What is community?

In a yoga studio, it is more than the connection between teacher and student. It is the connection from student to student, and from each of us to the shared values that guide our choices and lives.

Community is tangible: a space we return to, a practice we share, familiar faces beside us on the mat. It is also a feeling: of being supported, safe, and seen. It is more than being welcomed into a place; it is the sense that you belong there. 

Participating in community is a spiritual practice. It asks us to show up as our true selves and to make room for others to do the same. It asks for empathy, vulnerability, compassion, and mutual support. In community, personal growth becomes something we experience together. There is no one single expression that is better than another; there is space for the fullest version of who each of us is on any given day, in any experience, in any moment. 

Eight Limbs is ours. It belongs to everyone who enters, practices, teaches, listens, shares, supports, and contributes something of themselves. Our engagement with this community is not transactional; it is transformative. We shape this place, and in turn, this place shapes us. That is the possibility of true community: a home where we belong with one another, where we grow alongside one another, and where each of us helps create the conditions for everyone to become more fully themselves.

In community,

Barbara

Transitions

Chaturangas aren’t sexy. They don’t rank among the most Instagram-worthy postures. They are hard- on the shoulders, core, and ego.⁠

Chaturangas are also one of our most essential transitions. The movement from high plank to low plank. The part between the postures that asks us to stay steady and in our breath when we’d rather rush ahead to upward facing dog. They are humbling and hard. And they’re where strength is built and foundations are formed.⁠⁠

Transitions fuel our progress and our growth. They may not be the moments we celebrate, but they’re the moments that carry us forward.⁠

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/87c291_0af538d1796b403e98ae96d77e651c43/720p/mp4/file.mp4

⁠

I’ve been living through a transition of my own: leaving behind one much-loved yoga home to build a new one. There have been moments of uncertainty, grief, excitement, and a whole lot of joy. Like chaturanga, this transition has been humbling and hard. It has asked me to stay steady in the space between what was and what’s next, to trust that everything that came before was building the strength and foundation for this moment.⁠

Now, I’m so excited to share this next chapter with you. Transitions are hard, but they get us where we’re meant to go next. I can’t wait to flow into this one together.⁠

In community,⁠

Barbara⁠

What's in a name?

A friend recently asked if I named the studio Eight Limbs Yoga because I have two dogs.

Two dogs. Four legs each. Eight limbs. It makes sense and it made me laugh.

The name comes from the Eight Limbs of Yoga, an ancient philosophy described in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. While many people think of yoga as simply the physical practice, the postures are only one part of a much larger path toward enlightenment.

The Eight Limbs offer a framework for living with greater intention. They encourage us to cultivate kindness toward others, honesty with ourselves, steady breath, focused attention, and a deeper sense of connection. Together, they remind us that yoga isn't something we do for an hour on a mat. It's something we carry into the rest of our lives.

This doesn't mean you need to memorize all eight limbs or study yoga philosophy before walking into class. In fact, you don't need to know any of it.

Just show up. Breath. Make funny shapes. Try to have some fun.

The philosophy has a way of revealing itself over time. Sometimes it shows up in how you respond to a difficult pose. Sometimes it's in the patience you find during a stressful week. Sometimes it's simply in carving out an hour to care for yourself.

I want Eight Limbs Yoga to embrace this philosophy. I want build a community where yoga is welcoming, accessible and challenging, and rooted in something deeper than physical movement alone. My hope is that what you discover on your mat stays with you long after class ends. Whether you leave feeling stronger, calmer, more present, or simply a little more connected to yourself, that's the practice.