I Got Your Back

My classes this week have been focused, by request, on relieving tension and pain in the low back.
Did you know 80% of America's workforce suffers from low back pain?  Come learn some yoga tricks to help out.
The following classes will continue this therapeutic theme:

Thursday 12pm-1pm  at The Yoga Circle Southside
Thursday 4-5:15 pm at The Yoga Circle Inverness
Friday 4pm at The Yoga Circle Southside
Sunday 4pm at The Yoga Circle Southside

Restorative Yoga + Hot Stones Workshop in October

Restorative Yoga + Hot Stones
with Kim Drye, HereNowYoga 
Saturday Oct. 11th, 2014 2-4pm
at Birmingham Yoga 

Melt away physical tension and energetic knots with deeply restorative yoga poses, aromatherapy, and soft music. Hot stones will be placed on you during poses to aid in the release of constrictions and provide a warm, relaxing sensation.

$25 early registration until Oct. 4th, $30 after.
Register HERE.
All levels welcome. 
Please wear comfortable, loose clothing. 
 

Back to Basics Workshop: Standing Poses

Back to Basics Workshop: Standing Poses

Saturday, August 9th 2015

4:00pm - 6:00pm

This workshop, the first of a series of “Back to Basics” classes with Asheville, NC native Kimberly Drye, will break down basic standing poses– exploring how each one relates to the alignment in Tadasana, Mountain Pose. Perfect for beginners or for vinyasa practitioners wanting to reinforce their understanding of technique and safety. This is a great opportunity to ask questions and develop your practice.

$25 at the door

$20 pre-registration

The Yoga Circle

1425 Richard Arrington Jr Blvd S, Birmingham, Alabama 35205

Get Directions

Light on the Other Side of the Tunnel

Some Sunday evening magic found in the Magic City: 

Sunset at Railroad Park, downtown Birmingham 

Hand-to-big-toe in the Magical Magic City Tunnel, downtown Birmingham

Triangle Pose in the Magical Magic City tunnel, downtown Birmingham

Twisted Side Angle in Railroad Park, downtown Birmingham

My Benny jumping in on the yoga action with Crow Pose, Railroad Park in Birmingham, AL

This is Where I Belong

This is Where I Belong

I love my new shirt by @holdfastprintworks. It reminds me that wherever I go in my day, that's where I belong.  This motto reminds me of my goal to be at home in all places by being truly present from one moment to the next.  It's an especially challenging goal after my recent move.  I have realized that when I long to be somewhere else, my energy becomes scattered. 

It took me a long time to convince myself that I belonged at the front of a yoga class, as a teacher. There have been so many doubts and questions about whether I practice enough, whether I am wise enough, etc.  

Now I know the trick to being a good teacher is simply to be present and stay focused on my students-- learn to look beyond my own self doubts.  When I manage this, I feel completely at home.  

Co-exist: Day 3 of #100daysofhappiness

Gluten Free cardamom donut from Urban Standard in downtown Birmingham, AL

I'm only on Day 3, and already I'm coming up against the feeling that this #100daysofhappiness challenge is a little false, a pretense. These days are tough right now, and I often feel like the sunlight is dimmer than it used to be and sad, grieving tears are an every day occurrence.  I miss home, it's hard to say goodbye to the life I lived so fully in Asheville.    Even as I look around and find a thousand reasons to be grateful, I can't shake the heavy blanket on my shoulders. 

I can still smile as I bite into the blueberry cardamom donut I found in a coffee shop and sigh with pleasure as I watch the play of light on green grass as I sit in a park.  Within me is the deep joy of finding a man who loves me resoundingly and the unconditional friendship of my sweet husky.  Yet it's there, the sadness.  Along with it-- the shame, the guilt. Why can't I be grateful for what I have?  Why isn't it ever enough? 

The fight against my oncoming depression is to stay busy.  I organize, I clean, I make dates with people I hope desperately will be my new friends. I take up running.

It started to take me over last weekend.  When one of my new friends announced she's moving.  She's going to design school in Atlanta.  I shrugged the seeping, oozing sense of fear I felt on hearing this news off.  It doesn't matter, I barely know her--I'll meet so many new people!  But the next day, another friend I have in Birmingham said she's moving to Texas for a great job opportunity. 

