Downward Facing Dog 

(Adho Mukha Svanasana )

Adho Mukha Svanasana or Downward Facing Dog is classified as an inversion as well as an arm balance and a basic standing pose that elongates the spine and works the entire body. Great for beginners! 

Adho Mukha Svanasana is part of the Family of Foundational Yoga Poses, a collection of poses that act as the essential building blocks of a strong physical practice. Foundational poses are used to build upon and are effective prep and counter poses to many other asanas. They help us become more aware of habitual patterns of asymmetry in our bodies. They teach symmetry and are strengthening and stabilizing.

STEP BY STEP HOW TO: DOWNWARD FACING DOG

1. Start in plank pose with your shoulders over your wrists. Hands should be shoulder-width apart and grounded through four corners of your palms.
2. Press down and out into your hands and lift your hips up and back
3. Pressing through fingertips, paying special attention to rooting the space between thumb and first finger. (use a blanket for wrist pain) 
4. Lift and engage forearms.
5. Broaden through collarbones.
6. Externally rotate inner-upper arms to widen shoulder blades.
7. Remove all tension from neck
8. Reach the heels toward the floor. Careful not to hyperextending the knees (If your hamstrings feel tight, you can put a slight bend in the knees)
9. Hold for at least 3 breaths. 
10. To exit pose, simply lower back to plank and onto the floor. 

Go deeper! Try placing a block between your inner-upper thighs. Squeeze the block, press into your hands, lift lower arms to the sky, engage thighs and curl tailbone into your naval. Hold for 3 - 5 breaths. 

Benefits ☺

• Lengthens spine, hamstrings and calf muscles. 
• Strengthens upper body, forearms and wrists.
• Slows heart rate as a result of being a slight inversion, making it a calming pose for the mind and nervous system.
• Alleviates low back pain.

Energetics  ☽☉☾

• Grounding
• Balancing
• Stimulating
• Neutralizing

꩜ Balances Root & Heart Chakras

Perfectionism. 

I'm sharing all of this because: CONNECTION, Joy, Healing. 

Tadasana or Mountain Pose is considered a basic standing pose and is safe for beginners. 

Tadasana is part of the Family of Foundational Yoga Poses, a collection of poses that act as the essential building blocks of a strong physical practice. Foundational poses are used to build upon and are effective prep and counterpose to many other asanas. They help us become more aware of habitual patterns of asymmetry in our bodies. They teach symmetry and are strengthening and stabilizing.

How To: Mountain Pose⛰

1. Begin at the top of your mat in a natural stance, feet slightly apart.
2. Hips are stacked above feet. Heart over hips.
3. Now start to ground down from the bottom of your feet by pressing into the four corners of each foot. Try lifting your toes and rooting through the 4 corners (the ball joint under the big toe, the ball joint under the pinky toe, and the 2 corners of the back heel.) Once you are fully planted, lower your toes to the ground.
4. Draw the energy upward by lifting the calf muscles, knee caps, engaging the quads, and engaging the core.
5. Rotate your inner thighs back, spreading your sitting bones and dropping your tailbone toward your heels. This lengthens your lower back and lifts the front of your pelvis slightly. (Be sure to maintain the natural curve of the spine)
6. Find length in the spine as the lowest part of your abdomen lifts and engages and your tailbone roots.
7. Lift and broaden your chest by drawing your shoulders back and your shoulder blades down. (roll them up and down)
8. Palms are facing the front of the mat. Fingers are relaxed
9. We are giving equal attention to rooting and rising.
10. Lift through the crown of the head, keep gaze level and soft. Chin draws back toward the base of the spine. 
11. Breathe deep.
12. To exit the pose: Relax your arms and legs and stand with a neutral spine.

Benefits ☺

• Promotes safe, healthy alignment of the body and its flow of energy
• Creates balance and body awareness
• Improves posture by restoring natural alignment and adaptability in feet
• Strengthens feet and ankles
• Alleviates fatigue

Energetics  ☽☉☾

• Grounding
• Centering - pulls scattered energy in
• Lengthening
• Stabilizing

꩜ Balances Chakras 1 - 7

"when we choose to stay with our practice despite the inevitable highs and lows in our lives, we are actively choosing to focus our awareness on that part of us that is unchanging." - D. Farhi

I also really enjoyed the chapter on discipline as this is something I am always trying to cultivate in my life. Donna says, “when we choose to stay with our practice despite the inevitable highs and lows in our lives, we are actively choosing to focus our awareness on that part of us that is unchanging.” As someone who is ruled by her emotions, this chapter and the chapter titled “the Riptide of Strong Emotions” were both inspiring and encouraging to me. I believe somewhere Donna says: “practice anyway”. That was my mantra that best connected me with my intention throughout this Yoga Training. I may feel uninspired, frustrated, distracted, depressed but I tell myself to practice anyway- in whatever capacity. I made it a goal to get on my mat even if it was just to sit for five minutes and check in.


