Credit: Lululemon Athletica

Love is in the air this month. And if it’s not, we need to ask ourselves, ‘Why not?” There have been many a February in my life where I did not have a significant other and often felt lacking and inferior in the days leading up to Valentine’s Day. What I discovered is that sense of lack was usually due to missing self love. I had not learned to love myself, so how could I expect to someone else to love me?

Now, even though I am married to one of the best men in the world, self-love is still the most important love for me during February and every other month of the year. I have found that loving myself often leads to something greater. It allows me to love others and to share myself with not only my significant other and family members, but members of my greater community.

In honor of the month of love, iHanuman offers the members of our community a free heart meditation from one of the most well-loved teachers in the world, Erich Schiffmann. This meditation session comes from a recently released workshop recorded in Yellow Springs, Ohio. We hope you will practice this meditation, get in touch with your true self and share the free video with your friends.

We hope you will continue your commitment to yourself and practice yoga more fully this month so you can bring your love and light into the world.

What other ways will you Love Yourself this month?

Contact Us or Leave a Comment HERE on Our website.

We LOVE to hear from you.

“Thank YOU for helping to build the bridge with iHanuman.”

Namaste,
Sara Miles Pope Agelasto
Managing Editor and Co-Founder, iHanuman.com

New Feature: Heart Meditation and New Video Release from Erich Schiffmann
New Featured Teacher: Evan Harris, Co- Owner Ashtanga Yoga Shala
Upcoming Releases: Free Audio and Video with Eoin Finn, John Schumacher, Kate Hallahan and More!

In yoga or the Hindu Tradition often associated with yoga, one would invoke the Elephant God, Ganesh. Ganesh is the God of Wisdom. He is the remover of obstacles and brings the confidence and strength needed to embark on a new endeavor. ( For a short lesson on how to chant a meditation in honor of the God Ganesh, watch this video from one of our favorite yogis, MC Yogi. )

And then be inspired by some classical Indian Tabla Music and Teachings with a free podcast for this months’ feature.

Looking for a way to start the new year off right?

Join me for 90 days of yoga. Starting on the winter solstice and for the next 90 days until the Spring Equinox, we will be sharing with you some sequences, teachings and downloads to inspire your yoga practice into the new year.

Try iHanuman Yoga Teacher, John Schumacher’s, Live Yoga Class recordings, from Fall 2010.

Join iHanuman with a Teacher Page for the New Year and share your experiences with our growing community of teachers and students.

What are some of the ways you will inspire and nourish your yoga practice in 2011?

Contact Us or Leave a Comment on Our website.

We LOVE to hear from you.

“Thank YOU for helping to build the bridge with iHanuman.”

Namaste,
Sara Miles Pope Agelasto
Managing Editor and Co-Founder, iHanuman.com

New Feature: The Yoga of Sound with Loren Oppenheimer – Classical Indian Tabla Player

New Audio Downloads: John Schumacher’s Live Classes Fall 2010 are Now Available!

Coming Soon: Live Video Workshop with Erich Schiffmann

Open the heart and stretch the belly with Bhujangasana or Cobra Pose. Back bends stimulate the Kidney Energy and invigorate the heart. Back bends can counteract the effects of depression. During the winter, many people experience Seasonal Affective Disorder, SAD, because of the decrease in light. Back bends, when practiced correctly, elevate our mood. This gentle back bend improves digestion and creates flexibility in the spine. Shiva Rea offers a wonderful review of this beginning back bend in her Yoga Journal Basics column, reminding us to extend through and use the strength in the legs and the back, instead of exerting ourselves to gain height and risk over-arching in the cervical spine.

Here is a video created by Yoga Vidya which shows an introduction to several Bhujangasana Variations .

Below are some of our favorite photographs of this pose. Please click on the photos to give credit to the photographers. For further exploration of Cobra Pose as well as other backbends, you may consider downloading Erich Schiffmann’s video, Backbends.

Get grounded with your earth energy this month. Celebrate practices that honor the Earth and each one of us as inhabitants and caretakers of the Earth. Plant your feet on the earth, perhaps even a little wider than usual, and feel the energy of this planet as it moves through your soul.

Spiritually, we can practice santosha or contentment, being happy with what is. Not allowing our desire for more cause us to take more than we need. Be mindful of your impact on the earth and enjoy life’s simple pleasures. Dance with the song of the birds and breathe in deeply the clean spring air.

This month we are honored to offer you an interview with Ojai, California Yogini, Heather Tiddens. Next month look out for new live yoga classes with Stephanie Keach and John Schumacher. We hope you enjoy!

Thank you for helping to build the bridge with iHanuman!

Namaste,
The iHanuman Family

• New Feature: Interview with Heather Tiddens
• New Audio Downloads: Live Classes with Erich Schiffmann
• Karma Collection is Available!

The season of Spring represents the Wood Element and we are reminded with each new conscious breath; each inhalation brings a new earthy scent. If you pause, you can literally feel the earth moving beneath your feet and all around you. Buds and shoots push themselves from the ground in anticipation of the warmth and sunlight to come.

Spring brings forth a bounty of green leafy vegetables – cleansing and rich in nutrients providing us with exactly what we need after a long cold winter. The body can also feel stiff so eat lightly and cleanse the body from the heavier foods of winter. Practice pranayama and gentle twists to wake the body from its winter hibernation. Be kind to yourself and to your body.

Spiritually we can practice saucha or cleanliness, purifying the body, the mind and our environment. Clearing the dead of winter from the newness of spring.

This month we are honored to offer you an interview with Ojai, California Yogini, Kira Ryder, New Live Yoga Classes with Erich Schiffmann and John Schumacher’s Level 1 Pranayama Classes. We hope you enjoy!

Thank you for helping to build the bridge with iHanuman!

Namaste,
The iHanuman Family

• New Feature: Interview with Kyra Ryder
• New Audio Downloads: Live Yoga Classes with Erich Schiffmann
• Karma Collection is Available for Download!

Sorry to sound alarmist, just trying to get your attention! It seems to be what the earth is trying to tell us this month. Wake up and bloom, flowers! Wake up and smell the flowers, people. Just wake up! There is much to celebrate in May.

May Day marks the halfway point between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. Already? May Day is International Worker’s Day. May is when we celebrate our mothers. And The National Institutes of Health is celebrating Yoga this month with Yoga Week!

With these thoughts in mind, it seems like a grand occasion to let your spirits soar with the joy of spring approaching summer. Take your hats off to all of the worker bees, like Hanuman, who humbly make all of our lives more enjoyable. And give thanks for all of the women in our lives who love us.

In this issue, we want to share with you a new feature with Erich Schiffman and his thoughts on Technology, Yoga and Consciousness. We have new teachers in the community this month. And iHanuman will be covering the National Institutes of Health Yoga Week! Stay tuned for more updates from this incredible event with talks from teachers like Alan Finger, John Schumacher and Dr.Timothy McCall, Author of Yoga As Medicine!

Thanks for helping to build the bridge with iHanuman.
Namaste,

The iHanuman Family

• New Feature: Erich Schiffmann on Yoga, Technology, and Consciousness
• New Featured Teacher: Tahnee Fournier
• New Podcast: Interview with Chandra Om