True ashtanga teaching

09-10-2002, 08:15 AM

>From Christophe Mouze
(http://indigo.ie/~cmouze/yoga_online/ttc.htm)
with John & Lucy Scott:

Ashtanga viniyasa yoga teachers
The authority on Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga is Sri K Pattabhi Jois in
Mysore.Unlike the situation with Iyengar yoga, there is no
Ashtanga counterpart to the numerous Iyengar associations
around the world. The only official qualification is provided by
Shri K Pattabhi Jois himself and is a certificate to teach. To get
this certificate, one is required to study with Shri K Pattabhi Jois
directly for a number of years and to complete the Primary,
Intermediate and Advanced Series. As anyone who has seen the
advanced series can imagine, this is a very high standard, and
thus there are only 26 such Certified Teachers throughout the
world and only eight of them in Europe. In addition, there are
about 50 direct students of Pattahabi Jois who have been given
his blessing to share the Primary Series with others. Both the
certified and the non-certified teachers are obliged to teach
Ashtanga yoga in the traditional method, which consists of daily
"self-practice" classes as taught at the Astanga Yoga Research
Institute in Mysore. A complete list of certified and "approved"
teachers can be found on the "official" Ashtanga site.
The traditional practice of ashtanga yoga is described in the
books "Yoga Mala" by Sri K Pattabhi Jois, "Astanga Yoga" by Lino
Miele, and "Ashtanga Yoga" by John Scott.
As not all aspiring teachers are able to study in Mysore (for
several visits, a minimum of 3 months at a time), an alternative
is to study with a certified Ashtanga teacher, either through
regular classes (if one is lucky enough to live near such a
teacher) or through regularly attending workshops.
While this does not provide one with a formal qualification, all
certified teachers are very experienced practitioners, who have
studied extensively with Pattabhi Jois, and have in depth
knowledge of the Ashtanga system which guarrantees that they
are providing quality tuition in the Traditional Method.
Unfortunately, because it is so difficult to attain a formal
qualification, many people disregard the system by which one
would become certified and simply set themselves up as an
"Ashtanga teacher", and run "Ashtanga classes" without a proper
understanding of the correct method. Thus, more than with any
other system of yoga, it is important before enrolling in an
Ashtanga class to check the teacher's credentials and whether
the class follows the Traditional Mysore Method. It should be
noted that many 'Ashtanga classes' do not follow this model.
This indeed may not be an issue for new students, but they
should be aware that they may be attending a class that does
not meet with the standards set by Shri K Pattabhi Jois and his
Certified Students. It is important to know what constitutes a true
Ashtanga class, and what are variations or imitations of the
Traditional Method.