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SWATL- Hatha Flow

Writer's picture: Stephanie JordanStephanie Jordan

by S.L. Jordan

“We travel, some of us forever, to seek other places, other lives, other souls.” – Anais Nin

I visit Atlanta FAR too often for this to be the first time I've ever been to a yoga studio - two of my best friends ND two of my godchildren live there- BUT here we are. My dream is to be a Travel Yogi, so I really am trying to get the brand Aum Yoga: Around the World with S.L. Jordan off the ground. It's a process y'all.


I was in the A at the end of August and intentionally made time to get on my ma'at. I was staying with my best friend, and she suggested Southwest Atlanta Yoga. Atlanta is similar to Houston in that's it's just big for NO real reason, and average travel time for another the corner is 25-35 minutes. That was doable for me, because I was not trying to drive all over Atlanta for a studio.


I did my "Googles" and saw that SWATL Yoga was Black owned and honey, that's all I needed to read. I planned to go to the Hatha Class, which was a first for me. It's interesting to me that when I travel, I have been practicing a different modality every time. As I have mentioned before, I want to expand my personal practice into more modalities of yoga - and for some reason it easier to do that when I travel. Admittedly, I love my home studio in Houston (BIG Power Yoga) and feel like I am cheating when I go to a different one. Yogi loyalty is real.


SWATL Yoga is currently in a temporary studio as there was an incident at the building next to theirs and the renovation is taking longer than expected.


A picture of the outside of Southwest Atlanta Yoga studio
Southwest Atlanta Yoga & Meditation Studio

Fortunately, the temporary studio was right next door. I arrived a bit early and had a chance to chat with the instructor, Toure Akela.

Two African-American Women smiling after a yoga class at Southwest Atlanta Yoga Studio
SWATL Yoga Instructor, Toure and I after class

She had amazing energy before class, and we chatted about being Black Yoga teachers and our general love for the practice. At BIG, Nancy talks about how Yoga teachers can have this "Yoga Persona" - where their voice gets light and wispy and communicate in ways that don't always land with the student. Because the overall point is to connect with your students, it's that connection that keeps them coming back.


It was a small intimate class with two other regulars joining us, and the same energy Toure had before class was brought to the ma'at. It was gentler than what I am used to and the breath isn't like the Ujjayi in the Vinyasa-Powerful Flow that I normally do. I needed that gentleness because my shoulder has been bothering me, and for some reason I won't just sit my tail down somewhere and let it heal properly. We did not do as many chatarungas as I am used to and the hold in downward facing dog was minimal. What helped also, was the transition from Downard Facing Dog to Child's Pose in between. That gave my poor should the rest it needed and allowed me to finish the class without much irritation.


My shoulder felt SO much better afterwards.

African American woman in meditative pose
Me after class

Before taking that class, I was under the impression that Hatha did not include ANY chatarungas and was mostly practiced from a standing position.


This explains what I always thought Hatha was, "Popular thinking ‘in the West’ (an all-too-common expression now), is that Hatha yoga is about balancing the body and mind. ‘Ha’ represents the esoteric sun, and ‘tha’ the moon. The practice of Hatha yoga aims to join, yoke, or balance these two energies. "


But the actual definition in its original understanding is, "Literally however, Hatha means ‘force’ and is more traditionally defined as ‘the yoga of force’, or ‘the means of attaining a state of yoga through force’. So Hatha yoga can be considered as anything you might do with the body .."


This definition was interesting because I looked at Power Flow as the "Forceful" yoga. I could go on about the history and philosophy of it forever, and I like to keep these posts brief so the sake of everyone's time. Here is where you can read more about the origins of Hatha and its philosophy.


If you are in Houston and regularly practice Hatha Yoga at a studio you love, drop the link and let us know where we can practice locally. I would love to know about studios in other cities to visit when I travel as well. #AumYogaAroundTheWorldWithSLJordan


Check out my after-class review. #YogiInTheWild I like to make these raw summary videos after class when the endorphins are still high.




Meet Me on the Ma'at Shawty.










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Houston, TX 77009

Tel: 248-843-3244 

 info@aumyogawithsljordan.com

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