Welcome to ashtanga yoga
Ashtanga Book Yoga Article
This is a selection made from among articles on Ashtanga Book Yoga. For a permanent link to this article, or to bookmark it for future reading, click here.
Beginners’ Yoga Video Offers Good Instruction
from:Trying to find well-produced fitness videos that are truly suitable for beginners can be a daunting challenge.
Most tapes these days aim at intermediate exercisers, the ones who know a grapevine from a box step and a lateral raise from a biceps curl. These tapes may offer a few easier moves here and there, but the instruction clearly is geared to people who already know what to do.
The few tapes that are marketed for beginners often are unspeakably repetitive, as if flabby muscles always mean a flabby brain. And too often, they provide no way to add extra challenge or difficulty to the routine, as if beginning exercisers are going to remain beginners forever.
It's nice, then, to discover Yoga Zone: Flexibility and Tone, a beginners' tape that offers the depth of instruction and easy pace that true beginners need.
The instructor here is Alan Finger, a genial-looking middle-aged man who wears a polo shirt, rolled-up cotton pants and a chin-length bob. His physique is not the standard chiseled form of exercise videos; he looks as if he might carry a few extra pounds around the middle.
But he has a lovely voice (with a hint of a brogue) and a calm manner, two essentials for a yoga tape, where relaxation is key.
And he has a true gift for instruction, combining the nuts-and-bolts details of positioning with what it feels like to stretch and balance.
When he describes how the muscles of the feet ought to rotate through to the little toe, you'll know -- and be able to feel -- just what he's talking about.
But each move contains so many of these instructions that it can be a little overwhelming to try to master all of them at once.
If you have tried yoga before, you'll recognize some of them -- the down-on-all-fours stretch called the cat, the inverted V that forms the down dog, and the corpse, which requires little more than lying flat on one's back, completely relaxed.
In another nod to beginners, Finger also provides true modifications and tips for those who may not be as flexible as they'd like.
Finger shows how a folded blanket can be placed under the knees or for better support while performing seated postures. A folded towel also is used for several poses, although Finger doesn't announce that in advance.
The 50-minute session ends with stretching and relaxation, set to gentle New Age music that might lull you to sleep.
Ashtanga Book Yoga News
Looking for something to do? Have a look at our guide to What's Happening - Todmorden Today
 Todmorden Today | Looking for something to do? Have a look at our guide to What's Happening Todmorden Today To book a place, contact Anna on 07759 386687. Calderdale Yoga Centre hosts a mixed level Ashtanga yoga class from 7pm until 8.30pm. For more information, call 07985 274181. Watercolour and drawing classes run at Machpelah Works from 7-9pm. |
Armentality: Philosophy and Dance - Rapid Growth
 Rapid Growth | Armentality: Philosophy and Dance Rapid Growth Along with dance, Armenta delved into the world of yoga. “I have done all kinds of experimentation with that,” she says. “When I was in Mexico City, I was mainly focused on Pranayama, the breathing and Iyengar [yoga]. Then I got in Ashtanga, ... |
Yoga all in a twist - Asia Times Online
Yoga all in a twist Asia Times Online This is because apart from a spectrum of yogas - Hatha yoga, Tantra yoga, Ashtanga yoga or Hot yoga, to name a few - the practice has mutated into countless sub-strands that are being embraced by millions across the world. This has resulted in many ... |
Between Practices - Santa Barbara Independent
 Santa Barbara Independent | Between Practices Santa Barbara Independent Well not the yoga, but the time in between practices. Mysore is a dry, dusty, hot little city filled with friendly Indians and sweaty yogis. It is famous for its silk, its palaces, and Pattabhi Jois, founder of Ashtanga yoga — the reason that I and ... |
Blissed out on a Bali hillside - The West Australian
 The West Australian | Blissed out on a Bali hillside The West Australian She has spent 20 years visiting Bali and practising meditation and yoga. Her gentle, laid-back attitude is a reflection of this beautiful place and its ethos. Wendy spent a year searching for the perfect property to realise her dream of creating a spa ... |