Yoga Garden with Margaret

New BLOG!

2010-10-22T15:50:00.000-04:00

I'm excited to announce my new BLOG home (Truth, Beauty, Yoga, Life) and LINKS page! Be sure to subscribe via RSS to receive the most recent updates! Stay tuned for Specials for our subscribers only, guest bloggers, more video and audio posts & more! Also, send me your requests!

Om Love Om,
Margaret

White Sugar - Nectar or Poison

2010-10-16T15:28:00.003-04:00

I enjoyed this article on the effects of refined sugar and wanted to share it.

The Avocado Queen

2010-10-03T12:35:00.003-04:00

You gotta try this YUMMY salad recipe from one of the Garden's own: Melissa, The Avocado Queen.

In the words of Mr. Albert Einstein

2010-10-02T21:07:00.003-04:00

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.

Word Play

2010-09-27T15:02:00.003-04:00

In trying to feed the right side of my brain I picked up this unique, little book entitled Caffeine for the Creative Mind. Try this fun and quick activity I found here: find an interesting photo or picture from a magazine and write down a list of 25 adjectives that describe the photo. Grab a few sharpies and had fun!

An Empty Vessel

2010-09-23T12:20:00.003-04:00

There is a story in the Hindu tradition I would like to share about the benefits of loosening our grip on the ego:

Krishna, the Lord, was playing his flute while Radha, who represents the human soul longing for union with the Divine, watched with her eyes full of envy. "What has your flute done to enjoy the blessing of being held up to your lips hour after hour?" she asked. Krishna removed the flute from his lips and held it out so that Radha could see inside of it. "Look, it's completely empty, " he said, "so I can fill it with my Divine melody."

Yoga Warriors

2010-09-17T21:24:00.004-04:00

It’s difficult trying to convince many hardened veterans that yoga can help heal mental wounds suffered in a faraway combat zone. The meditative discipline that focuses on a mind-body connection is not usually appealing to men and women who have been immersed in an aggressive military environment. Local yoga instructors David and Margaret Richards are working hard to change those attitudes.

Click here for Article

Satya - Truthfulness

2010-09-17T13:17:00.002-04:00

When you break this universal concept of 'truthfulness' down, it can be done so on a few different levels. At the most 'basic' level, think about the communication that we seek in our daily lives, i.e., telling the truth about what we see, feel, need, and so forth. even though this is at a 'basic' level, doesn't necessarily mean that it's easy. Secondly, think integrity. While driving in the car one day, a little girl asked her mommy, ' what's integrity?' the mother went on to explain that if you were at the park and several others saw a man drop a dollar bill, she would return the money to the man and that was honesty. But if no one else saw that the man had dropped the money, and she still returned it, that is integrity. Integrity is internal honesty... it's telling the truth when no one would ever know; integrity is refusing to tell a lie for yourself or for others.

There's another little story I'd like to share about a lady who was asked by a friend why she didn't have a radar detector in her car. She responded by saying that if she used one, she would be sending her children a message that it is okay to break the law (lie) as long as you don't get caught. What a model of integrity!

Lying is a form of disrespecting self or others - even think 'little white lies' - the next time you're tempted to tell a lie, ask yourself to whom you are disrespecting at that moment.

okay, so what if someone wants an opinion about a brand new dress, which you think is one of the least attractive dresses that you've ever seen? If you practice satya and tell her the truth, you may end up leaving ahimsa (non-harming) behind. If you find yourself in such a predicament, before speaking, ask yourself, 'is it necessary, is it true, is it nonharming?' You will need to weigh what is the right action in the situation.

If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything. - Mark Twain

What If

2010-09-14T14:39:00.004-04:00

What if our religion was each other

If our practice was our life

If prayer, our words

What if the temple was the earth

If forests were our church

If holy water - the rivers, lakes and oceans

What if meditation was our relationships

If the Teacher was life

If wisdom was self-knowledge

If love was the center of our being.

-Ganga White, 1998

Photo: the forest church 2 by weiweihua.com

Bringing Yoga to the West

2010-09-13T22:41:00.003-04:00

Sri Vivekananda's World Parliament of Religions speech in 1893.

Color Meditation for Creative Concentration

2010-09-09T21:40:00.003-04:00

United In Heart

2010-09-07T21:45:00.003-04:00

(from the Rig Veda)

May we be united in heart.
May we be united in speech.
May we be united in mind.
May we perform our duties
As did the wise of old.

May we be united in our prayer.
May we be united in our goal.
May we be united in our resolve.
May we be unite din our understanding.
May we be united in our offering.
May we be united in our feelings.
May we be united in our hearts.
May we be united in our thoughts.
May there be perfect unity amongst us.

Saint Teresa of Avila

2010-09-03T12:20:00.002-04:00

Let nothing upset you;
Let nothing frighten you.
Everything is changing;
God alone is changeless.
Patience attains the goal.
Who has God lacks nothing;
God alone fills every need.

Yoga Sutra 2.47

2010-08-31T20:10:00.002-04:00

By lessening the tendency for restlessness and by meditating on the infinite, posture is mastered.

Untying Our Wings

2010-08-24T22:49:00.002-04:00

All of us have wings, though we do not suspect it because they are so tightly tied. We are not meant to stay on the ground and peck at crumbs of personal pleasure and profit. We are meant to soar – to give our time and love freely to everyone around us. That is the essence of spiritual growth, and the whole purpose of meditation and the other skills of spiritual living is to free our wings and allow us to fly high. -- Eknath Easwaran

365 Truths

2010-08-23T10:42:00.002-04:00

Mandala

2010-08-20T14:32:00.004-04:00

Everything the Power of the World does is done in a circle. The sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power, whirls. Birds make their nests in circles, for their is the same religion as ours. The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. The moon does the same, and both are round. Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves. -Black Elk

Join us and make your own mandala!

