Slow Ashtanga? Update New practice space

I was asked about my practice now I'm here in rural Japan between the mountains and Lake Biwa. 

While my Mac is out of action and in need of a new Hard drive I thought I'd repost this outline from last year of the Slow Ashtanga I'm pretty much practicing here. 

Difference from below? I tend to start with a simple pranayama, something from Sri Sribashyam's (Krishanmacharya's third son) Emergence of yoga say, then a little tadasana ( Vinyasa Krama) and a rough sketch of Ashtanga Primary or the first half of Ashtanga 2nd. There tends to be a strong Vinyasa Krama influence, the odd variation included perhaps in preparation or as an extension.  My breathing tends to be long and slow following Krishnamacharya's early writing, Kumbhaka too of course and I7ve been including internal drishti from some time along the the lines of Sri Sribasham's teaching.  Practising slow like this I choose to practice less asana to leave more time for pranayama ( mostly nadi sodhana with mantra - see my pranayama page above), pratyahara and an appropriate Sit.

I should add perhaps that asana attainment has lost all interest for me, gone the leg behind head postures, karandavasana, even supta Kurmasana and Marichi D (perhaps in summer), kapo tends to be toes at best when I remember to include it. I'm currently more interested in the longer, slower, steady breathing, the kumbhaka said and the internal drishti, mostly though I'm leaning more towards my simple, straight forward pranayama and peace in my sit.

It is so beautiful here.

The new practice space, the view and what's left of the yoga book shelf after the move to Japan.

Original post below from 8th November 2014

QUESTION: "Hey, love your posts about K , keeps me motivated. One question... in your understanding of K's yoga, how would one do a practice? If all the asanas have the vinyasas from samastiti to asana stiti and then back, like Ashtanga. So the practice would be like that, some sort of Ashtanga or maybe  a Vinyasa Krama like practice? If one is to dedicate 20 min to a pose that means the practice could be maybe 2, 3 poses and that's it then. How would you adapt that to a class for example?"

This post is an attempt to answer the question above with this morning's practice as an example but bringing in some of my older videos relating to slower practice I. E. slower breathing, longer stays (rishi approach) kumbhaka, adapting the 'sequence' to the demands of a slower practice etc. It's along the lines of the kind of practice I've been teaching in crete this summer and will be looking to present, at some point, in my upcoming workshops (see right panel of blog).

I thought I'd put this up at the top of the blog as a permanent page and develop it over time..

I think of the indications below more as options for practice that Krishnamacharya emphasised in his early Mysore writings (1930s-40s), back when he was still teaching the young Pattabhi Jois.

Slow Ashtanga

• Longer, slower breathing

• Longer stays in some asana, shorter stays in others

• Kumbhaka ( retaining the breath in for between 2 and 10  seconds after the inhalation and/or retaining the breath out for between 2 and 10 seconds after the exhalation) dependent on the particular asana or mudra.

• It may well follow the general framework of the current Ashtanga sequence but the sequence split perhaps over two or more days.

• Due to splitting up the sequence other asana or variations of asana may be included to prepare or extend a key asana in the days practice

In my own practice time is an issue. I follow the indications and instructions for practice outlined  in Krishnamacharya's Yoga Makaranda (Mysore 1934) and prefer to breathe slowly in the asana and vinyasas, lengthening my inhalation and exhalation, "slow like the pouring of oil". I like to explore kumbhaka and the occasional extended stay, in Mudras especially. I also prefer to practice, much of the time, with my eyes closed, employing internal drishti at different vital focal points and I like to introduce vinyasas, extra preparatory asana on days when they feel appropriate as well as perhaps extending an asana into more challenging, 'proficient' forms on the more flexible days, this is in keeping perhaps with the idea of groups of asana rather than fixed sequences. I like to practice Pranayama before and after my asana practice as well as finishing my practice with a 'meditative activity'. I was first introduced to Yoga through the Ashtanga sequences and I still maintain that general structure in my main practice but I would rather sacrifice half or more than half a sequence than these other factors and perhaps practice the asana ‘missed’ in the following day(s). I still consider this to be Ashtanga, SLOW Ashtanga.

"When once a fair proficiency has been attained in asana and pranayama, the aspirant to dhyana has to regulate the time to be spent on each and choose the particular asanas and pranayama which will have the most effect in strengthening the higher organs and centres of perception and thus aid him in attaining dhyana". Krishnamacharya - Dhyana or meditation Yoga Makaranda part II

Sample practice from this morning Approx. 2 hours

The videos may take some time to load, don't worry, your unlikely to watch them anyway, it's like watching  dry or grass grow. 

