The Awakening of Dimond


by Ruth Villaseņor



Alice Joanou. Photo by Jody Berke.

Click to enlarge.

When you ask Alice Joanou, the owner of Loka Yoga, the newest addition to the Dimond, why she was drawn to the neighborhood, she has her reasons. An Oakland resident for years, she wanted to open a studio close to home. One day she passed an empty storefront that caught her attention. She arranged to see the inside of the old Rhoda Market on the corner of MacArthur Boulevard and Rhoda Avenue at 2701 MacArthur Boulevard. Alice renovated the old market and opened her yoga studio, Loka Yoga, on October 20, 2007.

Alice received an enthusiastic welcome. The large population of baby boomers

'has reached a point in their fast-paced lives where they want to relieve stress, stretch, and tone their bodies without the chaos of exercise gyms. Loka Yoga is just that type of place. The beauty and spaciousness of the studio immediately calms and relaxes you. As you slow down in class and begin to focus on breathing, a peaceful feeling takes over and you

'forget you're a few yards from a major thoroughfare.

' Alice has been teaching yoga for 20 years. She practices "vinyasa krama," poses that flow from one to the other in an intelligently placed sequence, linking the body movement with breath. She was trained by several teachers from around the world and spent six months in Mysore, India, with a teacher named Pattabhi Jois, where she was trained in traditional ashtanga vinyasa.

' Alice believes her yoga transcends traditional or modern yoga. Some of the traditional practices exclude women or people of low caste, and modern yoga can fall into the trap of becoming nothing more than acrobatic tricks or exercise. She believes yoga has so much more to offer. Yoga itself is eternal. It is only our relationship to it that changes.

' The most exciting aspect of having a yoga studio in East Oakland is the diversity of people and ages that now have an opportunity to reap the benefits of yoga. Classes vary from Intro Yoga to Level 3 (Sutras Study) to a children's class for five to nine year olds, where parents may drop their kids off, and a family yoga class for families with children ages two and a half and up. Childcare for children up to age three is available on Monday and Friday mornings.

' This summer Loka Yoga will also offer a 200-hour teacher-training certificate program, as well an Intro to Yoga for Elders, pre- and post-natal classes, and Mama and Baby classes. To learn more about Alice and Loka Yoga, check out http://www.loka-oakland.blogspot.com.