Ashtanga Yoga Atlanta

Atlanta, 27 Waddell St NE, Atlanta, GA 30307 | ★ 4.8 (16 Review)

📞 +1 706-338-4835

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Yoga studio

About the Club

Ashtanga Yoga Atlanta strives to cultivate authentic yoga as thought by the yoga masters of Mysore,India. AYA is Atlanta’s original traditional Ashtanga Yoga Shala. AYA’s director Todd Roderick is the most experienced Ashtanga teacher in the Southeast and was a direct student of the late Sri K. Pabbabhi Jois.

AYA offers classes which accommodate all levels of practitioner from complete beginner to advanced level student. AYA offers regularly scheduled 4-week Beginner Courses as a way for new students to easily get started in the practice. We also offer regularly scheduled morning and limited evening Mysore style and Primary Series Led classes. For more information please visit our website.

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 Ashtanga Yoga Atlanta
 Ashtanga Yoga Atlanta
 Ashtanga Yoga Atlanta

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Reviews

Pratik Jagad

★ 5

Ashtanga Yoga Atlanta is a legit Ashtanga Shaala teaching traditional Ashtanga Yoga. Todd is a very good instructor helping you build upon from wherever you start. His attention to detail and gentle manner makes you look forward to the practice. Over the years he has created a welcoming space. I highly recommend AYA for serious yoga practitioners.

Source: Google

Donald Powell

★ 5

Excellent shala. The environment is a perfect blend of structure and serenity—it doesn’t disappoint.

One year ago, I couldn’t imagine how much this practice would transform me. Today, I feel stronger, more grounded, and inspired to continue exploring what Ashtanga has to offer—not just on the mat, but in every facet of my life.

This journey hasn’t always been easy, but it has been deeply rewarding. The physical progress—going from barely reaching my knees to touching the floor and then learning the entire primary series—has been remarkable.

Todd has been an anchor throughout the year—his ability to balance encouragement with challenge has pushed me beyond what I thought I was capable of.

A nod to his assistants, Alex, Carly, Isabella, and Tiffany, for their thoughtful adjustments and unwavering support.

Source: Google

Joanna Hair

★ 5

I started at AYA with the beginner course, led by Tiffany, almost a year ago. I learned so much foundational work, as well as information about the history and philosophy of Ashtanga in that course. It took me a few months after I finished to work up the nerve to come to the Mysore classes (all unfounded anxieties). I have now been doing Mysore about 4 to 5 times a week for six months, and the progress has been remarkable. I have had an on and off yoga practice for years, but this practice has altered me both physically and mentally. The work is hard, and it demands more than you think you have, but the sense of accomplishment is unparalleled. Todd is amazing at knowing exactly when and how to push and when to step back, and the shala assistants (Isa, Carly, and Tiffany) are amazing. Atlanta is so fortunate to have such an experienced Ashtanga teacher as Todd and such a welcoming shala as AYA.

Source: Google

Meredith Dixon

★ 1

Not welcoming environment from teacher perspective. The teacher the day that I went ran the class like a command center and he was god. Had a narcissistic air that made practicing uncomfortable. You couldn't pay me to return.

Source: Google

Mirage Sanders

★ 5

Love this space! The classes are so powerful...

Source: Google

Daniel O'Connell

★ 5

Great place to practice and learn!

Source: Google

Esther Lee

★ 5

Almost 1 year ago in September I took the beginners Ashtanga class with Todd and Brice. I never thought that I could get past half primary series. With basically one on one instruction through Mysore, Todd has led me through full primary. It certainly has been a great challenge and reminds me that through guidance and patient instruction you can far exceed your expectations. By far one of my best experiences!

Source: Google

Jeffrey Schumacher

★ 5

Excellent traditional ashtanga shala. Todd is a patient, insightful and knowledgeable instructor. One of the best shalas in which I've practiced: we're very fortunate to have it in Atlanta.

Source: Google

Megan Nare

★ 5

Source: Google

Hannah Mirman

★ 5

Lovely shala! I came as a walk-in while travelling. Todd is very welcoming and provides helpful instruction and adjustments. Mats available to use if you're traveling without one.

Source: Google

Simone Santos

★ 5

If you are looking for a traditional ashtanga shala, this is your place. Todd is an incredible teacher and he truly cares about each student and their practice. Brice, who teaches the introductory workshop, is so knowledgeable, fun and a pleasure to be around. There is no better ashtanga shala in Atlanta.

Source: Google

Jameela Belyeu

★ 5

So grateful to have found this yoga Shala. Todd’s depth and experience is unparalleled, and I’ve grown in my yoga practice in such a short time.

Source: Google

Sarah Yoss

★ 5

I have been a student of Ashtanga Yoga Atlanta for over three years, and I am so thankful that I found this place. Todd is a knowledgeable and intuitive teacher who expertly strikes the important balance of challenging his students to push past what they thought they were capable of while making sure they feel safe. This studio and this practice has brought significant growth to my yoga practice and my life.

