Juliet Pegrum / Liz Lark

[Guest guest]

Another book written by a female ashtanga

practitioner is Liz Lark`s. Maybe you have seen it ?<br> The

uk edition is called astanga yoga and the american

edition is called Power Yoga. I think that it is

available in German under the name og Power Yoga. I

remember that someone here mentioned in disgust that there

was now a power yoga book in German ! I guess that

she has just called it Power Yoga for marketing

reasons. The book is quite good although rather basic and

she doesn`t seem quite as proficient as John Scott or

David Swenson. Its more a sort of glamerous book that

would appeal to more impressionable types- or arty

types.<br>It is reviewed in the yoga journal- where they refer

to Gingi Lee as "her ". Whoops ! <br>Liz was a

student of the late Derek Ireland ( who introduced John

Scott to ashtanga) and Radha who teaches in Crete.

[Guest guest]

Mr Brahmacharya - Yes, I know Liz Lark's book.

It's very easy to buy here in Germany, since you can

pick it up in almost every major bookshop. I am sure

Liz Lark and Gingi Lee - there are pics of him doing

some of the postures - are two very good Astanga yoga

teacher. But I've never bought their book, as it doesn't

seem to give much informations beyond those you get in

David Swenson's "Practice Manual" already. The pictures

in full colour (Liz naked! Ahem.) are quite

impressive though - yes, the book is sort of glamorous. My

favourite part however is the introduction, which gives an

interesting and well-informed history of Astanga Yoga.

(Nevertheless, I hope that Juliet Pegrum's book will be a bit

"weightier" in the how-to-do-it section.)<br><br>Actually,

Liz' book is not the only one with a Power-Yoga title

available in German. The other one being...well, I'm sure

you can guess (it's SPW's favourite one). <br><br>So

this is my last post today - I promise! - and tomorrow

I will be too busy to post here at all. Goodbye.

[Guest guest]

I don't know why one would want to buy all these

ashtanga books when all you really need is Yoga Mala. The

books all seem to contradict each other in some way,

thus adding to the confusion. The best way to get the

correct information is to go to the source, no? And what

difference does it make if a book is written by a woman?

<br><br>Attend classes regularly, go to some workshops by the

heavys, go to guruji on his next tour, or go to Mysore.

Forget all these books and tapes.

[Guest guest]

I quite agree. There seem to be so many people

lately asking the increasingly FAQ (Frequently Asked

Question) "how can I go about learning ashtanga yoga from

books / videos / websites?" - to which, of course, the

only answer is "you can't and it isn't a good idea to

try".<br><br>OK, there aren't good ashtanga teachers everywhere,

and not everybody can just drop their life and go to

Mysore for six months on a whim. So do something else.

Surely better a good iyengar or sivananda (or tai chi or

zen meditation or whatever) teacher in the flesh,

than David Swenson or Richard Freeman or even Patthabi

Jois on your TV?

[Guest guest]

""I don't know why one would want to buy all

these ashtanga books when all you really need is Yoga

Mala.""<br><br>Well,that's an interesting sentiment. I have no way of

knowing what your setting is for learning and practicing

ashtanga, but the majority of people in this country (US)

and elsewhere don't have access to acceptable

ashtanga teachers. I'm sure those that can go to workshops

do so when and where they can. That still leaves the

vast majority without access to resources some of the

rest of us take for granted. <br><br>So, why not have

a reference to try and learn from? Sometimes it

helps to have a didatic tool, as opposed to just

tactile experience, to help you think thru and understand

what you are doing, or maybe more appropriately, what

you are supposed to be doing. It helps to have

pictures to see how a posture should look when done

correctly. It helps to have the written guidance to

understand how to use the bandhas, gaze and breath. It helps

to reinforce the relatively brief lessons you pick

up each day from your teacher. These are helpful

even when teachers are readily available. <br><br>Now,

if books do have a role in helping learn the system

of ashtanga, is Yoga Mala the best and only source?

I would argue that maybe it is not, at least for

beginners. You are well aware of the differences, I'm sure,

in what is taught in YM, a text originally written

some 40 years ago, and what is taught today by Jois

and the 'heavys' (sic). There is almost no

information in YM on how to do a posture. It mainly gives

instruction on the order of the postures and the breathing

pattern for each posture. <br><br>Now, before I am hauled

before the hangman, understand, I believe YM is an

invaluable resource. I just don't buy the notion that it is

the only appropriate text for helping people learn

about this practice. Nor do I think that only those who

have direct access to a guru or advance certified

authorized and blessed teacher should try and imrove

themselves thru ashtanga. I don't think attempting the

practice without direct guidance is the best way or even a

good way, for many it is probably all they have. I

agree with Alan, that it is probably a good idea for

people to get as much background in yoga as they can by

taking advantage of other teaching systems in their

area.

[Guest guest]

You really think most people in this country (US)

don't have access to proper ashtanga? Between D.

Swenson, R. Freeman, L. Miele, D. Kingsburg, T. Miller &

Guruji traveling every year all over the place, most

people should be able to make the effort to attend a

workshop in a major city every once in awhile if they are

serious about ashtanga.<br><br>I also agree with Alan who

basically said it is better to take any kind of yoga

classes than to learn from a book. You can learn asana

from any qualified Iyengar/Hatha/Sivananda teacher in

town. The sequence is in Yoga Mala (which, by the way,

has been re-published since it's original 40 years

ago and updated) and when you know the postures, than

you can do the sequence.<br><br>Get out of you're

house and find a way to learn asana from teachers. Than

you will find the true essence of yoga. <br><br>Too

much "I can't" and "There's no "qualified" ashtanga

teachers." If you search hard, you certainly will find

people to help you with asana.<br><br>What really makes

me cringe on this board is when people ask advice on

injuries or form. This is the worst place for that sort of

information since we can't observe you're practice. If you

have wrist/back/neck/knee injuries, get thee to some

kind of asana teacher (I KNOW there are tons of

Iyengar teachers spread out all over the place).

[Guest guest]

You left out some of the great truly great

teachers of correct method ashtanga:<br><br>Eddie

Stern<br>Noah Williams in LA (and his divine partner

Kimberly)<br>John Berlinsky in Mill Valley<br><br>And also with

some small variations on the classic method but still

an awsome teacher:<br>Chuck Miller in LA<br><br>Ole!