Mysore Practice

Learning and developing your personal practice.

With Robert Webber

Monday - Friday 6:00am - 8:00am

The nice thing about Mysore Practice is that you have the feeling of community that comes with a group practice but also receive the personal instruction that helps you to make steady progress.

How the teacher works with you.

Mysore Practice is the opportunity to learn and develop a personal yoga practice, under the guidance of a teacher who assists and supports you every step of the way.
The practice you learn is based upon different things depending on the needs and experience of each student.
There is a solid therapeutic focus, with the teacher paying attention to your anatomy and bio-mechanics and introducing you to the teachings of yoga philosophy.
Rather than a led class, where the teacher tells you what to do and you follow, Mysore Practice is an opportunity for the teacher and student to work together, building a strong relationship of trust and understanding.
This is the ideal way to learn and relate to your teacher.

The focus of attention in Mysore Practice

The concern in the Mysore Practice is on how you can use and work with yoga postures to bring your body into balance and enhance your general health.
Your teacher will help you to discover any patterns of musculosketal imbalance in your body, which might include such things as a dropped hip, tightness on one side of your lower back, a restricted shoulder, an asymmetry in your abdominal strength, or a mild scoliosis in your spine.
Each posture serves as a diagnostic tool; it lets you see patterns of imbalance in your body.
Your teacher will show you how to bring attention to your body in such a way that you can actually feel them for yourself.
He will then show you how to approach the practice of each posture so that you gradually bring your muscles and joints back into balance.
It is in this process of discovering your body and healing yourself that your practice becomes a personal practice.

The big benefit of Mysore Practice

Students find this experience of discovering and correcting their body's imbalances a fascinating and fun way to practice.
They make continual progress in addressing their body's needs, go further into challenging postures, and learn new things all the time.
It engages their mind, their body, and their senses all together.

As one student commented:

"I had to feel it before I could see it - imagine that.

Now I can FEEL my right hip turned to the left and actually rotate it to the right - it’s too much fun.
And... I can see the difference. ....But feeling it is the best..... Deeply delightful."

Thank you.
M.

When you are new, the focus is on learning gradually.

New students start slowly, learning one-on-one, just a few postures at a time.
We usually start with sun salutations and standing postures but sometimes we start with other postures if an injury, health condition, or a significant musculoskeletal imbalance requires it.
The practice is tailored to the student and we work at your pace: what your body is able to do and the pace that you learn at.
Each practice is a foundation for the next, so that you learn gradually and gain confidence in yourself and what you know.
Once we have your posture sequence established, once you can remember it easily, then the teacher works with you during every practice, checking on how you are progressing, suggesting refinements in what you are doing and offering you new things to try.
You can also ask questions at any time, as you notice things in the postures and want to find out about them.

Where the name Mysore Practice comes from.

While it would seem easier and more obvious to use the name Personal Practice for this class instead of Mysore Practice, the name has persisted in the tradition of yoga because the city of Mysore in India was the place where this style of one-on-one teaching first started.
It is likely that this approach to teaching was popular all over India and that Mysore was simply a very popular centre for yoga.
It was not until British rule in India in the 19th Century that the group yoga classes that we are used to taking here in the West first appeared.
As yoga was brought with the British education system it was made to conform to the standard mode of instruction that was used, which was group instruction in classrooms; just as we experience today when we go to school, college, or university.
It's too bad because learning one-on-one is an ideal way to learn; the teaching approach is designed for you based upon the experience of a teacher who has got to know you well.
Students who take the Mysore Practice regularly undoubtably make progress in yoga far quicker that students who just attend led group classes.

Mysore Passes

You can purchase a Mysore pass at the studio that covers the 5 classes from Monday - Friday and also the Sunday 3:00-4:30pm Yoga with Robert Level 1 class.
There are weekly, monthly, and annual passes, and the annual passes have an option to pay by monthly installments.
It greatly reduces the cost of your yoga practice when you get a pass, especially an annual pass.
However, you can also drop in for a single class or use your punchcard if you wish to try out the Mysore Practice.

Find out about passes here

If you are coming to Mysore Practice for the first time, it would be helpful if you could let us know the day before.
Thank you.

Explaining the 2 hour class

In Mysore Practice, there is flexibility around when you come to practice and how long you practice for.
As it is one-on-one teaching, there is no need for everyone to arrive at the same time or stay for the same length of time.
You might arrive at 6:00am and another student arrives at 6:45am; while another comes in at 7:15am, for example.
The 2 hour duration of the class is simply to give you some choice and help you fit your practice to your work or school schedule.
Most students practice for 30, 60, or 90 minutes, depending on their level of experience and the time they have available on a particular day.