sahasra shirasam shvetam
pranamami patanjalim
Om
I bow to the lotus feet of the supreme teacher who reveals the happiness of self-realization; who like the jungle doctor removes the delusion caused by the great poison of conditioned existence.
To Patanjali, who (representing the serpent of infinity) has thousands of white, radiant heads, who in his human form holds a conch (representing sound), a discus (representing light), and a sword (representing discrimination), I prostrate.
In the year 3102 BCE, the emperor Yudishthira stepped down and awaited the death of Krishna and the beginning of the dark age (Kali Yuga). Due to the increasing materialism and corruption of that age, the ancient sages (rishis) retreated into the recesses of the Himalayas.
However, as vedic teacher David Frawley has pointed out, the rishis have not disappeared entirely: they are observing mankind from a distance. It depends on us whether it will become possible for them to return and with them much of the knowledge, wisdom, and intelligence of humankind. Through our combined efforts we must try to usher in a new golden age (Satya Yuga).
This book is an attempt to bring about a renaissance of ancient dharma and to play a part in restoring yoga to the glory it once was.
May all beings experience that which is auspicious.
Gregor Maehle Perth, Australia Ninth day of the bright fortnight in the lunar mansion of Phalguni, year 5108 Kali Yuga
I extend my thanks to all the following:
To teachers who have influenced my work —
Yogasana Visharada Shri Krishna Pattabhi Jois of Mysore, who taught me this method, which he had received from his teacher Shri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya. Without the work of K. Pattabhi Jois, Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga would have been lost. All modern practitioners of Ashtanga Yoga benefit directly or indirectly from his teaching.
Yoga Shastra Pundita Shri B. N. S. Iyengar of Mysore, student of T. Krishnamacharya and K. Pattabhi Jois, who instructed me in yoga philosophy.
Shri A. G. Mohan, student of T. Krishnamacharya, who answered my final questions regarding the Yoga Sutra.
Richard Freeman, Dena Wiseman, and Graeme Northfield, all students of K. Pattabhi Jois, who deepened my understanding of asana.
To my wife, Monica Gauci, for walking this path of yoga with me, for encouraging me to continue with this project in moments of doubt, for supplying valuable information for the practice section, and for being a model in the asana photographs.
To my editor and designer, Allan Watson, who, with his versatile expertise, has made a more than significant contribution to this book.
Also to —
Steve Dance — graphical illustrations and cover design
Adrian Kat — photography
To the following publishers and authors, who have given permission for the use of their material:
Advaita Ashrama, Kolkata
Sri Ramakrisna Math, Chennai
Hohm Press, Prescott, Arizona
Sri A. G. Mohan, Chennai
Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi
Kapil Math monastery, Madhupur
Finally, to everybody at 8limbs Ashtanga Yoga in Perth, Australia, for their work during the more than two years I was engaged in writing this text.
During a study trip to the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore in 1996, I asked the Ashtanga master K. Pattabhi Jois about the relevance of different scriptures for the Ashtanga Vinyasa method. With the words “This is Patanjali Yoga,” he pointed out that the text of prime importance for this school was the Yoga Sutra compiled by the ancient seer Patanjali. He said it was a difficult text, and only sincere study could lead to an understanding. He urged me to undertake daily study of the Yoga Sutra for a long time. The combination of these studies with daily Ashtanga Vinyasa practice led me eventually to realize that the Yoga Sutra and the vinyasa method are really only two sides of the same coin.
That is the central theme of this book. For yoga practice to be successful, there can be no separation of practice and philosophy. Indeed, new approaches to practice have always come out of philosophy, while practice prepares the intellect for philosophy. In fact the Yoga Sutra suggests that philosophical inquiry — svadhyaya, or vichara as Shankara calls it — is itself a form of practice, and an essential ingredient of the path to freedom.
This book is dedicated to bringing the two aspects back together and restoring what historically was one system, lost through the lapse of time.
The Rediscovery of the Ashtanga Vinyasa System
The notion that the Yoga Sutra and the vinyasa system are two sides of one coin has been strongly present from the beginning of the modern-day Ashtanga Yoga lineage. K. Pattabhi Jois received the vinyasa method from his master, T. Krishnamacharya; Krishnamacharya’s own master, Ramamohan Brahmachary, instructed him to seek out what was understood to be the last remaining copy of an elusive scripture, the Yoga Korunta, thought to have been compiled by the ancient seer Vamana.
According to Krishnamacharya’s biography,1 the Yoga Korunta contained not only the vinyasa system but also the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali and its commentary, Yoga Bhasya, compiled by the Rishi Vyasa. These were bound together in one volume. We can see from this that, in ancient times, what are today regarded as two systems that only share the same name — the Ashtanga Yoga of Patanjali and the Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga of the Rishi Vamana — were in fact one.
We see here also the idea that yogic philosophy is taught together with the practice. The practice of asana (posture) alone poses a danger. According to K. Pattabhi Jois, “Partial yoga methods out of line with their internal purpose can build up the ‘six enemies’ (desire, anger, greed, illusion, infatuation, and envy) around the heart. The full Ashtanga system practised with devotion leads to freedom within one’s heart.”2
Today, however, we are in the situation where on the one hand there are scholars who try to understand the Yoga Sutra without knowing its practices, while on the other hand there are many Ashtanga Vinyasa practitioners who are established in practice but do not know the philosophy of their system. Both aspects practiced together will make practice easy, because we know where it leads and how we get there. Without dedicated practice, philosophy can turn into mere theory. Once established in practice, we will swiftly internalize the philosophy and attain higher yoga.
The Relevance of Ashtanga Yoga Today
I do not claim here that Vinyasa Yoga is the only form of Patanjali Yoga. That would be absurd. It is, however, one of the authentic representations of Patanjali’s sutra that is still alive.
This system is precious — and relevant — today because it was conceived by the ancient seer Vamana, the author of the Yoga Korunta, especially for householders (grihasta). A householder is somebody who has a job and family, and lives and works in society, as opposed to a