r/ashtanga

I have been practicing Ashtanga series 1,2,3,4 rocket yoga and vinyasa regularly for the past couple of years

However last week I found out I have a 5cm ovarian cyst, and as I’m waiting for my laparoscopy operation (I’m doing it trough nh and its 9/16 months waitlist) I experience pain/respiration discomfort in my lower abdominal and pelvic right side so doing advanced yoga feels painful, specially after for the next 12 hours or so.

I find it so sad that I’m unable to continue using my whole body and deepen my practice like I have been in the past year….
I do not enjoy light yoga, I like to feel my muscles the next days in a bit of pain.

Do you have any recommendations, tips for how I can avoid hurting that area but still continuing practicing?
Or any other alternative sports, exercises?
I heard that some yoga can help actually help the cysts, I’m not sure if that the case for me, would love to explore that?

I like climbing and my main transport is my bike, so may be the pain could be also from the daily bike use?

Tips for finding the right teacher? Or, having worked with several, how do you know you found the right one for you? Relatedly, can you know without a consistent daily practice? I recall Kino saying on a podcast that she knew when she surrendered. For those of you who found someone you would call "your teacher," did you feel the surrender, and was it after time or right away? If you felt it and they were busy and hard to reach, and didn't seem interested in you, what did you do? If you like and respect a teacher, but don't feel comfortable surrendering to their guidance, is that a sign they just aren't for you? Not aligned well, I mean.

Is it normal to feel so much more expended after a Led session ? Did this yesterday

In Mysore style, I keep getting the verbal adjustment of ‘breathing into’ a certain area. Does that mean to focus on that part of the body? Like send your awareness there?

And if you’re doing all of these micro adjustments is one truly still in their 5 breaths? Or are we supposed to micro adjust and then stop and then do the 5 breaths? I suppose not during a led session ?

These were the thoughts running through my mind today. I wonder with the busy-ness of this can you consider this a ‘good session’ / was I doing yoga ‘correctly’.

It’s ridiculous I know.

Hi does anyone have any intel on practicing mysore in Shanghai? Y+ is the only one that I know of but there are so many locations. Or does anyone know of any others to recommend? Thank you

Hi everyone 😊

I’m getting ready for my first 200h Ashtanga YTT in Mysore, India, next March.

I hesitated for quite a long time between Vinyasa and Ashtanga, but I’ve decided to go with my first choice, Ashtanga, since I’ve been practicing it seriously for the past couple of years and really want to deepen my practice in that tradition.

I’ve also been thinking about doing a Vinyasa YTT afterwards, because I’d love to develop my sequencing and learn more about teaching Vinyasa.

The problem is that the school I’m interested in doesn’t offer a 100h YTT or any shorter Vinyasa training only a full 200h.

So I’m wondering: is it common or worthwhile to do another 200h YTT after already completing a 200h, especially if the second one is in a different style?

Has anyone here done two 200h trainings? Did you feel that the second one brought enough new knowledge to be worth it?

I’d love to hear about your experiences! 🙏

Hi everyone,

35F - I’m a survivor of extreme abuse of every kind - family and intimate relationships and friendships. Two and a half years ago I moved cities and restablished my life - or rather are trying. One of the most healing things has been a feeling of extreme safety that has been built over that time with my (now) male best friend. He is extremely empathetic, has a partner, has been radically safe. He has no training in trauma-informed yoga but I would consider him trauma informed in a general sense.

Twist - recently he has reenacted social trauma of epic proportions several times all stacked in a row over the last two months. I’ve been in shock. It’s been accidents, inattention and fumbling around on his part.

He is a fresh ashtanga instructor. I’ve only done hatha and yin - I did hatha ytt years ago but accrued hyper mobility injuries incl two ribs shearing over my clavicle subluxed for 6 weeks before mechanically moved into place by specialist physio. Last week he was guiding me into viparita karani from an ashtanga perspective to see how it felt for me in terms of helping my health as I have serious injuries and mental health stuff after my previous environment and I am hypermobile - much hip subluxations and impingement. Problem is he did unexpected adjustments from behind - moved my arms back and around to have proper alignment and the same with my knees and toes rotating them slightly. I went into shock as these were not expected, he didn’t ask or even prime me for it happening - arguably he could have inferred consent from context though at a stretch.

