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November 2013
New Classes and Special Events
Yoga Therapy Intro/Level 1
Weekly with Lillah Schwartz
Starts November 11, 5:30 - 7 pm 
 
Learn to apply the alignment principles of yoga to create pelvic stability, balance the hips, back and shoulder problems, improve posture, and relieve fatigue.
 
Lillah has decades of experience helping people like you find the relief they seek.
 
 
  
 
 
 
Thanksgiving Day Class
 With Nicole Kintz
Thursday, November 28, 9:30 - 11 am
 
Whether you eat turkey or tofurky, Thanksgiving is a day to gather and be grateful. Start your holiday by giving yourself a bit of "thanks" with an alignment-based yoga class that will help you stay mindful, focused, and calm. We'll dedicate our practice to someone or something special to your heart. All levels are welcome.
 
Bring two food items for Manna Food Bank, and drop in for only $10. Current students can also use their class series. Please pre-register by Tuesday, November 26, to hold your spot.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
Restorative Yoga & Pranayama 
 2-hour workshop with Danielle Goldstein
December 13, from 6 - 8 pm, $25
 
Take time out of your holiday schedule to relax and rejuvenate.
This 2-hour workshop will focus on supported restorative yoga postures and gentle breathing exercises to facilitate deep relaxation. Appropriate for all levels of yoga students.Take time to renew your most precious resource--YOU!
 
 
 
Neck & Shoulders 
2-hour workshop with Nicole Kintz
January 18, 1 - 3 pm, $30
 
Join Nicole for this special class to stabilize and mobilize the neck, shoulders, and upper back. These areas are problematic for many of us, especially if we work at computers. The remedy is simple – do more yoga! 
 
You’ll learn basic yoga poses to create space and strength in the arms and shoulders. You’ll learn how to integrate the muscles in the upper back so that the shoulders have more freedom and less discomfort. Freedom in the back and shoulders creates freedom in the neck.
 
 
Click here to sign up for any of the above events.
 
 
 
 
Yoga Journal's Roger Cole Comes to One Center

How to Practice & Teach Yoga,
with Roger Cole Ph.D. 
November 22 - 24, 2013
 
Roger creates an unparalleled practice experience by teaching classic Iyengar methods from a yogic and scientific perspective. Roger brings years of practice and teaching experience, integrating physiology, neuroscience, and psychology. This combination makes his classes exciting, informative, and accessible to students of all levels. 
 
Weekend - $285 / Day rate - $110 / Individual class - $60
Click here for a detailed workshop description and to register
 
 
Friday, November 22
2-5 pm: Anatomy and Practice
6:30-9 pm: Working Through Your Tight Spots
 
Saturday, November 23
10:30-1:30 pm: Well-Rounded Asana Practice
3-6 pm:  Building Inversions from the Ground Up
 
Sunday, November 24
8:30-10:30 am: Pranayama
11 am -2 pm: Successful Restorative Yoga
 
ReAwaken the Pelvic Floor 
Structural ReAlignment Integration
with Ginny Nadler
December 7 - 8, 2013

 
Ginny, a yoga teacher for more than 40 years, developed SRI to bring the body into balance, gain freedom of movement, and relieve pain. In this dynamic workshop, suitable for all yoga students and health practitioners, you'll learn to:
 
  • Recognize imbalances in the pelvic floor, and restore equilibrium to the spine
  • Awaken the site of the perineum, the origin of movement
  • Practice yoga with new awareness that builds true core strength
  • Alleviate sacral, back, and pelvic pain
  • Use the breath to activate the flow of energy between the pelvic floor and the endocrine system 
 
Saturday, December 7
9am - 12 pm  & 2 pm - 5 pm
 
Sunday, December 8
9 am- 12 pm & 2 pm - 5 pm
 
$225 if registered and paid by Nov. 22; thereafter the cost is $240
Saturday morning session only is available as a drop in for $75
 
Click here to sign up.
Asana of the Month: Supported Sarvangasana
Shoulder Stand with a Chair
One of my most influential teachers, Aadil Palkhivala, once said, “Practicing yoga without including an inversion is like trying to make lemonade without lemons.” For students who have mastered some version of shoulder stand and/or headstand as a part of their home practice, his statement makes perfect sense. If you're a student who is still hoping to make friends with shoulder stand, the approach I offer here may help.
 
Throughout my years of teaching, I have successfully introduced students with a wide variety of physical conditions to the following version of shoulder stand. Whether you lack confidence in your ability to hold yourself up without falling, have a neck fusion, an autoimmune challenge such as Multiple Sclerosis, are recovering from an illness, or simply need support to balance an overly stressful day, this pose can work for you. 
Benefits
Sarvangasana, shoulder stand, is called “the mother” of all asana. This one pose alone promises to balance all glandular functions, improve circulation, lower blood pressure*, release endorphins, improve mood, balance thyroid function, reduce histamine responses, and restore immunity, just to name a few.
 
