Asana, the third limb of ashtanga yoga, follows the yamas and the niyamas in the eight-fold path of practices that lead us towards samadhi.
It is important to note that while for the purposes of this blog, we are approaching the discussion of the eight limbs sequentially, the process of developing them is not necessarily sequential. As Alistair Shearer writes in Effortless Being, “the eight limbs together constitute one body of yoga and, as in any body, the limbs grow simultaneously, in proportion to all the others, until full development is reached.”
Asana in the Yoga Sutras
The topic of asana is addressed only very briefly in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, in Book Two (Sadhana Pada), sutras 46, 47, and 48. However, the guidance that is offered is of utmost importance. Patanjali tells us, “The physical postures should be steady and comfortable.” He goes on to say, “they are mastered when all effort is relaxed and the mind is absorbed in the Infinite.” Lastly, he explains, “then we are no longer upset by the play of opposites.” For information about asana beyond this clear and sage guidance- such as what the asanas are and how to learn them- we need to look to other sources.
When Did Asana Practice Originate
In the excavation of the Mohenjo-daro site of the Indus River Valley society, various seals of gods practicing yoga were discovered, including a seal that was discovered of a fertility god sitting crossed legged in a yoga posture on a low meditation cushion. The Indus River Valley society flourished from about 2500 to 1700 BCE, well over a thousand years before the Yoga Sutras were written. We don’t know much about how yoga was practiced at that time beyond what was discovered in the seals.
Medieval Hatha Yoga
Most of the existing ancient yogic texts describing asana practice are from the Middle Ages, when Hatha yoga was predominant. At that time, Hatha yogis were predominantly concerned with the purification of the body, as they thought of the body as the vehicle through which spiritual enlightenment could be achieved. They were concerned with both the cleansing of the gross, physical body, as well as with the clearing of the energetic channels in the body, so that Bindu, the nectar of life, could be preserved, and kundalini could be awakened. Asana was one of the main practices of traditional hatha yoga, along with shatkarmas and other kriyas, or purification techniques; mudras, or energetic seals; and breath work.
The Hatha Yoga Pradipika, from the 15th century AD, is the main resource available to us on Hatha Yoga and its use of asana practice as a tool for bodily and energetic purification. Other key hatha yoga texts include the Gheranda Samhita and the Shiva Samhita.
Contemporary Yoga
The contemporary scholar and teacher of yoga who is widely considered to have breathed new life into ancient yogic teachings and practices, bringing them into modern society, is Tirimulai Krishnamacharya. Krishnamacharya was born in India in 1888 and lived until 1989. His seminal work on yoga, which draws extensively from the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, as well as other ancient yogic texts, is known as the Yoga Makaranda (1934).
Krishnamacharya was extremely well-educated and earned advanced degrees in all six traditional Indian darshans, or schools of thought, including Yoga darshana. He learned the asana practice by studying with Sri Ramamohan Brahmachari, who lived in a cave in the Himalayan mountains and who was said to have had mastered seven thousand asanas. Krishnamacharya is said to have learned somewhere between seven hundred and three thousand asanas while living with Brahmachari and his family, and upon the completion of his studies to have followed the instructions his teacher gave him: to get married, have children, and become a yoga teacher.
Krishnamacharya eventually came to teach the Maharaja of Mysore and to establish a yoga school in Mysore, India. He taught primarily therapeutically, to help with the healing of illness, and also helped the Maharaja popularize yoga as a method of building the strength and physical fitness of the population - which the Maharaja had identified as a priority for the country.
During this time, Krishnamacharya taught several students who themselves went on to achieve great prominence as contemporary teachers carrying forth the traditional practice of asana to a new generation, including his son, T.K.V. Desikachar; B.K.S Iyengar, A. G. Mohan, Indra Devi, and Sri K. Patthabi Jois. Krishnamacharya adapted his teaching to the student, and so each of these students learned something unique from him and went on to develop their own approach to the practice and teaching of yoga – and in some instances their own school of yoga- that was influenced by what they had learned from him and what most resonated with them as yoga practitioners.
The student of Krishnamacharya whose teaching most influenced what we teach at New Vibe Yoga is Sri K. Patthabi Jois. The main text Krishnamacharya is said to have based his teachings of asanas to Jois on is the no longer existent, almost mythical, Yoga Korunta. Krishnamacharya had memorized this text and transmitted it to Jois orally. The Yoga Korunta apparently emphasized various key elements of the asana system that Jois went on to popularize: breathing with bandhas, or energetic locks; Drishtis, or focal points for each posture; and connecting movements linking postures. Unfortunately, no written record of the Yoga Korunta remains as it was said to have been last written on banana leaves that were then eaten by ants. The only way students of yoga can learn about it is through the lineage of teachers who have learned the system.