Him without giving notice opening my heart centres (extreme emotional pain held there and lymphatic build up) and also my hips because slight turning of my knees and feet activated the groin area too….was an extreme moment of unsafe somatic re-experiencing. I have also been touch starved for over 5 years and have extreme somatic dissociation from chronic pain and injuries along with abuse trauma and hypermobility EDS related injuries. My hips and pelvis are my most hypermobile areas and I have pelvic dissociation issues. I am working with my occupational therapist around sensory integration, but that is a long process of building safety in touch by starting with my fingers and toes - she was very alarmed it happened from the perspective of my establishing safety and bodily autonomy. Having that type of touch and it not being expected - by my safest person - has rocked me extraordinarily. I had an intense trauma response (freeze and dissociation then fawn during the week that followed).

It was innocent but stupid on his part. I want to feel safe with him again and I’m crushed. He and his daughters are like my family now and I’ve never had a nice safe family before. Is it possible to feel somatically safe around him again? At present the only idea I have is no contact for 2-3 months to regulate then try co-presence again. I really miss his daughters though and will be so sad to not see them consistently as I’ve been not able to for a couple of months while this has been happening already.

How do I feel safe somatically or otherwise around him again? Is it possible?

Thoughts and suggestions?

Hi there!
I’d love to hear some thoughts from people who have been practising Ashtanga for much longer than I have.
I’m currently in Australia on a working holiday visa. My original plan for coming here was quite simple: work, save some money, and then go to Mysore for a few months to practise with a teacher who was recommended to me by a friend.
But something unexpected happened. I found a teacher here.
I know it might sound a little romantic, but practising with him made me understand for the first time that old saying: “When the student is ready, the teacher appears.”
I’ve only been practising with him for a relatively short time, but my practice has changed noticeably. More importantly, I feel that he actually sees my practice — when to help, when not to help, when to let me struggle and figure something out myself. I feel a level of trust that I haven’t experienced with a teacher before.
So now I’m questioning my original plan.
My first-year visa ends in a few months, but I’m eligible for a second year. I could stay in Australia and continue studying with this teacher for another year. The difficulty is that my time in Australia is limited — I can’t simply decide to live here indefinitely.
At the same time, I’m still quite early in my Ashtanga practice. I’m working on Primary and only recently managed to bind Marichyasana D by myself. Part of me wonders whether it would make more sense to go to Mysore as planned, spend a few months practising intensively and building a stronger foundation, and then return to Australia and spend my remaining year with this teacher when my practice is more mature.
I’m also interested in studying Sanskrit and yoga philosophy while in Mysore, so going there isn’t only about progressing through asana.
But another part of me thinks: if you genuinely meet a teacher you trust and connect with, perhaps the “basic” stage is exactly when having a very good teacher matters most. Maybe thinking that I should become a better practitioner first and then come back is missing the point.
So I’m curious what more experienced practitioners think.
If your time with a teacher you deeply valued was limited, would you stay and learn from them continuously while you had the chance? Or would you spend a few months in Mysore first, develop your practice in a different environment, and then return to that teacher for a longer period?
I’m not looking for advice about which teacher is “better,” and I’d rather not name either teacher. I’m more interested in how people who have practised for many years think about timing, foundations, and the value of a long-term teacher-student relationship.

Thanks in advance 🙏

well, i'm 20yo female. I've been diagnosed with a bulging disc and i'm just so frustrated atp. i was just getting so good at yoga and felt the most powerful and good and now this. i really want to do yoga. that was the only thing that gives me a clear mind due to my depression and anxiety. can i do yoga again? i'm just worried so please answer if u have a experience or something.

​

I've been practicing Ashtanga Yoga for a while now, and to be honest, there are too many things that just rub me the wrong way. I know it's an addictive practice, but when you start scratching the surface, you realize there's a lot of invention, dogma, and things that simply don't make sense.

