What IS this posture called? also musings on Yogasanagalu and the origins of Ashtanga plus Hanumanasana prep

LINEAGE ?
While reading the newly translated section of Krishnamacharya's Yogasanagalu ( see THIS post), I was struck by this section

'5.  Classification


This yoganga sadhana has been divided into three series: power (strength) series, treatment series and the spiritual series.


The power series is further classified into mind and body
The treatment series is divided into kosha (sheath) and Nadi (pulse)
Spiritual is only one


Essential


First series requires many yogasanas and some pranayama
Second series needs some easy asanas and three pranayamas
Third series requires pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi
Later a table is shown that includes these.'
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Now the table isn't translated yet but I was pretty sure the pictures in the book correspond with the table so I thought I'd see if I could get an idea of the different 'series' from the pictures. This is interesting because of the influence on the young Pattabhi Jois, it's the first time I think where we hear of different series in Krishnamacharya' writing (don't think he mentions it in the Yoga Makaranda, correct me if I'm wrong).

I have a video where I'm flicking through the pictures.



To what extent, if at all, do they correspond with the Primary, Intermediate and Advanced series we know in Ashtanga?

The 'Power' series could be Primary, they say Primary series is supposed to build strength
The Treatment series could be Intermediate, Intermediate is referred to as nerve cleansing but 'easy asanas'?
Third series is a problem. Advanced used to be 'everything else' later divided into Advanced A and B and then later still into 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th series.

....of course third might be the Rishi series.

.....or perhaps second series is the Rishi series, easy asana held for a longer period.

Third series would then just be postures suitable for pranayama and meditation (see the pranayama section on the old 1938 movie of Krishnamacharya below).

.... or perhaps the three series reflects Yoga for the Three stages of Life

We can go round and round in circles here, better to just wait for more of the translation.

Does it matter? Depends how seriously you take the concept of lineage or whether stuff like this just fascinates you. I started off in the Classics department before switching to philosophy, still love fragments.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Anyway, while flicking through the pictures I came across these

Look at the last three.

What IS that posture ?

Nothing in Light on Yoga but then I vaguely remembered something from the end of Ramaswami's TT course.

I probably blanked it from my memory because it was such a tough sequence.

Turns out the posture is called godasana, iguana pose (when laying down,  the first of the pictures of me in blue above from the TT course).

There's an iguana pose, that amuses me for some reason.

One of the things that does strike me about the Yogasanagalu is that despite being written in 1938, the so called Ashtanga period in Mysore, it corresponds so closely with what and how I was taught by Ramaswami in 2010 who studied with Krishnamacharya in what, the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's.

The famous old video of Krishnamacharya reminds me of Vinyasa Krama too (the sections of Krishnamacharya practicing shoulder stand and headstand vinyasas, the Iyengar parts are more like the Ashtanga we're familiar with, which is a little ironic).



hmmm perhaps the section of the video above where we see Krishnamacharya engaging in pranayama corresponds with the 'Third series' he mentions in the Yogasanagalu.


ANJANEYASANAHANUMANASANA SEQUENCE

So anyway This is the Anjaneyasana subroutine, good Hanumanasana prep I imagine.

This is one of the 'special' sequences that come at the back of Ramaswami's book, The Complete Book of Vinyasa Yoga. because they contain a mixture of asana types they don't tend to fit into any general category of Seated, Asymmetric, inverted etc.

Anjaneyasana is another name for the Monkey-God, Hanuman. It's also sometimes called lunge pose.

The version below is supposed to represent Hanuman, the devotee of Rama in the Ramayana, flying and carrying the herbal mountain from Himalayas to Lanka.

The subroutine also includes the vinyasa of hanumanasana we're more familiar of, the splits

This was from a few months ago, I haven't been practicing it for a while having been focussed on a Richard Freeman approach to Primary and 2nd, mostly Primary and trying to get a handle on the chicken wings and cobra hoodie etc.

So my Hanumanasana is more than a little rusty, especially for the forward bends but here's my first go in two years at the sequence, as well as I could manage it this morning.

Will need to work on this a bit before making up another sheet for my book, a couple of the other 'special sequences' are missing too.

And the video, had to edit it as I missed a couple of bits here and there (the shoulder rotation in particular). 

It's a nice sequence, will be exploring it for a while to try and refine it.