1. Enthusiasm for practice is essential and helpful. Obsession is not.
2. Find a teacher and spend as much time as possible with that one teacher to fully absorb the lessons that are being transmitted.
3. Have faith in your teacher and the practice.
4. Practice the asanas and the sequence as they are taught to you.
5. Refrain from instructing other students. Focus on your own practice.
6. Refrain from instructing the teacher on how to teach you or other students.
7. Pain is not an option. Occasional discomfort is expected. Learn the difference between pain and discomfort
8. Report any injury or illness that needs special consideration.
9. Hydrate well before and after class. Only drink water during practice if absolutely necessary.
10. Mysore-style Ashtanga Yoga is a therapeutic practice and is taught in that manner. Competition with yourself and/or other students is highly discouraged and detrimental to the mind and body.
11. There is no such thing as the perfect asana. Let it go and accept yourself on that day, that hour, that minute and that second.
12. If you have difficulty with an asana, attempt it twice and then move onto the next side or the next asana. If it is your last asana proceed to your finishing sequence or move onto backbending if you have been given backbends.
13. The days you don't feel like practicing are sometimes the most magical days of practice.
14. Stay home if you have a fever, or are contagious.
15. The ujjayi breath is a state of being, not a state of doing. Leave Darth Vader on the Death Star. Ask the teacher if you don't understand the difference. He would be happy to help you with this very important lesson.
