Loving the Spring!

I love the Spring! Check out the amazing Azaleas in our yard! This however, was St.Paddy's day and now the blooms are long gone and it is almost 90!!! today!

"If you think in terms of how much benefit we get just by being here on the surface of the earth, how much we get from nature, how much we get from people, how much we get from association, we receive constantly.  Good thoughts, good food, good air, good rain.  Even the smile of a baby, you are getting from a baby is a gift.  When you enjoy the smile of a baby, you are getting something from that baby.  And you have to return it;  although not necessarily to the same baby.  You don't have to give it back at the same place.  For example, if you get a nice fruit from the top of a tree, you don't have to go and pour water on the top of the tree.  You pour water at the root of the tree.  If you pour at the root you get the fruit at the top.  In the same way, if you get a smile from a baby, do something to help a poor person somewhere on the road, or a sick person.  Somebody who needs a little help.  That will balance out.  You got a smile from  the baby, and you paid it back by helping that other person.  You don't have to give it directly to the baby.  We are constantly receiving.  Every one of us should think,  "How much am I receiving, and how much am I returning?"
~Swami Satchidananda

PranaVayu Yoga with David Magone

As most of you know, I am at home now with a 3 month old.  What a perfect time to start trying out yoga DVDs! In my amazing new space, I am drawn to practicing, but have needed some inspiration since I haven't been able to go out and take many classes.  So I was so happy to receive the DVD PranaVayu Yoga with David Magone.  Always looking for new possibilities within my own practice and my teaching, I soak up any new yoga I can.

This DVD features a 70 minute intermediate yoga practice as well as guided pranayama and meditation.  David Magone is a calm and patient teacher and the black and white setting is very soothing.  The practice itself was nothing really different from anything I have done before, but consistent and knowledgeable. I like some of his little refinements such as relaxing the head towards the floor in trikonasana (triangle pose).

I think this would be a great DVD for beginners looking to step it up as well as more advanced practitioners.  Just know that there may be poses that you have to work up to, like peacock pose (which I just enjoyed watching him perform).

PranaVayu Yoga - Video Trailer

The Ethics of Eating

The Ethics of Eating by Melina Meza, BS Nutrition, 500-RYT






As unique beings we all have different hopes, fears, conditioning, expectations, and agendas around our health and our relationship to food and eating. Over the years of teaching and doing nutritional counseling, I have found it valuable to establish my own set of personal ethics in regards to my health and that of the planet. As Marion Nestle says, “We change the world by what we eat or chose not to eat.” I believe this to be true and am a firm believer that each person choosing with their fork CAN make a difference!






I’ve used the Yamas from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras to make a wheel of ethics, which support and frame my holistic lifestyle. From my own experience I have found a great deal of benefit from weaving these principles – compassion, honesty, non-stealing, moderation, non-hoarding, cleanliness, contentment, heat, self-examination, and faith – into my daily life routines beyond the yoga mat. As a nutritionist, I find exploring these moral values in relationship to food and eating fascinating. UCLA Professor Peter Sellars poses the question, “Can you put your belief system into your body?” It’s a question like this that moves me to look deeper into my own ethics with food and eating. I often ask myself, “Am I putting my belief system into my body?”






The Yamas prepare you to see how you and Nature are one. How you treat the outer world (Nature) reflects how you care for your inner landscapes. John Robbins does a wonderful job incorporating the essence of the Yamas in this statement in the book The Food Revolution, “I don’t care whether your diet is politically correct. I care whether your food choices are consistent with your love. I care whether they bring you health, uphold your spirit, and help you fulfill your true nature and reason for being alive.”






It is through conscious application of the Yamas that you will learn to see that compassion is your birthright, trust begins with yourself, healthy boundaries make healthy relationships, and balance is not as bad as it sounds. Although the Yamas are all interrelated and work together, if one Yama stands out more than the others, consider spending some time deepening your relationship with that one principle.






Here’s a brief questionnaire to get you started reflecting upon these ideas. I’ll be discussing this arena in more detail in my upcoming workshops at Piedmont Yoga Studio in Oakland, CA (March), and Surya Yoga in Yakima, WA (April), Savannah Yoga Studio, Savannah, GA (April).






