by Gregor Maehle | Jun 9, 2018 | Ashtanga Yoga, Teaching
Since Matthew Remski’s article and his interview with Karen Rain the Ashtanga world is trying to come to terms with K Pattabhi Jois’ history of sexual abuse and assault. I think this is an important process, which need not be hurried and in which context a lot of...
by Gregor Maehle | Apr 28, 2018 | Asana, Ashtanga Yoga
Yoga asana is often erroneously thought of as dealing only with flexibility. In fact increasing ones level of flexibility is only then functional if this increase is matched by a similar increase of your strength. Ideal for increasing strength is the practise of arm...
by Gregor Maehle | Apr 13, 2018 | Asana, Ashtanga Yoga, Yoga Philosophy
More on what posture was designed to be. A few weeks back I posted my commentary to Patanjali’s sutras II.46 and II.47, showing how far removed modern yoga has become from it’s original concept. Here now sutra II.48, which deepens the inquiry: II.48 In asana there is...
by Gregor Maehle | Mar 2, 2018 | Asana, Ashtanga Yoga, Yoga Philosophy
Here is more evidence that the current Yoga-is-gymnastics-with-a-meditative-twist fad does not really stack up to what yoga truly is. In this stanza Patanjali defines the relationship between posture and the higher limbs. Included are many explanatory quotations from...
by Gregor Maehle | Feb 17, 2018 | Asana, Ashtanga Yoga, Yoga Philosophy
With yoga in they eyes of many modern practitioners reduced to posture (asana) here a timely revisit of what Patanjali, the ancient codifier of yoga, said about this third limb. This is the first part of Patanjali’s definition, given in sutra II.46. II.46...
by Gregor Maehle | Jan 6, 2018 | Ashtanga Yoga, Meditation and Samadhi, Yoga Philosophy
I received the following question: “I have read the sutras by Edwin Bryant and there is a concept that I don’t get. How can the individual soul, atman, be differentiated from another one, if the two beings were both illuminated? It seems to me that souls are...