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New To Yoga?
Welcome to YogaKula.
We know getting started can be confusing. If you are unsure about anything, please ask at the front desk, or speak to your teacher.
Finding the right class to suit your needs
Yoga is an incredible system for your total health and well being. These days millions of people do yoga because they experience all the benefits of yoga, increased strength and body toning, integrated body, mind and breath, improved circulation and complete rejeuvenation. YogaKula offers Anusara Yoga which is a therapeutic style of yoga. Anusara Yoga integrates the age-old science of biomechanics with the understanding of the connection between posture, alignment, energy, movement and the heart.
The classes at YogaKula have been developed over the years to allow people of all ages and stages of life to find the right class level to suit their specific needs.
Find your level.
If you are just begining yoga or starting again after a period of time you may wish to begin with a Level 1 class, or an hour-long mixed level class.
In Yoga, there are thousands of different poses, each carrying a specific benefit to the body. It is important therefore, as a beginner student, to be comfortable with the beginner poses. Level 1 classes help the beginner connect the poses in sequences that create larger benefits to the body and introduce the student to the use of the breath in moving in and out of poses.
Then, when you’ve gained confidence and comfort in the basic poses, it’s time to move to more challenging levels. If you have a solid understanding of the sun salutes, standing poses, basic backbends and inversions, you’re ready for a Level 2 or 3 class.
Physical or medical issues
We all have our particular health concerns or issues, be it an old sports injury or a tender lower back from long hours of commute. We cannot stress enough just how important it is to communicate any pre-existing medical problems to your teacher before class.
Teachers will then tailor the Yoga poses to accommodate your needs. This is particularly true for people recovering from injuries, with chronic muscular-skeletal issues, or those recovering from surgical or medical procedures.
Finally…
Dress should be comfortable. Wear loose-fitting or non-restrictive clothing and avoid accessories that could impede your movement. Classes are all barefoot.
Perfume and Oils can be challenging for other students so we request no perfume or oils.
An empty stomach will ensure you are more comfortable in class. Wait two hours after a meal or a half hour after a light snack or drink.
Yoga mats can be rented before class or purchased at the boutique. We recommend you have your own.
Check in at the front desk, take off your shoes, turn off your cell phone and log in on the signup sheet before you enter class.
Talk to the teacher. If you’re new, why not enter the studio a few minutes early and introduce yourself to the teacher? Those having to leave early should tell the teacher before class.
Anusara Yoga®, the fastest growing yoga system in the US, was founded in 1997 by John Friend (www.Anusara.com). The reason Anusara® appeals to such a broad range of students is embodied in its ancient Sanskrit name, which means "flowing with grace," or "following the heart." These two distinct translations describe the experience that is unlocked by the Anusara® method. Anusara® Yoga integrates the age-old science of biomechanics with the understanding of the connection between posture, alignment, energy, movement and the heart. Our classes accommodate all levels of students, including advanced yogis, beginners, seniors, teens and children, as well as those with injuries and chronic misalignments.
Yoga: Sanskrit term meaning “union”; from the verb yuj “to unite";
a discipline or path leading to the state of oneness with God.
Kula: Sanskrit term meaning “grouping together” from the root kul;
community, school, human body, abode, family, universe, divine creative energy.
Yoga – A precise science of body, mind and spirit.
Since the dawn of self-awareness in human beings, we have searched for the secrets of the universe and the purpose of our existence. Striving for mastery over our environment, we believed the right manipulation of external objects and circumstances would bring us the knowledge and fulfillment we seek. Yet there was another direction in which to look: the ancient sages of India turned inward, mapping the terrain of psyche and soul while at the same time disciplining and training the body. Finding the source of all being deep within their pure conscious awareness, supported by a healthy and strong body, they achieved harmonious integration and joyful fulfillment. The sages then discovered that the problems of life that other men sought so desperately to solve were dissolved in the state of perfect inner balance attained by the precise science of body, mind, and spirit that came to be called Yoga.
What is YogaKula?
YogaKula is an innovative new studio dedicated to all aspects of yoga and the healing arts. It is situated in the heart of the culturally diverse North Berkeley area. YogaKula believes that total healing and personal fulfillment are only possible through cultivating every aspect of our being: physical, mental, emotional, creative, and spiritual.
The intention and purpose of YogaKula is to offer courses, events, and programs deriving from the great wisdom traditions of India that heal and nourish all aspects of the human being. Through integrating practices that equally develop the body, mind, and spirit, we create an environment that enables individuals to achieve balance, upliftment, and self-actualization. This is done in the context of a supportive community sharing the same goals of physical wholeness and strength, spiritual uplifment, and knowledge of crucial life skills.
What is Yoga?
‘Yoga’ correctly refers not only to toning and strengthening of the physical body through physical postures, but rather to the entire Indian spiritual tradition that encompasses meditation and other spiritual practices, psychology and wisdom teachings, as well as the physical training mentioned above. The Yoga Tradition is not a mere collection of all these elements, but a cohesive system that integrates and relates spirituality, physicality, and intellectuality in a holistic manner. This integration is, in fact, so pure that in the original Indian context all aspects of the human being are addressed and developed. Just as the human is one whole Being (ātman), not just a collection of parts, in the same way there is a holistic path to total human fulfillment, including everything necessary. The ancients called it Yoga.
More specifically, yoga is a Sanskrit word meaning ‘joining’; in this case, joining oneself to a disciplined spiritual/intellectual/physical practice. . Its roots go back perhaps 4000 years, although the earliest record of its systematic articulation begin around the 8th century BCE in the texts called the Upanishads. Yogic ideas were further developed in the famous Bhagavad-Gita, which focused on yoga as a disciplined spiritual practice in three forms: action, knowledge, and devotion. Finally, yoga achieved the forms by which it is best known today in the spiritual movement called Tantra, which included the traditions of Hatha-yoga and Kundalini-yoga that have been transmitted to the West in various forms.
Yoga stands as a distinct category in the history of Indian philosophy because it is concerned primarily with the actual practices that lead to a direct experience of the true nature of one’s innermost being, and the true nature of the universe with which we are inextricably connected. It is because of this emphasis that Yoga stands apart and above mere intellectual philosophizing on the one hand or institutional religion on the other.