The Ancient Eight Limbs Path and Its Modern Revival Through the Mysore Tradition

In the early morning hours before dawn breaks over Mysore, India, practitioners file silently into a shala where they will spend the next ninety minutes moving through a demanding sequence of postures. There is no music, no instructor calling out poses. The only sound is the rhythmic whisper of breath, deep and oceanic, as each student works through a memorized series at their own pace. This is Ashtanga yoga as it has been taught for nearly a century, a practice that has transformed bodies and minds across the globe while remaining rooted in ancient philosophical tradition.

The Meaning of Ashtanga

The Sanskrit word Ashtanga derives from ashta, meaning “eight,” and anga, meaning “limb” or “component.” The term therefore translates as “eight limbs,” referring to the comprehensive path of yoga outlined by the sage Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras, a foundational text compiled around the second century of the Common Era. Understanding this etymology is essential because it illuminates what distinguishes Ashtanga from other yoga styles: the practice is conceived not merely as physical exercise but as one component of a complete system for spiritual development.

A common source of confusion arises from the fact that the term Ashtanga yoga has two related but distinct applications. In its classical sense, Ashtanga yoga refers to Patanjali’s eight limbed philosophical path. In its modern, popular usage, it refers specifically to Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, the dynamic physical practice systematised by K. Pattabhi Jois in twentieth century India. While Jois deliberately named his method after Patanjali’s framework, the two are not identical. The contemporary practice emphasises the physical and breathing dimensions while pointing toward the broader philosophical goals.

Patanjali’s Eight Limbed Path

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali remains one of the most influential texts in the history of yoga. Composed of 196 aphorisms organised into four chapters, the text defines yoga as chitta vritti nirodha, often translated as “the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind.” To achieve this state of mental quietude and eventual liberation, Patanjali outlines an eight limbed path that progresses from external ethical conduct to the deepest states of meditative absorption.

The first limb, yama, comprises five ethical restraints governing one’s relationship with the external world: ahimsa (nonviolence), satya (truthfulness), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacharya (moderation or celibacy), and aparigraha (non-possessiveness). The second limb, niyama, consists of five personal observances directed inward: saucha (purity), santosha (contentment), tapas (discipline or austerity), svadhyaya (self-study), and ishvara pranidhana (surrender to a higher power).

The third limb is asana, the physical postures that have come to dominate contemporary understanding of yoga. Patanjali’s description of asana is notably brief; he describes it simply as a posture that is steady and comfortable, suitable for extended periods of meditation. The fourth limb, pranayama, involves the regulation and extension of the breath, controlling the vital life force energy known as prana.

The final four limbs form a progression into increasingly subtle states of awareness. Pratyahara, the fifth limb, is the withdrawal of the senses from external objects, turning attention inward. Dharana, the sixth limb, is concentration or single-pointed focus of the mind. Dhyana, the seventh limb, is meditation, an uninterrupted flow of concentration where the meditator becomes absorbed in the object of focus. Finally, samadhi, the eighth limb, is a state of complete absorption, often described as enlightenment or union with the divine, where the distinction between the observer and the observed dissolves entirely.

The Father of Modern Yoga

The Ashtanga Vinyasa practice known today traces its modern lineage to Tirumalai Krishnamacharya (1888 to 1989), a scholar, healer, and yoga master widely revered as the “Father of Modern Yoga.” Born in a small village in Karnataka, India, Krishnamacharya was a polymath who held degrees in all six classical Indian philosophical systems. He combined deep knowledge of ancient texts with practical innovation in teaching.

According to accounts from Krishnamacharya and his students, the teacher journeyed to the Himalayas in 1916 to study with a yoga master named Rama Mohan Brahmachari. During seven and a half years of intensive study in a cave near Mount Kailash, Krishnamacharya reportedly learned the Ashtanga system and was introduced to an ancient text called the Yoga Korunta, attributed to the sage Vamana Rishi. This text, said to have outlined the sequences of postures later taught as Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, was supposedly written on palm leaves that were eventually destroyed by ants. No copy of the Yoga Korunta has ever been verified, and scholars debate whether it existed at all. Regardless of its historical status, the text has become part of Ashtanga’s foundational narrative.

The Mysore Palace Years

In 1926, the Maharaja of Mysore, Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV, encountered Krishnamacharya in Varanasi and was so impressed by his learning and therapeutic abilities that he invited him to teach at the royal palace. This patronage would prove transformative for the history of yoga. The Maharaja, who credited yoga with improving his own health as a diabetic, became a devoted supporter, funding demonstrations, publications, and a dedicated yoga school.

