Ashtanga guidelines

Guidelines

Moondays are holidays – no class. Check the Moonday page and add them to your calendar in advance.

Students can start and finish at anytime during class hours.

Please do not feel you must do your full practice daily. The practice is there to support your life. Ten minutes daily is better than two hours once a week.

Wherever possible please start your practice in the front two rows and do not leave too much space in between mats. After backbending, please move to the back row for finishing and taking rest. Similarly in finishing please place your mats close together to allow each student a spot to finish.

If you are a beginner to Ashtanga Yoga,  please email us to set up a suitable date and time for your first class. You can use the contact page or send an email to info@ashtangayogaeindhoven.nl.

Students should bring their own mats to practice.

As well as your sticky mat please bring one full length cotton or micro fibre mat and one small sweat towel. No other equipment or items around your mat are required and the teaching team will move any additional items to the sides of the room for safety reasons.

Please bathe before practice and keep your mat and yoga clothes clean.

Please keep ‘warm ups’ or additional stretching to a minimum. The suryanamaskaras and standing poses provide all the warm up you need.

Please do not drink water during practice. We are building up internal heat through the practice of linked breath and movement. Drinking kills this heat and some benefits are lost.

Ashtanga Yoga works best as a 5 or 6 day a week practice, taking one rest day (ideally on the same day) each week. We also rest on moondays (see upcoming dates here) and for women during the first three days of menstruation (‘ladies holiday’). This commitment can seem daunting – often beginners to Ashtanga view yoga as a once-a-week ‘exercise’ class – but we encourage you to come with an open mind and commit for just one month in order to really let the practice do it’s work. Once or twice a week does have benefits but to some extent it will always feel like an uphill battle. It’s in your best interests to attend regularly!

If you want a new asana, please don’t ask. Yoga is much more than asana and an important part of studying this method of yoga is learning to let your teacher guide you. If you are held at an asana for any length of time it will always be in your own best interests. Rest assured that you’ll move on when you are ready.

* some content used with permission of Caroline Simpson at ashtangabristol.com