I'm thrilled for both of them, truly I am.  But suddenly, the small progress I made towards what matters most to me-- friendship-- is gone.   The loss of these new friends felt a thousand times magnified as the faces of all my friends that I could depend on, that I saw so regularly in Asheville came to mind.

Suddenly, I felt so alone.  

Then Ben went out of town.  He had to go for work and I chose to stay in our apartment and work on some tasks that I felt needed a long bout of concentration-- my website, my business cards, my blog, my resume, etc. All the very time consuming and focused tasks that come with moving your own business to a new town. 

Frustration.  Why should I start over?  Will teaching yoga ever really pay off?  Will my often very soft voice be heard among the loud funky fun playlists in hot classes and rumble of trains that make up this new town? 

These last few days I question everything. For the hundredth time since I taught my first yoga class, I wonder why I'm doing it.  I teach today, at 4.  No one showed up to my class on Tuesday.  I expect that, it's going to happen.  But I'd be lying if I said it doesn't affect me.  

Yet at the same time, I know I won't stop.  I know it way deep inside me, that the passion I have for teaching, for connecting with other people in this special way--is deeply important to me.  

So is this challenge a waste of time?  Does everyone who sees these pictures want to roll their eyes?  Do they see that behind these single moments in my day, I'm struggling to stay passionate?  

Last night, I crumpled to my knees against the cupboards in the kitchen, curled up with my head between my knees.  I wasn't thinking-- just feeling again the weight of change, the grief of letting go of one chapter of my life to start another.  I looked up and saw the brightly colored hand towels I bought the other day, I saw the herbs sitting prettily on the windowsill. I was happy--yet sad.

Finding beauty in our lives is useful-- it doesn't mean the pain and heartache, the suffering of everyday life disappears. It all co-exists.  

So maybe this challenge isn't a pretense?  Maybe I can find moments of happiness even as I struggle?  And don't you want to know I can?    

Clean crisp sheet spread on a shady spot in the park with a good book.

Practice at The Yoga Circle Inverness

I love practicing at the Yoga Circle Inverness, where I teach in Birmingham, AL. every Tuesday and Thursday from 4-5:15pm.

The class is called "HereNowYoga" and is perfect for those looking for a warm (not hot) practice focused on alignment technique and breaking down poses.  It's the kind of practice perfect for beginners or an excellent restorative type of practice to complement an existing Vinyasa/Ashtanga/Power practice. Below are some pics from my personal practice this afternoon in the beautiful space. 

Happiness Day 2: Snot Rocket

#100daysofhappiness Day 2: 

I'm happy to have made a new buddy...Trent from Alabama Triple A, aka Miracle Worker.  Before he started jumping car batteries, this guy used to jump out of airplanes for the Army.  Now he has two knee replacements at the ripe old age of 31 and is incredibly patient with my fussy old Toyota nicknamed "Snot Rocket".  It was nice to meet Trent, and nice to see Snot live on for further adventures in the Deep South.  

#100daysofhappiness

I've decided to join the #100daysofhappiness challenge on instagram. Being away from my home of over a decade is challenging...sometimes.  (I moved to Birmingham, AL from Asheville, NC last month-- see "Looking for Magic"). 

This challenge is an effort to seek out/acknowledge all of which I have to be grateful-- an effort to focus on the beauty that exists in my every day life.  

Day 1:  Morning light on crystals in my yoga room/office. 

I've always loved crystals for all the same reasons I love any other kind of symbolism.  To me, each one represents an intention of something I invite into my life.  So they're perfect for Day 1 as I invite in this new goal to direct my focus towards all that is *postitive* *shining* *joyful* around me in this new city. 

HereNowYoga in Birmingham

New class starting tomorrow (July 8, 2014) in Birmingham, AL at The Yoga Circle Inverness.

HereNowYoga is a class focused on the study of alignment principles within asana (poses), yogic philosophy, pranayama (breathing), and short meditations. The class begins with sun salutations to warm up, then a specially selected series of poses with a specific anatomical focus or a "peak" pose in mind. All levels welcome. The emphasis on instruction is useful for beginners and for seasoned practitioners wanting to create more mindful awareness.

LOOKING FOR MAGIC

It's official-- I'm moving to Birmingham, Alabama. It's been a hard decision and I've oscillated between total heartbreak about leaving Asheville, NC (which will always be home) and some major excitement at all the new opportunities in a new city. In case you didn't know, Birmingham is called the "Magic City" and I plan to find and take advantage of all the magic it has to offer.

