Beginner's Guide

You're Ashtanga curious. Here are some tips on how to get started and what you can expect.

• Observe a Mysore class before beginning practice for the first time.
  
  
• Commit to at least one month of practice.
  
  
• You do not have to know the primary series or anything about yoga to join a Mysore class. Although you will be practicing to your own breath, your Mysore practice will be highly supervised by the instructor. You will be taught individually one posture at a time. Your first classes will be short and will eventually be around 90 minutes. Slowly as these postures integrate, more postures will be added by your teacher and you'll continue to refine previous postures and techniques.
  
  
• All ages, shapes, body types, genders, ethnicities, etc. are welcome to attend. You don't have to be strong or flexible or a dancer or a gymnast. The only requirement is an enthusiasm for practice.
  
  
• The Mysore-style of learning and practicing is different than most other types of yoga practice because:
  -it is made of set series of postures which you practice daily
  -you develop a practice over time
  -the student-teacher relationship is very important
  -students practice with one teacher
  -it is less about catering to what we are accustomed to and more about challenging ourselves to transform
  -Students can take their time, work at their own pace, and are encouraged to marinate in certain postures if there is a therapeutic indication
  
  
• There are six series of postures in the Ashtanga yoga system. Primary series is called yoga chikitsa which means yoga therapy. This practice tones, increases flexibility, and detoxes the body and mind. Everyone starts their Mysore practice by gradually learning and practicing the primary series.
  
  
• You can arrive to practice any time that is convenient for you within the designated practice times as long as you are finished before the end. For example, if your practice is 35 minutes long, you should begin before 8:55am if class ends at 9:30am. So, no, your practice isn't 3 hours long and you do not have to arrive at the beginning of the Mysore class.
  
  
• Bring a clean towel, a yoga mat, wear clean clothes, take a shower, be barefoot, and arrive on an empty stomach. Do not drink water or other liquids during practice.
  
  
• Ashtanga yoga is a daily practice. Really, if we are talking the full spectrum of practice, it is 24/7. In terms of being on a mat, students practice 6 days per week. Saturdays or Sundays are a day of rest as are the first three days of the menstrual cycle (called ladies' holiday). Moon days (full or new moon) are also a day of rest. If this isn't possible for you at first, do what you can.
  
  

Got a question you want answered? Send it to info@ashtangayogabrooklyn.com

Also see:


David Robson interview video on what to expect in a Mysore class
how to pick a yoga mat
essential ashtanga reading
2011 Moon Days