Mysore Yoga Traditions · Online Studies
The Pranayama System of Sri B.N.S. Iyengar
with Andrew Eppler
असतो मा सद्गमय · तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय · मृत्योर्मा अमृतं गमय
Lead me from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light, from death to immortality.
This is the prāṇāyāma system of Śrī B.N.S. Iyengar, the oldest living teacher of Ashtanga Vinyāsa Yoga, set down across four weeks of guided practice. It begins with Mudrā and Bandha, then moves through Viṣama Vṛtti and Nāḍī Śodhana, Bhastrikā and Śītalī, and finally Śakti Cālana and Upāsana. Each technique is shown on video and explained in writing, so the practice can continue on its own long after the four weeks end.
This is an advanced course for practitioners already established in āsana, not a starting point. One month is enough to learn the techniques; the understanding they open unfolds over years, and there is no rush. What every branch of yoga asks is the same thing it asks here, steady practice at the same time and place each day. Bring that, and these exercises will change the body and teach you about the energetic conditions within it.
A Note from Andrew
Welcome to this course, and to the practice it opens
I sincerely hope you find this course valuable, and that what you begin here keeps unfolding in your practice over time.
This is the prāṇāyāma system as I learned it from my teacher, Śrī B.N.S. Iyengar, taught here in the order and the ratios he refined over decades. The written guidance in each week is my own; any errors in it are mine alone, and no reflection on him or on the practice he carries.
Please take your time with this material. One month is enough to learn the techniques, but they are meant to be lived with and returned to. Go slowly, keep the ratios conservative until they are easy, and let each stage settle before you move to the next. What is built slowly stays; what comes suddenly tends to pass just as quickly.
Thank you for supporting Mysore Yoga Traditions. Work like this is sustained by students who choose to engage seriously with the source, and your participation helps keep it going.
If you have questions, or want to share how the practice is going, please write to me directly at andrew@ashtangayogastudio.com. I would like to hear from you.
Andrew