YOGA + Life® Magazines
  • Partner With Us
  • Subscribe
  • Events Directory
  • SHOP — What We Love
  • “The Practice”
  • HOME
  • FEATURED
    • Community + Culture
    • Wellness + Nutrition
    • Products
    • Profiles
    • Yoga + Fitness
    • Events
  • ALL CONTENT
    • Community + Culture
      • Art
      • Books
      • Community
      • Culture
      • Family
      • Fashion
      • Food + Drink
      • Nourish Me
      • Motivation
      • Music
      • Outdoors
      • Travel
    • Wellness + Nutrition
      • Self-Care
      • Nutrition
      • Psychology
      • Recipes
      • Therapy
      • Weight Loss
    • Products
      • Product Spotlights
      • Roundups
      • Try It On – Reviews
      • Try It Out – Reviews
    • Profiles
      • Business
      • Partner Profiles
      • People
      • Spotlight Cities
      • Students
      • Studios
      • Teachers
      • Seva Story
      • Sustainability Story
      • Storytelling
    • Yoga + Fitness
      • Asana
      • In the Practice
      • Meditation
      • Philosophy
      • Physiology
      • Sports
      • Workouts
    • Events
      • Festivals
      • Retreats
      • Training Spotlights
    • Inspiration From Y+L Partners
  • Y + L COMMUNITIES
    • COLORADO
    • MINNESOTA
    • NEW YORK
  • CONNECT
    • Order A Magazine
    • Partner With Us
    • Contribute
    • Contact Us
  • LIVE CLASSES
Featured Posts
  • Valentine's hearts
    YOGA + Life® Valentine’s Day Sustainable Gift Guide
    • 1.3K views
  • Ahimsa Yoga + Wellness
    Partner Profile : Ahimsa Yoga + Wellness
    • 17 views
  • Sedona Yoga Festival
    Sedona Yoga Festival Celebrates 10 Years | By Kristen Grace
    • 21 views
  • Partner With Us
  • Subscribe
  • Events Directory
  • SHOP — What We Love
  • “The Practice”
0 Followers
0 Likes
Partners
YOGA + Life® Magazines
Subscribe
  • HOME
  • FEATURED
    • Community + Culture
    • Wellness + Nutrition
    • Products
    • Profiles
    • Yoga + Fitness
    • Events
  • ALL CONTENT
    • Community + Culture
      • Art
      • Books
      • Community
      • Culture
      • Family
      • Fashion
      • Food + Drink
      • Nourish Me
      • Motivation
      • Music
      • Outdoors
      • Travel
    • Wellness + Nutrition
      • Self-Care
      • Nutrition
      • Psychology
      • Recipes
      • Therapy
      • Weight Loss
    • Products
      • Product Spotlights
      • Roundups
      • Try It On – Reviews
      • Try It Out – Reviews
    • Profiles
      • Business
      • Partner Profiles
      • People
      • Spotlight Cities
      • Students
      • Studios
      • Teachers
      • Seva Story
      • Sustainability Story
      • Storytelling
    • Yoga + Fitness
      • Asana
      • In the Practice
      • Meditation
      • Philosophy
      • Physiology
      • Sports
      • Workouts
    • Events
      • Festivals
      • Retreats
      • Training Spotlights
    • Inspiration From Y+L Partners
  • Y + L COMMUNITIES
    • COLORADO
    • MINNESOTA
    • NEW YORK
  • CONNECT
    • Order A Magazine
    • Partner With Us
    • Contribute
    • Contact Us
  • LIVE CLASSES
Yogis practicing
  • Business
  • CO YOGA + Life
  • Community + Culture

Studio Profile : Anya Yoga Collective, Colorado Springs | By Lauren Farrauto

  • CO YOGA + Life®
  • 101 views
  • 3 minute read
Total
1
Shares
1
0
0

Walk through the doors of Anya Yoga to be greeted with light and life — a wide open space to immerse yourself in practice. Something owner Janell Duncan was particularly thrilled about when she first moved into Anya Yoga Collective’s current space was the number of windows where she could put plants and let in the sun to form an oasis for the burgeoning community in Colorado Springs.

“We strive to offer a shala environment at Anya Yoga. We are simple with beautiful, large plants,” she shares.

Yogis in downward dog

Shala is the Sanskrit word for home. Duncan hopes that Anya Yoga can be a place where both students and teachers of yoga can come to share experiences, practice and grow with one another. “Our focus is community,” she says.

And, that has been the case since the very beginning. Back in 2014, the teacher Duncan had personally been practicing with moved away and asked Duncan if she’d be willing to take over for their small group. A little unsure of her abilities, she accepted. A few months later, the group lost the partial lease on their current space, opening the door for Duncan to take a leap of faith.

“I decided, with trepidation, to lease our own space, just for us,” she recalls. In 2014, her first studio, then named Aranyani Yoga, was born in Woodland Park.

“I continued studying and learning yoga, slowly began to learn to make a website and, towards the end of our six years there, began to host teachers,” she adds.

But in March 2020, they were forced to close. Due to the studio’s small, 750-square-foot size, social distancing became impossible. Unable to reopen, Duncan was unsure of what the future would hold. After five months of closure, she found a new space that had “everything I ever wished for … even our own bathroom!” she jokes. She changed the name to Anya Yoga, and the rest is history.

