Happy Spring Things

Like many of us, I like to hibernate in the winter. I dress warmly, eat and drink warm things, and love to find places that have hot water or lots of warm blankets and fire. I have to make an extra effort to do other activities that will keeping my inside fire (agni) burning, which don't require me to be on my bottom.  

Now that Spring is here, even though it did snow this morning, it's time to cleanse the body and the house, get things, all things, moving again and check in with the immune system.   

• Cleanse the body, mind, and home--done
• Get things moving-I've upped my daily practice, lightened my diet, started to walk the dogs regularly, and have been getting my hands dirty in the garden
• Finally, check and build the immune system up

The secret to healthier immune function lies in a happy digestive system.

BY Carrie Demers 
According to ayurveda, good health originates in the gastrointestinal tract. Naturally we assume that means good nutrition and a smooth-working digestive system, but if that’s all we focus on, we’ll miss half of the equation: The alimentary canal—that inside-out tube that runs from the mouth to the anus—is also our first line of defense against the disease pathogens that surround us.  Read more:

For me some of the other things that help my immune system are to avoid cow milk and cheese (boo hoo), eat a colorful, balanced diet, exercise regularly, continue my daily routines and sleep well.
What is it that you do to build your immune system? Please let me know if I've missed something or if you have some wisdom that will help us.
Happy Spring!

Move Your Energy: A Practice

We've all had a time when our energy was low and we did something to change that-sleep, take a deep breathe, walk, shower, go outside, or have a coffee or other "energy" drink.

Those of us who've been around yoga, dance or other type of movement based practice know that moving your body also changes your energy. How much movement is good? What kind of movement will give me the energy I need? I've included a favorite asana practice that I use for helping my body remove toxins and renew energy. It has a lot of twists so pay close attention if you have issues in your spine. It is meant to be done in the morning or mid-day. It is definitely not an evening practice. I adapted this practice from one I found in Yoga Journal a while back. The Practice

What about me, I can't move? Is there a way for me to move my energy? Yes, you can move your energy with breath work (pranayama). Again, we look at what you need and then decide on the appropriate practice for you. When I find myself getting frustrated with my teenagers or driving, I take a few deep breathes in through my nose and out through your mouth making as much noise as the scene allows. It's usually all I need to help calm me down and stop me from saying or doing something I'll regret. 

My other favorite is consciously breathing in through the nose to the chest and then belly and out from the belly to chest and nose. Just focusing on your breathe will change your energy. There are other more detailed breathing processes you can do that I won't get into right now.

If  you live in Salt Lake City and are interested in learning more about practices that change and move energy, check out my Energy Workshop.

Move Your Energy, Heal your Body With Yoga

 ARE WE ENERGY?
Albert Einstein proved that everything is energy when he developed his theory of relativity and the formula, E=mc2, which, in very simplistic terms, says that anything that has mass is just energy in a different form. So it shouldn't surprise you when I suggest that beyond the physical and mental aspects of being alive, we have an energetic aspect that many of us ignore. The ancient Rishis knew about energy and transformation long before Einstein or modern science was born, as they wrote the ancient Vedas, which translates to sacred knowledge.

We are all energy, yet can we see it, feel it, or touch? No, most of us cannot. That is one of the reasons we call it the subtle energy body. Many of the pictures that you see of energy in the body are figurative imaginings or what people have seen. Do we really have rainbow-colored flowers spinning in our cakras or energy centers? I don't think so, but it does help us to visualize what is happening in our body.
What is the subtle energy body according to yoga? I've heard it described in many ways, yet the most commonly held belief is that the body has an energetic system that runs through the body the same was as blood vessels and neural pathways. 
The Nadis
In yoga, we call them nadis and there are 72,000 nadis. The three main and most important nadis, are the ida representing the female aspect, moon, cooling, tha, as in the second part of Hatha, and ends in the left nostril; the pingala, representing the male aspect, sun, heating, ha, as in the first part of Hatha, and ends in the right nostril; and the sashumna runs up the middle similar to the spine. All three nadis, originate at the root cakra and cross at 5 of the cakras above. 
Prana
Prana is our life force; prana can also be considered our breath. We breathe in through our nostrils inviting prana to move down the ida and pingala nadis helping to continue our energy flow. Literally, we breath the life force into our bodies. Various pranayama or breathing practices can alter the flow of prana as can asana or yoga postures.
Hatha Yoga
You may have wondered what it meant when you saw Hatha Yoga on a yoga studio menu.  Hatha yoga is the most common form of yoga taught in the US; it is the physical part of the yoga. Whether it's Krishnamacharya, ashtanga, iyengar, vinyasa, or most other forms of yoga, if it has a physical practice, it is probably Hatha yoga.
The Cakras (pronounced chakras)
The ida and pingala nadis cross at 5 of the energy centers or cakras. The root is where the ida and pingala originate; they cross about 3 fingers below the navel; again at the solar plexus; the heart, the base of the throat and finally at the brow, commonly known as the 3rd eye. The crown cakra at the top of the head is where the shashumna travels to.

