How to start Mysore-style AshtangaYour own practice, at the pace of your breath.

How a Practice Room morning works

The Practice Room is the center of the studio's Ashtanga program, and it runs early in the morning. Everyone moves through their own practice at their own pace. Rich gives individual cues and hands-on help, breaks postures down, and uses props and drills, so you build the skills for a steady practice of your own.

You learn the sequence a little at a time and add more when you're ready. There's nothing to memorize before you come, and you don't need to be flexible. A session runs two hours.

The Led class

In Ashtanga Yoga Led the whole room moves through the traditional sequence together, usually the Primary Series. It's a rigorous 90-minute class that builds strength, flexibility and endurance. If you're new, start with guidance and build up to it gradually. The Practice Room and the Foundations series below both welcome beginners.

Who teaches it

Rich found yoga while in the Judo program at Northeastern Illinois University, where he studied linguistics and physical education. He completed two teacher trainings at Yogaview between 2005 and 2015, and in October 2015 began studying Hatha Yoga with Mahayogi Gokulacandra das, Jani Jaatinen. Jani encouraged him to practice Ashtanga, which led him to David Garrigues of Philadelphia.

Rich studied closely with Garrigues, a senior teacher who treats Ashtanga as a living tradition that supports physical, psychological and spiritual growth. In his own bio Rich says he's excited to share Garrigues's “beautiful way of customizing the practice to fit any circumstances.”

Moon days

Ashtanga practitioners traditionally rest on new and full moon days, so there's no Ashtanga morning practice on those days. Other classes still run. If you're not sure whether a morning is a moon day, email the studio and ask.

How to start

1. Get in touch with Rich. Before your first morning, email the studio or call (312) 866-2606 so he knows you're coming.
2. Come to a Practice Room morning. You don't need to know the sequence, and you don't need to be flexible.
3. Or begin with Ashtanga Foundations, Rich's four-week series for complete beginners: two-hour Saturday sessions in a small group, on breath, posture, transitions and body awareness. The full series is $120, and new dates are posted on the schedule.
4. When you're ready, add the Led class.

When it runs and what it costs

A drop-in is $30, and class packs and memberships cover both the Practice Room and the Led class. The Discovery Pass, 14 days of unlimited yoga for $79, doesn't include the Practice Room, which has its own way in: the steps above.

Ashtanga or vinyasa?

Ashtanga follows the same set sequence of poses every time. Vinyasa classes change from class to class and from teacher to teacher. If you're still deciding, our Find Your Practice guide describes both in plain words, and the Ashtanga class page has the whole program.