A week-long residential camp by Chennai-based Ashtanga practitioners Srimathy V and Ravi Swamy promises an immersive experience

For a whole week in December, in a simple home in Tamil Nadu’s Thiruvannamalai town, a group of 20 practitioners of yoga will immerse themselves in a workshop that attempts to unravel — through theory, practice, study and interaction — the core essence of the primary series of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, founded by Mysuru-based Pattabhi Jois.

Foraying into its fourth edition, this residential camp — in a house where Karaikudi architecture meets Kerala’s design aesthetic — was begun by Srimathy V and Ravi Swamy, with an intent to allow a “consolidated study in an uninterrupted environment that allows people to assimilate, absorb and reflect, thereafter on the intent and purpose of their practice”.

In their own words, this workshop, where people are far and free from the everydayness of their lives, has been “life-transformative” for many. The duo has designed it to “help people re-orient their practice (of yoga) from a very outcome-oriented experience to a more process-based approach”.

Srimathy says, “We are keen for people to appreciate through this workshop three main aspects — how a disciplined practice of yoga helps; the science behind the postures (asanas) and the way they have been built, one after another (as is the case with Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga); and most importantly, help them develop an attitude that is crucial to its practice and to stay with it for life.”

Their Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga centre (shala as people refer to it) in RA Puram found its genesis 15 years ago in the garage of an independent home, before making its way into a beautiful large space with the outside pouring into the inside. Here, nearly a hundred students — their youngest is four-and-a-half years old and their oldest is 80 — are initiated and guided into the principles of yoga.

From 6 am to 11 am and from 4 pm to 7 pm, students — homemakers, working professionals, the elderly and the young, the very able and those with discomfort looking for rehabilitation — walk in and out of the shala, and go through a routine that has, if there is a need, been customised to suit their need, situation and desire to journey with yoga.

“Our intent is to let every individual become independent, mindful and discover their own self in the process,” says Srimathy.

Their career trajectory has been slow and undeterred, much like the principles of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, that believes in the importance of a strong foundation and insists on consistency to get better at it, and is inherently accommodating and adaptive. Over the years, this duo has stayed true to the guiding principles of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga — consistent practice of which promises strength, stamina, flexibility, and a sense of balance — with a singular intent to grow the centre almost like parents raise a family.

“What we’ve really done is shared knowledge that we learnt and continue to learn from our gurus, and have grown the Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga community in Chennai,” says Ravi, who chanced upon this form of yoga accidentally, while he was a teacher at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram (KYM), and was drawn to its inherent premise and philosophy. “I wanted to study it more deeply and deliberately,” he says, “Srimathy was my colleague there and I asked if she’d be interested to join me; I have no idea what prompted her to say yes, and together we’ve never looked back.”

Devoid of any obvious commercial goals or five-year visions, Srimathy and Ravi believe their greatest takeaway from the consistent practice of yoga has been the distinct shift in mindset and overall attitude not only in their own lives, but also in some of their students. “That’s the ultimate purpose of yoga — to be able tackle any situation that life throws at you with a certain sense of equanimity,” says Ravi, “It makes us so happy that some of our students — who’ve stayed the course — have been able to do that.”

The workshop is scheduled to be held between December 16 and December 23. For details call Srimathy on 9444354694.