Teacher Feature: Get to Know Amber Vanbuhler

What was your intial experience with yoga? My initial experience with yoga was that it saved my life, changed my life and I am forever grateful for this practice.  When I was 20, I was diagnosed with a condition that would be with me for the rest of my life.  Although I was in excellent health (as per all the test results), I was in extreme and debilitating amounts of pain.  As counterintuitive as it may sound, I needed to […]

Teacher Feature: Get to Know Rosie Mulford

What was your intial experience with yoga? My very first introduction to yoga was in 1974 when my neighbor, Eve Diskin, then the president of the American Yoga association, came to my school to teach me how to do yoga. In all honesty the only thing I remember is that we did shoulder stand! And I thought it was so cool! What was cooler was that I was then given the opportunity to teach the younger kids how to do […]

Teacher Feature: Get to Know Seán Johnson

What was your intial experience with yoga? I’ll be honest— I was really turned off by my first experience with yoga. After having many friends tell me how I should try yoga for its peaceful benefits, I signed up for an Intro to Yoga course. As I lay down on my mat preparing for class to begin, the teacher walked over, stomped his foot onto the floor next to my mat, leaned over, and yelled at me to move my […]

Meditation on the Guru Mantra: To Heal

This is a beautiful little meditation, accessible to all, with so much potential!The mantra is one of self-healing, humility, relaxation, and expansion. Mantra: Guru Guru Wahe Guru, Guru Ram Das Guru This is a heart mantra, bringing the power of the heart, of the unknowablemystery, of miracles. Guru, of course, means teacher but implies not justany teacher but one that is significant to your path unfolding. Gu stands fordarkness, and Ru means light ~ this is the teacher that takes […]

Teacher Feature: Get to Know Gota Cebrero

What was your intial experience with yoga? My first experience with yoga was when I was traveling Latin America around 1999 with my backpack, a few pliers for my jewelry art craft, and no money, yet I had a lot of enthusiasm and curiosity for life. All that enthusiasm I had, I started getting carried away in a not so healthy way. Then, as always, when it came to my life, I felt a spark of yearning for seeking truth […]

Teacher Feature: Get to Know Sierra Hollister

What was your intial experience with yoga? The first yoga class that really captivated me was a power flow style with Sarah Powers. I was young – still in college, and a dedicated runner and climber at the time. Yoga was poetry for the body. In my attempts to find a class / teacher similar to Sarah, I stumbled into Ahimsa Ashram in Washington, DC and found kundalini yoga- which felt like rocket fuel to me. Some 30 years later, […]

5 Tips for A Sustainable Yoga Practice: Connecting On & Off The Mat

5 Tips for Your Yoga Practice: Connecting On & Off The Mat By Shayla DiTolla Committing to a regular yoga practice can be challenging, especially with the demands of our busy lives. While we all know how beneficial yoga is and how good we feel when we have a regular practice, sometimes the chaos of our days get us carried away. However, by following these five tips, you can begin to create a sustainable yoga routine and connect with yoga […]

Spring Renewal: Yoga Practices to Care for Your Self & Environment

Spring Renewal: Yoga Practices to Care for Your Self & Environment By Alex Rice The full bloom of spring has arrived – the buds and birds greet us each morning and offer us their vibrancy and song. This time of birth in the macrocosm around us reflects the opportunity for rebirth and renewal within:We can practice ahimsa or non-violence with others, mother Earth, and also ourselves. When we notice thoughts of judgment or criticism, there’s an opportunity to return to […]

You Already Know How: Yoga and Breathing​

You Already Know How: Yoga and Breathing By Susan Kraft Hello Asheville Yoga Community! Did you know that Ada Limón, the extraordinary 24th Poet Laureate of the United States, loves yoga? And yet, in a recent On Being podcast, she laughed while sharing the following:When I lived in New York City, my two best friends, I would always try to get them to go to yoga with me. And they would say, “I don’t want to go to yoga.” And […]

Warrior Breath: Astrological Archetypes & Yoga

Warrior Breath: Embodying Archetypes By Shala Worsley How I learned about ‘Warrior Breath’ A short time after I moved to Asheville, NC in 1996 I stumbled upon a little yoga practice room above an antique shop downtown. There was no sign outside advertising it as a studio or practice space. At the top of a narrow and creaking staircase there was simply a wooden bowl for donations. The room was dimly lit and I have a vague recollection of the […]