Ashtanga Yoga

Ashtanga Yoga is a method of yoga that involves synchronizing breath with movement [vinyasa], a focused gaze [dristi] and internal locks [bandahs]. The result is a dynamic and challenging sequence of postures that flow one after the other, not unlike a dance. This practice produces intense internal heat and a profuse sweat that purifies and strengthens the body, resulting in a sense of balance, grounding and centeredness.

The discipline finds its natural place within the context of Sri Aurobindo's Integral Yoga, as practiced in Auroville. "The body is not to the Hatha Yogin a mere mass of living matter, but a mystical bridge between the spiritual and the physical being." (Synthesis of Yoga, Ch. XXVII)

Ashtanga Yoga has been taught for the last 70 years by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, the internationally known and respected yoga master from Mysore, along with his grandson R.Sharath in more recent years. Ashtanga has been practiced throughout the world for the last forty years by thousands of people, thanks to Jois and the many great teachers whom he has trained.

Mysore Style Classes
The Ashtanga sequences are traditionally practiced daily, and students are taught individually within the class setting. Slowly, posture-by-posture, they learn the method and series and become progressively more autonomous in their own practice. The teacher facilitates that process through both verbal and intelligent ‘hands-on’ adjustments. Classes are given in the traditional style taught at the Krishna Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute (KPJAYI) in Mysore, India.