I will be teaching a few special events before I leave town:

Better Backbends Workshop
One Center Yoga
April 26th, 1-3pm

My students often hear me jokingly say in my classes that "Backbends are like candy." It's true-- they can create the same childish, giddy feeling. For many, however, a backbending practice is intimidating and scary. If that's you, PLEASE come to my "Better Backbends" workshop at One Center Yoga and learn how to safely approach a backbending practice with helpful alignment techniques and proper sequencing. You too can experience the joyous, energetic rush that comes from expanding through the front of the body!

Yoga on the Mountain with Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy (SAHC)

May 18th, 2014 10am

Difficulty: Moderate (5-6)
Leaders: Kim Drye from Here Now Yoga and co-leader Michelle Pugliese, SAHC’s Land protection Director.
Cost: Free for SAHC members $10 for non-members
What to bring: Sturdy shoes, blanket, yoga mat, comfortable clothes, water, sunscreen and a pack to carry all personal items.

Join SAHC and Kim Drye for Yoga on the Mountain!

We will hike to the top of Blue Ridge Pastures, lay down yoga mats, and practice our sun salutations among many other poses. Once at the top of Blue Ridge Pastures we will see Bearwallow Mountain and Hickory Nut Gap Gorge, hikers and yogis alike will experience true beauty of the surrounding area and learn why conservation is so important in the Fairview Farming Community.

You don't need to have any prior yoga experience—but please bring sturdy shoes, blanket, yoga mat, comfortable clothes, water, sunscreen and a pack to carry all personal items.

Directions will be sent upon RSVP. Please contact Anna@Appalachian.org or 828-253-0095 ext. 205 if you are interested in attending.

HereNow is the facebook event page for the YOGA ON THE MOUNTAIN event.

In Response to the Article "6 Reasons to Stop Obsessing Over Alignment in Yoga Class"

Below, guest writer and fellow Asheville yoga teacher, Ryan Conrad, responds to the recent article on Yogananymous, "6 Reasons to Stop Obsessing Over Alignment in Yoga Class" .  Ryan maintains a sustained, daily practice of Iyengar-influenced alignment-based yoga, is a doctor of physical therapy, and teaches regular (very popular) classes at One Center Yoga Sundays 10-11:30 (All levels) and Tuesdays 4-5:30 (Intermediate Level II/III). He also is on staff for the teacher trainings at Asheville Yoga Center and assists in Lillah Schwartz's 500 hour teacher training as a mentor. Ryan has been a consistent friend and mentor in my own journey as a student and teacher.  I can't thank him enough for his insight, careful direction and expertise.

Drawing by R. Brook Priddy Conrad

It is possible to have a asana practice that is purely physical, where one sweats, stretches and strengthens the body. However, when one is truly practicing yogic asana within the constructs of ashtanga yoga, or the 8 limbed path to union, the asana can be used as a mindfulness practice that develops one’s awareness. This grants the yogi the ability to practice some of the subtle aspects of yoga such as dharana (concentration, focus) and dhyana (meditation). If a practitioner is fortunate and determined then this path will result in samadhi (profound meditation or union between the observer and the observed). 

Alignment principles can reduce the risk of injury, but certainly do not eliminate them. Injury can occur during asanas if one is not fully engaged in what is happening at the present moment. The key is practicing contentment and acceptance of where your practice is, and what your body is ready for in the present moment while continuing to delve deeper.

Asana is a wonderful place to begin our practice of self study. Asana initially deals with the physical sheath of the self, the annamaya kosha. However, if you set the correct intention and are keenly focused you can begin to observe the way in which the adjusting of the physical sheath requires the mental sheath (manomaya kosha) to participate, and how these adjustments affect the pranamaya kosha (energetic sheath). The adjustments that a practitioner makes are continually in the process of refinement, and become simultaneously more subtle and profound. This builds wisdom, and a greater understanding of our true self while using asana as the platform.

15 minutes is a rather short amount of time to spend of a posture as complex as Tadasana. As a yogi stays in the posture it is important to observe the physical, mental and energetic changes that occur over time. Does the body become heavy or revert to previous habits? Does the mind begin to rebel and categorize the work as “boring”?This yoga stuff is tough work and sometimes understanding how to work with that which is the most difficult can be the most rewarding and insightful in a lifetime of sustained practice.

