Shauna's Monday and Wednesday night classes have changed from
5-6:30pm to 5:30-7:00pm!
Leigh Ann will be out of town from Sept. 19-26. Her classes will all run on a regular schedule and will be taught by Heather Rideout.
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Classes will run as scheduled over the Labor Day weekend!!!
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SEPTEMBER MANTRA
"Practice and all is coming."
- Sri K. Pattabhi Jois
This is more of a reminder than a mantra....but it works beautifully as a reminder that we are constantly practicing Yoga, on and off the mat!
If these words resonate with you, try repeating this mantra to yourself several times; several times a day all month.
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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I'm Still "WOW'd!"
I've been using the WOW Green products for five months now, both at my home and at the studio, and I honestly love them more every time I use them! They work so well and I just feel so good using them!
The fact that they are 100% all natural, toxin free and really work is just a win, win combination!!! The fact is, these products work better than just about any cleaning product I have ever tried.
My daughters love them too! When we received our first "Green Your Home Pack" in the mail, they were so excited with the presentation and they helped me sort out all the products. It provided me with the perfect opportunity to educate them about what "green" really means and to spark their interest in helping me clean around the house (which they still do, even 5 months later!).
I just can't say enough about these products and this company! I love it so much that I became an independent distributer with the same goal as the WOW Green Company...."to free the world of toxic chemicals, one household at a time!"
I have my own website through the company: www.wowgreen.net/65714 and you are free to visit that any time. You're welcome to order any products through that site or call me and I'll do that for you (698-5557). There's no obligation to sign up for auto-ship or to become a distributer at all. Just visit the site and do a little reading for yourself about the company and its fabulous products!!
If you'd like a free sample product, let me know when you come to class and I'll gladly oblige with whatever I happen to have on hand that day! I'm also more than happy to chat individually or to a group you put together about any of the products and their efficacy.
I love my family, my friends and this planet and I feel it's not only my pleasure to help keep everyone informed and healthy, it's my obligation!!! Try these products and you'll immediately see why I'm so "wow'd!" Namaste...... | |
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Life's Lessons from Berry-Picking
It is berry-picking time on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Lots of folks, young and old, climb out of their cars, buckets in hand, carrying on the tradition that the end of summer brings.
Blueberry bushes and blackberry vines are scattered across the landscape. The harvest is abundant this year, thanks to much needed rainfall.
As I stand here picking blueberries, I can hear others in conversation nearby, but I cannot see them. I feel as though I'm in a room with walls of Rhododendron and other native shrubs, with little openings here and there, leading to other rooms with berries. I can hear a child squeal with delight, "Look at the turtle, Grandpa!"
Picking berries. It's such a simple thing- something that brings people together and makes cherished memories.
I've come to look at this pastime as one of my best teachers. Picking fruit (or vegetables for that matter) takes patience, focus, and gentleness. I've comes to view it as part of my yoga practice. As I gently tug at the ripe little berries, I realize the importance of Ahimsa (nonviolence). If I yank too hard, I could break the branch or crush the berries (or send them flying in every direction). If I trample bushes trying to get to what I'm aiming for, not only could I hurt the bush but I could destroy a small animal's home.
Then there's Brahmacarya (moderation). If I get greedy and try to pick too much at once, chances are I will drop much of the handful on the ground.
Ahimsa and Brahmacarya are two of the Yamas (moral restraints) in Patanjali's eight-fold path of yoga. Another is Aparigraha (nonhoarding). This is probably my toughest one to practice when those berries are calling out to me! Not to take all the berries that I can reach; to leave some for others, especially the animals.
It's no surprise that these same practices - nonviolence, moderation, and nonhoarding - apply to every aspect of our daily life.
S0! - If you decide to head up to the parkway in the next few days, gather up your family or friends and some buckets and create a memorable afternoon- compliments of this beautiful nature that surrounds us. Allow yourself to be in the moment, to really pay attention, and to take in the beauty around you with gratefulness and compassion. Let this be your yoga, too!
-with love, Kathy  | | |
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September 2009 is Yoga Month!!!
September, 2009 marks a significant milestone in the "yoga for health" movement. It is the first official National Yoga Month (designated by the Department of Health & Human Services) designed to build awareness of yoga's proven health benefits and provide people with actionable guidance and tools to better their own well being.
