Remembering the late Michael Jackson

Since the death of Michael Jackson last Thursday, I am surprised at the feelings that realization has evoked in me.  I was never really a very devoted fan although his music had an impact on my life for over four decades. Remembering him as a child star, it’s difficult to fathom that the 50-year-old man is now gone, and I find myself singing his songs in my head as I go about my day, and yearning for the next bit of news about what his life was really like. His melodic voice reverberates into my very soul and I find myself feeling compassionate and sympathetic toward his family, his children, and the doctor who cared for him during his last moments. I don’t know if we will ever know the whole truth of the enigma that was known as Michael Jackson, but on and off the yoga mat it’s been hard for me to think of anything else.  It makes you think hard about your own mortality.  It also makes you think about what made the man tick as you hear story after story in the media, wondering if this fact or that fact was actually true. All I know is that ten years ago, before I started practicing yoga, the death of Michael Jackson probably wouldn’t have evoked such strong emotions in me, because I was a little more hardened back then.  Yoga has softened me, and the tears come a lot easily now when I hear news of this magnitude about someone I never knew, but who was a part of my life just the same.

Yoga & Meditation ebook great for beginners with little time

I came across the Beginner’s Guide to Yoga & Meditation and had to tell you about it.  Even though I’m not a beginner yogi, I tend to read everything I can get my hands on because there’s always so much to learn.  If you’re struggling with stress and you can’t seem to find a few moments out of your life to just breathe, then get yourself a copy of this informative and instructional ebook that is easy to read and easy to follow to help yourself along the path to a more centered life. In this ebook you will:

• Learn basic yoga and meditation without having to attend classes
• Learn different styles of yoga and which one is best for you
• Learn basic yoga poses
• Learn how to make the most use of your personal yoga space
• Learn how to meditate for health and wellness
• Learn how to get rid of headaches with simple yoga poses
• Learn how to relieve menstrual cramps with yoga
• Learn how to do simple yoga poses at your desk to relieve tension
• And so much more!

Through the Beginner’s Guide to Yoga & Meditation you will learn basic yoga poses and simple techniques that will enhance all aspects of your life and bring peace and stillness to an otherwise chaotic existence, and you only need to put aside a few minutes a day to get started.  I don’t doubt that your daily schedule is riddled with responsibilities — work, kids, carpools, cooking, gardening, and whatever else you’ve scribbled on your calendar.  Most likely, you have no time to go to a yoga class much less get to bed at a reasonable hour.  If you want to feel better and ease that stress in your life, now’s the time to make a commitment to yourself and start a yoga practice, and the easiest way to do it is to start one at home, one step at a time.

The Beginner’s Guide to Yoga & Meditation not only teaches basic yoga poses, but it teaches you how to meditate using Universal Mantra Meditation, Relaxation Meditation, Energy Healing Meditation, Color Healing Meditation, and Centering.  It’s not that easy starting a meditation practice.  Take it from me.  But this little ebook will start you on the right track. It’s worth the time you’ll scribble on your calendar, it really is.

It’s no secret that millions of Americans today have taken to the yoga mat to bring quiet and purpose to their life.  Learn how to do it all in Mike Busch’s ebook Beginner’s Guide to Yoga & Meditation. Click Here to order your copy today!

And, not only will you get a copy of this conveniently downloadable ebook, but you’ll also get a 100% 56-day money back guarantee. And, it doesn’t stop there! You’ll also get three more downloadable BONUS ebooks, including:

• How to Eliminate Stress and Anxiety
• How to Boost Your Metabolism
• Fitting Exercise Into a Busy Schedule

Click Here to order your copy today! and start your journey toward a healthier body and a more spacious mind.  Get rid of that stress and call your life your own again. What do you have to lose but your sanity?

Namaste.

Yoga for the Rest of Us

As I write this post I have Peggy Cappy’s Yoga for the Rest of Us playing in my DVD player.  I like to  listen to yoga DVD’s while I’m typing or cooking, because as a yoga teacher myself I like to listen and learn, even if I’m not practicing along, because there’s always room for growth.  Listening to Peggy Cappy is like accepting advice from a trusted mentor. She knows how to ease anyone into their own yoga program and invites you into her world, where yoga exercise is possible, despite age, ability or medical conditions.

