A Yogi Grows In Brooklyn

Feel the Glowga

We brought “glowga” back for the new year; a multi-sensory yoga experience to awaken all 6 senses (sight, sound, touch, smell, taste, intuition).

Create your own glowga experience at home to treat yourself, even if just for a few moments. Find a quiet space at home where you can dim or make the room completely dark. Turn on some flickering LED candles to create a calming quality of light in the space. Burn a fragrant candle or incense to awaken your sense of smell. Play calm music to stimulate your auditory senses. Lay on your bed or floor and hug your legs into your body for your sense of touch. Breathe deeply, bathing in all of your senses and become completely present in each moment.

By becoming present with your present moment, you can quiet the mind to make contact with your intuition. Connect with your intuition to learn about yourself.

When you’re ready to re-awaken, slowly bring yourself back into your environment. Awaken your tastebuds with some lemon-water.

Shanti

A Beautiful Heart

This month we’ll see lots of representations of hearts; the symbol of love, spirituality and passion. All of these things, when in balance and healthy, are the additives that truly enrich ours lives, perhaps the reason for living.

But our actual heart, the epicenter of our cardiovascular system and the vital organ responsible for keeping up alive, does require effort and attention to remain beautiful and healthy. We don’t get to see pictures of our heart and what it looks like when it’s not healthy, but despite that, we do know what we can do to keep the heart healthy and strong. This formula is a combination of nutrition and exercise.

February is American Heart Month. Use this month as a reminder to check your stats (blood pressure, cholesterol) and make it a priority to integrate physical activity into your life to maintain your beautiful heart.

Peace <3

Meditation Rx- How To (Part 3 of 3)

There are many approaches to mediation and depending on the official type of meditation that might appeal to you, there may be a different protocol (sitting 20 minutes a day, twice a day- Transcendental or for hours in some other lineages of buddhism/meditation). Define your goal.

My approach and suggestion is to integrate meditation into your life in ways that are functional and accessible. Even if it’s for five minutes in a day, quieting the mind and connecting with yourself reaps the benefits of eliciting the relaxation response from the body. My advice: Keep things simple; see below.

4 Tips on How to Meditate

1. Try not to attempt meditation when you’re sleepy, as you may fall asleep.
2. Find a comfortable sitting position, whether in a chair or seated on the floor. You don’t need to sit crossed-legged, the benefit of the crossed-legged seat on the floor is that it supports keeping the spine upright. However, any seated position with the spine upright is supportive for meditation.
3. Whether using the approach of quieting the mind or staying present with all of the thoughts of the mind, keep your awareness present on one thing.
4. When first starting, consider setting a timer on your cell phone for five minutes. When you have a singular focus, you realize how long five minutes can feel, when first starting.

Try integrating your mindfulness throughout your day and life, wherever you can. It’s a gift to yourself.

Shanti!

Happy Nude Year!

As a yoga teacher, I’m generally open to trying all types of yoga. Recently, I decided to take the leap into a nude yoga class. After years of weighing the pros and cons of why to take a nude class, I decided to do it because I simply hadn’t done it before.

It’s certainly not for everyone. But if you’re concerned about the disrobing portion, I was immediately alleviated of that concern upon arrival. There were really no changing rooms. After you pre-register for the class and check-in at the desk, students begin to immediately disrobe in the private lobby area. This was a little shocking at first, but it certainly ripped the band-aid off the thoughts of walking into the studio practice area, you’re already nude when you enter.

The room was dim, but you definitely see nude bodies of all shapes, sizes, colors, in the room. No one was staring awkwardly, I think that there is a heightened awareness of keeping your eyes relatively at eye level. Many of the students knew each other, so there was normal chatter and small talk before the class began.

The studio was warm in the class I took; I was sweating pretty quickly after a while. It reminded me of a hot yoga class, so that was a bit of a surprise for me, but overall, once the sequence began, your mind moves away from the fact that you’re nude and you begin to focus on the present moment.

Overall, the experience was wonderful. I hope that my experience might be helpful to those who might be thinking about taking the “nude” leap of “yoga” faith.

Happy New Year Yogis!

Shanti!

Yoga Gift Guide

Looking for a yoga-inspired gift for a yogi in your life? Check out these ideas:

(1) Yoga sticky notes- fun, simple and practical item for yogis to draft reminders and those “to do” lists.

(2) Yoga cookie cutters- for the yogi-chef; make fun cookies with these cookie cutters to share with friends and family.

(3) Yoga mat bags- This site is called “Brogamats” specializing in items for men (and women). They have funky and smart designs. Check out their site.

(4) Yoga Connections/Rubin Museum- Take a trip to the Rubin Museum in NYC and check out the “Yoga Connections” series that links art with inspiration for yoga.

