Monthly Archive

Ashtanga Vinyasa, unmodified through the ages.

Or is it?

Commit time to practice with an experienced Ashtanga teacher and you will begin to appreciate that the sequence of poses, as taught by Pattabhi Jois, is to be practiced in its authentic and genuine form. The flow of postures, governed by the breath and separated by vinyasa, heal through the energy and heat of the practice.

But devote time with different teachers, all students of Pattabhi Jois, and you will glimpse how each teacher has replicated the practice – showing just how Pattabhi Jois modified his teaching over time. I have often pondered who could be correct, whose teachings represent the ‘real’ ashtanga, who has remembered the teachings faithfully?

Over the past year I have been fortunate enough to spend time with David Williams, Kathy Cooper, and most recently, Nancy Gilgoff. All students from the 70s with a combined knowledge of over 100 years of practice in the system of Ashtanga Vinyasa.

In the same period I have also spent time with Philippa Asher and Petri Raisanen. Also students of Pattabhi Jois, but from two decades later.

The more time you spend with each generation the more you appreciate the subtle changes in approach. The 70s generation quickly move their students on through first and second series. The focus is on the energetics and flow of the practice. 90s students, on the other hand, emphasise proficiency in each pose before moving through the succession. The focus here is on ensuring the practice is opening the body methodically.

And herein lies the conundrum of which teaching is the “correct method”. What changed over the years? Why did Pattabhi Jois make the changes picked up and taught by the later students? Is there an approach that is correct, and if there is, what to make of the generation gap?

Borrowing from Indian culture, why not discard the Western view that there can be only one certainty, instead allowing for many possibilities aligned with the truth.

An important point to remember is that Pattabhi Jois taught each student as an individual, giving each person what they needed at that time. The idea of one yoga, one approach for all, is a relatively new concept. The Western nature to find the universally correct approach has obscured the very important principle of parampara – from teacher to student.

The discussion to be had is not “which generation is correct” but rather, “how to teach each student as they present themselves”. Perhaps there are several approaches and, as a teacher, we are to spend our energy understanding the needs of the student and guide appropriately.

We are to teach not dogmatically, but through attention and experience, as Pattabhi Jois did. Learning from all who present themselves, teachers and students alike.