12/17/2012 0 Comments November Newsletter 2012NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2012 GRAND OPENING & THE HOLIDAY CHALLENGE Greetings! Welcome to Mai Town Yoga's first newsletter. Our aim is to send out a newsletter on a monthly basis to let you know about the upcoming events at the studio and to share relevant news about Hot Yoga, fitness, and wellness in general. We are all very excited about the progress that Mai Town Yoga has made since we first opened our doors on August 20th, 2012 and we want to thank you and include you as our partners in this success. We are extremely happy to have you practice with us, your feedback has been fantastic and we will take all steps to ensure that we continue to offer you the best service. To date we have had over 800 visits to 300 classes and our membership is growing exponentially. It has been a remarkable situation as we are very grateful to witness your experiences with Hot Yoga and have you share those experiences with us. From the first time student who has never practiced yoga before, the returning practitioner returning after a long hiatus, to the seasoned yoga person who is ecstatic to have a Hot Yoga studio close to home- we appreciate you all and again thank you for welcoming us into your community. The Mai Town Team along with our wellness partners "Fit For Life" & "Definitive Rehab & Pain Management" would like to welcome you to our official grand opening event Friday November 9th from 11AM to 1PM. Mai Town & our partners are excited to announce the opening of our brand new wellness center. Inside our 5000SQ. foot facility we not only have hot yoga facilities but also have state of the art exercise equipment as well as indoor pool for aquatic therapy. Mindy with Fit For Life will be giving out complimentary body composition screenings at our grand opening & Mai Town Yoga will have a complimentary Warrior series class at 1PM right after the event. Our 12PM class that day has been cancelled. Please join us & bring a friend. We are also very excited to announce our HOLIDAY CHALLENGE! Between November 15th & December 31st take as many classes as you can. Top 3 students who have the highest attendance totals during this time will be given PRIZES along with 3 free classes & one "Ten-4-Ten" intro pass to give away to your friends!!! As we charge into the holidays & into this next year don't loose any momentum with your health & fitness. The path to whole body wellness begins with you and your dedicated practice. Thank you, "Yoga is about clearing away whatever is in us that prevents our living in the most full and whole way. With yoga, we become aware of how and where we are restricted - in body, mind, and heart - and how gradually to open and release these blockages. As these blockages are cleared, our energy is freed. We start to feel more harmonious, more at one with ourselves. Our lives begin to flow - or we begin to flow more in our lives." Cybele Tomlinson Dan Cicconi RYT 500 Studio Manager Lead Instructor Is HOT YOGA all I need for exercise? Have you ever felt that your previous efforts for losing weight, gaining muscle, reducing stress and general physical wellness have had little to no lasting benefits? Did you often find yourself confused at the gym, not knowing which piece of equipment to use for what part of the body, for how often and for how long? Or maybe find yourself spending money on special equipment, clothes or footwear that you will most likely never use? If you answer yes to any of these questions, join the club, you are not alone. Many of us have felt as the Greek King Sisyphus did, pushing an immense boulder up a hill only to watch it roll back down and repeat this process over and over again. Well, repeat that process no longer, dump that immense boulder and come practice Hot Yoga with us. Is Hot Yoga all you need for exercise? In short, yes. Hot yoga is all you need for exercise. Hot Yoga, here at Mai Town Yoga, is designed for EVERYONE - any age, size, shape, condition, or problem. Our Hot Yoga classes are specifically designed to give your body a great workout. Hot Yoga is a complete workout with a mixture of stretching, anaerobic and aerobic exercise with using only your body. The heat works in synergy with the postures to strengthen muscles, increase muscle tone, increase range of motion and flexibility, detoxify the body, aid in weight loss, reduce stress and increase balance. This integrated approach to fitness is a complete exercise science that brings harmony to the mind, body, spirit connection. A 2010 study from researchers at the University Of Maryland School Of Nursing published a comparative analysis study that examined the health benefits of Yoga. The researchers found that yoga outperformed standard aerobic exercise at improving balance, flexibility, strength, pain levels among seniors, menopausal symptoms, daily energy level, and social and occupation functioning, among other health parameters. Now add the heat. The addition of the