One of the most effective ways to experience yoga in practice is Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, a complex system of sequences made up of a predetermined series of asanas (postures). Its development and popularisation are connected to Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and his guru, Krishnamacharya. They created a system that allows everyday people (not monks or ascetics) to engage in deep spiritual practice in a way that can be smoothly integrated into daily life.

Yoga therapy

The first series is called Yoga Chikitsa, meaning “yoga therapy.” It was created with the intention of cleansing the practitioner’s body from toxins and accumulated impurities. The series begins with Sun Salutations, warming up the body and preparing the mind for practice. After that come the standing postures, where the practitioner builds flexibility and strength for the postures ahead. The seated asanas include twists, stretches, and hip openers, all supporting purification of the body and preparing the practitioner to sit comfortably and with ease. The series is closed with backbends and finishing postures. Its effects are extremely powerful, and even a beginner will quickly feel the healing and beneficial impact of the practice.

Vinyasa

The uniqueness of the system, however, is not only in the order of the asanas, but much more in the so-called vinyasa, which means coordinating breath with movement. The postures in the series are linked together by these vinyasas, creating one continuous flow, like the thread that connects the beads of a mala necklace (Pattabhi Jois).

The foundations of practice: asana, breath, drishti – tristhana
Meaning and origin
Sanskrit: “tri” = three, “sthāna” = place, base, support

Meaning: the three foundations upon which yoga practice is built

This concept is a central principle in the Ashtanga Vinyasa system taught by Pattabhi Jois.

These three principles, the three elements of tristhana, together create the wholeness of the practice on the physical, energetic, and mental levels.

Asana

The three essential principles of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga are asana, breath, and drishti. This is what we call tristhana.

Asana:
• cleansing, strengthening, and stabilising the physical body
• the body is the temple of consciousness → a stable body creates a stable mind
• precise execution and correct alignment preserve energy

We do not train the body for its own sake, but shape it into a vessel for energy and awareness. Stable, conscious postures cleanse the organs, the nervous system, and the nadis (energy channels). During practice, heat (tapas) is generated, which burns away physical and mental impurities.

The sequence of asanas is built progressively to:
• strengthen the body
• open the joints and energy channels
• teach us to remain calm even in movement

“Sthira sukham āsanam” – The posture should be steady and comfortable.
(Patañjali Yoga Sutras II.46)

Asana is therefore not merely a pose, but a gateway to inner stillness: through disciplining the body, it leads to disciplining the mind.

Breath – free, audible breathing

Prana, the life force, is guided through the breath.

Long, steady, audible breathing, like the “sound of the ocean.”

The breath leads the movement, giving rhythm and presence.

As Pattabhi Jois said, yoga is essentially breathing practice; everything else is just circus. Breath is life itself. It begins with an inhale and ends with an exhale. We take it so much for granted that we often don’t recognise its importance. But observe how you breathe when you are nervous, when you feel joy, when you are sad, or when you are tired. It’s different every time. Through yoga we learn to regulate our breath, slow it down, and breathe deeply, using the full capacity of the lungs, which also transforms how we feel.

Our breathing should be free and even. An asana is truly complete when we can breathe in it without strain. For that, the lungs need space to expand, and the spine needs to be long and upright. If the body is very tight, it will take longer to reach this, but until then, practice is still needed to breathe as calmly as possible. This strong breathing has an extraordinary effect on us. It heats the blood, burning away toxins, and through sweating, everything unnecessary leaves the body. The rhythm of the breath sets the rhythm of the practice, and we begin to notice how it shifts our state of consciousness. By focusing on the sound and rhythm of the breath, we turn fully inward, external circumstances become irrelevant, and we reach the true purpose of practice: moving meditation.

Drishti

• directing attention and bringing the mind into focus
• stabilising the nervous system and guiding awareness inward
• inner vision is born from outer vision

Meaning and origin
• Sanskrit: “dṛṣṭi” = sight, gaze, way of seeing
• meaning: the focus of attention, the direction of awareness
• drishti is not only physical looking, but inner seeing: a tool for focusing consciousness
• one of the pillars of vinyasa yoga: asana – breath – drishti

The role of drishti in practice
• helps concentration so the mind doesn’t wander
• stabilises the body: directing the gaze supports balance
• energetic guidance: it gives direction to the flow of prana
• creates a meditative quality as the outward gaze turns inward
• through drishti, practice becomes prayer, and movement becomes meditation

Focusing the eyes also guides inner vision
• when the gaze is calm and conscious, the mind becomes one-pointed
• the goal of practice is not outer form, but the awakening of inner focus
• drishti becomes a gateway to dharana (concentration)

Bandha

Bandha means an energy lock. There are three bandhas in the body, and learning how to recognise and use them takes time and practice. On a physical level they are located at the pelvic floor, the lower abdomen (the core), and at the throat. In some postures they require conscious effort to engage, while in others they activate naturally due to the body’s position. During yoga practice we generate energy, life force, also called prana. This energy can leave the body quickly unless we learn to contain it. This is the purpose of the bandhas: they prevent energy from escaping. It is an incredible experience to feel how, once they engage, we no longer have to rely only on muscular strength, because a completely different kind of energy begins to work within us. Our practice becomes light and effortless, and we may feel as if we barely touch the ground.