I want to share my thoughts to see if I'm the only one who sees it this way or if anyone else has come to the same conclusions. Hear me out:

1. Chanting and religion pushed through the back door

I'm agnostic. I believe there might be 'something' out there, but I don't have to blindly worship Hindu deities. In Ashtanga, they make you chant opening and closing mantras in Sanskrit, often without people really knowing what they are saying. It's disguised as 'respecting tradition,' but deep down, you're being forced to participate in a religious worship ritual you never asked for.

2. The 'ancient lineage' that turned out to be modern gymnastics

We are sold the idea that Ashtanga comes from super ancient sacred texts (the famous and mystical *Yoga Korunta* manuscript... which coincidentally no one has ever seen because supposedly 'ants ate it'). The historical reality is different: Ashtanga is a 20th-century invention. It's basically gymnastics influenced by British military training and Indian calisthenics of the time, to which Pattabhi Jois and Krishnamacharya adapted a breathing system. They wrapped it in mystical gift paper and attribute therapeutic benefits to it that are backed by absolutely zero scientific evidence.

3. The hypocrisy of the 'Gurus'

I don't even want to go deep into the sexual and power abuses committed by Pattabhi Jois (which alone should be enough to question the whole lineage), but let's talk about his physique. If Ashtanga is the panacea for health, purification, and longevity, why was Pattabhi Jois never seen practicing it in his adult years? Plus, he suffered from obesity, which directly clashes with what the method supposedly preaches.

And then there is the recent and tragic death of Sharath Jois. It was a massive blow to the community, and even if it was a congenital issue (rest in peace, no one wishes ill on him), the reality is that dying so young shatters that illusion and the false narrative of the 'indestructible and super-healthy yogi' that Ashtanga's own marketing tries to sell us.

4. The romanticization of pain and injuries

This is a topic rarely discussed. The Ashtanga series is exactly the same for everyone, regardless of your anatomy, bone length, or medical history. They force you to fit your body into the posture instead of adapting the posture to your body. Add to that the aggressive 'physical adjustments' from many teachers just so you reach the perfect pose. The result? Destroyed knees, crushed lower backs, and messed-up shoulders. And if it hurts, they tell you it's 'your ego' or 'toxins leaving your body.' Pure madness.

5. Absurd rules, 'Moon Days,' and cult-like vibes

The level of mental rigidity is astonishing. You have to do the sequence in the exact same order. They forbid you from practicing on full or new moon days (the famous *Moon Days*), giving it an astral and mystical explanation when the reality is that, in India, those were simply traditional rest days (like our Sunday).

Add the unconditional devotion to the leader, the elitist hierarchy of having to travel to Mysore to get a piece of paper that 'authorizes' you to teach, and the prohibition of questioning the rules... and honestly, while it's logically not a literal cult, it dangerously resembles one.

In short, I think it's great as a demanding physical workout routine, but all the dogma, cheap mythology, and the aura of moral and spiritual superiority surrounding it is a pure scam.

Has anyone else who practiced Ashtanga or any other traditional yoga felt the same way? Let's discuss.

I am a mum to a young child and it's impossible for me to do it every morning. What would be the second best time to practice?

Struggling with adding Ashtanga to a busy rehab / strength program. (Recovering from a long illness.) I miss yoga but I lack the discipline to do it at home (too many distractions and no space). I do group CrossFit style workouts 4 times a week and have the opportunity to add an hour of open gym time after. I was thinking I could use it to develop a bit of a bastardized primary series so I get my yoga fix :) since I’ve already done a fair amount of strength work already I was thinking I could skip the sun A/B and go straight to standing and then work my way through the seated series (taking vinyasas as needed / my body is able to). What do you guys think? Obviously it isn’t ideal but it is … something. Will the gym think I’m weird? lol

I’d go to a regular yoga class but nothing works with my schedule and coming from a prior Ashtanga heavy practice modern vinyasa flow classes (especially the classes in the town where I live) really really annoy me. (That’s a rant for another day.) plus it sucks to pay $25 for a class when all you do is wish the instructor would stop rambling on and stop giving biomechanically-unsafe cues. (Ok rant over for real now.) thanks in advance!!!

