All posts tagged: Ashtanga

The Case for Chaturanga Arms: Learning from Expert Jennifer Martin

Chaturanga is one of the primary moves we learn from day one in yoga. It’s like our basic corner stone, but we often need assistance truly getting this asana (pose) correct. I went to an awesome arm balance and inversions workshop presented this past weekend by the amazing Jennifer Martin. I don’t know if she has any bones in her body, because she’s ridiculously flexible, but her strength is beyond inspirational as well. The east coast as a whole as obviously displeased the weather gods. We’re being constantly brutalized by a barrage of ice storms and snow, and while I love a good over sized sweater as much as any other #basicbitch, there’s only so many layers a girl can wear before looking like that waddling kiddo from The Christmas Story. I personally wear about twenty thousand layers when it’s cold outside, because my Texas blood cannot handle the cold. Creatures who dress cute when it’s negative degrees outside are some kind of ice demon and are not to be trusted. Seriously. They aren’t normal. …

Inversion Workshop with Marie Belle

Workshops are an amazing and frustrating experience. They’re a phenomenal way to learn new tips and tricks, but at the same time, there are some yoga skills that you simply cannot ever ever ever learn overnight. Yoga forces us to be patient and persistent. You might be able to conceptually understand how to do an asana, but your body will demand you work to obtain the strength and flexibility to get there. Time is our friend when it comes to learning yoga. We can look back and see great growth, even if it doesn’t feel like it while we’re marching on. District Yoga recently held an incredible inversions workshop by internationally renowned Marie Belle. Not only is she a phenomenal yogini and teacher, but she has the most intelligent and beautiful approach to life. Over 100 people crammed into the studio to learn from her, and she still made it feel like a group of friends just hanging out to do some intense yoga. I’m personally tremendously inspired when someone has a rare combination of …