The Yoga Service Movement is a 501-c3 organization established in April 2015.
Founder, Danielle Rottenberg has been a yoga teacher for more than 14 years with her 200-hour yoga training certification. She has completed her 500 hour training in November of 2018. She is passionate about creating opportunities for more people to experience yoga, health, and wellness as a catalyst for improving the way we relate to ourselves, one another, and the world.
Yoga has enjoyed an enormous proliferation in the last few decades with millions of people gaining benefits. Millions more are left out because of lack of resources and/or physical disability.
Our personal evolution is intimately intertwined with the collective well-being as a whole. There has never been more of a need to recognize and act on this. It is time to extend the goal of yoga beyond individual self-improvement. Individual growth is the first profound and beautiful step that comes from a yoga practice. From there we see endless possibilities of yoga for building more inclusive, cohesive communities. Yoga helps us remember and embody the impulse towards connection as our natural state of being. The oft-sited truth that “We are all One” means very little unless we make efforts to acknowledge, support, & educate unserved and underserved populations.
Therefore, TYSM is an effort towards the maturation of yoga. By holding everyone as worthy of tools of self-improvement, of spiritual exploration and growth, worthy of time and attention, we grow healthier societies. Our aim is two-fold: one is to reach out to groups in our area that are interested in yoga and do not have access for a variety of reasons. We wish to share the practices of yoga, mindfulness, and meditation with them. Secondly, we envision pulling diverse groups of people together to build a community based on the understanding of our interdependence. Each time one of us experiences greater self-awareness, acceptance, and love, we all benefit.
Our classes encourage body awareness and teach simple techniques for stress management. These methods improve general wellness and quality of life. We call it:
R.E.A.C.H. Yoga– Realizing Equality, through Activism, Connection, & Heart-centered yoga
Each class combines these elements:
Body – The movement aspect is a safe, informed practice based on knowledge of anatomy and biomechanics. The body is slowly opened and strengthened for physical wellness. Breathwork is utilized in a safe and effective way to increase circulation in the body, calm and soothe the nervous system, and be a focus of concentration.
Mind – the mental aspect is a method of centering, which is a mindfulness practice of anchoring awareness in the body and bringing attention back to this place throughout the session.
Spirit – this happens, as a result, the above practices. We experience a feeling of being more connected to the part of ourselves that has the capacity to be calm, centered, and content. Yoga helps us feel closer to ourselves, to others, and to that which we source from.
