Dear , Welcome to Satori April e-blast and Happy Easter!
As predicted, March blizzards have arrived, bringing with them a hefty doze of coughs and colds, not to mention a sunken feeling of spring - time fatigue bordering on depression. Rejoice! This newsletter will show you a way to turn those seasonal lows into all - time highs: we'll talk about body - centered yoga therapy practices for sunken heart syndrome, revisit our Ayurvedic roots to get rid of those annoying sniffles, and challenge ourselves by committing to everyday yoga practice. We'll get on our mats and dance to the sound of flutes and the beat of the drums. Ready to shake it up?
YOGA CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS:~ Spring Yoga Session starts on Tuesday, April 2nd. ~ New Class: Therapeutic Chair Yoga is on Tuesdays at 7:40 PM starting April 2nd. Claim your spot here.~
Yoga Therapeutics For The Roots / Part 2 - April 13, 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM. Sold out!~ Private Consultations are on-going. Schedule yours here.
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SATORI COMMUNITY EVENTS:~ Saturday, April 20, 11:30 AM - 1 PM. Live music yoga class with special guest Janina Carlstad. It is free to attend, but registration is required as space is limited. Register here.
This time of year many of us are feeling a very deep shade of blue. We are tired of this long up and down winter, and sick of the deep freeze, wind-chill, morning car scraping and mountains of snow. By now motivation is out of the door (my good friend Kathy says " My get up and go got up and left!"). It's hard to get inspired when the energy levels are low and all we really want to do is to hunker down on the couch with a pint of ice cream and watch a repeat of 10 - year old sitcom a few times over.
If fact, we are experiencing the influence of Kapha. For those of you not familiar with Ayurveda, spring time is governed by Kapha dosha, a heavy, slow constitution comprised of two primary elements - water and
earth. Mix the two together - what do you get? Mud! In spring, mud is everywhere - outside, on your boots, in your car, kids and pets tracking it through the house. As temperature rises and our bodies start to soften after the cold, dry winter season, we get a little muddy too - with wet coughs, runny noses and allergies, and also as a stale, unmotivated, "muddy" state of mind.
So how do we get out of this " muddy rut"? Now that you have the bird's eye view on body-mind interconnectedness,
Read on to find holistic practices that will brighten your mood, lift your heart and detoxify your body.
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What happens when you tell yourself: " I'm such a loser," " Bad luck just follows me around," " I don't deserve to be happy?"
Many of us underestimate the power of our internal dialog. Our body-mind responds to the red flags of perceived danger, whether the threat in the outer or inner environment, in identical ways. Those "innocent thoughts" become amplified in our body-mind network, triggering fight - flight - freeze response, escalating muscle tension and shallow, rapid breathing.
The patterns of chronic pain, anxiety and depression don't occur only in the mind. They also imprint themselves in our posture and movement habits. Depression closes our body into a postural pattern that conveys helplessness, hopelessness, and self - protective withdrawal: sunken chest, collapsed heart area, rounded upper spine and shoulders. Without realizing it, we repeat these physical patterns of depression hundreds of time, until they become encoded in the body, and "written" onto the nervous system. Once that happens, our efforts to "change our mind" through meticulous cognitive work are not always successful simply because the body either doesn't agree with the positive outlook or maintains the old movement patterns of depression.
Where does yoga therapy fit in? Let's start with an experiment:
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Start in a comfortable sitting posture. Establish your baseline - notice how you feel physically, mentally and emotionally.
- " Sink" into a depressed posture for about 1 minute: round your shoulders, and let your chest collapse. Carefully observe how your mental patterns and energy level shifted in response to your physical posture, and then return to your regular posture.
- Now bring your attention to your breath
(more on that in " From The Mat" section below), and count the length of your in-breath and out-breath - about 1 count per second. Slowly lengthen the shorter part of your breath so that your inhale and exhale are of equal length. Again, notice the shift in your body-mind, and then return to your regular breathing pattern.
- What did you find out? How did " depressed posture" affect your mind? What happened when you equalized your breath?
