• Students without an existing Ashtanga Vinyasa self-practice must schedule a Free Orientation Session and complete an Introductory Course before attending the weekday classes.
• Commit to attending class at least 3 days per week for your first three months. To reap the benefits of the method it’s important to get into the habit and rhythm of consistent practice, even if you only do a few minutes each day.

• Arrive to practice with an empty stomach, hydrated, showered, scent-free, with clean clothes, mat and towel.
• Please keep phones silenced or off and out of the practice area. Photos and video are prohibited: we are practicing dynamic meditation, not performance art.
• Latest start time is 7:15am. Students must finish practice and commence rest by 8:05am.

In 2017, as part of the ongoing #MeToo movement, the role of hands-on assists in the yoga room came into serious question in the Ashtanga Yoga community worldwide.

This was due to revelations of historical sexual abuse, under the guise of hands-on assists, inflicted by the late K.Patthabi Jois on some of his students.

Jois, who died in 2009, was the foremost modern authority and proponent of the “Ashtanga Vinyasa” method. From the 1970’s, hundreds of dedicated students from all over the world travelled to his yogashala in Mysore, India, to study with him every year. Some of these students received his blessing to teach in their home countries.

While many Ashtanga practitioners under Jois were oblivious to his abuses, to others it was an open secret, even something to joke about. Worse still, incidents involving female students were actively covered up and denied on numerous occasions by Jois’ senior students.

Even now, the Ashtanga Community worldwide continues to wrestle with these revelations.

My response has been to foster an increased sense of safety and a stronger culture of consent in my yoga room. I value the use of hands-on assists in class, but I also understand that they are not appropriate at all times for all students.

As such, I insist on the use of “Consent Cards” by all students. They are a simple, silent indicator by which the student can tell me, non-verbally, at any given time, that they would prefer to be left alone.

In addition to that, even if their card indicates that assistance is welcome, I consistently ask for permission to provide my hands-on support; especially when the student is in a vulnerable posture and may not even see or hear me approach them.

I have also made myself available to discuss any of the above matters and to assure students that they are in charge of their bodies and their practice - not me. If you have any more questions about any of the above, please feel free to ask me.

Geoff

Women are advised to rest from vigorous vinyasa practice for the first three days of their menstrual cycle, but are of course free to do as they feel. Grounding, restorative asana forms can be recommended if preferred. Please ask for more details.

The Full and New Moon days each month are taken as extra rest days. They are the peak and trough, respectively, of a natural monthly cycle. Just like the oceans, human beings are watery bodies affected strongly by the pull of the Moon’s gravity. By resting on these days we avoid the hazards inherent in doing a strong practice at these extreme ends of the cycle.

Click here for a list of Moon Days