General
What does Ashtanga Yoga mean – Nomen est omen or rather a misnomer?
The yoga style that I have been practicing for 13 years and teaching for 11 is nowadays known worldwide as Ashtanga Yoga. I fell in love with this style from the very start. Initially, the name was not important to me. However, I later started to question why this...
The end of the blog-down – and as a concrete subject the question concerning the “correct form of an āsana“
More than half a year has gone by since my last blog. At that time, Germany was still in the middle of a lockdown. Due to my online teaching, I did not have more time available than "normally" (i.e., before Corona). Somehow, though, I must have imagined that I would...
Sanskrit is a form of yoga – for the mind
This heading might surprise you - what does yoga have to do with Sanskrit? In the West yoga is often seen as training for the belly, legs, and butt. Sanskrit is the language in which the majority of the old Indian literature was composed, but these days, it is no...
„Moon days“, sleep and the menstrual cycle
„Hard-core“ Ashtangis normally are practicing their yoga style 6 times per week, ideally in the morning. About every second week they have one additional day off: traditionally practitioners with a daily practice should not do their practice on new moon and on full...
Risks and side effects of „truth “
Let’s start off with another one my favourite stories about the topic of “truth”: The devil went on a walk with a friend. In front of them - at a distance - walked a man, whom they could only see from the backside. Suddenly, he bent down, picked something up and...
The triple filters of Socrates
Already last month, I was writing about Socrates - the wisest man in Greece (interestingly enough, the Oracle did not mention women). Socrates is also seen as the source for an approach to conversations - and to silence -, which is very useful if regularly applied...
The wisest man in Greece
Here comes one of my favourite stories: One day a businessman came to the Oracle of Delphi, looking for advice in important matters. The actual matter at hand is not known, but it is unlikely that he was on a spiritual quest but rather had questions about business...
Energy follows the intention
In prior blogs I drew your attention to the subject of the s p a c e - especially to the fact that the space provides the limitations to your will. The "big will" Today, I do not want to discuss the space, but rather the ingredient that you yourself contribute to...
“A person who really does yoga leaves a room a little nicer than upon arrival.” (adapted from David Swenson)
There are numerous translations of the term “yoga”. In the introduction to her book Yogāvatāraṇam, Zoë Slatoff (my Sanskrit teacher) mentions that one of the most common Sanskrit dictionaries (Apte) shows 80 different translations, starting with “unite” ( the most...
“The will cannot go beyond what the space is prepared to carry” (adapted from Christian Lamilhau)
There is a nice saying in English: “Where there is a will, there is a way.”. Yes, it is nice, but it is not correct, at least not always. The will is only one of the elements decisive for success – your intention, that which would you like to express, the movement...
Nobody is blogging anymore
„Nobody is blogging anymore” was my 18-year-old nephew’s comment, when I asked him whether he could help me start a blog for “Ashtanga Yoga Plus” simultaneously with the relaunch of my website. Instagram, Twitter, maybe still Facebook, even though that is also out of...
Book reviews
„Yogāvatāraṇam – The translation of Yoga” by Zoë Slatoff (book review)
Usually, when I take a picture of a book that I am reviewing, I try to use a pristine version of the book whenever possible. But, as you can see, in this case, it is different. The book came to my attention through an advertisement on http://www.ashtanga.com/...
Breath – The new science of a lost art (James Nestor)
The fact how little attention people pay to how they breathe in their daily lives repeatedly surprises me. So, it was a surprise in the other direction when a book with the title “Breath“ made it onto the bestseller lists of the Sunday Times, the New York Times, and...
![„Yoga im Nationalsozialismus – Konzepte, Kontraste, Konsequenzen“ („Yoga during the times of National Socialism“ [my translation], in German) by Matias Tietke (book review)](https://ashtanga-yoga-plus.de/wp-content/uploads/Yoga-Im-Nationalsozialismus-1-400x250.jpg)
„Yoga im Nationalsozialismus – Konzepte, Kontraste, Konsequenzen“ („Yoga during the times of National Socialism“ [my translation], in German) by Matias Tietke (book review)
This is another review of a book in German that I am also posting in English. Despite the book’s language, perhaps the information contained is of interest. Or maybe you are also able to read German when the subject is of sufficient interest to you. Matias Tietke...
„Karma“ by Johannes Bronkhorst (book review)
In Sanskrit, „karma“ originally means just „action“. Since about 2.500 years it is understood in a much larger scale, as the law of cause and effect. According to this law, actions in this life (and in former lives) have an immediate effect on this life. The term...
„Ashtanga Yoga“ by Richard Pilnick (book review)
There is a recent addition in the shala’s library: in the true sense of the word an esthetic book about Ashtanga Yoga, actually a book of photography. About Richard Pilnick The author and photographer is Richard Pilnick, an Englishman, originally a fashion...
“My search for yoga” by David Williams (book review)
This book is definitely going to be of interest for you if you would like to know more about the beginning of the journey of „Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga“ from its origin in Mysore (today Mysuru) in India to the entire world. It is mainly thanks to this book’s author, David...
“Aṣṭāṅga Yoga Anuṣṭhāna” by Sharath Jois (book review)
Originally, I intended to write this blog only in German, as it is about the translation into German of an Ashtanga book that has already been around for a few years. Why would I write in English about a book in German? Upon second thought, I decided to write about...
„When love comes to light“ – a book not just for yoga practitioners by Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor
The new book by Mary Taylor and Richard Freeman For many practitioners of Ashtanga Yoga, the name Richard Freeman is very well known: he is a very special combination of a yoga teacher (his wife and he himself call themselves „yogic teachers”), Buddhist and...