An Ashtanga Yoga teacher, practitioner and student of the tradition
Adarsh Williams is a direct student of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and R. Sharath Jois and has practiced Ashtanga Yoga since 1998.
He received Authorization to teach Ashtanga Yoga from Pattabhi Jois in 2004 and later received Level 2 authorization from Sharath Jois in 2009.
For more than 25 years, Adarsh has practiced, studied and taught yoga internationally, including extensive study in Mysore, India. His teaching combines traditional Ashtanga Yoga with a practical understanding of anatomy, mobility, strength and the individual needs of each student.
Today, he is the founder and lead teacher of Ashtanga Yoga Groningen, where he teaches Mysore-style Ashtanga Yoga, Led classes, workshops and teacher training.
Practice since 1998 · Authorization 2004 · Level 2 2009 · E-RYT 500 · Yoga Alliance Teacher Trainer
A life in practice.
My introduction to Ashtanga was during a visit to a yoga class in Northern California in 1998. The teacher, Iyengar teacher Gayna Uransky, had just returned from Mysore where she had spent time with Pattabhi Jois. After class, she taught me how to perform Surya Namaskar A, and gave me the class John Scott “cheat sheet” to take home and practice.
And so I did.
I first met Pattabhi Jois and his family including Sharath, and Saraswati during their New York City workshop during September 2001. At the beginning of 2002, I traveled to India where I would end of staying for the next 2 years. It was a great time for deep practice of Ashtanga as “sister” aspects of yoga such as Ayurveda, Sanskrit, Mantra, Philosophy, and Vipassana meditation.
Why I teach.
The most profound lessons of yoga are also pretty mundane. The life changing aspects of yoga are often about routine, regularity, and cultivating harmonious lifestyle. Both as a practitioner and a teacher, I’ve seen how yoga works. Not by complexity or even discipline, but by practice. You pay attention. Make small refinements. And you practice again.
How I teach
Although Ashtanga is the practice, I teach the individual. This is the Mysore method. I help individuals develop a personal practice that evolves with time.
And by the way, I’m very much a practitioner myself.
The body matters
My teaching has also been shaped by more than two decades of study in movement, mobility and bodywork.
Alongside yoga, I have trained in Active Isolated Stretching, PNF, neuromuscular therapy, massage, Pilates and movement and mobility with The Ready State. I have worked with thousands of clients and students over the years.
This experience influences how I teach.
I pay attention to anatomy. I care about strength as much as flexibility. I want students to understand what they are doing rather than simply being told where to put their body.
Yoga is a practice of the whole person.
More than Ashtanga
Although Ashtanga is at the center of my teaching, my work has never been limited to one system.
Over the years I have developed and taught programs exploring mobility, strength, stretching and functional movement. I created Smart Stretch, an approach to Active Isolated Stretching, and have taught movement and wellness programs to students and teachers internationally.
My YouTube channel has also become a way of sharing this work with a much larger community, with tens of thousands of people using the videos to explore yoga, mobility, strength and movement.
So far I have authored 2 books (Smart Stretch: A Visual Guide to Active Isolated Stretching & The Mysore Challenge: 20 Days To Level Up Your Yoga), several online courses and numerous training courses.
Beyond the mat
While Yoga can seem like a very physical discipline, my interest continues to be the philosophy any transformational potential of the practice. After a quarter century on the mat, I have seen countless examples of how yoga can guide, shape, and improve our lives.
After teaching in America, Asia, and Europe, I have settled down in Groningen where over the last 3 years have been an active member of the local yoga community.
And now, we begin the latest chapter of Ashtanga Yoga Groningen in our dedicated Yoga Shala. A home for traditional yoga with a personal touch.
Ready to try for yourself?
