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The Inner Voice
A weekly newsletter from Debbie Jensen-Grubb, RYT500
October 8, 2012 - Issue #9
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New Item! Free!!
The Daily Yoga Poses Poster |  FREE!!! For all who receive this newsletter my first ever poster to download and print out! Thank you for joining The Inner Voice newsletter! (You need to open it in another window and print it from there.) |
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Quick Links
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This weeks reading can be seen here at The Daily OM:
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Please support Yoga Salutes Non-Violence at The Yoga Center of Columbia on November 3, 2012. All proceeds go to various Domestic Violence Centers in our area.
Sybil Malatras is organizing tag-teams of Gentle Yogis who would like to participate in this successful event at a slower pace. You can do as many sun salutations as you want! Get friends/family to sponsor you, or just donate.
There are practice sessions each Saturday of October at 2:15 p.m. for 45 minutes so that you can get into the rhythm of the practice.
Register early and get a free T-shirt to wear at the event! You will feel good supporting this admirable cause and yourself in your practice! |
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| Greetings! |  Everything is changing. Can you feel it? Sit still awhile and listen. Breathe. Feel your center and feel how everything around you is flowing. You are quiet and centered, reading this newsletter, yet all around you is change..always. How do you handle change? Do you resist it? Do you tolerate it? Or do you embrace it? ...Maybe create it? Does it knock you off center and frighten you? Or do you allow it and love yourself through it, exhilarate in it? You will learn much about yourself when you watch how you handle change. Much of how we respond to change is whether it is a change we want or something life forces upon us, and how much it alters our expectations of life. In the end it is all about letting go of our illusion of control and finding balance within change that is the key. You can achieve this through yoga. Breathing, stretching, meditation all connects us with our heart center, our soul, which is the one thing that never changes and whose voice you can always rely upon. Everything else is chance. |
| Rib Tickler of the Week - hee hee | |
Three strings walk into a bar and sit at a table. The first string gets up to order the drinks and the bartender says "We don't serve strings here, you'll have to leave." He angrily returns to the table and tells his friends.
The second string tries and gets the same response. So the third string says "Let me handle this". He reaches down and ties himself in a knot, takes a comb and shreds the end. He walks up to the bartender and orders three drinks. The bartender says "Hey, aren't you a string?". String says "No, I'm a frayed knot."
Thank you, Vikki, from Tuesday's 4:15 class for the laugh.
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Sphinx - Salamba Bhujangasana
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Backbends are one of the best things that you can do for your spine. Our spine is an amazing configuration of rings of bone that support our organs in an upright position while balancing our weighty head on top of it. It is no wonder that it can get out of balance as we move through our day and life.
As we get older we have a tendency towards stooping due to our head moving forward of the spine, pulling on the muscles of the back and drawing the shoulder blades up. Back-bends ease the forward-pulling action on these muscles, getting them to release and strengthen.
One primary concern that you want to be mindful of when doing backbends is the ribs. Don't allow them to be pushed forward as you are bending backwards. Instead broaden the upper back and move the shoulder blades apart. This action will lift the ribs up and back to assist in lifting the abdominal organs. (An instant slimming effect!)
Today we work with one of the gentlest backbends, the Sphinx Pose (listed on my Daily Yoga Poster). Here we press down into the front of the legs to ground, engage the abdominal muscles to lift, broaden the upper back to support, and slowly, mindfully lift the head as you keep the throat open, the cervical spine long, and your eyes soft. (That's what you call using your head - ha! - sorry.)
Always start off in the Prone Pose before doing any sort of backbend (see video above) to allow your spine to adjust to the action. You can stay in Prone Pose and let it be your backbend or you can proceed on to the Sphinx. Listen to what your body wants for this day.
Backbends lead to a healthier, more youthful-feeling, more vital YOU. Give yourself time and do one each day.
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| Mantra | |
A mantra is a sound or phrase that aids in the concentration of meditation. It is a Sanskrit term and literally means 'instrument of thought'. Here you will find a suggested mantra to use during the week. Just repeat it whenever you need a lift.
I bring my life into balance by loving myself. I live in today and love who I am. |
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| Ponderings - Change |
I watched a movie recently called 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' (TBEMH)(official website). It was a wonderful movie about how various older individuals from Great Britain found themselves in India at TBEMH through different circumstances. The one thing that they all had in common was that they were all dealing with change.
