Archive for June, 2009

 

A new workout is exploring the benefits of headstands and handstands. NY1 Health and Fitness reporter Kafi Drexel filed the following report on these gravity-defying classes.

 

If you pop into Michael McCardle’s “Off the Wall” yoga at New York Health & Racquet Club, chances are you’ll often find his students upside down.

McCardle calls the class “Off the Wall” because inversions, headstands, and handstands are done away from the wall, forcing participants to challenge themselves.

Often done with partnering, McCardle says there’s a real fitness benefit, other than simple feeling blood rush to your head.

“In forearm balance, where your arms are parallel and your head’s off the floor, it’s a great strengthener for your shoulder girdle, especially your rotator cuffs, which people tend to under use,” explains McCardle. “And then, the traps at the base of the neck are overused. So it strengthens between your shoulder blades quite a bit. Headstand are the same thing.”

With this approach to taking things “off the wall”, the workout can literally feel like a game of trust.

“Of course there’s a fear threshold. So just like you keep riding a bike and eventually it’s like, ‘oh,’” McCardle says. “That’s how it always happens with inversions. You just keep doing it, and one day you’re like ‘Oh wow, I’m up.’”

Going upside down can also be a big help when you’re right-side-up. McCardle says it literally give you a new perspective on your alignment and help act as a major stabilizer for your core.

“I think it’s very challenging,” says participant Jessica Mizrachi. “The first time I left here, I mean, next day my abs were in absolute pain. So it was awesome, but it was also very fun.”

“I used to be a gymnast. But I haven’t been as flexible as when I was when I was young, a child,” says Sekita Ekrek, another participant. “So it’s definitely sort of brought back the flexibility that I used to have. But it’s also challenged other areas I didn’t use much.”

These moves aren’t necessarily made to try on your own. Before deciding to go “Off the Wall” on your own, you may want the supervision of an instructor.

02 Om Namah Shivaya

I have included some amazing music by Deva Premal that I use to meditate also listen to in my leisure time.  I find this artist to be  quite beautiful and powerful.  I will post information on their upcoming tour to the New York City area and other parts of the NorthEast. 

The Ecstatic Chant Retreat

September 4-7, 2009 

Omega Institute Rhinebeck, NY

Concert

September 10, 2009

Regent Theater Boston, MA

Concert

September 12, 2009

Philadelphia Cathedral Philadelphia, PA

I have personally had bouts with depression throughout my life.  I have tried so many different types of treatments including talk therapy, medication, cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy and meditation.  I have found that by practicing meditation on a regular basis that my depression has lessened in intensity and in the number of occurrences.  I never believed that it would have worked for me.  Meditation was suggested to me about 10 years ago by my father, who has been doing yoga and meditation for over 40 years.  I was very hesitatant to try, perhaps because I was a teenager at the time and still quite rebellious against my parents and anything that they believed in.  Thank god I tried the first night I meditated I only did for 3 or 4 minutes, that was as long as I could at the time.  Today meditation has become an integral part of my life and shaped me into the woman I am today. 

This article is a bit technical, but I found it to contain a lot of important information for anyone suffering from depression or interested in the topic.

(NaturalNews) Clinical depression is far more than feeling blue. According to the National Institutes of Health, more than 20 million people in the U.S. have persistant depression that can interfere with everyday life, impact health and even lead to suicide. Now, for the first time, a study has shown that treatment based on meditation is an effective alternative to prescription drugs, even for people suffering from serious, long-term depression.

The research, just published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, found that the group-based psychological treatment called Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) was as good or better as treatment with anti-depressants like Prozac in preventing a relapse of serious depression — and the non-drug therapy was more effective in enhancing quality of life. What’s more, the study concluded MBCT is cost-effective in helping people with a history of depression stay well for the long term.

The research team, which included British investigators from the Mood Disorders Center at the University of Exeter and the Center for Economics of Mental Health (CEMH) at the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College in London, looked at 123 people who had suffered repeated episodes of clinical depression. In a randomized control trial , the research subjects were assigned to one of two groups. Half continued their on-going drug treatment with anti-depressants and the rest participated in an MBCT course and were also given the option of stopping their anti-depressant medications.

