Eat, Breathe, Do Yoga

Ashtanga is the "type of yoga that can't lie to you," says Deb Williams, co-owner with boyfriend Chuck Secallus of Asana House Juice Bar and Yoga Lounge on Valley Road, where they offer classes "traditionally and true to the Ashtanga system."

When you practice this style of breath and movement, "everything becomes revealed inside and out," she continues. "It can often be very emotional."

A system of yoga going back 5,000 years (some would argue that's it's the original yoga), Ashtanga is a path to internal purification, says Secallus, which meshes well with the other main offering at Asana House: all-natural, made-to-order, fresh juice.

"In yoga, you spend time in postures that are squeezing and twisting your internal organs [with the hope of detoxifying]," he says. "Digestion is hard work. But juice gets to work immediately delivering nutrients to your entire body and nourishing you."

Open since December 2008, Asana House was the end result of a journey Secallus began 15 years ago when he was a manager at a produce company. "I decided to make a career change and go to massage school," he says, a requirement of which was to study yoga, meditation, and Tai Chi. Secallus really took to yoga and started practicing regularly. He eventually went to India to study with Sri Krishna Pattabhi Jois, considered the founder of the modern practice of Ashtanga.

In 2000, while taking a yoga class in New York City with an instructor who was "into raw food," Secallus was inspired enough to start drinking wheatgrass shots after class. Known for its healing properties, wheatgrass is considered a megavitamin with antibacterial and anti-aging qualities. The nutrients and benefits of wheatgrass are only available when the grass is juiced. They also are most effective when fresh.

 "I noticed the benefits pretty quickly," he says. "Particularly, I noticed how it boosted the effects of my yoga practice and speeded up recovery time from injury."

He was hooked.

Williams, on the other hand, found her way into the practice of Ashtanga yoga about six years ago and along the way met Secallus, who was the one who really "turned her on to the juicing," she says. At the time, Secaullus was teaching at Starseed Yoga on Glenridge Avenue; the two first met in class there.

Soon after, he started taking Williams out on dates for wheatgrass shots after yoga and began making her homemade smoothies that always seemed to be exactly what she needed at the time.

"Chuck would make me a smoothie and put some E3 Live (a blue-green algae) inside," Williams recalls. "I'd say to him, 'why do I feel so focused today?' And he'd tell me there was E3 inside the smoothie. Chucks truly makes the juice with love and compassion. He seems to know what people need that day… sometimes more than they do."

In addition to the juices, made mostly from organic produce, the Asana House menu features wraps, organic coffee and teas, raw soups, and other vegetarian lunch options.

"This is a lifestyle choice for many people," says Williams. "You start with one element, whether it's yoga or vegetarianism, then it evolves. So you'll see people come into Asana House for the juice and then eventually inquire about yoga. Or vice versa."

In the intimate lounge area at Asana House, they offer yoga classes, as well as the occasional jazz brunch, meditation workshop, or group discussion on topics related to wellness and healthy living.

"We wanted to offer something different than the choices already in Montclair," says Secallus, who wanted to find a common ground between the "philosophical" drama often found at yoga studios and the goal-oriented, trendy yoga found at gyms. "It doesn't have to be one or the other," he says.

"We know we can't be everything to everyone," says Williams. So, their motto is simple: "Eat, Breathe, Do Yoga."

For more specific information on yoga schedules and pricing, visit http://ashtangayogamontclair.com/schedule.html.

Jen Maidenberg is a freelance writer and the founder of Mindful Living NJ, and also wakes people up to wellness at The Wellness Bitch. She set out to discover the reasons why Montclair is one of the wellness capitals of the Northeast.