The Active Series: Finding Breath and Movement
By Malaika Rehman, Student Staff | Communications
With the beginning of a new semester comes a mix of excitement and stress for students. Between classes, extracurriculars, and the constant demands of college life, it can feel overwhelming to keep everything in balance. Fortunately, the University offers a range of programs designed to help students find calm, recharge, and stay grounded. One of the newest offerings is the Active Series, a yoga practice at the Contemplative Sciences Center that blends tradition with accessibility, giving students a space to breathe and reset.
The Active Series was created by Sharath Jois, the most advanced practitioner of Ashtanga Yoga and the only person to have mastered all six series of its traditional practice. Ashtanga is a physically dynamic style of yoga that links breath with movement through a sequence of postures, known for building strength, flexibility, and focus. Jois, who grew up in Mysore, South India, and dedicated his entire life to teaching yoga, passed away shortly after the release of the series at UVA in November 2024.
While traditional Ashtanga offers profound physical and mental benefits, its demanding sequence can be intimidating for newcomers. Jois wanted to design a practice that would retain the essence of yoga — breath, focus and mindful movement — while opening the door to those who might find Ashtanga too intense. The Active Series was his solution.
At the CSC, the Active Series is taught by John Bultman, CSC’s longtime Yoga Program Manager. One of only 27 teachers worldwide certified by Jois, Bultman has traveled to India many times to study philosophy and yoga, and has been practicing daily for over 18 years.
He explains that the Active Series was designed to be low-stress and approachable, especially for beginners.
“it is a completely modified sequence that is a great avenue for many,” Bultman said. "Ashtanga Yoga: Mysore, led primary and including the Active Series, aims to keep the breath linked with the movement in a specific way. This has been sequenced and thought out about like no other yoga style that I know of It helps one move more intuitively and naturally and More specifically It links the expansive and "up" movements as inhale and collapsing or usually downward movements linked with the exhale"
A typical class begins with extended sun salutations, followed by a modified sequence of postures including: standing sequence, seated postures; backbends; finishing and breathing practices where the focus is less on perfecting form and more on using the breath as a guide. The postures act as challenges for the breath, training students to stay steady and calm even when uncomfortable.
For third year Architecture student Trevor Voletta, the Active Series teaches him the strength he needs to cope with stressful situations in everyday life.
“I kind of view [yoga like] the idea of punctuated stress,” Voletta said. “By being able to keep your breath and controlling [it] throughout your practice … I feel better [in a stressful situation].”
For students, the accessibility of the Active Series makes it a natural fit for college life.
“The timing is a lot more approachable because it's in the evenings,” Voletta said. “Not many students, especially like college students, have the availability to practice every single day.”
Both Bultman and Voletta point to breathing practices as their favorite part of the series.
“[There’s an exercise] where you hold your ribs and try to feel the breath,” Bultman said. “It’s very useful for people to palpably tune into that somatic environment that the breath encompasses.”
Ultimately, the Active Series is about building community and clarity.
“I’d say even more than in any other kind of Ashtanga class, there’s a sense of unity,” Bultman said. “Everyone feels more like they can do the same thing together.”
This fall, the Contemplative Sciences Center offers the Active Series on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday evenings from 5:30-6:45pm, and Wednesdays from 11:30am -12:45pm.
In addition to the Active Series, the center offers Mysore Ashtanga classes Monday-Thursday each week from 6-8:30am and Led Primary Series on Fridays from 6:30-8am. Visit the CSC website for more information on all yoga classes and programming.