MBCT focuses on targeting negative thinking and helps people who are at risk for recurring depression to stop their depressed moods from spiraling out of control into a full episode of depression. During the eight-week trial, groups of between eight and fifteen people attended meetings with a therapist who taught them a range of meditation exercises that they could continue to practice on their own once the course ended. The MBCT exercises were primarily based on Buddhist meditation techniques and helped the study participants learn to focus on the present, rather than dwelling on the past or worrying about future tasks.

Although the meditation exercises worked in a different way for each person, many reported more control over their negative thoughts and depressed feelings. Over the 15 months after the trial ended , about 47% of the group following the MBCT course experienced a relapse — but those who continued normal treatment with anti-depressant drugs experienced a much higher, 60 percent relapse rate. In addition, the group practicing the mindfulness meditation techniques learned in the MBCT program reported a far better quality of life, more overall enjoyment and better physical well-being.

In a statement to the media, Professor Willem Kuyken of the University of Exeter , who headed the research, explained that people treated with anti-depressants are highly vulnerable to relapse when they stop their prescription drug therapy. “MBCT takes a different approach – it teaches people skills for life. What we have shown is that when people work at it, these skills for life help keep people well. Our results suggest MBCT may be a viable alternative for some of the 3.5 million people in the UK known to be suffering from this debilitating condition. People who suffer depression have long asked for psychological approaches to help them recover in the long-term and MBCT is a very promising approach. I think we have the basis for offering patients and GPs an alternative to long-term anti-depressant medication. We are planning to conduct a larger trial to put these results to the test and to examine how MBCT works,” Kuvken said.

I recently asked a coworker to join me at a yoga class here in New York City.  Her reaction surprised me because she seemed intimidated and even a little bit scared.  Meditating is actually easier than you might imagine.  No matter your age or physical condition anyone can do meditation, even a few minutes every day can make a big difference in the way you feel. It can help you improve your concentration, increase your self-awareness and make your life far more peaceful.

 Most who have done yoga have experimented with meditation by participating in conscious relaxation and focus on the breath. Relaxation is an important element in Yoga. There are a number of ways that you can meditate and we would like to share with you, what it means to us and a few basic ways to get started.

1. Heightened Awareness and Concentration

Yoga teaches people to be more aware of their breathing and their bodies while letting go of mental distractions. This translates directly to better sex. When you’re able to concentrate on what your body is feeling instead of a sink full of dirty dishes, for instance, you can undeniably enjoy sexual activities much more.

2. Greater Flexibility and Strength

Nothing can bring more fun to the bed than a body that’s ready to rock. Yoga is an excellent fitness tool that not only conditions and strengthens the muscles, but also improves your flexibility range and joint health. Just imagine all the daring positions you can try out after a few weeks of yoga practice! Improving your muscle strength and fitness level will raise your energy and stamina during sex, too.

3. A New Kind of Foreplay

If your partner is up to it, add in several minutes of couples yoga before sex as a kind of foreplay. A few yoga moves can relax your nerves and get your circulation going: just what you need to get you in the mood after a long day. Plus, practicing yoga together helps you connect in a new way.

4. Acceptance and Confidence

One of the priceless benefits yoga offers is a new sense of confidence in one’s self. Yoga promotes being aware of your body and accepting it. When you realize what you appreciate about yourself, it gives you the freedom to offer more in the bedroom. Sexual confidence is incredibly freeing and can really open the door to better sex.

5. An Awesome Finale

Well, it all adds up to one thing: better orgasms. Between improved circulation, heightened awareness and more energy, you are primed for a great climax. Plus, positions that strengthen your pelvic core can give your orgasms a definite “wow” factor.

From NaturalNews.com

I am filled with a new sense of wonderment and joy.  I have found a new yoga class especially for me and my “special needs”.  I am going to East West Yoga on Thursday evening to try out their Mega Yoga class.  I have heard great things about the instructor and her methods and I am looking forward to being in a yoga class and feeling more comfortable about my body size, as I am overweight.  I will definately report back on how the quality of the class and the studio overall. 

