Shazzam! Fit Yoga magazine's August 2008 issue has an article on cultivating a freeform yoga practice authored by yours truly. Check it out! If nothing else, it has one of the sweetest photos ever of iHanuman teacher Erich Schiffmann.
Nadi Shodhana Pranayama
alternate-nostril-breathing
This profound technique creates a balance between the right and left sides of the brain.
The right nostril governs the sympathetic nervous system; it is related to teh mathematical, aanalytical, active, left side of the brain, harnessing Ha, or sun energy. The left nostril governs the parasympathetic nervous system, the creative, free-associative, passive side of the brain, ruled by Tha, or moon energy.
Use the heat of your attention to cleanse your consciousness: KRIYA YOGA
Kriya means "action", or "deed"; Kriya practice is the "divine action" of purifying your consciousness.
We are Pure Consciousness. But in the manifest world, as our consciousness mixes with the senses, it is influenced by the limits of those senses. The more the two mix, the more we begin to identify with and believe we are that limited perception of the world.
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Namaste
In Tantric philosophy, the gunas, rajas, tamas, and sattva are qualities of nature that come about as matter develops. They then go on to influence our entire lives. Each guna can be identified in us as a certain state of being. When one is rajasic, one tends to be activated, judgmental and heated. When tamasic one tends to be lethargic, depressed, and lacking in self-confidence. When sattvic one becomes balanced, understanding and compassionate.
When we arrived at our first stop in India, the doctor who oversees the Ayurvedic clinic and spa for the Chennai Taj Hotel was most excited to meet us. He was thrilled that I was a Western teacher who knew about things like Ayurvedic assessments, Marma Adi and more. He gave us a lecture on the importance of daily Abhyanga, including a mini-variation of the technique that's easier and more accessible for many of us. I was so taken with it I'm now incorporating it into the grounding practice after daily meditation.
Our retreat center is located in a small town in Maine. We are small and personalized.
1027 Crystal Road, PO Box 254, Island Falls, ME 04747 info@sewallhouse.com
Phone: 888-235-2395
John is featured in the Yoga Journal Asana Column When it came to the fitness benefits yoga can or can't provide, yoga teacher John Schumacher had heard it all. A student of B. K. S. Iyengar for 20 years and founder of the Unity Woods studios in the Washington, D.C. area, Schumacher was convinced yoga provides a complete fitness regime. But many people, even some of his own students, disagreed. Yoga might be good for flexibility or relaxation, they'd say, but to be truly fit, you had to combine it with an activity like running or weight lifting.
I have mentioned before that I lost my mother at an young age. It was a devastating time to lose her, but from my perspective, any time is devastating. In an ideal world, your mother is the one who is there to pick you up when you fall and tell you that everything is going to be all right. She is your biggest fan and she is always looking out for what is best for you. I know this is the ideal and even those of you whose mother is alive and well, did not have this experience. But what if we could turn this around and treat each other with the kindness of the archetypal mother?