controlled heated and humidified room provides the Hot Yoga practitioner with many more benefits than a regular Yoga practice. Being in a Hot Yoga room is comparable to being in a sauna. The hot yoga room helps to increase your heart rate allowing for better circulation and lubrication to the limbs. Hot Yoga benefits your body as the heat allows you to move more freely and safely move deeper into the postures. Toxins are eliminated during hot yoga, primarily thru sweat. Water rushes out during the course of the class, creating immense benefits such as super clean skin and the detoxification of pores in the body's largest organ - the skin. The heat and humidity make it so that your lungs only work at 50%, pushing your lungs and heart to work harder, strengthening your organs. With this, the body uses the oxygen more efficiently and allows your internal organs to breathe. Toxins are pushed out of your internal organs and through your sweat making your body healthier. The added sweat and heat makes your muscles more limber, allowing them to achieve deeper stretching and avoid injury. Here at Mai Town Yoga, we offer several classes that do something different for your body. We'd like to call our recipe for getting the most out of your practice, " Warrior, Core, Restore". Taking the Warrior, Warrior to the Core, and Restorative classes in any sequence that can fit into your regular practice is the most effective and efficient way to see the greatest results. Practicing Hot Yoga creates many benefits to both mind and body and a Hot Yoga class is known for burning anywhere from 500 to 1000 calories a session. Remember, the more you put into your Hot Yoga workout, the more you will gain from it. Dan Cicconi RYT 500 HOUSEKEEPING & Schedule Changes You have spoken with your attendance totals. Schedule changes effective December 1st will be as follows. We will be phasing out Tuesday & Thursday Morning 5:30AM classes & also our Dancers series class on Sunday morning. As we continue to study our attendance trends to serve you best we will be altering our schedule more in the future. Our schedule should always be considered in a state of flux as you the students will dictate our class times. As the top article of this newsletter stated since our opening date August 20th we have had over 800 visits to our studio. We are so grateful to you all! Thank you so very much! Our Thanksgiving Holiday Schedule is as follows: We will have no classes on Thanksgiving Day, November 22nd. The day after Thanksgiving, Friday November 23rd we will have our 9AM & 12PM classes only. We will return to our regular schedule that Saturday November 24th. We will have interest sign up sheets at the front counter for meditation, kids yoga & partner yoga workshops. WE are committed to partnering with you & bringing to you any & all forms of yoga to the Red Oak & surrounding communities. To get the most out of your practice here are a few tips we ask you to consider. For your convenience class descriptions, tuition rates and our schedule can be found at maitownyoga.com Please arrive 5-10 minutes before the class starts to give yourself time to get into the room, lay your mat down and prepare yourself for class. Please be mindful of other students who might be meditating, in savassana (laying down) or child's pose and keep talking & noise to a minimum. One reason many come to practice yoga is to stop the everyday stories & dramas in their minds for at least the one hour they are here. Please leave all CELL PHONES, shoes & personal items in cubby's set up in lobby. Hot Yoga is a work out. We want to remind you to make sure and drink plenty of water before, during and after your classes. Hydration is important and we have vending machines filled with water, coconut water, and Gatorade for your convenience. Blankets for your Restorative classes are available for purchase at the studio. These blankets give just the right amount of padding for your shoulders, knees, and hips during the longer hold times in these classes. Mat and towel rentals are $1 each. Forget to bring your own? No worries, we have them here to rent. At this time Mai Town Yoga is not offering free mat and towel service with any of it's memberships- however if you check in at Mai Town on Facebook, we will waive the mat or towel rental for that class. Towel Monogramming is available for those who wish to personalize their Hot Yoga towels. We have partnered with a local embroiderer to personalize these for us and we will offer free laundry service for monogrammed towels. Leave your monogrammed towel with us and it will be clean and ready for your next class. Once again I will say as we charge into the holidays & into this next year don't loose any momentum with your health & fitness. Producing the changes we want can be met with difficult challenges so we must be vigilant in honoring & loving ourselves. The Mai Town Team consisting of Tida Chambers, Catalina Oranday, Mary Gatmaitan & myself will be here for you. Come & see us.
