With Anjali and Steve Davidowski

Friday, June 1.

7:30pm

At the Prama Institute

An evening of world music fusion.

Jazz, Latin, Appalachian, Brazilian, East Indian.

Tickets: $12:50

To purchase tickets in advance, visit shantianjali.com/vistara-concert/.

Short Bio:

Steve Davidowski is an extraordinary jazz fusion, multi-instrumentalist whose signature use of modal and rhythmic motifs is inspired by world cultures. A native American-Pole, with deep roots in the Grandfather Mountain area of North Carolina, Steve’s lustrous credits reach back to the mid-1970s, where he was the first keyboardist to tour and record (Free Fall, Capital Records, 1977) with the jazz fusion band, the Dixie Dregs. He then toured and recorded 3 albums with the Grammy Award winning jazz/bluegrass fiddler, Vassar Clements of the Orange Blossom Special fame. Steve has also performed with Number One, Top Ten country artist, T. Graham Brown, and other noted musicians.

Steve is a living human treasure – the originator of neo-mountain music, fusing world music styles and instrumentation with Appalachian mountain music. With great wit and humor, he takes us on musical journey that is whimsical, exciting, and incomparable!

Anjali, a.k.a. Angela Silva-Natarajan, is known for her warmly, sensuous voice, and engaging performances. Her musical expression is a unique blend of Brazilian, East Indian, Latin American, and American jazz styles. Throughout her career, she has performed both nationally and internationally, working as a producer and singer on recordings, television, and radio. An American of Portuguese, Mexican and Sephardic lineage, Anjali’s music career began in the San Francisco Bay Area, in the early 80’s, where she was the preferred vocalist of several jazz bands, including trumpet legend John Coppola’s CAL Alumni Big Band. She was an original member of the a cappella group Street Sounds, led by Sweet Honey in the Rock founding member, Louise Robinson, and worked with master Latin Jazz musicians Mike Spiro, Rebecca Mauleon-Santana, and Joyce Cooling.

Anjali has spent the last 20 years studying, performing and teaching spiritually based East Indian music. She resides in Marshall, NC where she enjoys the rich, musical and artistic influence of region.

by Ramesh Bjonnes

My wife recently mentioned on her Facebook page that she practices yoga. To her great surprise, she received an angry response from a friend who said that she tried Power Yoga and got seriously injured.

Naturally the woman discontinued her yoga practice and is now urging other people to stop this “painful” form of exercise.

Yes, indeed, the wholesome practice of yoga can be bad for your health.

Carol Krucoff reports in Yoga Journal that increasing numbers of yoga injuries are being reported to medical offices these days. Even insurance agencies are paying out an increasing number of yoga-related injury claims.

Krucoff herself is one of the practice’s many victims. She “felt a sickening pop in [her] hamstrings” after practicing Utthita Padangusthasana (Extended Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose).

“Hamstring tears heal slowly,” she writes, “and mine required rest and extensive physical therapy. It took me six months to be able to run again and more than a year to fully extend my leg in Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose.”

So, if yoga may be bad for our health, what can we do about it?

1. Easy does it. Practice yoga gently, especially in the beginning, and in coordination with the breath. The literal translation of the word asana (yoga posture) is, after all, “comfortably or easily held posture.”

By gently massaging and pressurizing the various endocrine glands in the body, the various yoga poses are balancing the chakras and the hormonal secretions from many important glands.

These glands include the prostate and perineum, gonads, testes and ovaries, adrenals, pancreas, thymus, para-thyroid, thyroid, pituitary and pineal, all glands that, when properly balanced, positively affect our physical health, mental mood and spiritual well-being.

Practicing yoga too energetically, or too forcefully, may not give the same physical, mental and spiritual health benefits as doing the poses slowly, in harmony with the breath, and with ease.

2. Combine yoga with a meditation practice. Yoga postures are of two kinds: 1. those primarily for physical and mental health and secondarily for spiritual elevation and 2. those primarily for spiritual elevation.

