Ashtanga Yoga
Traditionally, Ashtanga Yoga is recommended to be practiced daily. For busy Americans, this can be a huge commitment, but the benefits of a weekly yoga practice can spill into all areas of a yogi’s life. The Yoga Shala has two levels of membership: 3 days per week, or monthly unlimited. As in India, students at The Yoga Shala are asked to make a monthly commitment and come to class 3-6 days each week. We also offer drop in option for all classes. Anyone can drop into our Led Ashtanga Yoga classes, but students must have an established Ashtanga practice to drop into our Mysore classes.
The Ashtanga system is designed to purify the body, promote proper functioning of the digestive system, build strength, and restore range of motion to the body. The method of practice taught in Ashtanga Yoga relies on linking postures with deep, even breathing and steady gazing with the eyes. The system of linking the breath with movement is known as vinyasa and encourages the blood to circulate properly allowing the removal of unwanted toxins. The gazing point helps to facilitate a state of meditation, having a profound effect on the steadiness of the mind.
The Ashtanga system is designed to purify the body, promote proper functioning of the digestive system, build strength, and restore range of motion to the body. The method of practice taught in Ashtanga Yoga relies on linking postures with deep, even breathing and steady gazing with the eyes. The system of linking the breath with movement is known as vinyasa and encourages the blood to circulate properly allowing the removal of unwanted toxins. The gazing point helps to facilitate a state of meditation, having a profound effect on the steadiness of the mind.
Our Lineage
At The Yoga Shala, we build our teaching on the Traditional Ashtanga Mysore Method, remaining true to the Ashtanga lineage. Obtaining knowledge of this lineage will provide a clear understanding of how this ancient system of yoga was built and what values and traditions we continue to honor at the shala.
Saraswati Rangaswamy, daughter of Sri K Pattabhi Jois, played with different yoga postures very early on and began formal studies of asthanga at the young age of 10. She eventually became the first women admitted to the Sanskrit College in Mysore, India. Between the years of 1971 and 1975, Saraswati assisted her father in his Lakshmipuram yoga shala. She later went on to teach on her own at the Balaji Temple in V.V. Mohalla for the next 25 years. It wasn’t until, 2002 when her father opened his new yoga institute to Gokulam, that she returned to teach along side him. Today, she is a familiar face at Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute, teaching yoga students from around the world.
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Sharath Jois, Saraswati’s son and Sri K Pattabhi Jois' grandson, was born into a family of dedicated yoga practitioners. At the young age of 7, Sharath learned his first asanas and began practicing experimenting with an advanced series of postures until he was 14. After taking a three year break to obtain a degree in Electronics, he began his formal studies of yoga at the age of nineteen. Since then, he has maintained a daily practice of Ashtanga Yoga, and is dedicated in his role of Director of the K. Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute.
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