Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya.

After Desikachar insisted, he told and wrote some of the histories of his life.

All we can say is that he was compelled to go to the Himalayas around 1916 to gain knowledge of Yoga.  There he met his guru Rama Mohan Brahmachari, and spent seven and a half years in his company understanding The Yoga Sutra, which is the sacred and philosophical groundwork of Ashtanga Yoga.

At that time he learned among some other scriptures the "Yoga Karunta" by heart, this primordial document that supposedly was writen on banana leaves, is the source from which the Asana, Vinyasa and Bhanda System of the "Mysore Ashtanga Yoga" we know was established.

Subsequently and after Krishnamacharya left his guru more or less round 1926, he embarked on search for the Yoga Karunta. After looking incessantly he lastly found it at the Calcutta University library. Regrettably and almost immediately following the finding of this treasure, he realized that the book was badly injured by ants and the passing of time; unfortunately Krishnamarchaya wasn't capable to safeguard it.

Karunta means "cluster" and it is believed that this manuscript enclosed these sequences of Asana.

The "Yoga Karunta" is credited to the sage Vamana Rishi who came to earth when Ashtanga Yoga was drifting into darkness. Vamana Rishi incarnated with this mission and the entire Ashtanga Yoga system was passed down to him directly from lord Vishnu while in the womb of his mother. After 9th months of pregnancy were over, Vamana was not over and done with his education. The legend says that he refused to come out of the womb until he had completed his lessons of Ashtanga Yoga.

To execute asana properly, one should integrate vinyasa, breathing and movement coordination.
The purpose of vinyasa is inner purification. Harmonizing breathing and movement while performing asanas, it heats up the body, cleans and thins the blood, so it can flow freely and with strength. Therefore vinyasa in coordination with breath and bandhas enhances blood distribution, mitigates pain and eradicates pollutants and ailments. The sweat produced from the high temperature of this practice delivers the toxic waste out of the physical body and transmutes it into a vigorous and radiant instrument for the evolution of consciousness.

Another crucial point to be remembered is the use of bandhas, which are locks to be used to redirect the flowing of prana from the lower chakras in to the more sophisticated and refined chakras. Conversely it is said that Mula Bandha (Perineum lock) Udiana Bandha (Abdominal lock) and Jalandara Bandha (Chin lock) done in conjunction with correct breathing can awaken the kundalini power which is coiled and dormant in the second chakra. Kundalini is in most cases is the responsible for the enlightenment and evolving process in human beings.

The bandhas seal in power, provide lightness, potency and well being to the physical body. Mula bandha functions at the core-root of the body to close in prana within. Uddiyana bandha redirects prana upwards throughout the nadis, and Jalandhara bandha, the "throat lock", stops pranic force from over building in the head. In this way the force in the spine is stored and will eventually reach to the brain in a more gentle and moderate manner without ill effects.
 
While practicing asana we can't overlook and neglect the use of Drishtis (gaze) in to specific points in the physical body, this drishtis will keep the mind in the present moment and while it is a tool for concentration it will also keep the eyes healthy and strong. There are nine dristhis: the nose, between the eyebrows, navel, thumbs, hands, feet, up, right side and left side. If the mind centers its attention solely on inhalation, exhalation, and drishtis, this concentration will lay the way to dhyana (meditation).

In psychology there is a school who believe that by moving your eyes in certain directions you are able to unleash repressed emotions and memories from the brain. This is due to the connection of the optical nerve to the center of the brain.

On the other hand the "Breath" we use while practicing Asana is "ujay breath" which is done by closing the glottis so the breath can somehow caress softly the throat producing a supple whispering sound. Both the inhale and exhale should be balanced and smooth, and the span of the inhalation must be the equal in length to the exhalation. As time goes by, the time-span and passion of the inhalation and exhalation will amplify.

Extended, smooth and constant breathing furthermore augments the inner fire and builds up the nervous system.
 

The Vedas

There are four Vedas: Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvanaveda.

The first to be written was the Rigveda, which is believed to date back to 8500 years BC.  The Yajurveda follows some time latter.

