All about Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga
Ashtanga Vinyasa is a dynamic style of yoga, where a progressive series of asanas and bandhas are practiced while synchronizing with breath and point of focus, which results in complete detoxification of the body.
Sri Pattabhi Jois is credited with the development of the Ashtanga Vinyasa structure and practice in its current form. It is believed that the method has been passed on from the ancient Saint Vamana in his text called ‘Yoga Korunta’. In the 1920s Sri T Krishnamacharya transcribed the Yoga Korunta and passed on his teachings to the late Pattabhi Jois. Sri Pattabhi Jois’ school in Mysore under the aegis of his grandson Sharat Jois continues to teach this method.
Ashtanga means ‘8 limbs’, which signifies the 8 limbs of yoga as per Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. Vinyasa is understood in this context as linking breath and movement. Nyasa means ‘to place’ and vi denotes ‘in a special way’.
The eight limbs of yoga are Yama (moral code), Niyama (spiritual self purification), Asana (postures), Pranayama (breath control), Pratyahara (sensory transcendence), Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (meditation), Samadhi (union or state of ecstasy). The style of yoga advocates that the teacher and practitioner practice all these eight limbs of yoga on and off the mat.
The purpose of Vinyasa is internal cleansing. Vinyasa combines asana practice with breath and drishti (point of looking), in conjunction with each other to attain three levels of purification: body, nervous system and mind.
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