people have commented to me lately that during the past (almost) three months that i’ve been in mysore, i’ve barely written about ashtanga yoga. in many ways, i haven’t had much to say about it. something i really don’t think is all that strange, even though i make a living teaching. i’ve been doing this ashtanga practice for nine years now, and it’s really just become a part of my life, something i couldn’t really separate out. i used to read, think and talk about it all the time. lately however, i feel like it has woven itself so much into the fabric of my life that there is little left to say about it.

but … as i get ready to go home (two more weeks) one thing that i have been thinking about is the mysore system, and the faith that i have in it. people love to complain that guruji and sharath move people through the series slowly, that they are “held-back” here, things like that. if people want to become contortionists or just work on flexibility, then they really should be searching out a teacher in china and not in india. speaking strictly in terms of keeping and maintaining good health, the primary series (even just up to navasana) is probably enough for most people.

there is a reason that we follow a traditional series here, and much of that involves getting away from the ego. the ashtanga series are old, they aren’t anything i thought of, nor even anything guruji came up with. when i practice (or teach) the ashtanga series, there is an element is stepping away from my ego. of saying that the ashtanga series is correct and i don’t need to come in and modify it myself. part of the reason is that the poses, breaths and vinyasas are all linked together in a scientific which doesn’t really work when modified. more so, i feel like the benefits (especially those to the mind) come from not questioning the system and just trusting that it works. of allowing myself to just follow someone else’s system and not have to create my own thing.

asanas are just one aspect (out of 8) of the ashtanga system and are taught first to prepare our bodies and minds for the other aspects. when we come to mysore, we give control over the practice to the guru and allow ourselves to do just the poses he (well with his family) says. for many people (like me) i often feel that my body is ready to do more poses, but i think it’s something deeper they are looking for here. it’s not just grabbing ankles in backbend or binding marchiasana-d, they seem to really want smooth breath and consistency in the vinyasa. if people can’t keep the length of their inhale the same as their exhale, if they need to stop and take breaks during the practice, they are probably doing too much. this often comes as a big surprise for people, especially those who are physically strong or flexible to begin with.

there is this notion that someone who is naturally flexible is naturally “good” at yoga, but i’m not sure anything could be further from the truth. in many ways people who are naturally flexible have a harder time with the practice. stiff people need to have total body awareness when practicing in order to keep from getting hurt, but many naturally flexible can just throw their bodies into poses and let the mind wander. there’s more asana to be found in a broad backbend with concentration then there is when the ankles are grabbed, the legs are straight and the mind is thinking.

this teaching method, especially the aspect of having people do shorter series than they are used to at home helps bring the focus back to breathing and concentrating.

i read this over, there are elements of it that sound really strict and conservative. i should say that always room for doing a special series for yoga therapy or even for fun but that’s not the point of this post. what’s important is that if you’re trying to achieve benefits like mental-clarity (benefits similar to what you’d get from long-term meditation) then following the system strictly is important.

also it’s really important to note that the ashtanga system is just one system that works, and there very likely are other systems which work too. if you have another system that works for you, then great, follow it instead. one belief common across many spiritual traditions is that there are multiple paths and many will bring you happiness, but what generally doesn’t work is following lots of paths simultaneously. look around, find something that works for you and stick with it.