Yoga in the Park, Mondays, 6:30 pm, Hilltop Park, Wyoming, OH

Cincinnati Yoga Leela

Play with Intention

Your yoga community meets three times a week (four in summer):

Sundays: Wyoming, Ohio Rec Center, Studio A, 4:30 to 5:30pm (in-person and online)
Mondays: Hilltop Park in Wyoming, Ohio (Reilly & Oliver, summers only).
Tuesdays: 6:30 to 7:45 pm (online only)
Thursdays: A&HT Church Parish Hall, Wyoming, Ohio, 6:30 to 7:45 pm (in-person and online)

All classes except the Sunday one are intermediate level. Sunday session is "beginner-plus," meaning the first part of the sessin will be beginner-level and more stretchy and the second part with more balance and strength series. However, in any class you can modify the asanas (postures) and vinyasas (flows) up or down to suit your needs and abilities that day. "Every day is different and each side is different. "
There are three instructors in each session: your body, your mind and your spirit. The rest of us are your cheerleaders on this spiritual journey called life.

Here are the directions to our practice locations.

Please come in 5 to 10 minutes early to check in, meet and greet and warm up. If this is your first time attending, email us at cincinnati.yoga.leela@gmail.com to let us know that you're coming. Let us know if you need a yoga mat.

"Beginner-plus" Session on Sundays!

Thank you so much for your input on the format for the Sunday session.

Starting Sunday, Nov 24th, we will have a blended session that caters to the needs of both beginner and more advanced yogis:

4:15 to 5:30 pm (please note the early start)
First part will be Beginner Yoga (often led by Lauri) followed by a break during which beginner yogis may or may not wish to leave.
Second part will be more advanced yoga.
Please see the graphic to the right for the mix.
Hope you'll join us as you're able on Sunday or Tuesday or Thursday (full schedule below).

NOTE: Since the onset of the pandemic, we have suspended communal balance series as a precautionary measure. Masks are encouraged but are optional.

Why Yoga Leela?

Imagine....

Aging gracefully (regardless of what age you are) with strong and flexible joints and muscles
Adding a spring to your every step with a dance-like sense of balance, connecting postures into flows and flows into a dance of the heart (which the body may or may not join)
Acknowledging and acting on your connection (the meaning of yoga) to other human beings, animals and the planet through seals (mudras), postures (asanas) and flows (vinyasas) that mean respect, justice, devotion, dignity and other universal spiritual values
Playing like a child but with intention
Knowing that you are doing authentic yoga, not just a form of cultural appropriation / exploitation, with postures and flows that are selected by a Vaishnava yoga teacher and a Functional (root cause) Medicine M.D.
Doing this all as a part of a community that quietly cheers you on as you travel the path of wellness

Well, you just imagined Cincinnati Yoga Leela!

Who are we?

We are a yoga community located in northern Cincinnati, Ohio, US, led by an interracial mom & pop (as of 2023, grandma and grandpa) for the last ten years. Our practice fits into the smarta tradition of southern India. In this tradition, postures and flows have meanings that highlight compassion and justice, nature and animals as fellow-inhabitants of earth, and feminine energy and creativity. Our practice benefits from modern medical theory involving spinal and joint health, muscle toning and stress reduction.
We are committed to practicing authentic yoga (vs. Western yoga). We believe Western yoga is to real yoga what French fries are to French cooking. : ) We are intentionally multiracial, multicultural and LGBTQ-friendly. Our full mission statement can be found here.

How much does it cost?

Our Sunday sessions at the Wyoming Rec Center (in-person) are on a donation basis. To join our other sessions, one has the option of paying a walk-in fee or buying a punch card for 10 classes on a sliding scale of $5-$10/class. In the spirit of yoga, which was never meant to be a "for-profit" business, no one will be turned away who cannot pay. Students are always free.
Your contribution supports Yoga Leela's mission to take yoga to under-served areas of Cincinnati. Click here for more details about becoming a community member.

Status on our Mission:

During last three years, we have done online sessions for students (multiple groups), an African American church, an African American-owned gym in West End, a teacher's group, Cincinnati Foundation (multiple sessions), and so on. We continue to offer free classes to students and those between jobs. We have lowered the fees for several members. Please let us know if you need them to be even lower.

Thank you so much for your support and journey with us during the last 8 years that Yoga Leela has been in existence.

What should I bring with me?

Please bring your own yoga mat. Bring a bottle of water if needed. If you have a block, strap, etc., they would be useful for some asanas but they are not required.

Most important of all, it's important not to bring a Western mindset to an Eastern spiritual practice. Competitiveness and constant yearning for achievement to feed the ego are counterproductive to yoga-stithih (the state of yoga). Yoga-stithih is the peace which one feels as one's body, mind and spirit come together. This is the goal of yoga. Yoga is not just a fitness but a wellness practice.

Questions or comments: Contact us.

Yoga-Leela is an offering of We ALL Belong.

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