How Often Should I Practice Yoga?
Ashtanga yoga is traditionally practiced 6 days a week, leaving one day for rest. Women should take off 2-3 days during their monthly cycle. Mysore-style Ashtanga yoga has a cumulative effect on the body, and should be practiced a minimum of 3 days per week. As your schedule permits, more days should gradually be added. We receive the greatest benefit when practicing in the traditional manner.
What About Pre-existing Pain & Old Injuries?
While you might feel sore or tired after doing your yoga practice or sometimes even during your yoga practice, it is not necessary to push your body to the point of causing injury. Throughout our lives we primarily tell our body what to do. With time, yoga practice becomes an opportunity to listen to, and respect, what your body wants to tell and do with you. In the event of injury, whether related to yoga or past outside experience, our yoga instructors can recommend many special adjustments, modifications and considerations. Healing is one of the main benefits of yoga practice you will experience over time. By creating and inviting more balance into your overall state of being, a regular yoga practitioner creates the space to allow healing into their body on multiple levels.
Why Am I Being "Stopped" In My Practice? 
For yoga beginners, stopping is simply part of learning the practice. Yoga postures are taught one by one and usually need time to be assimilated. Furthermore, new postures are given only when a student has demonstrated proficiency in his or her practice, all the way through the last posture given. In Ashtanga yoga, proficiency is at least as much about the correct maintenance of internal energy locks (Bandhas), gaze (Drishti) and breathing (Ujayi breath), as about being able to get into a particular yoga posture.
For established practitioners, being asked to “stop” before the end of what may otherwise appear to be a complete practice could be for one of these reasons:
  • The student has not done regular yoga practice for some time, or has learned incorrectly, and needs to start over, gradually.
  • The student is injured and should scale back his or her practice to allow the injury to heal.
  • The student has not demonstrated full proficiency in his or her practice and may risk injury going beyond his or her current abilities. The student is being asked to stop for his or her physical, mental and emotional well-being.
  • The student is playing to strengths and/or neglecting weaknesses, and needs to redress this imbalance rather than add new postures.
  • The student has arrived to yoga class too late to complete his or her practice within the specified hours.
I'm Not Flexible, Can I Still Practice Yoga?
We welcome all type of bodies at our yoga studio in Winter Park, FL (near College Park in the Orlando area). Yoga is a physical exercise that will increase your flexibility over time. You do not need to be flexible when you start yoga - however, over time, you will see your range of flexibility increase.  The regular and consistent practice of yoga will instill a balance between strength and flexibility.
How Do I Prepare For Class?
  • Bring your own mat and towel (mats can be purchased at The Yoga Shala).
  • Refrain from eating 2-3 hours before class.
  • Come to class well hydrated. We do not drink water during yoga practice. Drink plenty of water afterward.
  • Inform the instructor of any medical concern or injuries.
  • Please turn off your cell phones.
  • Personal hygiene is an integral part of practicing yoga. Please ensure that you and your gear are clean.
  • Rest from Ashtanga is recommended for women in the first 2-3 days of their monthly cycle (known as ladies' holiday).
  • Honor and respect your limits. Acknowledge that your body and mind will feel different every day; listen to what your body tells you, and practice following your breath.
Why Do I Need A Yoga Teacher?
If you wanted to get from New York to Orlando and set out on I-95 without a map, directions or a guide, you would probably find your way sooner or later. But if you wanted to make sure you knew the way, you might also choose to get directions from someone who has traveled the distance before. You might even ask a guide to take you all the way, as it just might save some time. In case there are many people who say they’ve been to Orlando before, you might have to trust the person that you connect mostly deeply with to lead you in the right direction.
The Yoga Shala
2020 Crosby Way, Winter Park, FL 32792
krista@olotita.com