The concept of everyone having unique anatomy is interesting. I do agree that each individual has had different life experiences and genetics that have created a unique physical and mental body. However, except for a small percentage of people with anatomical abnormalities, people have the same number of vertebrae with similar desired curves of the spine, and a similar shape to the bones of the arms, legs, ribs, pelvis and skull. As a yoga teacher it is important to observe a student’s current alignment to help guide them towards adjustments that will serve their individual needs to resolve pain, promote well-being and allow the mind to focus with less effort.

Yogic knowledge has always been intended to be transmitted from teacher to student. Yoga class can be an opportunity for students to practice with a teacher providing verbal cues, and yes sometimes these alignment cues can be many. However, yoga class deserves to be different than an individual’s yoga practice. When you are being guided by a quality teacher, they can verbally or manually direct the student towards a profound experience where the student gains insight into their blind spots and weaknesses on many levels. That information that the student receives must then be taken and transformed into knowledge and wisdom by practicing what has been taught and coming to their own conclusions through the fires of one’s own practice.

At any point in time in a practice a posture is correct and incorrect until the practitioner is able to practice in an uninterrupted state of samadhi. Then the practice becomes completely correct. Until that time there is always work to be done and a greater awareness of the self that can be gained. This, in my opinion, makes an alignment-based practice truly a practice of the curious seeker that is dedicated to building greater wisdom. 

Thanks WWC

I cherish every opportunity to drive out to Warren Wilson College, especially when it's an opportunity to teach.  On Saturday, Feb 15th, I taught a "Feel the Love" workshop on the campus focused on using a back bending practice to cultivate compassion for yourself and others.  It was such a treat and thank you to the participants for your courage and effort.  

Partner Yoga Pictures from 2.14 at One Center Yoga

Love + Yoga All Weekend Long

Check out all these loveydovey yoga opportunities coming up this weekend with HereNowYoga. There's currently only one spot left for the Salt Cave, so sign up for that today! Still space in the Partner Yoga class at One Center, email me if you're interested in the Warren Wilson workshop. Much love to everyone, 

Happy Valentine's!

Partner Yoga

Feel the Love Workshop

Warren Wilson College

Saturday Feb 15th 3:00-4:30pm

Lower Fellowship Hall

Learn to cultivate compassion in your yoga practice with meditation techniques and heart openers

Love Cave:

 Restorative Yoga & Breathwork 
in the Salt Cave 

February 16th, 2pm 
$30/person (SPECIAL LOVE WEEKEND PRICE)

 Come stretch the body and expand the breath with some gentle heart openers, taking in all the soothing benefits of the negative ions in Asheville's Therapeutic Salt Cave. The salt air calms the nervous system and reduces inflammation. Coupled with gentle yoga and an emphasis on pranayama (breathwork), you're in for a truly blissful experience.  Call 828.236.5999 to reserve a spot, space is limited.

10 Eagle Street, Asheville, NC 
www.ashevillesaltcave.com

What if our Practice was our life?

What if our religion was each other?

If our practice was our life?

If prayer, our words?

What if the Temple was the Earth?

If forests were our church?

If holy water—the rivers, lakes and oceans?

What if meditation was our relationships?

If the Teacher was life?

If wisdom was self-knowledge?

If love was the center of our being. 

~Ganga White

Thanks to local teacher Amanda Hale for a little morning inspiration today.  <3 <3 <3

Now the discipline of yoga begins.

From my new column at ExhaleAsheville.

Saturday Stillness.
by Kimberly Drye

A quiet Saturday morning. Shhhhh

It’s raining and Saturday. For the first time in a while, I wake up alone. This quiet house is mine. I’m finished with college. The holidays are over. My boyfriend is out of town. I light a candle and play Radiohead on Spotify. Lying in bed, I snuggle with my husky as the rain falls gently, steadily, outside my window. I pick up the book that’s been on my nightside table for months, waiting for the moment: this day. While not a book of particular grandeur, just a book I’ve been wanting to read in my free time, it is significant in this-- my alone time.

Sacred and cherished; however, after just a few short moments, the quiet in my house feels heavy. The list of things to do before I leave for vacation next week begins to tally. The silence of my cell phone suddenly makes me afraid that I’m not loved.

I check facebook. I check Instagram. I feel better for a moment. Then I realize, this is a problem-- my problem, and a societal problem.

