Thanksgiving - Nutrition and Mindfulness

From your own experience with yoga, you are probably well aware of the tremendous impact that an asana practice can have on your body. Like yoga, food creates specific alchemical changes in your body and has the power to both nourish and transform your unique being. Food has the magical power to become the foundation the body. It can build or reduce your physical weight and shape, depending on the amount of calories you consume. Different foods can stimulate or calm the adrenal glands, speed up the mind and heart rate, or cleanse the colon and gastrointestinal tract.

Now that it's Thanksgiving, you might wonder,“How will I know what the right amount of food to consume or yoga to practice is”? One way to think about your nutrition and yoga choices is in terms of sustainability, which means eat and practice just the right amount to fuel your svadharma (life’s purpose), so you can share your gifts, hear your calling, and do work in this life that comes from your heart. With too much food in your belly it’s easy to loose motivation and with not enough food, it’s hard to maintain focus or stamina to get through one the day, let alone answer your heart’s calling. Alternately, not enough asana will make the body slow, stiff, and sluggish. By learning to sequence mindfulness into your Thanksgiving ritual, you will discover a sustainable middle path, which encourages smooth rolling transitions from one activity to the next, and requires less fuel, calories, or muscular effort. At the end of the holiday, you are left with a feeling of santosha (contentment. Good luck everyone.

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Yoga Musings by Melina

"If you visualize a life in harmony with nature, there is a strong chance that not only will a bond form but you will be able to harness some of those powers to help you realize your desires. By acting in accord with nature (i.e. spending time outside, sitting in meditation, floating or swimming in the sea, watching the sunset, or stargazing), you will tap into the very universe itself. Here your instincts will guide you back to yoga, or union, with any divided parts of yourself, making way for the free flow of ideas, happiness, and bliss that is your birthright."

From her upcoming book, Art of Sequencing - Volume Two - Seasonal Vinyasa!

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FALL DAILY RITUAL from the Art of Sequencing - Volume Two (available late 2010)

Ideally, all these practices can be followed, but if the list seems overwhelming, choose a few practices that resonate with you and commit to them for up to three months.

• Try to stick to a daily routine in the fall, scheduling in more down time than usual to prevent Vata imbalances.
• Wake up at 5:00-6:00 am (do your best!) and greet the day with gratitude for another opportunity to celebrate life.
• Wash your face, brush your teeth, scrape your tongue, do a neti pot, and lubricate your nostrils with oil or ghee.
• Drink hot lemon water with a little salt in the morning to stimulate elimination.
• Meditate (on grounding imagery, like a stone or a mountain).
• Do slow, warming, rhythmic movement or asana practices to set the pace for the day. Moving slowly and consciously in your asana practice will also help stabilize your mind and make it easier to stay focused throughout the day.
• Perform abhyanga with warm sesame oil. Leave the oil on your skin for 10-30 minutes to help nourish and protect your skin from drying out; follow with a warm shower.
• Homemade soups are good dietary mainstays during this season, as they are both hot and liquid, the opposite of Vata, which is cold and dry. In your soups or stews include copious amounts of root vegetables and hearty grains to keep the essence of the earth down in your belly. In general, prepare warm, moist foods for every meal while you are in the fall.
• Sit down to eat at regular times throughout the day; the more routine your meal times are the better. Practicing eating as a meditation, chewing your food until it’s liquid, and putting the utensil down between bites are just a few simple ways to ensure good digestion and strong agni.
• Increase your enjoyment of foods that are sweet (like rice, milk, and dates), sour (like yogurt and fermented foods), and salty (like sea kelp) as they help calm down and nurture Vata.
• Avoid starting too many new projects that pull your energy in multiple directions! Remember fall is a time to wrap up projects and prepare for winter hibernation.
• Aim for bedtime before 10:00 pm and get a full eight hours of sleep each night.


GENERAL ASANA TIPS FOR THE FALL
Incorporate more of the following into your practice:
• A routine where the time of day and length of your practice is consistent. It can be helpful to build your routine by writing down your committed yoga and exercise time slots on a weekly calendar.
• Yoga poses that allow you to incorporate the bandhas to guide prana deep into your body, which then prepares you for: pratyahara (the moment your sense organs no longer seek nourishment from the external environment), dharana (concentration), and dhyana (steady concentration or meditation).
• Steady, slow, mindful Sun Salutations to increase circulation of blood through your muscles and organs as well as standing poses, squats, twists, bridge pose, supported back bends, and inversions to clear the lungs and maintain heat in your core.
• Practice seated poses that allow the breath to move freely into the lower abdomen and pelvic floor, the parts of the body ruled by Vata.
• Take long savasanas to stabilize Vata. Cover yourself with a blanket to stay warm, use an eye pillow to soothe the eyes, and drape a sandbag or two over your thighs or ankles to promote the downward movement of prana deep into the bones of your legs. The extra weight of the sandbags reinforces the idea of staying present and can be useful for anyone at anytime who struggles with staying present in savasana.

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New Fall Yin Video!!!

Fall Yin Video with My Yoga Online

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New Fall Vinyasa Video!!!

Visit:
My Yoga Online website:
http://www.myyogaonline.com/videos/yoga/fall-seasonal-vinyasa-flow

Fall Insights with Melina Meza

After collaborating with Benjamin and Tamara at Esalen, I’m inspired to share with you some highlights from the workshops, so you too can be reflecting on what we found to be powerful tools that can highlight the interconnectedness between your yoga practice, spirit, and nature.

Questions from Tamara’s deepening your intuition class:
1.In this past year, where have your grown? In this coming year, what part of yourself do you wish to grow?

2.In the past year, how have you come into better health? In the coming year, where would you like to be more health conscious?

3.In the past year, what part of your body or mind healed? In the coming year, what would you like to heal?

A few tips from Benjamin’s ethics of permaculture class:
(Benjamin will be guest teaching at the Seattle Tilth in November)
•Earth Care. People Care. Fair share
•Work with nature (use gravity, native species sun, wind, etc.)
•The problem is an opportunity
•Make the least change for the greatest possible effect
•The yield of the system is theoretically unlimited
•Everything is connected

The Mahabhutas:
•Earth: Deepen your connection to the earth element with long savasanas and visualizing your prana moving from the bones of your feet up to your head.

•Water: Notice your relationship to water as your belly and organs rise and fall in the body.

•Fire: Feed your inner digestive fire by dropping your attention to the solar plexus. Healthy fire maintains digestion of food into nutrients.

•Air: Tune into your lungs as they expand and contract with deep inhalations and exhalations.

•Ether: Allow your physical and mental boundaries to soften. Notice what it feels like to drop fully into your space. Feel the mutually beneficial relationship between you and everything around you.

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