Dear Sweet Yogis & Yoginis,
"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes."
~Marcel Proust
"Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore."
~Andre Gide
Autumn is here. We sense it everywhere. We see it on the land, feel it on our skin and know it in our bones. Just as the harvest of apples and pumpkins are back so are the sweater and socks. At Om Sweet Om Yoga we welcome the changes with gratitude recognizing the beauty that surrounds us here in this special part of the world. We invite you to fall into yoga this autumn and enjoy our cornucopia of classes that make up this season's schedule. There is so much to enjoy and discover so please come inside to your place of peace.
We look forward to seeing you soon at Om Sweet Om Yoga.
Love and peace and more love,  |
Asana/Mudra of the Month
Supta Virasana/Reclining Hero Pose
Begin in virasana seated. (If you are not comfortable in this pose because of tightness in the feet roll up a blanket and place it under the tops of the feet and sit back down. If the pain is still there and if you have knee pain sit on a block or a blanket in between your feet. Stay here and breathe.)
If you are comfortable in virasana and would like to move in to supta virasana press all toenels into the floor, feel the sitting bones moving in toward each other, lift the tail bone and lengthen it toward the pubic bone and bring your hands, forearms and then elbows to the floor on either side of you as you lower your self back. First the crown of the head comes to the floor, then the back of the head and finally the shoulders. Continue to lengthen the tailbone toward the pubic bone all the while feeling your sitting bones move in toward each other and the pubis toward the navel and drawing the ribs slightly in and together. Breath here for 5-15 long deep breathes. To deepen the pose extend the arms over head and hold onto opposite elbows as you deepen the breath in to your extended torso.
To take a more restorative expression of the pose set up a bolster on some blocks behind you and recline onto the bolster. The bolster should be set up vertically so that it runs in line with the spine and the height can be adjusted to suit your fancy. along your spine and relax and breathe.
To exit the pose press into the elbow to come up leading with the sternum. Then place the hands in front of you and stretch one leg behind you in to plank at a time to stretch out the knees.
Physical Benefits: This pose opens the front body deeply. It stretches the thighs and groins, knees and ankles, and abdomen. It also works the arches and stretches the tops of the feet. It is good for many ailments including asthma, digestive problems, flat feet, head ache, high blood pressure, infertility, menstrual problems, sciatica and varicose veins.
Spiritual Benefits: Supta Virasana is a posture of equanimity. Here one should feel a cool remove away from tension and irritation. As the front body is stretched there is also a surrender to vulnerability, as one lies prone with the legs tucked behind.
"Look at everything as though you were seeing it for the first time or last time. Then your time on earth will be filled with glory." ~Betty Smith
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Satsang with Lisa
It is Columbus Day and not surprisingly I have been thinking a lot about the concept of discovery. The notion of discovery is very interesting to me, mostly because of its relationship with perception and perspective. To discover means to find or reveal something often for the first time.
Looking at the controversy surrounding Columbus Day well illustrates the complexity inherent in the idea of discovery. Children in America are taught that Columbus discovered America (as if there was this land waiting to be found and claimed). As children we accept these teachings as reasonable until our perspective widens to encompass a more global view. Then we recognize the irony, not to mention the Eurocentric/ethnocentric bias, of the notion of discovering foreign lands and cultures, as if they did not exist prior to our arrival!
"Everyone takes the limits of his own vision for the limits of the world." ~Arthur Schopenhauer
In order for us to see/perceive something we need to process it through our own filters and lenses. In the case of Columbus Day our perspective shifts as our lens or knowledge base changes. This kind of thing is commonplace in the field of scientific inquiry. Where once it was adamantly held that the sun revolved around the earth or that the earth was flat, it is no longer. No apologies. Just a shift of perception due to new tools and new discoveries and new conclusions are drawn.
"The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance - it is the illusion of knowledge." ~Daniel J. Boorstin
A social experiment conducted by the Washington Post in 2007 sheds light on the impact of environment and time on our perceptive abilities. On a cold January morning in a Washington D.C. metro station during rush hour a musician set up and began to play his violin. After a few minutes a man stopped listened looked at his watch and moved on. This was repeated several times by other travelers. A few people put some money in his case. A couple of children stopped to listen and were ultimately pulled along by their grown-ups. After 45 minutes of playing the musician stopped, packed up and left. No one applauded or seemed to notice.
It turns out that the musician was the world-renown violinist Joshua Bell. He played 6 of the most intricate and beautiful pieces ever written on an instrument worth 3.5 million dollars. In the time that he played over 1,000 people passed by, barely acknowledging his presence. He made a total of $32.
This experiment raises the questions: At an inappropriate time and unexpected/commonplace can we recognize/perceive beauty? Can we appreciate it? And ultimately, if we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing some of the best music ever written, what else are we missing?
"One does not see anything until one sees its beauty." ~Oscar Wilde
We would all like to think that we would have perceived the beauty and stopped at least for a moment, only to move on reluctantly because we had to be at our workplaces. There are times when we just must keep going. And then there are times when we are just get caught up in the frenetic pace unnecessarily and really miss things.
