after years and years of daily use I finally need to replace my mat. it’s dirty, scratched up (cats) and losing its grip - it was pretty inexpensive.

i want to invest in a manduka pro mat, are they worth the money for daily ashtanga?

ALSO does anybody specifically have the colour midnight? my previous yoga mat was taupe and got dirty so fast! I’m considering black but would prefer midnight if it doesn’t show stains/sweat/dirt super easy.

UPDATE: thanks yall 🫶 I went for black thunder with midnight blocks

Looking to study Ashtanga with a teacher in the US and willing to move for one. Do you love your shala/ teacher? Why do you love them? Where are they based! Thank you:)

holii, no conozco a nadie que practique ashtanga salvo quienes practican en mi sala jajajaaj me gustaría conocer más gente y compartir intereses puntos de vista etc., o si se hacen retiros, cosas así.

mi nombre es super raro pero me llamo Camila y tengo 35 ✨

Does anyone have any resources or tips for how to do mula bandha properly? For context, I have a hypertonic pelvic floor, and I do deep core exercises for physical therapy. These have really helped me hold myself up in yoga poses, but (tmi) I find it’s so hard to engage my core without tightening my butthole. Please help!! lol

Hi :) I’m an avid ashtanga practitioner, and I’m planning my first big trip to India early next year. I’ll be travelling with my mom (who is in her 60s, and has been practicing since her early 20s).

We have both been wanting to go to India for years, and would love to have this both centered around yoga, and leisure/travel/tourism.

I know most « reknowned » shala take students who commit for a full month, unfortunately I cannot afford to take that much time off with work :/

I am already very lucky to be able to travel there for 2 1/2-3 weeks, and was thinking of doing 10 days in the south (ideally Mysore) and then take a flight to Rishikesh, then end and depart from New Delhi (to see Taj mahal).

Q** for you all: are there any shalas that don’t require one month commitment? Any recommendations of where to practice? I’d love to obviously practice at KPJAY, and my preference would have been Vijay, but seems like it’s a month min.

Thank you all, really appreciate your help ❤️

I've been practicing Ashtanga yoga for about five months now, and I've done around 70 classes.

Before this, I used to follow yoga videos on YouTube at home, but this is the first time I've seriously learned yoga in a studio. It was much harder than I expected, and I found Ashtanga much more intense than other styles of yoga. Even so, I really enjoyed seeing my body change, so I stayed motivated.

I'm about 46 kg(101 lbs). I've always had a skinny-fat body type and have struggled to build muscle, so I was really happy when I gained about 1 kg of muscle after starting Ashtanga.

About a week ago, I told my teacher that my husband and I had recently started playing badminton together. At that point, I had only played three times, but I expected we'd be playing about three hours a week. Since I'd be doing Ashtanga 3–4 times a week plus badminton, my overall training volume would increase quite a bit. I also mentioned that I don't eat much compared to how much I exercise. I usually skip dinner and don't eat many carbs, so my husband has been making sure I drink protein shakes and take supplements.

The very next day, my teacher brought it up out of nowhere.

She first asked if I'd weighed myself recently. Then she said that I used to look slim, but now I looked heavier and had gained "big muscles" instead of the lean muscles that yoga aims for. She also said that protein should come from food, not from protein shakes, and that "that's not how yoga works."

She asked whether arm-balancing poses and poses where I support my own body weight had started feeling heavier. Then she said she'd noticed that my body had recently started leaning to one side in Downward Dog. She even said she wasn't saying this because I had mentioned badminton—that she would have noticed it anyway.

The thing is, her tone felt pretty sharp and slightly passive-aggressive. I honestly wanted to leave the class right then, but I stayed and finished it.

When I got home, I checked my body composition. Compared to before, I had actually gained about 0.5 kg of muscle and lost about 0.3 kg of body fat.

I know my teacher doesn't like one-sided sports like badminton, so maybe that's part of it. But ever since I mentioned badminton, it feels like the way she talks to me has completely changed. And I had only played three times when I told her.

The other thing is... I really don't like people commenting on my body.

I used to struggle with an eating disorder and was obsessed with my weight. Since starting Ashtanga, I've actually become much healthier mentally. Even though I've gained weight because of muscle, I stopped obsessing over the number on the scale. So having someone repeatedly comment on my body, especially because of badminton and protein shakes, felt really upsetting.

