counting system necessary?

[Guest guest]

I have been thinking quite some about your (3

weeks old) question about whether you need to learn the

vinyasa counting system.<br><br>Here are some of my

thoughts.<br><br>My first experience with astanga yoga was a weekend

workshop with Lino Miele in April 1995. Right from the

begining, he taught: "Ekam - inhale, dve - exhale, trini -

inhale look up, catvari - exhale jump back, a.s.o. So

using the vinyasa counting system is how I know Astanga

Yoga.<br><br>With no teacher around, I have been practicing mainly

on my own (exept of weekend workshops + going to

India, Finland, Greece etc. for retreats). I think my

knowledge of how to count the vinyasas has helped me

tremendously in being able to keep up my own daily practice. I

try to keep the (sanskrit) numbers the focus of my

mind from I finish "vande gurunam" until savasana, and

I experience the continous counting to be a big

help not to loose concentration, not to fiddle around,

make up my own little extra breaths or movements or to

take small breaks. <br><br>The counting also moves the

focus from the asanas to how they are conected = moves

the focus from the body to the breath.