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Seasonal Yoga Practice - Autumn After the autumn equinox, the days get shorter and the yin (or tamasic) cycle begins. It is a good time for inspirational ideas and developing the penetrating insights of mindfulness. In the autumn, it is important to build stamina and balance the body/mind with right living and actions that support your evolution. This practice focuses on cleansing and strengthening the lungs and large intestines, building stamina with the standing poses and releasing psychic blocks to living in the flow of letting go and letting come. • Learn the mechanics of the warrior poses to build strength and stamina. • Learn how to stimulate the organs of elimination (the lungs, skin and large intestine) to release toxins and environmental pollutants. • Practice pranayama techniques to stimulate the sympathetic nervous system for more energy. • Release physical armoring in the muscles of the chest and back that creates chronic patterns of holding and suppresses feelings and breath. A constant sense of urgency, wanting more and more, the tendency to hold on or hold in and resisting change are all lung/large intestine issues. Learning to find center, to come into relationship with the whole and be calmly and fully present in the moment are the benefits the fall practice has to offer. |
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Seasonal Yoga Workshop: The Fall Practice With Elizabeth Andes-Bell Saturday, November 13th 3:30–6:00PM Namaste Yoga Center 371 Amsterdam Avenue (between 77th and 78th Sts.) New York, New York 212.580.1778 $30 or 2 punches off your class card Reserve your space now! |
Healing Tonics- Root Teas
In autumn, a plant’s energy moves down into the roots. The life force goes within. We become less active and begin to rebuild and restore. Drinking root teas is a wonderful way to cleanse toxins and build stamina.Burdock Root Tea Simmer Burdock root in water for 20 minutes before drinking. It is a tonic that helps clear the skin and the lungs. Balance burdock tea with extra water as it can act as a diuretic. Ginger Root Tea Slice ginger root and simmer in water for 20 minutes. Drink a cup and take a nap when you feel a cold coming on. It will increase body heat and clear the lungs. 
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The Four Characteristics of Healthy People
We all experience negative emotions but, how fast do we recover from them? How quickly can we return to a state of equilibrium and spend most of our time emotionally hardy? Healthy people share four life attitudes that contribute to create a state of emotional hardiness. This seems to vaccinate them against the vicissitudes of life. They go with the flow and flow with the flaws, keeping an eye on the half-full cup. They know their actions are in service of a greater plan. These four characteristics are commitment, control, challenge and connection.
Commitment: They are excited by what they do. They walk their walk. They take a stand for their values.
Control: They focus on mastery, not helplessness. They know they have control over many life circumstances and no control over others and, they have the wisdom to know the difference.Challenge: They see problems as challenges instead of threats and they are optimistic about finding solutions. Connection: They have deeply satisfying relationships with themselves, their partners, family members, friends, social groups and a higher power. Excerpt from Creating a Whole Life, an Interactive Workbook by Elizabeth Andes-Bell |
Asana of the Month – Virabhadrasana (the warrior pose)
This is an intense pose that builds strength, develops stamina and cleanses and charges the lungs and large intestines. It requires a 90-degree bend in the front leg, rotating the hips so that the pubis moves to the front, a strong back leg and the ability to rotate and plant the back foot. Align the ears with the arms to open the lungs and align the thyroid and pituitary glands. Spin open the arm pits; spin in the legs and feet; with Ujjayi breath supporting you rather than rigid muscle. The task of the warrior is to remain clear and centered in the present moment, not anticipating the future nor reviewing the past. That keeps one open to respond to what is arising with appropriate rather than habitual action. As lung capacity increases, so do feelings. Suppression of respiration is a primary defense against emotions like anger, fear and grief. The price we pay for not feeling is diminished energy for life. The archetype of the warrior is one who feels compassion, confusion, conviction and pain and acts deliberately, in the service of a greater goal than personal gain. Repetition of the warrior poses in the Sun Salutations challenges us to continually find the pose’s center. Lunging too far forward in anticipation makes us less stable. Unbending the front leg when lifting the arms takes us back into holding patterns that tighten the kidneys, quadriceps and shoulders. To find center each time requires the ability to suspend what you know, to tolerate the momentary disorientation and to concentrate your energies to one pointed focus upon the center, the source from which all arises. This quote from spiritual teacher, Andrew Cohen, epitomizes the energetic opportunity in the Fall, the goal of the Fall practice, in general, and of the warrior poses, in particular. READY TO LIVE None of us can really know when our time will come. But when that time does come, when we have let go of this body, will we be ready? Will we be ready to let go free and fearlessly? Or will we leave this life grasping to hold on to unfulfilled desires and fears that have never been faced? It all depends on how we are living right here, right now, in this very moment. We are never going to be able to die fearlessly if we can’t live fearlessly. Almost everyday, we have opportunities to embrace life fully, to be authentic and free from pretense, to do the right thing for the right reasons and to rise to the highest. But do we take these opportunities? Usually not, because we think we still have time. Unfortunately, most of us have to suffer a great deal before it begins to dawn on us that we really don’t have time, and the most important thing is that we give everything right now. Imagine that we knew we were going to die tomorrow. Perhaps then we would recognize that every second counts. To be ready to die, we have to be ready to live-to live with such care, humility, passion and fearlessness that the future disappears in the fullness of the eternal present. Only then will the precious time we have in this human form be able to make a real difference in this world. |
Yoga and Pregnancy
By Elizabeth MacLellan La Mura A yoga practice helps you to focus on your pregnancy in a deeper way. Even if you have never practiced yoga before, pregnancy is a wonderful time to begin. The mothers-to-be will prepare themselves physically, mentally and spiritually for the birth day. Through postures and breathing techniques expectant mothers learn how to align and open their bodies, so that they naturally know what to do when presented with the challenges of contractions and ultimately the birth process. This is a time to guide your body, thoughts and emotions. It is like preparing to run a marathon. My own delivery started out great. I walked into the hospital 100% dilated and ready to push. The nurse said that I would have this baby in fifteen minutes, so there was no time for an epidural. Two hours and a lot of pushing later, I was told that my pubic bone was shaped in such a way that my daughter was hitting her head against it and could not maneuver towards the birth canal. With the help of my husband, an understanding nurse and a patient doctor, I went through some yoga asana and breathing techniques and was able to shift Gabrielle in the womb. The result was a vaginal birth. After the birth I asked the nurse if we had another doctor, would Gabrielle have been a c-section. She said, with any other doctor, yes. My experience was right for me; it doesn’t mean every birth should be vaginal. Yoga will teach you to feel what is right for you with the help of some experts. Elizabeth has been teaching yoga for almost 10 years. She studied Advanced Teacher Training with Erich Schiffmann, Pre-Natal Training with Rocki Graham and received primary certification in Los Angeles at the Center for Yoga. Liz holds a BA in Psychology from Marymount Manhattan College and an MFA from Kent State University. She has taught extensively in the LA area and in New York. We are pleased to have her teaching Hatha and Pre-Natal Yoga at Namaste. |
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