Saturday, October 4, 2014

Great Ashtanga Yoga In Budapest.

http://bandhaworks.hu/english/


After sweating through months of Budapest's Bikram studio without any  deep emotional transformation, I decided it was time to seek an authentic Yoga.
I believe yoga should penetrate parts of your being that even God forgot to address.I don't need a yoga butt  and i couldnt take the   Bikram bunnies obsessing in front of  the  mirror. .. Yoga is about getting beyond yourself, if you want revelation. Crack that mirror and allow the yoga to penetrate the divine.
 I tried a few places  like Atma,and some  place with the word 'lotus' in it. But couldnt connect. Until i came across a new studio in Budapest called Bandhaworks.
 Now, i have a history in Ashtanga. I went to the Naropa ( neurosa) institute in Boulder in the 90's and nearby was this little studio with a guy called Richard Freeman who would give these slightly attended classes in the afternoon. I  assumed Richard was like all teachers  so i took the circumstances for granted and l headed to nyc where I went to Eddie Sterns studio in the Puck Building. In both places, the room was basic, the students low key and serious about practice.And i guess it was all about the yoga.
So, I felt immediately uplifted when i entered Istvans studio in Budapest to feel  the same atmosphere as i had at Richard's and Eddies. Empty room, wooden floor, yoga paraphenalia, and some Guru pics.


And then there is Istvan: 


Now I have gone to  Ashtanga yoga studios all over the world, and i have to say Istvan is probably the best instructor ive had. Why? because he seriously relates to your practice. Some teachers look at you and smile. Istvan engages you, and not just sporadically, but constantly. Istvan and his associates clearly care about your practice, perhaps more than you. For some, this level of attention may be too much.For me, it was perfect because that's what study really means: the teacher is always teaching. And you, as student, just need to be there and learn. For many, yoga becomes yet another form of self involvement. But yoga actually isnt about clinging to oneself. Its the total opposite.Yoga challenges your ego with every breathe to take that free fall away from your habitual patterns of thoughts and feelings to a space where something  is real,alive and fresh . And you need a real teacher to put you there.

The studios timetable follows the tradition: Mysore in the early morning, and LED classes in midday and afternoon. ( see timetable on link) 

So, if you're travelling to Budapest and want to  check out a great Ashtanga studio, theres no better place than Bandhaworks...





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