4-Week Intro to Ashtanga — 75-Minute Classes

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Overall intention: Make Ashtanga approachable, repeatable, and joyful. Students learn that they don’t need to “master” the sequence—they learn to return to breath, movement, and awareness.

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Week 1 — Meet the Practice: Breath + Sun Salutations

Theme: Begin where you are.

 

Focus: Introduce Ashtanga as a practice of breath, movement, repetition, and awareness. Briefly introduce the Eight Limbs and explain that asana is just one part of yoga.

 

75 minutes

•5 min — Welcome + what makes Ashtanga different

•5 min — Ujjayi breath + introduction to drishti

•10 min — Surya Namaskar A

•15 min — Surya Namaskar B + breath count

•20 min — Foundational standing poses:

•Padangusthasana

•Padahastasana

•Trikonasana

•Parsvakonasana

•5 min — Simple seated forward fold/twist

•5 min — Bridge or gentle backbend

•10 min — Savasana + closing reflection

 

Takeaway: Breath leads. Body follows.

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Week 2 — Build the Foundation: Standing Sequence

Theme: Practice, not perfection.

 

Students repeat Week 1 material and begin experiencing one of Ashtanga’s greatest gifts: familiarity through repetition.

 

75 minutes

•5 min — Centering + Ujjayi

•15 min — Sun A × 3 / Sun B × 2–3

•30 min — Standing sequence, adding:

•Prasarita Padottanasana variations

•Parsvottanasana

•Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana with options

•Ardha Baddha Padmottanasana or modification

•Utkatasana

•Virabhadrasana I & II

•10 min — Introductory seated poses

•5 min — Backbend

•10 min — Savasana + closing

 

Introduce bandhas simply and experientially rather than turning them into an anatomy lesson.

 

Takeaway: Repetition isn't boring—it gives us an opportunity to notice what has changed.

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Week 3 — Find the Flow: Vinyasa + Primary Series

Theme: One breath, one movement.

 

Now students begin connecting everything they've learned while exploring the seated portion of Primary Series.

 

75 minutes

•5 min — Breath + brief philosophy

•10 min — Sun Salutations

•20 min — Condensed standing sequence

•25 min — Selected Primary seated poses:

•Dandasana

•Paschimottanasana

•Purvottanasana

•Janu Sirsasana A

•Marichyasana A/C with accessible variations

•Navasana

•5 min — Backbend

•5 min — Introduction to closing postures

•5 min — Savasana

 

Introduce vinyasa between poses as an option, not an obligation. Students can step, modify, skip, or rest.

Introduce abhyasa and vairagya—practice and non-attachment. We show up and make the effort without demanding that today's practice look a certain way.

 

Takeaway: Repetition allows us to move from thinking about the practice toward experiencing the practice.

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Week 4 — Put It Together: Your Ashtanga Practice

Theme: The practice becomes yours.

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This class shifts away from workshop mode and toward an actual guided abbreviated Primary Series. Give students more space to breathe and move with fewer interruptions.

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75 minutes

•5 min — Centering + optional opening chant

•12 min — Sun A & B

•20 min — Standing sequence

•18 min — Selected Primary seated sequence

•5 min — Backbending

•7 min — Abbreviated closing sequence

•8 min — Savasana + final reflection

 

Briefly explain Mysore-style practice and how traditionally students gradually learn and remember the sequence rather than needing someone to continuously call poses. Return to the Eight Limbs of Yoga introduced in Week 1.

The goal of these four weeks wasn't to memorize Primary Series, perfect a pose, jump through, bind, or touch your toes. It was to meet a practice that can continue unfolding for years.

 

Final message:

You don't have to be good at Ashtanga to practice Ashtanga. You simply return—to the mat, to the breath, to the sequence, and ultimately to yourself