Ashtavakrasana B

To my knowledge, handstanding doesn't officially appear in the Ashtanga system until this posture, halfway through Advanced A. It's also possible to jump into it more like Bhujapidasana, but this is so much more fun. Bonus points for keeping the legs straight until the last possible moment. 

Good Dog

For any yoga practice to be both sustainable and beneficial in the long haul, it needs to do a few things. Physiologically, one of the most important things is to work the abdomen and lower spine.

Many spiritual traditions focus on this area of the body for its contemplative and physical benefits, (the "hara" in Zen and martial arts, for example) and even beyond that is the proof of practice. By keeping the abdominal organs healthy and the lower spine supple, this focus takes care of a large percentage of the health needs of the body.

I'm totally biased, but the vinyasa movements of Ashtanga address this incredibly well. Chaturanga contracts and strengthens the abdomen and lower back; Up Dog stretches the muscles and tissues of the abdomen while extending the back; Downdog compresses and then releases the abdomen. These movements are paired with complementary diaphragmatic movements that augment the expansion/contraction rhythm.

While most of us are focusing on whatever posture/movement is at the forefront of the practice—Marichi D, Kapo, Dwi Pada, or whatever— these fundamental elements are taking care of so many of the background systems that operate below awareness. You may be working on getting the leg behind the head, but in the meantime digestive, lymphatic, immune, sleep, and many more systems benefit from the vinyasa "glue" that holds all the postures together.

In many ways, the Ashtanga system is Chaturanga/Updog/Downdog or Exhale/Inhale/Exhale or Contraction/Expansion/Release interspersed with periodic breaks…you know, those other postures. These movements alone have great, deep benefits.

The dog posture sequence begins the Ashtanga system in Surya Namaskara and holds it together throughout the seated sequences. The elements of that therapeutic loop appear again in what could be considered the peak of the Ashtanga system: tic-tacs. Relative to the abdomen and lower spine, Downdog/Handstand/Urdhva Dhanurasana is a slight reshuffle of Chaturanga/Updog/Downdog elements, but inverted and with far more depth and intensity.

Personally, I keep coming back to this part of the body and of the practice. Beginners are mentally and physically distant, with attention (at best) in the arms and legs. They feel the work of the arms in Sun Salutes and the pull on the calves and hamstrings in Downdog.

But with practice the awareness moves steadily deeper and becomes centered around and finally through the midsection. An advanced practitioner well knows the feeling of a deep seated forward bend releasing the belly back and back and back until it seems to disappear into the spine, or the residue that remains after deep back bending: a light, liquid energy that seems to hover and flow all the way through the belly and back.

Tired

Ashtanga yoga makes me tired. It should be making you tired as well, or you're missing something. When I first experimented with Ashtanga using some David Swenson photocopies, it didn't make me tired. At all. And, it turned out I was missing something: the vinyasas :-/

Since then, as a student and teacher, I have seen "Ashtanga yoga tired", which comes in many, many forms. Here is an illustrative, though not exhaustive list:

Pregame tired: The yoga bag feels heavier than it should and rolling out the mat is really, well, quite a lot of work.

Panic tired: It's the first jumpback and the arms tremble and groan. You just make it back to Downdog. Blankly staring at the ankles, a cold sweat breaks out.  89 more minutes?!? I've made a huge mistake.


Utthita Hasta tired: Nah, you're not tired, that one's just hard. (see "Navasana tired")


Eyerolling tired: Puh-lease.

Pleading tired: It's just that I carried a lot of groceries two days ago, and I think my arms are still tired. That's why I'm so exhausted, see, and…oh, ok…we're…jumping…back again…

Angry tired: Usually starts with the evil/stink eye, and perhaps some Ujjayi that sounds a lot like pouty sighing. May progress to internal talk: On my life, yoga teacher, I will get even for this. *personal favorite*


Optimistic tired: Usually occurs around the Marichis: Hey, we're almost there!


Navasana tired: Oh, right, I forgot.

Backbending/Handstand/etc tired: Like driving around the lawnmower in the autumn until it dies, you  burn up every last bit of fuel. Usually the teacher helps. You think fondly back to Navasana and how spritely you felt.

Closing Matra tired: What—are—the—words to this?—something something Om something something


"Take rest" tired: zzzZZZZZzzzz…

Bliss tired: The perfected state of tired, it's that afterglow that follows you around after practice. You may not be able to raise your arms above your shoulders, but you can't stop smiling. Also known as "wrecked," "cooked," and "ruined."

As long as you are putting some energy into anger, optimism, panic, or any other sort of reaction, it's not all going into the practice, which means your probably not tired enough yet. But you will be…

The road less traveled, or practicing Ashtanga yoga in the Quad Cities

Wow.

It's been six Sundays worth of the Primary Series since our return from the subcontinent. That's the equivalent of one week of traditional Ashtanga yoga practice in the Quad Cities (the traditional schedule is Sunday through Friday, Saturdays off). K & E are each finding their voice in...um..."instructing" this class, which definitely has a different feel to it that most everything else in the Quad Cities yoga scene.

And my, how far we've come. It is remarkable to see the Sunday regulars (you know who you are - and so does everyone else by the limping and bitching every Monday). Already it is an entirely different class than we saw on that first Sunday in August. The body is fluid through time, reacting and adapting so quickly to these new demands placed on it. In addition to several...other things in the air on Sunday mornings, there is a new, palpable focus, confidence, and strength that wasn't there even two weeks ago. Dross burns off; the unnecessary falls away.

We can feel that students are getting a sense of what is coming next, that, though we rarely teach specific modifications w/in the flow, people know how to adapt everything as needed. And of course there is that post-practice high - contagious.

And let's not forget to mention our Intro class, having just wrapped up week two. The structure of this class is deceptively simple - we teach, step-by-step, the Ashtanga sequence over the course of the six weeks. Each class begins with an uninterrupted flow through everything we've learned so far, and then more step-by-step addition to that. This should take us all the way up through Navasana by the end of our six weeks, the perfect amount of experience to then wade into the Primary Series class. Even these first two weeks of the Intro class have been something to see: we've overheard students comparing notes about practicing Surya Namaskara during the week, and then seen that practice reflected in class.

We're all already getting to know one another, as well. The Intro class, having graciously warmed up the practice space, on their way out chatting briefly with the Primary Series folks on their way in.

One big, happy, sweaty, family, gathering at holidays to break bread and count blessings:

ONE...TWO...THREE...