Tag Archives: Yoga Korunta

Ashtanga Yoga News Letter 3 : march 2019

Yoga « way to fullness » …

The “Hindu Trinity”, Brahma, Vishnū, Ćiva.

On the way to the intuition of “non-duality”, we try to be coherent yet if we are honest with ourselves we know how hard it is. For example, you are asked to stand up straight, we think and feel that we are vertical, but if we look in a mirror, we will see that this is an illusion, we have a shoulder higher than the other, the head inclined to one side, the pelvis rotated, a knee bent, the belly forward or backward, more support on one foot, etc.. In short, we are twisted. It is the same in postural yoga practice “asana” (Devanāgarī: आसन). We need an outside perspective to straighten, untwist and align ourselves, in order to go vertical.

During his first meeting with Guruji (Sri K. Pattabhi Jois), Anne expressed “it’s strange, but for the first time in my life I experienced a person other than myself you knew better than me what was good for me … and I trusted … “him.

Transmission of Yoga exists in this relational quality. It is a relationship of love, without love there is nothing of value, we cannot achieve the “Kingdom of Heaven” for a Christian, or what we call “Deep Reality” in Yoga.

The practice of Yoga Mala is a precision work (from the Latin praecisus), i.e. “no split” without division of breathing, movement, concentration, rhythm etc.. It is a work of unification. Hindus, like Christians might say to live a relationship state of “Trinity.”

Three not two, two is not one… The Trinity is not a duality and non-duality “advaïta” (Devanāgarī: अ त) is not unity. This is articulated One between “I” and “you” of ourselves, a … A relational One

«Oh yoguin, ne pratique pas le Yoga sans vinyāsa…»
Vāmana Ṛṣi (devanāgarī : वामन ऋषि)
Yoga Korunta

Forth yoga Korunta śloka express :

« Trī stanam avalokayé

Āsanam prānāyāma dristhihi »

Translation

The three key points of the method are: posture, breathing and concentration of the gaze.

Shri K. Pattabhi Jois’s comment

The method of yoga Korunta consists of three simultaneously performed points, that are:

a. Posture Āsana : to lengthen and stretch the spine back to ensure good blood circulation;

b. Breathing Pranayama : The wide opened rib cage so that breathing is good, long and soft;

c. Dristhihi : The head in alignment and directed towards one of the nine focus points so that the mind is concentrated. In this way, in your practice, you will not be troubled by what is happening around you and within you.

Guruji (Sri K. Pattabhi Jois), Laksmi Puram, Mysore

Om Shanti,

JC Garnier

The origins of the Ashtanga Yoga Institute in de Brussels

Jean Claude, dig the foundations of the Matrimandir, Auroville, India

After coming back from India where Jean Claude taught Yoga to Vinobha Bhave and to Indira Gandhi at Paunar Ashram, dig with a Peruvian friend the beginning of the foundations of the Matrimondir in Auroville

the adventure of transmitting yoga starts in September 1973 at “La Maison de la Culture de Rouen” (France).

Success is immediate, there are several classes everyday in different places, at Mt St Aignan University, at St Claire’s church etc. …. Jean Claude transmits either Iyengar’s technique or Pattabhi Jois’s technique. The workshops take place at the “Château d’Ernement sur Buchy”, where he was living.

Still in Rouen, in 1974, he founds the C.R.Y. (Centre Rouennais de Yoga) with Dr. Louis Creyx, 264 students follow the morning or evening classes.

He then founds the “Centre Padma” in Elbeuf in 1979 to host residential training workshops. Many workshops are held in France, Italy, Switzerland, Holland etc. …. Since then, Jean Claude exclusively teaches “Yoga Korunta” (Ashtanga Yoga as transmitted by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois) .

Many seminar take place, in the South of France, in the Community of the Ark, founded by Lanza Del Vasto.

Life changes ……. Jean Claude meets Anne and goes to live in Brussels in 1987. He teaches at the “Maison Américaine”, chaussée de Charleroi, then rue des Glaïeuls, Uccle, in 1988. More space becoming necessary, the Ashtanga Yoga Institute moves to rue Jules Lejeune, Ixelles from 1989 until 2003. Finally, with the help of his friend an architect Simon de Wrangel, the Ashtanga Yoga Institute moves into it’s own premises 610 Chaussée d’Alsemberg in Uccle, with a yoga room that follows the explanations given by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois.