Namaste! Dan Cicconi (469) 218 0691 dan@maitownyoga.com www.maitownyoga.com
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9/20/2012 4 Comments September 20th, 2012Army Yoga Finding balance: U.S. Army Garrison Grafenwoehr creates a community of yoga instructors VILSECK, Germany -- Ask most Soldiers what they think of yoga and the response usually includes images of incense, chanting and mystical gurus from faraway lands sitting cross-legged on the floor. During a recent training program, however, Soldiers learned the practice is more than stretching and meditation, it can also be physically demanding. "I came in thinking it was a joke, but after one session I felt great," said Sgt. Miguel Maldonado, the rear detachment noncommissioned officer for 8th Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment. "And a little sore," he added. Maldonado was one of more than 50 participants in a recent training program to become a yoga instructor within the Grafenwoehr military footprint. The program, Yoga 360, is part of Soldier 360, a larger comprehensive multidisciplinary military leaders' health and wellness course. With multiple deployments and post-traumatic stress disorder on the rise, the Army is shifting its focus with these programs to incorporate holistic approaches such as yoga to relieve stress and build physical resiliency for both Soldiers and their families. The free 40-hour Yoga 360 training course was offered to Soldiers, civilians and family members and was intended to create a community of educators to teach yoga within the Grafenwoehr military community. While many spouses are now voluntarily instructing within their family readiness groups, Soldiers are changing the look of traditional morning physical training, giving warriors a different perspective while striking a Warrior Pose. Clinical psychologist Maj. Glen Wurglitz facilitated the program along with yoga instructor Carolyn Butcher. Together they touched on both the mental and physical facets that promote a healthy balance in overall wellness. "The Army is concerned with the physical in addition to the other aspects of the Soldier's life," said Wurglitz. "We're living faster and faster without taking the time to breathe. Yoga helps a person find balance ... and develop a sense of (themselves) in that particular place and time." Wurglitz explained yoga can reduce combat stress and other trauma-based disorders through a variety of exercises that go beyond conventional Army physical fitness. "Rucking and running are not the only two ways we can develop fitness," said Wurglitz. "And what Soldiers found is there's nothing fluff about yoga." Staff Sgt. Marvin Caban-Acosta, family readiness liaison, 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 172nd Separate Infantry Brigade, agreed. "It's a great workout. You build strength, develop muscle and flexibility," said Caban-Acosta. "Plus, it brings in that meditation that allows you to encompass mindfulness -- to slow down and look inside yourself. It's a different approach than what we as Soldiers are used to, but it's a welcomed change." Caban-Acosta plans to teach a yoga course to his Soldiers as part of their physical training, although he admitted he would most likely omit the Sanskrit name of many yoga poses to make it more "Army strong." However, whether the instructors say "Ut-tan-a-sa-na" or "bend forward, touch your toes," the benefits remain the same. Getting away without going away:
Yoga and stress management By Harriet Russell Stressed? Feel short on time? “To do’s” building up? When will you ever get your personal projects done? When did the kids grow up, anyway? Time bound consciousness is a common state of mind. Don’t worry. Yoga and meditation can help. Stress reduction is a result of stress management. Learning to live with stress and learning to reduce stress are both related to how we think. How we think determines how we act, or react. There are three factors in our lives that contribute to who we are in this world. They are heredity, environment, and lifestyle. Heredity cannot change. What we are given is what we have. Environment is difficult to overcome also. Lifestyle, however, we can change. In our daily habits lies the potential for lifestyle changes. How we eat, exercise, and deal with stress can be modified. The situations we put ourselves in and our attitudes about life circumstances can also be altered. PRACTICAL TECHNIQUES FOR EVERYDAY STRESS What are the practical ways that yoga can help us solve day-to-day problems in life that can cause stress? On a physical level, yoga goes beyond just toning and strengthening muscles. Standing postures correct structural alignment and strengthen the spine. Twists massage the internal organs. Forward bends lower blood pressure and relax the nervous system. Inverted postures purify the lymphatic system. Yoga postures and breathing strengthen and balance the immune, hormonal, digestive and nervous systems. Yoga also improves our mental state, increases concentration, builds self-esteem, and helps us to deal with stress