Cow Face Pose | Gomukhasana | with Brahmacharya Yoga Illustration

Brahmacharya: self-restraint, moderation, and the wise use of your vital energy - away from external desires and compulsive habits! - to move closer to the divine. Gomukhasana, Cow Face Pose, by Astrid Parker Kirschenbaum. 

Gomukhasana (Cow Face Pose) | Yoga Illustration 

My Brahmacharya: a Shopping Fast. A Shopping Fast’s greatest attribute is not the financial savings, but reclamation of one’s most precious resource - time. In order to reap this benefit: no browsing (in-person and, especially, online)! Stop the useless waste of physical and emotional energy by seriously considering and practicing Brahmacharya, the yogic Yama of restraint. 

Awkward Pose | Utkatasana on Tip Toes Yoga Illustration

Awkward pose on tip toes demands enhanced balance, stability and strength. We build these qualities in the Bikram or Hot Yoga studio in order show up mightily for our fellow mortals off of the mat. Utkatasana Illustrated by Astrid Parker Kirschenbaum. 

Mighty Utkatasana (Awkward Pose) on Tip Toes | Yoga Illustration 

We are here to serve, not to be served. 

Standing Separate Leg Head to Knee Pose | Dandayamana Bibhaktapada Janushirasana Yoga Illustration

HOT YOGA is your FACIAL 😊. Sweat for beauty in Bikram Yoga. Dandayamana Bibhaktapada Janushirasana, Standing Separate Leg Head to Knee Pose, illustrated by Astrid Parker Kirschenbaum .

Dandayamana Bibhaktapada Janushirasana (Standing Separate Leg Head to Knee Pose) | Yoga Illustration 

The Post-Yoga Glow is not a myth 😉.

Shoulder Stand | Sarvangasana Yoga Illustration

Yoga for hair health! Increase blood flow and refresh blood quality to the scalp with inversions. Shoulderstand illustration by Astrid Parker Kirschenbaum. 

Sarvangasana (Shoulder Stand) | Yoga Illustration 
‘Mother of All Asanas’ by Astrid Parker Kirschenbaum 

Yoga takes care of it all - even your tresses. For an enviable mane - head to your yoga studio to recalibrate your hormones, lower your stress, invert your blood flow (stretch your heart muscles), massage your head (rejuvenate your brain) and your ‘coat’ will surely show it. Also, the yogis know all of the natural tricks long before they become mainstream (Castor Oil, Scalp Massagers…) hang out at the Shala long enough and you’ll be sure to pick them up. 

Waterfall Pose with Block | Viparita Karani Yoga Illustration

Yoga is your facelift. Viparita Karani (Waterfall) or any pose where your heart is higher than your head will induce blood flow for a beautiful glow. Illustration by Astrid Parker Kirschenbaum.

Viparita Karani (Waterfall Pose with a Block) | Yoga Illustration 
Place a block under your sacrum and let the facial magic happen. ✨ 

Inversions lift the spirits and your face; reverse gravity and turn back time with Yoga. 

Wheel Pose | Chakrasana Yoga Illustration

In Yoga we aren’t working with principals and ideals, but physical experiences and tangible results. One-Legged Upward Facing Bow Pose (Eka Pada Urdhva Dhanurasana) illustrated by Astrid Parker Kirschenbaum.

Chakrasana or Eka Pada Urdhva Dhanurasana (Wheel Pose, One Legged Upward Facing Bow Pose) | Yoga Illustration 
Satya, Truth and Ahimsa, Non-harming: two of the five Yamas, Ethical Rules.

Yoga: action and results, not just theory. 

Goddess Pose on Tip Toes | Utkata Konasana Yoga Illustration

Slender, lean, and light is a mindset; yoga gives you that mindset. Goddess Pose has infinite arm variations, illustrated by Astrid Parker Kirschenbaum.

Utkata Konasana (Goddess Pose) | Yoga Illustration 
Lift the heels, dance the arms.

Yoga resets your original settings, which include healthy, active, carefree and open. 

Eight Angle Pose | Astavakrasana Yoga Illustration

Compose complex yoga poses (such as Eight Angle Pose), not a complex life. Astavakrasana Illustration by Astrid Parker Kirschenbaum. 

Astavakrasana (Eight Angle Pose) | Yoga Illustration 

So many Labor Day sales - Hesitating? Purchase nothing. Newness is not the answer. More is not better. 

Super Soldier Pose | Viparita Parivrtta Surya Yantrasana Yoga Illustration

Transform Airplane Pose to Super Soldier Pose by seizing your back foot with your opposite hand and bending forward as in Standing Splits. Heel to buttocks and knee higher, higher, higher! Illustrated by Astrid Parker Kirschenbaum.

 Viparita Parivrtta Surya Yantrasana (Super Soldier Pose) | Yoga Illustration 

Intricate and sophisticated yoga practice for plain and simple everyday existence: deepen and multi-facet your yoga life as you lighten and streamline your lifestyle life. 

Revolved Low Lunge Hands to Heart Center Dancer | Anjaneyasana Namaste Yoga Illustration

Always a new and interesting experience each and every yoga class; as below where a low lunge becomes a twist, backs up into a hamstring dance, and finally a multiple angled geometric shape… Illustrated by Astrid Parker Kirschenbaum. 

Anjaneyasana Twist (Revolved Low Lunge) Namaste | Yoga Illustration
Ears and eyes open; curiosity is the key. 

There would be no yoga happening for me without the studios. I can say this with certainty as I took the Summer off from classes and nary an intentional asana occurred for three months. 

I also missed the camaraderie - whence I attempted to return to Pilates the studio had moved over the break and now I’m surprising myself by deliberating driving the extra miles (in the pre-sunrise hours) to the new spot. 

Standing Forward Fold Twist | Parivrtta Uttanasana Yoga Illustration

Some days I may not twist exactly as the teacher says. Parivrtta Uttanasana, Forward Fold Twist, with a little extra chest stretch illustrated by Astrid Parker Kirschenbaum.

Parivrtta Uttanasana (forward Fold Twist) | Yoga Illustration 
Extra crank: pressing on a wall or reaching for a barre with the floating hand would feel even more satisfying.

Once you have put in the years and embody the alignment why not go ahead and get a little rogue. 

Surfer Lunge | Skandasana Yoga Illustration

Movement stretches you from the outside in, while breath stretches you from the inside out. Sultry Skandasana, or Surfer’s Low Lunge, illustrated by Astrid Parker Kirschenbaum. 

Skandasana (Surfer Lunge) | Yoga Illustration