ATHA YOGA
ABOUT ATHA YOGA
What's in the name?
For the name of my company and the logo, I was inspired by the first Sutra of the Yoga Sutra's of Patanjali 'atha yoga-anuśāsanam ॥1॥'. This is translated by Sri Swami Satchidananda as 'Now the exposition of Yoga is being made'. ‘Atha’ is Sanskrit for ‘now’ and it declares the start of the explanation of yoga. In this way ‘atha’ represents a transition. It also has another meaning: yoga is now. Being conscious and practicing yoga in the present moment, to practice asanas in meditation and help others to enjoy this practice too.
For me (and many other practitioners of Yoga and Ashtanga Yoga), the Yoga Sutra's are a continuous source of guidance, inspiration and valuable insights. They are at the core of my asana practice, meditation and way of life. I regularly share the Sutra's on my social pages to inspire others to read them, because I think the lessons that we can learn from them can make our lives more joyful, especially in relation to those around us, and eventually, could make the world a better place.
What's in the logo?
The logo presents a timeline, divided into three parts: past, present, and future. The present is the space between the triangles, where the 'A' and 'Y' are incorporated as arrows pointing in the present moment on the timeline. The representation of 'Atha' or 'Now' as the practice of asana like a moving meditation.
The arrows are pointed outward, away from the timeline, because when all the limbs of the eight-limbed path are incorporated in the practice, Samadhi, the connection of our consciousness to a higher form of consciousness, can occur. A state of being that transcends time.
MY MISSION
Atha Yoga is the brand new home for the Ashtanga Yoga Community on Bonaire, started in the summer of 2023. It is my mission to provide a stable and safe environment for the new and experienced practitioner. A place where the teaching is adjusted to the students needs to support the growth on the mat, physically and spiritually. This individual adjusted guidance is very important to me, because I want the student to grow on their own pace with instructions that are useful for them. I want to provide a place where students can practice Ashtanga and Mysore Yoga according to the tradition, with Mysore every weekday and the led Primary Series on Sunday.
I am dedicated, not only to the practice on the mat, but also to the practice of Raja Yoga where the eight-limbed path is a part of. With Atha Yoga I strive to carry out the lineage, passed on by generation to generation over many thousands of years.
CALMING MINDS
By appreciating the amazing potential of the individual human being, understanding that it is the human being that creates life and the experience of life, we can find unity and understanding of each other in any circumstance. We have to appreciate our short time on earth and spend it consciously. There are many ways to a more conscious life, and the path of the Yogi is one of them. The first step is the most challenging: to accept yourself, and to create stability and harmony within yourself. This step is essential before you can provide sincere help to others, without expecting anything back. With the practice of Ashtanga Yoga, I want to support people in achieving this first step and give them power to change their life and their experience of life for the better, so they can also help other people from a stable and harmonious base.
