No class at the shala Tuesday June 2nd through Thursday June 4th

We will return with Vinyasa III on Saturday, June 6th at 1230p.

In the meantime - camerawork, commentary, and beach towel aside - betcha' can't do this:

Ashtanga Yoga videos: leaked!!

So, there are large, clear signs all around the shala in Mysore stating "no videos or photos." Outside? Sure. With the coconut man? Absolutely. With Sharath after Sunday student conference? No problem. But definitely, absolutely NOT during class.

Thankfully, even the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute (it's now called the KP Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute) operates on the "it's not WHAT you know but WHO you know" principle, and Govinda Kai, a long-time Ashtangi, has posted some extremely recent and extremely authentic videos from a led class inside the shala.

This is a led class from March of 2009, probably a Sunday morning since it's Intermediate Series. It's bits and pieces of what's likely about a 2 hour class. These clips are arranged in the order in which the postures occur in the practice. A few things to look for:

- It's clearly before dawn when the class starts, (dark windows and birdcalls) but by the last video it's full light, and you can hear the street sounds (horns and cars) and hollering from the vegetable vendors that walk through the streets pushing carts of produce to sell.

- The main instructor is, obviously, Sharath.

- The woman adjusting in the background of some videos is Saraswati, Sharath's mother. She is sort of assistant or co-instructor.

- You can see lots of other students crowded at the door to the lobby, watching. These are voyeur Primary Series students getting their yoga jollies by watching the Intermediate students. It's the Cool Kids and the Dorks, all over again. Of course, every Primary Series student in Mysore wants SO BADLY to be "moved on" to Intermediate Series (which happens ONLY by invitation from Sharath).

- Notice that there are a few students doing their own thing at the back of the room. Typically, students learn a series a little bit at a time. So, these are students who have learned some of the Intermediate Series and do that much with the rest of the class, but then drop out and do their own backbending and finishing postures (inversions, etc) once the class gets past what they know.

- Notice...no hurry - not one person is moving ahead of the count (though collapse is not uncommon).

Because it's Intermediate Series, it's mostly different postures than Sunday's Led Primary class at tapas. Even so, for those who have been coming to Sundays for some time now, this is a great opportunity to see if you're getting an authentic experience:

Surya Namaskara B



Bakasana



Yoga Nidrasana



Karandavasana - pure torture: "Don't go chatvari, don't go chatvari!"



Supta Urdhva Vajrasana



Sirsasana



Dropbacks - part of led class in the Intermediate Series, though not in Primary.

Late Night Yoga

Johnny Carson getting a yoga lesson...as you can see, lasting results are immediate. This was filmed in 1966, right around the time:

1) BKS Iyengar's Light on Yoga was published.

2) The first Western Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga student discovered a little yoga shala in Mysore, India, with an even littler guru.

Dharmashakti

kirtan (keer-tawn) n.
(Sanskrit "to repeat") an ancient yoga practice of rhythmic music and chanting

As you may have observed if you've been to the shala lately, we are hosting a kirtan at the end of the month: Tuesday, May 26 at 730p. Like our guest instructor workshop (Sara Strother), our yoga clothing "trunk sale" (be present), the weekly orthodox Ashtanga Vinyasa Primary Series, and many of the postures you may find in class on Saturdays, the practice of kirtan is a yoga first for the QC (to our knowledge). Also similar to those other events, this practice is extremely popular in larger yoga communities (Chicago, or on the coasts), and we're happy to play a small part in bringing it to this community. Unlike trunk sales, however, the practice of kirtan is ancient, far older than even the practice of postures.

Kirtan is basically a party, a concert in which the audience participates. Drums and other instruments accompany singing, usually repetitive Sanskrit phrases.

It's remarkable how dry this description makes a kirtan sound; in fact, it is anything but. If you've ever listened to Krishna Das, you've got a flavor for kirtan: high energy, fun, synergistic. Sort of like being part of an Indian, yoga jam band.

We are happy to have Dharmashakti dropping by for one night as part of a national tour. Check out the video below or his website to get something of a feel for what to expect. The videos do lack one essential part of the kirtan experience: the audience, which can be heard but not seen.

It's going to be a good time.

PS Oh yeah, suggested donation is $12.

PPS Oh yeah pt II: it's tacky, it's bad form to ask in this forum, but we are looking for some lodging for Dharamshakti and Christian (he's the other half of the band). They are easy going and even have air mattresses, but also have pet allergies (dog and cat). So, we're out. They have said they would rather stay in a home than a hotel if possible, so we're putting out the call. Any takers? info@tapasyogashala.com

Why You Should Come to Mysore Class

This week we're adding two new classes: Mysore on Tuesday and Thursday nights, 6-730p. As you probably already know, Mysore class is named after the Indian city of Mysore where Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga was born, or at least rediscovered for the modern age, depending on your source.

Anyway, in Mysore class students practice just as they do at the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in India (sans coconuts and Delhi belly): supervised self-practice. You show up, roll out your mat, and begin, moving through as much of the Primary Series as you can remember. Instructors wander and give adjustments or prompts for one or two postures beyond what you already know - just enough that you'll remember the new stuff next time. Pretty quickly, it's committed to mental memory and, shortly after that, muscle memory. Then the process of refinement and moving meditation can really begin.

It may seem odd that we would offer a class that teaches you how to practice on your own - like we're teaching ourselves right out of a job, right? Well, maybe so. Or maybe not. Check out this article by a once-hesitant student. Here are our own top ten reasons you should come to Mysore class:

1. You can tell all of your yoga-hype friends. They probably won't know what it is, but it will sound profoundly cool, so they'll just nod.

2. Self-sufficiency. There are two things about self-practice that are difficult to communicate verbally. First, it's really only AFTER you've committed the gross movements to memory - both each posture as well as how to get in and out of them - that the potential of practice starts to open up. Beyond THINKING about the postures, the depth of experience is accessible. Second, when you know what comes next and how to do it you just feel...different. How? Hmmmm...mostly like a f*$%in' yoga-ninja bada$$.

3. Does class seem too fast or too slow sometimes? In Mysore class you can set your own pace. (Disclaimer: this does not include 60 minutes of "take rest" at the end. Let's keep it moving, people.)

4. Silence. No instructor yakkety-yakkin' in some faux-Indian accent. It's just the dragon-lair/bellows rhythm of students moving and breathing.

5. One-to-one instructor attention. In a led class, everyone is doing the same thing at the same time, so the instructor can adjust, at most, one or two people in any given posture (not to mention that fact that he/she is trying to talk and count - in another language, mind you - the whole time). Because of the own-pace of Mysore class, the instructor is (mostly) able to adjust each person in each posture required: binds in the Marichyasana and Kurmasana postures, getting the arms through in Garbha Pindasana, etc. You can learn about and improve on difficult postures much faster getting consistent adjustments.

6. Backbending. There is an aspect of traditional Ashtanga practice that involves assisted backbending, teaching drop-backs and other great party tricks. It's not possible to do this in a led class, but it is an essential part of Mysore.

7. It's a moveable feast: you learn the sequence in class and then those times when you can't come to class you know just what to do...

8. The Good News: above and beyond the Primary Series, there are five more series of postures. Mysore class is the way to eventually move into these series, with the instructor "giving" you one posture at a time to tack on the end of your existing practice.

9. The Bad News: there are five more series. If you come to Mysore class, the instructor might give you some more postures.

10. Inner peace: BAM!

We'll see you there...

(thanks to AshtangaNews.com and Govinda Kai - the instructor adjusting Paschimattanasana above - for the pics)