The article below is reprinted from the KYTA (Kripalu Yoga Teacher's Association) Newsletter that I recieve every month. KYTA is an incredible part of the Kripalu family, and does a terrific job supporting it's teachers around the world.
For more on Kripalu Yoga and the Kripalu Center in Lenox, MA click here. For more information on KYTA, click here.
Meditation can be extremely helpful when we are in the midst of change, giving practitioners a new perspective.
Below is a meditation from Module One of the 500-Hour Kripalu Yoga Teacher Certification, called "Awareness of Sensation," provided by Megha Nancy Buttenheim, creator, director, and facilitator of Module One.
Sit or stand as you are, just being yourself. Focus on being aware of the sensations in you, entering a state of allowing. Open the field of awareness to the world of sensation. Notice the pleasant and unpleasant. Notice the neutral, the loving, the joyful. Welcome everything. Notice breath. Notice everything arising and passing, arising and passing. Body is alive. Energy is present. Just be. Look at any fear that might be coming toward you. Remember the breath is here just like a friend holding your hand as you cross a busy street.
If you are currently enrolled in the 500-Hour Kripalu Yoga Teacher Training, or would like to begin your advanced training, the next module will be held January 16-25, 2009 which will be led by Jonathan Foust (Sudhir). The main focus is an inquiry into bringing more meditation into your personal practice and teaching.
Megha has designed Module One to offer yogis the opportunity to study with some of the best Kripalu teachers. Jonathan Foust (Sudhir) leads a 2 1/2 day meditation retreat. Lee Albert teaches positional therapy techniques to assist students in yoga postures. Anatomy sessions are led by Kripalu yogi and body worker Chris Holmes. Garrett Sarley (Dinabandhu) or Stephen Cope offer discourses in the meditation of life and Megha directs the practice teach component. Sadhana sessions are led by Kripalu faculty such as Sudha Carolyn Lundeen, Rudy Peirce, Jairaj Randal Williams, Jurian Hughes, Grace Jull, Jami Macarty, and Megha.
I am thrilled to announce that Guided Meditations from Teal Marie Chimblo, and Blissful Body Yoga are now being offered at yogadownload.com.
At only $2.95 per downloadable class (less then a cup of coffee!) you can give the gift of bliss to yourself, or a friend.
Two meditations are currently available:
Progressive Relaxation #1 will take you to a place of complete and utter serenity.
Jamie Kent, yoga teacher and creator of yogadownload.com says:
"Teal's warm and meditative voice is ideal to help you get deep into a state of calm and tranquility. In this meditation Teal has you visualize a white light as it moves through you body and rids it of any and all stress and tension. Ahhhhhh!"
Sivasana Relaxation #1. Sivasana is a posture often practiced at the end of a yoga class, but you can do this relaxing Sivasana meditation any time you need to take a break and rest. Sivasana helps the body, mind and spirit to relax, integrate, and restore. This Sivasana Relaxation meditation will take you into a deep state of calm, and is also great as a cure for insomnia.
If you are not familiar with yogadownload.com, you are going to love it. This wonderful site offers classes from a wide variety of yoga traditions, including Kripalu, Iyengar, Forest, Ashtanga and more. Classes vary in length from 15 minutes to over an hour, so there is a format to meet everyone's needs.
More Guided Meditations, and Kripalu Yoga Classes from Teal will be available soon on yogadownload.com, so stay tuned and be sure to sign up for the Blissful Body Yoga Newsletter (top right column of this page) so that you recieve all the news and offers from Blissful Body Yoga.
I hope you will consider my Guide Meditations as part of your gift giving this holiday season. They are an affordable way to give the gift of relaxation and resoration to yourself, or someone you love.
May you be happy, May you be free from all suffering.
In business, as in the rest of life, it can be a challenge to keep things positive. Present global economic woes are making for some highly tense office environments, but they also present an opportunity to bring our yoga "off the mat", and into our daily lives.
Yoga can provide not only a personal refuge from these pressures, but an opportunity to calm down, refocus and re-enter the group with positive energy and patience. Imagine bringing a spirit of peace and healing to your environment, rather then adding to the discord and din.