Quote of the Day

2010-08-16T08:49:00.001-04:00

Out beyond the ideas of right doing and wrong doing, there is a field. I'll meet you there. -Rumi

Create, Pray, Love - Day 30

2010-08-14T09:55:00.002-04:00

Tapas

In yoga, the word 'tapas' means a burning effort under all circumstances to achieve a definite goal in life. A worthy aim makes life illuminated, pure, and divine. Without such an aim, action and prayer have no value. Life without tapas is like a heart without love. -BKS Iyengar

Create Pray Love - Day 29

2010-08-12T22:15:00.002-04:00

Hint: The cage is not locked.
-Nove Knutson

Create Pray Love - Day 28

2010-08-11T23:00:00.002-04:00

Yoga Sutra 1.35

विषयवती वा प्रवृत्तिरुत्पन्ना मनसः स्थितिनिबन्धिनी॥३५॥

Coming into activity of higher senses also becomes helpful in establishing steadiness of the mind.

Create Pray Love - Day 27

2010-08-11T08:18:00.004-04:00

To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire widsom, one must observe. -Marilyn vos Savant

Write down three quick observations about a butterfly, the post office, your yoga practice...

Create Pray Love - Day 26

2010-08-09T21:59:00.003-04:00

Yoga Sutra 2.47
By lessening the natural tendency for restlessness and by meditating on the infinite, posture is mastered.

Create Pray Love - Day 25

2010-08-08T20:20:00.002-04:00

Answer these questions in your journal:
* Things I love:
*I nourish my well-being by:
*I am at my best self when:
*If I could become a master or aficionado of anything, I would like to know most about:
*I feel secure when:
*My definition of beauty is:

Interpret your answers:
*What themes showed up in your answers?
*What words or concepts feel important or are intriguing to you?
*What words, images and/or feelings cross your mind?

Create Pray Love - Day 24

2010-08-08T08:01:00.003-04:00

Take others into your heart, not into your self-esteem.
The part of me that is connected to others and to the divine speaks directly to my mind. It informs me of who I am, where I am, and Who is with me. The ego* tries to find some way to turn all situations into praise for itself, including problems and failures. But true self-esteem is build and sustained through connection with our Source. -Prather
*Edging God Out

Create Pray Love - Day 23

2010-08-06T22:12:00.003-04:00

Patanjali & Yoga

Patanjali was not only the author of the Yoga Sutras, but he was also a dancer, doctor, yogi, thinker, and master of ancient words. What do all of these have in common? Yoga has many meanings. "One is the union of the winds within our inner body. We unite these winds with our yoga, when we think and understand. The winds will sing within us, the very first words of all. They will flow free, and force us to dance, and to run to heal others." (The Essential Yoga Sutra)

Create Pray Love - Day 22

2010-08-05T21:51:00.002-04:00

Full of vigor; always forgiving; courageous in adversity; pure of body and mind; no hatred toward anyone; and never puffed up with pride. These are the characteristics of a man or woman destined for a divine life.
-Bhagavad Gita 16:3

Create Pray Love - Day 21

2010-08-04T22:08:00.003-04:00

Mystery creates wonder and wonder is the basis of man's desire to understand. -Neil Armstrong

Create Pray Love - Day 20

2010-08-03T20:34:00.002-04:00

Basic Surya Namaskar
Grab your mat, or find a spot on your living room rug and join me for a few rounds of basic sun salutations. Remembering the first yama, ahimsa (non-harming) and make any modifications you need to in order to accommodate for any issues in the body.

Create Pray Love - Day 20

2010-08-02T22:06:00.003-04:00

Ishvara Pranidhana
Surrender and devotion to a higher power. The inner presence of Ishvara is our foremost teacher. By listening to this voice, we begin to find inner guidance in all aspects of our life. Pranidhana reminds us to stay connected to this inner guidance day in and day out. Surrender your thoughts, words and actions the higher power.

Create Pray Love - Day 19

2010-08-01T20:34:00.003-04:00

By listening to the creator within, we are led to our right path. -Julia Cameron

I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts. -Jeremiah 31:33

Create Pray Love - Day 18

2010-07-31T20:26:00.003-04:00

World of Color
Collect paint chips from a hardware store. Find colors that you respond to in the world and attempt to match them using the chips. Make notes under the sample as to where you saw the color - sunset, berries, a friend's hair color, the house next door, etc...
Option: document colors from your favorite books, your memories, your dreams.

Create Pray Love - Day 17

2010-07-30T21:29:00.002-04:00

Yoga Sutra 1:14
(This is one of my favorite Sutras, so I would like to share another translation.)

It becomes firmly grounded by long constant efforts with great love for the end to be attained.

Create Pray Love - Day 16

2010-07-29T23:04:00.003-04:00

Yoga Sutra 1:14

Practice becomes firmly grounded when well attended for a long time, without break and with all earnestness.

Create Pray Love - Day 15

2010-07-28T21:56:00.004-04:00

Hitting the Target: The need to win can drain the archer of his power. By focusing on what we are doing, we can be both mindful and spontaneous. This frees us from any thoughts of winning or losing, and allows us to execute our will clearly and effectively. Try to draw your bow without being attached to the outcome. Whether or not you hit the target will be determined by how successful you are in freeing yourself from this burden of anxiety.

