If you are interested in learning more about yoga, here are some of the resources I have personally used and found helpful. As I become more involved in the yoga path over the course of this year, I imagine the list below will evolve and grow – so feel free to check back on this page from time to time to see if any new goodies have been added.
(If you are interested in meditation, I have a separate website focused on that topic, with many meditation-related resources listed there. You can visit that site at meditationmania.wordpress.com.)
- Yoga Studio (in Plymouth, MN): This modest little one-room studio is where my yoga practice expanded, deepened, and intensified. During my weekly one-hour class with the owner of this studio (and usually 3-4 other classmates), I learned about proper body positioning in various physical poses, but was also introduced to so much more of “yoga”: breathing; moving beyond physical (self-imposed) limitations; recognizing the unnecessary impositions my mind can place on my heart; and the necessity of fun in a yoga practice, and in a life. Whether a person has never attended a yoga class before, or is an “old pro”, I highly recommend this studio as a place to visit, if not attend on a regular basis. I know I am a better person for having done so.
- Yoga Center (in Minneapolis, MN): While I am still a neophyte to this center, I already appreciate everything this community offers. This is the studio where I am taking my teacher training; and while this program is one of the longest (one year) and most expensive (~$3000) in the Twin Cities, I truly believe it is worth it. All aspects of yoga are explored, from the physical (standard asanas, as well as anatomy, human adjustments, pose modifications, etc.), to the intellectual (academic study of yoga texts and yoga principles), to the practical (how to run a class, how to manage the business side of yoga), to the social (how to bring yoga to underserved populations). Additionally, so many different types of yoga experiences are offered (classic hatha, vinyasa, restorative, etc; as well as yin, and jivamukti, and aerial, and anusara, and on, and on… [Seriously!]). I believe I will absolutely get my money’s worth from this experience. : )
- YogaJournal.com: Whenever I have a question about an asana, or need to get a Sanskrit translation, this is the first place I go – because 99 times out of 100, it gives me the information I am looking for on the very first search. This site also has information on all 8 limbs of the yoga experience, so it supports the larger view of yoga as more than just “bendy poses”. I’m grateful for this free, readily-available resource.
Yoga Yearbook 