Overweight embrace yoga to lose weight, stay in shape NEW YORK (AP) — As Megan Garcia prepares to do a twisting yoga pose, she reminds her students to lift their bellies up and over their legs. Wearing a one-piece purple leotard, she’s not shy about the love handles around her waist or the extra flesh on her thighs.

		‘Now is the time for there to be exercise instructors that reflect the body type of the American population,’ instructor Megan Garcia says.
		By Kathy Willens, AP

Many of Garcia’s students are overweight or obese, and she adjusts traditional poses to ease pressure on joints. She encourages them to use a chair for support or has them move to a wall to do poses meant for a mat.

 She reminds her students to pay attention to how their bodies feel. Let the flesh hang, she says. Definitely don’t worry about it.

 ”It helps to have a teacher who doesn’t look like Jane Fonda,” says Garcia, who is 5-feet-10 and 210 pounds. “People can think, ‘Wow she looks like me and she’s standing on her hands. Maybe this is something I can do.’”

 Yoga is a 5,000-year-old discipline that has been gaining steam in this country for years. More than 16.5 million practice yoga, and they spend about $2.95 billion on classes and props every year, according to a study in Yoga Journal’s February issue. Yoga’s appeal is partly the calm, controlled breathing, the meditation and the goal of bringing mind, body and spirit into unity.

 ”Now is the time for there to be exercise instructors that reflect the body type of the American population,” Garcia said. “If you are aware of your body, you can then see what you need to do to make you a happier, healthier person.”

 Garcia, a plus-size model, said yoga was the only exercise she would stick with, and she dropped a few dress sizes when she started doing it, mostly because she toned up. She recently released a DVD called “Just My Size Yoga,” in which she shows off her adjusted poses and doesn’t push the idea of weight-loss.

Her students say they are more comfortable and relaxed than when they took more traditional classes.

 ”I have nothing against someone who is a size 2 or 4,” said student Christie Lee, who’s a size 16. “But when their body is in a position, their stomachs were really far from the ground. But my stomach was touching the ground, and I thought I was doing something wrong.”

 When she takes Garcia’s class, she can see her own body reflected and is able to relax. Lee, 28, is a drummer in a band and said yoga has made her more flexible and stronger, but not skinnier.

 Instructor Sally Pugh, who teaches yoga to overweight and obese people in Berkeley, Calif., said her students often come up with their own adaptations.

 ”It empowers them,” she said. “The become their own expert on their body, and they know how to take control, and how to feel good about it.”

 Pugh is average-sized but has been teaching yoga for more than 20 years and finds she’s able to relate to her students.

 Adjusting poses for overweight people is another trend in the practice, said Sandra VanOosten, director of the Yoga Alliance, a national registry for yoga studios and teachers.

 ”There are restorative styles of yoga which can be done with heavy, older people and as the population ages, you’ll have more people doing these gentler sorts of yoga,” she said, citing chair yoga for older people.

 VanOosten, who has practiced since 1974 and teaches, said she’s seen larger people coming to class. She said teachers of any size are trained to modify poses and to be ready for all body types.

 ”People are learning that yoga can be done by everybody, you just have to modify,” she said.

 

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Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Avoidance of fear: Yoga is said to result in the reduction of a variety of mental ills. These may range all the way from vague feelings of frustration, persecution, insecurity, on the one hand, to acute and specific types of insanity, on the other.

Yoga is not a cure all for all conditions. But its attack upon, and diminution of, some basic mental ills may indeed be just enough to pay dividends that grow in magnitude.

If, through use of yogic techniques, we can merely halt and reverse some mental cancer, some compulsive complex that keeps us chained to unrelenting, omnipresent and gradually increasing anxiety, we may reset a course which will bring us around to a healthier adjustment. We are all at times insane. We are all, in some degree, insane. Overwhelming waves of tension and stress, which may catch us in periods of physical and mental exhaustion, can produce a spiritual explosion which leaves us so helpless that we are at a loss to know how it all came about.

By recurrent, regular efforts to reduce tension through yogic exercises, we may stay and finally reverse our tendencies toward insanity.

