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COMMUNITY YOGA DAY
TUESDAY, 9/15 - SUNDAY, 9/21
Our seventh group of 200-hr Yoga Teacher Trainees (YTTs), affectionately known as "ETA" are graduating on September 21st! These past nine months have been nothing short of amazing so we're inviting you in on the celebration :) As part of their final practicum, YTTs are to: 1) lead a 60-minute community yoga class; and 2) create and facilitate a Sankofa Seva, a service project applying yoga's ethical principles to address social justice issues. Read below about their amazing work and join their community classes this weekend.
Tuesday (Yoga)
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1:30 pm: Movement for Your Soul w/ Jamiya
Thursday (Yoga)
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11:45 am: Glow & Flow Power Hour w/ Ryan
Friday (Yoga)
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10:00 am: Breathe, Flow & Celebrate w/ Marcia
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11:30 am: Awakening Your Inner Healer w/ Robbie
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1:00 pm: Tender Flow: Unwind & Align w/ Erica
Saturday (Yoga)
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8:30 am: It's a Groove Thang, It's Got a Yoga Swang w/ Caneisha
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9:00 am: Lunar Flow: New Moon Ritual w/ Krisztina
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10:00 am: SIGH: Surrender into Growth & Healing w/ Morgan
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10:30 am: Sensual Flow, Soulful Release w/ Genice
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11:30 am: Busta Flow w/ Ashley
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12:00 pm: Quiet Strength w/ Taniesha
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1:00 pm: Vibes Don't Lie w/ Latia
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1:30 pm: Rest Retreat w/ Natasha
Sunday (Meditation)
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9:00 am: R & Breathe: Meditation for the Restless Mind w/ Nicole
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9:30 am: Waves of Renewal: A Sound & Body Scan Journey w/ Khaleelah
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10:00 am: Surrender to Flow: Connecting to the Element of Water w/ Leesa
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10:30 am: Cop-A-Squat: Sit Ya A** Down & Be Still! w/ Leah
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11:00 am: Just (Us): Rooted in Release w/ Rashida
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11:30 am: A Sangha Circle w/ Arnell
Classes are FREE and held IN-STUDIO only! Pre-registration required, NO LATE ENTRY.
Jamiya Kirkland
Community Yoga Class
Sankofa Seva Project
Movement for Your Soul:
A Hatha Yoga Flow
Tuesday, 9/16
1:30 PM - 2:30 PM
Downstairs
Music has the power to bring warmth and peace into your life just as much as movement can. This Hatha style yoga flow will focus on postures to strengthen and open the body while incorporating music that’ll make you forget about the burn. If you’re looking for a class where you can challenge yourself, come join us and have a little fun while doing so.
Yoga on the Lawn
With the change of seasons approaching, we’re coming to a time of the year when a lot of moving parts are happening. Shorter and colder days can lead to seasonal depression, the holidays can create feelings of loneliness, the approaching end of the calendar year can make one feel like they have not accomplished what they set out for at the beginning of the year. Based on the yoga principles Svadhyaya (Self-Study) and Tapas (Self-Discipline), Yoga on the Lawn invites my apartment community to take a moment before the hustle and bustle of the last three months of the year to look inward and ask themselves “What practices or habits can I adopt in order to show up as the best version of myself for me and my community?”
MISSION: To create a space for my apartment community to pause and reconnect with themselves before the hectic times of the holiday season.
GOAL: My goal is that every participant can find at least one thing to focus on, physical or mental health, spiritual clarity, etc. for their wellbeing. With this I am hoping everyone can show up for themselves and their community with love, understanding and compassion during the Winter season.
DATE: September 13, 2025
LOCATION: Hanover, MD
Ryan Lindsay Arrendell
Community Yoga Class
Sankofa Seva Project
Glow & Flow Power Hour
Thursday, 9/18
11:45 AM - 12:45 PM
Downstairs
In this class, expect to work up a glistening glow while flowing to a fire R&B playlist. Come ready to strengthen, lengthen & stretch your mind & body during this powerful class that will leave you glowing from the inside-out.
