This yoga practice synchronizes movements and breathing to strengthen and stylize the body, purify the body and calm the mind and emotions.
“I thought yoga wasn’t so physical,” Maria said after her first ashtanga yoga session, “I thought it was much calmer.”
It is generally ignored that yoga has physical and dynamic variants, including Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, an energy technique to improve physical health and achieve inner calm.
ASHTANGA YOGA: THE MOST DYNAMIC STYLE
Like any style of yoga (which in Sanskrit means “union”) it favors the integral well-being of the person, but it differs from others by the practice of vinyasa, a system of synchronized movements and breathing.
These movements act as a common thread between the postures (asanas) and allow a fluid and dynamic practice.
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The continued practice of ashtanga yoga stylizes and strengthens the body, provides a serene state of mind and purifies the organism, mind and emotions.
Its benefits are innumerable and therefore it has become one of the most fashionable yoga styles in the West despite coming from India, from a text called Yoga Kurunta with more than a thousand years old. People with very different lifestyles practice it assiduously.
It is a demanding activity, since it requires tenacity, endurance and concentration, but anyone can start; The only requirement is to be consistent and patient.
THE BENEFITS OF ASHTANGA YOGA: CHANGES IN THE BODY AND MIND
Maria had practiced different sports, including swimming, spinning and jogging, but could not “hook” on any. He started in yoga at a time when he suffered a lot of stress.
“It had caused a high cholesterol, anxiety and tension in my back, and I could not improve. It was to start doing yoga and get relaxed,” she explains. “Everything was balanced for me.”
He has been practicing ashtanga for a year and a half and has noticed many changes, both physical and mental and emotional. The most notable: a change in your body posture, the disappearance of external and internal tensions, the strengthening of the abdominals, an improvement in your digestion and circulation, an increased ability to concentrate and, most importantly, the disappearance of stress.
“After a few months of practicing ashtanga, I noticed that I had created a resistance to stress; I was no longer affected by things that I would have done before. I felt much better.”
Maria started in ashtanga yoga at a time of great stress and after a few months she noticed physical improvements and that she lived more relaxed.
The changes that the practice causes in the body and mind are immediate if it is continued; It is recommended to start with a minimum of two sessions a week.
The most quickly detectable are the physical ones: the body is stylized and muscules slightly. “It was the first thing I noticed; the body is toned from head to toe,” says Maria. They also quickly improve posture, flexibility, coordination and strength.
From an internal point of view, the practice of ahstanga increases the ability to concentrate, vitality and energy, thereby achieving a healthy and awake physical and mental state.
In the medium term, it helps to release tension, relax the mind, reduce stress and balance the metabolism, significantly improving the digestive process, constipation, circulation and falling asleep.
Over time, emotional blockages are undone and even mental processes are observed from detachment, without judging or identifying with them.
HOW IS AN ASHTANGA YOGA SESSION
Who starts in ashtanga does not have to have practiced yoga before or possess specific skills.
The sessions can be guided (the teacher explains the sequence) or, when the postures are known, Mysore style (the student practices at his own pace and the teacher corrects him).
In either form, the structure of the practice is always the same: the same sequence of asanas is repeated and, as the practice progresses, the teacher adds new postures.
Knowing the series, without having to follow the teacher or think about what posture he follows, allows you to concentrate on the rhythmic and regular sound of breathing, which automatically calms the mind and paralyzes the continuous thoughts that come to mind and that, in general, are the most frequent cause of stress.
With the regular practice of ashtanga yoga it is possible to eliminate internal and external tensions, concentrate attention on the now, and thus make the difficult “live and enjoy the moment” a reality.
The session begins by saying a mantra in Sanskrit that expresses the desire for health and prosperity; sun salutations follow that help warm and purify the body; standing postures, which provide strength and stability; sitting postures, which intensify and tone the practice; and the finals, which are used to regain balance and harmony.
Each asana prepares for the next: it develops the strength, elasticity, and balance needed to continue.
It is advisable to relax a minimum of 10 minutes after practice to assimilate its benefits.
Apart from vinyasa (the union of breathing and movement) the essential principles of ashtanga are the combination of calm and regular breathing (ujjayi) with the muscular contractions of the abdomen and pelvic floor (bands), and the fixed focus point of the gaze (Drishti).