Unlike medication and psychotherapy, yoga therapy addresses both mind and body at the same time. Asana practice influences our posture:
it shifts the very movement and alignment patterns that have led to sunken chest, closed heart, rounded shoulders, amped-up muscular tension and shallow breath. Yoga's breathing practice, pranayama, and focus on present moment awareness set the stage for quieting the mind and calming the nervous system.
Yoga's benefits don't stop there. Therapeutic tools of yoga reach beyond assembling healthier physical and emotional experiences. The true magic of yoga is in learning how to root inward, how to challenge our comfortably uncomfortable habits, and how to transform our movement, posture, and our inner dialog.
To learn more drop me a line
, join a yoga class or come in for a one-on-one appointment.
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Pranayama, yoga's special breathing technique, is a powerful remedy that can calm an anxious mind or invigorate a sluggish one. Choose 1:1 breathing to bring equanimity and focus to your mind, or 1:2 breathing to find peace in the middle of mental chaos. Here is how:
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- Start in a constructive rest pose: lie on your back or side, or sit on a cushion with your back against the wall.
- Establish your baseline:
slowly close your eyes, and notice the speed at which your thoughts are moving: are they fleeting from one thought to the next, are they slow and sleepy, or, may be, somewhere in the middle? Are you focusing on the past (more like depression) or the future (more like anxiety)?
- Do your practice: keep your eyes closed, and allow your breath be easy and natural. Imagine that your breath is breathing your body. After about 1 minute, start counting the length of your breath - notice how many counts it takes to breathe in and how many to breathe out. Once you've counted the length of your inhale and exhale, continue without counting.
For 1:1 breathing
begin by adding just one extra count to the shorter part of your breath. If that feels comfortable, continue to add 1 count at a time, until your in-breath and out-breath are equal length.
For 1:2 breathing begin by adding extra count to your exhalation. If that feels comfortable, continue to add 1 count at a time, until your exhale is twice as long as your inhale.
If at any point during this process you feel uncomfortable, return to the count that is more natural to you. Practice this new breathing pattern for approximately 5 minutes, then return to your normal breathing pattern for a minute or two. - Feel the difference:
take several moments to notice any change between the mental baseline you had before, and how you feel right now. Then slowly open your eyes.
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Are you feeling sluggish and saggy after a winter of rich foods (and maybe too little exercise)?
Instead of getting into the complexities of Ayurvedic nutrition - elements, doshas, tastes - let's start thinking about spring crops - sprouts, radishes, fresh baby lettuce, new carrots, peas, artichokes. As the weather warms up, Mother Nature provides a bounty of veggies that help cleanse and energize our wintered - over bodies. Here are a few Ayurveda - inspired ideas:
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Slowly start tapering off your use of oils, red meat and nuts. White meat from chicken or turkey, freshwater or light fish and eggs are the best choices of non-vegetarian protein this time of year.
If possible, avoid dairy products in the spring
, switching to soy or rice milk (my fave!), and eliminate all sweeteners, except for uncooked honey.
Eliminate heavy or sour fruits - bananas, oranges, dates, avocados, because these increase the heaviness and wet properties abundant in spring. Add more green veggies, and late-spring berries - strawberries and cherries to your diet when they become available.
Start adding more fresh green salads into your diet and raw veggies into your diet. As a rule, Ayurveda recommends avoiding raw vegetables and leafy greens during cold winter months - especially in Grande Prairie's cold climate. Spring is a perfect time to tuck into a beautiful green salad bedazzled with radishes and red onions!
While all spring greens are good for you, a select few have properties that target key cleansing organs, such as the liver, gallbladder, and kidneys:
Asparagus is a top food source of glutathione, an antioxidant that supports the liver.
Dandelion Greens are a natural diuretic. It cleanses the kidneys and lowers the blood pressure.
Watercress is a potent blood purifier. It reduces cancer risk and improves blood antioxidant levels.
Bok Choy promotes healthy digestion and helps to strengthen immune system.
Celery works as a diuretic to promote toxin removal and kidney support.
Leeks contain sulfur compounds that play detoxifying and cancer - fighting roles, and reduce the risk of diabetes.
Parsley is a system cleanser, a stomach soother, and even a breath freshener.
Here is what's coming your way in May edition of Satori e-blast: summer festivals and walking meditations; melting shoulders and blessed hips; MUDRAS and MANTRAS for precarious times.
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