Setup
You will need two folding chairs without arms, a firm bolster or a stack of two to three folded blankets to create a bolster, a sticky mat under the chairs to keep them in place, and one more blanket or second mat to pad the seat of the chair.
 
Approach
Sit sideways in the chair, and then turn and place your knees over the chair back. Slide your buttocks into the center of the seat. Holding on with your knees, begin to tip back, walking your hands down the front legs of the chair. Do not place your hands on the floor, as this will encourage the chair to tip. Place your elbows on the bolster, then your shoulders. Slip your hands under the chair seat and take hold of the back legs, and then place your feet on the top of the chair back. Take a moment to adjust your position.
 
 
Actions

Roll your shoulders back and turn the upper arms out and under to support your chest. Place your hips evenly in the chair. Pause here to deepen and relax your breath, providing time for your body to regulate the flow of blood from your head and chest, and back toward your feet. Once the pressure in your head has diminished, extend your legs up toward the ceiling. Bring your feet and legs into Tadasana, mountain pose, as shown in the first photograph. Extend from the back of your knees in two directions--up and down--to create support for your chest to open, while lifting your chest towards your chin. Soften your belly and throat.
 
Body Trivia
Did you know that it takes 3 minutes for an individual blood cell to travel through every vessel in the body? This implies that remaining inverted for three minutes or more will allow shoulder stand to deliver its magic: to flush, purify, and restore all glandular and organ functions.
 
Timing
I recommend building up to hold this position for a minimum of 7 minutes. If this feels too rigorous, try holding for 3 minutes, and then slowly take your feet over your head and into Halasana, plough pose; or bend your knees, and place your feet on the back of the second chair in bound angle or butterfly pose.  
 
How to End
When it’s time to end, simply slide yourself down off the chair, rest with your hips on the bolster and your legs in the seat of the chair. Stay in this position for another 3 to 5 minutes to let all of the magic settle in. You may find it’s the best moment of relaxation for the day!
 
* Persons who have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, even though currently controlled with medication, need to consult with a knowledgeable yoga instructor before embarking on the practice of shoulder stand or other inversions.
 
Blessed Practice and Namaste, Lillah Schwartz
 
For more yoga pose information, please peruse Lillah's book, Transform Your Life with Yoga, found in the One Center Yoga bookstore.
 
Cindy's Thoughts: Living with the Desk

 
The big move occurred on Sunday, November 3rd. The large reception desk that lived at Lark Books for years has a new home at One Center Yoga. What a beauty that desk is! You may have seen it for a few weeks, upside down and backwards, in the stairwell at 120 Coxe Ave. You’ll see it now as you enter the reception area of our studio. The oak top has been cleaned, sanded, polished, and oiled with love by Hugh Hensleigh. The desk has been cut, altered, lifted, carried, and fitted back together by strong and subtle yoga students.
 
When I reflected on the complicated process of how the desk came to be at our studio, thanks to the suggestions and hard work of numerous humans (Deborah, Becky, Laurie, Lillah, Frank, Gary, Richard, Jake, and John, to name a few), I turned my attention to the desk itself. To fit into the office area, the desk needed renovating. The wood was chipped. An L-shaped ink stain and a circular coffee stain marred the surface. Pieces were held together with many screws and layers of glue. Yet, the desk was whole and complete – an appealing and enduring piece of furniture. However, in order for the desk to work for us, we had to alter it.
 
Just as the desk has undergone changes to fit into and become part of the new One Center Yoga, so too we humans at One Center have had to change. I can speak only from my experience, and I encourage you to look at your own process around the expansion and alterations we’ve undergone here at the studio over the past few months.
 
The desk got measured and cut; so must I measure myself and cut away the parts that no longer serve me. As the desk was relocated, I must relocate myself into a new role. The desk has chips and stains: I recognize the chips and stains within myself. Pieces of me are held together by karma and conditioning. Yet, I am whole and complete.
 
As the desk and I (and all of us) move in together, we’ll bump up against each other. We’ll get nicks and scratches. But with compassion and humor, we’ll clean, sand, polish, and oil these imperfections to create a new community that reflects our individual differences as well as our shared intention to nurture One Center Yoga. This coming together and learning from one another is part of the yogic path. I encourage you to give the desk a fond welcome. May we all be healthy, happy, and well.
 
Love and Namaste,
Cindy
 
In this issue:
Class Schedule
 
 
 On Thursday, November 28th, Thanksgiving Day, regular classes will be cancelled.
 
 
Nicole will be teaching a special class that day 9:30-11 am.
See above left.
 