Now change, wanted or unwanted, is difficult to deal with at any age, yet when we have reached a 'certain age' we expect to be a bit more settled and secure. Life has a way of throwing a wrench into the machinery of our plans though and so it was for these people whose characters find themselves together in a strange land in an odd hotel with a most animated host. It is in how they deal with the changes they are facing that makes the movie so endearing.
Upon contemplation of this movie some thoughts occurred to me as to how to deal with change. One is really all about attitude. In a sense we have to be open to the possibility that change is going to happen. Being prepared to accepting change is key in negotiating through it. Resisting it only brings torment and pain.
Another realization is that once we accept that we cannot change anyone and that the only way they can change us is if we let them, we have liberated everyone involved including yourself. It's empowering to let go of all else and make the decisions that are right for you, irregardless of what anyone else thinks or wants. No one has power over how you conduct yourself, or the decisions you make, except you. This also allows and inspires others to make the right decisions for themselves too!
Give yourself time to adjust to change, especially if it is a death of a loved one or pet. Allow yourself to grieve. Know that a piece of your heart will always be missing and carrying the happy memories close to your heart will help in reaching some acceptance of what has happened.
When you are ready then move on with a purpose. Look for the silver lining that every change brings. Perhaps it will enable you to start anew in a direction you never would have taken. Look for the good that accompanies change and you might find that happiness is just around the bend once we are ready to follow where our path leads us.
There was one saying in the movie that just stuck in my head and I wish to remember always. "It is said: 'It will always work out in the end, and if it is not working out, then must not be the end!"
Enjoy life while you are here, go with the flow of change as you hold on to your heart...to the very end.
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| Nutrition Prescription - Salt | 
Salt is essential to life. Our bodies need salt. It is crucial in the balance of every cell in the human body via the ATP pump. Sodium bathes the outside of the cell (extracellular fluid) and potassium exists on the inside of the cell (intracellular fluid). These two minerals need to be in constant dynamic balance so that nutrients and waste can move across the cell membranes. If this process fails, it means death and destruction for the cells.
Sodium maintains balance in our blood and lymphatic fluid. It allows communication between our brain and body. It is necessary for the contraction of the muscles (the heart is a muscle that relies on salt to work) and the activity of the nerves. If you don't eat enough salt you can begin to have cramps. Putting a dap of salt on your tongue can help make a cramp go away.
Another important purpose is that it's required for the production of HCL (hydrochloric acid) for food digestion in the stomach, especially protein. It truly is one of the reasons we are alive. Nature even gave us a salt-sensor on our tongue so that we could seek out salty food for our survival.
As with everything balance is the key. Too much salt can bring disease, just as too little salt in your diet can. Something to be aware of is that most municipal water plants add salt to soften the water so when you are showering you are absorbing that into your system through your skin adding to your total sodium intake.
The type of salt we eat is crucial too. In regular table salt manufacturers bleach the salt removing any beneficial nutrients, then heat it at such high temperatures that it actually changes the chemical structure of salt. It is treated with anti-caking agents so that it doesn't clump together in our salt shakers but this also means it doesn't mix with the fluid in our bodies (which is its job). Some of these anti-caking agents have aluminum in them (which had been reported to lead to Alzheimer's) which tastes terrible so then they add sugar! Aargh!
The best salt to eat is unrefined sea salt or celtic salt. The one I use is a light grey or greenish color from Selina Naturally (see below) which still has elements from the sea that give it its color. You'll need a special salt grinder with the best sea salts as they are a bit coarser and have a tendency to clump.
If you are watching your sodium read the label and look for foods that have 140 mg of sodium or less. Another way to decrease your sodium intake is to eat fresh (instead of processed) foods adding salt to taste. However you go about it become attentive to how much salt you are taking in. It could change your life.
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You only go around as YOU one time. Live a life that you want to be remembered for now. Accept change, flow with the adventures life brings, and watch how things have a way of always working out in the end if we but follow our inner voice and stay true to ourselves.
Namaste,
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The next TWO workshops are:
Healthy Joints Workshop:
Feet and Knees
Saturday, October 13th
10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
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Yoga Nidra
Sunday, October 14th
1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
You can register at 410-720-4340 or online at www.columbiayoga.com
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