Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

We're headed to Texas for Christmas, and school is out, so there won't be any classes until 2010. Free beginning yoga classes start again on Tuesday, January 12 at 5 p.m. at the Wayne County Technology Center. Have a great holiday, everyone!

Pressing Your Points with Yoga

Have you ever had a really bad headache? Or a leg cramp that takes your breath away? If you held your head in your hands, or grabbed your leg when you felt the cramp, you were practicing acupressure.

I just returned from four days in Berkeley at the Acupressure Institute, where I studied with Michael Reed Gach and Alice Hiatt. Here's a picture with me and Michael, who has written numerous books about using acupressure for optimal health.

Michael taught a seminar on Acu-Yoga, which is a system he developed to use yoga poses and breath to activate acupressure points. Alice's seminar was on basic acupressure.

What a gift to be able to learn from these masters. I'm looking forward to sharing some of what I've learned with my upcoming classes!

Balance Training for Seniors

A Matter of Balance is an 8 week course for people over 50 to help you prevent falls and gain confidence in your balance.

The classes will be offered at the Wayne County Assisted Living beginning on Wednesday, September 2 at 2 p.m. for eight weeks through October 21st.

We will learn exercises and ways to stay safe at home and while you're out partying. If you have any questions please feel free to call Karen at 931 722-5096.

Classes are free but the size is limited, so please sign up in advance at the Assisted Living Facility, 931 722-2000.

YOGA DURING YOUR PREGNANCY

My lovely daughter in law (shown here during her first pregnancy with Aiden, now three) enjoyed prenatal yoga classes in Portland, Oregon.

We have a couple of pregnant moms interested in a prenatal yoga class, but need to have at least one more to make it affordable (and more fun!).

We'll have a four-week series and the times are flexible, depending on your schedule. Yoga has many benefits during pregnancy and it was what got me through labor.

Practicing yoga increases circulation and reduces swelling associated with water retention, providing more blood flow and oxygen to the baby.

When we breathe into our belly, ribs and back, we're able to maintain deep and even breathing, thus reducing stress and anxiety.

Yoga elongates the spine, stretches and strengthens the spine, and in prenatal yoga classes we prepare for childbirth by opening the pelvic area.

Proper posture is important in helping to alleviate the discomforts of the changing body. Yoga alleviates mood swings, helps control weight gain, decreases anxiety and stress, insomnia, constipation and fatigue.

Yoga helps still the mind. Breathing exercises help to calm the mind and body. They help you develop a greater sense of inner focus and peace.

Yoga helps with physical balance and can stretch and strengthen the body, keeping muscles strong, yet flexible.

If you are new to yoga and are looking for a meaningful, low-impact form of exercise and stress reduction, yoga may be for you.

If you are an experienced yogi, you may want to slow down a bit. This is the time when it helps to attend prenatal classes which are more suited to your changing body.

If you're interested in participating in a prenatal class, please call Karen at 931 722 5096 by August 18th. Leave a message (with your phone number - we don't have caller ID!) if I'm not home and I'll get back to you!

Stay Cool in the Summer

In the yogic tradition, summer is said to have a pitta dosha. Pitta is associated with the element of fire, and its qualities are hot, penetrating, moist, bright and sharp – kind of like a sunny, humid summer afternoon in Tennessee.

Summer is a time to laze around like our smart kitty. According to the ancients who studied yoga, it's a time for a diet which emphasizes sweet tastes and has a lot of cool liquids.

Avoid too much exercise. (My husband says you should move only enough to assure that all sides of your body are reached by the fan.) (But you don’t have to go that far – he sure doesn’t!)

Enjoy forests, gardens, flowers and cool water. Drink more liquids. Eat cooling foods like cucumber, peas, carrots, watermelon and other melons, blueberries and coconut. Eat less citrus, olives, spicy and greasy foods, red wine and sweets.

When you drink a cool drink, don’t use too much ice – too much can slow metabolism.

You can practice cooling breaths like the lunar breath or sitali.

Keep your eyes cool, wear sunglasses, and avoid too much computer use. If your eyes are tired, soak a cotton pad in rose water and place over your closed eyes, or “palm” the eyes.