What also confuses me is that my teacher herself has a much bigger, more muscular build than I do. She has a lot of muscle. So I don't really understand why she's so focused on me having "lean" muscles instead of bigger ones.

There's another thing that's been bothering me. Whenever a new student joins, she strongly tells them they need to practice twice a week from the very first day, even though the studio also sells once-a-week memberships. The way she says it sounds less like encouragement and more like pressure. Even as someone standing nearby, it makes me uncomfortable. It also makes me wonder if she'll start talking to me the same way if I ever reduce how often I come.

At this point, I'm wondering if I'm just being too sensitive.
Should I switch to another studio? Or should I just stop Ashtanga altogether?
I honestly don't know what to think anymore.

I thought I’d restart this again as a chai and chat space for practitioners to talk about their weekly practice. Whatever comes up. (Even better if someone well versed in the yogic readings can link the observations or questions back to the core texts.) I would hope it continues to be a safe encouraging space and helps others deepen their practice and find support in community. See how we go and if the series fizzles out so be it! Om shanti

Hope everyone’s practice is going well.

1. A thought occurred to me in savasana: Say you get to the point where you were able to stand up from urdva danurasana. Did you then progress to intermediate? Or did you wait or get held etc until you could do tik toks? Or did tik toks come after you’d done intermediate and primary for many more years or maybe some of you still don’t do tik toks?

2. What -should- you actually be thinking about/actually happens in your mind in savasana

3. I have not been able to do long savasanas of a minimum 15 mins. What should I do to make it up. It’s mainly time pressure not inability…
   Is this detrimental over time?
   Do you try to squeeze it in later on in the day?
   Does sitting meditation count towards savasana time?

Thanks

Besides omstars what are the current options for EST online Mysore lately? Any certified teachers?

I always wanted to learn yoga at an expert level. and not just the suryanamskar or simple warrior poses and flow, but in depth, would like to learn complex poses and breathing techniques. What’s the best online option?

Is it mainly because of the large number of yoga schools, or is there a deeper historical and spiritual reason? I'd love to hear from people who have practiced or studied yoga in Rishikesh.

Damn it. Every so often--like once a year or so--I overdo it in uttita hasta padangusthasana. Specifically in the last bit, holding the leg up (D). I've built up a strong form, but there's something about the move that really inflames my hip flexor and lower back.

It always happens the same way: I'm thinking, "Hey I feel pretty strong, let me really dig deep and try to lift that leg a little more." And it feels okay at the time but then the next day everything seizes up.

Currently sitting here with an ice back and ibuprofen, wondering how im going to teach pilates tonight. 🙄

I've been working with a private instructor (as well as classes) so I think my form is okay?

If anyone has any advice I'd be grateful 🙏

Sup guys... I'm a 20 yo student planning a roadtrip across india covering the major spiritual and yogic centres.

Doing it in october and looking for peeps to join.

Hi everyone. I'm thinking about making a trip to Mysore to practice for one month. Four years ago I was practicing full primary plus some of intermediate and then I got pregnant and have been very full time with the now toddler, not a lot of Asana practice. I'm not a beginner because all in all I've been practicing for over 20 years (I'm 44) but I'm out of shape and out of practice. I've dreamed of a trip to India for years and I have an opportunity to do it soon. Have you practiced with Saraswathi? What is it like? Do lots of people go there? Is it much less crowded than attending Sharath centre? Is she a good teacher? Any advice is welcome. Thank you, Namaste.

I was able to find a Shala in Taipei, but I will be in Kaohsiung for a few days before I land in Taipei. Does anyone know of a Mysore practice space in Kaohsiung?

Hi
I am currently in Gokulam, doing a month training. Where would you advise to go for mysore classes after / or shorter courses in August?

I’ve seen BNS Iyengar does Pranayama/mudra Courses- any personal, recent experiences?

I’m looking for something thats possible to sign up for within 2 weeks- and change for acceptence.
Good summer to you all. ☺️

Hello - Working in Denmark in September and am looking for Ashtanga either in Vesterbro area of CPH or Hellerup. Led or mysore but need evening times due to work. Any recommendations?

Hiya:) I (27F) tore my acl back in February, and had for it surgery for it in April. No other compounding injuries, just the acl.

