A Brief Glimpse of Yogi Angela Thomson-Brenchley's Journey into Intuitive Receptivity

My good friend and Yogi, Angela Thomson-Brenchley shared with me her story of coming to yoga and her philosophy and understanding of what constitutes a yoga "lifestyle".

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Angela: I "discovered" yoga very gradually. I taught fitnesses classes at a YMCA in the Midwest. I developed an interest in learning and teaching stretching. Really, this was the seed that began to call me toward yoga. The YMCA offered a stretching workshop for teachers. I attended and shortly thereafter began teaching a "Stretch and Relax" class at the Y where I worked. It was a pretty conservative place. The local YMCA association did not allow yoga, as it was considered non-Christian. 

Somehow, someway, I began to realize that I was interested in more than stretching; I was interested in yoga. I began a self-guided study and discovery of yoga. In retrospect--after many years teaching and after completing multiple yoga teacher training courses, I recognize this was (and continues to be) the most important and effective step I took/am still taking in my journey as a yoga teacher. 

I did not have a guru (never have had, don't plan to--different topic!) Back then, I did not have a yoga teacher, other than myself and the books I studied. One was Erich Schiffmann's The Spirit and Practice of Moving into Stillness. Along the way, I picked up books by B.K.S. Iyengar, as well.  Although Iyengar Yoga is not the path I follow as a teacher, I still refer to those books often and am even currently studying Iyengar Yoga with a certified Iyengar teacher. For me, being open-minded is yogic. I'll take Ashtanga classes. I'll take Kundalini classes. I'll take Sivananda classes. I'll take Yin classes. I'll take classes that thoughtfully mix and mingle lineages.  I don't believe in arguing about who/what is right. I'm open to receive wisdom from many traditions. I use common sense, critical thinking, and intuition as navigation for what I'll call "conflicts among the traditions."  

The next highlight of my journey began when I enrolled in yoga classes offered at California State University, San Bernardino. I took classes there from almost every instructor who offered them, eventually finding myself drawn to take class exclusively with two particular teachers: Amy Wheeler and Beth Lucas--both teachers in the Krishnamacharya lineage, sometimes referred to as Viniyoga. Their classes changed my life. I learned to really focus my asana practice on my breath. They also encouraged slow, flowing asana movement, intelligently sequenced and synchronized with the breath. Both Beth and Amy taught yoga classes in such a way that empowered students to independently continue with a sound yoga practice. As I took class with them and by observing their teaching methods, I was learning how to teach yoga. I also had the wonderful opportunity to train with Amy at CSUSB as a student in her quarter-long professional preparation course for teaching yoga. 

The Krishnamacharya lineage most influences my own teaching. I largely follow its "in" "out" asana sequencing in which one flows in and out of almost every pose with its appropriate breath (inhale or exhale) before holding the posture in a static way. My preferred type of hatha yoga to teach is what I call slow-flow vinyasa. I like to create my own vinyasa sequences. I almost always vary Sun Salutations from their "lineage codified" forms. Often, the practices I design for my students don't contain Sun Salutations at all.  Something important to me is to share with my students breath and posture insights I've gained through my own practice. One simple example of this is Warrior/Virabhadrasana III. I teach multiple ways to approach getting into this pose--no one size-fits-all, no set "it must be done this way always." My latest favorite? Coming into Warrior III from Standing Forward Fold/Uttanasana.   

Rather than "yoga as a lifestyle," I prefer to think of yoga in terms of a path toward wholeness, a life-help, a philosophy in which every practitioner--everyone who practices/tries/attempts--gains from her/his efforts and exposure to yoga. Anything that approaches thinking of yoga as a bunch of doctrinal dos and don'ts that lead to negative judgment, or even relative "evaluation" and hierarchies by other yogis doesn't help. I practice yoga because it helps me feel well, plain and simple.

It's kind of popular right now for people to discount asana. I won't do that. It is so integral to many people's practice. Yoga/union of course is not reliant on asana, but it is a time-tested tool that some of our revered yogis continue late into life, even though we might see them as having "mastered that stage in the journey."  

With my personal practice I have many struggles. I'm human! I scrimp on meditation time. I follow my mind's fluctuations down its myriad paths. I stick with the familiar, the loved and neglect the unknown and new. The best thing for me to remember is that my breathwork/pranayama is deeply therapeutic and to respect its power and give it its due devotion. 

