Ashtanga isn’t relaxing yoga: it’s a tough discipline of sweat, breath, and movement that forges both body and mind.
- Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga is a dynamic and physically demanding style.
- It is based on a fixed sequence of poses (asanas) synchronized with the breath (vinyasa).
- It generates intense internal heat, promoting sweat, strength, and flexibility.
- The cornerstones of the practice are Sun Salutations A and B, performed as a warm-up.
- Fundamentals include Ujjayi Breath (audible and controlled) and Drishti (fixed gaze points).
- It requires discipline and a gradual approach, ideally under the guidance of a teacher.
Looking for a Yoga That’s Also a Real Workout? Welcome to Ashtanga
If, when you hear the word “yoga,” your mind jumps to ethereal people sitting cross-legged, chanting “Om” while waiting for enlightenment, with all due respect, you’re off track. Or rather, you’re on a different track.
There is a type of yoga that, before enlightening your mind, will make you sweat. And not metaphorical sweat—real sweat, the kind that drenches your shirt and makes you wonder why you didn’t just stay on the couch. It’s called Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga.
It’s a powerful, rigorous style, almost martial in its discipline. If you’re looking for something that tests your muscles as much as your patience, and that forces you to stay in the present—because if you get distracted for one second, you’ll fall flat on your face—then maybe, just maybe, you’re in the right place.
What Is Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga: The Dance of Breath and Movement
Forget classes where the teacher makes up a sequence on the fly. Ashtanga, as codified and spread by K. Pattabhi Jois in the last century, is the exact opposite. It’s pure discipline.
It’s based on fixed sequences of poses (asanas). There are six in total, but don’t think you’ll finish them in a weekend. The vast majority of practitioners never move past the First Series (called Yoga Chikitsa, or yoga therapy) their entire lives. And that is perfectly okay.
The glue that holds it all together, the magic word, is Vinyasa. This term signifies the perfect synchronization between movement and breath. Every single gesture, every transition from one pose to the next, is guided by an inhalation or an exhalation. There is no movement without breath, no breath without movement.
It’s a meditation in motion, a dance—but a precise dance, one that generates insane internal heat designed to purify the body and burn toxins.
The Benefits: Strength, Flexibility, and a Mind of Steel
What’s all this effort for? The benefits are tangible and arrive on multiple levels.
- Strength: Ashtanga builds incredible, toned, functional strength. You aren’t lifting weights; you’re lifting yourself, over and over again. The vinyasas (especially the infamous Chaturanga Dandasana, a push-up that will become your nightmare and your best friend) sculpt the arms, shoulders, and core.
- Flexibility: At first, you’ll feel like a piece of wood. That’s normal. But the generated heat and the consistency of the practice will help you release tensions you’ve been carrying for years, gaining a level of elasticity you didn’t think possible.
- Endurance: The pace is sustained. It is, in effect, a full cardiovascular workout. Your stamina will improve—massively.
- Focus: This is the best part. Ashtanga is boring, in a good way. It’s repetitive. And this forces your mind to stop wandering. If you’re thinking about your grocery list while balancing on one leg, you fall. Period. It forces you to be here and now. It forges you.
Ready to Start? The Step-by-Step Guide to Sun Salutations A and B
I’m certainly not going to teach you the First Series here. But every single Ashtanga practice in the world begins the same way: with Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskara). They are the engine, the warm-up, the ABCs of the practice.
You begin with 5 Sun Salutations A (Surya Namaskara A). This is the base sequence:
- Start standing (Samasthiti).
- Inhale: raise your arms overhead.
- Exhale: fold forward (Uttanasana).
- Inhale: lengthen your spine, look forward.
- Exhale: jump or walk back to Chaturanga Dandasana (the push-up, don’t touch the ground!).
- Inhale: push up on your hands, open your chest into Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward-Facing Dog).
- Exhale: lift your hips, move into Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog).
- Stay here for 5 long breaths.
- Inhale: jump or walk forward, lengthen your spine.
- Exhale: fold forward again into Uttanasana.
- Inhale: rise all the way up with your arms raised.
- Exhale: return to Samasthiti.
Then you do 3 or 5 Sun Salutations B (Surya Namaskara B). It’s similar to A, but it adds two poses: Chair Pose (Utkatasana) at the beginning and end, and Warrior 1 (Virabhadrasana I) in the middle of the Vinyasa, first on the right and then on the left. This is what really starts to make you sweat.
The First Fundamental Standing Poses
Once the Salutations are done (and you’ll already be nice and warm), the real sequence begins, starting with the standing poses. The very first ones are two forward folds:
- Padangusthasana: From standing, separate your feet hip-width apart, exhale, and grab your big toes with your index and middle fingers. Inhale to lengthen your spine, exhale and pull, folding forward, bringing your head toward your knees. 5 breaths.
- Padahastasana: Release your toes, inhale, and slide the palms of your hands completely under the soles of your feet (yes, you have to step on your hands). Exhale and fold again. Another 5 breaths.
Immediately after, you start working on twists and balance with Trikonasana (Triangle Pose) and its revolved version. But for today, let’s stop here.
The Importance of Ujjayi Breath and Drishti (Gaze)
There are two things you need to know, even more important than the poses.
- Ujjayi Breath: This is the sound of the practice. It’s achieved by slightly contracting the glottis, producing a dull, constant sound, both inhaling and exhaling, always through the nose. It sounds like the ocean, or, if you’re a Star Wars fan, it’s a bit reminiscent of Darth Vader. It’s not just for show: this controlled breath heats the air, calms the nervous system, gives you rhythm, and helps you concentrate.
- The Drishti: Every single pose in Ashtanga has a fixed gazing point (the drishti). It might be the tip of the nose, the navel, the big toe, or the hand stretched overhead. Fixing your gaze prevents your eyes (and thus your mind) from wandering, aiding balance and internal concentration.
How to Approach Ashtanga: Gradual Progress and Listening to Your Body
Let’s be clear: Ashtanga is demanding and has its rules. You can’t really learn it from an internet video. The ideal way is to find a school that teaches in the traditional manner, especially in the “Mysore Style.”
What is Mysore? It’s the traditional way of teaching: there is no guided class. Everyone practices their own sequence (which at the beginning might only be 10 minutes of Sun Salutations) at their own pace, while the teacher moves around the room, adjusts, and “gives” you the next pose only when you are ready.
At the beginning, you’ll only do the salutations and the first few standing poses. The complete First Series lasts about 90 minutes. It takes months, if not years, to learn it. Don’t rush to “get to the end” or to “nail the pose.” The point isn’t putting your foot behind your head. The point is just showing up, on the mat, breath after breath. The rest—the strength, the flexibility, the calm—will come. Or maybe it won’t, but at least you’ll have learned to breathe better when you’re stuck in traffic.