Susiej

Yoga can “turn back the clock” my yoga teacher likes to say. So as I come to the end of my 45th year in this world, I look in the mirror to see what the last 12 years of my yoga practice has brought me. People tell me I look young, yet who’s to say what I would look like if I weren’t doing yoga? Who knows?

Still, I may have overlooked something. There’s another vital factor in the youthfulness scale I never realized existed until now. I’ll show you what I mean.

At the lake this past weekend, we were blasted with another 8 inches of snow. The next day, the sky was blue, no wind, and the air was a balmy 50 degrees. Nothing to do but play in the snow. It was the best “summer” day in the winter I’ve ever known… we actually got hot climbing up the hill all day.

It was tough, I admit, to wrangle one of our only four saucers from my four boys. I spent most of my time sitting at the top of the hill with my camera taking shots of them impressing me with the cool moves they made over the snow ramp they built.

I admit, they were impressive.

Finally, I scored a sled. When I hit the ramp, I pulled back, and completely on accident, I did a backwards somersault, which is what I like to call “my 360.” No, it didn’t hurt. When my boys began asking me repeatedly, “How did you do that Mom,” I began to realize I may be onto something cool.

From then on, I really had no trouble getting a sled, as they asked to see me do that “one more time.” So, I started doing “my 360″ on purpose, time and time again.

I have never been one of those “flexible talented gymnastic” types in my youth. I flunked cheerleading. But here, right before my eyes, everything just fell into place.

Now here is where you’ll just have to use your imagination a bit, as my husband was behind the camera and didn’t quite get the shot I need here. But in the picture you can’t see I am skillfully tucking my head, so that I can begin my big roll… This is where my yoga teacher’s favorite phrase, “you’re as young as your spine is flexible” really begins to resonate some truth.

No, I can’t believe I’m showing you this either. But, I’m trying to make a point… and if this doesn’t convince you to start a yoga practice now, I doubt nothing will.

You can see from these photos below, just how much I am impressing my boys… all of them.

Still, I keep rolling, and I end up again, right back where I started. Thrilling.

The kicker, and my crowning glory, was when my 12-year-old said, I can’t keep doing this, because I think I’m hurting my neck. Meanwhile, I kept rolling and tumbling down the hill.

But just between you and me, my neck was tiny bit sore the next day; a few yoga stretches took care of that. But, I was definitely the Queen of the hill that day… thanks to yoga.

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

Filed under: Laugh, Life, Yoga, the lake house by SusieJ - 17 Comments →

With all the bread, cookies and treats, I’ve been making, combined with this winter weather, I have moved to some more “aggressive” yoga series that work off the extra pounds, while still maintaining the required union of body, mind and spirit.

As I am traditionally a Hatha yogi, and faithfully take Shiva Rea - Yoga Shakti daily. I needed something new to work muscles and glands that might be getting overlooked. I decided to try Kundalini yoga, as this type of yoga delivers one of the most efficient ways to transform your life. First, understand that the only workout I do is Yoga. Yoga, to me, is a time saver: it works my heart, my lungs, and builds strength and flexibility, while also delivering a path to the “Peace that passes all understanding.”

Fat Free Yoga - Lose Weight & Feel Great w/ Ravi Singh & Ana Brett By title alone, I couldn’t wait to try this Yoga DVD. This yoga focuses on strengthening your core, by combining traditional yoga poses with the breath of fire. There was much emphasis on detoxifying the glands, particularly the thyroid and adrenal glands to boost, and ultimately, regulate metabolism.

This video’s focus on your abdominal glands gives a double bonus: First, it tones and flattens your stomach, and strengthens your core. Second, in yoga terms, your core is your center of power. Working this area of your body makes you more “aware” of your weaknesses, (both emotional and physical) strengthens them, and in turn, gives you more “willpower” to say no to the wrong foods, the wrong choices, and to do what is right for you.

This yoga DVD is hard, but not impossible. This 90-minute DVD offers four 20 minute workout, giving you the ability to choose “how far you can go” on any given day. Still, I was looking for a tough workout, and this one delivered… in spades. The first time I did the workout, I wanted the workout to be over over in the first 20 minutes, and I’ve been doing yoga for over 12 years. I always did the entire DVD, and by the third time, I was learning to “appreciate” the exercises, and no longer found them overwhelming. Uncomfortable, yes. But, as Ravi explains, this discomfort sends a signal to your thyroid gland to secrete chemicals that will balance you, and boost your metabolism. The pain is worth the gain…or loss, depending on how you view it.

