Make Every Breath Count

Sunday November 11th, 2012

2-3 pm

$40/person

at Sola Salt Cave

with Kimberly Drye

Please join me for a relaxing and restoring yoga practice at the Sola Salt Cave.  Practice will include some basic asana to open the chest for breathing more calmly and completely, pranayama (breathwork), and guided meditation.  

Get the most out of your salt cave experience with simple exercises to enhance your breath. 

Breathing the salt air is said to, " foster good sleep, alleviate symptoms of allergies and asthma, relieve hypertension and stress and even cure hangovers."  Learn more about the benefits of salt therapy at Sola's website.

Make every breath count.

Please call 828-236-5999 to reserve your spot.  Space is limited.

Moooogfest!

Take a break from Moogin-out this weekend with me at any of these times:

 

7-8 pm tonight (Friday 10/26) Yoga for Awesomeness at Asheville Yoga Center (youryoga.com)

1-2:15 tomorrow afternoon (Saturday 10/27) Bhakti Vinyasa at Asheville Yoga Center

10-11:30 am Sunday (10/28) Dynamic Flow at Lighten Up Yoga (lightenupyoga.com)

4:15-5:45 pm Sunday (10/28) Mindful Alignment at Asheville Yoga Donation Studio (ashevilledonationyoga.com)

*All classes are withing walking distance of the festival.

A Spooky Ending (To My Monday Class)

After next Monday, October 29th, I will no longer be teaching my Monday night 7:15-8:45 pm class at Lighten Up Yoga.  So come enjoy that last evening with me there-- costumes are highly encouraged.  Wait until you see what I have planned to wear!  Make sure your costume is comfortable enough to move around in.

The class will be taken over in November by Mira Shani of Pranahata Yoga. 

I will be adding another weekly class at the Asheville Yoga Donation Studio. I am taking over Richard Fabio's Tuesday 5:45-7:15 Slow Power Flow 1&2 class indefinitely as he is hopping on tour with John Friend. I am grateful to Rich for the opportunity to teach his class in his absence and can't wait until he gets back so he can share all he's learned.  

The Wednesday 4-5:20 class at Lighten Up Yoga is now called "Energize and Restore" and consists of a perfect balance between invigorating standing poses/sun salutes and restorative poses/relaxation.

The Sunday 10-11:30 class at Lighten Up Yoga is now a "Dynamic Flow" class: An active, invigorating practice beginning with sun salutes to warm the body and continuing into a mindful and themed sequence.  Each class will lead up to a "peak" pose and every sequence will include inversions, a brief discussion of philosophy, and a pranayama session. 

And last of all, the Sunday 4:15-5:45 class at Asheville Yoga Donation Studio is now called "Mindful Alignment", an all levels class that works to balance movement from pose to pose with longer holds on certain postures to emphasize the physical or mystical aspects of the asana. The purpose of this class is to bring the student to alert peacefulness.  Each sequence will begin with a short meditation/centering followed by a focused asana practice and a generous savasana.  

Continue to check the CLASSES tab at the top of the page in the future to check for schedule changes and updates.

My Workshop Wishlist

There are some amazing yoga masters coming to our area soon.   Here are the workshops I would like to attend in the next month:

Roger Cole at One Center Yoga, Asheville, NC Nov. 16-18th

I've been to one of Roger Cole's workshops at One Center before, and I highly recommend this extremely knowledgeable teacher.  Roger is a scientist who shows us that using science to explain and understand our yogic practices could never take away the mystery, that in fact the practice only becomes more mysterious as we delve into the practice.  Roger specializes in the science of sleep, circadian rhythms and relaxation.  I learned a great deal in his workshop about the physiology of inversions and another workshop on sacral stabilization.  

Check out the flyer for this years topics:

I would love to take the Friday classes especially, as I've recently begun to teach a restorative class and I would love to hear his input.

