AshtangaNews Ashtanga Yoga Matters (as taught by Sri K Pattabhi Jois)

I just got hold of a copy of the new Morning Mysore calendar to review. Antonia, Dave and Wendy, Ashtangis at Yoga is Youthfulness, emphasized taking photos of real yogis practicing Ashtanga yoga in Morning Mysore as opposed to picture-perfect Yoga Journal-type “models”.

UPDATE 12/22/06: All 110 Calendars are sold out - thanks!

I am amazed at the quality of the production - the calendar could have been made by professionals, you cannot tell the difference. With the use of modern printing technology, the talent behind the photos and the care taken to produce it, this calendar is truly superb.

Apart from the quality of the photos, each picture has a caption taken from the students’ answers to the question, “What does this practice mean to you?“. These quotes are inspiring, an important and unique feature in a calendar! Here’s a sample:

What’s amazing to me is that as I enter the studio I instantly feel surrounded by this caring energy. I barely know my fellow yogis at the studio and yet feel that I do know them, and they know me. They understand my struggles on the mat, share the humor in it, know why I’m here. They are my friends.

August 2007 - SSR in parsvottasana

From what I hear, as of today more than 100 calendars have already been pre-ordered.

Go to Divine Eye Productions to get a copy (you’ll also be able to see all the months in more detail there).

We are taking preorders only for this calendar. Deadlines for ordering are 11/17/06 Friday noon and 12/1/06 Friday noon. The price is $25 with shipping ($20 if you live near Mountain View, California).

The cover of the calendar - a class in full swing

The first step of the project was to take lots of photos of students practicing Ashtanga Vinyasa in the Mysore-Style classes at Yoga is Youthfulness in Mountain View, California. The best 500 (!) were published in an online photo gallery. Back in August I wrote a post about the calendar/photo project , which included many photos from the project.

The second step was to choose the best 12, and produce a real life calendar.

The back cover and overview of all the photos

What a great gift for Ashtangis everywhere! Thank you Antonia, Dave and Wendy.

How old is Guruji in this photo?

Yoga Means Your Self-Knowledge.
- Sri K. Pattabhi Jois

Regular commenter, t-om, alerted us to a bunch of videos of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois teaching and speaking that were uploaded to YouTube about a month ago by user, frikaloopa, including one of Pattabhi Jois explaining Ashtanga yoga. Simple, brilliant and check out those glasses.

“Tight it!” - Pattabhi Jois
(I think that’s what he’s saying here.)

Frikaloopa has seven videos of Ashtanga yoga - the one above plus six practice videos. Some of these appear to cut from professional video productions and others seem to be class demonstrations. In addition to Sharath, Frikaloopa identified Chuck Miller and Mazy Ezraty, Tim Miller, Gary Lapodata, Clifford Sweate, Ray Rosenthal, Richard, Eddie and Kate in the videos. (I can’t tell from the videos whether these names are accurate; if you can, please let us know in the Comments section.)

Three of the videos show demonstrations of the Intermediate Series. Here is a full list (with time in minutes in parentheses):

Sharath “rests” between backbends

• Sharath demonstrating backbends (02:30)
• Part of the Primary Series (03:53)
• Sri K. Pattabhi Jois teaching outside (06:24)
• Sharath demonstrating Intermediate Series (05:15)

• Sri K. Pattabhi Jois teaching Intermediate Series in 1987 (06:24)
• Pattabhi Jois teaching the Intermediate Series again (05:43)
• Sri K. Pattabhi Jois explaining Ashtanga yoga (below) (03:02)

Last time we featured YouTube videos of Krishnamacharya and B.K.S.

Who are we?
Vatayanasana

Iyengar on AshtangaNews, a whole storm of discussion on copyright and Asteya ensued. You can check all that out in the posts, See Krishnamacharya (and Iyengar) on Video and Asteya Redux: A Grumpy Post. For this post, let’s try to focus on the practice and senior teachers and students in these videos!

the BKS Iyengar video

Three very old videos have surfaced on YouTube.com, the main site for video sharing on the internet. Apparently, they were shot in 1938, and MCPetruk, who uploaded them, told me via email that he obtained them as part of the footage from an Iyengar Institute VHS.

