Yoga Moves Teacher: Megan Riley
Megan Riley is a dedicated daily Mysore practitioner and teacher. She began an Ashtanga practice more than two decades ago in the United States just as she started working in higher education.
One of only a few officially Certified Ashtanga teachers in Europe, Megan Riley currently lives and teaches Mysore in The Netherlands, now at Yoga Moves Fly.
Megan began an Ashtanga practice in the United States at the start of her job in higher education. What started as a search for an exercise to reduce stress and connect philosophy studies to practice, the yoga led her to her first teacher and, eventually, to her first trip to Mysore, India. Between here and there, she traded in the academic classroom for the practice room and found space to combine her creative interests and passion for teaching others. Time spent on the mat—the daily repetition with its inevitable ups and downs— anchors her spiritual practice through self-acceptance, dedication, and discipline.
Her teaching encourages a surrender to meet your self where you are for the day along with the work of recognizing old patterns of the mind and body. Within this balance of acceptance and exploration, the practice is revealed.
After many years of continuous study and practice, she received Certification from Guru R. Sharath Jois at the source of Ashtanga Yoga in Mysore, India. She has assisted in the teaching room there and taught at Jois Shala in the U.S. before running her own Mysore program in Connecticut. Now she teaches daily Mysore at AYCU in Utrecht, The Netherlands after moving to Utrecht in 2020. She lives with her people and a yoga mat-loving cat. In her free time she enjoys using up her extra energy by climbing, tumbling around in the sea, riding her collection of Markplaats bikes, and tweeking veg recipes she finds on social media.
ABOUT MYSORE WITH MEGAN:
Mysore is a method of practice for the Ashtanga Yoga sequence, a set series of postures linked with the breath. This is the traditional method for learning Ashtanga and allows one-on-one instruction from the teacher. It is named for the city Mysore in south India, the source of our practice and where this main yoga school is located. You do not need to have any yoga experience or previous Ashtanga experience to begin a Mysore practice with us. During the Mysore hours posted, practitioners come in and work at their own pace and ability with the instructor. New postures are slowly added to enable students to memorize the sequence and form a daily practice aligned with their individual needs. New students may find their first visit is only 20-30 minutes long and will increase each visit. Walk-ins are welcome! Above hours reflect the opening and closing times, and students may drop in at any point within the allotted hours so long as they finish practice by closing time. It’s possible to drop in and observe a class if you want to see what Mysore is about!
Led primary series class on Saturdays is for those with some experience with the Ashtanga sequence as there is less verbal instruction. However, once somewhat familiar with the beginning of the sequence, students are encouraged to attend regularly and simply follow along until they reach their final Mysore class posture in the series or are instructed to stop. This is a great way to learn breathing and pacing of your practice postures.
Ready to try Mysore with Megan? Sign up in Megans bsport account to find her mysore program.
Megan Riley will start teaching a Saturday morning led Primary Series class at Studio ONE. You can sign up via Yoga Moves bsport account and app.
