The Beauty of Mysore...

Yoga mats are lined up next to each other, the space is filled with the sound of the practitioners breathing heavily and little else. From the periphery of your vision you may see the movement of those around you. Now and again the teacher comes to you to adjust.

Doing a self-practice in a group setting is a way of teaching and practicing that is unique to ashtanga yoga. This style is called mysore and it comes from the name of a South Indian city where guruji Sri K Pattabhi Jois was born and where he taught ashtanga yoga according to the tradition that his teacher Sri Krishnamacharya recovered from ancient texts.

In a mysore class, the teacher does not talk the students through the practice but each students moves according to their own breath and pace, following the sequence as far as they in that moment in time are ready for. Teacher gives verbal and physical adjustments and moves the students on when they are ready for more postures. This method enables the teacher to work on each student individually and at best it is rather like a private lesson within a group of people. It enables the student to practice at a suitable pace and focus on aspects of the practice that he or she needs to work on. Every practitioner is unique in his or her way of practicing and mysore style class accommodates the needs of every students. The atmosphere can be very focused with every student doing their own practice but the energy is felt and shared by everyone, including the teacher. It is the best way to achieve the true purpose of this practice, inducing a natural state of meditation through a flow of movements and turning the awareness inward.

This is what students have said about mysore:
“With individual assistance in every pose I can be sure that I am moving correctly and safely. I go much deeper into the stretch and have seen improvements in myself really quickly. Plus, going at my own pace helps me focus inward and be fully aware of how I feel physically and emotionally that day.”