I often wonder why it is so hard to do the things we know will bring us happiness, health, wealth, etc. Why are we so resistant to devoting ourselves to the things that we know will be good for us? Well, Donna does a great job at explaining why that resistance sticks around. She says in the chapter of “The Freedom of Discipline”, that “resistance to practice occurs when we have not yet formed a clear intention. Until we form a clear intention, we cannot rally our energy and align with our goal.”


On day one of this training, Kelsey asked us to form our intention, or rather let our intention arise during our meditation. I had already given this some thought and made notes about it in my training manual. There were lots of goals and aspirations- things like, “to dive deeper into my curiosity of yoga, to connect with others on the same path, to learn what I needed to be a teacher, to gain confidence, to be a guide, to serve, to embody a strong, steady and peaceful spirit.” Then during the meditation the word: “becoming” came to me and I knew that this is why I was here. To become the true version of myself, to continue the work of untangling the limits and lies and conditioning. To become the vision I hold for myself. To become united in body, mind and soul. To become the teacher and the student.


So daily I remind myself, to practice anyway and trust in the process of becoming. My yoga practice is evolving just as life itself is.

At roughly 7:15 am every day I wake up. . . usually too sound of my small hungry humans.

I ready myself to face the day . . . even if the ground is covered in snow for the 11th day in a row. Even though I haven’t left the house in weeks, even though my day looks the same as it did yesterday, even though I’m so tired I could sleep for 4 days straight . .  I know the day will be long and hard, but I get up. I choose to be grateful and like a warrior getting ready for battle I step into the arena. 

Here’s how it goes:

Feed the baby

Check on the toddler

Put wood on the fire

Make Coffee

Give Toddler Snack

Try to Brush Teeth (Maybe)

Clean 2 dishes 

Try to work

Feed baby 

Cry because you’ve already hit a wall

Dry the tears 

Try to work some more 

Feed Baby

Say bye to nanny and wish you hired her to say longer

Try not to feel guilty about the snowy driveway

Make more coffee

Play with toddler and forget about drinking coffee

Put more wood on the fire

Try to eat lunch while keeping baby happy while

Facetime with pregnant sister to vent about  toddler venting

FInally, change clothes from all the spit up, don’t worry about the pants. No time.

Record thoughts of rage so they don’t build up inside

Try to practice asana . . .

On a mat covered in crumbs, dirt, and dog hair

Try not to clean it up, try to keep moving, try to keep the mind focused

Give up and have a dance party with kids instead

Feed Baby and try to make a mental grocery list

Finally, get around to changing pants 

Try to get both kids to nap at the same time

Dance some more so I don’t cry

Try again to get kids to nap . . . ( somehow by the grace of God, succeed)

As soon as they wake up - get more wood for the fire that is definitely out by now

Decide to take kids to play in the snow

Try not to regret the decision

Try to get a family picture but the toddler refuses

Try to let him cry it out (that’s healthy, right?)

Try to get him happy

Go Back inside . . . check on the fire

Try to relax a bit  . . . 

But instead, keep thinking about how both kids really need a bath

Eat dinner on the couch and ignore how messy the house is

Try to make a mental list of everyone you still need to thank for the wedding gifts

End day in awe of how exhausting motherhood is and marvel for a bit that I created humans with the love of my life. 

Like wow. 

So - basically when I lay it out like that it looks like my life is a lot of  “trying”. A lot of striving (moving heaven and Earth) Does this hit a tender spot? Yeah, if you are a mom of littles then I’m willing to bet your day looks a lot like mine. 

When life is rough and heavy. When you have nothing left in the tank and you are running on reserves- Trying is the only thing you can do. Sometimes in life, all we can do is show up and be ready to take the next step. 

“TRYING is enough.” This is something I hear tossed around a lot in the Self Care realm. SHOWING UP every single day (and night for us newborn moms) and giving it your best - it’s everything. 

Or is it? . . .

What if there is one more thing we could do to bring some ease into our lives? Something really simple, but for it to work it takes being devoted, Discipline. Would you be willing to devote yourself to another way for a life of more peace? If so, stay with me. 

