I have been practicing yoga regularly for over 8 years and Ashtanga Yoga for over 6 years. I had never taken a Mysore class when I started under Todd’s tutelage about 4 years ago and my practice was immediately taken to the next level. My confidence in my own knowledge and understanding of the practice grew, my practice itself improved, and my inner peace grew.
The biggest challenge that my practice has faced was when I found out I was pregnant – I wasn’t sure if I could maintain my 6 days a week practice. Todd worked with me diligently throughout my pregnancy to help me continue my daily practice, modifying poses as I got closer to my due date, adding exercises to prepare my body for childbirth, and giving me moral support as I went through this amazing journey. I was able to keep my practice up until the day I went in to labor.
Todd’s knowledge and passion for the Ashtanga Yoga practice and all that it encompasses is apparent in his teaching methods and everything that he does. He is both insightful and compassionate with every student and keeps a watchful eye on everyone, from the most experienced to the beginner. I highly recommend Todd to everyone that is interested in the Ashtanga Yoga practice, he is an amazing teacher and person and I am honored to have him as a friend and a teacher.
- Tiffany Krista
The only thing a yoga class with Todd or Stephanie has in common with a class at a health club or average yoga studio is the mat. Their professionalism, expertise, and years of experience separate them from the pack, and the Mysore approach is the perfect showcase for their talents. How many teachers have the poise, stamina, and depth of knowledge to give a personalized experience to over a dozen students varying in level from beginner to advanced in one session? Because they have the unique ability to offer such a high level of personalization, every single class I’ve taken with Todd and Stephanie since starting my yoga practice two years ago has been challenging, enriching, and fun!
- Sarah Hankamer
The Mysore method, evolved by Sr.Pattabhi Jois, is a powerful tool for moving into the inner self. Mysore taught in a group setting allows the practitioner to observe in others within the sangha space what is possible. Mysore taught individually by a senior student of Sri Pattabhi Jois, such as Todd, is a powerful means to begin to observe yourself within the safety and attention provided by a master Ashtanga teacher serving in the style of Guruji Pattabhi Jois.. I have studied many methods of yoga for the past 20 years. I keep going back to my Mysore roots which feels like I am home when I now apply the different emphasis of other related yoga methods. I highly recommend taking Mysore with Todd. Todd’s expertise can guide you to discover a personal practice that is cost effective over time and incredibly beneficial when experienced in either the group sangha or individually.
- Dian Dowling Evans, PhD, FNP-BC
I started Ashtanga Yoga over two years ago. I have always been an active person and have dabbled in aerobics classes, yoga classes, running, etc. I tried Ashtanga before I knew anything about it. I hate weight training, and thought this might be a way for me to get stronger. From the very beginning I knew that I had found something different. For one teachers (Todd and Stephanie) are direct, intuitive, sensitive, and incredibly knowledgeable. At first I was skeptical of a "non led" class, but now I would never want it any other way. In most led yoga classes you do what you're told, very often not really understanding the posture (and probably doing it incorrectly). You are also not able to progress beyond what is being taught. In Mysore that doesn't happen because you get one on one attention. It truly can take your body beyond what you ever thought you were capable. I started off looking around the room thinking that I was never going to be strong enough or flexible enough to do what other students were doing, and now I'm actually able to do those same postures!
I also used to have neck/upper back tension and headaches nearly daily, which I attributed to a stressful job and lack of sleep. Both have virtually vanished. While I have always been a generally healthy person, I usually got a few minor illnesses a year. Now, I haven't had so much as a cold in over a year. I have found so much more than an exercise program, but a way of life. I find my outlook on everything so much more optimistic. When I am feeling uneasy or anxious, I literally crave yoga. It has been an amazing experience, and so far beyond what I imagined.
- Dena Patacca
Compared to instructor-led classes, Mysore classes are a genuine self-learning environment in which my focus can stay with me instead of on a cheerleader at the front of the room. I am in charge of my pace and the length of my practice so I don’t feel forced into someone else’s rhythm or expectations, and if I have a specific question or need for assistance, I can speak up without the burden of feeling that I have interrupted the class. Also, it’s nice not being rushed to get to class at an exact time or having to wait for others because I’m able to start whenever I arrive, but I still get the benefit of being with a group.
Mysore style is so completely different from an instructor-led class that a person really needs to experience it to understand all of the advantages.
Both Todd and Stephanie are knowledgeable about what a perfectly correct practice should be, but they also are flexible in allowing students to not have to be perfectly correct. Last, Todd is able to adjust and guide me in postures that would physically challenge most woman instructors (even Stephanie, who does do a good job at meeting the challenge).
