Core Compression is Your Secret Weapon | Yoga Strength Illustration

Draw in the ribs, cinch the hip points together, lift from deep in the lower belly and engage the pelvic floor for strong asanas, smooth vinyasas and elevated movements. Core compression drill illustration by Astrid Parker Kirschenbaum. 

Compression Drill for Core Strength | Yoga Illustration 
Outward impact begins with inner stability.

Unlock advanced poses : Deep activation for a light body and controlled movement. 

Unlock your life: Cultivate pure, controlled inner strength for the quiet disciplined power that keeps your trajectory on course. 

So Simple this Child’s Pose | Sarala Balasana Yoga Illustration

Tent your fingers to streeeetch your back. Balasana illustration by Astrid Parker Kirschenbaum. 

Balasana (Child’s Pose ) with tented fingers | Yoga Illustration 

Sarala - simple, straightforward, easy. 

Sugama: easy to access, smooth, without obstacles. 

Sukara: easily done, requiring little effort. 

Sulabha: easy to obtain, available.

When child’s pose becomes sarala, sugama, sukara, and/or sulabha how fortunate we are and how far we have come!

Resting Half Frog Pose | Vishraam Ardha Bhekasana Yoga Illustration

Vishraam Ardha Bhekasana, Resting Half Frog Pose, like all Yin yoga poses is far more potent than it lets on. Hold for at least 3-5 minutes on each side. Illustration by Astrid Parker Kirschenbaum.

Vishraam Ardha Bhekasana (Resting Half Frog Pose) | Yin Yoga Illustration 
Use props and arms to rest and reset.

“I TRUST that this matter will handle itself.” Here I am squandering my time and depleting my energy on outside nonsense and drama!! 🎭 So I YIN my yoga for the foolishness and commotion to dissolve and fade away…

Padukabandhini Asana | Shoelace Pose | Down-to-Earth Yin Yoga Illustration

Keep your hands busy to keep your heart healthy. Padukabandhini Asana aka Shoelace Pose illustrated by Astrid Parker Kirschenbaum. 

Padukabandhini Asana (Shoelace Pose) | Yin Yoga Illustration
Dried and dyed pumpkin seed earrings. 🎃

Country girl: authentic, sincere, outdoorsy, hard-working, self-sufficient, resilient, community focused and practical. Country girls lead with kindness, integrity and cooperation for long term success, leadership roles and fulfilling relationships. 

Caterpillar Pose at the Farm | Yoga Illustration

As the Autumn Season unfolds we ought to begin to YIN: decelerate, adapt, nurture, yield, contemplate, soften, stabilize, rest, process, listen… Practice Yin Yoga - Paschimottanasana or Seated Forward Bend with a Bolster (Caterpillar Pose) illustrated by Astrid Parker Kirschenbaum. 

Paschimottanasana (Seated Forward Bend with a Yoga Bolster aka Caterpillar Pose) | Yin Yoga Illustration 
Support yourself with a yoga bolster, support your local farm with your patronage.
Solve every mystery.

The secrets to the universe and, hence, the answers to all of your problems can only be found inside of you, but sometimes a change of scenery is what draws those hidden solutions out. During the Autumn Equinox and Fall Harvest, I find myself spending increasing amounts of time on our Boulder County Farms gathering produce and product, attending events, or volunteering. Local Farms provide us commune with Mother Earth, synchrony with the lifecycles of nature, community with each-other and a remembrance of what it means to be human. 

Crossing the Midline - Vertical Plane | Revolved High Lunge | Yoga Illustration

Integrate your hemispheres by crossing the imaginary line that divides the left and right side of your body in poses such as this Lunge Twist illustrated by Astrid Parker Kirschenbaum.

Parivrtta Ashta Chandrasana Namaste (Revolved High Lunge Pose with Hands to Heart Center) | Yoga Illustration
Midline crossing (the vertical plane, here) is a regular occurrence in Yoga Practice.

Just as my 1st grader’s teacher is examining and strengthening the class’s ability to cross the midline, I, too, am continuously crossing the vertical plane each AM in yoga in order to fire on all cylinders (rehabilitate my mind), and restore wholeness (reunite my two sides). 

Seated Straddle Pose | Upavistha Konasana Yoga Illustration

Tilt the pelvis to neutralize the spine; for this pose to be remotely possible, I sit on the edge of a cushion or folded blanket and tip my tailbone up before hinging forward. Seated Wide Angle Forward Bend Illustration by Astrid Parker Kirschenbaum.

Upavistha Konasana (Seated Wide Angle Forward Bend) | Yoga Illustration 

At ages 40 to 50 we are at the peak and in the refinement process of the Grihastha, Householder stage of life (25 years to 50 years) where career, marriage, home and society is the ultimate testing ground for the soul! Enter KarmaYoga - selfless action. We cannot pause life for spirituality, so we treat our duties as sacred and labor passionately without attachment to the fruits. Under the crushing weight of responsibility we set ourselves free. 🐜 

Bound Extended Side Angle Pose | Baddha Utthita Parsvakonasana Yoga Illustration

You may not enjoy the pose, but you can own the pose. Bound extended side angle pose illustrated by Astrid Parker Kirschenbaum.

Baddha Utthita Parsvakonasana (Bound Extended Side Angle Pose) Yoga Illustration 

Stop tolerating, start owning: holding an uncomfortable yoga position longer than desired is how we practice our gritty life skills in the smooth yoga studio. 

Seated Meditation | Dhyana Mudra Asana | Yoga Illustration

Solve all of your problems with yoga! Dhyana Mudra Asana (Seated Meditation with the triangular, inner-peace, hand gesture) by Astrid Parker Kirschenbaum.

Dhyana Mudra Asana | Seated Meditation | Yoga Illustration 
Hands make a triangle.

FYI: The unlimited yoga benefits are equally enjoyed by yogis with a limited pose repertoire. 

Side Stretch | Ballet Barre Illustration

Come and get your humility at the yoga studio! Side stretch at the ballet barre illustration by Astrid Parker Kirschenbaum.

Side stretch at the ballet barre illustration.

By practicing yoga regularly we aim to accept ourselves exactly as we are, in order to accept others exactly as they are (and the world exactly as it is.) 🎁

Cow Face Pose | Gomukhasana | 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) | Brahmacharya 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)! 

Cease the useless waste of physical and emotional energy by seriously considering and practicing Brahmacharya, the yogic Yama of restraint. 

*Attempted Shopping Fast; a shopping fast is a personal, ongoing, ambitious objective. 

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.