Winter Seasonal Vinyasa Yoga Retreat in Mexico

“I do believe it is important to get ample amounts of sleep, rest, meditation, and retreat space in the winter. After all, most of the natural world becomes dormant during this season. Since it’s not possible for most of us to crawl into a cave and sleep for three months, take whatever quiet space you can and sit in the cave of the heart, meditate, and reflect as often as possible on your spiritual nature, nurturing your sacred being. The more imbalanced you get at this point, the harder it is to get back on track in the springtime. Discover what inspires you to stay healthy!” From the Art of Sequencing – Volume Two Seasonal Vinyasa

Join me from January 22-29, 2011 at Haramara Retreat Center near Sayulita, Mexico!

While reveling in the backdrop of the Pacific Ocean in one of Haramara’s yoga pavillon’s, we will practice asana sequences that increase core temperature, circulation, metabolism, and your spirit! We will also engage in mini-workshops to learn ancient philosophies that can be woven into today’s lifestyle and alignment principles to strengthen the body’s inherent tendencies toward seasonal imbalances. We’ll enjoy creative time together near the beach to awaken the muse, and also get to
enjoy silence while resting in the “cave of the heart.”

Included in the retreat:
Accommodations, three delicious meals a day, daily guided meditation, Seasonal Vinyasa yoga classes, and mini-workshops.

Mention my blog and receive a $100 discount off the room of your choice.
Single: $2,600
Double: $1,850
Triple: $1,725
Casa Grande (sleeps 6 women): $1,475

Read more: www.melinameza.com
Register with 8 Limbs Yoga Centers: 206-325-8221

Happy New Year!

Namaste,
Ready to start your new year on the right track? If so, please join me at my first workshop of the year this Saturday in Houston:

Kriya Yoga and Winter Seasonal Vinyasa Yoga with Melina Meza
at Cura Yoga, Houston, Texas

Saturday, January 8, 2011
1:00 – 4:00PM
Register with www.curayoga.com or 713-839-9642.

This workshop presents the profound ways in which you can incorporate many aspects of the yogic path into your daily life. Students will journey into the ancient Indian yogic philosophies, ethics, and physical practices discovering a deeper knowledge of their own body and mind. In an accessible and approachable format, this workshop and practice aims to teach students how to achieve lasting personal transformation via such practices as Kriya (the yoga of transformation) from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras and Seasonal Vinyasa yoga insights that connect you to the rhythms of nature and foster a sense of gratitude and interconnectedness.

Read more or register: www.curayoga.com or 713-839-9642
Pre-order your copy of Art of Sequencing - Volume Two Seasonal Vinyasa and receive free shipping!

Art of Sequencing - Volume Two Seasonal Vinyasa

"At some point, one reaches a personal tipping point and begins making new resolutions, maybe just once a year, to break out of the old habits and try to reclaim their personal power. If your pattern is to make annual New Year’s resolutions (and then promptly forget about them), I suggest you try a year of seasonal resolutions—biweekly or bimonthly experiments that will give you a reasonable window of time to witness the subtle and gross effects of your labor, as well as more than one chance every 365 days to initiate change."

To read more about making seasonal changes, pre-order your copy of my upcoming book, Art of Sequencing - Volume Two Seasonal Vinyasa, today and receive free shipping!
www.melinameza.com

Pre-Order Your Copy of Art of Sequencing - Volume Two Seasonal Vinyasa

Namaste,
I am pleased to announce that my second book, Art of Sequencing - Volume Two Seasonal Vinyasa is on its way to the printing press. Order today and receive free shipping within the continental United States. You can expect to receive the book by the end of January, just in time to kick off your seasonal resolutions.

If you enjoyed the Art of Sequencing – Volume One, you will love the second volume, which is filled with new ideas on how to support you in enriching your experience of life by staying healthy in body, mind, and spirit.

$32.95 Pre-Order – Free Shipping

Art of Sequencing - Volume Two Seasonal Vinyasa introduces you to Ayurvedic daily routines, seasonal rituals, nutrition and mindfulness, and a broad range of practical Western lifestyle tips to help the modern yogi or health-minded individual reduce dis-ease and nurture a state of wellness. These are complemented by extensive yoga asana sections including twenty-five of my class sequences, applicable for all levels of skill and ability. To give context to these modern wellness offerings the book takes you on a journey into India's history and culture and explores Eastern philosophy. This thoughtful and insightful book celebrates the art and science of yoga as a way to rediscover the body’s innate wisdom and the vitality that comes from living in balance from season to season.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Chapter One: Roots of Yoga
Chapter Two: Seasons of Life
Chapter Three: Kriya Yoga
Chapter Four: Nutrition and Mindfulness
Chapter Five: An Introduction to Ayurveda
Chapter Six: Nature and the Four Seasons
Chapter Seven: Seasonal Vinyasa Yoga
Chapter Eight: Popular Asana Requests
Chapter Nine: Yoga at the Wall
About Melina Meza
Index of Sun Salutes and Modifications
Appendix: Recipes
Glossary

Book Details:
The book includes over 450 asana photos and twenty-five unique asana sequences for beginners, intermediate, or advanced students and teachers. Art of Sequencing-Volume Two Seasonal Vinyasa is spiral bound, allowing for easy use during practice.

