Classical Yoga. From the source.
You have found your way to a practice rooted in classical yoga and Ayurveda, offered by Monisha, a teacher who has lived this tradition since childhood. Whether you are new to practice or returning to it, you will find classes, personalized Ayurveda coaching, and a growing video library here, all designed to support your health, stability, and joy.
Join us this August for a progressive 4-week series designed to safely build your inversion practice from the ground up. Whether you’re looking to overcome the fear of going upside down or refine your alignment and stability, this series will give you the strength, confidence, and practices to soar.
Throughout August, we’ll explore a variety of inversions, including Crow Pose (Kakasana), Shoulderstand (Sarvangasana), Plow Pose (Halasana), and foundations for Handstand. Every week builds strategically toward our ultimate focal pose: Headstand (Sirsasana).
Why Go Upside-Down?
Inversions are among the most transformative practices in yoga, offering benefits that go far beyond the impressive physical mastery:
Boosts Circulation & Heart Health: Reversing gravity encourages venous return, helping circulate fresh oxygenated blood to your heart and brain with less effort.
Builds Deep Core & Shoulder Strength: Sustaining balance upside down engages your entire core stabilizer network, shoulders, and back muscles.
Calms the Nervous System: Postures like Shoulderstand and Plow stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, reducing stress, soothing anxiety, and improving sleep.
Enhances Focus & Mental Clarity: Flushing the brain with fresh blood promotes alertness, while the focus required to balance trains mental presence.
Conquers Fear & Builds Confidence: Stepping outside your comfort zone, literally flipping your world upside down, builds resilience that carries into everyday life.
Series Schedule & Details
Week 1 (Aug 9): Groundwork & Arm Balances:
Key Focus: Wrists, shoulder protraction (pushing through the floor), and core engagement.
Peak Pose: Kakasana (Crow Pose).
Week 2 (Aug 16): Parasympathetic & Core Inversions:
Key Focus: Neck safety, upper back flexibility, and hip aligned over shoulders.
Peak Poses: Sarvangasana (Shoulderstand) & Halasana (Plough Pose).
Week 3 (Aug 23): Power, Structure & Overhead Prep:
Key Focus: Overhead shoulder mobility and wall work.
Peak Skill: Handstand foundations & Dolphin Pose variations.
Week 4 (Aug 30): The King of Asanas:
Key Focus: Interlocked grip, tripod foundation, and zero-weight neck pressure.
Peak Pose: Sirsasana (Forearm Headstand).
Level: Suitable for all levels looking to deepen their practice. Modifications and step-by-step progressions will be provided for every body.
Full series: $140 Drop-in: $45
*Recordings available for home-practice, if you cannot attend live
Classes
A Four-Week Sunday Series on Zoom: 10 - 11:30am ET
Some of you have been practicing yoga for a while and you've felt its effects in your body and mind. But yoga is far more than exercise. It is a complete and ancient system for living, one that has guided practitioners for thousands of years. Some of you may be new to yoga, and this series is a wonderful beginning.
This June, we returned to the foundation and the source.
In the first module of our Eight Limbs series, we explored the outer limbs of Patanjali's classical path: the foundational teachings that govern how we move through the world, how we care for ourselves, and how we inhabit our bodies. These are living and transformational practices that you bring back to your life.
Each session offers philosophy, pranayama, and asana together so the teachings come alive as a direct, embodied experience.
We completed:
Session 1 - June 7: Yamas I Our outer life.
Session 2 - June 14: Niyamas I Our Inner life.
Session 3 - June 21: Asana | The Body as Sacred Ground
Session 4 - June 28: Pranayama | The Breath as Bridge
MODULE 2 Beginning in July
July 5 - Session 1: Pratyahara | The Art of Turning Inward
The fifth limb: withdrawal of the senses. In a world designed to pull our attention outward, Pratyahara is the radical act of reclaiming it. We explore what it means to consciously disengage from external stimulation and discover the rich, steady world that exists within.
July 12 - Session 2: Dharana | The One-Pointed Mind
The sixth limb: focused concentration. The mind is naturally scattered. Dharana is the practice of gathering it. We explore classical concentration techniques drawn from the Sivananda tradition and begin to understand that meditation is not something that happens to us. It is something we build, one breath at a time.
July 19 - Session 3: Dhyana | The Unbroken Thread
The seventh limb: meditation. Where Dharana is the effort to concentrate, Dhyana is what happens when that effort matures into an unbroken stream of awareness toward the object of focus. We explore the distinction between concentration and true meditation, and sit together and practice.
July 26 - Session 4: Samadhi | Coming Home
The eighth limb: absorption. The destination that Patanjali pointed to from the very first sutra is not a state to be achieved but one to bee embodied, the dissolution of the boundary between the one who meditates and the object of meditation. We close the circle of the Eight Limbs and ask: what does it mean to live from this place?
4-session Series: $150 | Drop-in: $45 Mixed level. All are welcome.
*Recordings available for Module 1
A private session designed entirely around you, your body, your energy, your goals.
We'll work together with asana, breath, and classical alignment to build a practice that feels right for where you are right now. I draw on over 26 years of teaching in the Sivananda tradition, with an eye toward the whole person, not just the poses.
Sessions may naturally weave in breathing practices (pranayama) to settle the nervous system, or simple Ayurvedic insight into rhythm, digestion, or seasonal balance, but only when it serves you. The focus is always your yoga practice.
Held via Zoom. Suitable for all levels. Beginners welcome.
Online via Zoom
About Monisha
Monisha Raja is from Kerala, was born and raised in India, and began her yoga journey at age four. She carries over 26 years of teaching experience in New York City and a lineage that stretches back over 1,200 years.
What students are saying
“I’m a cardiologist and have been practicing yoga for 40 years but I learned more from Monisha in the last 10 minutes (about yoga and science) than I did in the 40 years of practice.”
- Dr. Arvind M.
“Monisha is a truly gifted yoga teacher and I am grateful beyond words for having met her. I am an absolute beginner, but someone who has longed to develop a serious practice for many years. To every session Monisha brings her impeccable character, integrity, intuitive wisdom and decades of experience in the service of guiding me into a solid practice. Thanks to Monisha’s masterful teaching I finally have a life altering daily practice of yoga. I only wish I had met her sooner.”
— Mark S.
“Beautifully constructed, each pose flowing into the next as you feel your body releasing and opening and the mind resting.”
- Idelisse
