For This Orthodox Couple In Israel, 'Yoga Is An International Language' That Unites All

Not Your Average Yogis: Orthodox Jews Teaching Yoga To Their Community

Envision a yoga teacher. Do long legs and tight spandex leggings conjure any thoughts? What about long beards and headdresses? For one yoga studio in Israel, this is what you can expect to see from the instructors.

In 2004, Avraham and Rachel Kolberg opened Ramat Bet Shemesh Iyengar Yoga Studio in the couple's Jewish orthodox community 20 miles outside of Jerusalem.

The studio teaches Iyengar yoga, and while the couple says it has received some backlash, they told HuffPost Live they are trying to focus on the difference they are making.

"Of course there will be backlash because everything that will be new and ... strange to the religion will always have backlash," Avraham Kolberg told HuffPostLive host Ahmed-Shihab Eldin. He added: "It’s not too severe, and I do look at the positive things. People are coming here and feeling better and getting healthier and being happier. We concentrate on that."

Kolberg also said that the beauty of their studio is its diversity.

"You can see Hasidic people … standing along with the light kind of Jews who take the religion more lightly. They’re sitting together in the same room and doing asanas together and helping each other out," Kolberg said. "Yoga is like an international language that anyone can come together through it."

Watch the full HuffPostLive interview in the segment above.

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