“The ideal Yoga room must be well ventilated. Do not open all the windows, only those on a same side that are situated high up. The floor must be perfectly flat, the room very clean, on the ground floor (not above nor below because it is not good for the breathing), in a quiet place, far from the surrounding noise and far from people involved in an activity other than yoga.”

The Ashtanga Yoga Institute’s reputation spreads; daily lessons, workshops and seminars are given in Belgium, Greece on the Island of Andros and in Athens,and in India in Mahabalipuram.

The Ashtanga Yoga Institute’s aim is to transmit “Yoga Korunta” (better known as Ashtanga Yoga) as it was taught by Shri K. Pattabhi Jois during his life-time, at the « Ashtanga Yoga Resarch Institute » in Mysore (South India).

Today, a lovely team participates in the evolution of the Institute. Below is what is offered :

Daily classes (except during the Christmas holidays which is the only time the Institute closes)
Introduction class to Yoga
Beginners class
First series class
Second series class
Third series class
Intensive mornings (3 hours class)
Teacher training in Ashtanga Yoga in Brussels, Greece and India
Ashtanga Yoga sessions in beautiful places:
- In Greece:
  - Athens
  - Andros Island
- In India
  - Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu, South India

Events :
- Concerts of traditional Indian music
- Indian and Ayurveda cooking lessons

Om Shanti

History of Yoga Korunta (Ashtanga Yoga)

Travelling in the North of India to spread the science of Yoga for the treatment of various ailments, Sri T. Krishnamacharya – thanks to the patronage of the Maharajah of Mysore (well known for his philanthropy and spiritual faith) – discovered by chance, in the 1930s, in the university Library of Calcutta, an ancient manuscript written on palm leaves and entitled “Yoga Korunta”. The author, a sage of ancient times, called himself “Vanama”. Composed between 500 and 1500 BC, the document was excellently preserved. Also a specialist in ancient Sanskrit, Sri T. Krishnamacharya understood from the turn of certain phrases that it was part of a much older oral tradition (between 3000 and 4000 years BC).

Sri T. Krishnamacharya

Following this discovery, Sri T. Krishnamacharya, who taught a different method of yoga, altered his teaching for the third time. He asked Sri K. Pattabhi Jois to devote himself exclusively to this method of original Yoga, called Yoga Korunta, and to pass it on.

From 1937 onwards, Pattabhi taught Yoga Korunta in Mysore, India.

Only in the late 1960s, André Van Lysebeth, the first teacher of European yoga, spends three months to study Yoga in India with Pattabhi.

André speaks of him and the quality of his training and popularizes him by publishing laudatory articles in the paper « YOGA » which he edits.

La “REVUE YOGA”

Around 1973, Americans participate in the demonstration of yoga by Manju (Pattabhi’s son) in the ashram of Gitānanda (near Pondicherry). Thus Norman Allen became a pupil of Pattabhi or Guruji, as his disciples call him, later Nancy Gilgoff and David Williams came.

Pattabhi chose to use the term “Ashtanga” for his school in reference to one of the six points of view of orthodox Indian philosophy, i.e. Yoga. The other points of view are: Nyāya, Vaisheshika, Sāṃkhya, Mîmâmsâ, Vedānta.

The bible of Yoga, written by Patañjali, is “The Yoga Sūtra” (a kind of synthesis of all the preceding knowledge).

In the second chapter of this book, at verse (YS II-29) the foundations of the practice of yoga are being explained, the definition of which is “aṣṭāṅga yoga”. Thus, all the spiritual techniques referring to this book can be called aṣṭāṅga yoga.

This way the name of “Yoga Korunta” was changed to “Ashtanga Yoga”. Actually, the institute of Pattabhi was called “Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute of Mysore”, which made the American students think that he taught a kind of Yoga called “Ashtanga Yoga”.

