The holiday season is upon us and with that often comes stress and anxiety. So, if gift buying, holiday parties and baking holiday treats have you feeling stressed out, sluggish or just plain drained, rest assured you are not alone. Here are my 5 yoga tips to help relieve some of your holiday stress:

Breathe: This is the simplest and most effective way we can do to calm the nervous system is to breathe deeply with awareness. Sit tall or lie on your back. Close your eyes. Fill your belly with breath on your inhale and release all the air from your lungs on the exhale. Continue for 5-10 minutes resting your awareness solely on your breath and feeling the tension fall a way.

Practice gratitude: We have so many blessings in our lives, whether it’s the food on our plate, the roof over our head or sharing a laugh with a loved one, become aware of the abundance in your life by simply being aware. 

Remain dedicated to your yoga practice: It is in times of stress that our yoga practice holds the most importance. By dedicating time to yourself through your practice, you will begin to feel more calm and relaxed. Even a 15-minute home practice will help connect the body and mind, improving concentration and relieving stress. 

Have Fun: This may seem difficult, but have fun! Play games with your kids, play in the snow, sing Christmas songs out loud, watch “Home Alone” or any funny Christmas movie or cartoon. Finding playfulness in our daily activities helps us to not take ourselves too seriously. It’s hard to feel anxious, sad or angry when you are laughing, so even if it feels a bit fake at first, crack a smile and see what happens. 
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Cultivate compassion, forgiveness and peace: Easier said than done, right? Not necessarily. The key to cultivating happiness is forgiveness; forgiveness of others, forgiveness of self. Holding onto a grudge hurts you in the end. Forgiveness is a choice and it requires a lot of compassion that ultimately leads to peace and we can all use peace in our lives no matter what time of the year.

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Chair Pose, or Utkatasana is not just a beginner pose, but it is also part of the Sun Salutations and is often used as a transitional pose. It can also be practiced on its own to build strength and stamina throughout the whole body.

Utkatasana comes from the Sanskrit words utkata meaning powerful or fierce and asana meaning pose. Many yogis may skip this pose or they will not hold it for long because it can feels tiresome, and it is not the most “glamorous” of postures. However, practicing Chair Pose is good for you, not only because of its physical benefits, but because it advances your practice physically as well as, emotionally. 
 
Modifications & Variations
Utkatasana can be an excellent full-body strengthener when practiced correctly. It can take time to build enough strength to hold the pose for more than a breath or two. Take it slowly and be careful not to over-stress your knees or shoulders. To deepen or modify the pose, try these variations:

1. Women who are pregnant should stand with their feet as far apart as needed for balance.
2. If your arms are not yet strong enough to maintain an overhead hold, extend your arms forward at shoulder-height instead. Reach directly forward through your fingertips. Practice this way until you can straighten both arms and extend them overhead.
3. If you have shoulder pain or mobility issues, place your palms together in prayer position (as seen in the picture above). Press firmly across your palms and broaden across your collar bones.
4. For more of a challenge, lift onto the balls of your feet with your knees bent. Extend your arms straight forward and sit even lower toward your heels.
5. To increase thigh strength in this pose, place a yoga block between your upper thighs.

Tips:
Utkatasana can build a lot of strength and stamina throughout the body when it’s done with correct alignment:
Maintain a slight arch in your back.
Squeeze your thighs as close together as possible.
Bring your thighs as parallel to the floor as possible.
Draw your chest back and up, instead of reaching your torso forward.
Keep your weight evenly distributed in your heels. Shifting the weight forward can over-stress your knees..
Remember to breathe evenly throughout the pose! If your breath becomes strained, come out of the pose until you can breathe deeply again.

As a yoga practioner and teacher with a business based on health and wellness, you would think I’d have my personal wellness plan figured out all the time. But I’m human, and I often fall into the trap of wanting to achieve more, work harder, do more, etc.  And in my mind, I think that if I eat all the “right things” and do the “right practices”, that that’s enough. But the one thing I was not allowing myself to do was to actually receive the benefits of the foods and practices through rest. In our culture, most of us don’t know how to slow down because we are addicted to the busy cycle of always doing and not enough of just being. 
The body will often send signals that it’s time for us to slow down and that no "super-food" or supplement can remedy deep fatigue.  Just like you, I need to give myself permission to rest, and to rest deeply without the guilt that I should be “doing” something else. But slowing down when you’re in a cycle of always moving can be hard to do. That’s when I turn to a practice Yoga Nidra, a guided meditation that is essential for a culture that needs structure in order to feel at ease in slowing down. I usually start with 10 minutes, and opt for 30 days I schedule in this structured time to rest deeply. After a month of this, I slowly began to heal my adrenal fatigue and find a more balanced, sustained flow of energy. It’s an essential practice that I often do. Yoga Nidra is done with full consciousness and allows us to access layers of our subconscious mind with clarity and mindfulness. This allows for the release of negative thought patterns in the mind to unravel and dissolve.

