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February 2014
New Classes 
Purna Yoga Asana & Meditation
These all-levels classes with Letitia Walker combine Purna asana, alignment-based sequences developed by Aadil Palkhivala, and practical meditation techniques.
Monday, 3:45 - 5:15 pm 
Thursday, 3:15 - 4:45 pm 
 
Beginners Yoga--Iyengar Style
Not many studios boast Iyengar-certified instructors, but here at One Center, we have two: Cindy Dollar and Lynn Patton, who is teaching this fabulous introductory series.   
Tuesday, 5:30 -7 pm
 
Click here for more information about these classes.
Special Classes
Valentine's Day Partner Yoga
with Kim Drye
Friday, February 14, 5 - 6:30 pm
 
Yes, we hope couples will attend, but we also hope you will come with a friend or neighbor. The idea is to practice poses in a playful and supportive way with another person. It is good for the body and soul. You'll laugh…you'll learn. It's as delicious for the spirit as a box of chocolates!
 
Regular students: Use your series and bring your Valentine or a friend for $5.00. 
Drop-in students: Bring your Valentine or friend and save! 2 people for $20.00
 
Click here to register for this class.
 
Building Core Strength

with Nicole Kintz
Saturday, March 1, 2 - 4 pm
 
In addition to practicing poses that engage the core muscles, the class will focus on the vital role that deep and complete breathing has on strengthening the core.
 
Click here to register for this class.
  
$30 pre-registration
$35 day of class
What a Great Party!
The January 18th Open House was a tremendous success--thanks to all of YOU! Nearly 100 people attended the party. We got to hang out with fellow students whose faces are familiar from classes; we visited with people we haven't seen in quite some time; we made new friends, too. Kim led us to accomplish--collectively--hundreds of Sun Saluations (we were having so much fun, we lost count!). Letitia, Cindy, Linda, and Lillah taught mini-classes that were well attended. We played on the ropes, with eggs, and with our extensive prop collection. Lots of prizes were won, props and books were purchased, and yummy food inhaled. Most importantly, we nurtured our One Center community--ever expanding, ever deepening. We appreciate that you showed up for the Open House.
And we are extremely grateful that you show up every day to practice asana at One Center Yoga.
Together, we are ONE.
  
Asana of the Month: Ardha Chandrasana—Half Moon Pose
The moon has a rich symbolic significance in yoga mythology. In Hatha yoga, for example, the sun and the moon represent the two polar energies of the human body. Ardha Chandrasana represents an opportunity to explore, not only your physical balance, but also the balance of the lunar and solar energies respectively in the pose and within oneself. This pose builds confidence in the practitioner, and will leave you feeling exhilarated and energized. It is one of my all-time favorites.
 
Benefits
  • Strengthens the abdomen, ankles, knees, thighs, buttocks, and spine
  • Stretches the groins, hamstrings and calves, shoulders, chest, and spine
  • Improves coordination and balance
  • Helps relieve stress, fatigue, and anxiety
  • Improves digestion
  • Eases menstrual pain
Basic Instructions
  1. Stand in Tadasana, inhale, then step or jump the feet 3 1/2 to 4 feet apart, arms outstretched. Turn the left foot in about 15 degrees and turn the right foot out 90 degrees. On an exhalation, side bend into Trikonasana, and hold for two to three breaths.
  2. Bend the right knee and bring the left foot slightly in towards the right foot. Place your fingertips outside of the right ankle, about 12 inches in front of your foot, or use a brick in the same position.
  3. Simultaneously, raise the left leg, keeping it extended, and straighten the right knee. Straighten the arms. Be firm in the right foot, keep the right knee straight and strong, lifting the quadriceps the entire time.
  4. Revolve the lower abdomen up, lift the left hip and take it back, as you coil under the right hip, in order to align the leg and hips.
  5. Extend the trunk, pulling the pit of the abdomen up towards the head, and drawing the tailbone down towards the top heel.
  6. Rotating the deltoids back and keeping the arms extended, turn the head and look up at the thumb.
  7. Exhaling, bend the right knee and slowly return to Trikonasana. Inhale to come up. Repeat on the other side.  
Ways to Practice/Variations
  • To help with balance, you can do this posture with the help of the wall. The easiest, most supportive variation is with the back against the wall. This allows you to work the actions of the pose without the fear of falling.
  • You can also place the top hand on the wall for support. This variation allows you to practice revolving the abdomen up, as well as turning the chest and looking up.
  • The pose can also be done with the raised leg foot on the wall. This variation assists with balance, but also allows you to focus on the actions of coiling the standing leg hip under and extending through the raised leg. 
Contraindications and Cautions
 
--If you have any neck problems, don’t turn your head up; instead, look straight ahead and keep both sides of your neck evenly long.
--Avoid this pose if you have a headache or migraine, low blood pressure, diarrhea, or insomnia.
 
Presented by Nicole Kintz
Cindy's Thoughts: Heart to Heart--Every Day

I read a newsletter this morning that was all flowery and fluffy and steeped in romantic love. I’d forgotten that February’s holiday of the month is Valentine’s Day. Spoiler alert: If this is your favorite day of year, be warned that I have a few strong opinions on this subject!
 