The Mysore style of guided self practice is tremendously helpful in that it allows you to focus on your practice while receiving one on one adjustments and instruction from an experienced teacher. The consistency of moving through the same sequence each day helps you to learn from each posture and progress more rapidly, and the practice builds over time to ensure that you are always challenged. It is an all level class, well-suited both for complete beginners and experienced practitioners wanting to deepen their practice.

Todd and Brice are skilled teachers who have created a welcoming community at Ashtanga Yoga Atlanta. I highly recommend AYA!

Source: Google

Angela Sofia

★ 5

I’ve been practicing ashtanga here for a little over a year. I started my yoga journey at 12 when I went to gyms and would attend classes there. I mainly stuck to vinyasa and hot flow classes. In 2015 I became a certified yoga teacher and started teaching at a hot yoga studio, little did I know my yoga journey was barely beginning.
After years of practice and getting my 200 hrs plus ERYT I felt very jaded about the practice. Yoga had lost its humility and I was desiring something more. More genuine. More real. More disciplined and not this washed up American form of yoga workout.
Then a friend referred my to AYA and I feel in love with the practice immediately. Finally I had a teacher with real experience, not some 200hr certified teacher but one with years and years of experience who travels to India to continue learning from their teacher.
Having an experienced teacher makes a world of difference. My practice has grown immensely since starting ashtanga, way more than it ever did from getting my 200hrs or teaching.

I can do poses I never thought imaginable and my whole person feels amazing. It’s not only become a physical practice but a mental journey that has helped me in all aspect of my life. It’s challenging enough and gentle enough when you need it to be. The practice cleanses you mind body and soul.

Ashtanga means the world to me and I’m excited to see where practice takes me now. I finally have a lifelong practice that I can look forward to everyday.

Source: Google

Josh Jones

★ 5

This is a fantastic studio because it is clear that the teachers, Todd and Brice, genuinely care about the students and are focused on enabling safe growth through the practice of yoga. This attitude naturally leads to the cultivation of a great community of students. It has been amazing to benefit from their years of experience and their study at the source of Ashtanga yoga in India -- Todd even having learned directly from Sri K. Pattabhi Jois! It has been inspiring to hear firsthand stories about his time spent studying directly with the progenitor of Ashtanga.

I have been practicing yoga for six years and Ashtanga at AYA for about the last one year. My life has changed and benefited greatly from my yoga practice in general, and a regular Ashtanga practice has really deepened and expanded those benefits for me, even in just a relatively short time. The discipline of the Ashtanga practice in particular has helped me to sustain a better structure for my life which, as a work-from-home consultant, can sometimes be challenging to maintain. Ashtanga is very directly focused on drawing the senses more inward, with the centrality of drishti, a quiet room, and moving through a known sequence at one's own pace, according to the breath. While I think that I am able to experience some of the benefits of turning my attention inward through my practice of other styles of yoga, to me this aspect seems amplified in the Ashtanga practice.

I also think that the only safe and effective way to learn and regularly practice some of the poses that form even the primary series of Ashtanga is through Mysore-style classes, which are a hallmark of traditional Ashtanga. I teach led group yoga classes myself, and although I do also enjoy and benefit from taking such classes as a student, I don't personally feel there's any way to work, for instance, Garbha Pindasana, Janu Sirsasana C or Marichyasana D into a led group class without either assuming prior knowledge, specifically slowing down and workshopping the pose in detail, or risking injury to some students. Because of the very distinct way that teaching happens in a Mysore class, with every student moving at their own pace, and being directly and individually instructed in a pose as they are adding it to their practice, it becomes possible to safely integrate advanced poses into a daily practice. This possibility opens up an avenue for physical and mental transformation. Further, the Mysore class structure makes it possible for the teacher to routinely provide physical adjustments to all students. I am quite certain that I would be nowhere near binding on my own in Marichyasana D, for instance, were it not for repeated and consistent physical adjustments in the pose over time -- so again, possibilities are opened due to the way that Ashtanga is taught.

Ashtanga may not be the right practice for everyone, but if you are looking for ways to deepen your experience of yoga, I heartily recommend giving it a try and I believe you will not go wrong by choosing to do so at AYA. For people new to yoga or experienced practitioners, embarking on an unfamiliar practice can be daunting. I can say that I started my practice with the beginner program at AYA (since I wanted to learn from the ground up and take a beginner's mind with the practice), and it was both a great, approachable and digestible introduction to Ashtanga and a good bargain as well!

Source: Google

Booker Linkhorn

★ 5

Ashtanga Yoga Atlanta (AYA) is an ideal studio to practice your form! As someone who needed to refine my practice using more detailed instruction to maximize physical functionality while living with a neuromuscular condition; my AYA instructor is taking me beyond what I thought was possible in a caring and motivational environment.

Source: Google