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

Day 1 of the 2006 World Tour New York
from our correspondent, Katherine Stanfield (see more about her below)

Goodbye from San Francisco
“Lining Up to Pay Respects” -Govinda Kai

Guruji’s World Tour moved from the Puck Building into the shadow of the Empire State at the Midtown Loft this year.

Despite my excitement to see the 90-year-old guru for my third time in New York City, my first words to my houseguest and fellow Ashtangi this morning were “Why do we do it?!”

It was 4:15 after all and I was waking up. On a Sunday. Not long ago, it’s quite likely I’d have been going to bed at such an hour. Not unfurling the covers to join 200 other masochists for an hour and a half of physical exertion at the feet of a man who calls his devotees “Bad Man” and “Bad Lady”. But after two solid years of early morning Mysore practice, time seems to have become just numbers on a clock. Somehow it seems lacking in relevance to what’s important. I set the alarm for the numbers that are required and get up.

And so, after a traffic-free commute from Brooklyn, my houseguest and I arrived at 5:30. I was thinking we’d be among the first. To my surprise on exiting the elevator, the room was already packed. The airy space was filled to the gills even though there was still a half an hour to go until the guest of honor would appear and begin the opening prayer. Drop-ins were begging for admission downstairs, but the space just couldn’t accommodate everyone.

As the crowd continued to pour in, the mat arrangements got tighter. Unlike past years, this tour seemed to be lacking some of the tension. There were no mat wars. There were no last-minute demands for a spot in the front row. Perhaps this was due to anticipation. Everyone knew space would be limited this year. Or perhaps the practice is beginning to rub off on us all a bit over time. The type-A, competitive Ashtangis might be tamed after all.

As six o’clock approached, the mats were staged with less than an inch in between each other. We all apologized in advance to one another for what would inevitably become a practice perhaps more resembling a contact sport than yoga.

Practice starts the same everywhere
“Reaching Higher Than the Sky” -Govinda Kai

And finally, what we’d all been waiting for… Guruji and family filed into the room. They nodded with smiles to the crowd that had suddenly hushed. The family made its way into the glassed-in lounge that was now a fishbowl. We stood in silence and awe; amazed at how good he looked. And how adorable in his blue Adidas shorts and knee brace.

And that’s when I remembered why we do it: for the love, of course. The love of the practice and the love of the man who has been passing it down to us all. How can you not love a man who follows seven with “eeee-yeight”?

Katherine Stanfield has been practicing Ashtanga Yoga since the summer of 2003. Her practice home is at Ashtanga Yoga New York where she is a student of Eddie Stern’s. In addition to her love for the Ashtanga tradition, she has an affinity for two wheeled vehicles (namely two-stroke scooters) and her dog, Gus. In order to support the yoga habit, she works as a financial planner for individuals and tries to take the lessons of patience and discipline that she has been learning on the mat into her business and pass them onto her clients. She and Gus live in Brooklyn, NY.

[See all of AshtangaNews' Guruji's World Tour 2006 entries here. -Ed.]

[We don't yet have any photos from the New York stop, so we're sharing a few more of Govinda Kai's photos from San Francisco. -Ed.]

Getting Crazy To Stay Sane
Supta Kurmasana

Govinda Kai, an American Ashtanga teacher now based in Tokyo, shared some of his phenomenal and intimate photos from his visit to San Francisco for Guruji’s World Tour 2006.

Govinda’s entire Flickr photostream is worthwhile, if you like photos of Ashtanga, Ashtangis or Japan.