Most of us succumbs to fears and anxieties – some valid and some purely imaginary. For example, as one gets older, he begins to fear that his life has not been sufficiently worth while, that he has fallen short of his goals, that he has failed to attain his proper ambition, that he has lost out in the race to keep up with the Joneses or in his attempt to measure up “in the sight of God”-however he happens to conceive his shortcoming.

Thus, when Ramacharaka, in his ‘Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath’, says one may, by controlled breathing, “practically do away with fear and worry and the baser emotions,” he refers to the growing ability of a devoted practitioner to diminish the power which both momentary and permanent fears have over us. One seeks to develop habits of resistance to the disturbing effects of excitement, ambition, antagonism and frustration.

The long-range goal of yoga is not just momentary relaxation, but the living of a relaxed life.

From HolisticOnline.com

Check out this new yoga studio called Joschi Yoga & Pilates I found.  I have listed their schedule and link to find out further information on yoga classes and pricing as well as location in New York City.

yoga beginner workshop july 11 - click here for details!

 

SUMMER SCHEDULE! please check back for updates!

	monday, 06/15	classes (click for details)	teacher (click for bio)
	12:00pm – 1:00pm	flow yoga I	sarah
	5:00pm – 6:15pm	souLpower yoga II	joschi
	6:15pm – 7:30pm	flow yoga I	martha
	7:30pm – 8:45pm	360° pilates	alisa

	tuesday, 06/16
	7:00am – 8:00am	flow yoga I	angel
	12:00pm – 1:00pm	360° pilates	joschi
	5:00pm – 6:15pm	flow yoga I	sarah
	6:15pm – 7:30pm	360° pilates	joschi
	7:30pm – 8:45pm	flow yoga I/II	donnalynn

	wednesday, 06/17
	12:00pm -1:00pm	flow yoga I	sarah
	5:00pm – 6:15pm	flow yoga I/II	joschi
	6:15pm – 7:30pm	flow yoga I	shaun
	7:30pm – 8:45pm	360° pilates	alisa

	thursday, 06/18
	7:00am – 8:00am	flow yoga I	sarah
	12:00pm – 1:00pm	360° pilates	joschi
	5:00pm – 6:15pm	flow yoga I/II	shaun
	6:15pm – 7:30pm	360° pilates	laura
	7:30pm – 8:45pm	flow yoga I	donnalynn

	friday, 06/19
	12:00pm – 1:00pm	flow yoga I	angel
	5:00pm – 6:15pm	souLpower yoga II	joschi
	6:15pm – 7:30pm	flow yoga I/II	joschi

	saturday, 06/20
	9:15am – 10:30am	360° pilates	joschi
	10:30am – 11:45am	flow yoga I	michael
	1:30pm -2:45pm	flow yoga I/II	sarah

	sunday, 06/21
	9:15am – 10:30am	360° pilates	joschi
	10:30am – 11:45am	flow yoga I	meg
	6:30pm – 7:45pm	yoga4men	joschi

SUMMER SCHEDULE! please check back for updates!

	monday, 06/22	classes (click for details)	teacher (click for bio)
	12:00pm – 1:00pm	flow yoga I	sarah
	5:00pm – 6:15pm	souLpower yoga II	joschi
	6:15pm – 7:30pm	flow yoga I	martha
	7:30pm – 8:45pm	360° pilates	alisa

	tuesday, 06/23
	7:00am – 8:00am	flow yoga I	angel
	12:00pm – 1:00pm	360° pilates	joschi
	5:00pm – 6:15pm	flow yoga I	sarah
	6:15pm – 7:30pm	360° pilates	joschi
	7:30pm – 8:45pm	flow yoga I/II	donnalynn

	wednesday, 06/24
	12:00pm -1:00pm	flow yoga I	sarah
	5:00pm – 6:15pm	flow yoga I/II	joschi
	6:15pm – 7:30pm	flow yoga I	shaun
	7:30pm – 8:45pm	360° pilates	alisa

	thursday, 06/25
	7:00am – 8:00am	flow yoga I	sarah
	12:00pm – 1:00pm	360° pilates	joschi
	5:00pm – 6:15pm	flow yoga I/II	shaun
	6:15pm – 7:30pm	360° pilates	laura
	7:30pm – 8:45pm	flow yoga I	donnalynn

