Svaroopa Yoga takes a radically different approach from most other styles of modern Hatha yoga. After just one class, you will change the way you think about "doing yoga." This is a powerfully transformative practice. As poses are held longer, attention is drawn inward, creating a deeply meditative experience. Students are invited to surrender, simply allowing each pose to have an effect. In essence, instead of doing yoga, yoga is doing you.

Core Opening
Svaroopa yoga's distinction lies in the intention of the practice: To create core opening by releasing tension in the deepest layers of the body. This release deliberately begins at the tailbone - the pivot point of the body - and is carried up the spine, through the sacrum, waist, ribcage, and beyond. As this release is continually reinforced, the whole body begins to realign itself from the inside outward. This is the foundation of every Svaroopa yoga class, upon which all other aspects of the asana (pose) practice are built.

In the words of Rama Berch, founder and Master Teacher of Svaroopa yoga, "Dissolving these [core] tensions allows you to live with ease, both in your body and in your deeper self. That ease is your birthright. This all happens without sweat or strain because Svaroopa Yoga is not exercise, but a scientific maximization of the body's natural capacities. When practicing Svaroopa yoga, we delve into our body as if opening a precious gift carefully wrapped in many layers."

Support Equals Release
One of the key "sutras" in Svaroopa yoga is support equals release. This is the underlying thread that is woven throughout the practice. From the very beginning of each class, as students rest in Shavasana, yoga's relaxation pose, props are used to allow more softening and release. As the body surrenders to this support, settling down into the blankets, settling back into the floor, a deep release of both physical and mental tension occurs.

This premise is carried throughout each series of carefully crafted poses. Along with precise alignment, students are taught the most effective propping for ease and relaxation. There is no need for self-effort in an attempt to make the pose happen. As students learn to let go and allow themselves to be supported, they discover a sense of internal support - physically, mentally, and spiritually.

The Svaroopa yoga repertoire includes standing poses, classical poses, and vinyasa (flow) in addition to foundational poses practiced on the floor or a chair. The underlying sutra "support equals release" still permeates this level of practice, even in the more challenging poses, as students further develop an internal sense of support. The core opening that was cultivated while practicing foundational poses carries forward into standing and moving, and students are able to find a sense of ease and deep release.

Experience immediate benefits from Svaroopa yoga therapies.
* Pain relief
* Deep relaxation
* Reduced stress and anxiety
* Increased flexibility
* Improved posture
* A sense of inner peace and tranquility
* Better sleep
* Elevated mood
* Feeling more grounded

Enjoy true transformation over time.
* Sustained relief from pain
* Remarkable structural realignment
* Greater mobility, flexibility and strength
* Relief from chronic depression & anxiety
* Less reactivity to life's stressors
* Greater mental clarity and peace of mind
* More compassion towards self and others
* Increased vitality and physical stamina
* Quicker recovery from illness, injury and surgery

Find more ease in your body and deep within yourself.
Lasting relief from chronic symptoms is within reach with Svaroopa yoga therapies. You can rely on the unique dynamics of core opening, an experience that provides a profound release of the most deeply held tension in your body, beginning at the tailbone and progressing up your spine. As this release is reinforced over time, the whole body begins to realign itself, leading to remarkable physical changes.

Take comfort in therapy designed to meet you where you are.
Each therapy session is crafted to meet your individual needs, and will evolve as your body continues to change. To help you maintain the deep openings the therapy provides, you'll be instructed in a simple yoga practice that you can do daily on your own. Through this powerful combination, you'll experience deep healing and transformation on all levels -- physically, physiologically, emotionally and spiritually.

Relax and release into bliss.
Embodyment therapy evokes a deeply relaxing, healing, meditative state. As you rest supported in Shavasana, yoga's relaxation pose, subtle touch is applied to precise areas around the spine. This facilitates a profound release of tension, while stimulating the body's natural healing mechanism. Each session is equivalent to the opening you would experience after 6-8 Svaroopa yoga classes.

Relieve chronic pain and stress.
You'll be fully supported as you are taken into and through a series of simple Svaroopa yoga poses intended to release deeply held tension and pain. Special adjustments are applied in each pose to enhance the effects and provide greater healing. The body is simply allowed to open, gently and compassionately.

For accelerated healing, try Overlap Therapy.
For those who wish to move through chronic tension and pain more rapidly, Overlap Healing can help bring the body out of crisis, help ease anxiety, and create profound changes in your physical, mental and emotional state. These sessions occur daily over a period of time, and then occur less frequently and farther between as your healing continues to stabilize. The entire overlap healing process extends over 30-60 days.