Specializing in Universal classes, we offer classes, trainings, and retreats for all practitioners looking to deepen their connection to yoga.
Specializing in Universal Yoga, our studio offers yoga classes, training programs and international yoga retreats for practitioners wanting a deep and meaningful yoga practice.
08/23/2026
In her words, not ours. 🙏
"I felt as if I was well-informed, but I still underestimated how much this training would affect and how much I would learn." , Erika Rae, Yoga practitioner and teacher
Depth surprises even the well-prepared. To every student who has gone deeper with us: thank you for trusting the path.
Our teacher, in his own words.
Guruji Andrey Lappa, founder of Universal Yoga, on the most common myth in modern yoga: that asana practice is 99 percent and theory is 1 percent.
His answer: learn the full system of yoga completely and deeply, then multiply that knowledge with your practice. Any practice without knowledge is impossible.
This is the living lineage we teach from at Yoga for Life, and the reason everything we offer begins with philosophy, not posture.
Begin where we begin. The first lecture of Yoga Philosophy Applied is free: https://www.yogaforlifepdx.com/yoga-philosophy-applied
08/20/2026
Some knowledge is studied. Some is remembered.
All week we have spoken about learning the system: the koshas, the lineage, the texts. All of it matters. All of it is the map.
But there is another kind of knowing that no book hands you. Patanjali calls this PRATIBHA, the inner knowing that arrives before the reasoning does.
It is not a replacement for study. It is what study makes room for. We learn the map carefully so that one day we can look up from it and recognize truth.
A question to sit with this weekend: what do I already know, that I have not been listening to?
We are our own healers. And, sometimes we can use some support.
, Kelly
08/18/2026
What is pranayama, really?
Unlike breath work, which is an exercise for the lungs. PRANAYAMA is the movement of life force (PRANA), the energy that animates every layer of our being.
This is one of the most common misconceptions in modern yoga, and one we gently work to correct: the breath is the doorway, not the destination. Through the breath we reach what moves beneath it.
, Raj
08/17/2026
One Self, seven shells.
In Sanskrit, KOSHA means sheath. The koshas can be imagined as layers, or lenses, of experience. In Hinduism, there are five: matter (ANNAMAYA), life force (PRANAMAYA), mind (MANOMAYA), intellect(VIJNANAMAYA), bliss (ANANDAMAYA); and Vajrayana Buddhism adds two additional layers: consciousness (CHITTAMAYA) and the complex of karmic motivations (ATMAMAYA).
Most modern yoga works with the first shell alone. Universal Yoga works toward strength, balance and unification across all of them to help overcome bias of any shell.
The full map is taught in Yoga Philosophy Applied. Lecture 1 is our gift: https://www.yogaforlifepdx.com/yoga-philosophy-applied/course-preview
Be curious. Seek knowledge, practice, and attain wisdom. 🙏
08/14/2026
A community of curious souls seeking a deeper connection with Yoga. That is what Sangha means to us, and what these fifteen years have been.
Our role as teachers isn't to meet you where you are – but to show you where you're going.
Wherever in the world you practice, there is a seat for you here. Follow along, share this with someone who is seeking, and practice with us. 🙏
08/13/2026
Before the next decision, a pause.
What motivates me to take this action?
This is SVADHYAYA, self-study. Not judgment. Just honest looking. Sit with it today. 🙏
08/12/2026
Who am I?
Yoga begins with this question, and Yoga Philosophy Applied is our complete answer to how the tradition explores it.
Seven lectures, each between 2 and 3 hours. A complete semester's worth of undergraduate-level study: the origins and lineages of yoga, Who Am I?, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Karma, Pranayama, a playbook of happiness, and Hinduism versus Buddhism.
Designed for curious souls who want yoga in its truest form, wherever in the world you practice.
Lecture 1 is our gift to you, completely free: https://www.yogaforlifepdx.com/yoga-philosophy-applied
Pursue your seeking. 🙏
08/11/2026
Yoga did not find me in a studio. It found me in pain.
In 2003, chronic neck and back pain, the result of congenital spondylolisthesis and a largely sedentary professional life, sent me looking for relief. What I found was a practice that asked me to pay attention.
Practice begins in the body, the first layer of our being (ANNAMAYA KOSHA, the sheath of matter). It is not where practice ends. But it is an honest place to begin, because the body tells the truth before the mind is ready to hear it.
This is why our teaching is anatomical as well as contemplative, and why our trainings devote more than 30 hours to functional yoga anatomy alone. The practice must fit the body you actually have.
We are our own healers. And, sometimes we can use some support.
Kelly
08/07/2026
In her words, not ours. 🙏
"One of the few programs I've seen in the US taught by an Indian instructor. Raj teaches you about Hinduism, Buddhism, and yoga in its truest form. Nothing is compromised in order for a Westerner to learn." , Nichole Long, Certified Yoga Teacher
To every student who has practiced with us over these fifteen years: thank you for being part of this Sangha.