Hence, many yoga postures were clearly not just designed for the body. They were developed for the mind and spirit as well.

My own teacher emphasized that it is essential for optimum physical, mental and spiritual development to combine yoga exercises with meditation. Indeed, it is said in the scriptures that Hatha Yoga (physical yoga) should be combined with Raja Yoga (spiritual yoga).

3. Listen to the body. Pain is an indication that you should stop, take a deep breath and be gentle with yourself. Pushing the body too far may lead to injury.

4. Yoga is not a competitive sport. Besides—showing off may not just increase your ego, it may lead to injury. Serious injury.

Here’s some sage advice from Carol Krucoff. “I learned the hard way that there is no place for showing off in yoga,” she writes.

So, don’t succumb to peer-pressure or to a zealous teacher urging you to perform a-next-to-impossible pose when you know in your heart you are not ready for it.

You may just end up on your back at the chiropractor’s office.

5. Pick an experienced teacher. Yoga’s popularity has resulted in a shortage of teachers and sometimes teachers with inadequate training are being hired at a studio. “Even new graduates from highly reputable teacher-training programs often lack experience,” writes Krucoff.

This lethal combination—new student and inexperienced teacher—is one of the leading causes of “injury-overzealousness.”

6. Know the weakest links. The lower back, knee and neck are usually the parts of the body that are injured the most during yoga practice.

If you are a couch potato, trying to sit in lotus position or do headstand the first time you practice yoga is definitely not advisable!

7. Accidents do happen. A few years ago, I tore my meniscus while falling sideways in the bed of my friend’s pick-up truck when it jerked into motion.

For a long time I had pain in my meniscus when I sat in meditation. And too immersed in my mind and spirit, I did not listen to my body.

Then suddenly one day bending down to pick something up from the floor, my knee went out. The pain was excruciating, and the healing process took a painstakingly long time.

For nearly two years, I was unable to perform my asnana postures properly and also unable to sit in siddhansana during meditation.

Our bodies change with age, sometimes we sleep improperly, or we have slacked off on our practice and become less flexible. Suddenly the body says “pop.”

So, once again, listen to the body.

Listen carefully. Treat it gently. One yoga pose at a time. And remember, you are not doing yoga for anybody but your own body, mind and soul.

August 17-19

A Yoga and Meditation weekend with Stephanie & Michael Johnson.

Immerse yourself in a weekend dedicated to exploring the relationship between our subtle body and the nature of our mind. Together we will dive into ancient teachings on the nature of the subtle body and the clearlight mind, and cutting edge research on the nature of our brain and nervous system. Using this rich knowledge we offer you techniques aimed at increasing happiness and well-being for ourselves and others.

All levels are welcome.

For registration or more information: info@clearlightyoga.com

Cost:
Dorm Accommodations: early bird (by July 1) $315 / regular rate $355
Camping: $300
Price includes accommodations, gourmet vegetarian meals and all weekend activities.

Schedule:
Friday 8/17
4-6pm • Arrival
6-7pm • Dinner
7-9:30pm • Yin Yoga and Meditation for Body and Mind, followed by kirtan
(noble silence begins)

Saturday 8/18 *today we will hold noble silence until sundown
7-7:30am • Optional Meditation
7:30-8:30am • Breakfast
8:30-10:30 • Subtle Body Clearlight Mind discussion and meditation
10:30am-12pm • Bhakti Vinyasa yoga class
12-1pm • Lunch
1-4pm • Free Time / Break
4-6pm • Subtle Body Clearlight Mind discussion and meditation
6-7:30pm • Dinner
7:30-9:30pm • Yin Yoga and Meditation for Body and Mind, followed by kirtan

Sunday 8/19
7-7:30am • Optional Meditation
7:30-8:30am • Breakfast
8:30-10:30am • 8:30-10:30 • Subtle Body Clearlight Mind discussion and meditation
10:30am-12pm • Bhakti Vinyasa yoga class
12-1pm • Lunch
1-3pm • Subtle Body Clearlight Mind discussion and meditation
3pm • Departure

with David Crow and Jade Shutes

October 17 – 21

Continuing the tradition of extraordinary conferences  produced by Floracopeia, we invite you to the Floracopeia Aromatherapy Certification Course Retreat.