At Brightwater Yoga we are kicking off this milestone by offering Kathy's Tuesday morning class on September 1st free to everyone! Yep, that means no punching cards after that class! If you have been wanting to try Kathy's class, but not yet had the opportunity to, this is the perfect opportunity!!
In addition to this "class gift," Leigh Ann will be gifting several of her weekly class on a random basis for the entire month of September! She'll announce when it's a "FREEBIE" before class, but would still like everyone to sign the class sheet, although she'll not be punching cards after those classes.
If you have friends who have been wanting to try Yoga, this is the perfect month to get started!!! The first class at Brightwater Yoga is ALWAYS FREE! In addition, our Monthly Class Cards are a super deal at $110 for as much Yoga as you can do in a month.
Why not make the commitment this month during National Yoga Month to deepen your commitment and our own Yoga Community by taking one or two more classes than you currently are. If you can't get to class any more often, why not choose this month to begin a daily home practice???
Spread the word to everyone that this is NATIONAL YOGA MONTH and that Brightwater Yoga is an excellent Yoga resource right here in Hendersonville for group classes - six days a week, private sessions, massage and an invaluable sense of community!
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Discover ways to tune in and balance the energy of the Chakras through yoga, and how to intertwine this with the groove of your practice and daily life. And if 'Chakra' is a new word for you, come learn how these energy centers within the subtle body can impact your overall wellness and health.
Click Here for details... | | |
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Breath, Body, Balance Workshop
Breathe with LIFE! Learn the art of mind/body healing through breath, tai chi, balacned brain chemistry, focused meditation, and incorporating wisdom of Spiritual principles on diet and lifestyles choices.
This two day workshop will enable you to:
~Enhance your physical, mental/emotional
and spiritual well-being
~ Create a deeper connection to your environment and the earth
~Access greater personal freedom
This Workshop is very hands on, experiential, fun, simple, practical, and meaningful. We will have a shared lunch of healthy organic whole foods while teaching about nuturition and well-being.
Facilitators: Courtney Brown and Dr. Leslie Wells, both born in America, but now living in New Zealand. Courtney is a Holistic Health Consultant and Leslie is a chiropratic wellness doctor practicing Network Spinal Analysis. 
When: Sept. 26, Saturday 9:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. & Sunday 27 1:00 - 5:00 p.m., 2009
Where: Brightwater Yoga Center, Hendersonville, NC
Investment: $130 for 2 day workshop Registration is due by Sept. 12th ($50 non-refundable) with balance due on the day of the workshop. PLEASE NOTE: Attendence by donation and sliding scale is available, for folks in need of financial assistance.
For more information contact Courtney Brown.
Space is limited, so sign up quick! | |
Member Spotlight ~Nina Mills
On August 1st, Nina Mills bought an unlimited monthly class card and has attended classes five to six days a week every since. In less than a month, my eyes have witnessed her literally transform due to her commitment and consistency.
 Prior to coming to Brightwater Yoga, Nina says she'd been practicing yoga on a sporadic basis for three years. "It was like a magnet drew me to Brightwater," she very passionately admitted. "Once you start doing yoga, it becomes a part of your life."
She has a strong meditation practice which she has had for over eight years. At 6:30 every morning, Nina sits for 45 minutes to an hour. "It's insight meditation. That means you become a witness to your thoughts and breath (not unlike that of yoga)" explained Nina. She thinks there is such great synergy between meditation and yoga. "Breath is the key...breathing just creates more mindfulness and that mindfulness filters into everyday life."
Before becoming a student at Brightwater, Nina read Light on Life by B.K.S. Iyengar and was completely inspired. She says she continues to read it over and over so much so that it's like a reference book to her now. "To me, yoga is truly body, mind, spirit - it's a wholeness practice," she radiated. "People think it's just exercise, and it is, but it's more than that. It's helped me with my relationships with other family members, friends and people I meet...it creates loving kindness."
When I asked her about her relationship with herself, she beautifully stated, "I like me!" We agreed that yoga is a journey and it takes a lot of inner work. "It helps you feel that connection to all that is...it's an awakening...no, it's a remembering!" she exclaimed as she literally lit up! It is hard work, as Nina says, and she's certainly been doing that work!