My favorite part of the DVD is the Your Life is in Your Own Glands, as this section brings hormonal balance. While I’m busy burning calories, my hormones are getting balanced, which is the gem that yoga brings to any workout. These exercises, along with the breathing meditations, are designed to help you strengthen your willpower, help you build nerves of steel, with the ultimate goal of helping you handle any challenge life presents.

Ravi includes low-impact aerobics, that involve the “cross-crawl” technique to balance the hemispheres in your brain. I thought these exercises were a little too light. I’m thinking about replacing those sections with jumping jacks. However, the poses, are TOUGH. Imagine lying on your belly, grabbing one foot, while the other is straight and off the floor, and rocking back and forth. Now, switch legs. Now, do both legs. I had a brief second there, when I thought I would hang up my yoga mat… forever… But I made it. This pose really is a wonderful stretch, once you get used to it.

The rapid twists, designed to tear out toxins, for some reason, have almost eliminated all of my neck pain. I’m not completely pain free, but I hope this will improve, as more time with Ravi marches on.

Unlike Shiva Rea’s fabulous collection of musicians on all of her yoga DVDs and CDs, that you can listen to all day and night, I’m not fond of the music on Ravi Singh’s DVD. So, I’ve written down the poses, along with the time for each, so that I can do it on my own, with my own tunes.

I’ve been doing this video for a month, three days a week, with Shiva Rea - Yoga Shakti on the other two days. (Hatha, it turns out, is the only workout that “stops” my restless legs.) In the end, I have lost 6.5 pounds in one month. The biggest benefit is that these exercises have strengthen my core, which has expanded outward to my arms and legs. I noticed this as I went back to Shiva Rae, and was able to hold downward dog that extended beyond my normal fatigue level. Also, when I run around at the park with the boys, my breath doesn’t get short as quickly.

Emotionally, I’ve noticed I’m a bit more relaxed… still impatient… but able to sit and wait, and not jump at the first sound of a crash in the house, and wait to see if it “resolves itself.”

If anything, Fat Free Yoga has enhanced my Hatha yoga practice. The stretches I follow with Shiva Rea are deeper, as my core is stronger, and the muscles in my legs and arms are strong enough to hold me while I extend farther. With those benefits, this yoga DVD will stay a part of my overall yoga maintenance. The hardest challenge is deciding each day, which one I will do, as I still need both.

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

Filed under: Life, Yoga, spirit, try this by SusieJ - 2 Comments →

Have you heard those stories about organ donors? A recipient suddenly falls in love with classical music, and later learns the owner of the heart was a classical musician; a fast-food junkie receives a heart from a vegetarian and suddenly meat makes her sick; or more dramatically, the story of a 10-year old who received the heart of a murdered 8-year-old. The murder was unsolved. Yet, the 10-year old began to have nightmares, and the details in her dreams convicted the killer with the time, weapon, place, and clothes he wore.

The stories are documented in Paul Pearsall’s, MD, book, The Heart’s Code, after he interviewed 150 organ transplant recipients and found that the cells of living tissues do remember. (February, the month of valentines, is American Heart Month, by the way.) Does the recipient know he’s getting far more than just a heart? That he will now have access to the pathways that make up another soul?

Memories are stored in our cells, not just our minds.

When a baby is created, the first sign of life is the beating heart. The heart comes first… not the brain.

Knowing this information makes me uneasy about checking that box on the driver’s license application for organ donation. I know this is the greatest gift I can give… but knowing that the organ comes with its own “private” personal history changes everything. It’s nut just a pump; it’s a heart full of memories, pains, joys… that will live on despite my physical presence here or not. I haven’t been able to wrap my mind around the whole concept just yet…

This month, I’m starting a radically new yoga routine — Kundalini Yoga. On a physical level, I’ve never worked harder, sweating and panting through the end. On a heart level, I notice that it is pulling deeply embedded memories out of hibernation. Stories flash before me like a mini-movie-dream.

Between each yoga, (asana), pose, you are invited to rest. At first, I was irritated, as my goal for doing this DVD was to keep my heart rate elevated throughout the entire routine. I have since learned that the rests do not de-escalate my heart rate that much, really. The rest is necessary — without these little pauses the memories the poses invoke would pile up and crash at the end of the hour. The rest is not for my heart rate… it’s for my heart.

Have you noticed how dramatically different the mind and heart approach a problem? Just when you think you have it all figured out logically, you somehow feel uneasy. Slowly, and I am learning that it’s always, the logic of the heart begins to make itself known. The logic is suddenly so clear you cannot make another choice — and that knot in your gut seems to vanish. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “To believe your own thoughts, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men–that is genius.”

Those little pauses are so important. Although the mind speaks loud and clear, the heart never shouts. It always whispers. Without the pauses, we can’t hear what the heart is saying.

