14/02/2026
In Ashtanga Yoga, the Primary Series is traditionally called Yoga Chikitsa, which literally means “yoga therapy”
The Primary Series is designed to cleanse, heal, and rebalance the body so you’re ready for deeper practices later on.
In Ashtanga philosophy, disease or imbalance comes from:
poor digestion, blocked energy (prana), weak/unstable nervous system, tension stored in the body.
Yoga Chikitsa works on these foundations first.
The steady flow, breath and heat:
✨Stimulate digestion
✨Support detox through sweat
✨Massage internal organs through forward folds & twists
The Primary Series focuses heavily on:
🌱Forward folds → calm the nervous system, improve digestion
🌱Hip openers → release deep physical & emotional tension
🌱Twists → wring out the organs, support spinal health
Over time, this helps with back pain, tight hips/hamstrings, postural imbalances, low energy or sluggish digestion.
The strict structure (same sequence, same order) is actually therapeutic. It creates mental stability, builds discipline, reduces anxiety through predictability, trains focus and emotional regulation
In traditional Ashtanga, you don’t move on until Primary Series is integrated, because Yoga Chikitsa builds foundational strength, creates joint mobility, heals chronic tension patterns, establishes breath control🌬️
Without this, advanced series can lead to injury or burnout.
Ashtanga is therapeutic” doesn’t mean it’s gentle.
Yoga Chikitsa can feel intense, physically demanding, confrontational (emotionally + mentally)
It’s therapeutic in the long-term structural sense, not “spa day yoga”, done incorrectly or too aggressively, it can cause injury instead of healing.
movingmeditation breathandmovement mysorepractice
