John Friend, the founder of Anusara yoga, is widely recognized as one of the most charismatic and highly respected hatha yoga teachers in the world. Blending a life-affirming Tantric yoga philosophy with Universal Principles of Alignment and a delightful sense of humor, John's teaching style guides each student to live every moment fully from the heart. Students often comment in amazement that they can perform their yoga poses under John's guidance with a level of creative freedom and inner power that they have never experienced before. Above all, John respects and honors his students with a great deal of loving-kindness and inspires them to see their own unique beauty and divine goodness...

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Founded by John Friend in 1997, Anusara yoga is a school of hatha yoga which unifies a life-affirming Tantric philosophy of intrinsic goodness with Universal Principles of Alignment. Anusara yoga is growing quickly all over the world with over 250 certified teachers, 750 licensed Anusara-Inspired yoga teachers, thousands of teachers in training, and hundreds of thousands of students world-wide. Anusara yoga now has a presence on every continent throughout the world, excluding Antarctica.

Anusara yoga's remarkable growth is due in large part to its uplifting philosophy, epitomized by a "celebration of the heart" that looks for the good in all people and all things. Consequently, students of all levels of ability and yoga experience are honored for their unique differences, limitations, and talents. This celebratory vision sets the basis for a yoga school in which the harmony and joy of a tightly knit community of highly trained teachers and fun-loving students is exalted. This community feels like it has the tightness of a family, yet the looseness of a merry band of bohemian artists.

The Anusara yoga community is well networked and organized, yet there is a strong emphasis on creative freedom and individuality. Anusara yoga is held together by everyone's implicit alliance to the spiritual principles of Anusara yoga philosophy, such as celebrating beauty in all its diversity, truthfulness, and honoring the creative freedom of the Divine in all beings. Everyone is aligned with the truth that Grace plays the key role in the successful flow of their practice, classes, and the community itself. Without a rigid dogma, the school is open to continual change and restructuring. Self-examination, discovery, and receptivity to new ideas are foundational to this dynamic system. Individual creativity and investigation are always encouraged within the bounds of basic alignment principles and philosophic precepts of Anusara yoga. Anusara yoga grows with harmony and integrity through the combined vision of our Anusara yoga teachers to unveil the innate goodness, worthiness, and Supreme nature of each student and every being.

Anusara yoga's remarkable growth is due in large part to its uplifting philosophy, epitomized by a "celebration of the heart," that looks for the good in all people and all things.