About The Retreat

The Live Retreat is designed to be a highly interactive program to share the knowledge and information in our Aromatherapy Foundations Certificate course as well as to provide time for experiential work for blending, client consultations, and interacting with the wide range of essential oils, base materials, and methods of application covered throughout the program.

What makes this live program so unique is the interaction of the students with the instructors, the sharing of experiences, and the experiential work. David and Jade, co-authors of the Floracopeia Foundations Course, will be co-teaching the program to offer a very dynamic experience and education in the art and science of aromatherapy as well as the integration of Ayurvedic philosophy and principles in understanding ourselves and the essential oils.

To register: http://www.regonline.com/Register/Checkin.aspx?EventID=1058804

For more information: www.floracopeia.com

7 Reasons to Detox

By Barbara Cronin

Detoxification is the elimination or neutralizing of toxins in the body.
It’s a normal body process that works through the liver, kidneys, lungs, lymph, blood, colon, and skin. It’s one of the body’s most basic functions.

Toxic Medley

High amounts of toxins in the environment bombard our bodies. Our elimination systems are overloaded and can’t keep up.
Toxins are everywhere: the air we breathe, the foods we eat, the water we drink and bathe with, personal care products, and household cleaning products are all loaded with toxic chemicals.

We inhale them, ingest them, and absorb them through our skin. It doesn’t matter how they get there; they enter our bodies, sometimes never to leave. Our bodies aren’t adapting as fast as our exposure to toxins is increasing. We don’t fully eliminate the toxins in our systems; thus, we become toxic.

Deadly Results

The result of this accumulation of toxins in our body tissues is chronic and degenerative diseases, immune system disorders, neurological disorders, digestive disorders, hormonal imbalances, cardio-vascular diseases, cancers, obesity, and more.

These diseases are negatively impacting our society at an alarming rate. Otherwise healthy, productive people become sick, bedridden, and immobile. Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, cancers, diabetes, stroke, asthma, kidney disease, and many other ailments are being proven to be the result of toxic build-up in our colon, liver, kidneys, blood, brain, other organs, and our cells in general.

To maintain or regain good health, it’s vital to aid your overloaded elimination systems through body detoxification.

Detox Essential

Detoxification involves cleaning of the liver, lungs, kidneys, colon, lymph, skin, or blood. There are detox programmes for helping each of these systems rid the body of wastes.

Detoxification gives our elimination systems and organs the much-needed boost in ridding dangerous toxins from our bodies. There’s an old saying: “Death begins in the colon.” It couldn’t be truer than today. With alarmingly high levels of toxins stored in our systems, we are leaving ourselves vulnerable [even setting ourselves up] to numerous health problems, including deadly chronic diseases.

We must rid our bodies of these poisons, or face deadly consequences. Detoxification is our bodies’ innate tool for eliminating toxins.

With the overload of toxins in our bodies and continued exposure in our daily lives, we must help our bodies with this vital process and minimise the burden. Sometimes, we can experience a healing crisis detox effect. This crisis of healing can occur when toxins that are unsettled momentarily create flu-like systems; however, they usually pass relatively quickly and are worth the temporary discomfort.

Signs For Detox

Detox is beneficial for almost everyone. However, you may really want to take a more serious look at performing a regular detox programme, if you experience any of the following symptoms of a toxic system:

• Allergies
• Bad breath
• Bloating
• Body odour
• Brittle hair and nails
• Congestion
• Constipation
• Depression
• Headaches
• Insomnia
• Joint pain
• Lethargy
• Obesity
• Poor appetite
• Psoriasis
• Reduced memory
• Skin problems

Let’s now review our seven reasons to detox:

1. Remove Toxins and Parasites from the Body

   Toxins are stored in tissues and organs in the body. Long-term exposure to toxins results in metabolic and genetic changes. These changes affect cell growth, behaviour, and immune response. It’s essential that we rid our bodies of these deadly, disease-producing toxins.

