What is Ashtanga Yoga? Know History, Poses, and Courses

Ashtanga Yoga has become popular worldwide for its virtue of providing people with mindfulness and physical health benefits. If you are wondering what Ashtanga Yoga is and want to leverage its benefits for mental and physical health, you are in the right place. In this article, Shiksha.com will help you learn about Ashtanga Yoga and its origin, history, practices, poses and benefits. You will also be able to learn whether you can practise it or not here. This article will also suggest institutions where you can learn Ashtanga Yoga.

Ashtanga Yoga, often revered as the eight-limbed path to spiritual enlightenment, stands as a profound and disciplined practice within the vast landscape of yoga. Rooted in ancient Indian philosophy and codified by the sage Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras, Ashtanga Yoga embodies a holistic approach to physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. With its rigorous series of postures, synchronized breathwork, and meditative elements, Ashtanga Yoga offers practitioners a transformative journey toward self-discovery, inner harmony, and profound spiritual realization. In this article, we delve into the essence of Ashtanga Yoga, exploring its rich history, fundamental principles, and profound impact on modern-day practitioners seeking a deeper connection with themselves and the world around them.

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What is Ashtanaga Yoga?

Ashtanga Yoga is one of the classifications of Yoga in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, which states that optimum mental and physical health can only be achieved by being ethically and morally right through karmas (deeds or actions), meditation, discipline, inner and outer cleansing, and physical exercises.

Ashtanga Yoga aims to channel a person’s inner energy with the energy in his or her external world with the help of the right actions, meditation, discipline and exercises. To achieve this objective, individuals need to practise the "eight limbs" of Ashtanga Yoga, as described by Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras. These "eight limbs" have been described in the latter section of this article.

Note: Patanjali was a Sanskrit author and philosopher in ancient India, who compiled various Sanskrit teachings of different scholars and his own philosophies and pieces of work. Patanajli Yoga Sutras are also part of the Yoga teachings of ancient India compiled by him.

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Ashtanga Yoga's Origin and History

The traces of Ashtanga Yoga practices have been found in Patanjali’s writings dating back between the 2nd century BCE and the 4th century BCE. However, how long people have been practising this Yoga form is still unknown.

In the 1900s, an Indian Yoga guru, namely T. Krishnamacharya, taught Ashtanga Yoga to his student or disciple, K. Pattabhi Jois. Later on in the 20th century, Jois added fast pase Surya Namaskar or Sun Saltuation poses to Ashtanga Yoga and taught them to Indian wrestlers and gymnasts. Since then, this Yoga form has become popular among people. Cultural communication between India and other western nations made Ashtanga Yoga popular in the western world as well.

Meaning of Ashtanga Yoga: Ashtanga means "eight limbs" or "body parts" (Astha means eight and anga means body parts), which indicates eight components or paths of Ashtanga Yoga to achieve mental and physical health goals and spiritual goals.

However, Yoga means union. In the context of Yoga, union refers to the harmony between the mind and body of a person.

Note: The mentioned limbs or stages of Ashtanga Yoga are only mentioned to provide a complete understanding of this Yoga form to readers. It is not necessary for people to follow all stages of this Yoga form to leverage it for good physical health.

The eight limbs of Ashtanga Yoga are the following:

1. Yama (Principles): It refers to ethical rules or values in Hinduism to do morally right. They are dos for a person practising Ashtanga Yoga. Following these rules allows a person to achieve mental peace. The five Yamas are mentioned below:

Ahimsa (Nonviolence)
Satya (Truthfulness)
Asteya (Non-stealing)
Brahmacharya (Chastity / Purity)
Aparigraha (Non-avarice or not keeping entreme desire or greed for money)

2. Niyama (Personal Discipline): This second component of Ashtanga Yoga refers to specific habits for cleansing people’s mind and body. The Niyamas are the following:

Shaucha (Habits to clean the body, mind and speech)
Santosha (Contentment, patience and tolerance or acceptance towards others)
Tapas (Persistence and self-discipline to control and channel your emotions and actions in the right direction)
Svadhyaya (Self awareness)
Ishvarapranidhana (Knowing and contemplating the unchanging reality or the God that you believe)

3. Asana (Postures): Asanas refer to the postures for meditation. The main Asanas mentioned in Yoga Sutras are the following:

Padmasana
Svastikasana
Dandasana
Virasana

4. Pranayama (Breathing exercises / practices): Pranayamas refer to the control of a person on his or her breathing process. They include breathing exercises.

5. Pratyahara (Isolation): Pratyahar is the process of mitigating the effects of sensory experiences based on the external environment to introspect one’s own mind.

