my first book, Ashtanga Yoga: Practice and Philosophy, was published, many readers approached me requesting that I write a book on the intricacies of the Intermediate Series of Ashtanga Yoga.
During the writing of this new book, which took more than two years, it became apparent to me that so much that we know today about yoga goes back to the late Shri T. Krishnamacharya. Although I never studied with the great master, I had the great fortune of working with four of his students, B.N. S. Iyengar, K. Pattabhi Jois, B.K. S. Iyengar, and A. G. Mohan.
In this book I am attempting to present the original, integrative yoga that became fractured following Krishnamacharya’s demise in 1989. You will find ever present in this book T. Krishnamacharya’s emphasis on learning scripture, devotion, understanding Sanskrit, adapting the practice to the individual, and doing whatever is reasonable and beneficial to the student.
Although I made every effort to present this yoga in its original true form, I am aware that my representation does not even come close to the master’s learning and understanding.
My aim in writing this book is to supply Ashtanga Yoga practitioners and teachers with the information they need to practice the Intermediate Series of this yoga safely and effectively. To this end, I have included extensive descriptions of all the postures that make up this series and in-depth discussions, in Western anatomical terms, of the main themes.
This book also informs the reader of the larger context in which the Intermediate Series and Ashtanga Yoga in general exist, which consists not only of the mythological basis of the Intermediate Series but also the relationship of Ashtanga Yoga to other forms of yoga. It explains the role of asana practice — specifically that of the Intermediate Series — in relation to the spiritual path of the practitioner.
The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 covers the spiritual and mythological foundations of this yoga; part 2 discusses the anatomical and other practical issues of the practice; and part 3 provides a detailed description of the postures of the Intermediate Series. With its varied content, this book will interest not only intermediate practitioners but also those who would like to learn more about Ashtanga Yoga in general and Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga specifically.
Regardless of the use to which you put this book, I encourage you to consult my first book, Ashtanga Yoga: Practice and Philosophy. It describes the Primary Series of Ashtanga Yoga, which needs to be mastered before undertaking the Intermediate Series. It also contains a commentary on Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra, the defining text of yoga philosophy, as well as an essay on yoga history.
Origins of Ashtanga Yoga
Most Indians identify the ancient seer Patanjali as the father of all yogas. Traditionally, they have viewed Patanjali as a semi-divine being, a manifestation of Ananta, the serpent of infinity. Patanjali displayed an incredible level of mastery in compiling the Yoga Sutra; he also published texts on Sanskrit grammar and Ayurvedic medicine. Thus you can think of Patanjali as a master of advanced yoga techniques, a professor of various branches of classical knowledge, and a mythological, semi-divine being all wrapped in one. The Indian masters I have studied with report that Patanjali lived six thousand years ago, though some Western scholars claim that he lived more recently.
Ashtanga Yoga can be traced all the way back to Patanjali. Ashtanga Yoga is mentioned in many ancient texts, such as the Mahabharata, the longest Indian epic. These references make it clear that the term Ashtanga was always used to refer to Patanjali’s yoga. Ashtanga is derived from the Sanskrit words ashtau, meaning “eight,” and anga, meaning “limb.” These words describe the essence of Ashtanga Yoga — a discipline built of eight distinct practices, or limbs. The postures, or asanas, that most Westerners associate with the term yoga make up only one of these eight limbs.
The following are the eight limbs as described by Patanjali:1
1 Restraints (Yamas)
2 Observances (Niyamas)
3 Postures (Asanas)
4 Breath extension (Pranayama)
5 Internal focus (Pratyahara)
6 Concentration (Dharana)
7 Meditation (Dhyana)
8 Ecstasy (Samadhi)
I say more about these limbs in short order.
One of the outstanding features of Indian spiritual traditions such as yoga is that through the ages their practices have adapted to meet the changing requirements of an evolving society. Ashtanga Yoga is no different, and in the past few millennia it has taken many forms. For example, a fairly recent form, only about one thousand years old, is Hatha Yoga, a Tantric yoga that focuses on the body and proper execution of elaborate techniques. One of Hatha Yoga’s defining texts, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, calls the practice a “ladder” for those who want to reclaim the heights of Ashtanga Yoga.2
Another school or mode of Ashtanga Yoga is Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga — the practice that is the subject of this book. Today this school is often called simply Ashtanga Yoga. This abbreviated form of the name is a bit confusing because it could refer to either Ashtanga Yoga as a whole or the subdivision that is Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. The term Ashtanga Yoga is now universally accepted, and that’s the one I use in this book. The reader will have to judge from context whether Ashtanga refers to the general mantle of Patanjali’s yoga or the specific discipline of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga.
Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga was founded by the seer Vamana, who according to my Indian preceptors lived four thousand years ago. During that period, cities in India were growing rapidly, and as a result the people felt increasing demands on their time.3 The society needed a practice that encompassed all the elements of Patanjali’s original yoga but took up less time. Rishi Vamana fulfilled this need by introducing the concept of vinyasa in his text Yoga Korunta.
In vinyasa, postures (asanas, the third limb) are combined with internal muscular contractions (bandhas) and breath control or extension (pranayama, the fourth limb) to form what are called “seals” (mudras). The postures are performed in particular sequences and further combined with focal points (drishtis) for the eyes. These modifications “turbo-charge” the postures. When practiced correctly with the fifth and sixth limbs (pratyahara, the sense withdrawal technique, and dharana, the concentration technique that involves listening to the breath), the postures lead to a meditative state (dhyana, the seventh limb). Over time the regular practice of these integrated limbs purifies the mind and body and eventually leads to ecstasy (samadhi, the eighth limb).
The following section presents an overview of the eight limbs of Ashtanga Yoga; a more detailed exploration appears in chapter 1.
The Eight Limbs
Patanjali had achieved the state of samadhi, which refers to an experience of oceanic or divine ecstasy. Today the term ecstasy
