Is Everything Just Maya? [VIDEO]

By admin | July 25, 2011 - 12:19 pm | Wisdom

Summer Yoga Giveaway #6: Free Ayurvedic Consultation CLOSED

By admin | July 25, 2011 - 11:38 am | In and Of The Moment

We are back with our 6th and final Summer Yoga Giveaway. Thanks to everyone for participating and making this event so much fun. Be sure to stay in touch as we will be posting a lot of fabulous yoga content in the months to come including personal stories, history and philosophy of yoga and yoga anatomy posts (and more giveaways, too!). If you have anything you would like to see more of on our blog, please leave a comment below or send us an email with your suggestion.

By the way, this is a “community” blog which means you are welcome to submit a blog post of your own and share your yoga experience with the world. Blogs are a great way to create discussion and support for those issues close to our hearts. Click on the Write for this Blog link at the top of the page to learn more.

And now on to the giveaway (oooh, it’s a good one!).

UPDATE: A winner has been selected. Congrats to Betty S.!

John Joseph Immel of Joyful Belly is graciously offering one of our Asheville area readers a Free Ayurvedic Consultation valued at $80. Thanks, John!

Ayurveda is a 5,000 year old system of medicine from India, integrating both science with the art of healing. Ayurveda describes disease not only in western medical terms but as patterns of doshas, feelings, and tastes that everyone can understand and experience. Perspective helps us relate better to our body, self-monitor, respect the laws of Nature, and make supportive lifestyle and diet choices.

Making Ayurveda Easier

Joyful Belly creates yummy, healthy recipes using Ayurveda. They help you have an experience, understand the effects, and develop a good relationship with food. Joyful Belly can help you achieve a greater sense of well-being and clarity. With articles and seminars chock full of Ayurvedic wisdom, you’ll tune into your internal organs and answer fundamental questions like, How’s my liver today? or What can I do to help my kidneys? Healthy Joyful Belly eating will be a vital, zesty, refreshing and tasty doorway to a new you.

The Joyful Belly website is an invaluable resource for Ayurvedic tips, recipes and resources. On this website you can easily create a free account, enter your doshas or take the Dosha Quiz to create a personal Ayurvedic diet online, complete with a grocery shopping list.

About John Joseph Immel, founder of Joyful Belly

John Immel is the founder of leading Ayurvedic dieting website JoyfulBelly.com. He is also director of the Joyful Belly diet & digestion clinic in Asheville, NC. John promotes practical Ayurveda at diverse locations locally and nationally. His clinical focus is in digestive tract pathology. He studied Ayurveda under Dr. Vasant Lad and in India.

John started his career with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Harvard University. He first discovered Ayurveda while working on public health and service projects in South Asia & the Middle East. He studied the language and culture of Bangladesh over ten years and is fluent in Bengali. He is also a student of Sanskrit, Arabic, French, and Spanish.

The Giveaway – Win a Free Consultation with John Joseph Immel!

John offers phone and in-person consultations to build better health through perfect digestion. Consultations include a complete health and wellness assessment focused on the digestive tract followed by diet, lifestyle and herb recommendations. These one-on-one consultations are simply an open, honest, and easy conversation about diet, lifestyle, and medical history. At the end of the consultation you’ll receive insights about your body and basic constitution, a practical todo list for balanced wellness, recommendations for diet, herbs, and massage oils and a followup plan and list of resources for the future.

How to Enter

Mandatory Entry

All you have to do to enter is visit the Joyful Belly website and have a look around. Then, come back here to post a comment below sharing something that you learned.

After completing the mandatory entry, you can take the following actions and receive additional chances to win. Please leave a separate comment for each additional entry that you make. If any of these things are already true for you, it counts. Just leave a comment letting us know.

Additional Entries

“Like” Joyful Belly on Facebook
Follow Joyful Belly on Twitter
Create an account on JoyfulBelly.com (it’s free!)
“Like” Asheville Yoga Center on Facebook
Follow Asheville Yoga Center on Twitter
Subscribe to our free email newsletter.

