AstaYoga

06/15/2021

https://conta.cc/3gyand7

11/11/2020

12/11/2019

The full moon is dropping all kinds of divine feminine energy. Soak it up this Friday at 4:30 with Miranda teaching a very special class followed by a SoundBath with Melissa from 7:30-9. Space is limited so it’s best to sign up ahead. The last SoundBath sold out and this one is well on the way.

11/25/2019

Saying goodbye to with a Sunday morning Rocket 3 for the “early” risers. What a beautiful and healing retreat! Thank you to everyone who joined us for this trip, the entire staff at Villa Ananda, especially the gifted therapists, shamans and healers who provided energy work and Temescal, and of course, our wise and gracious host, Gyana. Truly an unforgettable moment in time.

11/05/2019

I love old yoga books like this one from 1959 when yoga was decades away from being mainstream. What they reveal is that nothing new has been added- neither in the 60 years since this book was published nor in the many centuries preceding its release. What used to be a simple, comprehensive and life-altering practice taught by competent, experienced individuals has now been watered down, commodified and commingled with anything a cynical marketer thinks will attract the hoi polloi, whether that’s weights, wine or a workout that will give you a great ass. For those of you out there who have a nagging feeling that there must be more to yoga than what you’ve been served, the select few of you with the actual will to show up, there are still a few great teachers and shalas out there, but you must seek! If you’re where everybody else is going, you’re nowhere at all, but it’s a good place to start. Dare to be less ordinary. After all, that’s what yoga is all about. @ AstaYoga

10/17/2019

10 Years.

Back in 2009, not even a year into Barack Obama's first year in office, in the middle of a horrible recession when half of Valencia Street was for lease, we decided that it would be a great idea to open up a yoga studio. Nobody quite agreed, but we were undeterred. On October 17th, we had our first public class. It was packed! And then the next day, crickets. The slow process of forming what would become the Asta you experience today began.

It hasn't always been easy to keep the studio going, but like a yoga practice, keeping a yoga studio and community together requires dedication, perseverance and a willingness to show up even when it feels like you'd rather do just about anything else. We have been encouraged by you in countless ways over the years and without your continued support none of this would be possible. We are grateful beyond words.

What has made it possible, and beyond that, profoundly fulfilling, has been the community that has grown up at Asta over these 10 years. We've been invited into your lives and have been with you when you've gotten married and divorced, had children and lost loved ones, found yourself unemployed and started new careers and diagnosed with a serious illness and beaten it. Within these four walls, countless new relationships have formed and lives have been profoundly transformed.

We did some yoga, too. Thousands of classes with dozens of teachers, for whom we are especially grateful. But what's it all for? When life is constantly changing, it's a comfort to return to something familiar. Something that makes you feel good. And people who know you and care about you. That's what Asta has always been about. Even if you've been away for years, coming back in it feels like you never left.

There's nothing like Asta and we're here to stay.

Together, we're keeping this experiment in community going and we'd like to celebrate the 10-Year anniversary with you, together, this Friday, October 18th starting with the 4:30 class followed by a party until we're done partying. Show up anytime with anyone you love and anything you'd like to share, even if it's just a smile.

We love you. We really do.

Steve & Rene @ AstaYoga

09/16/2019

Jumping back filmed at regular speed. What’s the rush? Put the weight in the hands and breathe out for as long as you want your feet off the ground. Don’t try to figure it out. Do it! Less thinking. More breathing.

09/13/2019

SoundBath with Melissa Felsenstein tonight from 730-9 after Rocket 3. Come trip out on a rare warm full moon night in San Francisco! Bring your own pillows, blankets and comfort accessories and anything else that will make your journey a smooth ride. 🍄🌝🍃🎶

08/26/2019

Breath and Sound Meditation with Caleb
Monday August 26th 7:45-9:00pm
Following Caleb’s 6:15pm Rocket Yoga class
@: AstaYoga
$10-20 Suggestion Contribution
Bring: self and yoga mat. Optional: blanket and something to cover eyes like a bandana or small towel.

We will warm up with some brief and subtle movements followed by some pranayama and gentle breathwork to create a state of relaxation and heightened sensation to receive the healing of sound vibration. The majority of the session will be restorative; resting to receive the benefits of sound for body, mind and spirit. Sounds will include crystal bowls, gong, traditional percussion and more. Participants will be invited to participate in chanting mantra tones to specific frequencies focusing on the heart chakra.

