You know the mind-blown emoji? That’s the perfect way to describe how I feel after spending a weekend studying with Leslie Kaminoff at Asheville Yoga Center.
I joined around 50 other yoga students and teachers for a three-day training with Leslie Kaminoff. It was the first weekend module of my 300-hour teacher training (I have to complete 11 total). Leslie is yoga educator who is well-known for his work in the anatomy space. He’s the co-author of a top-selling yoga book, Yoga Anatomy, which is used as a reference guide in many yoga teacher trainings, including those I lead. I was THRILLED for the opportunity to spend a weekend learning from him.
I’m doing my 300-hour teacher training at Asheville Yoga Center which is easily the premier destination for yoga trainings in the southeast. They offer an unbelievably robust schedule of trainings that includes everything from 200- and 300-hour teacher trainings to 1-5 day trainings covering subjects like anatomy, Sanskrit, Yin yoga, yoga for seniors, Bhakti yoga, Yoga Nidra, yoga for cancer, yoga for trauma, prenatal yoga, meditation and much, much more. These trainings are led by AYC instructors and guest instructors from around the world.
I’ve always enjoyed taking classes and workshops at AYC so I’m excited to be enrolled in my 300-hour here.
FRIDAY
I dropped Finn off at preschool and then hit the ground running to wrap up work and errands before leaving for Asheville. It was so damn hard to say goodbye to this little guy until Sunday, even though I was looking forward to the training.
I was hoping to get a 5-7 mile run in but my body called it quits at 3.5. I really try to listen to these types of messages and it made a whole lot of sense when I started my cycle the next day. Never fails to throw off my physical activity.
Back home I showered, ate lunch and worked/packed/got the house ready for the dog sitter. I left around 3. Traffic was TERRIBLE on 85 and 40.
Our session on Friday night ran from 6-9p and was an “Introduction to Breath-Centered Yoga.” Biggest takeaway of the night…the freedom to play around with when to inhale and exhale and switching traditional inhale and exhale patterns. Did you know that 60% of our lung capacity is in the backside of our bodies? We get SO stuck on frontside-focused breathing.
My second biggest takeaway was the idea of removing the word “feeling” from my yoga instruction. Leslie talked to us about not telling our students what they should be feeling but instead talk to them about what they are noticing. (With no wrongs or rights around what it is that they are noticing.)
We broke at 9p and I drove the 15-20 minutes to my Airbnb in Black Mountain. Affordable accommodations in Asheville were non-existent this weekend due to fall high season and the holiday weekend so I booked a room in Black Mountain. Black Mountain is a smaller, charming mountain town but doesn’t have a lot open later at night. Out of desperation I ended up at Wendy’s and BLECH. I got a grilled chicken sandwich and fries. The grilled chicken sandwich was vile. Stringy texture and felt undercooked. The fries were okay and constituted 90% of my dinner after I gave up on the sandwich. Lesson learned. I would have packed dinner knowing it was a late night but the Airbnb didn’t have a microwave.
Which leads me to…my Airbnb was perfectly passable but I just CANNOT get on board with Airbnb, especially when it’s a room rental and the people are home. Does anyone else feel like it’s just so freaking weird?
I know some people LOVE the whole Airbnb thing. I’m actually hoping to use an Airbnb of a friend of mine in Asheville for a lot of my training weekends. I just struggle with the concept of it. I’ve had both very positive and very weird experiences with Airbnb. Would love to hear your thoughts, especially if you have experience hosting!
SATURDAY
I managed to sleep in until 7:30a on Saturday which was magical. I got up, showered and dressed and headed into Black Mountain to grab coffee and breakfast before training started. I have been visiting the town of Black Mountain since high school and The Dripolator Coffeehouse has always been a fave.
I swear that The Dripolator has the BEST baked goods of any coffeehouse I’ve ever been to. They bring in so much local homemade stuff. This morning I had their lemon almond poppyseed cake with black coffee.
Our Saturday morning session was “Practice and Principles of Breath, Movement and Alignment.” We had some crazy awesome discussions around burning off internal waste that I took pages of notes on.
