – in tudi ni treba, da so takšne. Ampak če imate 90 let in morate učiti 65 učencev v enem prostoru iz dneva v dan, uvedete pravila, da ohranite nadzor. Učitelji, ki posnemajo ta način učenja in ga imenujejo »tradicionalni«, ne poznajo ozadja.
Jedro prve serije sestavljajo predvsem predkloni. Vem, da je AJ svoj sistem, pa vendar: večina (če ne vse) šole hatha joge vključujejo asane iz vseh skupin (predkloni, zakloni, zasuki, inverzije) v eno vadbo, da pripeljejo telo v ravnovesje. V AJ pa učenec pogosto vadi samo začetno serijo leta dolgo, torej vadi predvsem predklone. Ali ni to na dolgi rok neuravnoteženo?
Tako učijo nevedni učitelji. Primarna serija je dejansko samo priprava. Pri njej naj se ne bi predolgo zadrževali, poskušajoč jo izpopolniti. Učitelj naj bi vam pomagal razmeroma hitro napredovati k bolj celostni vadbi. Ko postanete bolj izkušeni, boste vedeli, kako delati s sistemom, ne da bi se slepo oklepali malenkosti. Moja najljubša praksa vključuje pol začetne in pol srednje serije ter pranajamo in meditacijo. Svojega učitelja Manjuja P. Joisa sem vprašal, ali je prav, da vadim na ta način, in izrecno mi je potrdil, da bi bilo to v skladu s tem, kar so učili v Misoreju v zgodnjih letih. Vendar, prosim, ne razumite me narobe: ne priporočam, da zvarite lastno zaporedje in ga še vedno imenujete AJ. Posvetujte se z učiteljem, ki ve, kaj dela.
Zaključna serija se začne z nekaj precej intenzivnimi zakloni (urdhva dhanurasana). Danes pogosto velja, naj učenec ne bi nadaljeval v srednjo serijo, dokler se ne more spustiti v urdhva dhanurasano iz stoječega položaja in se iz urdhva dhanurasane dvigniti v stoječ položaj brez pomoči. Kako lahko nekdo obvlada tako zahteven zaklon po tem, ko je dolgo vadil predvsem predklone, ki pomenijo glavnino začetne serije?
Ni bilo vedno tako. Ta orjaški mejnik so postavili v Misoreju okrog leta 2003 iz razlogov, o katerih lahko samo ugibam. Originalno je bila sposobnost vstati iz urdhva dhanurasane brez pomoči rezultat srednje serije in ne njen pogoj. In to je tudi mnogo bolj smiselno, saj je zaporedje, kot ushtrasana > laghuvajrasana > kapotasana (asane iz srednje serije), očitno priprava na tako napredno različico urdhva dhanurasane in ne njen rezultat. To so mi potrdili Manju P. Jois, David Williams in drugi napredni vadeči.
Hvala za pogovor. Je morda še kaj, kar bi želeli dodati?
Ljudje običajno precenjujejo asane in jih jemljejo mnogo preveč resno. Bistveni elementi AJ so bandhe (energijske zapore), dih in drišti (usmerjen pogled). Šele nato pride asana. Tako je originalno učil K. P. Jois. Novi učenci so se najprej naučili nadzirati bandhe, nato so se naučili tehnike dihanja, značilne za AJ – udžaji dih, in šele potem so bili uvedeni v asane, ki seveda vključujejo drišti. Učence spodbujam, naj razvijejo nebolečo vadbo, ki je koristna za njihovo fizično in psihično zdravje in duhovni napredek, naj jo ohranijo zabavno in naj se izogibajo učiteljem, ki jih zatirajo in postavljajo svoj ego in neznanje nad napredek učenca.
Thomas vodi delavnice AJ, v katerih predstavi izvirni sistem, kot ga je spoznal skozi leta raziskovanja in študiranja pri najbolj izkušenih učiteljih AJ, in se včasih sprašuje o pomenu ‘mainstreama’. Dostopen je na admin@ashtangamunich.com. Njegova spletna stran je www.ashtangamunich.com.
