Bhagavan Das at Jivamukti Yoga Charleston
This Friday and Saturday, January 27th and 28th, Bhagavan Das is going to be in Charleston, South Carolina for 3 great events.
Don’t miss the chance to be in the presence of a cultural icon. Call Jivamukti Yoga Charleston to sign up.
Daisy’s Place Retriever Rescue
If one of your New Year’s Resolutions was to volunteer more this year and you haven’t gotten started yet, it is not too late! Check out this great local rescue.
Daisy’s Place Retriever Rescue is dedicated to saving and finding loving homes for Retrievers (and Retriever mixes) six years and older. Melissa Gray is an artist, yogi and dog lover! She has worked hard to help save many animals from kill shelters. Please visit www.daisysplace.org to learn more about the organization and to find out how you can help! They need volunteers for events, dog transportation, and of course foster homes for the dogs.
Karma means action, so if you want good karma do good actions. You get what you give!
Happy New Year
Now that the holidays are over maybe you have a little more time for yourself. And with the New Year it is the perfect time to start new healthy habits. Have you ever thought about doing yoga? But haven’t because you already exercise regularly, or don’t have any back/joint pain, or can already sleep through the night soundly…or any of the other ailments that can be improved with a consistent yoga practice.
Well you don’t have to have any reason or ailments to start a yoga practice. It can be a great way to prevent many of the common ailments our society experiences. Allison Brooks wrote an article explaining why you should just start practicing!
Prescribed Too Late:
Mind-Body Therapies are needed earlier. In today’s society, mind-body therapies (MBT) like yoga, meditation, and qigong, are very popular. This could be due to stress levels, the economy, and a way to get fit, or even better a complement to healing. In a recent study, it was noticed that health-care providers have been suggesting the use of complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) to their patients more. The only glitch is that they have been prescribing the use a little too late into treatment. It is never too late to start, but researchers wonder if the use of mind-body therapies earlier in treatment could produce better outcomes for patients.
As of today, more than a third of Americans practices some form of mind-body therapy on a regular basis. And within that group, nearly one in every 30 was referred to health-care provider to adopt a MBT. This rise in doctor referrals was a shock to researchers of the Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and Harvard Medical School. Though the effects of MBT are not a surprise to those who practice them, some medical professionals do not fully trust natural therapies.
Researchers believe that the transparency of data in mind-body therapy clinical trials is the main reason why doctors are suggesting the complementary treatments. To support the initial thesis, BIDMC and Harvard Medical School researchers surveyed 23,000 American households. Nearly three percent, about 6.3 million people said they practiced a form of mind-body therapy because their doctor suggested it. This news sounds great, except that these people were actually sicker and used conventional health facilities more than people that voluntarily practice MBT.
In the eyes of the researchers this highlights that health-care providers see the benefits of mind-body therapies, but only suggest them as a last resort. This aspect will lead to more in-depth research to see id earlier use of MBT along with conventional treatments will lead to a quicker recovery. Though many patients and people swear by the use of MBT, word-of-mouth facts do not hold enough weight for the medical community. Researchers hope that more studies will prove that CAM and MBT are useful and are health facilitators. This would promote an easier, less painful, and faster for chronic conditions and deadly cancers, like pancreatic cancer or mesothelioma.
About the author of this article: Allison Brooks graduated from the University of Mississippi in 2011. She graduated with a degree in Biomedical Anthropology. She is currently lives in Florida and is studying in the field to finish an ethnography on the effects of biomedicalization on Bolivian cultures. You can contact her at naturallie23@gmail.com .
Gratitude
Thanksgiving is a great reminder to give thanks to all the wonderful beings in our life and to realize how lucky we are. And as Thanksgiving passes try to remember to be thankful each day. Happy Thanksgiving!!
What’s for dinner? Check out the blog: Lisa’s Project Vegan
Lisa’s Project Vegan has tons of great vegan recipes (and pictures)! This is a picture from her blog, from Thursday Oct. 13, 2011. This is called Grilled agave mustard tempeh over sweet potato kale hash. And it is YUMMY! I love kale and it is one of the only things I am good at cooking. But thanks to Lisa I am trying new recipes and learning a lot!
She also has a reading list posted if you are interested in learning more about a cruelty free diet. She updates the blog often-so there will always be something new to try! You follow her blog or “like” her page on Facebook to get updates.