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

Filed under: Life, Science, Yoga, health, spirit by SusieJ - 14 Comments →

Imagine you are looking down at yourself — if you can’t do this, imagine that you are looking at a mirror reflection of yourself.

This is an ancient practice that takes only a few seconds, and I do it, when Shiva Rae says so. I don’t know why this is an ancient sacred practice; although, I have my guesses.

The wind blew my neighbor’s long curly hair into flames as she was lighting luminaries for advent. Other than the horrible smell, she was fine. In my kitchen was the long lighter she needed to borrow, so in she came. My kitchen greeted her with a wide array of costumes all over the floor, cereal bowls from the morning breakfast, dead leaves that needed sweeping, laundry baskets in various stages of folding, and backpacks sprawled open with hand-outs waiting to be read and signed. How much will it stifle their innate creativity if I banish the entire lot of costumes into a box to the garage attic, just so I can have a day without a river of Batman, Robin, Buzz Lightyear and Woody flooding every hallway in the four floors we live in? The sleeves must be stuffed all the way inside the gloves, so that “everyone will think this is my real skin.”

I wasn’t ready for advent, with everything nice and tidy — it was five o’clock, and dinner was yet to be a twinkle in my eye. Here is the worn-out analogy of “not being ready” in the same way that there was “no room in the inn.” The luminaries, still in the back of my van, probably wouldn’t make an appearance on this special city night, especially planned to light the neighborhood in the glow that we know as advent. Instead of wrapping paper, the elementary school PTO sold luminaries to the community. As part of his math unit, my third-grade son’s class even went to the coordinator’s house to help measure and pour the sand.

I wish I could tell you that I lovingly embraced it all; knowing that the messes mean there are children in my home, the little patter of tiny feet, to be loved and lots of laughter. But I didn’t. I was frantically, inefficiently working to put my kitchen back together so that I could bask in the light of advent. But when my neighbor with the hair said, “It looks so great in here.” I looked at her in confusion. She went on, “It just looks so cozy — you just can’t see it”

Imagine you are looking down at yourself. If you can’t do this . . .

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

Filed under: Life, Yoga, best shot, holidays, spirit by SusieJ - 8 Comments →

Does The Wall Street Journal think they’ve finally answered the question, Is Yoga Just Posing as a Good Workout? Here’s a great yoga video that does help you loose weight. Does the writer, Nancy Keates, think it’s possible to reduce an ancient practice that seeks to unite body mind and spirit into the cardio-equivalent of scratching yourself? The most intelligent quote in the entire article was a quote by Bikram Choudhury, founder of the Bikram style of yoga: ” Modern medical science isn’t developed enough to explain yoga’s benefits.” There is no way to measure the effects of the reduction in cortisol, the affects on the adrenal hormone, bone loss, or the effects on the hormones called catecholamines — from Yoga Like Salt.

For some, yoga is sweating in a 120 degree room for 90 minutes, while you do 20 of the most challenging balance poses, two times. In the end, your heart is beating like a race horse. And you are wet. For some, yoga is pure and simple stretching and deep breathing. For others, it’s something in between the two.

Is yoga cardio? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Given the state of obesity in the world, isn’t any activity better than no activity? Given our level of stress today, isn’t yoga’s mind-body connection a gift? I will admit; I am not as calm with my kids as I wish I was. How much more stressed would I be if there was no yoga in my routine?

But, can I tell you how great it feels to be in my forties and to be able to touch my toes — easily! This is something my 11 year old cannot do. The yogis say that the secret to youth lies in the degree of flexibility in your spine. As we age, low back pain and upper back stress are our most common complaints. Once this begins, your ability to stay active diminishes. To stay active, take care of your spine.

The National Institutes of Health has conducted several studies that prove yoga health benefits. An orthopedic surgeon who commented on this article’s forum said this:

Most people (especially males) focus on strengthening exercises and add cardio but don’t pay attention to the fact that the body needs flexibility as well. Others do cardio (ie marathons, biking) and a little weight training as well, but forget stretching and suffer from various overuse injuries (think tendinitis, shin splints, etc). When you think of someone when they get old, they not only lose strength and stamina, but become incredibly stiff. Some forms of Yoga will definitely help with cardio and strengthening (all in varying degrees), but the main physical benefits are related to stretching and exercise in a safe, low impact manner. Not only does the Yoga provide a very healthy workout, but it also helps with various medical problems (plantar fasciitis–mine was cured in one session, but also scoliosis, carpal tunnel, back pain, etc). In short, Yoga is a great form of exercise with many benefits…

For me, personally, yoga is rarely the same thing on every day. But it is a daily ritual I cannot skip — as I will lay awake until I get up to move. For some reason, I cannot sleep until I’ve had my yoga.

