A Guide to the Ashtanga Mysore Yoga
What is Ashtanga Mysore Yoga? When you walk into a class that is endeavoring an ashtanga mysore yoga workout, the first thing you will notice that it ...
What is Ashtanga Mysore Yoga? When you walk into a class that is endeavoring an ashtanga mysore yoga workout, the first thing you will notice that it will seem chaotic. A student may be doing a headstand on one corner while the other is on a triangle pose, while yet another maybe struggling with yet another type of yoga pose. You might say to yourself, that you might have entered the wrong room or a wrong class, but if you observe carefully you might also realize that even as chaos seems to reign, a pattern will emerge that will show you that everyone is following an exact choreography. You might also be amazed by the utter silence of the room, you might see the instructor whispering softly to one student but you will generally only hear the collective breath among the students. The teacher moves quickly from one student to the other, correcting and adjusting positions as necessary.
In this type of yoga class the postures are provided to the students in an orderly manner, and are given to the student according to their capability. Each pose is set to prepare you for the rest of the series, so the more experienced students can progress at once while beginners tend to have to practice a little bit more. As the beginners develop their strength and stamina, they are provided the next posture and as they master that, they are given the next one, and so on, until they are able to finish all the poses in the series.
This practice was how it is taught in India, where the teacher teaches his student as a spiritual practice and is thereby taught one by one, unlike what the westerners are used to in normal yoga classes when the positions are taught at once during the class. It might be advantageous to some since they learn the poses quickly but can also be a disadvantage since not everyone is ready for all the poses, increasing the risk of injury for that person. The good thing about ashtanga mysore yoga is that the poses are provided to each student according to their aptitudes.
The workout is done by giving the students the poses one by one in a sequential order. Once you are provided with a new posture you are to start the whole series until you get to that pose and end your practice with the finishing sequence. You will be given the next posture only when the teacher feels that it is suitable for you. If you are just starting with Ashtanga or used to a led class, the ashtanga mysore yoga maybe weird at first but as you get used to it and with a little patience you might find how quickly you can discover yoga as a self-practice.