Go to your office, or even a stall in the bathroom, or step outside, anywhere you can be alone for a few minutes and withdraw from the energy of your office. Take a few deep breaths and follow your inhale and exhale. On the inhale say, "I breath in peace", on the exhale say, "I breathe out all tension." Before you return to your office group say to yourself this simple Metta meditation of lovingkindness...
"May all beings be happy, May all beings be free from all suffering."
It is amazing how much a simple break can help us calm down, and regain perspective.
Let me know how you bring your yoga off the mat, and into the world.
If you are looking for more ways to bring the positive back to your office or business check out the blog Emergence Business Coaching written by business coach and writer, Charrise. She has great advice and resources for building business for success, with heart and positive energy.
Just the thought of heading into the busy holiday season brings feelings of stress and anxiety to most of us. So much to do, so many people to see, so much to give. I encourage you to really slow down and make sure that you are also giving to yourself, making time for yoga, relaxation... and SLEEP!
To that end, I am recommending to you a amazing yoga and meditation teacher Natalie Maisel. If you haven't discovered her before, you are really in for a treat!
Her Website goddessdownload.com is a fantastic resource for yoga, meditation and rituals related to Wicca and the Seasonal Wheel.
She has many audio downloads available on her site, and on yogadownload.com, but my favorite has to be Meditative Journey. I have escaped into the beautiful imagery of these guided meditations, and used them as part of my yoga classes, for years. They are not only relaxing and inspirational, but personally transformative, as well. Natalie's words of wisdom and guidance help us tap into that deep source within us; she helps us get back to the core of our authentic selves.
The nice thing about her site is you can download an entire item, or one track at a time "itunes style". She as recently added some new meditations including that I love including, Sun-Moon Astrological Meditations, Goddess in the Chakras, and another of my favorites, Healing Water Ritual at Chalice Well, which is a wonderful meditation for healing. Natalie has been a certified yoga teacher since 1996. She currently travels to various destination spas facilitating Yoga Weeks with a variety of levels and classes that suit every level of yoga practitioner. Natalie is featured extensively in Gary Kraftsow’s book Yoga for Wellness, and teaches yoga in the San Diego, California area.
Check her out and pick up a gift of relaxation and renewal for yourself, or someone you love.
You can contact Natalie Maisel directly for more information about her yoga and meditation workshops around the world at fox@goddessdownload.com.
Whether I am buying groceries at the store, picking up some dry cleaning, or settling into sadhana on my yoga mat I am always met with the same inquiries. It's always the big questions: who am I? what am I doing here? am I doing enough? is this all good enough? A lot of striving in all those questions, and that is the nature of Mind. To grasp, to avert. The quality we are looking for in yoga is neither; it is the simplisity of just being here, moment to moment, breath by breath. In a posture we look for the qualities of sukha (sweetness, or comfort) and sthira (steadiness), but we find neither while we are stuggling and searching, doubting and criticising.
In your practice today, whether it takes form on or off the mat, let your inquiry be to "Let it be." Whatever the occurence, moment by moment, breath by breath, simply note your reaction, and then say to yourself, "Let it be."
Let me know what you discovery in your inquiry.
For more food for thought on this topic, you must visit a beautiful blog, by a lovely lady that got me thinking about all this today. The Wellness Journey, and author Traci Trainer, has a wealth of information on yoga, excercise, nutrition, and much more. Enjoy...
As for me, I am off to the mountains to get married! See you all next week...
May you all be free from suffering, may you all be surrounded by love.
"The highest form of spiritual practice is self-observation without self-criticism." – Swami Kripalu
This quote from Swami Kripalu is one of my favorites. It encapsulates the essence of what the journey of yoga is all about. It is a journey into ourselves. It is a long, and sometimes arduous journey, full of great joy and many sorrows, but it is, I think, always a worthy adventure.
Can you pause now in your day? Take a moment with me?...
Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Observe the breath moving in and out of your body. Make the offering of this mantra to your self:
In this moment I breathe, in this moment I am perfect. At all times, in every way possible, I have everything I need.
As you move into your evening keep these phrases in mind, and take some time to contemplate the words of Bapuji (Swami Kripalu). How can you move along this great adventure of life making it an inquiry of self-observation, without entering into the harshness of self-criticism?
I would love to hear the ways that you do this! Leave a comment, or drop me a line.
Ava says, "Run don't walk, and get YOUR baby some Quinoa!"
