Sri K. Pattabhi Jois & Family Arrive in Copenhagen

…starts the same everywhere…

Ashtangis in Copenhagen

Welcome Instruction

Thank you, Astanga Yoga School of Copenhagen, for sharing these photos.

Ashtanga.com has published some good portraits of Guruji, Saraswati and Sharath at the World Tour in Helsinki, Finland by photographer, Heli Sorjonen.

Thank you, t-om, for the tip! Thank you, Kristian, for sharing your photos.

Look at all those people!

The photos published so far seem to be from a performance for and conference with Sri K. Pattabhis Jois, Saraswati and Sharath.

Saraswati looking extra luminous

Maybe Kristian will publish more photos as the days progress, though it appears that many photographers are present.

Pattabhis Jois

R. Sharath

A rapt audience for Sri K. Pattabhis Jois, Sharath and Saraswati

The Magic Elixir

Sharath’s been wearing one of the London tour shirts. The ones that feature Guruji on a bottle. Ashtanga – the magic elixir.

But the hangover is a bitch.

Side Effects may include: emotional breakdown, extreme fatigue, a feeling of personal growth that makes you wonder where you’re growing as you assess the damages and potential damages, an intense desire to give up your day job, a magnetic pull that seems to be originating from somewhere in Southern India, feelings of contentment, acceptance, and perhaps exhaustion that make you act a bit stoned most of the time, a desire to give up anything that doesn’t seem to compliment your yoga practice, an inability to relate to those who don’t do yoga, chocolate cravings, excessive coffee consumption, and pain.

Secret Life of the Moon
from Carpe Ithcus on Flickr

Rest up so you can drink up again tomorrow. But be sure to avoid heavy machinery.

[Note from Editors: In honor of Moon Day and the Europe leg of the Ashtanga World Tour, we're publishing KJS' creative post on Moon Day, which we - in a fit of silly-we-simply-don't-know-what-came-over-us-ness didn't publish during the 2006 World Tour in New York. Thank you, KJS! And, Happy Moon Day! Is it okay to say that?

How do you all feel about Moon Days? - Tracy]

Aix les Bains, France

After much anticipation, the first leg of Guruji’s European Tour kicked off in the thermal spa town of Aix-les-Bains on the 6 August 2006. Although there was a distinct French flavour to the week, the crowd was multi-national and definitely multi-cultural. For starters, there was a Chinese-American living in London, a Brazilian based in Paris, Germans from Stuttgart, and an Italian-Australian from Lyon.

Despite the initial hesitation about having to make a trip into province (as we city folk like to say), Aix-les-Bains was in many ways the perfect setting. Situated on the edge of Lake Bourget, and nestled in between the Alps, it provided a natural backdrop for the get-together of this group of diverse people with the single aim of meeting and learning from the guru of Ashtanga yoga, Sri K. Pattabhis Jois.

Another beautiful photo of Aix les Bains, France

Some stayed in period hotels near the spas, others camped out in tents at the foot of the mountains while yet others found hostels around the lake. There were students and professionals, tattooed hippies, families with toddlers, the old and the young.

Starting from Sunday morning at 6am, this rather motley bunch of people, each with a tube strapped around his or her back would congregate at the Gymnase des Thermes opposite the town hall. It didn’t matter who we were, and at which stage of the practise we were at. From the moment Guruji boomed ‘Ekam inhale, Dve exhale!’ we all moved in unison, ujayyi breaths synchronised.

A rather motley bunch?!

Guruji, Sharath and Saraswati would move about the gym, helping people into postures as they walked along, often not taking ‘no’ for an answer. If you resisted, it meant that other people had to hold the position for a longer time, while you were being pushed and prodded into the asana. Otherwise, you risked being labelled ‘bad lady!’

Away from the hustle and bustle of a metropolitan city, without the distraction of having to go to work and nary an internet café in sight, people had more time to socialise with one another. The daily macrobiotic meals whipped up by Roselyne and her culinary team, organised picnics by the lake and outings to the beach provided plenty of opportunity for people to get to know one another. Apart from being open for the daily morning sessions, the gym was further available from 5 to 7pm in the evenings for people who wished to stretch or do a second practice by themselves. These afternoon sessions were often a way to observe and practise with advanced practitioners and seek guidance from them as well.

The town of Aix les Bains

Indeed, many of the participants were yoga teachers who had spent time at Mysore, and were now spread out all over France. As I rolled out my mat each morning, I would sometimes find myself in front of Sébastien Monassa from Aix-en-Provence, sometimes to the right of Arnaud Kancel from Montpellier, both of whom had started out in Caroline Boulinguez’ Samasthiti Studio in Paris. In addition, Renan de Germain and Katell Séligour, Caroline’s current assistants, would both say hello to me before going into the changing room.