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

Filed under: Life, Science, Yoga, spirit by SusieJ - 6 Comments →

he walks beside me while I run. Many of you know that my husband is an Ironman, and that I prefer that other wimpy exercise, Yoga; which I just found out burns between 400-1200 calories per class for Hot Yoga, and 275 calories, for Hatha Yoga/per hour. (I will hear not another word about Yoga not really being exercise. Again.)

But, one day, last fall, don’t ask me why, I got this itch to host Thanksgiving dinner for my family. But first, we’d all run the Turkey Trot together. The 5 mile race, that’s the undisputed “Way to Begin Thanksgiving Day.” I love to eat — so I figured the race would give me a free pass to all the second helpings of Pie I wanted. Plus, you actually win a pie and a can of whipped cream!!

But there was still that issue of actually crossing the finish line, so that I could make it back to the table before the Pie was gone.

And just imagine the fun we’d all have — running that race, in a big group — me, my brother, his wife, his son, his wife, my husband, our friends — and my kids cheering us on!! What fun!!

During the weeks of training, I learned pretty quickly that even though yoga did give me a strong core, I hated running. But not to fear, I have my Ironman husband to train me. He created a training schedule for me; and he took me out to run, gave me all the tips on whether it’s better to take big or little strides, and we started. But running hurts everywhere. I hated it — every time.

Even though I’m so slow at it my husband needs to WALK beside me, he stays with me — all the way. Race day comes upon us, and, which I’ve blogged about here, but here are the highlights:

• Only one person out of our group is left with me after the first 3 minutes.
• She doesn’t let me “walk” for any part of the race — even when she stops to tie her shoes.
• She beats me. Everyone in our group beat me.
• The pies were gone by the time I crossed the finish line.
• My husband ran the race, got his pie, got some coffee, and met up with me to run across the finish line with me.
• I did run across the finish line.
• He gave me his pie, and I ate lots of it.

So, it’s Turkey Trot Training time again.

• My husband: Are you ready to start training again?
• Me: Yeah — when I get settled with the kids’ school schedules
• My Husband: Skip it. I just don’t think running’s your thing.
• Me: (Thinking: Yes — he’s right. I want to skip it… but I love pie)
• Me: I’m training — and I’m going to beat my brother this year.

So, how cool would it be if I won the free outfit from www.ryka.com/goodforyoursole in the Parent Blogger’s Network Blog Blast?

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

Filed under: Laugh, Life, Yoga, reviews by SusieJ - 13 Comments →

These are pictures I took at a local park. Amazing wood sculptures. I kind of feel like this right now. School is starting this week, and it’s demands seem to make me feel like a drawf amongst the giants of paperwork and obligations. I’ve avoided talking about it, and thinking about it. It didn’t help that we went to the lake again this weekend. One final respite before the havoc starts. But the trip, although needed, put me behind.

Everything is going to be fine, my kids go to great schools, and they all have awesome teachers — but I’m still jittery.

It’s not the kids — it’s all the forms, and deciding what to sign them, and myself, up for. And, getting the house organized. I mean, really, you need to be prepared for all the new paperwork that’s coming. There are open houses and teacher meetings and sports sign-ups, so I’m calling my calendar this week, my “map.” I”d feel calmer, perhaps, if I knew that school meant the kids would all be in school — but they won’t be.

My son is heading to Middle School, and he’s excited, and a little bewildered. He’s not scared — thanks to an orientation, for sixth graders only, to walk around the school with their 8th grade mentors, and learn the “3Ls”. Lunch, lockers and lost. Can you imagine being that pampered as a 6th grader? I am grateful for that.

He’s not sure if he likes the idea yet of having a bunch of different teachers. But I told him, it’s awesome. Because now, when you go to Math, you’re going to have a teacher that LOVES math. And then, when you go to Literature, you’ll have a teacher that LOVES great stories. And, as for the schedule, just pretend you’re at Disney World, and you’re navigating yourself across the park to see specific shows at specific times.

I guess I feel so confident doling out advice to him about middle school, because I’ve been there.  But I’ve never been here, where I’m at now.  I feel tremendous pressure right now. To make sure the clothes are in tip top shape, the house is clutter-free and organized,

the kids get enough rest, and to cook big breakfasts that the kids will want to eat in the morning. I just feel jittery. I seem to know, in advance, what it will be like those first few weeks of school if we aren’t organized. All those years of nursing little ones in the middle of chaos must have taught me that.