Create Pray Love - Day 14

2010-07-27T21:06:00.004-04:00

Sell your cleverness and purchase your bewilderment. -Rumi

Create Pray Love - Day 13

2010-07-26T21:36:00.005-04:00

LabourLove Art Party hosted by Kelly Dew
Friday, July 30th @ 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm
Beach/Nature Theme

Kelly Dew will bring her southern accent and art skills to the easel for another fun filled art class. We’ll supply the materials and a little wine to loosen things up. You can bring some inspiration from the beach/nature and a creative spirit. Make it a date night or a girls night out. Only 20 seats available for $25 including materials. You’ll take home you own masterpiece!

No experience needed for this class.

Call Kelly @ 919-593-5663 to make your reservation!

Create Pray Love - Day 12

2010-07-25T23:02:00.001-04:00

Observe the simple; embrace what is essential. -Tao Te Ching

Create Pray Love - Day 11

2010-07-24T22:24:00.003-04:00

Exploration: Record everything you consume or everything you purchase in one day/week. Practice bramacharya - moderation.

Create Pray Love - Day 11

2010-07-23T20:25:00.005-04:00

From na ('not'), ma ('mine'), and te (to you). The literal meaning is 'honor (namas) to you (te)'. Also translated 'Not mine, but Thine - Yours, the Divine.' This phrase is variously translated as 'The light me greets the light in you', or 'The Divine in me recognizes the Divine in you.'

Create Pray Love - Day 10

2010-07-22T14:48:00.002-04:00

Calming Breath

If you have high blood pressure, are pregnant, or have any other breathing issues, please consult a physician before beginning any type of exercise or breathwork practice.

Create Pray Love - Day 9

2010-07-21T22:03:00.004-04:00

Mouna: Silence; the Truth of Brahman, expressed by the Brahman-knower by his mere abidence in stillness

Set aside one hour a day to practice silence.

Create Pray Love - Day 8

2010-07-20T21:27:00.003-04:00

Yoga and Random Acts of Kindness

By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

Yoga practice is a journey of self-discovery. Depending upon your point of view, Yoga may be perceived as a way of life, an art of life, a science of life, or a series of exercises you practice on a mat. Despite all the differences in what Yoga means to each of us, most practitioners continue to pursue knowledge and advance in their practice.

What is an advanced practitioner of Yoga? An advanced practitioner has been practicing for years and often decades. A serious practitioner applies the lessons learned from practice toward life. Meditation, study, pranayama, asana, and many other Yogic methods are practical applications we learn to use in daily life.

If the prime emphasis of Yoga was performing difficult asanas, we could ignore all of the classic writings of the past. We could discount Raja, Karma, Bhakti, Jnana, and many more styles that have existed for thousands of years. We could forget all the lives that have been improved through practice and application. Yet, every advanced practitioner knows that the value of applying Yoga goes far beyond the mat.

One, who has advanced in practice, applies what he or she knows toward daily situations. One aspect we learn from Yogic studies is doing the right thing. If someone needs help, we stop and help them. Granted, there are a few people who need help for life. In such cases, it is best to point them in the direction of self-help.

Most people just need a little nudge forward to proceed in a positive direction. If we help someone, it must be needed. Who wants to take advice, or help, when it is not asked for? As parents, we learn that our free advice can be perceived as worthless, but our timely help is appreciated for life.

When to do the right thing can be a very difficult learning process, because we learn when exactly to give assistance. Our efforts to help others mean nothing if the timing is not right. If you are not hungry, a loaf of bread has little value at that moment in time. Random acts of kindness are not flower petals to throw on the ground. Too much of a good thing becomes something that is taken for granted.

When reading the Yoga Sutras, of Patanjali, we learn that Yoga is an extremely deep practice. We also learn that moderation is a key component to all Yogic principles. Random acts of kindness must be timely in order to be useful.

Create Pray Love - Day 7

2010-07-19T20:28:00.002-04:00

There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost. -Martha Graham

Create Pray Love - Day 6

2010-07-18T22:03:00.003-04:00

Spiritual Sight. The sensory experience of seeing relates to the spiritual quality of insight. To access this quality bring your awareness to what you can see, for example, by concentrating on an object in front of you. Then close your eyes and draw your attention inward. Holding your eyes in your awareness, use them imaginatively to sense inward rather than outward. What can you see with your inner eye? With practice this technique will help you to develop greater insight.

Create Pray Love - Day 5

2010-07-17T20:05:00.007-04:00

By focusing inward even for just a short period of time each day, we can truly become human beings rather than human doings.

Create Pray Love - Day 4

2010-07-16T21:59:00.004-04:00

Exploration: In your journal, map out pavement cracks in your neighborhood.

It is a known condition that when you begin to pay attention to something you've never really looked at before you will begin to see it everywhere. You eventually begin to feel as if the thing is out to find you, instead of the other way around. -K. Smith

Create Pray Love - Day 3

2010-07-15T21:14:00.005-04:00

Learn to see God in all people. When you begin to feel your oneness with every human being, you will know what divine love is. When in service we forget the little self, then we will see the one measureless Self of God flowing through us. -Yogananda

Create Pray Love - Day 2

2010-07-14T15:40:00.005-04:00

Painting is the grandchild of nature. It is related to God. -Rembrandt(Happy Birthday today!)

Write about your spiritual connection to your creative passions. In order to persevere creatively we must stay true to our higher purpose. If your creativity could speak to you, what would it say?

