Jangalika, House of Ashtanga Yoga

Tucked into the natural landscape of Koh Phangan in southern Thailand, Jangalika — House of Ashtanga Yoga is a dedicated practice space built around one thing: the traditional Mysore-style Ashtanga method. It is not a drop-in fitness studio or a retreat resort. It is a personal shala, housed in a teak wood structure beside a lotus pond, where serious students come to practise in the way Ashtanga has always been taught — individually, daily, and in silence.

At the centre of Jangalika is its founder and teacher, Mannu, who has maintained an uninterrupted daily Ashtanga practice since 2012. He studied directly with R. Sharath Jois at the Krishna Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute in Mysore, India, completing five separate three-month residencies there over the years. Since 2016, he has been teaching from this home shala on Koh Phangan, offering individual instruction grounded in the three core elements of the Ashtanga method: free breathing with sound, posture supported by bandha, and drishti — the specific gazing point that anchors the attention inward.

Daily Mysore-style classes run six mornings a week, Sunday through Friday, from 7:00 AM to 10:00 AM. Students of all levels — complete beginners included — practice their own sequence at their own pace, receiving hands-on adjustments and direct instruction from Mannu. Fridays bring a led Primary Series class followed by a discussion group. The format is deliberately unhurried and personal. Students have reported significant physical results alongside a deepening of self-awareness, and several have returned across multiple seasons.

For those wanting a more structured experience, Jangalika offers two-week immersion courses in the summer months, providing an intensive introduction to the practice within the same intimate setting. Spots are limited, keeping the environment focused and the teaching direct. Mannu's approach is free of rigid dogma — his interest lies in the practice itself, adapted thoughtfully to each individual's process. The surrounding wilderness of Koh Phangan, with its waterfalls, ocean, and forest, adds a quiet depth to the experience that is hard to find elsewhere.