Here is a video demonstrating Third Series Ashtanga by Santina. Personally, I have never even seen some of the poses in this video. Enjoy!

Asha = Eight, Anga = Limb, Yoga = Union The Eight Limbs of yoga are: Yama - Ethical disciplines, morals Niyama – Self observation, purification. Asana - Poses, postures Pranayama - breath control, rythmic. Pratayahara - sense withdrawel Dharana - Concentration. Dhyana - meditation Samadhi - A state of joy and peace

Ashtanga yoga jump backs in slow motion. Enjoy!

I have just returned from a fantastic weekend in Wiltshire where I attended Ashtanga yoga workshops with Nancy Gilgoff. Nancy was one of the first western women to practice Ashtanga yoga in Mysore with Pattabhi Jois (Guruji) back in the 70's. She and her partner at the time, David Williams, brought SRI Pattabhi Jois to the USA and opened up the door of yoga to the west. Nancy has been practising this style of yoga for more than 34 years and has an amazing ability to share her knowledge of Ashtanga yoga, as it was taught to her, by her guru, Guruji. As the Ashtanga yoga practice has been embraced by the West, it sometimes gets slightly diluted or changed. Change will always naturally occur as traditions are passed down, but sometimes the changes are not always for the best. Nancy has kept true to the Ashtanga traditional teachings, but is able to see when a western body needs to do something differently to continue on their yogic journey. I am lucky enough to have practiced with Na

Here is another yoga video that I have come across on Youtube. It is a great demonstration of the Ashtanga yoga primary series featuring John Scott. Enjoy!

Here is another ashtanga yoga video I have come across on Youtube. The poses demonstrated in the video are superb, the music is very relaxing and the locations (it was shot in India) are quite breathtaking. Highly recommendable!

My introduction to Bikram yoga was at the Funky Door Studio in San Fransico. I arrived with my friend and was warmly welcomed by the teacher, who called me by my first name - via a microphone headset - from the front of the class throughout the practice. The class was full of young scantily-clad yoga students, who all appeared to know the 26 poses in the Bikram series. Before the yoga session starts a towel is placed on your yoga mat. The reason why becomes apparent very soon as the room is heated to sauna temperature and the sequence is commenced with a breathing practice (prananyama). In that first class my friend and I must have hit the floor at least five times to escape the heat. I found it amazing that anyone could stay on their feet for the duration of the class; the heat was so intense that I started to feel quite dizzy. As I looked around the classroom from my new position on the floor, I could see people standing in pools of sweat (hence the towels on the mat). It is, therefo

After the other day's laughing yoga video, I thought I would post another video (serious this time) showing Asthanga yoga expert, David Swenson, in action. It is a quite amazing display!

I heartily recommend the book 'Ashtanga Yoga' written by David Swenson. This is a must-read for anybody interested in this particular style of yoga, which translates into English as follows: Ashta = Eight, Anga = Limb, Yoga = Union (The Eight Limbs of Yoga). David has been practising yoga since he was 13 years old and has made a life-time study of the Ashtanga series. The book looks at both the primary and intermediate series, and also offers some short forms of the practice, which are particularly useful for when time is restricted. I love the way David has put variations for all the poses. He offers at least three different options for each pose, thus making the Ashtanga series available to all. Having studied yoga with David back in the early 90's, I don’t think this book reflects his sense of humour, which has to be experienced by meeting the man in person. The book does, however, reflect his amazing wisdom of the Ashtanga Series as taught to him by Sri K. Pattabhi