In every generation, people rediscover an ancient truth: that a meaningful life cannot be lived in isolation from deeper questions.
How shall we live?
What does it mean to awaken?
How do we respond to suffering in the world?
How do we care for the living Earth that sustains us?
Across cultures and centuries, communities have gathered around these questions. In forests and monasteries, temples and villages, people came together to practice meditation, study wisdom teachings, and support one another in the work of living with greater clarity and compassion.
In the yogic traditions of India, these places were called ashrams—environments where practice, study, and service could unfold together within a shared life.
But the conditions of our world today are different. Many of us live in cities. We work within complex social systems. We are deeply aware of global challenges—social injustice, ecological crisis, and the fragmentation of modern life. For many seekers, the question has become:
How do we live a life of practice while remaining fully engaged in the world?
The Urban Ashram arose from this question. The seeds of this movement began in Portland, Oregon within a yoga community gathered together at the DAYA Foundation Yoga Studio. Seekers joined together for monthly weekends of meaningful practice, culminating in a retreat at Breitenbush Hot Springs in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon.
Since the emergence of increased societal dilemmas, including a global pandemic, climate migration, international conflict, and civil unrest, the Urban Ashram seeks to create a living field of practice within everyday life—a place where people gather regularly to meditate, reflect, study, and support one another in embodying the teachings of yoga and dharma in the world as it is.
Rather than withdrawing from the world, as in a traditional ashram, we seek community, connection, renewal, and inspiration so as to participate wisely, ethically, and consciously within the world. We act as ambassadors of social change by how we live, work, and relate.
The intention is simple but profound: To create a space where people can pause from the constant movement of modern life and return to what is essential.
To sit together in stillness. To listen deeply. To explore the teachings that illuminate the path toward wisdom and compassion. And to ask, together, how these teachings guide us in our relationships, our work, our communities, and our responsibility to the Earth.
We began simply. A group of people came together for yoga, pranayama, meditation and conversation. Shared meals, tea, and conversations. Questions explored openly. Friendships forming through shared practice.
We recognized the need for such spaces is not limited to one place. People everywhere are longing for a community rooted in practice—communities where spiritual life is not separated from daily life, but woven directly into it.
In time, the vision has expanded. The Urban Ashram is not only a single gathering in one studio. It can become a network of circles—small groups of people meeting where they live, joining together in shared practice while cultivating their own local communities. Living rooms. Yoga studios. Community spaces. Circles of friends gathering for meditation and dialogue. Each circle connected to a larger field of practice, yet rooted in its own place.
At times, we go to the mountains for retreat—stepping away from ordinary rhythms to remember more deeply the source of practice. These retreats offer renewal, silence, and the experience of connecting together in a more contemplative way. Then we return again to our homes, bringing the spirit of the retreat back into daily life.
In this way the Urban Ashram becomes both a place and a movement.
A place where people gather regularly for practice and learning. And a movement of individuals committed to living with greater awareness, compassion, and responsibility within the wider world.
Its aspiration is not perfection. It is simply this:
To cultivate communities where wisdom can be studied, practiced, and embodied.
To support one another in living with integrity and care.
And to help grow a culture rooted in attention, kindness, and stewardship of the Earth.
The Urban Ashram begins with a simple act: People sitting together. Breathing. Listening. Remembering what matters. From such simple beginnings, a living community can grow. And from many such communities, a different future may begin to take shape.
