maitri yoga teacher trainings:  where people seeking an enriching life come together

YOGA IS a practice of “union.” We experience our body more fully (through postures, breathing, and meditation) in order that we may also connect with that which is greater than us. Some call that “greaterness” the divine, others call it love, peace or simply presence. Our experience at Maitri Yoga is that whatever people call it, most gain clarity, compassion, gratitude for life, and personal empowerment.  Yoga blends body awareness, conscious breathing, flexibility, strength, endurance and balance. It can be a beautiful practice, accommodating people at any level. For these reasons, it has been fundamental in helping us become comfortable in our bodie, enjoy it and truly appreciate it.

Many people think that yoga is just stretching. But while stretching is certainly involved, yoga is really about creating balance in the body through developing both strength and flexibility. In Yoga, the body is treated with care and respect for it is the primary instrument in which their is work and growth. The practice of Yoga improves circulation, stimulate the abdominal organs, and put pressure on the glandular system of the body, which can generally result to better health.

In Western Culture, most of us are accustomed to looking outside of ourselves for fulfillment. We are living in a world that conditions us to believe that outer attainments can give us what we want. Yet again and again our experiences show us that nothing external can completely fulfill the deep longing within for “something more.” Most of the time, however, we find ourselves striving toward that which always seems to lie just beyond our reach

We are caught up in doing rather than being, in action rather than awareness. It is hard for us to picture a state of complete calmness and repose in which thoughts and feelings cease to dance in perpetual motion. Yet it is through such a state of quietude that we can touch a level of joy and understanding impossible to achieve otherwise.  Through the practice of Yoga one begins to find this harmony within their-self and their environment.  The Yogis formulate a way to achieve and maintain this balance of life and it is done through exercise, breathing, Meditation and a connection to the divine through the path of devotion.