In 1975, Nancy Gilgoff and David Williams invited Guruji and his son Manju, who thus set off on their first voyage to America in order to teach yoga. Manju stayed in the United States. This practice of Yoga spread rapidly throughout America from California, extending up to Hawaii, under the name of Ashtanga Yoga.

In Europe, the first teachers to spread this method were called Jean-Pierre Radhu (Belgium), Gabriel Plessis (Paris, Rouen – 1972). With the permission of Guruji, Jean Bernard Rishi in Paris (France 1975) published leaflets on the sun salutations of Mysore and the standing postures (photos of Pattabhi in black and white). Having taught Ashtanga Yoga for several years, they all changed their methods of different reasons. Later, Jean Claude Garnier (France, Belgium – 1978) and Serge Fonteneau (France, Château Renauld) embraced the teachings of Pattabhi and have made it their business to disseminate them.

Today, this traditional form of Yoga, mainly known under the name of Ashtanga Yoga, is one of the most practiced worldwide.

Sharath Rangaswamy, the grandson of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, teaches the Ashtanga Yoga he has learnt from his grandfather.

For further reading :

Yoga Mala – Sri K. Pattabhi Jois (paperback)
Ashtanga Yoga – John Scott (Le courrier du livre).
Ashtanga Yoga – Le Guide Pratique: Un Guide Illustré Destiné à une Pratique Personnelle, Première et Deuxième… de David Swenson

Sri K. Pattabhi Jois has learned, developed, and taught others Ashtanga Yoga

Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, was born on July 26, 1915, a day of the full moon, in a small village near Somnathpur in Karnataka in South India. He died on May 18, 2009, at the age of 94.

His father, Krishna Pattabhi Jois, was a well-known astrologer in the service of the Maharajah of Mysore.

After his primary and secondary schooling in 1930 he began studying Sanskrit and Vedic philosophy at the Maharaja Sanskrit College in Mysore. In 1937, he graduated, he immediately went into teaching Sanskrit at the University of Mysore and continued until 1973. He spent another three years teaching at the Ayur Vedic College, and he then retired.

He began studying Yoga in 1927, when he was 12 years old. He then lived with his parents in a small village near Hassan “Kowshek” (Karnataka). During the first three years, he undertook a journey back and forth every day to visit his Guru Sri T. Krishnamacharya, who lived in Mysore at that time (a distance of some 35 km). He received the teaching of his master for 25 years (from 1927 to 1952). Krishnamacharya asked him to transmit a method of original Yoga, called Yoga Korunta (known today as Ashtanga Yoga). Sri K. Pattabhi Jois taught Yoga in India from 1937, then later in the U.S.A and Europe. He received students from around the world to study this wonderful method of Yoga.

He was the founder-director of the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore in 1942. In 1946, he founded the Institute for Research on Ashtanga Yoga, where he experimented and developed the healing powers of Yoga. He was appointed Honorary Professor of Yoga at the Indian Government Medical College in Mysore, from 1976 to 1978.

Shri K. Pattabhi Jois was married with the delicious Savitramma, known as her diminutive Amma). She left us far too early in December 1997. She always wore a smile, offered comfort or had a blessing on her lips and she prepared an absolutely delicious coffee.

What is less well known is that she had also studied and practiced Yoga and sacred Shri T. Krishnamacharya texts. This is where she met Guruji. She was 14 when she was married, a marriage of love which was very rare at the time. They had three children, two boys and a girl (their eldest son Ramesh died in an accident on the Kaveri dam).

Manju Jois

Manju, their son, teaches Yoga at Emanitas in California – U.S.A. Saraswati, their daughter still lives in Mysore, she is married to a professor and also teaches yoga.

In 1964, André Van Lysbeth, the first European, came to study the Korunta Yoga at the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore with Guruji. André spoke about him and made him known through an article he published in the early review of the time “YOGA”, which he edited.

Around 1972, Sri Pattabhi Jois received the first Americans after the “meeting” with Manju at the Gitananda ashram near Pondicherry (160 km south of Madras). The practice of Ashtanga Yoga spread in America from California, and extended later to Hawaii. In 1975, Guruji and Manju on their first tour spread the word about the practice of yoga. Since then, the practice of Ashtanga Yoga has spread worldwide.