So what IS Yoga Nidra? 
Nidra means sleep in Sanskrit. When following this meditation, it takes you past the dreaming stage and into a state of conscious deep sleep, where the brain waves function in theta state and healing of the nervous system, heart and mind take place. Because Yoga Nidra activates the Parasympathetic Nervous System, it also has profound effects on supporting digestion and countering stress-induced insomnia.  Through consciously relaxing the effort of body and mind, we learn to address stress in our waking states with more ease and direct the flow of energy more intentionally. On a deeper level, we use Sankalpa Shakti in this meditation to process and transform karma in our lives and manifest our deepest desires.

A regular practice can last anywhere from 10 minutes to 1 hour. It’s even said that one hour of Yoga Nidra is the equivalent of a full night’s sleep! The best time to practice this meditation is in the afternoon between lunch and dinner; although anytime you can set aside for this practice the benefits will be well received. So, what are you waiting for? Give Yoga Nidra a try and reap the wonderful benefits. Check out this awesome Yoga Nidra - Meditation & Guided Relaxation . It is a complete 16 minute training script that can help you relax deeply and touch a place of deep stillness, peace and insight within.

The word, Ayurveda, translates to “the science of life”. It is a holistic science over 5,000 years old that contains a profound body of knowledge used to understand ourselves within the laws of nature. It is considered to be the sister science of Yoga.
According to Ayurveda, each individual and all of nature is made up of a certain combination of the five fundamental elements: Space, Air, Fire, Water and Earth. These elements uniquely design each one of us, creating a distinct blueprint known as our Dosha. Knowing your Dosha will help you determine lifestyle choices and the nutritional needs that will benefit you most on the quest to create optimal wellness and beauty. There are 3 main Doshas: Vata, Pitta and Kapha. You can take a simple quiz or consult an ayurvedic practitioner to understand and know your Dosha.

How Ayurveda Can Help You Stay Healthy this Fall:
As much as we all enjoy summer, being out with family and friends, enjoying barbecues, summer parties and other outside activities, Fall has moved in bringing with it the promise of cooler temperatures. Its rhythms remind us that it’s time to turn inside, ruminate and nourish that inner light. When we can line up to naturally occurring rhythms, we’re less likely to get sick and develop disease.

Here are 5 simple and effective practices that can help you become in sync with the rhythm of Fall: 

1. Drink warm water with lemon first thing in the morning. The acidic qualities of lemon encourage regularity, which is crucial in keeping your digestive track free of toxic build-up. Ayurveda likes to keep things moving through the channels of the body. Lemons also hold vitamins and minerals that help release toxins in the digestive tract. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 a lemon into a cup of warm water.

2. Scrape your tongue. If you’ve never taken a peek at your tongue in the morning, check it out! Ayurveda teaches us that we can learn a lot about what’s going on in our bodies by simply noticing the characteristics of our tongue. In fact, it can inform us on how we want to start our day. A body with healthy organs and a clear digestive tract will show up pink. A body with clogged organs or undigested food from the night before will show up with a layer of fuzz, film, indentations from teeth, and/ or bumps (other than your taste buds). If your tongue has any of the latter qualities, then there are toxins lingering in your body. To clear them out you can try drinking detoxifying juice, go on a cleanse, or consult an Ayurvedic practitioner for an individualized plan. But first you want to scrape off these toxins from your tongue so you don’t re-ingest them into your system. Use a tongue scraper. You can find the tongue scrapers at most health food stores or online. Stainless steel are great because they don’t rust. Scrape the tongue gently, working from back to front. It will usually take between seven and 14 strokes to get it clean and clear (be sure not to scrape it too hard as not to make your taste buds bleed!)

