How many times a week should I practice Ashtanga Yoga?
What is the Mysore class?
Why is the Mysore class 3 hours long?
Can I bring a cheat sheet to class?
How long should I wait before I buy a mat if I am a complete beginner?
What kind of mat?
What is a Mysore rug?
How much water should I drink during practice?
Can I bring my cellphone?
What about toweling off the sweat?
Can I eat before class?
How does Ashtanga differ from vinyasa or power yoga practice?
How do the poses done in Ashtanga differ from those of other yoga systems?
How should I start learning the system?
Do I need to know the "series" before coming to a class?
How long should I wait before trying second series?
Is this done in a hot room?
What does "Ashtanga" mean?
Is there information available about what poses are in the various series?
How many times a week should I practice Ashtanga Yoga?
Traditionally, Ashtanga Yoga is a daily discipline with full moon and new moon days taken as rest days. It is also recommended that women do not practice for the first 2-3 days of menstruation. I have found that the students who practice six times a week tend to be the ones who are happiest with their practice, make the most progress, and continue to improve. However, any amount of practice is better than none. Many students benefit from practicing twice a week or combining other physical activities, such as running or weight lifting with a little Ashtanga. My hope is that over time, the student will fall in love with the system and naturally adopt the traditional practice of six days per week.
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What is the Mysore class?
Named after the city of Mysore, India where the Guru of Ashtanga Yoga Sri K Pattabhi Jois taught. Every student is given a series of yoga poses to practice that are to be done from memory. Each student is working at their own pace and the class is mostly silent. The teacher keeps track of all the students and gives appropriate help with adjustments, modifications and advice.
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Why is the Mysore class 3 hours long?
Once you know the approximate length of your practice you can show up in class at any point within that 180 minute time frame. There is no strict starting time except what is convenient to you unless your teacher has given you a specific time to come. For example if your practice is 1 hour long you can show up anytime between 6 AM and 8:00 so that you have enough time to finish.
Students with special permission may start their practice as early as 5:45.
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Can I bring a cheat sheet to class?
No.
(No cheat sheet is needed as the teacher will give you as much guidence as you need each day)
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How long should I wait before I buy a mat if I am a complete beginner?
Preferably come to your first class with your own mat! It is a small expense in order to secure your cleanliness and protect your health. Rental mats are available if you forget yours for $2
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What kind of mat?
Any mat that you are comfortable with will do. I highly recommend the black mats offered for sale at the Shala because they offer more cushion for jumps and last longer.
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What is a Mysore rug?
A rug is a nice addition to your mat if you sweat a lot and start sliding midway through your practice. Otherwise the mysore rug is what you wrap your sticky mat in so that you can store it away safely in the big closet with all the other failed sporting goods purchases made in the past. We have traditional Mysore rugs available from India, the snazzy American made versions, or you can buy a thin beach towel from Value village.
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How much water should I drink during practice?
Proper hydration is very important, especially in a warm room. Traditionally no water is drunk during Ashtanga practice. Come well hydrated and also drink plenty ~30 minutes afterwards. In my experience as a teacher water is mainly a way to get a break from the practice. If there are special needs please discuss it with your teacher but avoid putting a water bottle next to your mat and pausing every six breaths to drink.
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Can I bring my cellphone?
Only if you have a bluetooth headset, talk in a whisper and make wild arm gestures... Please turn off your cellphone during class or even better leave it in your car or at home so you do not forget to turn it off. If you have a grave emergency and need to be by the phone maybe yoga should not be on the menu that day. Or maybe some quiet practice at home is in order. That might help you feel better while not disrupting the other students in class.
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What about toweling off the sweat?
That is part of the winning trifecta: water bottle, cellphone and towel. If you have all three your are an accomplished non practitioner. Towelling off between every pose because you are made of sugar and you might melt, drinking your way to hyponatremia and keeping an ear out for when the cell will vibrate in your handbag will assure your yogic progress. You should use a towel to wipe the space around your mat if you sweat profusely. Otherwise leave it at home, Linus.
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Can I eat before class?
Try not to eat for at least 3 hours before class.
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How does Ashtanga differ from vinyasa or power yoga
practice?
Ashtanga is the traditional form that other styles of flow practice derive from. It's taught as a specific system with the poses in a sequential order. If you're working on one of the series of the Ashtanga system, the sequences are the same whether you're doing it here or New York City or Mysore, India. If it's a first series Ashtanga class it would always be the same sequence of poses.
Our Ashtanga Improv classes are a different Ashtanga remix each week, some sequences from first series, and some from second.
Both Ashtanga and its power yoga/vinyasa derivatives are challenging practices focusing on the breath (ujjayi pranayama) coordinated with movement that leads toward meditation. The vinyasa approach to linking the poses together that is popular in many flow styles originated with the Ashtanga system.
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How do the poses done in Ashtanga differ from those of other yoga
systems?
Well, there aren't really any "Ashtanga poses". Sometimes students coming from other styles assume that some of the arm balances or other things they haven't been exposed to are unique to Ashtanga but (with a few exceptions in the advanced series work) all the poses are also present in other yoga systems.
Sometimes the names of the poses differ and frequently there are minor variations not shared by, say, Iyengar or anusara style yogis. What is unique to Ashtanga is the sequencing of the various series, the pace of the practice, and the method used to enter and exit the poses.
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How should I start learning the system?
There isn't one right answer. Some yogis like to learn the basic poses first in a led introduction class. Others have started by attending the more advanced full primary classes, and riseing to the challenge. The traditional method is to attend the Mysore style classes and learn the practice pose by pose from a qualified teacher.
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Do I need to know the "series" before coming to a class?
No! You will be taught what you need to know in each class.
Ashtanga is challenging and fun. It requires cultivation of the ability to recognize your limitations and not try to do everything during their first few months of practice. Come do what you can comfortably and let the practice evolve naturally.
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How long should I wait before trying Second Series?
You should be studying under a qualified teacher to learn the second series safely. Students may look at some of the poses in the second series and want to play with them because they seem easy, but there are often hidden challenges, and some poses from the second series can cause harm if done incorrectly. If you do not have access to a teacher, then it might be a good idea to schedule your next vacation to an area that has one, and learn the series that way. Click here for links to teachers we can recommend.
We ask that you check with the studio before attending either of our second series classes, as each have different requirements.
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Is this done in a hot room?
No. It's not hot Yoga. It's a sweaty practice but that heat is generated internally -- from a continuous flow of the asanas, ujjayi breathing and the bandhas. The room should be warm and comfortable to start, but the sweat comes from your work, not from setting the thermostat up to simulate the climate of southern India.
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What does "Ashtanga" mean?
This Sanskrit word means 8 limbed or 8 part. Ashto=8 and anga=limb. It's a reference to the 8 limbed philosophical system outlined in the text Yoga Sutra about
200 BC. Also sometimes referred to as raja yoga (the royal, or highest, path of yoga).
Yama -- ethical practices toward others
Niyama -- internal ethical disciplines
Asana -- posture
Pranayama -- breath/energy work
Pratyahara -- withdrawal of the senses
Dharana -- concentration
Dhyana -- meditation
Samadhi -- absorption
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Is there information available about what poses are in the various series?
There are many Many examples of the Primary series in both book/dvd form, and online. We have a few of the books which we recommend available at the Shala.
Some texts have offered the second series sequence as well, but the advanced practices are rarely found. Most of those who teach them recognize the necessity of having a skilled teacher communicate the practice, rather than learning from a book.
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