AshtangaNews Ashtanga Yoga Matters (as taught by Sri K Pattabhi Jois)

With the close of 2006 this is a good opportunity to review what happened last year in Ashtanga Yoga.

2006 for Sri K. Pattabhi Jois

This was a very active year, especially for Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and his family. At 91, he is not appearing to slow down!

Guruji by Govinda Kai
Thank you, Govinda,
for your many contributions to AN

• January: Meeting with B.K.S. Iyengar
• March: World Tour Part 1 in London, San Francisco and New York
• July: 91st Birthday Party
• August: World Tour Part 2 in France, Finland and Denmark
• November: News of the new shala opening in Florida

2006 in Ashtanga Products

A new book about Ashtanga used to appear every few years. This year we had two, plus two DVDs.

Mysore practice at YiY from the Morning Mysore 2007 Calendar
by Antonia

• January: Ashtanga Yoga: Practice and Philosophy book by Gregor Maehle
• March: a new film, Guru
• March: Sharath’s Primary Series DVD
• March: Mystore Style photo book by Graeme Montgomery
• November: Morning Mysore 2007 Calendar

2006 for Ashtanga teaching

The teaching and practice of Ashtanga yoga continued to flourish, as evidenced by:

Shanghai from dinoo

• the record numbers of student going to Mysore, India to study with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois at the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute,
• record numbers of new teachers and Ashtanga schools listed on Ashtanga.com, and
• the surge of interest in Ashtanga in Asia, especially Japan

2006 for Ashtanga on the web

As the growth in traffic and new technologies on the internet continues, so do Ashtanga cyber-resources. Here’s a selection:

• photos tagged Ashtanga on Flickr.com exploded
• the number of photos of the different Ashtanga series grew

The #1 Interestingness result for Ashtanga on Flickr
This photo features Lisa Hill and was taken by milopeng from Chicago, Illinois.

Throughout the year, old regulars continued their excellent work: Ashtanga.com providing official information, Ashtangi.net with its ever expanding collection of Ashtanga blogs, AYRI.org getting a new look, and Sharath’s tres cool site.

We’re looking forward to sharing more great photos
like this one from MasTaPiannis

And let’s not forget the new kid on the block, AshtangaNews.com… If we’ve missed anything, please let us know.

Thank you to everyone who’s contributed to AshtangaNews - especially our writers - Govinda Kai, Lori, KJS, Jinn, Tara, Lisa and Wendy - and everyone who’s shared story ideas with us - particularly Bala, commented on and read AshtangaNews!

We thought the height of the yoga boom happened when yoga made it to the cover of Time Magazine on April 23, 2001.

Time scoops BW by 6 years

Well, here we are in 2007 and Business Week has published an article, not just on yoga, but on Ashtanga and Mysore! The article is listed under, of all things, a section of the magazine called Executive Life.

Published in the January 29, 2007 issue, Business Week’s Pilgrimage to the Heart of Yoga describes practicing at AYRI, mentions some of the famous Ashtangis who’ve visited and gives recommendations for hotels, restaurants and attractions. Plus, the article quotes non-celebrity (yet?) Ashtangis, Russell of mysore musings…

Russell Smith, a New York entertainment lawyer, says part of the attraction of Ashtanga yoga is the physical rigor. When he first took classes in New York, “I couldn’t do any of the poses, and I felt awful,” he recalls. “Even so, I was on a cloud. The class really opened me up—the combination of movement and breathing was amazing. I’m hooked.” Since 2004, Smith has spent at least three months a year studying in Mysore.

…and local Ashtangi, Marcus Fontoura. (Thanks for the tip, Marcus.)

Yum! What’s this?
courtesy Business Week

Classes start at 5 a.m. and ends at 8:30 a.m., after which many students adjourn to nearby cafés. Whatever they order must be vegetarian. Alcohol, too, is off-limits. The strict regimen doesn’t seem to be a problem for the students, according to Marcus Fontoura, a senior research scientist at Yahoo! Research in Sunnyvale, Calif., who is on his first pilgrimage to Mysore. “I practice at 5 a.m. in California, too. I’m used to it. Everyone is.”

Guruji & Sharath in the slide show

The best part is the slide show with some great photos and information.

Now these photos we’ve seen before
and BW didn’t give credit (also from the slide show)

The best times to visit are winter, fall, and—if you don’t mind the monsoons—summer. The Institute is closed in April and May because it’s just too hot, even for those who seek to transcend the physical.

So, what now, corporate retreats at AYRI?

Speaking of which, just in from Bindifry, aka Lisa Hill from Tokyo…

today a tv crew came and filmed mysore class. they will show an 8 minute segment saturday night about yoga for businessmen-the early morning wake up.

Find the TV crew at Tokyo Yoga. (Thanks, Lisa.)