Regarding what Astonga Yoga is, this topic is quite extensive and complex, and requires a lot of space. I won’t share it here for now. The text in the following two pictures roughly introduces the basic situation of modern Astanga yoga..
This article mainly aims to provide beginners interested in Astanga yoga with relevant teaching methods, hoping to be helpful..
According to tradition, there is a Sanskrit password class once a week, where the teacher shouts the password and the students follow suit as a group. If you have watched the video of the command class of the Grandmaster and the sect leader, you may have some understanding. Teachers usually only shout Sanskrit style names, breathing guidance, and counting guidance, and rarely have other details to guide..
Beginners without Mysore experience are not familiar with the entire A ṣṭ ā The order of the pose of the ṅ ga sequence and each Viny ā The counting conversion of sa (concatenation) is not familiar, for example, when the teacher’s password calls out to Uthita Triko ṇ ā Sana A (Triangular Stretching A), Sanskrit Count Ekam (1) Inhale, and then when there are no other detailed commands to guide, beginners do not know what to do, basically in a dazed state, or imitate the next classmate’s cat drawing tiger. It is difficult to practice correctly and effectively..
However, this is precisely the way most beginners practice Astanga yoga for the first time, and I personally think it is not the preferred method. On the contrary, beginners may not have a friendly experience. The whole class is basically a rolling and crawling experience, panting and sweating profusely, which has nothing to do with the elegance of practicing yoga that one imagines. After one class, I was scared away. I remember a beginner told me, “The first time I took a password class, it was a nightmare.” Whether or not I can practice Astanga yoga in the future basically depends on fate. It’s really regrettable..
Therefore, if there are really beginners appearing in my password class, I will make some adjustments and changes. Try to cater to the feelings of beginners and make many variations, omitting a lot of Viny ā SA (in series), even directly resting and waiting..
1. Report once a week to verify the results of Mysore practice this week..
2. Adjust your Mysore practice pace through password classes, not too fast or too slow..
3. Correct oneself during practice, Viny ā Error in sa (concatenation)..
According to tradition, after the password class, students ask questions and teachers answer, as well as teachers share personal experiences or theoretical knowledge related to yoga..
This class has no fixed duration and depends entirely on the questions raised by the students today, the content answered and shared by the teacher. Most of the time, there is no fixed theme. Although it may seem casual, in my heart, the importance of this lesson is indispensable, even higher than the practice of password classes..
When practicing Astanga yoga, we still need to start from three aspects: “What is it?” “Why?” and “How do we do it?” There is no absolute order among the three, it’s more like triplets advancing side by side. However, most practitioners first take the step of “how to do it?” If they are truly attracted, they will have to learn “what it is and why”..
I always suggest that every beginner read more, learn more, and ask their teachers more often.