Create Pray Love - Day 1

2010-07-13T19:55:00.008-04:00

Now I will do nothing but listen. I hear all sounds running together, combined, fused, or following, sounds of the city, and sounds out of the city - sounds of the day and night...-Walt Whitman

Collect objects based on the sounds you can make with them. Experiment with adding or combining sounds, or adding other elements (try water!) What about a vegetable orchestra? Consider that we experience sound in all parts of our body, not just our ears - feel the vibrations.

Notice...

Share your experiences here!

Create, Pray, Love - Free 30-Day Blog Course with Margaret begins Wednesday, July 14th!

2010-07-11T13:02:00.002-04:00

An off-the-mat experience

that will compliment your on-the-mat discipline.

Join this Blog and for the next 30 days have access to daily thoughts and quotes, casual, self-reflective and creative journaling, ideas, projects and exercises to help you cultivate and lead a more mindful life, day by day, moment by moment. Grab a journal (I'm in love with the portable Moleskine booklets that can be found online, at Borders amd Barnes & Noble), and join me on this transformational journey.

The Blog Course begins Wednesday, July 14th, but the beauty about blogging (yes, I found one!) is that you can catch up anytime and go at your own pace!

Grounding Meditation

2010-07-08T08:26:00.000-04:00

How to Simplify When You Love Your Stuff

2010-07-08T06:41:00.001-04:00

HOW TO SIMPLIFY WHEN YOU LOVE YOUR STUFF
By Barrie Davenport
ZenHabits

...........

"It all depends on whether you have things, or they have you."

-- Robert A. Cook

............

Simplicity. It is a lovely ancient spiritual tradition that has seen a
recent resurgence in popularity.  As we try to make sense of our erratic
economy and the accompanying financial anxiety, it is natural to leap to a
less risky lifestyle extreme -- stop spending, scale back, live lean.

If you are a regular reader of Zen Habits, you are probably intrigued by the
idea of simplifying. In fact, you may have even given up many material
things and actively live a very simple life. People who have adopted this
level of  simplicity, especially in the land of consumerism, are incredibly
inspiring and fascinating.

But let¹s be real here. In spite of embracing the concept of simplicity,
most people really love their stuff, and they love acquiring more stuff.
Like our attitudes about a healthy diet, our feelings about material things
are complicated. We know what¹s good for us, but we just don¹t want to give
up what we like. Our stuff makes us feel good.

Is it possible to live a simple life and still love stuff? How much letting
go of stuff really counts toward simplifying anyway?

Living simply and detaching from material things will make you happier.
There is real research and lots of anecdotal evidence to support the truth
of this. But is it possible that some material things can add to our
happiness, sense of contentment and joy in life? If so, how do you go about
deciding what¹s good stuff and what¹s bad?

Perhaps the deciding factor is motivation. Do the things that you own or
wish to buy support your ego, or do they enliven your soul? Some material
things can afford you a sense of warmth, coziness, beauty, fond memories, or
comfort. There are other things that offer only that fleeting rush of
acquisition.

If you infuse mindfulness into your ideas and actions around material
things, you can create a gentle balance between loving stuff and living
simply.

Here are some thoughts that might be useful.


1. Look around your house now.

Walk from room to room. Do you see things that you never use and don¹t
really care about? Why not give them away or sell them? Clear physical and
psychic space by removing the ³dead wood² in your environment. Someone else
might really need these things.


2. Examine why you are hanging on to something.

Is it truly useful or meaningful, or does it feed your ego in some way? Are
you holding on to it just to impress others or to make yourself feel better
or more important?


3. Look at how you spend your time.

Do you have things you own for hobbies that you never pursue? Do you have a
kitchen full of gadgets but you rarely cook? If you truly think you will
come back to a hobby or activity, box things up and put them out of sight
until you do. Be realistic about how much time you have to use your
extraneous stuff.


4. Are you in a career that is thing-focused?

Decorators, car dealers, retailers and others involved in creating, buying,
selling and marketing merchandise, can have a hard time detaching from
material things because they are always surrounded by the newest and best.
There is beauty and art in many things, but consider this: you don¹t have to
own them all to appreciate them. Eckhart Tolle once suggested to Oprah
Winfrey that she not buy everything she likes or wants -- just savor it for
the moment in the store.


5. Consider experiences rather than things.

On the whole, experiential purchases provide far more pleasure than material
purchases. The memory of experiences improves with time, but material
purchases are harder to think about abstractly. Experiences also encourage
social relationships which provide long-lasting happiness. If you are
itching to spend, spend on a great experience with someone you enjoy.


6. When you think about your things or want to purchase something new,
consider these parameters:

- It brings beauty into your life and stirs your soul.

- It supports a passion or hobby.

- It helps bring family and friends together in a creative, meaningful way.

- It educates and enlightens.

- It makes life profoundly simpler so that you can pursue more meaningful
things.

- It helps someone who is sick or incapacitated.

- It is useful and necessary for day-to-day life.

- It¹s part of a meaningful tradition or a reminder of a special event.


7. You will know you are buying mindlessly if you:

- Buy on a whim.

- Buy to impress others.

- Buy because you feel you deserve it.

- Buy when you can¹t afford it.

- Buy just to update something that still works or looks fine.

- Buy because someone else has it and you want it too.

- Buy because the advertisement seduced you.

- Buy because you are bored.

- It¹s purchased because buying soothes you.


It is possible to balance a simpler life with owning and acquiring material
things. You can enjoy stuff without living the life of an aesthetic. The
exact balance you create is a matter of personal preference. But realize
there is a diminishing point of return with accumulation and materialism
that undermines authentic joy and fulfillment in life.

