Cheryl Thomas, RYT
www.cherylthomas.com yoga@cherylthomas.com 415-308-3377 |
Ai Weiwei art installation or the fascinating 1 minute moving pictures by Rick Mereki and his buddies? