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 Sat Nam Dear Yogis,
Happy November!
Clear healthy skin, muscle tone, positive energy, staying in shape, and a feeling of excitement about life's possibilities - what do all these have in common? Glandular balance! Yoga tells us that when the season changes it's important to keep your glands/hormones in balance. Hormones are made in the ovaries, testes, adrenals, pituitary, pancreas, brain, thyroid, parathyroid, hypothalamus and other areas still not fully understood by science. Even the tiniest tip of the scale of hormonal balance can change your whole outlook and metabolism! See our list below for new and ancient wisdom which will work wonders!
Special Event
It's November, last chance to sign up for our last retreat of 2010! 2010 is/was a great time to lay the groundwork for great changes. There is nothing like a Kundalini Yoga retreat to turn the ignition switch and change your life in one weekend! What is so awesome about a Kundalini Yoga immersion is that it is a virtual guarantee that your life will get a boost on all levels health, wealth, & Spirit!
New England Yoga Retreat Nov. 12 - 14
(3 spaces left) Join us this Fall in New England and live your colors! Red for energy. Orange for creativity and flow, Gold yellow for personal power. Experience New England in all its leafy glory! Seriously, this place is amazing. Very accessible, yet very private, woodsy area next to State Forest with hiking trails, and 2 neighboring lakes. as well as the fabulous & fun town of Chester. Join us at the Guest House Retreat Center in CT!We have it on good authority (our own) that Ravi will be bringing his magical gong. Its been harder these days to bring the gong along when we fly to various places, so many of you have never experienced the power and transcendence of a sonic healing to live gong music!
To register, please e-mail us at ravianayoga@aol.com. We can accept payment via credit card or paypal (ravianayoga@aol.com). Also, those who attend will accrue 15 hours towards our 200 hr. Yoga Alliance Teacher Training certification. We look forward to seeing you there! (you can also attend individual workshops and not stay overnight)
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 Top Ten Tips for Happy Hormones
1. Want strong bones, firm muscles and a zesty sex drive throughout your life? Yes please! The answer is testosterone and, surprise, that goes for both men and women! Most women don't know that testostor-
one levels are very important for them too! When you feel your energy waning and or, you seem to not be able to tone no matter how much you are working out, it could be testostorne levels are waning. This hormone will also help to keep your heart healthy.
2. It's best to trim pounds gradually. Surprisingly, cutting your calorie intake by more than 15 percent makes your brain think you're starving, and will shut down healthy hormone production to wait out the lean times? Ironically, this endocrine dip stops us from burning body fat efficiently, so we're actually putting the kabosh on our hard efforts to trim and tone.
Did you know that over the long haul, carrying excess body fat elevates estrogen levels, and that may cause testosterone levels to sink. This occurs when we're 30 percent over ideal body weight.
3. Eat raw foods, or at least a mostly vegetarian diet. Research has shown that eating a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet (the high protein, low carb approach = diminishing returns) can cramp your healthy hormone levels (high levels of dietary protein in your blood can eventually lower the amount of healthy hormones produced). And be sure to choose organic! We all know by now that the pesticides and chemicals in our foods play havoc with healthy hormone levels, and stress the liver (which has to filter hormones) and is responsible for storing (or not) fat in the body. And of course avoid (or at least moderate) alcohol and other obvious suspects (even coffee) which are not hormone friendly.
4. Live your Tantra! Sex is a natural part of life, so in your own way, try to arrive at what constitutes balance for you around sexuality. A balanced sex life keeps one's hormonal system humming. Even thinking about sex helps! If you find you are thinking about sex less often, guess what hormone may be lagging, Testostorone! Having er, um..relations causes your healthy hormone levels to expand!
5. Many women fear menopause and think that it represents a precipitous drop in hormones, etc. The facts are, the decline in hormones is actually fairly gradual (starting in your 30's) and if you have been doing your Kundalini Yoga and living a healthy lifestyle, you may barely notice a thing. You may even see skin and mood improvements! You will see this time not as the end of anything but as an exciting new beginning!! Try Fat Free Yoga (especially the Your Life is in Your Own Glands segment) to keep your glands happy!
6. Do squat! Don't you love the squats in some of our workouts?? Besides the obvious toning benefits (one of the best exercises for hips and thighs!), here's another really good reason for you: "compound" exercises that train several large muscle groups, such as squats, and dolphin push-ups (as in our Yoga for Beginners & Beyond) increase testostorone levels! This boosts whole body muscle tone. In fact, doing squats can actually help build your upper body muscles!!! Using your own body weight (as in yoga), and doing repetitions, is one of the best ways to really crank up healthy hormone production.
7. What do the following exercises have in common? Three minutes of Sat Kriya, Shoulder Stand with Breath of Fire, Cat/Cow with the Breath of Fire, Segmented Breathing exercises? These are just a sampling of the many KY techniques that stimulate healthy hormone production and glandular balance. The problem with hormone therapy is that you have to get the balance exactly right otherwise it can do more harm then good . The beauty of KY is that it stimulates healthy hormone producation and balances your hormones naturally so you can never have too much of a good thing.
8. Take it easy! Always give your body time to put back what it's put out: If you over- do your workouts without allowing your body time to recoup, healthy hormone levels can take a plunge! This could mean muscle shrinkage, peevishness, fatigue and insomnia! If you do your mantras and relaxation at the end of your KY practice you are covered. But, we still suggest getting your 8 hours sleep and balancing your workouts with the ultimate regenerator: Meditation. Sleeping less than seven to eight hours a night can wreak havoc with your circadian rhythms. It's no wonder your healthy hormone levels are higher in the morning after a good night's sleep. Rest harder than you work out! You'll notice in Kundalini Yoga workouts we rest on our backs at intervals. This gives our endocrine systems a chance to recalibrate.
Hint: try taking two capsules of Arginine/Ornithine either just before bed or 45 min. before a workout for a healthy hormone spike. These natural amino acid supplements are more or less the active ingredients in drugs used for sexual dysfunction!
9. Go Nuts! Look for the raw sprouted variety. We like "Better than Roasted" sprouted Brazil nuts. Have a handful between meals to keep your blood sugar stable and to keep your hormones happy! Research has found that people who ate diets rich in good fats, had the highest healthy hormone levels.
Healthy fats won't make you fat. If you want to raise your healthy hormone score, eat a diet that includes about 30 percent healthy fats. Your body needs dietary fat to produce healthy hormones, so being phobic about fat will cause your testoserone levels to fall and estrogen levels to rise.
10. Do Kundalini Yoga (should've been #1 on this list!)! Fat Free Yoga, Yoga Cleanse,Yoga Bliss Hips, Yoga Quick Fixes, and Yoga House Call, Yoga Beauty Body, among many others are superb glandular balancers and enhancers.
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Specials of the MonthMany of our titles are on sale on Amazon.com for as low as $11.99. If your order is $25 or more you get free shipping!
 
Amazon.com Specials
Kundalini Yoga Transformer All-In-One Workout - 20% off
The Kundalini Yoga Meditation & Breathing DVD - 20% off
Kundalini Yoga Solar Power All-In-One Workout - 15% off
Fat Free Yoga - 20% off
Kundalini Yoga for Beginners & Beyond - 20% off
Ultimate Stretch Workout - 15% off
Best Yoga DVD's for Happy Hormones
Fertility, Endurance, Strength: Warrior Workout, Yoga House Call (Fertility & Potency Segment), KY Cardio
Health Bones, Body Symmetry: Yoga House Call (Strong Bones & Muscle Tone Segment),Kundalini Yoga for Beginners & Beyond (The 5 Tibetans Segment)
Hip Release, Flexibility: Yoga Bliss Hips, Yoga for Beginners & Beyond: Stretch, Strengthen, Be Stress Free, Ultimate Stretch Workout
Confidence, Personal Power, Focus, Will: Navel Power
Heart Opening: A Journey thru the Chakras
Stress Relief: The Kundalini Yoga Meditation DVD
Stubborn Life Issues: A Journey thru the Chakras, (Foundation Segment)Kundalini Yoga for Beginners & Beyond (Rise & Spine Segment)
Creativity: Throat Center on A Journey thru the Chakras
Radiance & Attractability: K.Y. for Energy & Super Radiance
Positive Weight Control: Fat Free Yoga
Liver Detox: Yoga Cleanse
Best Overall Workout for Women: Yoga Beauty Body
Please note that many of our DVD's are also
available on amazon.co.uk as well as amazon.ca
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Questions of the Month
Difficult Menopause
I am going through a difficult menopause, hot flashes and emotional, etc......... Why is Kundalini is good for menopause, can youshare that with me? In dire straits! thanks. P.S. If my hormones are going bonkers, how does producing more help? Thanks for writing we're sorry to hear that you are experiencing a life challenge! There is nothing better than Kundalini Yoga to ease the symptoms associated with menopause. All yoga systems stimulate and balance the endocrine system but Kundalini Yoga is especially beneficial for the glands. The chakra system is the energetic correlate to the glandular system. Kundalini Yoga's focus on balancing the chakras, as well as it's amazing combination of breath, movement, posture, and the science of sequence, all brings about glandular balance. Balance is the key word here. Stimulating one's hormonal system through Kundalini Yoga only produces additional hormones where needed and maintains optimal proportions of hormones in the body. Breath of Fire, and all of Kundalini Yoga, stimulates healthy hormonal balance in the body. Breath of Fire is known as, "The pituitary's saving grace." The pituitary (the "master gland") produces human growth hormones which are responsible for muscle tone, sex drive, energy etc. After a certain age the pituitary doesn't produce any more and runs off what's been built up. Stress and unhealthy lifestyle deplete this reservoir. Kundalini Yoga actually helps to reinstate healthy levels. Testosterone and estrogen need to be in balance as do other important hormones in the body. Kundalini Yoga maintains this balance as well. Hormones are known as "agents of change," and menopause is not meant to be a curse, but simply a signal that it's time to be more accountable in terms of lifestyle. (see the lifestyle considerations above) It's meant to be a time of new discoveries about healthier ways to be alive. Kundalini Yoga will engender the awareness to help you arrive at the healthiest lifestyle for you. If you are experiencing hot flashes, we recommend the Sitali Pranayam breath, at least 11 min. per day (read about it under "S" on the A-Z Health archive on www.raviana.com. Also, daily practice of our DVD's, especially Fat Free Yoga, Yoga Beauty Body, and Yoga Bliss Hips, and the Five Tibetan sequence on Kundalini Yoga for Beginners and Beyond, (many women have been writing to us, stating that these exercises helped them to "sail through," menopause symptom free. New Mom Help
Hi Ana and Ravi,I'm a relatively new mom (my baby is 6 months old). And while I wouldn't trade my baby for anything in the world, being pregnant and a mom has taken its toll on my body! I'd really like to get back into shape (I have about 20 pounds to loose still, I've already lost 30). I was on track trimming down but then sprained my ankle, followed by a series of intense migraines that prevented me from working out (the migraines probably due to loss of sleep). I'm starting to get back into it though, however between working, being with baby, and needing to sleep when I can (I'm breastfeeding and often up during the night), I find that I'm only able to get 4-5 workouts in a week. I usually hit 4 workouts a week, with time for them ranging between 30 minutes, 40 minutes, or an hour (depending on how early I can make myself get up). I can't work out after work because I don't get home till 5 and only am able to spend 2 hours a day with my daughter as it is. After she goes to bed I have just enough time for dinner and to get ready for the next day. I make myself get up at 5:30 in the morning to work out, I don't feel I can get up any earlier, because my lack of sleep causes me to get migraines. Which of your DVDs do you think would be the best for getting back into pre-pregnancy shape (given the amount of time I am able to spend working out). What segments would you recommend? I need to shed some overall body fat, I also want some toning in my mid-section, back, upper legs, and arms (basically all over). I hope you can help me find a plan that I can work with! I also love your meditations!
