Our Founder

Mela Butcher

    

Los Angeles and Ojai, California

Serving  Community with  Safe and Natural Methods of Healing for over 20 Years           310-712-2660

                                                   What Is Yoga?

Yoga is a logical, compassionate and time tested practice for bringing our individual nature into harmony with our universal nature.  Atman is defined as our individual nature while Brahman is defined as our universal nature. Think: Human Effort plus Divine Grace.

The meaning of the word Yoga, as translated from the Sanskrit, is Union – to yoke together these two vital and necessary aspects of ourselves, so our thoughts, our words and our actions are balanced, moral, loving and judicious.

Yoga is not a religion  rather it is a systematic set of lifestyle instructions that has aided humans from many cultures for thousands of years.  A primary goal of yoga is to create no suffering (ahimsa) with the ultimate goal of yoga being freedom (moksha) freedom from our natural tendency to misinterpret reality and cause suffering for ourselves and others.

There are eight limbs, or building blocks of yoga, which form the foundation of a yoga practice. You may be familiar with the yoga poses (asanas) which are by far the most widely known aspect of a yoga practice. But just as we cannot build the first story of our home until a solid foundation has been poured, a real yoga practice consists of understanding what is necessary to live in harmony and balance in our relationship with our self and the world.

These building blocks are:

Moral and ethical disciplines for harmony and right relations between our self and others ( Yama and Niyama), physical postures for strength and health (Asana), breathing exercises for vitality ( Pranayama),  concentration and meditation techniques for mental and emotional stability ( Dharana and Dhyana),  all of which can result  in the Bliss state, a fully awakened state suffused with joy (Samadhi).

In the 30 years that I have taught yoga, I have had the great privilege of witnessing thousands of lives  transformed by the practice of yoga.

If you are interested to know how you may attain a deep sense of inner confidence and joy, a strong and stable mind, physical strength and flexibility, and right relations with fellow humans, then I invite you to contact me with any questions you may have about how to begin or deepen your yoga practice.

I currently teach yoga in Los Angeles with Yoga Works ( www.yogaworks.com)  and my schedule is below.

You may also find recordings of my teaching at Yogi2Go ( www.yogi2go.com) which you may download and own. I recommend the book “Light on Life” by BKS Iyengar as an excellent starting point in understanding what Yoga has to offer, written by one of the true spiritual geniuses of our time.

I also conduct many workshops, seminars, retreats and teacher trainings on Yoga and Ayurveda in the United States and abroad, and would be happy to add you to our mailing list for any upcoming events.

Until we meet again, know that I hold your highest interests in my heart and am here as a source of support for you.

Yours in Divine Friendship,

Mela