The studio focuses on Ashtanga and Rocket yoga styles. Ashtanga is a six-set system that progresses off of previously established moves. It is intended to build strength, flexibility and range of motion. Additionally, they hold a class called Mysore mornings. Named after the city in India, Mysore mornings allow students to receive one-on-one instruction from their teacher.

Rocket yoga, coined by Larry Schultz, was founded to make Ashtanga yoga more accessible. The three-step routines are intended to renew energy and generate more vitality in the body by focusing on the joints and all systems of the body in harmony.

Yogi in handstand position

Anya Yoga Collective offers donation-based drop-ins for their classes, and loves to host teachers trained in these two lineages. “We love bringing in some of the most inspirational teachers around for our community to practice with. Our teachers also are all incredibly passionate about their own practices. They all teach from this incredible place of love and knowledge they gain from their own practices,” Duncan shares.

Duncan and her teachers offer a variety of workshops and special classes through-out the year in addition to regular classes. Scholarships for their workshops are available, as well.

As we move forward from the pandemic, Duncan hopes Anya Yoga can be a source of support and renewal in Colorado Springs. Moving the studio and trusting the process through the uncertainty of it all was so rewarding. Her main goal is to give back to others as best she can.

“Everything I’ve done has been for the students to have a practice space and community,” she adds.

Photos by Thistle and Pine Photography.

Originally published in Summer + Fall 2022 Issue. 

Author Lauren FarrautoEver since she was little, Lauren has loved a good story. Now, her passion has led her to a career of helping others craft the stories they want to tell. When she’s not curled up with her latest read, Lauren can be found spending quality time with her family and friends in the Bay Area.
Total
1
Shares
Share 1
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
CO YOGA + Life®

This article first appeared in CO YOGA + Life™!

Previous Article
Jeremiah Davidson
  • CO YOGA + Life
  • Profiles
  • Teachers

Jeremiah Davidson Breathes Culture + Community Into Denver’s Yoga Scene | By Lauren Farrauto

  • CO YOGA + Life®
View Post
Next Article
Cathy Phelps
  • CO YOGA + Life
  • People
  • Profiles

Finding Inspiration : How a Nonprofit Leader Will Take Intentional Time for Renewal | By Marisol Cruz

  • CO YOGA + Life®
View Post
More from Y+L
  • Sedona Yoga Festival

    Sedona Yoga Festival Celebrates 10 Years | By Kristen Grace

    • YOGA + Life® Magazines
    View Post
  • Cranial Touch

    Sacred Sister Collective Retreats | By Kaitlin Emig

    • CO YOGA + Life®
    View Post
  • Loveology Retreat

    Dr. Ava Cadell Opens New “Loveology Retreat” in Maricopa, California

    • YOGA + Life® Magazines
    View Post
  • Beyul Retreat Yoga

    Beyul Retreat Center Near Aspen Aligns Humans with Nature | By Kaitlin Emig

    • CO YOGA + Life®
    View Post
  • Yogi in front of sunset

    Why Taking Retreat is Essential to Renewal of Spirit | By Kali Basman

    • CO YOGA + Life®
    View Post
  • The Vail Wine Classic Returns This August

    • Lexi Reich | Managing Editor
    View Post
  • An Evening with Elizabeth Gilbert : A Revolutionary Woman Is A Relaxed Woman | By Rachel Glowacki

    • YOGA + Life® Magazines
    View Post
  • Telluride Yoga Festival

    Telluride Yoga Festival Makes A Move To Mountain Village | By Kristen Grace

    • CO YOGA + Life®
    View Post
  • Elizabeth Gilbert is Coming to Denver on May 4 | By Kim Fuller

    • CO YOGA + Life®
    View Post
  • Oars

    On The River + In The Flow : Balancing Yoga, Meditation and a Thirst for Whitewater at a Women’s Wellbeing Retreat | By Lisa Blake

    • CO YOGA + Life®
    View Post
Archived Posts!
  • Lole
    Event Spotlight : Lolë On the Lawn
    • 204
  • The Ancient Art of Salt Therapy | By Lexi Reich
    • 186
  • Yoga Center of Steamboat : Steamboat Springs | by Mary Gavin
    • 699
  • Get your Yoga + Mimosas on Sunday at Adventure Film | By Kim Fuller
    • 214
  • Sustainability Story : Headsweats | Q&A Compiled By Lexi Reich
    • 281
Instagram

Join the YOGA + Life® Newsletter!

Events, Product Reviews, Promotions and More!

about
YOGA + Life® - an online community and magazine.
Recent Articles
  • Valentine's hearts
    YOGA + Life® Valentine’s Day Sustainable Gift Guide
    • YOGA + Life® Magazines
  • Ahimsa Yoga + Wellness
    Partner Profile : Ahimsa Yoga + Wellness
    • YOGA + Life® Magazines
  • Sedona Yoga Festival
    Sedona Yoga Festival Celebrates 10 Years | By Kristen Grace
    • YOGA + Life® Magazines
  • Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
    Destination Wellness : Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit | By Lexi Reich
    • Lexi Reich | Managing Editor
  • About Us + Policies, Terms
  • Online Columnists
  • Contribute
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
YOGA + Life® - All Rights Reserved

Input your search keywords and press Enter.

 

Loading Comments...