Arkansas Yoga and Therapy Center – Fayetteville, Arkansas

About Us

The Arkansas Yoga and Therapy Center has been locally owned and operated by its founder Andrea  Fournet since 1998. AYC’s team of caring, compassionate instructors guide our participants in maintaining movements and mental awareness that matter most. You will be nurtured and coached through our Safe, Accessible, Sustainable, Adaptable = S.A.S.A practices for the ultimate holistic experience.

We are proud to be offering you the widest range of classes in Northwest Arkansas, where you will have an authentic, safe experience. We’ll learn your name, we’ll understand why you’re here, and we’ll go the extra mile to make your experience the best. We offer Yoga from beginner to advanced levels, Therapeutic Yoga, Tai Chi, Mindful Meditation, Breath-work (Pranayama), and more, in our beautiful eco-friendly facility, built with YOU in mind. We’ve been named the Best Yoga Studio in Northwest Arkansas by the readers of CitiScapes Metro magazine 15 years in a row. Vogue Magazine identified AYC as a Top 5 yoga studio nationwide.

Andrea Fournet moved to Northwest Arkansas from Hawaii in 1993.  Her training the U of A men’s basketball team in yoga, and then them winning the NCAA championship, put yoga on the map in Northwest Arkansas. Andrea had previously cured herself of a windsurfing back injury through yoga, acupuncture, chiropractic, and massage, without using drugs or surgery. Andrea was diagnosed with breast cancer in March of 2020 just as COVID was ramping up worldwide. Her yoga and meditation practice, along with the yoga and wider community were invaluable companions in her healing process.

Andrea’s co-authored book VariYoga has sold thousands of copies.  VariYoga is a safe, accessible, sustainable, adaptable yoga practice, developed to help bring authentic yoga and its multiple benefits to as many people as possible.

The Arkansas Yoga and Therapy Center is a registered Yoga Alliance School. Owner Andrea Fournet is also certified by the International Association of Yoga Therapists. We have the largest teacher training program in the state, registered with the Yoga Alliance since 2001. We offer expert training in an appealing environment.

Our mission is:

To provide a place to begin and maintain a life of balance, well-being and vitality.
To provide a haven in which people can come to relax, rejuvenate, and renew.
To build strength and flexibility and reduce the effects of stress and aging in people’s lives.
To provide a welcoming, open-hearted place for everyone to find an activity that works well for them.

Our Classes

1. Deep Stretch Level  VariYoga

A quiet session where a small number of poses are held comfortably for approximately 2 to 4 minutes each. As muscles relax, this practice nourishes connective tissues and joints, specifically in the spine, hips, and legs. Each pose is designed to facilitate a deep, inner stillness and full stretch, increasing our range of motion and helping to prevent sport injuries. Lots of props are used to enhance the deep stretch experience. A soothing compliment to your dynamic yoga practice. Suitable for beginning students and students who are pregnant.

2. Gentle Therapeutic VariYoga

Less vigorous class designed for those with muscle/joint pain, stiffness, weakness, or fatigue, or recovering from injury or surgery. Includes gentle stretches, breathing and simple movements. Modifications are taught to help more people practice VariYoga safely and sustainably. Suitable for beginning students and students who are pregnant.

3. Kundalini Yoga

A physical, mental and spiritual practice for developing strength, awareness, character, and consciousness. Kundalini yoga is called, by many, the yoga of awareness because it focuses primarily on practices that expand sensory awareness and intuition such as chanting and repetition of a pose for several minutes in order to raise individual consciousness. Considered an ADVANCED form (not for beginners) of yoga, its purpose is to cultivate the creative spiritual potential of a human.
If you are new to the practice of yoga the Arkansas Yoga and Therapy Center suggests you try our VariYoga classes first to learn modifications for your body before attempting Kundalini yoga.

4. VariYoga

This is an all-level class that is a bit more challenging than Level 1-2.  Variations/options are taught for those who are more advanced and for those recovering from injury or having physical limitations with safe, accessible sequences that help move your spine in the 6 natural directions. You can expect to improve joint and muscle flexibility, increase strength and endurance, normalize weight, improve posture, and decrease back pain.

5. Sound Healing, Yoga Nidra & Reiki

Move inward with a self-care practice, including gentle movement, then move into everyone's favorite pose - Savasana - for deep relaxation with crystal bowl sound healing. Yoga Nidra is said to relieve anxiety, stress, tension and support the student in deeper states of sleep and relaxation.

6. T’ai Chi

T’ai Chi Yang Style

T’ai Chi Ch’uan is a very ancient Chinese art of exercise for health, and mindful meditation through disciplined movement — known to be effective for both physical and spiritual health, and is the most famous Chinese martial art of the internal style. Internal styles place emphasis on breathing (Qigong) and the mental/spiritual component of their training. The execution of the martial art movements are generally softer, in contrast to external styles that tend to be hard or harsh (for example, Japanese Karate or Korean Tae Kwon Do). This will be a Yang-Style class, which is probably the most popular style worldwide, and is usually found to be graceful and quite beautiful. Suitable for beginning students and students who are pregnant.

7. T'ai Chi - Intermediate to Advanced

Second 16 movements or positions with emphasis will be placed on form movement, body placement, tendon and joint flexibility, and breathing. This is the next step to learning proficiency in movement toward meditative studies.

8. Yin Yoga

Yin Yoga is a system of passive floor poses held in stillness for 3 or more minutes to nourish connective tissues, fascia and joints, primarily areas surrounding the spine, hips, and legs. During this stillness, the physical, energetic, emotional and mental states of being are refined through heightened inner awareness. Yin yoga can reduce pain, encourage mobility, and harmonize the flow of energy within the meridian pathways. It is a soothing complement to our active practices. Suitable for beginning students and students who are pregnant.