::BREAKING NEWS: BABY GIRL LOVES QUINOA!::
My awesome niece Ava says,
"Quinoa rocks! I may have only been on this planet for 7 months, but I know good eats when I taste them! If you aren't eating Quinoa, then honey, you just aren't living!"
Want to find out more about Quinoa, Ava says, try this link.
Don't believe it's good for you? Better check this link!
Ava also strongly endorses her other favorite food, breastmilk, straight from the tap, it really does a baby body good.
Want to get your mom a cool t-shirt honoring her milk-making "super power", it's here!
Auntie Teal making homemade baby food that Ava loves: spinach, broccoli, squash, peas...you can make your baby some yummy, healthy baby food too, and for pennies on the dollar compared to the commercial stuff. Here's two good places to start http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/, or here.
Enjoy! And check back for my yummy updates from Ava: Baby Nutrition Blogger (typing assistance provided by Auntie Teal.)
Jai Bhagwan my beloved. A quick post for you this morning.
If you've been reading this blog you know I am a huge fan of Kundalini yoga (Kripalu actually comes from this lineage, Swami Kripalu was a major Kundalini Yoga practitioner.) I encorporate a lot of it into my teaching, and I practice many kriyas as part of my sadhana every morning. When I want to take a Kundalini class and can't get to one, I do this DVD:
It is SOOOO great and only 60 minutes long. The exercises completely clear and balance my energy and always set me on the path for a great day. I was feeling so tired and scattered this morning (results of a poor night sleep, because my poor Michael has got a terrible cold and was tossing and turning like mad) and now I feel focused and 100 % better.
Well, my friend Maura saw my FB post that I was making soup and said, can you post the recipe?? She has the two CUTEST little twin girls you have EVER seen. She makes them squash with macaroni, and they think that it is "mac and cheese". Are you listening mammas??? THAT is a great idea to keep your kids out of, or get them off, the fatty, salty, artery clogging Mac-n-Cheese merry-go-'round.
::NOTICE:: about to head up onto the soap box...
It always amazes me how many American children eat nothing but Mac-n-Cheese, pizza, chicken and fries...crap, basically. I hear parents say, "Well, that's all they'll eat, that's just what they like." Sorry, not buying it folks.
Kids will eat what you TEACH them to eat, and what you train their taste buds to respond to. Start them early and give them greatest gift you can give; the gift of a beautiful culture of healthy nourishing food that will feed their bodies and minds. The childhood obesity and health issues in this country are already reaching critical mass. Children's health is a passion of mine, please, please make it a passion of yours. If you are looking for more healthy foods for your children, check this post.
Ok, climbing down from soap box...back to soup...
So, Maura knows me well enough to know I don't use recipes, I'm way to random vector for that. It all just kind of evolves in a messy, mad-scientist sort of way.
So here is my process for this tummy-loving, heart-chakra warming autumn soup...Enjoy! Teal's Yummy-In-My-Tummy Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup
What you need: 1 medium butternut squash 2 sweet potatoes 1 small onion 2 cloves garlic 3 Tbs. olive oil 2 cups low-sodium/low-fat organic veggie, or chicken broth 3 cups of water (approximately, I add a little at a time to get the texture I want) ¼ tsp fresh finely chopped ginger ¼ tsp ground sage ¼ tsp ground coriander ¼ tsp thyme cracked pepper, and salt to taste
How to make it: Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Cut open the squash and take out the seeds. Cut the squash, potatoes and onion into chunks (about 3x3”). Place all of that on a roasting pan with the two peeled cloves of garlic. Coat with the olive oil and cracked pepper (salt if you like). Roast for about 35 minutes, or until everything is tender and roasty looking.
Take the veggies out of the oven and let them cool a bit. Now you can just peel the blistered skin of the butternut off (and eat it for a treat!)
Chop up all the roasted veggies and place in a large soup pot with the broth. Mash everything up with a potato masher, and then add the ginger and other spices, and enough water to make it a good texture. I like it a little on the thick side.
Let it simmer for about 10 minutes then puree with a hand mixer.
Adjust liquid and seasoning and let simmer another 10 minutes.
It's morning, and a new day full of possibilites is before you. Wake up your brain, raise your prana, and get ready for a beautiful day with this seated variation of Sun Breath.
