How blessed we are at Portland Power Yoga that students as well as other yoga teachers from all over the world have come to practice with us. Here is what people have said about their experience at Portland Power Yoga. Have you had a powerful experience you would like to share? Please send us an email here.

 

"My practice at Portland Power Yoga has been life changing. I came with a broken heart and an open mind. What I have developed is a perpetually healing heart, clearer understanding of myself, and a cute shape! While you don't have to incorporate 'spirit' into the 'spirit, mind and body' of yoga, the words and aura of Charles and Alice make it inescapable. What started as therapy has now become a ritual."

- C.S.

 

"I am so appreciative of PPY. Two years ago today I went on my mat for the first time thinking I knew enough about fitness, myself and how to get threw the day but figured I had nothing else to do on a day off from work...Boy have I been put in my place time and time again on my mat and I am so thankful for that! I am just a yoga baby here and I am SOO it means so much to me that not only does Portland have a studio like this but a community of teachers, assistants and yogis that I get to learn from and be surrounded by weekly. Talk about heaven (and hot a one for that) being on Earth :)"

 

- C.B.

 

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"Alice’s attention to the body is impeccable. I bring a multitude of previous injuries that tend to get irritated in my daily practice. She worked her way though the postures with me so it could allow my body to feel no discomfort when practicing. I need to have a couple of hands on sessions during a year in order to move my practice forward and not get stuck doing the wrong things over and over. Alice has the attention to detail that I need to make that happen."

 

- M.L.

 

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"Hey Charlie,

2 of my clients came to your class night b/c I told them to. They were nervous about an all levels class and have been intimidated by other instructors. I got a phone message from them right after class saying that they absolutely loved your class and felt comfortable at an all levels class. I am really working hard with both of them to change their terrible habits (eating and alcohol) and I've continuously suggested yoga, so this makes me very happy that they enjoyed and will be coming back to your class."

 

- R.S.

 

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"I started yoga/PYY, ~3 1/2 years ago due to a neck and shoulder issue... My osteopath mandated no more gym/weights, no classes with weights, no kick boxing, etc... I thought yoga? boy, it won't last, I can't do gentle movement, staying on a mat, etc.. But I gave it a 1-3 month trial. Well, at no surprise to you, it has made such a difference with managing my body pain. So, as hard as it is to fit into my schedule, I make room for it 2-3 times a week."

 

- Debbie

 

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"A very good friend of mine, Erin, asked me to join her at Portland Power Yoga for a class. She has been working hard and growing in her Yoga practice over the last month or so, and I wanted to support her and to try something different to further my own practice, so I agreed to go.

 

The class we went to tonight (taught by Alice) was the hardest thing I have ever done. The heat in the room was so intense I thought for sure I would pass out, and almost did- no lie. Not ever being a very competitive person, this class brought new comprehensive meanings to the words focus and determination. It was impossible for me to be anywhere other than present, in the moment, and push through with unwavering energy and persistence- as did everyone else in the class who contributed to the energy in the room.

 

I learned so many things about my body, my mind, and my spirit in 90 minutes--it's impossible to describe the surge of emotions and thoughts that were rushing through me when I walked out of class. It was such an inspiring and fulfilling experience, I will absolutely be doing it again.

 

--Not to mention, I am pretty sure I dropped five pounds right there on the mat from sweating so uncontrollably. REALLY- it was ridiculous.

 

So to anyone who has never taken yoga- try this class, it will help kick start your practice . To anyone, like me, who needs to add something new to grow in their practice- try this class. And to the most masterful Yogis- try this class to enhance your focus and mental stamina.

 

Thank you Erin! I love you and I hope we can continue to grow together in our practice.

Namaste." 

 

- N.M.S.

 

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"Hi PPY,

 

I am writing to say how wonderful my experience has been at Portland Power Yoga. Right from my very first class over a year ago, I have been greeted at the desk by a friendly "Hi Arthur" ... it makes me feel at home at PPY. But most importantly, being in the 50+ set, my yoga practice has added strength, energy and vibrance to my life. I can't envision the ensuing years w/o a regular practice of yoga in my weekly schedule. Thank you, PPY!"

 

- Art B.

 

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"Hi Alice,

I wanted to tell you how great my practice was today... I felt challenged. I felt sensation. I felt comforted. I felt safe. I felt all those things. My most difficult moment, always, is as we move from all those busy sun salutations and standing poses, so full of energy and pushed to a particular moment of intensity... and then, so seemingly abruptly, transition to static balances. It feels dramatic. It feels... almost confusing. It is a struggle to hold myself together..at a time when I might prefer to be bungee jumping off the top of a very high bridge. (Not that I'm prone to such risk-taking behaviors) It takes every bit of my mental strength to hold those eagles and trees, and transition to something very different. I always struggle. I frequently fall out. Yet, when I finally "get there," it's every bit as exhilarating as that imagined free-fall, wrapped in a rubber band.. testing the limits of elastic energy and gravity.

 

The dancer poses today were a blast. Especially the one with the strap. Every pose, thereafter, felt different and changed from the way I did it yesterday...

