Ashtanga with Prem Carlisi and Heather Duplex

Prem Carlisi and Heather Duplex arrived as our last guest faculty on this module. During the first teacher training in 2006, I had been dreading the week long Astanga training with Govinda Kai. Govinda’s section actually turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the training. With this in mind I looked forward to seeing what Prem and Heather had in store for us.

They arrived in the final stages of opening their own four year yoga teacher training program in Ubud Bali. My roomate Sua was thrilled to practice with them as she has been practicing Mysore style in Sydney for several years. For those of you unfamiliar with Astanga the style of yoga was developed by Sri Pattabi Jois of Mysore India. His Guru Krisnamacharia passed down a series of postures to him and asked him to develop an asana sequence. The primary or first series was developed as a type of yoga therapy for the body to prepare the physical body for powerful yoga techniques that harness Pranav or energy in the body.

Mysore style practice allows each practitioner to move through the primary series at their own pace while a teacher monitors their progress and provides assistance when neccessary to deepen the practice. Prem described it as a group private yoga session. It’s been a few years since I took an astanga class. Practicing Mysore style means you need to know the entire primary series by heart. Each movement has a corresponding breath, with every breath in the series accounted for. As you work your way through the primary series, movement coupled with breath, maintaining bandhas, ujjiyai and dristi, it becomes a moving meditation. Heat builds in the body as you cultivate prana.

Heather and Prem have a mindful alignment based approach to teaching. Adjustments are given only when they will help you safely deepen your practice. As a physical therapist I was struck by how much attention was given to ensuring students didn’t crank their bodies into poses at the expense of their knees or shoulders. Astanga has gotten a bad name over the years as a style that can create a lot of injuries. Prem and Heather are changing this trend. They are offering a four year teacher training program in Bali where students train with them one month a year.

There’s just a few days left in the training. I’ve found a thatched roof hut on a cliff overlooking a beach where I can relax for a few days before I head home. I ‘ll be sure to send some photos.

Blessings,

Janet