Yoga Swami is a donation-based yoga studio in downtown Encinitas, CA, on the historic 101 coastal highway. It was founded to inspire a different way of being in the world by providing a place of nonexclusive community involvement and consistent practices that inspire its sustainability and the preservation of land. Yoga Swami is certified by the Green Yoga Association, a network of businesses, teachers and individuals who practice non-violence to the Earth through business and yoga, as an eco yoga studio.
Yoga Swami sits on land certified by the National Wildlife Federation as a part of its worldwide network of mini refuges. The certification recognizes the center’s conscientious planning, landscaping, and sustainable gardening, which allows for wildlife to find quality habitat-food, water, cover, and a place to raise their young. Built in the early 1940s, Yoga Swami is an integral part of the heritage and history of Encinitas.
Yoga classes are held inside a yurt, a circular structure that provides beauty, comfort, and durability. With its circular design and spacious interior, the architecture of the yurt encourages both an active yoga practice as well as quiet contemplation. What makes this space so special is that students practice together in a “kula” – community – setting: mats are facing toward the center, symbolic of both the inner center and the coming together of community.