Classes
Yoga is divided into 8 branches. One branch focuses on breathing exercises and another on physical postures (asanas). Together, these two branches make up Hatha Yoga.
All modern yoga styles are based on the poses you will learn and practice in our Hatha Yoga class. You will experience all of the benefits of yoga and learn poses to improve your balance, strength, flexibility, and internal awareness. The difference between classes centers on the intensity and duration of the postures practiced as well as the role of breathing. Room temperatures may also vary.
Gentle Yoga
A slow-paced Hatha Yoga class that focuses on postures to awaken and relax your body and mind. Soothing music, rejuvenating postures and deep relaxation combine to refresh your body and mind. The room is kept at a comfortable temperature. A great class for beginners and anyone seeking a rejuvenating and restorative yoga experience. Stretch, relax, and release your day.
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Yoga I
A slow-paced Hatha Yoga class that focuses on learning the essential postures (asanas) for health, strength, flexibility, balance and happiness. Instructors focus on proper alignment and breathing in basic yoga postures. This class is accessible to beginners and is slightly more vigorous than our Gentle Yoga class.
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Yoga II
For students who have attended Level 1 classes and are seeking to grow their strength, balance, and flexibility. Begin exploring more challenging postures, including inversions, Sun Salutations, and more vigorous sequences.
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Yoga III
For students who are comfortable in Level II classes and want to advance their practice. Classes include a variety of powerful postures including inversions, backbends, and arm balances, and are designed to take your practice the next level of strength and focus.
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Men’s Yoga
Explore yoga postures and breathing exercises unique to the specific strength and flexibility needs of men. Men’s Hatha I.
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Women’s Yoga
Explore yoga postures and breathing exercises unique to the specific strength and flexibility needs of women. All levels welcome.
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Prenatal Yoga
Prenatal Yoga teaches moms-to-be to breathe deeply and relax. Maintain or begin your yoga practice in this safe environment designed specifically for your needs. Prenatal yoga students are welcome to bring female support persons to class.
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Children’s Yoga
Children’s Yoga classes empower and engage students through games, songs, the use of imagination, and tools for relaxation. This Class is appropriate for students ages 5-10.
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Flowing Yoga II
A flowing and athletic routine synchronizing breath and movement, linking postures together to create a challenging and dynamic practice. Practice inversions, backbend variations, breathing exercises, and relaxation techniques. Refresh your body and mind as you reset your rhythm.
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Hot Flowing Yoga II
Our Hot Yoga class combines the best of our Flowing Yoga classes with all the benefits of a heated room. Enjoy a detoxifying, full body workout that will invigorate both your body and mind. The room will be heated to a hot, yet safe, 90 to 95 degrees.
The safety zone for exercising in heat is based on a balance between temperature and humidity. The average humidity in San Diego is between 60 and 70 percent. Based on information provided by the American Council on Exercise we have chosen to offer hot yoga between 90 and 95 degrees. Please wear comfortable exercise clothing that you can sweat in. Persons with heart or blood pressure challenges should consult a doctor before practicing Hot Flowing Yoga.
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Hot Yoga II
Our Hot Yoga class combines the best of our Yoga I, II, & III classes with all the benefits of a heated room. Enjoy a detoxifying, full body workout that will invigorate both your body and mind. The room will be heated to a hot, yet safe, 90 to 95 degrees.
The safety zone for exercising in heat is based on a balance between temperature and humidity. The average humidity in San Diego is between 60 and 70 percent. Based on information provided by the American Council on Exercise we have chosen to offer hot yoga between 90 and 95 degrees. Please wear comfortable exercise clothing that you can sweat in. Persons with heart or blood pressure challenges should consult a doctor before practicing Hot Yoga.
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Meditation
Learn the ancient art of meditation. Find calm and harmony amidst your daily activities. You will learn techniques for concentration, relaxation, visualization and meditation. The class is on-going (you can start at any time) and takes roughly four sessions to learn. All levels welcome. Free!
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Music Meditation
Spring-boarding off our popular meditation class (also FREE) we add live music, ancient mantras and storytelling to help you find the dynamic tranquility that we all possess. This practice is also traditionally know as Kirtan. Free!
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Yoga Philosophy
Learn the essence of yoga philosophy in this on-going class. Read, discuss, and interpret yoga teaching as it applies to your life and the modern world. All students are welcome and no preparation or experience is necessary. Free!