Numbers beside the postures indicate no. of breaths unless 'times' or 'cycles' indicated

AK = antar kumbhaka (retaining the breath in at the end of the inhalation )

BK = bhaya Kumbhaka (holding the breath out at the end of the exhalation)

Krishnamacharya doesn't say how long the kumbhaka's should be Yoga Makaranda in Part I but in Part II they tend to be working up from 2-5 seconds in later krishnamacharya with experience they may be 10 seconds.  those indicated below are my own kumbhakas.

Kapalabhati in paschimottanasana (holding toes but without folding all the way forward - a kind of two leg version of mahamudra).
Ujjayi in tatkamudra - 6  breaths ( scanning vital points on inhalation, nabhi on exhalation)
Anuloma ujjai - in Vajrasana - 6 cycles

Krishnamacharya Surya Namaskara options

Krishnamacharya writes of staying for extended periods in each stage of what we now think of as a sun salutation or suryanamaskara. He writes of ten minutes or more below I take five long slow breaths in each.

Krishnamacharya shifts his kumbhaka around, generally, if the head is up it's antar kumbhaka, after the inhalation, if the head is down then it's bhya kumbhaka, after exhalation. generally there is no kumbhaka in twists.

Uttanasana B - AK5s

Chaturanga Dandasana - BK 3s

Urdhva Mukha Shvanasana - AK 5s

Adho Mukha Shvanasana BK-10s

Utthita Trikonasana - 10 breaths each side,(Krishnamacharya recommends ten minutes in this asana)
Parivritta Trikonasana - 3
Utthita Parshvakonasana - 3
Parivritta Parshvakonasana - 3
Prasarita Padottanasana A. - 5
Parshvottanasana - 5 AK 5s
Utthita Hasta Padangushtasana plus standing marichi variation - 1 full breath in each stage

(I spent longer in standing postures this morning, usually I would split these up over two days)

Dandasana - 10  - AK 5s (scanning through vital points on inhalation hrdaya on exhalation)
Paschimattanasana - 15 - BK 5-10s (scanning through vital points on inhalation nasagra on exhalation)
Purvatanasana - 3

mahamudra -10 each side - BK 5-10s

Slower breathing, 10 second inhalations, 10 second exhalations

Janu Shirshasana A. - 1 each side
Marichyasana A  C - one full breath in each variation and on each side
Tiriangmukhaikapada Paschimattanasana - 3
Bharadvajasana - 6 each side - AK 5s

Maha bandha - 6 each side-  BK-5s
Ardha Matsyendrasana - 3 each side
Baddha Konasana - 10 each vinyasa - AK 5s for B (sitting up)

Padmasana with variations - 10 in total
Uth Pluthi - 5

shoulderstand prep ( 3 vinyasas) 3x each variation

Sarvangasana - 12 (legs relaxed )
viparita karani (sirsasana as mudra no variations) - 12
Sarvangasana with assorted variations - 5 mins ( see THIS post )
Shirshasana with assorted variations - 5 mins (see THIS post) - No intentional kumbhaka but I tend to try and lengthen the inhalation and exhalation as long as possible, between 30-45 second breath, gets slower as it goes on.

Baddha Padmasana - 10

Paranayama - basti - 30 and nadi sodhana -pratiloma ujjayi- with japa ( mentally reciting pranayama mantra 20s) - 6 cycles
Pratyahara 3 mins
trataka - 10 mins

savasana 5 mins

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The videos above and below are pretty much unwatchable,  its like trying to watch grass grow, paint dry.... an exercise in trataka perhaps.

but  it perhaps give an impression of how slower breathing, longer stays, less asana might be approached.

Examples of slow practice, Oscar practicing Vinyasa Krama on the left while I take a Krishnamacharya Yoga Makaranda  Ashtanga approach on the right

Middle group practice

The practice from this morning that I outlined above was based on the Primary group asana, tomorrow I will most likely base my practice on the middle group, a similar approach to standing as above with perhaps some time spent on some tadasana backbending preparation variations from vinyasa Krama.

More time in Utthita Hasta Padangushtasana perhaps, in preparation for pasasana.

Tiriangmukhaikapada Paschimattanasana and krounchasana

I usually switch to the Vinyasa krama Bow sequence leading up to ustrasana, laugh vajrasana and kapotasana. The Bow sequence follows quite closely the layout of Ashtanga 2nd but with some extra vinyasas.

below kapotasana.

and in the leg behind head postures

I've started to leave out dwi pada sirsasana altogether and just practice a longer stay in yoga nidra

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On the third day I would tend to switch back to primary group asana and explore some of the asana I missed from the regular Ashtanga sequence this morning and on the fourth day, asana missed from tomorrows Middle group.

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We can practice less postures, below supposedly an example of Krishnamacharya's own personal practice from Krishnamacharya's 3rd son, TV Sribhashyam's book Emergence of Yoga.