3. Have a green smoothie for breakfast. There a many different recipes for green smoothies available online, but Ayurveda encourages a seasonal diet and ingredients that balance out the qualities already occurring in nature. Since it’s fall, nature brings out the dry, rough, light, cold, subtle & mobile qualities of life (Vata dosha). This means for optimal health we want to steer away from foods and activities that have these same qualities (the idea is that too much of a good thing leads to sickness and disease).

4. Add more sweet, sour and salty foods into your diet. Fall (Vata season) carries with it dry, rough, light, cold, subtle & mobile qualities. This means that to maintain a balance in our system we want to steer away from foods that also hold these same qualities. One way we can achieve balance in the Fall is by eating foods that ground, moisten, nurture and warm the body. Sweet, sour and salty tastes are the ideal. Here are some examples of foods to include in your meals: fresh sweet fruits like mango, coconut, berries and peaches; fresh sour fruits like cherries, plums, green grapes, lemon and limes; sweet veggies like beets, carrots (cooked), peas

5. Give yourself an oil massage. It nourishes the skin, relaxes the nervous system, removes impurities from the plasma blood & feeds the inner tissues of the body.

In the same way that a machine needs greasing, the body loves to be oiled for sheer pleasure as well as to protect it against the environment and over time. Here’s a list of oil that are best for each Dosha:
Vata: sesame oil, almond oil
Pitta: coconut oil, olive oil
Kapha: sunflower oil, grapeseed oil

Note: always use organic and cold-pressed oils when rubbing them directly onto your skin 

You may also want to warm the oil slightly prior to starting:
Put 1/8 – 1/4 cup of oil in a clear plastic squeeze bottle.
Put bottle in a cup of very hot water.
Let it sit for about 5 minutes or until warm.
Make sure you have a clean towel for drying off after your shower or bath.
Ayurvedic massage:
Use circular strokes over the joints and abdomen
Use up-and-down strokes over the limbs
When finished, leave the oil on for 15-30 minutes and follow with a hot shower or bath. The hot water opens up the pours and brings the oil into the deeper tissues of the body (lotion doesn’t nourish the deeper tissues, only the outer skin).

Add these few Ayurvedic rituals into your daily schedule to help you stay healthy throughout the Fall season. Enjoy!!

Practicing yoga is very beneficial for kids especially for those who are obese since it helps in reducing the fat without having any adverse effect on their energy levels or their memory power as some weight-loss supplements might do. Yoga is also beneficial for autistic children as it helps them in accepting and expressing their feelings properly.

The number 108 is considered a sacred number not only in Yoga but in most ancient religions such as Jainism, Islam, Buddhism and so on. Mala or Japa beads are on a string of 108 beads and are used for devotional meditation, mantra and prayer. With each bead a mantra or prayer is repeated to meet a total of 108. 108 is considered to be the most sacred number in the practice of Yoga. The Meru bead is the larger bead or tassel on the mala and is not part of the 108. This bead is the guiding bead and marks the beginning and end of the mala/chant/prayer/mantra.

In Vedic astronomy, the diameter of Sun is 108 times of the that of Earth. The distance between the Earth and the Sun is 108 times the diameter of the Sun. The distance between the Earth and Moon is 108 times the diameter of the Moon. According to Vedic astrology, there are 27 constellations and each constellation has four directions covering the entire galaxy (27x4 =108).

Hatha Yoga is defined as the union of two different energies; the Sun and the Moon or the Masculine and Feminine.
 
Here are a few interpretations of the significance of the number 108:

There are 54 letters in Sanskrit and each letter has a feminine (Shakti) and Masculine (Shiva) energies (54x2 = 108).

In Yantras, the most famous and powerful Yantra is called as Sri Chakra which has 54 intersections. Each Intersection has a masculine and Feminine energy leading to 108.

In Ayurveda, there are 108 Marma points. The 108 marma points (107 on the physical body and one in the mind). Physically, the marma points are found where tendons, bones, muscles, joints, veins, nerves, and other tissues meet.

In Sanskrit Classic Literature, there are 108 Upanishads and 108 Puranas.

Tantra states that we breathe 21,600 times in a day out of which 10800 times is solar energy and 10800 times is lunar energy (108 x100 =10800).

There are 108 Nadis, the energy channels intersecting the Anahata Chakra (heart chakra) and Sushumna; the channel of energy flowing in the core of the spine and extending from the base of the spine to the eyebrow center (with an extension to the base of the nostrils)

There are according to the Indian culture, 108 desires, 108 evils while most of the Gods are have 108 names.

