Dharma Meghah Yoga Shala
Louisville's home for traditional yoga practice
Louisville Yoga Shala is home for the yogi
The word shala in Sanskrit means home. Dharma Meghah Yoga Shala is itself a home for a yoga practice that supports those interested in gathering, sharing, and growing in finding their way home to the true Self. This coming home is a heart-ward journey meant to bring us to the depths of peace, harmony, and insight found within one's own being. The teaching and energy at the Shala supports the 8 limbed path of yoga, including developing more strength, capacity and flexibility of the body, along with tapping into the power behind the vital breath, and also cultivating a more stable and steady mind through a focused practice.
The culmination of knowledge and understanding gained on this yoga journey is expressed in the Sanskrit term “dharma meghah”, found in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (Sutra 4.29), meaning “cloud of virtue”. Classically, the steps taken on this yogic journey are done intentionally and willfully in cultivating the uplifting virtue of joyous living. And it is only through a systematic approach of peeling away our encumbrances, layers, and negative associations that one gains the insight of the purity of the true Self otherwise overlooked and ignored.
The development of yoga taught at the Shala is a method that is open to all level yogis. Whether you are just starting out on your journey or have been at it for some time, please feel welcomed to explore the depths of a yoga practice offered as a homecoming here at Dharma Meghah Yoga Shala.
It's called a "path" because it's shaped by those who have come before us
Yogastha Sadhana is the practice taught at the Shala. It is a new system anchored in age-old, traditional yoga practices and teachings. Yogastha Sadhana is based on the lineage of teachings through Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, including his students - particularly Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and B.K.S. Iyengar. These two student’s of Krishnamacharya, among others, brought a world-wide popularity to the practice of yoga by honoring the knowledge bestowed to them from the yoga master who was their teacher. For us to say we are on any sort of a path is to acknowledge those who have come before us to make it such. We can be grateful to honor those who have helped pave the way to an ever evolving path of yoga.
Krishnamachrya’s teachings were first and foremost the teachings of the yoga of Patanjali - the classical system of Raja Yoga established through an 8 limb practice. Asana, specifically with vinyasa, are essential practices for the yogi to remove the knots of contraction which are very real blocks and encumbrances held at the physical level. The physical practice was an important cornerstone for any aspirant working with Krishnamacharya - along with an exactness of breath and body movement in what he called Vinyasa Krama...to arrange the movement of breath and body in a specific way. It is this approach that distinguishes yoga from a routine of calisthenics. It is the emphasis of a mind, breath, body configuration that turns yoga into a practice explored as a moving meditation.
In this tradition, the physical practice of yoga must provide better bodily health for us while still pointing to the power and wisdom found in the vital breath. And energy of the breath must provide support for a more sattvic energy in the advance of understanding the true nature of mind. And the practice of meditation, accessing a state of peace and equanimity of mind, will infuse the practitioner with a spiritual oxygen the brings to life an awakening beyond the transient, daily routine. The understanding of how the physical and energetic practices of yoga translates into an experiential knowledge of the deepest truths within our very own being is the time honored tradition of the yoga path from start to finish.
The rare reality of the full-time yoga teacher
The teachers at Dharma Meghah Yoga Shala take on the knowledge and experience pursued in the teaching of yoga as a full-time commitment. A long-term, daily devotion to the time and energy necessary for thorough knowledge of anatomy, postures and vinyasas, yoga scripture, and the practices of asana, pranyama, and meditation is what the student will find in the teachers at DMYS.
Dharma Meghah Yoga Shala ~ 2201 Payne Street ~ Louisville, Kentucky 40206 ~ 843-446-6786