- Paul Clement
I started yoga in 2000 to address rotator cuff problems I was beginning to have. I had seen a number of men in my age group (I was in my 40s then) go through shoulder surgery for rotator cuff problems, and all of them seemed to come out of the surgery significantly hobbled by it. I didn't want to follow that example, so I started taking yoga classes at my gym. My first teacher taught in the Kripalu style, which I found very beneficial. After taking classes about once a week for a couple of years, I had occasion to take an Ashtanga class and found it appealing in its rigor, so I gradually moved towards Ashtanga and away from Kripalu. Over time I practiced Ashtanga with several teachers, and eventually found my way to Todd and Stephanie. So, by the time I started taking classes from Todd and Stephanie, I'd been doing yoga of some sort for about six years.
Measuring Todd and Stephanie against other Ashtanga teachers I know, I found they struck the balance I needed, a balance between challenging me to move deeper into tougher asanas and pausing along the way to deepen my experience and understanding of each asana I was doing. I think the measure of a good yoga teacher is how clearly s/he directs students to focus on breathing, letting the movement of the asanas evolve from a focus on well-measured, focused, balanced breathing in and out. This measured breathing is what Todd and Stephanie always return to, and what they clearly hold as being the center of the practice.
I like physical challenges: I lift weights, I hike, I swim, and kayak as much as I am able. My style of being in my body focuses on pushing myself to my limits. Ashtanga helps me with this style of being in my body by reminding me to slow down, to focus on being right here right now, on focusing where I am rather than on where I'm going. Todd and Stephanie have helped me enormously to work on this slowing down, on this growing down (rather than up) into a moment. I'm constantly humbled by and grateful for their patience and their great focus in helping me in this way.
Recently I sustained a knee injury: after almost 60 years, my right knee began to show wear and tear (hiking with heavy packs and leg lifts with 850lbs probably urged that process on), and I had surgery--repair of the cartilage in my right knee. After the surgery, my doctor said my knee damage was so great he couldn't believe I'd been able to walk before the surgery. It's now three weeks after the surgery, and I'm back in Mysore class, doing most of first series and immensely grateful for the practice. I was just laid off of work, too, so between recovering from surgery and coping with reinventing myself at the age of 56, I know that if I didn't have something like Mysore practice, I'd be hard-pressed to find a way to cope. Friends and family are very loving, but in times of stress, having a practice like Mysore offers an incomparable way to stay grounded, to stand one's ground.
- Michael Sanders, PhD
I started my Ashtanga practice a few years prior to practicing with Todd and Stephanie. My practice was a mostly solitary home practice before, and by the time I was fortunate enough to find Todd's daily morning Mysore classes, I had developed terrible pain in my lower back which was affecting my whole practice. With Todd's supportive guidance, my practice has completely changed and my back is essentially pain free! Todd helped me identify some bad habits and patterns in my practice that were reinforcing my back problems, and he recommended I seek help from a Rolfer as well. Without his help, I probably would have become so frustrated with my practice and my back pain that I may have stopped practicing altogether. Stephanie is also a wonderfully supportive teacher with an inspiring devotion to her practice. Her positive attitude is very reassuring, especially when you are faced with a challenging pose. During the last two years that I have been practicing with Todd and Stephanie in Mysore class, I feel my practice is truly on the right path- to articulate all the things I have learned and continue to learn about life through this wonderful practice would be next to impossible. I cannot say enough about the quality of teaching Todd and Stephanie provide and I feel so very lucky and thankful to have them as teachers.
- Jackie Tyson
From getting up in the morning, to stretching my leg over my head, to calming my mind, Ashtanga yoga, as taught in the Mysore style, has consistently challenged me unlike any other form of spiritual or physical practice. It has thoroughly transformed my life in ways that I couldn’t even have imagined. It has returned me from a state of depletion to a state of health. I cannot imagine my life without Ashtanga yoga. Through Todd’s dedication to the practice, I feel truly blessed to have been given this practice.
- David Margolis
I first talked with Todd about trying Mysore because I was looking for a way to expand and deepen my Yoga practice, which for the past 5 years had centered around 2-3 times /week instructor led vinyasa classes. Through this prior experience, I had discovered a deep love for Yoga and appreciation for its transformative potential. While I still enjoyed my teacher-led classes immensely, I was yearning for something new. I wanted to invigorate my personal practice and feel less dependent upon specific teacher-led classes for my well-being. In short, I can say that Mysore has been a perfect fit. It is giving me the opportunity to focus more closely on the intricacies of my practice and the amount of guidance I receive is more than was ever possible in an instructor led class. Todd is a very patient and attentive teacher and the depth of his experience shines through in his teaching. Stephanie brings an enriching presence to the class and her guidance is supportive and encouraging. Together they create a welcoming and safe environment for exploring Mysore as a beginner. After only 3 months, I feel that my practice has improved and I am excited and curious about what is yet to come.
- Katrina Bergbauer