Peggy Cappy’s Yoga for the Rest of Us 60-minute DVD is a must for beginners and seasoned yoga practitioners alike.  Peggy leads with knowledge and guides with gentleness while her students ease themselves into gentle yet effective poses.  She also suggests modifications where needed, and offers the use of a chair for extra stability.

“You don’t need to be thin, young, and a contortionist to do this program, ” says Peggy Cappy.  It’s a gentle yet effective chair yoga practice for people who are inflexible, out of shape, or who are suffering from aches and pains to do in the comfort of their own home.  The DVD presents three 20-minute segments:

• Part 1 – warm-up seated stretches
• Part 2:  standing poses that can be used with a chair, if necessary
• Part 3:  flowing Sun Salutations, followed by relaxation poses.

If you follow along with this DVD in the morning or in the evening at least three days a week you’ll not only experience a greater sense of ease and relaxation in your body, but you’ll experience a new sense of calm and spaciousness in your mind as well.

If you’d like to get a copy of Peggy Cappy’s Yoga for the Rest of us, click here.

Namaste.

Neti pot a good remedy for sinus trouble

What does “neti” mean, anyway?  Well, its the practice of nasal cleansing, and it’s more than just using a tissue to blow away congestion. Recommended by alternative health practitioners, it’s been widely used by people everyday along with a saline solution to keep their nasal passages clean and their sinuses in tip top shape.  Once tried, a neti pot can be a soothing and pleasant experience that will prove invaluable. Using warm water with a little salt, a neti pot will gently irrigate the nasal passages, washing away the offended irritants. Used mostly for allergies, sinustitis, and upper respiratory infections, such as hay fever, a neti pot will become your best friend and to a whole new way of breathing.

If you’d like to try a neti pot, may I recommend Oprah’s favorite from Mother Nature.com. Click below for more details and to order your very own neti pot today!

Yoga can ease menopause symptoms

Women in midlife who are going through menopause, or even those in peri-menopause, would fair very well if they embraced a yoga practice, not only to feel better but to ward off increased bone loss and risk for cardiovascular disease and breast cancer.  In an article by Susan M. Lark, M.D. called “Yoga for Menopause,” (Health World Online), she outlines a series of yoga poses specifically geared to help women in menopause.  Dr. Lark stresses that “Practicing yoga stretches regularly in a slow, unhurried fashion will gradually loosen your muscles, ligaments and joints.  You may be surprised how supple you can become over time.” Dr. Lark also stresses that poses should be practiced slowly and deliberately with focus and attention.

Some of Dr. Lark’s recommended yoga poses include the Locust, Wide Angle Pose, Spinal Flex, Pelvic Arch, the Bow, Child’s Pose, The Sponge, Dollar Pose, Tree, and Chest Expander.  If you’d like to learn more from Dr. Lark, click below to get her free reports and other valuable information to help you feel young again.

Yoga benefits seniors in more ways than one

Gone are the days when Granny sat in her rocker and took to knitting sweaters for her great-grandchildren, barely able to get up, let alone walk around the block.  Instead, many older people today are exercising to keep fit and healthy despite their advancing age.  The are enjoying a more pro-active lifestyle, and yoga has become an exercise of choice. And they’re more healthy and vibrantly alive because of it.

Take Pam Horton, age 71, a yoga enthusiast who’s been teaching five yoga classes a week to 20- to- 80-year-olds for the last 35 years in the United Kingdom.  “Yoga can have a tremendous effect on you, whatever age you start,” she says, “but I find I don’t need to do much practice to keep supple, as my awareness of my body posture has become second nature over the years,” says Pam, in an article called “The Yoga Teacher,” (Guardian.co.uk-The Observer, 21 June 2009). “I’m aware of the fragility of health and that it can change without warning. So I always retain a sense of detachment — I’m not pleased with myself if I do a complicated yoga pose, I’m pleased for myself. You’ve never got life cracked.  Yoga teaches you that,” says Pam.

So, what can yoga do for seniors?