I hope you're still with me.  I know for some of you, this is all new terminology and content. I needed to lay the ground work for what I really want to talk about. Blame it on the 24 years of teaching school children; I do.

How does yoga help our energy?
Sadhguru, who writes for the HuffingtonPost, writes, "In yoga, when we say "health," we don't look at the body or the mind; we only look at the energy. If your energy body is in proper balance and in full flow, your physical body and mental body will be in perfect health." Read more:

When my students come in, I look at how their energy and ask them what they need. Then I lead them through a practice that will meet their needs. Sometimes the focus is to relax and contain their energy through calming forward bends or . Other times we need to bring up their energy through sun salutations, back bending or an energizing breathing practice. I tell my students to observe their energy level an hour or two after class because that's when they'll really know the affects.

According to yoga and ayurveda (yoga's sister science), blocks in our energy flow create disease. Blocks can be caused by poor diet, sleep patterns, stress, expending too much or too little energy, and other poor habits. We can practice yoga to move energy through our body; this is why we generally feel better after a yoga practice.

So how do we do this? What about kundalini? They are for my next post. Just know that movement of the breath and the body create healing if done in the right way for your body, your age and your ability. Find a trained yoga specialist to guide you. Namaste.

Trouble sleeping--look no further

Layover at Denver International

Some of us, like my kids, can sleep anywhere and anytime. As fast as I can say savasana in my college classes, is as quickly as some of my students are out. 

Yet, no matter what age we are, how much money we make or where we are, we can all be affected by insomnia. Age, diet, and life circumstances, to name a few, can change our sleeping patterns. 

Some of us fall asleep easily, awaken in the middle of the night and then cannot fall back to sleep. Others have difficulty falling asleep from the start.

Yoga practices, especially breathing practices and asana (yoga poses), enhance or hinder the sleeping process depending on how and when we use them and which ones we use. Even though I've practiced yoga for a long time and felt the energy change in my body, it was much later in my yoga education that I learned about using the effects of yoga to alter my body's energy level. We hear talk about energy, cakras, and the like in yoga, yet how to utilize this source from within is not something universally taught.

pascimotanasana

What to do??

• Set up a night time routine-don't eat too much, too late; start to slow down when the sun sets; turn electronics off 1 to 2 hours before bed.
• Drink some herbal tea or warm nut milk with cardamom; no caffeine after lunch time.
• Take a warm bath with lavender or rose essential oil and then massage some oil into your feet.
• Make your sleeping space a sanctuary- comfortable, cozy and clean
• Do a gentle yoga practice with some forward bending (helps us to turn inwards), inversions. 
• Save the strenuous practices for morning to help you wake up.
• After looking over our day, visualize our intentions (to sleep peacefully through the night). 
• Read something inspirational or peaceful



halasana

• Listen to a guided meditation, peaceful music chanting or yoga nidra.
• Focus on your breathing-breathe into your chest and belly and out belly chest.

supta savasana

 Of course, you don't have to do all of these things.  Choose the ones that speak to you and try them for a week to 10 days.  Evaluate your results and continue or try something different.

A Surprising Cure for Insomnia

One sleep-deprived woman, Kate Sztabnik, discovered a free, uncannily effective cure for her insomnia. All she needed was YouTube—and an open mind. Read more:

If you have other helpful ideas that don't involve substances, please share. Sleep inducement is definitely not a one-size fits all kind of practice. Happy zzzz's.