in a positive way. Mental and emotional improvements include clarity of mind, greater awareness, increased concentration and focus, a more positive attitude, less mood swings, improved self esteem, "groundedness", and stress reduction. When the body and mind are synchronized, a spiritual dimension comes forth: improved intuition, a deeper "knowing" inside, an openness of heart, a feeling of greater love and compassion for oneself and for others, a connection to the divine, to God, in whatever way that expresses for each individual. CHAIR YOGA FOR THE OFFICE How can you take care of your body and mind while sitting at a desk or computer for hours on end? When I worked on Wall Street, I used to stretch while in my chair. Pretend to look at someone behind you, grab one side or back of the chair and twist first to one side, then to the other. While seated, you can arch the back opening the chest and then round the back releasing. Do this several times. Stretch your arms overhead and interlace the fingers. Or just stand up and stretch your arms overhead for a moment. Lift the shoulders into a shrug and then release them (and the tension) suddenly. Moving the head up and down then side to side gives a good neck stretch. TAKE A DEEP BREATH Take a deep breathing break in the non-smoker’s lounge. Get fresh air in good weather at lunchtime. Mental anxiety caused by thinking or worrying too much, creates tension in the shoulders, the “should-ers” Notice when you feel tension in the shoulders. It is usually a result of too many “should’s” you put on yourself. What should be is projection or expectation. What is, however, is reality. Facing reality with a deep breath brings us into the present, and provides clarity. Here is a simple breathing exercise that oxygenates the blood, increases lung capacity and cleanses toxins and allergens out of your system. It also takes the mind away from mental worry by focusing on breathing. It can be done seated or lying down. Locate three parts of the torso: belly, lower lungs, and upper lungs. You may place a hand on one part moving it to another, until you get familiar with the technique. Do not force the breath. Do not hold the breath at the top of the inhalation nor at the bottom of the exhalation. Let it be a circular breath with smooth and even transitions. Breathe into the belly gently filling it, then move the breath into filling the lower lungs, then all the way up under the collarbones into the upper lungs. Exhale slowly with one long breath. Repeat 6 times. Then breathe regularly. You may use this as the only practice and repeat it over and over, or add on the following two steps. Breathe into the entire torso with one full breath. Exhale slowly in three parts from the upper lungs, to the lower lungs to the belly. Repeat 6 times. Then breathe regularly. Breathe into the belly, the lower lungs, then the upper lungs in one long smooth three part deep breath. Then exhale slowly from the upper lungs, lower lungs, and belly. It is like a glass of water filling in from the bottom to top and pouring out from the top to the bottom. Repeat 6 times. Then breathe regularly. If you keep your eyes open, no one will ever notice you are doing this while seated in your chair. What a stress buster! It is great to use in heated discussions as it improves your ability to listen because you are better able to remain calm. Competition is stressful. Stay focused on what you are doing in the moment and don’t worry about how it was yesterday, or how it will be in the future. Keep your eye on the goal, but be open to whatever results actually happen. An attitude of acceptance is key stress management. RELAXATION Relaxation is a vital part of stress management. At the end of the posture practice or any exercise work out, lying down in relaxation pose brings the final integration of body and mind. The quiet allows for awareness of our inner self. Given time to reflect, we can discover the spiritual side of our nature. We awaken refreshed, rejuvenated, and renewed. If you have your own office, ask not to be disturbed for 20 minutes and close the door. Lie down on the floor with your feet slightly apart and your arms at your sides with palms facing upwards. You may do the three part breathing, a tension and release exercise, or a body scan. You may combine them together as well. TENSION AND RELEASE EXERCISE: Tighten your fists, arms and shrug your shoulders up towards the ears, lifting only one inch off the ground. Then release suddenly. Repeat twice more. Tighten your buttocks and legs and flex the feet, lifting only one inch off the ground. Then release suddenly. Repeat twice more. Tighten your face and squinch your eyes. Release. Repeat two more times. Relax into the ground and practice the same three part breathing described above to continue to the calm the mind. BODY SCAN With your body relaxed now, begin the body scan. Without moving, focus the mind on the soles of the feet, then the ankles, calves and knees, thighs and hips and the belly. Keep scanning up your body into the lower back, the upper