Hi! It's my firt post here, sooo be nice in answer please ^^

I've been practice for six years, but the last year not so much because of work and exaustion. Now I'm doing master degree and can do my own time, but I'm a lot doubt if I continue practice. I think ashtanga takes me to a place a very introspective and "too much contemplative" place. In the academic word I feel I need to be more involved, more ambitious (not in a bad way) and I fear that ashtanga will distance me too much from that. I feel I need to dedicate myself to this life oportunite to fulfill my dream. Does someone few the same way? Is it okay to be functional at this world and doing ashtanga for people doing master degree or pdh? Maybe it's a naive doubt, but if anyone have some too share I'm very gratiful :)

I’m feeling elated cause I have FINALLY figured out all 3 bandhas together. And it’s completely transformed my practice. A little of my backstory.
I’ve been practicing yoga for 25 years off and on. Different types. I was initially really drawn to bikrams.
A teacher I really admire, moved back to my town. And during a challenging part of my life, appeared to guide me through.
I had no clue about Ashtanga. I mainly did Bikrams, hatha, and vinyasa prior.
I started being consistent 18 months ago. And have taken summers off, to be with my kids. So less practice for about 2 months.
I got Mula Bandha relatively easily. It took me longer to get uddiyana. But once I got it, I felt my everyday energy shift.
A week ago a teacher gave me a slight correction, and jalandhara fell into place.
My breathe is transformed.
If anyone has any questions, I can share what has helped me

For those who assist Mysore-style classes, I'm curious about how the transition actually happened for you.

Was it something you approached your teacher about, or were you approached about the possibility?

(Side-note... I'm especially curious because in this lineage there is the tradition of somewhat "gatekeeping" authorization to teach by having to be essentially chosen for authorization, rather than expressing that you want authorization to teach. I know that could be a whole separate discussion, and that many teachers over the past years/decade have willingly dropped the label of "authorization" for their own personal reasons, etc. )

For those who do assist.... how many years of practice did you have before doing so and when did you feel personally "ready" for holding that role/capacity?
What did mentorship/training look like for your trajectory?
And did you approach your teacher about assisting or were you approached?

I really would love to hear accounts of people's individual trajectories on this path, rather than opinions about the whole "authorization"/hierarchical structure, though I do think these aspects are inevitably intertwined due to the history of our lineage :)

Hello everyone!
I wanted to ask people if they like tracking their practice with any of the wearables available on the market. I have been using my Apple Watch, but it’s very bulky and uncomfortable in many asanas (one for all, garbha pindasana).

So I’d been looking into smart rings for a few months, and decided on a oura ring 5. I generally like its sleek and thin design, but unfortunately it doesn’t seem able to track the hear rate automatically during my practice. The oura support said it’s likely due to hand movements and the instability on the sensors.

I’m looking for some guidance and thoughts on this.

Thank you!

I practice mostly on my own and attend a Mysore shala only a couple of times a week. At home I usually begin with pranayama and japa — currently Om Hreem Dum Durgayai Namaha, 108 times — and I’ve recently started using the traditional opening and closing chants around my asana practice 🙏

I find the practice feels more stable when I start this way. Pranayama seems to warm up my lungs, and japa gives me a more centred focus in the asana practice following.

The shala is a different world. The opening chant is quite early, around 6:30, so I usually arrive after it, and the closing chant isn’t done collectively. The room stays very quiet during practice.

I once got a firm correction for doing pranayama while we were sitting and waiting for led primary to start 😄 In retrospect I understood that it was disruptive to the room, although at the time I assumed the time before the formal start was fair game.

So I’m curious how others navigate the difference between home practice and the shala.

When you practice at a shala, do you silently do the opening and closing chants yourself, or simply follow the rhythm of the room? And do you keep pranayama, japa or meditation practice as a separate home practice, or do you bring any of it with you into the Mysore room?

I have learnt primary series of ashtanga from a short term course at Hrishikesh India. Now i do it on my own. Is it necessary to have a community or group while practicing. Any suggestions welcome.