Please note: this giveaway is for Asheville area residents only (apologies to our out-of-town friends). Deadline has been extended to Thursday 8/4/11 at 11:59EST. Winner will be randomly chosen and announced on Sunday 8/5/11.

Have fun, good luck and here’s to your summer yoga practice and a joyful belly!

The Asheville Yoga Center

Popularity: 7% [?]

Folding Your Yoga Blanket – How To with Cora Wen [VIDEO]

By admin | July 21, 2011 - 5:44 pm | In and Of The Moment

1 Comment

The yoga blanket is such an incredibly versatile yoga prop. Yoga teachers everywhere are inventing new ways to use them daily. But what about the basics? What is the best way to fold your yoga blanket and why? Here is a short video tutorial from Cora Wen’s pajama yoga series, “Blanket Folding 101,” or as Cora calls it, “The Tadasana of the Blanket.”

Thanks, Cora!

Recognize that cloud wall?

Cora is an absolute joy. She is humble and funny and incredibly knowledgeable. For more of why we love Cora Wen, watch these videos,Yogi Imperfect and Pajama Yoga Scorpion Pose Prep. Also, be sure to check out this interview with Cora on themagazineofyoga.com.

Restorative Yoga Teacher Training with Cora Wen at Asheville Yoga Center

“When the body is fully supported, in a soothing and trusting environment, it will eagerly let go, releasing tensions and toxins. Restorative Yoga is also know as the yoga of Not-Doing. Come slow down and soothe away any disease with a series of postures using blankets, pillows and other props to restore balance, harmony, and happiness. Leave the weekend feeling refreshed and ten years lighter!”

Over 14 hours, with each session containing asana practice led by Cora Wen, lecture and student teaching.

3 part breath, ujjayi, and viloma pranayama will be practiced.
physiology of stress and relaxation
anatomy, including injuries, scar tissue and artificial parts
how to sequence restorative postures
how to integrate postures with breathwork and guided imagery
appropriate touching and adjustments
all sessions include forward bending, backward bending, side bending (sequencing, breathing, props, adjusting)

Come Deepen Your Practice and Learn How to Truly RELAX!! You do not need to be a Yoga Teacher to participate. Or earn credit towards the Asheville Yoga Center 500 hr. YA Teacher Training Certification. More about Cora at corawen.com

Popularity: 9% [?]

Pranayama for the Earth

By admin | July 21, 2011 - 4:23 pm | In and Of The Moment

1 Comment

There is no denying that one of the most important components of our yoga practice is our breath. Not just our simple, sacred ability to breathe but as well, our ability to focus on the breath, work with the breath and to control the breath. There are times on our yoga mat when the breath is everything.

So much of life is about respiration and not only do we and other animals breathe, plants breathe, indeed our planet breathes. The forests of earth are literally the lungs of earth. Taking in CO2 and giving off oxygen, it is a simple and elegant equation that makes life on this blue-green jewel possible.

Last week we were given an unprecedented opportunity to give something back to earth. To do something that isn’t about immediate gratification of human wants and desires, that doesn’t consume, consume, consume but rather replenishes. That something is as fundamental as the ability to breathe. Ecuador has given us the opportunity to step up and do the right thing. Four years ago Ecuador proposed to the international community that a fifth of its oil reserves be left in the ground- that’s right- oil undeveloped, left in the ground, for the health of the planet. In exchange, the international community was asked to contribute half of the market value of this oil to the people of Ecuador. This is an incredibly generous offer from a country with 38.3% of its population in poverty, 13% on the brink of starvation and a child malnutrition rate of 45%. And unlike some countries that come to mind (remember that awful chant of “drill, baby, drill”), the people of Ecuador think this is a great plan and are proud to be part of it. What is significant about last week is that the international community has not really stepped up and rather than give up, the people of Ecuador are turning to you and I. Previously the Yasuni-ITT trust fund that is administered by the United Nations Development Program only accepted donations of $10,000 or more. As of last week, the fund will accept donations as small as a single dollar. The fund is named for the Yasuni National Park of Ecuador as well as the Ishpingo-Tiputini-Tamboccha oil fields (ITT) that lie beneath the Yasuni National Park. Now, with this change in the ability of the fund to accept donations of any size, we all have the opportunity to give and to give what we can. Honestly, I think that making a contribution to this fund and this effort is probably the single most significant thing an individual can do right now to take action against climate change. It would certainly be the easiest.

