Mandala Yoga Center

Mandala Yoga Center came from a place of love, union, partnership, and a yin and yang relationship between sisters.

Roberta Rachkovsky began her journey as a fitness instructor during freshman year in college and continued to build her knowledge in personal training, rehabilitation exercise programs, high interval workouts and other forms of resistance training.

She completed her first 200-hour yoga teacher training in Colorado where she studied Sivananda Hatha and Vinyasa Flow. Both styles had their own distinct form of penetrating and affecting the physical and energetic systems of the body. After two years she completed her 300-hour teacher training in India, where she studied the full primary series of Ashtanga Vinyasa. The course included pranayama (breathing-meditative practices), kryias (cleansing of the body), the effects of yoga on the digestive, respiratory and circulatory systems, and interpreting ancient yogic texts.
"Yoga made me realize that the body is a manifestation of the mind. Thoughts deposit physically and energetically in the body, and when overloaded imbalances occur. A daily practice builds awareness of the way we think and how to better control our actions and reactions. A clear mind makes better decisions and creates the most positive outcome for ourselves and towards others.”

Larissa Rachkovsky has used yoga as a tool for maintaining physical health, but also for dealing with stress and pressures in a busy schedule. Where Roberta took the humanities, health and fitness route, Larissa has concentrated in business administration and economics.

“Having yoga in my life wasn’t about me becoming a yogi or making drastic changes. It was about making who I am and the lifestyle I have better. Understanding myself and how to control the gazillion thoughts in my head has given me more control on how to not let the outside affect how I feel and how I react. That is how yoga changed my life and why I wanted to be part of this dream of opening a studio alongside my sister .”