Health, Happiness, Rejuvenation through Yoga          
 March 2013
Simply Breathtaking
 
Astonishing, awe-inspiring, wondrous, breathtaking...
yes, takes your breath away.  Wow.   
What has the capacity to take your breath away? 


Before you begin to ponder too deeply, try to recreate this:  OK, it's 1986... Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis... Top Gun.

Top Gun was awarded the People's Choice Award for Favorite Motion Picture, and the forever unforgettable song, "Take My Breath Away," won both the Academy Award and Golden Globe for best Original Song.  Why?  What was the appeal, the underlying hook, the essence of it all?   The movie entertained us... delivered exhilaration, passion, drive, intelligence.  So why the mass appeal? I believe the answer can be found in the soundtrack: 

...If only for today I am unafraid
 
  Take my breath away*
   
The practice of yogic breathing, pranayama, is commonly defined as breath control.  It has infinite benefits for attaining optimal health, longevity and overall wellbeing.  But you may find it interesting that the primary reason you practice pranayama is to
E     X     P     A     N     D 
your awareness of the space between the inhale and the exhale, while maintaining a silky smooth, seamless, effortless cycle of breathing in.... and breathing out.  Not gasping, gulping, gripping - No way.  We're after smooooooth, even, steady, rhythmic, calm breathing.  Breath effortlessly floats in... suspends... softly wafts out... suspends.  And the entire cycle repeats itself. Over, and over and over and over again.  

Everything in life has a rise and fall, a season, pulsation, rhythm, cycle.   Expansion draws into contraction ~ contraction relaxes into expansion. Life is breath and breath is life. 

So what happens when we are of aware of space in between breaths?  This is where the magic happens.  Eckhart Tolle calls this place "The Now."  Some traditions know this space as the dwelling place of the pure and perfect essence of self.  This is a divine space where the individual intimately merges with infinity.  

This is a space of fearlessness - no fear, no anxiety, no anger, no worry.  The yogis call this samadhi - bliss, nirvana, kaivalya, absolute freedom.

Observe, study your breath.  Notice the way it enters your body, how it lingers, how it finds its release out into the surrounding atmosphere beyond your skin.  Observe its velocity, temperature, texture, density.  Notice how you feel.  What keeps your thoughts attached to something in the past?  What is binding your emotions to something in the future?  What is pulling you toward some peripheral desire beyond the perfect nature of your highest, most authentic expression of your self?  

Create quiet time to fully and deeply explore your relationship with your breath... and allow your breath to become your truest, closest, best friend - for life.  I have included the "Empty Bowl Meditation" from Dr. Vasant Lad at the end of this newsletter.  It is one of the best pranayama/meditations I know.  If you practice this, I promise you will find the beautiful stillness in that lies in between your breaths.

Enjoy this week of transformation as we fully exhale the last remnants of winter and joyfully, passionately, fearlessly breathe in the vibrant newness of spring.  
Simply breathtaking!

*from the song "Take My Breath Away," Performed by the band Berlin, written by Giorgio Moroder  and Tom Whitlock.


 Thank you again for being here!  I am wishing you the lightest and brightest illuminations in this season of unlimited possibilities.  

 

PS... the nature pic was taken on St. Patrick's Day on the trail up to Tom's Thumb in the beautiful McDowell Mountains.  Aaaahhhh - springtime in the desert!  

"Through the practice of pranayama, the restlessness of the mind is automatically controlled."
~ Swami Satyananda Saraswati

 


Got Turmeric?
 

Turmeric is a staple in my kitchen.  I nearly always add turmeric when preparing kale, swiss chard, and spinach.  I add it to soups, casseroles, rice and grains, and smoothies.  And when I feel a need for greater flexibility, joint mobility, and smooth, radiant skin, I regularly prepare a healing drink called Golden Milk, made with turmeric, ghee, cardamom and warm milk.... the recipe is below.

Dr. Vasant Lad calls turmeric, "The best medicine in Ayurveda.  It cures the whole person."  
Now, western medicine is embracing turmeric as a beneficial treatment for a host of conditions, including cancer and Alzheimer's disease.  You may find the following links interesting:

Turmeric and Cancer Treatment

Dr. Andrew Weil on Turmeric

Amazing Health Benefits of Turmeric 

  

  20 common health benefits of turmeric:

1. It is a natural antiseptic and antibacterial agent, useful in disinfecting cuts and burns.

2. When combined with cauliflower, it has shown to prevent prostate cancer and stop the growth of existing prostate cancer.

3. Prevented breast cancer from spreading to the lungs in mice.

4. May prevent melanoma and cause existing melanoma cells to commit suicide.

5. Reduces the risk of childhood leukemia.

6. Is a natural liver detoxifier.

7. May prevent and slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease by removing amyloyd plaque buildup in the brain.

8. May prevent metastases from occurring in many different forms of cancer.

9. It is a potent natural anti-inflammatory that works as well as many anti-inflammatory drugs but without the side effects.

10. Has shown promise in slowing the progression of multiple sclerosis in mice.

11. Is a natural painkiller and cox-2 inhibitor.

12. May aid in fat metabolism and help in weight management.

13. Has long been used in Chinese medicine as a treatment for depression.

14. Because of its anti-inflammatory properties, it is a natural treatment for arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

15. Boosts the effects of chemo drug paclitaxel and reduces its side effects.

16. Promising studies are underway on the effects of turmeric on pancreatic cancer.

17. Studies are ongoing in the positive effects of turmeric on multiple myeloma.

18. Has been shown to stop the growth of new blood vessels in tumors.

19. Speeds up wound healing and assists in remodeling of damaged skin.

20. May help in the treatment of psoriasis and other inflammatory skin conditions.

 

 

 Golden Milk
 
 
This delicious and easy to make tonic is divine nectar for beautiful skin, youthful vitality, lubricated joints and flexible muscles... perfection!  

