the whole series

I got my first introduction to the Ashtanga primary series this weekend. I've taken plenty of flow classes that are inspired by the practice, but this was my first time diving in. It's a more rigorous practice than I'm used to. There are a total of six series, and it comes as no surprise that there are exactly two people on earth who have graduated to the most advanced series (is life long enough?). Joan Hyman noted in class that the first series is for students, the second is appropriate for teachers, and 3-6 are for, ahem, demonstrations (read exalted)?

The focus is on synching movement and breath much more systematically than most other methods I've tried (Kundalini is one exception). It's typical to focus the gaze. Fortunately, no one broke out the metronome this time!

Centering comes from the drishti (gaze) and ujjayi breath. The drishti is often rather awkwardly focused at the tip of the nose: cross-eyed yogis! It's typical also to focus the gaze at the naval or the sky, depending on the asana. For the time being, I will work on a more passive, inward gaze instead. The ujjayi breath is cultivated in the back throat, just behind the voicebox. It's euphemistically called "ocean breath", or "Darth Vader breath" for the overzealous student in class. The action is similar to the one we do to fog a mirror. If you practice that, but keep your mouth closed, you're ready to flow.

There are, of course, the three bandhas as well. They are closely tied to the flow of breath. I will move into that later, because they deserve a post of their own. The image above is of an asana I did for the first time this weekend. It's the kid in me.