Introduction to Mysore-style
starts Sunday 15 september 2024 at 09:30
This 2-hour program in Walferdange is taught in English.
Breathing and postural alignment are extremely important in all yoga styles. Conscious breathing enhances a state of clear, calm presence. Proper alignment ensures that appropriate muscles engage to avoid overload on isolated body regions and to ensure a beneficial distribution of energy throughout the body. These considerations are especially important in dynamic yoga styles, like Ashtanga, where the “led” class format introduces bias towards the “flow” aspect of the practice. However, overemphasis on the flow may result in lack of breathing quality and postural awareness and lack of sensitivity to subtle elements of the practice.
Mysore-style class in Ashtanga offers a format in which this gap can be bridged through one-on-one personalised guidance adapted to each student’s ability and knowledge. In this class, each student practices at his/her own breathing rhythm while the teacher focuses on providing verbal cues and light hands-on adjustments to each student individually. The adjustments are not meant to set the student into the perfect posture but to provide a sensory input for exploring asana as beneficial at a given moment. In this way, a student is invited to gradually develop a highly conscious experience of presence in one’s body, breath, and mind and to open up to the subtle layer of practice. This detailed exploration greatly increases students' confidence in the practice and allows them to develop their self-practice at home.
This introductory program is intended especially for students used to led classes, hesitant or curious about this class format. In this program, we will revisit the crucial aspects of ujjayi, breath-movement synchronisation, and alignment. These aspects will be elaborated on a subset of sun salutations and important standing postures with ample time for questions, clarifications, and further explorations. Students will have time for a short self-practice to experience the setting and guidance provided by the teacher in Mysore format. While it is helpful to know the sequence of postures to some extent, this is not a requisite as the practice sheets and/or teacher can simply inform students what comes next.
Price
The normal price is 30 Euros. Early-bird is 26 Euros with registration before Sep 8th. If you register on a term basis in the Autumn term Mysore course within 24 hours of the intro, we will discount the term registration by €10.
Cancellation policy
Style: Ashtanga Mysore-style
This course is for you if you have some basic knowledge of Ashtanga primary or secondary series, and if you wish to explore technique and postures in more depth, without the constraint of conforming to the group rhythm. Unlike a "led" class where the teacher sets the rhythm for the whole group, the Mysore-style format allows you to find your own pace of practice and depth of exploration. In this format, the teacher focuses on one-on-one guidance regarding any aspect of the technique, posture or adjustments. This detailed exploration greatly increases your confidence in the practice and allows you to develop your self-practice at home. As the course lasts 2 hours, there is enough time for asana and group pranayama, meditation and relaxation. For the asana section, you can download and bring the illustrated primary and intermediate sequences of Ashtanga yoga to class. Go to the Ashtanga Mysore-style page.
Teacher: Marija Bjekovic
Marija's teaching path started after the completion of 200 hours Ashtanga yoga teacher training with John Scott and Lucy Crawford Scott in 2015. Over the years, she found the grounding for both her studies and teaching in the legacy of Sri T. Krishnamcharya, the father of modern yoga and a pioneer in yoga therapy. She has been studying his legacy through the lens of his two long-term students, Srivatsa Ramaswami and A.G. Mohan. She is currently completing a 300 hours Svastha Yoga Therapy Foundations program with A.G. Mohan and his family. The practice has shown her that strength, stability and flexibility are qualities to be found at other levels than purely physical. The physical form is paradoxically merely the background for contemplation of constant interplay and alignment of energies within. When she teaches in Ashtanga vinyasa context, she does so from an understanding that such a layered practice is primarily meant as a framework to start cultivating subtle breath and calm mind. The physical aspect of practice can and should be individualized, without compromising the more profound nature of the practice. She loves to encourage students to explore the practice from such a perspective, and to support them in growing a sustainable and nourishing yoga practice through different fluctuations of life.
Go to Marija's page.
Location: Walferdange
Our Walferdange center on rue Josy Welter offers hatha yoga ("Sivananda Yoga"), yoga for lower back issues, hormone yoga for women, a Wednesday morning course for those 50+, and an Ashtanga Mysore course. Its warm, cozy setting provides an intimate and wonderful atmosphere and is the home center where La Source began. Go to the Walferdange page.