Five golden tips by Manju Pattabhi Jois (thanks to Ras Satia for uploading) :
- Drop the label: Yoga is not a label you can sell, there is not Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Hot, Hata or Bhakti,..., yoga is simply yoga
- There is no series: "when I learned from my father (Sri Pattabhi Jois) I was taught all asanas. My father never stopped me because I could not do some and neither he mention any first, second or third series."
- Yoga is simple and yoga has to be fun: forget about drishti, bandhas, instructions and all that follow. Just practice and have fun and the breath will coordinate by itself and bandhas engaged. So have fun and all is coming.
- No need for drastic changes: "if you turn vegan because you do yoga, and then you look sick, then I would recommend to stop doing yoga and start eating again." Let the changes happen spontaneously and over time.
- On difference between western and eastern mentality: "asian people do what you teach them without asking. You give an asana or a mantra, they do it and let the benefit arise trough time and devotion. Western people are more analytic, they want to know the meaning of the mantra before chanting it, they want to know what muscles to engage and what is that asana specifically good for, they have no patience of experiencing but they crave ready and fast, empty, answers."
OM
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| Manju Jois and Allen Barkus. Allen has been a student of Manju Jois since 2004. www.AshtangabyAllen.com |