   Parasites are microscopic organisms that invade the body, usually via skin or oral ingestion. They feed on our body’s supplies, robbing us of nutrients, vitamins, and amino acids [the building block of proteins].

   Parasites, known to microbiologists as “the great masqueraders,” cause a myriad of symptoms that conventional medicine incorrectly attributes to other illnesses. Primarily residing in the colon, parasites migrate to the blood, lymph, heart, liver, gall bladder, pancreas, spleen, eyes, brain, and joints, causing illness. Ridding the body of parasites reduces allergies and illness.

2. Enhanced Immune System Function

   Toxins and chemicals are stored in the immune system and this decreases its ability to function properly. Add to that extra energy spent with overloaded elimination processes, and our immune system is weakened. A compromised immune system leaves us vulnerable to colds and flu, and even more dangerous sicknesses we’re exposed to daily. This decreases the quality of life. Performing a regular detox is one of the best ways to strengthen the immune system and fight off infections.

3. Prevent Chronic Disease

   The statistics are startling. The World Health Organisation [WHO] implicates environmental toxins in 60-80 per cent of cancers. Our elimination channels are on overload; we must assist in the process and minimise the burden. Toxins build-up and damage our bodies. When free radicals aren’t neutralised, they wreak havoc in the body. For example, free radicals are linked to Parkinson’s disease, cataracts, Alzheimer’s, and even stroke. Toxins in the body cause cancers, heart disease, neurological disorders, brain diseases, and more. The list seems endless.

4. Improve Quality of Life

   A body filled with toxins doesn’t function as it should. We live in pain with joint stiffness and aches; chronic headaches; digestive disorders like diverticulitis, Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome [IBS]; insomnia; lack of energy; depression, and even compromised memory. These degenerative disorders rob us of life everyday!

   Ridding and neutralising toxins in the body restores health and vitality. After you detox, you’ll look better and feel better than you have in years.

5. Lose Weight
   Obesity is on the rise, contributing to serious health problems. Diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure are directly linked to excess weight. Ensuring a healthy, active life and preventing the onset of debilitating diseases means reaching and maintaining a healthy weight.

   Detox programs rid the body of toxins stored in fat cells. Excess weight and extra inches are lost during the process. The body also encases deadly toxins in water.

   When the body eliminates these toxins, water weight disappears. Not only people lose weight now, they often lose inches of fat in various places, especially around the middle.

6. Restore Balance to Body Systems

   Our body systems were created to work together in harmony. Numerous systems like hormonal, endocrine, nervous, and digestive, perform precise functions to keep us healthy and functioning at our optimum level.

   Bodies that are overloaded with toxins have compromised internal regulating systems. When these systems don’t function properly, our health declines.

   Detox restores balance to these systems, so they can function properly again. Depression and mood disorders go away; sleep becomes restful and rejuvenating; without overloaded systems, we are singing the same song with our subtle cues and eating what our body needs; our digestive system is “unclogged,” so wastes are immediately expelled, and the deadly toxin build-up never begins.

7. Stop and Slow Premature Aging

   Oxidative stress is one of the biggest factors in premature aging. Free radicals attack the body, sometimes causing irreparable damage to the inside and outside. Free radicals and heavy metals are a dangerous mix. Heavy metals promote free radical formation dramatically. Detoxing rids the body of free radicals and heavy metals. The body can better absorb nutrients, including anti-oxidants and vitamins essential in fighting oxidative stress while slowing down the aging process.

In summary, detox is nothing short of an instant payback plan for one’s improved complexion, energy levels, and vitality.

