Monthly Archives: January 2011

Using the wall to work wonders on the body. Mon 7pm Yum Yum

Pranayama: Sahaja, Dirgha, Nadi Shodhana, using wall as support and as an alignment guide.

Cat rolls, cat to extended child flow for the spine.  To the wall for gentle wall flows, palm tree and raised standing balance.  Seated chair using wall to wake up quads. Moving to the floor for reclined tree, reclined cobbler to notice alignment in the hips, a few bridge rolls then to supported bridge and leg stretch to release the low back and prepare for Savasana.  Hip side stretch. Aromatherapy and Savasana.

Aromatherapy tonight will be Prana Blend from Yoga Flow Oils, thank you Susan.

Enjoying the strength of the shoulders flowing tonight. Mon 530 Shanti Vinyasa

After strengthening the shoulders last week we will enjoy them with flowing postures tonight.

Pranayama: Sahaja, Dirgha, Nadi Shodhana, Anuloma Viloma

A gentle flow with cat bows, swan to downward dog to open the hips, to wide leg forward fold with a sway to prepare for standing posture flow. Flowing with spinal flows next of Cobra 1/boat and cobra 2,  bridge rolls with supported bridge with blocks and a few leg stretches here. Happy baby, hip side stretch, janu sirsasana, aromatherapy, eagle twist and savasana.

Aromatherapy tonight will be Prana Blend from Yoga Flow Oils, thank you Susan.

Beginner Mind is always what is needed

This article is from www.Yogayak.com a great source of yoga information.

With so many images everywhere of extraordinarily pliable people in striking impossible yoga poses, advertising “yoga for beginners” does help to take the fear down a notch or two for the newcomer. Unfortunately, that hurts the image of yoga more than it helps it.

Carving up yoga into levels of physical difficulty, does not give the right impression of it. It sends the message that yoga is about how well conditioned and flexible your body is.  In case you didn’t know … that has little to do with yoga.

Rarely do I meet anyone who is not a yoga beginner, actually … and that goes for some extraordinarily flexible yoga teachers too.  The modern yoga class culture would seem to suggest that physical mastery of some yoga exercises is the gauge we use to assess a person’s “level” of yoga.
If that were true, though, then we’d have to consider many athletes, world-class dancers and even circus performers as advanced yoga practitioners too.

But we don’t because we know that yoga has very little to do with how flexible you are or how much bodily strength and control you’ve gained. In the holistic science of yoga, these physical abilities really actually don’t count for very much.

Being an advanced yoga practitioner means much more than demonstrating how far you can backbend. It means demonstrating an uncommon level of poise Continue reading Beginner Mind is always what is needed

Peaceful Sleep Spiced Milk

Here are the two ways to make this peaceful sleep milk.  This also builds Ojas the nectar that is you.

Peaceful Sleep Spiced Milk from Denise O’Dunn  Balance & Bliss Ayurveda

Organic milk, soy milk, rice milk or almond dream –  to make 1 cup   Ghee (clarified butter)  1 spoonful   Maple syrup   to taste

Use a “pinch” to a “shake or two” of each spice —- to taste

Turmeric                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Cinnamon                                                                                                                                                                                                           Nutmeg                                                                                                                                                                                                        Ground Cardamom

Warm ghee till melted add milk or liquid of choice add all spices and when warm (not hot), pour into your favorite cup….. follow your breath as you sip slowly…….. enjoy the sweet aroma and imagine yourself drifting into a deep and peaceful sleep.    Good night

Another version from Larissa Carlson  also Ayurveda Lifestyle Coach

This can be used 3 times a week as it is very rich

Soak 3 dates and 8 almonds in water to just cover these items overnight. So this can be done in the Am if you know you want to drink this in the evening.  Pour off water and the skins of the almonds will slide off you can also remove the date skins if you like ( I eat the dates with the skins)

1 cup of milk of choice see above  add in these spices a pinch to a few shakes

ground ginger powder, ground cardamon, turmeric, cinnamon, nutmeg.  Warm this but not hot.  Can leave out spices you don’t care for or just use a very small amount.

