Ashtanga Yoga
01
What is it?
One of the most popular traditional yoga styles today, thanks to its extraordinary results: through rigorous discipline and learning to use the breath correctly, the body and mind work in unison, achieving benefits on many levels: improving posture, increasing mental and physical energy levels, and reducing stress. Recommended for those who aren't afraid to sweat.
03
The body knows everything
In our habit of speaking, of acting through intellectual reasoning, we forget how to learn through the experience of our bodies. If we think about it, it's funny: we didn't learn how to take the first steps from books, yet as we grow, we persist in approaching everything with our rational mind that is instead a physical and intuitive learning. Ashtanga yoga helps us rediscover this dimension: beyond words and theory, it is the gestures that teach : in silent practice, the physical contact between teacher and student helps us understand through "feeling."
02
Ashtanga is not for me
You hear this phrase all too often. People are discouraged by the myth of impossible asanas and the idea that this type of yoga is very tiring and demanding. Nothing could be more incorrect. In its traditional form , Mysore Style, the sequence is taught step by step and in a personalized manner. Each asana is learned at the practitioner's own pace, allowing the body time to understand what it needs to do. The practice thus becomes personal and autonomous.
While in other yoga styles the student adapts to the group structure, in this case each student sets their own pace, following the flow of their breath.
What could be simpler?
04
The shala
The shala is the home of yoga.
This house in Turin and in San Sicario.
We are itinerant and strolling.
Write to us to find out more.
Mantra.
The initial mantra of Ashtanga Yoga is the way we dedicate the merits and efforts of our personal practice to the Masters who have preceded us:
auṁ
vande gurūṇāṁ caraṇāravinde
sandarśita svātma sukhāva bodhe ||
I BOW AT THE LOTUS FEET OF THE SUPREME GURU WHO TEACHES THE TRUTH,
SHOWING THE PATH TO KNOW THE WAY OF AWAKENING.
Questa frase simboleggia un profondo rispetto per Patanjali, inteso come Guru Supremo. [essendo gurunam plurale, riconosciamo non solo Patanjali come Guru, ma tutti i Maestri, i praticanti che hanno percorso questo cammino prima di noi]. Inchinarsi (Pranam) è un gesto comune in Asia. Simbolicamente ci aiuta a centrarci sul momento presente e a essere più semplici, sensibili e umili.
“I piedi di loto” è una formula classica attribuita ai maestri, in quanto rappresenta l’elevarsi dalla condizione umana verso la consapevolezza dello spirito: il loto cresce in acque torbide eppure il fiore è immacolato, per questo è il simbolo di chi vive nel mondo senza esserne contaminato. Ci inchiniamo perciò, ai Guru che attraverso la pratica dello yoga hanno superato le insidie della vita e hanno ottenuto il Risveglio.
niḥ-śreyase jaṅgali-kāyamāne
saṁsāra hālāhala mohaśāṁtyai
HE, ACTING AS A JUNGLE DOCTOR, ELIMINATES THE POISONS CAUSED BY SAMSARA
Jangalikayamane is translated from Sanskrit as " healer ," " jungle doctor ," or " snake charmer ." The jungle doctor is the sage, the shaman, the one who knows. Patanjali is the charmer, the one who is able to extract venom from snakes. With this evocative image, we recognize the power of yoga as an antidote that eliminates poisons, that is, the suffering caused by the eternal cycle of life, death, and rebirth (samsara).
[In daily life: Through practice we learn to abandon the repetitive and familiar patterns that we put into practice, we learn to observe ourselves, becoming "healers" ourselves]
ābāhu puruṣākāraṁ
śaṁkhacakrāsi dhāriṇam |
sahasra śirasaṁ śvetaṁ
praṇamāmi patañjalim
HE HAS THE UPPER PART OF THE BODY IN HUMAN FORM
HE HOLDS A SHELL, A DISC AND A SWORD
According to one myth, Patanjali is the son of Ādiśesa (lord of serpents and carrier of Vishnu) and the yogini Gonika: he is therefore depicted as half-human, half-serpent. He has several ritual objects at his disposal: a conch, a discus, and a sword (Vishnu is also often depicted with the same objects).
In Hindu scriptures, Vishnu's conch is known as the Shankha , and its power is to bestow fame, longevity, and prosperity. The disc, on the other hand, is the wheel of time: Sudarshana Chakra , which indicates auspicious vision.
The third symbol is a sword. Vishnu is generally depicted with a mace, called Kaumodaki . In both cases, it is the weapon with which ignorance is defeated, symbolizing the strength that bestows knowledge.