Guruji passed on to the other side of existence on 18 May 2009 at 2:30pm in the afternoon (local Mysore time). Guruji had taught continuously for 63 years this wonderful method that he had learned from his Guru Sri T. Krishnamacharya in 1927.

Om Loka Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti Om (Om, may all beings achieve peace and harmony, Om Shanti).

Today, his grandson Sharath Rangaswamy, the son of Sarasvati, is Director of the Institute. He was born in 1971. He is transmitting the Ashtanga Yoga he learned from his grandfather. Sharath is married to Shruthi and he is the happy father of two children, a charming little girl called Shradda (Dedication), and a son Sambhav (connected to the being or Manifestation of being).

The new Yoga course room “Yogashala” can be found :

Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute 235, 8th Cross 2nd Main, 3rd Stage Gokulam, Mysore 570 002 Karnataka, India

Understanding the methods of yoga more clearly

When one starts to take an interest in yoga, one is surprised and sometimes overwhelmed by the number of different schools. What does this mean? At what level can I take part in classes?

In certain yoga classes, there is a moment of respite between each posture or between each group of postures. In others, one assembles oneself the chronology of postures, which varies according to different criteria.

We will help you see more clearly.

The different variations all stem from Haṭha Yoga, “Ha” means Sun, “Tha” Moon, “Yoga” means Union. “The search for balance in the union of opposing forces”. This may be one of the most beautiful definitions of our practice.

In the practice of Ashtanga yoga or Yoga Korunta (its original name), the order of postures in each series is immutable. The transitions between each position are interlinked rhythmically and dynamically.

The series of Ashtanga Yoga are presented in an order of increasing difficulty. Before passing on to the next series, it is essential to have mastered the preceding one. Generally, this type of Yoga appeals to those with an open spirit looking for an intense physical and spiritual activity and not afraid of sweating.

Its principal characteristics are :

Control of the pelvic floor (Mūlābandha)
Deep breathing (Ujjãyi)
Concentration of gaze (Drishti – dṛṣṭi)
Dynamic movements of transition between the postures (Vinyasa)

Composed of six series, the first is called therapeutic yoga.

You will be encouraged to breathe deeply, to concentrate, and the teacher will correct you.

Following, the various methods of Haṭha Yoga that are best known:

Kripalu Yoga teams the practice of Yoga with consciousness and acceptance of oneself. It is a meditative Yoga, the student executes the postures and movements intuitively according to his needs.

Sivānanda Yoga is based on the five following principles: suitable exercises (āsana); correct breathing (āsana); deep relaxation (savāsana); healthy eating (vegetarian) ; positive thought and meditation (vedanta & dhyāna). Very well known thanks to André Van Lysebeth, the series of 12 principal postures unfolds in the opposite sense to the method of Ashtanga Yoga.

Satyananda Yoga or Bihar Yoga takes up several methods: Haṭha, Raja, Karma, Jnāna, Mantra and Bhakti Yoga, as well as other branches of Yoga, very much geared to the aspects of mental Yoga.

Bikram Yoga encompasses a series of 26 postures which are repeated twice in a room heated to 40° Celsius. The heat promotes suppleness, the elimination of toxins and weight loss.

Energy Yoga, of Tibetan origin, insists on the importance of a balance of the energies influencing our physical body. The respiratory work is the key that promotes the training of attention and allows the mind so often distracted and overburdened to relax.

Haṭha Yoga according Eva Ruchpaul is a yoga that purports to be secular and stresses an attitude of interior work rather than one of physical effort. The lesson is based on a rhythm of three: a posture, a period of rest, a breath, a posture… Postures and breath are intimately linked.

Kundalini Yoga is based on the idea that each of us have capital within ourselves “Health, Happiness, Faith” which can grow thanks to the practice encompassing postures, exercises in respiratory techniques, chanting and meditation.

Anusara Yoga is based on the idea that everything is supreme consciousness. Everybody is divine in all his parts, body, thoughts and spirit. It considers the postures of Yoga, practiced in accordance with the universal principles of alignment an expression of the divine.

