Drama Special Season 13: Do You Know Ashtanga? (2022)

Letting go of expectations and embracing flexibility

Do you know Ashtanga is a hit with me. It delivers everything you want from a young adult story: it's funny, sexy and has some really well done classic rom-com moments.

Nara, our leading lady, is best described as a complainer. She's at a point of her life where things seem to have stuck: her personal and work life are not good, she compares herself to others and and even judges them.

I really appreciate a drama special centering around a young woman, in her thirties, still trying to figure out things. After quitting a well paid job and following her passion, Nara is not even close to have an answers about life and has to deal with her own insecurities, which are mostly what's holding her back, and that feels true to life. Nara goes through a journey of accepting life as it is and learning to change what she doesn't like about it. Letting go of her expectations might be the hardest part, especially when society has programmed you to be a certain way and have certain things, at certain age.

To say she's at a low point emotionally it's an understatement. That's when she experiences an adorable meet-cute with Tae-joon, the son of the wealthy family from whom Nara rents the studio where she teaches yoga.

Tae-joon likes Nara immediately, thinking of her as the perfect combination of cute and cool. He is polite, nerdy, eager to help and respectful. His attraction to Nara is based on the fact he likes how she holds herself trough life... he might be one of the greenest flags I have seen in Dramaland.

He also deals with his own insecurities about his economic status, being self-conscious about people seeing him as a spoiled rich guy having grown up with a family that it's rather snobby and not a fan of his views on life. For example, his mother berates him for collecting items to donate for the needy and insist for him to start wearing luxury brands instead of buying clothes at the smaller shops at the neighbourhood. It's clear people have misjudged him before because of his money.

The story might be full of tropes but is in the performances where this story shines. Both leads deliver their lines with such an easy chemistry, dry humor and comedic timing that's impossible not to smile at every interaction they share. The story is so well written that it feels well rounded and the world lived in, the characters full of colour.

I absolutely recommend this sweet and fun rom-com that might give you some food for thought.

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There are blue skies ahead...

Let's rewrite the above synopsis because it sounds sinister. And this drama special is everything but!

NaRa's life is going nowhere: she is 32, her yoga studio does not have enough students, she's behind on her rent and to top it all her boyfriend of 5 years dumps her through a text message and blocks her! She meets her landlady's son, kind, nice and rich who falls for her! In order to help her, he asks her to give him private yoga lessons (hence the title!). Since everything in her life is a disaster, she does not believe in his sincerity even though she falls for him as well!

This is a sweet, cute and funny short romcom slice of life drama special. The actors are all really good in making the characters feel real. They have great chemistry and you can see sparks flying every time they meet! I would love to see more of them together!
Cinematography is original: the camera often films scenes from below so we can see the sky, the tops of buildings as the characters climb stairs etc. It is really good and helps a lot with the story: she is feeling so small and lost and the world is so big and scary but there are blue skies ahead!

Nice single watch!

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