In addition to the Yoga Kortunta, Jois’s asana practice was strongly influenced the study of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and Jois often described what he was teaching as “Patanjali Yoga” or “ashtanga yoga.” Perhaps for this reason, the unique approach to asana practice that Jois developed and popularized has commonly come to be known in both India and internationally as Ashtanga Yoga. This has led to some confusion, as the term “ashtanga yoga” traditionally only referred to the eight-limbed path of practices described in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, of which asana practice is not a significant emphasis. When using the term ashtanga, it is therefore helpful to clarify whether one is referring to the eight-fold path leading towards samadhi or to the specific and distinctive approach to asana practice popularized by the late Sri K Patthabi Jois. At New Vibe Yoga, we are teaching both: traditional, Patanjali yoga, as described in the Yoga Sutras, and an asana practice inspired and informed by the system passed down by Jois and his teacher Krishnamacharya.
What is the Ashtanga Asana Practice we teach at New Vibe Yoga?
First, it’s important to note that traditional yoga was always taught to the individual student and tailored to their needs and abilities. As yoga became more popular, particularly in the West in the late 20th century, the teachings become more codified and offered in larger group settings.
There are several distinguishing features of the ashtanga asana practice we teach at New Vibe Yoga. The first, is that it is accompanied by deep, rhythmic breathing, with breath initiating movement and each movement corresponding to the breath. The practice is a flowing one and the movements are choreographed to match the energetic quality of each inhale and the exhale. The breath, in the ashtanga asana practice, has sound, and students move in time to their own breath and listen to the breath as they move, making the practice a moving meditation to the breath.
Another important feature of the breathing is the engagement of the bandhas, or energetic locks. Mula bandha, the root lock, and uddiayana bandha, the flying up lock, located in the navel area, are applied with the breathing throughout the practice. This helps the heat and energy in the body to rise and also gives the practice a lightness and buoyancy; after the bandhas are developed, the student may feel like he or she is almost floating, or flying, in the practice.
A second important element is the Drishti, which is a way of focusing the gaze, and so focusing the student’s energy and mind. Each posture has a particular Drishti- or gazing point- associated with it, such as the third eye, the tip of the nose, or the navel. Each Drishti has a particular energetic quality and imbues the practice of that asana with that energetic quality. Additionally, it helps the student in the practice of pratyahara, which means the withdrawing of the senses form the external world so they might move inward; a process referred to in ashtanga yoga as involution, a moving from the outside in, towards where the true, eternal Self resides.
Lastly, Firmness of Asana means each Yoga posture holds equal element strength to stretch. The indicator of strength in a posture is the ability to maintain the bandhas. If the student loses the bandha while stretching, they have lost the strength element of the posture and they need to back out of the stretch to reapply the strength. With asana (posture) we are looking to gain both firmness and lightness of the body. Postures should be performed in a methodical manner, with intent and correct alignment. One asana should be perfected before moving on to the next asana so that the student will build appropriate strength, flexibility and ease in the postures. Moving too quickly can weaken, or damage, the physical body and the nervous system. Done correctly, the asana can heal innate and acquired weakness or illness.
At New Vibe Yoga we believe the most appropriate way for students to learn asana is in the Mysore Class where students are taught individually and progress through the sequence of asanas at their own pace. The Ashtanga Yoga system of asanas is broken into first series, also known as the primary series, Intermediate series, and Advanced series. Primary is meant to strengthen and purify the physical body. Intermediate is meant to strengthen and purify the energetic, or subtle body, including the energy channels, or nadis. After learning the first two series, students might also go on to learn the fourth limb, pranayama, and/or to learn more advanced yoga postures.
How to Begin an Ashtanga Asana Practice at New Vibe
Students interested in beginning an asana practice in the ashtanga style are invited to join the community of practitioners at New Vibe. No experience is necessary. In fact, the Ashtanga asana practice is well suited for beginners because in the Mysore Class, students are taught individually, advancing at their own pace, and are shown how to make adaptations to each posture as needed.
Students with or without an established Mysore practice are also welcome to join our Led Classes, which are intended for students with some experience in either Vinyasa or Ashtanga Styles of Yoga.
Students who are looking for a completely private experience, or who have unique special needs, are encouraged to schedule a Private Lesson to receive undivided attention.
