“IN LAW SCHOOL I LEARNED TO THINK LIKE A LAWYER - ANALYZING ISSUES FROM DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES TO ADVOCATE FOR A PARTICULAR OUTCOME. IN YOGA SCHOOL I LEARNED TO FEEL LIKE A YOGI - CONNECTING WITHIN TO IDENTIFY LIMITS AND MOVE THROUGH THOSE SELF-IMPOSED BARRIERS INTO GREATER FREEDOM.”
NON-PROFIT YOGA SCHOOL
Community Yoga Center is a non-profit yoga school in Riverside, California committed to the study of yoga history, philosophy, language, art, and science, and the practice of yoga ethics, techniques, and service. Our mission is to share yoga authentically and with great love by providing affordable yoga teacher trainings as well as free yoga education and free practice opportunities.
Our 200-Hour Foundational Yoga Teacher Training is an affordable 9-month in-person experience centered around twelve touchpoints essential to the practice and sharing of yoga: (i) studying yoga history and philosophy; (ii) experiencing perennial yoga practices; (iii) observing yamas and niyamas; (iv) practicing and sharing asana; (v) practicing and sharing pranayama; (vi) practicing pratyahara; (vii) exploring dharana; (viii) exploring dhyana; (ix) co-creating conscious community; (x) creating yantras; (xi) studying ayurveda; and (xii) studying anatomy, physiology, and biomechanics. Our 300-Hour Advanced Yoga Teacher Training is an affordable 9-month in-person “learn by doing” internship that builds on the twelve touchpoints and includes three additional program practices: (i) community service; (ii) facilitating yoga; and (iii) a capstone project.
We also offer free yoga education and free practice opportunities that serve hundreds of participants from diverse backgrounds. The Art of Meditation intensive, Audacity to Rest course, and Day of Silence retreat are among our most popular yoga education offerings. CYC offers 20 free practice opportunities weekly. That’s over 80 FREE yoga classes a month and 900 FREE yoga classes a year!
CYC’s offerings help a growing number of people access the benefits of yoga. These offerings break down financial, cultural, and systemic barriers to yoga - reflecting the true spirit of yoga - generosity, equity, and service. In a wellness world that can feel elitist and exclusive, offering affordable yoga teacher trainings, free yoga education, and free practice opportunities demonstrates a commitment to accessibility, inclusivity, and the heart of yoga as a practice for all, not just for those who can afford it.
A PATH WITH HEART
Many opportunities to learn about and practice yoga may be available to you - each with a different focus. What distinguishes our learning and practice opportunities from others is our heart-centered approach. We have a heart-full way of exploring the emancipatory force that yoga really is.
COMMITTED TO COMMUNITY
We nurture inclusive community and co-create space for connection and refuge. We understand how joy and sorrow are not individual matters, but rather inextricably related to the joys and sorrows of others. We recognize both the great beauty and extreme suffering in the world and are committed to maintaining an open and loving heart while also actively opposing all forms of greed and hatred arising from a deluding belief in separateness.
cultivatING awareness, HONESTY & LOVE
Through multi-faceted yoga practices, we feel into the physical, mental, and emotional experience of being alive with awareness, honesty, and love. We lean into an authentic recognition of “what is” and practice relaxing around tension held in our bodies, minds, and hearts. This allows us to create a wise relationship with the nature of experience from the deepest part of human experience - from the dynamic continuum of consciousness.
SHIFTING PARADIGMS
Instead of focusing externally on something to make us feel ok, we practice turning our attention inward for greater self-awareness. Through a process of inner inquiry we practice identifying our personal limits (driven by fear and desire) and opening beyond those barriers. This allows us to move out of habitual body-mind cycles and protection-seeking ego patterns and move into an honest and loving recognition of “what is.”
YOGA ALLIANCE ACCREDITED
The 200-Hour Foundational Yoga Teacher Training and 300-Hour Advanced Yoga Teacher Training are accredited with Yoga Alliance. This means students are eligible to register with Yoga Alliance as a 200-Hour Registered Yoga Teacher upon successful completion of the Foundational Yoga Teacher Training and as a 500-Hour Registered Yoga Teacher upon successful completion of both the Advanced Yoga Teacher Training and the Foundational Yoga Teacher Training.