Yoga for Those Who've Experienced Abortion
Through the lens of Svādhyāya (स्वाध्याय; Self-Study), Ryan Lindsay's Seva Project invited those who've experienced abortion to experience a reflective afternoon of gentle yoga, poetry & journaling. Drawing from her own experience of healing through her abortion experience, Ryan seeks to catalyze new pathways to healing through empathy, vulnerability & mind-body-memory-work.
MISSION: To welcome those with abortion experiences into a sacred, safe healing environment that engages their minds, bodies & spirits through sacred acts of remembrance, reflection & restorative yoga.
GOAL: To create a safe space for those who've experienced abortion to reconnect with their bodies & memories in hopes of releasing stored and/or suppressed emotions; exploring the impact of abortion experiences on their lives; and breaking down stigmas & shame by coming together in a sacred space of courage & vulnerability.
DATE: August 31, 2025
LOCATION: Virtual
Marcia Cooper
Community Yoga Class
Sankofa Seva Project
Breathe, Flow & Celebrate
Friday, 9/19
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Downstairs
Breathe, Flow & Celebrate is a class created to honor the gift of life. We will breathe deeply, move mindfully, and open our hearts to gratitude. Each posture is an invitation to celebrate your body, your breath, and your journey. This class is offered in loving memory of my mom, whose spirit continues to inspire joy and presence. Together, we'll breathe and flow with gratitude- reminding us that every inhale and exhale is a celebration of being alive.
Yoga for Healthcare Heroes
Yoga for Healthcare Heros provides a safe space to pause, release stress, and restore energy. Guided by Ahimsa, this practice encourages self-compassion while helping calm the mind, increase focus, and reconnect with your body.
MISSION: To support mental health of healthcare professionals through yoga and mindfulness practices.
GOAL: To create a safe space for healthcare professionals to release stress, cultivate resilience, and reconnect with their breath and body.
DATE: July 24th and July 31st, 2025
LOCATION: Silver Spring, MD
Robbie Wells
Community Yoga Class
Sankofa Seva Project
Awakening Your Inner Healer:
A Yin and Restorative Practice
Friday, 9/19
11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Downstairs
Slow down and reconnect with your body’s innate wisdom. In this Yin and Restorative yoga practice, we’ll release tension, calm the nervous system, and open space for your inner healer to awaken. Supported by the energy of the approaching autumn season this practice will leave you grounded, balanced, and renewed.
Inner Sanctuary: Healing Tools to Navigate the Cancer Journey with Love
This Seva project was created as a trauma-informed, heart-centered offering for women of color navigating cancer. Rooted in Ahimsa (non-harming and radical self-compassion), the experience invited participants into a virtual healing sanctuary to reconnect with their inner wisdom and resilience. The offering included a Dharma talk on Ahimsa as it relates to the cancer journey, pranayama and a body scan with a guided clearing meditation accompanied by waterfall sounds, a heart coherence meditation to cultivate feelings of love, compassion, and gratitude, a guided healing visualization, and affirmation writing with self-reflection to reclaim strength and sacred identity. As a follow-up, participants received an Inner Sanctuary worksheet to integrate the practices at home.
MISSION: To offer a sacred healing space rooted in yogic wisdom where women of color navigating the cancer journey can reconnect with their breath, their inner strength, and their divine wholeness.
GOAL: The goal of this Seva project was to create a nurturing virtual experience that equips participants with simple yet powerful healing tools—including breathwork, heart coherence, visualization, and affirmations—to support their physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
DATE: August 20, 2025
LOCATION: Virtual
Erica Morrison
Community Yoga Class
Sankofa Seva Project
Tender Flow: Unwind & Align
Friday, 9/19
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Downstairs
Slow down and sink into deep stretch yoga with long, gentle holds and slow jams to match. Tender Flow is your space to release tension, restore your body, and vibe all the way through. No experience needed. Just bring your breath and your good mood.
