REGARDING THE YOGA ALLIANCE: Our AYN teachers have spent hundreds of hours of direct study on a consistent annual basis with senior or master teachers, both in the US and abroad - some, but not all, of whom run Yoga Alliance TT programs. These master teachers have shown a dedication to their craft through decades of experience and scholarship within the traditions of both Ashtanga Yoga and Yin Yoga - lineages that pre-date the Yoga Alliance, and it's vague and decidedly bureaucratic "certification" methods via ad-hoc protocols that are not only less rigorous, but also appropriative of indigenous knowledge, as the Yoga Alliance has a history of both ignoring and even actively denying the legitimacy of living and deceased Indian yoga teachers and their Western students who have also refused to affiliate with the Yoga Alliance. Thus, we at AYN stand in solidarity with those have chosen to boycott the Yoga Alliance; we do not require our teachers to attend Yoga Alliance registered "schools", nor do we require our teachers to register themselves with the Yoga Alliance.
REGARDING PATTABHI JOIS: Most of us practice Ashtanga Yoga, and we revere this yoga system as it has been gifted to us through our teachers and from India. However, we condemn the unethical acts of Pattabhi Jois, who was the primary source of Ashtanga's transmission in the West--abuses of power that include sexual assault of some of his students. As a studio whose primary mission is service to our student's health, wellbeing, and self-empowerment, we condemn these acts, and state unequivocally that AYN stands in opposition to all individuals, institutions or cultures that perpetuate or enable abuses of power.
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to email our founding teacher, Michelle Ryan. May we all find our way.
REGARDING PATTABHI JOIS: Most of us practice Ashtanga Yoga, and we revere this yoga system as it has been gifted to us through our teachers and from India. However, we condemn the unethical acts of Pattabhi Jois, who was the primary source of Ashtanga's transmission in the West--abuses of power that include sexual assault of some of his students. As a studio whose primary mission is service to our student's health, wellbeing, and self-empowerment, we condemn these acts, and state unequivocally that AYN stands in opposition to all individuals, institutions or cultures that perpetuate or enable abuses of power.
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to email our founding teacher, Michelle Ryan. May we all find our way.