ASHTANGA IN VENICE

ASHTANGA YOGA

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Method and Tradition

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Ashtanga yoga was codified and popularized by K. Pattabhi Jois, a student of Krishnamacharya, in the early twentieth century, as the modern form of traditional classical Indian yoga. The heir of the Ashtanga yoga lineage

was Paramaguru Sharath Jois, grandson and pupil of K. Pattabhi Jois, who died suddenly and prematurely in November 2024.

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Ashtanga means eight limbs/parts (yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, samadhi) of a whole, of which physical practice (asana) is a part. It's a dynamic practice consisting of the unchanged repetition of an established sequence of positions (Primary Series, Intermediate Series, Advanced Series A, B, C, and D).

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Through the synchronization of breath and movement and connecting the āsanas with a set of movements like the pearls of a mala (vinyasa), the focus of the gaze in a specific point (drishti), the use of bandhas ("body locks") and a sounded breathing, ashtanga yoga brings the attention inward (pratyahara) and leads to concentration (dharana) to a real meditation (dhyana) through the moving of the body.