Given time and commitment, what first seems like an overtly physical practice can start to have positive effects 'off the mat'.  To understand why, it helps to know a bit about the meaning of the word ‘Astanga’ and the historical roots of its modern day form.

The literal translation of Astanga is “eight limbs”. It comes from a teaching in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. This work, produced about 2000 years ago, is still studied all over the world by those seeking to understand the science of yoga. Patanjali was a philosopher and grammarian. His sutras were produced for an audience already well versed in yoga practice, so they are very concise. Today most people study them alongside extensive commentaries.

Close to the beginning of the work Patanjali states, "yoga is the stilling of the churning of the mind."

Later on he introduces his ‘eight limbs’. These are pathways, if you like, towards this goal of inner stillness.

The eight limbs are not to be practiced one by one, nor in isolation. They are like the branches of a tree: they feed and support each other.

The first four limbs are often described as external. They are things we can put into action. The others are internal. They arise as a result of our actions.

The first two limbs are about how we live. They could be described as ideals or ethics. The third and fourth limbs are practices directly aimed at helping us with the first two limbs.

The External Limbs

1. Yamas (restraints)

2. Niyamas (observances)

3. Asana (posture)

4. Pranayama (control of energy, often translated as breath work)

The Internal Limbs

5. Pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses)

6. Dharana (concentration)

7. Dhyana (meditation)

8. Samadhi (enlightenment, stillness, the state of Yoga)

The first two limbs can be daunting. They seem reminiscent of instructions from a holy text. But Patanjali is not issuing commandments from on high. Rather, he simply recommends a way to live in tune with one's physical and spiritual environment.

Patanjali recommends five Yamas:

1. Ahimsa (refraining from violence)

2. Asteya (refraining from stealing)

3. Satya (refraining from dishonesty)

4. Bramacharya (practicing sexual continence – at the time this probably meant celibacy)

5. Aparigraha (practicing non attachment – ‘parigraha’ means gripping or grasping)

A helpful, non-judgmental approach to the Yamas is possible if we understand the Sanskrit word. Yama can be translated as “restraint” or “cessation”. The things Patanjali suggests we pull back from are mostly ‘drives’ or thoughtless actions.

By contrast the Niyamas could be described as ‘ideals’, or aspects of ourselves we should cultivate. Again there are five of them:

1. Saucha (cleanliness – both inside and out)

2. Santosha (contentment)

3. Tapas (discipline)

4. Swadhyaha (self study)

5. Ishvara Pranidhana (devotion to God)

Most people’s Yoga journey starts with the third limb, asana. Outside of India many people view asana as Yoga. This is partly because it is very straightforward to learn and teach. It draws the practitioner naturally towards exploring the other limbs by virtue of its tangible results. Patanjali himself only used the word asana to describe seated meditation. What we recognize as asana practice today  developed latterly, as an aid to seated meditation. To put it very, very simply: by the late middle ages adherants of what came to be known as ‘Hatha Yoga’ had begun to use physical techniques to tone and detoxify the body (so that the mind would follow suit).

Mysore style Astanga Yoga is a Hatha practice which blurs the line between seated meditation and physical excersise. During the asana practice our attention is drawn to three places. These are:

1. Regulated breath.

2. Vinyasa (a collective term to describe the postures themselves, the order in which they are sequenced  and the transitions between them)

3. Visual focus, also known as gaze point. In Sanskrit, Dristi).

Much like the eight limbs of Patanjali’s Yoga, the Tristhana is not a list of techniques. It is a foundation on which the physical practice is built. The three places of attention work like the legs of a tripod, supporting one another. Take one away and it falls over. Every single breath is wedded to a movement or held position, which is to say every single breath supports a vinyasa. Every single vinyasa, which is to say every single breath, has a dristi or visual gaze point.

By focusing on these ‘three places of attention’, the distractions of daily life can recede. The Trisathana  is a very effective form of meditation for anyone who finds the mind ‘wandering’ all too easily when they try to sit still. It is a great tonic for those frustrated by sedentary lifestyles. What’s more, Tristhana can free the practtioner from getting too caught up in thinking about technique on the mat.

Although many people would describe me as a yoga teacher, it is really just this third limb of asana that I teach. A guide, if you like, on one pathway out of eight. In all other aspects of the yoga journey, I am a fellow traveller. Or - put another way - a student!

The chance to join others in the eternal  study of yoga with no goal and no graduation has been the most rewarding experience of my life. If this website has made you curious and you would like to give it a go, please get in touch and we can take it from there.

Further reading about Astanga Yoga

The following texts might come in handy if you’re curious to know more about the philosophy behind this practice…

Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, BKS Iyengar, Harper Collins 1993

There are a lot of very good translations of and commentaries on the sutras. This is my favourite. Illustrative and illuminating.

The Truth of Yoga, Daniel Simpson, Northpoint Press, 2021

This concise, highly readable history of Yoga is very helpful in unpicking the journey from ancient philosophy to modern day practices.

Yoga Dharma, Hamish Hendry, Astanga Yoga London, 2014

And

Astanga Yoga Anusthana, Sharath Jois, KPJAYI, 2014

Two distinct and brilliantly concise practice manuals by my teachers in London and Mysore respectively. Hamish’s book refers the reader to a number of helpful texts to deep dive classical yoga philosophy. Sharathji’s is a treatise on the Primary series with some very handy illustrations.