In this yoga podcast with David Swenson Adam talks to the Ashtanga legend.

David is well known for his seminal book ‘Ashtanga Yoga Practice Manual’. He has been a shining light of inspiration spreading Ashtanga across the globe for the last 30 years.

His journey of Yoga started in 1969 when he and his brother Doug practiced in a small park at the end of their street in Houston, Texas. There were few sources for yoga at that time so they practiced from whatever books they could find.

In 1973 David discovered Ashtanga after he met David Williams and Nancy Gilgoff in Encinitas, CA. In 1975 David and Nancy brought K. Pattabhi Jois to the U.S. for the first time and Swenson was fortunate enough to be there. He then initiated studies directly with the master.

He made his first trip to Mysore in 1977. David is one of only a handful of Westerners to have learned the full Ashtanga system including all of the asana sequences and pranayama as originally taught by K. Pattabhi Jois.

He is well known for his formidable ability in practise. However equally so for the way he makes the complex and demanding practise of Ashtanga yoga appear possible, even fun.

Speaking as one of the earliest students to arrive in Mysore, he is remarkably non-dogmatic about the tradition he learnt so early on. He refers to himself instead as an ‘asana waiter’ bringing students the help they need in the postures as opposed to following rigidly to rules.

We hope you enjoy this Keen on Yoga Podcast with David Swenson. You can find more information about him on his website.