The Primary Series — Yoga Chikitsa, or "yoga therapy" — is the first of six set sequences codified by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois in Mysore, drawing on the teachings he received from T. Krishnamacharya in the 1930s. The order is fixed. The breath count is fixed. The point of fixing both is so that the practitioner can stop choosing what comes next and simply meet what's in front of them on the mat that morning. Practice one pose well enough and the next pose arrives.
Two formats coexist in the tradition. A led class is what most studios advertise: a teacher calls the count in Sanskrit, the whole room moves together, and you finish the standing and seated sequence in roughly 90 minutes. Mysore style is the older, quieter format. Students arrive within a window, practice the sequence at their own pace, and the teacher walks the room giving adjustments and adding poses one at a time as you're ready. Most teachers will tell you Mysore is where the method actually lives — led classes are essentially a periodic check-in on your count.
What follows is the full standing-through-finishing arc, with breath counts as Pattabhi Jois taught them. Hold each posture for five breaths unless noted. Vinyasa (chaturanga, up dog, down dog) between sides on the seated postures keeps the body warm and the nervous system calm. If you're new to this, treat the list as a map, not a test. Reach Navasana, do your closing postures, lie down. Tomorrow, do it again.
Who this sequence is for
Best for practitioners who already have a confident chaturanga, comfortable down dog, and a working knowledge of standing poses. Most teachers ask you to put in at least six months of strong vinyasa or hatha practice before attempting Primary in full. If you're brand new to yoga, start with a beginner sequence or the half-Primary (standing only) and build a daily practice first. Pregnant students and anyone with disc injury, untreated hypertension, or a hot recent shoulder surgery should work with an experienced Ashtanga teacher rather than self-led. The method rewards consistency over intensity.
How to teach (or practice) it
Teach this as a led primary class or use it as a home practice script. The full sequence below runs about 90 minutes at a steady five-breath hold; new practitioners often work a half-primary (sun salutes through standing, then straight to finishing) in 45 minutes until the stamina is there.
Open with three Surya A and three Surya B. Move into the standing sequence without breaks — Padangusthasana through Parsvottanasana sets the legs and spine for what's coming. The seated sequence is where Primary does its therapeutic work: forward folds, twists, hip openers, each linked by a half-vinyasa. Finish with the backbends (Urdhva Dhanurasana), the closing inversions (shoulderstand through headstand), and a real Savasana of at least ten minutes.
Breath is Ujjayi throughout — audible but not strained. Bandhas (Mula and Uddiyana) engage from sun salutes onward. Drishti (gaze) is named for every posture in the tradition; pick one and use it. Don't add music. Don't pause the count to explain. The sequence is the teaching.