Guruji animatedly responding to a question.

One of the highlights of the week was an intimate sit-down “question & answer” session with Jois on Thursday afternoon. Guruji spoke in a strong and clear voice and got quite animated at certain points during the one-and-a-half-hour-long session. Some people sought clarification of specific passages from the text of Yoga Mala, while others asked general questions about chants. Topics ranged from specific questions on why it was not advisable to eat too many vegetables, to whether the restrictions on sexual activity applied only to men, to when was the best time to go to Mysore and whether one had to be Hindu to practise yoga. When faced with more technical questions on whether the nose or the chin should touch the knee, and the use of props, Sharath blithely replied, ‘Come to Mysore, we will teach you correctly.’

A Conference with Guruji and Sharath

As the week wore on, it became harder and harder to climb up the hill to my hotel and I started to develop a craving for ketchup after all the macrobiotic food. Dinner table discussions became more intense, with people wondering if yoga was just yet another commercial activity or if there was indeed a spiritual element to the practice, and what it meant to have a guru and what people expected of a guru.

Unlike the scene in London, where people were exuberant from day one, this lot was relatively shy in the beginning. However, participants warmed up to Guruji, Saraswati and Sharath as the days went by, with more and more people asking to have their photographs taken with Jois and for him to autograph copies of Yoga Mala and the coffee table book, Mysore Style.

By the last day, there were happy smiles all around, but not without a tinge of sadness as the trio whisked off to catch their flight for the next leg of the tour. We had all been touched by the presence of the disciple of Krishnamacharya, we had all immersed ourselves in this ancient science of Ashtanga for a week and it was hard now to part ways. Jenny Vanneufville and Pierre Baronian from Lyon who had put together the week with the help of the Ashtanga Association of Aix-les-Bains had done an excellent job and we were all grateful.

Current and former students of Caroline Boulinguez’s Parisian studio paying homage to Guruji in full force at Aix-les-Bains

Slowly, we unhinged ourselves and each got back to our own realities. There had been a bomb threat at Heathrow airport, and the Londoners wondered if they should fly into Stansted or stay on with their new-found friends in France for a day or two. Others planned trips to nearby towns of Chambery and Lyon, which were an hour away.

Back in Paris, the weather is drab and damp, and I am already missing the easy camaraderie of my fellow Ashtangis and their sun-kissed faces. Next step – Mysore?

About Jinn:The writer, Jinn Lim, is a lawyer from Singapore who currently lives in Paris and is an Ashtanga novice.

[Thank you to Jinn, our correspondent at the World Tour Europe 2006 in Aix les Bains, for this insightful and well-written post! Anyone interested in contributing from the Copenhagen or Helsinki stops, let us know. -Ed.]

a potential contributor with Guruji?

To continue the great series by KJS, Lori and Philippe about Guruji’s 2006 World Tour, I’d like to ask AshtangaNews’ readers who can attend the Guruji’s World Tour in Europe in August to contribute write-ups of their experiences. (Interested Ashtangis can get in touch with Philippe via info @ ashtanganews.com.)

The World Tour 2006 posts have been some of our most popular posts and it’d be great to continue the series with some insightful commentary or cool photos!

(All of our World Tour 2006 posts can be found here.)

The dates and locations for the European tour are:

• France in Aix Les Bains: August 6, 7, 8, 10 & 11, Led Primary


Astanga Yoga School of Copenhagen

• Denmark in Copenhagen: August 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, Led Primary
• Finland in Helsinki: August 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, Led Primary and Half Primary and August 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, Led Primary and Intermediate. Details here.

Ashtanga.com has details for each location.

from Astanga Yoga School, Helsinki

Guruji, Saraswati and Sharath will all take part.

• France in Aix Les Bains: August 6, 7, 8, 10 & 11, Led Primary
• Denmark in Copenhagen: August 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, Led Primary
• Finland in Helsinki: August 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, Led Primary and Half Primary and August 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, Led Primary and Intermediate

What a great opportunity for Ashtangis in Europe!

See Ashtanga.com for the details.

Guruji with Jens Bache, Lino Miele and Susanna Finocchi
from Astanga Yoga School Copenhagen

Friday concluded Sri K. Pattabji Jois’s World Tour, 2006 in New York. Typical of the last day on any tour stop; it wrapped up with us standing for the closing mantra (a prayer for peace and happiness for all beings), a final sun salutation, and then disobedience.