back, the shoulders and neck. Relax your arms, your hands and feel the tension just wash away from your face and head. The focus itself will bring relaxation. Breathe normally and evenly. Each breath in brings in fresh energy, each breath out rids the body of tensions and toxins. Breathe in rejuvenation and exhale into deeper relaxation. Feel the body melt into the ground, but keep the mind alert yet relaxed. As a beginner, you may fall asleep! That’s quite all right. As you practice you will be able to go into a deep state of relaxation without falling asleep. A MEDITATION EXERCISE I remember while working on Wall Street how much my meditation practice helped me with the stressful lifestyle in New York City. I would search at lunchtime for a quiet concrete bench outside between the skyscrapers so that I could do my meditation practice. Meditation is a great stress reliever. Just sitting still and closing your eyes, will begin to calm the mind. Meditation is Awareness of what is in the moment. Nothing more. Nothing less. Just what is. It is just being aware of what is already happening in the moment. It is called “witness consciousness”. Just like watching a movie go by. Thoughts will come and thoughts will go. Do not try to capture a thought and create a story from it. Do not force unpleasant thoughts to go away. Just let them come and go. On a physical level, meditation lowers the blood pressure, and expands the breath capacity. Meditation changes the chemicals in the brain. On a mental level, the mind goes into a state of calm but not to sleep. When the mind dips into the realms of calm, we connect to a source greater than our individual self. After meditation, there is a marked clarity and focus, and peacefulness. With practice, intuitive abilities increase. The effects cumulate and continue to affect us throughout the day. For beginners, it is sometimes difficult to sit still. Try some stretching beforehand so you will not be stiff and uncomfortable while sitting. You can try a walking meditation, if you like, before sitting down. Sit up straight so that you can breathe fully and not fall asleep. You may sit in a chair without crossing your legs or arms. Do not lean back and keep your feet flat on the ground. Or you may sit on the floor with crossed legs or kneeling sitting on your heels. It can be difficult to just begin to meditate without focusing the busy mind first. There are many focusing techniques: 1) listening to the breath, 2) noticing sensations like temperature changes, tingling, and tension 3) focusing on a candle or picture of a loved one or religious figure that inspires you, with eyes half closed 4) repeating or listening to a mantra phrase 5) listening to relaxing music that does not have words or a melody to follow 6) visualizing a white healing light surrounding you or increasing within you. This is good for pain management. Twenty minutes of meditation or the deep relaxation is equivalent to two hours of sleep….a real power nap! In conclusion, consider what you eat, how you breathe, and how you deal with stress. The ways you take care of your body and mind are directly responsible for your overall health.
In a 2006 study, it was concluded that the subjects that lost weight and kept weight off engaged in activities that were also mentally soothing everyday along with physical exercise everyday (http://www.ijbnpa.org/content/3/1/17). The study's conclusions findings suggest that the subject, by thier own choice, set themselves up a work and rewards system in order to have continued success.
Why is this information important? Three reasons. First, I want to point out that I was prepping you for a thought about weight loss as it relates to yoga. Second, when adding a new activity or behavior into your daily life, you need to also add an encouraging support (work and reward for that work). This concept is the key to continued success of any new lifestyle change. Second, to those of you who do not know the experience of yoga, yoga not only helps you to lose weight BUT it helps you have, what can be, an amazing inner (mental, reflective, or even spiritual) experience, granted you reach a class attendance of at least 4 days a week consistently (for a prolonged period of time or working toward a long committment). Yoga is a physical practice that can bring about both weight loss and reward all in itself. That is why the yoga community is rapidly growing. So, try the very popular, introductory special of 10 classes for 10$ and try out yoga and see how it will benenfit your life. Emily Kathryn Narayan, RYT 6/20/2012 0 Comments Yoga: Research Finds and Supports Yoga Being A Part of Treatment Process for Breast Cancer PatientsIn 2010, research gave high accolades to the effectiveness of yoga in recovery from breast cancer. The research findings were formed and in the end compiled into a series of lists as tips for breast cancer patients. It suggests that women receiving breast cancer treatment need to do yoga during the treatment. -http://www.fhcrc.org/en/news/releases/2010/10/10-tips-breast-cancer-patient-treatment.html