FAQ

Ashtanga is suitable for complete beginners. In Mysore-style classes, you'll learn at your own pace with personalized instruction. We'll start with basic postures and breathing, gradually building your practice. Sign up for the New to Mysore Membership to build a strong foundation.
Not at all! Do not worry if you cannot touch your toes. You do not need to be flexible, athletic, or experienced to practice Ashtanga. We can modify every posture so it is suitable for your body. I have seen the stiffest of the stiff and there is always a way to make it work. Honestly, the tighter you are, the more you will benefit from the sequence and the breathing. It will be challenging, but you will love it and your body will thank you for it!
in a Mysore class, you move through your practice at your own pace within a set practice window. The teacher offers individualized guidance and support. If you don’t know the sequence yet, we provide help and cheat sheets.
In a guided class, the teacher leads the entire group breath by breath. Guided classes are a great way to learn the rhythm of Ashtanga, while Mysore practice is where you develop independence and ownership of your practice.
For students brand new to Ashtanga, we recommend starting with our New to Mysore Membership, where you’ll learn the sequence in small, digestible pieces.
Mysore classes have a practice window, not a required duration. New students typically practice about 45 minutes, while more advanced students may stay up to two hours.
You can arrive and leave anytime within the window based on your schedule and energy level.
Beginners often start with three days per week. If that feels like too much, start with what’s manageable. If you prefer to practice more frequently, shorter daily sessions work well.
Traditionally, Ashtanga is practiced six days per week (excluding moon days and menstruation). Consistency matters more than frequency.
For some, the best way is to start with private lessons. For one, you can set the time that works best for your life. Secondly, you get the teacher’s fullest attention and they can work with you individually. Third, if you feel self-conscience, being in a one-on-one setting can help you build your confidence.
For others that prefer to be in a group setting, the New to Ashtanga Membership is great because the teacher works with you individually. In a private, you get the teacher’s undivided attention the entire time, and in the mysore class with this membership, the teacher goes back and forth among the other students, but you are the main focus as you are newest student that needs the most help. This membership also includes a 30-minute private/consultation prior to beginning.
For others with past yoga experience, you can jump into a series or guided class and then go from there. The teacher will always serve as a guide to help you along.
We have both! All of our classes are livestream on Zoom and most of our classes are in person.
To attend online, choose a class labeled “livestream” and you’ll receive a Zoom link before class. For in-person classes, select the option without “livestream.”
No! We have avid runners (even marathon runners!) who say their yoga practice has significantly helped their running. We also have students that lift weights, cycle, climb, golf, and do martial arts, and they all agree that the poses in yoga will bring back range of motion and balance in addition to increasing their ability to focus. Yoga can only help you in your other pursuits!

Deeper Tradition

Although there are many benefits to practicing yoga, the purpose is to quiet and focus the mind so we’re more peaceful and joyful. In ashtanga, we use the focus on breath and body as we move through a series of poses to accomplish this.
“To answer this question, I look to the roots of yoga. Traditionally, yoga is the science of the Self. Yoga seeks to help us understand our inner world through various techniques that include meditation, asanas, breathing, focused awareness, and certain rules of behavior and conduct. If by religion we mean the religious experience of transcendence, the loss of fear of death, and the emergence of platonic qualities such as truth, beauty, goodness, harmony, and evolution, then yes, yoga can give us a religious experience. It is not religion in the form of ideology, dogma, belief systems, or compliance; it’s a spiritual experience that gives us access to a universal domain of reality.”
—Deepak Chopra, MD, Founder of The Chopra Foundation, author, public speaker, physician, La Jolla, California
It has always been an Ashtanga tradition to take off on these moon days as a way to tune into the expansive and contracting rhythm of nature that goes along with the tides and the phases of the moon. And for those that practice 6 days a week, this extra day every other week is a welcome respite for the body.
The Ashtanga practice is meant to bring energy and vitality to the body. During the first few days of their period, woman are encouraged to allow the body to rest and honor the downward energy flow. Also it can be unsafe to practice at this time as it is difficult to engage the bandhas (locks) and core.