S Thomasom se je pogovarjala Tina Trbuha.
Ashtanga Yoga as it was (before the Westerners took over)
Since the 1990s Ashtanga yoga (also called Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga) grew great popularity in the West. It was the first asana practice which made its practitioners perspire and at the same time develop a relaxed and calm mind. Eventually many different styles sprung off it which can be found under the names of vinyasa yoga, power yoga, flow yoga etc. The reasons for this can only be speculated about: be it the ego which has to “invent” something new, a natural evolution or a search for something better … whatever the reason, many of the followers who might still be practising the proven system of Ashtanga yoga (hereinafter: AY) as taught by Sri Krishna Pattabhi Jois (KPJ) have left because the system no longer worked for them. Is it a fault of the system or of the way it is often being taught? We tried to find the answers by talking to an authorised Ashtanga yoga teacher who struggled with his own doubts of the system but stayed on the path after the right teachers and an in-depth study of many years finally made it all fall into place.
Thomas is a practitioner and teacher of AY. He started practising in 2000. He has a daily practice of asana, pranayama and meditation. Thomas has studied with many of the world known senior teachers including Sri KPJ but his principle teacher is Manju Pattabhi Jois (MPJ), the eldest son of Sri KPJ and the most experienced teacher of AY on the planet, having started teaching in 1959. Thomas was among the first who have been authorised to teach Ashtanga yoga by MPJ. Thomas is also very grateful for what he has learned from David Williams, the first Westerner to learn and teach the full AY system of asana and pranayama, teacher to well-known practitioners such as Nancy Gilgoff and David Swenson. Thomas is translating Manju´s and David´s books into German and published his own book on AY, “1 Percent Theory: An Attempt to Reconstruct the Forgotten Lessons of Ashtanga Yoga as Taught by Shri K. Pattabhi Jois” in 2014. He has spent many years studying this fascinating system to understand it in its entirety.
Ashtanga yoga, also known as Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga, is the most vigorous style of hatha yoga “in the market“, maybe too vigorous for some. Still its teachers claim that it is suitable for everyone. How can that be?
You´re referring to a line from the Hatha Yoga Pradipika (HYP), one of the classical yoga texts that the AY system is built upon. The line says:
“One succeeds in all Yogas through energetic practice – even if one is young, old, very old, sick or weak.” (HYP 64)
This is originally how this system was used by KPJ in his earlier years. He was fascinated by the healing powers of this system and originally, before he had herds of students, he modified the practice for the individual. That was in the days when he had very small numbers of students and when he was still young enough to easily keep control of what was going on in the room. In the only book he ever published (Yoga Mala, 1962, not available in English until 1999) he wrote (p. 29-30, 1st edition) that not every asana is suitable for every body and that some asanas can be painful for some persons and have to be modified or avoided:
“As the bodily constitution of each human being is different, it is important to practice the asanas accordingly. The benefit to be had from one asana or pranayama can be derived just as well from another that better suits the structure of a person´s body. Some asanas are not suitable for particular people and may be painful.”
The intention behind this was to give every individual the possibility to draw a benefit from this practice, even if that person has certain handicaps. This is how KPJ taught in his earlier years and this is how MPJ is still teaching today. Never have I been denied by him a modification to an asana that was just not suitable for my body. Never have I been stopped in my progress through the series. It has been explained to me by MPJ that his father shifted to a more rigorous teaching style in his later years due to several reasons, one of them being his age (born 1915 – for Indian standards already an old man when AY became popular), the second reason being the sheer number of students that he had to handle and that made it difficult to give attention to the individual (KPJ had already 92 Indian students whom he had to rush through his tiny one-room school when David Williams arrived there in 1973), and the third reason being the egos of his (Western) students that overdid the physical side of this practice and started adding pirouettes like handstands to an asana practice that is in its original actually much simpler. So, to answer your question: yes, anyone can practise. But the practice needs to be adapted to the individual.
