Yuck. Pass this on. Hey can check out the distance classes at "more"
I use this in conjunction with a lot of people in hypnotherapy, but different - the steps are so symbolic.. I love this. Pass it on! Also, we have distance classes, see "more" link 
Reminds me of the rescue dog we adopted... he looks similar just a different color.. do you have a rescue dog or know of one? Share your experience with him/her! (also di 
Inspirations. Distance classes available... go to "more" 
 March 4th at 8:30 AM Get ready to relax and welcome the first roses of summer, inside out! Rose, in aromatherapy, acts as an anti-depressant, and the essential oil is said to be anti-viral and an aphrodisiac, as well as calming to the organs, muscles and nerves. A gentle yoga class with classical music, with a rose facial treatment and a guided rose garden relaxation to help you release stress and embrace life as you begin your day and the month, "bloomingly beautiful". If you are an unlimited month card holder, this is complimentary. Others, $15 at door Must schedule online! Go to schedule then "workshops" tab Aside from the physical/physiological of breathing, stretching, balancing or strengthening, I realized that if we can bring these five qualities to our postures, we are going to do ourselves a great service. I was reading the sutras, and 1:20 discussed becoming more spiritual and five qualities to do so. While everyone can tweak "spiritual" to be either religious or more authentic, the qualities remain the same. 1. Right Direction, or focus of intention. - know why you are practicing the posture and why it matters. If you are unsure or if the posture is "easy" for you, then what are you getting out of it? How can you get something out of it so that you can create more intention. If it is challenging, make it about the process. 2. Faith, or caring - Believe in yourself and have respect for the posture. Even an adapted posture or "westernized or tweaked" posture has a history of approximately 5,000 years. It is very probable that whatever struggle or feeling of challenge or joy that you have in a posture has been experienced by someone generations ago, who spoke a different language and saw the world through very different eyes. However, have faith in your intention or direction and also in the actual focus of the posture. It was developed for a reason. 3. Remembrance, or authenticity - It is easy to forget alignment, forget to breath and yes, forget your intention or the purpose of yoga as a whole. It's easy to get caught up in the details or topical. It's also easy to forget that one major aspect of yoga is a healing process of emotion and mind. Try to remember/recall in each position what you feel or what it reminds you of, or just be aware of what pops into your mind. Be authentic to the entire package of who you are, not only the moment of physical but every other layer that is trying to surface in that posture (if) it happens. Often in the course of one class, if you listen to your body, you'll hear all kinds of memories surfacing for you to embrace, come to terms with or face for a moment to shelf when ready. 4. Absorption, or body/mind/spirit intelligence. - To each posture, even if it is cobra and we think of it as a transition only and don't give it much thought, try to find the full circle blend that helps that posture become more meaningful and, that you build upon. So, if you look back, remember how maybe warrior was just about standing in a knee bend and you were only focused on holding that position; then later in time, that position became more to you with a feeling of external energy or vitality coming inward to you as you increased your alignment and your feelings of empowerment surfaced more. Every position is going to grow like this more and more, a result of total absorption. Keep that alive and keep building upon what you know. It isn't all going to be directed by teachers but by self awareness also, and listening to yourself. 5. Illumination, or being aware - It's a great moment when you are in a posture, release and feel an 'ahhhh" that it was beyond just physical but you felt the above qualities take hold. This is illumination. You are more aware, and more enlightened not only in the posture but now the posture has brought something to your life. The above qualities together, have taught you that what is happening in your life is reflected on the mat. What is happening on your mat, can be also, taken into your life. These five qualities and that focus of authenticity or spirituality, bringing you a gift of inner peace, are extremely important to remember in yoga. I do see people who want to lose weight or get stronger but the reality is, none of the true root issues in our lives will ever really be fixed by external answers long term, so be it losing weight, or ridding oneself of a tight back, it all starts deeper inside. I used to be a personal trainer and also certified in Pilates, yada yada.. and yes, you can count calories and you can figure out how long to work out at a gym and yes, you can lose weight. However, when you do that, although enjoyable to many, it is a case of needing to continue that because it is going to be only as successful as you keep that habit. When I worked with advocacy and healing emotions, I learned that you can fight someone all you want to prove you are right or, you can pray all you want to forgive, and you may win a court case and you may feel a sense of peace while praying but, until you layer this deeply inside, it's just another short term fix. The only way you create long term changes is true deeper states of change and none of those have to do with where you pray, winning a case or running on a treadmill. All of these are important; I am not negating them, just encouraging you (and I) to apply the above qualities to our mat, and to our actions in life. 
