The first students gather around the steps of the Shri K Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute from 5am, just to get a good spot for
the 6am class. This Friday morning class is led by Sharath Jois, for whom it is already the second class of the day.
It is dark and cold outside, but soon it will get warm and sweaty inside the class. Most of the guys are not wearing any t-shirts. Space is limited for the 70+ students. Two hours of challenging sequences is what follows, no breaks, only a very short savasana at the end.
If you want to be part of this, you must register online 2 months in advance. And it is required by the institute that you stay at least one month – the minimum amount of time to get a glimpse of this traditional yoga.
After the yoga class, we rushed to a photo shooting with the 84 year old BNS Iyengar (not BKS Iyengar). And when we were finished, we returned to Bangalore for a couple of days off until we head towards North India…