Asheville Asana

The lovely Clay Tison came and recorded my 12:30 class yesterday and put it on her blog Asheville Asana. It's an all levels class with the theme of Tapas. Tapas is one of the Niyamas, the yogic self-practices that help us along the path. Tapas means discipline or fire. Unfortunately, my introductory talk at the beginning of class was lost, but hopefully you will be able to get the gist of the theme anyway.

Keep in mind that although this was an all levels class, trying to follow it with audio only would be extremely difficult for a beginner. However, if you have a good knowledge of yoga or were at this specific class and are therefore able to follow, feel free to use it as a home practice during the week. I haven't listened to it yet so I'm feeling pretty brave putting it out there for public consumption. Feedback would be appreciated, though please keep in mind that this is not a professional recording and the class was designed as an in-person experience, rather than audio only.

Clay's intention for the recordings is for people to be able to get a taste of what a specific teacher is like, rather than have people necessarily practice along with the recording. So if you find it useful and can practice with it, we want to know!

If people like it, we will probably record more both for asheville asana and possibly for here.

Dark Times

I think of January and February as the dark times. It feels like it's been winter forever, yet spring is not yet around the corner. The days are still short and everybody seems to be getting grumpy. When I find myself spending my day just surviving and wasting time until Spring, I know it is time to take some steps to start living in the here and now again.

So how do we wake ourselves back up to living life fully? We begin by remembering that we have an inner light that we can access at any time. So when the darkness begins to overtake us, we pause, soften, and connect to that light.

Then we enjoy the special treats that are especially blissful when it's cold out. Be fully present and appreciate the moment as you cuddle with loved ones. Savor every sip as you drink hot tea. Feel all the sensations of your body in a warm bath.

We can also take advantage of the fact that this time of year is ripe for introspection. Our hectic lives have slowed for a moment, so seize that moment and get to know yourself a little better. Start a journal. Go to a meditation group. Try a gentle yoga class or practice to explore your own subtleties. Read those inpiring books you've been meaning to get to.

Since the cold tends to dampen our inner fire, or tapas, there are several things we can do to keep our practice strong. Take a workshop to re-ignite your passion and excitement about your yoga practice. Do yoga regularly at home or commit to a series of classes to practice discipline. Include warming pranayama into your practice such as kapalabhati (breath of fire) and kumbhaka (breath retentions).

Remember that it is your inner light and your decision to let it shine that inspires others to do the same. The more you connect back to your own goodness, the easier it will be to access it during difficult times. Throughout the day, take time to pause and connect whenever you have a moment (or even if you think you don't). All it takes is one breath. Enjoy.

Trikonasana

I used to hate Triangle pose. Doesn't sound very yogic does it? Well, I'm only human, and lets face it, we all have poses that for one reason or another we just don't like. Usually it's because we perceive that we can't do them "right". I can hardly even remember why I hated Triangle. I just didn't understand it and I didn't think I was any good at at. Then I began to learn about the alignment of the pose, and the more I learned how to work my muscles into the pose, the more I enjoyed it. Suddenly I was "good" at it and I loved it!

I loved the way that rotating the thighs in the opposite direction gave me purpose. I loved how curling my tailbone under gave me the strength and power in the core to rotate my heart up towards the ceiling. And I loved how the support of my fingertips on the ground and my arms spread evenly gave me the balance to simply breathe and be present.

Now, I have come full circle and I struggle with Triangle again. Pushing too hard into my front leg hurts my knee so I have to be really careful to keep a microbend in the knee and engage the quadricept. So triangle reminds me to be mindful and love myself enough to protect my knee. Triangle reminds me to balance the power of my legs with the opening of my heart. Triangle reminds me that we never "master" a pose. That's why we call it a practice.

To practice Triangle:

Stand in Tadasana in the center of your sticky mat, facing the long edge. Jump your feet wide apart so that the wrists are approximately over the ankles. Turn your right foot out 90 degrees to the right to face the short edge of your mat, and your left toes in just a bit towards the right.

Pause and take a softening breath.

Make your legs strong, hugging muscle into bone on all sides. Extend your arms out to the sides and fold at the right hip crease, bringing your right fingertips to the outside of your right ankle. You can modify for tight hamstrings by bringing fingertips to a block or somewhere on the shin or ankle to enable you to keep the right side of your waist from crunching.

Bring your torso in line with your legs. There may be a tendency to try to widen the left hipbone away from the body in order to do this, which will actually compress your hips. Instead, reach the inner thighs back, allowing the left hipbone to stay in line with the left knee.

Now curl your tailbone into the space you just created. Focus especially on the right side of the tailbone curling under. This is called outer spiral, and you will feel it in the right thigh rotating outwards as well. If you feel pressure or pain in the right knee like I do, push down into your right foot and draw your knee up to your quadricept.

Now, from the power in your legs, turn your heart up towards the sky.

Breathe softly and deeply. Enjoy the moment.

What is yoga?

So what's this yoga stuff all about anyway? To put it simply, its about life. Connection. It's about living right here and right now, more connected to yourself, those around you, and the world.

The word yoga has the same root as the English word yoke, meaning to tie together, to unite. "Unite what?", a sensible person might ask. Some say the body to the mind and the soul. Others' say the individual to the universal. I say "Yes! Where do I sign on?".

But maybe you already knew that and thats why you're here. So let me go through the ritual and tell you a little bit about myself. My name is Mado and I live and teach yoga in Asheville, NC. To say that yoga is my passion would be putting it mildly. Yoga has transformed my life in many ways. I'll talk all about that ad infinitum in future posts, but for now let's just say that I am a nicer, braver, and happier person because of my practice.

I've been practicing yoga for about 10 years. From the first time I went to a class, it just felt right to me, but whoa, I had no idea just how right it was. The style of yoga that I currently practice and teach is called Anusara. Anusara means flowing with grace, and it all goes back to the connection thing. Connecting our individual lives with the universal good--we call it grace. Just to be clear about my credentials, I am an Anusara-Inspired teacher, certified by the Asheville Yoga Center and registered with the Yoga Alliance.

So that's the short version. I'll shut up for now, but come back soon for everything you ever wanted to know about yoga: poses, history, philosophy, breath work, meditation, and more.

love.
mado