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| Hi,
What are your experiences with moving into the intermediate series (esp. home practitioners)? I have been taking hatha blend classes for a few years, and just started practicing Ashtanga at home using David Swanson's book about two months ago.
In his book, David Swanson advises people to begin to explore the intermediate series once they have memorized the primary series, and have the stamina to complete the series while being mindful of their breathing. This is also the recommendation I found on the website for the “Absolutely Ashtanga” studio in Sacramento (which has very nice photographs of many different people in poses from all of the series).
Did any of you begin practicing the intermediate series once you had the primary series memorized? (As opposed to waiting until you could enter poses fully, do drop backs etc.?) How did you begin to add intermediate poses to your practice?
(I don't go to Ashtanga classes because my university offers very good hatha blend classes at a fraction of the price I would pay at a private studio, and I'm a poor student.)
-Sarah |
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Location: London, England | Hi Sarah,
Well, my teacher started teaching me the second series in after about 10 days, but that was because I was quite keen and had practiced quite a bit of Iyengar yoga already. I understand that the authorities suggest about two years on the first series, but I think it depends on the individual-there's so many factors. That reminds me, my brother was doing the third series in three days, which has to be some kind of record 
Nick |
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| Hi Sarah,
I just do primary now, but when I was mostly practising at home would occasionally fool around with second series.
The traditional way to start working on second is to add the poses, one at a time, after primary, as you're ready. So maybe try doing your full primary practice then adding on pasasana after setu bandhasana. When you're solid there, practice primary all the way through krounchasana in intermediate. This goes on until about pincha mayurasana, I believe, at which point, in a traditional mysore setting, the practitioner will "split" their practice at navasana in primary and go straight on to second series.
I don't practice second series - I go to mysore style classes now, and have just "officially" finished primary, so feel free to take my advice with a big ol' grain of salt. Frankly, I can't ever see myself doing intermediate because it seems to need too much stamina just to make it that far (before being split).
Enjoy your practice!
lisa
ps - Nick - second series in 10 days !?!?!?!? .... third series in 3 days!!?!?! Clearly you come from a family of yoga geniuses - are you related to the Swensons? |
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Location: London, England | Hi Lewellen,
I used to think so Time has proven otherwise
Nick |
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| Thanks for your responses. I think it's interesting that there seem to be two very different schools of thought on when it's appropriate to begin the intermediate series: the memorize the sequence school, which should take 1-2 months, and the "gateway pose" school, which I imagine (usually) takes 1-2+ years.
Wow, waiting until pincha mayurasana is added to split the series seems like quite a long practice. I've also started to "play" with intermediate. I've been doing 1st through Mari D and then doing adding 2nd some days, and doing just 1st on others. |
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Location: London, England | Hi Sarah,
Sounds like a good way-maybe just practice a few of the second series as part of your practice, build up some familiarity, it's a tough series, probably too much for all but a dedicated few-but I think it's a shame not to practice some of the postures which you may already be capable of.
Nick |
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| Gruelling is definitely the word! 
Sounds like you're approaching it a good way, though - I love those first few poses of second. There are some great twists and backbends in there, and it seems to poor uneducated little ol' me that some of the second series backbends would be helpful in opening up urdhva dhanurasana.
Enjoy!
lisa |
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| Drop-backs are necessary to go to intermediate with good results.
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| I take it you mean unassisted dropbacks? As a preparation for laghu vajrasana dn kapotasana? True; I still think the second series up to LV has a lot to offer before dropbacks are done independently. And, ashtanga criminal that I am, I have been known to do yoga nidrasana before bed in the evenings! It's just one of those things that's hard to resist! |
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Intermediate series
