Mysore Yoga Traditions
200hr Traditional Ashtanga Immersion
What the immersion is
Twenty-eight days inside the tradition that produced the practice
Not a survey of postures, but a month of practice, study, and life inside the scholarly community in Mysore that the modern Ashtanga lineage emerged from. What you do every day, who you sit with, where you eat, and what you study are the program.
Daily practice
Mysore-style with hands-on adjustments
Six days a week of led and self-guided Ashtanga practice with adjustments, plus mantra chanting, prāṇāyāma, mudrā, and bandha. Methodology, applied anatomy, postural assessment, and Thai bodywork sit alongside the practice.
Philosophy with the scholars
The Yoga Sūtras, Bhagavad Gītā, and Sankhya Kārikā, taught in person
Lectures delivered by senior Sanskrit scholars from the Mysore community, followed by open group discussion. Not textbook study, but the texts explained by people who have lived inside them.
Two settings
Three weeks in Gokulam, one in Melkote
The first three weeks unfold in Gokulam, Mysore, including the Mysore Yoga Conference. The final week moves to Melkote, a temple village in the hills above Mysore, for practice at the thousand-year-old Kalyani Temple.
Online curriculum from day one
The full 200hr online program, yours when you register
Āsana methodology, teaching practice, and the philosophy texts, available the moment you register so the live month in India can go further. The online materials remain accessible after the immersion.
If I'm ever going to find out what's true and real about Mysore and where this came from, it's going to be through this conference.
Christian Goldberg · Missoula, Montana
For forty years I have been trying to understand where this practice came from and what it is truly pointing toward. Yoga is not a technique. It is a darśana, a worldview, and to enter it honestly requires study, time, and the guidance of those who carry the tradition in their bones.
The education I have received from the Sanskrit community in Mysore has been the most formative of my life. What is taught here comes through the paramparā that Śrī Kṛṣṇamācārya himself came from, sheltered by the Wadiyar court that supported these scholars for generations, and carried today by teachers like Śrī B.N.S. Iyengar and Dr. M.A. Alwar, who have given me, with extraordinary patience, what no book could.
This is not a 200hr built around a sequence. It is a month inside the tradition that produced the sequence, with the scholars who can explain the texts, the temples where the chants still rise at dawn, and the elders who carry what cannot be written down.
If the practice is asking you for something deeper, come.
Andrew
How it works
The month in three movements
Opening week in Gokulam, the Mysore Yoga Conference, then a closing week in the temple village of Melkote.
Opening Week
The program begins at 4pm at the Śrī Krishna Temple in Gokulam, with an opening that includes mantra chanting and a temple tour. Mornings settle into group practice and study. Afternoons rotate through Mantra Chanting, Āsana Adjustments, Teaching Methodology, Applied Anatomy, Postural Assessment, Mudrā, Bandha, Prāṇāyāma, and Thai Bodywork. Śrī B.N.S. Iyengar, the oldest living teacher of Ashtanga Yoga and now in his hundredth year, joins us to teach his system of Ashtanga Vinyāsa Yoga, Mudrā, and Prāṇāyāma.
Mysore Yoga Conference
The conference is the heart of the immersion. Mornings begin with Mysore practice (Mudrā, Prāṇāyāma, Vinyāsa refinement, Mantra Chanting, and Ayurveda), followed by brunch and an afternoon of lectures delivered by senior Sanskrit scholars from Mysore. Lectures run 60 to 90 minutes and are followed by open group discussion, international, multicultural, and always alive. Visits to the Maharaja's Sanskrit College and Jaganmohan Palace bring the historical roots of Ashtanga Yoga into direct contact with the present.
Three days of rest
A pause between the intensity of the conference and the quiet of Melkote, time to rest, integrate, and prepare for the final phase.
Melkote Immersion
We leave the relative comfort of Gokulam and move to Melkote, a temple village in the hills above Mysore. Days begin before dawn, climbing the temple hill to the Yoga Narasimha Temple for sunrise mantra chanting. Practice then moves to the thousand-year-old Kalyani Temple (built in the time of Rāmānuja) for āsana, mudrā, and prāṇāyāma. Midday meals are taken at temple ponds and beside waterfalls. Afternoons are spent with Dr. M.A. Alwar, exploring the historical sites of Melkote that most visitors never find. The phase closes with a verbal examination in Indian philosophy with Dr. Alwar.
Who this is for
The right student
A real Ashtanga practice and an open intellect are the prerequisites. Beyond that, the program meets people from many directions.
