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Yoga for joy in Uluwatu
Move, smile and feel alive.
Joy gathers classes that feel playful and lively: dance-based practices, music-led flows, DJ yoga, laughter yoga, kirtan and anything likely to make you grin mid-pose. They are social, rhythmic and not too serious. Expect music.
8 classes coming up at 1 studio.
What Joy does for you
You get to move because it feels good, not because you should. Music, rhythm and other people laughing nearby make it easy to loosen up. Many people leave buzzing, with a wider smile than they arrived with. It is closer to a night out than a lecture.
It suits you if
- you love music and moving to it
- serious, silent classes are not your thing
- you want a sober alternative to a night out
- you practice better with other people's energy around you
Read the full guide to JoyWhat a class is like, your first time, history and the words you will hear
What a class is like
Classes run 60 to 120 minutes. Expect music throughout, sometimes a live DJ or musicians, flowing or dance-like movement, partner moments, chanting or call-and-response singing, and a fair amount of laughing. Lights may be colorful rather than dim. You will probably sweat a little. Facilitators are energetic and encouraging, and nobody grades your moves.
Your first time
- Wear something you can dance in and do not mind sweating in.
- Come with an open mind and no plan to get it right.
- Bring a friend if you like; these classes are easy to share.
Good to know
- Chanting, singing or eye contact can feel unusual at first; joining in is always optional.
- Music-led classes can be loud, so bring earplugs if you are sensitive to volume.
Where it comes from
Joy has a place in yoga's own vocabulary. Santosha, contentment, is one of the observances in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, and ananda, often translated as bliss, runs through Indian philosophy. The devotional path of bhakti made joyful singing a practice in itself, and kirtan, call-and-response chanting, spread in the West from the 1960s onward.
Modern playful formats come from several directions. The physician Madan Kataria and his wife Madhuri started laughter yoga in Mumbai in 1995, combining deliberate laughter with breathing. Gabrielle Roth's 5Rhythms in the late 1970s and the ecstatic dance gatherings that followed turned music-led, unchoreographed movement into a practice. From the 2010s, DJ-led yoga and sober morning dance parties brought club culture into studios.
In Berlin the link to club culture comes naturally. DJ yoga, live-music flows and ecstatic dance nights run in lofts, studios and former industrial spaces, often on weekends, and many feel as much like a party as a class.
Words you will hear
- Santosha
- Contentment: being at ease with what is here.
- Ananda
- Joy or bliss.
- Bhakti
- Devotion, a path that includes singing and celebration.
- Kirtan
- Call-and-response chanting, usually with harmonium and drums.
- Ecstatic dance
- A dance practice with music, no choreography and usually no talking.
Coming up
Today
Tomorrow
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Friday 30 October
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Saturday 31 October
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