“Ashtangists”, as the followers of this style proudly call themselves, are ardent preachers of almost daily (except Saturdays, new moons and full moons) performance of asanas, which are enclosed in a series with a strict order of performance. An indicator of the coolness of an ashtangist is the number of the series that he does, the frequency of his trips to Mysore and, of course, the stories about the liters of sweat lost there and the first independent exit to the bridge while standing.
Ashtanga Vinyasa is not a practice for the weak. early rises, special breath during classes, a certain number of breathing cycles to hold the asana and numerous other rules. To do this is bequeathed by the Tradition, which Ashtangists strictly follow, because loyalty to it distinguishes them from ordinary yoga practitioners. The tradition of Ashtanga Yoga was laid by Pattabhi Jois, a disciple of Krishnamacharya, who was one of the first to include physical exercise into your yoga system.
"Yoga Kurunta" - a gift of the Gods or a forgery?
Sting in Padmasana According to the myth that Ashtanga Yoga is shrouded in, this tradition is not the author's method of Jois, but a real-life ancient teaching. It was built, allegedly, on the text of Vaman Rishi "Yoga Kurunta" (in another translation of "Yoga Karunta"). There are two versions of how this text came into the hands of Jois, from which the faithful follower of Ashtanga can choose whichever is closest to his heart.
The official version tells that this text was presented to Krishnamacharya by his teacher, Ramamohan Brahmachari. After that, the Guru passed this knowledge on to his disciple, Joyce. Why he bestowed this honor on Pattabhi (and not his son Desikachar or other students) is not known for certain.
The second version was put forward by Stephan Jan Lapeyrere. Allegedly, Jois and Krishnamacharya found this Sanskrit text in the archives of the Calcutta University Library. Krishnamacharya, who was ideally fluent in Sanskrit, was able to translate it and even gave an approximate date of creation: 500-1500 AD. Sutras of Patanjali. Based on this knowledge, Krishnamacharya and his student restored 6 sequences of asanas, now known as the “Ashtanga-Vinyasa yoga series”. After that, Krishnamacharya bequeathed to Jois to carry this teaching to the masses, spreading invaluable knowledge around the world.
Both of these stories are very interesting and to some extent even plausible, if not for one “but”: after Krishnamacharya and Jois, there is not a single person who has seen this text. Since, by unfortunate coincidence, the original "Yoga Kurunta" was destroyed (eaten by ants).
Transfer of knowledge in a trance or rich imagination?
No less mysterious events occurred with another classic text of the Ashtanga Vinyasa Tradition - "Yoga Rahasya". This text is known throughout the world in the retelling of Krishnamacharya. According to his own assurances, at the age of 16 he received this knowledge in a very unbanal way:
“I approached the temple of Samhakopa completely exhausted. An old man was sitting at the entrance. I asked him where Nathamuni could be found.<…>Incredibly excited, I crossed the Tapraparni River, but I fainted from exhaustion. Suddenly I found myself in a mango grove, in the company of three wise men. I prostrated myself and asked them to give me instructions on Yoga Rahasya. The wise man, who was sitting in the center, began to recite poetry. He had an unusually melodic voice.
A few hours later I woke up and looked around. There was no mango grove near me, just as there were no wise men. I returned to the temple and saw the same old man at the entrance. He asked me, “Have you received the Yoga Rahasya instructions? Come to the temple and pray to Nammalwar<…>Falling prostrate before the great Yoganatha, with the thought of the Lord and his wife Lakshmi, I briefly present Yoga Rahasya to the knowledgeable.
The great Yogi expounded Yoga Rahasya in great detail. I present to you everything that I managed to remember ”(from the book“ Yoga Rahasya ”, Sri Nathamuni as presented by Krishnamacharya).
Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya and Sri T.K.V. Desikachar Not everyone believes in the veracity of this story about the emergence of Yoga Rahasya, a text that, in his declining years, Krishnamacharya passed on to his son and student Sri Desikachar. Doubts that he existed anywhere but in Krishnamacharya's head are expressed even by his disciples: where the text of Yoga Rahasya could be obtained, “he “laughingly” advised Ramaswami to inquire at the Saraswati Mahal Library in Tanjore. The library replied that such a text had never existed, and Ramaswami, noticing that the slokas recited by Krishnamacharya were constantly changing, concluded that the work was "his guru's own masterpiece" (from Mark Singleton's The Body of Yoga: origins of modern postural practice).