Your contribution would not only help the planet to avoid the emission of 407 tons of CO2, it would also help preserve biodiversity (a single hectare of Yasuni has more species of trees than the whole of North America and more species of ants on a single tree than the entire British Isles). Your contribution would help respect the rights of indigenous peoples and their way of life as well. Where else can you get so much for so little?

Donating is easy, all you have to do is go to http://mdtf.undp.org/yasuni and hit the green “donate now” button.

Then share your news with your friends and family. Share this blog with anyone and everyone you can. Because no one is talking about this and our governments are not stepping up. We have less than six months to raise $60 million for Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa to know that the people of the world support his efforts.

When I think about saving this rainforest, I think also about the earth breathing. I think about how, as yoga practitioners, we know that the breath is both ours and not ours, both gross and subtle, both earthly and heavenly. I think also of how my breath is linked to the breath of the trees, the health of the earth and I have no doubt that saying no to extracting the oil from the ITT oil fields and yes to preserving the Yasuni National Park is the most important thing I can do right now. Not just for me, but for all of us, so we can breathe.

Sierra Hollister is a green yogini living in the mountains outside of Asheville. She has been teaching Kundalini Yoga in Asheville for the past 16 years. You can catch her class, twice a week, atAsheville Yoga Center! Mondays at 10:15am and Thursdays at 7:00pm. For more from Sierra visit her personal blog Dragonfly & the Green Yogini.

Popularity: 7% [?]

The Simple Gift of Grace

By admin | July 13, 2011 - 12:56 pm | Wisdom

Anatomy of a Pose: Virabhadrasana II (Warrior II Pose)

By admin | July 12, 2011 - 1:10 pm | Poses, Standing Poses

1 Comment

This pose embodies the spirit of a warrior and conveys readiness, stability, and courage.

I place Warrior II after Trikonasana because it flows better biomechanically, according to the position of the pelvis. This creates continuity in the practice. In both Trikonasana and Warrior II, the pelvis faces relatively forward. In Warriors I and III, it turns toward the front leg. The sequence used in this book illustrates a logical biomechanical progression: for example, readiness (Warrior II), preparing to launch (Warrior I), and launching forward (Warrior III). Each of the warrior poses contains elements of simultaneous movement forward and backward, as well as ascent and descent. These potential movements impart a sense of anticipation of launching energetically forward. The focus of Warrior II is to strengthen the front leg while opening the front of the pelvis and the chest. There can be a tendency to allow the chest to collapse and shift forward. Counteract this by straightening the arms and expanding the chest, expressing the inner strength and confidence that is cultivated in the pose. Build your foundation by planting the back heel firmly on the floor and extending the back arm away from the body. These actions anchor the body against the forward momentum of the pose and bring stability to the posture. If the muscles of the thigh become fatigued, partially straighten the front knee for a moment or two, and then return to the full pose. Tilt the head back slightly and gaze forward.

Basic Joint Positions

• The back foot rotates inward 30 degrees and supinates.

• The back knee extends.

• The back hip extends and externally rotates.

• The front hip and knee flex to 90 degrees.

• Both shoulders abduct and externally rotate.

• The elbows extend.

• The forearms pronate.

• The cervical spine rotates to turn the head.

About Ray Long:

Ray Long, MD, FRCSC, is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon and the founder of Bandha Yoga. He has studied yoga for over 25 years, training extensively with B.K.S. Iyengar and other of the world’s leading yoga masters. Dr. Long is the author of the bestselling series The Key Muscles of Yoga and The Key Poses of Yoga and the Yoga Mat Companion anatomy series. Ray also writes a popular blog, The Daily Bandha, which details tips and techniques on how to combine modern Western science with the ancient art of yoga. He leads workshops internationally and can be reached at www.BandhaYoga.com.