Apply mindful purging to your current lifestyle and belongings, as well as
thoughtful consideration to your future purchases. Carefully examine your
motivations for keeping possessions or buying new things. Once you allow
things to serve your soul, rather than you being a slave to your things,
your life will evolve into an artful harmony between what you have and who
you are.

Pantanjali's Yoga Sutras

2010-07-04T15:21:00.001-04:00

Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras

Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras is a text that covers many aspects of life, beginning with a code of conduct and ending with the goal of yoga, a vision of one’s true Self. The Pantajali’sYoga Sutras is probably the most authoritative text on yoga. It defines yoga as a focusing of the attention to whatever object is being contemplated to the exclusion of all others. Yoga isn’t only about postures, or meditation, it is a way of life, or religion. In this influencing scripture there are eight steps to awakening or enlightenment through yoga. These eight astanga or limbs of yoga are: yamas, niyamas, asanas, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, and samadhi.

The yamas consist of lessons in moral and social conduct in our environment. It teaches us to restrain from lying, stealing, and greed. Non-violence and consideration toward all living things is the key. Communication with sensitivity towards others and moderation in all things we do is revered.

The niyama focuses on attitudes towards ourselves: compromising, cleanliness, serenity, devotion, and asceticism. One should study and reverence to a higher intelligence. There is an acceptance of our limitations in relation to God. It is key to have removed the impurities from the mind and body.

In the asanas, one focuses on posture practice, positioning the body while incorporating the breath to achieve a greater awareness in the mind. One is alert and relaxed without tension, while observing the reactions of the body and breath to various postures. This minimizes the effect of the external influences on the body, such as diet and climate.

Pranayama, or the restraint and control of the breath, helps with concentration, energizing and balancing of the mind and body.

Pratyahara is the relaxation of the senses, where no distractions actually activate the mind.

Dharana, or concentration, is the ability to direct the mind toward a chosen object and focus in on it alone.

Dhyana, or meditation, is the ability to develop focused interactions with what we seek to understand.

Lastly, but most importantly, Samadhi is the ultimate state of Self-realization, or union with the Source.

Yoga for Tennis Players

2010-05-31T16:36:00.001-04:00

Yoga and Sports: Tennis

Tennis requires cat-like reflexes with short bursts of strength. These short movements do not allow the muscles to extend their full length. When muscles are strenuously worked they become tight and can lose their elasticity unless properly stretched. Yoga exercises can increase the body's range of motion. The lack of movement because of inflexibility binds the joints. Without the elasticity of the muscles, I think an athlete can be a prisoner within his own body.

Using yoga techniques makes it possible to retrain the muscles. Most tennis athletes play in a constant state of muscle tension. Yoga trains the body to relax muscle tension. Learning to begin your game in a relaxed state could mean gaining an extra step on the ball.

When in a ready position muscles are contracted and ready for action. To move, muscles must be relaxed and then contracted again to spring in any direction. By retraining the muscles you begin from a relaxed position, giving a quickened reaction time.

Yoga breathing exercises can help improve endurance and stamina. When exerting in sports or exercise we often hold the breath as a way to create strength. Yoga trains the body to create strength through breathing control. Holding the breath at points of exertion takes a great deal of energy that could be used during long sets or matches.

Learning the correct way while doing a yoga pose is simple. Exhale during the execution of a pose until you feel the muscles' full length of stretch (maximum resistance). Never hold your breath. Breathe normally and listen to the body. Hold for 30 seconds, then release the pose slowly. By constant practice of yoga poses you'll soon apply breathing techniques in everyday routines.

A simple spine twist is excellent for rotational sports. It can help increase needed flexibility of the shoulders and back and hips. Remember to apply the breathing technique to this pose.

Begin the spine twist by sitting on the floor with both legs straight out in front of you. Keeping the spine straight, bend the left leg placing the left foot on the outside of the right knee. Now, place the left hand on the floor behind you with your arm straight and the right elbow bent. Positioned on the outside of the left thigh place the right hand on the left hip.

Slowly exhale while turning the head and upper body to the left, looking over the left shoulder. Pressure from the right arm should keep the left leg stationary while pressure from the left arm and torso gives you the twist. Stronger use of both arms increases the twist. Hold this pose for 30 seconds and repeat twist on the opposite side.

A total body conditioning and flexibility routine is essential for the avid tennis player. Yoga techniques could be the edge you need in developing your game.

Yoga & Fitness

2010-05-18T12:41:00.000-04:00

By Kerry-Lee Jesson

Yoga can both prevent disease and help you recover from it.

If you are a passionate yoga practitioner, you’ve probably noticed the ways yoga works – maybe you are sleeping better or getting fewer colds or just feeling more relaxed and at ease. Western Science is starting to provide some concrete clues as to how yoga works to improve health, heal aches and pains, and keep sickness at bay.

Improved flexibility is one of the first and most obvious benefits of yoga. It is no coincidence that with practice aches and pains starts to disappear. Tight hips can strain the knee joint due to improper alignment of the thigh and shinbones. Tight hamstrings can lead to a flattening of the lumbar spine, which can cause back pain. And inflexibility in muscles and connective tissue, such as fascia and ligaments, can cause poor posture.

Strong muscles do more than just look good! When you build strength with flexibility, you protect the body from conditions such as arthritis and back pain, and help prevent falls in elderly people.

Poor posture can cause back, neck and other muscle and joint problems, which causes pain and degenerative arthritis of the spine. The head is like a big bowling ball, round and heavy and when it is balanced directly over an erect spine, it takes much less work for your back and neck muscles to support it.

