
The Road to Ashtanga Yoga Course with Satoru Koguchi
Due to ashtanga vinyasa yoga’s heavy focus on combining breath and movement, it is often difficult for a teacher to explain how to build a pose and to describe what to take care about without interrupting the flow of the class. Therefore, this course focuses on one theme every week, properly establishing a foundation of the precise ways to use breath and body.
We will look deeply into often-ignored points in order to try to overcome our weaknesses. This course will be beneficial both for students who regularly practice ashtanga vinyasa yoga, and for those who are new to it.
Course Curriculum:
Week 1: Return to basics - Ujjayi breath & bandha
We will look into ujjai breathing, mula bhanda and uddiyana bhanda.
By doing simple poses, we will practice how to combine breath and body through the bhanda.
Week 2: Return to basics - Suriya namaskar
Suriya namaskar is especially important.
We will practice how to correctly do each of the poses such as the up-dog, down-dog, chaturanga dandasana, and others.
Week 3: Vinyasa jump-through, jump-back technique
By learning various techniques and methods of practicing them, we will find what suits us best and what it takes to make the vinyasa a smooth process.
Week 4: Overcoming backbends
In the primary series, there are many people who feel weak in various backbend poses (with the exception of the up-dog and the simple backbend).
By practicing our backbends, we can overcome our feelings of inadequacy in this important area of our practice.
Week 5: Inversion - the world of upside down
Some people say that inversions are difficult, but the key is merely a question of establishing balance.
By incorporating various reassuring practice methods, we can enjoy the upside down world that we see whenever doing inversion poses.
Week 6: Challenge, full-primary
Try it, even if you can’t do it all. Feel the wonders of ashtanga by trying the full primary series from start to finish.