*This article was originally published at Health-prism.com.

by Ramesh Bjonnes

“A mysticism that is only private and self-absorbed leaves the evils of the world intact and does little to halt the suicidal juggernaut of history; an activism that is not purified by profound spiritual and psychological self-awareness and rooted in divine truth, wisdom, and compassion will only perpetuate the problem it is trying to solve, whatever it’s righteous intentions.” –Andrew Harvey

Enlightenment, in other words, is not an escape from the world but a true return to the world.

In the words of sages and pundits from various wisdom traditions and backgrounds, we see a common, golden thread: enlightenment is being in this world but not of it. Enlightenment is having your head and heart in the wide open sky of spirit and your feet firmly planted in the garden of life.

In other words, Enlightenment means transformation, transforming us and the world at the same time. Enlightenment means to be an integral person working towards creating an integral world. Enlightenment means being a spiritual activist.

So what do the great wisdom traditions say that urges us to be active in this world? From Buddhist and Hindu Tantra, we learn:

“Brahma (Cosmic Consciousness) is the world.”

“Nirvana and Samsara are not two.”

“Shiva (Cosmic Consciousness) and Shakti (Cosmic Energy) are one.”

“Brahma is the composite of Shiva and Shakti.”

In other words, the nondual philosophies of Tantric Yoga, for example, teaches us about inner and outer ecology; that the world of spirit (Shiva) and the world of matter (Shakti) are essentially an integrated whole; are One in Brahma.

In the words of Ken Wilber: “The point, we might say, is that the circle of Ascending and Descending energies must always be unbroken: “this world” and the “other world” united in one ongoing, everlasting, exuberant embrace.”

In the words of my tantric guru, Anandamurti: “Yoga means unification…We must have yoga in all the three levels of life. If there is yoga only in the spiritual level and there is no yoga in the psychic and physical level, what will happen? The very existence of human beings will become unbalanced, human equipoise will be lost. So we must have yoga, or rather yoga-oriented movement, in each and every sphere of life.”

But not all yoga philosophies have urged the same balance; not all yogis have lived firmly rooted in this world. In Vedanta we are taught that this world is an illusion. Consequently some yogis have fled this world to seek salvation in spirit only.

There are always exceptions. Even though Vivekananda was a follower of Vedanta and did not think posture yoga (asanas) was very important, he was a political activist in his native India.

Still, I favor those who clearly favor balance in their world view. “Yoga in each and every sphere of life.” That is, when we buy yogurt a yogi is to consider not only how deliciously it melts on the tongue and how good it is for health but also how good it is for the planet’s health—how and where it was grown by farmers, animals and dirt. That is yogic ecology.

Yoga is then to ask ourselves: Is this yogurt both organic and local? If not, is it better to buy this local yogurt even though it is not organic, like that popular brand over there, which is produced 2000 miles away?  These are questions on the yogi/activist’s mind; these are questions every earth-yogi must make and answer. And, yes, these are questions without clear cut and easy answers.

Because, if all is one, the way my food is made and where it comes from, it matters. Because, if all is one, the less suffering I cause animals and the environment, it matters.

If all is one, as yoga says, it all matters. Not just my personal body and soul, but also the body and soul of others, the body and soul of animals, of plants. The body and soul of those people living over there.

But let’s not climb too high up on the ecological or activist pedestal. I have Appalachian Hillbilly neighbors who eat bears and have never heard the word asanas. They grow most of their own food and generally live lives much greener than I do, even though I try to shop local and organic and grow some veggies and live in a so-called green community.

To be a yogi activist, then, is to look the world straight in its face and answer all the uneasy questions in life and come up with workable, conscious compromises. Because, here on this dusty earth, perfection, like the sexy perfection in that sleek, sensual body of the Lululemon yogi, that kind of perfection is not the perfection the yogi activist will always find or even want.