08/19/2019

Relax, relax, get high, get high, it’s essential elevation. Classes at 430 and 6 this afternoon, and tomorrow, and Wednesday, and Thursday and even a 430 on Friday. Why not?

08/12/2019

Rocket Training starts today, so all 9:30 classes will be the classic Rocket sequences led old school style- follow the leader. Larry Schultz, who created the Rocket while on your with the Grateful Dead was wise to the dysfunction of the Ashtanga method long before it became fashionable to come out against it. He distilled the essence of it and made it accessible and enjoyable. It wasn’t about the poses but whether the practice brought you peace, or at least made you a little less of an as***le, which is really a powerful way of serving humankind in 2019. Welcome to our trainers and anyone else brave enough to join!

08/03/2019

Next Weekend: Adrian McCavitt. Saturday + Sunday 1-4PM. Sign up!

07/30/2019

If you’re looking for something to be grateful for this November, how about good neighbors, like Mexico? We’ll be having a very laid back yoga retreat on the Pacific just north of Puerto Vallarta at the luxurious Villa Ananda resort from November 20th to 24th. Included in the pricing is your room, all of your meals, transportation to and from the airport, a massage or Ayurveda consultation and of course, yoga classes daily. What does all that cost? $5000? $10000? Nope! It all starts under $1000, but spaces are limited. Really. There aren’t that many. Check out the link in the bio and make a deposit today. Early bird pricing ends August 31st. 🇲🇽 🧘‍♀️ 🚀 🏝 @ Villa Ananda

07/29/2019

Some people find the way that we organize the practice space at Asta to be unusual, but the arrangement of a yoga room gives you some insight into the philosophy of the school. There are schools that have all the students facing East, to greet the rising sun or honor the source of the teachings. Others will have students gathered around a stage all facing the teacher, making the power imbalance between student and teacher both physical and literal. At Asta, everyone faces each other, all on the same common ground. The philosophy of this school is that there is no hierarchy. The Inner Teacher speaks with clarity and provides perfect guidance when the restless mind abides in stillness, a process facilitated by the vinyasa practice of linking mindful breathing with gentle movement. It’s not for everyone. It’s a lot easier to follow a celebrity teacher or guru and believe some transmission of their alleged greatness will descend upon you while they talk eloquently about the Gita and burn you out with lunges, but hasn’t the clock run out on an era when you believe in someone else’s greatness and in the process miss your own? Our mission is provide you with a beautiful space, a welcoming community and a rigorous practice that challenge the limiting assumptions you carry about yourself. That teacher on the stage trading on their social media influence to get a few free pairs of leggings needs you a lot more than you need them. Once you step out of the hype, you can step into your own light.

07/26/2019

If you’re the type of person who doesn’t learn how to do things because you don’t know how to do them before you learn how to do them, then this definitely isn’t for you. Scroll scroll scroll. But, if you’re into learning how to spend a little more time on your hands with ease and confidence, Adrian is an intuitive teacher who can help get you from here to there, and your openness is the the only requirement (but being able to hold a handstand for 30 seconds without a wall isn’t a bad place to be starting from). Adrian has spent years and thousands of hours training with the best yogis, acrobats and circus performers in the world, and he will be sharing what he has learned here at Asta in two workshops, Saturday August 10th and Sunday August 11th. Saturday will be more for beginners, Sunday more for the intermediate and advanced. $60 for each or $100 for both. It’s really nothing for a few hours with a world class teacher and one of most favorite students ever. Sign up at AstaYoga.com. Link in bio. Space is unlimited, but spots in this workshop are not. Sign up today!

07/12/2019

Tonight from 7:30-9:
Join sound alchemist Melissa Felsenstein for a deeply relaxing and restorative evening of pure sound. Let your body and mind be serenaded by the harmonic vibrations of quartz crystal singing bowls & Paiste Healing Gongs.
These unique instruments slow down your brainwaves through a process called entrainment to meditative and have the potential to:
- Release emotional stress and physical tension
- Receive spontaneous insight and heightened intuition
- Soothe and balance your nervous system
- Create meaningful rest and better sleep
When our senses are harmonized, our mind easily finds clarity, renewed creativity, and freedom from strain. Take your body on a vacation from stress and tension, and leave feeling refreshed, focused, and clear.
No yoga is practiced, appropriate for ages 13 and up, all abilities welcome. Participants recline on yoga mats, with blankets and cushions for support.
Sound therapy is highly effective at providing relief for chronic pain, digestive issues, insomnia, fibromyalgia, autoimmune disorders, heart's disease, trauma, depression, anxiety and cancer treatment therapies.