Private Ashtanga yoga in Metro Manila
The same sequence, in the same order, every session. The repetition is the whole idea rather than a limitation of it. The most structured of the four. The same sequence, every session, on purpose.
What Ashtanga actually is
Ashtanga is a set sequence. The postures come in a fixed order and you work through as much of it as you can, adding on over time as things open up. Because nothing changes between sessions, you stop spending attention on what comes next and start noticing how the same shape feels different from one week to another.
Who it suits
It suits you if you want to measure something, and would rather return to one sequence than be handed a new one each time. It is the most demanding of the four and it rewards turning up.
What a session feels like
Familiar within a few weeks. The first sessions are learning the order. After that the sequence carries you and the work turns inward. Most people sit at one place in the series for months, which is normal.
Sessions run 75, 90 or 105 minutes. Mats, blocks and straps. Bare feet and something that stays put when you fold forward.
Questions about Ashtanga
Do I have to memorise the sequence?
Not deliberately. I call the postures every session, and the order settles in on its own after a few weeks because it never changes. Plenty of people practise for months without ever consciously learning the list.
Is Ashtanga too hard for a beginner?
It is the most demanding of the four, but we only work through as much of the sequence as you can do properly, which at the start is a short section. It becomes hard if you rush to add postures, so we do not.
How often should I practise?
Ashtanga suits a regular slot better than an occasional one, so twice a week gets you further than one longer session. If you can only manage one, Vinyasa may serve you better.
Where I teach it
Sessions come to you. These are the areas I am in most often.