Pele Yoga is Now Atha Yoga

When I had the opportunity to open this studio two years ago I had just come back from a transformative experience on the Hawaiian Islands and made a connection to Goddess Pele.

The Volcano Goddess Pele inspires in me a willingness for fiery transformative growth.

It felt right (at the time) to name the studio in reverence to her and embrace that identity.

Since our opening, we’ve garnered feedback asking us to address our appropriation of Hawaiian culture. As a white woman from North America, I was asked to consider the impact of that choice.

Appropriation is when a person of privilege uses iconography from a marginalized group, and is a form of modern colonization. Last year we began to address this by giving a portion of our profits back to the islands & offering acknowledgments to mitigate harm. After more conversations and further contemplation, I am embracing the call for more action & we are changing our name.

Pele Yoga is Now Atha Yoga.

Atha (pronounced ah-tah)  is a Sanskrit word, the language of yoga, and is the first word in the Yoga Sutras, the main text imparting the wisdom of the philosophy, science and practice of Yoga.

Atha means “Now” and is a call to practice and presence.

Atha represents new beginnings and is a deep bow to the rich lineage and practices of Yoga.

We’ve chosen this name to demonstrate our commitment to embrace yoga’s roots and make the practice applicable in modern times for here and now. Inherently western yoga, taught by people of privilege and outside the culture of origin is appropriating and this name supports our appreciation.

Learn more about Appreciation and Appropriation with Susanna Barkataki

Thank you for all your support. We’re in this together.

Truly, we cannot experience growth & the fullness of life without learning from one another.

Thank you to everyone who’s offered compassionate feedback & guidance in this process.

Thank you for those who reached out with bold calls to action as a catalyst for conversation.

Thank you to my teachers who are leading by example in cultural sensitivity and inclusion.

What Now?

We've taken much time and care in making this decision and announcement and most likely I've still made a misstep or oversight. Please contact me directly here with any constructive feedback.

You can now sign up for classes & trainings at athayogaom.com!

With love,

Danielle