Ashtang Yoga Builds Core Strength, Says Jessica Walden

by Komal Narwani last updated -

Jessica Walden started yoga as a practice to overcome her fear of exams during her University days. Little did she know it would become a path she would follow for life! Today she is one of the most renowned yoga instructors in America. She teaches Ashtanga yoga, which is a physically demanding practice that synchronizes breath and movement to produce an internal heat designed to purify the body. It is very helpful for building core strength and toning the body.

Jessica Walden doing yoga on a rocky platform against a hazy background

Jessica Walden, a US-based yoga instructor who specializes in Ashtanga yoga. Photo Credit: Jessica Walden

Taking Humor Seriously 

Having cultivated a career in organic agriculture and incorporating yoga practices in her life, Jessica Walden is an ideal example of holistic organic living. Jessica believes that the beauty of her work lies in practicing what she preaches. Organic production and sustainable farming is her passion and she supports it in her work, her dietary and economic choices, and how she raises her children. Yoga is also her passion and practicing it helps her attain to be her true self. “My choices in life support my practice and my practice supports what I believe in, what I eat, how I am in the world,” she adds.

Yoga is a form of homecoming for her. Yoga helps her resiliently deal with all that challenges she has in life. Shedding the heaviness and embracing the lightness of life with an added touch of humor, she claims, can be the best all-time healer. She takes the humor part seriously! According to Jessica: “What people forget is that there is a lightness to life and that if we can only tap into that lightness, we literally do not get bogged down by things that can hurt us or make us weak. The more we can laugh at ourselves, our situations, and our funny old ways of perceiving life, the more we can shed the heaviness of life and embrace the lightness. Therefore, it is important to add humor to life, whenever possible.”

Jessica Walden doing yoga

Yoga has many health benefits, including weight loss, better breathing, and improved heart health. Photo Credit: Jessica Walden

Making Sense Of The Senses 

Commercialization of yoga has made it just another trend, making it lose its true essence. With this in mind, the Motion house recently approached Jessica for a documentary called ‘Yoga Industry’ where they aim to highlight what the values of yoga are and how they have morphed in the age of social media, commercialization and invented ‘styles’ of yoga. It also intends to open up the complex discussion on how to preserve the true integrity of what yoga is and is supposed to represent. The organization is still working on funding for the documentary but Jessica is hopeful that the funding will come through.

Yoga drives all the negative energy away from her and uses her positive energy to search herself in a way that she has no energy left to get stressed about anything at all. The worries – often new and creative worries – would come back during the day, but each morning during practice they would lose their intensity or vanish completely. “It is like having a clean slate every morning!” she exclaims.

About Jessica Walden

Jessica Walden is a renowned yoga instructor in America. She has been practicing yoga for more than past 24 years. Due to her other career and parenting commitments, she teaches Ashtanga yoga selectively and for limited periods of time, including short workshops and private instruction. [1]

DMCA.com Protection Status
About the Author

An alumnus of St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, Komal is a quirky writer. She loves to add a touch of creativity to everything she does. She has a diverse background in teaching biology, working as an analyst, and freelancing as a content writer. There are only two ways she can express herself, first is words and second is dance.

Rate this article
Average rating 4.1 out of 5.0 based on 22 user(s).