Popularity: 18% [?]

Summer Yoga Giveaway #5: Beautiful Handmade Yoga Mat Bag CLOSED

By admin | July 8, 2011 - 10:34 pm | In and Of The Moment

14 Comments

Congrats to our latest Summer Yoga Giveaway winner, Leah. Leah shared her favorite summer-related quote/song as her entry – Gershwin’s “Summertime” – and won the DVD Gift Set. Congrats! Thanks to everyone who participated and if you didn’t win this time, don’t worry, you still have more chances (just keep reading!).

For your listening pleasure:

Ella Fitzgerald sings “Summertime” (from “Porgy and Bess” – George and Ira Gershwin) in a TV Special from 1968. (From Globo TV, Brazil).

“Summertime, and the living is easy
Fish are jumping, and the cotton is high
Your daddy’s rich, and your ma is good looking
So hush little baby, don’t you cry.

One of these mornings, you’re gonna rise up singing
You’re gonna spread your wings and take the sky
But till that morning, there is nothing can harm you
With your daddy and mommy standing by.”

Read the rest of the inspirational and summery comments from others here.

And on to the giveaway …

UPDATE: Winner has been selected. Congrats to Heather Heath (entry #12) and thanks to all who participated!

Thanks, Leah, for the inspiration! And, now that you’re in the summertime mood … here is our 5th week giveaway. It is a handmade and one-of-a-kind yoga mat bag from Asheville local, Rachael Pigott, valued at $49.99. Woot!

From Rachael:

“For this Yoga Mat Bag, I used solid yellow duck cloth, a durable and stable canvas material, for the exterior. For the interior, I used a floral yellow and maroon calico cotton. I also designed and appliqued a Hindu “om” symbol in white duck cloth to the front and center of this Duffel. I used an accenting metallic gold thread on the “om” and the straps are white cotton.

This Yoga Mat Bag is durable and easy to throw over your shoulder on your way to class! A spacious Mat Bag which will hold two mats, your towel or a change of clothes/shoes, this Bag also has a large lined pocket inside for you to stash your phone/keys/make-up/other-yoga-related-accessory.”

Click to enlarge.

How to Enter

Main Entry

Visit Rachael’s website, Om Om Yoga and/or her etsy.com shop and leave a comment here sharing something that you like.

Additional Entries

Share one of Rachael’s handmade items on your Facebook page by clicking the Facebook “Like” button in the right sidebar of the item listing on etsy.
Twitter addict? Tweet and share one of Rachael’s goodies with your friends/followers (button also in the right sidebar of item listing on etsy)
“Like” Asheville Yoga Center on Facebook
Follow Asheville Yoga Center on Twitter
Subscribe to our free email newsletter.

Contest ends Thursday 7/14/11 at 11:59EST. Winner will be randomly chosen and announced on Friday 7/15/11.

Have fun, good luck and here’s to your summer yoga practice!

The Asheville Yoga Center

Popularity: 9% [?]

Summer Yoga Giveaway #4: Stephanie Keach DVD Gift Set CLOSED

By admin | July 1, 2011 - 11:22 pm | In and Of The Moment

16 Comments

Congrats to winner of the Inner Space Yoga bolster, Caitlin Coffey! This Summer Yoga Giveaway event sure is rockin’ and rollin’! Thanks to you, our dear readers, for getting so excited and making it so much fun for us. Hopefully, all of this excitement has helped inspire you to get on your mat this summer.

And speaking of inspiration …

UPDATE: Winner has been selected. Congrats to LcA (entry #10) and thanks to all who participated!

Our next giveaway is a gift set which includes AYC’s own Stephanie Keach’s Gentle Flow Yoga DVD and other goodies* to help deepen your yoga practice. This set would also make a great gift for your yoga-loving friends and family or as inspiration for someone who is just beginning their yoga journey. Here is what’s included:

Stephanie Keach Gentle Flow Yoga DVD for beginners through advanced.”With Gentle Flow Yoga, all bodies may benefit by an increase in flexibility and overall ease of bodily movements, as well as a more peaceful and content sense of Self. Whether new to Yoga, young or old, healthy or injured, all bodies may benefit from the powerful healing properties of Yoga. With excellent instruction and wisdom of the postures themselves, Stephanie guides us away from stress and tension with her loving and compassionate Yoga spirit.” For more info you can read Stephanie Keach’s bio here or to purchase DVDs click here.

