Yoga has been around for millennia in many forms, from religious and contemplative to rigorously ascetic and physical. Regardless of the thread of tradition, the heart of the yoga's intention is to weave life together, to assist us in being 'whole' rather than fractured by challenges that life hands us. Joseph Campbell, the great historian of human mythology, once said that he thought that we are all seeking "the experience of the rapture of being alive." We can lose this in the challenges we face; illness, loss, disappointment. Yoga is a well-traveled route back to that experience of being more fully alive. Our intention here is to support you in that journey.

Read essays from our students about yoga and their finding the experience of "being alive": Science, Anorexia & Worthy of Love, Engineering ,Cerebral Palsy & Yoga , Our Students Speak Their Minds Quotes

Mindful Yoga is our way of sharing this practice with you. You'll find kind encouragement to mindfully accept the direct physical experience of postures and movements: sensations, pleasures, aches, tensions, breathing, etc. We'll help you work appropriately with your physical abilities whether you are highly athletic, mostly sedentary, or in a walker or wheelchair. You'll be invited to soften the judgements you might have about yourself and your abilities. A better description for Mindful Yoga might be ?mindful movement? inviting you to bring a kind attention to the activities of your daily life. This is a practice designed to help you uncover your own capacity for simply being present to your life as it is rather than longing to have it some other way. This can be challenging but when we do this we tend to suffer less and be more in touch with the vitality and joy of being alive. Watch interviews with our students and teachers about Mindful Yoga here.

In our classes you will find:

• An invitation to be yourself with a kind attitude
• Individual attention by professional, experienced instructors
• Instruction that honors both your unique strengths and limitations
• Encouragement to cultivate an open awareness of your experience
• Ongoing instruction about appropriate biomechanical alignment
• Abundant use of yoga props for safety and integrity of postures
• Cuing for greater awareness of the experience of breathing
• Periods of mindful activity woven with moments of ease

Students often tell us that symptoms of pain, anxiety, immobility, weakness, balance and a host of other ailments are better after attending a yoga therapy clinic or a private session. Students come with a number of challenges: low back pain, stroke, head trauma, MS, fibromyalgia, chronic pain, parkinson's, depression, poor balance, weakness, pelvic pain, anxiety, and more. There is mounting, credible research in medical journals that affirms the value of yoga and yoga therapy for folks with such challenges. Watch interviews of our students and teachers about yoga therapy. There is even an International Association of Yoga Therapists.

Watch clips of one of our therapeutic, adaptive chair yoga classes

We offer yoga therapy as a way to acknowledge what is right with each student: enhance the ability to modify biomechanical alignment to stay safe and move freely, recognize and accept the appropriate amount of effort, remember the experience of being at ease, soften reactive thinking, tune into their rhythm of breathing, enhance their strengths, etc. Doctors and therapists can be good at fixing what is wrong with a patient: realigning an injured shoulder, mobilizing scar tissue, stopping pain, expanding range of joint movement, talking through emotional turmoil, etc. Once treatment is complete these clinicians will often refer their patients to us. While not a substitute for treatment or therapy our courses and clinics are a skilled, professional complement to their work with you. Read our newspaper article about yoga therapy.

In our yoga therapy courses and clinics you will find:

• Instruction tailored to your particular interests and needs
• Clarification of the relevance of mindfulness and yoga to your intentions
• Tailored instruction and materials to help you continue to practice at home
• Very experienced, professional instructors who actively listen and work with you
• Thorough review of evidence for the effectiveness of these practices
• An invitation to remember your capacity for healing
• A measure of joy