The Art Of Feeling Good unveils Ase Yoga, a self-healing practice that transcends our obstacles and transforms our lives. African American women in the United States and the Diaspora share a unique history, which has affected how we feel about ourselves. Something happen, yet we don't talk about it. But, even if we choose not to deal with the chaos of the past, the suffering of our foremothers will not fade away. Knowing the history is not enough. Healing from the "enslavement process" is crucial to connecting with our beauty and feeling good. In The Art of Feeling Good, Dr. Robbin Alston takes us on a journey to the balancing power of ase Yoga. As a guide, this book encourages African American women to begin embracing and re-claiming yoga as practice for healing. Using our ancient mystical systems, knowing who we are, reconnecting with a universal holistic spirit-mind-body energy practice, with ase Yoga, we begin to re-member, to re-discover our real identity. Dr. Alston introduces the balancing power of ase Yoga, a blend of personal energy, healing asanas, healthy lifestyles, breath connection, rhythmic movements and guided meditations designed to activate our vital energy centers, rebalance our life force and engender authentic relationships with self and others It's time to feel good. The Art of Feeling Good offers a path to wellness, right relationships and mindful choices. This book shares with you an empowering healing process that supports your journey toward self-realization and feeling good.

The Art of Feeling Good

The Power of Àse YogaBy Robbin Alston

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2012 Dr. Robbin Alston
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4759-5877-5

Contents

Acknowledgments.................................................1My Initiation...................................................3Author's Reflection.............................................5The Awakening...................................................13The Simple Truth................................................21The Unveiling...................................................25Who Is Practicing Yoga?.........................................31If Not Yoga, Then What?.........................................33Who Are We?.....................................................39What Is Going On?...............................................43Embracing Right Knowledge.......................................53Personal Responsibility.........................................63The Power of Aset, an African Deity.............................65The Balancing Power of Àse Yoga............................71The Breaths of Liberation.......................................83Breath Connection...............................................85Meditation......................................................91Feeling Good: Chakra Tuning.....................................95Our Seven Major Energy Centers..................................99The Greatest Love of All Resides Inside You.....................107You've Got the Power............................................113It's Time for Love, So Let's Get Ready..........................117Express Yourself................................................121The Power of Knowing............................................125Beautiful Woman: Feel Good......................................129Appendix A......................................................133Appendix B......................................................137Bibliography....................................................139

Chapter One

The Awakening

The African Universe has an inherent life-force whichwe may conceive as underlying energy inherent ineverything and of which the Supreme Being is the source.—Chukwunyere Kamulu

After I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1998,an intense feeling came over me. It was clear that Iwanted to heal. I set out to delve deeper into my life tounderstand the insecurities, unstable background, emotionalchallenges, and environmental factors that had led up to aradical mastectomy of the left breast. I asked myself, Wheredid four four-millimeter cancer cells come from? How didI get here?

Through extensive meditation and inner reflection theanswer was clear: I was clinging to the past, and the past wasclinging on to me. I wanted to live, so I set out to thoroughlychange how I had been living. I did the unthinkable. I quitmy job, focused on being healthy, and completed my studiesin psychology.

Cancer scared me into fighting to live. Suddenly cul-desacrelationships, sexiness, unfulfilling work, and "sweatingthe small stuff" no longer seemed important. Any anger Iharbored also slipped away. I began to ask myself: Who amI? Where am I right now? What am I supposed to do with mylife? However, I was unable to answer these questions.

I meditated on healing my body. What was revealed tome is that the body heals along with the mind and the spirit.Doctors can cut off a part of your body, but the ability to heallies within your own hands. Although cancer is a physicalmanifestation of dis-ease and imbalances, it ousted years ofconfused thinking. It also brought my harmful, unconsciousthoughts and behaviors to the surface.

Over the years, I'd grown accustomed to thinking a certainway. This thinking was likely a reaction to my upbringing.Seeds of low self-esteem, mis-education, inferiority, insecurity,and impoverishment had taken root and grown into a tangledweb of faulty thinking. As cancer cells invaded my body,this thinking obstructed my healing. I had adopted thoughtsabout the world and myself that were not healthy or true. Irealized that the same way I learned unhealthy behaviors Icould learn healthy behaviors. To do so, I entered a period ofdeep introspection, which led to me to yoga.

Intimidation set in the moment I entered the first yogastudio. I saw a flexible, white female going through motionsI had never seen before. Interestingly, but not surprisingly, shedidn't seem to see me. I felt invisible. As she moved throughthe postures, or asanas, with finesse and chilliness, I decidednot return. Isn't that how we typically respond when we facesomething uncomfortable? We usually give up. Yet often thevery obstacle that we run away from is, indeed, the one weneed to master. In this case, a rather persistent inner voiceurged me to return.

I returned to yoga, but this time, I detached myself fromthe instructor. Gradually, I stopped seeing the teacher'spersonality and started focusing on my own Journey of Ra(also known as the sun salutation). The teacher's technicalskills were masterful. I absorbed the skills and left the rest.It didn't matter whether she liked me or not. Once I detachedfrom her disposition, she seemed to smile more and announceda new teacher would take her place. However, her presenceno longer mattered. I needed to learn less about the asanasand more about listening to my inner voice.

They say that when a student is ready, the right teacherwill appear. Once again, another white, female yoga teacheradept taught the class. She was more approachable than theprevious teacher had been. At this point, I was studying,practicing, and feeling good. I increased my commitmentby joining a yoga community. Then something clicked:Yoga wasn't about the teacher; it was about my personalexperience. The new teacher encouraged me to go beyond theasanas. Once I did, I knew that remaining the same personwas no longer an option for me.

Despite all that I was learning and becoming, I still feltsomething was missing. Being the only African American inmy classes made me wonder where I, as a woman of Africandescent, a woman of color, fit into this discipline? Why werethere so few people of color in yoga? Did this spiritual practice,which felt so natural, exclude me? Could it be that African-Americanwomen felt intimidated by the asanas? Did yogaasanas bring up deep-rooted feelings about our bodies thatwe would rather hide? Did we understand what yoga coulddo for us? Or worse, did westernized yoga fail to address ourunique circumstances, history, and subjugation?

To some, these questions may seem unsettlingly becausetimes have changed. It is no longer the 16th century but21st. We live in a post-racial era. By placing yoga within thecontext of historical and personal experiences, I am, in manyways, violating a code of silence concerning the relationshipbetween our unique experiences and a culturally mindfulyogic practice. Regardless of our experiences, we have beentold to forget the past and live in the present. However, frommy perspective, the unparalleled experiences of African-Americanwomen during the enslavement process are, in part,the reasons behind our personal suffering, disproportionateincidences of disease, and quality-of-life issues.

Our traumas and the chaos they cause are rooted in thediscrimination, dehumanization, torture, and displacement ofmillions of African people. Our understanding of chaos mustbe at emotional level, not just an intellectual one. Chaos is anenduring and life-altering traumatic process. As with trauma,the question becomes, what do we do about chaos? Do wejust forget about...