Core beliefs

We utilize yoga as a practice for healing and embodiment. We recognize yoga as a living spiritual practice which originated in India. All of our classes and offerings are educational. We encourage compassionate self inquiry and agency. We endeavor to inspire you to initiate positive shifts which ripple into our world, and to meet you where you are. Through providing a brave healing space we model and nurture collective care. We aim to provide an atmosphere that welcomes and respects cultural, physical, socioeconomic, gender, and neurological diversity. We reject diet culture, and believe in health at any size. We maintain that health is relational, emotional, mental, and physical. We believe that collective and self care are deeply intertwined, along with the care and health of our environment.

Land prayer

We acknowledge the ancestral lands upon which our studio now stands. The enduring relationship between this land in the Indigenous Peoples of Milwaukie, which include the Clackamas, Molalla, Kalapuya, and many other Tribes along the confluence of the Willamette, Molalla, and Clackamas Rivers. We offer scholarship opportunities to Indigenous people at Elk Rock Yoga to balance the history that has been erased during colonization. Read more about local history on the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde website.

Community integration and Sevā

• Quarterly fundraisers to non-profit outreach organizations

• Donation based or sliding scale monthly community events & classes

• Mural and signage hand painted by local, working artists

• Participation in monthly seasonal community open house events for local artists

Culture of learning

• Trainings and workshops focused on inclusion & social justice, yoga philosophy and collective care

• Emphasis on meditation, therapeutic applications of yoga, and mindfulness

• We celebrate all 8 limbs of yoga contemplation (samadhi), ethical tenets (yamas, niyamas), postures (asana), meditation (dhyana), breath practice (pranayama), concentration (dharana), sense withdrawal (pratyahara)

• We offer workshops & events which engage creativity, intuition and subtle forms of healing

Equity and inclusion

• Yoga teacher training with modules focused on anti racism, adaptive yoga for differently abled bodies, eating disorder awareness, LGBTQ equity & inclusion, trauma informed teaching, the roots of yoga

• Scholarships prioritizing Black, Brown, and Queer community members to offset systemic barriers to access

• ADA compliant space on ground floor

• Work exchange to balance socioeconomic equity

Giving

Elk Rock Yoga supports like-minded local & national charitable organizations through quarterly fundraisers, donations, and special events. Organizations we have collaborated with in the past are listed below. If you are an organization seeking a donation or fundraising event, please email us to see if we are a good match.

• Southern Poverty Law Center

• Community Pathways

• SnowCap Community Charities

• Pink Lemonade Project

• Outside In

• Lewis Elementary School, Milwaukie High School Wellness Center, Sojourner School, Springwater Environmental Sciences School

• Insights Teen Services

• Clackamas Women’s Services

• Love Your Brain

Equity statement

Elk Rock Yoga recognizes that systemic racism and oppression is built into the roots of American culture. We aim to balance the scales of justice through offering scholarships to people of color.

Our team supports positive change by creating an environment in which all humans are seen and welcomed. LGBTQIA+ rights matter. We support a fair society and reject discrimination based on a person’s sex, gender, or sexual orientation. 

While we want all to feel comfortable, please be kind. We do not tolerate racist, homophobic, transphobic, or discriminatory behavior in our space. We reserve the right to ask students to leave in support of our community’s safety.

We are actively engaged with ways in which our studio environment can be more inclusive. We will make mistakes as we learn. We may say the wrong thing. We want to offer a brave space. We will keep acting. We will keep going.

If you have suggestions for us around creating a safer space, please contact us.

Elk Rock Yoga uses environmentally friendly, eco-conscious yoga equipment by Manduka.