• It helps you to function more independently as it improves overall body health;
• It strengthens your muscles and your bones through weight-bearing poses;
• It improves circulation, cardiovascular health and helps you to breathe deeper, which can increase overall well-being;
• It increases flexibility and energy levels and improves posture and balance;
• It helps keep the mind healthy, especially for those who have a family history of Alzheimer’s Disease;
• It provides a full spectrum of mind-body practices that enhance well-being and provide a spiritual connection to your inner self.

To jump start you on your journey, may I recommend Suza Francina’s book “The New Yoga for Healthy Aging:  Living Longer, Living Stronger and Loving Every Day,” a step-by-step guide for the “sixty and beyond” baby boomers who want to start practicing yoga to look and feel great!

Deep relaxation transported me to a place of bliss

I can’t adequately describe the feelings I had when I left a two-hour Deep Relaxation class yesterday at Avenues Yoga in Salt Lake City, except that I wanted to cry tears of relief as I was rolling up my mat.  I was able to let go of a lot of old baggage, and my body felt wonderful!

I had only learned about Avenues Yoga from Charlotte Bell, who recently started teaching a Monday evening restorative yoga class there.  The studio had just opened its doors this past May, and already it has eight instructors and a full schedule of classes, including restorative yoga, prenatal yoga, kids yoga, moving meditation, vinyasa, yoga for climbers, mat pilates, and others.  With one large studio graced with shiny wooden floors, soft track lighting, and tall windows overlooking a tree-lined street in the Avenues section of Salt Lake City, the atmosphere of Avenues Yoga is very soft, and environmentally inviting indeed.

Aside from attending a restorative yoga class there last Monday evening, Saturday’s Deep Relaxation workshop was my second encounter with the studio, and with owner Erin, whose quiet and sophisticated demeanor immediately made a positive impression on me.  Will I finally find a comfortable place in which to practice yoga? Yes, I think so. It seems to be a place that will draw me closer to my practice and to myself.

During the Deep Relaxation class, Erin led us with her gentle and beautiful voice through a combination of therapeutic movements, restorative poses, guided meditation and imagery, and a powerful but simple yoga nidra practice that released stress and nourished our bodies and our souls.

When class was over I couldn’t believe that two hours had passed.  I literally felt rooted to the earth, not wanting to move but to remain in that blissful state.  My heart was overflowing with grateful thanks for the opportunity to participate in such a simple yet profound relaxation experience.

I went home feeling like a new person.

Yoga can help women recover from mastectomies

Women suffering from breast cancer may have to accept the painful news that they will lose one or more of their breasts, and that’s not something that’s easily digestible. Although there are many types of mastectomies, it is, no doubt, a life-changing experience, both physically and emotionally, so it’s important to take good care of yourself.  

If you already practice yoga regularly, you know it can offer calmness and clarity during difficult situations, and you’ll probably be eager to get back on the mat to start the healing process.  But engaging in a vigorous practice after undergoing a mastectomy may not be in your best interests.  First, you must be careful not to put pressure on your arms and upper body area too soon, as your range of motion will be compromised and you’ll experience weakness in one or more muscles near the affected tissue.  You may also experience a condition called “lymphadema” which occurs because the body isn’t draining fluids normally like it did before surgery, so you’ll need to stay away from arm balances and other strengthening poses that affect the upper body until you feel better.

So, take it slow and easy, and if you can, find a teacher who is trained in yoga therapy for breast cancer patients and who can sensitively and knowledgeably ease you along your path to recovery.  Another way to help your recovery is to practice some restorative yoga poses, such as reclining bound angle pose, corpse pose, and legs-up-the-wall pose, which promote deep breathing and relaxation to guide you back to emotional health.

“The first thing postoperative patients should do before trying yoga is to ask their surgeon what he or she recommends,” says Dr. Vivien D’Andrea of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, quoted in an article “Gentle yoga may speed recovery after surgery,” (Las Altos Town Crier, by Pam Walatka (June 17, 2009).  “Starting yoga right after surgery, if you have not done yoga before, would be a terrible idea. Yoga students learn to listen to their bodies and know when to stop. If you were to jump into postoperative yoga without experience, you could hurt yourself,” notes Pam.

