A month in Gokulam: rooms, food and getting around
Where travelling students stay, eat and shop near the shala, with rough costs and tips from people who have done it.
Mysore-style or a led class: which suits you?
Self-paced practice with a teacher at your side, or the whole room moving to one count. How the two differ and who each suits.
We teach Ashtanga in two ways at the shala, and new students often ask which to choose. Both teach the same sequence of postures; what changes is who sets the pace.
In the Mysore-style room, from 5.30 to 9 am, each student practises their own sequence at their own breath. The teacher moves around the room, helping one person into a twist, reminding another to breathe. You are given new postures only when you are ready for them, so a beginner may practise for 25 minutes and a long-time student for 90. It suits people who want steady progress and can come at least four mornings a week.
The led class, on Fridays and Sundays, is 90 minutes for the whole primary series. Raghu counts every breath and movement in Sanskrit, and everyone moves together. It is a good test of rhythm, since you cannot linger in your favourite postures or rush the hard ones. It also shows you the full shape of the sequence, even postures you have not yet been given in the Mysore room, which you modify or skip.
Most of our students do both: Mysore-style on weekdays and the led class once a week. If you can only come twice a week, the led class alone is a fine start, but you will learn the sequence more slowly. If you are new to yoga, begin with the four-week beginners’ course; it prepares you for either. A single Mysore or led class is ₹700 if you want to try both before deciding.
