A Wisdom School. Traveling Yoga and Ayurveda certifications. Online courses.
We offer exquisite in-person programs that enhance longevity, vitality and personal evolution. Our offerings include
RYT200
RYT500
Visheshya: Performance Training
Yoga Therapy Training
“Lost Ways of Knowing” podcast
Affiliate Yoga School
Ayurveda Cooking Foundations
“Yoga in Action” Quarterly Magazine
Enneagram Course
Seva
Retreats
04/04/2026
If you’ve been following along these last few weeks, you’ve probably noticed something…
Yoga, as it’s described in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, is very different from how it’s often taught today. 🧘♀️
It’s not just about postures.
It’s not just about breath.
It's not’s not about becoming a better version of yourself.
It’s about understanding the nature of your own mind 🧠
And becoming free from the patterns that keep you stuck.
This is what the practice is actually pointing toward. 🌀
Matt's 'Yoga Sutra' Course will unpack the teachings step by step in a way that’s clear, grounded, and directly applicable to your experience.
No background in philosophy needed. 👩🎓
Just curiosity—and a sense that there’s more to yoga than what you’ve been shown.
If that resonates, we’d love to have you join us 🙏
Doors are open now. The course begins April 22.
👉 Sign up at the link in bio.
04/03/2026
Pain is not a punishment. It’s information. 🪷
The body is, in many ways, a humble servant to the mind. It responds to what we ask of it—whether that’s movement, stillness, repetition, intensity, or even neglect.
Day after day, it organizes itself around our habits, our goals, and our demands, doing its best to keep up with whatever we place upon it.
And for a long time, it will.
It will find ways to accomplish every task, every desire, even if it's not sustainable. It gives itself to the direction of the mind—quietly, consistently, and without resistance.
Until it can’t.
Pain is often the moment where that relationship needs to shift.
Not as a form of punishment, but as a form of communication. 📣
Pain is a signal that something in the system is no longer working as it has been. A request for attention, for adjustment, for a different kind of support.
Pain is how the body is asking the mind to pause, to listen, and to respond differently.
And yet, so often, we do the opposite. We push through. We override. We try to fix the symptom without understanding the pattern that created it.
But pain is not the enemy. It tells us where there is too much demand, where there is not enough support, and where the body is no longer able to carry on in the same way.
The real work is not to silence pain, but to understand it and respond to it intelligently.
✨ If you’re ready to understand pain differently—and learn how to work with it in a skillful, informed way—this is one of the many things we explore inside MoveWise.
The program begins this June in St. Louis at Empowered Spaces.
Sign up at the link in bio.
04/02/2026
Maybe nothing is missing.
Maybe nothing needs to be added.
Just a quiet unraveling of what’s in the way… ✨
04/02/2026
A lot of people come to Yoga searching for something real… 🪷
and end up feeling confused and dissatisfied.
You learn the poses.
You hear words like “presence” and “union.”
But no one ever clearly tells you:
What is Yoga actually leading to? 🍃
If you’ve ever felt that… you’re not alone.
And more importantly—know that there is an answer.
The Yoga Sutra was written to answer exactly that question over 2,000 years ago.
Not as theory. Not as inspiration.
But as a clear, structured path toward freedom from confusion, from ego-centeredness, from the constant noise of the mind.
The 'Yoga Sutra' course led by Matthew Krepps is for you if you’ve felt:
✨ Like there’s more to Yoga than movement—but you don't know where or how to access it
✨ Curious about the Yoga Sutra, but overwhelmed or unsure how to apply it
✨ Frustrated by surface-level teachings that leave out the depth
✨ Called to understand yourself more honestly and clearly
Over the course of 10 lessons, Matt walks you through the Sutra in a way that is grounded, accessible, and true to its roots.
🌀 To help you see differently.
🌀 To understand your mind.
🌀 To understand what gets in the way.
And to begin practicing Yoga as it was intended. 🕊️
If something in you has been asking for clarity—this is where you start.