The Sun Salutations 108 is the twelve times of 9 which is the number of Vinyasa in Sun Salutation.
 

Yoga is one of the best practices for improving health both in body and in mind. Most practitioners have more energy, a greater ability to deal with stress, and a better outlook on life. Yoga goes beyond simple stretching exercises in countless ways. Here are some ways you can enhance your experience and make your yoga practice more meaningful.

1. Music
Create a music playlist to enhance your yoga. Many people prefer peaceful, meditative music, but that does not mean you should limit yourself to this specifically; for example, a lot of Flow/Vinyasa yoga has music that is more upbeat, whereas, some Yin classes play more serene music.

2. Yoga Clothing
Your yoga clothes can be designed especially for yoga, or they can simply be comfortable clothing that you feel good about wearing. When you put on your yoga clothing, your subconscious mind will soon see this as a cue that you are about to step into a different state of consciousness for a while.

3. Uninterrupted Time
It is often best to set a specific time each day for yoga practice. The reason for this is similar to the reasons for choosing designated yoga clothes. When your schedule won’t allow it, then find another time and make sure it is uninterrupted time. It can be difficult to bring relaxation and focus to your yoga routine if you worry about interruptions. Your yoga will be far more meaningful if you are able to give yourself over to the poses and movements.

4. Setting an Intention
Setting an intention before each practice offers purpose to routines. For example, if you have been struggling with a problem, your intention could be to resolve that issue. Nothing needs to be changed about the routine itself, unless you feel led to make changes. Setting an intention prior to practice gives the brain a specific task, and some of the energy that arises during yoga will be directed towards your intention.

5. Essential Oils
The scents around us influence our emotions and state of being. Essential oils can uplift the spirits or calm the body, and they are a natural way to enhance the space where you practice yoga. Using oil on your body or placing essential oils in a diffuser adds scents to the room. Lavender oil is great  for calming.

6. Creating the Space
Whether you do your routine in your living room, bedroom or basement, simple additions can set the space apart as your yoga area. Add a wall tapestry, a throw rug, and a small statue or other meaningful art, and leave plenty of room in the center for your yoga mat. At the beginning of each yoga routine, light a candle and some incense or your essential oil diffuser to increase the effect of setting the space. Even if the room you practice in is used for other things at other times, adding meaningful items such as these helps keep you on task with your yoga.

As you continue with yoga, your preferences for music, scent and other additions may change. Yoga can be a spark for personal growth, and it is best to remain flexible to new insights regarding even these simple things. By incorporating some or all of these tips into your yoga practice, it can become more meaningful.
 

Today more people are conscious of getting fit and healthy. This is just a normal response to every new and rare disease popping out or being discovered almost every day. What with the advancement of technology in the processing of the foods we eat and more often the lack of it, results to unbalanced nutrients and improper diet.
 
The only trend which is patronized by both young and old alike is fitness. It is just ironic that when people are young, they can't wait to mature. When they come of age, so to speak, all they wanted is to stay young.
 
Aging is one normal phenomenon that people are afraid to experience. Who would want to get old? Getting wiser and older should not be in consonance with getting old and looking old.
 
The traditional concept of getting old is being redefined by Baby Boomers. The generation of Baby Boomers enjoyed each stage or phase in life much longer than any other previous generation, thanks to their positive outlook in health maintenance and exercising. And just like any other profession or career they held on to, they are also passionate about staying young and healthy, as well as looking young and sexy.
 
The Baby Boomers started the so-called "health club" era. They indulged themselves into almost all forms of physical activity such as aerobics and gym workouts, to make their bodies healthier and their looks better. But as the reality of aging catches them, they turn their attention to less strenuous and laborious exercises to stay fit and healthy.
 
Yoga is one great type of exercise Baby Boomers are into. Yoga exercise focuses on the relaxation and breathing methods. It has very low impact to the body of a person, that any age in any size can practice yoga and make a desirable impact to their health. This is because yoga doesn't stress out the muscles and bones of a person, especially those who are in their advanced age where bones and muscles are brittle and easily damaged.
 
Through the relaxation and breathing techniques of yoga exercise, one can be assured of bringing down the blood pressure and relieving stress which is contributory to heart attacks. It has been proven long ago that yoga exercise is very effective in calming nerves thus promoting better heart health.
 
