Welcome to Grateful Yoga

With 11 weekly classes in two locations in downtown Evanston, our classes range in level from Basics to Intermediate. We also offer meditation instruction, prenatal yoga, and private yoga therapy. We've been in business for five years, supported by students who value a mindful practice that's a balance of effort and ease. Our classes introduce basic elements of yogic philosophy and our classes are set in a peaceful, non-competitive environment.
 

Upcoming Events

  • New Prenatal Yoga Class: Wednesdays 5:30-6:30p, next 4 week series begins 3/3. Register now or drop-in on a week-by-week basis.
 

News

  • Full Classes: Prenatal Yoga on Sundays with Lela is currently full through the end of April. Please email for drop-in availability or to be put on the wait list- it's worth a try! Sign up now to be guaranteed a spot in the series that begins May 2, or try the new Wednesday evening class, which has drop-in and series space available!
  • We were recently featured in The Daily Northwestern. Go here to watch a short video and here to see the article.
   
  • Nick and Lela of Grateful Yoga Ltd
  • Nick and Lela of Grateful Yoga Ltd
  • Nick and Lela of Grateful Yoga Ltd
  • Nick and Lela of Grateful Yoga Ltd
  • Nick and Lela of Grateful Yoga Ltd
  • Nick and Lela of Grateful Yoga Ltd

Lela and Nick Beem
Certified Kripalu Yoga Teachers
Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy Practitioners
Evanston, Illinois

IAYT

Member of the
International Assoc. of Yoga Therapists


 

March's Theme: Saucha

Each month, we're exploring on of the niyamas, or foundations of self-observation and self-betterment. Our theme for this month is saucha, the practice of physical, energetic and mental purity.  "Purity" can be a loaded word in a culture like ours, where it often carries a sense of moral superiority and judgment.  From a yogic perspective, saucha is simply the most practical way to go about seeking happiness and wisdom.  

Patanjali explains:

From purity arises a desire to protect one's body and a cessation of adverse contact with others.
From the purification of one's essence, cheerfulness arises, and with it, one-pointed concentration, mastery of the sense, and the capacity for sustaining the vision of the True Self. (Yoga Sutras, II:40,41)

In the depths of meditation, the yogis discovered that we are inherently good, happy, and wise.  We just forget, and get stuck in unhelpful beliefs and behaviors that are in a sense "impure".  Practicing saucha is to cleanse ourselves of the physical and mental impediments that prevent us from realizing who we really are.