Feeling stuck in Primary Series?
As a long term Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga practitioner and teacher it has become very common to see many students stuck in Primary Series, even after many years of consistent practice.
The Ashtanga Yoga system is a very beautiful and intricate methodology to open and stregthen the body, but unfortunately it can be taught in a very dogmatic way where there isn’t enough space and adaptations for different body types.
Pragmatism over Dogmatism
My personal style of teaching this system is more about being pragmatic ( what works in the real world ) rather than being dogmatic ( ideology based ) with the approach to the system so that students are seen individually and the system is adapted to the student rather than trying to push round pegs through square holes.
Forcing postues is not yoga
In reality I would say 10 to 20% of students can follow Primary Series ‘strictly’ without needing any adaptations, and 80% will need some kind of alternative help outside of the system to help open the hips, shoulders and the back.
Most practitioners in the West are not young Indian boys or ex gymnasts / dancers and come to the mat with lots of aches, pains, injuries and stiff immobile bodies that need extra help to open thier bodies without compressing joints, ligaments and tendons. Most practitioners often will sit for most of the day in thier jobs and have pretty ‘full’ stressful lives with work, family commitments etc.
Something else is needed
Having more freedom in your practice, allowing more adaptations to ease your body into the system will do wonders for your body / mind and is much more inline with the principles of Yoga and healing. After years of ‘strict’ personal practice, injuries and forced injuries from bad adjustments from teachers, I presonally had to find another method to heal my own body and to take that methodology into my own teaching practice to give my students an authentic Yoga practice that isn’t authoritarian in nature and is more free. This is Yoga.
Mysore style
After years of this style of Ashtanga Yoga practice, and teaching my methodology to my students, I wanted to share this with the Yoga community in general. As I was learning Primary Series back in the day I would have loved to have learnt a different way to progress through the sytem that could see someone like myself who had a very stiff body with lots of previous injuries.
To help others and make this public I have created The Better Mobility Guide. The guide has a video library of technical breakdowns, openers and rehab tutorials to help practitioners connect with thier bodies and to help them progress through the Ashtanga system in a safer and more holistic way. The guide has been designed to use in conjunction with the series so you have alternative postures to help open the hips, shoulders and back to name but a few.
Openeion the lats with The Better Mobility Guide
Also as an alternative for home practitioners who don’t have access to a teacher I have created The Element Series sequences. These are an alternative to Primary Series that many practitioners will find usefel to help rebalance the body and that can be used alongside thier Ashtanga practrice. You can read more about The Element Series here:
To help open and prepare your body properly for Yoga and specifically the Ashtanga Yoga system please check out The Better Mobility Guide to help aid you through the series.