I took a walk during our lunch break and ended up at Whole Foods for a salad to balance out my French fry dinner.
Back at Asheville Yoga Center, I browsed the book selection in their boutique and was so shocked to find MY BOOK! WHAT!!!!?????? This was seriously as awesome as finding it at Powell’s in Portland. (Newer readers, I changed my name a few years ago.)
Our afternoon session was Re-Imagining Alignment: Form Follows Function. I learned all about how I need to stop saying lengthen your spine and square your hips and I’m still trying to resolve all of this within myself. (Mind blown emoji for SURE here.)
We wrapped at 5:30p and I decided to wander into downtown Asheville to grab dinner. It was NUTS. I have never in my 15+ years of visiting Asheville seen in SO insanely crowded. I couldn’t get into any of my favorite spots for dinner, even as one at the bar.
I ended up at Strada where I had some really amazing bread with olive oil dipping sauce and their crispy duck with bacon wrapped, goat cheese stuffed figs served over risotto. It was beautiful but just okay. I did soak up being out and about and taking myself to dinner.
SUNDAY
Sunday morning found me back at The Dripolator around 7:30a for breakfast, coffee and work. I wrote a blog post before heading over to AYC for our last session with Leslie.
This one was accessible twists, backbends and inversions and the takeaway from the session landed me in a doctor’s appointment today at Leslie’s strong encouragement to finally figure out some hip stuff that I’ve had going on for 9+ years. I’m still trying to wrap my head around all of it, but I will update you guys after I have more info.
At one point on Sunday we did a 30-minute supine twisting practice that felt like 3 minutes and woke me up to so much stuff in my body. I could share about 1000 more words from the weekend but I’m trying to keep this as high-level as I can for my non-yogi readers. To sum it all up, it was an amazing, eye-opening experience and left me with so many internal questions to sort out for myself…which I’m excited about!
After we wrapped on Sunday, I grabbed a smoothie bowl at Elements. It’s just a couple of blocks from AYC and I know it is going to be a go-to spot for me during these training weekends. Their menu and space are both amazing.
2.5 hours, traffic and rain later…home sweet Finn and Zoey. <3
QUESTIONS
Please speak honestly, do you enjoy the yoga talk content? It’s such a huge part of my work. What do you need to now more about to make it more relatable?
Have you ever visited Asheville? What did you think?
If you have to eat fast food, what’s your choice? I’m Chick-Fil-A all the way. Subway second if that’s fast food.
I really enjoy the yoga talks!
A little biased here as a yoga teacher myself but I LOVE the yoga content (I think maybe this is how I found your blog to start with? It’s been a lot of years!). I have wanted to study with Leslie for years and paused midway through reading this post to check if he’s going to be anywhere near me soon but no luck. It sounds like an amazing weekend and I would love more content about what you learned and how it changes your teachings going forward!
I haven’t found a way to get into yoga that I enjoy (yet!) but find it fascinating and really enjoy learning more about it, even if it’s something I don’t practice right now!
And yes to Chik film A! Close seconds would be Jimmy Johns and Publix subs (not totally fast food, but I’m counting them)
Subway and chick fil a are my favorites too!
I’ve stayed at many Airbnb’s where we have the whole house to ourselves but never when it’s just a room rental. I can understand why you would feel awkward!
I really enjoy all the yoga talk and wouldn‘t mind you going deeper on it. It always reminds me why I love to practice and what it can do for me, especially during those times when I don‘t spend too much time on the mat.
Go deeper with the yoga discussion! I love all this stuff and it’s so crazy how the mind and body are related.
I love the yoga content and would love for you to share more. I’m actually trying to process why not to teach a lengthened spine and square hips! Those two queues have helped me visualize the alignment and so I am curious why not to call that!!
Would love to see hear more about supine twist sequence too – that’s of course something to easily practice at home. I’m a yogi though, so this is all fascinating.
I second more yoga talk! I struggle with hip pain all the time (feel like a hip replacement is in my future unfortunately) and in my mid 30’s, would love to do what I can to avoid this. Would love to hear more on anything hip/form related. I feel the same way on air b n b’s….I just don’t know how clean they are!
