Mysore style, how a traditional ashtanga class works

What "Mysore style" means

K. Pattabhi Jois founded his Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore, Karnataka, in 1948. The teaching that grew there gave its name to a way of teaching: "Mysore style", in which students practise the sequences they know at their own pace, and the teacher instructs each one individually. Traditionally, students memorised the sequence and practised together without being led; the led classes, in which the teacher counts for the whole room, were introduced in Jois's later years, usually twice a week in place of Mysore practice.

So a Mysore-style room looks like this: twenty or fifty people, each at a different place in the same sequence, breathing audibly, nobody speaking, and one or a few teachers moving between the mats.

How a class works

1. Arrive within the time window. Many rooms open early in the morning for a few hours; you start when you arrive and a place is free.
2. Begin with the opening chant, if the shala uses one, or in silence.
3. Practise your sequence: five sun salutations A and five B, the standing postures, then the postures you have been given, linked by the counted movements called vinyāsa.
4. Breathe and gaze. Each posture is held for about five breaths, with a fixed point of gaze (dṛṣṭi) and the breath slow and even.
5. Receive help. The teacher may adjust you, remind you of the next posture, or give you a new one when the last is steady.
6. Stop where you have been told to stop, then do the closing sequence and rest.
7. Leave quietly when you have finished; others are still practising.

Your first weeks

The rule that defines the method, as R. Sharath Jois taught it: master each posture before the next is added. Pattabhi Jois's son Manju Jois disagreed and allowed more flexibility; in practice, teachers vary. Either way, being "stopped" at a posture is not a judgement. It is the method.

Etiquette, as the Mysore shalas publish it

Sharath Yoga Centre in Mysuru publishes its own guidelines. Many Mysore-style rooms elsewhere follow similar ones:

• Silence. Spread your mat quietly; no talking, no phones (switched off), no photos or videos in the practice room.
• Modest clothing and no sacred symbols such as ॐ on clothes or mats; no perfume or deodorant that might disturb others.
• No eating or drinking in the practice area.
• Injury or pregnancy: the shala provides a placard to put in front of your mat if you do not want assistance that day, or if you are pregnant.
• A good mat, a cotton rug and a towel to wipe the sweat; wipe your spot when you leave.
• One teacher at a time. While studying at the shala, students are asked not to practise asana, pranayama or meditation with other teachers.

Rest days and moon days

Mysore-style practice is traditionally six days a week. The shalas close on one day of the week and on the days of the full moon and new moon ("moon days"); Sharath Yoga Centre lists Sundays and moon days as holidays and publishes the dates. Some practitioners also rest for a few days during menstruation, a traditional custom that each person follows as they see fit.

Who it suits

Mysore style suits people who like a fixed daily practice and slow, visible progress in the same sequence, and beginners who want individual attention without having to follow a group. It suits less well someone who wants variety, cannot practise several mornings a week, or prefers to be guided aloud from start to finish. On the levels of practice, it starts at "beginner" but quickly asks for regularity.

Finding a Mysore-style room

• Look for a programme that is actually self-paced, several mornings a week, not only led classes.
• Ask the teacher where and with whom they studied, and how they handle adjustments and consent.
• If they claim an authorisation from a Mysore shala, check it on that shala's published list.
• Expect to commit: a month of regular mornings will teach you more than a single workshop.

If you want to go to the source, our page on Mysore sets out the shalas as they stand today, with seasons and practical facts. For the method itself, its lineage and the six series, read ashtanga vinyasa yoga; for the breath used in the room, ujjayi; for the postures you will meet first, sun salutation, downward dog and plank and chaturanga.

Questions people ask

Sources

1. Ashtanga vinyasa yoga, Wikipedia (Mysore style, led classes introduced later, method of instruction) checked October 17, 2026
2. Frequently Asked Questions, Sharath Yoga Centre, Mysuru (official site, updated 29 July 2025) checked October 17, 2026
3. General etiquette and guidelines, Sharath Yoga Centre, Mysuru (official site) checked October 17, 2026
4. K. Pattabhi Jois, Wikipedia (Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute, Mysore, 1948) checked October 17, 2026

Read next