Pathway to Peace & Joy
Establish a more harmonious and peaceful environment within and around you through the practice and study of the Yamas and Niyamas.
Yoga is so much more than a physical practice.
It is about cultivating a supportive relationship with ourselves and the world around us that leads to less stress and discomfort, more ease, and positive change.
Join the waitlist for the next study group
The cornerstone of yoga philosophy is the yamas and niyamas. They are our pathway for peaceful living - finding peace within and cultivating peace in our relationships and environments.
Are you looking to:
reduce stress and tension in your life?
learn tools to help you change your relationship with stress? Especially with the stressors that may not seem easily changeable?
feel more at ease in your body?
cultivate a better relationship with your thoughts and emotions?
Identify habits and patterns that are no longer serving you and learn principles that can help you develop new habits and ways of thinking that are supportive and beneficial?
create positive and supportive relationships and environments?
The Yamas and Niyamas are principles that provide guidance to help us understand ourselves and the world around us.
They widen our horizons and help us cultivate a new lens from which we can perceive life, the roles we identify with, and also bring to life the vision we have for ourselves.
With a new way of seeing comes understanding and compassion which can help ease our discomfort and open us up to new possibilities.
The yamas and niyamas help to shape our daily life by creating clarity and balance within so that we make choices that are in alignment with what we value and what we want to create.
They help to slowly undo the patterns of stress and tension we have been carrying with us through life and provide tools to move through life with more self-assurance, grace and ease.
The yamas and niyamas also help us see how we can let go of that which we cannot change and focus on our own thoughts and actions that will create positive change within us and our lives.
Get to know yourself.
Use the yamas and niyamas to create a solid foundation within, growing your inner guidance and intuition so that you you feel confident and empowered in your life.
Explore your habits and patterns, your behaviors and choices with clarity and understanding so that you become a conscious creator of your life.
This is a one year course to explore and apply the Yamas and Niyamas in your life. It includes:
Weekly group calls (recorded if you need to miss a class)
Weekly reading
Weekly reflections and self-inquiry practices to provide direction for self-study and applying the principles to your life
Community
Support
Accountability
This is about purposefully designing your life and nurturing your inner landscape so that peace and harmony flow through you and you move through life with more grace and ease.
It is also about recognizing what stands in the way and how these vital principles can help to interrupt old patterns and slowly create new ones.
Like any new skill, it takes time, patience and practice. That’s why this is a one year course.
We need time to explore the teachings, to see ourselves more clearly, undo old ways of thinking and being, practice new ways, and integrate them so that this becomes part of who you are..
Yoga is a path of transformation.
It is also a practice of patience and commitment.
In our fast-paced world, we are looking for quick change and for things to be different yesterday.
Through the lens of yoga philosophy we begin to understand that change takes time and commitment.
The yamas and niyamas provide the first steps so that the journey is built from a place of compassion and loving kindness.
These teachings help to reduce conflict within ourselves and with others, decreasing tensions, anxiety, overwhelm and depression by helping us lean into a source of wisdom that reduces confusion and misunderstanding. This uncovers our own inner radiance and luminosity.
We learn and grow as we walk this path of self - understanding and self - discovery.
Who is this course for?
This course is for individuals who are:
passionate about learning
have a growth mindset
enjoy the accountability that comes with group learning
are ready to commit to their own path of self-discovery
This is an opportunity to be part of a dynamic, curious, compassionate and supportive group - working together, meeting challenges, growing skills, stepping out of old ways of being and flowing into new ones with wisdom and grace.
keep scrolling for testimonials…
Live Classes are Tuesdays 7:00-8:15pm
Classes are recorded if you need to miss a class. Life will always surprise us. Work, family, health concerns and travel take us away. It is OK to miss a class. You can watch the recordings and do the reading on your own time, as you have time. In this way, we keep the teachings present with us as we flow with life and learn to navigate life’s obstacles with wisdom that we will carry with us long into the future.
Testimonials
“Chrissy’s Yamas and Niyamas class is a life-changer! I’ve had the privilege of attending two consecutive classes, and now I’m looking forward to a deeper year-long study of these essential yoga principles. I’m very grateful for the growth and support I’ve received – the yoga “sisterhood” is awesome! I have finally found a way to control the anxiety that seemed to govern my life, that understanding is invaluable! Chrissy is a generous, patient and intuitive instructor. She connects with everyone while sharing her experience and wisdom, and her passion for these yoga teachings. I would encourage anyone that is exploring yogic traditions to take this class.” - Sherry
“The Yamas and Niyamas course facilitated by Chrissy Lakusta provides opportunities for exploration, reflection, and discussion of Santosha: Contentment as well as the other 9 Yamas and Niyamas. With Chrissy’s extensive knowledge and gentle support and Deborah Adele’s, The Yamas and Niyamas: Exploring Yoga’s Ethical Practice the teachings of these first 2 limbs of the 8 limbs of yoga come to life, providing essential tools for living with greater awareness and resiliency. The weekly discussion among group members become a valuable touchstone for each participant. This course does not provide a formula for solving life’s problems. Rather, it challenges us to choose to be our best selves in the face of whatever problems and complications we are experiencing. An excellent course!” - Debra
“I started out hoping to learn more of the Yoga philosophy and history to satisfy my curiosity. Instead Chrissy’s weekly study of the Yamas and Niyamas in the Pathway to Peace classes showed me a way of practicing Yoga that can be much more than the practicing poses on the mat. Through Chrissy’s extensive knowledge, kindness, enthusiasm, and patience and the group interactions I find I am both consciously and unconsciously practicing the Yoga principles. The deeper the study the deeper the rewards of calmness, responsiveness (instead of reactiveness) and starting to feel more control over my life. I can examine why I feel the emotions I do and to examine whether they are useful to me or not and what I may look at changing in myself. While this sounds pretty serious and heavy in fact the classes are fun and I looked forward to each session.” - Bruce Seifred
“Studying and applying the wisdom and principles of yoga philosophy has provided me with a framework for examining my life, my values and those aspects of myself that challenge me as I work to develop deeper spiritual practices. Chrissy guides with gentleness, humor and compassion.” - LN
“The benefit of taking yoga philosophy for me is it is giving me the opportunity to get to know myself in an approach I never would have thought of. It has been a blessing to study with a group of women who are so committed. Chrissy has so much knowledge to share and she walks the talk. The teachings and the group have given me the confidence to be more curious and to look at myself or a situation differently. Often you feel you are going it alone, and then you discover you are not, how freeing is that. We are really all walking the same path but our paths to get to this one has been so different. I love hearing all the different reflections and going, "Oh my, that is exactly what I was thinking or what I am feeling." , or "Isn't that is great way to approach my situation.", or "I can help you with that.". Being in a group has helped me to stay committed to my Sadhana. Being in a year long study requires a big commitment, no doubt. The advantage to me is that you really get to know the people in your group, and you start to reach out and feel comfortable, you create a safe space, you create community, and the best part you are amongst a group of like minded people, you speak the same language. Another advantage is you can do a deeper dive into the philosophy, not just skim the surface. The skills I feel I am growing are confidence, patience, compassion, self love, slowing down, and being okay with saying no, that is not building me up. I laugh more.” - Belinda