Having any type of cancer is not an easy thing to accept, but yoga can help you manage it more effectively. Although it’s not a quick fix, an ongoing practice will reward you with a more meaningful and radiant life, regardless of the challenges we face.

Yoga is for older people, too

Yoga better be for older people, too, because I’m not going to stop practicing anytime soon.  Even though I haven’t even reached my 50th birthday yet, it’ll come soon enough and I don’t want to dig myself into a grave just because I’m hitting the big five-O.  It’s my belief that hitting midlife is not a time to think about the things we should have done, it’s a time to embrace life to the fullest, and begin a life with new meaning and vitality. 

I hope to be doing yoga well into my golden years, and I look forward to always living my life as a yogi and empowering others of advanced age to embrace yoga as a part of their lifestyle, too, so that they may live long and happy lives.  I may not be able to do everything that I can do now, but what I want to be is alert, flexible, and healthy, and be able to balance myself on my own two feet without falling.

According to a 2008 study —  ”Yoga in America” – by Yoga Journal, featured in an article called “Older Adults Increasingly Turn to Yoga for Health,” by John Hanc, (AARP Bulletin Today, June 9, 2009), “49 percent of those who practice say they are doing it to improve their overall health.  Most of these people tend to be younger: The study also found that among the estimated 15.8 million Americans who currently practice yoga, 40.6 percent are ages 18 to 34.  But more older adults are now taking their place on the mats alongside them.  According to the study, 18.4 percent of practitioners are now over 55.” 

It’s never too late for women in midlife to start a yoga practice. And you don’t have to step into — and you shouldn’t step right into — a power yoga class meant for 20-somethings.  There are many gentle yoga and restorative classes meant for older people just starting out.  “Whether you’re already active or sedentary, you need to be extremely careful in choosing the type of yoga you become involved in,” says Dixie Stanforth, a lecturer in exercise science at the University of Texas at Austin.  Most times, women find themselves suffering from chronic illnesses or stress-related conditions that prompt them to seek medical attention, and a means to make themselves feel better overall.   “One reason that a great number of older adults are showing up at yoga studios is because their doctors have recommended it,” says John Hanc. Most older people seek yoga as a means to maintain chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, depression, scoliosis, and heart disease, to name a few. The benefits of yoga are far reaching, and age doesn’t matter.

If you’re at midlife and you want to start yoga, may I recommend you get yourself a copy of Pat Shapiro’s Yoga for Women at Midlife and Beyond. It’s an easy read, and the illustrated poses are doable for women at any age.
 
Photo credit:  www.patshapiro.com

Soldiers in Iraq take yoga classes

This is a far cry from my previous posts and not really in keeping with my central theme, but I thought I’d write about this because I found the story interesting and wanted to share it with you.

In an article entitled “National Guardsman from Palmyra finds himself teaching yoga in Iraq,” LDNews, Lebanon, PA (June 10, 2009), 6-foot tall and 250-pound David Kocian doesn’t really look like your typical yoga teacher, but he quickly became one when interest grew among his soldiers to take yoga classes as a means to find peace and relieve stress amid the front lines.

“Once you cross that threshold into my room, it’s yoga world,” Kocian said. “Forget about your pain; forget about your problems; forget about your supervisor; forget what you just did and what you will be doing in the future.”  Kocian had 15 people in his class the first night, and 25 on the second night.  Kocian’s yoga class in a combat zone quickly became popular. People keep coming back for more and he gets lots of compliments.  He’s glad to be providing a worthwhile service to his service buddies. Yoga is one way to stay sane in an insane situation.

First Lt. Dave Sabulsky from Jamestown, NY went to one of Kocian’s classes and thought it would be initmidating at first. But, he didn’t find it to be very hard to learn and he “credits Kocian’s teaching for this.  He was relaxed. He knows what he’s doing and enjoys what he’s doing,” says Sabulsky.

