"The most precious thing that we as humans can find in life,
is the inner vastness that opens up when we think of nothing."
Eckhart Tolle
ASHTANGA YOGA
Yoga is an art that is thousands of years old and uses unique, effective and practical methods to maintain mental balance and physical health.
In the past few decades, yoga has spread to many parts of the world and people everywhere are benefiting from the timeless knowledge of this art.
The legendary yogi Sri T. Krishnamacharya - master of yoga, scholar of Indian philosophies and renowned healer - undoubtedly had the greatest influence on modern yoga in the last century.
In almost every city in Germany there is at least one school that feels connected to the tradition of Ashtanga Yoga.
And also in other western countries the yoga that was so significantly shaped and taught by Pattabhi Jois is at home.
Pattabhi Jois (1915 - 2009) was one of the few disciples of Sri T. Krishnamacharya, and taught at his school (Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute) in Mysore, India, which he founded in 1948.
Guruji, as Pattabhi is affectionately called by his students to this day, died at the age of 93 on May 18, 2009. His family continues the tradition in Mysore. To this day, Jois' daughter Saraswati and his grandson Sharath Rangaswamy teach hundreds of students from all over the world Ashtanga Yoga year after year in the famous Shala in Mysore.
In Germany, Dr. Ronald Steiner continues the Ashtanga line. He directs the Ashtanga Yoga Institute in Ulm and is the founder ofAYI®Method. This combines traditional Ashtanga Yoga with innovative yoga therapy. Body and mind find each other and together in a harmonious balance. Ronald is a sports medicine doctor, scientist with a research focus on prevention and rehabilitation, and one of the world's most renowned practitioners of Ashtanga Yoga.
Before I came to Ashtanga, I tried many different yoga styles, from Power Yoga to Jivamukti Yoga to Vinyasa and Inside Flow.
At that time I first did a 200h Vinyasa Yoga training in the tradition of AGMohan, for which I am still very grateful today, as it brought me very close to the Indian tradition and far away from modern "yoga gymnastics".
My first Ashtanga class came later. It sparked immediately.
And shortly afterwards I came into contact with Mysore Style for the first time - the supreme discipline of every yoga teacher and the most effective method of every yoga student.
Since 2018 I have been learning this yoga style from Dr. Ronald Steiner.
Ashtanga Yoga is a Vinyasa style.
He connects the postures (asanas) into a flowing sequence (vinyasa) in which certain positions are held in between for 5 breaths.
During the entire practice, the breath is regulated by the so-called Ujjayi breathing technique and the movements are synchronized with the breathing.
This creates intense internal heat that cleanses our muscles and organs.
Unwanted toxins are eliminated and unnecessary fat is burned. The prana (life energy) absorbed through breathing is held in the body by the bandhas. The focus or concentration point (Dristi) is fixed for all asanas and this enables us to practice in a focused and disciplined manner. It is through these three elements together - Vinyasa, Bandha and Dristi - that the essence of Yoga can be experienced.
No yoga style touches me more deeply and strengthens me more than Ashtanga Yoga.
That's why I would like to share it with you so much.