The Scholars
The senior teachers of the Mysore lineage
You will study with people who have lived inside this tradition for generations. There is real time to sit with them, ask your questions, and hear their answers.
Śrī B.N.S. Iyengar
Direct student of Śrī Kṛṣṇamācārya · The oldest living teacher of Ashtanga Yoga · In his hundredth year
Dr. T.R.S. Sharma
Direct student of Śrī Kṛṣṇamācārya · Age 97
Dr. M.A. Alwar
Senior Professor, Maharaja's Sanskrit College · Scholar of Viśiṣṭādvaita philosophy
Dr. M.A. Jayashree
Mantra chanting teacher and philosopher · Has taught thousands of foreign students
Dr. H.V. Nagaraj Rao
Senior Sanskrit scholar, Mysore
Dr. Satyanarayana
Principal, Maharaja's Sanskrit College
Śrī M.G. Narasimha
Historian · His family has served the Wadiyar kings for five generations
The philosophy course covers the Sankhya Kārikā, Patañjali's Yoga Sūtras, and the Bhagavad Gītā, taught in person by scholars from Mysore's Sanskrit community. The training is recognized by both Yoga Alliance and the Saṃskṛti Foundation in Mysore.
The Film
Mysore Yoga Traditions, the documentary
The film documents the senior scholars and teachers of the Mysore yoga community, the temples, the families who have carried the lineage for generations, and the city itself. It is the visual companion to what you will live during the immersion.
If you have not yet seen it, watch it before you apply. The 200hr immersion is the practice and study program that grew out of the film.
Certification
RYT 200 with two recognitions
Yoga Alliance · RYS 200
On completion of all three phases and the final examination, you receive a 200hr Registered Yoga School certificate recognized by Yoga Alliance, eligible for RYT 200 status.
Saṃskṛti Foundation, Mysore
Co-certification through the Saṃskṛti Foundation in Mysore connects the certificate to the Sanskrit and philosophical community that hosts the program.
Your teacher
Andrew Eppler
Andrew has been practicing and teaching Ashtanga Yoga for over forty years. He is the director of Ashtanga Yoga Studio, the creator of the Mysore Yoga Traditions film, and the founder of the Mysore Yoga Conference. He has spent years collaborating with Sanskrit scholars in Mysore to understand the deeper roots of the practice he loves. His teaching is grounded in traditional sequences while remaining genuinely open to the people in the room, wherever they are in their practice and their lives. This immersion reflects everything he has learned about what it means to bring students into real contact with this tradition.
Voices from past students
Testimonials
Brno, Czech Republic
Montclair, New Jersey
FAQ
Questions before you apply
Do I need an established Ashtanga practice?
Yes. The program assumes a working knowledge of the Primary Series and a regular daily practice. If you are unsure whether your practice is ready, write to Andrew before you apply.
What is included in the tuition?
28 days of accommodation and meals in both Gokulam and Melkote, the full Mysore Yoga Conference, the Melkote week, all daily practice and philosophy instruction, and the 200hr online curriculum from the moment you register. Airfare to India, visa, and ground transport are not included.
What does shared versus private accommodation mean?
In Gokulam, your room comes with a kitchen, washing machine, hot water, clean linens, and wifi. Shared means a room with one other student of the same sex. Private means a room to yourself. In Melkote, the accommodation is simpler, reflecting the more traditional character of that week.
What about food?
In Gokulam, meals are taken together at Anokhi Gardens, drawing on both Indian and western influences. In Melkote, meals are prasādam, food offered to the divine, prepared by the priests of the Cheluva Narayana temple. The family who cooks for us has been doing so for over a thousand years, ever since they arrived in Melkote with Rāmānuja. All meals are vegetarian, with vegan and gluten-free options available.
How do I get to Mysore?
Most students fly into Bengaluru International Airport (BLR) and take a taxi directly to Mysore (about three hours). We arrange reliable drivers so you are met at the airport. We help with visa, flights, and ground transport at every step.
Anything else I should know?
Read the full India travel FAQ for safety, packing, phone and wifi, plugs, medications, and what to expect day to day. India travel FAQ →
Apply
Reserve your place
A $300 deposit reserves your place. Payment plans are available for the remaining balance. Tuition includes 28 days of accommodation and meals, the Mysore Yoga Conference, the Melkote week, and full access to the 200hr online curriculum.
Before you apply
Mysore Yoga Traditions · 2027 Events
Portraits of Andrew by Santiago Pinto · Photographs by Andrew Eppler