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Why Three Boons?

Our new name THREE BOONS YOGA is drawn from the ancient Katha Upanishad, in which a young seeker of Truth seeks Freedom. His dedication is of the strongest kind. And he is committed to put in all the effort it takes on this journey, which is not one like any other, but a journey deep into one’s own Self.

In ancient times, when someone was deeply dedicated to Truth, they were, in certain cases, granted boons - wishes - that would have to be fulfilled under any circumstances by the granter of it. So also here, Naciketas, the hero of the story, was granted three boons. 

With his first boon, he asks for peace with his family, the second boon is the knowledge of how to find heaven in one’s own heart, and with the third boon he wants the secret of life and death, which no one knows, to be revealed to him. 

The first two boons are easily fulfilled. But the granter of the boons, Yama himself, is trying to avoid to fulfill the third boon by distracting and tricking Naciketas with all kinds of seemingly more enjoyable things, hoping Naciketas would lose his focus and forget why he originally went on his journey and what he was searching for.

Whatever we seek, we nourish. But too easily, we lose our focus. And so we never really get closer to what our hearts are truly seeking.  This way, we mostly end up settling for all kinds of mundane or superficial things, expecting peace and happiness to come to us from the outside, when really it is our own True Nature.

The third boon in the story is the answer to the secret of life. It is the path of Yoga that we all walk with our own practices and efforts. 

The yoga practices are designed to purify the body, senses, mind, intellect and sense of self, creating the centeredness, calmness and one-pointedness directed to the Truth within one’s own being, the experience of the Oneness of Self. To experience it, is to be it. This is called Freedom. 

Because Naciketas was not distracted and stayed serious about his quest for the meaning of life, the Truth was revealed to him. Each one of us has the potential to be like Naciketas in the Katha Upanishad: Not to be satisfied with just living superficially, but seeking to understand the deeper meaning behind everything. When each one of us stays committed to this process of self-inquiry and to bringing all aspects of our personality in alignment with the peace that we truly are, we will be able to realize our full potential.

Three Boons Yoga Berlin is here to support teachers and students alike to raise their consciousness and awareness through their own efforts and dedication to their practice, empowering them to embody peace - which is our true nature. 

What about Jivamukti Yoga?

Formerly known as Jivamukti Yoga Berlin, our two yoga studios in Mitte and Kreuzberg have been independent Jivamukti Yoga schools since 2009 and 2011 respectively, offering, at (pre-Corona) times, up to 150 yoga classes a week. The vast majority of these classes have been Jivamukti Yoga classes, and the vast majority of our teachers have been Jivamukti Yoga teachers, some of the best-trained and most experienced out there.

With our new name, nothing of the above really changes, except for, well, our name: You will still able to access the same high-quality Jivamukti Yoga classes with some of the best and coolest yoga teachers out there.  Hopefully, we will see each other again very soon in a yoga class in one of our beautiful studios, which we have been busy renovating and improving massively during the past months. And for the time being, let’s stay in touch through our selection of live-stream and flex-stream yoga classes as well as on-demand via 3boons.tv.

The Jivamukti Yoga method developed out of the vibrant creative scene in lower Manhattan, and for decades the New York Jivamukti school was one of the busiest, most popular and most innovative yoga centers in the world. Described as “The Wild Child of Yoga" by Paper magazine, Jivamukti always attracted highly creative, ambitious and vital students, drawn to the vigorous Hatha Yoga classes and the deeply spiritual sense of community found at the center. 

A change in corporate ownership of Jivamukti Yoga on a global scale, along with the closing of the New York school in 2019, has led to this moment of refocusing our own intention to serve the yoga community here in Berlin.

Evolving to Three Boons Yoga Berlin allows us to stay local and keeps us independent and true to ourselves, enabling us to continue to embody what we loved about Jivamukti Yoga, once upon a time, when we adopted the name Jivamukti Yoga Berlin: Being hot, hip and holy Wild Children of Yoga, independent of global policies and corporations. After all, liberation is what the way of the Jivanmukta is all about.  

Jivamukti Yoga is an internationally recognized style of Hatha Yoga that was created by David Life and Sharon Gannon in 1984. It reintegrates the physical, philosophical and spiritual aspects of Yoga. Until then, the  emphasis in the west has been on Yoga  as mostly a physical practice. More and more people are achieving firmer bodies through regular yoga classes. But many are finding  something more: What starts out as a purely physical practice creeps  into the hearts and minds of even the least spiritual practitioners. 

David and Sharon became teachers because they were passionate about communicating Yoga as more than just a system of exercises, but also as a spiritual practice; a path to enlightenment. From their earliest classes, they have taught a living translation of the Indian system of yoga in a way that western minds can comprehend.    

That is why Jivamukti Yoga emphasizes vigorous asana as its primary technique, but other practices such as meditation, devotional chanting  and study of the ancient texts play an important role as well. Classes include Vinyasa (flowing asana sequences),  hands-on adjustments, Pranayama (breathing exercises), meditation, Sanskrit chanting, Yogic philosophical teachings and deep relaxation. To  keep the practice inspiring, asana sequences are ever-changing with music playing an integral role in the class. Classes are 60-120 minutes and open to all levels.