Turmeric Paste

First, make a small amount of turmeric paste that you can store in the refrigerator and use every day in a variety of recipes for a few weeks.   Just take a small spoonful and add to whatever you like.  

 

Mix 1/4 cup turmeric powder (or freshly grated turmeric root), mix with 1/2 cup pure water.  

Simmer over medium-high heat for at least 7 minutes, stirring constantly, until a thick paste forms.

Cool and store in a glass container in the fridge.

 

Golden Milk

Heat 1cup milk in a saucepan with a few cardamom pods (or powdered cardamom).  If dairy is an issue for you, use the type of milk best for you.

Whisk in 1 tsp turmeric paste.

Add 1 tsp ghee or almond oil, and honey to taste.

Enjoy!

This recipe was adapted from 3ho.org 


Spring Equinox
 

 

Spring officially arrives tomorrow, Wednesday, March 20, 2013, at 4:02 am PST 7:02 a.m.   The sun will cross directly over the Earth's equator, and both day and night will be very close to equal.    

 

 

 

So tomorrow, no matter where you are on Earth, you  will be able to find due east and due west... from your yard, a park, or just about anywhere!  Tomorrow the sun will rise at a point on the horizon that is due east, and will set at a point that is due west.  Just go outside around sunset or sunrise and notice the location of the sun on the horizon with respect to familiar landmarks. If you do this, you'll be able to use those landmarks to find those cardinal directions in the weeks and months ahead, long after Earth has moved on in its orbit around the sun, carrying the sunrise and sunset points northward.

So enjoy the 2013 spring equinox on March 20 - an event that happens on our sky's dome - and a seasonal marker in Earth's orbit around the sun!

Source: www.earthsky.org 


 



Empty Bowl Meditation

from Vasant Lad, B.A.M.S., M.A.Sc.  

 

Sit comfortably and quietly with palms up and open, placed on knees, like empty bowls. Open the mouth slightly and touch the tongue to the roof of the mouth, behind the front teeth. Pay attention to the breath. Let the lungs breathe with no effort on your part. 

 

Breath is object of awareness. Simply watch the movement of breath. As you are watching the movement of your breath, pay attention to the tip of your nose. Just be aware of the touch of air going into the nose. Cool air going in, warm air coming out.  

Sit this way, quietly, observing breath, for about 5 minutes.

 

After 5 minutes, follow the breath. Go with the air into the nose, throat, heart, diaphragm, deep down into the belly behind the belly button, where you will experience a natural stop.  

 

Stay in this stop for a fraction of a second, then follow the breath on exhalation, as it reverses its course up from the belly behind the diaphragm, heart, throat, out through the nose. and out of the body to about 9" in front of the nose to a second stop.

The first stop is behind the belly button, the second stop is outside the body in space. At these two stops, breath stops.

 

At these two stops, time stops. Movement of breath is time. In these two stops, only existence is present. In these two stops you are surrounded by peace and love. In these stops, God is present.  

 

In these stops you become like an empty bowl. The moment you become like an empty bowl, the divine lips can touch you. God will seek you and pour benediction into you. Let the lungs breathe and you become the empty bowl.  

 

Practice this meditation for 15 minutes in the morning and in the evening. As you practice this meditation, over the days, weeks, months, you will find your time in the stops naturally prolonging until eventually inner and outer will merge at the 3rd eye and everything will happen within you.

You may also practice this meditation in a prone position.  

 

www.ayurveda.com

 


 


Teaching Schedule
Gainey Village:  6am Monday/Wednesday
Gainey Village:  10:30 Tuesday/Thursday
Prema Yoga:  Coming Soon
Private Appointments for Pranayama, Yoga and Life Enhancement Coaching available, please contact me to schedule.

602.332.4584 
 
[email protected]

  

Join Our Mailing List!
deb new pic
About Deborah 

 

"I am passionately committed to help people look and feel radiantly healthy and vibrant through authentic yoga practices."

  

Deborah has been teaching yoga for over 13 years.  She is a certified Registered Yoga Alliance RYT E-500 teacher specializing in Yogic Breathing and Yoga for Rejuvenation. She teaches in a fun, fluid style based in the classic traditions of yoga. Her classes incorporate breath (pranayama), alignment, fluid sequencing (krama vinyasa), meditation and energy movement (pranic flow). She encourages students to discover their highest sense of self-awareness, peace, and radiance from profound inner-knowing. Deborah's path in yoga, ayurveda and tantra has led her to many contemporary Master Teachers.  She has studied extensively with, and is eternally grateful to Shiva Rea, and to Swami Shankardev Saraswati of the Bihar School of Yoga (Satyananda Yoga).  Her teaching style and methods are also influenced by Erich Schiffman, Bhavani Maki, Gurmukh Khalsa, Hari Jap, Dr. Vasant Lad, and Dr. David Frawley (Pandit Vamadeva Shastri). When she is not studying or teaching yoga and ayurveda, Deborah is enjoying her two children, creating wood fired ceramics, gardening, hiking, traveling, and simply breathing.

 


"Let it loose, let it all come down, 
Let it loose, let it all come down, 
Let it loose, let it all come down." ~ Mick Jagger, Keith Richards