Discussion Forum: General Discussion: Iyengar Yoga: Iyengar & Ashtanga Vinyasa styles

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Discussion Forum: General Discussion: Iyengar Yoga:
Iyengar & Ashtanga Vinyasa styles

snoekbaars
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Sep 7, 2003, 9:58 AM

Post #1 of 2 (2684 views)
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Iyengar & Ashtanga Vinyasa styles	Can't Post

I think this might be controversial. Are there people out there who have practiced both Iyengar and Ashtanga Vinyasa styles of yoga and have informed opinions, based on their experience, on the differences and advantages of each style?

I am relatively experienced in Iyengar (several years) and have also tried out some Ashtanga Vinyasa workshops, so I do not need to know the basics.

I am most interested to hear the experiences of teacher-level yogis who really know what they are talking about, instead of starting an oh-yes-it-is, oh-no-it-isn't type of dialogue.

thanks & peace,

snoekbaars.

suzannelw
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Dec 4, 2003, 10:29 AM

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Re: Iyengar & Ashtanga Vinyasa styles [In reply to]	Can't Post

Having studied Iyengar Yoga, which I now predominantly teach, I attended an Ashtanga class to 'try it out' and loved it. However, during the class, I was concerned about the lack of instruction and the way that beginners were throwing themselves into the practice without any knowledge of alignment and safety. In my opinion, Iyengar is the ultimate best in understanding these aspects of a practice and once you have a good grounding and good Iyengar practice, if you enjoy Ashtanga, why not ? My own practice is the primary series and I intersperse this with practice of specific Iyengar asanas for my own development, which include asanas from the second series. I have, over the years, taught many students who say they practice Ashtanga, but, in Iyengar practice, have little or no idea of basic alignment principles. This is not a dig at Ashtanga, nor Ashtanga teachers, but by the very virtue of the 'flowing' practice and lack of time to adjust students I would highly recommend a good grounding in Iyengar before attempting Ashtanga or at least an Ashtanga workshop. Ultimately, your practice will evolve and whichever path or paths you choose, as long as you are enjoying your practice and incorporating the other 7 limbs of yoga, there are no rights or wrongs. Enjoy !

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