Is your back sore?  Do you feel stiff and achy?

 Want to try yoga and need to take it slow?

 Sign up for our new 6 week beginner yoga session

Tuesdays 6:30-7:30pm

October 9 - November 13

Cost is $59 for the entire session (6 person minimum)

Offered at an excellent price per class, this session is designed for people who are new to yoga, struggle with flexibility, or who want to get a good foundation for a yoga practice. This session will focus on yoga basics like simple standing postures and modified sun salutes.  It will also provide an introduction to breath practice, meditation, and, of course, relaxation.  Join Jessica Presti on the mat Tuesday nights for a early week energizer.

 Meditation is training your mind. In meditation, when your thoughts wander, you let them wander and simply guide your mind back to the object of your focus. This could be breath, a symbol, a mantra(specific words), a candle flame, a concept such as 'love' or 'eternity', a physical feeling such as the softening of your body, or awareness itself, or others.

You have thoughts, emotions and sensations. They are like the waves of the ocean, rising and falling. Meditation is becoming aware of the ocean itself. The waves will still be there but you will identify less with them and more with the deep calm of the ocean.

Meditation is the consistent practice of the EXPERIENCE behind the philosophy or theology or tradition. The commonality of the various approaches to meditation comes from surrendering to the direct experience of the universal reality behind each style of meditation. The difference is how that reality is experienced.

How to choose a meditation style? Consider your background and your temperament. You may want to try a few styles to choose from your own experience. For many, the connection with the teacher is important. The meditation style will give you relaxation and a sense of peace, if it is a match to you. But, oh, by the way, that relaxation and peace may be more evident out in the rest of your life than it is in the actual meditation period. Do you want to meditate daily or only in a group occasionally? Do you want spirituality included in your meditation training or do you want it to be secular? Do you want it to be about awareness itself, or do you want a specific tool to use?

Explore these 3 meditation traditions and dive deeper into the reality of Who you are:

MINDFULNESS MEDITATION involves focusing on the present moment by bringing awareness
to your thoughts and feelings with an attitude of curiosity, openness and acceptance.
In Mindfulness Meditation (also called Insight Meditation), the mind itself is the vehicle. We use
the breath, imagery, and body scans as techniques to cultivate attention.

Free Information Session Friday, October 12th at 6:00pm

Click to read more

MORNING MEDITATION PROGRAM in the Buddhist Yogic Tradition will provide exposure and training in a wide range of meditation techniques. After learning the preliminaries of where, when and why to meditate, we will move first into tonglen practice, which uses visualization techniques to cultivate compassion and open the heart chakra.

Wednesday mornings 8:45-9:15am

SVAROOPA® VIDYA MEDITATION involves experiencing the Self within, the reality of your
eternal divine essence, in meditation and in life, by going beyond your mind.

In Svaroopa® Vidya Meditation mantra(repetition of sacred words), the pause between your
breaths, or the softening of your body, are the vehicle. This meditation is based in Kashmir
Shaivism, a spiritual tradition that traces back thousands of years to the sages of the
Himalayas, and into today, with living teachers.

Friday, November 9, 16 & 30 from 6:00-8:00pm

 Swami Nirmalananda is gracing us with her presence again. She loves to come visit our community and talk on the ancient teachings of yoga, chant, and lead us in meditation. THIS visit she is doing something special-she is doing a blessing of children. We have a couple of Svaroopa® babies born within the past year to moms(and dads) who do Svaroopa, as well as the many children(and grandchildren) of regular Svaroopi's. When she visited us in the spring she did a sacred ash blessing for all the adults present. If you weren't there, ask someone who was what it was like for them.

Join us on Wednesday, October 17th for this amazing gathering of Grace

From 6 to 6:30pm Swamiji will do the blessing of the children. All children are welcome. Then from 6:30 to 8pm she will do satsang-the talk, chanting, meditation, and, perhaps more- with the adults.

As always, she offers her services to us freely, and free. Swamiji travels the world in service to all humanity by helping you to know your own divinity.

Donations to her ashram to support her work will be accepted that evening. Visit her website where you can read her story, listen to many hours of her talks, and contemplate her monthly articles.

While the event is free we ask you to register at the front desk so we can have the studio set up comfortably, and because space is limited. Please let us know if you will be bringing children to the blessing, and if so, what age(s). The kids room is open that evening, so children may be brought down after their time with Swamiji.

One out of four Americans has Metabolic Syndrome.

    -Waist Size:  Women waist > 25"   Men waist > 35"

    -LDL Level:  Women LDL < 50   Men LDL < 40

    -Blood Sugar < 110

    -Triglycerides > 150

    -Blood Pressure:  systolic 130 or higher; diastolic 85 or higher

Again, if you have at least 3 of 5 of these symptoms, you may have a metabolic syndrome-a malfunction that affects your health now with symptoms such as cravings, low energy, sleep disturbances, difficulty losing weight, and low immunity. And it can mean you are predisposed to develop even more serious disorders such as adult onset diabetes or heart disease.  WHAT TO DO?

The really good news is that metabolic syndrome CAN be reversed through diet and exercise. All these markers listed above DO respond to lifestyle changes. But-and it's a big but- the changes necessary in both diet and exercise, while very simple, must be sustained day by day and over time. This syndrome did not come on suddenly and it doesn't go away overnight.

You must understand what is going on in your individual metabolism, and you must meet that imbalance with the types of food, and the timing of your food, as well as with the types of exercise, and the timing of that exercise, that will enable your body 1) to burn bodyfat for energy-particularly abdominal fat;  2) to regulate your insulin 3) to spare your muscle as an energy source, and;  4) to normalize your stress-handling hormones.

You can get started by measuring your waist. Come in with a cloth tape measure just above the level of your hipbones on each side. If your numbers are higher than 25 inches for women and 35 for men, your metabolic health may be out of balance. Keep a week's diet diary for yourself. This will begin to point you towards where and how your nutritional intake can be better balanced. And keep an exercise journal to track your consistency.

For further help contact Maureen Shortt, club Nutritionist 215.262.1532 or maureen@wildfire-ent.com

Join us this month as we read

The Power of Myth  Joseph Campbell with Bill Moyers   

Join Karin Eisen and Shelley Fisher for our 3rd Annual Yoga Weekend Getaway at the Ocean Place Resort and Spa in Long Branch, NJ on October 12 -14th.  This beautiful, upscale resort is just steps from the beach, shopping and entertainment. Take a break from your busy life and join other like minded yoginis for a women's only weekend renewing yourself from the inside.