In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna teaches Prince Arjuna that life is about duties and choices both difficult and easy. While we are offered thousands of paths that may lead us to gold and diamonds, there are just as many that will lead us to empty dust. Each fork in our life journey offers a left or right, a north or south, and sometimes an up or down, but no matter the number of options we are offered, it is ultimately the ones we choose that make us who we are. We are all given the power of choice, we are also given the power to set ourselves free from daily troubles and petty plights. As city dwellers who are regularly faced with such challenges, we all know how much impact such a simple approach can have. This is the philosophy so proudly taught by Anthony Benenati of West Hollywood's City Yoga. 

With competitive weightlifting and six years of U.S. military service under his belt, Anthony confesses that yoga was not something he immediately embraced. It was the positive affirmation, both physical and mental, that made Anthony evolve as a person and gradually choose a life as a yogi. After opening yoga programs at a local Crunch fitness center and realizing there was more awaiting him, Anthony opened City Yoga, Los Angeles's first Anusara studio, in 1999.

Nestled on the bustling corner of Fairfax and Santa Monica, City Yoga is really the definition of yoga as it has evolved for the 21st century yogi. Students are mostly young urbanites who use the practice as a means of tranquil recreation, and with its location near a multitude of businesses, City Yoga is a convenient way to escape life as a nine-to-five working professional, even if it's only for an hour-and-a-half at a time.

But City Yoga is not all about "getting away from it all." Rather, it's about learning to be a yogi in the city. It is easy to practice at a tropical retreat, Anthony says, where the air is breezy and the atmosphere exudes serenity, but as Angelenos, we've all (mostly) accepted the activity of the city, and unfortunately, how unlike any retreat it actually is. 

So as one sits on the mat and looks out through the large arched windows into the energy that is West Hollywood, one learns to find peace in the neighborhood that he or she has chosen to call home.

City Yoga specializes in Anusara, which for nearly seven years now has worked in great harmony for Anthony and his students. While many other studios touch on several different yoga practices, his is one of the few studios that completely dedicates itself to one style, making it one of the most highly regarded Anusara studios in California and even the nation. 

It may be City Yoga's commitment to Anusara that makes it all the more extraordinary. As a community and support-group practice, the studio also becomes a great neighborhood center, bringing together people from all different backgrounds. Kula, a Sanskrit word meaning community of the heart, is the perfect term to describe students as they come together and enjoy the company of fellow yogis who, just like them, have discovered themselves through Anusara yoga. No longer classmates and more than just friends, students build a family of choice from their common love of Hindu philosophy.

After making the choice to practice at City Yoga, where does one go from there? Each decision we make opens several more avenues, but which will lead us to the right spiritual place? Anthony Benenati does not claim to know the best path, but as a successful father, businessman, yogi, and friend, it looks like he's made some pretty good choices for himself.

Check out this City Yoga West Hollywood Video.

More Photos of City Yoga West Hollywood, California.

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