ASHTANGA VINYASA COUNTED CLASS

What is the Ashtanga practice method, How do we practice and why?

In Ashtanga every posture has a specific number of vinyasas (breath-aligned movements) which bring us from Samastitih to a particular posture and back to standing. You might have heard the count in an Ashtanga Led Class, where the count is used to lead practitioners through the movements without any extra explanation needed.

Once a week, practitioners who practice regularly in a guided self-practice setting (Mysore class) will find it beneficial and fun to flow with the group just counting the vinyasas.

Traditional counted led primary class has several intentions. One big intention is to work with opportunity to refine the steadiness of practice. By counting every inhale and exhale at a steady pace, the teacher provides a rhythm for the practice that gives equal time to each inhale and exhale. More challenging postures are counted at the same pace as more straightforward postures. This gives us the opportunity to check ourselves against this ideal.

The vinyasa count (Sanskrit) is the number of counted inhales and exhales in each posture. Each pose has an ideal number of inhales and exhales for moving into and out of the posture. Helps you to focus better and clean up your mind.