Yogi perfection is, first of all, a state of mind, a state of heart, a state of consciousness; then that state of mind urges us into imperfect action. Imperfect action in the world of Shakti, the world of Samsara.

Still, we act by thinking, by feeling, that this world is also Brahma, also consciousness, also sacred. In Tantra that is acting from the state of madhuvidya, from the heart of honey knowledge. We act as if the world is a sweet and sacred place to live. Always.

If all is potentially sweet, if all is potentially one, how our economy runs, how our resources are shared, it matters. It can be part of our yoga, our enlightenment enterprise to Occupy Wall Street. We can do yoga by occupying space on the sidewalk to protest the firing of workers. It can be yoga to say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH to the CEO and the board of directors, who, like heroin addicts, stole the wages of these workers to increase their quarterly profit fix. Not to demonstrate because it is hip, but simply because it matters.

It can be yoga to say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH without hating those you say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH to.

In some of my retreats, I teach a meditation and visualization exercise developed by spiritual activist Andrew Harvey in which the aim is to break our hearts open to the world, to passionately find that heartbroken space within which resonates with that which is broken outside us.

Because that which is broken can heal, and that act of healing is yoga, that act of healing is spiritual activism. That act is part of the idea that Samsara and Nirvana are One, the idea that Shiva and Shakti are one in Brahma. The idea that what is Above is also Below.

That is Tantra, that is yoga. That is what the yogic transformation enterprise is all about: to blend that which is within us with that which is outside us. That is the sacred and often complex and neglected enterprise of yoga.

Yoga can mend ligaments, backs, hearts—and yoga can, in small and big ways, mend the world.

My guru, Anandamurti, had a saying: yoga is self-realization and service to the world. Living according to that saying landed him in jail, and he became the Nelson Mandela of yoga.

Because, if yoga is all about navel watching and retreating from this world, then what kind of yoga is it? The yoga of a selfish, lonely, separated soul in the body of a sexy Lululemon ad? The yoga of a body-denying ascetic whose nails are too long to feed himself?

It is no accident that religious enterprises which are about going-to-heaven-only and yogic enterprises which are for-myself-only have a one-dimensional resemblance to economists who define human behavior and aspirations in purely economic terms.

The economic human sees greed as good; that selfish aspirations are solely what an economy is built upon. And that fictionalized version of reality has created a fictionalized, phantom economy based on greed and speculation.

Likewise, the ego-driven yogi mistakes the beautiful body in the mirror for the beautiful self within.

And the ascetic thinks that by denying the body it will eventually evaporate into the transparent purity of soul.

Body-obsession and profit-obsession and ascetic-escaping-the-world-obsession thus share similar traits: they have great difficulty embracing reality in its wholeness, in its imperfect, complex yet sacred earthiness.

If yoga is holistic, which I believe it is, then part of its holism lies in its ability to embrace opposites and see the oneness in diversity and complexity. Yoga thus is not only about occupying the mat, the cushion and Wall Street, but about occupying the whole of reality, the whole of life in all its divine, imperfect and vast sacredness—in each and every moment of our lives.

That, and nothing less, is the yoga of imperfect perfection, the yoga of enlightenment with both a small and capital E. That is the yoga of sacred activism.

Asheville Kundalini Yoga

May 18-20

The Asheville Kundalini Yoga Community invites you to join us in our Spring celebration. Sacred Current will be three days of immersion and transformation through Kundalini Yoga, held in the beautiful mountains, just 25 miles north of Asheville, North Carolina.

Workshops will include Kundalini Yoga Classes, Aquarian Sadhana, Gong Meditations, Sat Nam Rasayan, Bound Lotus, Bhangra Dance, Vedic Astrology, Divine Alignment, Yoga & the Path of Spiritual Maturity, Radient Being: Living Your Light, Mastering the Fifth Chakra, Wahe Guru Kriya for the Subtle Body, nightly kirtan, and more!

