The Yoga of the South

We recently had the pleasure of visiting the Mysore Place for the first time. While many ashtanga yogis venture to Mysore in southern India, we usually travel to the north. That is where Ghosh Yoga comes from.

Scott & Ida outside the Mysore Palace

Mysore, however, is where surya namasakar and asana were combined in the early 1900s. This eventually led to "flowing" or "vinyasa" styles of yoga. This meant an acrobatic and performance based style of movement which was used for demonstration and entertainment.

​In the Mysore region of India, it was thought that any kind of stopping or rest in practice was a waste of time. The benefits of the practice came from continuous movement. 

However, in the north it was different. The principles that influenced northern styles of yoga were therapeutic function with the use of rest and stillness. The emphasis on stillness and rest within a practice originated at least in part from the influence of weightlifting. Ghosh himself was a bodybuilder and weightlifter. He wrote in his book Muscle Control:

"The first most important thing that should be kept in mind is that perfect relaxation of muscles is as good as hardest contraction to build up muscles. One should feel the thrill of relaxation which is most important."

Similar principles are found in other systems that originate in the north, such as the yoga taught by Sivananda of Rishikesh and his students like Swami Vishnudevananda. 

​It's important to note these regional differences. While today they are both called asana or yoga, the underlying principles of northern and southern styles are quite different.

---

The elephants are welcomed into the Mysore Palace. This elephant processional is highly guarded and the exact day and time is not made known to the public. We were quite lucky to stumble upon it!