Dec 24, 20244 min read

Traveling to Mysore, India

A newbie's reflection on the 'Mecca' of Ashtanga Yoga.

It's my 28th day in Mysore and let me tell you - it's a real love-hate relationship I've got going on here. The first few days were hell, the next week was softer and the remainder has been a little rollercoster. So let's begin at the beginning of the beginnings!

Mysore - the birthplace of Ashtanga Yoga. It is where Ashtanga was first formalised and popularised by the late Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois. Today it is the hub for thousands of international Yoga students who seek to learn Yoga through the guru-student lineage.

And it's for this exact same reason that I decided to visit too - to learn, 'at the source', from my teacher's teacher: R. Sharat Jois. Although I did not get a chance to study with him in person, every aspect of my trip is certainly influenced by his life's work and everything he has done for the Ashtanga community.

Much of the content and local livelihood is organised around the Yogis who visit. The central place to stay, eat and be is Gokulam. The restaurants are eh-verywhere, the cafés are modern and Ashtanga Yoga shalas are plenty. In a sense, the content is much more diverse and accesible than you might initially imagine. It's easy (and safe) to walk around and just as easy to grab a rickshaw or an Uber. Mysore is certainly a convenient place to be for days, weeks or even months, with or without practicing Yoga.

It is a strikingly green city, filled with tall green trees that flow up and down the sides of the streets, with many, many cows, dogs and goats strutting around like they own the place (which they pretty much do). Throughout one day, or even throughout one walk, experiences can vary from one extreme to the next. My senses and my mood have been pleasantly and painfully surprised more than I can count, but with each experience comes its own lesson; what a subtle way to learn.

Let me paint you a picture - You're enjoying your morning stroll, the sky is blue, the temperature is purrfect, yet.. there's garbage around every corner of every street, scattered and devoured by the cows and the dogs. Another little glimpse - you rent a beautiful little studio on the rooftop, great views, with a huge glass window that gives oh-so much daily light; but you can't relax quite yet - first you need to clean the entire place and bring in pretty much all new utilities, because God only knows when anything was last cleaned. And a final little scene - you're sitting at a cute cafe, in a quiet street. You already know the place serves great coffee and a hearty breakfast and as you sit and enjoy the palm trees and the December sun, it starts to reek... of poop. Why? You don't know. How? You cannot know. All you know is that it is what it is and you accept that there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. Did you have a bad experience? Kind of. But did you also have a good one? Yes, yes you did. The beauty and paradox of mother India.

Among the other cities in India, I have only travelled to Goa, so my perspective on the topic is certainly not broad. Even so, my gut feeling tells me Mysore is one of the more alluring places in India. I would personally recommend it for any first time traveller to India as a great starting point to adjust to the differences. I would certainly recommend it to anyone practicing Yoga who wishes to feel the energy and the result of the deep-rooted, longstanding Yoga practice of Mysore, India.