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What is Mysore style?

The Ashtanga practice heralds from a city called Mysore in Southern India. In more recent times guided classes have evolved to handle the growing popularity of yoga. These classes are great fun and celebrate the joy of practicing with others, however the mysore approach can work in greater detail with the individual and allow a more specific and detailed approach.

To learn Ashtanga Yoga mysore style is to learn to practice yoga in a traditional format, and just like any traditional learning environment, it is orientated to teach the student in a step by step manner that deepens and evolves in conjunction with the student’s capacity to digest more information.   When you first learn a language, you start with basic vocabulary and popular phrases, if you pick up an instrument, you begin with notes and move towards scales. As a beginner to the art and science of yoga, the mysore class offers a safe space to forge a relationship with the teacher right from the beginning and to cover the important foundations that need to be established before moving on to more complex postures and patterns of movement.

In a guided class you are thrown into the deep end at the beginning, whereas a mysore class is tailored to start you off in the shallows and encourage practice that grows and evolves organically. Often beginners are put off by the myth that to attend the mysore class you must already know a certain amount of the sequence. This is not the case, as in fact the mysore class is the perfect place to learn your first surya namaskar and to establish good breathing techniques and effective movement patterns that you build upon in each new practice.

In my experience the biggest asset to bring to mysore class is a sense of personal responsibility.   To be open to working independently under the gentle guidance of a teacher and not worrying about getting things right instantly. Although this can seem a little daunting to begin with, it can also be incredibly empowering and insightful. You have the time and opportunity to sense how your body actually feels? To grow your attention and breath capacity and invite a conversation between body and mind, deepening your awareness and ability to read what is really going on for you on a physical, mental, emotional, psychological and spiritual level? This is the yoga. Fostering a collaboration, evoking the power of relationship inside and out and welcoming one’s whole self to the moment with a compassionate and inquisitive attitude. If you are transitioning from the guided class environment don’t worry too much about getting the sequence right, come along and try out working under your own steam. The concentration required to remember the sequence is the perfect tonic to soothe a busy mind.

So what to expect in your first few classes…. First of all, try to commit to come for at least 3 classes. To give any method a fair hearing you must be willing to give it a reasonable go. Once is simply not enough, but by 3 sessions you may start to relax into your breath and become a little more comfortable with learning and digesting each new piece of information in an organic and natural way. You will begin with the fundamentals of the method, why we breath, how we breath and how we then synchronise this with our movement. I am completely captivated to this day by the genius of Surya Namaskar (sun salutations), a whole bodily movement sequence that forms the seed of which all the future postures evolve. You will then progress to standing poses and there will be some repetition in the beginning so you can demonstrate you are retaining the information you are being taught. There is no rush, let things seep in.

We all have different learning styles. Some of us our auditory learners, others visual and some of us kinesthetic. The beauty of learning in the mysore environment is specialised individual attention from the teacher that can really enhance our unique understanding. Our modern world places far too much emphasis on thinking and the mind, pulling us further away from the natural intelligence of the body. Rather than thinking our bodies into positions, learning to self practice and receiving gentle hands-on adjustments can allow our bodies to sense and feel for themselves.

To me, one of the greatest gifts of the mysore learning environment is to allow many people from all walks of life to come together in one room and to engage in a practice that has far reaching possibilities for healing, growth, wholeness and the development of our potential.

I teach a mysore class 7-9am Tuesdays at Limehouse Yoga

https://www.limehouseyoga.com

I’m running a beginners course Jan 24 in St. Agnes which on completion will enable you to join a mysore class comfortably

Reach out with any questions…

zephyrlilymercer@gmail.com