Mysore-style practice

Traditionally, Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga is practiced in Mysore style, which allows the practitioner to turn deeply inward and enter a meditative state. Each student memorises the part of the sequence they have been taught, and practices independently. The teacher does not lead the class with continuous counting, but holds the space through presence, adjustments, and support for the students’ inner physical and emotional processes. Students may arrive freely within the given time frame, and they practice up to the point they have learned.

As a beginner, we first learn the Sun Salutations and the last three postures. Step by step, we then continue with the standing postures, and later the asanas of the Primary Series, gradually and in order. Our main focus is memorising the sequence and understanding and integrating the foundations (bandha, drishti, vinyasa). Every practitioner is unique, so each student receives fully individual guidance from the teacher. Students progress according to their own strength and endurance, with the aim of integrating yoga practice into daily life. In this way yoga becomes a lifestyle and transforms our lives in a blessed and beautiful way. Traditionally, Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga is practiced six times per week: five Mysore-style sessions and one led class.

This style makes it possible for complete beginners, intermediate students, and practitioners with decades of experience to practice together in the same room, uplifting and inspiring one another, and drawing support from the energy of the group. Through the asanas, students also learn openness, enthusiasm, dedication, and humility.

Led class (Primary Series)

A led class with traditional Sanskrit vinyasa counting, where students begin together and practice the full series in unison, following the teacher’s verbal instructions all the way to the end of the Primary Series, with modifications and assistance when needed. Those who do not practice the full Primary Series may sit quietly and wait until the others finish, and then rejoin during the finishing postures.

Alongside Mysore style, it is very effective to include one led class per week in our lives, as it strengthens us, increases endurance, and the group energy carries us through difficulties and low points. Thanks to the counting, we learn the system of movements and postures more deeply, and our experience of practice becomes richer.

My yoga path

I started practicing yoga in 2010 during my university years, when I had to study, concentrate, and sit for long hours, alongside many physical and emotional challenges. Yoga asanas and hatha classes helped me greatly to improve my performance at university and to get through stressful periods. After each class, I felt a pleasant sense of upliftment, calmness, and balance.

In 2014, after graduating and having more free time, I decided to go deeper into the mysteries of yoga and enrolled in an Ashtanga Yoga foundation course. I was completely captivated by the Ashtanga Yoga system. At last, many things made sense and fell into place in relation to practice. Since then, I have been practicing traditional Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, and my entire life has changed in the best possible way. My physical pain, fatigue, and scatteredness disappeared. I feel fit, fresh, and ready for life. I felt that I could finally find answers to the questions that had lived within me for years, and gain deeper understanding of the world and of myself.

I knew that asana practice is a wonderful tool to get to know how my body works and to become healthy and balanced. But as the years passed, through conscious work with the body, doors opened on the path of self-discovery that I didn’t even know existed. Through practice I became more open and receptive to the world, while also learning where my boundaries are, and how to say no to things that do not support my growth. This is ongoing work: sometimes it is easier, sometimes harder, but one thing is certain, I was never alone. Thanks to practice, I met people and teachers who share the same intention of continuously surpassing themselves and living in a better, more loving world, and through them I found a new family. Yoga gradually became part of my life. I wake up every day before dawn to practice, and as a result, my habits changed too. I experienced that yoga does not affect us only physically, but also emotionally and spiritually. We become more open and loving, and harmful patterns and habits can transform in a surprisingly short time.

In these brief 15 years I have walked a long path. I have travelled the world and studied with great teachers such as Sharath Jois, Govinda Kai, David Robson, Tharik Tami, and Gabriele Severini. I travelled five times for two months to Mysore, India, the birthplace of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, and I have begun sharing my experience and knowledge through private sessions and small group classes. For years I have been studying the Vedic sciences: Ayurveda, Jyotish, yoga, tantra, mantra, and I am also learning Sanskrit. Studying the sacred texts has become part of my everyday life, such as the Bhagavad Gita and Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. I find it extraordinary that such deep ancient wisdom is available to humanity, preserved and protected by Indian culture, and that in this modern era we have the opportunity to rediscover these teachings.

I believe that in today’s world there is a great need for the practice of ancient traditions. These are not outdated teachings, because human beings have not fundamentally changed across the ages: the mind, the soul, and the body work in the same ways. What needs a little refinement is the way we understand and present this wisdom, so that modern Western-minded people can truly receive it. This is why I consider the Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga system such a complex and powerful style for modern people, because it begins by working through the physical body, through the asanas. After a few months of practice, inner transformation begins almost unstoppable: opening, flexibility of mind, and the beneficial effects of discipline start to unfold. Slowly, the inner fire awakens, along with the desire for knowledge and the thirst to go deeper.

One of my missions is to make the practice accessible through personalised guidance, so that practitioners can apply the teachings in their everyday lives, so yoga does not happen only on the mat, but becomes a way of life, present 24 hours a day, every day of the week, flowing through people’s lives.