I like hearing about yoga! I’m actually on week two of an “intro to yoga workshop” simply because I’ve been reading about yoga through you for so many years. ? So far I’m loving it!
Keep the writing coming!
I love hearing about all the yoga stuff, but then again I’m a yoga teacher too. I’d love to hear more about your 300 hour YTT!
Yes I love the yoga content! And I would like to hear what you learn about your hips, as I’ve had hip tendinitis for the past few years that has finally caused me to stop jogging 🙁
Glad you had such a great experience and hope you can share more about it.
I love the yoga talk too! As for Airbnb… I stayed in a private room a few years ago where the bathroom was the hallway to the hosts’ bedroom. Talk about awkward!!!
yeeesss….more more more yoga details!! pleeez
I love (and always have loved!) your yoga content.
I don’t practice yoga at all and have absolutely no understanding of it but I love reading your blogs that are so full of passion and enthusiasm so please don’t take them away! It’s such a huge part of your life and wouldn’t be right! X
I am in the minority here, but I despise Chick -Fill-A. Nothing to do with their politics or anything, but their food has never appealed to me. I enjoy Subway, and usually when I am travelling through Atlanta airport, Pop-eye’s seems to call my name. It doesn’t happen often, but something about getting off that plane and smelling the chicken makes me bee line there.
The yoga talk is interesting. I admit I am more science minded, so the new-agey, woo-woo aspects kind of make me roll my eyes a bit, but I do enjoy learning about new things even if I don’t believe in everything someone says.
Yes please to more yoga posts!! Much like you’ve decided to post about being a mom because that’s a huge component of your life, please feel free to do so with yoga related topics! I’d love to read those posts. I feel like they’d be informative, and I’m excited to hear more about your current practice and what you are learning.
As an owner of multiple Airbnbs that I clean myself, I just have to say I was a little upset at your comment about “trusting” someone’s home washed sheets. It is not uncommon for Airbnbs to be cleaned by their owners or independent cleaners and in many of them, the linens are washed on site, even in whole house Airbnbs. Does some sort of professional cleaning operation automatically make it cleaner than a home owner cleaning? I have a housekeeping service that takes care of my properties when I’m out of town, but I can promise that nobody cares about all the little details and cleans them better than I do. I take pride in the properties that I’ve invested large sums of money in, particularly my own home when I welcome guests into it.
It was just jarring to see that someone would assume that my sheets and towels wouldn’t be considered as clean simply because the host – who arguably truly wants you to have a good stay, as the majority of us who host do – is the person that washed them. I certainly wouldn’t question whether linens at a friend or family member’s house were clean or not simply because they weren’t washed in some magical industrial washing machine.
Also, for the record, any cameras on site have to be disclosed to guests in the listing, and aren’t allowed in bedrooms anyway. But you’re just as susceptible to “hidden” cameras in a hotel room (probably more so) as you would be in an Airbnb. Hosts have better things to do than watch people on hidden cameras…like worry about cleaning and washing linens.
Thanks for sharing all of this. It’s super helpful to hear perspective from someone on the other side. I don’t have a lot of experience with Airbnb. The whole house/property rental makes more sense to me than the room rental. The room rental is just hard for me to wrap my head around. I can’t get over that if feels weird to be in someone’s house that you don’t know when they are right on the other side of the door. Obviously, this is a personal thing!
I can 100% honestly say that I have had varying experiences with the cleanliness of Airbnb’s, including one I had to check out of in the middle of the night to go to a hotel. I never blogged about it because I didn’t want to be negative.
I am super interested to learn more about it from the administrative/host side. You sound like a great host, and someone who takes it seriously.
I am not someone who practices yoga, but do find it interesting in your posts. It is something I would like to find the time to do.
I grew up near Asheville, and then went to college there before it is what it is today. So it is always has a feeling of home to me. It has really changed though, but do love to visit.
Chick-fil-a for sure for fast food, and I much prefer Jersey Mikes to Subway if you are getting a sub.
No!! I love air bnb. I almost exclusively use it when I travel – including internationally. I have stayed in air bnbs in Paris, Budapest, London and Prague – it’s awesome!! Especially since I travel with two young children – so it’s an affordable way to get more than one bedroom! And I’ve stayed in million dollar flats for like $100 USD a month – and they’re always better than some dank hotel.
I think it may be a small town vs city thing. (I live in Charlotte, too).
Always book with a superhost, too.
Oops meant $100 a night..not a month.
I agree – I always use the filter for “superhost!” It means they have hosted more people and have high reviews. I’ve never been disappointed with that. You can also search for places that have private entry, which for me is more comfortable than walking through someone’s house, especially if I don’t feel like interacting with them.
Definitely yes to more yoga content – it’s clear you’re passionate and excited about it, and that always makes for interesting reading!
I know many may disagree, but I’ve come to really dislike a lot of the “sharing economy” models (airbnb, scooters, lyft, etc…) because these rather large businesses are freeriding on the resources of either underpaid workers, common space, or in the case of airbnbs in some cities, driving up prices for regular, full-time residents. They seemed exciting at first, but overall I’ve really tried to stop supporting these businesses because I don’t agree with how they refuse to fully bear the costs of their impact on the rest of us. This article talks about the impact on Asheville specifically – something I wasn’t aware of until a friend of mine who lived right outside of Asheville pointed out – https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2018/08/30/airbnb-asheville-3-percent-highest-used-rate-united-states-housing/1143541002/. Obviously, there’s a lot of very valid viewpoints on this topic, but these are the kinds of things that have started to inform my choices. I think in Asheville/NC the “homestay” model like you had might be the only by-the-book way of doing it, but I’m not 100% sure. Either way, I think it’s totally okay if it’s not for you.
I love the yoga talk – I do CrossFit, am in my mid-50s, and have taken one yoga class, which did not impress me. Your experiences are inspiring, and I’m very intrigued by your hip issues. I take your advice pretty seriously. I remember a you talking about what you didn’t love about CrossFit in a post, and one thing that stuck with me was the push to lift heavy in a workout. I am pretty cautious, and this gave me justification for my inclination to be that. Yesterday I lifted just 55 lb for a squat clean in a workout, as my form is not great – I tend to lean forward at the bottom of the squat. I am meeting my fitness goals with the lighter lifts in the workouts, even though I am not impressing anyone. And I try to remember that that IS what’s important.
I also CrossFit but only about 3x a week and I truly know my limits – and I wholeheartedly agree with the above comment!!!
I love AirBnB and use it a lot, but it can be tricky to sniff out iffy ones and some AirBnBs that look great in the posting are…not great when you get there. That said, it’s not really much different with a hotel! Some are great, some are iffy.
When staying in someone”s home, I look for places with a private bathroom. That makes it feel more like I’m in a B&B and gives me a level of separation that I need. I’ve actually met really interesting people by staying in their homes, and I like that it offers a form of human connection you don’t get in a hotel. But you can also look for hosts who give you more privacy, most people will comment on their interaction/hosting style in the listing.
But on some vacations, I do want more privacy, and I’ll spring for a private place. My one limitation is that I often won’t do this if I’m in a city where affordable housing is sparse, since AirBnBs and other vacation rentals have exacerbated a real affordable housing crisis in some cities. You can easily find info about that online. It’s an ethical thing for me.
But some general tips: Stay with Superhosts, and only with people who have a lot of reviews. Comb the reviews for mentions of cleanliness – people will comment on that, whether it’s sparkling clean or a bit dirty. If a property is way cheaper than everything else around, there is probably a catch. Look for listings that provide details about the home, the neighborhood, etc. and that honestly point out potential issues like parking, noise levels, etc. – good hosts are honest.
I don’t do yoga anymore because there’s no studio near me except a hot one (which I don’t enjoy), but I still enjoy yoga content. I also feel like content related to alignment, breath work, etc. is relevant even to those of us who don’t have a yoga practice but want to take better care of ourselves.
I would love to hear more yoga content! In my YTT, we used Leslie’s book and I enjoyed how he linked so much of the “woo woo” yoga stuff with science. His pictures are amazing as well!
The yoga content is what got me here in the first place – and what keeps me here. You always make me long for my next yoga class and inspired me to go through a TT myself a few years ago. Really appreciate it.
I love the yoga content, I want more! (But I’m a yogi and instructor, so I’m biased!) I’m so interested why “lengthen your spine” and “square your hips” need to go, I say those a lot! I’ll look for Leslie Kaminoff to see if he’s coming to my area anytime soon, that sounds like an amazing workshop.
So fun to find your book at the studio! I have it and actually refer to it fairly often when I’m building a new sequence, you have some great alignment cues.
I’m not a fan of fast food, plus I’m vegetarian so most of the usual places don’t have much I can eat. I’m a Texas girl, so of course Whataburger is a good choice, but otherwise I go for Subway or Chipotle. (And yes, I consider Chipotle fast food!)
I love all the yoga talk. Those are my faves! I was hoping that you were going to go a little more in depth about what you learned from Leslie. It sounded so interesting.
Awesome that you keep finding your book in surprising placing.
I am so not a “fast food” fan but sometimes it happens. I do like Chipotle though! One time recently I had to stop at Wendy’s (which I hadn’t had in a long time) I was surprised that they had some new delicious salads. Usually I do a baked potato & chili with just a side salad.
Keep the yoga content coming!!! I want to be a yoga teacher one day and this is so cool!
I’m a regular CorePower yogi girl so i like hearing all this
Love the yoga talks!
Also had a weird Airbnb experience in Fort Collins two weeks ago. The owner was around and it was just an odd feeling.
Since you’ve been to Portland, don’t you think Portland and Ashville have a similar vibe? I’m from NC but live in Seattle now and Asheville reminds me of a smaller, less granola version of Portland. 🙂
And, lastly, Chick-Fil-A all the way!
xoxo
Would love to hear more about your training with Leslie!
I love the yoga content! Can I ask what you would say instead of “lengthen your spine and square your hips”?
I like the yoga content! I think including a mini-“glossary” at the bottom of your post for us non-yogis would be helpful. I took one semester of yoga in college 10 years ago, so that’s the extent of my yoga knowledge!
We’ve had widely varying experiences with AirBnB. We stayed at an absolutely lovely house in Roatan with another couple, and everything was as advertised. My mom and I stayed in an apartment in Florida where the host required us to fold the dry laundry, wash and dry the bedding before we could use it. All that was refunded was our cleaning fee. But, I believe that was my only negative experience with any AirBnB.
We’ve been to Asheville twice (we live in SC, so it’s less than two hours from us); the first time was a lot of fun, and we actually stayed at an AirBnB in the West End that we loved. The second time, our reservations got lost, hosts and hostesses of restaurants were not up to accommodate our friends’ toddler, etc.
LOVE CFA. Panera’s great as well, as is Tropical Grille (which I think is local to the Greenville, SC area).
I love how you make your posts relatable. You touch on a variety of interesting subjects. The yoga talk is admittedly over my head but I really enjoy reading it and learning more about yoga.
I love the yoga talk! Though I have to admit, I didn’t totally get it until I did my own 200-hr training last year (have been reading your blog for many many years now). I would love for you to go deeper with the yoga talk. Even after doing the training I’m still not quite at the place where my practice brings a lot up in me.
I love the yoga talk!!! I actually starting practicing yoga after reading your blog and now I go 3-5x/week and I love it!
Love the yoga talk! Would love to hear ALL about your light bulb moments, your hip puzzle, your teacher training, etc!
As a non-yogi, I love reading about it because it IS a huge part of your life, both personally and professionally 🙂
Airbnb’s…I had great success renting private apartments/houses through them for a long time. These days, I’m hearing more and more stories from family and friends when things (or location) aren’t quite as advertised. There are also some CRAZY high cleaning fees that I can’t get behind! I’ve always negotiated those. VRBOs, especially abroad, have become more reliable. I’m going to the south soon for a mini-trip and I’m actually excited to stay in a hotel. ??♀️ Thanks for all the comments about Super Hosts, that’s a good tidbit to know!
