In the first reflection, we explored the question: What are we really practising?
Are we simply moving through a sequence of asanas, or are we engaging in a methodology designed to gradually cultivate a state of yoga?
If we begin from this understanding that Ashtanga is fundamentally a method rather than merely a collection of postures, then naturally the entire approach to practice begins to change.
And with that shift, something important happens: possibility begins to replace impossibility.
When many people look at the full Ashtanga system of asana, what they often see feels inaccessible — something reserved for the naturally gifted, the extremely disciplined, or only those physically capable.
But the old method approached things differently.
The early teachers encouraged students to explore the asanas, to continue through the series without waiting for mastery, to group similar postures together, and to work with a specific breath-movement relationship: one breath, one movement.
From this perspective, the system is no longer experienced as a rigid ladder of achievement, but as an energetic pathway and progressive methodology.
The emphasis shifts away from performance and toward process — away from perfection and toward participation — away from the idea that this was something to be achieved, and toward something that gradually shapes and transforms us through practice itself. The practice becomes a meditation cultivated by the pathway and process itself.
When the system is viewed as a hierarchy of difficult postures, many people experience exclusion before they even begin. But when the method is understood through breath, continuity, attention, and gradual energetic integration, then almost anyone can participate meaningfully.
Seen this way, Ashtanga becomes adaptable. It becomes sustainable. And most importantly, it becomes possible.
To me, this is one of the most significant philosophical differences within the old method approach.
The practice is no longer asking:
“What can I do?”
It begins asking:
“What is this process doing to me?”
Modern Emphasis/Old Method Emphasis
Mastery/Exposure
Performance/Process
Fixed sequence/Energetic progression
Achievement/Relationship
Control/Adaptability
External form/Internal effect
Perfecting postures/Cultivating awareness
Linear advancement/Gradual integration
Waiting for readiness/Learning through participation
End result/Ongoing process
Conquering the practice/Being shaped by it
Complexity/Simplicity
Practising asanas/Practising a method
What can I do?/What is the process doing for me?