Principles of Classical Yoga
Yoga is a source of joy, clarity, and inner freedom. You do not need to be limber to practice yoga—or athletic, or "spiritual," or even able-bodied. You start where you are and enter into the practice as an exploration.
Yoga is an adventure. Each time we practice, we encounter the known ("There's my tight shoulder again!") and the unknown ("Wow! There is actually a way to release that shoulder!"). We encounter new sensations and new realizations. We focus so intently on exactly what is happening in the moment that our habitual mental chatter starts to quiet down and we experience ourselves—perhaps for the first time—as something other than a restless mind.
Yoga does not ask you to believe in anything, but rather to find out for yourself what is true. A curious and observant attitude is the key to progress along the path of yoga.
Yoga is non-competitive and non-comparative. In this sense, a yoga class can provide an alternative to the way much of the world feels to us much of the time. You are encouraged to be sensitive to your body and its needs and to honor your limitations while you work toward greater freedom. Physical, mental, and emotional transformation will come to those who practice with attention and consistency no matter where they started from.
Yoga is about learning, not just about doing. We aim to give clear, detailed instructions and provide individual attention. Through attentive, supportive instruction, students learn to become their own teachers so that they can knowledgeably modify poses when necessary and can practice independently.
Yoga awakens what B.K.S. Iyengar calls "the intelligence of the body." Intelligence is not only in the brain or the mind, but in the body as a whole. Too many people live disconnected from their bodies and this disconnection is a cause of both mental and physical suffering. Yoga leads us progressively inward and progressively toward integration. As we become ever more attuned to exactly what is happening in every part of the body and to how the various body parts relate to and influence one another, we become peaceful inside.
Yoga is fun and fun is therapeutic. A good yoga class includes humor and laughter. Laughter helps us feel relaxed and connected with others. The feeling in the yoga room is one of camaraderie and shared discovery. We are all in this together and we are each supported by the presence of our classmates.