Who we are…
We are a yoga studio located just outside Raleigh, NC in Cary; focusing on the traditional and transformative practice of Ashtanga yoga. We offer a traditional Mysore program, as well as led classes. Our schedule includes classes for all levels, as well as those without any previous yoga experience.
Here at AYSR we welcome everyone and every body, identity, and experience to begin your journey and to grow with our community. Collectively we are here to guide and inspire you in a safe, supportive and welcoming community.
The AYSR community is built around our dedicated students who seek to improve their well-being through the practice of Ashtanga yoga. We hope you will take the opportunity to learn the physical practice of yoga while connecting, engaging and diving deeper into the other limbs of Ashtanga. There are many opportunities throughout the year to do so with offerings like yogic philosophy, chanting, meditation as well as asana workshops and community gatherings .
ashtanga
Ashtanga yoga is a complete yoga method based on Bhakti (devotion) to a breathing and movement system called vinyasa. Through Ashtanga yoga you come to realize your Self and your purpose by learning to systematically combine several internal and external techniques including: breathing, internal locks, meditation, posture, conscious movement and gazing. When these basic techniques are applied with discipline, subtlety and skill, they are excellent tools for becoming physically and mentally strong and perceptive. When you’ve developed your practice, you learn to ‘inhabit’ your body like an animal moving freely in the wild and at the same time your mind becomes strong and fit for meditation. Practicing to create this combination of physical grace and power and mental clarity and openness leads to spiritual awakening. The method consists of learning rigorous, well-balanced sets of postures and the vinyasa positions that form the set sequences. The alternating, opposing movement and breathing patterns within the given sequences help you to internalize your mind and to gain depth and wisdom by observing the true nature of what is happening within you.
The Ashtanga yoga method was originally taught in Mysore, southern India by the late yoga master, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. Since the first Ashtanga classes were taught in Mysore, this style of teaching is named after the city and is really just short for “Mysore Style Ashtanga.”
This Summary of the Ashtanga yoga lineage was given with permission and written by my teacher, David Garrigues
Lorie Bird / EYRT500 / YACEP
Owner/Director
Former owner and founder of New Bern Yoga, in New Bern, NC, Lorie has always been athletic, predominately running for a good portion of her adult life. Yoga was initially as part of her marathon training, but as her life shifted, so did her journey with yoga. Several years ago health issues turned her life upside down, but yoga was a constant that helped to keep her mind and body going. She continued her practice, but also began pranayama and meditation practices as well as reading The Yoga Sutras and The Bhagavad Gita. As her passion continued to grow, she pursued studying Ashtanga Yoga in Thailand under Vari Morales, where she learned the history and philosophy associated with traditional Ashtanga as well as the physical practice of asana.
After completing her YTT, she has continued her practice and studies. Lorie joined the AYS community in 2020 and completed her apprenticeship under the guidance of her mentor and teacher Stacy Ingham. Since then she continued practicing and learning under Stacy’s guidance, as well as teaching.
Lorie is passionate about Ashtanga-the quiet meditative movement, synchronized with the breath. Everyday her practice inspires her to be the best version of herself.
Lucie Guertault / RYT200
Lucie joined AYS Raleigh in 2019 after trying out different yoga classes. She quickly experienced the benefits of a consistent Ashtanga yoga practice both on and off the mat. She appreciates the discipline, mental clarity and hard-work mindset that she gains from her early morning practices. Probably influenced by her job as a University Professor in Engineering, she enjoys the process of researching challenging poses and coming up with strategies to improve. She is also a fervent Pranayama practitioner and enjoys reading everything yoga related.
She completed the 200hr AYS Raleigh apprenticeship in January 2024 and has been teaching mysore and led classes ever since.
Stacy Ingham / EYRT 500 / YACEP
Founder of AYS Raleigh
Stacy began her yoga journey with a 6-week intro to Ashtanga class in St Louis in 1998. She has been practicing ever since. She began teaching in the Triangle, North Carolina area in 2001.
A student of David Garrigues since 2009, she has been apprenticing with him since 2014. David is one of the few teachers in the US certified to teach Ashtanga yoga by the late world renowned master Sri K Patthabi Jois.
Studying under David's expert guidance, Stacy has completed the 3rd Series of Ashtanga yoga, taken on a more serious study of the 8 limbs of Ashtanga yoga, and been inspired to share what she has learned with others.
She has learned over her years as a student and teacher that a strong foundation of body and mind, built and attended to with patience, persistence and an eye for details is key to a long-lasting and fruitful practice and study of yoga.