Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to attend one of your group offerings? Do you offer package deals?
The "drop-in" fee for one yoga class is $15. However, if you plan to attend more classes in the future, we would suggest choosing one of our packages that best suites your financial ability. You can view our packages HERE. Packages do not expire and can be used for any weekly group offering at your discretion.
How do I know which class is best suited for me?
First, each class on our schedule is suitable for all levels of practitioner. Although some classes are more challenging than others, modifications, props, and variations will be made available to anyone who would benefit from having another option.
If you're looking for something more specific, consider your intended outcome from taking a class. If you would like to move and possibly work up a sweat, opt for a flow class. If you prefer an experience that is slower in pace and meditative, try one of our yin classes.
Do you have any online offerings?
While we hope to be able to offer online class options in the near future, we currently do not have any available. Subscribe to our email list and be one of the first to know when we do!
You can also check out our channel of prerecorded yoga classes.
What is the cost of a private yoga session?
The cost of an in-studio private yoga session is $75 for one hour & $85 for 90 minutes.
In-home are available for special circumstances. The cost of sessions vary depending on location and the number of participants.
What do I need to begin?
All you really need to begin practicing yoga is your body, your mind, and a bit of curiosity. But it is also helpful to have a pair of yoga leggings, or shorts, and a t-shirt that’s not too baggy. No special footgear is required because you will be barefoot. It’s nice to bring a towel to class with you. As your practice develops you might want to buy your own yoga mat, but most studios will have mats and other props available for you.
How many times per week should I practice?
Yoga is amazing—even if you only practice for one hour a week, you will experience the benefits of the practice. If you can do more than that, you will certainly experience more benefits. I suggest starting with two or three times a week, for an hour or an hour and a half each time. If you can only do 20 minutes per session, that’s fine too. Don’t let time constraints or unrealistic goals be an obstacle—do what you can and don’t worry about it. You will likely find that after a while your desire to practice expands naturally and you will find yourself doing more and more.
Is yoga a religion?
Yoga is not a religion. It is a philosophy that began in India an estimated 5,000 years ago. The father of classical ashtanga yoga (the eight-limbed path, not to be confused with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois’ Ashtanga yoga) is said to be Patanjali, who wrote the Yoga Sutra. These scriptures provide a framework for spiritual growth and mastery over the physical and mental body. Yoga sometimes interweaves other philosophies such as Hinduism or Buddhism, but it is not necessary to study those paths in order to practice or study yoga.
It is also not necessary to surrender your own religious beliefs to practice yoga.
What is yoga and how is it different from stretching and other types of fitness?
The word yoga, from the Sanskrit word yuj means to yoke or bind and is often interpreted as “union” or a method of discipline. A male who practices yoga is called a yogi, a female practitioner, a yogini.
The Indian sage Patanjali is believed to have collated the practice of yoga into the Yoga Sutra an estimated 2,000 years ago. The Sutra is a collection of 195 statements that serves as a philosophical guidebook for most of the yoga that is practiced today. It also outlines eight limbs of yoga: the yamas (restraints), niyamas (observances), asana (postures), pranayama (breathing), pratyahara (withdrawal of senses), dharana (concentration), dhyani (meditation), and samadhi(absorption). As we explore these eight limbs, we begin by refining our behavior in the outer world, and then we focus inwardly until we reach samadhi (liberation, enlightenment).
Today most people practicing yoga are engaged in the third limb, asana, which is a program of physical postures designed to purify the body and provide the physical strength and stamina required for long periods of meditation.
Unlike stretching or fitness, yoga is more than just physical postures. Patanjali’s eight-fold path illustrates how the physical practice is just one aspect of yoga. Even within the physical practice, yoga is unique because we connect the movement of the body and the fluctuations of the mind to the rhythm of our breath. Connecting the mind, body, and breath helps us to direct our attention inward. Through this process of inward attention, we learn to recognize our habitual thought patterns without labeling them, judging them, or trying to change them. We become more aware of our experiences from moment to moment. The awareness that we cultivate is what makes yoga a practice, rather than a task or a goal to be completed. Your body will most likely become much more flexible by doing yoga, and so will your mind.
What is the Meaning of Namaste?
Deepen Your Understanding of this Traditional Greeting
(Nah - mah - stay)
During the final moments of a yoga class, the teacher sits at the front of the room wearing a calming and gentle smile. Palms are pressed together at the heart and head bows in the direction of those who have just taken class. Before one last word is recited that will bring class to a close, the students willingly mirror this gesture exactly. With head still bowed, the teacher quietly speaks the final message, "Namaste." With bowed heads and palms together, the students whisper back, "Namaste" in unison.
Commonly, "namaste" is translated as some variation of, "The divine light within me honors/recognizes the divine light within you."
If we are to get to the very essence of "namaste" we must still go deeper yet.
“Nama" means bow
"as" means I
and "te" means you
Thus, namaste literally means ‘bow me you’ or ‘I bow to you.’
So, where did the addition of the "divine in you" come from?
Hindu belief is that God exists within everyone and anyone and is where the "divine in you" originated. Therefore, any person you meet is greeted with the same gesture of respect. It's a way of acknowledging the soul in one by the soul of another.
The following is one of our favorite translations,
:: My Soul Honors Your Soul. I Honor the Place in You Where the Entire Universe Dwells. I Honor & Recognize the Light, Love, Truth, Beauty, and Peace Within You Because it is Also Within Me. In Sharing These Things We Are United, We Are the Same, We Are One ::