Yoga Program

• Daily Class Schedule
• Workshops and Events
• Rates and Passes
• Yoga Class Descriptions
• New to Yoga or Maruka?
• Meet the Instructors
• Private Instruction
• Corporate/Office Classes

1300 Ninth Street NW, Washington DC 20001 (202) 745-1881

Why Yoga?

Here we are in the beginning years of a new millennium where advances in computerized technology, automotive creations and biogenetic manipulations have propelled the modern world into an extreme fast forward rhythm. These continuing changes are a reality that many of the world’s citizens are experiencing on a regular basis and the effort that is spent in coexisting with this future tempo is tremendous. This heightened state of hyper living must have a counter balance one that is equally the opposite, steady and serene, and to many this state is what is called Yoga.

So what is Yoga? Yoga is a way of being that encompasses a multidimensional perspective allowing the individual to gain greater realizations into how to live life. Most recognizable to the general public is the image of a bendy breathing fellow twisting and molding his body into positions that seem quite out of the ordinary. Another idea that comes to mind is of a person sitting on the ground calm, quiet and still with an introverted presence of contemplation. One more reflection is that of a gathering of peaceful characters eating vegetables and drinking tea uniting in glee and in song. These examples are is part of it and there is so very much more, all assisting to shed more light upon the age old question of “Who am I?”

So what do bodily posturing, cultivating respiration and practicing relaxation have to do with finding yourself? How can physical exercise equate with the examination of the spirit? One answer lies in the existing opportunity of using the body as a vessel to view and examine the landscape of the heart-mind. Shifting in and out of corporal shapes, one will find delight in some asanas (poses) and not so much delight in others, and this will provoke moods that will in turn affect one’s prana (life energy). Becoming aware of this knowledge is a crucial opening that will aid in developing a “bigger view” of becoming a witness to the various levels of the Self which are the – physical, energetic, mental, transcendental and more.

There is no one way to do Yoga, there are many ways, and the best way is to find your way. Here at the Maruka School of Yoga and Healing Arts we invite you to take part in a timeless tradition of slowing down, tuning in and taking care of yourself. Curiosity and creativity are the main mantras to keep in mind, which resides in a body, which has heart, which – is you. The benefits of practicing Yoga are manifold and include: strong supple muscles, healthy bones, better digestion and elimination, increased circulation of blood, prana energy, and other fluids such as synovial (in the joints), also it will increase the volume of oxygen intake that enriches the blood which feeds all the major organs including the skin and eyes, plus it promotes tranquility, which influences brain wave patterns, and helps to defeat stress, which helps you to relax, sleep better and enjoy this funny thing called life.

Namaste’

-- Daniel