Jiva Diva Alanna at Pure Yoga

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I wrote about my class with Jivamukti's Jessica Stickler before, and now another Jivamukti girl. Alanna Kaivalya is the "jivadiva" and has been podcasting her classes and travelling teaching Jivamukti Yoga for years now. I first ran across her when I was looking to do Jivamukti in the middle of the country and stumbled onto her site. Back then she had free podcasts and a few vlogcasts. These were always great with original music (often by her) and "light" manner. She makes yoga appealing to everyone, yet isn't afraid to get to the nitty gritty. Even though a podcast might be "Yoga for the Butt", she makes it pretty clear that you may want a better butt, and yoga may help you get there, but it's just not about that. There are things far more important than a better butt. No matter how good your butt is now, no amount of surgery is going to be able to transform your 90 year old butt to a 21 year old. So start peeling away those layers now so you don't have to do it all when you get old!

Alanna talking a bit about her book "Myths of the Asanas".

I, of course, suck at this. Coming from a long lineage of Flat Danish Butts, I am still attached to the idea of trying to attain an unlikely Bubble Butt. But it's cool to go to a class where at least it's a given that this is totally meaningless in the long haul.  I was thrilled to see she was doing a 90 minute class at  Pure Yoga, again, steps aways from Union Square, while I would be in New York.  I have been following her for awhile and was excited to meet the person behind the podcasts.  Pure Yoga has a great space and is pretty non-pretentious.  It doesn't have all of the Altars with Gurus, the statues of Hindu Deities, and wasn't dripping in Ambiance  like the Jivamukti Studio (which I love!).  It's space was more simple, yet equally as beautiful.  There are a few practice rooms.  Our class was held in a very large room, of course high up in a building, with the entire wall covered with windows.  Lots of afternoon sunshine pouring in, and the white noise of the streets down below.  The street is just a bit quieter than Broadway.  Her class was beautifully orchestrated, doing a lot of typical Jivamukti sequences.  She talked about going deeper into yoga, about the Sutras and how it wasn't all a bunch of, um, I think she said BS (which made me adore her just a wee bit more).  I got the idea that there were a lot of college students in the classroom.  Probably also a lot of experienced yogis, but also a lot of kids just going to yoga practice week after week.  Alanna created a totally relaxed atmosphere and seemed completely at ease being in front of all of these people.  The class was challenging, (which I appreciated because the only other thing I do in New York aside from Yoga, is EAT)  and I was relieved when it was finally Savasana.  Of course I had just done a 90 minute class late the night before, so my body was probably a wee bit tired, along with endless amounts of walking.  During Savasana, Alanna played "Oh My Heart" by Paul Mcmahon. Apparently Sharon Gannon & David Life are big fans and have passed their love down. Alanna has this music playing at the end of one of her video casts where she is outside, I think in a tye dyed shirt, barefoot, doing fun poses with a guy. They are totally adorable and having so much fun. This music is really beautiful and I have included a sample of it here.

Now you can subscribe to Alanna's classes for a minimal fee. 4 new classes a month. I signed up for this when she ran her "Podcast for Puppies", recruiting new podcast subscribers and giving that money to help stray dogs. How can you just not LOVE her? She is adorable, totally down to earth, and able to communicate her dharma talks to people in their 20's and 30's (and any other age) with ease. She's also a great musician.

Jivamukti with Jessica, Live Music Yoga Fridays with Jessica Stickler.

