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A member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists, Jessica Powers aims to teach intuitive, organically integrative practices where body and spirit meet and move together. Drawing from a variety of traditions, notably Viniyoga, Vinyasa, and Yin, her teaching focuses on heart-centered movement, breath-work, and meditation. To complement and support physcial yoga practices, Jessica brings her training as a Reiki Master, exploration into holistic and Thai massage, dedication to earth-based spirituality, and ongoing studies into Aromatherapy and anatomy. In this way her classes create a richly textured and energetically nourishing container for the process of Yoga to unfold within. Jessica has her own personal blog, Knotty Knickers, where she blogs about everyday life, travel, yarn, yoga. She can be reached at 3gracesyoga@gmail.com, and is now teaching in Nelson!

About Jessica Powers

Once upon a time Jessica was a full time yoga teacher. More recently she managed a knitting shop. Currently he's traded in retail for six months world travel with her partner. Her iPod is loaded with equal parts music and yoga lectures and is stored in her travel bag next to her travel knitting.

Breaking away from asana and exploring the other limbs of yoga

May 22, 2011 by Jessica Powers 4 Comments

Eight limbs of yoga

We have just moved house, my partner and I.  In the midst of trying to insure we have all our things in spaces that make sense, I’ve been eyeing the large deck and huge lounge floor. This house is made for practicing Yoga. Which I haven’t done in I don’t know how long.  Not specifically the sort that everyone thinks of when they hear the word ‘yoga’, anyway.  That is to say: my life has had no asana practice for a couple weeks. Since asana is only one of eight – 1 of 8! – limbs of Yoga, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Living Your Yoga Tagged With: abundance, home practice, relationships, yoga philosophy

Be a Tree: Interpretive Yoga for Adults

April 16, 2011 by Jessica Powers Leave a Comment

It’s Autumn: trees are delighting us with a riot of colour, littering the ground with jewels from their branches. We can take a hint from Mother Nature and enjoy a similar process ourselves, letting go of old, stagnant, nonessentials. Releasing has many more nuances than just ‘getting rid’ of something. Pay attention to Nature move through a full cycle of gestation, birth, growth, and decay and you’ll see letting go as making space. Indeed, Spring blossoms and leaves come to be … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energetic Practices, Practices Tagged With: autumn practice, co-creation, energy body, intention, manifestation, meditation, releasing, sankalpa

Chakra Vinyasa: Meeting the Energy Body

April 9, 2011 by Jessica Powers 2 Comments

The rainbow of chakras

You've seen the colours and the shapes - geometric designs in vibrant shades on yoga clothing, jewelry, and various yogic accoutrements. Teachers may have asked you to direct your attention to the 'third eye' between your eyebrows, or asked you to press your hands together in a prayer gesture at the 'heart center.' Some one might have mentioned 'kundalini' or similarly foreign words while directing you through a breath practice, alternatively closing one nostril and then the other. Yet … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energetic Practices, Practices Tagged With: chakra, chakra vinyasa, energy body, prana

Don’t look at my ass in asana

February 25, 2011 by Jessica Powers 37 Comments

Jessica demonstrating Uttanasana

There are times I fully embrace and enjoy in the relatively hype-free existence of yoga in New Zealand. Coming from Seattle - granola metropolis, yoga studio a stone’s throw in any direction - the lack of flash, and preoccupation with being seen as a yoga practitioner is a relief. How can I worry if I’m wearing the wrong brand name practice pants when there are no brand name practice pants to be bought? In comparison, the American online community - primed by yoga ‘rebels’, issues … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Yoga & Body Image Tagged With: advertising, body image, media, self-awareness, self-reflection, weight, weight loss, yoga media, yoga photos

Practices for the Heart Chakra, Part 2

January 3, 2011 by Jessica Powers 1 Comment

Heart Chakra

Embodying the Heart In Part One, The Meaning of Anahata, I wrote about the energy of the heart center, the compassion and love that it exemplifies and gave simple breath-focused meditation exercises to help you turn towards the sweetness within.  Here in Part Two, I’d like to offer a few body practices to further your journey toward Anahata. That backbending postures open the heart is a familiar concept to most yogis.  Physically a backbend straightens the thoracic spine, it does not move … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Physical Practices Tagged With: anahata chakra, back bends, heart opening

Practices for the Heart Chakra, Part 1

December 15, 2010 by Jessica Powers Leave a Comment

Wheel pose - contract that anus!

  Regular contributor Jessica Powers looks at ways to open the heart - crucial if we're going to shift out of mind consciousness and into heart consciousness. The Meaning of Anahata The Sanskrit name for our energetic heart center is Anahata, ‘the unstruck sound’. While that at first seems to be a Zen koan, in actuality it speaks of the vibrational basis of the Universe and the place within each of us that resonates with it: beginningless, endless, eternal. Anahata refers … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Physical Practices Tagged With: anahata chakra, chakra, heart opening, loving-kindness

Chanting through the chakras

October 31, 2010 by Jessica Powers 1 Comment

by Jessica Powers, The word chakra comes from the Sanskrit language and literally translates to ‘wheel’. Often described as ‘wheels of light’ a chakra is an energy center in the human body aligned with the spine and considered to be an interface between the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects of an individual. Though there are many systems detailing the subtle anatomy of humans, some speaking of 12 or even 100s of chakras, the most common tradition is that of seven … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energetic Practices, Practices Tagged With: bija, chakra, chanting, Jessica Powers, mantra

How to work with an aromatic sadhana (spiritual practice)

September 28, 2010 by Jessica Powers Leave a Comment

Bergamot

The rich fragrances of sandalwood, frankincense, myrrh, and rose have been intertwined with spiritual practices throughout history and yoga is no exception, just think of the prevalence of incense in studios. Allopathic, naturopathic, and ayurvedic medicines all depend upon the healing properties of plants: whether in a whole state, a diluted or concentrated state, or as a point of inspiration and learning. Essential oils are an approachable, enjoyable way to add the healing ability of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energetic Practices, Practices Tagged With: ahimsa, aromatherapy, Jessica Powers

Turning Yin – an insider’s look at Yin Yoga

August 2, 2010 by Jessica Powers 4 Comments

Yin Yoga caterpillar

  by guest author Jessica Powers While my official Yoga anniversary celebrates the January 2001 DVD sale that got me started, I was doing Yoga back in high school without knowing. In the afternoons I would come in the kitchen door, drop my bags on the table and carry on into the dining room: I only ever managed to get a few steps into the dining room before kicking off my shoes and melting down onto the floor. My knees would fall to either side, the soles of my feet press … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Yoga Styles Tagged With: Jessica Powers, Paul Grilley, Sarah Powers, yin

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