“Who is teaching now in Mysore?” “Is it still worth going?”
Ever since I got here a month ago I’m being asked these questions almost every day. Students, fellow practitioners, people I’ve met on past trips, everyone is curious to know what studying in Mysore is like now.
It’s been over a year since Sharathji’s unexpected passing. A deeply challenging year — to say the least. When I decided to come back here to study, I didn’t know what to expect. So much has been said and written over the past year, so many doubts, speculations, hopes and fears have been expressed. Despite the uncertainty and the discomfort that comes with it, I felt the calling to return as strong as ever.
I still don’t have all the answers. No one does. We’re all navigating unknown waters, slowly coming to terms with a change that we initially resisted.
But for the first time since my teacher’s passing, I feel strong and confident about the future. I have trust in the continuation of his immense legacy.
Here is how this season has been so far…
The teachings live on
Some of Sharathji’s most senior certified teachers are here. They supervise the Mysore classes, offer help and adjustments and teach new asanas, in the same way they have been taught by him. The cooperation between them is extremely smooth, respectful and admirable. It feels as if they have been doing this for a long time. There are also some authorized teachers assisting, as it was the case also when Sharathji was teaching.
His wife is here the whole time. She chants the opening prayer with us every morning at 5am. His children are also here, as much as their studies allow them. It’s beautiful and moving to see how his family is lovingly united in keeping the Shala open for us all.
Both Led classes (Primary and Intermediate) are taught with past recordings of Sharathji. Hearing his voice echo in the Shala, breathing and moving to his familiar counting awakens emotions and memories in a way that I cannot put into words. It feels like he’s still here, watching and caring for us all, like he always did. In those overwhelming emotions, we’re slowly finding healing.
Our community is strong
So many students came this year — not only returning practitioners but also people who are here for the first time. Some of them had met Sharathji on one of his workshops, others not at all. It’s so moving to see people coming to his Shala for the first time even though he’s not physically here anymore.
This reminds me one more time that the essence of Parampara (continuity of teachings, lineage) lives in the practice itself, more than in any particular person. Teachers — even the biggest Gurus — are passing on knowledge, wisdom, the practice as they learned it from their own teachers. And in this careful preservation of past wisdom lies now the power of our community.
Having been on the receiving end of so much knowledge, wisdom, love and care for all these years was a deep blessing. Now it’s our turn to give back. It’s our duty to keep everything we received from him alive, so this beautiful practice can live on for the years and generations to come. It’s a big responsibility and a source of empowerment at the same time.
Mysore is boundless inspiration
“Why come to Mysore now if I can practice with an authorized or certified teacher back home?”
This is a legitimate question one could ask. But the Mysore magic doesn’t exist anywhere else. It cannot be recreated, transported, explained.
You don’t come here just for the asana practice. You don’t come just for the teacher or the Shala. The Mysore traditions live on every corner of every street, every temple, every ritual, every meal served on a banana leaf, every cup of steamy chai, every fruit or flower stall, every prayer, answered or unanswered.
Mysore is a place that teaches you so much just by allowing you to be part of it for a certain time. It’s a place that challenges your deepest certainties and the way you see life. A place of wonder, transformation and growth.
Mysore is a Guru.
Yoga, for most people, starts on the mat. But it’s not meant to end there. It’s meant to expand and pervade your whole life in every possible way. And there’s no better place to experience the whole essence of Ashtanga Yoga than its birthplace — Mysore, India.
Yoga starts now
Every trip here has taught me different lessons. This one has been all about acceptance — of the pain, the loss, and most importantly the change.
We fear change because it forces us to face the unknown. It pulls the rug out from under our feet without asking if we’re ready. And this is what happened when our beloved teacher passed.
He left us so soon. He left us so much.
I believe that places carry the energy of those who lived in them long after they depart. Every time I step in the Shala I feel his presence stronger than ever. He still inspires me to move forward, grow and spread the practice. I still feel supported, seen, held.
His physical absence still hurts. But the trust in the practice, his teachings, our community and the future has gotten stronger than the pain.
Nothing is lost. Yoga starts now.
