Of all the kriyas I dabble in for my daily sadhana, I keep coming back to the good old Women’s Set as a beloved favourite. For me, The Women’s Set is an intersection of hatha and kundalini yoga. It’s a static medley of (pretty challenging!) asanas – a hatha kundalini yoga kriya, if you like.

All this hatha inspired me to recently dip my toe into my old friend, ashtanga. The last time I practiced this very dynamic form of hatha yoga was a good 15 or so years ago. In those days, I could whip out a primary series with as much aplomb as I can now fast on kitchari for 40 days. And this was my demise! I knew the sequence all too well, but my body could no longer do it as my mind remembered. I was careful to choose modifications, but I ended up with a knee injury after a week of daily practice. My body overcompensated for what had once come so naturally to me, and… ouch.

So, how to recover from an ashtanga knee injury? Well, it was back to the sweet shores of The Woman’s Set for me. Happily, my knee is all better now and I’m not flinching when I climb the stairs. Nish continued on with ashtanga and enjoyed it for about two months… although his wrist started to feel the impact of all those vinyasas, so he too is ducking off the hatha yoga mat and onto his kundalini yoga sheepskin to join me for The Women’s Set while it recovers.

Ashtanga is such a great practice, but the next time I approach, I will be much more careful!

Sat nam x