I’m afraid to be alone, to sit still. Even now, after years of teaching and practicing yoga. Nothing about the feeling is rational. I’m afraid I won’t matter; that I don’t matter.

One person I know once quipped, “You have more friends than Mickey Mouse.” I love my friends. I think the relationships I have with other people are what offer the most richness to experiences in my life, yet I remember a remark by one of my teachers, Aadil Palkhivala: “Every relationship you have with another person can only be as deep and meaningful as the relationship you have with yourself.”

I neglect this relationship with myself, because the truth is that studying myself is scary. Getting to know myself is scary because along with what I hope I am is the fear of what I might not be. In these moments alone, caught inside away from the rain, I get to see who I am when set apart. There’s no one to pull me out of the shadows, no one but me. When I’m alone, I realize it’s up to me to make that choice, not anyone else. I need to reach out and grab the light with both hands. I have to choose to begin the discipline of yoga, I must chose to come into the now. And in the now-- there is no fear, there is no weight. There’s only the sun seeping in under the curtains as the rain begins to clear.

The first yoga sutra of Patanjali: “Now the discipline of yoga begins.” The inspiration for my classes last week, but also a reminder that I must choose to begin, and then make that choice over and over again.

In today’s world, we often think of discipline as trying to do as much as possible in as little time as possible. But, as my teacher (and owner of One Center in Asheville) Cindy Dollar says-- in yoga, this discipline “is about subtraction rather than addition”.

2014: I'm Ready.

2014 is here and there are lots of fun yoga events in the works for HereNowYoga.  Keep checking back for more information about these events as the details unfold.  (Or follow HereNowYoga on facebook!)

I haven't been writing much while I was in school at UNCA for the last few semesters, but with the new year comes a new resolution to jump back into writing on this site, herenowyoga.com and on a new website co-created with fellow Asheville yoga teacher, Kate Lundquist, called ExhaleAsheville.  I will have a regular column at Exhale, one of many voices from our community. Here's my first article for Kim's column:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

To the Four Believers

by Kimberly Drye

Several years ago, I taught one class a week on Monday nights with 3-4 attendees at Lighten Up Yoga. I was a brand new teacher, and this was my start. The same four people showed up week after week, and at the time, it was enough for me-- these 4 people believe in me, I should keep doing this. Teaching was my hobby until recently.

I decided to plunge.

I now teach twelve classes a week, maintain my own blog (herenowyoga.com), contribute to exhaleasheville.com, teach workshops and special events, and more. It felt like the right decision then and it still does.

I returned to UNCA six years after my original degree in Literature because I was afraid. Afraid that teaching yoga wasn’t a real career, that I wouldn’t be able to support myself, afraid I wouldn’t be any good at it. The plan was to finish all the science classes I needed to apply to graduate school for Physical Therapy. Yoga taught me that I love the human body and it’s intricacies, and I thought Physical Therapy would be a more validated way to explore this love. I thought to myself, ‘It’s time to get a real job.” After all, I was 29, and I knew I wanted a family. It was now or never.

Four semesters of science later, I look back at my motivation. Fear. Sure, fear can be a healthy motivator and I know my concerns about being financially secure and supporting a family were and are valid. But I’m left with the feeling that those semesters of science were a waste of time and money. I almost forgot for a moment in those sciences that it’s not just the exploration of the body that I love about yoga.

It’s all of it. It’s the emphasis on consciousness, philosophy, the connection with my students, the dissection of each moment. I do my personal practice to develop some understanding of this world and this life. A lot of what I love about yoga is what I loved about Literature-- a search for understanding, an exploration of ideas.

I’m letting go of choosing fear.

Some of you reading this will cringe, and there’s a part of me cringing now-my forehead crinkled up in concern. I’m choosing to believe in myself and teaching yoga as a career despite the odds. I know this won’t be easy. It hasn’t been yet and it won’t be as I continue.

I expect challenges. As Michael Johnson of Clearlight Yoga said in his class the other day, “Every resolution comes with obstacles.” I’m overcoming one obstacle at a time-- the biggest in the last few years being a lack of confidence in myself and a lack of understanding of my place in the world. I need to claim my place. So here I am, professional yoga teacher and blogger. Thanks to those who believed in me for the years I wasn’t ready to believe in myself. I’m ready now.