Vinyasa, Flow, Yoga: move faster if you are tired and slower when you are wired. Eka Pada Chaturanga Dandasana Vinyasa Yoga illustration by Astrid Parker Kirschenbaum.
 |
| Eka Pada Chaturanga Dandasana Vinyasa (One Legged Four Limbed Staff Pose Flow) | Yoga Illustration |
Maintain predictability, routine, consistency and a preference for the quiet life past the critical threshold for accumulated momentum to kick in and results will skyrocket drastically.
I get a little closer to and then a little further away from a successful Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana each time I revisit the pose. That is why I love to practice Standing Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose.🪞The human experience is mirrored in every yoga class - illustrations and illuminations by Astrid Parker Kirschenbaum.
 |
| Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana (Standing Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose) | Yoga Illustration |
I botched a trip this month by booking the wrong weekend and am therefore missing the event (wedding) I am traveling across the country for, but I have this spontaneous feeling that something special will come of the embarrassing and irreversible blunder, so I am making the voyage regardless. 🪩
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…
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. 🎃 |
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.
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. |
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 |
 |
| Virabhadrasana II - Warrior 2 Pose FOMO free 🌞 |
In the Summertime activities are optional.
 |
| Kapotasana - Pigeon Pose with bolster 🐦 |
Am I ‘taking others into consideration’ or am I consumed with what they think… 🤔
 |
| Makarasana - Crocodile Pose 🐊 To prevent falling asleep, lay your forehead on your forearms in Makarasana. Relax deeply into diaphragmatic breathing, |
Post-trip / post-event / post-big-life-moment blues? 💙 Deep relaxation will absorb all that you have learned and gained from the experience. Become transformed and changed by the standout parts of your life’s story by pausing (in this prone position). Crocodile pose will relieve tension, calm the nerves and promote restoration.
 |
| Matsya Kridasana - Flapping Fish Pose |
My father once pointed out to me, his procrastinating daughter, “thinking about writing a thank you note and writing it are not the same thing.” As in the Japanese proverb: Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is chaos.
 |
| Raja Bhujangasana - King Cobra Pose 🐍 |
There are climb the mountain days, enjoy the view days, plan which mountain to climb next days … not everyday is a climb the mountain day.
 |
| Vajrasana - Thunderbolt Pose Muladhara - Root Chakra: earthy, deep red 1st Chakra located at the pelvic floor |
The red root chakra at the pelvic floor manifests itself as our connection to the physical world. If MATERIALISM beyond survival, stability and safety, has become a fixation for you (it has been an obsession for me,) there is an abundance of Muladhara.
Ascend your energy out of the red Muladhara, located at the base of the spine, with your mind’s eye: your imagination. Levitate your vitality up the body through the rainbow of colors from red to orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and ultimately, to the aura that surrounds you in violet, pink and white. Picture this rainbow flowing upward, outward and skyward into translucent stars as you go about your day.
Make decisions from this pink, white, ultraviolet, sparkling perspective and quickly you will begin to lighten up!
 |
| Upavistha Konasana - wall Straddle Pose I just love love love (cute, soft) pajamas. |
There are seasons where living your yoga may not involve actual yoga… as in no-holds-barred convos over ice-cream sundaes poolside or hanging in your PJ's until the PM part of the day.
 |
| Parivrtta Utkatasana - Twisting Chair Pose |
 |
| Urdhva Dhanurasana - Wheel Pose 🎡 |
Just lay it all on the yoga mat for the universe to figure out.
Wrestling with my usual mommy / wifey / community conundrums, I arrived at hot yoga in a tizzy. So I just gave it all over to something greater. Immediately an unexpected course of action - to embrace what I had been rejecting - was proffered by the divine. By opting for this original possibility I then floated through the remainder of the (rife with responsibilities) day in pure peace. OM Shanti OM. Namaste.
 |
| Bhujangasana - Cobra Pose 🐍 |
SPRING - bright sun, dark clouds; high temperatures, UV rays, summer-like days, drizzle, pouring rain, sleet, hail, snow, storms, sunshine, tan-time … and all the moods that come with it!
 |
| Prasarita Padottanasana III - Wide Legged Forward Fold C |
What was the cherry (peak) and what was the pit (valley) of your day? We use this as our analogy since our last name is “Kirschenbaum”, German for Cherry Tree. 🍒
When our family has been apart for the day’s working hours conquering the world, we dine together at sunset while comparing notes, but when the weekend has been seemingly endless hours of “mom”, “MOM”, “dad”, “DAD”, why not serve the children separately?
 |
| Curtsy Lunge |
 |
| Anjaneyasana - exalted Low Lunge |
Journaling, self-caring, socializing, sharing, brunching, hiking, bubble baths, romantic movies, great books…. Integrating ones week may be as simple as: extra weekend sleep.