AY does seem to appeal to the Western students because of its strong focus on the physical aspect. But is this really what it is all about?
No. The AY system has three levels (not 6 as it often wrongly perceived): primary, intermediate and advanced. The primary series starts the work on the gross matter, the body, and this is why it is called “disease therapy” (“roga chikitsa” in Sanskrit). The intermediate series intensifies the work on the finer layer of the mind, which is why it is called “nerve cleansing” (“nadi shodana” in Sanskrit). Then, once you have a healthy body and a clean mind, you enter the advanced level (which is called “divine steadiness” or “sthira bhaga” in Sanskrit). So, for one thing, the Ashtanga asana practice is a means to give you a healthy body, but this is to make the body able to stay in meditation for long periods.
The AY system is also a yoga method especially suitable for physically oriented people. There are many kinds of yoga, some of them don´t even use the body as a means for spiritual progress at all, but they all have the same goal – spiritual progress. AY is a method that is especially appealing to physically oriented people that are not so interested in intellectual or devotional yoga methods. MPJ once said to me: “this method is especially suitable for Westerners because they always need something to be busy with (grin)”.
Is this the meaning of the famous saying: Practise and all is coming?
Yes. Your asana practice carries you in your spiritual progress for a while, until you enter a new realm. After the primary and intermediate series you move from the gross matter of the body to the more refined method of the breath: you start to include pranayama in your practice. Then meditation comes. You must see the asana practice as just one aspect of the 8-fold path as outlined in Patanjali´s Yoga Sutras, which form, along with other texts such as the HYP and the Bhagavad Gita, the grounds of the practice of AY. What we call Ashtanga yoga was considered by Sri KPJ as just one aspect of the actual AY as described in the Sutras (Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi). So the physical practice draws physically oriented people into the system but the system is much wider. It is perhaps interesting to know that originally KPJ taught not only asana (and pranayama to more advanced students) but also chanting, yoga theory and meditation. But since his Western students were usually only interested in asana and maybe pranayama – plus KPJ did not speak a lot of English – he focused on teaching asana. And this is how this system that was initially much more complex than it is now developed into something that looks like a rigorous asana practice for strong young persons (I have heard it called “yoga for marines”). But it is not.
Most younger teachers that started investigating the AY system after the mid 80s have never come across these aspects of the system as it was originally taught by Sri KPJ.
One thing which distinguishes AY from other styles is also the strong adjustments given by the teachers. What is the point of adjustments in AY?
AY is about healing. The point of adjustments is to help students get into a position that releases tensions and opens energy channels. This is what the asanas of the primary and intermediate series were designed for (apart from helping with physical conditions like constipation …)
Sometimes people get injured by such “adjustments”. If this yoga is meant to heal, how can that be?
I know exactly what you are referring to. I myself have been badly injured on my neck by a poorly trained and overambitious Ashtanga teacher.
There are three things I have to say about this. One is that most people who think they should teach AY have never received a proper training in giving adjustments. Second, they think that the individual has to be adjusted to the “ideal” of the asana but it should actually be the other way round: the practice should be adapted to the individual. This is how this system can be beneficial. The third thing is that many teachers subconsciously put their ego above the progress of the individual that they teach. It feels so good to demonstrate a weird asana and then bend the willing students into it; they will admire you for this. This approach is being used by teachers that were taught by Westerners that may or may not have studied under an eighty or ninety-year old man who had to teach huge numbers of students simultaneously and had no time to adapt to the individual. This (wrong) approach is based on a misunderstanding.
I myself accept adjustments only from very experienced teachers who have left their ego far behind.
How do you think that the adjustments ever came to the Ashtanga system?
In my opinion, this is something that was started by Tirumalai Krishnamacarya, the teacher of KPJ. As we said above, adjustments are actually meant to help with the healing that takes place, and T. Krishnamacarya wanted to help his students. But there is also something that I would like to add about the personality of Krishnamacarya who was probably the person who designed this yoga system (that it stems from an ancient manuscript called “Yoga Korunta” is not very plausible for reasons that I discuss in my book). He was a very learned and knowledgeable person but he was also very rigorous and impatient in his earlier years (read the testimony of his own son, the renowned yoga teacher TKV Desikachar). So, maybe he overdid it a little. He punished his students and also injured them while teaching them. So his direct students from the 1930s, like BKS Iyengar and KPJ, learned their yoga in a very hard way and I find it not surprising that this left traces in their own teaching styles.
