Yoga at The Solebury Club
 
The Yoga Connection 
 October 8, 2012
In This Issue
Foundations of Vinyasa Yoga
NEW! Meditation Programs
Save the Date!
Do You Have Metabolic Syndrome?
Yoga Book of the Month
Pose of the Month - Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana 2
Free Community Yoga Class
Quick Links

The Yoga Schedule
 
Shiatsu Shin Tai
 


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Greetings!

lotusNamaste,

My teacher says "When you do things halfway, you are only half present." Check in with yourself right now and see how present you are, with yourself, in this moment. Are you sitting fully into your sitbones, or are you tense and ready to move and do? Are you allowing your breath to fill your lungs, front and back, or are you breathing short and shallow in 'fight or flight' mode? Are you reading this article with full awareness and attention, or are you skimming it while you listen to music, drink your tea, delete emails, and heat up your dinner?

 

To do something halfway deprives us of the opportunity of being in the moment. It deprives us of the joy that is accessible only when we are present with ourselves. Yes, the work or project or meal we are working on may suffer, but we suffer so much more from lack of presence.

 

Yoga says you can only know Who You Really Are by being, fully present, within your body, in this moment. There is nowhere to go, nothing to accomplish or achieve or earn. You already ARE the divine. Sit in that awareness, now. Be present with that Truth, now.

 

Do more yoga.

Namaste, 

Maureen Shortt, Yoga Director

Foundations of Vinyasa Yoga

Jessica 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.

NEW! Meditation Programs

waves 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

 

LEARN TO MEDITATE with Maureen What if you had a meditation practice that drew you to it everyday?  What if you reacted less to the stresses and challenges of your life?  What if you lived your life more from your own inner knowing?

 

It is a privilege to offer to you training in a new Svaroopa Vidya(R)meditation syllabus called 'The Mantra Syllabus'.  Now, I can share with you 3 ways of using mantra that will turn you inward, take you beyond your mind, dissolve your limitations, and open you to your own divine essence, called Svaroopa.  This training gives beginning meditators, on-and-off-again meditators, and regular meditators the opportunity to 'try on' 3 different meditation techniques using mantra, each of which takes you progressively deeper.  The training will be held on 3 Fridays: November 9, November 16, and November 30, from 6 to 8 pm in Om studio.  (No session on November 23 due to Thanksgiving weekend)  Cost is $139.  If you have done meditation training with me before your cost is only $99.

 

You are probably ready and excited to dive deeper. Please know that this syllabus is more concentrated and more powerful, to take you deeper.  It is exponentially MORE enriching.

You can register at the front desk.  Please contact me if you have any questions.

My email is maureen@wildfire-ent.com    My cell is 215.262.1532

 

Click to read more

Save the Date!

Swami 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 SvaroopaŽ 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.

Do You Have Metabolic Syndrome?
maureenOne out of four Americans has Metabolic Syndrome.
If you have at least 3 of the following 5, you may have it.

    -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

Yoga Book of the Month

book of the monthJoin us this month as we read

 

The Power of Myth  Joseph Campbell with Bill Moyers   

Pose of the Month - Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana 2

pose1Let's start with Supta Padangusthasana and learn to root the bottom leg into the floor. This is lying down Hand to Big Toe Pose. Place the short end of your mat into a wall and before you lie down on it, roll the bottom edge up into a tight roll. You should roll about 24 inches of your mat up. When you lie down on your back, this roll should be under the middle of your thighs. The purpose of this roll is to give you something tactile under your hamstrings. Lie supine on your mat, with your feet on the wall and the roll under your hamstrings. Roll your inner thighs to the floor; this will arch your back. Press your hamstrings down into the mat roll and keep them there as you lengthen your tailbone towards your heels reducing your low back curve. Your feet should be pressing firmly into the wall as if you are in an express elevator going up. Keeping your left leg on the mat roll, bend your right knee in to your chest. Loop a belt around your right foot and extend your right leg to the ceiling - but keep your left thigh pressing into the floor! This is rooting your thigh back. You will probably have difficulty doing this. Remember that it is more important to root the left thigh down into the floor than it is to lift the right leg high into the air. With patience and persistence you can train yourself to do this. Give it a try.

I'll see you in class!   Karin  


Tuesday & Thursday 9:30-11am

Tuesday & Thursday 6:30-8pm

Saturday 8:30-10am

 Free Community Yoga Class
yoga classAll levels welcome!
 
Class meets on Thursdays from 11:30am to 12:30pm in the Namaste Studio.  Classes are taught by The Solebury Club Yoga teachers and recent graduates of the Teacher Training Programs.
 
Childcare is available

 
Namaste,
Yoga at The Solebury Club
phone: 215-794-3494