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Finding happiness through yoga
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Anahata attracts wide range of people
By Cortney Langley
WILLIAMSBURG —“There’s no extra enlightenment in being able to stand on your head,” admitted psychologist Jennifer Daly, owner of Anahata Yoga Center.
“What’s the point of that? Just because you can, is it going to create any more happiness for you?”
Anahata was voted the Best Yoga Center by Gazette readers in this year’s Best of Williamsburg contest. Ironbound Gym finished second, and Body Balance third.
Daly credited her instructors and also the sense of community that the center tries to foster. The center also hosts workshops, seminars, a book club and social events.
Daly has two decades of yoga experience, having taken up yoga in 1990 while in grad school. She eventually moved into instructing and opened a studio on Bypass Road in
2006 after teaching at the James City- Williamsburg Community Center for years.
“I had students who had practiced yoga for almost 10 years doing yoga alongside people who were brand new,” she recalled. “I began to realize that the all-levels model was not the best way to meet the needs of the range of students who participated each week.”
At Anahata, she offers a range of classes from introductory through Level 3, as well as focused classes like Yoga Boot Camp, Yoga for Weight Loss and bellydancing. The studio also offers massage.
The yoga she teaches is also different than gym-style yoga. The Iyengar style “encourages close attention to anatomical alignment as a way to quiet the mind.”
She explained, “The idea is that your nervous system settles and your mind calms when your anatomy is aligned in a way that supports your bone structure. Without this alignment, your muscles are constantly working to support
your skeleton, and your system is hyped and tense.”
The style is also attractive to a wider range of people. “A lot of men say, ‘I should do yoga, but I’m so inflexible,’” she noted, adding that people gain flexibility by doing yoga.
Iyengar uses more props than found in other styles: blankets, blocks, chairs, sandbags, ropes. The supports allow people with disabilities or injuries to do yoga by focusing on their individual abilities rather than some ideal pose.
That’s when she pointed out that Mother Theresa probably couldn’t touch her toes, either, but she certainly wasn’t less of a person for it.
“Another difference about our classes is our focus on self-acceptance without apathy,” she said. “In our ongoing yoga classes, students learn that life is not about changing into someone better than you are, it’s about removing obstacles to who you already are.”
As a result, her oldest students are comfortably doing yoga into their 80s. “It’s not true that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. I’m convinced yoga reverses the aging process.”
Anahata specifically offers Yoga for Seniors classes, as well as Yoga for Athletes (Daly is a distance runner). The studio’s extra workshops, offered outside of the normal class schedule, often benefit local charities. Recent workshops focused on movement, core strength, hips and shoulders.
An introductory class is free, providing basic instruction in breathing techniques and yoga poses. Session discounts are offered for students, military and seniors.
Call Anahata at 253- 0080 or visit online at www.williamsburgyoga. com.
Reprinted from the 12/29 Virginia Gazette
“What’s the point of that? Just because you can, is it going to create any more happiness for you?”
Anahata was voted the Best Yoga Center by Gazette readers in this year’s Best of Williamsburg contest. Ironbound Gym finished second, and Body Balance third.
Daly credited her instructors and also the sense of community that the center tries to foster. The center also hosts workshops, seminars, a book club and social events.
Daly has two decades of yoga experience, having taken up yoga in 1990 while in grad school. She eventually moved into instructing and opened a studio on Bypass Road in
2006 after teaching at the James City- Williamsburg Community Center for years.
“I had students who had practiced yoga for almost 10 years doing yoga alongside people who were brand new,” she recalled. “I began to realize that the all-levels model was not the best way to meet the needs of the range of students who participated each week.”
At Anahata, she offers a range of classes from introductory through Level 3, as well as focused classes like Yoga Boot Camp, Yoga for Weight Loss and bellydancing. The studio also offers massage.
The yoga she teaches is also different than gym-style yoga. The Iyengar style “encourages close attention to anatomical alignment as a way to quiet the mind.”
She explained, “The idea is that your nervous system settles and your mind calms when your anatomy is aligned in a way that supports your bone structure. Without this alignment, your muscles are constantly working to support
your skeleton, and your system is hyped and tense.”
The style is also attractive to a wider range of people. “A lot of men say, ‘I should do yoga, but I’m so inflexible,’” she noted, adding that people gain flexibility by doing yoga.
Iyengar uses more props than found in other styles: blankets, blocks, chairs, sandbags, ropes. The supports allow people with disabilities or injuries to do yoga by focusing on their individual abilities rather than some ideal pose.
That’s when she pointed out that Mother Theresa probably couldn’t touch her toes, either, but she certainly wasn’t less of a person for it.
“Another difference about our classes is our focus on self-acceptance without apathy,” she said. “In our ongoing yoga classes, students learn that life is not about changing into someone better than you are, it’s about removing obstacles to who you already are.”
As a result, her oldest students are comfortably doing yoga into their 80s. “It’s not true that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. I’m convinced yoga reverses the aging process.”
Anahata specifically offers Yoga for Seniors classes, as well as Yoga for Athletes (Daly is a distance runner). The studio’s extra workshops, offered outside of the normal class schedule, often benefit local charities. Recent workshops focused on movement, core strength, hips and shoulders.
An introductory class is free, providing basic instruction in breathing techniques and yoga poses. Session discounts are offered for students, military and seniors.
Call Anahata at 253- 0080 or visit online at www.williamsburgyoga. com.
Reprinted from the 12/29 Virginia Gazette
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