However, keep in mind that getting started with Ashtanga can feel a bit intimidating at first. First just learn the breathing and the opening postures called sun salutes, the three finishing postures and take rest. You should strive to practice six days a week at home or in a studio, even if you are not able to do the full routine at first. If you’re not used to practising 6 days a week then yes, you can expect your muscles to feel sore and perhaps ache. However, if you are not intensively practising six days a week, you do not need to take the day off. This series was meant to clear the energy channels - which I take to mean it is stimulating, opening and expanding. On a subtle level the Primary series works therapeutically to clear obstacles in the energy channels in the body (known as Nadis). Many people don’t know that the practice was originally intended for Indian boys so they could use their energy. If you would like to know more, I would highly recommend Kino Macgregor’s book The Power of Ashtanga Yoga where she explains both the practice and the philosophy of this practice. What are the primary principles and philosophy of Ashtanga yoga?

It is unlikely that you will discover ashtanga classes at a recreational center or gym. What’s actually true is that because of the Mysore-style format of learning the practice in small group settings, students get far more individual attention and tailored suggestions to support their practice than in most other forms of yoga practice, which tend to be taught in large, led classes. It also exercises the "muscles" of attention and concentration, reducing distractibility and increasing focus. 3 Yoga is all about conscious breathing, so get familiar with it by placing one hand on your belly, the other on your chest, and focus on taking on slow, deep breaths. We then move on to the seated postures where we also stay for 5 breaths. We then move on to the standing poses and stay in each of these for 5 breaths. These standing postures generally focus on balance and alignment, as well as gravity-assisted flexibility increasing postures. Students move through a series of sun salutations, standing poses, seated poses, and finishing poses, with each pose flowing into the next. The Ashtanga primary series is also known as yoga chikitsa which means yoga therapy.

Ashtanga yoga is a physically demanding yoga practice that follows a set sequence of poses. The reason for this is that Ashtanga yoga follows a set sequence of postures and whilst practicing we use a specific type of breathing. It consists of a set sequence of postures, or asanas, which are performed in a specific order. The ashtanga system asks us to have a consistent practice in order to build physical strength and help the practice become a moving meditation. I have practiced it in Scotland, Greece, France, Finland, Indonesia, and India (at the ashtanga yoga research institute led by my teacher R. Sharath Jois). Pattabhi Jois established the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute (KPJAYI) in 1948, in Mysore India. There is a set sequence of poses and this is what sets Ashtanga yoga apart from most other types of yoga. A key benefit of a set sequence is that it keeps you honest. It is a set sequence of postures linked together by the breath.

The sequence has been designed in such a way that each posture provides a necessary foundation for the postures that follow. Ten years is way too long to do only primary series! Ashtanga yoga is a practice that came all the way from Mysore, India. Savasana (corpse pose) marks the end of the Ashtanga primary series, where we are given time to help the heart rate steady and the breath to return to its usual, calm rhythm. Not only are these skills great for improving your yoga abilities, but are also great functional skills for everyday life, which will help you to keep working towards achieving your dreams! And so Ashtanga Yoga translates to eight-limbs of yoga as taught by the great sage Patanjali. Definitely check out my detailed guide for Ashtanga yoga beginners if you are new to Ashtanga yoga and looking for more information. What are you looking to gain from your practice?

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