In 1933, the Maharaja established the Yogashala in a wing of the Jaganmohan Palace with Krishnamacharya as its head. Because his students were primarily young, active boys, Krishnamacharya developed a vigorous, dynamic approach to practice. He drew on yoga, gymnastics, and Indian wrestling traditions to create flowing sequences of postures designed to build strength, flexibility, and physical fitness. The movements of Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutation) became the linking mechanism between postures, with each movement coordinated with prescribed breathing and focused gaze points called drishti. Eventually, Krishnamacharya standardised the sequences into progressive series of increasing difficulty.

It was during this fertile period that Krishnamacharya trained several students who would become the most influential yoga teachers of the twentieth century. Among them was a twelve-year-old boy named K. Pattabhi Jois, who arrived at one of Krishnamacharya’s demonstrations and immediately resolved to become his student.

K. Pattabhi Jois and the Spread of Ashtanga

Krishna Pattabhi Jois (1915 to 2009) was born in the village of Kowshika in Karnataka, the fifth of nine children in a Brahmin family. After witnessing Krishnamacharya’s demonstration in 1927, he began daily yoga lessons that would continue for more than two decades. At fourteen, Jois left his village to attend the Sanskrit College in Mysore, where a chance encounter reunited him with his teacher. He studied with Krishnamacharya from 1932 until 1953, mastering the Ashtanga system and classical texts including Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, and the Upanishads.

When asked about the origins of Ashtanga, Jois consistently replied with a phrase that became legendary among his students: “Never changed anything.” He presented himself as a faithful transmitter of an ancient tradition passed directly from Krishnamacharya, who had received it from his own teacher. Prior to their parting, Krishnamacharya reportedly entrusted Jois with continuing the Ashtanga system exactly as it had been taught.

In 1948, with help from his students, Jois purchased a small house in Mysore’s Lakshmipuram district and established the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute. For years he taught in a small room, supplementing his income with a position at the Sanskrit College where he eventually became a professor. The turning point came in 1964, when a Belgian yoga teacher named André van Lysebeth spent two months studying with Jois and subsequently published a book mentioning him by name and address. This sparked a slow trickle of Western students to Mysore that would grow into a flood.

The first Americans arrived in the early 1970s, and in 1975, Jois made his first trip to the United States, teaching in California. The practice gained particular momentum in Encinitas, where it established deep roots. Over subsequent decades, thousands of students from around the world travelled to Mysore to study with Jois, returning home to open studios and train new practitioners. When Jois died in 2009 at the age of ninety-three, Ashtanga yoga had become a global phenomenon.

The Structure of Practice: Six Series

Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga is organised into six progressive series of postures, each building upon the foundation established by its predecessor. A typical practice session begins with five repetitions each of Surya Namaskar A and B, followed by a sequence of standing postures. The practitioner then moves through the appropriate series before concluding with a standardised closing sequence.

The Primary Series, known in Sanskrit as Yoga Chikitsa (Yoga Therapy), is designed to detoxify and align the body. It consists of approximately 75 postures and can take one to two hours to complete. Many practitioners spend years mastering this foundational sequence, which emphasises forward bends and hip opening.

The Intermediate Series, called Nadi Shodhana (Nerve Cleansing), purifies the nervous system and energy channels. It introduces deep backbends, arm balances, and more demanding postures. The four Advanced Series, collectively termed Sthira Bhaga (Divine Stability), require extraordinary strength, flexibility, and concentration. Very few practitioners ever complete the most advanced sequences. According to some accounts, only Jois’s grandson, R. Sharath Jois, has mastered all six series in their entirety.

A fundamental principle of the Ashtanga method is that practitioners must master each posture before being taught the next. This conservative approach ensures safety and builds the necessary foundation for more challenging poses. Students may work on the same sequence for months or years, developing intimate familiarity with each position and transition.

The Tristhana Method: Three Places of Attention

At the heart of Ashtanga practice lies the tristhana method, a Sanskrit term meaning “three places.” This refers to three areas of focus that practitioners maintain simultaneously throughout their practice: breath, posture (with its accompanying internal energy locks), and gaze. Together, these elements transform the physical sequences into a form of moving meditation.

Breath: The Thread of Practice

The breathing technique used in Ashtanga creates a distinctive sound, often compared to waves rolling over pebbles on a beach. Some practitioners and teachers call this ujjayi breath (“victorious breath”), while others prefer terms like “free breathing with sound” to distinguish it from classical ujjayi pranayama, which involves breath retention. The sound is produced by a gentle constriction at the back of the throat while breathing through the nose with the mouth closed.

