West Asheville Yoga | Asheville NC

We managed to make it back early enough from the Smoky Mountains for me to catch a much needed gentle yoga class.

LOCATION: Used Waze for my trusty GPS system to navigate me to West Asheville which was only a 15-20 minute drive from our rental. West Asheville was described as the art district in my bazillion handouts, but at night I didn't feel completely safe walking around on my own. Luckily there was free parking right in front of the studio.    

STUDIO: Upon arrival I went to open the door to find it locked and then saw the sign that said the door is locked during classes and will open 10-15 minutes before the next class. On one hand, I liked that the door was locked through class, so no one interrupted and all ours stuff was safe at the front—on the other hand, it was chilly and waiting outside in a less than comfortable area of town wasn't my favorite thing to do. But the studio front is adorable and comforting (including a poster for our instructor from yesterday). Once inside I fell in love with the simplicity and frugality of the space. The front area was curtained off with cubbies for you belongings and a little check-in area. Class was on a sliding scale which I paid the full $12 in cash. Once in the practice area it was open, wood floors, free props in the back to the right, and a curtained off space with a sink and a bathroom to the left. One of the side walls, which I wish I took a picture of was a large white om on a white wall. It was such a subtle and beautiful addition to the room. The regulars were super friendly and we all chatted a bit before class started.

CLASS DESCRIPTION: Gentle Yoga is a very basic yoga class which focuses on the relaxation aspect of your practices. This class is great for someone wanting to de-stress, who is recovering from an injury or trauma, or who is very new to yoga.

INSTRUCTOR: Jacci Lea began yoga in New Orleans as a way to help with some back pain. Nearly 15 years later she still practices yoga. After many years of studying Iyengar yoga she now combines the techniques and alignment of that style with flow yoga. She taught classes for several years at Wild Lotus Yoga in New Oreleans before moving to Asheville—just a week before Katrina. Jacci received her yoga teaching training at Living Yoga in Austin, TX. Outside of the yoga studio Jacci has worked as a medical technologist for 25 years.

CONTACT: West Asheville Yoga

Jacci started off the class burning quite a bit of incense—mentioning that if it was too much to let us know. It took a little getting use to, but after awhile I completely forgot about it. The space was a bit warmer than usual, I assume because we were doing a gentle class. I found it all very cozy. Jacci spent a lot of time having us wake up the joints—shaking everything out even. We did a lot of nice core work from our backs (variations of drawing circles with your feet in the air). We took our time doing twists (a wonderful theme to my series of classes this week, which was much needed for this stressed out yogi). Jacci walked around doing adjustments, giving personal encouragement to each person, and as I've learned comes hand-in-hand with Iyengar, lots of detailed verbal queues (which I really enjoy).

We did a lot of openers that led us to ananda balasana (aka happy baby, wind releasing pose, and dead bug). I'm pausing here for my own tracking, because it was the first time—with some assistance from Jacci—I was able to reach my knee back to the ground. This gave me even more appreciation for having the opportunity to hike all day and end with a gentle class. My hips were very happy. Jacci was great with offering numerous options for each pose depending on your level. I haven't seen that in a while, so it also was appreciated.

We ended in a glorious savasana that was a beautiful finale to my yoga classes in Western North Carolina. Thank you so much West Asheville Yoga and Jacci! Namaste.

More from the front of the studio

Check in area

Practice space

Free props

Had to get a pic of the periodic table of yoga poses :)

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Living Yoga Center | Urbana, IL

What an amazing yoga moment for me! My mom came to visit for my birthday weekend and asked if we could go to a yoga class. Could we?!?! Of course! You all know my home studio, Living Yoga Center, by now, but to see it through the eyes of someone who has never done yoga, ever, is great! I'm going to let mom do the rest of the review, if I have to pipe in (because we all know I can't keep my mouth shut) it will be in italics from this point on.   

LOCATION: I obviously know where I'm going, but I imagine the first time it's a bit confusing. There isn't a large street sign to get in, and it's on the 2nd level. The easiest way to enter the studio is actually to park on the upper level of the parking garage and enter the door to the building up there. It takes you into a stairwell that you can either go upstairs or downstairs, but the door right there takes you into the studio. If you do enter from street level you walk into a foyer area where you can take an elevator up one level that, with the staircase next to the elevator also, spits you out into Green Yoga Spa's side of level two (which is shared and open with Living Yoga Center). 

STUDIO: I like it, it was nice and open. The space was self-explanatory as far as where to put stuff, where to change, where to get props or put them back. The studio was clean (I liked the shiny floors) and decorated nicely (the curtain rods made from tree branches was fun). The space was noisier than I expected, lots of footsteps outside of the room and clunking around. But that is the wood floors, I'm guessing (Living Yoga had the gas company in checking for leaks, so they were making some noise outside of the room—not a normal occurrence).   

CLASS DESCRIPTION: Gentle This gentle class eases you into yoga at your own pace.  Poses are modified to meet the needs of the participants.  Compassion is our guiding principle as we focus on increasing one’s range of motion, flexibility, and strength, while developing inner peacefulness and acceptance of ourselves. 

INSTRUCTOR: Jodi Adams, RYT, has been practicing yoga since 1991.  Jodi believes in the restorative benefits of yoga.  No matter one’s age or flexibility, she offers a practice to awaken strength, balance, and a mind/body connection. Yoga has served Jodi well through adversity and times of stress, and she is ultimately inspired to empower others to tap into their own inner strength, to find their voice, their breath, and their true Self.

CONTACT: Living Yoga Center

My daughter brought me up to Champaign to celebrate her birthday. She is a girl of many passions, but yoga was one I knew very little about and she was loving it.  It became a part of life... So thought it would be fun to learn a little of this passion with her. Off we went to my first yoga experience. This was an easy comfortable place to enter, Anni knew her way around the studio and had me all set up on the floor with the mat, cushion (bolster), and few other things that could or would make it all easier for me (two blocks, a strap, two bolsters, and a couple sand bags—the props Jodi set us up with was fun—we did one pose, Upavistha Konasana, where we used the sand bags on our upper thighs and folded over two bolsters to relax. More along the lines of yin yoga, where you hold the pose longer to get into the connective tissue, specifically ligaments and tendons in the joints and spine). Everyone at the studio was super nice and welcoming.

The class was small (which I really liked for a first time) and Jodi started us with simple sitting and breathing (guided meditation) and went into alignment and stretching (a lot of soothing neck openers) and then up on the knees (cats & cows—Chakravakasana) and all the way up to butt in the air (not the real name. Lol, that should be the name! But it was downward facing dog or Adho Mukha Svanasana). I thought the class was great, it was fun to do the first with my daughter, it was relaxing and at the same time I felt the stretch in the muscles and really loved the deeper breathing and concentration. I was concentrating so much that I didn't even notice the people around me, although I did sneak in a couple peeks at the instructor to make sure I was going into a pose correctly.  

I loved the experience with my daughter and would not be afraid to join a beginners class in my home area. Thanks to everyone who welcomed and taught me, and to Anni for sharing her passion.

Thank you, Mom, for trying something out that was out of your comfort zone—which is sometimes the best part about yoga, learning more about yourself, both in humbling and encouraging ways. But most of all, thank you for taking that little adventure with me—it means the world to me and was an excellent birthday present. Love you mom! 

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