But even if we discard skepticism and believe in this story of mystical transmission of knowledge, we must take into account that the teachings of Nathamuni have definitely been corrected. And it does not correspond one hundred percent to what Krishnamacharya talked about during his lessons, adding: “this was said in the Yoga Rahasya.” For example, the same Srivatsa Ramaswami speaks about this in his interview with Yuri Sharonin "The Huge Variety of Krishnamacharya's Teachings." He argues that some of the slokas recited in class are missing from Desikachar's text, but there are some slokas that Krishnamacharya did not recite. From which Srivatsa Ramaswami draws the most cautious conclusion possible: it is likely that Desikachar wrote this book himself, using Nathamuni only for inspiration.
Is Pattabhi Jois a bad student?
But let's take for a moment the statement about the real existence of these texts, bequeathed by Krishnamacharya to the new generation. And let's pay attention to the fact that Joyce follows them, as well as, in principle, the views of his Guru, far from one hundred percent. Such a selective attitude: I will leave some of the ideas, and I will reshape some in my own way - this is a direct contradiction to the myth of continuity in Ashtanga Yoga.
Note the discrepancy between Krishnamacharya and Jois regarding Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, a text that is rightfully considered one of the most important in the teachings of yoga.
The most famous disciples of Krishnamacharya “Many people think that yoga kriyas (i.e. shatkarma, cleaning techniques) are part of yoga, and they will prove it. But main source yogi, Patanjali Darshana (namely the Yoga Sutras) does not include them... It is quite disappointing that they desecrate the name of yoga" - (quote taken from Mark Singleton's book "Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Postural Practice").
But his student Joyce does not treat this text with such trepidation. For example, he has his own view on the place of asanas in yoga. Which, by the way, has little in common with their real ancient purpose. Joyce puts the practice of asanas first: "Yoga is ninety-nine percent practice and one percent theory," which clearly contradicts the Yoga Sutras. After all, asana is not the dominant element in practice, but a comfortable position of the body in space, which can be used as a posture for concentration and meditation practices. In addition, the way Patanjali describes the asana: “a comfortable and stable position of the body” fundamentally contradicts the approach of Ashtanga-Vinyasa Yoga, where the practice is replete with complex and difficult asanas.
And this is not the only discrepancy between the words of Pattabhi and his Guru. After all, Krishnamacharya declares: “An asana that is beneficial today may be harmful tomorrow.” Which bears little resemblance to the tradition of fixed series in Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga.
It turns out that Pattabhi himself chose which words of the Guru should be followed and which not. Which suggests that his statement about the existence of a line of succession of knowledge in Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga is nothing more than an attempt to draw attention to his own author's style.
Revelations in the yoga world
Pattabhi Jois had a peculiar attitude not only to the words of his Guru, but to authorities in general. What is his interpretation of ancient texts. Truth was not the main thing for Pattabhi. It was more important to prove the right of existence of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga and create the illusion of its ancient origin. Let us pay attention to the assurance of Pattabhi Jois that the description of the sequence "Surya Namaskar A" and "Surya Namaskar B" can be found in the Yajurveda (2-6 thousand BC). Long time this was not disputed. However, thanks to Frederick M. Smith (Assistant Professor in the Department of Sanskrit and Indian Classical Religions at the University of Iowa), it has been established for certain that these assurances are not true.
Surya Namaskar A and B "according to Ashtanga". Moreover, Surya Namaskar, as a sequence of asanas, appeared much later than the time of Yajurveda, namely in the 20th century. Before that, of course, there were references to sun worship. But these techniques had a different purpose and form. These were spiritual practices in the form of special rituals and prostrations. And the first mention of Surya Namaskar, as a way of physical recovery, appeared in 1927, in the book of Pandit Pratinidha "10 points on the way to health." There, this complex is given in a form already familiar to us: in the form of asanas arranged in a special way.
