Gregor Maehle - Ashtanga Yoga - The Intermediate Series: Mythology, Anatomy, and Practice

I was pleased to find that once again Gregor Maehle has done an excellent job of presenting the traditional method of Ashtanga Yoga. This book provides a wealth of background information essential for building the context needed to fully benefit from this profound method of yoga to prepare the soil so the practice bears the intended fruit. Students need to do the work of reading and studying the ancient texts in order to fully appreciate the practice, to have a context in which it can fit. This book helps to fill in many of those blanks. I salute Gregor for his hard work and his studiousness and thank him for helping to maintain the authentic, traditional practice, thus enabling students to have the intended experience of this great form of yoga.

Gregor Maehle presents a carefully crafted and thoroughly researched view of the Ashtanga Yoga Intermediate Series. The first available book on the topic, this is a great guide for students of Ashtanga Yoga and a valuable resource for all yoga practitioners wishing to study the Intermediate Series in more detail. The anatomical explanations, illustrations, and technical assistance will be very beneficial for many students and teachers alike.

I wish this book had been around when I was introduced to the Intermediate Series. It is immensely informative a must-read for every practitioner who would like to look beyond the form. When embarking on the journey of the Intermediate Series, one intuitively understands that there is a depth to this practice that is beyond words. This book has given me great insight into the richness and interconnectedness of our practice and helped me understand why I have always felt this way.

ASHTANGA YOGA

The Intermediate Series

The Intermediate Series

Mythology, Anatomy, and Practice

Gregor Maehle
with Dr. Monica Gauci, chiropractor

Copyright 2009 by Gregor Maehle

All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, or other without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

The material in this book is intended for education. It is not meant to take the place of diagnosis and treatment by a qualified medical practitioner or therapist. No expressed or implied guarantee as to the effects of the use of the recommendations can be given nor liability taken.

Photographs by Adrian Kat
Illustrations by Toby Gibson
Composition by Tona Pearce Myers

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Maehle, Gregor.

Ashtanga yogathe intermediate series : mythology, anatomy, and practice / Gregor Maehle with Dr. Monica Gauci, chiropractor.

p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-57731-669-5 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Astanga yoga. I. Gauci, Monica. II. Title.
RA781.68.M343 2009
613.7'046dc22

First printing, November 2009
ISBN 978-1-57731-669-5
Printed in Canada on 100% postconsumer-waste recycled paper

New World Library is a proud member of the Green Press Initiative.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This book is intended for those who generally want to learn more about the Ashtanga system and for those who are practicing the Intermediate Series but are isolated from daily contact with a senior teacher. This book cannot replace such a teacher, however. Yoga can be learned only through personal instruction and not from a book, DVD, or website, as such media cannot give feedback. Without feedback, students cannot correct their mistakes, of which there will be many in the beginning. This book can only add to the information that you get from your teacher.

This book is not a substitute for medical advice. Seek advice from a doctor before commencing exercise. The author and publisher disclaim any liability for injury or other loss resulting from performing the exercises described in this book.

Many thanks to the modern master of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, Shri T. Krishnamacharya, and those who studied under him and continue his work. Without their contributions, this beacon of light would have been extinguished.

Thanks also to my wife, Monica, for contributing valuable information in the fields of anatomy and asana and for her relentless pursuit of knowledge.

After my first book, Ashtanga Yoga: Practice and Philosophy, was published, many readers approached me requesting that I write a book on the intricacies of the Intermediate Series of Ashtanga Yoga.

During the writing of this new book, which took more than two years, it became apparent to me that so much that we know today about yoga goes back to the late Shri T. Krishnamacharya. Although I never studied with the great master, I had the great fortune of working with four of his students, B.N. S. Iyengar, K. Pattabhi Jois, B.K. S. Iyengar, and A. G. Mohan.

In this book I am attempting to present the original, integrative yoga that became fractured following Krishnamacharyas demise in 1989. You will find ever present in this book T. Krishnamacharyas emphasis on learning scripture, devotion, understanding Sanskrit, adapting the practice to the individual, and doing whatever is reasonable and beneficial to the student.

Although I made every effort to present this yoga in its original true form, I am aware that my representation does not even come close to the masters learning and understanding.

My aim in writing this book is to supply Ashtanga Yoga practitioners and teachers with the information they need to practice the Intermediate Series of this yoga safely and effectively. To this end, I have included extensive descriptions of all the postures that make up this series and in-depth discussions, in Western anatomical terms, of the main themes.

This book also informs the reader of the larger context in which the Intermediate Series and Ashtanga Yoga in general exist, which consists not only of the mythological basis of the Intermediate Series but also the relationship of Ashtanga Yoga to other forms of yoga. It explains the role of asana practice specifically that of the Intermediate Series in relation to the spiritual path of the practitioner.