The characteristic of AY is its sequence of postures. When it is taught in the “traditional”, Mysore way, the student is stopped in his practice at the asana which he cannot perform, and is only allowed to move on to the next asana in the series after he has “mastered” the previous one.
This is not how it was taught originally and it is not at all “traditional”. Stopping students as KPJ did in his later years is the result of the sheer numbers of students that had to be controlled by him simultaneously. Originally, when KPJ was still younger and had smaller numbers of students to deal with, it was OK to modify an asana that was difficult for your individual constitution and go on to the next. This is how MPJ still teaches his students. He has introduced me to the advanced series albeit some of my asanas from the primary and intermediate series are probably not “perfect” due to my anatomy, and they don´t have to be. But if you are a 90 year old man and you have to teach 65 students in one room for hours and hours day-in, day-out, you introduce rules just to keep control. The teachers that now copy this teaching style and call it “traditional” have simply not understood the background.
The core of the first series consists mostly of forward bends. I know that AY is a system of its own, but still: most (if not all) hatha yoga schools use asanas from all categories (fw bends, bb, twists, inversions…) in one session to bring balance to the body. But in AY many times a student practises only the first series for years, which means practising mostly forward bends. Isn´t this imbalancing in the long run?
This is how bad teachers teach. You see, the primary series is actually a preparation. You should not stay with it and work on perfecting it for too long. Your teacher should actually advance you reasonably quickly to a more holistic practice. Once you are more proficient you will know how to work with the system and not stick slavishly to tiny details.
My own favourite practice incorporates the half primary and half intermediate series plus pranayama plus meditation. I have asked my teacher MPJ whether it is OK for me to practise in this way and he explicitly confirmed that my practice would have been in accordance with what was taught in Mysore in the early days. But please do not misunderstand my words as a recommendation to just brew your own sequence and still call it “AY”. Check back with an AY teacher that knows what he or she is doing.
The closing sequence begins with a round of rather extreme backbends (Urdhva Dhanurasana). Nowadays it is often taught that the student is not supposed to move on to the intermediate series before getting into Urdhva Dhanurasana from a standing position and coming back to standing from Urdhva Dhanurasana without assistance. How can one master such an extreme backbend after practising only a long series of forward bends which constitute most of the primary series?
It has not always been like this. This huge milestone was introduced in Mysore in about 2003 for reasons I can only speculate about. Originally being able to stand up from Urdhva Dhanurasana without assistance was the result of the intermediate series, not its prerequisite. And this makes a lot more sense because obviously a sequence like Ushtrasana, Laghuvajrasana and Kapotasana (asanas from the intermediate series) is a preparation for such an advanced form of Urdhva Dhanurasana, not its result. This has been confirmed to me by MPJ, by David Williams and other advanced practitioners.
Thank you for the interview. Is there something that you would like to add?
People are usually totally overestimating asana and are taking it much too seriously. The core elements of the AY practice are bandhas, breath and drishti. Only then asana comes. This is how it was originally taught by KPJ. New students first learned to control the bandhas, then they learned the AY breathing technique called Ujjayi breath and only then they received training in asana (which then includes drishti). I encourage students to develop a pain-free practice that is beneficial for their physical and mental health and their spiritual progress, to keep it fun and to give up on teachers who put them down and put their own ego and ignorance over the progress of the student.
Thomas teaches AY workshops in which he explains the original system as he has learnt it through years of exploration and studies with the most senior teachers, sometimes questioning the mainstream. He can be contacted through an email to admin(at)ashtangamunich(dot)com. His website is www.ashtangamunich.com.
Thomas was interviewed by Tina Trbuha.