This controlled breathing creates internal heat that warms the muscles and promotes detoxification through sweat. More importantly, the audible breath provides a constant anchor for attention. Jois famously stated, “Ashtanga practice is a breathing practice. The rest is just bending.” In his book Yoga Mala, published in 1962, Jois recommended remaining in each posture for five to eight breaths, with inhalations and exhalations ideally lasting ten to fifteen seconds each.

Bandha: Internal Energy Locks

The second component involves the bandhas, internal muscular engagements that regulate the flow of prana (life force energy) through the body. Three primary bandhas are employed. Mula bandha, the root lock, involves a subtle engagement of the pelvic floor muscles. Uddiyana bandha, the upward flying lock, draws the lower abdomen gently in and up. Jalandhara bandha, the throat lock, involves a slight tucking of the chin toward the chest to keep the neck aligned with the spine.

When properly engaged, the bandhas create a sense of lightness and stability. They support the spine, protect the lower back, and channel energy upward through the central axis of the body. Practitioners report that the bandhas, once mastered, bring an effortless quality to even demanding postures.

Drishti: The Focused Gaze

The third element of tristhana is drishti, the focused gaze assigned to each posture. There are nine traditional drishtis in Ashtanga: the tip of the nose, the eyebrow centre (third eye), the navel, the thumb, the hands, the toes, the far right, the far left, and upward toward the sky. By directing the eyes to a specific point, practitioners steady the mind and deepen concentration. As an Ashtanga aphorism states, “Where the gaze goes, the mind follows.”

The drishti should not be taken too literally; the goal is direction rather than exactitude. One need not strain to see the tip of one’s nose or cross the eyes to focus on the eyebrow centre. The practice cultivates an inward turning of attention, reducing distraction from the external environment and supporting the meditative dimension of practice.

Mysore Style: The Traditional Teaching Method

The traditional method of teaching Ashtanga, known as “Mysore style” after the city where it originated, differs markedly from typical Western yoga classes. In a Mysore room, students practise independently, each working through their assigned sequence at their own pace and breath rhythm. There is no instructor leading the group through poses; instead, the teacher moves quietly among students, offering adjustments, assistance, and occasional verbal instruction.

This individualised approach allows practitioners of all levels to share the same space. A beginner learning their first Sun Salutation may practise alongside an advanced student working through the Intermediate Series. New postures are added one at a time as the student demonstrates readiness. The teacher-student relationship develops over months and years of daily practice, creating a depth of guidance impossible in a group-led class.

Led classes, in which a teacher guides all students through the sequence together, are typically offered once or twice weekly to reinforce timing and vinyasa count. However, the Mysore room remains the heart of Ashtanga practice, fostering self-discipline, self-awareness, and a deeply personal relationship with the practice.

The Demands and Rewards of Practice

Ashtanga yoga is widely considered one of the most physically demanding styles of yoga. The Primary Series alone contains numerous challenging postures, and the heat generated by the breathing technique combined with continuous movement creates an intense cardiovascular workout. Strength, flexibility, and endurance all develop progressively through consistent practice.

Yet practitioners consistently emphasise that the most profound benefits are mental and spiritual rather than physical. The repetitive nature of practising the same sequence daily creates a form of moving meditation. As the body learns the postures, the mind is freed to observe its own patterns, reactivity, and resistance. Many practitioners report increased mental clarity, emotional stability, and a sense of equanimity that extends far beyond the yoga mat.

The tradition calls for six days of practice per week, with rest on Saturdays and on days of the full and new moon. Practitioners are encouraged to maintain their practice over years and decades, allowing the benefits to deepen with time. As Jois often reminded his students: “Practice, and all is coming.”

A Living Tradition

Following Jois’s death in 2009, the Ashtanga lineage has continued through his family. His grandson, R. Sharath Jois, directed the K. Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute (as it was renamed in the early 2000s) for many years and is widely considered the current lineage holder. In 2019, Sharath opened his own Sharath Yoga Centre in Mysore. Jois’s daughter Saraswathi and granddaughter Sharmila also continue to teach, as does his son Manju Jois, who is based in California.

The Ashtanga community spans the globe, with authorised and certified teachers in nearly every major city. These teachers, many of whom studied for years in Mysore, carry forward the tradition while adapting to local contexts and student needs. Studios from Tokyo to São Paulo to Berlin maintain the Mysore-style teaching method, creating spaces where the same practice unfolds each morning as it has for generations.

At its core, Ashtanga yoga remains what it has always been: a disciplined, systematic approach to self-transformation through breath and movement. Whether practitioners engage with it as physical exercise, as a gateway to meditation, or as a complete path toward the liberation described by Patanjali, the method offers a clear framework and consistent structure. In an age of endless variation and innovation, Ashtanga’s unchanging sequences provide a rare constancy, a practice that can be returned to again and again, revealing new depths with each repetition.

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