1. Sit in Sukhasana (simple cross-legged pose), or Lotus Pose.
2. Start with your hands by your hips, palms turned out. Inhale and sweep the arms overhead – reach out through your finger tips as if your arms are the rays of the sun – keep stretching upwards to the sky, and bring the palms together over your head. Exhale.
3. Keeping your arms raised, look up at the sky, lift your heart to the heat and light of the sun – inhale the prana of our ancient sun – feel this new expansion in the chest. Turn the palms out, reach through the finger tips and exhale the arms down.
4. Repeat on the next inhale, and use the mantra:
Breathing in, I breathe the light of the sun into my heart. Breathing out, I give the light of the sun to our world.
5. Repeat at least 3 times.
Namaste, and may you have a radiant day! Go out and shine!
The Oops! Award was started by Amy Oops! is "given to bloggers who inspire others with their humor and their talents, also for contributing to the blogging world in whatever medium."
Part of being chosen to receive this award is "paying it forward" by bestowing the award on five more ::awesomesauce:: blogs. So first, here are my five pics, and second, if you win, check the guidelines below so you'll know how to pass on this special bit-o-praise to blogs that you love.
The Daily Buddhism This is my very favorite blog. The author Brian Schell, is a religion scholar and does an outstanding job making Buddhism clear, interesting and even entertaining. I wait with baited breath every week for the podcast, and scour the site when ever I get a chance. Terrific, insightful stuff you will enjoy, even if you just have an academic interest in Buddhism.
Bliss Chick Because the author, Christine Reed, is a fellow Blissologist, bringing you the best in all things blissful from her own experience and through great resources. Check this post on secrets of extraordinary living, for a small sample.
Jaelyn's Fairy Dust Cupcake Blog Do I really even need to explain why this woman must get an award...many awards. Fairy dust? Cupcakes? Oh, and she teaches yoga too! Everything she does is a work of art...and makes me HUNGRY! Pay this site, and author Jaelyn Williams, a visit.
The Roaming Lily Live vicariously through author, Sarabelle, as she travels this earth, sending us back postcards and stories of art, architecture, cultures and the beauty that is roaming free. Treehouse Jukebox: Adventures in Earth Well, first of all the author, Emma, likes brussel sprouts and yoga, so that puts her mighty high up on my list. Second, she finds the most wonderful things to share that enlighten, inform, and make you feel good.
PostPunkKitchen Created by Isa Moskowitz, it's not just a blog it's a show! Full of the spirit of punk rock and cruelty-free, Vegan good eats, all from "Boo-ti-ful" Brooklyn, NY. Check it out!
Congrats winners! Thank you for all the time, effort and love you put into your blogs. They are a great gift.
::PASS IT ON:: 1) Pick 5 blogs that you would like to award this honor to; 2) Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone; 3) Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself, unless they don't feel like it; and 4) Award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of “Oops” blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.
For all my readers who LOVE the Blissful Body Yoga designs (yoga inspired, funny s-shirts, great gifts) on Cafe Press, here is the sweet FREE shipping deal for the weekend.
Her book The Eight Human Talents is one of the most beautiful and useful books on yoga I have ever read. She also does amazing prenatal yoga classes, and DVDs. I have taken her classes at Golden Bridge in New York City, and they are transformational.
Kundalini Yoga is an invigorating tradition of yoga. It will get your prana flowing, leaving you energized and cleansed. I include Kundalini kriyas as a part of my morning sadhana every day (check back soon for a post detailing my favorite kriyas.)
The exercises may look at little funny, but let me tell you they are amazingly effective, and not easy! Don't be discouraged if you find them challenging; they are well worth your time and commitment.
Lucky, lucky me! I would say I never win anything, but that wouldn't be true now. I am so delighted. Thank you to the wonderful people at OperationNice.com and String-Ring.com!
Picture of my hand with my cool ring to come soon...:-)
Purchase the Sun/Moon Astrological Meditations download $9.99 and receive the brand new, Goddess in the Chakras download for free! This download will be sent within 24 hours of your purchase.
One of my newest releases, Sun/Moon Astrological Meditations, astrologer consultant, Jannine Oberg from www.stellarstrategist.com, will help you deepen your rituals by becoming aware of the particular energies of the sun and or moon by tapping into their astrological influences. This download contains 12 mini meditations for each sign in the horoscope. You can also use it to learn more about your own astrological chart. $9.99
All downloads have been successful or your money back! No worries and it's all green! Visit the store today!