You can have this in the am or evening (evening helps with sleep) or as a 3-4 pm snack.  Some people like to puree the almonds and dates or you can cut up the dates before heating or you can use your spoon to eat them.  Ayurveda eating encourages eating like a queen for breakfast and a King for lunch and a pauper for dinner so this could replace the evening meal.

Gentle stretches to release the body. Wed 7pm Yum Yum

Pranayama: Breathing over folded blanket to open the mid back and upper chest area to allow the shoulders to soften and surrender toward the floor.

Supine with the arms in goal post position or cactus arm and then stretching long to find length in the side body with the breath.  Opening the shoulder and hips with side lying somatic movements, rock the sacral clock, rocking of the hips to help open the lungs and hips.  Moving to the hips with leg lifts and leg stretch. Moved to the wall for release of the back.  Christina loves the wall and so we did this tonight.  bridge rolls, wide leg, squat, cobbler and just moving around and playing on the wall   Aromatherapy and Savasana.

Aromatherapy tonight will be Shanti Blend from Yoga Flow Oils, thank you Susan

Twisting things up tonight. Wed 530pm Fundamentals

Pranayama: Starting in a chair to feel the breath move and the sitting bones grounded.

Twisting is such a personal experience  in the chair we all discovered what is a healthy twist for our unique body.  Feeling the difference in allowing the sacrum/pelvis float alittle with the twist verses keeping the hips unmoving and twisting from this position. What brings freedom to the spine for you?  Moving into standing twist of just swing and wrap the arms around to chair with a twist.

Cat rolls to thread the needle two ways regular and then deeper bringing the armpit toward the knee.  Lunge twist using the block to create space in the side body as well as a gentle twist with hand on the floor and twist toward the thigh.  Supine twists, happy baby, aromatherapy and savasana

Aromatherapy tonight will be Shanti Blend from Yoga Flow Oils, thank you Susan

Getting long and strong from the waist to the shoulders. Tues 745pm LFF Sem

Pranayama: Sahaja easy sit with twisting breath to bring awareness to the side body.

Rocking hip opener, mermaid, cat rolls, extended child, chair with chair twist, forearm plank with twist, wild thing belly of the dragon, standing strength series, eagle arms with squat, wide leg forward fold with chest expansion, janu sirsasana, tarasana, aromatherapy, Savasana.

Aromatherapy tonight will be Anxiety Ease Blend from Yoga Flow Oils, thank you Susan

Opening up to receive the week. 7pm Yum Yum

Pranayama: Sahaja, Dirgha over blocks

Easy seat side bends, chest openers, wrist rolls, finger openers, mula rolls, nose circles, neck side stretch, rock the baby, cat rolls, toe stretch.  Shoulder rolls, trap squeeze, thread the needle.  Penguin, frog, leg stretches, reclined cradle, twists. Aromatherapy and Savasana

Aromatherapy tonight will be Vata Kapha Blend from Yoga Flow Oils, thank you Susan

Shoulders ~ Strength and stretch. Mon 530 Shanti Vinyasa

Too much we allow the world to churn us and our shoulders take much of the stress. Tonight we will open the shoulders as well as strengthen them with the use of flex bands to help us find the smaller, deeper muscles.

Pranayama: Sahaja, Dirgha 

Warm up of cat rolls, thread the needle, chest expansion and side bending.  To the wall for Doug Keller work on the shoulders.  This is some of the best awareness work as well as being very strengthening and yet easy to remember.  Do this before class if you come early.  From here we will bring out the flex bands and now the harder work starts.  Down to the floor to feel the strength of these newly aware muscles with Dolphin plank, regular plank and perhaps side plank.  Using the strap to unwind and stretch the muscles with some Eric Shiffman shoulder openers.  Dandasana chest expansion, kneeling reverse hands.  Aromatherapy, Savasana

Aromatherapy tonight will be Vata Kapha Blend from Yoga Flow Oils, thank you Susan