Thanks for writing. Congratulations on giving birth to your beautiful daughter! The best workouts to achieve your goals are (in this order): Fat Free Yoga, Yoga Total Tune Up, Kundalini Yoga for Beginners and Beyond, Navel Power plus Meditation for Beginners & Beyond.
Fat Free Yoga and Yoga Total Tune Up have short segments. We suggest doing at least two segments from either of these per workout. Kundalini Yoga for Beginners & Beyond has two 25 minute segments. The Five Tibetan segment on that DVD will help you get everything covered (on all levels) efficiently. Navel Power will you the Personal Power you need to be able to do less and get more done and organize your life so that time constraints are not so pressing. Yoga Bliss Hips, Yoga Quick Fixes, and Yoga House Call also have many short segments. Yoga Quick Fixes also has a Headache Helper segment.
After a women gives birth hormone levels drop which can cause symptoms such as migraines. Lots of Breath of Fire is in order as well as doing as much Kundalini Yoga as you can will help to reinstate healthy hormone levels. Also, see the lifestyle considerations above.
We understand your desire to spend as much time with your daughter as possible. This meditation: Ganpati Kriya (read about it under "G" on the A-Z Health Archive on www.raviana.com), can help you create the time and space to have a less stressful life and set things up so that you can do more Kundalini Yoga (the Universe always answers sincere prayers for the time/space to pursue a Spiritual Path)!
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Meditation of the Month
 Anti-Radiation (& More!) Meditation - Not only is there residual radiation in the atmosphere from the atomic testing of decades past, but as the ozone layer gets stripped away, deadly radiation from space is becoming more and more of a health hazard. "They," haven't really held a press conference about this, but that doesn't mean it's not true! These days to declare that the sky is falling (in this case literally) is not the best thing for a researcher's career. So many things antagonistic to our well being. What's a yogi to do? According to Yogi Bhajan, this meditation, which he taught right after the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor meltdown on March 28th, 1979, can not only shield us from radiation, but can actually help us transform that energy for self-healing! This meditation was also used by ancient people to protect them from any destructive from the sky: hail, hurricanes, and lightning.
Note: That may sound like the most egregious form of magical thinking, but it's incumbent on those of us who are the recipients of ancient knowledge to be scientists and attempt to verify claims made for these types of techniques. Yogi Bhajan told us many times, that in India it is child's play for any self-respecting yogi to be able to control (not misuse!) the elements to protect oneself
Have your hands (index fingers and thumbtips meeting) at shoulder level, as if you're taking a double oath. Eyes 1/10 open looking down and in towards the tip of the nose. Inhale and chant (in a monotone) three repetitions of this mantra per breath:
Prana, Apana, Shushmana, Hari, Hari Har, Hari Har, Hari Har, Hari
Try to do this for 11 - 31 min. Prana is expanding energy. Apana is eliminating energy. Hari is God's creativity. Har is God's power. These complimentary pairs create a neutral space in which healing can happen and extremes can reconcile. Shushmana is the central energetic pathway of the spine and represents union of opposites. Mantras are more than symbolic. They literally vibrate Nature and the Universe harmoniously. Also, re: this meditation: It could be said that if you anticipate being thrust into a dysfunctional family dynamic this holiday season, this meditation might be helpful in maintaining a neutral state and in diffusing negativity swirling around you!
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We wish you an exhilarating, joyful November!
 All Best, Ana Brett & Ravi Singh
www.raviana.com / ravianayoga@aol.com
Disclaimer: The advice we give is in no way intended as a substitute for medical counseling. Please consult your physician before beginning any exercise program or nutritional protocol
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