ASHTANGA FOR LIFE
A look back at our recent workshop with Ricky Tran
- by Laine Edwards
When it comes to learning Ashtanga the “old school” way, you won’t find anyone more passionate in DFW than Ricky Tran. One thing that is evident about Ricky while learning from him is the great love he has for his teachers.. like David Williams and David Swenson, two “pioneers” responsible for bringing the Ashtanga practice taught by their teacher Patabhi Jois, into the US.
“Your Ashtanga practice will reflect your Ashtanga teacher”
Ricky says, and this is the heart of the benefit of learning Ashtanga from a practitioner who learned the system the way it was taught before Patabhi Jois’ passing.
PURE Yoga Dallas got the Ricky experience this past weekend, in his workshop, Ashtanga Improv & Original Pranayama. We opened with a bit of yogic philosophy which progressed into taking time to go deeper in Surya Namaskar A & B. With Ricky’s original creation of specific geometric markings on his mat, he was able to teach more subtle movements promoting alignment from the ground up when moving through a vinyasa. It’s ALL in the details! Combing through the breath and movement of Sun A & B with someone like Ricky Tran, leaving no stone left unturned.. Is a valuable experience for anyone beginning an Ashtanga practice. Knowing the intricate movements/postures choreographed with the breath of a lineage based yoga practice gives a newer practitioner great empowerment.
In the Ashtanga Improv segment, Ricky introduced new transitions and postures beyond the primary series, creative modifications, and original drills. We completed our time together with the Original Pranayama sequence as it was taught to Ricky by his teachers, and his teachers’ teacher. Historically, Ashtangi’s were only permitted to learn pranayama at a certain evolutionary point in their asana practice. To any practitioner who wants to learn lineage based yoga, being taken through the pranayama sequence that was originally taught by Patabhi Jois is a real treat.
It’s obvious when learning from Ricky, that you are getting a very experienced Ashtanga practitioner’s help, though it’s his love for the practice that his students infectiously inherit.
The right teacher saves you time. Years and years of time. At PURE we go above and beyond to give you experienced teachers who stand on the shoulders of their teachers, to preserve the teachings of the ones that have gone before us. That’s the PURE way!
