AY: Practice Notes

Tonight’s 8 P.M. class begins my 6-week series for students new to the practice of ashtanga vinyasa yoga. The following notes are the basic principles that I will emphasize throughout the series. —Jason

Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga

• Asana - posture
• Pranayama - breath control

The vinyasa system works with the synchronization of deep, rhythmic breathing and movement. By linking the postures it creates a continuous flow of energy that heats up the body, brings oxygen to the blood, nourishing the glands and internal organs, cleansing and purifying the nervous system, releasing unwanted toxins through perspiration. —Ashtanga: Ashtanga Yoga as Taught by Shri K. Pattabhi Jois, written by Larry Schultz

3 Focal Points

• Ujjayi pranayama (breathing)
• Body
• Drishti (gaze)

Ujjayi Pranayama (Sound Breathing)

• Unclench the jaw
• Open the back of the throat - pay particular attention to how the weight of the head is carried)
• Use the rib cage - don’t just suck air into the lungs; open the rib cage and fill the space
• Emphasize the exhale

Body - 3 movements are a constant in every posture

1. Push away (from contact point)
2. Pull in (to the midline)
3. Extend (from the axis)

The 3 movements are the common thread throughout the ashtanga vinyasa practice. Use them to open up spaces within your body, and then move into those spaces. —Elizabeth Rogers, E-RYT-500 Atlanta Yoga

Drishti (Gaze)

• A focusing technique that brings more concentration and awareness into the movement. Keep the gaze soft. 
• Drishti will change throughout the practice: 

1. tip of nose
2. space between eyebrows
3. naval
4. hand
5. thumbs
6. toes
7. far to right
8. far to left
9. up to sky

Mindfulness

• Feel what is happening in your own body
• Feel instead of mimic. What you see is not what is really happening. 
• What does is feel like to move from the center instead of the peripherals. 

Laugh!

Practice Notes: 

• Full breath, steady gaze
• Find the floor. Grab the floor!
• 2nd and 3rd movements cannot happen without the 1st. Establish solid contact points. 
• Down and back first. Everything—shoulders, spine, pelvis—moves down and back. 

It’s taken me 6 years to find it and I cannot begin to tell you how much this seemingly simple maneuver has helped me improve my practice. When I scoop my tailbone, my samasthiti is a true equalizer. My chaturanga is instantly stronger and any pain in my lower back is alleviated. My heart opens wide to the sky in upward facing dog and my heals sink to the earth in downward facing dog. My aching hamstrings thank me in forward bends. Tilting my pelvis forward and scooping my tailbone in every posture is no easy task, but just attempting to do it allows my spine to uncurl all of the way up to the top of my head. In seated postures, rooting my tailbone into the earth gives me the strength and stability in my upper back that I was severely lacking. I no longer battle to keep my chest from caving in and I don’t shake or exert extra effort just to sit up tall.

This revelation makes me laugh. I mean, where has my tailbone been hiding all this time? It’s not like teachers haven’t talked about the importance of properly positioning the pelvis in class before. I guess it goes to show that not all principles click in overnight. Everyone progresses at their own rate. Maybe I wasn’t ready to accept this tailbone thing 6 years ago or maybe I hadn’t developed the musculature to explore it? Who knows. Being mindful of the position of my pelvis and tailbone in yoga postures makes it much easier to breath, to fill my lungs with oxygen and expand my ribs into my back body, and that is what I am absolutely loving about my practice right now. —Jason

Many thanks to everyone who joined us, especially Des. I think I can speak for everyone when I say that, thanks to you, our practice has changed for the better.  —Jason