The Midtown Loft where the 2006 World Tour took place
Accomodates 250 for cocktails, 200 for yoga

We were told to lie down and take rest. But eager Ashtangis just can’t be told… we sat up and clapped and then stood up and clapped some more. Then the line formed and snaked between the scattered exhaused bodies lying ’round the room so that everyone could say thank you and goodbye-for-now to the man who has brought us all this practice.

Heartfelt as it was, there seemed to be less emotion this year. I saw no teary eyes on parting. There was just something about Guruji this time that could not evoke sadness. Only thanks for his presence and inspiration… Nonagenarian guru that he is, travelling the world over and whipping us all into shape on every level of our being.

The good news is there’s more to come for the world outside of South India… Eddie Stern announced to the group that stops in Europe among other places were planned for the summer and then something about more touring in October. Not the regular route by the sounds of it. Everyone will have to stay tuned though as the details were murky.

10. Close Your Ears! (as an alternate to Lock Your Ears in Karnapidasana)

9. Lose Your Feet! (in Halasana or Karnapindasana – to anyone who doesn’t have the tops of their feet on the floor)

8. Take Your Hands. Look Nose Center. Straight Back. Deep Breathing. With Sound. (in the last Padmasana)

7.Eh..! (often but not always followed by the infamous Bad Lady! or Bad Man! )

6. Straight Your Legs! (generally occurs between the last few poses in Primary Series where you lie on your back before going into Supta Padangusthasana, Ubhaya Padangusthasana, or Urdva Mukha Paschimottanasana)

Waiting for Guruji in the Midtown Loft
World Tour 2006 New York

5. Straight Knees! (in Navasana)

4. Wopen Your Feet (in Baddha Konasana)

3. CHATWARI!

2. Last One (always to be followed by…One More! – this is generally after the fifth or sixth Nine during Uth Pluthi)

1. Five, Six, Seven, Yeeeee-Eight

Friends catching up before practice
World Tour 2006 New York

Guruji just walking in
World Tour 2006 New York

Balance is one of the first things to go when I’m tired. Luckily Guruji was kind enough to whip out a double assist in Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana for me and my practice neighbor this morning. Otherwise I might have taken the room down like dominoes. If ashtanga were a democracy, I’d vote we move that pose into at least Advanced A Series. Good for us all that its not.

A yoga democracy would assume we all know what’s best for us in our practice. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the past few years, it’s that I have much to learn. A good teacher is a must. I think left to our own devices, we human beings tend to gravitate towards the things we are good at and run and hide from the things we’re not. The rigidity of Ashtanga encourages us to face our flaws. To deal with our pride and to take a step beyond our misconceptions of our own limits. It also stops us from charging ahead before we are ready. There are good lessons in every layer of this practice.

Still dark outside before practice
World Tour 2006 New York

Some wonder what there is to learn at a week of led Primary once you know the series. I say lots. One thing is to pay attention. I’m known to bust out bad lady moves now and then. I think I know what’s coming and so when I hear Guruji speak, I move ahead. Maybe it’s a “pancha. inhale.” I’m expecting to hear that has me moving into upward dog too quickly only to be made aware of my inattentiveness by the bellow of “ehhhh… chatwari!”.

This morning my wrongdoing was during finishing postures. I jumped through and Guruji said “straight legs”. I started folding my right leg into Padmasana. So he said “straight legs” to the room again and then looked down at me and cocked his head. He gave me this face… this “hey, you pay attention” face. And it was then that I realized I wasn’t paying attention even though I thought I had been. I’d say that’s a pretty huge lesson. There is still plenty to learn.

And today I pay. Soreness has invaded my shoulders and work will feel like sweet relaxation for the remainder of the day (though a nice nap would be preferable).

Led primary doesn’t vary much from day to day. The overwhelming message I’m hearing from Guruji this year is “don’t hurry”. He says it slowly and with patience. Like he means it. A lesson I’m working on in life.

Sharath, Saraswati and Katherine
Guruji World Tour 2006 New York

His wisdom pervades in the simple statements he makes time and again. And his effervescence reminds us not to take our asana too seriously. “Don’t dance” is the reprimand he dishes out to the people hopping about to catch their balance in Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana.

“Bliss Rolls” -Govinda Kai
Garbha Pindasana in SF

The greatest comedy of errors came in Garbha Pindasana. Anyone not perfectly synched with their neighbors’ rolling ended up getting stuck. I think half the room must have metamorphosed into beetles flailing on their backs, sandwiched against one another with no easy way of righting themselves. We were all garbhaed up. It should have been funny, but I think we were all too tired to find it that amusing this morning.

If the growth in number of yoga practitioners in the west is going to continue, then I think it’s time to start buying coffee futures.