Thank you to Dipita for the tip and to MCPetruk for sharing.

Links to the 3 films (one of the actual films is at the end of this post):

• Krishnamacharya in inversions, nauli and various advanced pranayama techniques (4:32)
• BKS Iyengar part 1 (3:11)
• BKS Iyengar part 2 (3:26)

After hearing and reading so much about him,



Krishnamacharya at 50

it is amazing to see Krishnamacharya on film. And what a film it is. In these short 4 minutes, you get a glimpse of a total mastery of the body, the postures and the breathing. The stories about Krishnamacharya stopping his heart become much more believable. His legendary strictness is apparent, too.

I tried to remind myself as I was watching that Krishnamacharya was 50 years old when the film was shot. He does not look a day over 30.



Iyengar in Upward Dog
in the middle of a vinyasa (!)

Iyengar is also very impressive doing what seems to be a modified version of the Advanced A Series of Ashtanga. He is actually doing vinyasas! He must have been around 20 years old during that time, before he decided that vinyasas were “too much jumping”.

Krishnamacharya practicing yoga in 1938

There’s been a surge in Ashtanga-related products lately, R. Sharath Rangaswamy’s Ashtanga Primary Series practice DVD, Mysore Style, a book of beautiful Ashtangi photographs, and the Guru, the documentary about Sri K. Pattabhis Jois by Robert Wilkins (available on DVD).

And now we have THREE new books:

A detail from
Ashtanga Yoga: Practice & Philosophy

• Ashtanga Yoga: Practice & Philosophy by Gregor Maehle, a teacher based in Perth, Australia. Yoga: Practice & Philosophy “integrates Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga and the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali as an organic whole, presenting them as two sides of the one coin”. The book also includes information on “the mythological background and yogic context” of specific postures in the Ashtanga practice, which sounds especially intriguing.
• Ashtanga Yoga by Petri Raisanen, an Ashtanga teacher based in Helsinki, Finland. From the online content page, there’s several sections of the book I would love to read: History of Ashtanga Yoga and Impacts of Poses (the book is currently only available in Swedish and Finnish, though an English version is in process). The website also includes lots of photos from the book, including 85 stunning, clean photos of Petri practicing various Ashtanga postures by photographer, Alexander Berg.
• Ashtanga Yoga As It Is by Matthew Sweeney,
  “the only resource that fully details the primary, intermediate and advanced A and B series of Ashtanga Yoga”. A classic, re-released. Photos along with lots of text about the practice.

Matthew Sweeney’s Classic Book

I’ve gotten hold of Matthew Sweeney’s book so we’ll be reviewing it soon.

I remember the days in the nineties when there were only two or three books on Ashtanga - in a decade! It’s great to see so many high quality publications come forth to spread the knowledge.

And now for some beautiful photos from Petri Raisanan’s book…

Navasana

Setu Bandhasana

Petri Raisanen jumps through

I asked Dominic Corigliano if he could give us more details on how the Sharath Primary Series DVD was made (buy it here or see my review), and he kindly obliged:

The DVD’s back cover

“Ashtanga Yoga Primary Series with R Sharath was created with the intention of showing an actual Yoga Practice, not a staged or edited event. When Sharath and I originally discussed the concept of an Ashtanga Yoga Video our intention was to convey the essence of Pattabhi Jois’s Ashtanga Yoga, continuous movement and the breath driving a ‘no-nonsense’ practice. We wanted to show the strengths of the practice rather than the individual.