    I was so blessed to be able to attend a Friday night Jivamukti Class, fully equipped with live music and an incredible ambiance, with Jessica Stickler.  The first thing I do after New York trips are booked, is to go to the Jivamukti Yoga calendar and see what classes I can make.  Their location is steps from Union Square and their practice rooms are like churches.  Beautiful floors, high ceilings, colorful walls, lighting, windows, lots of wood, adorned with altars and photos of past and present gurus and spiritual teachers.  A lot of people start doing Jivamukti and then flirt with veganism.  I went the other direction.  I started Jivamukti because it aligned with my veganism and it is integral to the practice.  They also incorporate Nada Yoga (Sound Yoga, think hip and varied music), Chanting (a room vibrating from Sanskrit Mantras belted out by all walks of life), Dharma Talks demonstrating principles from the Bhagavad Gita and Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, Pranayama (breath control), and an invigorating asana practice.  This is not your Iyengar Yoga.  The emphasis is not on the perfect alignment or that you do asanas first, pranayama in later stages.  It's not Bikram or Ashtanga.  You don't do the same class over and over again until you complete it and move to the next level.  Jivamukti is "Yoga Church".  You get all elements of yoga in one class.  

Jessica Stickler's Yoga Journey from Erika Wolf on Vimeo.

    It's clear that their philosophy is to merge with "The Divine".  Whenever I first enter Jivamukti, as a midwesterner, I am always a little overwhelmed with the "hipness" of it's clientele.  Of course it's in the middle of the city and you have dancers, actors, hard core yogis, and the movers & shakers of the world.  But once you enter their practice area, and 5 minutes into class, that is all forgotten.  There isn't a lot of "fluff" in their practice.  The teachers tend to get to the nuts & bolts of yoga, the cessation of chitter chatter in your mind, very quickly.  It's a no BS arena.  Your "Prana" pants or "LuluLemon" designer yoga gear means nothing here.  Although half of the people in the room have perfect bodies, the Jivamukti peeps emphasize that the body is just a "coat" to be worn.  You wear it, you rid yourself of it when it is no longer useful.  It is a covering on your bones and has no bearing on your inner life.  So don't get too attached to that thing!!  Which is a really PERFECT teaching in the middle of New York City, land of runway models and fashion galore.

Listen to this group!  Try to make out the lyrics.  They are SILLY! and really fun.  Jessica collaborated with fellow Jiva Teachers, Matthew Lombardo and Christian Montegut.  The guys provided the musical groove and Jessica provided the mental/physical one.

    I had no idea what to expect for the Friday night class with live music.  It looks like Jessica Stickler does live music classes on most Friday nights, always with different music groups.  Jessica is a beautiful gal, incredibly radiant, and with a "lightness" to her that is really refreshing.  I overheard her telling someone before the class that she had never worked with this musical group (fellow Jiva teachers Matthew Lombardo and Christian Montegut) before and was a little nervous as she was doing this on the spot.  But she was so excited about it and embraced the opportunity.  She created a really inclusive, comfortable space and worked with the musicians beautifully.  The musicians were great, creating a casual, fun vibe and they did some funny improvisations also.  During a few difficult poses we hear these repetitions of "This is so Hard.  And I Paid for this??".  Over and over!!  This made the class laugh, while trying to hold some pose in which  I think we were all "suffering" a bit. 

 The room was dimly lit and the light coming through the window was magnificent.  Jessica sat at the front of the room, in front of the Altar.  Cars honking outside.  So much noise, commotion, hurriedness outside on the street, yet so much inner calm in this place.  This class had a lot of different types of people in in (not like an afternoon class I had taken there, which was very small, and most of the students could do free handstands!!!!) and it was very clearly about "the experience" and not about doing Downward Dog 50 times in a row.  I was in bliss for the entire 90 minutes.  You have to be careful leaving this place because you are totally zenned out and then you go onto the streets of Broadway and have to focus on not getting struck by a car crossing the street!  Jessica's class will put you in another place, one you won't be in any hurry to leave.  Jivamukti rounds up different musicans each week for this rockin' class.  If you are in New York, or just visiting, you have to look up Jivamukti's schedule and give it a try! And of course take a tea or vegan lunch at the attached "Jivamuktea" cafe.  And if you don't live close, then subscribe to Jivamukti with Jessica on itunes (FREE) and do your yoga at home and prepare your own little vegan brunch afterwards!