I remember being a kid in second grade and decorating a shoe box in which to receive Valentine cards from my classmates. I drove myself crazy on the night of February 13th deciding which valentine to give to each person in class. I didn’t really like some of those people. Chucky picked his nose and ate it. Eileen was a goody-two-shoes and the teacher’s pet. Gross to both of them. Mom and Daddy said I had to give a Valentine to everyone. What if Chucky and Ellen got the wrong idea and thought I was sweet on them?
 
Today, I actually researched how Valentine’s Day got started. The story is not all flowers and fluff. On Catholic.org, I learned that St. Valentine was a Catholic priest who was beaten and beheaded in 269 AD for marrying young Christian couples, and aiding Christians who were being persecuted under Emperor Claudius in Rome. One legend says that on the eve of his death, he penned a farewell note to the jailer’s daughter, signing it, “From your Valentine.” He is the Patron Saint of affianced couples, beekeepers, engaged couples, epilepsy, fainting, greetings, happy marriages, love, lovers, plague, travelers, and young people. He is represented in pictures with birds and roses. Isn't it odd that a man who risked his life to give humans the chance to wed during a historic time of polygamy is part of a commercial tsunami that includes Godiva chocolates packed in heart-shaped boxes and Teddy Bears holding velvet hearts? How does this honor the spirit of his actions?
 
Continuing my historic search, I turned to Yoga Sutra I-33, to read about the practice of loving-kindness (along with compassion, joy and equanimity). The Sutra describes this practice as a means to quiet the mind. We are cautioned to recognize the difference between lovewhich is a feeling of onenessand attractionwhich is a state of desire or wanting. Being human, we slip between those states.
 
Can we love without attachment? Can we be present to another’s joys and difficulties in equal measurewhether we agree with that person or not?
 
I propose that we at least give it a whirl. Love without attachment. Just love. Love is all we need, right? I propose that we don’t need a “special” person to be “in love” with, although the media hype leads us to believe that romantic love is all there is. Don’t misunderstand: it can be fun to acknowledge the special people in our life by giving them a rose or a card—and, I mean, who doesn’t like chocolate?
 
I’m suggesting that we practice loving-kindness all year long, with everyone we encounter. That’s what I try to do, even though I’m not always successful. As we say about yoga…it’s a practice. 
 
To follow up on the second grade Valentine’s Day story, everyone in my class received a card from everyone. Years later, I found myself sitting in high school next to Chucky, who no longer picked his nose. He was intelligent. He was a nice guy. He deserved that valentine.
 
Namaste,
 
Cindy
 
February is American Heart Month
During February, the Centers for DIsease Control & Prevention is offering weekly tips for better heart health. Three of their tips are to eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly, and reduce stress. Weekly yoga classes and a home practice can support two of those heart-healthy habits. Take care of yourself: enjoy a yoga class…today!
For more information, click on: !http://www.cdc.gov/features/heartmonth
In this issue:
Class Schedule
 
 
Book Club
The next book we are reading is The Great Work of Your Life by Stephen Cope, the director of the Institute for Extraordinary Living at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health. In an engaging and accessible manner, Cope inquires into the dharma--vocation or calling--of a selection of both ordinary individuals and luminaries such as Jane Goodall, Susan B. Anthony, John Keats and Henry David Thoreau. Stephen Cope writes in an engaging, accessible style that describes the process of "unlocking the unique possibility harbored within every soul" through simple references to the spiritual classic, the Bhagavad Gita.  Diane at the front desk is reading the book for the second time so it must be good! 
 
Copies are on our shelves! Book club members will receive $5.00 off the hardback book (not in paperback yet). We will meet on Sunday, March 9th, from 5:45 to 7:00pm, to discuss the book.  The last 15 minutes is a meditation. 
Inspiration
"As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives."   
 
--Henry David Thoreau 
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
Let It Snow!
If snow is falling and you're not sure if classes will be held,
call 828.225.1904 before heading out .
A dated outgoing message with class
cancellations will be recorded.
or
visit our website at www.onecenteryoga.com. Under Classes drop down - click Class Schedule; cancellations will be posted there. 
Bali Retreat
Join Cindy for a trip of a lifetime! Spend a week in Bali, at the lovely Villa Boreh. Every day, you will enjoy a yoga class and explore this magical island.
July 26 - August 2, 2014.
Click here for complete information.
Teacher of the Month: Nicole Kintz
Nicole took her first yoga class in 1995. An athlete all her life, she was suffering from debilitating knee pain that prevented her from playing soccer, running, or skiing. Discouraged, she went to the doctor, who offered her a prescription for pain pills. When she declined, he suggested she try yoga for pain management. It didn't take Nicole long to find that yoga offered her pain relief and much more--hope. "From the moment I started to practice yoga, I realized I could heal my knees. At first yoga was the means for me to return to playing sports, which was great. But over time, I realized I wanted to pursue yoga for its own sake," Nicole explains. 
 
Her favorite part of teaching is when she is working with students who have an injury or a physical limitation, and then, through yoga, they experience the hope that they can have movement without fear of injury. 
Nicole enjoys teaching at One Center: "it's such a lovely community of people who have a deep reference for the practice of yoga."
 
Nicole teaches Monday and Wednesday from 8-9:30 am, Thursday from 7-8:30 am, Thursday from 3:30-5 pm (new class for knee health), and Sunday from 4-5:30 pm. 
One Center Yoga  •  120 Coxe Avenue, Suite 3A  •  Asheville, NC 28801
http://www.OneCenterYoga.com/
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