Our Approach

Our Philosophy

Yoga is a 5000-year-old practice that allows us to discover our own inner wisdom and remove obstacles to self-realization. At Anahata Yoga Center, we are committed to providing excellent teachers who are knowledgeable and experienced in guiding students in this practice. Our teachers draw from the classical approachesof yoga teaching. The Iyengar style emphasizes physical alignment and individualized instruction. The Ashtanga style focuses on movement, breath, gaze points and energy locks.

At Anahata Yoga Center our classes match instruction and level of challenge to students’ current physical abilities and/or limitations. We offer classes on a monthly basis so that you can experience the full benefits of our commitment to your individual needs. We believe that matching our instruction to your current strength and fitness will make your experience of yoga enjoyable, inspiring, fun and long lasting. We also believe that practicing yoga at a level that matches your particular strengths and limitations will maximize benefits and minimize frustration.

The teachers at Anahata Yoga Center of Williamsburg have countless hours of training and experience in:

• Anatomy
• Alignment
• Sequencing
• The use of props

You can attend classes with any of our teachers and know that the instruction will come from a solid foundation of knowledge about bodies and the practice of yoga. We also require our teachers to advance their expertise through continuing education, peer feedback and their own yoga practice.

At the Anahata Yoga Center, we pride ourselves on providing responsible and challenging yoga practices to a wide range of students. We specialize in classes for:

• Older adults
• People with special conditions and injuries
• Athletes
• Beginning yoga students

We also offer classes for advanced practitioners. Our classes promote health, balance and change by encouraging students to learn yoga as a path to self-knowledge and transformation.

We believe that the body is a complex neuromuscular storehouse for the emotions, beliefs, and physical patterns of our lives. Every aspect of your body reflects a distinct element of who you are and what you have experienced in your life. The muscles and tissues of the body are thus a product of a lifetime of emotional encounters, psychological tendencies and physical reactions.

At Anahata Yoga Center of Williamsburg, we encourage you to explore the physical patterns of your body with a compassionate, non-judgmental awareness of the mental, emotional and psychological knowledge that it contains. Yoga is not about creating a new self, but about fully understanding who we already are. Our classes challenge you to think differently about yourself and your body so that you can make conscious decisions about the nature of your ongoing reactions and experiences.

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Our Mission

At Anahata Yoga Center of Williamsburg, we are dedicated to:

• Providing excellent teachers who are formally trained, knowledgeable, and experienced in guiding students’ physical and psychological well-being.
• Offering classes and workshops that are challenging yet nurturing and restful.
• Maintaining an inviting studio space that encourages personal growth, creativity, and community.
• Tapping the innate potential of every person who shares his/her practice with us with the belief that every person we help to achieve their potential will bring us closer to achieving our own.
• Promoting health and well-being both on and off the yoga mat.
• Embracing environmentally sound and socially aware choices within our local and global communities.
• Accepting our daily successes humbly, knowing that individual success is only possible through a commitment to honest relationships with ourselves, others and our community.

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What Is Iyengar style Yoga?

B. K. S. Iyengar is a famous teacher who developed a style of teaching yoga that allows people to progress from beginner to intermediate to advanced levels of practice. The Iyengar style of teaching focuses on three aspects:

• Alignment
• Sequencing
• Timing

Alignment refers to systematic instructions that allow the student to perform each pose in ways that minimizes injury or pain. Iyengar designed props such as blocks, chairs, blankets and belts to correctly position the body and allow a safe progression from basic to advanced postures.

Sequencing means that classes are conducted with attention to the order of the poses since each pose can affect the mind and body differently (e.g., stimulation vs. relaxation). Sequencing also refers to class Levels (Home > Class Info), including Beginner, Level I, Level II, Level III and higher. These different levels of classes allow the teacher to provide students with careful instruction in a series of yoga poses that are categorized according to their physical complexity.

Timing refers to the length of time spent in postures or breathing exercises. In Iyengar style yoga, the time spent in a pose varies from brief to long in order to intensify the depth and stability of the posture and to extract its maximum benefit. The amount of time spent in poses in beginning classes is generally less than the amount of time spent in poses in the more advanced classes.