Fourteen Teachers from as near as Asheville to L.A., will be conducting the workshops. During the three days of practice, healing, and learning, there will be time for contemplation, relaxation, hiking, swimming and fire circles. Trips can be planned to the nearby crystal-clear Laurel River, or soaking in the natural hot springs on the banks of a river in the quaint town of Hot Springs.

Our celebration is being held at the Prama Institute, a beautiful multi-faceted solar-powered facility with geodesic domes, workshop areas, outdoor stage and fir pit, areas for meditation and hiking, a sweat lodge, and plenty of space for camping — all tucked away on a secluded 150 acres of Blue Ridge mountain tops and virgin woods, overlooking the French Broad River.

Weekend tickets $175 include workshops, meals, camping, and parking; dormitory sleeping is $225, limited student camping tickets $125, and day passes $75. These are pre-registration prices until April 18th, after that all prices go up $25. Register Early, limited to 50 participants.

For more information or to register go online to www.AshevilleKundaliniYoga.com

Sept. 14-16, 2012

Click poster for full details!
Otherwise click here for more information.

by Kristine Kaoverii Weber

The mountain – majestic, powerful, immovable. In a’sana practice, everything comes from the mountain pose, (tadasana in Sanskrit) – from a place of stillness and balance. The mountain pose is done by standing steady with feet close together and arms by the sides. While the instructions in this pose form the basis for instructions in all poses, aligning with the vibration of this pose delivers a sense of peaceful steadiness .

It can be easy to gloss over this pose in anticipation of other more challenging postures ahead. But the mountain can give us insight into a deeper part of ourselves that may go overlooked if we jump off it too quickly.

Mountains appear stalwart, but at their root, deep within the earth, there is the potential for powerful seismic activity. In mountain pose the body appears still, but it is actually striving towards active balance and consolidating energy. In order to experience the powerful potential of tada’sana, imagine yourself as a mountain — direct energy both downward from the waist through the legs and root into the earth, and upward from the solar plexus through the heart and the crown to expand into the infinite.

Think of the waist as the fulcrum of mountain pose. It contains, at the navel, the bindu (point of origin) of the third chakra — the manipura or City of Jewels. When meditated upon, it is said one will see the manipura like a brilliantly illumined city, which speaks of the energy and power of this chakra. The manipura is the home of the luminous factor – one of the five fundamental factors (tattvas) that make up the stuff of the universe (the other four being solid, liquid, aerial and ethereal – each situated in one of the other lower five chakras). The luminous factor of the navel is often referred to as our fire – the fire of digestion, the fire that fuels the physical strength of the body, the fire of willpower and of wanting to do something in the world. Fire is powerful and if well directed, helps us accomplish what we want in our lives. It gives us the guts to be able to forge our own individual path, as well as the ability to stomach the challenges that path presents us with. If the fire is smoldering and we have weak digestion, weak will, or a lot of fear, we can use mountain pose to strengthen ourselves by imagining we’re breathing fire into the chakra and strengthening our resolve. Conversely, if fire consumes us and we have a lot of anger, an acidic stomach or a bullying nature, we can breathe coolness into the posture to subdue the fire. A strong but controlled fire will give us the ability to do what we need to, and want to, in the world.

Stay in the mountain and explore the subtle energy flows. If we can take the fire of will and action with us as we ideate downwards, we can allow it to connect to the primordial fire at the center of the mountain. Directing the mind to go down through our physical body roots us to the earth and prepares the psyche and spirit for the inevitable challenges we face in our lives. Directing the energy down helps us to move deeper into the layers of our psyche and connects us with the shadow or the darkness within ourselves. By going through this darkness with fire, we light the shadows, we bring clarity and awareness to our inner issues. If we let our fire burn with confidence and determination, we can face the pain our searching reveals with fortitude. A strong, controlled fire helps us to move boldly into the darkness rather than shrinking away from it and leaving our unconscious obscured out of fear or inertia.