As moms, we don't really have a choice. Do you feel this way? Trying is what we do. (we try - it’s our struggle and strife) And for a lot of us, this creates an appetite for freedom. We feel stuck and like everyone around us sees us but no one is REALLY seeing us. So this desire for spontaneity grows and our longing for recognition builds and builds. Until eventually we are energetically trapped by these very real deep emotions.

This relentless role of being a mother can yield a real bad attitude if we aren’t careful. (If we aren’t practicing self-awareness) I know for me, especially with my first son, all the days of “trying” with no time for self-care led to me showing up as a version of myself I didn’t like. (which led to pp depression)

I was trying really really hard every day and night. But there was something deep inside that made my “trying” harder than it should have been. A lot of unprocessed emotions. And hey, I get it. I know what you are thinking - who the FLIP has time to process emotions as a new mom. Those first 12 weeks are survival mode. And I salute you. If you aren’t in a place to process, carry on as a soldier. 

But a lot of us can do this one simple thing. 

Stay with me. I’m proposing that we have options. Yes! Hallelujah. We have a new option other than simply, grinding through the day. Tell me more... 

Option One: Do as we have been doing. 

We can wake up and try as regular ole moms and live into the narrative that life sucks and I never get a break and everything is gross and terrible and I can't go to the grocery store without going over budget because Johnny had to have too many things that weren’t on the list and I don’t have the energy to tame a public tantrum.  

We can show up with our silent rage, suppressed resentment, self-pity, mom-guilt,  alllllllll the Unprocessed emotions. We can let our bitterness steep in us until it has hardened our hearts and suddenly we realize we are way short on patience, yelling at the dog, slamming cabinets shut, blaming our partners for everything under the sun, and . . .  just so not ourselves. It’s hard. Not Ideal. But we get through it. 

Option Two: We can shift our perspective a bit while crushing some limiting beliefs and FREEING ourselves from the heaviness by choosing the path of the Warrior- one who shows up with honor and love. 

We can try our way through the day . . . OR we can rise as warriors.

Deep down we know that it's an honor to be a mother but that truth is so hard to hold in the front of our mind, after so many night feedings and cleaning up dried oatmeal and trying to calm down a kid who is way too upset that his graham cracker just broke in half. 

Our warrior self gets buried by the waves of motherhood. We get bogged down by the mommy fatigue, the mommy guilt, birth trauma, all the mommy things -  that we end up grasping for others to pull us up out of the sand, out of the waves, and into the sun. 

I know personally- this was me, 2.5 years ago with my son River.  I was so hungry for someone to tell me I was doing a great job or that I deserved a break. I was so exhausted, mentally, emotionally, energetically that I couldn’t even remember that I could give myself permission to rest, that I could allow someone to help, that I deserved a night out with my friends. I couldn’t remember I was a warrior. So I just accepted that this was life (which was so depressing) and I kept waking up to get smacked in the face by the waves. 

Someone reminded me that there is another way. Another path, the path of the warrior, which is what I’m here to tell you. 

You are a warrior.

And if you don’t feel like that, may I propose: A daily Yoga practice? One that connects you with this warrior energy.

I encourage you to get on your yoga mat and work out those feelings. Clear out the channel for Love to flow so you can show up, more often than not, with a WARRIOR HEART... So you can feel FREE because when we show up as warriors  . .  the feelings of “ I have to do this” turn into feelings of “I get to do this”. 

That Warrior Love is there. It’s in us, Mothers- it’s how we get up at 3am, homeschool during a pandemic, grocery shop with screaming toddlers, and sing the ABCs with smiles on our faces even though we’ve been doing it for God knows how long.

This life is not easy. It’s not easy being a mother who can go about the day with a strong and steady spirit. 

But a warrior is molded in struggle. A warrior keeps an undying fire lit inside their heart, which only they can blow out themselves.

So don’t blow out your fire. Stop reinforcing negativity. Embrace the challenges. Tap into your Warrior Heart. 

You don’t have to have a yoga mat or some elaborate practice to do this. Look in the mirror and see what you've been waiting for others to recognize. tell yourself what you have been waiting to hear- that you are WORTHY, that you are RADIANT, that you are SUPERHUMAN, that you are RESILIENT, MORE. Let motherhood FREE you from those beliefs that you aren’t worthy or deserving or capable. It’s just not true.

Warriors know their strength & power. They are courageous, confident. They trust & love. (ahem, all the principles of motherhood, are they not?)

Yoga has become a way to keep me connected with this truth and it has brought so much EASE and Lightness into my life. 

We moms are warriors of the heart. Love is what we fight for. It’s how we keep showing up, everyday no matter what. 