Wear hats to keep your head cool. Wear loose, cotton clothing in light colors.

If you have a place to swim, enjoy that. You can also mist your face or take a cool shower to cool off your skin.

Slow down. Walk slower, drive slower, rest on your porch. Stay cool!

Thanks to Kellen Brugman of Fair Havens Yoga in Nashville for information in this article. Her more complete article is in the summer issue of “Salutation,” a publication of the Yoga Society of Nashville, www.yogasocietynashville.org.

Happy Spring

With all the trouble in the world, it's heartening to know that nature, Mother Earth, keeps revolving and changing seasons. The woods that surround our home are becoming greener and greener - you can almost see the changes from morning til evening. The daffodils have come and gone, the irises are up, and my fingernails are dirty from gardening.

Our own nature is very much like the nature we see around us. Always changing on the outside, but remaining centered and calm within.

This adorable little boy is my grandson, Aiden Harris, picking hyacinths at their home in Portland, Oregon.

In the midst of all of life's frenzy, remember this simple yoga technique: close your eyes, inhale through your nose, exhale through your nose. Do one or more times, then open your eyes. Remember your center.

Improving Your Immune System

Nobody likes a cold or flu, and people who are already weakened by chronic illnesses like diabetes, arthritis or COPD (to name a few) are especially vulnerable to being attacked by the nasty bugs that circulate around us, especially in cold weather.

Some things you can do to increase your chances of avoiding illness are:

• Eat more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and other natural foods. There are some studies that show that highly processed foods actually have a negative impact on your immune system.
• Drink more tea, especially green tea
• Get plenty of sleep – if you can, sleep in a cool, dark room
• Eat less sugar
• Exercise – get out in the fresh air. But be attentive to how you feel, because too much exercise – for example, running a marathon when you feel slightly unwell – can be bad for you!
• To stimulate the thymus, an important gland in the immune system, you can try Bhramari Breathing: Sit with your spine straight (if you are very weak, you can lie down for this, but seated is preferable). Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. After a few breaths, inhale fully (but don’t force or strain your breathing) and as you exhale, make a gentle buzzing sound. This sound should come from deep in your throat, through the roof of your mouth, and up into your brain. Just keep relaxing into this sound as you exhale for as long as possible, always without straining or forcing your breath. You can continue this for several breaths – start for about a minute and don’t go longer than five minutes. If you feel out of breath at any time, return to your normal breathing pattern.
• Practice yoga! Yoga stimulates your lymphatic system, which fights infection, kills rogue cancer cells, and disposes of some toxic waste products of cellular functioning. When you stretch and move your muscles around coming in and out of yoga postures, the lymph flow improves. Yoga and meditation also reduce stress, which has a negative effect on the immune system.
• Meditate or pray – studies have shown positive effects of meditation and prayer on health and immunity to disease.

Enjoy the last of winter's season, stay warm and watch for the coming spring!

To Weigh Less, Add More to Your Life

Being Americans, we don’t really like depriving ourselves of stuff. We’d rather add something to our lives than take something away.

Maybe this is one reason that diets don’t work – we can suffer for a while, but after we’ve lost the weight we wanted to lose (or maybe before then…), we return to our old habits and the pounds creep back on.

Maybe it would work better if we added some things. Try adding:

• A glass of water before you eat anything (every time!)
• To the number of times you chew your food before swallowing it (try chewing 20 times per bite)
• To the number of times you rest your fork between bites
• An apple a day
• A salad to every meal – a salad with leafy greens, spinach, carrots, celery and other veggies (not a few leaves of lettuce topped with lots of croutons, cheese and fat-laden dressing!)
• More veggies to your day
• More steps to your day – when you have to go upstairs for something you forgot, be glad! You’ll be burning more calories
• A yoga class!
• More ups and downs - stand up more, move around more!

Enjoy life, consume good stuff and you’ll wonder where the weight went to!

Join us for a

YOGA DAY OPEN HOUSE

Saturday, January 24

10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

First Christian Church

308 South Main Street (Hwy 13) in Waynesboro

We will have refreshments and a few short classes and answer your questions about yoga. Stop in for a few minutes or longer.

Questions? Phone Karen at 931 722-5096.

Happy Yoga Day!