[Fondueset]

Ashtanga is a vigorous form of Hatha Yoga. People who like it always say it works better. It is named after Patanjali's Ashtanga (8-limbed) yoga however, depending on your reading of Patanjali, Hatha work is an aspect of Ashtanga - which describes Raja Yoga - Hatha embodying a different emphasis as a distinct path. Pattabi Jois - founder of Ashtanga Hatha yoga calls it thus in order to emphasize a practice which embraces the other limbs such as morality and meditation - but his emphasis is clearly Hatha Yoga. (he studied under Krischnamacharya - as did BKS Iyengar, Indra Devi, TKV Desikachar (K's son) and a number of others. All came away and developed their own approaches - sign of a truly great teacher.) Personally I like the way 'ashtanga' is organized into asana series with vinyasa (flow) between poses - structured breathing, bandhas and eye movements. It gives you something solid to work toward and on but there is also the possibility of forcing your body to conform to the practice. These elements are also not unique to Jois' Ashtanga.

The short point is that Ashtanga is a school of hatha yoga. I think its useful to point out that Hatha Yoga is very much about de-conditioning the body - reducing the physiological noise level and liberating energy stored as habit, conflict and blockage. It is important to approach it in balanced way according to time, place and person. It will make you physiologically more efficient.

The former bass player for The Police, shortly after he took up ashtanga hatha yoga, announced that, as a result, he could now have sex for at least eight hours continuously. Almost immediately he appeared on the cover of Yoga Journal and on TV, his oiled body clad only in some sort of genuine hindu underwear, performing basic asanas of the ashtanga first series. Being famous and ultra good-looking, nobody asked him how long he could go if someone else was involved..