Monthly Archives: February 2025

Ashtanga Yoga in Ma’adi, Cairo this Ramadan

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Imagine: inhaling and exhaling your yoga postures in a private rooftop, surrounded by plants and massive tall trees that make Cairo’s Ma’adi so special. I am very excited to be offering these afternoon classes in Ma’adi. It’s a small program in Ramadan, just 3x a week, but also a great pairing with the busy season. We’ll be having class Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday at 3:30pm to 5:00pm, finishing just in time to enjoy the energizing as well as calming benefits during Ramadan.

The rest of the sessions will be Mysore style self-practice, which is the traditional way ashtanga yoga is taught, giving students space to practice silently, connecting with the body. For experienced students with an established practice, instruction is as needed, with an emphasis on verbal cues and hands-on assists supporting the best alignment for you as well as deepening the posture. For new students, instruction is given to help establish the foundational sequence so that students can really learn the sequence the best way for them. This style of teaching pairs so beautifully with the spirit of Ramadan, which is both a solo and communal journey to connecting with our highest purpose.

We are offering two packages: the full program with 12 classes at 3800LE or the option to drop in at 500. We will be opening the Ramadan sessions on the second day, Sunday, March 2 with a gentle guided ashtanga class, offering short cuts and modifications for those settling into their fast and a full led primary on day 12, our last Ramadan session. (More led classes are available at Nūn Center on Fridays at 3pm).

Reservations is a must as spaces are limited. Please message to reserve your spot.

Ready for Ramadan?

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We’re getting ready for Ramadan here in Cairo and I can’t emphasize enough how this sacred month is my favorite time of the year to teach ashtanga yoga. My first Ramadan in Egypt was in 2016, it was summer then and my intention to teach for two months extended into this holy season; little did I know that it would make such a deep impression on me that I find myself excited to fast, practice, pray, teach and enjoy the collective journey that happens when one consciously decides to observe Ramadan. While I am not Muslim, I love the sense of quiet that descends upon this massive city, how the frenetic all-directions energy of Cairo seems to settle into one stream, schedules synch up, and we dive into nourishing the most important connections in our lives.

Tomorrow, Friday, February 21, a week before Ramadan starts, I am holding a special free class at Nūn Center, open to all for free. It will be an exploration on how yoga techniques, like ashtanga yoga, can help deepen our connections to our body and spirit, which can also enrich our connections with our community, family and world at large. Whether you plan to study ashtanga yoga or not, I believe it can be helpful to practice basic breathing and movements that we will look at.

Yoga Cairo’s Nūn traditional ashtanga program will continue in the mornings Monday to Thursday with Friday led classes happening in the afternoon at 3pm at the Nūn Center garden.

Exciting news is that I will also be teaching in Ma’adi, 3x a week: Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday at 3:30-5pm during the whole month of Ramadan on a lovely private rooftop in Sakanat El Maadi. Message for more information. Hope to see you either in Zamalek or in Maadi!

New Year’s Greeting: Let’s Be Surprised

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On my recent trip to the Philippines, I went home to the island where I first learned yoga. There, I found myself retracing steps to the Mandala Spa shala, practice space, where my yoga journey began. I practiced with members of my first yoga community, who like me are now older and wiser. It’s wild to go back, to see where I came from, to feel giddy with nostalgia, but to also note that the yoga practice wasn’t the star of any of our lives anymore, but rather an integral support. In fact, we barely spoke of yoga when we were together, through somehow the values of yoga and connection seemed ever present. To be among people with whom yoga is a given, like waking up in the morning, like washing your face, or taking breakfast, it was truly so nourishing to just be in this energy.

In the years that I’ve been teaching a traditional ashtanga yoga mysore program in Cairo, the start of the year is always a good chance to remind new students of the endless potential of starting a regular yoga practice. It’s easy to sell “change” when everyone seems to want to change–at least that’s what we say in the new year. And while there’s value to this tactic, I wish I could sell new students on that which is changeless instead. What remains when we’ve gone through the wheels of transformation? This is yoga too, maybe more so. Not the changes but, more importantly, what doesn’t change. Who we are, our core values, the people and the things that are important to us– these become enhanced through yoga practice.

Either way, change or no change, best to approach any endeavor without expectation. Practice for the sake of practice. So here’s my invitation: come to class, be curious about it, about you in it, and see. Have the tenacity to let it all happen. Most times, the growing can be quite striking, especially in the beginning. Over time, changes become more subtle, yet more profound. At nearly 20 years of yoga practice, I still find myself surprised by it, where it takes me. Let’s be surprised together!

Yoga Cairo’s Mysore Program at Nūn Center resumes on February 11, 2025. Our regular program schedule is 7:30-10:30am (two batches 7:30/8am and 9am) Monday to Thursday with Friday Led Class at the garden 9am sharp. See you soon! DM to book your spot!