Atha Yoga HTX

Our final week of Urdhva Dhanurasana (wheel pose) preparation will have a spotlight on lengthening and preparing the front body. We will open the chest and fronts of the legs and hips, in addition to lengthening the sides and engaging the back body, which we focused on in past weeks.

All levels are welcome, whether this pose is in your practice or not!

Join us to lean into the timeless teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, which teaches us truths applicable to living our daily lives with ease and purpose. We will discuss through chapter 3 tonight but there is no requirement to have read the book if you haven’t yet.

Afterwards, we will enjoy the guided mediation practice of Yoga Nidra to restore and integrate.

TONIGHT | 6pm (in studio and online)

The Upanishads are a collection of teachings from the ancient Vedas, one of the many gifts we have received from India.

Here, the Isha Upanishad presents a solution to human suffering. The Isha Upanishad teaches that you already contain all selves, that you are all beings and they are you. If this is the case, you cannot know grief, hatred, or fear. It asks: what is there to desire if you already contain all things? What is there to be harmed by if you are already united with all things?

The tradition of yoga also comes from India and shares many of its teachings with the Upanishads. We can use our yoga practice as a way to connect to this idea of a radiant self that is shared throughout the world. The practice is an access point to something transcendent and powerful that can shift your entire worldview.

Next week we continue our work on Urdhva Dhanurasana, focusing on engagement of the back body.

Our practice will be well-rounded with a little bit of extra attention paid to all of the muscles on the back of us and how to get them to help us in our back extension shape. See you on your mat!

• Monday 630p | Tuesday 10a (in-studio)
• Tuesday 6p (online)

We have started to study that pillar of human philosophy, the Bhagavad Gita, in our monthly Study and Restore class. One of the profound teachings is that by ridding ourselves of selfish desire, we become free and can live with joy and bliss. The text does not ask us to give up desire (this fuels us to do anything at all in life!), but rather, that desire which comes at the expense of others.

Is there somewhere you might be able to embrace this teaching in your life, even in a small way? What are you holding onto that blocks you from realizing your own true nature?

Welcome to May! This month, we are turning to preparation for Urdhva Dhanurasana, commonly called “wheel pose” (though it translates to upward bow pose, which perhaps is a better description of the shape).

Each week we’ll focus on a particular area of preparation, all while being a well-rounded class to ready the whole self for urdhva dhanurasana and the poses that lead up to it.

Next week is about lengthening the sides of the torso and armpit area, including the shoulders. This will bring us greater ease when we arrive at poses that require these areas to be spacious. Join us!

— Mondays 630P | Tuesdays 10A (in-studio)
— Tuesdays 6P (online)
— Sat. May 9th, 2P | Advancing Your Āsana (online & in-studio)

This verse seems relevant and grounding after watching the Artemis II crew travel farther from Earth than any human has in over 50 years last week. The joy on the astronauts’ faces as they live-streamed back to us on Earth; the collective held breath of humanity looking up; those images taken of the moon and our own planet from space that inspired awe. That’s ananda, the bliss the ancient teachers were pointing to — not a feeling we manufacture, but one that lives at the very core of existence, rising up when we least expect it.

We come from joy. We return to joy. And sometimes, the universe reminds us of that in the most spectacular ways. What gives you pure joy in your life?

The best part of Atha Yoga is you, the community we’re building here. It’s so beautiful to watch it grow.

Thank you for practicing with us!