Nirguna Yoga

The time has come! Ben and Kendra are finally ready to create a space devoted to sharing all they've worked so hard to learn.  Nirguna Yoga will be the next level of Albuquerque yoga; a studio where all who walk through the door will be offered the tools for profound growth, health, and well-being.

The Vision

We believe that by honoring the integrity and tradition of the ancient teachings and methods of yoga, our local community of practitioners will reach the highest degree of physical, mental, and spiritual health. The only true measure of the efficacy of a wellness system is the profound and apparent change in the health and well-being of the practitioner. In time, through the establishment of a foothold of rigor and authenticity that consistently produces clear results within the Albuquerque yoga community, practitioners from all across the southwest and eventually the greater United States will be drawn to Nirguna Yoga training programs for their superior approach to empowering students to succeed and preparing teachers to best serve the needs of their students. 

The Community

A strong community of practitioners is the real heart of any great yoga studio. Over our years of study we've found that learning and practicing alongside fellow yogis who are eager and devoted to hard work, depth, and growth is quite possibly the most profound tool for personal development. The group of friends we practice with support us and inspire us in a way that is indispensable on our path to wellness. 

Environment is stronger than will power.

- Paramahansa Yogananda

Nirguna Yoga hopes to become a second home for practitioners. With a lounge, bookstore, library, juice tea and coffee bar, students will feel encouraged and comfortable hanging out with Nirguna Yoga teachers and with each other. Nirguna Yoga will be a place to talk, share, relax, and connect with people like you!

Nirguna Yoga hopes to become a hub for the greater yoga community.  There are great studios in Albuquerque!  Part of creating a strong yoga community must include recognizing and promoting yoga throughout the greater Albuquerque area. We want to partner with studios around town to create events and opportunities for everyone who can benefit from yoga to find the teacher and studio that is right for them!

The national and global community of yoga is vast and Albuquerque is long overdue to play a larger role in it! Our intent is that Nirguna Yoga programs (Trainings, Retreats, Workshops) will bring in people from all over the country.  People will come to participate in the high quality programs we have to offer. Nirguna Yoga will also bring great practitioners to Albuquerque from far and wide to share their expertise with our local community of practitioners.  Over years of practice and study all over the world we've made a lot of great connections in the greater yoga community. We have a lot of extraordinary friends that we can't wait to invite to the studio to give trainings and workshops and get to know all the extraordinary friends we've made here in New Mexico! 

The founders of Nirguna Yoga

Ben Kramer and Kendra Rickert are teachers of yoga, meditation, and eastern philosophy, drawing on knowledge from their extensive study at the feet of many great teachers. They have taught and studied together all over the world and in 2014 completed a three year silent retreat together. Since then they've moved back to Kendra's home town of Albuquerque, New Mexico where they're working to cultivate and share in a community of yoga practitioners informed by ancient and authentic principles of spiritual technique.

There's no need to reinvent the wheel nor is creativity opposed to the tradition of yoga.  When we honor and learn from the masters of the past we stand on the shoulders of giants, beginning our creative process with an advantage over those who must start from scratch. It has long been our dream to create a space where the lineage of yoga may continue to grow and express itself through the next generation of yoga practitioners.  Nirguna Yoga will be a place dedicated to rigour, authenticity, and community.

स तु दीर्घकाल नैरन्तर्य सत्कारादरासेवितो दृढभूमिः ॥१४॥

Successful practice takes time, consistency, and authenticity.

- Master Patañjali c. 200 CE

Talk is cheap!  There's only one way to prove the benefits of yoga and that's leaning on time-tested methods and consistency to create change in the practitioner. We know how to do that, but we can't do it alone!

We didn't spend our lives collecting fame, money, or influence.  We've spent our lives learning to practice and learning how to share that practice with others. Now we need your help to be able to realize the dream of a place founded on pure lineage and pure practice dedicated to spreading the transformation that yoga offers.

Why 200k?

Here's the deal: Starting a high quality hot yoga studio is expensive.  We don't really expect you to cough up 200k for us (but please do, by all means!).  We're prepared to take responsibility for a loan to start Nirguna Yoga but the more initial capital we have, the better a chance we have at qualifying for a loan for the rest of the project.  The bankers we've been working with would like to see us get into the 20% range to show that we're ready to accept and take responsibility for this loan.  That's about $40,000.  So in a sense 40k is the "real number" we think we need to raise.  Obviously we'd be very happy to start with more than that and not need as big of a loan, but our real hope here is to get as close to that 40k as we can.  We'll probably need to continue to work and save towards that amount on our own after this campaign and we have lots of exciting programs in the works to further that very goal!

Here's where the full 200,000 goes:

We want to get involved with everyone who wants to be involved!

Here are some of the perks we're excited to offer Nirguna Yoga donors:

• Stickers, Tote bags, T-shirts, Tank Tops, and Hoodies
• Ayurvedic Consultation
• Private Classes in Yoga, Meditation, Sanskrit, Tibetan, Ancient Scripture, and Philosophy
• Admission to Nirguna Yoga's first 200 Hour Teacher Training and/or Meditation Retreat
• Membership Packages to Nirguna Yoga for use as soon as we open
• An exciting assortment of perks offered by friends of Nirguna Yoga (like Prismatic Coffee!)

What if you don't have a bunch of money to give?

There are certainly ways you can help other than writing us a check now for $200,000!

Even small donations raise the visibility of our campaign.  Give what you can (anything at all really) and that has an effect on the visibility of our campaign.  Indiegogo (this crowdfunding website you're on now) uses an algorithm that promotes campaigns that are highly active.  Give a little right now.

Share, share share.  If you're excited about our project and you want to see it funded, share it on your social media (your Facebooks, Instagrams, Twitters and the like)  so that more people can see it.  Who knows? You might just be the person who shares it to the person who writes that $200,000 check!

Have friends with too much money? Tell them about our project, tell them how much you want Nirguna Yoga to become a reality in Albuquerque.

Everything you do makes a difference!