Yoga practise takes your joints through a full range of motion, which lubricate the cartilage with fresh nutrients only when its fluid is squeezed out and a new supply can be soaked up. Without proper sustenance, neglected areas of cartilage eventually wear out and exposes the underlying bones like worn out brake pads.

Your spinal disks crave movement – they are the shock absorbers between your vertebrae that can herniated and compress nerves. If you practise a well balanced routine of asanas with plenty of backbends, forward bends and twists, you will keep your disks supple.

Many postures in yoga require that you lift your own weight, which strengthens bones and help ward off osteoarthritis. Yoga also reduces the stress hormone cortisol in the body , which in turn helps keep calcium in the bones.

Yoga gets more oxygen to your cells through its ability to get your blood flowing through your body – especially your hands and feet. Twists wring out venous blood from the internal organs and allow oxygenated blood to flow in once the twist is released. Inverted poses encourage venous blood from the legs and pelvis to flow back to the heart, where it can be pumped to the lungs to be freshly oxygenated. Yoga increases the haemoglobin and red blood cells, which carry oxygen to the tissues. Yoga also thins the blood and makes the platelets less sticky and cuts the level of clot promoting proteins in the blood. This results in lowered risk of heart attack and strokes.

Contracting and stretching muscles, moving organs around and coming in and out of yoga postures helps with lymph drainage. This helps the lymph system fight infection, destroy cancerous cells and disposes of waste products of cellular functioning.

Yoga practice lowers the resting heart; increases endurance and improves your maximum uptake of oxygen during exercise.

Consistent yoga practice improves depression and leads to increased serotonin levels and a decrease in monoamine oxidase (an enzyme that breaks down neurotransmitters) and cortisol.

Regular yoga practice gets you moving and burns calories, and the spiritual and emotional dimensions of your practice may encourage you to address any eating and weight problems on a deeper level. Yoga inspires you to be a more conscious eater.

Yoga lowers blood sugar and LDL (bad) cholesterol and boosts HDL (good cholesterol). This occurs due to : lowering cortisol and adrenaline levels, encouraging weight loss and improving sensitivity to the effects of insulin. Get your blood sugar levels down, and you decrease the risk of diabetic complications such as heart attack, kidney failure and blindness.

Stimulation is good, but too much of it taxes the nervous systems (central and peripheral). Yoga provides relief from the hustle and bustle of modern life. Restorative yoga, guided relaxation encourages a turning in of the senses, which provides down time for the nervous system.

Ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, constipation – all can be exacerbated by stress. So if you stress less – you will suffer less! Yoga relieves constipation and theoretically reduces the risk of colon cancer, because moving the body facilitates more rapid transport of food and waste products through the bowels.

Yoga quells the fluctuations of the mind – it slows down the mental loops of frustration, regret, anger, fear, and desires that cause stress. And since stress is linked to so many health problems – from migraines to insomnia, lupus, MS, eczema, high blood pressure and heart attacks – if you learn to quiet your mind, you will be likely to live a longer healthier life. Yoga encourages you to experience feelings of gratitude, empathy, and forgiveness, as well as a sense that you are part of something bigger.

If your medicine cabinet looks like a pharmacy, maybe its time to try yoga – you will save money and are less likely to suffer the side effects and risks of dangerous drug interactions!

Yoga and meditation build awareness. Chronic anger and hostility are as strongly linked to heart attacks as are smoking, diabetes and elevated cholesterol. Yoga appears to reduce anger by increasing feelings of compassion and interconnection and by calming the nervous system and mind. It also increases your ability to step back from the drama of your own life, to remain steady in the face of bad news or unsettling events. You can still react quickly when you need to – and there is evidence that yoga speeds up reaction time- but you can take that split second to choose a more thoughtful approach, reducing suffering from yourself and others.

A good teacher can do wonders for your health. Exceptional ones do more than guide you through your postures. They can adjust your posture, gauge when you can go deeper in poses or back off, deliver hard truths with compassion, help you relax and enhance and personalise your practice.

A respectful relationship with your teacher goes a long way in promoting your health.

Love may not conquer all, but it certainly can aid in healing. Cultivating the emotional support of friends, family and community has been demonstrated repeatedly to improve health and healing.

A regular yoga practice helps develop friendliness, compassion and greater equanimity.

Yoga for Veterans is Back in the News...

2010-04-27T13:15:00.001-04:00

Yoga for Veterans is Back in the News...

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Lunchtime Yoga

2010-04-19T09:59:00.001-04:00

Ten Minute Yoga Plan to Pep Up

Whether you might be staying home with a new baby or working too many hours at the office, anytime is a good time for yoga. You can do yoga stretches and postures in bed or even while driving to work.

Hundreds of fitness seekers use their lunch hour to squeeze in exercise and take off extra pounds.

I occasionally use my lunch hour for Yoga, said John Ray White, 35, who works at the Arkansas attorney general's office. Downward facing dog and sun salutation are two of the postures he practices every day.

Practicing yoga in the middle of day some people think is the break that they need to face the afternoon, said Ray.

Lunch-hour fitness routines become more popular in warm weather.

Kick Back Log-on Pose

Interlace your fingers behind your head. Relax your elbows and shoulders. Smile, breathe and stretch your elbows back. Let the tightness release slowly.

E-mail Meditation

While reading your e-mail, remember to breathe slowly and focus your attention on your breath. Make the out-breath two times longer than the in-breath. This will immediately calm you.

Photocopier Stretch

Place your hands on the edge of the copier. Stand back with feet apart. Drop your head and chest. Breathe and relax your shoulders.

