Yoga is Smokin'
"Yoga is just like smoking." That's what Deb the waitress told me when I was a drinking, smoking confused 20-something aspiring writer who had just moved to San Francisco.
It was 1989, I finished my graduate degree a few months earlier in Washington, DC. That year was filled with books, papers, research and smoking. I sat at my friend's word processor (remember those?) and wrote about Ophelia, post-modernism and Kristevian feminism and smoked myself into a lovely case of young adult existential angst.
Then I moved to California. And IMHO, anyone who grew up in the Northeast needs to spend a bit of time decompressing in California. So I got a job as a waitress and went to lots of Grateful Dead shows. Deb, who had recently lost her PR job, was about 35, and reminded me of an even more nervous Demi Moore. She was waitressing in between things. We worked at this upscale lunch spot downtown and spent our breaks trying to figure out what the heck to do with the rest of our lives.
So I was sucking on a cancer stick and knowing that I wanted to quit she said, "Hey, why don't you start doing yoga?"
Blank stare.
"Look, it's just like smoking." And she put her fingers up to her mouth as if she was holding a cigarette and took a deep breath. "See, it's not about the nicotine, it's about deep breathing." Damn if that wasn't the smartest thing I'd ever heard.
A few weeks later, on my 24th birthday I gave myself the present of tobacco-free lungs. I threw away the pack I had. I bought several bottles of guava juice (someone told me it would detoxify my body - whatever!), a bottle of Beefeater gin and half a dozen limes. For two weeks after that, anytime I craved a cigarette, I put my fingers up to my mouth and took a deep breath - then I poured myself a stiff G&T.
Then I found a yoga class - and eventually that replaced the hard liquor too. I had started doing yoga in middle school so I had the general idea - and I had taken a bunch of classes in college. It would be a few more years before I got really serious about it.
So, it's a good New Year's resolution - do yoga. And if you have something you have to quit, then it'll be there to get you through it. When it came to cigarettes I had to do something about it. I had to quit. I was killing myself. I had a smoker's cough at 23! it was pretty pathetic. That's when the third chakra deity was necessary. His name is Rudra and he is ruthless. I like to call him the Nike God - no excuses, just do it. Sometime you need him to do something that you gotta do.
Not my kinda yoga man...
Subtle Yoga helps you approach the deepest part of yourself and allow that inner wisdom and knowing to flow into your daily life.
The next Subtle Yoga Teacher Training and Personal Transformation Program begins March 2009! Don't wait to apply, space is limited.
What is Subtle Yoga?
- Subtle Yoga develops subtle inner awareness and balances the subtle, energy body.
- In the spirit of traditional yoga, Subtle Yoga is holistic, therapeutic and integrates a broad range of practices including asanas, breathing practices, meditation, philosophy and a call to service.
- Subtle Yoga uses yoga poses which balance the chakra system in order to balance the mind. These postures are repeated in a subtle, flowing manner, coordinated with the breath and often performed with breath-retention and/or breath-counting techniques.
- Subtle Yoga seeks to balance the physical, the psycho-emotional and the spiritual aspects of self.
For more details, click here.
Special Holiday Class!
Restorative Yoga and Yoga Nidra
Thursdays, December 11 and 18 • 6-8 pm
At One Center Yoga, 120 Coxe Ave., downtown Asheville
Call 828.225.1904 to register. Or click here for One Center Yoga's website.
Yoga for Emotional Well-Being
a 6-week Subtle Yoga Class Series
Thursdays, January 8 - February 12
6-7:30 pm at One Center Yoga ($60)
Yoga is a great way to beat the winter doldrums! Join Kaoverii for this series, which will help you boost your mood and feel great this winter. We will look at yoga’s approach to depression, anxiety, obsessive and excessive thoughts, and stress. We will use yoga practices, including asana, meditation, pranayama and mudras to help you find balance and peace. Classes include meditation, chanting and aromatherapy self-massage. Sign up now!
Call 828.225.1904 to register. Or click here for One Center Yoga's website.
At West Asheville Yoga - in Jan. 09 - Look for dates soon
($40 - $60 sliding scale, drop-ins welcome on a space-available basis)
The ancient Tantric yogis were the first to perceive and illustrate the chakra system – they also developed practices to balance the chakras. In this 4 week series, you will learn how to use yoga poses and other practices to balance your chakra system – why balance the chakras? Because the chakras are the energetic controlling points of the body and mind. They are the subtle energy centers which govern your physical and emotional health and define personal and spiritual transformation.
This class will help you:
• become clearer about yourself and your life’s purpose
• improve your relationships
• benefit all health conditions
• create contentment and reduce stress
Visit www.westashevilleyoga.com.
Subtle Yoga Offerings
- Classes in Asheville, NC, click here for schedule.
- Subtle Yoga Training and Personal Transformation Program - the next program will begin in March 2009. This program will help you use yoga as a personal development tool. It is for anyone interested in learning a holistic system of personal development as well as:
- Health Professionals
- Therapists and Counselors
- Social Workers
- Educators
- Aspiring/Experienced Yoga Teachers
- Workshops - workshops range from 2 hours to 5 day intensives and include:
- Subtle Yoga
- Chakras and Subtle Anatomy
- Kirtan and Meditation
- The Yoga Sutras
- Healing Self-Massage
- Restorative Yoga and Yoga Nidra
- Yoga Therapy
- A Day in the Life of a Yogi
- The Subtle Art of Teaching Yoga
- Presentations
- The Bhagavad Gita - a multi-media production with music and dance.
- Books - Healing Self Massage, Sterling (2005). Kaoverii has also published an essay in the recently released compilation, Fire In Our Eyes, Flowers In Our Hearts: Tantric Women Tell Their Stories, Gurukul Press (2007).
- Articles – on various yoga philosophy topics. Articles which have appeared in magazines or the internet are available to all. Students of the Subtle Yoga Training and Personal Development Program have access to various other articles.
- Subtle Yoga Blog - blogging towards bliss.
Kaoverii has lots of tele-classes available through www.yogaspirit.com.
Visit their site to learn more!