Health & Fitness

Item Description

You are bidding on a one month unlimited classes for 2 at The Yoga Room.

Expires: 8/27/2015

Visit the website http://ashtangayogaroom.com/

About

Origins:
Ashtanga is a system of yoga that dates back to before the 5th century CE. We first hear of it is in the Yoga Sutras by the mysterious sage Patanjali. The Yoga Sutras is a book of 191 aphorisms that expounds on the meaning of yoga, yogic stages, how to attain these stages and the myriad effects of yoga. It is compiled into four chapters and is considered the philosophical authority on Yoga.

Ashtanga means (ashta) eight (anga) branches. These eight branches are Yama (external ethics), Niyama (internal ethics), Asana (postures), Pranayama (control of breath), Pratyahara (retracting the senses), Dharana (concentration) Dhyana (meditation) and Samadhi (a state of bliss). The branches are distinct but completely interrelated and integral to each other. It is a systematic approach to deepening and understanding one’s experience of being in the world. Ultimately, it leads to a life that is balanced and full.

Pattabhi Jois, the guru or primary teacher of Ashtanga Yoga, was a direct link to this knowledge that is traditionally passed down from teacher to student through Parampara, or unbroken oral teachings. To the best that we can know the series of postures that we practice today are an amalgamation of teachings from Jois’s own guru, the great Yogi Krishnamacharya, his own practice and study of ancient texts.

On a scale virtually unheard of in today’s world, Jois dedicated his life to the study and practice of the eight limbs of yoga. The six series of postures progressively covered by the Ashtanga system are the basis for Hatha yoga practiced in the west. Jois initiated students in advanced Pranayama once he felt a vinyasa asana practice grounded in ujjayi had sufficiently strengthened and steadied the nervous system.

Jois’ traditional Brahmin heritage, his humble roots from a small Indian village, his adult life as a householder, his familial lineage in astrology, his encyclopedic knowledge of ancient texts, his professorship as a Sanskrit scholar, his seven decades of yoga teaching, his close relationship to his own yoga teacher and most importantly, practice itself, made Pattabhi Jois one of the last teachers of his kind. He passed away in 2009.

In the mid 1960’s the first westerners found their way to Mysore, India to study and learn from Pattabhi Jois. This was a fortuitous day for many as his teachings have now touched thousands across the world leaving behind his legacy in the form of his Certified teachers, his daughter Saraswati and his grandson Sharath. Jois’s Ashtanga lineage is an expansive system that will enlighten and inform you for multiple lifetimes.

Item Special Note

City Nights online auction takes all major credit cards.  You must register with a credit card, but if you prefer to pay by check please contact PA.auction@mpcds.com no later than March 12, 2015.  The winning bidder is responsible for all shipping costs.  Shipping will be handled by either USPS, UPS or FedEx.  Delivery signature will be required.