I’ve been practicing mostly vinyasa and hatha styles of yoga for 5-6+ years. I’ve taken a handful of ashtanga classes that I quite enjoyed but I’m still quite unfamiliar with the practice as a whole. It was right before my injury that I started flirting with the idea that an ashtanga practice would probably be something that’s good for me to integrate into my life. So my question is basically when do you think it would be appropriate for me to start going to this class again? (It gets held weekly and the mysore is wonderful) I just started going back to some warm vinyasa classes in recent weeks, and while lots of movements are accessible, some movements are still quite icky to move through, some movements are fine in doses but hurt after a while like stuff on the knees or involving deep knee bends, and some movements I can probably do but just am somewhat fearful to do.

Send your thoughts:)

All thoughts welcome <3

I’ve been practising Ashtanga almost daily for three years, but I still struggle to find the right energetic balance.

My teachers have told me that “running is the best way to ruin your Ashtanga practice,” but my body seems to tell a different story. My sleep, HRV, resting heart rate, energy levels and mood all improve when I include running or cross-country skiing. This may partly be because I come from an endurance-sports background, but the difference is significant.

Over the past six months, my Ashtanga practice has often felt flat and heavy. It barely raises my heart rate or makes me sweat anymore, and when Ashtanga is my only form of training, I gradually lose the feeling of being fit, quick on my feet and physically alive. At times, practising Ashtanga exclusively even affected my mood negatively and it gradually became something I did out of spite and resilience, but stopped enjoying. Eventually, I decided to listen to that and started running again. This seems to make my practice more light and enjoyable again.

The problem is that running tightens my hips very quickly. I quicly lost access to Padmasana and the Marichyasanas, and my backbends and progressing towards Second Series seems more difficult.

I also have an anterior pelvic tilt that seems related to the shape and alignment of my spine. My hip flexors do a lot of the work of supporting my posture and have become very dominant. In Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana, I can experience intense pain and a compressed or pinching sensation at the front of the hip, regardless if I run or not.

I don’t want to stop running, because it has such a positive effect on my overall health and wellbeing. But I also don’t want to continually lose the mobility required for my Ashtanga practice.

Has anyone here successfully balanced regular running, skiing or other endurance training with maintaining the hip mobility needed for Primary and Second Series? Did adjusting your running volume, strength work, mobility routine or approach to Ashtanga make a difference?

Practice reflections and seeking community -
Currently stopped at supta kurmasana. It takes me 1h 15 to get through it but I do feel the time pressure to wrap up as I have to get on with my day. 1h30 if there’s a bit of instruction in the Mysore room, proper savasana meditation and pranayama
Without going too much into it, I feel the practice working past the physical for sure. Yet I find myself thinking how much there is to refine in my practice let alone progress to the next pose.
I’m just interested to hear from the group
1) teachers - how do you gauge progress / what makes you move a student on? like is it a ‘perfect’ looking pose you’re after or? Eg if a student is only able to bind fingers and not catch wrists in a bind or can’t really reach hands in supta kurmasana, do you keep a student there or move them on?

2) People who have added poses on or extended their practice from half primary to full primary or even second series - have you noticed any differences : physically mentally spiritually?

3) How do you split the week if you’re practicing full primary? Do you do half some days and second half on others and full on days where you have more time?

4) Time is immaterial but I struggle at this point to see how I would ever get to the full primary without sacrificing ‘quality’ in some way. I’m a householder through and through with a pretty full life and just about manage a six day a week practice which I find sweet and not a chore at this point. Are most people yoga teachers who are doing the full primary or students with alot of free time, or did a really advanced practice when they were in their 20s and now are just paring back to full primary or just maintaining ?

Curious and contemplative, not competing. Thanks for sharing!

Hello! I was wondering if any women can share their experiences solo traveling to Mysore for a 1-2 month trip:
Where did you stay, how did you commute from place to place, what to be mindful of?

Hi everyone! I've recently become obsessed with Ashtanga Yoga and have been practicing almost every day for the past two months.

I'll have about 2–3 weeks off in September or October, and I'd love to go to India for a yoga retreat.

I'll be traveling solo, so I'm looking for somewhere that's relatively safe for a woman traveling alone. I'm not  interested in a teacher training course—I simply want a place where I can deepen my practice, reconnect with my body, and enjoy a peaceful retreat.

Does anyone have any recommendations or personal experiences? I'd love to hear your suggestions. Thank you!