Friday, August 31, 2007

Realize your Power

As humans we are powerful beings. It is easy to forget the mystical truth about everything but imagine for a moment that things aren't always what they seem. As a human you can set an intention and then realize it with actions. We can shape the future, we can make a difference with each kind action, we can communicate without words. Our brains are powerhouses, literally. They are electricity generators as well as universal radio transmitters and receivers. Never underestimate the power of a well trained human brain, especially one attached to a well trained body. Take responsibility for your power. Enjoy it, it is literally divine.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Feedback Cycles are the Law

The operation of feedback cycles is one of the most important for us to understand. Feedback cycles can be positive or negative. Basically feedback cycles mean that something you do creates an environment for the perpetuation of more of the same. The feedback cycle means that each action has a profound affect on everything because its direction will help determine your next location!

Negative feedback cycles are simple to describe. You eat something unwise, it makes you feel depressed and sad, so you eat something else to make you feel better and then it makes you feel bad again. You gain wait so you get discouraged so you just eat more so you gain more weight. Simple and common i guess.

The beauty of it is that it works the other way also.

You eat kind of good and exercise daily for a couple of days and you start to feel remarkably better and it gets easier for you to make a smarter food decision and that helps you exercise better, which makes you feel better, which makes you want to keep eating a little smarter, and so it goes in the positive direction.

Use this universal law for your benefit! Start it all off with a piece of fruit and a Sun- Salutation.

Friday, August 17, 2007

Everything in the Material World is Relative

In the material world everything is relative! Relativity is a inherent to the world of materiality, not just an attribute. Everything is relative. What you think of as problems for sure are relative!

You think you have a problem? Can you eat? Do you have a place to sleep at night? Are you dying of a disease presently? Then no, you really don't have a problem. We all give too much weight to situations that don't resemble problems, and we often let our minds cycle around in thoughts of self-pity or anger. Our small situations are not problems. Problems are war and disease, not things that are more aptly just smaller annoyances. Most of the time, what is seen as a problem in our society can be turned into an opportunity to learn something and make a change if necessary. Most of the time, calling something a problem is not required, and only creates the problem. Read Eckart Tolle's THE POWER OF NOW if you have not.

Putting a positive or negative charge on anything is not required.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Alleviating Lower Back Pain

Fred Busch Lower Back Pain Resources

Many people have lower back pain and it is chronic for them. Most people who have lower back pain engage in actions that make it worse, sometimes in the name of making it better. Many people do forward bends to try to ‘stretch’ the lower back or ‘get’ to the spot through a stretch. This is not a good idea. First of all for clarity the type of lower back pain I am specifically referring to in this case is the sacra-iliac joint area where the sacrum meets the ileum. But I am also referring to back pain caused by herniated discs on the bottom lumbar vertebrae. If it is sacra-iliac, sometimes it is felt more on one side or the other and it is always a deep kind of sensation. For this type of back pain, which is fairly common, the following advice if followed has a significant chance of eliminating the pain. The exercises must be practiced daily because if we want to have a pain free existence, we have to earn it.

It is very important to understand that Yoga can either help or hurt a lower back situation. The wrong Yoga poses can do added damage to the situation. Many inexperienced teacher don’t understand the necessity to treat lower back pain specifically, so if you go to a yoga class you must employ the following principles on your own and without exceptions.

What it all comes down to is this: The hamstrings are attached to the Pelvis at the sitting bones and the hamstrings thus affect the ability of the pelvis to tilt forward during forward bends. So if the hamstrings are tight they will limit the pelvic tilt and as a result there will be a great stress in the sacra-iliac joint or in the herniated lumbar discs because the pelvis is not tilting yet the student is attempting for pull himself down anyway. It is a tug of war between the hamstrings and the sacra-iliac joint and the hamstrings are stronger so they will win. With that understanding it will now make sense to employ the following guidelines to keep the lower back safe while doing Yoga classes.

Actions to Avoid:

Most importantly avoid all forward bending that has legs straight and together at the same time. Seated forward bend and standing forward bends with legs together and straight is the most dangerous of all.

Avoid twisting if you have herniated disc history unless you are certain in what you are doing.

Actions to perform every day:

Exercise #1: Downward Facing Dog with knees slightly bent. Bend one knee at a time and do little mini runner’s lunges.

Exercise #2: Lie on your back and lasso a strap around the base of your big toe and pull on your straight leg. One leg at a time, switching sides every three breaths.

Repeat these for 15 minutes, back and forth.

For more information look at Fred Busch’s Book- A Clear and Definite Path.

You can email the author at namaste@miamiyoga.com

Thursday, August 9, 2007

Bellydance for Pre-Natal Prep

Wall Street Journal did a great article chronicling Bellydance history and explained the roots of Bellydance come from preparation for child birth. The MD in the article who gave birth to the child while the Bellydance teacher was in the room said that the pelvic motions that he encourages women to do to push the baby out are the exact same as the Bellydance undulations.

Thursday, August 2, 2007

Bellydance Performance for Sept 21 Benefit !!!




Bellydance Benefit for Global Action!!!
Jennifer Nahas will be performing for the Benefit. Her performance will be like nothing you have seen. She is recognized nationally as the best performing Bellydancer in the United States.

Any community that can organize is very powerful. The Yoga community is a potential force to be reckoned with when it comes to positive change potential on earth. We aim to demonstrate this as the many of the Yoga Studios and Stores of Miami will be coming together on Sept 21st, the night of the Equinox, as part of Shiva Rea's Global Mala Project.

Global Mala events will be happening simultaneously around the world on this same night. All to benefit Global Warming, Poverty, AIDS and other preventable situations. This is a very powerful opportunity for all of us (including myself) to trod through the lethargy of complacency and just stand up together and speak about what we want to see.

It is going to be a great night so please

SAVE THE DATE!!!!!!!!!Sept 21st Friday Night... 6-9pm
(108 Guided Sun-Salutations 6pm...Wine and Fruit served... Bellydance Performance 8:30pm)

The Venue for the event will be announced soon!
Namaste!



Miami Yogashala · 210a 23rd street · Miami Beach · FL · 33139