While in Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend) in Kate Wester’s class, she has often said to “let the day just roll off your spine, drip off the end of your head and fall away.” Her perspective is spot on – just try it. Putting our bodies into a standing forward bend with our head toward our feet can be an easy way to shift from scattered energy to centeredness, compression to openness, and shallow breathing to deep, rhythmic breaths. This is probably a useful tool to have as another school year unfolds and we shift from being primarily outdoors to hibernating indoors. Read the rest of this entry »
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Blog: My YogaTrek
Blog: My YogaTrek
Uttanasa (forward bend)
September 1st, 2010Arnica Montana
September 1st, 2010
The other night, I was clearing out the bazillion bath toys that somehow my daughter got away with leaving in the tub. I turned my head and, wham!, I banged my forehead with quite a bit of force into a porcelain door knob (don’t ask…). The pain was instantaneous and I was thrilled to see that the point of contact was right on the most visible part of my face. I immediately grabbed my arnica montana cream, put it on, reapplied it every couple of hours, and, voila!, I had minimal sensitivity and no visible bruise! Read the rest of this entry »
September: Global Mala for Peace
August 31st, 2010
September is lots of things: the commencement of high school football season, the time to harvest brussels sprouts and parsnips, my friend Shannon’s birthday, the launching of the fall season, and, of course, yoga month, the autumnal equinox, and the Global Mala for Peace Project. Yoga Trek will be participating in the last three on September 23rd during Alison Welch’s 7:30 pm class. Read more to learn what this will entail and how you, too, can more eagerly kiss summer goodbye and do your best to be open to a darker, colder season ahead – and support a cause bigger than yourself.
Yoga Month is a public relations campaign designed to encourage yogis, yoga studios and students to share the benefits of yoga with others and “inspire our citizens to lead healthier, happier lives.” Basically defined, the autumnal equinox is simply the time (just like the spring equinox) when “the earth’s axis of rotation is perpendicular to the line connecting the centers of the earth and the sun” according to timeanddate.com. Shiva Rea’s Global Mala Yoga for Peace project has a purpose to “unite the global yoga community from every continent, school or approach to form a ‘mala around the earth’ Read the rest of this entry »
Joie de Vivre! Alie McManus, Backbending and Loving Life
August 31st, 2010
Have you ever met someone who just plain exudes joy, with a contagious smile and energy that you want to absorb? Don’t you just wish that person would never leave so that you could forever bask in their happiness? Alie McManus is that kind of person – and she’s coming to Yoga Trek this month to offer a backbending workshop that will enable you to catch some of her je ne sais quoi and, well, knock your yoga pants right off! Alie has a breadth of yoga teaching experience and has a creative, fun, clever and completely accessible teaching style that will support you in reaching your backbending potential within minutes. Read more to learn about Alie’s yoga background and gain many wise nuggets about how to find your inner joy that you can start spreading around. The workshop will be held Saturday, September 18th, from 2:30 – 5:30 pm at Yoga Trek. The cost is $40 ($45 after September 13th). Register online and secure your spot today!
Q: What was your first yoga experience?
My first yoga experience was while I was at the University of Vermont. I practiced with a video by Erich Schiffmann and Ali Macgraw called Yoga Mind and Body filmed in the White Sands Desert. The sound of Erich’s voice was calming and the beauty of the scenery brought me to a place of peace. I loved doing that video so much that it was the only yoga I wanted to do. When I was in Boston my favorite art professor asked, “You do yoga and you don’t go to class?” Through his encouragement, I was introduced to Barbara Benagh with whom I studied for four years. Read the rest of this entry »
Health and Wellness: The Healing Properties of the Coconut
August 2nd, 2010
I said “Doctor, ain’t there nothin’ I can take?”
I said, “Doctor, to relieve this belly ache,”
You put de lime in de coconut, you drink ‘em bot’ togedder
Put de lime in de coconut and you’ll feel better…
While I cannot attest to the effectiveness of the remedy featured in this 1971 Harry Nilsson hit song, one thing is for sure: coconut does offer a variety of healing benefits beyond its nutritional content. Some islands boast the fruit (or is it a nut? a meat? …or all of the above?) as the primary staple, using the coconut meat, juice, milk and oil in a variety of ways. In the Pacific Islands the oil is believed to be a cure for all illness and the tree is considered the “tree of life.” Read the rest of this entry »