Close-the-deal Warrior Pose

Raise your arms to the side with fingers pointed. Take a big step to the side, with your right foot out and knee bent, your left foot planted, left leg straight. Keep the upper body straight and strong, shoulders relaxed. Relax into the stretch -- don't hold your breath. Return to a standing position, switch sides and repeat.

Yoga's Relationship to Children's Health

2010-04-05T17:10:00.000-04:00

By Bobbi-O

Yoga and it’s relation to children’s health is as follows: with all kinds of computer games, and many other electronic games in the market, kids these days don’t exercise that much anymore, and have very poor diets. Add this to the stress they get from school and how they go home after school and become couch potatoes. We have kids who slowly lose their flexibility, with no desire to leave their comfort zones; their homes. Kids slowly have lost flexibility because of all the sitting and no physical activities or exercise. Having stiff muscles can lead to injuries and other muscle pains.

Yoga for kids is an excellent alternative since it will help them increase their flexibilities. Yoga for kids is different from yoga for adults. Instructors would create a story based on the animals or a situation and incorporate yoga into it. Let’s say you pose like a frog, a snake, a cat or even like a tree. The kids don’t only get to do those poses but they’re also asked to imagine what it feels like to be like those great animals. They connect more to nature and divert their attention away from all the stress that they deal with everyday. As well as using their imaginations and creativity. In addition, they can easily adapt and cope with stressors. Let’s take having an exam as an example or even being harassed by other kids. The child may use meditation or breathing techniques to help him/her calm down and focus.

In yoga, the child is given different postures and told to breathe in a certain way. The child learns how to control him/herself to be able to achieve these techniques. They are their own masters and they learn more about themselves at a very young age. In addition, if they have that “I can do it” attitude then they will realize that when they learn them, they can control themselves, they can reach their dreams. Their self esteem improves and their mind set is in a positive mode making them feel good about themselves.

Yoga is proven to improve self-esteem, physical and mental health and grade point averages among children. In a Gaiam-funded study of kindergarten through 8th-grade students in an inner-city school, researchers from CSU examined the correlation between yoga and academic performance, discipline, attendance and self-esteem. The 2003 study showed a 20 percent increase in students who felt good about themselves — and a 6 percent increase in classroom discipline scores, indicating that students who had high participation in yoga class also had fewer referrals or discipline problems. In addition, while the increase in average GPA was not provided, the study showed a “statistically significant” link between yoga participation and better grades.

Yoga for kids is about having fun and not about competing with others, unlike soccer or football. It’s not about whether you are right or wrong in doing a pose. It’s about learning about yourself and how far you can take yourself.

Yoga develops physical fitness; it develops strength, flexibility and concentration, confidence, and movements that develop eye-hand coordination and motor skills.

Age appropriate yoga poses are vital, as well as breathing techniques, meditation, and relaxation will offer a child insight and knowledge to the physical and philosophical traditions of yoga. Kids learn that Yoga leads to creativity, self-acceptance, how to follow directions, interpersonal skills, and intrapersonal, positive thinking, personal & environmental awareness and a pocket full of fun.

Yoga offers many possibilities to exchange wisdom, share good times, and lay the foundation for a lifelong practice that will continue to deepen.

A study conducted by Dr. Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. Gardner, an author and professor of education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, describes eight intelligences innate in all of us—linguistic, logical, visual, musical, kinesthetic, naturalistic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal—and emphasizes that children should be given the opportunity to develop and embody a Yoga can help counter all pressures. When children learn techniques for self-health, relaxation, and inner fulfillment, they can cope with life’s challenges with a little more strength. Yoga at an early age encourages self-esteem and body awareness with a physical activity that’s noncompetitive.

University of Michigan pediatrician Dolores Mendelow says yoga, if done properly, is a suitable alternative to tumbling and team sports for getting stressed-out, sedentary children socializing, exercising and building discipline.

“It requires practice, patience and accepting of self-limitations,” she said.

A preliminary study of pediatric health benefits of yoga, published in 2008, finds motor skills and concentration improvements, on top of better posture and breathing.

At Providence Hospital, yoga is integrated into strength-building exercises for children with Down syndrome and cerebral palsy, who often lack muscle tone and breathe weakly.

“The younger kids, with most yoga poses, we try to find a name that relates to the pose to make it fun,” she said.

Yoga stretching and body alignment can create a better athlete, said Michigan State University strength coach Mike Vorkapich. Players use back and arm movements to improve strokes and pitches, he said.

Listening improves too, said Jennifer Hayes, an MSU yoga teacher. She sometimes teaches without demonstrating postures. She hears this all the time: “Wow, this is harder than I thought.”

Inconclusion,Yoga incorporates storytelling, games, music, language, and other arts that engage the “whole child.” Yoga embraces ecology, anatomy, nutrition, and life lessons that echo yogic principles of interdependence, oneness, and lots of fun. Most of all, engages the entire mind, body, and spirit in a way that honors the child’s way of learning.

Yogis have always lived close to the natural world and used animals and plants for inspiration. When children imitate the movements and sounds of nature, they have a chance to get inside another being and imagine taking on its qualities. The physical movements introduce kids to yoga’s true meaning: union, expression, and honor for oneself and one’s part in the world. When they stretch like a dog, or balance like a tree, roar like a lion, or stand strong like a mountain, they are making a connection between the macrocosm of their environment and the microcosm of their bodies. The importance of reverence for all life and the principle of interdependence will become transparent.

