Yoga Grandma at age 83

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Check it out! That could be all of us. :D

Meditation to Overcome Stress

This meditation uses a specific mudra, breath pattern, and eye focus. It affects the body in a number of ways. It unites the two hemispheres of the brain, stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system to calm the body's reaction to stress, and improves mental focus due to a prolonged concentrated attention. 

Enjoy. (The video has minor technical difficulties at the beginning but clears up at 8 secs.)

Yoga at Home: Refresh yourself after work

Expand your Breath, Shrink your Waistline

       As an Yoga/Fitness Instructor and practitioner, the most fascinating part of my job is how the body changes by the day and according to choices in our lifestyle. All vanities aside, when my abs are looking their best, it because my practice has involved a lot of breath work. The breathing techniques, known as Pranayama, create specific mental/physical health benefits are widely available today unlike in the dark ages of the past when they were kept hidden because they are so powerful.
      Pranayama is the physical Eastern practice of exerting conscious control of one's breathing over a certain period of time.  According to Western concepts, breathing is a largely unconscious, autonomous function of the the body. As a culture we are to address breathing changes in a person who may be having a medical emergency, such as an allergic reaction, choking, or heart attack; Yet we intuitively recognize the breathing pattern of someone who is emotionally upset and encourage them to breathe deeper in order to calm down.

        In Eastern practices, the breath is the common link to higher states of consciousness as the physical connection to concepts of spirituality, divinity, liberation, and the true nature of existence. It is through clarity of mind and breath that we are truly able to perceive the world. The initiation stage of every Eastern practice, whether Tai Chi, Chi Gung, Kung Fu, Yoga, or Meditation involves beginning with ten minutes of conscious observation of the breath. The locus of the exercise is on the mechanics of breathing, the inhalation and exhalation.  This allows you to observe how your mind works as it is asked to focus on something that is automatic.
      Pranayama exercises expel stagnant air from the lungs, reviving our physical and mental self, as well as tone the soft tissue of the lungs and the deep and superficial abdominal muscles.  The specific techniques of Pranayama also induce heightened states of awareness.   Heighten your mental acuity, tone your lungs and your abs simply through an otherwise automatic function. Stop living your life on automatic and get breathing!

Do yourself a favor and Suck in that stomach!

   What's the number one thing that people do when trying on clothes in a clothing store or at home to "look better" or "thinner" in those jeans? We suck in our stomachs. This action is then dismissed by the majority as a "lost cause" because we rationalize that we'll never be that thin. The point is not to be thin but by not using our abs more consciously and consistently throughout the day is a major cause for knee and foot pain, hip pain, back pain, shoulder tension, and neck strain. Wait did I just cover the entire body? Yes.
    If you were to suck in your stomach all day, every day, you would not only look thinner but feel better since you would be improving your posture by supporting the back and relying less on the shoulders and neck to hold up your very heavy head.  And some of us have some big heads the average head weighs 10lbs. Now when was the last time you picked up a 10lb object?
    But not just physically, mentally and spiritually you would be activating the major energy center (the solar plexus) that is the seat of will power and manifestation. By checking in periodically during the day to see if we are sucking in our stomachs, which means we are engaging deep abdominal muscles that support the spine and lifting the weight of the body out of the legs we help to relieve the pressure that gravity is constantly exerting on our bodies. 

courtesy of www.livingandlovinginla.com

     Imagine. Gravity is constantly pulling us towards its center of the Earth, over years of living in a mostly unconscious manner of how we carry ourselves and use our bodies, the years of gravity start to manifest from the invisible to the visible plane through joint discomfort, back pain, and neck/shoulder tension. You can begin now, it's never too late but the later it happens, the sooner age starts to show. 
  So start sucking in your stomachs more often. I check in with my abs at least four times during the day and often when my neck or shoulders or back start to ache.  You can too. Do yourself a favor and suck in your stomach from morning until bedtime. You will thank yourself. 

Life Unlocked: 7 Revolutionary Lessons to Overcome Fear by Srinivasan S. Pillay, MD

As humans we rely on our brains to protect us from mortal dangers to ensure our survival. As a species, we’ve developed a highly sensitized system of functioning to alert us to dangers that may be present in our environment but how often do these ingrained systems block us from the courage required to start that new job or new romantic relationship. Have you ever wondered how your fear of success or love prevents you from actually attaining it? Though you may profess and take steps to reach for the things you want, yet you somehow always run from or reject it. Deep within our faculties lie answers to unlocking the reoccurring thought patterns and behaviors that limit us from living to our fullest potential. 