Dave Stringer: Brink AUDIO CD. “Quite well known as a kirtan singer in the worlds of yoga and devotional music, California musician Dave Stringer makes his debut as a folk-rock singer-songwriter with 11 songs that unite his spiritual and secular interests in a surprisingly seamless blend. Following a path parallel to that of Jai Uttal, Stringer moves back and forth between original pop songs performed in English and traditional Sanskrit chants, thus gently obliterating any doubt about these two forms belonging on the same record. Continuity is provided by ingenious arrangements that incorrporate a fluid mix of Eastern and Western acoustic and electric instruments – a combination of various guitars (including dobro and Hawaiian steel), dulcimer, piano, accordian, harmonium, tabla, sarangi, cello, violin, flute, trumpet, drums and a plethora of ethnic percussion and backing vocals. An accomplished record producer as well (Axiom of Choice, Suzanne Teng), Stringer has organized the diverse sounds into a sequence of elegant aural rainbows, retaining an Eastern cultural resonance even when fleshing out unabashedly pop melodies.” -Derk Richardson for Yoga Journal Magazine 2003 Preview the CD on Amazon.com.

The Little Book of Yoga Breathing: Pranayama Made Easy by Scott Shaw. “Pranayama, the practice of breath control, is detailed here in an easy-to-understand and even easier-to-practise format. Professional yoga instructor Scott Shaw introduces 16 breathing exercises and shows you how to get the best benefit from each of the forms by training, refining and witnessing your breath. Try one of the calming breaths, Nadi Sudi or the Nerve Purifying Breath. Have a long day ahead with no breaks until after dinner? Allow Ujayi or the Hissing Breath to work its miracles. Here you will learn how to breathe while moving, standing and leaning and how these variations can affect your breathing practice. Use the instruction offered in “The Little Book of Yoga Breathing” to feel more focused and energized.” -from Amazon.com

*Also included in the gift set is a purple foam yoga block and a tranquility eye bag (lavender scented).

How to Enter

Main Entry

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below and share how you maintain your commitment to yoga practice during the summer months. Do you find you attend classes more frequently in the summer or is it more home practice for you? Do you practice outdoors? What tips do you have to share?

What about summertime do you find inspiring? Do you have a favorite quote that relates to summer? All or any of these count as your main entry into the contest.

Additional Entries

“Like” Asheville Yoga Center on Facebook
Follow Asheville Yoga Center on Twitter
Subscribe to our free email newsletter.

Can’t wait to read your tips and inspiration! Contest ends Thursday 7/7/11 at 11:59EST. Winner will be randomly chosen and announced on Friday 7/8/11.

Have fun, good luck and here’s to your summer yoga practice!

The Asheville Yoga Center

Popularity: 5% [?]

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Monthly Archives: July 2011

Is Everything Just Maya? [VIDEO]

Summer Yoga Giveaway #6: Free Ayurvedic Consultation CLOSED

Making Ayurveda Easier

About John Joseph Immel, founder of Joyful Belly

The Giveaway – Win a Free Consultation with John Joseph Immel!

How to Enter

Folding Your Yoga Blanket – How To with Cora Wen [VIDEO]

Restorative Yoga Teacher Training with Cora Wen at Asheville Yoga Center

Pranayama for the Earth

The Simple Gift of Grace

Anatomy of a Pose: Virabhadrasana II (Warrior II Pose)

This pose embodies the spirit of a warrior and conveys readiness, stability, and courage.

Summer Yoga Giveaway #5: Beautiful Handmade Yoga Mat Bag CLOSED

And on to the giveaway …

How to Enter

The Asheville Yoga Center

Summer Yoga Giveaway #4: Stephanie Keach DVD Gift Set CLOSED

How to Enter

The Asheville Yoga Center