Ashtanga
Yoga is a time-tested himalayan medicine designed to cure people
of the disease called Samsara, known in english as: themselves!
It
restores vibrant health to the body-mind and boosts the spirit by removing
the 6 poisons that clog the arteries of the spiritual heart (desire,
anger, delusion, greed, envy and sloth).
It
is in fact a non-anesthetized open-heart surgery where the patient operates
on herself! but for reasons that are becoming apparent it is much more
inviting to call it an exotic word nobody really understands.
In
reality the yoga mat is an operating table. The breath is an incisive
scalpel that cuts smoothly into the inner layers. And the asanas are
used as different view-points to expose every recesses of the human
apparatus.
Both the teacher and the practitioner shine the flood-light of their
awareness as brightly as possible on the situation to ensure that it
is the dis-eased tissues and not the healthy ones that are disposed
of (which is why a insightfull teacher can be helpful).
The
Ashtanga system provides a gradual step-by-step methodology to proceed
with this intervention and traditionally names 8 steps to purify all
areas of the patientŐs life.
The
8 steps of the surgical procedure can be summed up as follow:
1.
Asana = reviving body, chopping off head.
2. yamas = putting new head and wiring to external world.
3. niyamas = wiring new head to heart.
4. pranayama = opening heart, removing impurities.
5. prathyahara = reversing mind-flow and tracking source of universe.
6. dharana = bypassing mindless babbles and tracking source of self.
7. dhyana = removing identification with form and personal doership.
8. Samadhi = no stitching up, everything stays open. Reality flows unobstructed
as awakened intelligence!
Luckily,
it is said that for the student packed with ardent and earnest zeal,
the cure is very nearÉ As for the rest of us, it might take a while,
but then again, our head is already in the tiger's mouth!
If
your head still gets in the way of you leaping into the unknown, more
information is available at the official website of the Ashtanga
Yoga Research Institute in Mysore, India.
Ashtanga
is traditionally practiced 6 days a week. With Saturdays, new moon days,
and full moon days off. Women usually take 3
days of "ladies' holiday" during their menses.
Mysore-Ashtanga
Yoga:
-the
one and only way of practicing ashtanga as it keeps your attention centered
and turned inward rather than toward an external crutch (aka. 'teacher').
It also empowers you into an responsible independent yogi as the sequence
gets memorized and the habit of daily practice imprinted overtime. Eventually
you become your own teacher.
-You
don't need to be flexible or know the sequence in order to begin. The
practice will teach you gradually and I, as a friend, am here to help.
-For
the mysore system to work you need to commit to practicing at least
3 times per week in order to build upon the previous sessions and imprint
the sequence in the body. This is why we don't recommend occasional
drop-ins. You do.. or you don't!
-Yoga
practice is very similar to gardening: To grow well the human plant
requires daily love and attention. Changes are so slow and subtle they
are barely noticeable. A strong foundation in the internal principles
(breathing, bandhas and drishtis) are the roots that give strength and
grace to the practice. Finally, when all the preparatory work is done,
the gardener sits back and watches the plant grow on it 's own...
-Treat
your body as you would a friend: with respect and care. Put on your
adventurer cap, open your mind's eye and explore your inner landscape.
Listen for the silence behind the experience.
In
a nutshell :
1.
Have fun.
2. Slow down.
3. Breathe consciously.
*Pre-registration Required. Please contact the instructor, Damien
de Bastier, by either email or
Tel: (805) 280-5357. For more in-depth information on Ashtanga, please
visit the instructor's web site: www.8yoga.com
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