Dear , 

Happy Family Day (if you are in Canada that is), and welcome to February e-HUG.

February is an odd month...Don't you think?
Lodged at the beginning of winter - spring transition, this is the time of year when spring aspirations and the dead weight of winter converge, creating an aggravating "one foot on the gas and the other one on the brakes" feeling.
Come February, and New year's rah-rah resolutions are in burnout tailspin:  you'd clean the house if not for flat-lining energy levels, eat more greens if those curly kale leaves didn't look so intimidating, and definitely, most definitely, exercise more - right after Olympics are over and you finished couch surfing. And for those fiery determined type A personalities, who stick to their routine come hell or high water, the risk of injury increases 10-fold with plunging ability to focus and concentrate. Add to that feeling dryer than a raisin, and more stuffed up than Xmas turkey. Yup, February is no fun, and March BLAH'S are right around the corner.

Let's make this February FUN, shall we?

I promise... OK, my yoga students know better than to trust me when they hear me say "I promise this is the last Downward Dog." So how about "I'll do my darnedest" to keep this February e-blast short, sweet and to the point? This edition of Satori e-news will talk about Olympic training for your mind and why community spirit matters. In March we'll focus on avoiding resolution burnout, lightening up and leaning into spring the easy way - like sprouts do! Oh, and let's call Ayurvedic healing rituals to the rescue from all the flu nastiness that's invading GP and your breathing space!

Are you watching the Olympics? Have you ever wondered how these young men and women are able to handle stress and pressure - the whole world is watching them - with such grace and dignity?

Past weekend I taught a private meditation class for a group of 11 women. I always try to customize what and how I teach so that my clients get the most value. So once the usual chatter subsided, I asked the customary questions: what would you like to get out of the class? what are your challenges? why do you want to learn meditation?

The answers didn't really surprise me - after all, these are the same words I hear over and over again in almost every meditation class: these women wanted to quiet their mind, settle emotional turbulence, and sleep better. Can meditation help that?

If this was the first class I taught, I would have said "yes, absolutely" with full certainty. Now, several years and dozens of meditation classes later, I go with, "that really depends."

 Everyone who have tried meditating even once knows that closing the eyes for formal seated practice reveals uncharted waters of mental space - habitual mental static, thought fragments, memories and images.  Beginner meditators often complain of amplified mental turbulence, and even increased levels of tension and pain during meditation...  Internal experiences become all the more prominent once we shut the door to outside distractions.

So instead of delving into meditation theory I taught these women how to relax.

Breath... Relaxed eyes... Body scan...

Slowly, step-by-step, the energy in the room has changed from nervous chatter to inner focus. If you listen really carefully, this shift of energy is palpable - it feels like the time has suddenly stopped... It often happens in the middle of yoga or meditation class when students become inwardly absorbed.  Athletes call it "the zone."

 The "zone" secret, of course, is no secret at all - strength is in the training. Athletes recognize that their performance depends as much, if not more, on their mental composure and ability to handle stress, as it does on their physical capacity. They spend time honing their mental faculty so that they don't buckle under pressure. Most of us don't aspire to stand on Olympic podium, but, like my good friend Keri says, "we all are life - long athletes in pursuit of personal excellence." Why not take a page from our favorite sportsman's' book, and train like they do?

Meditation is gaining a momentum and society - wide popularity. Many of us, seduced by instant gratifications of modern life's many comforts, expect meditation to be an immediate solution to many of our stress-related ailments.

Meditation is not a band-aid or Starbucks drive through...

It is a practice; a practice that takes time, energy and commitment.  It is a practice that can be bone-rattlignly difficult and enormously gratifying. It is a practice aimed at the place of stillness that exists underneath the cacophony of mental noise. Somewhere along the way stress simply falls away...

Many Satori students have talked about home practice challenges, and the need for a regular weekly meditation class to support (not replace!) their personal practice. I have added a Sunday GROUP MEDITATION CLASS aimed to do just that. This is a month-long pilot session to determine if there's enough interest for weekly meditation classes to continue. Please join group meditation class on Sundays starting March 2nd to support your practice and our growing meditation community.

Group Meditation Classes
Sundays March 2nd, 9th, 23rd & 30th; 5:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Cost 39$ + GST for 4 class session
On-line class registration

If the muscle hurts after using it, it's one that should have trained beforehand. Are you stuck in the stinking thinking? Train your mental muscle, so you can stand strong in your center and BE yourself no matter what life throws at you. Day in, and day out.

When we watch Olympics, it is the spirit of community that brings us together, and makes us teary-eyed and proud. Human beings are hard-wired for connection; being part of the community is in our blood and our DNA.
My teacher, late Dr. David Simon, used to say that the only difference between illness and wellness is the spirit of belonging. That's why Satori classes are structured in a way that encourages sharing and connecting to enhance this often overlooked aspect of healing. And then I take it a step further...

I believe that in order to heal and BE our best, we all need to be heard, seen, and cared for.

So I strive to create programs in and out of yoga room that make yoga students feel less like students and more like friends. Did you know that Satori Yogis get all sorts of perks (besides feeling heard and cared for, and beyond friending their class mates) - such as first dibs on all registrations, special discounts through referral programs and class challenges? All registered Yogis get a free access to Satori Digital Library - an on-line resource with the handout materials I've created and collected over the years of teaching; it will be up and running by the end of February. They also know that I'm only a click or a text away if they need support, help, or someone to hear them out. And I still have a few tricks up my sleeve... Yup, it's good to belong!

Save the dates: Spring Session Registration opens on February 20th for all currently registered Satori yogis, and on March 6 for everyone else. As usual, see you on the mat!
 

And now what you've been scrolling for:

Ayurvedic healing magic to the rescue

I know I promised to keep this e-HUG short (I warned you about this, didn't I?), but seeing Grande Prairie succumb to this nasty flu epidemic, I thought I'd better add some Ayurvedic tips - they've kept my breathing space invader-free:

Rest. Rest. Rest. Rest.
Your body needs rest. If you fail to rest your body, it will rest itself by any means possible. Including getting sick.

Ditch sugar and dairy.
Sugar weakens immune system. Dairy promotes mucous formation. You don't need help in either one of these departments.

Eat only if you are hungry.
Your body will throw all of its resources into healing - HOORAY to that! Digestion consumes energy, so focus on easily digested foods: avoid raw veggies, fruits, nuts or seeds; focus on blended soups - use bright red and orange veggies (sweet potatoes, carrots, beets) to health - up your mucous membranes, and greenies (broccoli, spinach, kales) to settle inflammation. Not hungry? No worries! Drink teas or warm water instead!

Drink turmeric tea
and lots of it. Turmeric is anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal. Combine 1 tsp of turmeric and 1 cup of boiling water. Drink several times a day. Ok, for you, turmeric aficionados, no more than 5 cups a day.

Use ginger elixir - it's pure magic
Here is the recipe. My twitter crowd discovered that it kills flu bags dead.

Avoid popping pills. Even if they are vitamins.
Be very discriminate about taking pills, even the healthy kind. Pills are not a natural source of nutrients, and certainly not something your body has been programed to recognize and assimilate effortlessly. Your liver has to work extra hard to break them down, and right now she needs to be focused on eliminating the flu bugs out of your body. Be kind to your liver and let her do her job.
I hope this helps, and, as per usual, if you need a little more TLC, simply drop me a line.