This is lifted from my fb post yesterday.
Nice question from my dear friend Lucia on adjustments and if they are necessary HERE at the Ashtanga Discussion fb page. My first thought, practicing almost exclusively at home alone for eight years was Nope. But on reflection.....
Best adjustment I received was from Kristina Karitinou, it was one in thinking, or at least in perception of what a shala was or can be and what should be practiced there, if not necessary it was perhaps overdue .
My back was playing up from moving house a couple of weeks before arriving at Kristina's summer shala in Rethymno for a couple of months around Manju's TT. After a couple of Sury's I decided that I wasn't going to make it through an Ashtanga practice with any benefit so quietly rolled up my mat and started to slink out to do a Vinyasa Krama practice at home. Kristina stopped me at the back of the shala, told me this was Yoga Chikitsa, therapy, and sent me back to do MY practice ( ie whatever felt beneficial). Roomful of Ashtangi's and my Vinyasa Krama practice up there at the frount.
Come to think of it, my second and third best adjustments were also from Kristina when she pointed out that Bharadvajrasana and Gomukhasana weren't rest postures.
It's personal choice. Coming from home practice I did without them and prefer to politely decline them as well to decline to give them but each to their own, it's clear from the Ashtanga Discussion thread that many find them beneficial as well as enjoyable.
Always good to see Kristina work, craft is always inspiring to observe whether we choose to partake in it or not and I have wonderful memories of sitting on the steps of her shala discussing this very topic with her late into the night.
On Manju's TT I found him offering more support than adjustment, allowing us to do the work ourselves, to enter a posture rather than taking us there himself.
After reading comments on this fb post this morning I decided to type 'adjustments' into theYoutube search box.
This video came up of the Pattabhi Jois' led Advanced A posted by one of the participants, Clifford Sweatte on his webpage, Prana Airways ( this one is split into parts , the full version is posted at the end of the blog).
It begins with a Viranchasana and gives an idea I think of 'Adjustments/assists' in the Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga tradition right from the start although I read somewhere that Nancy Gilgoff claimed David Williams didn't receive any assists from Pattabhi Jois on those first trips (source?).
No judgement pr criticism is intended here by posting this, I haven't received enough hands on Adjustments to fairly comment although some I have had by trainees and relatively new Ashtanga teachers have been brutal and terrifying. Also I should note that on visiting a shala twice in my first/second year of practice i received two adjustments from the shala assistant that were quite wonderful and beneficial. One showing me that i could go deeper than I thought into marichiyasana D and the the other taking me further 'back' over my arms in urdhva danhurasana.
I've also heard that Sharath, rarely adjusts, see the Ashtanga discussion thread linked to above.
The pattabhi Jois led reminded me of my own Viranchasana video, practiced at home. If I have anythng to offer to this debate at all it's that I progressed to advanced series ( both A and B ) alone at home without any assists and without any injuries. It's also worth pointing out that I didn't begin Ashtanga, lithe, fit and flexible already but was mid 40s, overweight and could barely reach below my knees. My Viranchyasana below is from two years after beginning practice.
I'm adding a video of my first couple of months attempting to practice Ashtanga to the end of the post to give an idea of the condition I was in when i started, perhaps I was lucky to get away without injuring myself and could have benefited form a shala in that first year, I'll leave you to decide.
....and then here practicing Viranchyasana myself at home. ( see THIS post )
These days I have little interest in Advanced postures and have 'lost' most of them, or at least tend to think that the postures of Primary series are sufficient and can be 'Advanced' or rather proficient with good breath focus, long slow breathing, kumbhaka's perhaps, long stays..... |
| Viranchyasana A |
Best adjustment I received was from Kristina Karitinou, it was one in thinking, or at least in perception of what a shala was or can be and what should be practiced there, if not necessary it was perhaps overdue .
My back was playing up from moving house a couple of weeks before arriving at Kristina's summer shala in Rethymno for a couple of months around Manju's TT. After a couple of Sury's I decided that I wasn't going to make it through an Ashtanga practice with any benefit so quietly rolled up my mat and started to slink out to do a Vinyasa Krama practice at home. Kristina stopped me at the back of the shala, told me this was Yoga Chikitsa, therapy, and sent me back to do MY practice ( ie whatever felt beneficial). Roomful of Ashtangi's and my Vinyasa Krama practice up there at the frount.
Come to think of it, my second and third best adjustments were also from Kristina when she pointed out that Bharadvajrasana and Gomukhasana weren't rest postures.
It's personal choice. Coming from home practice I did without them and prefer to politely decline them as well to decline to give them but each to their own, it's clear from the Ashtanga Discussion thread that many find them beneficial as well as enjoyable.
Always good to see Kristina work, craft is always inspiring to observe whether we choose to partake in it or not and I have wonderful memories of sitting on the steps of her shala discussing this very topic with her late into the night.
On Manju's TT I found him offering more support than adjustment, allowing us to do the work ourselves, to enter a posture rather than taking us there himself.
After reading comments on this fb post this morning I decided to type 'adjustments' into theYoutube search box.
*
It begins with a Viranchasana and gives an idea I think of 'Adjustments/assists' in the Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga tradition right from the start although I read somewhere that Nancy Gilgoff claimed David Williams didn't receive any assists from Pattabhi Jois on those first trips (source?).
No judgement pr criticism is intended here by posting this, I haven't received enough hands on Adjustments to fairly comment although some I have had by trainees and relatively new Ashtanga teachers have been brutal and terrifying. Also I should note that on visiting a shala twice in my first/second year of practice i received two adjustments from the shala assistant that were quite wonderful and beneficial. One showing me that i could go deeper than I thought into marichiyasana D and the the other taking me further 'back' over my arms in urdhva danhurasana.
I've also heard that Sharath, rarely adjusts, see the Ashtanga discussion thread linked to above.
The pattabhi Jois led reminded me of my own Viranchasana video, practiced at home. If I have anythng to offer to this debate at all it's that I progressed to advanced series ( both A and B ) alone at home without any assists and without any injuries. It's also worth pointing out that I didn't begin Ashtanga, lithe, fit and flexible already but was mid 40s, overweight and could barely reach below my knees. My Viranchyasana below is from two years after beginning practice.
I'm adding a video of my first couple of months attempting to practice Ashtanga to the end of the post to give an idea of the condition I was in when i started, perhaps I was lucky to get away without injuring myself and could have benefited form a shala in that first year, I'll leave you to decide.
....and then here practicing Viranchyasana myself at home. ( see THIS post )
The full Pattabhi Jois Advanced A series video with 'assists'.