Ashtanga classes in Koh Samui
A set sequence practiced with devotion.
Ashtanga is a vigorous style built on a fixed sequence of poses, practiced in the same order every time and linked by breath. You learn the sequence pose by pose over months and years, so progress is easy to notice.
No classes scheduled in the next two weeks.
What Ashtanga does for you
You get a strong, sweaty practice that builds heat, strength and stamina. Because the order never changes, your mind stops guessing what comes next and settles into the count of the breath, which many people describe as moving meditation. You can feel change from week to week: a bind that was out of reach, a jump-through that suddenly lands. The structure feels grounding to some people and demanding to others, and that is part of the appeal.
It suits you if
- you like routine and visible progress
- you want a strong, athletic practice
- you enjoy discipline and repetition
- you want to build toward a regular morning practice
Read the full guide to AshtangaWhat a class is like, your first time, history and the words you will hear
What a class is like
A full primary series takes about 90 minutes, and many studios offer shorter led versions of 60 to 75 minutes. In a led class the facilitator counts breaths and calls the poses in Sanskrit, from sun salutations through standing poses, seated forward bends and twists, backbends, and a closing sequence with shoulderstand and headstand. You breathe with an audible ujjayi breath and keep a steady gaze (drishti). Expect to sweat. Hands-on adjustments are traditional; music is not.
Your first time
- Practice on an empty stomach, two to three hours after a meal.
- Start with a led beginners class or an introductory course rather than a full primary series.
- Wear fitted clothes and bring a towel; hands and feet get slippery.
Good to know
- The sequence includes deep forward bends, binds and lotus variations; go slowly with knees and hamstrings and tell the facilitator about any injuries or pregnancy.
- Hands-on adjustments are common, so say clearly if you prefer not to be touched.
- Many Ashtanga programs rest on Saturdays and on new and full moon days, so check the schedule.
Where it comes from
Ashtanga means "eight limbs" in Sanskrit, a name borrowed from the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, which describe an eight-part path from ethics to meditation. The physical method that carries the name was developed by K. Pattabhi Jois (1915 to 2009), who studied with Tirumalai Krishnamacharya from 1927 and opened his own institute in Mysore in 1948.
Jois said the sequences came from an ancient text, the Yoga Korunta (also spelled Kurunta), which Krishnamacharya had reportedly found and which was later said to have been eaten by ants. No copy has ever surfaced, and many historians see the sequences as a 20th-century creation shaped by Krishnamacharya, Jois and the Indian exercise culture of the time.
Western students began arriving in Mysore in the early 1970s, and in 1975 Jois spent four months teaching in Encinitas, California, which planted the method in the United States. From there it spread to Europe, and its flowing structure became the template for vinyasa and power yoga. His grandson R. Sharath Jois led the Mysore lineage from 2007 until his sudden death in 2024.
Many former students have described sexual abuse by Pattabhi Jois during adjustments, and in 2019 Sharath Jois publicly acknowledged the improper adjustments he had witnessed. In Berlin, Ashtanga has a small, dedicated community, with led classes and early-morning Mysore practice.
Words you will hear
- Primary series
- The first of six fixed sequences, the one most classes teach.
- Ujjayi
- A slow, audible breath through the nose that sets the rhythm of practice.
- Drishti
- A set gaze point for each pose that keeps your attention steady.
- Bandha
- An inner lift or lock, such as gently drawing in the lower belly, used to support the body.
- Vinyasa
- In Ashtanga, the linking movement between poses: plank, upward dog, downward dog.
- Moon day
- New and full moon days, when many Ashtanga programs do not hold practice.