Ashtanga Yoga question

DesdemonaRose

Hello. I was thinking about getting a David Swenson tape, since I have one of his books, but after reading reviews saying his workouts were not for begenniers I thought I should Youtube some Ashtanga yoga first. I found a beginner video, but it was really fast.. ie the flow from one movement to another. I couldn't keep up at first, but once I got the sequence down I did better.

Does Astanga Yoga usually move faster? I do like the more dynamic yoga and really like Rodney Yee's Yoga Burn, but I need something I can keep up with. Yee's "power yoga" video does move quite a bit slower than what I tried.

yogibella

I haven't tried a David Swenson tape yet but I used to take Ashtanga in a class setting (not many teachers around here unfortunately) and it can move pretty fast if you're not used to it, especially the opening sequence (Surya Namaskara A & . But once you learn it, and learn to move with your breath, it gets much better. I haven't taken a real traditional or Mysore style class so I maybe wrong but it doesn't seem much faster than a challenging vinyasa flow class. You do flow into the poses with your breath and then hold for 5...so I think most practice/classes are paced similarly, regardless of the level of its students. I think the problem for beginners is that it doesn't give you much time to adjust, modify and/or get into the asanas--so you have to know them pretty well. And you do have to build up your strength/endurance. Are you a beginner to Ashtanga or to yoga in general?

That being said, I find Ashtanga a challenging, sweaty, invigorating and surprisingly, a very centering practice. That's what I love about it! And I'm sure it'll keep me challenged for years to come:) I hope you'll like it too!

yoginimary

I haven't done the video either, but David Swenson lives in my town, so I've taken a class with him (back story: I decided to try Ashtanga to see whether or not I liked it, so if I'm going to try it, try with a master, right? Wasn't my thing, though I have a lot of respect for the lineage). Anyway just like yogibella said: basically one move per breath for the Surya Namaskar (except down dog you get 5) - there's a lot of jumping and a lot of sweating. There are some seriously hard poses in the primary series. It also helps to have long limbs and a short torso for the jumpings. Swenson does have a "short forms" video, that might be good.
http://www.amazon.com/SHORT-FORMS-Practice-Ashtanga-Swenson/dp/B0002444ZQ/ref=sr_1_3?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1380200575&sr=1-3&keywords=David+Swenson
That said, you should learn the Sanskrit names of the poses and know what the poses look like - if you know what is coming, it will help. You could always check your library, you never know what they might have.

I rented Rodney Yee's Advanced video the other day to see what I could do, to see how I've progressed - well, I couldn't stand how fast it moved. I felt like I wasn't getting a stretch in the poses. I need at least 20 seconds to fully get into the pose and these were just one breath. He has a ton of videos though and you could try more of them. You could also work with Swenson's book and see what you can do. Or, take a class with him: http://www.ashtanga.net/classes.html

DesdemonaRose

It would be amazing to take a class with Swenson! Mainly I just saw his poses in his book (he shows stages to include the super advanced) and thought, "I want to do THAT!" hehe. I am pretty far from some of that. I've used the book before, but you can't exactly stay in form when your turning pages to remember what something is suppose to look like. I also never realized the moves were suppose to continually flow. The Youtube video I followed did pause for the stretches. I've mostly done yoga classes where all of the poses are paused for a few breaths.

Rodney Yee's Burn yoga is slower and focused more on timing than breathing. You should take so long to get into each pose. The same concept of slow reps when weight lifting. You might find it more your speed, but they are not 20 seconds slow. He doesn't do anything really complicated though, all very familiar yoga moves. The hardest move for me is lifting one leg into the air while in downward facing dog. My arms get tired quickly you repeat that move, slowly, a few times. I should get Yee's advanced DVD, he fascinates me. I'll admit that part of it is because he has a almost perfect body per my personal preferences.

Learning the names would be key. Thanks for the insight!

yogibella

I haven't done the video either, but David Swenson lives in my town, so I've taken a class with him (back story: I decided to try Ashtanga to see whether or not I liked it, so if I'm going to try it, try with a master, right? Wasn't my thing, though I have a lot of respect for the lineage). Anyway just like yogibella said: basically one move per breath for the Surya Namaskar (except down dog you get 5) - there's a lot of jumping and a lot of sweating. There are some seriously hard poses in the primary series. It also helps to have long limbs and a short torso for the jumpings. Swenson does have a "short forms" video, that might be good.
http://www.amazon.com/SHORT-FORMS-Practice-Ashtanga-Swenson/dp/B0002444ZQ/ref=sr_1_3?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1380200575&sr=1-3&keywords=David+Swenson
That said, you should learn the Sanskrit names of the poses and know what the poses look like - if you know what is coming, it will help. You could always check your library, you never know what they might have.

@Mary - he lives in your town? lucky you! thanks for the link--the "short forms" DVD I think would be great for a home practice. (The full primary series takes roughly 90min to complete, if anyone is curious.) Yes, I agree, there are some seriously hard & advanced poses in the primary series and it'll take me years to get to the full expression of them. But I think that's true of any yoga or practice:)

If anyone is interested, there is a primary series practice sheet that you can get, that will help in learning the series and the Sanskrit names: http://www.ashtanga-yoga-canada.com/free-online-yoga.html

yoginimary

Now why didn't I think of that yogibella? Yes, there's tons of info on-line relating to the series.

I have Yoga Burn, but I haven't done it in some time. Advanced is a nice view - he does lotus in elbow balance (or since you're learning the Sanskrit: padmasana in pincha mayurasana). I have his Intermediate too (I used to do videos, then I got bored with them and switched to audios, which I like much better because I don't have to look at the screen - ihanuman has a ton) - which is exactly what it says it is - harder than his regular videos, easier than his advanced.

Here are some key terms to help with the Sanskrit:
pada means foot sometimes toe
hasta means hand
eka means one
dwi means two
urdhva means up
adho means down
supta means reclined

so for urdhva mukha (face) svanasana (svan=dog, asana=pose) - up faced dog pose
adho mukha svanasana - down faced dog pose
supta padagustasana - reclined big toe pose
adho mukha vrksasana -down faced tree pose - usually called handstand, even by those that use a lot of Sanskrit
etc.
doesn't apply to all poses, but breaking them down has helped me learn them

:bigsmile: