Vision
Prague Yoga was founded by Monica Angelucci in 2004. We have a myriad of student offerings, ranging from weekly classes to special topic workshops & retreats to full-scale in-depth Yoga teacher trainings. It has been and continues to be our vision that Prague Yoga be a community which encourages and supports the physical, intellectual and spiritual development of both students and teachers and Yoga as a healing art.
Just like any other physical activity, Yoga can both be incredibly beneficial & potentially harmful. Thus, understanding the individual challenges of students is imperative.
Contrary to popular belief, most Yoga students are not super flexible and strong. Rather 85-95% of Yoga students have challenges with strength, flexibility and/or stamina, have had surgery or illness that affects their practice or have some kind of chronic or acute pain. Bone compression can also lead to student challenges (e.g., students unable to put heels down in downward facing dog or unable to place palms fully on the floor in backbends). Unlike muscle tension, bone compression cannot be corrected or improved. Because of these realities, we believes physical Yoga is not about the poses as an end result. Rather, the poses are a vehicle which allow students to practice turning off the mind & ego in order to be present with and really listen to the needs of their body.
Monica has a great respect for Iyengar alignment principles and theory which facilitate meeting the challenges of many students through modifications and props. She employs Iyengar as a foundation in all of the Yoga styles she teaches. Thus, the anatomical/physiological fundamentals she instills on the mat can be readily transferred off the mat and into students' everyday lives.
However, the most important principles she teaches to both regular students and teacher trainers are those of breath & bandha. These are the foundation of all Yoga poses and ensure that students move safely and effortlessly in and out of the poses. Most injuries happen on the way into or out of poses. By focusing on the breath and gently activating the bandhas or locks 5-10%, students can more readily contract the deep abdominals and deep back muscles creating an internal girdle (similar to a weight lifting belt) which prepares them to move in every pose securely.
Although the instructor is responsible for keeping students safe - they are not mind readers and ultimately only the student really knows how they feel in a pose or if an adjustment increases or decreases their ability to work in a pose. Adjustments are about encouraging correct alignment or creating space - it is always up to the student to decide what to do with that space.The instructor or student creates space in the body and then the student alone makes a conscious choice whether to go deeper into the pose or to remain where they are.
Thus, all students are encouraged to focus not on what they look like in a pose (or what their neighboring student looks like) - but rather to focus on the breath and how they feel in the pose. Accordingly, Yoga also becomes a vehicle for encouraging student empowerment and inspiring open, honest communication in the present moment.
And ultimately that is what Yoga is really about...inspiring each one of us to be present in all aspects of our lives!