Gardening and yoga go together

As our bodies enter midlife, we have to take care of them, and that means in and out of the garden where we love to play with the dirt, digging and tilling, shoveling and weeding, harvesting and planting, until our backs ache and we’re sore for days and days afterwards.  Gardening takes a lot of work and it’s demanding on the human body as it twists and turns our spines and transforms our muscles into creatures we never knew existed.  It’s all we can do to ease our bodies into a hot bath after a day in the sun and dirt, but we can stave off those sore muscles altogether if we learn how to stretch a little before and after .

That’s where the wonders of yoga come into play.  Most middle-aged people take their backs for granted and don’t realize that they need tender loving care like the rest of our body. We need to exercise regularly and stretch our limbs to build muscle mass that will prevent injury from happening. Yoga creates balance, and in effect it understands that muscles need to be strengthened and maintained so they can continue to work for us well into our golden years.

“We use our spines to move in four directions: to flex, to extend, to bend to the side and to rotate,” says Henry Homeyer, a gardening coach and garden designer, and author of an article entitled “Yoga for Gardeners,” (Brattleboro Reformer, June 11, 2009). “Generally, we hurt ourselves when rotating as that is the least commom movement. Shoveling compost from the pile into the wheelbarrow includes not only bending forward (flexing), but rotating as we take 10 pounds or more of compost, then twist to toss it . . ,” says Henry. It was not until he met Jill Johnson, a yoga instructor, who taught him a thing or two about yoga stretching before and after a stint in the garden. Now, Henry does his yoga stretches every morning.

If you’re interested in learning more about yoga poses for gardeners, may I recommend you get your own copy of Gardener’s Yoga: Bend and Stretch, Dig and Grow, by Veronica D’Orazio, a colorful guide offering 21 yoga poses to do before and after gardening. It’s well worth it and you’ll feel so much better!

Photo credit:  http://www.wellsphere.com/obesity-article//373717

Suffering from allergies? Let yoga ease your symptoms and boost your immunity

If you’re anything like me, you’re suffering from seasonal allergies, and it’s not fun, especially if your symptoms are interfering with your yoga practice.  With the weather changes comes pollen, weeds, pollution, and other airborne irritants that find their way into our nasal passages, causing watery, drippy eyes, wet, annoying sneezes, and stuffy noses, compromising our respiratory systems and obstructing our oxygen supply. It can be difficult to practice yoga when your respiratory system is in such a state of flux.

In an article  entitled “Sneeze Free,” Yoga Journal magazine (June 2009), Richard Usatine, a family doctor and a professor at University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and co-author of Yoga Rx, notes that “stress can weaken the immune system and exacerbate allergy symptoms.”  The cure? I don’t know that there’s a cure, per say, but certain yoga poses can help your immune system become stronger and ease the symptoms of seasonal allergies, making them more manageable so that you can live your yogic life without interruption.

If you’re able to breathe out of your nose, try Skull Shining Breath, which is a series of short exhalations repeated through the nose in rapid succession which should cleanse the nasal passages.  If your nose is stuffy and irritated, then you may want to try breathing in long exhalations instead, which will also reduce stress and help your immune system along.  “To do this,” says Larry Payne, a Los Angeles yoga therapist and co-author of Yoga Rx,  “inhale for a count of three, then exhale for a count of four — gradually working your way up to inhaling for four and exhaling for a count of six.”

Yoga is a powerful remedy for stabilizing the immune system and keeping allergies and illness at bay, or at least manageable.  With a regular yoga practice, you can build up resistance and experience overall improvement in your health and well being.

Photo credit: health.howstuffworks.com

Yoga can open new doors and shape new lives

I can’t begin to tell you the countless ways in which yoga has shaped my life.  When I began my practice over eight years ago, I didn’t have a clue about the journey I was undertaking. And I haven’t yet fully reached my destination, and I never really will. Yoga is a journey of the heart and the soul, and once on the path toward realization there is no turning back. Yoga has the capacity to change lives, to light the way and to empower opportunities that we never before thought possible.  Yoga can transform your dull, drab existence to one of light and love and joyous fruits, and there’s nothing you won’t be able to accomplish. The following is one such story that proves my point.