In the middle of my daily yoga session, via DVD, the instructor guided me into a pose called, Parivrtta Parsvakonasana. It is awkward (but feels so good to stretch) to get in, and awkward to hold. And then he said, “Find some calm. There is calm in this Asana. Find it and settle there.”

So, yes, I am being stretched and pulled in different directions, but there is calm in this too. It’s just a matter of finding it and settling there.

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

Filed under: Life, Yoga by SusieJ - 13 Comments →

The world is taking notice. Well, at least, Jessica, at Sassafrass listens. Check out her post at Strollerderby, urging Dads to splurge for the belly dance lessons for Mother’s Day. There’s going to be quite a few happy Daddies Mommies out there on May 13, 2007. The last time I made an appearance on Strollerderby was for the Kissing Tips post by Mike at Cry It Out. (Hmmm. Am I giving them a message?)

Jessica, like me, loves (for us, it’s needs) yoga. I enjoyed reading her recent post, travels with toddler. Hmmm — brings back a faint memory…. And be sure to fall in love with her little golfer, here.

Jessica — so happy to meet you. Maybe we can hook up for a yoga class in the blogsphere someday.

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

Filed under: Laugh, Life, Yoga, blog by SusieJ - 6 Comments →

For Men Only

By now, you should be thinking about the “Mother’s Day Gift.” First, let me explain that flowers are mandatory. Moms have given up over 90 percent of their lives to the care and nurturing and worrying over their children. And, if the child is not adopted, they have given a year (and for those of us who nursed their babies, more than 1 year) of their bodily functions over caring for the child. Alcohol, caffeine, donuts and fish have all been subject to sacrifice. And her shoe size is now ½ size larger – forever.

So, what could you get her for a Mother’s Day Gift? Skip Hallmark. No stuffed animals. Diamonds are always a perfect choice. But if you’re looking for something out of the ordinary, and exotic, you might want to consider a Mother’s Day Gift that:

• Soothes PMS
• Is an art form
• Cultivates a svelte figure
• Help her loose the baby fat (You are not to mention this)
• Increases her sex drive
• Builds strong bones

To learn more about the gifts of belly dance, keep reading.

These are the benefits of belly dance – it is truly an art form that has prevailed for thousands of years, through cultural transformations, and fluctuations in societal standards. What is belly dance? Check this out here.here. And yes, BellyDancing is For every Woman.No one knows her better than you, but here’s some information that may help you decide if this is the right Mother’s Day gift for her. Wikipedia says, “Belly dance is a Western name for an Arabic style of dance developed in the Middle East. In Europe, it is sometimes called oriental dance. Similarly, In Turkish it is referred to as oryantal dansı (”Dance of the East”). Some American devotees refer to it simply as “Middle Eastern Dance”.

Despite the variety of forms and cultural transformations, belly dance’s most common feature is the isolated movements of the belly. These abdominal movements may be circular, rolling, angular, or vibrating. Vibrations and shimmies provide an aerobic workout. Slow belly rolls and hip undulations work the pelvic muscles, gently soothing away tensions, and increase circulation. This helps alleviate PMS, by working out the “congestion in the pelvic area.” Belly Dance is work, and requires focused concentration, and is not only mentally stimulating, but brings a much needed break to much of the mundane tasks of a the day. Other benefits include the prevention of arthritis, Alzheimer’s, and greater intuition. More on the Health benefits of Belly Dancing. Here’s a beautiful book, regarding the ancient rituals and benefits of belly dance. Grandmother’s Secrets: The Ancient Rituals and Healing Power of Belly Dancing.

Belly Dance’s ability to soothe women is precisely the reason it is the oldest form of natural childbirth instruction. Belly dancers would dance around the bedside of a woman in childbirth, by a circle of her fellow tribeswomen. In this ritualistic form men are not allowed to watch — the purpose here is to hypnotize the woman in labor into an imitation of the movements with her own body. This greatly facilitates the birth and reduces pain from womb contractions. It helps the mother to move with instead of against the contractions. I find this particularly fascinating. You can read about this, here.

If you think this would be the perfect Mother’s Day Gift, you can figure out where to find a local belly dance teacher here. If she’s particularly shy, you can give her a belly dance DVD as a Mother’s Day Gift. But, if you do decide to get this Mother’s Day gift for her, please do this for her: leave her alone. She doesn’t need an audience while she’s trying to learn the tricky moves of the dance. Give her time to build her confidence. And, without ever seeing her dance, you’ll notice a difference. She’ll start to move differently. I’ll leave you here to check out information from the belly dance experts:

• Belly Dance tips
• Photo Gallery here
• No local teacher?

Read more, kissing tips, here.

Bookmark to: