Celebrating Black Yogis: Then and Now
The origin of the history of black yogis isn’t a complicated one.
Like many yoga practitioners in the U.S., black people turned to yoga to practice physical, emotional, and spiritual self-care.
However, in the context of America’s history, the story of black yogis is layered. It’s a story of now and then.
It’s a story of two Americas. It’s a story of the fight for equality and representation.
Seasonal Awareness: Yogi’s Guide to Winter
Join Morgan, a member of our Yoga District Community, as she explores the effects of a season upon us.
In this series, she will consider how seasonal changes, including elements such as weather, environment, and other seasonal stressors affect our bodies and minds.
Read more >>
Conscious Consumption + Holiday Gift Guide
Be a conscious consumer!
With the holiday season underway, many of us are stocking up on gifts and increasing our consumption. Find out how to shrink the ecological footprint of your purchases by shopping sustainably, and read on for a sustainable gift guide for the holidays!
Read more >>
A Guide to Recycling in Washington, DC
Reduce, reuse, recycle, as the saying goes. Recycling is often the first thing that comes to mind when people think about doing their part to be green. However, different localities have different rules for recycling. Too often, the things we hope we’re recycling end up going to the landfill. In this post, we’ll explore the District’s recycling standards and learn how we can make sure the things we throw in the blue bin actually get a second life.
Read more >>
Mindful Meals: Eating for the Planet
Next in our Cut Your Carbon Footprint series, we explore many ways to live a more sustainable life through our food habits.
Read on for guidance on how to minimize your carbon footprint and potentially improve your health. We’ll introduce methods such as: planning meals to reduce waste, growing your own food, and transitioning toward a more plant-based diet.
Read more >>
Meditating during Quarantine
Learn about meditation’s benefits and easy ways to start a practice during quarantine!
Meditation is a healthy and beneficial habit accessible to almost anyone. It is prevalent across yoga studios, many workplaces, and all kinds of lifestyles. There are even apps and video channels dedicated to guiding folks through the practice.
The benefits of meditation are wide-ranging. They include: improved sleep, lower anxiety, lower blood pressure, and reduced stress-induced inflammation (1).
Whether you have a steady practice, want to revisit it, or are curious about starting meditation, there is something for everyone. Find out which meditation practice(s) are best for you!
Read more >>
Cut Your Carbon Footprint: Environmentalism as a Yoga Practice
Hailey, a member of our Yoga District Community, will explore how to live a more sustainable life. Her environmental blog series will introduce various ways to reduce your carbon footprint.
Find out how to reduce your carbon footprint while being homebound. During these unusual times, why not try to develop some new environmentally beneficial habits? Read more >>
Mindful Tips for Dealing with Holiday Stress
You close your eyes and breathe in the smell of stuffing, mashed potatoes, and freshly baked cookies .
For people celebrating during the holiday season it can be a time of mixed emotions. With this in mind, Yoga District has compiled some mindfulness tips for dealing with holiday stress.
We hope that the following suggestions will guide you through peaceful holidays. You can practice them anytime, anywhere.
Breathing Through it: The Benefits of Breathwork
On your mat, you close your eyes taking a deep breath in and out. If you are familiar with yoga, you have probably heard an instructor guide you to focus on your breathing (1). Breathing seems to be an intricate part of practicing yoga but breathwork can also be powerful on its own as well.
Yoga District instructor Emily defines breath-work, its different types, and what to expect in breathwork sessions.
Find Your New Edge – Discover the Benefits of Yin Yoga
“Most yoga that you practice is likely yang in nature like a Vinyasa Flow. A dynamic class that is active to a certain degree working your muscles, building strength, stamina and flexibility. In contrast Yin Yoga (1) is a stable and passive practice where grounded poses are held for about 3 to 5 minutes with gravity deepening the pose. When holding a yin pose it tends to feel almost meditative to me and pushes me to a new edge. I usually leave class feeling rejuvenated and a bit taller like my body has been stretched straight.”
Read on as Michelle, a Yoga District teacher, talks about her experience with Yin Yoga and maybe try a Yin class or her Yin workshop for yourself.
The Teachers
The diverse family of DC yoga teachers at Yoga District are dedicated to making yoga accessible to everyone through a huge variety of yoga class types, from vinyasa flow to restorative and beyond. Most Yoga District teachers are graduates of Yoga District’s nationally-attended 200 hour teacher training program. All Yoga District classes focus on coordinating breath with body movement to promote flexibility, strength, and peace of mind. We strongly believe in yoga as therapy, so catch one of our classes whenever you need a healthy dose of self-care.
See all yoga teachers »
The Next Step
The Yoga District 200 and 500 hour teacher training certification programs, registered by the Yoga Alliance are unique in their emphasis on diversity of teaching styles studied, personal attention, and trauma sensitive yoga. It's no coincidence that Yoga District is regularly voted the leading studio in the nation's capital, and that most of its classes are taught by graduates of its training program. As a full time yoga school, small group trainings are led up to eight times a year by a dedicated faculty including Jasmine Chehrazi, contributor to the Harvard Karma Yoga Project teacher training, teacher training faculty at George Washington University, Yoga Alliance Standards Committee Advisory Board Member, Yoga Activist Founder, and Yoga Service Council Advisory Board Member. So take your practice and community involvement to the next level by joining a training. There's a reason why our graduates call the training "transformative."
Check out the yoga teacher training »