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Yoga Style Descriptions
Try attending a few different types of classes, and you’ll quickly discover the right match to suit your needs. Below you’ll find brief descriptions of some of the hatha yoga disciplines that are being practiced in the United States.
Ashtanga
The practice of Ashtanga that’s getting mainstream attention today is a fast-paced series of sequential postures practiced by yoga master K. Pattabhi Jois, who lives in Mysore, India. Today, yogis continue to spread Jois’s teachings worldwide, making it one of the most popular schools of yoga around.
The system is based on six series of asanas which increase in difficulty, allowing students to work at their own pace. In class, you’ll be led nonstop through one or more of the series. There’s no time for adjustments?you’ll be encouraged to breathe as you move from pose to pose. Be prepared to sweat. For more information, visit Ashtanga teacher Richard Freeman’s Web site www.yogaworkshop.com
Power Yoga
In 1995, Bender Birch set out to challenge Americans’ understanding of what it really means to be fit with her book Power Yoga (Fireside, 1995). Bender Birch’s intention was to give a Western spin to the practice of Ashtanga Yoga, a challenging and disciplined series of poses designed to create heat and energy flow.
“Most people wouldn’t take a class called Ashtanga Yoga, because they had no idea what it meant. Power Yoga, on the other hand, was something Americans could relate to and know that they’d get a good workout,” says Bender Birch.
Power Yoga’s popularity has spread to health clubs across the country and has taken on a broad range of applications. The common thread is a rigorous workout that develops strength and flexibility while keeping students on the move. For specifics, consult individual instructors before signing up for a class. For more information visit Thom Birch and Beryl Bender Birch’s Web site www.power-yoga.com or Bryan Kest’s Web site www.poweryoga.com
Jivamukti
Looking for a highly meditative but physically challenging form of yoga? Try Jivamukti. You won’t be alone.
Each week, more than 2,000 people visit the Jivamukti Yoga Center in New York City. Its popularity lies in the teaching approach of cofounders David Life and Sharon Gannon, who opened their first studio in 1986, combining an Ashtanga background with a variety of ancient and modern spiritual teachings. In addition to vinyasa-style asanas, classes include chanting, meditation, readings, music, and affirmations. This spiritual resource center also offers specialized courses in Sanskrit and the sacred yoga texts.
“Over the course of time, students will get a broad yoga education,” Life promises. “One week, a class may focus on a particular asana, while the next week’s theme may discuss more metaphysical issues.”
Beginner classes start by emphasizing standing poses, followed by instruction on forward bends, backbends, and inversions. These classes also introduce chants. For more information on class schedules or to find a certified instructor in your area, visit www.jivamuktiyoga.com
Iyengar
From his home in Pune, India, B.K.S. Iyengar reigns as one of the most influential yogis of his time. At 80 years old, he continues to teach thousands of students from all over the world, encouraging them to penetrate deeper into the experience of each pose. This is the trademark of Iyengar Yoga an intense focus on the subtleties of each posture.
In an Iyengar class, poses (especially standing postures) are typically held much longer than in other schools of yoga, so that practitioners can pay close attention to the precise muscular and skeletal alignment this system demands. Also specific to Iyengar, which is probably the most popular type of yoga practiced in the United States, is the use of props, including belts, chairs, blocks, and blankets, to help accommodate any special needs such as injuries or structural imbalances.
“In forward bends, for example, if someone’s hamstrings aren’t flexible, he or she can use a prop to help extend the spine. The wall is often used for support in a variety of poses,” explains Janet MacLeod, who teaches at the Iyengar Yoga Institute in San Francisco. “Using props gives the student support, allowing them more freedom to breathe deeply into the pose.” For more information, visit www.iyisf.org
Bikram
When you take a Bikram yoga class, expect to sweat. Each studio is designed to replicate yoga’s birthplace climate, with temperatures pushing 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Why the sauna-like effect? “Because sweat helps move the toxins out of your body,” explains Radha Garcia, owner of Bikram’s Yoga College of India in Boulder, Colorado. “Your body is like a sponge. To cleanse it, you need to wring it out to allow fresh blood and oxygen to circulate and keep your immune system running smoothly.”
This method of staying healthy from the inside out was designed by Bikram Choudhury, who sequenced a series of 26 traditional hatha postures to address the proper functioning of every bodily system.