Continuing our series on supporting your body and spirit as we transition into the fall and winter seasons I have a few tips and products that will support your respiratory system.
Both autumn and winter can be very challenging to sinuses and the respiratory system. The changing climate, seasonal allergies, and dryer air are a few things that contribute. The good news is an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure; if you do the right things to support and build your immune system you will be much less likely to get sick. So, here are a few things to try:
Give Your Sinuses a Bath with a Neti Pot If you don't already have a neti pot, I HIGHLY recommend that you get one. I use mine every day, sometimes twice a day, and I almost NEVER get sick. If I do get something it is always the lightest little version and it goes away quickly. Using a neti pot regularly has also decreased my seasonal allergies by about 90%. I have very little symptoms anymore. Neti pots have been used in India and in Ayurvedic medicine for a very long time; the term comes from the Sanskrit, jala net out of the back of my throat as well. This may seem really gross at first, but I promise you the results are worth it! i, which literally means "to irrigate with water", and this practice keeps the sinus cavities clean and clear. To use a neti pot dissolve a teaspoon of sea salt in 2 cups warm water (don't use tap water that is unfiltered, the chlorine content tends to burn the nose a bit), and pour into the net pot. Go to a sink and tilt your head to one side. Place the neti pot in the opening of one nostril and begin pouring the water. The solution will go up into your sinus, give them a flush, and then pour back out the other nostril. Repeat on the other side. If you tilt your head back slightly, the water will head toward the back of your throat and then you can kind of hack it out. Sorry, no other way of saying it. I find that helps to clear the gunk at the back of the throat. Youtube has A LOT of videos on this, and I know Oprah featured neti pots at some point so you many be able to find some video of that out there. Here is one to get you started:
You can purchase neti pots from The Heritage Store, and they have another product that I highly recommend for respiratory care, called Alka-Thyme. It is a wonderful, refreshing mouthwash and gargle that really cleans and alkalizes the mouth. It can also be used as a topical pack if you feel a sinus or respiratory infection coming on. Just soak a wash cloth in Alka-Thyme and place over the sinus/forehead area, or over the glands on the throat, and on the chest. This is also a gentle and appropriate remedy for children, especially right before they go to sleep to help relieve congestion. I have started adding a 1/4 tsp of Alka-Thyme to my neti pot saline mixture and it is very refreshing. Alka-Thyme contains sodium bicarbonate which is another substance recommended for sinus irrigation. Support Your Respiratory System Naturally with Mother Earth's Respiratory Tonic This is another favorite of mine from The Heritage Store. It is a great support for the respiratory system and really helps relieve the congestion and tightness associated with allergies and colds. Their product description explains the active ingredients:
"Mother Earth's is a therapeutic combination of horehound, which soothes irritated mucous tissues, wild cherry bark to alleviate respiratory distress, rhubarb, which cleanses the system, and elixir of wild ginger for toning the digestive tract, preserved with grain alcohol in a honey and syrup base. This gentle, pleasant-tasting tonic is safe and effective for children and adults, just as Mother Earth intended."
This is the kind of product I seek out and use because it supports the body in it's own wisdom and healing process, instead of bombarding it with chemicals that only treat symptoms and often lead to rebound effects worse that the original illness!
Humidify, humidify!...and Open Your Windows One of the reasons colds and flus increase in the fall and winter seasons is that as it gets colder we tend to close up our houses, thus locking in stale air, dust and germs. Even during the coldest months if you can air out your house for a few minutes each day, you can prevent this stagnation.
Running a humidifier, at least at night when you sleep, is another big one. We do this for babies all the time, and it is one of the best ways to keep from getting sick. When sinus passages dry out the friendly mucus that provides a barrier to germs is reduced. Keep your mucus healthy! Humidifiers are very inexpensive and can be found online or at any drug store or department store near you.
Well, I hope you find these tips useful. Please share in your comments any favorites you may have for keeping the body and spirit healthy during this turn of the seasonal wheel.
And don't forget about drinking lots of Yogi Tea! it is a great support for the whole body. Find ideas for nourishing, warming meals for the winter months, here.
May you be happy, may you be filled with radiant health!
Monk's Pond, The Kripalu Center, Lenox, MA
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