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| When I started practicing yoga in '97 I began with the Total Yoga series. There were no classes near me in Ohio and NO ONE I knew practiced yoga. As I moved into Ashtanga practice I took classes and used the Short Forms video.
I have a friend with very little yoga experience. She would like to try ashtanga at home. Should I recommend the Short Forms dvd or, what I personally think is a good idea, the First Series starting with surya namaskarya and not progressing until that is learned then taking one posture at a time?
I'm kind of curious how others feel about this. |
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| I have David's Short Forms and think it's wonderful. The method you're suggesting--starting with Surya Namaskara A and mastering that, then going on to B, etc.--is the way Ashtanga is traditionally taught. In fact, the first of David's Short Forms is pretty much nothing more than Surya Namaskara A and B, and one or two closing postures. That might be a good place for your friend to begin.
I started Ashtanga using David's Short Forms, so I'm not going to tell anyone that's a bad thing! But when I went to a live, led class, I was able to get deeper into the postures because of things the teacher said, along with gentle adjustments ... I could also work at my own pace. David's pace is a bit fast for a total novice, I think.
If there is any way your friend could make it to live classes, that would be ideal ... but working with David Swenson, even on DVD, is a good thing too.
Sorry I can't give you a definitive answer! :-)
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| ....or you could could teach her Kristin.
Jonathon |
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| that's what i was thinking also
jonnie - 2007-04-14 9:01 AM....or you could could teach her Kristin.Jonathon |
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| Miabella704 - 2007-04-13 5:15 PM
When I started practicing yoga in '97 I began with the Total Yoga series. There were no classes near me in Ohio and NO ONE I knew practiced yoga. As I moved into Ashtanga practice I took classes and used the Short Forms video.
I have a friend with very little yoga experience. She would like to try ashtanga at home. Should I recommend the Short Forms dvd or, what I personally think is a good idea, the First Series starting with surya namaskarya and not progressing until that is learned then taking one posture at a time?
I'm kind of curious how others feel about this.
I recommend: a) NO DVD. b) You teach your friend exactly what you feel you are confident of and what you think your friend can actually do. Do not worry about any series for now. c) DVDs are actually for experienced, and not for beginners even though a DVD may be called 'for beginners'.
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| Hi,
I'm not sure that the short forms are any good for a real beginner. The 15 minute sequence for example is sun salutations with some quite advanced sitting poses (mari c, navasana, urdhva dhanurasana). It's good if you don't have a lot of time, but boy you need to warm up quickly for mari c inside 10 minutes (well I do anyway)!
Edited by iandicker 2007-04-16 4:39 AM
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| Great answers. Thanks for the help.
We have no Ashtanga teachers in this area. There's Flow Yoga at the Y but it's tailored for the elderly population who have little yoga experience and aren't looking to progress too much.
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Need an opinion
