Lessons in ashtanga will be just one form of yoga on offer at a new centre dedicated to yoga which is due to open in Dublin next month. The as-yet-unnamed facility will run evening and weekend classes in Iyengar and ashtanga yoga, and will house the newly forming Independent Irish Iyengar Association, which will oversee Iyengar teacher training at all levels and host guest instructors from around the world.
Dublin needs "a total yoga centre", says founder Rita Keegan. To that end, the facility's main studio will be equipped to "the highest specifications", with a 600-square-foot studio featuring heated wooden floors, ropes, sticky mats, belts and other props for yoga. It will open on to a large garden - which, weather permitting, may be used for classes. Individual therapy rooms off the main studio will be available for massage, reflexology, reiki, homeopathy and other forms of bodywork. A yoga shop and snack bar may open in the future.
Keegan hopes to make the centre a part of the community. Depending on demand, it will be available for daytime use by playgroups or creches; a fitness facility for physically challenged people, or a meeting space for private parties. Eventually, an apartment above the centre may be used to host visiting students and/or teachers.
The centre at 265 Crumlin Road will open on March 19th. For more information, call 01- 490-4924