So what will you choose: will you simply try? Or will you choose to rise and

Photo: RaMa

I had been curious about Kundalini for years. Although, it had never been intriguing enough to try it out. I knew Kundalini had something to do with intense breath work and that Guru Singh does it at the end of all his podcasts, but that was about all I knew. In my energy healing apprenticeship, we had done a bit of breath work and I dreaded it. Mainly, because I was terrible at it and it was a tender time in my life to be terrible at things. And yet here I am- writing about how much my spirit is craving to breathe deeper and more fully these days- terrible or not, Kundalini here I come.

Change of plans.

As I was driving to the gym, ya know, to really sweat and exercise I was feeling this intuitive nudge to skip running. How about opting for something more gentle and more contained, I heard my spirit whisper. I pulled over and quickly searched “yoga classes” in Asheville. For the first time, I really wanted to breathe through my anxiety instead of running it out. It’s like my soul was telling me, “You can’t run away from this, Amber“.

Maybe, it’s not my year to run a marathon. Maybe it’s my year to meditate. To face the fears, but in a gentle, loving way. To be feminine. To be motherly.

My mind loves running because my body is actually moving at similar speed. Plus, all the sweating makes me feel accomplished. It does move a lot of stagnant energy; however, I’m noticing that it’s not doing the trick mentally since I’ve given birth. My anxiety is higher than ever and the stress just seems to be compounding. My little trips to the gym are supposed to be my precious “me-time” but instead it is ALOT of me worrying about being away from River. I do my routine as quick as I can, skimp on my cool down, rush through stretching and skip the glorious shower. I tell myself, “well, at least I got a quick run in. . . better than nothing, right?”

Hmmm. . . I’m starting to wonder.

Which brings me back to why I was feeling like changing things up. Maybe, it’s not my year to run a marathon. Maybe it’s my year to meditate. To face the fears, but in a gentle, loving way. To be feminine. To be motherly.

So, Yoga called.

I’ve been doing yoga at home for years. I always thought, “why spend money on a class when you can just do it at home.” This is great when you know the basics but a time may come when Yoga calls you deeper. I’m learning. . .

I noticed that Ra Ma, a local teacher that I had been following for three+ years, was teaching a Kundalini class from 4- 5:30pm. This was affirmation from the universe that I should get on a mat instead of on a bike. I’ve been curious about her Moon Ceremonies for a while, but the stars haven’t aligned for me to attend. Seemed like they wanted me to attend her yoga class! So I took the hint and signed up online.

The Anxiety of doing something new was there.

I walked into the studio and saw two people in all white. “Oh shit. Did I mess up? Wait, was I even supposed to bring my mat? Damn. . . I knew I should have left it in the car. I feel like such a newbie.“

All the fears showed up and I couldn’t help but laugh at myself. Ok, Amber. This is exactly why you are here. Get your butt on the mat and calm down.

I was early because I’m always early. I sat down and watched the room fill up. I wondered how many people had been here before and if I would be the only first-timer. I began to relax after seeing others wearing black and carrying their own mat like me. Everyone seemed to have this calm energy about them. I loved the variety of ages, shapes and sizes of women in the room. You are safe here– Oh, good. My wise inner voice showed up, too. 🙂

Patience, a mini yoga class before the yoga class.

I looked across the room and saw a woman stretching into child pose. Yeah, ok, that seems like a good idea, I thought. So I followed suit until the instructor, Ra Ma, was ready. I closed my eyes and told myself that I was here for me. That River was OK. That Josh was OK. No one needed anything from me. This was my time to relax my nervous system, so that I could be there for my family when they did need me with a calm and steady spirit.

I looked up and saw a woman standing over me with this bewildered look in her eyes. She was trying to figure out where to put her mat. There was too little room on either side of me. I remember thinking, “why can’t she go somewhere else? Why is she insisting that I move? How dare her bother me. Also, why isn’t she talking to me? She is just standing over me confused like.“

I looked up and saw that the room was completely full. I quickly moved over for her, felt guilty for judging her awkwardness and went into my “empath, worry about everyone” mode. There were more people coming in the door. WHERE WOULD THEY ALL SIT? WOULD PEOPLE HAVE TO LEAVE? I scanned the room and started working out the puzzle in my mind. (why, you ask? IDK! That’s just what empaths do) I did the math and realized that everyone could fit. It would be tight, but we were all ok. No one would be turned away from Kundalini because of lack of space. Phew.

Damn, this instructor must be good. It’s a packed house!