Doing yoga, children exercise, play, and use their imagination; they connect more deeply with the inner self, and develop an intimate relationship with the nature and the world that surrounds them. Yoga brings that marvelous inner light that all children have out to a visible surface. Children need to discover the world on their own. There is no doubt that Yoga and it’s relation to health is boundless world of wonder and exploration. Yoga balances, harmonizes, purifies and strengthens the body, mind and soul of the practitioner. It shows the way to perfect health, perfect mind control and perfect peace of one’s self. If you start at an early age, you are far beyond years for a perfect blue print of a lifetime of good health.

What better gift to give a child, the greatest gift, is the one that I can give to a child, YOGA.

Bobbi-O has created a quiz on line for kids to take as well as adults.

And you thought yoga was just stretching...

2010-04-01T19:10:00.004-04:00

I was asked the other day, "Why don't you just join a gym"? My answer was that along with the occasional walk outdoors, yoga is all that I need. His response was predictable: “Yoga…isn’t that just stretching?”

I smirked at the familiarity of the question and proceeded to explain to him the theme of this article. As I told him and for those who may not know otherwise: No, Yoga is way more than just stretching or getting into supposedly awkward looking poses and positions.

It is a combination of stretching, breathing exercises, meditation and perhaps the most overlooked limb, adherence to a proper diet.

The word yoga, from the Sanskrit word yuj means to yoke or bind and is often interpreted as a "union" or a method of discipline. Its ultimate goal is the union of man with God or the universe in one breath. Furthermore, it aims to liberate the spirit as the mind and spirit are equally involved in its practice.

Yoga is indeed the oldest existing physical-culture system in the world. Besides being a systematic and scientifically proven path to attaining physical fitness, it delays aging, rejuvenates and improves one’s appearance, maintains suppleness and increases vitality and the creative part of life.

With its core warm-up exercises known as the Sun Salutations, the inversion poses, forward and backward bending poses, balancing exercises for the arms and building focus, the average practitioner will attest to the fact that for attaining fitness, Yoga can stand its own.

Think Yoga can’t help with building strength? Think again. I challenge the most adept body-builder to hold the simple yet powerful peacock-pose for 90 seconds straight.

Yoga also offers unique breathing exercises which are wonderful for patients with respiratory disorders and even singers and public speakers, moreover with its unique relaxation pose, often times practiced during and after its execution, Yoga offers a systematic means of deeply relaxing the entire body perhaps the way no other exercise can. (Keep in mind of course that several of the poses give a deep body massage not unlike the ones received in salons…just thought I should throw that in.)

With countless classes being offered for all ages, levels of fitness and experience, I suggest you give it a trial and see for yourself what it can do.

One thing I promise you is this; you will walk out of your class and nod in agreement that indeed: “yoga is way more than just stretching.” It is THE exercise.

12 Healthy Living Tips to Keep that Post Yogic Glow

2010-03-29T16:39:00.002-04:00

As a yoga teacher, many of my yoga students ask what they can do on a daily basis to cultivate and deepen their understanding of living a healthier yogic lifestyle.

Here, in no particular order are ten habits to adopt on a daily basis to keep you in the flow and maintain your inner yoga glow.

Top Ten Healthy Living Tips

1. As you wake up in the morning, spend the first few minutes in silence and quiet reflection. Quietly observe how you feel and make a conscious effort to gently stretch yourself awake and enjoy the feeling of being alive.

2. Take pleasure in the simple things in life - for instance, notice any random acts of kindness in yourself and others.

3. When you eat take a few moments to give thanks for your food, to acknowledge your role in the whole food cycle process and to eat with a sense of reverence and respect for your food.

4. Acknowledge others, take time to say please and thank you, especially thank you, at every opportunity you can.

5. Be genuine and thoughtful in the way you speak and listen. Give friends and family the space to talk and share what's on their hearts, without imposing your opinions and comments.

6. Do some gentle yoga stretches every day. Spend 5 - 20 minutes practicing your favourite postures. Choose a time that suits you, maybe an early morning before you go to work sequence or a more calming routine before you go to bed.

7. Breathe. During your day, take time to take a break and breathe. A few rounds of deep yogic breathing will instantly revive and lift your spirits.

8. See the beauty and good in all situations. Sometimes life gets you down and you find it hard to feel upbeat and cheerful. That's OK, just hold in your heart the truth that there is always beauty to be found in any situation. The saying every cloud has a silver lining is true.

9. Be spontaneous but not reckless, just allow yourself the space and time to follow your intuition and see where it leads. If the time isn't right for you to jump up and down in puddles, then just close your eyes and imagine yourself doing it instead.

10. Keep your heart open to love. Life has a way of shutting you down, or making you close your heart and put the thorns up. You only have one life, so take a chance on love.

11. Be creative. What childhood passion have you let go of? Reclaim your childhood hobbies and who knows, you could even make it a business opportunity.

12. Give yourself a hand and mini facial massage before going to bed. Enjoy the sense of calm and relief as you massage your daily cares away and invite calm and tranquillity into your sleep.

As you can see, there are numerous ways in which you can recapture and retain that post yogic bliss in your everyday life. Start small, maybe just pick two or three of the above healthy living tips and see what a difference it makes to your sense of well being and vitality.

Blessings From Ntathu Allen, Yoga and Meditation Teacher.

Welcome to Yoga Garden's Blog!

2010-03-27T23:16:00.002-04:00

Namaste. We look forward to posting hot yoga topics, educational articles, training videos, interviews and more. This is not a venue to promote our studio - that is what our website is for! - but to educate our students and to provide a forum for all of us to share our views, comments, requests, and to promote a sense of community. We hope to hear you here soon! Om Shanti Om.