What is the Mysore method?

I have been practicing yoga asanas since I was a high school teen in NYC. Most of my practice was centered around vinyasa flow styled classes. This was fun and exciting for me. Each class would have different postures and sequences depending on what the instructor had prepared for us that day. 

Then early last year, I stumbled into a little studio in Taipei called Chit Yoga. They offered a 1 hour Intro to Ashtanga class during lunchtime hour (12:15-1:15pm) which worked great with my schedule so I decided to give it a try. I always knew OF Ashtanga but didn't know much of it's details. All I knew was that there was a set sequence you had to follow and that was a big turn off for me because I used to think, "Ew boring, why would I want to do the same repetitive moves over and over again day after day". But after a few weeks, I started to see why this actually was not so bad to do... and I started to enjoy it so much that I decided to take a trip to Mysore, India, the birthplace of Ashtanga. I spent 2 months at the end of that year practicing Mysore style classes in India. 

So, let me take a moment to explain... what is the Ashtanga Vinyasa system of Hatha Yoga?? 

This system of yoga was created by a teacher name Sri K Pattabhi Jois. There are 6 sequences in total (Primary series, Intermediate series, Advanced A, B, C, D). The traditional way to practice is to wake up with the sun and practice Sundays-Thursdays in a Mysore class setting. This means that you learn and remember the primary series sequence. You enter and practice the sequence without verbal instructions from the teacher. The teacher will walk around and adjust, assist, and help you with certain postures you might need help with. Then when he/she feels you are ready, he/she will teach you the Intermediate series postures 1 at a time. Then Fridays are led classes. This mean the teacher will verbally lead and guide everyone through the primary series. Then Saturday is for resting. Full moon and new moon days are also for resting. 

The Mysore method of Ashtanga is a beautiful thing. It requires dedication from the practitioner. Through years of dedicated practice, transformation occurs in the body, in the mind, and the burning away of old thought patterns take place. The relationship between teacher and student is also very significant in this method of practice. Often the teacher will guide you into a posture you might not yet be able to enter into yourself, and this requires a lot of trust. For example, dropping into a wheel pose and trying to grab my own ankles I can not do but at the end of each practice, the teacher holds and supports me so I don't lose my balance, then she will grab my hands and pull it towards my ankles. This is VERY VERY scary and I would not feel comfortable with letting anyone help me into this posture. Only someone I can trust. Someone who I know understands this method and has practiced over and over and guided others for years.

Frustration can also occur. For example, earlier this year I was very delighted my teacher decided to begin teaching me the beginning few postures of the secondary series. I did them well until I reached a posture called Laghu Vajrasana. This posture requires a lot of strength in the legs/thighs and it is a pose that prepares you for the next pose, Kapotasana. So without doing this posture fully, my teacher would not move me onto the next one, as I would not be prepared enough for it. So here I was, for many months, STUCK on this pose, trying to drop my head to the ground and pick myself back up but not having the strength in my thighs so I would literally just be stuck on the ground and have to awkwardly crawl my way out of it, embarrassed and defeated each time I had to do so. So yes I was physically STUCK here but also STUCK at this part of the sequence. Yes it was frustrating watching others around me progress yet I could not move on. But once I started to let go of the desire to collect poses and instead focused on just practicing the yoga that the teacher has laid out for me, and to really trust her that she will know when it's the right time for me to move on, once I accepted that, I was back in a happy place in my practice. And really just a little bit after that, I was unstuck, my torso and my head magically lifted out of Laghu Vajrasana one day and I was certainly surprised and pleased. I have read that there are some postures where students will be working on for years, maybe even tens and twenty of years. So this moment of being stuck for a few months was really just a small taste of what's to come! 

I am still pretty early in my Mysore journey but I just wanted to share my experience thus far. It has been very rewarding, yet humbling at the same time. I am grateful to my teacher in India, Ajay Kumar, for teaching me the Mysore method, and grateful to my teacher in Taipei, Ann Huang, for continuing to guide me here each morning. 

Interested in seeing what the LED Ashtanga classes look like? 
Click here for a demo of the Primary series. 
Click here for a demo of the Intermediate series.