In an article entitled “Yoga Opened Doors She Had Long Ago Closed,” Los Angeles Times (June 5, 2009), writer turned yoga practionioner Colette LaBouff Atkinson spent three hours every day commuting to her writing job, and then spent countless more hours sitting at her desk at home, eating fast food or Mexican take-out.  When she developed excruciating back pain and experienced many sleepless nights, she finally woke up to a reality she hadn’t wanted to face. Her ex-husband had always encouraged her to try yoga, but the words never sunk in.  It was time to revisit that truth, if not to save her back but to save her sanity.

At 39, Colette finally broke down and went to a yoga class on New Year’s Eve.  Eventually, one class turned into four or five a week and she was hooked.  “But in yoga, as anyone and everyone who’s ever benefited from it will say, all kinds of things became possible.  I was there only to breathe; nothing to revise or make again,” says Colette.  “I may not have been calm.  I may not have been supple or limber.  I may not have been still or steady.  But the more I went, day after day, I was different.”

During times when Colette couldn’t sleep, she read a book by F. Scott Fitzgerald called “The Crack-Up,” in which she related to a life that wasn’t exactly going the way he wanted it to. He (Fitzgerald) writes of himself in the third person: “[T[his writer told about his realization that what he had before him was not the dish that he had ordered for his forties. In fact — since he and the dish were one, he described himself as a cracked plate, the kind that one wonders whether it is worth preserving.”

Learning to meditate takes practice

I had the pleasure of attending a workshop called “Intro to Meditation” yesterday at The Yoga Center in Holladay, Utah.  Yes, it was set for the middle of a Saturday afternoon when I could have been working in my home office or outside in the yard shaping my hedges, but I needed to do something about my meditation practice (or lack of it) so I signed up for and dutifully participated. And I’m very happy I did.  I walked away with a new sense of purpose and an inspired plan for beginning my own personal meditation practice. And I learned things I never knew before.

Led by two young men named Robin and Scott who have been studying and practicing meditation for many years, the workshop ran for three hours and it not only offered three 15-minute segments of visualization and insight meditation practices, but it also offered 60 minutes of gentle yoga and movement to help us sit for long periods of time without pain.

I learned that there really isn’t an art to meditating. I also learned that it’s okay to let random thoughts enter our minds so long as we come back to the breath. The most important part of meditating is being present in the moment and being comfortable in our thoughts. Feelings of agitation, being fidgety, and even feeling sleepy can happen and they can affect the quality of our meditation practice.

Meditation takes practice.  Its a personal process that could take many years to master. I hope to be able to get to a place in my heart where I can meditate and feel really good afterward because that’s what it’s really all about. All I need to do is listen to my breath and pay attention to my heart and see what it’s really trying to tell me. I want to set intentions for my life and my livelihood and I know that meditation can get me to that place of deeper meaning.

Just sit.  Just be.  Just meditate.  Be in the moment, and feel the joy.

Meditation Trilogy – $ 39.95 Sacred sounds to conquer fear and anxiety. 3-CD set includes: Rest and Relax; Music of the Heart; and Yoga Sound.

HEALTHY? HAPPY? RELAXED? Matt Clarkson has created a no cost
mini course teaching simple meditation exercises for busy
people. Each “daily meditation” is an exercise, inspirational
message or tip to help you calm the mind and reduce stress. If
your health is important to you, click here.

Yoga and meditation bring out your inner truth

When people ask me why I do yoga, I tell them that it helps me to handle the stress that I experience in my day job. By far, that’s not the only reason, but it’s a big one, and until I can make a total shift from nine-to-five to yoga teacher/entrepreneur, yoga always plays a big role in that process, and it is definitely a catalyst for the welcome changes that are manifesting in my life.

Last night I was reading an article entitled “Help Wanted! If Unwelcome Changes at Work are Stressing You Out, Try Using Them as an Opportunity to Discover the Truth of Who You Really Are,” (Yoga Journal, May 2009), and I found myself relating to the experience of many who have, over the years, built their identities by what they do for a living. For those in high-powered, high-stress jobs, like lawyers or doctors, that’s what their lives are all about, and they know nothing else.  Then, a shock wave hits and they’re either laid off or are suddenly faced with a terminal illness and they have to come to grips with who and what they really are. And it’s really hard for some of those people to understand when they’ve been so conditioned to base their total identities on their occupations, their resumes, their accomplishments and yes, their failures. Their lives are mired in stress, and they don’t believe, or don’t want to believe, there’s any way out. Even the thought of taking a leisure vacation is out of the question.

