liberal values and tolerance that mark Dutch culture make this city hospitable to the pursuit of yoga.
By Susan Nicolas
Considering the Amsterdam sky is grey most of the year, it's amazing how vibrant its denizens seem. Maybe it's because most Amsterdam residents regularly bike and walk, because they enjoy cheese and chocolate in their diet without a high rate of obesity, because organic food and homeopathic remedies are available and widely used before more conventional methods, or because every Dutch person has health care. In Amsterdam unconventional lifestyles are accepted without judgment, so the transcendent practice of yoga is actually considered the norm, not "alternative."
If you dropped into a random yoga class in Amsterdam, it would probably be Iyengar-based. There's a popular Iyengar Yoga Center in the center of town which offers more than 35 classes a week and an internationally-renowned teacher training course. Many of the classes are taught by IYC manager Cl้ Souren, whose gruff yet wise and fatherly manner eases you deeper into postures than you previously thought possible. The two large asana rooms here are modern and bright, with skylights through which you can often hear the steady patter of rain.
Around the corner from the Iyengar Center sits another major force on the Amsterdam yoga scene, Bharata Yoga. Gert van Leeuwen, the founder of the Bharata Yoga Institute, dances Bharata Natyamัone of India's oldest dance formsัin addition to practicing yoga. He brings elements of dance into his yoga, focusing on the movement from one asana to another, not just on static postures. Van Leeuwen has developed a unique theory of alignment that emphasizes extending and freeing the upper back. In his classes, each posture is held for a long time in order to experience this profoundly opening and deepening process.
Bharata Yoga offers a teacher training course, and its graduates often open yoga studios of their own. One such example is the School voor Yogasana's, situated in Amsterdam's most colorful and international section, the Pijp. The warm, friendly atmosphere at the School voor Yogasana's is created not only by owner and teacher Paul Braaksma's gentle presence but also by the soft, apricot-colored lighting and well-placed Hindu statues. Despite the serious discipline that Braaksma instills in his classes, there's a lot of laughing as well.
Merely walking into the Aurora Center for Natural Medicine and Personal Growth seems to set a healing process in motion. Lynne de Jong-Decker, an American expat, started Aurora seven years ago to create a place where people from all cultures could feel comfortable. Aurora offers an eclectic menu of hatha yoga styles, including Kundalini, Bharata, Kripalu, and Sivananda, as well as a range of healing and personal-growth workshops. The classes are taught in a big room overlooking a tree-lined canal, and it's nice to hear the gentle swish of water as you practice.
As you sit on the white carpet of the 3HO Kundalini Yoga Centrum, it's hard to believe that you're only a block away from Amsterdam's busiest traffic circle, called the Weteringschans, and not deep in a magical forest. The asana room is spotless, without dŽcor or distractions; a glass door looks out on trees in which it seems the happiest birds in the world sing. For almost 30 years, the teachers at the 3HO Kundalini Yoga Centrum have carved out an oasis of peace and quiet in this busy city.
Teresa Caldas opened Studio Asana in 1995 to share the knowledge she'd gained from her studies with Dona Holleman and B.K.S. Iyengar. Since then a loyal following of students have flocked to this sunny studio in the heart of Amsterdam to experience Caldas's uplifting and rigorous classes. Caldas says, "We must let go of prejudices, concepts, and dusty old habits and open the windows and doors of our bodies and minds."It seems utterly appropriate that she has chosen to open these windows and doors in Amsterdam, the watery land of ancient ways and new horizons.
Note: Some classes are in Dutch, but almost everyone in Amsterdam speaks English. Let teachers know that you don't understand Dutch, and they will translate for you or even teach the entire class in English.
By Susan Nicolas
Considering the Amsterdam sky is grey most of the year, it's amazing how vibrant its denizens seem. Maybe it's because most Amsterdam residents regularly bike and walk, because they enjoy cheese and chocolate in their diet without a high rate of obesity, because organic food and homeopathic remedies are available and widely used before more conventional methods, or because every Dutch person has health care. In Amsterdam unconventional lifestyles are accepted without judgment, so the transcendent practice of yoga is actually considered the norm, not "alternative."
If you dropped into a random yoga class in Amsterdam, it would probably be Iyengar-based. There's a popular Iyengar Yoga Center in the center of town which offers more than 35 classes a week and an internationally-renowned teacher training course. Many of the classes are taught by IYC manager Cl้ Souren, whose gruff yet wise and fatherly manner eases you deeper into postures than you previously thought possible. The two large asana rooms here are modern and bright, with skylights through which you can often hear the steady patter of rain.
Around the corner from the Iyengar Center sits another major force on the Amsterdam yoga scene, Bharata Yoga. Gert van Leeuwen, the founder of the Bharata Yoga Institute, dances Bharata Natyamัone of India's oldest dance formsัin addition to practicing yoga. He brings elements of dance into his yoga, focusing on the movement from one asana to another, not just on static postures. Van Leeuwen has developed a unique theory of alignment that emphasizes extending and freeing the upper back. In his classes, each posture is held for a long time in order to experience this profoundly opening and deepening process.
Bharata Yoga offers a teacher training course, and its graduates often open yoga studios of their own. One such example is the School voor Yogasana's, situated in Amsterdam's most colorful and international section, the Pijp. The warm, friendly atmosphere at the School voor Yogasana's is created not only by owner and teacher Paul Braaksma's gentle presence but also by the soft, apricot-colored lighting and well-placed Hindu statues. Despite the serious discipline that Braaksma instills in his classes, there's a lot of laughing as well.
Merely walking into the Aurora Center for Natural Medicine and Personal Growth seems to set a healing process in motion. Lynne de Jong-Decker, an American expat, started Aurora seven years ago to create a place where people from all cultures could feel comfortable. Aurora offers an eclectic menu of hatha yoga styles, including Kundalini, Bharata, Kripalu, and Sivananda, as well as a range of healing and personal-growth workshops. The classes are taught in a big room overlooking a tree-lined canal, and it's nice to hear the gentle swish of water as you practice.
As you sit on the white carpet of the 3HO Kundalini Yoga Centrum, it's hard to believe that you're only a block away from Amsterdam's busiest traffic circle, called the Weteringschans, and not deep in a magical forest. The asana room is spotless, without dŽcor or distractions; a glass door looks out on trees in which it seems the happiest birds in the world sing. For almost 30 years, the teachers at the 3HO Kundalini Yoga Centrum have carved out an oasis of peace and quiet in this busy city.
Teresa Caldas opened Studio Asana in 1995 to share the knowledge she'd gained from her studies with Dona Holleman and B.K.S. Iyengar. Since then a loyal following of students have flocked to this sunny studio in the heart of Amsterdam to experience Caldas's uplifting and rigorous classes. Caldas says, "We must let go of prejudices, concepts, and dusty old habits and open the windows and doors of our bodies and minds."It seems utterly appropriate that she has chosen to open these windows and doors in Amsterdam, the watery land of ancient ways and new horizons.
Note: Some classes are in Dutch, but almost everyone in Amsterdam speaks English. Let teachers know that you don't understand Dutch, and they will translate for you or even teach the entire class in English.
English to Chinese BETA
English to French
English to German
English to Italian
English to Japanese BETA
English to Korean BETA
English to Russian BETA 
English to Spanish
