If you're an amateur runner, dedicated but not world class, you might aspire to run at the Boston Marathon. If you're a mountaineer of some moderate experience and accomplishment, you may daydream about climbing Denali, or Mt. Blanc -- difficult, but achievable summits for the mere mortal. If you're a triathlete, perhaps you plan someday to do the Ironman in Kona -- probably through a lottery opening.
There are other, less athletic travels which ordinary people undertake. A Catholic might want to go to Rome, historic center of the faith, and other Christians do long walking treks in Spain on routes followed by medieval pilgrims. A Bahai wants to undertake a trip to the faith's world center in Haifa, and a Jew wants to visit Jerusalem at least once.
With yoga, one goes to India. India is to yoga as Scotland is to golf: the source.
In the United States, yoga is popularly associated with fitness. It's a way to get better abs, perhaps to reduce stress. The most common question an American yoga practicioner hears from friends is, "Are you doing hot yoga?" The reference is to Bikram yoga, an American system of fitness franchises for busy urban people, which has stripped out any Sanskrit, incense, or hint of cultural edginess.
Ashtanga yoga is less well-known, and is one of the major schools of physical yoga which developed in the twentieth century. Its center is in a city in southern India called Mysore. Ashtanga practicioners -- ashtangi, they are called -- think of going to Mysore the way the a cook dreams about going to Cordon Bleu in Paris. This series of postings is about a typical yoga aficionado -- neither a yoga teacher nor a long-haired, backpacking seeker -- traveling to Mysore.
A bit of background. I will be studying at the (long name) K Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute, commonly called just "Mysore" by practicioners. Their website is here:
http://www.kpjayi.org/
The pictures are of the young Mr. Jois, who passed away earlier this year. Basic information on the city of Mysore is widely available, and I cite you to the lazy man's reference, Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mysore
