Yoga has come a long way. In modern times, ordinary yogis have many choices in yoga courses and styles. Each yoga style may be quite different from the next one, which is associated with paying attention to physical and mental strength, flexibility and mindfulness. Ashitanga Yoga is the most refined style, which requires many disciples and determination.

Astonia Yoga is a set of standard asanas, focusing on breathing and inner spiritual space. Astonia yoga is a strict exercise, which is famous for its fast pace and difficult posture. The typical feature of Astonia is more traditional transition and longer posture than some faster modern yoga. Astonia is a great yoga style, suitable for those who want to get good exercise and have a clear head.

It is most similar to Vinyasa, but it is different, because the Ashtanga series remains the same every time, and Vinyasa flow may vary from class to class. Astonia also incorporates many aspects, such as chanting and breathing, which are all part of traditional yoga, while vinyasa flow is sometimes ignored.

Astana yoga can bring you back to the root of yoga-that is, your inner peace and mindfulness. It’s easy to ignore this point in modern yoga. The term Ashtanga Yoga literally means “eight limbs of yoga”. Patanjali put forward this concept for the first time in Yoga Sutra, which is an article outlining the purpose of yoga practice and the principles you should try to follow if you are a yogi.

Eight branches of yoga constitute eight paths. This is a set of guidelines on how to live a better life by practicing yoga. This path, or “the eight limbs of yoga”, helps to outline the importance of yoga posture and physical exercises, and also provides some moral guidance for taking off the mat and entering your daily life. Astonia yoga helps yoga practitioners to get closer to these guidelines, because it emphasizes all yoga limbs and is a kind of mental and physical exercise.

So how was the practice developed?

K. Pattabhi Joyce developed the practice of Astonga Yoga and was greatly influenced by the concept of eight limbs in yoga. Pattabhi started his yoga journey in 1930s, when he was a student of Krishna Macharia. He studied at the Royal College in Mysore, India. Here, he learned Yoga, an ancient text which is said to have been written by saint Vammana Rish. It is said that he wrote this text to help people heal through yoga.

Pattabhi’s practice of Astonga Yoga focuses on a series of yoga postures connected by breathing. Astonia yoga is different from many other modern yoga styles because the order of Astonia yoga is always the same. Traditionally, Ashtanga Yoga is performed without any music or lighting, which you may find in modern yoga classes.

The idea behind this is that by eliminating these external factors that may affect your yoga practice, you begin to focus your attention on the inside and focus on the inner aspects of yoga-start thinking about mental exercises and physical exercises.

Ashitanga yogis advance through six series of Ashitanga sequences. Astonia is designed as a daily yoga practice, so you will see progress and progress every day. Each exercise will consist of four parts. An opening sequence, one in a “series”, a backward bend, a group of inverted poses to end, and then as usual, a Savasana.

The opening always starts with 10 Japanese worships, followed by several standing positions. The six main series are called primary series, intermediate series or advanced a, b, c or d. Newcomers and yoga beginners will start from the elementary series.

The Astana Elementary Series is the most important one in the yoga series, because it forms the foundation of the whole system. In Ashdanga, it is not the goal to advance to the most difficult series. On the contrary, it is to keep internal focus. This is why daily practice is highly emphasized.

This emphasis on inner concentration, combined with physical strength exercises, can sometimes give Astonga Yoga a scary reputation! However, if you feel that you can accept the challenge and your physical condition is suitable for Vignasa, you are prepared enough to deal with Ashdanga. Any yogi should try at least once. Astonia allows you to explore yoga in a different and deeper way.