Mysore Yoga Traditions
200hr Traditional Ashtanga Immersion
What the immersion is
What twenty-eight days in Mysore actually looks like
Mornings on the mat six days a week. Afternoons with Sanskrit scholars who have spent their lives inside these texts. A closing week in a temple village above the city, practicing on stone laid a thousand years ago.
Daily practice
Mysore-style with hands-on adjustments
Six days a week of led and self-guided Ashtanga practice with adjustments, plus mantra chanting, breath work (prāṇāyāma), and the gestures and locks that direct it (mudrā and bandha). Methodology, applied anatomy, postural assessment, and Thai bodywork sit alongside the practice.
Philosophy with the scholars
The Yoga Sutras, Bhagavad Gita, and Sankhya Karika, taught in person
Dr. M. A. Alwar on the Bhagavad Gītā. Dr. H. V. Nagaraj Rao on the Yoga Sūtras. Lectures run sixty to ninety minutes, and the discussion afterward lasts as long as the questions do.
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. Access runs for one year.
The Film
Mysore Yoga Traditions, the documentary
Three minutes of what the month actually looks and sounds like.
The full documentary is there whenever you would like to see it. The 200hr immersion is the practice and study program that grew out of the film.
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
Come meet the Sanskrit community and learn what yoga means in their eyes.
To understand a tradition and a culture you have to sit with the elders of that community and experience their world view and their life lessons. The Sanskrit word paramparā literally means "that which is passed from one generation to the next." Simply learning postures in a particular order cannot give you this. It needs time and interaction and exposure.
I first visited Mysore in 1990 and I have been returning to study ever since. I have made a study of the yoga culture there and the background of Ashtanga Yoga, and I made my first documentary about it, Mysore Yoga Traditions. What you get in this program is the benefit of those years and the relationships I have formed along the way.
This training is a curated experience taking you right into the heart of the culture and the tradition, with some of the most profound scholars. The entire training is done in a state of yoga. I will share my experience over the last forty years, giving āsana techniques, prāṇāyāma, mudrā, and a global collection of the ideas that have worked best for me and my students. All the while you will be very well taken care of, with good accommodation, food, and transportation.
This is the head start I wish I could have had when I first came to Mysore all those years ago!
Andrew
How it works
The month in three movements
One week settling in, ten days of conference, three days off, then a week in Melkote.
Opening Week
The program opens at 4pm on January 12 at the Śrī Krishna Temple in Gokulam, with mantra chanting and a temple tour. From January 13, 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. We hope to welcome Śrī B.N.S. Iyengar, born in 1927, 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. Visits to the Maharaja's Sanskrit College and Jaganmohan Palace connect the practice to its historical roots in Mysore.
The conference can also be attended on its own. Mysore Yoga Conference →
Three days of rest
A pause between the intensity of the conference and the quiet of Melkote. We continue to practice together each morning and allow time for rest and recuperation in the afternoons.
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.
The Melkote week can also be attended on its own. Melkote Yoga Immersion →
Who this is for
All sincere students
Sincere interest, an open mind, and enough practical readiness to handle a month in India. That is the whole list.
Last year’s group ran from people with twenty years of teaching behind them to people who had been practicing for two. Some intend to teach. Some never will.
The Scholars
Who teaches you
Celebrating the 100th year of Guruji B.N.S. Iyengar
Śrī B.N.S. Iyengar, now in his 100th year, is a living legend in Mysore. He has been Andrew's teacher for over 30 years.
You sit with these teachers across the month, not for a single guest lecture.
Dr. T. R. S. Sharma
Direct student of Śrī Kṛṣṇamācārya
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
The philosophy course covers the Sāṅkhya Kārikā, Patañjali's Yoga Sūtras, and the Bhagavad Gītā, taught in person by senior Sanskrit scholars in Mysore. The training is recognized by both the Samskriti Foundation in Mysore and Yoga Alliance.
Certification
Two certificates
Samskriti Foundation, Mysore
Co-certification through the Samskriti Foundation in Mysore connects the certificate to the Sanskrit and philosophical community that hosts the program.
Yoga Alliance · RYS 200
On completion of all three phases and the final examination, you receive a 200-hour certificate of completion from Mysore Yoga Traditions, a Registered Yoga School (RYS 200) with Yoga Alliance.
With that certificate you can apply to Yoga Alliance to register as an RYT 200.
On the certificate
What 200 hours can and cannot do
Becoming a yoga teacher takes years, and mostly it takes teaching. No certificate produces that. What the month gives is a serious education in āsana and adjustment, and in the philosophy underneath both.
Most of last year’s cohort were teachers already, with years behind them, and each found something they had not had before. Whether you intend to teach or not, what you take from these 28 days is a deeper relationship to a practice that asks for the rest of your life.
Your teacher
Andrew Eppler
Andrew Eppler began practicing Ashtanga Yoga in 1984. He studied with Śrī K. Pattabhi Jois in Mysore in 1990 and began studying with Śrī B.N.S. Iyengar in 1995, later bringing Iyengar to America to teach in 2014. He directs Ashtanga Yoga Studio in Norman, Oklahoma, founded the Mysore Yoga Conference, and produced the documentary Mysore Yoga Traditions. He continues to explore Asana, Mudra, Pranayama and Yoga Philosophy and is passionate about preserving the yogic knowledge of Mysore.
Voices from past students
Testimonials
Brno, Czech Republic
Montclair, New Jersey
FAQ
Questions before you reserve
Do I have to be advanced?
No. What we ask for is sincere interest and an open mind. Practitioners arrive from many places in their practice. The teaching meets each one. If you have questions about how the program would fit you specifically, write to Andrew before you reserve your place.
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 twin-bed room with one other student. We match roommates as well as we can, always of the same sex, and couples are welcome to share. Private means a room to yourself. In Melkote, the accommodation is simpler, reflecting the more traditional character of that week, and private rooms are possible there too.
What about food?
In Gokulam, meals are taken together at Anokhi Gardens, drawing on both Indian and western influences. In Melkote, we are guests of the Cheluva Narayana temple community for midday meals on practice days. 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). Airport transfers are not included in tuition. Andrew is glad to arrange a reliable driver to meet you at the airport, or you are welcome to make your own way. We can help with visa and flight questions along the way.
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 →
Stay in touch
Hear more about the training
Enter your email and we will send you more about the program and what the month in Mysore is actually like.
Registration
Reserve your place
$300 holds your spot. The full tuition must be paid before the start date. Contact us for the details. Tuition includes 28 days of accommodation and meals, the Mysore Yoga Conference, the Melkote week, and full access to the 200hr online curriculum.
If cost is the only thing in the way, write to Andrew. There is a sliding scale, and scholarship arrangements for sincere students who cannot afford the full tuition. Reach out, and we will find a way.
Before you reserve
Mysore Yoga Traditions · 2027 Events
Portraits of Andrew by Santiago Pinto · Photographs by Andrew Eppler