5 Things I LOVE about Ashtanga Yoga

Practice and all is coming. - K. Pattabhi Jois, Founder Ashtanga Yoga

1. It's a home practitioner's dream. I don't know about you, but one of the reasons I love to go to a yoga class is that someone else tells me what to do--so I don't have to think, I can just BE. The Ashtanga Primary Series gives me the same thing, and I can do it at home while my daughter naps and for FREE. I can also add in things I want to work on and skip stuff I'm not in the mood for without much extra brain power.

2. Progress is inevitable and oh-so-obvious. When you're practicing the same set of poses every single day, you might think it would get boring. (I know that's what I used to think before I found myself addicted to the Primary Series.) But, after just a couple of weeks of practicing the series, I noticed I was getting better at the poses I found really difficult the first few times I did it--namely, Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana (Head to Big Toe Pose). No side-by-side selfies necessary to SEE the progress, I could actually FEEL myself getting stronger.

3. Follow your own breath--really! You know those vinyasa flow classes that claim you align your movements with your breath? It's more like I'm aligning my breath and my movements with the teacher's cues. I like that Ashtanga was designed to be practiced independently, so you really can follow your own breath and listen to your body's cues.

4. There's a plan. There's enough chaos in my life--I don't need more. So, I love that Ashtanga Yoga offers so many guidelines for the practice. hoot for practicing six days a week. Always practice the postures in a certain order. Hold poses for 5 breaths. Master the Primary Series before moving on. Don't practice on a full moon or new moon. It makes me feel all safe and secure knowing that there's always room to accommodate for growth, and even though I almost always fall short of the recommendations--I usually only get to practice 4 days a week right now and, as I've mentioned, sometimes I stray from the sequence--I love knowing I'll always have a structure to fall back on whenever I need it.

5. It's a workout. Obviously, yoga is much more than a fitness routine. But there's nothing wrong using your asana (the physical poses) practice to help you stay in shape physically as well as mentally and emotionally. I love that when I've practiced the Primary Series, I feel like I really worked my body. It lets me move, stretch, breathe, and work up a sweat so when I'm ready for Savasana (Final Resting Pose), I feel the most amazing release and a calm washes over my body.

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