Ramesh Shetty's Mysore Ashtanga Yoga Shala — Mysuru, India

Ashtanga and Hatha yoga teacher training in Gokulam, Mysuru, since 2012

The shala's roots go back to 2005, when Sir Panduranga Patanjali Yoga Shikshana Kendra was founded under the guidance of the late Sri Balaji Rao Thombre. Its early work was public-facing: free Yogasana classes, awareness programs, and Yogasana competitions at inter-school, state, national and international levels. The institution also honoured teachers including Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, Sharath Jois and B.N.S. Iyengar. In 2012 a new chapter began with the establishment of the Mysore Ashtanga Yoga Shala under Dr. Ramesh Shetty. The aim was to train capable teachers who could carry the practice around the world. Shetty was born in 1964 and raised in Mysore. He holds a Bachelor of Arts and a diploma in Yoga & Nature Cure from Karnataka University, and he practised under Sri BNS Iyengar and Sri Balaji Rao Thombre. He has taught for over four decades, in Hatha and Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga, with Asana Alignment at the centre of his teaching. He received an Honorary Doctorate from the Indian Virtual Academy for Peace and Education in 2019 and the Yoga Kaustubha Award in 2023, and he is President of the Mysore Yoga Association. The shala is a Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga School and runs intensive residential courses of 200, 300 and 500 hours, plus 100-hour courses in Ashtanga Vinyasa and meditation. The syllabus covers Ashtanga Vinyasa practice, asana alignment, pranayama, yoga theory, anatomy and the Yoga Sutra. Teacher trainings begin on the 3rd of each month, with arrivals on the 2nd. Beginners can join the 100- and 200-hour courses, the 300-hour requires a completed 200-hour, and the 500-hour is open directly. Smaller doors are open too. Visitors may drop in to practise if they message ahead, and a one-week Yoga Vacation runs Sunday to Sunday between the 3rd and 27th of the month. The shala is in Gokulam, 3rd Stage, in the Mysore neighbourhood known as a yoga hub.

Traditions: Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Patanjali's Eight Limbs, Pranayama, Meditation, Asana Alignment

Programs: 200-Hour Ashtanga & Hatha Yoga Teacher Training, 300-Hour Ashtanga & Hatha Yoga Teacher Training, 500-Hour Ashtanga & Hatha Yoga Teacher Training, 100-Hour Ashtanga Vinyasa TTC, 100-Hour Meditation TTC, 26-Day Beginner Yoga TTC, 1-Week Yoga Teacher Training (50 Hours), 1-Week Yoga Vacation