My advice to new yoga teachers? Be open, stay open to others and to yourself. Remember that each practice you lead is an opportunity to give. Feeling nervous? Remember it's not about you performing or coming off well, but about the practice, about growing, about sharing, about moving toward stillness (Erich Schiffmann), ease, and wholeness. 

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You can learn more about Angela Thomson-Brenchley's practice and schedule of classes at http://theyir.org/profiles/atb/.

I Was Interviewed!

How fun! A friend of mine just interviewed me about my yoga practice!  Yay!

Sarah: How long have you been practicing yoga? 

Zo Manik: I've been erratically practicing an asana practice since 2004.  Every single time I get asked this question, the year changes, I think it's because I came to terms with the idea of my doing yoga perfectly as being completely ok.  I used to think that when people said "Oh, I've been doing yoga for 15 years" it meant that they showed up every day on the mat probably doing crow and headstand.  The reality is, of course, that they probably didn't and that they too (like myself) have a delightfully imperfect practice that was perfect for them right then.

My asana practice doesn't require mat work every single day, though sometimes I have gone through long spells of daily practice.  Sometimes I don't even use a mat.  As my practice is deepening, however, I would like to play with asana every day because there is that epiphany the body has after even just a 10-second Tadasana; it's like the "ah-ha!" of haiku, such seemingly small gestures awaken the senses and create a whole experience.

S: What got you onto the mat in the first place?

Zo: Yoga always fascinated me.  When I was a teenager I got in trouble for photocopying an entire book "Yoga for You" by Elaine Landau (which I still have today!) but when I went home I struggled to understand how to interpret the body's movements, or breathing.  The meditation portion was a beautiful revelation to me; I was never really into sports or athleticism as a kid.  My favorite things to do were read books and do homework (yup, I was that kid).  

But something kept bringing me back to yoga; there was this whole life system around it, it wasn't just about being on the mat.  In 2004, I picked up a Yoga/Pilates Dvd by Jennifer Krys and I fell in love with the simple movements which made the body feel so strong and sensuous.  It was like I could be both woman and warrior.

S: What made you stay? What about it has kept you going with yoga?

Zo: The only real answer to what keeps me doing yoga (the whole system, not only asana) can only be analogized as water.  If a body lacks hydration, it starts to react: fatigue, dry mouth, hunger, headaches, insomnia, even body systems go to hell.  But when hydrated, the body runs efficiently, the mind is quick, the eyes are sharp, even pooping comes easier.  If yoga is removed from me, I fall apart.  It's water.

S: What styles have you worked in? Which do you enjoy most?

Zo: The concept of styles is something I've only more recently engaged, but I have yet to find my go-to.  I love the kriyas (or what I call the infrastructure) of kundalini.  There's something really calming about having a specific routine in that everything is already sorted out for you--the time, the reason, the asanas, the breathwork.  All the details are splayed out like a buffet and you can say, "I'm having digestive issues" or "I really want to create space in my hips" and ta-da! Yogi Bhajan has the remedy.

But, truthfully and at the heart of it, I veer towards what I call an intuitive flow.  This is where I let Heart and Spirit dictate what will be created on the mat.  I suppose this may be the problem of becoming a poet before becoming a yogi; the impulse of call and response or play and creation supercede any systematic modality, no matter the benefit.

S: What have you struggled with in your personal yoga practice, physically or mentally?

Zo: So, this is where I out myself as a perfectionist.  I have a bit of "Hermione-Granger-syndrome", a term I often use in speaking about my students and even some of my colleagues.  I (except for a few short stints of anxiety and depression) was a grade A student.  I love having all the answers, I love getting it perfect on the first try.  I fight and struggle EVERY SINGLE DAY with non-attachment to perfect outcome.  What ends up happening is that I get so stressed out about being perfect, that I scrap an idea altogether and/or not show up because I won't be perfect.  It isn't even about what others think about my lack of perfection, though that is a small part of it.  The reality is, is that I hate not living up to the ideals I have brainwashed myself into believing to be true.  

Funny enough, yoga is BRILLIANT for this, though.  All that movement and breathing and thinking and non-thinking and sensory exploration shatters blockages in the solar plexus chakra, the location of confidence (and fear).  When I step outside of my fear center or rather MOVE regardless and drag fear kicking and screaming with me, it bleeds into other areas of my life.  My yoga teacher training program kicked my ass back into the classroom, where I once thought I could teach and have my own students.  It was weird, it was as if I woke up one day and realized I had no choice--I had to teach, because teaching, sharing for me is also water.  And yoga as water hydrated those parts that I had let fear dry out. 