Reclaim Your Breath: Navigating the Noise of DC
Join me on the rooftop for a moment of stillness, where we can pause and reflect on how to care for ourselves while doing the vital work of serving others. This administration has brought unique challenges and exhaustion for us all, so it's essential we prioritize our health, peace, and well-being.
MISSION: My mission is to create a space for journalists, political fundraisers, and change-makers to pause, breathe, and reconnect with themselves amidst the chaos of the current political climate. We aim to provide a moment of stillness and reflection, empowering participants to prioritize their health, well-being, and inner peace while continuing their vital work for others. In doing so, we foster resilience, clarity, and a renewed sense of purpose.
GOAL: To bring a moment of calm and stillness to busy DC journos and politicos
DATE: September 17, 2005
LOCATION: Rooftop in NW DC
Caneisha Jennette
Community Yoga Class
Sankofa Seva Project
It’s Groove Thang, It’s Got A Yoga Swang
Saturday, 9/20
8:30 AM - 9:30 AM
Downstairs
This is your chance to groove, flow, and be free. We’ll ground ourselves in stillness, then vibe with the music — letting rhythm guide the breath and body. Expect a mix of soulful beats, playful movement, and moments of freedom where you can sing along, sway, or simply be. Rooted in the yogic principle of Santosha (contentment), this class is about embracing joy in the present moment — no pressure, no perfection, just flow. All levels and all ages are welcome. Come as you are, leave with a lighter spirit.
Home in My Skin
For my Seva Project, I facilitated Home in My Skin: A Body Love Workshop, rooted in the Niyama of Santosha (contentment). This offering came from my own personal journey—having struggled with body acceptance, I am now learning to honor and love my body as it is, not as flawed, but as a space of discovery. Through meditation, journaling, and yoga, participants were invited into that same safe and loving space of acceptance, gratitude, and connection with their bodies.
MISSION: To create a safe and empowering space where individuals can reconnect with their bodies through the practice of yoga, journaling, and self-reflection. Rooted in the Niyama of Santosha, this workshop encourages individuals to release self-judgment, embrace self-love, and cultivate gratitude for their bodies in every stage of life
GOAL: To guide participants toward a deeper sense of body acceptance and inner peace by blending yoga, meditation, and journaling. Through these practices, the workshop aims to help each person walk away with practical tools to honor their body, embrace self-discovery, and carry the essence of Santosha—contentment—into their daily lives.
DATE: August 31, 2025
LOCATION: Temple Hills, MD
Krisztina Frazier
Community Yoga Class
Sankofa Seva Project
Lunar Flow: New Moon Ritual
Saturday, 9/20
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Upstairs
New moons = new beginnings. This 60-minute flow combines gentle movement, contemplative yin-style asanas, and moon salutations to honor this weekend's New Moon + Solar Eclipse. Allow yourself to release and feel renewed as you flow through this class keeping your personal New Moon intention in mind. What are you ready to release, and what seed will you plant this season?
Purses + Poses
Purses + Poses is a community-focused collaboration with Success in Style, a local organization that provides clothing and workforce preparation to in-crisis individuals. In the spirit of aparigraha (non-possessiveness), all participants who donate a handbag to Charity's Closet / Charity's First Picks on Sunday, September 14th will enjoy an all-levels, gentle yoga flow in the commons area of Savage Mill. This event invites you to let go of what is no longer needed-- physically and energetically-- and enjoy a flow with community.
MISSION: To inspire people to embrace the essence of aparigraha by finding possessions and old habits to release, and to create a sense of community by bringing people together for a moment of pause and self-care.
GOAL: To bring awareness to Success in Style, an organization that assists local, in-crisis job-seekers in need with fashion guidance, interview preparation, and work-ready clothing. Success in Style operated Charity's Closet and Charity's First Picks, two thrift shops in historic Savage Mill that accept clothing donations year-round.