Taking the fire upward, we warm the air, which abides in the heart chakra. A strong fire, directed towards the heart, helps us develop our personalities and become warm -compassionate and understanding both towards individuals, and our universal human family. Fire helps the air of the heart chakra expand, expanding our connection to others and our world. The belly is strong, the diaphragm works well, respiration and circulation are assisted and strengthened. This is a literal expansion of self – mind and body. The field of the heart chakra expands in ever-increasing concentric spheres. With this expansion our field of compassion increases. If we strengthen the fire but keep it only in the belly, it can overwhelm us and lead to distortions of power, ego and anger. When we direct the fire of the belly to the heart and let it move out through our arms and hands, out through our actions, we become the alchemists of fire, smelting our lives through it rather than allowing it to consume us.

The fire moves up further through the throat chakra and third eye, it becomes rarified as it finds its way to the crown. The crown chakra represents the top of the mountain – which in many cultures are sacred spaces, places where prayer flags fly and temples are built. In mountain pose this sacred space can be meditated upon to strengthen our connection to the infinite.

While many strong active poses give our mind an out by their very nature, in mountain, we can not run away from ourselves. If an emotion emerges during an active pose, the mind can easily shift the focus to the physical in order to divert itself. Yoga used only in this way may lead to injury because the mind is quickly shifted away from checking in with the body. Likewise, if we continually avoid our unconscious issues, they will eventually manifest physically. A practitioner may pull a hamstring or injure a shoulder because s/he is not conscious of the mind’s effect on the body. Eventually one may even develop an illness. Of course this dynamic occurs regardless of whether or not you’re practicing yoga. By practicing yoga consciously, we can deepen awareness of ourselves – our bodies, minds and our place on this planet – and understand on a deeper level why we experience certain illnesses or negative emotional states.

Rather than being a passive place to anticipate your practice, standing in mountain, being with yourself, allowing the pose to reveal your strengths and weaknesses, is a deep practice in and of itself. While active poses and vinyasa flows provide fuel for the fire of the manipura, the still poses like mountain teach us much about our inner landscape. We can use the fire of the belly to forge a clear path forward.

Kristine Kaoverii Weber, MA, e-RYT lives in Asheville, NC where she teaches yoga and conducts Subtle Yoga Teacher Trainings. She is also a shiatsu practitioner and has recently published her first book, Healing Self-Massage. Visit her website at subtleyoga.com.

with Carrington Jackson and Jill Sockman

March 30 – April 1

Get away from it all for a bit of peace and quiet. Join us for a weekend of yoga, meditation, hiking, laughter and community in the beautiful North Carolina mountains.

Just as we take time at the change of seasons to clean out closets and drawers, address long-neglected projects in the home and generally air out our surroundings, this is the perfect time for a little Spring Cleaning on the inside as well. As we move into Spring, we invite you to step away from the grind to wring out the insides, sweat out the toxins and breathe fresh air into your body, mind and heart. Join us!

Our time together begins on Friday with a late afternoon meditation and yoga practice, followed by dinner, an evening walk, and Yoga Nidra. Saturday you’ll have the option of early morning meditation, a light breakfast and an extended Vinyasa flow yoga class to start your day. After lunch, you’ve got the afternoon to explore, rest, read, hike—whatever you like before late afternoon yoga and dinner. We’ll gather again in the evening for a sunset walk, some socializing and fun. Sunday morning will look much like Saturday, with check-out after lunch. All activities are completely optional if you’d like to bring a non-yogi partner or friend.

Cost and Registration:
Before February 29 – $310
After February 29 – $340

Includes simple, shared eco-lodging for Friday and Saturday night, delicious meals from dinner on Friday through lunch on Sunday, daily yoga classes, meditation/pranayama, and evening activities. Afternoons are free for your enjoyment of the grounds or surrounding attractions. There are a limited number of private (double) rooms, and camping is also an option. If you are interested in a private room or camping, please contact us for pricing at info@bluelotusnc.com

Arrive Friday after 3pm