<from Dr. Mauro> Bananas can actually help ripen other fruit. Bananas release plenty of ethylene (the gas that triggers enzymes to start ripening the fruit) Well, you can take some other fruit, like hard pears, pineapples or grapes and put them in a paper bag with a banana peel. The banana's excess ethylene will trigger the ripening genes in the other fruit in the bag. You should use a paper bag -- not a plastic bag. Paper allows air to pass through. Enzymes require oxygen as a fuel.  Although this time year is filled with festivities and gatherings, songs and sales; the reality is that many people suffer some level of holiday depression or anxiety. There is so much "around us" that screams "happy" that we may feel that we are not feeling correctly if we feel sad, anti-climatic or even wishing the season were over. Some of us may have strong spiritual beliefs that make us feel guilty for not embracing the season more. Most of our anxiety comes from holding expectations too high; this can be our own expectations of ourselves or, expectations of others. It can also be on the financial side; where we expect to be able to purchase, give OR receive a certain level of gifts. We may expect to create a certain type of a meal or festivity. Some anxiety that is common this time of year could be travel or visits with family and friends. Perhaps you don't like to entertain or travel and you may be throwing yourself or feeling forced into these situations. This can cause anxiety. Depression often comes from loss or perceived loss. There could have been a death of a loved one, a loved one that is alive but can't visit, or a relationship that has disintegrated or ended. The holiday season, from Thanksgiving to New Years, consumes us with emotions. As a child we had strong emotions normally because of the magic and excitement we felt on many levels; we were not expected to reason much but just enjoy. For some, there was abuse or witnessing parents or relatives who abused alcohol or had their own battles with anxiety and depression. Either way, we were too young to process some of the emotions. Fast forward into adulthood and we now recall memories that were fond or negative and the triggers we experience every year just remind us of these situations, relationships and issues. As the years go on, this feeling or set of feelings just doesn't just vanish; in fact, it actually compiles as we experience more and more stress, and as we sink into more and more depression or anxiety, the cheerful sights and sounds around us become painful and overwhelming. Enter, holiday depression and anxiety. Adding to the mix is the real possibility of Seasonal Affective Disorder, a seasonal depression that can make a person hyper and experience insomnia and anxiety in the summer and depression and fatigue in the winter with the shorter days. If you feel you may have Seasonal Affective Disorder, you should seek a health professional if it feels severe, but you could attempt to address is by common remedies such getting at least 20 minutes of sunlight a day, taking vitamin D, being more active both physically and mentally and making sure that you have a very strict bed time and awakening time. For holiday depression, there are some coping skills you can learn such as: - Keeping your expectations of yourself and others lower. There is no need to put undue stress on yourself for the sake of anything. When you place stress on yourself you are telling yourself that you are, in the present moment, not good enough. When you place an expectation on others, you are assuming that they need to live up to your standards and that isn't fair, so you are causing undue stress on yourself. Keep your expectations in check, in fact, expect the minimum if you are prone to being let down by others or yourself. -Realize that you will have memories, both positive and negative, but that you have the opportunity to experience the responses those memories in your power. You can choose to be a victim or you can choose to be the master of your mental health. Try to focus on realizing that the past is in the past and to create the memories that you would look fondly back upon. It's alright to miss someone or to have moments of sadness but, you can embrace traditions and experiences that you've had and add to them with new experiences. - Volunteer or help someone else. I know it may be the hardest thing to motivate yourself right now, but volunteering with an organization or just helping a friend or neighbor can really change your perception. Even if you are an introverted, shy