Ahimsa (non-violence): You, Food and The Environment


· How do I practice ahimsa towards myself?


· Towards others/community?


· Towards the planet/environment?


Satya (truth/honesty): Eating Healhty Food & The Knowing The Benefits Of Healthy Food


· How do I practice satya towards myself?


· Towards others/community?


· Towards the planet/environment?


Asteya (non-stealing): Rotate Seasonal Practices & Eating Frequent Meals


· How do I practice asteya towards myself?


· Towards others/community?


· Towards the planet/environment?


Brahmacharya (moderation): Moderation vs. Extreme in Everything


· How do I practice brahmacharya towards myself?


· Towards others/community?


· Towards the planet/environment?


Aparigraha (non-hoarding): Sharing Resources, Time, and Community


· How do I practice aparigraha towards myself?


· Towards others/community?


· Towards the planet/environment?










Melina Meza, BS Nutrition, 500-RYT


Melina has been exploring the art and science of yoga and nutrition for over 18 years. She combines her knowledge of Hatha Yoga, Ayurveda, whole foods nutrition, and healthy lifestyle promotion into a unique style called Seasonal Vinyasa. Her devotion to yoga and eating well, to teaching and nutritional counseling, and to traveling and experiencing different cultures combine to create a colorful and enlightening perspective from which to share that which she loves about yoga in its entirety. Meza is the author of the Art of Sequencing books and Yoga for the Seasons – Fall Vinyasa DVD. www.melinameza.com






What is Seasonal Vinyasa - Yoga for the Seasons?


Seasonal Vinyasa describes an artistic style of sequencing asana and seasonal daily rituals. The main inspiration for Seasonal Vinyasa comes from the Hatha Yoga and Ayurveda traditions, two complementary sciences that promote health in body, mind, and spirit. While inspiring the self-knowledge to adjust day-to-day choices and align with what is occurring outside in nature, Seasonal Vinyasa emphasizes the teachings of the yogis—that there is no separation between humans and nature.

Be Friendly Toward Your Body

Cooper and Atlas letting go...

Do not fight your body.  Do not carry the world on your shoulders like Atlas.  Drop that heavy load of unnecessary baggage and you will feel better.
Do not kill the instinct of the body for the glory of the pose.  Do not look at your body like a stranger, but adopt a friendly approach toward it.  Watch it, listen to it, observe it's needs, its requests, and even have fun.  Play with it as children do, sometimes it becomes very alert and swift.
To be sensitive is to be alive.  ~Swami Karmananda Saraswati






  How many times have you lamented the size of your belly in down dog, or your thighs in cat/cow.  Do you know you are wasting your yoga time?   You are sitting around listening to these negative thoughts when you could be listening to your breath. You could be thinking about the amazing ability you have to take in full deep inhalations.  You could be enjoying what your body CAN do instead of what it can't.  Why don't you start to make that your intention for your practice.  The reason for the practice itself, to take one hour (or so) each day to show your thanks to the body that CAN. The feet that carry you, the knees that support all of your efforts, the neck that braces your very head.  Use your yoga practice as a prayer to your temple, the temple that houses all of your "you-ness".  Your body is your temple and your yoga practice is you, bowing at the alter and thanking it, showing your gratitude.  The practice is a promise to keep the temple clean, to worship it.  No throwing trash in your temple, no talking bad about your temple, no negativity at your alter.

Be sensitive to yourself, treat it as you would your very best friend.  All you need, is within you at all times.  Sometimes that is covered by trash or negative thoughts, just keep up the good work. Keep up the friendly approach and all will start to be free. That is the goal, that is the reason to keep up the practice.  To become at peace with yourself. Then peace will follow all around. One love, Unity.

YIOM

If you are here, than you are probably a blog fan and yoga lover.  I am, of course;) and love to find new and exciting reads.  Imagine my excitement when I found this great link on Pintrest the other day. YIOM is a network of all things yoga blog. I am so happy to have some new reading and to hopefully meet new and interesting peeps in the yoga world.  Join me!

http://yiomsite.com/