Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country
Founded 05-05-05
April 10, 2008 issue
The Body, The Breath, and The Downward Dog
Local Poodle Attends Weekly Yoga Class
Story by Garrett Simmons
Sit in on one of Akal Dev Sharonne’s yoga classes, and you’ll hear, amid the slow thrum of world music, the very essence of yoga–the breath. As class members transition through a series of simple, yet challenging positions, Sharonne reminds them to focus on the breath, creating a steady, continuous flow of inhales and exhales.
Sharonne, who has been teaching yoga for 30 years, explained the practical importance of the breath. “It is our most basic function, and by choosing to focus on it, we can control both our bodies and minds. Notice the way we breathe when we are stressed. We take short, hurried breaths. By taking long deep breaths and exhaling completely, we can relax our minds so that we are better able to focus.”
Sharonne was introduced to yoga six years before she began teaching it. She was living in Paris at the time, studying music, when a friend gave her a book of yoga positions. Later that week, attempting the plow position in the middle of her tile floor, Sharonne felt an uneasy pop in the back of her neck. Fearing she had caused irreparable damage, she sought the opinion of an expert. “I attended my first yoga class out of concern,” she said. “I just wanted to know if I was seriously injured.”
After some assurance from the instructor, Sharonne completed her first yoga session and instantly became a believer. “The release I felt during that first class was unlike anything I had ever experienced,” she recalled. “I immediately felt better, both physically and mentally.”
That was in March 1971. Now, 36 years later, Sharonne teaches four yoga classes in the High Country, offering the same unique experience to her students that she first experienced herself. And although Sharonne strives to create an environment of equality in the classroom, one of her students has recently been holding the spotlight.
Marla, a four-year-old miniature poodle, has been attending class in Sugar Grove for 12 weeks. Every Friday at noon, Marla’s owners Janet Montgomery and Dan Veilleux bring her to their weekly yoga session, where she performs her signature position: what else, but the Downward Dog.
Seated on her mat next to Montgomery, Marla spends most of the class lounging, but periodically stands up and enters the Downward Dog position. Crouched on all fours, students reach forward, tilting their heads toward the floor. “Marla loves the Downward Dog,” said Montgomery. “She usually does it several times each class, and even at home before she goes to bed. She’s become quite the sensation.”
If a miniature poodle performing the Downward Dog seems contrary to the popular image of a yoga studio, it does so for a reason. Sharonne also begins classes with an excerpt from the book The Tao of Pooh, and engages in a position called the Dying Cockroach.
Sharonne welcomes Marla to her classes as a way of keeping the atmosphere positive and fun. “Everyone loves having her around. She’s such a sweet-natured dog, she actually helps other students relax, which of course is what our class is about.”
And as Sharonne noted, a relaxed mental state is an important step to achieving the physical benefits of yoga. She named Marsha Holmes, her student for more than three years, as an example of the benefits of yoga.
Holmes said since she began practicing yoga her life has improved drastically. “Before I started I couldn’t touch my toes,” she said. “I was constantly stiff with pain in my joints, and I was stressed out a lot of the time. Physically I’m a different person now.”
Holmes said she has also benefited from what Sharonne calls yoga “off the mat.”
“Many of the exercises, particularly breathing, can be used at any time during the day,” said Sharonne. “In a traffic jam or at the office, moments when we can’t escape stress, we can control it by again focusing on our breathing. It can change a situation entirely.”
Sharonne currently teaches four weekly yoga classes. On Mondays at 5:30 p.m., a multi level class takes place at the Blue Mountain Center for Healing Arts. Tuesdays at 6:15 p.m., a beginners class takes place at the L.E. Harrill Senior Center in Boone. On Thursdays at 5:30 p.m., a multi level class takes place at Blue Ridge Electronics. And on Fridays at noon, multi level class takes place at the old Cove Creek school.
For more info, contact Akal Dev Sharonne at akaldev@yahoo.com or 828-264-1384.