Most likely, this form of Surya Namaskar reached Krishnamacharya, and through him to Jois, thanks to Iyer. A popular bodybuilder actively used it in his training and could recommend it to other teachers. This version is confirmed by yoga researcher Elliot Goldberg, citing the memories of his son Ayer. He tells about the meetings of his father with Krishnamacharya, during which Iyer gave the latter recommendations on how to conduct his classes.
Yoga series from Guru
To some extent, all this gives a possible explanation for the origins of Surya Namaskar. But what about the Ashtana-Vinyasa Yoga series?
Many disciples remember that the Guru gave each of them individual exercises and complexes. An interview with one of them is given by Mark Singleton in his book Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Postural Practice:
« There was no such concept as "Primary series" and so on. If Krishnamacharya saw that the student was good at backbends, then he used in teaching poses with backbends. If he saw that the body was rigid, he taught mayurasana to the student. There was no series…».
Pattabhi Jois helps a student do the backbend. So are the sets known to us as the Ashtana-Vinyasa Yoga series really the sequences given to Jois as a guide for personal practice? This version is indirectly confirmed by the fact that Pattabhi did not have the opportunity to regularly attend yogashala classes. According to the memoirs of B.K.S. Iyengar, Krishnamacharya sent Jois to teach asanas at the Sanskrit Pathashala, which was opened in 1933.
This suggests that the Guru may have come up with the opening episodes as a "cheat sheet" for Joyce, as a way of leading group lessons. And thus protect a young and inexperienced teacher from the occurrence of difficulties in the independent compilation of complexes. And the advanced series could be a practice that Krishnamacharya recommended for Jois himself to do. This version, despite the lack of direct evidence, looks quite convincing.
Legacy yoga business
Sharat Jois teaches Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. Be that as it may, the yogashala organized by Pattabhi Jois is flourishing successfully. After Jois left his body, the running of the school passed into the hands of his daughter Saraswati and grandson Sharath.
Today it is a successful yoga business that can bring considerable profit. KPJAYI (Ashtanga Yoga Institute) specializes in both group classes and teacher training. Moreover, this is the only body that can issue a document for the right to teach Ashtanga Yoga.
KPJAYI has a special teacher authorization system: Sharat Jois himself decides who to give the right to teach. This usually happens after 5-7 years of regular trips to Mysore. It is not surprising that there are not so many official teachers in this area (less than 20 in Russia).
Engage or not?
Whether or not to believe the story of the ancient lineage in Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga is a personal matter. To date, it is impossible to prove or disprove its veracity. But maybe it's not so important? After all, if you do not take into account doubts about the veracity of the facts of Joyce's PR company, one cannot fail to note the effectiveness of this style. It is not only a convenient set of exercises that allows practitioners to avoid the complexities of creating their own sequence, but also the first step to understanding the ancient philosophy of yoga. And if this system is beneficial and induces to the knowledge of oneself and the world, does it matter how old it is: several tens or several millennia?
The most widespread and dominant in the modern world are yoga schools that continue the legacy of Krishnamacharya. His students included such world-renowned and respected teachers as Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, B.K.S. Iyengar, Indra Devi and T.K.V. Desikachar. All of them reached the heights of individual skill through the comprehension theoretical foundations and stubborn workshops. Many of them subsequently transformed and modernized certain aspects of this teaching. But among them were those who gratefully preserved and carried through many years methodological basis this doctrine in the form of basic training complexes divided into levels of varying difficulty. One of them is Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, who in his book "Yoga Mala" defines the concept of Yoga as such and considers its key theoretical aspects. It also provides detailed description techniques for performing two types of the Surya Namaskara complex and a practical guide to the training sequence of the first level of complexity of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. Describing in detail the techniques for performing Asanas and Vinyasas, Pattabhi Jois constantly focuses on their effective impact on the body and psychoenergetic structure of the practitioner. Drawing on the ancient texts of the Yoga Tradition and preserving its Spirit, Pattabhi Jois expounds the basic principles of Pranayama practice, personal discipline and right conduct in life leading to the progress and evolution of consciousness. In none of the books published so far will you find this valuable practical information based on personal experience one of the most sophisticated Guardians of the Tradition of Yoga living today.