6. Dharana (Concentartion): Once a person controls sensory experience through Pratyahara, he or she can concentrate to introspect and keep his or her mind focused through Dharana. This limb of Ashtanga Yoga allows a person to control unconscious and abstract thoughts and focus on conscious ones.

7. Dhyana (Meditation): After making the mind calm through Dharna, a person can focus on a particular idea or object through Dyana to achieve true knowledge about it.

8. Samadhi (Salvation): Samadhi is the stage where a person liberates himself or herself from the awareness of the idea or object on which he or she was meditating. He or she can willingly liberate himself or herself from all types of suffering through detachment from desires related to ideas and objects.

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Ashtanga Yoga Poses

Modern Ashtanga Yoga consists of two types of Yoga poses: Surya Namaskar A and Surya Namaskar B (Sun Salutation A and Sun Salutation B). The Yoga poses in Surya Namaskar A and Surya Namaskar B have been listed below.

Surya Namaskar A Poses

Check out the poses of Sun Salutation A below:

Pranamasana
Hasta Uttanasana
Padahastasana
Ashwa Sanchalana
Parvatasana
Dandasana
Ashtanga Namaskara
Bhujangasana
Parvatasana
Ashwa Sanchalana
Padahastasana
Hasta Uttanasana
Pranamasana

Surya Namaskar B Poses

The poses of Sun Salutation B have been mentioned below:

Utkatasana
Uttanasana
Ardha Uttanasana
Chaturanga Dandasana
Urdhva Mukha Svanasana
Adho Mukha Svanasana
Virbhadrasana 1
Chaturanga Dandasana
Urdhva Mukha Svanasana
Adho Mukha Svanasana
Virbhadrasana 1 (in opposite direction)
Chaturangasana
Urdhva Mukha Svanasana
Adho Mukh Svansasan
Ardha Uttanasana
Uttanasana
Utkatasana

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Benefits of Ashtanga Yoga

The benefits of Ashtanga Yoga are the following:

Relaxes mind
Increased self-awareness
Increased self-discipline and self-control
Enhanced metabolism
Improved digestion
Reduces stress and anxiety
Provides strength and flexibility to body
Helps in weightloss
Improves blood ciculation
Cleanses toxins from arteries and veins
Improves skin and delay ageing
Improves digestion and overall gut health
Increases happieness
Increases power to concentrate
Improves sleep cycle
Increase endurance and stamina
Muscle mass gain
Promotes the sense of belongingness, compassion and empathy at spiritual level

Who can learn Ashtanga Yoga?

Everyone can learn Ashtanga yoga, considering their expertise in Yoga. If you are a beginner in this field, You need to attend a class that can help you learn the basics of Yoga and then Ashtanga Yoga form. If you have intermediate-level knowledge of Yoga or expertise in it, you can enrol in advanced-level Ashtanga Yoga classes to learn it.

Where can I learn Ashtanga Yoga?

Ashtanga Yoga is a vigorous form of exercise. Thus, it is recommended to learn from professional Yoga gurus or trainers. The following Yoga institutes and courses can help you learn Ashtanga Yoga from expert gurus and trainers:

Institute	Yoga Course
Guru Nanak Khalsa College	Post Graduate Diploma in Yoga Therapy
Jaipur National University	Diploma in Yoga
Mahatma Jyoti Rao Phoole University	MA in Yoga Education BA in Yoga Education Diploma in Yoga Education Post Graduate Diploma in Yoga Education BSc in Yoga Education MSc in Yoga Education
Integral University	PG Diploma in Yoga Therapy Certificate Program in Yoga
Shobhit Institute of Engineering and Technology (SIET)	PG Diploma in Yoga
Institute of Advanced Studies in Education (IASE)	Certificate Course for Yoga Trainer
BLDE University	Certificate in Yoga
SRMIST - SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai	MSc in Yoga for Human Excellence Post Graduate Diploma in Yoga BSc in Yoga Diploma in Yoga for Human Excellence Diploma in Yoga MSc in Yoga
Himgiri Zee University (HZU)	B.Voc. in Yoga and Wellness
B.Voc. in Yoga and Wellness	Post Graduate Diploma in Naturopathy, Yogic Science and Dietetics Diploma in Naturopathy, Yoga and Dietetics Certificate in Yoga and Naturopathy Bachelor of Naturopathy and Yogic Science (BNYS) Post Graduate Diploma in Yoga Education and Science of Living Certificate in Yoga

If you do not want to learn Ashtanga Yoga to achive professional objectives, you can visit Top 10 Yoga Destinations in India to learn it for the attainment of health and spiritual goals.

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