The people at the Shala

Jill from Philadelphia has a great practice, all of primary and most of second series. She also has a sweet straight leg jump through. She has been practicing yoga for the past ten years and has studied with Guruji and Sharat here in Mysore twice.


I met Alyson the first week I was here yet she seemed really familiar. She currently lives in L.A but grew up in Jacksonville and even attended High School with my mother. The more we talked we discovered that we have a few mutual friends in Florida, and she even knows of my late Grandmothers love of card playing. She is also one of the lucky few to have studied with Chuck Miller for the past 14 years, who was one the first Americans to help bring Ashtanga to the States.


Kolin and I arrived on the same day have been good friends since. He practices a raw food diet and hasn't had a cooked meal in over three years. I've eaten a few meals with him and I've never seen someone eat so much fruit in one sitting. Another interesting thing is that he lives in Tokyo and speaks great Japanese, it sounds pretty cool with his Australian accent.


Thomas and Tamara are a Canadian couple that serves a great western breakfast. I think this picture properly shows the kind of funky and relaxed vibe they have at their cafe. I've never really enjoyed breakfast until I came to their Shantosha Cafe, now I've been eating a large meal in the morning, a smaller Indian lunch with rice and chippoti, and fruit with tea in the evenings. Thomas also had a great cooking class and I have a few ideas for some baking projects when I return home.


Camino has been visiting and practicing yoga in Mysore since 1988. She was one of the first to bring Ashtanga yoga to Spain and was a student of Guruji's when there where only twelve students in the room, now there are at least sixty-five students from 4:45-9:00am. She and her son are both Authorized by Guruji and Sharat and has great stories about the old shala, before Ashtanga gained in popularity.

Christine is from Ireland but lives in Spain and has a great humor about herself, which makes me laugh easily.


It's hard to think that I left a month ago. The days are both slow and fast, the yoga practice seems to play tricks with time. I've been practicing full primary and doing back bends with Sharat, all while I'm surrounded by so many great yogis. Last Sunday night Sharat lectured on the fact that Asana is the foundation of our practice but is not the last step. With a strong foundation we are able to continue into the future with great support and can more easily stay in a state of constant positivity or as he said, "always thinking of God." As Guruji used to say, "strong body, quiet mind." Sharat simply says, wake up early, do practice and it will transform your world.