A remarkable thing is that the Vedas contain details relevant to Yoga movement and breathing. As a matter of fact suryanamaskara A and B are described step by step following the vinyasa method in the vedas, at the same time the physical and spiritual benefits are meticulously portrayed. The Aruna Mantra in the Yajurveda stipulates that the number of the Vinyasas for Suryanamaskara A is nine, conversely in the Rigveda Maha Suryanamskara B is described and prescribed to be done conjunctly with the Saura Mantra.  This shows that the number of the vinyasas is 17, just as in present day practice.  What is not clear nowadays is that in downward facing dog it is not explained in detail what to do.  That is why in some styles of yoga we can observe that they hold the breath and in some others styles a number of breaths are incorporated while in downward facing dog.

Patanjali

There is a legend that Patanjali, the creator of the "Yoga Sutras" was an incarnation of Adisesha, the serpent shielding a protective force around Lord Vishnu.  Lord Vishnu rests on him in the oceanic eternal being. Patanjali’s mother was Gonica, a very advanced yogini.
One day she was offering her mantras to the Surya, the Sun God, as usual and a tiny snake emerged from her hands and went in to a metamorphosis till it gradually became a man. It request Gonica to acknowledge Patanjali as her son. She accepted and Patanjali spontaneously came in to being.
 
Yoga goes beyond just a mere physical preparation for perfect health.  I just can humbly say that Yoga is a supreme way of living that can lead us into an immeasurable and unexplored field of our internal universe of knowledge.

Yogas citta-vritti-nirodha ("Yoga is the restraint of mental modifications").

 Ashtanga Yoga

(The Eight Limbed path)

• Yama - (ethical system of regulations)

1. Ahimsa - non-violence
2. Satya – Truthfulness and honesty
3. Asteya – non-stealing
4. Brahmacharya - celibacy
5. Aparigraha – non-possessiveness.

• Niyama - (Personal Disciplines)

1. Saucha - Transparency [vinaya comment:  I usually think of saucha as purity or cleanliness, for example, the shat karma come under saucha].
2. Santosh – Contentment, satisfaction.
3. Tapas – Heat, the heat of the practice [vinaya comment: usually tapasya is translated as austerity].
4. Swadhyaya- Study on the self.
5. Ishwari Pranidhan – perseverance [vinaya comment: usually translated surrender to God].

• Asana - (positions)

1. "Sthira sukham asanam" i.e. asana is a steady and comfortable posture.
   An unwavering and relaxed body position which assists on the achievement of mental symmetry and expansion.

• Pranayama - (Breathing) is expansion and freedom of breath. In some translations we find the word control of breath, but if we observe, breath is already controlled and restrained by the ego and emotions.  With pranayam we learn how to set breath free like a bird.

• Pratyahara - (Withdrawal of Senses) is more than a forceful withdrawal it is an abandonment of the senses after the superb understanding that sometimes they bring pain in the form of desire. The senses experienced in the present moment are a doorway to enlightenment, but the mistake lies in the attachment to a particular sensation that we had felt.  This attachment brings us to the past, snatching us from the precious present moment while seducing us into repeating the sensations.

• Dharana - (Concentration on a specific point or article) is attentiveness of one's mind on one object.  It is better if the object intrigues you or if you feel some kind of physically powerful emotion towards this object, like devotion that makes your body tremble, cry, sweats and so forth.

• Dhyana - (Meditation) is retreating and isolating the psyche from peripheral objects and having a focal point where all thoughts subside.  If this is done in a relaxed manner with no effort and strain then this alone is meditation.
  In meditation there is a certain degree of absorption where, in concentration there is some effort involved. [vinay comment:  Usually the difference between dharana and dhyana is described as the difference between pouring water (with little bubbles and breaks) and pouring smooth oil, where the concentration is totally smooth with no interruptions.  In dharana the mind flows towards one object with other thoughts coming up in between those thoughts.  In dhyana the mind flows towards one object with each new thought being of the same object.  So it is not absorption since there are many thoughts.  Just the same thought over and over rather than absorption.]

• Samadhi - (Becoming one with the object of meditation).
  In this state you fuse with the object of concentration, individualize consciousness ends and it becomes universal and collective.