 

I am thinking that everyone comes to yoga with an expectation that it will be a path to self-improvement. I am sure that happens. In the few months that I have practiced, I think I might be a bit healthier, a bit stronger, a bit more flexible. Some friends have even told me that I look a bit younger since starting yoga! Yahoo! I just laugh... Some very close friends accuse me of being a bit happier. My kids would say I'm a little less grumpy. :)

 

But what I have learned, so far, is that the yoga path is less concerned with self-improvement, and more centered on self-acceptance. Self-improvement implies that a weakness exists within me today, that must be snuffed out! I ultimately fall short on someone's yardstick of perfection, and I must be improved upon...

 

But the acceptance and appreciation of who I am, as a body with breath, with untapped strength in mind and spirit.. is a gift from yoga. From my perch on my mat, I have seen things long forgotten. Parts of my life. There are moments, on the mat, when things are fun and flowing.. and I giggle like the child I was, and still am today. When things are intense, and I'm struggling, I find my sweat mixes with real tears, as I am faced with the unresolved losses and traumas, so common to anyone who has grown into adulthood. Never without scars...

 

Yoga is about acceptance. It is about compassion. It is about gratitude. It's about growing up and becoming whole..

 

Thanks Alice. You and Charles have given me a gift. And from looking around the studio, the numerous times I have been there over the past few months, I am guessing you there are quite a few other folks who have been gifted by you too. You are very nice people... I am happy to have fallen into your place.

 

Namaste."

 

- Lauren

 

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"When I talk to my friends and family about yoga I often quote Alice telling us, "You can come for the physical piece and get that, for the emotional piece and get that, and the spiritual piece and get that. So why not come for all three?!" I am a single mom, a grad student writing a dissertation, I teach a couple classes at SMCC and I work for an after-school program. People ask me, "How do you do it?" and I answer "with yoga!" Yoga helps me tap into a deeper source of energy that isn't only physical but emotional and spiritual. This energy helps me meet my life with more gratitude and less resistance. It's almost as if yoga is a training program for how to live my life better... and rather than waiting for a marathon to race, I use my training all the time in my day to day life."

 

- Anna A.

 

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"Ok, I am a geek. I know it sounds kind of silly but I was thinking about this as I sat in half-pigeon the other day. I am not sure if people are familiar with Japanese animation (or Anime)- if you aren't just sit down with your kids in front of the TV sometime- but invariably they use a stylistic approach to when a character is about to undergo some kind of major change or metamorphosis. A faint glow starts in their belly, their forehead, their hand, their mouth then bursts forth from beneath the skin in rays of light illuminating all around them. When I am practicing, when I feel like it's really working, I feel a kind of glow in certain centers, my belly, my chest, my lower back. It sort of reminds me of that Anime glow, the precursor to major change or metamorphosis that will come from within and illuminate my surroundings. Man, that Half-pigeon can really do things to you!

 

See? Wicked geek."

 

- Ben K.

 

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"When I started classes at Portland Power Yoga, I had a longstanding problem with shoulder and neck pain. This was just one of a long series of joint problems plaguing me over the last 5 years. First it was my knees and knee surgery, then hip issues that didn't clear up until a year of treatment, then wrists and then shoulders. My first class I was so weak in downward dog. It felt very hard to do. In a very short time, I have built up strength not only in my shoulders, but in my whole body. I have no pain! I feel strong, less stressed, and more confident. It really works!"

 

- A.A.

 

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"I really love the combination of heat, continuous flow and constant instruction for the teachers. The time goes by very quickly."

 

- Melanie S.

 

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"I think I have met my match with Power Vinyasa Yoga - for me it requires and evokes such strong focus. it is both delicate and complex and I love that mental balance. I have more sustainable energy from it."

 

- Emily

 

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"(It's) challenging & rewarding. I'm not an athlete, i'm not a dancer. I'm healthy, but not exactly in shape - and I can do it! I'm finding muscles and strength and resolve (and patience and focus) I didn't know I had.

 

Both Alice and Charles are "real" people who have made yoga a part of their lives in a way that I as a student hope to. They lead by example, so to speak, and don't fit the stereotype of the "serious yogi" that so many people hold. There is a sense that they are growing with us rather than just leading us. Very nice."

 

- Leanne D.

 

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"Charlie and Alice have such a great business, I love power yoga!!!"

- Kristy F.

 

 

 

FEEDBACK ON WORKSHOPS

 

 

 

"I loved this workshop. Alice was concise with purposeful momentum in her instruction. It was after the workshop at my next class that I realized my body remembered what my head didn't. To learn surrender and beginning to breathe (correctly) for the first time is a great gift to self."

 

- Linda T., absolute beginner.

 

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"It was just what I needed. It really adressed aspects of the practice which I like to focus on, i.e. breath, gaze, etc. The insights I gained help or will help me be more trusting of my abilities."

 

- Emily T.

 

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"I thought it was very useful to have the poses explained slowly and be able to have questions answered."

 

- Melanie S.