Judith Lasater at Moving Mantra Studio, Raleigh NC

Nov. 2-4

Judith has a doctorate in East-West philosophy and a physical therapist.  She's been teaching since 1971 and has studied with BKS Iyengar in the US and India.  I'm deeply interested in exploring a deeper practice at the organ and energetic level the description of her workshop suggests. I feel ready to explore this idea she mentions of "stabilizing and balancing from the inside"

Information about workshop from host studio's website:

Moving From the Organs

with Judith Hanson Lasater

November 2-4, 2012

12-5pm Friday & Saturday; 10-1 on Sunday

We often focus on practicing our poses from the spine, arms and legs. But the ancient teachings of yoga also dealt with the opening and quieting the organs of the body, like the heart, kidneys and liver that are found in the “kunda” or vessel holding these organs. As our practice matures, it becomes increasingly apparent that our real health comes from the health of our organs. When we practice backbends, for example, we open the front kidneys, and in forward bends we close the front kidneys. How do we balance this effect on the kidneys? Can we explore the effects of "moving from the organs" in other organs like the liver, uterus, prostate, and bladder?

During this 13 hour workshop we will focus on specific poses that create a healthy balance for the organs in the chest & abdomen, as well as explore the theories of why they work. All types of poses will be studied, including backbends, inversions, forward bends & twists. We will also spend some time on specific therapeutic applications that will be immediately applicable to ourselves & to our students. We will begin each day with a focus intention & then go directly to practicing active poses. In the second session of the day, we will focus on a quiet practice – Restorative yoga, meditation & pranayama. Throughout the workshop we will return our awareness to stabilizing & balancing from the inside, as well as focusing on how to teach others to do so. For experienced students & teachers.

Moving Mantra Yoga Studio 200-101 Sawmill Road Raleigh, NC 27615 919.449.0530 www.movingmantrayoga.com info@movingmantrayoga.com

Fall (in Love) at Max Patch

Here are some pictures from the recent Yoga on the Mountain, October 13, 2012 on Max Patch Mountain.  Thank you again to everyone who came out!  I love these events, so much.  They give me so much to look forward to.  There will be more outside yoga events announced soon.  Keep checking the blog for details ;)

Much love to you all.  

Ring around the Yogis

The View From Max Patch in October

Vasisthasana

Group Shot.

Lungin'

Jess and Jackson

Trees

Child and child poses

Pets

Natarajasana:  Dancers

Ommmmm

Jori and friends

Micah

Alysha

Heidi Vaught 

Hugs

Josh and Elisabeth

Me and Heidi <3 td="td">

Isn't This Grand?

These photos are from a couple months ago, when Alex Moody of lululemon athletica (Asheville) and I went to the Biltmore Estate to play barefoot on the big fancy lawn.  I borrowed a pair of purple fancy pants for the occasion.  I'm still hoping lulu can make a yoga class for all happen at the Biltmore. 

Word on the street is the lululemon showroom on Biltmore Ave. will soon turn into a store in Biltmore Village by December.  Maybe that's all the Biltmore they can handle for now.

Thanks to Evan Whitney of eWhitney Photography.

Check out Alex's AWESOME blog also.

High Five

Lean to and fro

Can I get a leg up?

doubletree

side angle

tree

A tree's face

upsydownsies

suuuuuch a beautiful picture of my beautiful friend, Alex

Cosmic Connection

I have the pleasure of subbing for 

Richard Fabio at Lighten Up Yoga

 tonight, Friday 5-6:30. 

 The theme of the class is

"Cosmic Connection"

"Yatha Pindae , Thatha Brahmandae"

  "As is the Micro-cosm (humanbody) so is the Macro-cosm (Universe)"

Autumn's Yoga on the Mountain: OCTOBER 13th

Saturday October 13th 4-5:30 pm

Yoga at Max Patch

Facebook event page: here now.

90 minute outside yoga class on top of Max Patch at 4:00 pm, October 13  So nice we'll now have been twice! Max Patch was such a sweet spot for Yoga on the Mountain this past spring that we've decided to go back and enjoy it again: fall-style. Expect color, lots of color! Come practice yoga and enjoy the views with Kim Drye of Asheville Yoga Center, Lighten Up Yoga, and www.herenowyoga.com on top of Max Patch Mountain.  DETAILS: We'll meet at the top at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 13. Bring your yog a mat, a towel or sheet for under your mat, water, and a snack or lunch to enjoy after class. Dress in layers - it's always a little cooler at Max Patch than in Asheville, and fall is one unpredictable lady. SOAK IT UP: We suggest making a reservation for a mineral soak at Hot Springs spa (http://www.nchotsprings.com/) for after the hike. DOGS: On previous hikes we've enjoyed bringing along our furry pals, so feel free to do so this time as well. Just bring along a leash with you - during class Kim's handy-dandy sidekick, Kevin, will watch the dogs so that all yoga mats remain undisturbed. =) ~Cost is a suggested $20 donation~ DIRECTIONS: from Asheville: Take I-40 West to exit 7 (Harmon's Den). Take a right on Cold Springs Road, and the road almost immediately becomes gravel. This usually well-graded road climbs steadily but never steeply 6.2 miles to SR-1182 (Max Patch Rd). Turn left and drive 1.5 miles to the Max Patch parking area on the right.  ***Allow an hour to drive and additional time to hike to the top - from the parking lot it's about a one mile hike***