DATE: September 14, 2025
LOCATION: Savage Mill
Morgan Keeton
Community Yoga Class
Sankofa Seva Project
SIGH: Surrender Into Growth + Healing
Saturday, 9/20
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Downstairs
This is your space to pause, soften, and surrender. SIGH guides you through deep, intentional stretches that target the hips, legs, and other areas where the body holds on. With each exhale, you’ll Surrender Into Growth + Healing, allowing tension to dissolve and energy to flow.
Serve Yourself, First
Whether you’re guiding our youth or juggling orders and plates, public servants deserve to serve themselves first. Morgan’s SEVA project emphasizes that when your well is replenished, your giving flows with greater ease and abundance. Focusing on the yogic principle of brahmacharya, or non-excess, participants are guided through a yoga practice to honor and conserve their energy through mindful movement and breathwork. One class was offered to staff of the Center City PCS community in DC and the other to restaurant employees in Baltimore.
MISSION: To provide a much-needed reset for those who give so much — a space to restore and honor their energy.
GOAL: To help participants replenish their physical and mental energy, release tension, and find balance, so they can continue serving others while maintaining their own well-being.
DATE: August 15 & 31, 2025
LOCATION: Washington, DC & Baltimore, MD
Genice Brown
Community Yoga Class
Sankofa Seva Project
Sensual flow, Soulful release
Saturday, 9/20
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Upstairs
Join for a 60-minute yoga experience designed to help you release, restore, and reconnect. This class combines fluid, sensual movements with grounding yoga asanas, guiding you to gently unlock stuck emotions and move energy through the body. With mindful breath and intentional flow, we’ll create space for softness, healing, and liberation. This is your invitation to show up as you are, move with presence, and leave feeling lighter, freer, and more connected to yourself.
Community Yoga in the Park
This outdoor practice was created to make yoga feel approachable, welcoming, and deeply grounding. Each session invited the community to gather in a different local park, creating space to move, stretch, and reconnect with the body in nature’s embrace. Whether brand new to yoga or simply curious to explore beyond a class or two, these flows were designed to help participants ease into practice, build awareness, and tune inward. Gentle yet empowering, Community Yoga in the Park was all about creating a safe, supportive space to breathe, move, and discover the joy of yoga together.
MISSION: To introduce yoga in a welcoming, beginner-friendly way that encourages individuals—especially those new or returning—to move, stretch, and connect with their bodies while fostering a sense of community and self-awareness.
GOAL: Making yoga accessible through community.
DATE: July 6 & 21, 2025
LOCATION: Gwynn Falls Park and Blue Stone Park. Baltimore MD
Ashley Powell
Community Yoga Class
Sankofa Seva Project
Busta Flow
Saturday, 9/20
11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Upstairs
This power yoga class is set to the high energy beats of Busta Rhymes, blending strength, rhythm, and flow into a dynamic practice. Students will move through grounding breathwork and a rhythmic warm-up before diving into energizing vinyasa sequences that build heat and stamina.
Playful Power: High Energy Stretch Flow
This Seva Project offered a 40-minute high-energy yoga flow designed specifically for daycare workers. The class focused on simple yet effective stretches that can be easily incorporated into their daily routine, helping to release tension, improve mobility, and boost energy for the demands of their work. With a lighthearted and supportive atmosphere, the session encouraged movement, laughter, and mindfulness while honoring the essential role childcare workers play.
MISSION: To support and uplift childcare workers by providing them with an energizing and accessible yoga practice, offering simple stretches and mindful movement to help reduce stress, increase vitality, and bring balance to their important work.
GOAL: To provide daycare workers with simple, effective stretches and movements they can use both during and after work to release tension, boost energy, and support their overall well-being.
DATE: August 29, 2025
LOCATION: Goddard School of Hanover
Taniesha Varns
Community Yoga Class
Sankofa Seva Project
Quiet Strength
Saturday, 9/20
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Downstairs
This class is an invitation to discover the strength that lives in stillness. Yin yoga invites us to slow down and settle into long-held (3-5 min), floor-based postures, where the focus is less on effort and more on patience, acceptance, presence, and release. It takes quiet strength to soften into discomfort, to breathe through resistance, and to allow stillness to show us things we often overlook in the rush of life. My hope is that you leave class feeling grounded, clear, and connected—with a deeper trust in your own strength, both in stillness and off the mat.
