posted Sat, 11/15/2008 - 00:31

Ashtanga Yoga (you can also occasionally see its alternate spelling, Astanga Yoga) is a system of yoga that is commonly attributed to Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. Its current form was developed in Mysore, India, and said to have its origin in an ancient text called the Yoga Korunta, recorded by the sage Vamana Rishi.

Ashtanga means eight (ashta) limbs (anga) referring to the eight spiritual practices of classical yoga as it has been outlined by Indian philosopher Pantanjali in his famous Yoga Sutras.

These eight spiritual practices are:

Yama (moral codes)
Niyama (self-purification and study)
Asana (posture)
Pranayama (breating exercises and breath control)
Pratyahara (sense control)
Dharana (concentration development)
Dhyana (meditation)
Samadhi (direct contemplation)

Ashtanga is sometimes called Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, where Vinyasa is "flowing posture" and, actually, means linking the breath to the moves and keeping your concentration on it while you are practicing. The name Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga popped up when the practitioners of the system tried to distinguish themselves from other Hatha Yoga schools, which are considered to follow the Ashanga ("eight limbs") system as well.

Repetition of a sequence is seen in Astanga Yoga as a part of the nature cycles and enabling the meditation because you don’t need to be concerned with what posture comes next and this allows you to focus on the breath.

On the physical level, Ashtanga practice is the six series of linked postures which last anywhere from 90 minutes to three hours.

In the Primary Series of Ashtanga Yoga, there are many forward bends which are meant to do initial stretching and detoxify the body.

The Intermediate Series involves more back bends and cleanses the energy channels. There were two advanced series, but later they were divided up into four because of their difficulty.

Three additional aspects which are crucial to Ashtanga: Pranayama (breathing exercises), which is mainly Ujjayi; Bandhas (locks) - tensing up parts of the body to control and enhance energy flow and protect the body, which is usually the Mula Bandha, or root lock, the Uddiyana Bandha, or Upward Lock, and the Jalandhara Bandha, or chin lock; Drishti (gaze point) which is the focal point for the eyes. This soft focus point on the body stops the eyes and mind from being distracted by things around you, allowing you to focus on your practice.

Because Ashtanga Yoga is strenuous, it is possible to injure yourself. Sometimes, ambitious students push themselves far harder than they should, and that's when they get hurt. That is why patience are so important in Ashtanga practice. In Ashtanga Yoga, it is very important to get the combination of breathing, locks and Asanas right.

Generally, simpler forms of Ashtanga accessible to everyone irrespective of age, conditioning, fitness, flexibility, weight, but for doing more complex forms of this practice you have to be pretty fit.