Ashtanga sequences

[Guest guest]

How many variations of sequences are there in ashtanga?<br><br>Zang

[Guest guest]

You could say there are six series:<br>Primary

Series - called Yoga Chikitsa (yoga therapy),

Intermediate Series - called Nadi Shodhana (nerve cleansing),

Advanced A, Advanced B, Advanced C, Advanced D. The

Advanced series are also called Sthira Bhagah Samapta.

(anyone know what that means?) At some point in the last

10 or 20 years, I think the Advanced series was

chopped up differently, maybe into just A and B, and

might also have been called 3rd and 4th at that

time.<br><br>I've seen people move on from primary in a matter of

weeks, others in months. For most people, myself

included, primary series would take more than this lifetime

to master.

[Guest guest]

....and where does ashtanga yoga differ from hatha yoga?<br><br>Zang

[Guest guest]

it's a subset of the super set known as hatha

yoga. it doesn't differ from hatha yoga, it is a

specialized form of hatha yoga. as such it emphasizes the

asana arm of yoga, particularly stressing the using of

specific breathing patterns with the movement (ujjiyi

breathing), distinct muscle locks (bandhas) and points of

focus during the asana practice (drishtis).

[Guest guest]

Of the other types and forms of yoga, which would

you suggest would be an interesting avenue for

someone who came completely green to yoga 18 months ago,

and has been doing ashtanga.<br>I'd like to

investigate other things.<br>I've recently *discovered*

Ayurveda, and that is quite remarkable.<br>(Is there a

better place in here to discuss Ayurvedic themes, BTW?)

[Guest guest]

I think many Ashtangis find all they need in the

system, and it can certainly take a lifetime to master

all or even just a small part of it. But I think that

it can greatly help in the study and practice of

Ashtanga to study some other avenues. Some of my favorite

Ashtanga teachers are those who have also studied Iyengar

yoga and other approaches. I think Godfrey Devereux,

Sarah Powers, and Tias Little all studied Iyengar

extensively before coming to Ashtanga and their practice and

teaching is strengthened by this background. Also I think

all three of them study meditation forms such as

Vipassana or Zen.<br><br>There seems to be a lot of

interest in Yin Yoga as a complement to Ashtanga practice.

See <a href=http://www.paulgrilleyyoga.com

target=new>http://www.paulgrilleyyoga.com</a><br><br>There are

several really cool new books that I think would be very

helpful for anyone wanting to broaden their yoga

studies.<br><br>Yoga for the Three Stages of Life by Srivatsa

Ramaswami is written by a student of Krishnamacharya and

covers a lot of stuff you don't find in the Ashtanga

books.<br><a href=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0892818204/

target=new>http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0892818204/</a><br><br>Structu\

ral Yoga Therapy by Mukunda Stiles deals with

adapting yoga to the individual, which is an element often

missing in

Ashtanga.<br><a href=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1578631777/

target=new>http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1578631777/</a><br><br>Anatomy

of Hatha Yoga by David Coulter is a serious

indepth look at the anatomy and physiology of yoga. A

major work, over 600

pages.<br><a href=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0970700601/

target=new>http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0970700601/</a><br><br>All

three of these books are super-cool and highly

recommended. You could spend the rest of your life just

studying them!<br><br>Another book I like for anatomy is

Anatomy of Movement by Blandine Calais-Germain. Totally

awesome.<br><a href=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0939616173/

target=new>http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0939616173/</a><br><br>And for

an interesting perspective, check out Sam

Dworkis, who says people should not be injuring themselves

in yoga practice (what a

concept!):<br><a href=http://www.extensionyoga.com

target=new>http://www.extensionyoga.com</a><br><br>It could be useful and

interesting to study Qigong

or Tai Chi, the Chinese cover all the same stuff as

yoga but in a totally different way.<br><br>If you go

to <a href=http://clubs./clubs/

target=new>http://clubs./clubs/</a> and type Ayurveda

in the search box you will find about 15 clubs

on the subject of Ayurveda. I haven't looked at

them, but I'm sure some are better than others. I would

probably look for the ones with the most traffic. I

haven't looked much into Ayurveda but I did recently get

a book by David Frawley called Ayurveda - Nature's

Medicine, which looks to be a pretty good general

introduction.<br><br>So much to learn!!