Yoga at the Crossroads
with Eddie Stern
9th -11th April, 2027

Mission is delighted to collaborate for the second year in a row with North London yoga studio Down To Earth, bringing Eddie to teach workshops at Mission at 7-9 Fashion St, London E1 6PX.

 

This is a weekend of practice, pranayama and conversation with Eddie exploring where yoga finds itself today — and where it might go next.

 

Across three days, Eddie will introduce Yoga Sangraha, his approach to awareness-based movement and nervous-system regulation, alongside pranayama and a series of discussions examining yoga’s relationship with wellness culture, social media and the modern fitness industry.

 

The weekend asks a larger question: at a moment when wellness has become an enormous global industry, how do we preserve what is valuable and distinctive about yoga?

Yoga Sangraha: Evening Practices of Asana & Pranayama

+ Introduction to Yoga at the Crossroads

Friday 9th April: 6.00-8.00pm
£50 or £190 for full weekend

 

6:00 – 7:20pm: Practice

Learn a simple approach to awareness-based movement specifically designed to support the integration and balance of the nervous system.

 

Eddie will lead asanas and pranayamas geared towards the evening: supine postures for spinal support, standing asanas for the lung channels and leg strength, seated postures and gentle inversions to stimulate the relaxation response.

 

The practice concludes with pranayama designed to help us transition from the working day into winding down for the evening.

 

7:30 – 8:00pm: Talk

Introduction to Yoga at the Crossroads

 

Where does yoga fit within today’s rapidly expanding wellness culture?

 

The idea of Yoga at the Crossroads emerged from conversations between Mission, Down to Earth and Eddie about what this weekend should explore.

 

Crossroads are interesting places to be. They’re where choices are made and an unknown world stretches ahead. In this opening conversation, Eddie will examine the current state of yoga and wellness culture and ask what we might want to preserve as yoga continues to evolve.

Yoga Sangraha: Level 1 & 2 Asanas

+ What is Wellness, and is Yoga a Wellness Practice?

Saturday 10th April: 12.30-3.15pm
£65 or £190 for full weekend

 

12:30–2:00pm: Practice

Sangraha means “a collection” or “compendium.”

 

This grounding and calming sequence draws from the wider Hatha Yoga tradition rather than any single lineage. Eddie has developed the sequences over more than a decade of experimentation and exploration of Hatha Yoga practices and texts.

 

The class is oriented towards regulation of the autonomic nervous system, leading towards states of inner calm and balance.

 

Level 2 introduces additional forward- and back-bending postures. Regardless of your level, the postures can be adapted to you.

 

2:15–3:15pm: Talk & Q&A

 

What is Wellness, and is Yoga a Wellness Practice?

 

Yoga has increasingly become part of the wellness world. But does it truly belong there?

 

Yoga is traditionally a philosophy and practice of liberation, while much of contemporary wellness culture focuses on optimisation — and all the products and protocols that go along with it.

 

Where is the wellness world useful for yoga, and where do the two depart?

 

For yoga professionals and practitioners, understanding the distinction can help us become more discerning about language and how we use it — breathwork versus pranayama, for example — and consider how yoga can participate in the modern wellness world without losing its essence.

Pranayama Level 1

Saturday 10th April: 3.45-5.00pm
£35 or £190 for full weekend

 

An accessible introduction to pranayama and the profound effects of slowing the breath.

 

Eddie will guide eight different breathing patterns designed to bring deep calm to the nervous system, followed by a short relaxation practice.

 

Gentle, highly effective and suitable for all levels.

Yoga Sangraha: Sun Salutations

+ The Role of Teachers, Social Media & the Fitness Industry

Sunday 11th April: 12.30-3.15pm
£65 or £190 for full weekend

 

12:30–2:00pm: Practice

 

An energetic and playful exploration of Yoga Sangraha.

 

Practise six different forms of Sun Salutation followed by six different dands drawn from the Hindu wrestling tradition of Kushti.

 

The class continues with standing asanas, cooling seated postures, slow breathing and meditation.

 

Accessible to all, the session will also introduce some of the fundamental building blocks of Yoga Sangraha Level 1.

 

2:15–3:15pm: Talk & Discussion

The Role of Teachers, Social Media & the Fitness Industry

 

The landscape in which yoga teachers work has changed dramatically in just a few years.

 

Social media, multi-billion-pound fitness and wellness companies, large-scale festivals and the rise of the wellness influencer have created an enormous industry around practices such as yoga — while the teachers delivering those practices often struggle to make a sustainable living.

 

This isn’t a session about complaining. It’s about solutions.

 

How can we create better structures so that the workforce behind yoga — its teachers — actually benefits? What role should teachers play in shaping the future of the practice?

Your Teacher

Eddie Stern

Eddie is an esteemed yoga teacher, author, and researcher based in New York City. He is the founder of Broome Street Ganesha Temple in Manhattan, author of the best-selling “One Simple Thing, A New Look at the Science of Yoga and How it can Change Your Life,” and is the co-creator of the Breathing App. He has a multi-disciplinary approach to yoga which includes studying traditional texts and combining the application of the practices contained within them to science, research, technology and collaboration.

 

He is involved in evidence-based research in the healing capacities of Yoga, recently completing Master’s in Science for yoga research at the Vivekananda Yoga University.

 

Eddie’s new offerings include “Healing through Breathing”, an Audible Original and “The Breathing App for Diabetes,” both released in January 2024. Eddie has been practicing yoga since 1987 and has spent the past 35 years traveling yearly from New York to study yoga, philosophy, ritual, and Sanskrit with his teachers in India. Whether in conversation, class or lecture, Eddie makes learning yoga and yogic traditions accessible to all and easily understandable with an approach that is intentionally uncomplicated.

 

Experience of yoga practices is not essential to come to the workshop. All the classes and talks are open level and for practitioners of any type of yoga.

 

About this collaboration

At Mission, we believe that the strength of the yoga community lies in collaboration, not competition. That’s why we are delighted to be working alongside the highly regarded Down to Earth.

 

In a city where yoga studios often operate independently, partnerships like this are rare, but deeply important. By joining forces, we aim to create a culture of connection and mutual support across London’s yoga landscape. Our shared intention is simple: to offer meaningful practices to as many people as possible, and to uplift the work of studios both large and small.