Rocket Yoga

Rocket Yoga is the renegade cousin of traditional Ashtanga. Created by Larry Schultz in the 1980s for the Grateful Dead's tour crew, Rocket Yoga takes the structure of Ashtanga's Primary and Intermediate Series and infuses it with energy, accessibility, and joy.

Where Ashtanga can be strict and hierarchical, Rocket Yoga says: "You are the authority on your practice."

This high-energy flow makes challenging postures—like arm balances and inversions—accessible to everyone by allowing modifications, playfulness, and a healthy dose of rebellion.

Rocket Yoga was created by Larry Schultz, a devoted student of Pattabhi Jois, who sought to make Ashtanga more accessible and exciting. Schultz took the traditional sequences and:

• Added modifications to make them safer and more inclusive
• Reordered postures to increase strength and flexibility
• Encouraged personal expression and experimentation

The name "Rocket" comes from Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, who said: "It gets you there faster."

This playful naming reflects the practice's ability to accelerate progress while maintaining a sense of fun and freedom—qualities that resonated deeply with the counterculture movement of the time.

Style

Rocket Yoga is:

• Structured yet playful
• Strength-focused and inversion-heavy
• Rooted in Ashtanga discipline, but flexible in spirit
• An invitation to try things, fall, and fly

Structure

Rocket Yoga has three main sequences, drawing from the Ashtanga Primary and Intermediate series:

• Rocket I: Targets lower body and core (based on Primary Series)
• Rocket II: Targets upper body and backbends (based on Intermediate Series)
• Rocket III: A mix of both (sometimes called "Happy Hour Rocket")

Each class typically includes:

• Opening sun salutations (A & B)
• Standing postures
• Seated forward folds and twists
• Arm balances and inversions (crow, handstand, forearm stand)
• Backbends
• Finishing sequence + Savasana

In true Rocket fashion, modifications and improvisation are welcomed throughout.

Breath

As with Ashtanga, Ujjayi breath is essential. It supports:

• Internal rhythm and focus
• Energy flow (prana)
• Endurance and stability

Breath becomes the metronome of movement, guiding the body's dance with grace and control.

Flow

Flow is:

• Fast, hot, and freeing
• Encourages persistence over perfection
• Prioritizes continuous movement, transitions, and play
• Invites students to pause, skip, or modify without guilt

Unlike rigid styles, Rocket is a choose-your-own-adventure with fire.

Pace

Rocket Yoga is known for its energetic, brisk pace:

• Postures are often held briefly before flowing to the next
• The tempo builds internal heat quickly
• Classes move through sequences with vitality and drive

Focus

The focus is on:

• Building strength and flexibility simultaneously
• Arm balances, inversions, and transitions
• Letting go of ego and embracing effort and play
• Encouraging courage, experimentation, and joy

Teacher Role

Rocket teachers are empowering, motivating, and real. They offer guidance but invite autonomy and exploration. They normalize "falling out" and "trying again," creating a non-dogmatic space where challenge meets laughter.

Vibe and Community

The vibe in Rocket Yoga is playful and rebellious, fierce and supportive, inclusive of all levels, and often set to upbeat music that matches the energy.

The community is usually adventurous and lighthearted, full of people who love to move, fly, and fall with grace, connected through a shared love of personal growth and freedom.

Rocket Yoga offers comprehensive benefits across all dimensions of well-being:

Rocket Yoga is ideal for:

Rocket Yoga is where tradition meets freedom, and discipline meets joyful defiance. It's a bold, breath-fueled playground that invites you to flip your perspective, challenge your limits, and fly—not because it's easy, but because you're capable.

Here, falling is progress. Effort is devotion. And the sky is never the limit.