He’s really done a great service for Ashtangis by sharing his photos of the World Tour in San Francisco. Photos are increasingly not allowed at the World Tour, which just makes Govinda’s photos that much more special. Plus, because of his closeness to Guruji, he was able to take especially cool photos of Guruji away from the World Tour. Govinda’s San Francisco photosets are:

• San Francisco Workshop with Guruji - photos of the World Tour itself, including many of Pattabhis Jois adjusting students. (Govinda was still adding photos at the time of this post)
• Guruji and Students - Guruji with several experienced Ashtangis and teachers
• Sri K. Pattabhi Jois - close-ups of Guruji drinking tea and listening to an iPod
• John Berlinsky & Lea Watkins’ Mysore-style class at YogaStudio Mill Valley

Govinda took the time to label each of his photos with some thoughtful and insightful captions, so when you look at his set, make sure to pay attention to the photo captions. These really added depth, meaning and warmth to Govinda’s sets.

Thank you, Govinda.

I had a really hard time choosing, but some of my favorites from Govinda’s Flickr sets (captions by Govinda) follow:

Fierce Instruction
Janu Sirsasana

Revolving Door to Samadhi
Parivritta Trikonasana

Hearts Expanding Into Infinity
Urdhva Mukha Svanasana

And, definitely one of the best photos of Guruji I’ve seen…

What Does He See?

For a little more color on Guruji’s World Tour in London and Mysore Style, the new book of Ashtanga photographs, check out this article Yogis flock to ashtanga guru in Brick Lane in the Guardian Unlimited from March 13 2006 (tip ashtanga.com).

The art director for Mysore Style, Giles Kershaw, said about the book:

There was always this myth of Mysore … This book is a way of demystifying that experience and capturing the essence of it. We wanted to show that it was not the body beautiful - we wanted those who picked up the book to be able to smell the hot and sweaty atmosphere and feel the energy.

I think Graeme and Giles definitely achieved their goal. Philippe provided some thoughtful insights about Mysore Style, too.

For more on the London stop of the World Tour, see Lori’s review and photos.

Guruji signs an autograph for a London Ashtangi
Another of Lori’s photos

On the last day of the 2006 tour in San Francisco, there was a single class at 6 am. The atmosphere was electric, the room was full with over 200 students.

The strong bonds of community were apparent before practice, with groups of people chatting dispersed throughout the big hall - it was still only 5:45.

friends

There was an urgency in Guruji’s voice today. I wondered how many thousands of times he had called out this practice, and at his complete devotion to it.

It is apparent both in the mere fact that he is 90 and continues to teach the same vital teaching. It is also apparent in what he has chosen not to do - he has chosen not to dilute the practice, he has chosen not to call it Jois Yoga, he has chosen not to analyze it.

It was the exact same count of vinyasas, and yet it was completely different, a new and unique affirmation of his belief in the practice. And by extension, all 200 of us were accepting this affirmation and embraced its transformative power. The last few postures were truly emotional. We came back up to standing following a 2 minute Utplutih to chant the closing prayer. Then, Guruji counted a last vinyasa, and with “Sapta - lie down!” everyone burst into spontaneous applause. There were cheers for several minutes.

Sharath took the stage, thanked the organizers and his last two words summarized for me the essence of Guruji’s teaching: “Keep practicing.”

This year the World Tour’s only Intermediate Series class took place in the San Francisco leg of the tour during the second week of practice.

First, a little context.

Sharath demonstrates Kapotasana (part two)

Intermediate is a bit of misnomer for this remarkably challenging series of postures - it starts with a deep twist in pasasana, then off to deeper and deeper backbends culminating in kapotasana, followed by several leg-behind-the-head postures (note the sequencing - straight after the backbends), a strength intensive section including the near impossible karandavasana, and concludes with 7 difficult headstands. You can see a detailed description in David Swenson’s book, or on Arjuna’s site.

In and of itself, it is many handfuls. The way the class is taught though takes this series to another level:

• You are stopped at the posture which the teacher deems too much of a challenge for you
• The more difficult poses are often held for much longer counts that the usual 5 breaths
• The Who’s Who of the Asthanga World (West Coast Chapter) is there practicing along merrily with you

How and when Guruji holds postures really demonstrates his complete mastery of the inner psychological states of the students. In postures such as kapotasana, I often felt as if I was hanging on to a cliff by the edge of my fingernails. It sometimes feels like a miracle not to have fallen off.

