Ashtanga Yoga

My purpose of visiting Mysore was to practice Ashtanga Yoga. Ashtanga was first popularized by Shiri K. Pattabhi Jois in this city and this style of yoga influenced modern Vinyasa Flow (which I was trained in). Yogis from all over the world come to practice Mysore Style Ashtanga Yoga, staying for a month or more.

"Mysore Style" means that the students practice the set sequence at their own pace with an expert supervisor providing individual attention for adjustments.  This allows for each student to find their own pace and rhythm for their own personal development.

I first went to visit the famous Pattabhi Jois Yoga Shala.  There is a 2-4 month waiting list of students to sign up for the month long course. They were very strict about who was let in building, so I only got to see the outside.

Mahbod helped me with choosing excellent yoga shalas. I ended up staying in and taking my morning practice with Mystic School. The teacher, Jaiprakash, was very traditional and knowledgable. Within one practice knew exactly what level I was at and how he could help me develop my practice.

The building. The first floor was the yoga studio and the other 3 floors were rooms.

The rooftop was a returant/cafe.

In the afternoon,  I took a class at Yoga India. The studio was founded by Bharath Shetty, who studied directly under B.K.S Iyengar. The class that I took was led by his wife, Archana.

Outside the building

In the studio

I found Ashtanga yoga to be demanding, rigorous, and face paced. I LOVED IT. It had been a long time since I've challenged myself like that. I felt physically, mentally, spirituality, absolutely wonderful!

More importantly, I took away the emphasis on a consistent practice-- showing up on your mat everyday. Ashtanga founder, Pattabhi Jois said "1% theory, 99% practice".  He also said "practice and all is coming." A lot of time I can get caught up in the mental (planning/memorizing/debating/worrying), that I end up not taking action at all. Sometimes you can't think about things too much, you just got to do it. 

Here is a time lapse video of the primary/secondary series in Ashtanga Yoga. I didn't practice all of the poses shown here and the yogis in the video are super advanced in their practice, but you can get an idea of what practice was like.