The yoga or the teacher?

[Guest guest]

Hi all,<br>Not too long ago, I asked if anyone

here practised other yoga styles besides Ashtanga, and

got some interesting responses. After a few weeks of

Iyengar-style yoga, I have made some observations of my own,

and am wondering about a couple of things ... maybe

some of you will have thoughts about these

comments.<br><br>Not surprisingly, my Iyengar-style teacher has been

concentrating a lot on alignment. I am finding that this is

really helping me in my Ashtanga practise! (I find my

balance is improving, some of my poses are more stable,

and my overall comfort is increased with the

suggestions she has given.) I know that in Ashtanga, there is

more of a focus on the breath, and keeping up heat ...

but isn't alignment important in Ashtanga, too? (I am

thinking just in terms of injury, if nothing else ...) I

have taken classes from several teachers of Ashtanga

yoga, and barring obvious mistakes, there seemed to be

little attention to correct alignment in student poses.

Perhaps it is just the particular teachers I have

encountered? Is there more focus on alignment in advanced

Ashtanga classes? <br><br>I am also trying to make some

decisions re: which variations in poses I choose to do in

my home practise, as some of the poses seem to

differ slightly between the styles of yoga ...

unfortunately, this can be somewhat distracting to my practise.

<br><br>I'd be interested in hearing other thoughts/opinions

....

[Guest guest]

I have seen PK Jois teaching and I can say he is

not very interested in alighnment and form.Most

Ashtanga teachers teach in the same vein, saying that

ashtanga is about flow.I really think you get the best of

both worlds when you practice both systems but I keep

them separate in my practice.<br><br>I do trikonasana

Iyengar style when doing Iyengar practice/class and

trikonasana Ashtanga style when doing Ashtanga

practice/class.I do not choose variations or ways to do poses and

I try not to mix up the styles.