Once I asked Saraswathi her thoughts on changes that have occurred in the series of Ashtanga over the years (how many times do we learn postural alignments one way with one teacher and then a different way with another?). I wanted to know what she had changed since learning initially under the guidance of Krishnamacharya and her father. She said, “No changing. What my father teach, I am teaching.”  In order of importance, she would say, “First breath, then gazing (drishti), then posture.”  Ashtanga Vinyasa is a simultaneously highly complex and simple system, on every level, and truly life transforming when taken as a daily practice.  I felt honored to study like a beginner in Saraswathi´s shala, adjusting my postures and breath to match hers. I also appreciated the experience of practicing surrounded by so many (on certain days over 100) dedicated practitioners, where the idea of feeling “accomplished” on the level of asana is a joke.  One look around the enormous ´main shala´ is enough to realize that no one person is any more special than another- during the period of practice, all are simply practitioners who for the moment, have surrendered to the instructions of the teacher. What is important is one´s own attention to the breath, point of focus, and given these, realizing the most balanced state of the asana. 

It is in this way we must purse daily life, not only the Primary/Intermediate/Advanced series of Ashtanga Vinyasa.  In daily life, “first breath, then gazing, then posture,” can translate to maintaining attentive to the steadiness and depth of one´s breath, intention and clarity of mind before acting. When the breath is steady and intentions are pure, our actions can have an overall positive effect on ourselves and those in our environment.