 
 
 
Spiritual Guidance with Charley Castex 
On November 9th, 3 - 5 pm, we are hosting this year's Spiritual Guidance Forum with locally and
international acclaimed psychic, Charley Castex.He will share his mystic perspective of the spiritual
path and answer questions from the audience. Tickets are $20 at the door.
See his website for complete details.
Book Club
The third book club discussion about Buddha's Brain will be held on Sunday, November 17, from 5:45 - 7:15 pm. Feel free to attend, even if you have just started to read this incredible book. It explores, in a clear and accessible way, how our brain works, and how we can enhance our positive experiences through mindfulness practices. 
 
There will not be book club in December.
 
In January, we will read Cheri Huber's  Making a Change for Good, which  encourages and teaches us how to make skillful changes to our lifestyle from a place of compassion. Look for more information about this in the coming weeks.
Asheville Holiday Parade, Saturday, November 23, 11 am

 
It's that time again: for the 67th year, our favorite city features the Asheville Holiday Parade, filled with marches, floats, and dances through downtown. For an hour and a half, you'll be dazzled and entertained. This year's theme is “A Star is Born;” the Parade Grand Marshals will be some of the many talented dancers, painters, singers, actors, and artists who live and perform in our community.
 
Directly after the parade, head over to Pack Square Park for JingleFest to continue the fun with activities until 4 pm. Kids can play on the giant inflatables while they wait for Santa to make his way back from the Parade. Once Santa arrives (about 2 pm), kids can get their photo taken for free. From 1 pm on, enjoy non-stop entertainment from the stage hosted by Asheville Actor/comedian Tom Chalmers. You'll see some of the best acts from the parade. At 3 pm, the special holiday concert by Asheville Choral Society takes place. There will be games and giveaways, and it's all free!
 
Street traffic and parking at One Center won't be affected. Before the parade starts, come to Rachel's 9-10:30 am class--and you'll be ready to dance with the parade enthusiasts!  
Roasted Creamy Winter Squash and Carrot Soup
It's time to sip cider, sit by the fire, and enjoy a bowl of steamy, creamy, sweet soup. Roasted carrots and assorted winter squashes whirl together with cream and homemade broth to usher in the change of season. 
 
Creamy Winter Squash and Carrot Soup: (feeds a crowd)
*1 large hubbard or buttercup squash (or both), quartered and seeded
*1 large butternut squash, halved lengthwise, seeds and pulp removed
*10-12 large carrots
*2 sweet potatoes (optional) pierced several times with a fork
*1 medium sweet onion (optional)
*3 garlic cloves, peeled (optional)
*4-5 cups homemade chicken broth
*sea salt
*black pepper
*1 teaspoon mace
*1 1/2 - 2 cups (you decide) high quality cream (raw if possible)
*yogurt, sour cream or kefir for garnish
 
Preheat oven to 375°. 
Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment.
Arrange squashes cut sides down on one sheet. Drizzle skins with olive oil.
Arrange carrots, sweet potatoes, onion, and garlic on second sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Pour 1 cup of water on each baking sheet. 
Place baking sheets in top and bottom thirds of oven, switching halfway through. Roast until all ingredients are tender (time will vary depending on thickness of squashes), at least 1 hour. Add more water to pans as needed.
 
Allow contents of pans to cool. Scoop flesh from squashes and sweet potatoes and transfer to a large bowl. Add carrots, roasted onion and garlic to bowl with half the broth.
Puree with an immersion blender, or place contents in food processor and blend, working in batches. Add more broth while blending until puree is smooth and to desired consistency.
 
Place puree in a large soup pot over medium low heat. Add sea salt, pepper, and mace to taste. Stir in cream. Remove from heat once soup is heated through.
 
Portion into bowls, and garnish with whole plain yogurt, kefir or sour cream, and chopped parsley. Enjoy!
 
---Rachel Brownlee  http://girlinanapron.blogspot.com
Be Inspired
“The practice of yogasana for the sake of health, to keep fit, or to maintain flexibility is the external practice of yoga. While this is a legitimate place to begin, it is not the end… Even in simple asanas, one is experiencing the three levels of quest: the external quest, which brings firmness of the body; the internal quest, which brings steadiness of intelligence; and the innermost quest, which brings benevolence of spirit.”
 
--B.K.S. Iyengar,  Light on Life 
2014 Workshops: Save the Dates!
April 18 - 20, Gabriel Halpern
Aug 1 - 3, Matthew Sanford
Sept 5 - 7, Mary Obendorfer & Eddy Marks
Oct 3 - 5, Simon Marrocco 
Nov 21 -  23, Roger Cole
One Center Yoga  •  120 Coxe Avenue, Suite 3A  •  Asheville, NC 28801
http://www.OneCenterYoga.com/
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