Monthly Archives: December 2009

Featured Teacher – Caitlin Van Hecke

  By admin | December 1, 2009 - 5:17 pm | Caitlin Van Hecke
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What inspires you to teach yoga? I was terrified to teach until just recently, when I realized that all anybody really wants is to feel good after a yoga class. How cool is that? To be able to provide that is something pretty special. And to know that yoga can be accessed by every body is inspiring and motivating as well. My 62-year old father just came to his very first yoga class and grunted and grimaced his way through, but by the end of class was breathing and had surrendered to the relaxation. And he even says he’s coming back!

What is your current favorite pose? Headstand, urdhva dhanurasana, pincha mayurasana. Anything upside down makes me giddy.

What is your teaching history? After graduating from the teacher training in the summer of ’08 I taught on my own for a while, including kids yoga (which is a whole different animal!). I’ve been teaching at AYC since this summer.

What is a favorite inspirational quote? The sun never says to the earth, ‘You owe me.’ Look what happens with a love like that. It lights the whole sky. ~ Haviz

Where and when do you teach? Asheville Yoga Center, Monday mornings: 8:15-9:15am Flow Level 1, 9:30-10:30am Community Flow 1&2. Beginning in January the 2 classes will be blended into one community class from 8:30-10am.

The quick list

Birthdate: 1.5.1980

Residence: West Asheville

Family: Younger brother who lives in Greensboro, parents and crazy cat who lives in Tryon, NC.

How long have you been practicing Yoga?: Dabbled in it for the past 15 years, but seriously for 3.

Most Challenging Pose: Side-Angle Pose (those darn hips!)

Three words that best describe you: Kind, Stubborn, Enthralled

What’s in your cd player?: Matt Nathanson on Pandora, and pop country (I know…)

What are you reading now?: Studying for the GRE, so have been inundated with vocabulary words. Who knew there were so many words in the English language?!

Favorite Scent: Christmas trees

Toothpaste: Colgate Whitening (can’t handle that natural stuff :)

Soap: Kiss My Face

Favorite Meal: Biscuits and Gravy (the real kind)

Last movie you watched: Where the Wild Things Are (no idea how it got away with a PG rating, but was totally affected by it. Thought it was amazing.)

What is your favorite word? Lovely

What is your least favorite word? Mush

What turns you off creatively, spiritually or emotionally? lack of integrity

What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? Shakespeare and poetry

Caitlin Van Hecke discovered her need for yoga while living amongst the creative chaos of NYC, where she resided for close to 3 years. She fell in love with the discipline it brought to her life, as well as the freedom that opened up within. She continued to deepen her practice after her move to Asheville, and obtained her certification at the 230 hr through Asheville Yoga Center, as well as in Kids and Pre-natal yoga. She continues to be grateful and amazed of yoga’s power to create grace and ease- the physical aspect being just the beginning. Her fascination with the connection between what happens on the mat versus off, is what propels her to share yoga with others. The biggest AHA moment in her life as a yogi was being in class one day (years after the start of her practice), and finally understanding the importance of the breath. It was as if nothing had fully existed until that moment. She takes great care to breathe deeply on a regular basis now.

For a complete list of teachers and classes at The Asheville Yoga Center click here.

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Scorpion Pose

  By admin | December 1, 2009 - 3:47 am | Backbends, Inversions, Poses
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Vrschikasana

Vrschikasana or Scorpion Pose, is a pose that is ultimately about trust and strength. To begin, make sure to warm up with 5-10 sets of sun salutations. When your muscles are nice and warm, get on your hands and knees and begin by placing your forearms on the floor. Leaving your elbows on the floor, measure the distance between your elbows by grabbing your upper arms. If you can’t grab your upper arms comfortably, then your elbows are too far apart. Place your forearms back down on the floor parallel to each other, palms flat and hands pressing down in the floor. If you are just starting out with this pose, stay here for a few breaths and really feel your arms ground into the floor.

Next, you come into Dolphin pose by lifting the bottom half of your body up into Downward Dog. If you are just beginning your inversion practice, it’s very helpful to do this next part in front of a wall (your fingers will face toward the wall). Press down firmly with your forearms and hands. It helps to think of your hands as “brakes” – adjusting the tension in your hands as you learn to balance can help you find that “sweet spot” so you can stay upside down with grace and fluidity.

When you feel strong and stable, lift one leg into the air. Take a few hops and try to get vertical (this is where the wall is really helpful). Think about strongly pulling your belly back towards your spine, and extending solid energy out through your legs -they don’t just hang up there, they are pulling you up! To move into the Scorpion, ease your chest open towards the front of your mat. This is the key to the balance – as you let your legs come towards the top of your head, you actually open your heart and chest more towards the space in front of you. Another great tip is to pull your shoulder blades down your back – this engages the back muscles and opens the chest at the same time.

If you don’t get it right away, be patient. Remember, this pose takes a lot of trust and strength, so work toward it a little bit at a time! When you first achieve the mechanics of the pose, stay for about 3-5 breaths. Then challenge yourself by doing repeats or holding for up to 10-15 breaths. For a counter pose, take your pick of Child’s Pose, Fish or any easy twist to relieve any tightness or discomfort created by the compression in the low back.

Have fun!

The author, Anna Ferguson, is a yoga teacher, artist, photographer and writer. She teaches weekly classes at Asheville Yoga Center and other studios in Asheville, NC. Find out more about her at ushasyoga.com.

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