Yoga Bits
May 30 - June 5, 2011

Classes for the Week of May 30  

Wed 7:30 p.m.  Thu 7:30 p.m.  

 

Coming End of July:  

Sunday class at Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena 


This Is Your Brain...
(Okay, this is actually a mint plant)

Thriving Mint Plant

 

This Is Your Brain Without Rest
(Same plant in need of watering)


 Wilted Mint Plant

Any Questions?
(With apologies to my mint plant) 

If you're reading this, you're probably sleep deprived. How do I know? Because according to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, one in three Americans do not get enough sleep. But, really, you don't need a government study to tell you this, do you? You feel it every day -- in between jolts of caffeine, that is. How did we get here?

One problem is: our culture has a bit of a prejudice against rest. "Get up and go" is often mistaken as a virtue even though lack of sleep is linked to major health and wellness problems -- everything from premature aging to cardiac disease. The body performs vital functions during relaxation, most of which can only occur during sleep thanks to the intense pressures in our contemporary waking lives. What happens if, instead of making one more call or doing one more task, you just stopped? This concept is so foreign to many of us that it is almost inconceivable. Yet you would be wise to give the idea some consideration.

The yogis have known the necessity of proper rest for thousands of years and that explains why your yoga class ends with savasana. The relaxation in savasana serves numerous functions:
  • Rejuvenates the parasympathetic nervous system
  • Releases rigid patterns in the muscles and blood flow
  • Distributes prana stimulated by the exercises
  • Circulates glandular changes
  • Centers emotional energy
  • Allows the body to "memorize" the relaxation sensation 
  • Integrates a new pattern after an old one is broken
Now with all those fine, fine reasons to shut your eyes, go ahead. Count those sheep.

 

Sat Nam,

 

Mary