Emily Kathryn Narayan, RYT Yoga has many benefits. So why choose Hot Yoga? Or, more specifically, why choose hot yoga for weight loss? How does weight loss occur with Hot Yoga? "The heat of a hot yoga class does not cause permanent weight loss. You'll lose water weight, temporarily, through sweating. When you rehydrate, however, your body will regain the water it needs to function properly, and your weight will return to normal. However, the heat raises your heart rate slightly. As you sweat, your blood volume decreases because of dehydration, and your heart must pump faster to keep the blood flowing throughout your body. In this way, the heat helps you reach and maintain your target heart rate, achieving a level that burns calories effectively." - http://www.livestrong.com/article/401127-weight-loss-benefits-of-bikram-yoga/ Emily Kathryn Narayan, RYT 6/11/2012 0 Comments The Eight Branches of Yoga, An Extension of Obstacles and Distractions and Yoga as the AnswerWhat are the Eight Limbs of Yoga?:According to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, one of the ancient texts that is the basis for the philosophy behind yoga, there are eight “limbs” (Ashtanga in Sanskrit) of yoga. Each limb relates to an aspect of achieving a healthy and fulfilling life, and each builds upon the one before it. You may be surprised to hear that only one of the limbs involves the performance of yoga postures. Here is a description of the eight limbs.1. Yama:Five ethical guidelines regarding moral behavior towards others: Ahimsa: Nonviolence Satya: Truthfulness Asteya: Nonstealing Brahmacharya: Nonlust Aparigraha: Noncovetesness 2. Niyama:Five ethical guidelines regarding moral behavior towards oneself: Saucha: Cleanliness Santosa: Contentment Tapas: Sustained practice Svadhyaya: Self study Isvara pranidhana: Surrender to God 3. Asana:Practice of yoga postures.4. Pranayama:Practice of breathing exercises.5. Pratyahara:Withdrawal of the senses, meaning that the exterior world is not a distraction from the interior world within oneself.6. Dharana:Concentration, meaning the ability to focus on something uninterrupted by external or internal distractions. 7. Dhyana:Meditation. Building upon Dharana, the concentration is no longer focused on a single thing but is all encompassing.8. Samadhi:Bliss. Building upon Dhyana, the transcendence of the self through meditation. The merging of the self with the universe. Sometimes translated as enlightenment. Sources: Light on Life, B.K.S. Iyengar, 2005. Yoga: The Iyengar Way, Mira Silva and Shyam Mehta, 1990. -http://yoga.about.com/od/theyogasutras/p/eightlimbs.htm Emily Kathryn Narayan, RYT 6/7/2012 1 Comment Yoga on Obstacles and Distractions (Chitta Viksepa): The Challenge of The Human Condition Yoga on Obstacles and Distractions (Chitta Viksepa): The Challenge of The Human Condition We find ourselves in soured states of being in many times in our lives. Example: The relationship failed. Irritation and, the behavior that ensues as a result, of small interruptions and changes out of control plague us. We get depressed. We battle superiority and inferiority. We run from our thoughts, feelings, past, or fear. After we run from something we go to something else or someone else projecting the dis-ease of our life. We, simply, are addicted to the more base components of the human experience. Though there is much debate concerning the truest account of yoga’s origins amongst Hindu and other religious theologists, historians, philosophers, and yogi’s and yogini’s. The one constant in yoga, as it was intended, was to inform and assist the descendants of the human race in their journey to becoming less attached to our multiple sensory experiences in this life in order to be able to perceive and feel contentment, inner peace, connectedness, and oneness with all living things. The Chitta Viksepa, or Causes of Modification of the Mind, is a line of thought, informational, and instructional, laid out in the Yoga Sutra’s of Pantanjali. Some yoga experts argue that the Yoga Sutra’s are the foremost authority on yoga (others argue that the authoritative texts are the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, The Upanishads, and other texts). The Yoga Sutra’s are mostly written like a line of thought that resemble a philosophical arguments in format. With a starting point beginning in the first sutra, the consecutive texts continue to build on the first and beginning sutra. All sutra’s point to one thing… the attainment of a state of detachment. This is a vague term, but, you can easily come to know the context of this idea of detachment and what it means to become detached and how it is life changing. We are fortunate to have our many experts on yoga that have compiled the information for us and presented it to us in many different ways. B.K.S Iyengar wrote in his book Light On Yoga in 1966 about the Obstacles and Distractions. He outlines this easily for us in Light On Yoga. We go deeper into the Obstacles and Distractions in our next blog. Emily Kathryn Narayan, RYT |