Why I Love Ashtanga Yoga
by Rusty Nelson, Yoga Yoga Student

I lived my first 25 years of adult life with no regular exercise, smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. After trying different yoga classes for a few months, I walked into my first Ashtanga class. It was not beginner series and I don't think star classes were around at that time. To say I was shocked at what I saw and heard would be an incredible understatement. I felt like I was inside a sweaty freight train with a band of whirling dervishes.

I flirted with the practice for a few months. Over those first few months, I met some wonderful teachers like Bella, Annick, Sharon, Rachel, Chuck, Julie and Kisha. As I started to go more frequently, I started to get more comfortable with the practice. At a point that I can't remember, the flirtation turned into a love affair.

So why do I love Ashtanga Yoga?

I love the idea that it is "Old School". The method was inspired from ancient texts dating back to 1200 AD. Those texts were based upon an accumulation of centuries of yogic wisdom and insight. The motivation for T. Krishnamacharya and Pattabhi Jois to codify the practice based upon these texts was not to cash in on a marketplace opportunity. Ashtanga is what it is; an extreme practice designed to purify and strengthen the body and calm the mind.

I love its uncompromising nature. The primary series is the primary series. Each day you come to the mat to confront the same postures and vinyasas. With the help of an insightful teacher you modify where needed, but do so mindful of the fact that there is a higher expression of that posture. In a world that all too often caters and compromises to a lower common denominator, I welcome my daily encounter with an uncompromised ashtanga.

I love its completeness. There is not a primary series for hips, a primary series for inversions or primary series for arm balances. There is one primary series. In 90 minutes you work every tissue and muscle of your body. You do back bends, forward bends, hip and shoulder openers, inversions and arm balances. You do vinyasas….gosh, do you do vinyasas. In terms of addressing your entire body, I don't know of a more effective way to spend 90 minutes.

I would love to see our Austin Ashtanga community continue to grow and strengthen. By doing so, we'll continue to improve in our ability to support fantastic teachers. By doing so, we'll continue to improve in our ability to attract world class workshops. Heaven forbid, we may also grow to a point, where we might be able to support 6-8 pm mysore classes at all the Yoga Yoga centers every weekday!