Читать книгу Ashtanga Yoga - Gregor Maehle - Страница 13

The notion that the Yoga Sutra and the vinyasa system are two sides of one coin has been strongly present from the beginning of the modern-day Ashtanga Yoga lineage. K. Pattabhi Jois received the vinyasa method from his master, T. Krishnamacharya; Krishnamacharya’s own master, Ramamohan Brahmachary, instructed him to seek out what was understood to be the last remaining copy of an elusive scripture, the Yoga Korunta, thought to have been compiled by the ancient seer Vamana.

According to Krishnamacharya’s biography,¹ the Yoga Korunta contained not only the vinyasa system but also the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali and its commentary, Yoga Bhasya, compiled by the Rishi Vyasa. These were bound together in one volume. We can see from this that, in ancient times, what are today regarded as two systems that only share the same name — the Ashtanga Yoga of Patanjali and the Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga of the Rishi Vamana — were in fact one.

We see here also the idea that yogic philosophy is taught together with the practice. The practice of asana (posture) alone poses a danger. According to K. Pattabhi Jois, “Partial yoga methods out of line with their internal purpose can build up the ‘six enemies’ (desire, anger, greed, illusion, infatuation, and envy) around the heart. The full Ashtanga system practised with devotion leads to freedom within one’s heart.”²

Today, however, we are in the situation where on the one hand there are scholars who try to understand the Yoga Sutra without knowing its practices, while on the other hand there are many Ashtanga Vinyasa practitioners who are established in practice but do not know the philosophy of their system. Both aspects practiced together will make practice easy, because we know where it leads and how we get there. Without dedicated practice, philosophy can turn into mere theory. Once established in practice, we will swiftly internalize the philosophy and attain higher yoga.