Camel Pose | Ustrasana | Gyan Mudra Yoga Illustration

Union with the divine - Gyan Mudra: form a gentle circle (unbroken energy loop) with the tip of index finger (individual soul) touching the tip of the thumb (supreme universal consciousness). Ustrasana, Camel Pose, with Gyan Mudra, the hand gesture of Union, illustration by Astrid Parker Kirschenbaum.

Ustrasana (Camel Pose) with Gyan Mudra | Yoga Illustration 
I keep my eyes peeled for cotton, bamboo* or similarly soft and organic clothing in genuine colors.
 * I realize the various fibers have their advantages and shortcomings, so context must always be taken into consideration. 

No compromises on the garments you wear! Dressing is a necessity, not a frivolity. Clothing is the single layer between you and the world, it is an artistic expression and it is a significant contributor to your comfort and health. Your outfit envelopes your skin! Be wise and take great care in composing, supervising and maintaining your closet of clothing.

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 destiny: Cultivate pure, controlled inner strength for the quiet disciplined power that keeps your life’s 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…

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 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. 

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. 

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 

Breakable | Yoga Ballerina Illustration

Shatter your self-image and worldly perceptions in yoga: be breakable. Illustration by Astrid Parker Kirschenbaum.

Elegant, soft, fluid | Dance Your Yoga | Ballet Style | Ballerina Illustration

“Unbreakable” read the woman’s shirt next to me in my weight lifting class this AM, which made me ponder: what adjectives do I aspire to through my yoga? Graceful, poised, fluid, flexible, versatile, supple, compassionate, soft, warm, glowing, radiant… quite dissimilar from unbreakable.