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Sri K. Pattabhi Jois
YOGA MALA
Translation by N. Tersky
Edited by A. Dikhtyar
Cover by A. Dikhtyar
Original layout by T. Snakeful
The most widespread and dominant in the modern world are yoga schools that continue the legacy of Krishnamacharya. His students included such world-renowned and respected teachers as Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, B.K.S. Iyengar, Indra Devi and T.K.V. Desikachar.
All of them reached the heights of individual skill through the comprehension of theoretical foundations and persistent practical exercises. Many of them subsequently transformed and modernized certain aspects of this teaching. But among them there were those who gratefully preserved and carried through many years the methodological basis of this teaching in the form of basic training complexes, divided into levels of varying complexity. One of them is Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, who in his book "Yoga Mala" defines the concept of Yoga as such and considers its key theoretical aspects. It also provides a detailed description of the technique for performing two types of the Surya Namaskara complex and a practical guide to the training sequence of the first level of Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga.
Describing in detail the techniques for performing Asanas and Vinyasas, Pattabhi Jois constantly focuses on their effective impact on the body and psychoenergetic structure of the practitioner.
Drawing on the ancient texts of the Yoga Tradition and preserving its Spirit, Pattabhi Jois expounds the basic principles of Pranayama practice, personal discipline and right conduct in life leading to the progress and evolution of consciousness. In none of the books so far published will you find this valuable practical information based on the personal experience of one of the most sophisticated of the Guardians of the Tradition of Yoga living today.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
For several decades now, Yoga has become international. At the same time, the most widespread and dominant throughout the world are yoga schools that continue the legacy of Krishnamacharya. It is unlikely that today there is at least one of the teachers of Yoga who, during the period of the initial entry into this Tradition, did not come into contact in one way or another with the teachings of Krishnamacharya. And thus, it is unlikely that there is at least one of the practitioners of Yoga who, at least indirectly, was not initiated by this teaching.
Krishnamacharya had many eminent and authoritative teachers, but he recognized only one of them as his Guru. It was Sri Mohana Brahmachari, under whose guidance Krishnamacharya comprehended the Tradition of Yoga for about seven years, studying with his Guru on the shores of Lake Manosarovar, near the sacred Mount Kailash, on the territory of modern Tibet. In the summer of 1999, I was lucky enough to visit there and “get into the spirit” of these sacred places.
Many of Krishnamacharya's disciples subsequently transformed and modernized certain aspects of this teaching. But among them there were those who gratefully preserved and carried through many years the methodological basis of this teaching in the form of basic training complexes, divided into levels of varying complexity. One of his most famous disciples is Shri K. Pattabhi Jois, who himself became a world famous Guru. His book defines the concept of Yoga as such and contains its key theoretical aspects. In it you will find a detailed description of the technique for performing two types of complexes.
Surya Namaskara and a practical guide to the Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga training sequence of the first level of difficulty, personally performed by Pattabhi Jois back in the fifties. Key provisions - Asanas of these sequences are illustrated with archival photographs of Pattabhi Jois himself and supplemented with photographs of his grandson - the young Master - Sharada. In addition to the technique of the correct performance of Asanas and Vinyasas, it also examines the effect of their influence on the body and psycho-energetic structure of the practitioner. Drawing on the ancient texts of the Yoga Tradition and preserving its Spirit, Pattabhi Jois expounds the basic principles of Pranayama practice, personal discipline and right conduct in life leading to the progress and evolution of consciousness. In none of the books so far published will you find this valuable practical information based on the personal experience of one of the wisest living Guardians of the Tradition of Yoga today.
