In Sanskrit, Shala is translated as ‘house’ or ‘room’, and Santosha means ‘contentment.’ Owner and founder Christina Martini knew she wanted to create a space that would offer contentment. Having worked as a nurse with cancer patients in Guam for three years, Christina saw the thera-peutic effects of Ashtanga with her own patients and knew she wanted to share the same trans-formational healing of yoga when she came home to California to open Yorba Linda’s Ashtanga studio.
Shala Santosha offers Ashtanga classes of all levels, including morning and evening classes that encourage self-practice while incorporating the benefits of working one-on-one with the teacher. This allows students to have a space for yoga, while having a guiding hand to refine their asanas even further.
In Ashtanga, you will find yourself pushing your body and finding release in your muscles and bones that can otherwise be difficult to access. But Christina is a full believer in the power of the practice going beyond the material body. “This particular practice, even though it’s rigorous and physically challenging, can actually bring you back into peace and contentment,” she explains. At the end of the class, your body feels purified, and your heart feels calm. You leave the space feel-ing as though you were in a house of contentment, and your heart yearns for more.
Shala Santosha Yoga
19815 Esperanza Road
Yorba Linda
714-488-0623
Shalasantoshayoga.com
By Jessica Malloy, an Orange County-based writer and avid climber with a B.A. in English and emphasis in creative writing and journalism.
Jessica Malloy is a freelance writer torn between the California Coast and Kentucky Countryside. Aside from Yoga, she spends as much time as she can in the sunshine rock climbing, water skiing, and traveling.