Welcome! We are honored that you are choosing to practice yoga with us.
What is yoga?
Yoga is a whole person approach to wellness and health. The practice of yoga in the modern context is often centered on the physical postures that strengthen and stretch the body for general wellness. Additional yoga tools can be applied to calm the mind and cultivate qualities of peacefulness, contentment, courage and gratitude.
We offer class options that emphasize the physical postures to help you condition or heal your body and options that introduce breathing practices (pranayama), meditation, sound and philosophical teachings.
Yoga is not competitive. We invite you to make it your own practice and to take it at your own pace.
Some of the key benefits of yoga include the potential to:
- Strengthen, stabilize and stretch your physical body
- Increase and stabilize your energy through the day
- Focus your mind
- Develop a positive and balanced attitude toward life’s inevitable challenges
- Elevate your mood
- Connect with your inner essence or spirit, whatever that means for you.
Yoga isn’t a religion. The philosophical teachings of yoga are non-sectarian, meaning that they aren’t connected to any particular religion. Most students find that if anything, having a yoga practice helps them re-connect with the spiritual teachings and traditions that they hold most dearly in their hearts.
What Do I Need to Know about Taking a Yoga Class?
Your First Time at the Studio: Welcome! We want you to feel comfortable for your yoga practice. Arrive early so that we can meet, give you an orientation to the studio, answer questions and have you fill out health forms.
Equipment: We encourage you to bring your own yoga mat. Our studio has mats that you can borrow; we simply ask that you clean the mat when you are done. We have a yoga mat spray and paper towels in each studio for your convenience.
Phones: Turn off your cell phone ringtone, chimes, and dings unless you are “on call.” If you are “on call,” we kindly ask that you use a communication mode that creates minimal disruption for other students.
Class Culture: Some classes are more social and interactive. Others are more meditative and quiet. Some of your fellow students may want to chat and others may want some quiet time. Let us know if you would like to discuss class options so that you can find a class that is the right fit for you.
Individualized Help: We are happy to answer questions. It’s often better to review questions before or after class. Your teacher will pay attention to what’s happening in the room and provide individualized help as needed so that the practice fits your needs.
What to Wear: You will be moving and bending in many different ways in yoga class. Wear comfortable clothes with some stretch and coverage.
While You Are Practicing: We use a variety of methods to help you learn yoga including instructions, demonstration of what to do and if needed, a little extra individual help.
We encourage you to pay attention to what’s happening in your body, your breath and your mind during the class. You’ll find many rewards in doing just that for an hour.
Safety While Practicing And In The Studio
Yoga is usually practiced in bare feet but you may want to practice in non-slip socks or rubber slippers.
It’s easier to practice postures or breathe deeply if you come to class on an empty stomach. A good rule of thumb is to eat bigger meals a few hours before class. A light snack an hour before class is fine.
Yoga isn’t a physical competition. We want you to start where you are, pay attention to what’s happening as you practice, and stop and tell us about it if something hurts.
If you have a bum knee, sore back, cranky shoulders, overstressed wrists or other physical or health challenges, your teacher will help you adapt the practice and the postures to fit your needs.
Please let your teacher know if you are coming to class with any new injuries or if you have aggravated an old injury. Your safety is dependent on your teacher knowing what’s going on with you. We recommend that you follow your health care provider’s advice related to injuries.
Rest when you need to. Do what you can. Yoga is about using movement, breath, attention, awareness and other tools to lasso the bucking bronco of thoughts and calm the mind.
Our most experienced and senior student is 90 years young. If she can do yoga, so can you!