	friday, 06/26
	12:00pm – 1:00pm	flow yoga I	angel
	5:00pm – 6:15pm	souLpower yoga II	joschi
	6:15pm – 7:30pm	flow yoga I/II	joschi

	saturday, 06/27
	9:15am – 10:30am	360° pilates	joschi
	10:30am – 11:45am	flow yoga I	michael
	1:30pm -2:45pm	flow yoga I/II	sarah

	sunday, 06/28
	9:15am – 10:30am	360° pilates	joschi
	10:30am – 11:45am	flow yoga I	meg
	6:30pm – 7:45pm	yoga4men	joschi

SUMMER SCHEDULE! please check back for updates!

	monday, 06/29	classes (click for details)	teacher (click for bio)
	12:00pm – 1:00pm	flow yoga I	sarah back 07/08 angel
	5:00pm – 6:15pm	souLpower yoga II	joschi
	6:15pm – 7:30pm	flow yoga I	martha
	7:30pm – 8:45pm	360° pilates	alisa

	tuesday, 06/30
	7:00am – 8:00am	flow yoga I	angel
	12:00pm – 1:00pm	360° pilates	joschi
	5:00pm – 6:15pm	flow yoga I	sarah back 07/08 susanna
	6:15pm – 7:30pm	360° pilates	joschi
	7:30pm – 8:45pm	flow yoga I/II	donnalynn

	wednesday, 07/01
	12:00pm -1:00pm	flow yoga I	sarah back 07/08 angela
	5:00pm – 6:15pm	flow yoga I/II	joschi
	6:15pm – 7:30pm	flow yoga I	shaun back 08/05 amelia
	7:30pm – 8:45pm	360° pilates	alisa

	thursday, 07/02
	7:00am – 8:00am	flow yoga I	sarah back 07/08 amelia
	12:00pm – 1:00pm	360° pilates	joschi
	5:00pm – 6:15pm	flow yoga I/II	shaun back 08/05 angela
	6:15pm – 7:30pm	360° pilates	laura
	7:30pm – 8:45pm	flow yoga I	donnalynn

	friday, 07/03
	12:00pm – 1:00pm	flow yoga I	angel
	5:00pm – 6:15pm	souLpower yoga II	joschi
	6:15pm – 7:30pm	flow yoga I/II	joschi

	saturday, 07/04
	9:15am – 10:30am	360° pilates	joschi
	10:30am – 11:45am	flow yoga I	michael back 07/11 susanna
	1:30pm -2:45pm	flow yoga I/II	sarah cancelled today!

	sunday, 06/28
	9:15am – 10:30am	360° pilates	joschi
	10:30am – 11:45am	flow yoga I	meg
	6:30pm – 7:45pm	yoga4men	joschi

NYT Video

Have you ever wished you could do downward dog with a decomposing body? Well, City Room hasn’t (doing the crow with an intact body is still an insurmountable challenge), but this combination apparently has been a niche fantasy with some population of New Yorkers.

About 75 people showed up in Williamsburg’s East River State Park for an (online) open casting call for the filming of a yoga zombie video on Sunday. “The zombie blogs were only mildly interested in it, it was the yoga blogs,” said Jason Wishnow, the director of the video.

 

“The R.S.V.P. responses from the yoga blogs were like: ‘I love yoga and I love zombie movies. I’ve been waiting for this!’ It was the chocolate and the peanut butter thing for all these people.”

While the crew had a make-up artist on set, many of the yoga practitioners showed up in their zombie get-ups, ready to go. Mr. Wishnow was impressed by his extras, saying: “Everyone took zombiedom very seriously. There was a lot of groaning and discomfort of their decomposing bodies as they would attempt yoga maneuvers.”

Want to do the corpse pose yourself? Here’s how.

I have recently been trying to broaden my knowledge of different gurus and spiritual masters.  I have read a few books by Osho, but never practiced any of of his meditative methods, which I hear are experimental.  Check out this link which has a wonderful array of written description and video footage material for beginners to his methods. 

http://www.osho.com/Main.cfm?Area=Shop&Language=English