power yoga vs ashtanga yoga

[Guest guest]

from what i understand "power yoga" (as taught by

brian kest) is a modified form of "ashtanga yoga" as

taught by jois and others educated by him.<br><br>for

someone like myself at the beginning, what are the

differences in the two forms? what are the benefits of

staying close to the source? are there benefits to "power

yoga?"<br><br>simple questions i know. thanks so much for the earlier

responses.<br><br>yasar

[Guest guest]

Go back through the old posts and read anything that says YOGA CRIMINAL or was

written by el Senor and you'll get a glimpse of the dark side. Start with

message #395 and work your way up.

[Guest guest]

you know i have done that and el Signor's

comments actually make me more interested in checking out

what he is reacting to so violently. that is why i

have the questions about power yoga and these

"criminals." <br><br>orthodoxy appeals to me up to a point. i

am sure it is interesting to anyone starting out to

know what the practical differences are.<br><br>thanks

again for wonderful responses.<br><br>yasar

[Guest guest]

a while back i produced a series of posts in

which i tried to make the point that the term power

yoga means a lot of different things-it depends on who

is teaching it and what they are teaching. there are

probably some people teaching 'power yoga' courses that

seem very similar to the yoga taught in most ashtanga

classes. there are also many classes, both in yoga schools

and in health clubs, that teach 'power yoga' that

have very little resemblence to ashtanga or to the

power yoga of beryl birch or brian kest. (for that

matter, el senor makes a valid point that there are also

people teaching 'ashtanga yoga' classes that don't

resemble ashtanga in the tradition of KPJ that well

either) <br>so, depending on what power yoga version you

are exposed to, at best it approximates ashtanga. at

worst, it has little or nothing to do with

ashtanga.<br><br>now the next question would be, what does it matter?

that answer lies in the beholder. the more you know

and experience, the more important some of the

differences, however subtle, may be.<br><br>from personal

experience, i think the typical health club variation is a

perfectly fine way to get started, especially when the

opportunity to be taught in the traditional manner by an

authorized/certified teacher does not exist. once you have had some

guidance in technique, have gotten the system of breathing

and bandhas down and are comfortable with the general

sequence, you can step it up to a more traditional practice

[Guest guest]

yasar, please note:<br><br>Ashtanga Yoga as

taught by Sri K. Patthabi Jois is an ancient Indian

practice which may be as old as humanity itself. "Power

Yoga" is a modern American invention only.<br><br>Many

people posting here were introduced to the Ashtanga

Vinyasa system through BBB's "Power Yoga", since by the

time it was published it may have been the most

accessible book giving at least an idea of what Ashtanga is

about. Keep in mind though that BBB's is not the

traditional style.<br><br>Ashtanga Yoga in the tradition of

K.P.Jois is the real thing, and that is what you should

concentrate upon. Don't be fooled by books/videos carrying

the term "Power Yoga", they generally aren't worth

the money you pay for. <br><br>Ashtanga Yoga practice

sessions in the Mysore style are also much tougher to do

than any "Power Yoga" class.

[Guest guest]

thanks again for the patience and informative

responses...<br><br>i have been doing a lot of searching and have found

several obvious differences that i have noted between the

two. from my point of view it is not necessarily

negative to be a modern Amercian invention ONLY, or to NOT

be the "real thing" (whatever that means).<br><br>i

tend personally to enjoy what is "real" from wherever

it happens to come, be it "ancient Indian" or

"modern American." I am leaning toward what is

traditional because of nuances that seem to make the practice

more than a workout, not simply because it is more

difficult or traditional.<br><br>it became obvious to me

after checking out brian kest's videos that it is NOT

my style. after checking out bbb's stuff it appears

that while she sells incomplete material, that it is

very carefully documented for beginners. i think i

would put my teacher somewhere in between bbb and what

you refer to as "traditional." she reads us thoughts

from bbb's book once in a while (which i have found

somewhat saccharine).<br><br>i am checking out david

swenson's book, and richard freeman's videos today...if

nothing else the search is enjoyable. thanks for the

links that were suggested yesterday.<br><br>if we were

all to stick to only what is traditional to our

culture not many of us would be practicing any of this

would we?<br><br>thanks again for the guidance received

here.<br><br>yasar