Pattabhi Jois, Astanga's guru
by guest author Mike Berghan, Te Aro Astanga
Later this year I will celebrate 20 years of Ashtanga Yoga practice. My first year of practice was like most people, attending a class 2 evenings a week, but from Nov. 1993 I have maintained a daily Ashtanga practice.
In this time I have learned many things. One of the most important being the concept of Parampara, or Lineage. Parampara is the passing down of knowledge over generations, from teacher to student. This concept is central to Yoga philosophy.
The more I practice the more I see the value of following the tradition that I have been fortunate enough to have passed on to me. There is an intelligence of design there that I could never presume to improve upon.
One of the criticisms often leveled at Ashtanga is to question the validity of its origin. The Yoga Kuranta text that both Krishnamacharya and Pattabhi Jois claim it is based on has never been sighted. This naturally leads to some doubt. In my own experience, Guruji was adamant that Ashtanga was based on this text and that he had not changed it. I can find no reason not to believe him. He sincerely believed he was passing on a tradition given to him by his Guru.
As for Krishnamacharya, if you care to read the very good biography of him by A. G. Mohan*, you will discover that in his early life he studied Vedic philosophy extensively, was renowned as a scholar and was called upon as an expert in the correct performance of Vedic ritual. To suggest that this man would later in life invent a Yoga system that was some sort of hybrid of traditional asana and Western gymnastics seems to me incredibly disrespectful and lacking in knowledge of who he was and what he achieved. It also shows a lack of knowledge of the Ashtanga practice itself.
For me, asana practice is developing and strengthening the relationship between Breath, Bandha and Dristi which cultivates a field of energy in the body out of which Contentment will grow.
This is the basis of the Ashtanga Vinyasa system as I experience it. The way the method is structured, if you persist gently with discipline and a good teacher the result is inevitable. You simply cannot continue in this practice without cultivating Breath, Bandha and Dristi and Vinyasa is central to this.
Following the proscribed sequence is also essential as the asanas are combined is a way that generates the correct flow of energy and obliges a practitioner to work on their weak points through practicing the asana that they find difficult. A good and dedicated teacher is crucial to this process.
A good teacher will be like the conductor of an orchestra. He will have the framework of the piece of music he wants the orchestra to play, but he will work with each player to get the best out of them. He will encourage them, laugh with them, challenge them, do whatever he thinks necessary so that they will play as one. Guruji was the master of this.
Many in the West struggle with the concept of bowing to their teacher and through the teacher, to the Lineage. I have heard “I am my own Guru”, and “in the end it is about me and the practice”, as if a guru is not crucial to the process. Instead it is all about “I know what is best for me” and “I know when I am ready to move on” and “I am going to achieve Kundalini rising” and “why should I work on those asana that I can’t do”.
Focusing so much on doing what you please is a cul-de-sac you can go down that will give the appearance of moving ahead, but is ultimately a dead end. This is when the wisdom of your teacher and all those who have gone before will assist.
The first lesson of Yoga is humility. Every day that I practice I humbly bow to my Guru’s feet and offer the practice to him and to the Lineage he represents. Many of us struggle with this. Every time I hear of a new type of yoga started by some very clever person who wants to combine their cleverness with an ancient tradition, I wonder about the ego involved in that. It never surprises me when people like that seem to inevitably crash and burn. What does surprise me is that they attract so many followers who are shocked by their fall.
After 20 years of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga I still accept my Guru’s exhortation.
“Practice, practice, practice…and all is coming”.
* Krishnamacharya: His Life and Teachings. A.G. Mohan, Shambhala, Boston & London, 2010.
Thanks for this Mike! I just came across while looking to see how others approach the questions and objections that I’m sometimes asked by students (eg: on moving ahead too soon, on the repetitiveness of the sequence, on chanting to thank the lineage, etc), and loved the succinct and clear-headed points you make. Thanks for sharing!