La palabra “ashtanga” significa “ocho miembros”, y se refiere a las ocho formas diferentes de vivir un estilo de vida verdaderamente yóguico. Y sólo uno de esos “miembros” es la práctica física de las posturas de yoga. Así es. El yoga es mucho más que subirse al mat durante una hora: es un estilo de vida.

Today, we’re just going to look at the eight different limbs and what they translate to.

The eight limbs of yoga:

1. Yama - attitude towards our environment
2. Niyama - attitude towards ourselves
3. Asana - physical postures/yoga poses
4. Pranayama - controlled breathing
5. Pratyahara - withdrawal of senses
6. Dharana - concentration
7. Dhyana - meditation
8. Samadhi - total connection to Self

Ultimately, Ashtanga Yoga is a path towards practicing each of these 8 limbs. During our practice, most of the limbs will be targeted through the physical practice itself. But whilst moving, can you practice niyama by being kind to yourself and your body? Can you practice dharana by focusing only on yourself and your practice? And can you practice yama by being at peace with any noise and interruptions that you might experience during your class?

Sure, it can be difficult when you’re sweating, cramping, and listening to the student next to you huffing and puffing through the class. But embodying each of the eight limbs is the ultimate way to practice with joy and a certain lightness to your body.

Ashtanga Yoga is a dynamic practice that will make you feel like you’ve worked yourself pretty hard. Each class follows a predetermined sequence of poses that are focused primarily on strength. Each class will last for 90 minutes - so you can pretty much guarantee that you’ll be sweating by the end of it!

Saying that, Ashtanga Yoga is largely focused on the breath. So, in my opinion, if you can breathe, you can practice! The rest can be added step-by-step. Don’t be put off for life if you only manage to complete 25 minutes of your first Ashtanga Yoga class - it’s a journey. And just like anything, it takes time to learn something new.

We’ve already discussed the fact that Ashtanga yoga is challenging, but this style of yoga is great for anyone with a little experience in yoga and knowledge of the basic yoga poses.

It’s ideal for those who:

• Want to work up a sweat
• Want to increase strength
• Enjoy learning sequences
• Appreciate combining breath with movement
• Want to take their yoga practice to the next level
• Have already practiced yoga and feel confident in basic poses

Hoy te enseñaré una rutina sencilla de Ashtanga Yoga creada a partir de posturas tomadas de la “serie primaria” de Ashtanga Yoga. Aunque en última instancia lo que se busca es que te muevas con la respiración – es decir, moverte cada vez que inhalas y exhalas -, hoy vamos a tomarlo con calma y conocer algunas de las posturas.

Grab your mat, hop into something comfortable, and let’s get started!

First, let’s warm up with some sun salutations.

Every Ashtanga Yoga class begins with a few rounds of sun salutations. Below you’ll see the sequence as well as a short description of how to practice each pose. Start by flowing through this routine 3-5 times to warm up.

Sun Salutation (Warm-up) | Repeat 3-5 times

1. Mountain pose
2. Upward salutation
3. Forward fold
4. Half way lift
5. Chaturanga
6. Upward facing dog
7. Downward dog
8. Half way lift
9. Forward fold
10. Upward salutation
11. Mountain pose

Great!

Now that we’re warmed up, let’s move on to some juicier poses. I’ll be taking you through these poses nice and slowly so that you can spend time getting to know each asana and reaping the benefits that they’ll provide your body and mind.

Stand facing the side of your mat with your feet about one leg distance apart. Turn the right toes forwards and reach your arms out to either side of your body as you inhale. Take an exhale to shift your hips towards the back of your mat as you reach forwards with the right hand, tilting the entire torso and bringing the hand down to rest on the ground or a block.

Keep reaching the left hand up towards the sky as you look up towards the left hand or down to the ground - depending on what’s more comfortable for your neck!

You should be feeling a great stretch in the inner right thigh, as well as a gentle opening through the chest as shoulders.

Stay here for 3-5 breaths before repeating on the other side.

Wide-legged forward fold is a great pose for opening the hips, the hamstrings, and the inner thighs and can help to reduce and prevent lower back pain.

Come back to standing with your feet about one leg’s distance apart.

Take an inhale to bring your hands to your hip creases, then exhale as you hinge forwards from the hips, bringing the hands below the chest and shoulders to rest on the ground or blocks. Let the head hang heavy and stay here for 2-3 breaths.

From here, we’re going to bring the hands to interlace behind the back, pulling the hands away from the body as you inhale to open the chest - ensuring that your head and neck are still relaxed.

Exhale, and bring your hands to the ground in front of the head, using a block underneath the hands to make this pose more accessible. Stay here for 2-3 breaths.

Inhale to stretch further through the arms, before exhaling to bring the hands to hold onto the ankles, letting the torso get really heavy. Stay here for 2-3 breaths before slowly rolling up through the spine to come back to standing.

Malasana is a wonderful pose for creating space in the hips and opening the chest.

Start from a standing position with your feet a little wider than hip-distance apart. Bring the hands to a prayer position at your heart, and exhale as you drop the hips down into a squat. You might like to bring a block under the sit bones for more comfort!

Keep your forearms parallel to the floor and try to keep your knees apart by opening from the hips as opposed to pushing them away from each other with the elbows.

Stay in this position for 5-10 breaths..

So there you have it! Your very own Ashtanga Yoga routine that you can practice at home. Don’t skip the sun salutations as these will make your practice so much more comfortable and a lot safer for your body.