Jivamukti Yoga, Magic Ten
This 10 minute video is a great way to practice yoga at home. It is a series of 10 poses that can be done in about ten minutes. The class is taught by Sharon Gannon and demonstrated by Jessica Stickler. I use it as my warm up before I practice. Enjoy!
How to choose the right yoga mat?
Yoga mats can be expensive. If you don’t really care what kind of mat you have I recommend going to T.J. Max, Marshalls, or Target to find a cheap yoga mat. But if you are a little more picky there are LOTS of different brands of yoga mats, so how do you choose the right one?
I suggest that you invest in a Manduka yoga mat. They are a little thicker than most yoga mats. The thickness of the mat makes me feel steady no matter what the surface floor I am practicing on. I practice at different locations and not all studios have nice wood or bamboo flooring. Because the Manduka mats are thicker they are heavy-so be sure you have someone around who is strong enough to carry it for you while you are traveling=).
Manduka make all kinds of mats: eco friendly, light weight that are better for travel and the orignal black mat pro. The black mat pro is my favorite. I received a black mat pro as a gift for my 25th birthday. And before that I had gone through one yoga mat a year each year for 2 years. The black mat pro has lasted me over 5 years. It is way more durable than any other yoga mat on the market!
They even make the mat in extra long if you are tall. But I don’t recommend getting the extra long mat unless you are over 6 foot!!
Easter Bunnies
Bunnies are so CUTE. And with Easter right around the corner many people will buy bunnies as pets. Bunnies are the third highest animals found in shelters. These 2 cute bunnies were rescued and now live happily in Woodstock, New York at the Farm Sanctuary.
Bunnies live 8-10 years so it is a commitment to bring one into your home. Rabbits enjoy being around people. They become unhappy and suffer when they are isolated from their people. They need interaction, bunny toys to play with, and plenty of daily exercise. So before you purchase a bunny think about if it is really the right pet for you!
Affordable Yoga in Charleston, SC
There are LOTS of great affordable yoga classes offered in Charleston.
Your first class is FREE at Charleston Power Yoga (for students with a local Charleston ID). Charleston Power Yoga also offers a FREE Class every Friday 4:15-5:15. It is called the Community Class on the schedule. Be sure to get there EARLY (especially during the school year!) because the studio gets back and they only let 35 students in.
Jivamukti Yoga Charleston offers HIGH $5 Classes (Classes for $5). There are currently 11 HIGH $5 classes on the schedule each week (all levels and a variety of times). Be sure to check the schedule out!
Join the mailing list for Holy Cow because they often offer a FREE class on holidays. A FREE class is coming up on Easter Sunday! They offer a donation community class Tuesday and Thursday at 4pm. Also for the months of April, May and June (2011) the EXTRA GENTLE and Cancer Survivor Yoga Class on Saturdays at 2pm is FREE.
And, check the schedule at Charleston Community Yoga a new studio just opened up in West Ashley. All classes are donations!! So give what you can.
Often times gyms have a lower drop in rate for a yoga class than a yoga studio. So be sure to check your local gym for yoga classes that fit into your schedule.
And then if you cannot make it to a class, but want the guidance of a teacher there are lots of FREE podcasts available to download. I prefer to practice with Jessica Stickler a New York City based Jivamukti Yoga teacher. She offers FREE podcasts on her website, or find her podcasts or other teachers FREE podcasts on iTunes.
Another option is to check out Yoga Journal’s website. They have a feature where you can put together poses that you want to do to create your own class. They also have lots of great articles, recipes and description of poses online.
Skin Brushing
Dry brushing is a Kriya Yoga practice (cleansing technique). Dry brushing helps to detoxify your bodies skin. The skin is the largest most important eliminative organ in the body and is responsible for one quarter of the body’s detoxification each day.
Wooden Skin Brush
The benefits of skin brushing are:
Removes cellulite
Cleanses the lymphatic system
Removes dead skin layers
Strengthens the immune system
Stimulates the hormone and oil-producing glands
Tightens the skin preventing premature aging
Tones the muscles
Stimulates circulation
Improves the function of the nervous system
Helps aid in digestion
It is easy, inexpensive and invigorating! It takes less than a minute to do!
For a more detailed description of how to use your skin brush properly check out this website: http://www.naturalhealthtechniques.com/healingtechniques/dry_brushing_technique.htm
