Yoga Fitness Tips - Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga - A Brief Introduction
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Alan Watts, the philosopher, once commented in The Wisdom of Insecurity, “But tomorrow and plans for tomorrow can have no significance at all unless you are in full contact with the reality of the present, since it is in the present and only in the present that you live. If happiness always depends on something expected in the future, we are chasing a will-o’-the-wisp that ever eludes our grasp, until the future and ourselves, vanish into the abyss of death.” While the passage may sound a bit dark, it is this idea of harnessing and living in the entices so many new students to yoga in general, especially Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, which emphasizes spiritual philosophy, flowing breaths and yoga poses.
Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga was initially brought to the Western world by the teachings of Patanjali Maharishi, a sage from Mysore India. He taught about the importance of achieving internal purification and reconnecting with the “Universal Soul” through eight principles: moral codes, self-purification and study, posture, breath control, control of the senses, concentration, meditative awareness and contemplation. He believed that each step built upon one another, much in the same way each posture (or “asana”) builds upon the next.
In the beginning of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, a yoga instructor will help students master “external cleansing practices.” They learn about morality and study, while practicing particular postures and breathing. Instructors help initiates find the correct positions and inspire students to live a just and moral existence. Next, after days of mastering the correct poses and gaining strength, students will learn to control their minds. Through posture, breathing and focusing, the practice purifies the body, nervous system and mind over time.
In practice, Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga involves six specific postures (also known as “asanas”) that are always carried out in the same sequence. In the opening asana, there are ten standing “Sun Salutations” or “The Primary Series,” which aims to align and cleanse the body. The “Intermediate Series” focuses on the nervous system by opening and clearing internal energy pathways. “The Advanced Series A, B, C and D” helps students achieve maximum flexibility, strength, definition and humility. Teachers emphasize the mastery of each level before proceeding to the next, with special focus and attention given to each step of progress.
The ujjayi (which means “victorious breath”) method of exhaling and inhaling, combined with the fluid, dynamic asanas, heats the blood and generates a detoxifying sweat, or what is referred to as “internal cleansing.” Advanced forms of breathing techniques (bandhas) teach learners how to “lock” or “seal” energy and redirect it to one of the 72,000 energy channels within the body. To obtain maximum benefit from the asanas, learning to lock in positive energy is crucial. 9 different focus points aim to purify and stabilize the mind, easing concentration.
Once perfect form is attained, a true understanding of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga is found and the six spiritual poisons (desire, anger, delusion, greed, sloth and envy) will dissipate. It is claimed that the mind will become unshackled and true happiness and understanding will pour inwards. With life moving so quickly, the practicality of yoga meditation attracts around 16.5 million Americans each year.
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