Kalari Martial art and Yoga

When I was in New York last week I went for a yoga class at Kula Yoga ( http://www.kulayoga.com )
I had an early morning class with a young teacher called Lori and she introduced some different postures in her blend of styles of yoga . She trained with Shiva Rea but also she was applying the signature style of Yoga Kula (working towards a specific goal through the all class , building up to achieve a specific posture at the end of the class with repetitive themes) , the whole sequence was enriched by some strong and unusual asanas,  she later explained that she learnt an ancient form of martial art inspired by the strength of the animal spirits originated in Southern India , Kalari. Some of the postures really felt energizing, especially by using pressure points while holding the asana.

Here a brief explanation:
"
The  origins of the ancient martial art of Kalari-payattu are lost in hoary antiquity. According to some of its proponents, it was the sage Agastya Muni who developed the Kalari fighting technique, while others claim that the great warrior-incarnation of Vishnu, Parashurama created Kalari. 
Kalaripayattu is indigenous to the South Indian state of Kerala and derives its name from the Malayalam  word ‘Kalari’ which literally means ‘battlefield’. "
Check out more:
http://devavision.org/html/kalari-martial-arts.html