Enrollment is now open at the link in bio. ✨
03/31/2026
Ayurveda is often misunderstood. 😵
It can look rigid, complicated, or restrictive from the outside — but at its core, it’s a system built on observation, rhythm, and relationship. 🌀
Many of the teachings are simple. The challenge (and the practice) is learning how to apply them in a way that fits your life.
Sometimes clearing misconceptions is the first step.
If you’re interested in exploring these ideas in a more practical, hands-on way, we’ll be gathering for an Ayurvedic Cooking Retreat 🥕 this June at — cooking together, tasting as food evolves, and learning directly through experience. 👨🍳
Get all the details at the link in bio. 🍃
03/30/2026
The body is constantly listening. 👂🏻
To what we do.
To what we repeat.
To what we avoid.
Over time, these inputs become patterns—held in posture, movement, and the way we organize ourselves without thinking. 🌀
This is what makes the body so remarkable.
It doesn’t resist.
It adapts. 🪷
It does its best with whatever it’s given—whether that’s consistent training, long hours of sitting, or movement shaped by past injury.
The body is not working against us.
It is working **for** us.
This is why it's so important to understand the body. So, we can begin to serve it and restore a more harmonious relationships between the mind and the body.
This is the heart of MoveWise: the CYS certification where cutting edge biomechanics meet the wisdom of Yoga Therapy.
Get all the details for how to join MoveWise at the link in bio.
03/28/2026
Something I’ve been observing for a while…
The word 'comfortable' gets used A LOT in yoga classes.
“Find a comfortable position.”
“Make yourself comfortable.”
“Stay where it feels comfortable.”
The word itself is not inherently a problem, but the way that students relate to the word can become one. 😵
For one student, 'comfortable' might mean ease and steadiness. 💪
For another, it might mean collapsing into their joints, backing out of the work, or never quite engaging muscles at all. 😴
When we use vague language, we leave so much open to interpretation.
And in that space, students often default to what feels familiar—
and not necessarily what is supportive, stable, or skillful.
There’s a big difference between ease and disengagement, between support and collapse.
And our job as teachers is to help students find the difference.
The words we choose matter. They shape how students experience their bodies, how they organize themselves, and whether they develop new patterns—or reinforce old ones.
Instead of 'comfortable', there are so many ways to be specific with language. Here are some examples:
• “Find a position you can sustain with steady breath.”
• “Choose a version where you feel supported, not collapsed.”
• “Work at a level where you can stay engaged without strain.”
• “Find stability first, then soften where you can.”
Let me know in the comments how this resonates with you! 👇
What are some other ways to cue with clarity and precision?
03/27/2026
Most of us were taught the eight limbs as steps… something to practice, something to achieve. 🚀
But what if they’re showing you something much deeper?
Not just what you do…
but what awareness is like when it becomes still, clear, and absorbed. 🧘
The limbs aren’t only techniques.
They’re a glimpse into Samadhi. 🕊️
A map of what happens when attention refines… and you begin to see clearly. ✨
Patterns we’ve repeated.
Injuries we’ve adapted around.
Ways we’ve learned to hold ourselves—physically and otherwise.
Over time, these become so familiar
they no longer feel like an adaptation…
they feel like normal. 🌀
But the body keeps expressing them
in how we posture ourselves and in how we move.
Not as a problem—
but as information.
A quiet invitation to observe more closely.
Isn't it marvelous? 🪷
03/26/2026
Happy 12th (unofficial) birthday to one of the OG shala dogs, Scout. 🎉🎂
It’s an unofficial birthday because we don’t actually know when she was born. Today is the vet’s estimate.
Scout is dear to many Shala students for her signature smile which earned her the nickname ‘hyena’.
And yes, she’s 12!
🐾
03/26/2026
People often ask what to expect 🤔 during our Ayurvedic Cooking Weekend (next one is June 26–28, 2026).
The experience is intentionally simple and very hands-on.