$32.95 Pre-Order – Free Shipping

Winter and Ayurveda Part 3

Winter is Nature’s time to hibernate and retreat. It’s an active resting phase, an important cycle to honor in order to replenish one’s self after the summer heat and fall harvest. In the winter when wet, dark, and cold qualities increase externally, they also increase internally, because “like increases like.”

In Ayurveda, winter is the season associated with Kapha and all the imbalances associated with the earth and water elements. No matter what your Prakriti (individual constitution) is, seasons will have an effect upon your dosha.

The Kapha qualities outside can make you feel heavy and lethargic and/or pull you towards foods that promote weight gain or the use of recreational drugs and alcohol to cope with depression, stress, and the winter blues; here we again see the precept “like increases like.” It’s not easy to break out of this cycle, but it is possible.

Here are a few ways to maintain health in the winter:
•If you want to decrease Kapha, minimize sweet, sour, and salty foods and increase foods that are pungent (like ginger), bitter (like coffee and turmeric root), and astringent (like chickpeas and goldenseal) to ensure good digestive fire.
•Wear bright colors like red and orange if you live in cold, dark climates and struggle with depression.
•Reduce your commitments. One way to do this is to practice saying “no” to invitations when your gut tells you to. This practice helps you build healthy boundaries with yourself and often leaves you with quiet time to be alone.
•Eat your biggest meal in the middle of the day (e.g., at lunchtime), which is Pitta time, when your solar energy and digestive juices are most active.
•Have a light dinner (soups are great for this meal). Eating a large meal before bedtime can interfere with sleep as well as contribute to weight gain.

To learn more about this, stay tuned for my upcoming book, Art of Sequencing - Volume Two which will be available for purchase in January 2011.
www.melinameza.com

Seasonal Vinyasa - Winter and Ayurveda Part 2

Winter and Ayurveda
Elements = Earth + Water
•Earth qualities: stable, rigid, grounding
•Water qualities: fluid, cooling, calming, graceful

Since we are part of Nature, you too have the opportunity to be graceful and let the seasons flow without clinging or grasping. It’s natural to have preferences for certain seasons, times of year that resonate with your core elements and make us feel more like ourselves. And yet, developing equanimity and contentment with all seasons—regardless of dosha, or where you live—is essential to well-being. This is where the art of sequencing can be instrumental and serve of great benefit. Here are a few suggestions to start weaving into your winter daily ritual:

•Wake up at 6:00-7:00am (the yogic version of sleeping in) 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 sea salt in the morning to stimulate elimination.
•Meditate 5-30 minutes (on snow, candle flame in the cave of the heart, or image of the sun).
•Do your active, warming asanas, Sun Salutations, inversions, and balance poses to promote circulation, or go outside, or to the gym, for a 20 minutes (minimum) cardiovascular workout.
•Sit in front of a light box if you struggle with seasonal affective disorder (S.A.D.).
•Exfoliate your skin and improve circulation with a gentle dry brush rub before showering.
•Perform abhyanga, a full-body self-massage, which calms the nervous system and hydrates the skin. In the winter, apply sesame oil (leave the oil on for 10-30 minutes) and then take a hot shower, which will open your pores and allow the oil to be absorbed into your skin.
•Enjoy a warm breakfast in a quiet space.

Stay tuned for more ideas to grow your daily ritual next month.
Read more or register for the Winter Seasonal Vinyasa Retreat at Haramara in Mexico, January 22-29, 2011.

Seasonal Vinyasa - Winter and Ayurveda

The Kapha qualities outside can make you feel heavy and lethargic and/or pull you towards foods that promote weight gain or the use of recreational drugs and alcohol to cope with depression, stress, and the winter blues; here we again see the precept “like increases like.” It’s not easy to break out of this cycle but it is possible.

If the Kapha elements go out of balance in the winter, consider using the “opposites decrease” sutra. How will you know if your elements are off balance? You will know if your Kapha imbalance is too extreme when it prevents you from leaving the house after you’ve filled your freezer with Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and rented multiple HBO series! If you find yourself in this situation (or even a milder version), consider finding a way to get up and exercise every day, no exception! It can be a home yoga practice, a gym work out, or a brisk walk or run, or a snow adventure such as snowshoeing, skiing, or sledding—whatever it takes to get the earth and water elements moving.

Need some inspiration to practice: Yoga for the Seasons DVD is $9.99!
www.melinameza.com