The Petal of the Rose it Was That Stung

To Earthward, by Robert Frost

Love at the lips was touch
As sweet as I could bear;
And once that seemed too much;
I lived on air

That crossed me from sweet things,
The flow of--was it musk
From hidden grapevine springs
Downhill at dusk?

I had the swirl and ache
From sprays of honeysuckle
That when they're gathered shake
Dew on the knuckle.

I craved strong sweets, but those
Seemed strong when I was young;
The petal of the rose
It was that stung.

Now no joy but lacks salt,
That is not dashed with pain
And weariness and fault;
I crave the stain

Of tears, the aftermark
Of almost too much love,
The sweet of bitter bark
And burning clove.

When stiff and sore and scarred
I take away my hand
From leaning on it hard
In grass and sand,

The hurt is not enough:
I long for weight and strength
To feel the earth as rough
To all my length. 

Or So I Feel

A Poet's Advice, by EE Cummings

A poet is somebody who feels, and who expresses his feeling through words.

This may sound easy. It isn't.

A lot of people think or believe or know they feel - but that's thinking or believing or knowing; not feeling. And poetry is feeling - not knowing or believing or thinking.

Almost anybody can learn to think or believe or know, but not a single human being can be taught to feel. Why? Because whenever you think or you believe or you know, you're a lot of other people: but the moment you feel, you're nobody-but-yourself.

To be nobody-but-yourself - in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else - means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.

As for expressing nobody-but-yourself in words, that means working just a little harder than anybody who isn't a poet can possibly imagine. Why?

Because nothing is quite as easy as using words like somebody else. We all of us do exactly this nearly all of the time - and whenever we do it, we are not poets.

If, at the end of your first ten or fifteen years of fighting and working andfeeling, you find you've written one line of one poem, you'll be very lucky indeed.

And so my advice to all young people who wish to become poets is: do something easy, like learning how to blow up the world - unless you're not only willing, but glad, to feel and work and fight till you die.

Does this sound dismal? It isn't.

It's the most wonderful life on earth.

Or so I feel.

Sweet Release

"I exist as I am, that is enough, 

If no other in the world be aware I sit content, 

And if each and all be aware I sit content. 

One world is aware and by far the largest to me, and that is myself, 

And whether I come to my own to-day or in ten thousand or ten 

million years, 

I can cheerfully take it now, or with equal cheerfulness I can wait. 

My foothold is tenon'd and mortis'd in granite, 

I laugh at what you call dissolution, 

And I know the amplitude of time."
-Whitman

   These days are such sweet release. The first day of fall arrived,  the air and my emotions became clear as the blue autumn sky.  
   Summer was stifling this year.  I held my breath.  The pressure and the heat so consistent, I only felt the release-- a sharp inhale of pumpkin spice and contentment.  Breath and breadth.
   Suddenly, I love my apartment, my dog, and my boyfriend fresh and new.  My world satisfying and whole like a fresh-picked apple.

photo by Jenn Pappa

photo by Emily Bongarzone

    I love each autumn day...waking up in my bed with a thousand pillows, the warm coffee in my cup every morning, the chill in the downtown air as I walk Mercy (she's looking for the perfect spot, I'm looking for the brightest leaf),  the talks with so many old friends I cherish, the studying, the emphasis I've placed on cooking at home these days, the local, fresh, wide variety of foods, the love of a beautiful man that never, ever falters even though I do (see section about summer above).    

photo by Kevin Rumley

    I wish I could hold on to this sweet release.  I know that with winter I will be different again, and spring and summer...but how I love my autumn self.