[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.22″][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.7.4″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″ custom_margin=”-46px||||false|false”]<\/p>\n
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 \u201eAshtanga Vinyasa Yoga\u201c from its origin in Mysore (today Mysuru) in India to the entire world. It is mainly thanks to this book\u2019s author, David Williams, that Ashtanga Yoga managed to make the first big step on this big journey, the step into the United States.<\/p>\n
You will have to be patient: the encounter between David Williams and Patthabi Jois, the creator of this yoga style, is only described towards the beginning of the second half of the book, in chapter 81 of 170 chapters (David is using short chapters for segmenting the text instead of page numbers).<\/p>\n
David describes his intensive search for \u201eyoga\u201c at the beginning of the 1970s – and how he in the end manages to find his yoga.<\/p>\n
His search results in two overland trips from Europe to India, to ashrams, to gurus, saints, and like-to-be-gurus. His description of the overland trips via small buses from Istanbul to New Dehli with a colorful company of hippies is most interesting.<\/p>\n
On his first trip, after many trials and tribulations across India, he ends up with a guru for Hatha Yoga, in Pondicherry in the south east of India, in Tamil Nadu. This guru will disappoint him in the end. Nonetheless, during his stay there, he witnesses a yoga demonstration by two young yogis travelling through. The advanced asanas that they show impress him so much that he absolutely wants to learn this style.<\/p>\n
After being asked where in India David could learn this form of yoga, one of the two travelling yogis answers: \u201cI learnt from my father. He is a yoga master in Mysore.\u201c Thus, in March 1972, David hears for the first time about Patthabi Jois, from the mouth of the eldest son, Manju Jois. Manju is uncertain whether Patthabi Jois would teach David: \u201cMy father doesn\u2019t have any foreign students. He doesn\u2019t know English. You can try though.\u201c<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.6.5″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.6.5″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/ashtanga-yoga-plus.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/Amma-Patthabi-Jois-und-Sharath-1973.jpg” title_text=”Amma, Patthabi Jois und Sharath, 1973″ _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-21px||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
Picture with kind permission of David Williams, from his book “My search for Yoga”, chapter 82<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.22″][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.7.4″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”-113px||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
The story has a happy end – for David and for the many who during the almost 50 years since then became happy practitioners of Ashtanga Yoga (and some of them also teachers). David makes it to Mysore on his second trip to India, Patthabi Jois accepts him (and Nancy Gilgoff, his companion on that trip) as students, and Nancy and David also start teaching Ashtanga Yoga, initially in California and later on Hawai\u2019i. Patthabi Jois even starts making trips to the US to teach, and his son Manju decides (against Patthabi Jois\u2019s wish) to stay in the US and in this way contributes enormously to spreading Ashtanga Yoga there.<\/p>\n
The book ends in 1977. By then David has learnt all series of Ashtanga Yoga from Patthabi Jois. This had been his goal, because he was afraid that they would be lost otherwise, as at that time nobody was practicing beyond 2nd<\/sup> series.<\/p>\n David\u2019s writing is unbelievably personal, and with such detail that I am very impressed. Maybe he kept a diary.<\/p>\n He also addresses critical issues: the danger of adjustments, his doubts if one really should always start the lotus pose with the right foot, the risk of putting the guru on a pedestal, and tragic events, also within the Jois\u2019 family.<\/p>\n He shares many pictures from back then: Patthabi Jois with his family, Sharath at the sweet age of 2, and also the original sequence of the Ashtanga asanas, as Patthjabi Jois taught them in the early 1970s.