Climate Policy Outreach: Environmentalism as a Yoga Practice
In the first post of this series, we explored the idea of environmentalism as a yoga practice. This blog also examined the link between yoga ethics and activism. Additionally, we looked into how the ethical foundation of yoga guides us towards active love for ourselves and our communities. Right now, it’s clear that our communities – and our planet – need some love.
LGBTQIA+ Community and Yoga: Meet Ciara!
To celebrate Pride Month, we collaborated with a Yoga District member to highlight Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and/or Questioning, Intersex, and Asexual and/or Ally (LGBTQIA+) voices, leaders, and practitioners in our community.
Meet Ciara, a member of both the Yoga District and the LGBTQIA+ community. Learn about her journey with yoga and how she feels yoga communities can create a more inclusive space for LGBTQIA+ yogis.
Feminists of Yoga District: Meet Rudhdi!
In celebration of Women’s History Month, we interviewed Rudhdi, a member of the Yoga District community who identifies as a feminist.
Read on to find out how feminism informs her identity and her yoga practice, and which feminist writer and social activist most inspires her.
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.
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!
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Get Creative with Upcycling
We all know about recycling, but what about upcycling? Recycling can be an effective way to reduce waste, but the final recycled product is often of lower quality than the original material.
Upcycling is the act of creating something of value out of something that would have otherwise been thrown out (1). Help the planet and your wallet with this easy introduction to upcycling!
Yamas & Niyamas: Yoga and Activism
The ethical foundation of yoga bursts with inspiration and guidance beyond a quote or shared moment of intention in class. Yoga’s ethical system draws on the yamas and niyamas. They are a set of principles outlined in The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. They are considered to be a cornerstone of yoga’s philosophical foundation. The teachings are not only meaningful on the mat but can be applied in daily life and in actions of activism as well.Yoga and Activism
Join us over the next few months as we explore the intersection of yoga and activism. How yoga can be used as an agency for social good. The posts in this series will share lesser-known stories about activist and yoga leaders, yoga’s place in transformative movements, and as tools for activism. We will also examine aspects of yoga’s history and philosophy.
Madison is a graduate of Yoga District’s teacher training program. She hopes her series will deepen your spiritual connection to the practice along with motivating you to engage with yoga and activism in your own life.
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.
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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."
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