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On February 1, 2003 PRANANDA was born. The first location was on Interstate Ave. where PRANANDA stayed for 2 years and then moved to 1920 N. Kilpatrick St. in the Kenton neighborhood in 2005.
The ‘Inspiration’
PRANANDA comes from 2 sanskrit words vital to the practice of yoga: life force and bliss. ‘Prana’ is the energy or life force the body needs and receives from correct deep yoga breathing. ‘Ananda’ means pure joy or bliss, which one can build from breathing in that life force and moving energy through the body via asanas (postures). The instructors at PRANANDA teach pranayama (breath work) in their classes and have anatomy/physiology knowledge to assist with proper alignment and prevent injuries.
Yoga is about moving the body, mind and spirit in such a way that all three function better for a more enhanced life. The body benefits from the postures themselves by increasing strength and flexibility. The mind benefits from the meditation-letting go of the stressful and distracting thoughts of your day/week/month/life. The spirit benefits because the breath allows us to breathe in that life force all around us that we need to thrive and glow as human beings.
Yoga really isn’t about sticking your foot in your ear. Yoga starts where you are right now; getting back to the basics- breathing, clearing your mind of the clutter, de-stressing and strengthening. Who couldn’t use ANY of that? If you are reading this you are breathing, you’re alive, you’re functioning…yoga just makes life a little juicier and enhances the good stuff you all ready possess.
Living the Mission
The dream for Joy Wolfe (owner/founder of PRANANDA) was to have a yoga studio that encompassed all body types, ages and financial brackets. At PRANANDA, Community classes are offered for the financially challenged, children under twelve years of age (with parent/guardian) are free in these classes. The Gentle class invites larger body types, people with MS (or any other disability) and anyBODY to explore their yoga practice in a safe environment with a knowledgeable instructor. The prenatal class has grown by leaps and bounds (no pun intended) with all the new families moving to North Portland neighborhoods. Prananda is a grassroots community and Joy believes in giving back to that community. She purposely keeps prices lower and every Thanksgiving for the past five years has donated all the proceeds from that class to the Cascade A.I.D.S. Project.
Effort has been put into purchasing as many local and biodegradable products as possible to cut down on the negative effects to the environment. Prananda is dedicated to serving the community, environment and in turn the world, to make it a better place.
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