The aim of every living organism is to avoid pain and to acquire a permanent state of bliss .It was observed by the sages of the yore that all the pleasure objects in the outer world provided a temporary bliss often accompanied with pain .Thus,started the quest of bliss inside own inner world and they realised that the very nature of the Aatman is bliss and pleasure and pain are states of mind .Once the mind is controlled the Self then attains a state of permanent bliss
Thus the sages devised several scientific methods for controlling the human mind and realising the self such as Bhakti Yoga,Karma Yoga ,Jnanna Yoga ,Hatha Yoga .All this Yoga knowledge were scattered as it were in the Vedas,Upnishad and many other canonical text penned down in the pious land of India.
It is believed that Sage Patanjali was the first sage who collected and thoroughly studied all these yoga methods and scientifically arranged them into eight limbs, namely, Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahaara, Dharana, Dhyaana and Samadhi.
Yama and Niyama are the moral conducts to be followed by a yoga practitioner without them yoga practice fails to bear its ultimate fruit, the re-unioun with Divine.
The third limb of Yoga ie Asana deals with various postures to make the body strong and supple ,Hatha yoga says there is not even one muscle in the complex anatomical structure of human body that cannot be brought under control .The sages devised many asanas some by observing the nature and animal forms and some by their own meditative state.
It was found that when the gross matter/body was brought under control fine matter/mind can be controlled with ease and calmness in the mind ,in the speech and in the actions of the yogi becomes a permanent nature ;the higher limbs of yoga can then be practiced so that state of permanent bliss can be acquired .
Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga is a dynamic style of practicing yoga asanas taught by Sri Krishnamacharya to his pupils and popularised by Shri K Pattabhi Jois ,direct disciple of Sri Krishanamacharya, in the city of Mysore,India.