Ashtanga Yoga primary series with R. Sharath is a continuously filmed, three camera, practice DVD. Mary Wigmore and Caroline Laskow (Set Direction), and Ku-Ling (Cinematography), all of whom also made Ashtanga NY (see the AshtangaNews review), did an incredible job with camera setup and lighting. I love the colors, rich and beautiful. I brought along my Sony 900 Series for the side sequences and a Canon for the stills. You can see all three cameras in the three scene sequences. I edited the video and created the DVD menu in Mysore with graphic art assistance from Saskia Vidler. Saisha (my partner) and I rented a top floor, four story, light-filled condo in Gokulam. There are a few extra shots, like an overhead and a few close ups, to flesh out the content. I also designed the DVD menu so you can view each asana individually. This DVD took four years of effort. Sharath was patient through it all.

Sharath could have easily done handstands throughout this DVD. He also has an extremely flexible lower back (great backbends). Yet he chose to simply, elegantly, and honestly do the Primary Series. It is a refreshing video that truly represents the practice of Pattabhi Jois’s Ashtanga Yoga. Here there is no ‘glorification’ based on an individual’s physical strengths.

Yoga videos are often formulaic, outside sets like a travel video, Yogis showing their best “take” at each Asana, makeup, often times a coach standing nearby correcting out of camera, on set. That is one style, yet it deviates from Ashtanga Yoga’s most important strengths. Breaking down Ashtanga, detailing it, takes away from the continuity of movement that is Ashtanga. Pattabhi Jois doesn’t talk much in his practice room in Mysore. Ashtanga is not talking, it is doing!

Sharath insisted on a minimum of edits throughout the editing process…”

Copyright 2006 by R. Sharath and Dominic Corigliano

Anybody can practice yoga…

Ashtanga, NY

Except lazy people. Lazy people can’t practice yoga.

That quote was from R. Sharath Rangaswamy, Sri K. Pattabhis Jois’ grandson, in the documentary, Ashtanga, NY.

This 60-minute documentary about Ashtanga yoga is a must-see for Ashtangis. It’s not a practice DVD. Rather, Ashtanga, NY presents the story of the Ashtanga practice and Sri K. Pattabhis Jois along with a handful of New York Ashtangis, including some quite famous ones, describing what the practice is and what they get out of it.

Mike D from the Beastie Boys
my favorite talking head

I was not too impressed with the talking New York heads’ take on Ashtanga. After all, what Pattabhis Jois always says is “practice and all is coming.” We don’t talk about Ashtanga; we do it. (Plus, I’d like to know who those people are.)

For me, the value of this film is in the tangible and direct — footage of Pattabhis Jois, Sharath Rangaswamy and their families, the light in the practice room during the World Tour and the juxtaposition of scenes from 9-11 versus the gathering of Ashtangis in the Puck Building.

Ashtanga, NY also provides some excellent footage of R. Sharath Rangaswamy practicing. This is truly special (as Philippe describes in his review of Sharath’s new Primary Series DVD).

Guruji assists an Ashtangi in Ashtanga, NY

Three times while watching this film, I wrote in my notes: smile. If practicing Ashtanga can make me smile with the authenticity and warmth of Guruji, Saraswati and Sharath’s smiles, then I want to practice and help spread that smile all over the place (my thinking being that if it makes me feel this happy, then it must make everyone else feel that happy, too).

The scenes of World Tour practice starting with the dark room and then the sun rising higher in and Guruji’s calling out the postures really brought back memories of the World Tour for me. I could really feel the sun rising in those scenes. I wonder if other Ashtangis feel the same?

The beautiful Ashtangis of NY

But the really big impact of this film —which surprisingly felt even bigger on my second viewing — was the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, right in the middle of this month-long stop in the World Tour and on Saraswati’s birthday. The juxtaposition of scenes from Saraswati’s birthday, the bombing and the practice was really powerful. Despite the tragedy, Guruji carried on with the World Tour.

But the Tour was changed and it’s this part of the film — including talk from the New York Ashtangis — that really makes the film.

“Fierce and compassionate”
Sri K. Pattabhis Jois in Ashtanga, NY

One other lovely bit about this movie is the music. A great score performed by guitarist, Chris Cunningham, and percussionist, George Javori. The music really adds to the experience!

