It’s great to have the opportunity to talk to teachers that have been with the Ashtanga practice for so many years. Mark explains the things he emphasizes in his teaching, breaking patterns, bandhas and more.
In this interview with Michael I got to ask him about how he started his journey into yoga, and especially his rather unorthodox approach to teaching and his own practice. Using music! (yes you read right). And of course much more!
I really enjoyed doing this interview with Tim. He is easy to talk to and had lots to share. His experience and understanding of the body leads to some useful insights when discussing asana. We had time to talk about many topics including how his background in dance influences his teaching, as well as specific asanas.
While in Bali I have been taking the opportunity to catch up with some of the teachers that can give us insights into the Ashtanga practice. In this interview I talk to Iain Grysak about the breath. We all know that we should use an Ujjayi breath throughout the practice but are you truly connecting with it, and using it to it’s full potential? We discuss the common areas in which problems can occur and Iain even gives a short breathing exercise designed to connect more subtly with the breath.
I finally caught up with Matthew Sweeney again. this time in Bali. In this interview we get to talk about what it means to have a therapeutic practice, his moon sequence, teacher qualities, observation of moon days, bandhas and more.
While I was in London recently I snatched the chance to interview Ashtanga and Yin Teacher Norman Blair. Many practitioners are drawn to the idea of supporting their yang predominant practice with something more restorative or yin. In this interview we discuss what is meant by yin yoga and how it can complement an Ashatanga practice.
If you are interested in Yoga Anatomy or Ashtanaga you will know about David Keil. With his great and informative Yoga Anatomy website and worldwide workshops. I was like a kid in a toy shop when I got the chance to interview David. Loads of topics were covered with plenty of geeky anatomy talk.
Have you ever met someone who just makes you smile with the warmth that they emanate without having to say a word? That is Petri Raisanen. Calm, tranquil,and the sort of person that makes you feel that you have known them for ages even though you have just said hello. When taking a mysore practice this quite but powerful presence holds the energy in the room in a state that promotes that elusive moving meditation.
David Robson has one of the world’s largest Ashtanga mysore programs outside of Mysore itself. He is part of the new vanguard of teachers that have studied only under Sharath Jois. A level 2 authorised teacher he describes himself as traditional in style. David is one of the most passionate and entertaining teachers that I have had the pleasure in interviewing and I know you will enjoy this.
When analyzing the human body there are many things we could discuss. The Thirtieth Edition of Gray’s Anatomy runs to nearly 1700 pages. And that is just a description of body parts. Textbooks on physiology easily go into the thousands of pages. But what is most immediately relevant to Hatha Yoga practitioners is “How does my body move?” or even more precisely “Why does my body not move the way I want it to?”