We begin the day with breakfast, served first thing in the morning. From there, the day unfolds with a short Ayurvedic lesson — practical conversations around health, the six tastes, and how the 5 elements show up in the food we eat.
Then we move into the kitchen. 🔪
Participants prepare ingredients together — washing vegetables, chopping, organizing spices, and learning how dishes come together step by step.
Matt 👨🍳 handles the stove while explaining what he’s looking for at each stage of cooking.
One of the most valuable parts of the process is tasting 👅 the dish as it evolves. The same ingredients can behave very differently depending on when they’re added and how they’re cooked.
Some of the favorite vegetarian dishes we’ve prepared together include:
🥕 Carrot soup
🥕 Saag paneer (spinach and farmer’s cheese with rice)
🥕 Beetroot palya (shredded beets and carrots) with lemon rice and raita
🥕 Mulligatawny soup (lentils and vegetables)
🥕 Summer corn chowder with chana dosa
🥕 Asparagus and white bean soup
Lunch is shared together, followed by free time in the afternoon. The retreat takes place at Kindred Forest, a quiet woodland setting just over an hour southwest of St. Louis — with walking paths and plenty of space to rest or simply be outside. 🌲
We also prepare dinner together on Friday and Saturday.
By the end of the weekend, participants usually leave with something more useful than recipes — a clearer understanding of how flavor, digestion, and cooking work together.
Get all the details and save your spot at the link in bio. 🌿
We hope you'll join us.
03/25/2026
You can teach a beautiful yoga class… and still not create real change.
Because without assessment, you’re working from what you see—not what’s actually driving your student’s movement patterns.
When balance doesn’t improve, pain lingers, or strength stalls… it’s not a sequencing problem.
It’s a clarity problem.
An assessment gives you a starting point.
A way to prioritize.
A way to measure change.
This is where yoga shifts from guiding movement to solving it.
If you're interested in unlocking real and lasting impact in your clients, we invite you join MoveWise, our biomechanical certification where cutting-edge Biomechanics meet the healing principles of Yoga Therapy.
We begin again this June at Empowered Spaces in St. Louis.
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Circle Yoga Shala is a School for Yoga, Creative Movement, and Self-Inquiry in Arkansas’ Ozark Mountains. We are a Member School of the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) and a registered school with the National Yoga Alliance.
At the heart of all we do is contemplation, self-observation, and service.
We offer yoga teacher trainings in our 200-hour, 500-hour, and 800-hour Professional Yoga Therapy programs. We teach principles and methods that are grounded in somatic inquiry, and not inherently limited to a style of practice. To take a posture that is filled with one’s attention, ‘sensing’ what is happening (seeing and recognizing rather than thinking about), and then responding intelligently is to move with reality rather than projecting onto it. This somatic inquiry is taught in asana (movement and stillness), in meditation (sitting and walking), and in a felt relationship to the three centers: head, heart, and gut. This method lays the foundation for self-inquiry and contemplation.
Join our Seva program available each June for an opportunity to immerse in practice, community and nature without enrolling in a formal teacher training.
We also specialize in developing movement strategies from the simple to the complex to the spontaneous. We work with professional athletes and are consultants on Team Slukova' and Hermannova', Czech Republic's Olympic Women's Beach Volleyball team.
The philosophical basis for our teaching comes from 'East meets West': the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the Pancha Maya Model, the Five Elements, the Kleshas, the Gunas, Ayurveda, and the Enneagram, as well as evolutionary theory, neuroscience and bio-mechanics, and Integral Psychology.
The school is also a living farm. The property consists of approximately 1/2 acre organic vegetable gardens, edible flowers and herbs, an orchard, chickens and horses. The Shala is an approved farm with the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms Organization, WWOOF.
We focus on sustainability practices, including composting and water conservation. Life here is a living example of the inter-connectedness of all things.
All meals are served in part from the farm and constructed with an understanding of Ayurveda, and the most current scientifically backed practices in nutrition.
We can accommodate up to 20 people residentially at the Shala for scheduled activities only. There are spaces available for couples.
