Yoga Curriculum

The studio is here to serve the Sebastopol community by promoting the practice of yoga as a dynamic, self-reliant healing system. Our aim is to provide a firmly grounded education in the art and science of yoga, and to provide people with experiences that are directly valuable to their lives. We offer tools for relief from chronic pain, emotional pain, diseases and stress, and injuries that have held you back from living to your fullest. As a school, we are striving to bring a systematic education to our students for continuing advancement in the many aspects of a life-long yoga practice.

The curriculum is multi-faceted and is delineated among a few systems that we as avid practitioners and teachers feel are profoundly effective, and built on principles of universal alignment and integrity. This allows us as teachers to help direct you as students to the course that best serves your individual needs within the vast scope of possibilites. We are passionate about helping people move toward yoga as a self-directed life-support system. One of our core values is that yoga is relevant to everyone, regardless of the various limitations we all have, and that there is a thriving yoga practice waiting for anyone of sincere interest at any stage of life.

Our curriculum is based on the prolific work of yoga pioneer, T. Krishnamacharya, and his world renowned students B.K.S. Iyengar, K. Pattabhi Jois, and TKV Desikachar. One of the themes applied by Krishnamacharya so masterfully was his ability to work with each student on an individual basis, thereby meeting people at their own specific level of need, and consistently helping people heal through yoga. His truly riveting depth and brilliance cannot be given justice here, yet is directly evidenced in the giant accomplishments of a handful of his students.

Mr. Iyengar, Mr. Jois, and Mr. Desikachar, among others, have all been able to take what was given them and literally affect the entire world, spreading inner peace and self-reliance on a mass scale. That said, our curriculum is rooted in the tireless work of these yogis. We teach as our teachers have taught us, and to the best of our ability, we research and explore in our own personal practices to offer you a foundation in yoga that is sustainable and forged from direct experience.

The delineations in systems taught here are mainly to help you choose what's best for you. Many of our students like working with the different teachers depending on how they are feeling that day/week. We offer a full range of classes from very gentle, to very strong and challenging. We are very fortunate to have senior teachers with great experience and sincerity as directors of the Maya Yoga Program, the Mysore Ashtanga Program, and the Viniyoga Program. The breakdown is as follows:

 

Maya Yoga(Developed by Eddie Modestini and Nicki Doane)

Devotion to yoga and the desire to share with and give back to the world are what motivate the teaching of Maya Yoga with Eddie Modestini and Nicki Doane. Yoga is spirit in action, and as Eddie and Nicki teach, they inspire people to find a place of spirit inside themselves, recognizing the profound connection between the self and spirit. In Maya Yoga, the practice is the teacher. Drawing on their combined backgrounds in Iyengar, Ashtanga, and therapeutic yogas, Eddie and Nicki have developed Maya Yoga with the aim of truly serving the Individual student. Maya Yoga is committed to making Yoga accessible to every body.

Maya Yoga is very effective in giving students a solid foundation in the development of a sustainable yoga practice. By working directly with B.K.S. Iyengar and K. Pattabhi Jois among others, Eddie and Nicki have been able to develop a synthesis of the core ideas and principles of both mens' work and bring them into harmony. They offer Maya Yoga as a tool for self-discovery by teaching principles of safe, accurate alignment often sequenced thoughtfully into the vinyasa context. Maya Yoga is challenging and deeply rewarding, students suited toward Maya Yoga will be encouraged to go beyond their perceived limits. Eddie and Nicki teach students how to create a life-long yoga practice that is rooted in taking responsibility for one's own health and well-being.
Read more about Maya Yoga

Ashtanga Yoga(as taught by K. Pattabhi Jois)

According to many accounts, this system of yoga was recorded by the sage Vamana Rishi in the Yoga Korunta, an ancient manuscript "said to contain lists of many different groupings of asanas, as well as highly original teachings on vinyasa, drishti, bandhas, mudras, and philosophy" (Jois 2002 xv). The text of the Yoga Korunta "was imparted to Sri T. Krishnamacharya in the early 1900's by his Guru Rama Mohan Brahmachari, and was later passed down to Pattabhi Jois during the duration of his studies with Krishnamacharya, beginning in 1927" ("Ashtanga Yoga").

To be accurate, this information is in conflict within the yoga community, and the validity of the stories about it's origins is highly in question, though the potency and effectiveness of the system as a therapeutic model for multitudes of people is beyond question. After 17 years of study with Krishnamacharya, K. Pattabhi Jois took what his teacher gave him and taught for the rest of his life in the original vinyasa tradition as he perceived it.

It is a dynamic system of postures linked with breath, that successively prepares the student to move through his/her own layers of conciousness by regular practice of one of what are known as the 6 different series. Students are taught on a highly individualized basis within a class context, and are encouraged to progress through the deepening movements as the teacher deems them ready and capable with a specific eye out for their unique needs. The teacher in a Mysore room assuringly leads students through the type of practice that is best suited to their constitutional intricacies. This is not taught in the standard yoga class context, but rather as a guided self-practice, where the postures are given one by one. It is best suited for people seeking a challenging, strength-building style of yoga. The vinyasa context is built around a linkage of movements between postures married with focused breathing to support a turning in of the senses.
Read more about Ashtanga Yoga

Viniyoga(developed by TKV Desikachar)

Viniyoga™ (prefixes vi and ni plus yoga) is an ancient Sanskrit term that implies differentiation, adaptation, and appropriate application. The American Viniyoga™ Institute uses the term Viniyoga to refer to an approach to Yoga that adapts the various means and methods of practice to the unique condition, needs and interests of each individual - giving each practitioner the tools to individualize and actualize the process of self-discovery and personal transformation. This approach to yoga evolved out of the teachings transmitted by T. Krishnamacharya and T.K.V. Desikachar of Madras, India.

As taught here, Viniyoga is the most gentle of the ongoing offerings, and is very well suited to people who are coming to yoga from injury/pain or illness; to people looking for a gentle, directly therapeutic class; to people looking for stress-relief, better sleep, and relaxation; and to people who are otherwise intimidated by the idea of starting a yoga practice. This style of yoga is very welcoming and comfortable. It is a great way to softly access yoga's many benefits, and move toward a pain-free, stress-reduced life.
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Restorative Yoga

These classes are designed to be cooling, softening, and deeply relaxing. They are taught in the tradition of B.K.S. Iyengar's work in therapeutics, which is enormously profound. The classes are set up as carefully arranged sequences of passive poses, often supported by bolsters, blankets, etc.. that encourage the student to turn inward. They are deeply supportive to the nervous system; they help greatly with deeper sleep and stress reduction; over time they help to develop more resilience and an overall sense of well-being and ease. These classes are deeply therapeutic and are crucial for regular practitioners of yoga and busy-bees, as they replenish the inner systems of the body.

Ongoing Classes Levels I-II, II-III, II-IV, Advanced(with Eddie Modestini) & Vinyasa

These classes range in content depending on the teachers, and/or the inspiration they bring to class that day. Please check out the descriptions of each of the time slots and choose the classes that best suit your personal level of interest and capability. It is very important here to honor the reality of your present state, as the practice of yoga is best learned in a gradual, progressive way and ends up commonly needing to be rewound in order to advance safely and effectively. Choosing wisely is in itself an integral part of the practice of yoga, and helps us to do the most we can to serve you along the 8 limbed path.(see brief description of the 8 limbs of yoga on the Contact page)
Read more about Ongoing Classes