84 Asanas, aka “The Advanced Class”
Before speaking about this class, a quick clarification:
The 84 Asanas, aka the “advanced class” is a fixed sequence which takes a minimum of 2 hours to practice. This class isn’t affiliated with a brand, but it comes from the Ghosh/Bikram lineage.
“e84” is a brand, and the “e84 Intermediate class” is an 90-minute class specific to this brand. (There are other versions of intermediate classes out there.) The e84 Intermediate class works on skills from the 84 asanas class.
What is the 84 Asanas?
During the 84 class, a wide variety of yoga skills are explored. One set of each of the 26&2 postures is contained inside this sequence. A natural assumption is that the 84 class has 84 postures, but this is incorrect. “84” is a numerologically significant number within yoga philosophy, and the true count of postures in the 84 class is around 90+, depending on the variations added.
Who can practice this class?
This class is best for students with a regular 26&2 practice, however I have had the occasional first-time-to-yoga-ever student stumble into this class, manage to navigate their way through it and have a good experience.
A common misunderstanding is that one must have some sort of advanced yoga abilities in order to practice this class. This is a pity, as actually ALL students can work on something towards ALL the 84 postures. It simply takes time and experience to learn the appropriate steps to follow. We can compare this to the process that one follows in Standing Head to Knee- although it can take many years to touch head to knee, everyone can practice balancing on one foot, and are therefore able to participate in the posture.
Length of the class
Traditionally, the 84 class is done in 2 hours. I have also taught a very fast version of it in 90 minutes to groups of experienced people. At these speeds, you have time for 1 or potentially 2 attempts on each posture before moving on. For this reason, the class is often run at a longer time pace in order to make time for more exploration and more teaching of the postures.
26&2 first as a “warm-up”
Traditionally, the 26&2 class was practiced immediately before the 84 class in order to prepare the body (which can feel helpful especially when going at a faster pace in the 84 class). However, the downside to this can be that some students will “tank out” in 84 class if they do 26&2 first, simply because they are unused to being in the heat for so many hours.
Another option is to lead 84 as a stand-alone class, keeping the thorough warm-up portion of the class to a moderate pace. Like any other yoga practice, there is no danger of injury if one is willing to slow down and practice mindfully. It isn’t needed to practice 26&2 first, but it’s an option, and a relatively traditional one. I recommend trying it both ways as an experiment or challenge.
I didn’t like it at first….
When I first started practicing this class, I had great enthusiasm for the idea of the class, but not a lot of true adoration for actual practice of it. It was something I thought I should like, and I was inspired by those who could do the “cool postures.” The reality was that the 2-hour pace of the class was fast, it all felt very serious, and I was demoralized because I didn’t really know any steps towards the postures. I found myself sitting out and watching, which was boring and disempowering.
I continued to seek this class, and began to learn steps towards the postures that I couldn’t do. I was fortunate to participate in longer classes where there was a lot of technique taught. Little by little, I began to enjoy the class more. Now, I feel that I have a step for every posture to give to any body, and that makes the class truly fun to lead and practice.
Deep healing and self care, or athletic training
It’s often said that Bikram Yoga (26&2) works every bone, joint, gland, organ… with this idea in mind, the 84 class addresses the body in an even more thorough way. In my opinion, the 84 is appropriate for both athletic, healthy students as well as injured ones. Obviously, an injured student will have to practice in a highly mindful way so as to avoid pain, but there is some deep therapy available for the injured student who is willing to take on the practice and use it as a healing modality (combined with appropriate rest, of course.)
I very much appreciate the opportunities I have to lead this class. It is always immensely rewarding to see the strength, playfulness, and discipline that this powerful class draws out of people.
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If you’d like to try the 84 asanas class but don’t have it offered near you, check out the e84 Virtual Studio! We offer this class a few times per week, along with the e84 Intermediate class, which is an excellent way to learn steps towards the 84 postures. Attending an e84 Immersion Week is also a great way to dive into this practice for a week.