Ashtanga, NY is widely available. You can even rent it at Netflix. So, take a look and let us know what you think!

DVD cover

AshtangaProductions released a DVD of R. Sharath Rangaswamy practicing the Ashtanga Primary Series in March 2006 (you can buy it here online). [Also, dont' miss Philippe's interview with Dominic, the DVD's producer. -Ed.]

Sharath is described on the cover as “the foremost teacher of Ashtanga yoga today” and “the grandson of the founder of Ashtanga yoga, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois”.

The production value of this film is very high - it was shot at Eddie Stern’s New York Shala, in a simple yet soothing space. The editing by Dominic Corigliano is flawless, with multiple cameras displayed only when necessary and smooth transitions between postures. The menu to navigate to a particular posture is intuitive and highly practical. Sharath did the voice over, counting vinyasas and calling out asanas.

Sample menu screen

However, the real value of this DVD lies in the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the most advanced Ashtanga Yoga practitioner in the world practicing the Primary Series. I have practiced the Primary Series probably more than a thousand times, and have seen others, from beginners to 20-year senior teachers practice it countless times. And yet Sharath’s practice had a quality to it that I had not seen before.

It took me a while to pin this down and express in in words. Needless to say, outwardly Sharath’s practice feels weightless, as if gravity was an afterthought. But I had seen this before - John Scott’s DVD comes to mind, embodied in the slow-motion jumpbacks. Was it the complete control of the bandhas (internal locks)? Lino Miele’s video is also a masterful aspect of this. Perhaps the way in which very difficult asanas seem totally effortless? David Swenson’s Advanced Series DVD is a perfect example.

Finally it came to me - the sense of presence. Even after having done this practice a few thousand times, and repeating asanas which for him must be child’s play, it feels as if Sharath is completely present in the moment, as if he is practicing for the first time. He is fully aware without being self-aware.

More remarkably, this awareness is constant from asana to asana, from the simplest to the most challenging. There is no trace of self-consciousness in Sharath’s practice, no ego, no analyzing rational mind. There is only the practice. Surely, this is the essence of yoga, something we are all aspiring to.

Baddha Konasana

There are a few welcome and intimate glimpses that Sharath is also human - his fiddling with his shorts, or readjusting his hand grip after rolling up from Urdhva Mukha Paschimottanasana, or even grabbing his feet after lifting them in Upavistha Konasana (instead of floating the feet up while still holding onto them).

Catching details like these is oddly reassuring.

[Dominic kindly shared some additional insight on the making of the DVD with us, too. -Ed.]

A few weeks ago we mentioned that a new book Mysore Style had just come out and was being sold at the World Tour 2006.

I’ve had the opportunity to buy it (not cheap at $70, but profits go to the Sri K. Pattabhi Jois Charitable Trust) and read it.

At first glance, Mysore Style seems to be a big book with beautiful photos of yogis practicing interspersed with beautiful photos of India by professional photographer, Graeme Montgomery. But after a while, a pattern emerges which gives it an entirely new dimension.

The photos of the postures appear in the same order as they are in the practice, and all aspects of the practice are represented: Sun Salutations, standing postures, Primary, Intermediate and Advanced Series, backbends, finishing postures and savasana.

David Roche in Samakonasana

The back of the book has some real gems: 3 short articles on Mysore Style, Ashtanga and Guruji. If your friends and relatives are perplexed at your commitment to early morning practice, you’ll do worse than getting them to read these summaries: these are some of the best I have read.

Also at the back is a series of wonderful portraits of all the book’s models and of newer students who were in Mysore at the time the photo shoot took place. Under each portrait are the Ashtangi’s vital information: Name, Age, Nationality, First Visit to Mysore, Number of visits. The answer to the last ranges from 1 to Home.

