YOU'RE INVITED TO JOIN US AT COMMUNITY YOGA CENTER FOR ASHTANGA VINYASA YOGA!
Ashtanga vinyasa yoga is postural practice that links breath and movement in a dynamic sequence of poses. The primary sequence of postures in ashtanga vinyasa yoga is comprised of about 75 poses that are repeated during every practice session. Each posture is held for a certain number of breaths (typically 5) and includes specific movements into and out of the poses. Practicing consistently and rhythmically in this way not only creates a regular frame of reference from which to observe the felt sense of the body-mind, but also helps build a self-guided yoga practice that can be practiced anytime and anywhere, without the assistance of a guide. This combination of heightened awareness and personal autonomy underlies the power of ashtanga vinyasa yoga.
We facilitate this practice communally, with multiple practitioners offering sequencing and alignment cues during the group practice. You're invited to practice along with us OR lead yourself in any kind of yoga practice you'd like. In this way, our group practice sessions can be a choose your own adventure kind of experience! Initially, this might seem odd - real freedom can feel weird at first - but if you lean into the spacious connectedness created by this kind of individual and collective experience, you might feel more at ease practicing like this than in any other way. So you pick! You decide how you'd like to practice. And together we'll all hold the space for both collectively led ashtanga vinyasa yoga and open yoga.
We practice indoors, in a large room. We recommend wearing comfortable layered clothing to help regulate preferred body temperature. If you have postural practice supports like mats, blankets, bolsters, blocks, and straps, please bring them with you. We have community practice supports for you to use as well. Feel free to borrow any community practice support to facilitate and enhance your practice. We also suggest bringing water to maintain hydration after practice.
No experience is necessary and there is never a cost. We welcome everyBODY. We so hope to practice with YOU in commUNITY!
WE ARE BUILT ON GIVING
Our practice opportunities are provided solely through voluntary giving. The giving of many is what allows the practice opportunities to be offered so freely. Anyone who’s experienced benefit from our offerings is invited to give for the benefit of others.
There are many ways to give beyond financial contributions. Giving includes all types of altruistic service, inside or outside our yoga community. Giving also includes generously sharing yoga and consistently practicing yoga with honesty and love. This kind of perpetual giving makes living yoga possible.
In giving, we loosen the grip of our greatest source of suffering - self-absorption. We expand our hearts in a way that recognizes we are not actually separate from others. Giving is a letting go of a sense of separateness that’s based in ignorance. When we practice giving, we feel into how we all depend on one another - how we are all part of the whole. In this way, giving is the natural response of the awakened heart. Every act of giving is an opportunity to feel into the lack of separation between the one who gives and the one who receives.
You’re invited to give according to your volition and means - in whatever ways resonate with you. You might like to make monetary donations, contribute to our collective resources, or dedicate your time and skill to assist the community. Financial offerings subsidize the practice costs, including facility use, insurance, practice supports, and cleaning supplies.
A NOTE ON THE ORIGINS OF ASHTANGA VINYASA YOGA
Ashtanga vinyasa yoga originated from a sequence of poses created by Tirumalai Krishnamacharya based on what he learned from Rama Mohan Brahmachari in the early 1900s. Krishna Pattabhi Jois, a student of Krishnamacharya, began teaching the sequence in led classes that emphasized synchronized group movement. Jois coined the term “ashtanga yoga” to describe his teaching of postural practice in this way. The practice spread through the efforts of many of Jois’ early students, including David Swenson and Richard Freeman, and influenced many current styles of postural practice, including all types of vinyasa flow and power yoga practices. Over time, this style of yoga has evolved, leading to various interpretations of the practice.