"When it is time to die, let us not discover that we have never lived."~Henry David Thoreau
There are things that we can disengage from in order to open to something beautiful and transcendent. Choosing to take a walk with a loved one on a beautiful day instead of preparing a meal. Or shutting your door rather than making the bed in order to share a smile with a child before school.
Here is where a regular yoga practice can be very helpful. Through the regular practice of yoga we stoke our internal fire or agni that will ultimately cleanse the lens through which we perceive the world. We will become clearer about what is true and real and what is illusion. Our yoga helps us to release stress and find peace, to move away from fear and find compassion and forgiveness. And ultimately through regular yoga practice we begin, step by step, to develop into the person that we want to be. And we discover that our lives change with us.
"Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens."~Carl Jung
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| Last stop | If you love Om Sweet Om Yoga say so!!! Your vote counts. Om Sweet Om is in the running to be named Long Island's Best Yoga Studio and we need your help! All you have to do is click here. Long Island Press is running this contest for their Best of LI Edition 2011. To vote for us, register and you can vote once a day through December, and tell your friends!
Finally we would like to remind everyone that our studio is spiritual space. Please refrain from calling and texting in the studio space before and after classes. If you need to use the phone please leave the room to do so. This is not said as a reprimand but more as a call to keep that kind of energy out of the practice rooms. We all have very busy lives, full of juggling and multi-tasking. We come to our mats for balance and sanctuary from that energy. We all need to protect our sanctuary by keeping it free of calls and texts. Thanks and love.
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Click here to register for all events at Om Sweet OmBack To life Chiropractic is having a H.O.W.L. health opportunity for wellness and longevity from October 25th -November 1st Receive...From October 25- November 1stReceive a consultation with one of the doctors, a Full Chiropractic Examination, a Spinal nerve scanfull report of findings and recommendations and yourfirst adjustment.All For $35 ($235 value)Call-944-4469 to make an appt.Inner Fire Yoga: Yoga to Open the Heart Workshop Saturday, November 6, 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm click here to registerMala and Calling in workshop with Lisa at home Thursday Nov 11th 6-9 pm or Sunday Nov 14th 2-5 pm
Limited to 14 people
Sadie Nardini: Deeper Core Power: Access Your Myofascial Meridians Flow through a mindfully vigorous Core Strength Vinyasa Yoga class while you go deeper into anatomy, alignment and new poses to reveal the groundbreaking new findings on the Deep Core Lines of the body. Sadie shows you how to integrate their power into all your yoga poses. Use these muscular and energetic sources optimally to bring you to a whole new level, no matter what style of yoga you practice!
Click here to registerLeslie Kaminoff comes to Om Sweet Om! Kicking off our 300-hour teacher training January 7-9, Leslie will teach what he knows best! This is part one of a two part anatomy module. You will be required to take both parts to complete this requirement. The second part is March 18-20.
If you will not be participating in our training and are an advanced practitioner or teacher looking to expand your knowledge base as it pertains to yoga anatomy you may participate as a workshop. We've moved our 200-Teacher Training to begin January 28th!
We are only having one weekend format training a year, so don't miss out! Early bird pricing if you register before December 28th! Save $300!register here |
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Agni/fire - In yoga we refer to the heat that we build through the practice as the agni/fire. But it is also important to remember that agni is one of the four elements and as such is an integral part of each of us. It is the agni that helps us to digest and metabolize our food and metabolize part of us. When we practice and cultivate this fire agni we do so knowing that it will burn away impurities from our very cells as well as ignorance (avidya) or false knowing. It is the burning of avidya that facilitates the shift that we experience when at the end of class we notice we are more open and loving and light emotionally having rid ourselves of the negative and toxic feelings that get stuck in our bodies. So, knowing this to be true it is important to remember that although it is important to hydrate, that is drink plenty of water, during class it is best to refrain if possible as the introduction of water puts out the agni.
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Recipe of the month
Perfect Vegan Combo!
Asian Kasha Pilaf courtesy of Joe Byrnes
2 cups of cooked kasha
2 cloves garlic sliced
6 chiso leaves
3 tablespoons soy sauce
11/2 cup chopped shitake mushrooms
Sauté shitake is olive oil high heat to low add garlic till translucent add soy sauce and chopped chiso and kasha and mix and serve.
Swiss chard and shitakes in olive oil, garlic and sea salt courtesy of Lisa Bondy
1 large bunch of Swiss chard (green) cleaned and chopped (be sure to include some stem)
1 pound shitake mushrooms chunked and stemmed
6 cloves garlic smashed
Sea salt
In a large sauce pan heat up 3 tbsps extra virgin olive oil and sauté garlic until aromatic. Add shitakes on high heat stir fry on then lower heat to medium and add chard and ˝ tsp sea salt sprinkled. Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes then uncover and turn and stir and recover and cook until chard is tender in the spines. About another 3-4 minutes. Let sit and serve when ready to eat and enjoy with Asian Kasha Pilaf!
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