'Black Lotus Yoga is the latest blossom of the modern vinyasa tradition, the latest wonder to emerge from the waters of the breathing body. The Black Lotus system arose to inspire bold new explorations of the mystery of embodiment, to awaken dormant creative forces, and to foster deeper and more soulful experiences of yoga.

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Using old Hatha principles, the Black Lotus practice works with opposing movements of breath, and invites these to align. When breath aligns, the body opens up, revealing endless patterns of sensation. The practice is to hold space for sensation, allowing it to move, while making room for consciousness to breathe.

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There are six sequences in Black Lotus Yoga, and each leaves its own unique imprint on the body. The foundational sequence grounds you, the second sequence tones your nerves, the third sequence balances you, and the higher sequences open you up, elevating your vital force from the earth to the moon.

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Though rigorously designed, the system invites improvisation within its structure, to put the power of seeking back into the hands of the yogi, so she can use the yoga to uncover her hidden riches, and to feel herself awaken to a new life.

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This adaptive system is meant to be practiced in the Mysore style, where each follows the thread of her own breath, while enacting the ritual with others. Black Lotus Yoga loves to share space with Ashtanga, its older cousin, who turns on the same energetic principles.

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Here is the revival of experimentalism of yoga, the return of the playful but loving spirit out of which yoga ever arises, the spirit that honors the wisdom of the past but seeks a higher through communion with the creative power that moves us from within.' - Ty Landrum

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How it works

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To each of the six levels, there are three variants or shades—white, gray and black. The white variant of each level is the most accessible, the gray has more challenge, and the black makes some intriguing but sometimes unreasonable demands. These variants all shade into one another, and they are meant to be combined together to make an evolving and fluid practice. 

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The variant system offers clear guidance on scaling the Black Lotus sequences to unique needs and circumstances. Beyond this system, there are no formulaic protocols for adapting or extending the sequences. Such things are allowed to evolve organically, outside the constraints of formal rules or prescriptions.

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Black Lotus Yoga encourages students to listen to their bodies and thus receive the guidance that matters most. Black Lotus teachers will support students in relearning this forgotten but essential art. In this way, students and teachers of Black Lotus Yoga will join together in honoring the wisdom of the body, and allowing it to be the guiding light.

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There are six sequences in Black Lotus Yoga, and six practice days in the week. The idea is that you practice each of the sequences that are available to you at least once during that period. You ascend as the week progresses, from Level II and beyond, and you end back at the beginning, with Level I.

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Each sequence has its own melody and pitch, and should be learned and recited as a whole. This is unlike Ashtanga, where you learn a new sequence by adding its postures to the end of another. In Black Lotus, you take the sequence entire. You begin with a light shade and darken as you go.

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This is the purpose of having shades—to make the sequences adaptable, so you can explore them, and make them your own. The shades are meant to be blended. You can take black and white elements, and blend them to gray. The crucial thing is that you have a vibrant practice that inspires you.