SITA

Shosita Chia Founder of Mysore Breathing Room Authorised Level 2 Ashtanga Yoga Teacher

Sita is the founder of Mysore Breathing Room. Her deep passion for yoga has kept her at the forefront as the lead teacher since the shala’s inception.

Born and raised in a lineage of spiritual leaders and practitioners, Sita began questioning the nature of self, consciousness, and life’s purpose from an early age. As a curious and rebellious child, her experiences living in the Middle East during wartime intensified her search for answers about humanity, justice, higher powers, and the universality of human experience—which she views as All being One.

Sita’s yoga foundation is rooted in Jnana Yoga (the Yoga of Knowledge and Philosophy) and Bhakti Yoga (the Yoga of Devotion). Her late father, a Buddhist monk and Pali-Sanskrit scholar, was her first teacher. After converting to Islam while living in the Middle East, he introduced her to Arabic and the study of the Quran.

At 19, Sita encountered Yoga Asana for the first time at a small Hatha yoga school—The Krishna Association in Thailand. This sparked a lifelong journey of exploration across the physical, spiritual, and mental dimensions of yoga. Her academic background in sociology and anthropology, combined with her work as a photojournalist, enabled her to travel extensively. She has spent significant time in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, North and South America, Germany, and Japan—engaging in photography while studying Yoga and Ayurveda under various schools and renowned teachers.

Sita is a certified Ayurvedic alternative medicine practitioner and a Sivananda-certified Hatha yoga teacher. She has led workshops and retreats in Kutir (an ashram in northern India), Singapore, Bali, and Thailand. She holds a senior intermediate level 2 Iyengar certification under Geeta Iyengar and Rajiv Chanchani, and completed a 500-hour teacher training with YogaWorks in San Francisco. After years of practising Hatha and Iyengar yoga, she found her calling in the Ashtanga yoga method, beginning with her first teacher, Chuck Miller. Since then, she has practised under many esteemed Ashtanga teachers.

Yoga transformed Sita’s life, helping her recover from illness and addiction. She credits the practice with purifying her mind and body and feels deeply grateful to be both a student and teacher. She has completed the Ashtanga Primary and Intermediate series under Sri R. Sharath Jois, and continues her advanced studies at KPJAYI (K. Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute) in Mysore, India, with Jois’ blessing.

Sita is also well-versed in Iyengar, Yin, Restorative, Pranayama, Kriya, Yoga Therapy, Prenatal, and Hot Yoga. She has studied Reiki (Master level) and crystal healing, holds a diploma in wellness and nutrition (covering both plant-based and non-plant-based diets), and is a certified neuromuscular therapist.

In her free time, Sita enjoys spending time with her cats, street photography, painting, detox practices (Kriyas), Bible study, and cooking and baking—don’t miss her gluten-free muffins and kombucha in the shala’s fridge! While she values asana as a powerful mind-body tool, she believes the true essence of yoga lies in applying all its facets to daily life. Her dream and firm intention for the future is to engage in humanitarian work for those in need.

  • Miyuki has been a dedicated student of Mysore Breathing Room Shala for the past three years, committing to a six‑day‑a‑week practice while continuing her assistanceship with teacher Sita. With over eleven years of experience as an Ashtanga yoga practitioner, Miyuki has never stopped learning, continually deepening her understanding of yoga through study with many senior and experienced teachers around the world.

    Through the Mysore method, Miyuki has personally experienced the deeply transformative nature of Ashtanga yoga - a practice that has touched thousands of students worldwide. She is excited to begin teaching Ashtanga Beginner classes at Mysore Breathing Room shala, driven by a strong passion for sharing her experience, knowledge, and love for the practice.

  • Ginger exemplify the essence of the Mysore Ashtanga method, meeting each practitioner where they are on their path. As a devoted mother of two young, lovely girls she still maintains a strong weekly sādhana at Mysore Breathing Room Shala, alongside her assistantship with teacher Sita the past 3 years.

    With over 10 years of practice under experienced Ashtanga teachers in countries she’ve been to, Ginger has developed a solid, fluid, and deeply embodied practice. Her clear understanding and mindful engagement are evident in every āsana, whether in Primary, Intermediate, or Advanced series. Her Ashtanga practice supports her daily life with steadiness, clarity, and resilience both on and off the mat.

    Ginger begins leading the Ashtanga Beginner Class at Mysore Breathing Room Shala, offering grounded, caring guidance for those new to the Mysore method.