person or have physical limitations, you could probably go to a dollar store and get a couple of gloves for a child in a disadvantaged situation or write a few cards and deliver to a hospital, or just write to someone who is lonely on a social network or in email. There are so many ways to touch someone's life. When you extend your arm you are reaching to a bigger world around you. - Focus on enjoying something new, and if money is tight, make it something free or inexpensive. If you enjoy nature, drive to a park and feed the birds. Look at the cardinals and other snow-loving creatures. If you love festivities but feel less than inclined to decorate yourself, perhaps a drive to look at homes lit up. If you are not in the mood to make latkes or christmas cookies, go buy a few. -Do not assume that just because people are happy that it could be that they are acting happy but not feeling happy. Realize that even the most outwardly happy person could be struggling inside in some way also; so you are not alone. We all have bittersweet moments during the holidays; it is natural to feel a range of emotions. Don't negate how you feel but don't dwell on the negative. Above all, know that you are not alone. This is a time of year that can bring great joy but also, sadness, a void or anxiety. Be mindful of this. In yoga, we focus often of being in the present moment. Since we do this, we take inventory of where we are in the now. Where we are is not always pleasant but it is not permanent either. Realizing that "this too shall pass" is good to remember when you feel anxious or sad. The New Year can be the hardest of all; it is a milestone and people often think about their resolutions not met, goals not achieved and the trauma of the past year. These are all just days. Days of symbolism no doubt, but days like any other day, and you can control each of your days. Yes, sadness and anxiety can seem to ambush you but allow yourself to feel it and allow yourself to own it. Work through it, and experience it. How to handle triggers of the holiday season: 1. Realize that you'll feel possibly feel sad or anxious. Just being aware to expect it is healthy. Expecting it to vanish is denial and unrealistic. 2. Plan diversions such as above, with volunteerism and activities. 3. Learn to forgive and let go. 4. Set new traditions. 5. Allow yourself time to experience the memories or moments. Do not deny yourself. When in doubt, work it out with a professional. It is my hope that you have a true, happy holiday season be it Christmas, Hanukkah, Secular or otherwise, and that you have peace in your heart, and are able to create a holiday of harmony. [Please pass along to anyone who may need this extra "boost" of help. You never know who is struggling inside] Almost everyone calls chronic "bad" headaches "Migraines" however, true migraines are more rare, while almost all of the other types of headaches are more common, and can be very much chronic as well. Vascular headaches can occur with nausea; this can happen in a migraine but a vascular headache can be independent of a migraine as well. They are not neurologic. (think "fever headaches). Muscular are common and often cluster styled or "all over". Cervical originate from disorders of the neck or, awkward head positioning. There are also Traction and inflammatory headaches such as discomfort due to stroke or sinus issues. Although it's simplistic to just say "stress less", the reality is, until one learns to quiet their mind and also develop coping skills, stress will rear it's ugly head... but there is something you can do in the meantime -- and that is yoga. Yoga will train you to quiet your mind as well as develop stellar coping skills. In addition one less spoken about remedy for headaches is simply the strengthening of back muscles. There needs to be both a flexibility in the spine as well as a strong set of back muscles to work properly, to ward off tightening due to mental stress and to increase blood flow. All of our classes include, even for beginners, help ease students into decreasing headaches and the imbalances that can cause them. Physically, any of the full body strengtheners such as low and hi plank, warrior, downward dog and then, plow and back bend postures all help the decrease of most chronic headaches. It's always fantastic to hear a student have the epiphany that they realized that they have not had a headache since beginning yoga, but it's never shocking :) | BlogAll things wellness. ArchivesMay 2012 CategoriesAll |
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