Ra Ma sat down and welcomed everyone. She was in all white and had a soft, glowing smile. I was sitting directly in front of her. Not by choice, if I hadn’t been forced to keep moving over then I could have been in the back corner. . . where I could slip out if things got weird. Sitting directly center, in front of the instructor, made me nervous. I was sure to “mess up” since this was all new to me. The class was starting. I had to go with, so I did.

Ra Ma began with an Astrological Forecast and reminded us that these are “important times.”

She encouraged everyone to write down our dreams for the next 2, 5, 10 years and to be diligent about working toward what we desire. I couldn’t help but wonder if she had any Virgo in her chart as she explained writing down all the major astrological transits and her color-coding wall calendar process. I like this woman, I thought. As if I was marking off some mental check-list about if Kundalini was “right for me”.

With the fresh Aquarius season approaching, this all felt divinely synchronistic.

We all closed our eyes as Ra Ma brought our awareness to our intention. I thought of my word: Peace. I just want to feel calm inside. I vowed to take in every minute of my “baby-free, me-time”during the class. She invited us to enter a state of gratitude and I quickly thought about my family. Josh’s family was at my house playing with River so i could be here. Our families are our backbone and I’m not sure I express my gratitude enough to them.

I wish I could remember all the things Ra Ma told us during the beginning of class. There was something she said about the energetic forces of the Heart being able to wrap around the entire Earth and that it can surpasses time and space. Wow, what a beautiful image. I just remember thinking about the power of prayer and the validity of miracles. (will be researching this further)

We moved onto warming up our bodies and Breath of Fire, where you breathe in and out of your nose quickly and evenly. A friend once told me, “if you want to get high without drugs, try Breath of Fire.” I wondered if I would feel high after Kundalini. . . I did.

We chanted. Well, I tried, but I wasn’t quite sure what we were saying. I wondered what was actually happening during the chants. I knew it was raising? shifting? altering? our vibrational frequency . . but HOW?? I couldn’t help be curious. Still, I chanted.

We did Kriya, which I now know it to be a comprehensive combination of pranayama, mantra, and mudra. I really appreciated Ra Ma’s comparison of Kriya Yoga to being like a recipe- “like baking a cake” she said. It’s important to follow the exact recipe to be most effective. It was easy for my beginner mind to grasp on to.

I was completely lost in the moment. In the best way. It was a magnificent challenge to: breathe evenly, hold my arms in the air while alternating between finger positions, all while “gazing” at the tip of your nose. THEN, we were instructed to lock our root or activate our root lock- something like that. (will be listening for better instructions next time) Stuff, is it tough shit! Ra Ma had some up beat music playing. I tried to find a rhythm with my fingers but then noticed that I stopped breathing. Then, I noticed I was closing my eyes.

I was trying my hardest to get the “recipe” right, but it was inevitable that my beginner chops needed more practice. If I skip the root lock, is that like forgetting to put in the eggs when baking a cake??

Something was being “activated” despite my floundering through Kriya.

I gave into the fun of it and let the pressure go when we started doing some crazy shoulder dance. Ram Ma said it was to open our rib cage, the space where the lungs live. “do it with style” she suggested. I tapped into my dancing roots with my hands atop my shoulders, bouncing up and down, eyes closed, swaying to the beat, channeling any bird that would take me higher.

We went it the “relaxation” portion of the session. (I think this was the gong bath, but I’m not too sure since my eyes were closed 90% of the time.) I’m still trying to find the words to describe exactly what went on during this 5-7 minute stretch. The sounds made it seem like I was traveling through a worm hole. That’s the best I got right now. Sounds weird. . . it was.

To close up, we did some more light stretching on our backs, some “wave-like” movements with our arms and upper torso and more chanting.

The class was not too long nor too short. I feel like in other yoga classes, I’m either ready for them to end or longing for a bit more time to relax. I left feeling so satisfied. I was Yoga High and I couldn’t wait to get home to tell Josh about it.

So many little delighting surprises!

I was surprised how fun and invigorating Kundalini was- maybe it was the newness or the challenge. I guess I’ll have to keep going to find out.

It really did calm my nerves and quieten the incessant mind chatter.

I was also completely shocked from how sore I was the next day. It took two full days for my shoulders to stop hurting. (It was that good pain, like my stress was burning away.)

The Big Takeaway: Kundalini is not just some foo-foo breathing class. It’s tough. It’s powerful. It’s fun. It’s for everyone. It will get you out of your head and into your body. You might sweat. You might be sore. You will definitely feel good and full of energy afterwards. It might just be my next obsession.

Ra Ma, if you read this. Thank You! Thank you for an amazing first Kundalini Class.

#kundalini #selfcare #wellness #yoga