S: Is your yoga practice largely done through classes, or do you have a home practice?

Zo: My practice is done 99% at home.  I do take classes now and then, and I actually feel it in me to take more but my schedule can be such that I am unable to meet at offered class times. I really dislike skipping around among teachers or dropping in on random classes.  I like to take courses from a teacher or two, get a feel for their methods and philosophies.  I think this is where the serious student "Hermione-Granger-syndrome" comes into play for a benefit.  I learn best in an arena where I feel understand who is sharing the information and why so I prefer having a small handful of teachers and their methods to build from, rather than skating surfaces of a multitude.  (This is also why I am terrible at reading more than one or two books at a time, despite my having to do so when I was in university and grad school!)

S: When do you enjoy practicing yoga?

Zo: I will practice whenever I feel like it and whenever I don't, but I love love LOVE to practice in the morning, post-shower.  There is something so delicious in being clean and creating agni as the framework of my day.  It wakens me up and brings me from dreamstates or worries and wishes to the breath, specifically the exhale, and this now-moment.  Plus, all those sun salutations are incredible for drying my long hair!

Q: Do you listen to music when you practice yoga? If so, what kind?

A: I don't listen to music in the morning because I prefer the quiet of just my mind, my hands and feet and my breath.  The earlier the practice, the better because Gaia's profound silence bites through even those subtle sounds and there's this interplay of personal significance versus insignificance that melts physical boundaries.

I do however play music at other times and it really depends on what I'm needing or feeling.  I have a Pandora station I named "Zen Garden", another named "Sitars & Beats".  But then, I have this wild Youtube playlist called "Body Moving Music"of music from A$AP Rocky, Kanye West, and Flosstradamus that really gets my ass moving, where Beats Antique is the down-tempo group for savasana.  This kind of a pump-me-up playlist is particularly incredible for when I need to get out of my own head.  The bass and beats allow the physical, sensory and sensual to path me out of ruts to create space for newness.  Going back to the example of water, it's as if the water has been turned to wine or whiskey or a double barrel IPA, and it helps me to unblock my lower three chakras, which is crucial for me because I'm always floating in my upper chakras.

Yoga for Pain-Free Knees!

Years ago, I came back to Yoga with a knee injury from poor form in my regular leg work out.  Yoga more than rehabilitated my knee, it strengthened the muscles around it and the tracking.  I learned to be conscientious of my knee tracking between the large and second toes in poses (such as Warrior) and that I'm not hyper-extending in poses, such as Downward-Facing Dog or even Tadasana.  Awareness of proper stacking of bones and activating strong feet, strong calves, strong thighs draws attention to proper knee placement in these poses and I'm now injury free, pain-free in my knees! YAY!



Randale Sehcrest's Animated Tutorial of the Knee gives a comprehensive look at the knee joint and surrounding infrastructure.

David Keil's video Working with the Knee in Lotus offers practical solution for easing into one of yoga's most sought after poses.

Chaz Rough's Yoga for the Knees offers a great sequence (about 30 minutes or so) for strong knees,  strong legs.

There is a wealth of information available but for starters check out the rest of my Yoga-The Knee Playlist.

Yoga for Pain-Free Wrists!

I don't know about you, but as a writer and avid computer junkie I'm always battling wrist issues.  Up-dog, down dog, plank, and even simple forward bends can having me cringing.  Here are several articles & videos that can help with pain in the wrists.

In addition to these videos, I have found that active fingertips, fists (with thumbs OUT!), blocks, and using forearms can alleviate wrist pain!  Maybe your Down-dog can be modified into a Dolphin pose or your plank is done on forearms.  Modifications are not disabling, they are empowering!  Remember, that the goal of the asana is to reap the fullest energetic benefits of the pose, not to be bendy or look perfect.  (Yoga is never perfect, that is why it is called a PRACTICE!)

I'll be updating this page with more relevant information over time, so please be sure to check back often!


Duncan Yoga's Wrist Free Power Yoga Class (use those active fingertips!)

Michelle Edwards' Wrist Injuries & Yoga (Great for modifications Down-dog, including mods for shoulder safety!)

Laura Germanio's Yoga for the Wrists--Relief from Carpal Tunnel & Wrist Pain V1 (Hyper-attentive focus on the wrist.  Excellent for Carpal Tunnel and Repetitive Stress Injury)