Happy yogis, not prison shots

It’s evident that a lot of thought has been put into the choice of “cultural”, non-yoga photos. The series of Guruji’s 90th birthday celebrations bring the event to life. Some of the other photos evoke the essence of the Mysore experience - for example the shot of the Swami in the cave of Chamundi Hill on page 100. Anne has often talked and blogged about him, and it’s a blessing to be able to see him.

Guruji’s 90th Birthday Celebration

If you’ve been practicing for any length of time, this is a book you’ll enjoy. And I reckon that your appreciation of it will grow along with your practice.

Olaf Kalfas in Parsva Dandasana (scratching the edge of impossibility)

“The opening scene alone is worth the $15 for the DVD.”

That was a friend’s comment and I definitely agree.

After reading Lori’s review, as a practitioner of Ashtanga and as a fan of documentaries and independent cinema, I was definitely not going to miss the showing of Guru, a new documentary about Sri K. Pattabhis Jois, at San Francisco’s Victoria Theatre.

Warm, human and highly informational, this movie, to me, really encapsulates the attraction of Ashtanga yoga for so many of us. I was so amped after seeing it that I decided to practice at the rest of the World Tour days even though my practice is completely lousy right now.

Guru features lots of footage of people practicing in the AYRI shala, street scenes of Mysore, Pattabhis Jois’ 90th birthday celebration, and interviews with advanced students and with the guru himself, of course.

around 150 people attended the SF screening of Guru

The best part for me was learning more about Guruji - hearing his thoughts about Ashtanga and what it means to him to be a teacher, along with Sharath, Saraswati and Manju’s thoughts and those of some senior practitioners. I learned a lot about Ashtanga and its history in the West, too.

Other favorite bits were:

• Hearing Saraswati and Manju speak about growing up with Pattabhis Jois as a father
• Seeing all levels of Ashtangis practicing in the shala. I think it’s nice to see really advanced Ashtangis pratice, but seeing mere humans do it is more interesting to me
• Seeing scenes of Mysore and its citizens. I didn’t know that 1,000,000 people live there. I think it’s nice to be reminded of the actual community of non-Ashtangis who live around AYRI.

And, finally, I was happy to see Philippe — one of my favorite Ashtanga teachers — so psyched to see some of his teachers in the movie.

the audience - with Julie of ashtangi.net on the left

Robert Wilkins, the filmmaker and an Ashtangi for only 2 years, is a professional, experienced filmmaker and it shows in the quality and breadth of the story. He is also a warm, compassionate person and this also is reflected in his film.

For those of you in New York, Guru will screen there on March 26. Robert Wilkins will be there, and hopefully, will speak before the showing as he did here.

The 30-minute documentary, however, is not only for Ashtangis. It’s something anyone curious about other cultures, and about the teacher-student relationship would find worthwhile.

Robert and yours truly

I also think Guru would be great to share with friends and family who wonder exactly what it is you Ashtangis do and why you’d expend so much effort to follow a 90-year old man in India.

I should mention that the DVD has “extras”, including an interview with Sri K. Pattabhis Jois conducted in Kannada (with subtitles) where he speaks in much more detail about Ashtanga. Pattabhis Jois was much more serious in this interview than he is in English-language parts of the film. He is asked tough questions about his status as a Guru, and he emphasizes that he does not call himself Guru, his students do.

I am really looking forward to watching the coconut stand bit when I get my copy of the DVD.

I recommend buying this video. The DVD is available at the Guru, the Movie site for US$20 plus p&p and Ashtanga.com has the US version.

The new documentary about Sri K. Pattabhis Jois, Guru, will be screened in New York on Sunday, March 26 at 2:30 pm (length: 30 minutes) at the:

Anthology Film Archives
32 2nd Avenue (@ Second Street)
Tel: (212) 505-5181

Google map

Entrance fee of $7 to help cover costs

Lori reviewed the London premiere of Guru. Philippe & I saw it in San Francisco and here are our thoughts.

If you will be around NY and would like to help promote this event, you can download the flyer here: 190 k jpg file

Guru, the Movie, in NY