Mysore classes in Weligama
Your own practice, at your own pace, with a facilitator close by.
Mysore is the traditional way of practicing Ashtanga: everyone in the studio does their own practice at their own pace while a facilitator moves around helping each person individually. It is named after Mysore (Mysuru), the South Indian city where the method was taught.
No classes scheduled in the next two weeks.
What Mysore does for you
You get a practice that fits you exactly, because you do only the poses you have been given and move at the speed of your own breath. With no one calling out the next pose, your attention turns inward, and the shared quiet of a full studio breathing together can feel surprisingly strong. One-to-one guidance means you learn with far more personal attention than in a big led class. Over time it can become a steady anchor at the start of your day.
It suits you if
- you want individual attention inside a group
- you like early mornings and a fixed routine
- you already practice Ashtanga and want to go deeper
- you prefer working at your own pace to following a class
Read the full guide to MysoreWhat a class is like, your first time, history and the words you will hear
What a class is like
Mysore programs usually run early in the morning as a window, for example 6:30 to 9:30, and you arrive any time within it and start when you are ready. You practice the Ashtanga sequence from memory: beginners get a short practice first, often just sun salutations and a few standing poses, and the facilitator adds new poses as you become steady. The studio is quiet apart from breathing, and it warms up from everyone's effort. The facilitator gives cues, hands-on adjustments and help with the order. Many programs ask for regular attendance, several mornings a week, and hold one led class each week.
Your first time
- Practice on an empty stomach; a glass of water early on is usually fine.
- Tell the facilitator it is your first time and mention any injuries or pregnancy; you will get a short, manageable practice.
- Arrive early in the window for your first visits, when there is more time for instruction.
- Wear fitted clothes and bring a towel; many people lay a towel or rug over the mat for grip.
Good to know
- You are expected to memorize the sequence over time; the facilitator helps, but no one calls out the poses.
- Hands-on adjustments are traditional, so say clearly if you prefer not to be touched.
- Traditional programs rest on Saturdays and on new and full moon days, and many ask beginners to commit to a month or a course.
Where it comes from
Mysore-style practice takes its name from Mysore in Karnataka, South India, where K. Pattabhi Jois taught Ashtanga from 1948 in a small shala (practice space) at his home in the Lakshmipuram neighborhood. Students learned their sequence one pose at a time and practiced side by side, each at their own pace, while Jois adjusted them and added poses individually. Led classes, with the whole group following one count, came later and stayed occasional.
From the 1970s, Western students began traveling to Mysore for months at a time, and the city became a pilgrimage point for Ashtanga practitioners. Those who returned home set up Mysore programs in their own cities, keeping the same rhythm: early mornings, six days a week, rest on moon days.
Jois, and later his grandson R. Sharath Jois, authorized and certified facilitators to pass on the method, and a trip to Mysore remained a rite of passage for many. Sharath Jois died suddenly in 2024. The lineage has also faced a reckoning: many former students have described sexual abuse by Pattabhi Jois during adjustments, which Sharath Jois publicly acknowledged in 2019, and consent to hands-on adjustments is now discussed far more openly.
In Berlin, Mysore practice has a small but committed following, with early-morning programs that feel more like a neighborhood routine than a class.
Words you will hear
- Shala
- A practice space; in Ashtanga, the studio where Mysore practice happens.
- Being given a pose
- When the facilitator adds the next pose of the sequence to your practice.
- Led class
- A class where the whole group follows the facilitator's count, usually once a week.
- Ujjayi
- A slow, audible breath through the nose that sets your pace.
- Moon day
- New and full moon days, when traditional programs do not hold practice.