sunshine coast
Classes starting back this Monday Jan 19th 2015.
Emotions!
As humans we must experience all emotions , it nice to feel happiness and not so nice to feel sadness, there are other emotions such as excitement, anger, fear, disgust and surprise.
All emotions create either a positive or negative reaction which is a rush of chemicals internally which stimulate external behaviour.
When we are angry the chemicals such as adrenaline, testosterone increase and cortisol decreases. The heart rate is elevated, theres a rise in blood pressure along with the blood flooding the left brain hemisphere where decisions are made.
The changes we see externally are many, such as a change in the colour of the skin it usually goes red, there can be sweating, shaking, people try to appear bigger by standing with their hands on their hips and legs apart.
When we experience the emotion sadness, we feel most vulnerable, and even hopeless, but as much as we would choose not to feel sad, it is an emotion we must experience it along with all the others.
Yoga is an excellent olive branch to emotion balance, it helps to defuse the power the mind has to drown us in a negative emotion.
Yoga brings the mind and body together in the present moment, making it impossible for the mind to create the scenarios of what might happen or what happened in the past. This is what creates anxiety, stress, lethargy and darkness.
Practicing yoga with your focus on your breath brings light and purpose into our lives.
IT IS DURING OUR DARKEST MOMENTS THAT WE MUST FOCUS TO SEE THE LIGHT.
Aristotle Onassis
It is in learning to focus that we go stronger and the negative emotions have less power over us but we must practice yoga daily to remind the mind to focus on the light.
Why wait for the pill?
Big news anti ageing pill soon to be available for human consumption. There is a lot of buzz around the develop of a pill which Professor Sinclair of the University of NSW has been working on. Boasting now about the effective results in just one week on old mice. In short the result is a 60 year old person can become as youthful as a 20 year old by taking this pill which would eradicate all ageing and age related illnesses. The pill is called NAD which stands for Nicotinamide mono-nucleotide, it works by improving the communication between the cells. We all produce this chemical naturally but by age 70 it looses 50% of its effectiveness.
But Professor Sinclair has stated by eating healthy with low calories daily and exercising our natural levels of NAD go up. Thats why we look better and feel better, when we are follow these guidelines.
So why wait for this pill which will probably be too expensive for the average person to buy and like all drugs will probably have some sort of side effects.
Lets just do what we know works and has now been proven by the great Sinclair and team of scientist, eating healthy, exercising and fitting that weekly yoga class, is keeping you younger in many ways. Lets be smart and take a step ourselves instead of the quick fix pills because honestly where is the satisfaction in that..
Melbourne visit
While visiting St Kilda I took the chance to share the view and imprint the memory on my brain. So of course sealing it with a pose, that I thought appropriate to the seaside. The eagle so much more than just a bird, as it glides across the skies it shows strength and power just by its presence. Next time you find yourself in eagle pose or garudasana, take a moment to feel the strength,power and freedom of the eagle.
Open Your Eyes !
When you take the time to step away from your computer screen or phone or Television set, you have a chance to invest in your health and wellbeing.
Three things you can do to alleviate stress or pressure from home and work :
1. Remove your shoes and walk through the sand or grass, feel the texture against your skin, let your mind wander into connection between the softness ,graininess,coolness or heat that you can feel.
2. Sit on a hill, over looking a valley, or sit a fence or wall over looking the water, anywhere there is height ,so you can feel the power of the universe as you observe its beauty. Feel the breeze on your face as you place your hand on your heart to let the beat echo through the palm of your hand.
3. Lie down on the floor, feel the hardness under your body, then travel through your body start at your head and soften or relax each body part, this brings complete awareness into just how much tension we are carrying around in our bodies each day. As you move on to each area of the body take a deep breath using your nose , exhale just as much air as you inhale slowly.
All these things are simple but can help rewire your brain bringing you into the moment, helping to reverse tension, stress and the nagging voice in your head that create scenarios to overwhelm and depress you. Do one or more daily of these activities, this will indeed help you see with fresh eyes the beautiful world in which we live and help revitalise your passion for living.
Two secrets to enjoying your yoga class more…..
The most important thing to do within a yoga class is to focus on breathing, and to feel it moving through you like a fresh breeze, the same feeling you get when opening a window on a summers day.
This will automatically start to relax the body, so you feel space start to appear where tightness and tension once was.
This will guide the mind into the space of the body and out of the head.
When you start to move the body with the breath, everything that seemed so important during that day will gradually slip away and you will experience a slice of freedom, that moment where there are no demands on you , and your body moves effortlessly accompanied by the breath like a graceful bird flying through the air.
The next important thing to do or rather not do within a yoga class is expect a particular outcome to each asana. if you want a certain outcome the body will automatically tense up and push to where the brain tells you it wants you to go. Eg: I want my head on my knees in a seated forward fold.
So instead of commanding the body to go to the end of the asana , image yourself floating within the asana with the visual power of the breath taking you with it.
This removes all stress and once the body feels safe and calm, it relaxes the muscles and you may be surprised just how far you get through the asana before the body puts the brakes on to hold you back .
We talk about acting without the ego, one step towards this is doing yoga using these two secrets mentioned above. Because if this is how you move through your yoga class, then soon it will reflect in your everyday actions in your life.
2nd Chakra- Sacral chakra
Say hello to your Sacral Chakra which lies in the centre of the pelvis, this chakra also known as Svahisthana which means “ones own abode-dwelling place”.
It holds a lot of power psychologically and energically, our primal instincts are controlled here. The Sacral chakra holds our passion and creativity.
The element of water is connected to Svahisthana so when this Chakra is balanced it allows us to go with the flow of life and be flexible. We will be adaptable, and able to let go of growth retarding thoughts or memories.
If this Chakra is unbalanced we may feel uncontrolled passions and sexual energies, unable to let go of damaging or harmful thoughts in your memory. A wishy-washy or indecisiveness can be expressed when the Sacral Chakra is unbalanced.
It is attached to the colour Orange and the Mantra YAM!
Physically it controls reproductive organs/bowel and organs of excretion/sacrum and sacroiliac joint.
Asanas or yoga poses to assist this Chakra are
1.pelvic tilts
2. Bridge or setubandhasana
3.Cobra
4. pigeon
The Third Chakra-Manipura
The Third Chakra lies in the area between the abdomen and the lumbar spine. It is known as the fire Chakra it projects energy and vitality through the body and mind.
The third chakra is also know as Manipura meaning ‘city of jewels’, Manipura is the meeting place for the upward moving prana(energy) and the downward moving prana because it sits in the centre of the body.
If our Manipura is active and open we will have a feeling of inner strength,determination , enthusiasm and our inner warrior will feel alive.
If it is unbalanced we will have a feeling of weakness, lack of self control, victim conscious, easily controlled by others.
This chakra controls the solar plexus , adrenal glands, digestive organs, lower back and abdomen.
Asanas or poses to awaken the third Chakra are
1. bow pose
2.locust
3. fire in the belly series
4.boat poses
5.supine twist