When I asked her if she's noticed the same transformation that I have, she said she definitely has. "I think less when I come to class more," she commented. "I feel my body a lot more and the inner strength I have...it's like a letting go of the mind." She admitted that at first she would try too hard to do the perfect pose and get really discouraged. As Sri B.K.S. Iyengar would say, "it's not yoga that injures the body, but the way one does yoga that injures the body." Now, Nina stops when she finds herself trying too hard (what I define as struggling) and feels where she is at that moment and stays right there...and that's when the struggle stops.
Would Nina have discovered that so soon without such a dedicated and consistent practice? I doubt it. That has to be discovered and experienced...it can't be taught. As Sri K. Pattabhi Jois used to say, "Practice and all is coming!"
Nina was recently divorced after 33 years of marriage and is the mother of 3 sons, 24, 21 and 19 who are currently all living with her (yeah yoga!!!). She is a retired graphic artist who worked for the American Chemical Society in Washington, D.C. for 31 years. The ACS published five chemistry magazines and one weekly, where Nina worked. She has dabbled in fine arts all her life, mostly painting portraits and landscapes as a way to express her natural gifts as an artist, but is not feeling the desire to do so at the moment.
Now she hikes and does yoga to fulfill her passion. Nina is diving deep and discovering who she is and wants to be. "It's about being in your power," she so eloquently stated. Now that's a good reminder for all of us! Oh, and I am delighted to report that Nina is in a very loving relationship and is happier than she's ever been!!! | |
The Yoga of Conscious Embodiment:
A Path to the Sacred Inner Self
with Eliana Baccas
Sunday, October 11, 1 - 4 p.m. at "Brightwater Yoga"
By connecting with the ancient roots of Yoga, we can open the doorway into the possibility of living the sacred in an embodied way. Whether you are a long time yoga practitioner, are just starting out, or are somewhere in between, this workshop will enliven and enrich your experience of yoga, yourself and your life. Tuition is $49 (if paid by September 26); $55 after 9/26.
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September's Spectacular Asana:
Adho Mukha Svanasana
(AH-doh MOO-kah shvah-NAHS-anna)
Downward Facing Dog Pose
Step 1: Begin on your hands and knees with the knees directly below the hips and the hands a couple of inches forward of the shoulders. Spread your fingers apart and press your whole hand into your mat as if you were making an impression of your hands. Straighten the arms and lift your collar bones up away from the floor which will bring your shoulder blades onto the back ribs. Maintaining these actions, draw your abdomen in toward the spine and the tailbone gently down  toward the floor.
Step 2: Continue pressing the hands into the floor and tuck your toes under and lift the knees away from the floor to take the hips up toward the ceiling and back toward the wall behind you.
Step 3: Bend the knees slightly, allowing the heels to come up and press your hands isometrically down and forward. Lift your sits bones and the tops of your hamstrings up away from the heels and begin to straighten your legs. Press your heels toward the floor (they may not come all the way to the floor!) and strongly back toward the wall behind you. Press the front thighs back and allow the torso to continue moving toward the front thighs.
Step 4: All the while, keep the arms straight by pressing the base of your index fingers and thumbs firmly down and straighten the elbows by drawing the outer upper arms up and in toward the ears. Keep your neck relaxed and your head between the upper arms; don't let it hang.
Step 5: Stay in the pose for at least 3 breaths and longer if you can. To come out, bring the knees to the floor and release. Repeat, or take the hips back to the heels and rest in Child's pose for a few breaths.
Enjoy!!! | |
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Two Year Anniversary Special!!!
To celebrate two years at Brightwater Yoga, Brooke is offering a special  package of 3 massages for $195 and you get the 4th one FREE!!!
OR $20 off any massage!!!
All purchases must be made by November 1, 2009 and this coupon must be presented at the time of purchase!
Call Brooke at 699-7599!
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Meredith Boyd's August Massage Special has been extended through September!!!!
 Buy two massages at the regular price of $65, you get a third for $35!!
Be sure to take advantage of this amazing offer today!! You deserve it!
She is also now offering gift cards that can be applied toward massage for any amount!
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| Offer Expires: September 30, 2009 | | |
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