FOREWORD 4
FROM THE PUBLISHER 4
PRANYAMA 11
SURYA NAMASKAR AND YOGIC ASANAS 16
Surya Namaskara 16
Yogic Asanas 20
1. PADANGUSHTASANA 20
2. PADAHASTASANA 20
3. UTTHITHA TRIKONASANA 21
4. UTTHITHA PARSHVAKONASANA 21
5. PRASARITHA PADOTTANASANA (A) 22
6. Parshvottanasana 23
7. UTTHITHA HAST PADANGUSHTASANA 24
8. ARDHA BADDHA PADMOTTANASANA 24
9. UTKATASANA 25
10. VIRABHADRASANA 25
11. PASCHIMOTTANASANA 26
12. PURVOTTANASANA 27
13. ARDHA BADDHA PADMA PASCHIMOTTANASANA 28
14. TRIANGMUKHAIKAPADA PASCHIMOTTANASANA 28
15. JANU SIRSHASANA (A) 29
16. MARICHYASANA (A) 30
17. MARICHYASANA (B) 30
18. MARICHYASANA (V) 31
19. MARICHYASANA (G) 31
20. NAVASANA 31
21. BHUJAPIDASANA 32
22. KURMASANA 32
23. GARBHA PINDASANA 32
24. KUKKUTASANA 33
25. BADDHA KONASANA 33
26. Upavishta Konasana 34
27. SUPTA KONASANA 35
28. SUPTA PADANGUSHTASANA 35
29. UBHAYA PADANGUSHTASANA 36
30. URDHVA MUKHA PASCHIMOTTANASANA 36
31.SETU BANDHASANA 36
32. SARVANGASANA 38
33. HALASANA 38
34. KARNAPIDASANA 38
35. URDHVA PADMASANA 39
36. PINDASANA 39
37. MATSYASANA 41
38. UTTANAPADASANA 41
39. SHIRSHASANA 42
40. BADDHA PADMASANA 44
Sri Krishna Pattabhi Jois (Krishna Pattabhi Jois, July 26, 1915 - May 18, 2009) - the famous Indian master of yoga, the successor of the tradition of T. Krishnamacharya Ashtanga-Vinyasa Yoga, the world famous yoga teacher, who made a huge contribution to its development and popularization around the world, dedicated his whole life to it. Author of the popular Ashtanga Yoga practice guide Yoga Mala.
Sri Krishna Pattabhi Jois was born into a traditional Brahmin family in South India. His father was an astrologer and a priest. With early childhood the boy was surrounded by a religious atmosphere, and he learned the sacred texts by heart.
At 12, Joyce saw demonstration performance Master Sri Krishnamacharya and, admiring, went to him as a student. After two years of daily training, he parted ways with the Master to enter the Sanskrit University. Around 1930, he again went to a yoga demonstration and met his teacher there. Classes have resumed. Joyce spent many years with the guru, traveling around the country and helping in everything. One day, a crowd of villagers gathered for a lecture by Krishnamacharya, but there was no podium nearby to speak. Then Joyce bent down, and the teacher spoke to the people for half an hour, standing on his back.
When Jois reached perfection in the art of yoga, the mentor recounted to him the text of the treatise "Yoga-Korunta" (the essence of the doctrine of Ashtanga yoga), which by that time had already been lost. More than half a century later, before his death, this ancient tradition was passed on by Sri Pattabhi Jois to his grandson Sharath.
In 1941, Joyce began teaching yoga at the Vedic and Sanskrit University. In the early 1960s, Khon formalized the knowledge received from the teacher and his own developments in his only book, Yoga Mala (Yoga Wreath).
In 1964, the Belgian Andre van Lisbet came to Joyce's classes. HE became Joyce's first "Western" student. Upon returning home, he wrote a yoga tutorial that quickly became popular in Europe. In the book, Lisbeth gave Joyce's address, and hundreds of Europeans and Americans flocked to Mysore. This enabled Jois to open the Institute for the Study of Ashtanga Yoga, which is now visited by thousands of people from all over the world every year.
In 1975, Joyce made his first American tour. Over the next 25 years, Ashtanga yoga has spread to the United States, Europe, Russia, Chile, Israel, Australia and New Zealand and many other countries around the world. Among the students of Pattabhi Jois there are many celebrities such as Madonna, Sting, Gwyneth Paltrow.
For 63 years, Pattabhi Jois taught yoga continuously, often six days a week, from dawn to dusk. His students say that the master was stingy with words: if he said something, it was mostly quotations from scriptures that he knew by heart. He repeatedly repeated that Ashtanga yoga is 99% practice and only 1% theory.
Unlike other famous students of Krishnamacharya, including B. K. S. Iyengar, who changed and supplemented the system of yoga studies, Jois tried to follow the tradition, and adhered to a strict religious lifestyle. He was convinced that it was not necessary to adjust the practice to human weaknesses and shortcomings, but, on the contrary, it was necessary to strive for excellence ourselves.