Indian yoga teacher Sri K. Pattabhi Jois.

Walk into a class of Mysore-style Ashtanga yoga and, at first glance, you’ll probably be shocked at the chaos and mayhem surrounding you. This is not people’s general idea of a calm, coordinated yoga lesson, with all students following a flowing sequence of gentle poses led centre-stage by the teacher.

Instead, we have one student struggling to balance on her arms, another trying a headstand while yet another moves into a standing warrior’s pose – each person seems focused on their own particular mission, not paying any attention to the rest of the class.

You will also notice how quiet it is, the only sound being the intake and exhale of the students’ breath as opposed to the teacher’s voice directing the whole group to the next pose.

If you look closely, you will notice a pattern emerging – each student is following a certain sequence of poses, moving one-by-one in sequential order.

The teacher moves from student to student, quietly whispering and guiding the pose of each individual student, making small adjustments to slowly improve their practice.

Gradually, the class starts looking less chaotic and more organised – more like an orchestra of different instruments playing together, all contributing to a symphony of movement.

Sveta Abela checks on a student during a Mysore class.

So what exactly is going on and why is this form of yoga so popular? Let’s start with the basics. First of all there is Ashtanga yoga, (also known as Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga) which is a dynamic, structured and intelligent approach to the practice of yoga.

It was founded and popularised by the Indian yoga teacher Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. This method of yoga involves synchronising the breath with a progressive series of postures, a process producing intense internal heat and a profuse, purifying sweat that detoxifies muscles and organs.

The result is improved circulation, a light, lean and strong body and a calm mind. Ashtanga yoga forms the basis for Power yoga.

Pattabhi Jois focused completely on challenging physical movements and breathing rather than philosophy and meditation. His philosophy was very simple: complete the movements and the rest will follow naturally. Ashtanga yoga can be taught either as a led class or in a Mysore-style (Mysore is the city in the south of India where Pattabhi Jois taught Ashtanga yoga since the 1930s).

Traditionally, in the West, people are used to joining led yoga classes where everyone at the session follows a sequence of postures. Since every person’s body, flexibility, strength and experience is different, some postures may not be appropriate for certain students, increasing the risk of injury should the student not listen to their body correctly.

Every person’s body, flexibility, strength and experience is different

With a Mysore-style format, each student is given an individual practice according to their strength, stamina, flexibility and concentration. Once they master their practice, then additional postures are given building up the practice gradually step-by-step.

The structure of the class depends on the teacher being able to keep track of what every student is doing with a quick glance, making quick adjustments and helping students when they have difficulty with a particular posture.

A normal practice will consist of four main parts: an opening sequence (sun salutations and standing poses), one of the six main series (primary, intermediate or advanced A, B, C or D), finishing sequence and last the Shavasana, or relaxation, sequence.

Newcomers would start by learning the primary series after mastering the sun salutations and standing sequences. This primary series is the most important as it forms the basis of the entire system.

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