Srinivasan S. Pillay, MD, an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, recently published, Life Unlocked: 7 Revolutionary Lessons to Overcome Fear, a book that gives the biological and psychological implications in our brains' responses to fear in clear and accessible language for any reader, along with practical tools and practices to overcome these patterns. Pillay explains the latest research findings of Cognitive Neuroscience and applies these findings to his experience as a therapist and director of the Outpatient Anxiety Disorders Program and the Panic Disorders Research Program in the Brain Imaging Center at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts through real life stories of patients.

Pillay outlines seven common fears that everyone experiences to some degree and that most of our fears come from the unconscious. Our brains process visual stimulus much quicker than our conscious realizes. An example is seeing a coiled rope in a dark hallway. Our first emotional response occurs in the thalamus which sends signals directly to the amygdala alerting us to the "snake".  After a moment we are able to process the stimulus again, this time through the long route from the thalamus to the cortex(reasoning) which concludes it is actually a rope and then sends signals to the calm the reaction of amygdala.  

The bridge he constructs for overcoming the isolating behaviors of fear is through personal exploration and therapy to understand the nature of our fears while we re-stitch the patterns of our brain connections with practices that can replace fear with hope so that we begin to change our previously established patterns. Based on his experience in clinical psychiatry and brain-imaging research, Pillay illustrates what ignites our fears and anxiety and how we have the possibility to rewire our responses with the proven concept of Neuroplasticity. He offers the reader a MAP-CHANGE approach at the end of every chapter to use as a practical tool towards establishing new connections and responses to life.

Life Unlocked contains the science and clinical research data to assist us in understanding and overcoming our fears and anxieties so that we may move past what we fear and truly reach for the stars. I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in the deeper science behind the mind-body-spirit connection to use as a platform for unlocking your hidden potential.     

Maitreya: The Asian Experience

Maitreya "The Asian Experience"

I can't say more about the calming and energizing effects of this album. Participants always have positive comments about the music after I use it in class. It is a perfect compliment to any yoga/pilates practice with it's mellow downtempo rhythms and ambient eastern additions that awaken one's facutlies for attention without distracting the mind from the activity.  Also, a great album to put on after a stressful day at work. It's calming but not sleep inducing. Check it out at the link above.

In the Heart of the Moon

Ali Farka Touré's album "In the Heart of the Moon" is one of the best albums of West African string music and I highly recommend everyone adding this your music collection. Ali Farka Touré is a West African musician from Mali whose music is celebrated around the world. There is the smallest amount of vocals used on the album making it almost an entirely instrumental album.  It's a favorite of mine to use in Pilates and Yoga classes because the compositions are rhythmic, relaxing, and stimulating. The music calms the mind while the melodies keep the mind present in the activity. This album has the uncanny ability to calm and focus my mind within the first track, allowing me to concentrate on an important task. There's something absolutely magical about the polyrhythmic strings of Ali Farka Touré and I assure you, his music will make your spirit soar.

Humming Improves Sinus Health- Not Just for the Happy and Carefree

Remember how much you enjoyed humming as a child, fascinated by the sounds and vibrations it produced.  Remember the joy attached to your sense of wonder that you were creating these sounds. Ask any child to hum their favorite song and they enjoy it so much it's hard to get them to stop. For most adults the fascination with the human body has diminished and we suffer from the body more than we take joy from it. Well, kick the adult worries aside and get humming, it's good for your sinus health.
 
The New York Times reported on two new studies conducted in Europe  that indicated the simple act of humming provided enough stimulation to the sinus cavity to improve its health function. So humming on a regular basis could help prevent a cold from becoming a sinus infection. Scientists discovered that humming caused dramatic increases in the levels of nitric oxide in the sinus cavity than when the breathing was silent. The studies focused on the levels the nitric oxide which its biological function acts to promote the relaxation of smooth muscle and improve blood flow to the area. 

Yoga practices have a deep understanding of the subtle effects of chanting on the mind and body but in addition to the rapid exchange of gases which promote relaxation and blood flow of the nasal passages, humming stimulates the hypothalamus gland which regulates the immune system. Thus humming and chanting can help to fight a cold before it even begins.

It's winter and the colds are aplenty, so if you've been too shy to try the Om's in a yoga class, open up and say ahhhhh to the benefits your head will receive unless you prefer the fogginess of a cold.  If you already chant Om, try a home practice of 11 rounds of Om to see feel how chanting for longer periods brings you into deeper levels concentration and really opens the lungs, throat, and head. Feel good this season and hum your way to better health.