Guruji smiles even more after Intermediate
World Tour 2006 in San Francisco

As you go through the class, there is always the worry that this will be your last posture. One thing I did not mention was that there is no prior requirement to attending this class - anyone is welcome. This does not imply you will last through the end, though. During the first class, we started off 60 optimistic yogis. Some uber-optimists were gone by the first posture of the Intermediate series, pasasana. By the end only about 30 were left for the 7 headstands, with the rest watching in stillness.

Guruji also took to visiting the bathroom during headstand. He would count “One! Two!” then you would hear footsteps and a door closing. Quite a few breaths later, he would re-emerge with a booming “Three!” at which point the whole inverted class burst out laughing.

This alone was worth the price of admission.

It felt like the first day of school again as we were driving up the 101 from Palo Alto to San Francisco at 5 am. Arriving at the Regency ballroom, we were directed to the downstairs room this time - last year the workshop took place in the upstairs ballroom.

The San Francisco Bay Area Ashtanga community was present in force: JB and Lea from Mill Valley, Vance from Berkeley, Johnny Smith, Anne from Mountain View and many of their students. There were also teachers from farther afield, such as Govinda Kai from Japan, Bhavani from Hawaii and Steve and Michelle from Santa Barbara - and these are only the ones I recognized. I am sure some I don’t know by sight were also there.

Waiting in anticipation before 6am

Guruji, Sharath and Saraswati walked in punctually at 5:58 and all 200 of us started at chanting the opening prayer at 6:00.

Guruji was in fine form, and taught a fast paced, energetic class. He is still only a sprightly 90 years old after all. Sharath and Saraswati were on the constant look out: “hands together!” “legs straight!”. I received one adjustment from Sharath: ” no cheating!” - I was hooking my feet in Utpluthee. In classic Guruji style, the 10 count for Utpluthee felt like 100. Now I know what not to do tomorrow.

All in all, practice was wonderful.

Guruji walking in (middle left)

Last Day of the 2006 World Tour in the UK
from our London correspondent, Lori

Guruji’s 2006 London Tour was a great success. There are several things that stood out for me:

Our London correspondent,
Lori with Sharath

• The social component to the tour was fantastic. Whether bumping into old acquaintances, hanging out with current ones, or meeting new people, the group - quite simply - was happy. I saw people whom I met in Mysore, I met other Americans living in London, I got to know my fellow British Mysore classmates and teachers better; and I spoke with people from everywhere from Ireland to Germany.

• The practice was harder as the week went on. Although the difficulty didn’t increase by much day by day, it was noticeable in aggregate. Utpluthee was held for longer and longer, and we were frequently held in Chaturanga.

• The whole event was very well organized. Between Hamish, Anna, Denise (the fantastic mat placement and “unnecessary yoga accessories” police), those selling t-shirts, the book “Mysore Style”, and the DVD “Guru” and numerous other hard workers, all worked hard so that it was a very pleasant and efficient experience. Thanks!

• One thing would surprise me had I seen it in the US, but did not because it was in Europe. People changed their clothes quite openly. One woman just took her shirt off, and all was visible until she put the other one on. A guy was down to his underwear before donning his yoga shorts. This is understandable: the US attitude toward nudity seems to be more conservative in general, while in Europe it’s more casual. I heard that in one studio in France people change their clothes in the entry way. Someone also mentioned that a studio in London is quite small, so all change in one location. Really, it was quite refreshing; as one teacher in the States said, it’s just bodies…

Ashtangis in London

• Several others who went all 5 days noticed a progression or development of their practices. Day 2 I became much more aware of the group component of the practice. There was definitely a “vibe”.

