At the bottom of this page you can watch some of the leading teachers of Ashtanga yoga
(e. g., David Williams, David Swenson, Manju Pattabhi Jois, Richard Freeman, Tim Miller,
Chuck Miller, Maty Ezrati and Sharath Rangaswamy) during their practice (this is not how
you will have to look! Cf. also Modifications and Contortionism).

The Ashtanga yoga discussed here does not so much refer to Patanjali´s philosophy but
rather to an Indian hatha yoga system (yoga postures/asanas and breath
control/pranayama) as taught today, e. g., at the Ashtanga Yoga Nilaya in Mysore,
India, by the daughter and grandson of the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute´s founder
(Shri K. Pattabhi Jois), Saraswathi and Sharath Rangaswamy. It has perhaps been
passed on orally over many centuries. The first westerner to learn Ashtanga yoga (the
Primary and Intermediate Series of asanas) from K.P. Jois was the Belgian André van
Lysebeth in 1964, the first westerner to learn the complete system (i. e., the entire
Ashtanga yoga asana syllabus and pranayama) from K. Pattabhi Jois, Manju Pattabhi Jois
und Ramesh Jois was the US-American David Williams starting in 1973. He was
subsequently the teacher of, e.g., Nancy Gilgoff, David Swenson, Danny Paradise and
Bryan Kest and brought K. Pattabhi Jois and Manju Pattabhi Jois to the USA for their first
time in 1975.














This method of yoga involves synchronizing the breath with defined series of asanas.
According to our understanding, it was developed to keep people physically and mentally
fit (or to heal them). The most important components (the Primary and Intermediate
Series) are "Disease Therapy" (Roga Chikitsa) and "Nerve Cleansing" (Nadi Shodana).
The regular practice of these two series will keep the practitioners young and healthy. It
strenghtens muscles und circulation, maintains flexibility, releases tension, helps with
the elimination of toxins, as well as improves concentration, stress resistance, intuition
and the ability to distinguish between the important and the unimportant.

Ashtanga yoga may look quite athletic and body-focused to an observer. However, central
to Ashtanga yoga is actually the use of the bandhas and the breath, whereas the
asanas themselves are less so.

Shri K.P. Jois who retired from teaching in 2006 at the age of 91 and is still considered
the foremost authority in Ashtanga yoga today (although he stopped practising it in 1972
at the age of 57) did not invent Ashtanga yoga but rather learned it from Shri Tirumalai
Krishnamacharya, originally in Hassan, then at his yoga school Sri Patanjala Yogashala
at the Jaganmohan Palace in Mysore. Krishnamacharya (who also taught famous yogis
B.K.S. Iyengar, T.K.V. Desikachar and Indra Devi) taught this yoga system there not
only to K.P. Jois but to others as well, e.g. to B.N.S. Iyengar, the present head of the Sri
Patanjala Yogashala (the school was closed in 1950 and re-opened only a few years ago).
Although the style taught by B.N.S. Iyengar varies slightly from that of K.P. Jois, it is
nevertheless Ashtanga yoga. The oldest known written source for this yoga system is
(according to Krishnamacharya) the manuscript "Yoga Korunta" ("Yoga Groups") by
Vamana Rishi who is said to have described the system on palm leaves. This manuscript
has not been preserved - "Ants were eating it!" (K.P. Jois).

It is out of respect for a tradition that may have been handed down over many centuries
that Ashtanga yoga teachers do not change the sequence of the series.

Many modern hatha yoga styles (all "dynamic", "power", "vinyasa", "flow" etc. styles) are
derived from Ashtanga yoga. These styles, however, are not identical with Ashtanga
yoga. In many studios there are classes called "Ashtanga yoga" that do not, however,
have a lot in common with it. Unfortunately, through mass marketing and
commercialization the now "official" Ashtanga yoga less and less resembles that which
was still to be found in the 1970s. Even if the differences may not at first be obvious, we
recommend the original of Mysore even if it does require more determination from its
practitioners.
Talks and Articles:

Shri K.P. Jois, Questions and Answers   Yes, you take!

Power Yoga and Ashtanga Mysore-Style

Krishnamacharya´s Legacy
Shri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya
The Yoga School in the Jahanmohan Palace in Mysore,
around 1934

Videos and Slideshow:

Shri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya Practises Asana and
Pranayama (1938, silent)

Shri K. Pattabhi Jois on Ashtanga Yoga

Shri K. Pattabhi Jois Teaches the Primary Series (Extracts)

Shri K. Pattabhi Jois Teaches the Intermediate Series
(Extracts)

Shri K. Pattabhi Jois Teaches the Advanced Series (Extracts)
Don´t try this at home!

Shri Manju Pattabhi Jois Conducts a Mysore Style Class

David Williams Practises Sun Salutations, Primary,
Intermediate, Advanced Series and Finishing Postures
(complete, Slideshow)

David Swenson Practises Sun Salutations, Primary,
Intermediate, Advanced Series and Finishing Postures
(Extracts)

Shri Sharath Rangaswamy Practises Backbends

Shri B.K.S. Iyengar Practises Ashtanga Yoga (sic!), Part 1
(1938, silent)

Shri B.K.S. Iyengar Practises Ashtanga Yoga (sic!), Part 2
(1938, silent)

Shri B.K.S. Iyengar Practises Ashtanga Yoga (sic!), Part 3
(1938, silent)

==> Free Bonus Track ! <==
David Williams, Shri K. Pattabhi Jois, Nancy Gilgoff, circa 1975