<\/p>\n The book is very nicely designed. It is not cheap – currently US$ 93 without postage, which for one book adds another US$ 75 for sending it from Hawai\u2019i (it took three months to reach me, of which the time within Hawai\u2019i was the lengthiest). Three copies make it cheaper per copy, since postage is the same for sending one or three books.<\/p>\n \u201cMy search for yoga\u201c is really something for lovers of Ashtanga (and of books on Ashtanga). If you belong to that group, you will definitely enjoy it.<\/p>\n If you would like to order one or several, get directly in touch with David, by this email: mysearchforyoga@yahoo.com<\/a>. You can find his website here<\/a>.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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 \u201eAshtanga Vinyasa Yoga\u201c from its origin in Mysore (today Mysuru) in India to the entire world. It is mainly thanks to this book\u2019s author, David Williams, that Ashtanga Yoga managed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":239694,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"[et_pb_section fb_built=\"1\" admin_label=\"section\" _builder_version=\"3.22\"][et_pb_row admin_label=\"row\" _builder_version=\"3.25\" background_size=\"initial\" background_position=\"top_left\" background_repeat=\"repeat\"][et_pb_column type=\"4_4\" _builder_version=\"3.25\" custom_padding=\"|||\" custom_padding__hover=\"|||\"][et_pb_text admin_label=\"Text\" _builder_version=\"4.7.4\" background_size=\"initial\" background_position=\"top_left\" background_repeat=\"repeat\" hover_enabled=\"0\" sticky_enabled=\"0\" custom_margin=\"-46px||||false|false\"]\n\nDieses Buch ist f\u00fcr Dich auf jeden Fall interessant, wenn Du Dich f\u00fcr den Beginn der Reise des \u201eAshtanga Vinyasa Yoga\u201c von seinem Ursprungsort in Mysore (heute Mysuru) in Indien in die weite Welt interessierst. Es ist wohl vor allem dem Autor dieses Buches, David Williams, zu verdanken, dass Ashtanga Yoga der erste Schritt auf dieser gro\u00dfen Reise, der Schritt in die Vereinigten Staaten, gelang.\n\nWobei Du etwas Geduld haben musst: die Begegnung von David Williams mit dem Begr\u00fcnder dieses Yoga Stils, Patthabi Jois, wird erst in Richtung auf die zweite H\u00e4lfte des Buchs beschrieben, in Kapitel 81 von 170 Kapiteln (David nutzt kurz geschriebenen Kapitel zur Gliederung des Textes, es gibt keine Seitenzahlen).\n\nDavid beschreibt seine intensive Suche zu Beginn der 70er Jahre nach \u201eYoga\u201c - und wie er sein Yoga schlie\u00dflich auch findet.\n\nSeine Suche f\u00fchrt ihn zwei Mal auf dem Landweg von Europa nach Indien, in Ashrams und zu Gurus, Heiligen und M\u00f6chtegern Gurus. Allein die Beschreibung der Fahrten in einem Kleinbus von Istanbul nach Neu Dehli mit einer bunten Gesellschaft von Hippies ist \u00e4u\u00dferst spannend.\n\nNach vielen Irrungen und Wirrungen quer durch Indien landet er beim einem Guru f\u00fcr Hatha Yoga, in Pondicherry im S\u00fcdosten Indiens, in Tamil Nadu. Auch bei diesem Guru wird er nicht f\u00fcndig werden, aber w\u00e4hrend seines Aufenthalts findet zuf\u00e4llig eine Yoga Vorf\u00fchrung zweier vorbeireisender Yogis statt. Die von ihnen gezeigten fortgeschrittenen Asanas beeindruckten ihn so sehr, dass er diesen Yoga Stil unbedingt erlernen will.\n\nAuf die Frage, wo in Indien er diese Form des Yoga denn erlernen k\u00f6nne, antwortete einer von ihnen: \u201eIch habe das von meinem Vater gelernt. Er ist ein Yoga Meister in Mysore.\u201c So h\u00f6rt er im M\u00e4rz 1972 das erste Mal von Patthabi Jois, aus dem Mund seines \u00e4ltesten Sohns, Manju Jois. Manju ist unsicher, ob Patthabi Jois ihn unterrichten w\u00fcrde: \u201eMein Vater hat keine ausl\u00e4ndischen Sch\u00fcler. Er kann kein Englisch. Du kannst es nat\u00fcrlich probieren.\u201c\n\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=\"4.6.5\" _module_preset=\"default\"][et_pb_column type=\"4_4\" _builder_version=\"4.6.5\" _module_preset=\"default\"][et_pb_image src=\"https:\/\/ashtanga-yoga-plus.