Mysore Ashtanga
Self-Paced Practice
A traditional style of yoga that fosters autonomy, independence, and self-awareness through personalized practice.
Mysore style practice provides students with an entirely different experience than a group led class does.
In most yoga classes today:
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The teacher guides the students as a group
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The sequence is created by the teacher
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The teacher leads and paces each posture, breath, and transition
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Everyone begins and ends practice at the same time
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Modification offerings are more generalized and limited by the teacher's need to continue cueing the rest of the class through the sequence
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In a Mysore room:
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The teacher guides each student individually
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The Ashtanga Yoga sequences are set and have been relatively unchanged for over 100 years
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The students set the pace of their own practice
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Students can begin and end their practice at their own schedule within the class window
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Individualized modifications are offered based on the needs of each student and the teacher can spend time fine-tuning and finessing the practice for each person in the room without the need to keep the pace for the group as a whole
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Students eventually commit the sequence to memory, allowing them to flow through the practice on their own with occasional assists/guidance from the teacher
Though the space is shared, each person’s practice is entirely their own and each person moves at the pace that works best for their breath and their body.
Mysore practice is a powerful and potent experience of autonomy which quiets the chatter of the mind better than anything else I’ve tried. It is a lesson in strength, patience, perseverance, self-care, personal responsibility, and grace. It is nearly impossible to explain in words and truly needs to be experienced firsthand, so pop in for a class and see what it’s all about!