Welcome to Mysore Melbourne!
We support people to develop and maintain a real, personal yoga practice. We encourage depth and inquiry along the way. Ashtanga Yoga is our primary teaching and we work with students of all ages and stages in life and in practice.
Mysore Melbourne is led by Amanda Hartzler Ferris. Amanda has cultivated daily yoga practice for 25 years and has devoted much of her professional life to developing the experience to guide others in Ashtanga yoga. With a small team of support teachers, she cultivates a warm and accepting classroom culture that invites practitioners to learn yoga as a therapy rather than a performance, holding space for inner exploration.
What People Say About Mysore Melbourne…
“I think that Mysore Melbourne and Amanda embody a mindful, grounded and gentle approach to a practice that can often be mistakenly perceived as rigid and intense. Ashtanga is for everyone and MM is certainly a place where everybody is welcome.”
— DR
“Amanda’s devotion and commitment to the Ashtanga tradition and her students are second to none. She has taken great care to get to know me as a practitioner to offer me sincere and incredibly tailored guidance.
During practice she gently reminds us of the parallels between what happens on and off the mat in daily life. Not only does she equip us with the physical building blocks, she guides us deeper to realise our own power in cultivating a unique and lifelong practice and self-awareness.
Amanda radiates energy and joy, and is a natural communicator. She ensures her wealth of experience and knowledge is accessible to practitioners of all levels, and as her student I feel completely safe and supported. I’m so grateful to begin most of my days in her Mysore room where anything seems possible afterwards!”
— HW
“Amanda creates a beautiful space daily. From the moment you enter the Shala, you realise that this is no ordinary yoga practice or teacher. In the true tradition of yoga, Amanda leads and teaches with grace, empathy and patience. When she adjusts my poses, I can feel her intuitiveness comes from years of teaching and practice. Through the 2020 lockdown, Amanda held the space through the virtual Shala. She was strong and enabled an unwavering connection through an extraordinary isolating time. It was by chance that I heard about Amanda. One of those moments. I feel privileged and humbled to be part of an incredible community. I love Mysore Melbourne.”
— AB
“Anyone who sits and individually follows us on screen during a dark lockdown winter at 6am with such interest is a teacher at heart. Amanda’s constant and close observation lends itself to precise verbal adjustments, which for me has unlocked the key to change. In 9 months, I am slowly mastering poses I thought weren’t for me after 28 years of continual yoga practice. I am 68 years old. More importantly Amanda’s yoga wisdom comes to me when I get “the wobbles“ and I am needing balance. I feel at home.”
— MF
“I have been practicing with Amanda for several years – both, in person and now online. One of the first things I noticed when I entered her shala, was how Amanda creates an inclusive environment with practitioners of all age groups, abilities and backgrounds. I felt welcome from the beginning, and free to be me and process whatever comes up on the mat. She sees each individual and teaches accordingly. Her teaching style is gentle, eloquent and thoughtful. Amanda puts a lot of attention on practicing in a way that enables longevity of the practice. She encourages an explorative approach that lights the student the way, without taking away from their own ‘self-responsibility’. Amanda follows the traditional method of the Ashtanga practice and the structure thereof, without ever being rigid or pushy. Over the years I benefited from her extensive knowledge that she shares during practice and in the regular conferences. She has been a valuable support for me in keeping up and adjusting my practice in a time when life’s circumstances challenged this. And more than that – my practice has transformed through her teaching in a deeper way beyond just the physical. Being used to practicing in a ‘Mysore room’ with hands-on adjustments, I must say, I was sceptical at first on how this would translate to an online environment. I was positively surprised and absolutely impressed by her ability to pick up even on subtleties over a screen and precisely express observations, suggestions or instructions. Not living in Melbourne fulltime I finally have the chance to be part of Mysore Melbourne and benefit from Amanda’s teaching, even when I’m thousands of kilometres away. I found the online consultations very helpful to get personal input. As I’m in a different time zone I regularly use the content library as well. Thank you Amanda!”
— AA
“I have been practicing ashtanga yoga Mysore style with Amanda for five years and I would highly recommend her as a teacher to anyone looking for an authentic yoga teacher. With her gentle approach and intuition of the subtle body, Amanda has the surprising ability to notice what I need to work on in my practice, be it body or mind. I have learned to move with the breath and focus the attention inwardly, rather than on the expression of the yoga pose, a concept that I am still working on every day.
I receive a lot of enrichment with the knowledge that Amanda shares during the monthly conferences where Amanda talks about all things Ashtanga. In this forum you can ask questions about the practice, learn the Sanskrit chanting and counting, and anything else related to the practice. It’s also a wonderful opportunity to connect with other like-minded people. I have developed some life long friendships.
Amanda moved swiftly with COVID and created an online Content Library which was truly genius. It really helped me support my practice and feel connected with the outside world during a time when we were all so far apart from each other. I mean, I LOVE the recorded classes and the little tutorials Amanda’s prepares. It provided a bit of sanity during lockdown.
I feel truly blessed and eternally grateful that I found and have access to Amanda as a teacher. I have complete trust in her.”
— NK
“Amanda's heart is at Mysore Melbourne. I can feel that every day. I don't have many comparisons to other types of yoga or other studios but I can feel that every person in the room receives all the love and attention that Amanda has to give. There were a few occasions now where I could observe how students who studied with her a long time ago returned back to the studio after months or years. They take up where they have left off. I think this is something special and that students gain a sense of long term trust in a teacher. I was also fortunate to observe how Amanda introduces new students to the practice. Recently my dad asked me how it was possible that all these students in the room know what to do. He thought you must pre-train to come to the studio - No. Every student receives Amanda's full attention and enthusiasm every day. Longevity is difficult for us to understand when we have practiced for only a few months or years. Which is why Amanda is very clear about movements that are beneficial for us and which ones are not beneficial for us in the long term. We need this guidance as we sometimes cannot see how a movement that might be easy for us now could become difficult or even painful as we progress through our lives. Mysore Melbourne gives me space and time to grow and learn and I am very grateful for this opportunity.”
— DS
“Amanda is a highly intuitive and knowledgeable teacher who is constantly evolving and adapting her teaching to best support her students in the given circumstance. Her teaching has a delicate balance between providing students with support and encouraging self awareness and learning.”
— SN