What's unique about YL

Yoga Leela came about around 2014 in response to what we call McYoga--retail yoga where the profit motive rules supreme. Rooted in Hindu spirituality, yoga fails in the long run if it's applied as a band-aid to what ails the West rather than becoming an antidote to it. 
Yoga Leela is intentionally different from Western yoga studios, although it doesn't claim complete freedom and innoculation from its surroundings. Here's how YL is different:

Community 

Authentic yoga is based on the belief that "as a healthy plant needs healthy soil, a healthy individual needs a healthy community." Here at YL, our connections are not just transactional (you give  me money and I give you a fitness class) but transformational.  Over time we become one another's well-wishers and  empathizers  in joy and sorrow. We deepen our humanity, i.e. emotional connection to others.  Practicing yoga in the company of those who want good things to happen to you raises our seratonin and lowers our cortisol (stress) levels. 

Justice

 We joke about there being  no "ostrich pose" in yoga.  Seriously though, no yogi/ni can ignore the world around them. Various poses and flows in yoga are about justice. Balance (as in the lady-justice goddess statue on top of your city hall)  in yoga is a synonym for justice, Justice is not vindictiveness, but everyone doing their job.  Our YL community members are actively transforming the world around them. They are teachers,  social workers, medical personel, librarians,  and so on working hard to create a just world. Every justice worker is a yogi, but NOT everyone who practices so-called Western yoga, with its sole focus on self-care, is a true yogi.
It is commonplace for pseudo-Buddhist yoga practices primarily focused on people of privilege to emphaises compassion, But authentic requires that compassion and justice go hand in hand as in the sloka above.

Feminine Creativity

Many postures in yoga are goddess (devi)-based. Highlighting and making sure that our gratitude is expressed in every practice to feminine creativity and energy (shakti) is imperative in a world where toxic masculinity is on the rise. 

Medical Guidance

Yoga Leela is unique in that the practice is guided by sound medical principles. Many of the postures and flows are vetted by a functional (root cause) medicine specialist, Dr. Lauri , MD.  Physical (including musculo-skeletal, spinal, heart, lungs, hormonal, neurologic, etc.) and mental health are inextricably intertwined with a well-designed yoga session. 

Dance and Play

Yoga evolved not only from Hindu temple sculptures depicting ancient dances but also from Indian classical dance. Smooth movement, lightness of the heart and a joyful spirit are encouraged so that the spirit of dance and play (Leela) becomes an essential ingredient of a Yoga Leela practice.