  • Weiyang is a 200-hour certified yoga teacher and Ashtanga practitioner of three years, sharing his practice at Mysore Breathing Room. His classes emphasize breath, consistency, and building strength from the inside out.

    Alongside teaching, he works as a certified personal trainer in gym and home settings. In his free time, he trains hard and eats well—living the balance he encourages in others.

  • Jet’s slow flow journey began during her time living in the Netherlands. Alongside her daily Ashtanga practice, she gradually explored Slow Flow and Shanti Flow, discovering the harmony between softness and strength. She was drawn to Mindful Yin Flow for its gentle, grounding nature that helping her quiet the mind, ease tension and feel more at home in her body. She loves guiding slow, intuitive movement with sound healing, creating a safe, playful space to explore and simply be.

  • Rachel’s relationship with yoga began early, with some of her fondest childhood memories rooted in playful exploration of the practice—roaring in Lion Pose and learning Crow alongside her mom and sister. After a break, she returned to yoga and has been practicing consistently for the past nine years, exploring a wide range of styles. Rachel began practicing with Sita at Mysore Breathing Room around two and a half years ago, where she was introduced to Ashtanga yoga. From the beginning, the structure of the practice resonated deeply with her, feeling intuitive and supportive of what her body needed. Over time, Mysore practice has become much more than a physical discipline—it has taught her how to move with the breath, cultivate self-guidance, and build strength and resilience beyond what she once thought possible. Her practice continues to be a space for focus, growth, and quiet transformation.

  • Adriel is the Operations Manager of MBR and assists with matters behind the scenes. A yoga practitioner by necessity, he relies on the mindfulness aspect of yoga to stay present and grounded, and the asana aspect to keep his body well enough to sit for extended periods.

    He began practicing yoga in college and came to appreciate its indispensable nature after entering the legal profession. This realization led him to another calling, which resulted in yearly sojourns to the epi-center of yoga—India. Over the past decades, he has received instruction in pranayama from B.N.S. Iyengar and was initiated into the path of bhakti by Santosh Kumar (disciple of B.K.S. Iyengar) of Yogadarshanam. In India, he has studied with Bharath Shetty (disciple of B.K.S. Iyengar) and completed the Prana Vashya sequence and advanced back-bending course with Vinay Kumar, among others. His first formal studies of the Yoga Sutras were under Professor Nagaraja Rao of the Oriental Research Institute in Mysore. Adriel, an E-RYT-500 since 2015, also holds certifications in Ayurvedic Medicine and Marma Therapy, under Dr. K.S. Chitralekha.

    His practice deepened significantly after meeting Sita in 2014, when he began apprenticing in the traditional manner of instruction to be an Ashtanga teacher. Despite attending, subsequently assisting, and thereafter conducting, 200/300/500hr teacher trainings, he sought to take things to new heights, and embracing the Mysore method, he has not looked back. In his last trip to Mysore, he studied with Sharath Jois. His travels to Mysore involve receiving tutelage in Advaita Vedanta from Arvind Parre, a well-known scholar in Karnataka.

    During his tertiary education, Adriel’s insatiable thirst for knowledge led him to explore a broad range of disciplines such as criminology, economics, game theory, psychological science, law, and statistics. After completing two degrees (B.Com, LL.B.) and earning numerous mentions on the Dean’s List in psychological science, he felt his formal education was sufficient and transitioned to self-directed continuing education. His current focus is on methods to maximize human potential by incorporating spirituality into understanding subconscious and unconscious processes in the human mind. This research interest stems from his belief that the true inner psyche can only be comprehended by integrating wisdom from ancient texts with research from psychological science especially drawing from insights from the humanistic approach.

    Previously a traveling teacher, which included opening a modest 12 villa yoga resort in Ubud ,the aftermath of the pandemic has tamed his travel bug to a degree. Currently, he conducts mindfulness sessions online for students around the world. Presently, he mainly commutes between Thailand and Singapore. In Thailand, he works in a residential mental health treatment centre, offering mindfulness sessions and yoga classes.

    Mindfulness Sessions (in-person, online): He adopts a firm but compassionate approach in his sessions and, as a realist, only accepts students who are ready to receive instruction and are able to concretely demonstrate a willingness to implement meaningful changes in their lives.

    15 Mar 2025 update: Adriel is currently not taking on any new students online or in person. However, expressions of interest for June 2025 onwards will be considered. Kindly write to him at adriel.ho@pm.me.