Ashtanga Yoga method

The term Ashtanga refers to the eight folded path required to fulfill in order to attain Yoga. Physical practice of positions known as asanas is just one the limbs. In our school, the emphasis is on the holistic approach of this ancient tradition, where students learn to integrate all eight limbs of Yoga into their practice.

The Ashtanga Yoga system is a method that emphasizes concentrated and continued practice of specific series of asanas, connected through a strict breath count vinyasa and the use of three elements of attention: breath, energy locks (bandhas) and focus points (drishti). Beginner students start by learning the Sun Salutation A and B, to build strength, flexibility, and most importantly, to establish proper breathing and quality of focus. Once this is achieved, more advanced asanas are added and a personal practice is established.

Correct breathing helps to take control over the practice, increase awareness of the body and mind entanglements, and develop single pointed concentration. Through the application of all the focus points in the practice, Ashtanga Yoga becomes a meditation in motion.

The teachings in Ashtanga Yoga Okinawa are based on the lineage passed on from Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, known as the father of modern Yoga. Przemek Keppe, the teacher, is a humble student of Sharmila Desai, who is sincerely grateful for sharing this path with him.

Teacher

Przemek Keppe is a long-time practitioner and teacher of Ashtanga Yoga. His first encounter with Yoga was in 2003, after two years of practicing Iyengar style Hatha Yoga. He then went to his first Ashtanga Yoga class and has since devoted his spiritual path to the traditional teachings of the Ashtanga Yoga method.

Przemek often travels to India where he continue to develop his personal practice under the guidance of his teacher. His teachings emphasize living yoga off the mat. In 2019, he moved to Okinawa and founded Ashtanga Yoga Okinawa, where he continues to pass on the teachings of Yoga.

Throughout the years, he has studied in India and around the world, and has been blessed by Manju Jois and BNS Iyengar to teach the Ashtanga Yoga method. With Sri Iyengar in Mysore, India, he learned the advanced practice of Pranayama and Mudras. In the Himalayas, he deepened his knowledge of meditation through the Vipassana technique.

In 2019, during one of his many visits to India, his path led him to Ashtanga Yoga Shala in Morjim and since then he became devoted to the teachings and guidance of Sharmila Desai. Througout the years of practice he had the opportunity to study under many renowned teachers such as Rolf Naujokat, Nancy Gilgoff, David Garrigues, Laruga Glaser, and many others, to whom he is deeply grateful for every seed they planted.

If you like to see Przemek practicing, you can find him on the Ashtanga Yoga DVD with Basia Lipska.

“Practicing only asanas, is like constantly washing vegetables without ever cooking them.”

  BNS Iyengar