Choudhury first visited the United States from India in 1971 on a trip sponsored by the American Medical Association to demonstrate his work using yoga to treat chronically ill patients. Today Choudhury continues teaching students of all ages and abilities from his studio in Los Angeles where he also conducts a certified teacher’s training program. For more information, visit www.bikramyoga.com
Sivananda
At its core, Sivananda Yoga is geared toward helping students answer the age-old question “Who am I?” This yoga practice is based on the philosophy of Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh, India, who taught disciples to “serve, love, give, purify, meditate, realize.” In order to achieve this goal, Sivananda advocated a path that would recognize and synthesize each level of the human experience including the intellect, heart, body, and mind.
In 1957, his disciple Swami Vishnu-devananda introduced these teachings to an American audience. A few years later, Vishnu-devananda founded the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers, summarizing Sivananda’s system into five main principles: proper exercise (asanas); proper breathing (pranayama); proper relaxation (Savasana); proper diet (vegetarian); and positive thinking (Vedanta) and meditation (dhyana).
There are more than 80 centers worldwide, as well as ashrams and teacher-training programs, all of which follow a hatha yoga practice emphasizing 12 basic postures to increase strength and flexibility of the spine. Chanting, pranayama, and meditation are also included, helping students to release stress and blocked energy. For more information, visit www.sivananda.org
Kundalini
Kundalini Yoga, stemming from the tantra yoga path, at one time remained a closely guarded secret practiced only by a select few. In 1969, however, Yogi Bhajan decided to change this tradition by bringing Kundalini to the West. Yogi Bhajan’s reasoning was based on the philosophy that it’s everybody’s birthright to be “healthy, happy and holy,” and he believed Kundalini would help spiritual seekers from all religious paths tap into their greater potential.
The practice of Kundalini Yoga incorporates postures, dynamic breathing techniques, and chanting and meditating on mantras such as “Sat Nam” (meaning “I am truth”). Practitioners concentrate on awakening the energy at the base of the spine and drawing it upward through each of the seven chakras. For more information, visit www.3HO.org
Kripalu
Located in the Berkshire region of Western Massachusetts, the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health has helped guide thousands of people along their path of self-discovery by teaching a system of yoga developed over a 20-year period by yogi Amrit Desai and the Kripalu staff.
During the 1970s, while studying under Indian guru Kripaluvananda, Amrit felt his body begin to move in a spontaneous flow of postures without the direction of his mind. This deep release of prana (life’s energy force) brought about a profound transformation in Amrit, so he developed these movements into three stages of practice which he could then teach to others.
The three stages of Kripalu yoga include: willful practice (a focus on alignment, breath, and the presence of consciousness); willful surrender (a conscious holding of the postures to the level of tolerance and beyond, deepening concentration and focus of internal thoughts and emotions); and meditation in motion (the body’s complete release of internal tensions and a complete trust in the body’s wisdom to perform the postures and movements needed to release physical and mental tensions and enter deep meditation). For more information, visit www.kripalu.org
Anusara
Anusara means “to step into the current of divine will.” Anusara Yoga is an integrated approach to hatha yoga in which the human spirit blends with the precise science of biomechanics. It is a new system of hatha yoga that can be both spiritually inspiring and yet grounded in a deep knowledge of outer and inner body alignment. It can be therapeutically effective and physically transformative. The central philosophy of this yoga is that each person is equally divine in every part?body, mind, and spirit. Each student’s various abilities and limitations are respected and honored. Anusara Yoga differentiates itself from other hatha yoga systems with three key areas of practice: Attitude. The practitioner balances an opening to grace with an aspiration for awakening to his or her true nature. Alignment. Each pose is performed with an integrated awareness of all the different parts of the body. Action. Each pose is performed as an artistic expression of the heart in which muscular stability is balanced with an expansive inner freedom. For more information, visit www.anusara.com
If you are browsing through a yoga studio’s brochure of classes and the yoga offered is simply described as “yoga,” chances are the teacher is offering an eclectic blend of two or more of the styles described above. It’s a good idea to ask the teacher or director of the studio where he or she was trained and if the poses are held for a length of time or if you will be expected to move quickly from one pose to the next, and if meditation or chanting is included. This will give you a better idea if the class is vigorous or more meditative.