Downdog Review

“Sometimes we need to do the things we normally wouldn’t do on our own.”

So says Andrea as I reluctantly carry my mat from the back of the studio and to the one spot available in the front row after her beck and call. How convenient. I’ve made a habit of staying in the back when I attend classes here and coming tonight was a last minute decision. I am sad and stressed and not in the mindset to pay enough attention to write a review, but as soon as we set our intention with the following chant, I know I’ll be writing to you. Before the sutra, she asks quite sincerely:

“Did you sing today?”

So we sing.

Heyam dukham anagatam.

“Future suffering is avoidable.

What a relief.

If Andrea was a t-shirt, she’d be a black sleeveless crew neck.

There’s something martial about her teaching method. I’m used to yoga instructors constantly making the connection between the physical and spiritual with quaint metaphors and saying things like “smile with your collar bones”. I remember standing in utthita hasta padangustasana, hooking my fingers around my toe as I slowly turn my gaze in the opposite direction. As her hand lifts my heel higher into the air, I have flashbacks of martial arts training - the uniformity, the quiet resilience, the sweat and focus. Her adjustments and assists are stern in the same way someone corrects you because she loves you so much. Underneath every directive is the silent question: Why not try?

Andrea’s playfulness is a means to an end. Humor is a tool to propagate challenge and get us to do things we wouldn’t bother trying otherwise. Her light laughter becomes palpable prana as we flow and breathe through each asana. In janu sirsasana, I surrender over my extended right leg and try to reconnect with my breath. Andrea places her left foot matter-of-factly upon my bent left leg to press it down toward the floor as she leans against my back. She finally man-handles my ribs to situate me directly over my right femur and then there it is, a moment of physical clarity and simultaneously she says, “Ahh!” like “Eureka!” How does she know? It’s like she feels the revelation erupt inside of me.

She doesn’t say a word about avoiding future suffering, but her practice pours heyam dukham anagatam upon our skin. Andrea embodies the intention, making discussion obsolete. The Western tendency to always explain is nonexistent. This Eastern mentality of action - karma - roots us down into the sutra. We don’t know where she’s leading us, but she’s preparing us for it all along. There’s so much love it makes my heart hurt in a good way. It’s not the kind that we throw around flippantly. It’s not the love that let’s things slide or settles for less. It’s a love with momentum, integrity and inertia. Somehow this woman is finally bringing some sense to mulabhanda for me. Somehow Andrea, without saying anything about it, is teaching me that suffering is only suffering because I think that it is. All this time, it’s been avoidable. All this time, it’s just been in my head.

During savasana, she reads a poem by David Wolfe called “The Planet Earth”. Here is an exerpt:

Gaia,

Your temper explodes in volcanic fury.

Your laughter radiates in tropical sun.

Your tears pour in heavy rains.

Your bliss emanates in silent deserts.

Your roar bursts in thunderstorms.

Your confidence exudes from mountains.

Your anger soars in hurricanes.

Your grace calms in wild orchards.

Your confusion spins in tornadoes.

Your love embraces in gentle summer winds.

You perspire life.

Strengths:

• No nonsense attitude about presenting students with applicable wisdom
• Lovingly severe hands-on assists that make you feel like a million bucks
• Ability to augment your practice without making you co-dependent

Recommended for those who:

• Need a strong female figure in their lives
• Find deep satisfaction in reciting Sanskrit
• Desire a challenging physical practice

Visit her at Jivamukti Yoga Charleston!