Thank you, Guruji.
World Tour 2006, London

Day 3 I was extremely aware of us all breathing (although not in sync). Also, in Savasana, there was a moment when all were completely silent (that was beautiful). On Day 4 I paid particular attention to following Guruji’s count for the breath. You think this would be a focus of all the previous led classes (!) but for some reason it was ever present that day.

Sharath thanked everyone before he, Guruji, and Saraswati left. He hopes they will all be back next year. So do I!

If you attended and want to share your experience, please do!

Day 1 of the 2006 World Tour in the UK
from our London correspondent, Lori

Like many others I was a bit nervous about practicing on the first day of Guruji’s London tour. You just don’t know what it will be like: him, Sharath and Saraswathi, the vibe, and of course one’s personal practice. All went very well, though, and everyone with whom I spoke was glowing afterward.

Official World Tour 2006 London Tshirt

Irony looked us in the face as a friend and I took a taxi past drunken Brits rolling out of a pub while we were en route to the studio. We had to get there by 6am to get a good spot amongst the 180 yogis who showed up for the 6:30am class (there was a second at 8:30am with about the same number of people). Although the mats were close, and laughs were heard as some bumped into each other while doing Garbha Pindasana, there was enough room. Guruji was in good form: the pace was, as always, brisk. He adjusted many; kept us in Chaturanga a bit too long just a bit too many times(!) and was heard yelling “Bad Man” at least once.

Tshirt detail

The fantastic energy really stood out - at least to me. With who was there, I suppose it’s not surprising: advanced teachers from London, Ware (north of London), and Norwich (northeast of London) were all present. I also met practitioners who traveled from Ireland and
Germany to be here; I think it’s safe to assume there are many from other European countries. Everyone was smiling, positive, and friendly. I guess one could say the atmosphere was very welcoming, both by Guruji and the yogis. It was great to be around.

So now, I’m getting ready for tomorrow’s early morning rise for transport via the famous London Tube at 5am! Waking up really early is yet another thing reminding of me of Mysore this week.

More soon!

New York 2000

With Sri K. Pattabhis Jois’ 2006 Ashtanga World Tour coming up, here are some favorite photos of past Ashtanga World Tours:

New York 2003

• London 2001

• San Francisco 2002
• London 2003
• New York 2000
• New York 2003
• Los Angeles 2002

(By the way, I took the San Francisco 2002 photos.)

Unfortunately, these days it’s getting harder to take photos of the World Tour as permission is rarely granted.

As a bonus, here are two films about Ashtanga yoga which include footage of Ashtanga World Tour stops:

• Ashtanga, NY takes place during the New York stop in 2001. Highly Recommended.
• World Tour 2000 takes place in Maui.

Ashtanga.com has a great list tour photo links in the ashtangi album.

We also wrote about the 2006 Ashtanga World Tour in a prior post.

London 2001

A sea of Downward Dogs
2002 Ashtanga World Tour, San Francisco

Something about practicing with all those Ashtangis in classes led by with Guruji, Saraswati and Sharath at the 2002 Ashtanga World Tour really stuck with me & I highly recommend that all Ashtangis experience this, if you have the chance.

For 2006, the Ashtanga World Tour cities and dates are:

March 5-9 in London,
March 12-23 in San Francisco and
March 26-April 7 in New York city.

The 2006 tour is shorter than prior years, which stopped in more places, such as Los Angeles and Hawaii. At every tour, there is a persistent rumor that it is the last World Tour. Hopefully, this is not the case as we cherish Guruji’s presence.

More photos from Ashtanga World Tours can be found here.

Thank you, Guruji.
San Francisco 2002

Here is a little secret for San Franciscans: if you take the Half-Primary class, which will probably follow the Full Primary class, you can come early and sit upstairs and watch. Be very quiet while you’re up there, so you don’t wreck the secret for future Ashtanga World Tour-ists. You do have to get up extra early in the morning, but I did it a few times and I really enjoyed watching all those great students practicing together.