A Gentler Approach to Ashtanga
Yoga Journal|Spring 2022
Yoga teacher Pranidhi Varshney sets aside the conventional emphasis on perfection and instead values progress of a different sort.
RENEE MARIE SCHETTLER
A Gentler Approach to Ashtanga

There is a perception that Ashtanga is regimented. It's a tradition of yoga in which you progress through a set series of postures, and only when you have achieved a certain level of proficiency in a pose or a series of poses do you advance to the next posture or series.

The Ashtanga world is also notorious for its power structure, since students must sometimes wait for the teacher's permission to move into the next posture or series. That kind of hierarchy can be toxic. Ideally, respect would go both ways between teacher and student.

Some Ashtanga teachers follow the script exactly, but I think most are going off the page. Almost any teacher has seen all kinds of bodies and understands that you have to make the practice accessible.

I was fortunate. I was offered the postures very freely by my teacher, Manju Jois, and that's how I thought I should teach.

It's funny, people often assume because I'm Indian, I started practicing yoga very early on. I actually started practicing along with a VHS tape when I was in high school, and I was very casual about it until I went to college and came across an Ashtanga primary series class at a studio. I soon became hooked.

I experience such benefit in practicing Ashtanga, especially the second series. It would be unfair of me to withhold it from students who haven't completed the primary series. Who am I to say you should or should not come into a pose? You decide! It's a conversation. I want students to feel they have agency.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der Spring 2022-Ausgabe von Yoga Journal.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der Spring 2022-Ausgabe von Yoga Journal.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS YOGA JOURNALAlle anzeigen
Learning to Hear the Voice of Self-Care
Yoga Journal US

Learning to Hear the Voice of Self-Care

How to discern what really matters.

time-read
6 Minuten  |
Summer 2022
Inclusive Yoga for All
Yoga Journal US

Inclusive Yoga for All

A Down syndrome diagnosis set this family on a path to make yoga accessible to everyone.

time-read
4 Minuten  |
Summer 2022
For the Joy of Practice
Yoga Journal US

For the Joy of Practice

Doing yoga without attachment to the outcome can bring unexpected gifts.

time-read
4 Minuten  |
Summer 2022
Be Kind to Your Spine
Yoga Journal US

Be Kind to Your Spine

Your vertebral column is a series of complex, interconnecting parts that support your every movement. Here's how to keep it safe.

time-read
5 Minuten  |
Summer 2022
A Skeptic of Chakra Balancing
Yoga Journal US

A Skeptic of Chakra Balancing

The experience helped me make peace with things that can't be explained.

time-read
6 Minuten  |
Summer 2022
Are We Having Fun Yet?
Yoga Journal US

Are We Having Fun Yet?

Bring play back into your practice with three styles of yoga that can get you out of your head and bring a smile to your face.

time-read
9 Minuten  |
Summer 2022
12 Ways to Use Blocks You've Probably Never Tried Before
Yoga Journal US

12 Ways to Use Blocks You've Probably Never Tried Before

The beauty of blocks? They not only meet you where you are in your practice, they take you beyond where you ever thought you could go.

time-read
10+ Minuten  |
Summer 2022
THE SCIENCE OF AWE
Yoga Journal US

THE SCIENCE OF AWE

THOSE MOMENTS IN LIFE THAT STOP YOU IN YOUR TRACKS IN ASTONISHMENT? RESEARCH SAYS EXPERIENCING MORE OF THEM CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE.

time-read
8 Minuten  |
Summer 2022
What Your Doshas Say About Your Dharma
Yoga Journal US

What Your Doshas Say About Your Dharma

Ayurveda can explain so much more than what's out of balance.

time-read
4 Minuten  |
Summer 2022
The Future of Yoga
Yoga Journal US

The Future of Yoga

Yoga has been evolving for thousands of yearsfrom a mind-and-body spiritual practice to a billion-dollar "lifestyle" practice. What's next? We asked futurists, teachers, and thinkers what to expect in the next decade and beyond.

time-read
10+ Minuten  |
Summer 2022