The article features the story of litigation lawyer, Carol Urzi, who worked in a large San Francisco law firm. She was working 24/7 and managing 50 cases on her trial calendar. Needless to say, she centered her life around her work.  She “enjoyed the intensity, the feeling of triumph over difficulties, and the recognition from others for being the highest biller,” says Carol.  Then, she was suddenly laid off and, while she felt shocked and angry (how could this happen to me??) she embraced yoga and teamed up with a law clerk who had been practicing Zen Buddism meditation for many years.  She could never understand how this person always remained so centered, so quietly in control of his life amid the stress and chaos of the law firm they both worked at.

While recovering from her powerlessness and anger from being laid off, her yoga practice helped her to find new meaning in her life.  Ten years after being laid off, she has the flexibility to pursue studies and interests she was never able to focus on before when she worked around the clock.  She does pro bono legal work, is involved in local politics, and she even travels.  She has finally found her true self from yoga and meditation, and she no longer identifies herself with her work, but who she has become, inside, as a whole person.

We must all learn to bend with the ups and downs of life and expect that they will change at any moment. By cultivating a regular yoga and/or meditation practice, you will achieve patience and compassion for others and, at the same time, accept the uncertainties of life and learn how not to panic when a curve ball gets thrown at you. You will also feel calmer and be able to handle problems more effectively as they manifest in your life, be they job changes, relationships or health issues.

Yoga is a powerful remedy, and it has the power to change lives.

Choosing a beginner yoga class that’s right for you

So, you’ve thought about trying yoga but you don’t know anything about studio classes or what to expect once you get there. It certainly can be a daunting prospect. Walking into a yoga class cold without knowing anyone or anything about yoga can make anyone sweat even before the exercises begin.  So, you may need to do some homework before plunging into a class that you’re not prepared for.

First, not all yoga classes are alike. If you’ve never set foot on a yoga mat before, you don’t want to go to a level two or three class where the students are kicking up into handstands in the middle of the floor when you can barely touch your toes.  It’s best to sign up for a beginner or Level One class where everyone is like you — new to the mat and feeling just as timid about yoga as you are. In a beginner’s class, you will find like-minded and like-bodied people ready to stretch their limbs and start breathing deeply for the first time. You’ll feel right at home since the teacher already knows you’re a beginner and you’ll feel less intimated by the whole process because you’ll fit right in.

It’s not always easy to find a teacher you’re comfortable with, either. Sometimes you may need to go to different classes to find a perfect fit. Says Brianna Politzer Stevens in her blog SF Yoga Spiritual Living Examiner (6/2/09), “The best teachers will welcome you to class, learn your name, ask about your experience level and inquire about any past injuries that may affect your ability to perform particular poses.”  You want a teacher who cares about your well-being and who explains how to get into and out of a pose gently and correctly. He or she will know where to place your block or when you should use a strap to get the most out of a difficult pose. Stick with the same teacher and over time she will note your progress and encourage you to go deeper as you expand and create a new yoga journey for yourself.

In my opinion, smaller classes found in neighborhood yoga studios or those taught in churches or recreation centers are better than the bigger, more populated ones, like those found in health clubs.  Smaller classes will reward you with one-on-one attention and you won’t feel like you’re just blending into the crowd. Smaller classes tend to focus more on gentle and/or specialized types of yoga and offer restorative classes geared for older women and those with chronic conditions, and they tend to be more community inspired.

Photo credit:  The Honolulu Advertiser

Beginners Workout – $ 14.95 Beginners Workout is designed for beginners and for those who haven’t exercised for a while. It’s also good for those who want to take a break from their more strenuous workouts but still want to exercise. You’ll learn easy ways to: loosen stiff joints, strengthen your abdominals, firm your buttocks, and calm and tone your nerves. The last asana on the tape is Yoga Nidra, a very effective way to achieve complete relaxation. The Beginners Workout contains 16 yoga techniques and is approximately 50 minutes in length.