The Guru Connection
TAAY Summer Break 2025/26
As 2025 draws to a close I’d like to thank everyone who has supported Te Aro Astanga Yoga this year. I recognise how difficult the year has been financially for many of you and appreciate that you have made the commitment to continue to practice Ashtanga Yoga with us. Te Aro Astanga Yoga is surviving thanks to you! I hope to see you all for a fantastic 2026.
Last Class 2025: Monday 22nd Dec. — Led Full Primary Series 6:30 to 8:00 am.
First Class 2026: Thurs. 15th Jan. — Open Mysore Morning Class 6:00 to 8:30 am
I hope that you and your whānau have a safe and happy Festive Season.
Wise words as always Mike, I miss practice with you in the shala…right now trying to apply to practice in Mysore I hope I get through this time 🙂
Thank you Rachel. Good luck getting to Mysore. Look forward to hearing about it.
Mike
“It seems a shame to me that so many people practice “Yoga” without ever experiencing a relationship with a Guru or indeed, thinking it necessary. Instead, many people prefer to mix and match teachers and styles of yoga in whatever way suits themselves. This is not yoga in the traditional sense because that is the practicing of one method under one Guru.”
It may not be traditional, but I would not always conflate “traditional” with “correct”.
I have done Iyengar yoga for the same amount of time I’ve done Ashtanga yoga. This is not an attempt to mix and match to suit myself; I started them a day apart and have not found any reason to quit either. I enjoy both and benefit from both. Something that is both enjoyable and beneficial should not be surrendered lightly.
I am not trying to create some fusion blend of yoga for myself or anyone else. They are both a journey.
When I do Iyengar yoga I do Iyengar yoga.
When I do Ashtanga yoga I do Ashtanga yoga. There is some cross over usefulness in Ashtanga having done Iyengar, but when I practice Ashtanga I’m very clear with myself that I’m practicing Ashtanga. This does not take some force of will; it just happens.
Although really, as time goes on, they both seem like “just yoga” to me.
I know it’s very easy for Ashtanga people to reject Iyengar outright – it definitely has a steeper curve of appeal (I really disliked it at first), but to a large extent you have to surrender to it in the same way you do in Ashtanga.
Both yogas are great parts of my life and have helped me tremendously. I would be crazy to give up either. It really does’t have to be over-thought more than that.
Thank you for the comment, Jon. I do not mean to conflate traditional with correct. Yoga simply is a tradition and I believe that every teacher and practitioner needs to respect this. I can make no comment about Iyengar yoga as I have never done an Iyengar yoga class. This is not because I dismiss Iyenager or think that Ashtanga is superior. It is simply because I am following my Guru’s instruction to me to have only one Guru, to follow one method.
Since before the time of Patanjali there have been many schools of yoga. This is why it is so important to have a Guru, because it is them who inform the aspirant how to practice. This is not a decision the aspiring yogi should make for themselves.
I would ask you, who is your Guru? Who is it that tells you that what you are practicing truly is beneficial? Who is it that guides you through the many pitfalls and cul de sacs that every yoga practitioner falls into?