That one sexist comment from Sharath is enough to have put me off going to Mysore 🙁 Surely some of his most advanced and dedicated students are ladies? Surely he would want to create a sense of total inclusion and support in the shala?

Good questions, Helen.

Regarding your first question: When I first went to visit Pattabhi Jois’ shala in Laxmipuram in 2000, he allowed me to watch part of a class. It was the last hour or so of the Mysore practice, and it was mostly beginners practicing. At that time I had never tried Ashtanga and had inherited my Iyengar teachers’ very strong ideas about what asana should and should not look like. Iyengar practitioners and teachers tend to be very rigid in their approach. They tend to write off anything that does not conform to their understanding as being completely useless at best, and detrimental to the practitioner’s well being at worst. So I was watching SKPJ and Sharath teaching Mysore style to beginners with these eyes. My main concern with what I saw was that it seemed very sloppy and the alignment of the postures seemed very unhealthy.

I still place a lot of importance on “good alignment” in practicing the postures and vinyasas now. However, my idea of what alignment is, how it should be taught, and what the essential features of it are have changed significantly. How it is applied and will manifest in each individual will vary quite a bit. We all have completely different physical and psychological makeups. What constitutes “good alignment” will not be the same for each person.

Regarding your second question: I would not say that my experience with Rolf was “not considered good enough” (your words) by Sharath. In fact, I am sure he could see the level of experience I had in my practice, and this prompted him to be a little more strict with me, as he knew I would be capable of filling in whatever little holes in my practice had been overlooked by myself and my previous teachers. In many ways, I consider his treatment of me in my two trips to be a compliment and an acknowledgment of the level of development that I do have in my practice.

If you read my original “You Stop There” article, I explain in a little more detail why I feel it is good that Sharath takes everyone back to the beginning when they start practice with him for the first time. The way the practice has been taught has changed greatly over the past 30 – 40 years. Sharath has developed his own understanding of how the practice works best for people, and the standards with which he teaches reflect that understanding. This is very different from how the teachers who learned from SKPJ 20 or 30 years ago were taught. To be honest, many of the practitioners I see who have been trained by some of the older senior teachers do not have a very strong practice. They’ve been allowed to gloss over the difficult parts, and these weak spots in their practices stand out quite a bit to me. In contrast, most practitioners I know who have been trained by Sharath have a very strong practice, with few holes or weak spots, as he requires people to stop and work on those weak spots, sometimes for years at a time.

The whole process is also a very good exercise in humility, which is a quality that can always be deepened by advanced practitioners.

Another thing to consider is that there are some politics between Sharath and some of the older teachers who no longer got to Mysore. Some of those older teaches are quite publicly outspoken about their disapproval of the way Sharath currently runs the institute and teaches the practice. I am sure there has also been much more said in private that we are not aware of.

Another thing is more general and i would like other yogis to contribute. When an ashtanga practitioner gets certified by P.Jois or Sharath, for me it means that this person becomes a qualified teacher of this tradition and therefore, can be fully trusted to teach others. Why, in that case, after being taught by Rolf, this experience was not considered valuable enough for Sharath and he put you back to First and Second Series? What are your thoughts? I also noticed that when I mentioned my Senior teacher (not certified, but a very dedicated Ashtangist of 40 years (started his Mysore trips with Richard Freeman) currently practicing and
teaching Advanced B, deliberately omitting his name here) I got a sour look on the face of Saraswati, easily translated into a disrespectful something like “Who is that?” …
This attitude doesn’t make good sense to me. And if it does, it is not very good. It is important for me to hear your thoughts. Thank you.

thank you very much for this article. Very helpful, informative, well written and honest.

So thanks for the lovely reminder of my own experience. Mysore will always be a different experience in every trip I believe. All the best with your recovery! maybe see you next year.

Btw from today’s reading Taimni “The Science of Yoga”:
“The moment a Yogi attains to any measure of real power he becomes an object of attack and has to be on his guard all the time. The nature of the temptations will naturally depend upon his particular weaknesses and the stage of his development. While the beginner trying to break into the next superphysical plane may be tempted merely by elementals, those who have attained to high states of knowledge and power become the object of attack by great Devas in charge of the various departments of Nature. The higher the stage the subtler is the temptation and the greater is the degree of Vairagya needed to counteract the temptation.
Nor must it be supposed that this constant tempting by these Powers is the result of malice on their part. Their work should be taken as a beneficent force working in Nature which tests us at every step so that we may be able to remove our weaknesses and may be able to advance steadily towards our goal. The student should try to imagine what would happen if there were no such agencies at work. Those who are treading the path of Self-realization would remain unconscious of their weaknesses, tied down to the lower stages and unable to advance further. The sword of temptation which searches out and strikes our weaknesses certainly causes us temporary suffering and anguish but it also gives us an opportunity for removing those weaknesses and thus frees us for advancing further on the Path.”