Happy Holidays Yogis!

Shanti!

Meditation Rx- Types (Part 2 of 3)

Just like types of yoga, there are many types and approaches to meditation.

Transcendental meditation uses the repetition of a mantra or phrase to focus the mind. This is practiced with eyes closed, while seated, for 15 – 20 minutes.

Zen or Zazen meditation is a practice of focusing on the breath, often counting the breath while focusing, to quiet the mind. Zen meditation often incorporates other components and practices of Buddhist philosophy toward the attainment of enlightenment through the use of meditation.

Vippasana meditation stems from Buddhist philosophy and is a practice that also focuses on the breath to build awareness and insight of the nature of life (3 Marks of Existence- Impermanence, Suffering, Emptiness). As you focus on your surroundings, while focusing on your breath, a recognition/labeling of thoughts and observances is often used to cultivate a platform of remaining present.

Metta meditation is often called Loving-Kindness meditation. It focuses on dedication of thoughts on another person, using a progressive series of types of personal relationships to build empathy and compassion. A series of thoughts and words that focus on compassion for each person is repeated silently to help cultivate peace for others and self.

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction is adapted from Buddhist traditions is very common in the West. The premise is the use of focus on the breath to stay present. Practiced seated, while eyes are closed, the practitioner focuses on breathing and if thoughts that may arise, observe them, without judgement.

There are many other types of meditation. Try different techniques to discover what is right for you.

Shanti!

Chaturanga Dandasana

Chaturanga Dandasana or Four-Limbed Staff pose is a posture that strengthens the upper body (arms, back and core.) It is a challenging pose that has many important alignment cues and levels of modification.

To find this position, begin in plank pose and then slowly begin to bend the elbows (keeping the elbows hugging the body) and lower your torso toward the mat, with your shoulders transitioning forward toward the front of the mat. When the torso comes half-way down, hover there for a few moments. Then transition to the floor, or back into plank, or into upward facing dog pose. As a modification, you can bring the knees to the mat in plank pose and transition to chaturanga with knees on mat.

This pose may be contraindicated for those with a shoulder or arm injury.

Enjoy the strength of your Four-Limbed Staff pose!

Shanti!

Meditation Rx (Part 1 of 3)

Why meditation? There are many reasons why people are drawn to the science of meditation. Engaging in meditation lowers heart rate and blood pressure, but benefits can extend even further.

People who are looking to manage stress (perhaps through a doctors referral) may be advised to try meditation. Those who are learning to treat some mental health diagnoses or cope with serious life struggles may also be drawn to meditation for prescription and treatment. Still others are introduced to meditation as a vehicle to becoming more present in their own lives through the conscious practice of quieting their minds.

The reasons why you may be considering meditation may be important to your approach to mediation.

This series is the first of a three part series that will discuss the different types, approaches to and benefits of meditation.

Shanti!

Awareness

Simple, but important post:

Support raising awareness of cancer and prevention!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and November (No Shave November), raising awareness about cancer and prevention for men, is on the horizon.

There are numerous ways to support and help raise awareness. And as far as prevention goes, studies show that exercise may have a correlation with reducing risk.

Help to keep your awareness and that of those around you elevated.

Peace!

Vegetable Pot Pie

It’s like a soup and sandwich rolled into one! It’s the perfect comfort food for the arrival of the fall season. And this tastes even better re-heated. Check out this recipe for vegetable pot pie:

Ingredients: 3 tsp- olive oil, 1 potato (cubed), 1 onion (diced), 1 cup- broccoli flowerettes, 1 cup- cauliflower flowerettes, 1/2 cup- carrots (cubed), 1/2 cup- portobello mushroom (chopped), 1/2 cup- carrots (cubed), 1 can- chickpeas (drained), 6 cloves- garlic (chopped), 1/2 cup- frozen peas, salt, 1/2 cup- vegetable broth, 1 tbsp of cornstarch or flour (gravy), 2 prepared pie crusts or puff pastry, pepper to taste.

– Add olive oil to pot, followed by onion, garlic. Cook for 2 minutes on medium heat.
– Add potatoes to pot with vegetable broth. Cover pot and cook until potatoes are soft; add water as needed.
– Add add mushroom, broccoli and cauliflower to pot and cook covered for ten minutes.
– Add carrots and peas to pot, cook for two minutes
– Add chickpeas to pot.
– Add cornstarch or flour to 1/2 cup of warm water and add to pot for gravy.
– Cook for 5 minutes or until gravy thickens. Allow to cool.
– Preheat oven according to instructions for crusts. Add vegetable filling to pie tin or rectangle baking pan. Add additional crust layer to top of mixture
– Bake until crust in golden brown on top and bottom.

Bon Appetit!