Fast food…I literally never have it. My boyfriend took me to Sonic recently for my first time ever, and while it was decent, I felt terrible after because my body isn’t used to much/any fast food! I’d say Chipotle if I had to!
“I learned all about how I need to stop saying lengthen your spine and square your hips and I’m still trying to resolve all of this within myself. (Mind blown emoji for SURE here.)” – I will add my own “mind blown” emoji to yours. This is fascinating to hear, especially because those are such common cues.
From that, you can probably tell that I love your yoga content (both as a practitioner and very part-time instructor). =)
I had to laugh at the Wendy’s story. The smaller town that I’ve lived in for the past year and a half has lots of fast food places, but not much in terms of inexpensive casual. So what I prefer and what I have available feel very different some times.
I would love to hear more about the yoga experience! I’m intrigued by why you shouldn’t focus on lengthening your spine or squaring your hips as I always hear this from instructors! I’ve also had some hip stuff going on (and knee too if I’m honest) and just don’t know what kind of doctor to start with because everyone I go to seems to only say rest and physical therapy… I’ve done both but things still are t quite right! All this to say please, please, please share your hip story/what Leslie said/next steps!!
It was so great to meet you at the training at AYC! I was blown away as well by a lot of Leslie’s teachings. I’m much more into the science of yoga instead of the woo-woo stuff, so I loved that he kept on that side of things. It was hard to not tell my students to lengthen their spines or square their hips the next time I taught class! I loved his laid back manner and his sense of humor. It really was one of the best workshops I’ve ever attended. I can’t wait for the Gary Kraftskow workshop in January!
I hope you find out soon what’s up with your hip issue. I’m a personal trainer and yoga instructor at a physical therapy clinic, and I had a client a couple years ago with a hip issue that no one could figure out. She finally went to a body worker/ healer in Asheville and they determined that it was due to the mental/emotional stress and trauma that she had been experiencing over the past year, which ties in with part of what Leslie was teaching this weekend. She was able to heal her physical pain through counseling. Isn’t that amazing?
I say keep posting about the yoga stuff, especially your 300 hour YTT journey at AYC, maybe I’ll see you there again!
And Chic-Fil-A all the way!!
Namaste ?
hi Jen. I enjoy the yoga content. I am 61 and have been doing CrossFit 3-4 X week for the past 3 years. My box used to offer yoga one day a week and I really miss it. I have tried to do it on my own following youtube videos but it has been uninspiring so far. I think it is an essential piece of fitness that i am missing. Do you have any suggestions for youtube yoga?
I LOVE Asheville. When I lived in CLT for a year, I went there 3-4 times. It was definitely my happy place. Most of the time I stayed in an airbnb downtown so I didn’t have to deal with traffic and parking. We love airbnb but we always get the whole unit/home to ourselves. When I lived in CLT, I did rent a room in a couple’s home in Savannah as it was too expensive to get a whole place of my own. It worked out super well. The couple was incredibly kind and I didn’t feel like I was intruding. It’s not optimal to do that, but it was a really cost effective way to see Savannah. I was only in the room to sleep so it was totally fine to not have my own space. On my last night in Savannah, the couple had a dinner party and they invited me to join them for some wine when I got home from my evening out. I am a super introvert but it was actually really fun to talk with some locals.
I loved Asheville so much that we went there for my babymoon before our son was born. My husband also loved the area. We were there in the fall so were able to do lots of hiking and the fall colors were stunning. I just love the hip vibe of that city. There is so much good food, too, and so many of their coffee shops have awesome GF baked goods. Our favorite restaurant is Chai Pani!
Sounds like such a good weekend! Thanks for sharing!!
-Kate
https://daysofkate.com/
I love the yoga content! I’ve been taking a bit of a break from yoga lately (I think mostly because hot yoga + summer wasn’t doing it for me) and I’m ready to get back into it. I’m very curious to hear more about what you learned and I love your blog!!
Yes! I love reading your yoga content. Keep it coming! I am from Ohio and travel to Asheville for my 300 hr. trainings (6 more to go!) because I love the setting and instructors so much! Your posts help me think about yoga as well as where to stay and what to eat. Maybe our paths will cross at a training. My Best! 🙂