What's it all for?

[Guest guest]

Reading back over previous correspondence there

is evidence of something that worries me slightly

about Ashtanga yoga and probably explains its growing

popularity with the young and upwardly mobile. <br><br>And

before I explain I must stress that - after 25 years of

what I call "soft" yoga - discovering Ashtanga yoga

felt like coming home. It's a beautiful method of yoga

and I wish I had started it much

younger.<br><br>However,perhaps it's as well that I did not. The danger of the

method for young go-getters is that it is graded and

quantifiable (obviously speaking solely in terms of ability to

do physical postures), which appeals to the

competitive urge which conditions most of society nowadays.

You can "buy" an intermediate series body by

indulging yourself in lessons with top flight teachers and

trips to Mysore - but is it still yoga? And when with

the help of Madonna, etc. ashtanga yoga sweeps the

globe and eventually becomes part of the school

curriculum so that each child has to have completed at least

the third series before they leave school, will the

world be a better place? Or will it just be one more

qualification you can pick up?<br><br>With my 50-year old body

I will be lucky ever to master the primary series

properly, but we have fun in class, my body never lets me

down and I am content with my life.<br><br>And I also

find I am spending longer on meditation - but that's

probably not exciting enough these days!!!<br><br>Enjoy

yourselves!<br><br><br><br>The p

[Guest guest]

Your message reminds me of an advanced sesion

with Sri KP. There were only five of so of us who were

doing the "A" series at that time and place, another

man had shown up who had done well with the series

and had been a teacher for several years. He did not

line up for class and Guruji asked "Why?". He said he

was too old for advanced, being in the range of 42.

Guruji stopped the session, I had never seen him do

this, and belly laughed, "old, you not old". He then

proceeded to explain in his broken english how starting

practice in your 40's was still young, with advanced still

very acheivable. He also talked about the impact of

what one does in their 20's plays into old age and

vitality. I've also witnessed David Williams teach

handstand to a woman in her 60's. <br><br>So, your age is a

good one at 50. Big prana should still be with you,

gracing your life and those around you. Your point of the

popularity of our yoga style is of great interest to me. I

can remember the person who brought this yoga to

America and myself talking in India in the early 80's.

His comment was, "you know we are 20 years too early

to enjoy any notority from this yoga". We both

laughed because the last thing we wanted then or now is

notority, however, he was exactly right about the timing of

Ashtanga becoming recoqnized. I think it is great for

Guruji and Manju, because they worked so hard for so

long with no real reward for their work other than

knowing they were lighting up the planet with a handful

of yogis. Good for those who learn while it is

mainstream, I don't know if it is any easier today than when

the Guru learned in the 40's. Keep up the practice!

[Guest guest]

We keep hearing that Jois says Ashtanga is "99

percent practice and 1 percent theory." Perhaps, then,

any attempt to provide a comprehensive statement of

the purpose(s) of Ashtanga, as distinct from other

yoga systerms, would involve excessive theorizing. But

here is an attempt at partial response to your

question, which I put forward with much hesitation as I am

hardly more than a beginner myself.<br><br>I have heard

some folks say that Ashtanga uses its asana sequences

to set up sort of laboratory for confronting Maya.

The whole thing is designed to tempt you into an

obsession with progress and perfectibility, and to seduce

you into the belief that if you master a certain set

of advanced postures then you will be "happy".

Supposedly everyone who practices with devotion gets sucked

into this Trap, each in his or her own way. Then each

one finds his or her own way out --

hopefully.<br><br>If this is anywhere near the "truth", I don't think

that saying so would ruin the experience for others. I

was warned about the Trap pretty early in my practice

and even though I am hyper-conscious of the need to

be happy where I am I have difficulty adhering to

this principle in the Practice itself, once I'm heated

up. I've hurt myself more than once because every day

I want to be at least as flexible as the preceeding

day. I'm also learning lots about how vain and

self-absorbed I can become.<br><br>Of course, at age 36 I have

had plenty of humbling experiences in past endeavors

unrelated to asana practice. So what more will I find: that

when I can push myself into a hanstand I will become

REALLY vain?<br><br>I wait with interest to what

qualitatively different lessons Ashtanga has to teach me. I

suspect there are some. Perhaps they will show up when I

begin pranayama and meditation in a more serious way,

as opposed to just monkeying around with them as I

do now.<br><br>The benefits people typically speak

of -- such as increased vitality and attentiveness

to people and things -- have been mine also. But I

think you are asking about something more.<br><br>By

the way, what's a nappy?<br><br>Peace and

Good,<br>Homer_Hanumat

[Guest guest]

Yes, ashtanga is gaining in popularity due to

Madonna etc. But is that really bad? I would much prefer

yoga to have a surge in our culture than another fast

food type restaurant. I think it is about time that

something healthy and lifestyle transforming happens here.

I think that even if 30% of these practitioners

find salvation or whatever from it then the popularity

is worth it. Most of the talk lately on this site is

about obstacles, physical and mental. Our relationship

to these obstacles and learning about the nature of

our own mind in order to eliminate suffering is the

work of yoga, is it not? Maybe this new surge with

purify our culture of its overcompetitiveness so we can

all live in happiness together.

Hopefully<br><br><br>Yeshe