Pause & Pour
For teachers, the beginning of the school year can be a busy time—filled with preparation for students, balancing family responsibilities, and navigating the uncertainty of new classrooms and groups. Inspired by the theme of svadhyaya (self-study), staff were invited to reconnect with themselves through curiosity rather than judgment. This practice encouraged noticing habits, cycles, and the ways the body and mind respond. At the end of the practice, staff were invited to sip some tea, with options of packaged teas or homemade hibiscus and chamomile herbal tea. This moment of pause serves as a gentle reminder: the more we understand and study ourselves, the more fully we can show up for others.
MISSION: To create space for a chance to recharge and steady your energy. Helping to balance your mind as you return to the classroom and to the many roles you hold, at work and at home
GOAL: Providing a time and space for teachers to focus on themselves, in a week that's all about deadlines, preparation, and anticipation of the new year
DATE: August 22, 2025
LOCATION: A Montgomery County Middle School
Latia Attaway
Community Yoga Class
Sankofa Seva Project
Vibes Don't Lie (On Your mat)
Saturday, 9/0
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Upstairs
Vibes Don’t Lie (On Your Mat) is a vinyasa flow for all body types. This class helps you clear stagnant energy, reconnect with your body, and align with your intuition. On the mat, authenticity always shines through—your vibe tells the truth. Leave feeling lighter, grounded, and deeply connected.
Yoga Exposure Project: Exposing BIPOC Youth to Yoga
To expose BIPOC youth to the transformative practice of yoga by creating safe, compassionate spaces where movement, breath, and mindfulness are tools for growth. Grounded in Ahimsā—the principle of non-harming and compassion—we emphasize emotional regulation as a foundation for resilience and self-empowerment. Through yoga, children learn to manage stress, build self-awareness, and respond to challenges with balance and clarity. By fostering these skills, we support not only individual well-being but also healthier, more connected communities.
MISSION: The Yoga Exposure Project aims to safeguard children's mental health through yoga, promoting emotional regulation and self-empowerment in a compassionate environment.
GOAL: To bring the transformative practice of yoga to children of color by creating safe, compassionate spaces where they can explore movement, breath, self-awareness, and empower them with tools to navigate life’s challenges with strength, balance, and grace. Also, to incorporate another modality of treatment for mental health within the school system.
DATE: July 29 & 30, 2025
LOCATION: Burnt Mills Elementary School, Silver Spring
Natasha Davis Debose
Community Yoga Class
Sankofa Seva Project
Restorative Retreat: Come Take Rest
Saturday, 9/20
1:30 PM - 2:30 PM
Upstairs
Come and take rest in a deeply relaxing, slow-paced yoga practice designed to calm the nervous system and release deep seated tension in the body and mind. This gentle immersive practice will focus on deep rest, healing and rejuvenation. Through minimal movement and supported passive poses, this class helps you switch from the fight or flight stress response to a restful state of the nervous system. This therapeutic style of yoga emphasizes stillness and is perfect for all levels, including beginners or those recovering from injury.
Be Still and Know
Focusing on the Niyamas of Santosha and Svadhyaya as yogic principles, Be Still and Know is a project working with elementary, middle and high school students. The project encouraged participants to establish the importance of self-study, gratitude, inner peace, prayer and mindfulness practices.
MISSION: To introduce and encourage students in their exploration into meditation and yoga as a way to take care of their bodies as a sacred temple and to further their mindfulness practices off the mat.
GOAL: Group discussions about self-care, coping skills, mental health and connecting with God. This activity was followed up with breathwork and various asanas building to a vinyasa flow.
DATE: August 4 & 5, 2025
LOCATION: Peoples Congregational United Church of Christ, Washington, DC