By regularly practicing yoga, it can help in reducing weight. Statistics show that persons of age forty five (45) with normal weight, who practice yoga for at least thirty (30) minutes per week for at least five (5) consecutive years gain three (3) pounds less in a decade, given that each year, the gain weight of a normal person is one (1) pound a year.
 
For the generation of Baby boomers, yoga really works. Yoga is much more efficient than doing gym workouts for building flexibility and strength, more effectual than aerobics exercise for building breath control and stamina, and more calming than jogging.
 
Additionally, yoga can help with osteoporosis, cleanse the body’s organs, balance out and invigorate the digestive and nervous system, relieve signs of menopause, lower rear pains and headaches commonly experienced by people coming of age such as the Baby Boomers. ​Through yoga, Baby Boomers have a chance to redefine themselves at any age.

A yoga lifestyle is one that goes beyond the mat. The way that you live your life off the mat can impact your everyday life. By living a yoga lifestyle, we begin to have more meaningful relationships with our family, friends, and the world around us. In return, it creates a more meaningful and rich experience for us personally.
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Living a yoga lifestyle is about how we live each part of our lives. It is through our own asana and meditation practices that we begin to uncover new insights that we create and live a more balanced life. As a yogi, we discover (as I have in my own life) that these insights are a part of a lifelong journey of learning that never ends. We continue to grow (and hopefully) learn something new not only about ourselves, but the world around us.

Here are 7 ways on how to live a yogic lifestyle:

Learning to let go of the things that no longer serve us: What can you begin to let go of? Old thought patterns and ideals that no longer serve your overall well-being. Grudges, hurt, pain, etc., that we haven’t let go of from years ago. Don’t get stuck in your own story.

Show compassion towards yourself: Our internal dialogue is often full of blame and judgment. We blame, judge, and shame ourselves for our pain. We abandon ourselves and look to whoever (or whatever) can give us comfort. We talk to ourselves in ways that we would never talk to others. Because we’re convinced we deserve it. Self-compassion creates a caring space within you that is free of judgment—a place that sees your hurt and your failures and softens to allow those experiences with kindness and caring. As one of our human family, don't exclude yourself from the circle of compassion. Seeking comfort in our unconditional goodwill towards ourselves is a lifeline for our well-being. 

Cultivate an attitude of gratitude: So often we go through our daily lives wishing we had more, but when is the last time you actually paused to give thanks for what you do have? The more we practice gratitude, the happier we will become. Once we stop thinking about the things and what we supposedly don’t have, we feel more at peace and ease. Keeping a “Gratitude” journal is a great way to begin practicing gratitude in our daily lives. By writing down just 3 things you’re grateful for every day, you will begin to see a noticeable difference in how you feel.

Being authentic: In a world that rewards flawlessness, it’s hard to separate our identity from what we pretend (especially on social media). The masks we wear might seem authentic, but they are just a disguise. Being yourself is not about standing out. Or being different to others. Being authentic is following your path, not comparing yourself others. Authenticity is about accepting yourself as you are.

“Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we are supposed to be and embracing who we actually are.”
—Brené Brown

Living intentionally: Living intentionally requires clarity. When you are clear about what makes you happy, healthy, loving and wonderful, you can be happy, healthy, loving and wonderful. Remove the excess, the distractions, and every other unimportant, unnecessary thing. Get clear on what matters to YOU by getting rid of everything that doesn’t.

Be open minded: Being open-minded doesn’t mean that someone is indecisive or wishy-washy. Opening up your mind to new ideas allows you the opportunity to change what you think and how you view the world. Learn a new way of doing something. Try a new recipe or put a twist on an old recipe that you’ve always loved. When you open your mind, you allow yourself to experience new ideas and thoughts and you challenge the beliefs you currently have.

Approach your health holistically: Rather than focusing on illness or specific parts of the body, this ancient approach to health considers the whole person and how he or she interacts with his or her environment. Holistic health emphasizes the connection of mind, body, and spirit. The goal is to achieve maximum well-being, where everything is functioning at the highest level possible.




Disclaimer:  The information and exercises provided within this web site are to be used at your own discretion and under professional guidance. They are not offered as a replacement or substitute for professional medical advice or treatment. If you believe that you may suffer from a physical or emotional impairment, it is strongly recommend that you seek advice from a licensed health care professional before embarking on this or any other exercise program.