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Weather permitting,
classes will run
on schedule throughout January!
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January
Mantra
Create your own "Sankalpa"
I was reminded of a wonderful practice during Ren Resch's Yoga Nidra Workshop last Saturday. She had us all create a Sankalpa (a heartfelt desire) for our practice that day, and I thought it would be a wonderful tool to share with you for the "Mantra of the Month" during this first month of the new year.
Choose a simple and fairly short phrase (or at least one short enough that you can remember easily and repeat several times throughout your day) that is specific and positive.
Ren reminded us that it's also important to phrase it in the present tense, as if it's already true. Some examples are: I am peace, all is well within me; I am living a life of joy and ease; I am abundant in all ways; etc.
After reading these ideas, take a few quiet moments for yourself and let the words just flow into you...feel the words (whatever they may be) resonating through all the cells in your body and visualize yourself as that.
Repeat your Sankalpa to yourself or out loud several times a day and watch as that which your heart desires is realized!
Shanti
(Peace to you all!)
Leigh Ann
Remember, the word "mantra" literally means "mind protector."
Repeating a mantra is the first step towards training the mind, allowing positive, beneficial thoughts to permeate your being and will, if practiced regularly, truly transform your experience of life!
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What can I expect from the Authentic Yoga Class?
Students will gain a basic understanding of the principles of Iyengar Yoga with a primary focus on the standing poses as they are the foundation for all other poses.
Other asanas (poses), such as seated postures, forward bends, twists, backward extensions, abdominal contractions and inversions will be introduced and explored on a very introductory basis.
Props will be used to accommodate the students' bodies so the poses can be understood on a deeper level.
In addition, students will, at times, explore the variety of ways poses can be combined and linked together to create a flowing sequence or "vinyasa."
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Happy New Year Everyone!
The studio is squeaky clean and eagerly awaiting your return to classes! All the blankets and mats have been washed and you will even find a spray bottle on the top shelf in the prop room of "spritz" for your mat - to spray on your mat before and/or after class if you'd like to try it! The floor has been cleaned, waxed and buffed and is quite slippery if you're in socked feet, so walk with awareness as you walk to and from the prop  room.
I am dedicated this year to beginning and ending classes on time and I hope you will be too. If you should be running late (because we all do at times) that's fine, just wait quietly outside the studio door until after the class has had a chance to sit together and to chant "OM" before you come into class. Just listen for sounds of movement and for the teacher to begin talking, then come in and find your spot. You'll have plenty of time to flow into your class and will not have disturbed those who are trying to concentrate and quiet their minds. It's good practice to even take a deep breath just after you come into the front door of the studio to signal to your body and mind that you are now in a practice mode. Then, by the time you come up the stairs, your mind is already in class.
I would like to thank all of you who came to the New Year's Day Benefit Class! Together, we raised just over $400 for the Hospice of Henderson County. It was truly wonderful and magical to see 41 of you practicing so hard for three hours and to feel the beautiful energy that was created during that time in our studio! My heart rejoiced and I just can't think of a better way to begin a new year than with yoga!!!
I hope this will be a year of peace, joy and abundance for you all! Remember to practice gratitude each and  every day...pausing several times throughout your day to consciously breathe and to give thanks for all the blessings (even the ones in disguise) in your life. I look forward to deepening our connections through the practice of yoga!
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Member Spotlight
Brooke McDade
Brooke first came to Brightwater Yoga about four years ago to take a Restorative Yoga class and is still taking Restorative classes today! She was, at the time, in the midst of a year-long Yoga Teacher Training with Stephanie Keach at the Asheville Yoga Center and teaching Pilates here in Hendersonville. I felt an instant connection to Brooke and invited her to begin teaching some classes at Brightwater Yoga, which she did immediately.
While on vacation in Hilton Head, several years earlier, Brooke  took her first yoga class. It was an Ashtanga class with just her and good friend, Tish. "It was amazing," Brooke explained to me, "I remember feeling rejuvenated and a rush of emotions after the class...I felt like crying. It was a profound experience!" She was hooked!
When she returned home, she googled yoga in our area, and found the Asheville Yoga Center. She took a variety of classes there for almost three years before deciding to enroll in the Teacher Training Program. It was during that year that a huge transformation too place within Brooke. "There was a lot of emotion involved," she confessed, "it was like I'd found something I'd been searching for my whole life."
That year of Svadyaya (or self-study) had put her life on track. In her 20's she had been feeling tired, sluggish and moody and, though she realized she had to do something or she was going to stay that way, she didn't quite know what to do. Yoga proved to be her answer. It became the conduit for her change. "All my thoughts and actions...my whole lifestyle, fell into alignment through my practice," Brooke emoted. She explained how, much of her life before yoga, she would look around at people and recognize a lack of awareness and she knew that she had a choice, just wasn't sure how to access it.
Today, Brooke takes full advantage of all the benefits a strong yoga practice can offer with her daily practice. "It's my medicine," smiled Brooke, "it's always about the awareness I get in my mind through the body with asana practice, my food intake, meditation, acupuncture and massage."
 As most of you know, Brooke is a Massage Therapist as well and owns Hendersonville Massage which is located at Brightwater Yoga where she's been practicing for two and a half years. Brooke says yoga led her to massage. In fact, she graduated from the Asheville School of Massage and Yoga which she consciously chose because it incorporated yoga into its curriculum. She believes the synergy between the two modalities enhances her ability as a massage therapist. "When I give a massage, it feels like a yoga practice," she elaborated. "It's me consciously breathing and positioning my body not only for myself, but for the person I am massaging."
It became quite clear to me as we spoke that Brooke has gone from searching for a conduit in her life to being that conduit for herself as well as for all those she massages and teaches! "Practicing yoga not only enhances my ability as a therapist, but also as a person!" she affirmed, "I'm living the life that I want."
In addition to loving her life at Brightwater Yoga, she loves the life she lives with her husband of eight years, Jonathan - who, by the way, is a natural and terrific yoga practitioner in his own right! Currently, Brooke teaches the Morning Flow class at Brightwater Yoga on Tuesday mornings, 9:30-11:00 and offers massages six days a week by appointment. As we concluded our chat, Brooke quoted an Avett Brother's song, "decide what to be and go be it." I think that says it all! Thanks for being "it", Brooke!
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right buttock to provide additional support. Continue to extend vertically up through your spine while letting the pelvis to release toward the floor evenly.
