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Masterclass 03 · October 18, 2026

Breath Under
Pressure

How to Breathe Through the Hardest Parts of Your Practice

A complete morning of Mysore practice followed by an active, experiential masterclass exploring breath, stability, effort, pranayama, and the places where practice becomes most demanding. Join us for the full experience, or choose either session on its own.

Krista Shirley assisting a student in an Ashtanga backbend
Part One
Mysore with Krista

8:00–10:00 AM

Part Two
Breath Under Pressure

10:30 AM–12:30 PM

Complete Course
$85

Mysore + Masterclass

The practice behind the practice

Breathing feels simple until the practice gets hard.

The breath reveals
what effort conceals.

Most practitioners can maintain a steady breath while the practice feels manageable. The real skill appears when the bind gets tighter, the jump back becomes heavier, or the backbend feels uncertain.

This masterclass examines what happens when effort, compression, fatigue, fear, and concentration change the way we breathe—and how the breath can organize movement instead of merely surviving it.

Rather than letting the posture dictate the breath, we will learn how to use the breath as an active guide through challenge, transition, and recovery.

One complete morning

Practice first.
Then explore what practice reveals.

Mysore practice and the active, experiential masterclass are designed to complement one another, while each session may also be attended on its own.

Ashtanga practitioner working with strength, control, and breath
01

Mysore with Krista

8:00–10:00 AM

Practice the portion of the Ashtanga sequence you have learned at an appropriate pace while Krista offers individual instruction within the shared Mysore room.

Ashtanga practitioner working with breath and movement
02

Breath Under Pressure

10:30 AM–12:30 PM

Use postures, transitions, movement experiments, and accessible pranayama to understand what happens when the breath becomes shallow, rushed, forced, or unconsciously held.

!

Join the complete morning for $85, or choose either portion separately: Mysore practice from 8:00–10:00 AM for $25, or the masterclass from 10:30 AM–12:30 PM for $60.

Practitioner exploring pranayama and conscious breathing
What we'll explore

The breath is part of every posture.

We will use familiar postures, transitions, and breathing practices to make the relationship between breath, pressure, effort, and attention easier to feel and understand.

How the diaphragm and rib cage support movement
Ujjayi beyond simply making sound
Why we unconsciously hold the breath
Breath, internal pressure, and the bandhas
Breathing through twists, binds, and compression
Breath timing in jump backs and transitions
Using breath in backbending, strength, and balance
Accessible pranayama and nervous-system regulation
Who should attend

For practitioners who want the breath to lead the practice.

This course is appropriate for newer and experienced Mysore students, especially anyone who loses the breath in demanding postures, rushes transitions, braces under effort, or wants a steadier and more sustainable relationship with practice.

01

Breath Mechanics

Clear teaching about the diaphragm, rib cage, Ujjayi, pressure, and efficient breathing.

02

Movement Exploration

Use postures and transitions to feel how effort, compression, and timing alter the breath.

03

Accessible Pranayama

Practice breathing techniques that support awareness, recovery, and nervous-system regulation.

04

Individual Application

Apply the work to the places in your own practice where the breath becomes most difficult.

Sunday, October 18, 2026

Join Krista for practice, movement, pranayama, and a deeper understanding of the breath behind the practice.

Attend the full morning, or choose Mysore or the masterclass on its own. The masterclass may be attended in person or live through Zoom.

Schedule
Mysore 8:00–10:00 AM
Break 10:00–10:30 AM
Masterclass 10:30 AM–12:30 PM
Format In Person + Live Zoom
Registration Options
Full Event $85
Mysore Only $25
Masterclass Only $60

Space is limited so the Mysore room remains personal and the masterclass leaves room for movement exploration, individual application, and meaningful questions.

$85 Complete course registration
Date Sunday, October 18, 2026
Mysore 8:00–10:00 AM
Break 10:00–10:30 AM
Masterclass 10:30 AM–12:30 PM
Location The Yoga Shala · Maitland
Register for the Full Event · $85

Full-event registration includes both Mysore practice and the masterclass.

Want to attend Mysore only?

Book the 8:00–10:00 AM Mysore practice separately.

Want to attend the Masterclass only?

Join the 10:30 AM–12:30 PM masterclass without the morning Mysore practice.

Masterclass Only · $60

Joining the masterclass via Zoom? Register for either the Full Event or Masterclass Only, then email [email protected] and Krista will send you the Zoom link.

The Yoga Shala is a body movement studio with a specialized approach, customizing each client's class experience, based on their goals and needs. Our goal is to foster a lighthearted, non-dogmatic, warm and encouraging environment.

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