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/Amma-Patthabi-Jois-und-Sharath-1973.jpg\" title_text=\"Amma, Patthabi Jois und Sharath, 1973\" _builder_version=\"4.7.4\" _module_preset=\"default\" hover_enabled=\"0\" sticky_enabled=\"0\"][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=\"4.7.4\" _module_preset=\"default\" text_font_size=\"12px\" custom_margin=\"-21px||||false|false\" hover_enabled=\"0\" sticky_enabled=\"0\"]\n Aufnahme mit freundlicher Genehmigung von David Williams, aus seinem Buch \"My search for Yoga\", Kapitel 82<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=\"1\" admin_label=\"section\" _builder_version=\"3.22\"][et_pb_row admin_label=\"row\" _builder_version=\"3.25\" background_size=\"initial\" background_position=\"top_left\" background_repeat=\"repeat\"][et_pb_column type=\"4_4\" _builder_version=\"3.25\" custom_padding=\"|||\" custom_padding__hover=\"|||\"][et_pb_text admin_label=\"Text\" _builder_version=\"4.7.4\" background_size=\"initial\" background_position=\"top_left\" background_repeat=\"repeat\" custom_margin=\"-113px||||false|false\" hover_enabled=\"0\" sticky_enabled=\"0\"]\n\nDie Sache geht gut aus - f\u00fcr ihn und f\u00fcr viele, die in den letzten fast 50 Jahren dank\u2018 Ashtanga Yoga gl\u00fcckliche Yoga Praktizierende (und manche von ihnen auch Lehrende) wurden, sogar sehr gut. David gelangt auf seiner zweiten Indienreise nach Mysore, Patthabi Jois akzeptiert ihn (und die ihn auf dieser Reise begleitende Nancy Gilgoff) als Sch\u00fcler und Nancy und David beginnen damit Ashtanga zu lehren, zuerst in Kalifornien, dann auf Hawaii. Patthabi Jois reist sogar zum Unterrichten die USA, und sein Sohn Manju entscheidet sich (gegen den Willens seines Vaters) in die USA auszuwandern und tr\u00e4gt enorm zur dortigen Verbreitung des Ashtanga Yoga bei.\n\nDas Buch endet 1977, nachdem David bei Patthabi Jois alle Serien des Ashtanga Yoga beigebracht hat. Nach seinen Angaben war er lange Zeit der einzige, der sie komplett beherrschte, die indischen Praktizierenden machten damals maximal die zweite Serie.\n\nDavid schreibt unglaublich pers\u00f6nlich, und auf eine Weise detailliert, die mich sehr beeindruckt. Vielleicht hat er ja Tagebuch geschrieben.\n\nEr spricht auch einige der kritischen Themen an: die Gefahr von zu heftigen Adjustments, seinen Zweifel daran, dass man den Lotussitz immer mit dem rechten Fu\u00df beginnen solle, die Gefahren, den Guru zu \u00fcberh\u00f6hen, und Tragisches, auch innerhalb der Familie von Patthabi Jois.\n\nEr ver\u00f6ffentlicht in dem Buch auch viele Bilder aus der damaligen Zeit: Patthabi Jois mit seiner Familie, Sharath im zarten Alter von 2 Jahren, und auch die Reihenfolge der Ashtanga Asanas, wie sie Nancy Gilgoff und ihm von Patthjabi Jois zwischen 1973 und 1977 beigebracht wurden.\n\nDas Buch ist sehr sch\u00f6n gebunden, und es ist nicht billig - aktuell 93 $ ohne Porto, da kommen dann bei einem Buch aber noch 75 $ f\u00fcr das Verschicken aus Hawaii dazu (hat bei mir 3 Monate gebraucht, bis es da war, davon am l\u00e4ngsten innerhalb von Hawaii). Ab drei Exemplare wird es g\u00fcnstiger, da die Versandkosten f\u00fcr ein und f\u00fcr drei B\u00fccher identisch sind.\n\nEs ist echt etwas f\u00fcr Liebhaberinnen und Liebhaber, die werden dann aber auch ihre Freude daran haben. Um es zu bestellen, wendest Du Dich direkt an David, unter mysearchforyoga@yahoo.com<\/a>. Seine Website findest Du hier<\/a>.\n\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[177,135,239,178],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-239699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-reviews-en","category-ashtanga-vinyasa-yoga-en","category-english-blog-post-en","category-yoga-philosophy-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ashtanga-yoga-plus.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ashtanga-yoga-plus.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ashtanga-yoga-plus.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ashtanga-yoga-plus.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ashtanga-yoga-plus.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239699"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ashtanga-yoga-plus.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239699\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ashtanga-yoga-plus.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ashtanga-yoga-plus.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ashtanga-yoga-plus.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ashtanga-yoga-plus.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}