How Often Should I Practice?
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. It is when we are practicing in the traditional manner that we receive the greatest benefit.

I'm Not Flexible, Can I Still Do Yoga?
We welcome all type of bodies. Yoga is a physical exercise that will help 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. Over time, the regular and consistent practice of yoga will instill a balance between both strength and flexibility.

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 point of creating an injury. Throughout our lives we primarily tell our body what to do. With time, the yoga practice becomes an opportunity to listen to and respect what your body wants to tell you and do with you. In the event of an injury, whether related to yoga or past outside experience, there are many special adjustments, modifications and considerations that one of our instructors can recommend. One of the main benefits of the yoga practice that you will experience over time is healing. By creating and inviting more balance in to 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 beginners, stopping is simply part of learning the practice. 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 it is about being able to get into a particular posture.
For established practitioners, being asked to “stop” before the end of what may otherwise appear to be a complete practice may be for one of the following reasons:

• The student has not done regular practice for some time, or has learned incorrectly, and needs to start over, gradually.
• The student is injured and is advised to 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 be risking injury by going beyond his or her current abilities, in which case it is for the student’s physical, mental and emotional well-being that he or she is asked to stop.
• 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 class too late to complete his or her practice within the specified class hours.

Do I need to register ahead of time?  How about parking?
​Registration
New Student Registration is encouraged prior to the first class but not necessary. Additionally, booking in advance, via our app, is recommended as places are limited.

Early Morning Beginners Class
Any new students planning on attending a class between 6:30am and 8:30am need a code to into the studio door, please contact us to obtain the code.

Parking 
There is ample parking in the back of the building near the main entrance and on the street in front.  

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. Drink plenty of water after your practice.
• 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 Teacher?
If you wanted to get from New York to Orlando and you 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 because it just might save you 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.

I learned Asthanga differently. Am I supposed to change what I've been doing?
​Yes. One of the goals of the school is to teach the practice authentically, as it is currently taught in Mysore. Wisely or unwisely, many teachers of Ashtanga yoga have unilaterally modified the practice. Many have no personal connection to Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and the KPJAYI and therefore teach outside the tradition. Others, who are students at the KPJAYI, may have learned aspects of the practice from him that he has since developed differently. In all these instances, students will probably not have learned the practice as the KPJAYI teaches it now.