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Is Iyengar style yoga different from “Hatha” yoga?

Hatha yoga is a general phrase that is used to describe many styles of yoga practice. All hatha yoga styles are descended from teachings that were compiled thousands of years ago in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. These ancient teachings form the basis of all yoga practices in the world today.

Iyengar style yoga is a type of hatha yoga. However, the Iyengar style of teaching differs from other styles in its more therapeutic application of the postures. The founder of Iyengar yoga, B.K.S. Iyengar, has devised methods for modifying yoga postures to provide maximum benefit for many people, including those with disabilities and other limitations. Teachers who draw from the Iyengar style of yoga use props and other techniques to provide support for a variety of body types and conditions.

Iyengar yoga classes are renowned for their attention to detail and their ability to produce significant changes in your physical and mental health. Classes explore the minutiae of the postures to penetrate the deepest layers of the body. This makes the Iyengar style of yoga very instructional and focused. Iyengar yoga can be used to strengthen and tone the body in order to build endurance. It can also be used to address many common physical ailments, including chronic disorders and misalignments.

For more information visit the official Iyengar website

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About Our Name

Anahata (pronounced ah-na-HA-ta) is a Sanscrit word that means “sound that is made without any two things striking.” It refers to the heart chakra, the middle chakra in an ancient seven point system for understanding the relationship between mind and body. When we draw on the energy of the heart chakra, we transcend our own limited ego to experience a deeper connection with family, friends, lovers and community.

Chakras refer to seven energy centers in the body that link our emotional states to our physical health. Each chakra is centered on major nerve centers that spread out from the spinal column. When energy from our mental and emotional experiences is flowing freely through our physical body, we feel:

• Grounded
• Creative
• Powerful
• Loving
• Confident
• Intuitive
• Connected

When energy is restricted, we feel disconnected and alone. Ancient teachings on the chakras assert that the key to physical, emotional, and spiritual health lies in maintaining a healthy balance in these seven centers of energy.

Each chakra represents a core dimension of human life.

• Chakra One: The first chakra is located at the base of the spine. It is associated with basic survival needs such as food, shelter, and health.
• Chakra Two: The second chakra is located in the lower back, abdomen and sexual organs. It aligns with sensations, movement, creativity, and sexual fulfillment.
• Chakra Three: The third chakra is located in the solar plexus and it regulates our ability to manifest ourselves and our desires (i.e., ego).
• Chakra Four: The fourth chakra is the center of love and relationships. It represents the integration of opposites such as mind/body, male/female, persona/shadow, and ego/divine. A healthy energy in the Anahata or heart chakra allows us to love deeply, feel peaceful and compassionate, participate within a community, and stay centered within ourselves.
• Chakra Five: The fifth chakra is located at the throat and it is the point of expression. When this chakra is open, we feel comfortable in speaking our truth and confident that we will be heard.
• Chakra Six: The sixth chakra is located at the forehead between the eyes (i.e., the mystical “third eye”). It relates to the light and sight of inner vision. When the sixth chakra is balanced, we can draw upon intuition, the unconscious recognition of patterns, to guide us toward our higher self.
• Chakra Seven: The seventh or crown chakra is located at the top of the head and beyond. It is said to be the master chakra through which individual consciousness connects with a more universal or divine energy. Balance in the seventh chakra brings us wisdom, knowledge, spiritual connection, and bliss.

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Our Studio

Anahata Yoga Center of Williamsburg is the area’s premier yoga studio with classes to fit every level of physical fitness and ability. We are conveniently located near Colonial Williamsburg across from Dairy Queen on Bypass Road (in the old Daily Press building).

The studio has two spacious classrooms with natural bamboo floors and soft lighting. Each classroom is equipped with blankets, blocks, chairs and bolsters to support your yoga practice.

We also have rope wall systems that are unique to the Iyengar style of teaching and allow for additional stretching and support.

Our comfortable reception and seating areas provide an inviting space for quiet conversation and community.

Our retail space stocks hard-to-find yoga supplies such as bolsters, cork blocks, silk eye bags, and yoga music.

Our massage room is fully insulated to reduce external noise and provide for a quiet, restful bodywork experience.