Ashtanga Yoga Atlanta welcomes students of all levels to an open and grounded environment. We support a diverse community of people realizing well-being as an everyday occurrence. Our belief is that learning Ashtanga in its traditional form and setting creates the ideal environment for a transformative and therapeutic yoga practice.

Ashtanga yoga is an exact, in-depth science. Quality of instruction is essential to deep understanding. Ashtanga Yoga Atlanta provides the most experienced and knowledgeable instructors in the city. All teachers have a dedicated, daily practice and have studied with Sri K.Pattabhi Jois in Mysore, India.

Mysore class is the traditional teaching method of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois for over 65 years at his school in Mysore, India. This unique style is the essence of the Ashtanga yoga approach.

Postures in the Ashtanga series are learned one-by-one, thus easily memorized, with students practicing at a pace measured by their own breath-rhythm. The teacher provides individual instruction and assistance, tailoring the practice to specific needs of each student. With guidance and hands-on adjustments from the teacher, students receive the attention necessary to learn, work, and progress at an individual pace and ability. Working at the appropriate level, one-to-one with a teacher, is essential in developing a safe and fulfilling practice.

Mysore classes cultivate the true spirit of yoga in your practice, combining students of mixed levels together in order for everyone to benefit from the group energy. This environment is unique to Ashtanga yoga and allows for a deep meditative state, regardless of one's ability or experience. The Mysore approach prevents stagnancy within the consistent sequence of Ashtanga, thus the constantly evolving experience keeps students dynamic within their practice.

This is not a led class. It is suggested that you know at least Sun Salutations and standing postures by heart before attending.

Please start your practice Monday through Friday between 6:00 - 8:00a.m. The instructor is present from 6:30 until 9:00am.

This method is often called 'assisted or guided self-practice. On your first day of class, expect to practice only what you know by heart.

Level 1/2 classes and fundamental workshops are also available as well as evening mysore classes. Please visit our web site for more details. We hope to see you in class soon.

Teachers

Todd Roderick has been dedicated to the practice of Ashtanga since 1995 and has been teaching for over 10 years. He had the rare opportunity to study extensively with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois in Mysore, India, and as a result he is the most experienced Ashtanga instructor in the Southeast. Todd attended his first yoga class in Mysore, where he studied for 14 months between two trips in 1996 and 1997.

At that time, classes were limited to twelve students between two instructors, allowing a close relationship with Pattabhi Jois. Todd learned the practice comprehensively, under the scrupulous eyes of Pattabhi Jois and his grandson Sharath Rangaswamy. Studying yoga in such an intimate setting, Todd experienced how Ashtanga was correctly executed and taught in its deepest sense. He also studied extensively with one of America's leading teachers, Tim Miller, in San Diego. Tim first suggested that Todd move to the Southeast in order to teach, which he did in 1999.

Over the years, Todd has studied with many other senior Ashtanga instructors, including Lino Miele, Rolf Naujokat, Ranjani Cobo, to name a few. His teaching is steeped in the ancient tradition of yoga. By adhering to tradition, he honors the teachers that came before him. Todd's teaching style can be described as intuitive and sensitive, yet direct. He believes Ashtanga is a catalyst to spiritual development and teaches accordingly. As Pattabhi Jois emphasizes that yoga is 99 practice and 1 theory, Todd focuses less on yoga philosophy and instead strives to embody the yogic life, thus teaching by example.

Todd was recently awarded Creative Loafing's Critics' Pick for best Ashtanga Yoga instructor in Atlanta for 2006.

Stephanie Kohler is an Atlanta native, although she has traveled extensively overseas both for study and work. She discovered ashtanga after living in Japan for two years, where tai chi first exposed her to vinyasa. Since that time, yoga has become her vehicle for maintaining compassion, discipline, humor, and patience in life both on and off the mat.

Itchy feet and a desire to experience ashtanga at its source motivated Stephanie to travel to India, where she studied in Mysore with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and Sharath Rangaswamy. Later she studied in Kerala with Lino Miele. In the US, she has studied with several senior teachers, including David Williams, David Swenson, and Tim Miller. Equally influential, however, is the community she has encountered both at home and away.

As a practitioner and a teacher, Stephanie strives to balance effort with surrender, precision with laughter. She encourages students to create some kind of daily practice in order to experience yoga more fully. Constant exploration of yoga, not just asana, motivates her own practice.