Viniyoga, developed by the son of Sri Krishnamacharya, Desikachar – “The more we progress in life, the more we transform ourselves, physically, emotionally and intellectually” – is a method meant to integrate these changes in a way adapted to each individual.

Sri BKS Iyengar

Yoga Iyengar is a practice in which one uses numerous props to better accomplish certain postures which allows practitioners to circumvent problems of flexibility. This technique emphasizes alignment and precision of postures.

Power Yoga, developed in the United States, takes up the principal foundations of Ashtanga Yoga but does not follow a predetermined order of postures and series. It is a physical and dynamic training in very aerobic style.

Jivamukti Yoga is a system that is at the same time overtly meditative and very physical like Ashtanga Yoga. During classes, participants practice series of postures punctuated by chants (in Sanskrit), meditations, lectures, discussions, music.

Vinyasa Flow Yoga is a more traditional style of Yoga that respects the original principles of Yoga. Like in Ashtanga Yoga, the pupil adapts little by little to the method, which stays immutable.

etc.

Guruji

At the Ashtanga Yoga Institute of Brussels, we practice Yoga as expressed by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois “Practice, practice, practice, every day…“

Prices for the lessons Yoga Ashtanga Institute 2024/2025

Single course Required membership 1 lesson / trial lesson 1 private lesson	Price 30 € 30 € 100 €	Valid 1 year from September to September 1h30 1h only by appointment
Card 10 lessons 20 lessons 30 lessons	Price 180 € 300 € 410 €	Or 18 € the course Valid 3 months Or 15 € the course Valid 3 months Or 13,6 € the course Valid 3 months
Subscription Annual 1 class / week Annual 2 class / week Annual 2 class / week	Price 670 € 1200 € 1600 €	Valid 1 year from September to september Valid 1 year from September to september Valid 1 year from September to september
Intensive Morning 1 morning 2 mornings 10 mornings	Price 60 € 115 € 540 €	3h 3h x 2 the samee week-end Valid 1 year from September to June
Workshop in India Half session One session Two sessions Three sessions Trainning	Price 280 € 460 € 850 € 1250 € 1460 €	One week from monday to friday (morning) Two weeks from monday to friday (morning) Three weeks from monday to friday (morning) Six weeks from monday to friday (morning) Four weeks from monday to friday (morning+afternoon)
Workshop in Greece Athens – October / November Athens – April Athens – June / July	Price Ask Ask Ask	nikzog70@gmail.com 00 30 69 77 80 92 21 nikzog70@gmail.com 00 30 69 77 80 92 21 katarizou@gmail.com 00 30 69 97 90 22 90

The room is equipped with a ventilation system, an air purifier device that measures the air quality with UV treatment

To offer a lesson, go too “Go” boutique !

Payment in Euros by :

International postal order (Very low cost) addressed to :
JCG – SCS, Ashtanga Yoga Institute
Chaussée d’Alsemberg, 610
1180 Brussels – Belgium
Bank transfer – Bank :
ING – Uccle DE BUE – 1180 Brussels –
Telephone: 00.32.2 348 47 80 – Fax: 00.32.2 348 47 89
SWIFT or BIC de la ING : BB RU BE BB
IBAN: BE 34 3630 0145 0390
Account n° ING 363-0014503-90Cancellation fee: 100 € per person

You can gather a small group of friends (3 or 4 people) and discover Ashtanga Yoga together. Choose the time of your lesson and organize a session adapted to your needs, learn the basics or go deeper into the method.

The instruction given at the Ashtanga Yoga of Brussels is true to the Yoga Korunta transmitted by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois at the l’Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore – Karnataka South India.

Teachers who regularly gives classes at the Ashtanga Yoga Institute are: Jean Claude Garnier, Jan Janssen, Sergine Laloux, and the team of substitute teachers: Annette, Bernadette, Catherine, Ivan, Mary, Simon …

Gaja Lakshmi

Financial difficulty ! So it is not an obstacle, contact the Institute by mail or letter.

Ashtanga Yoga Institute #EN

610, Ch. Alsemberg – 1180 Brussels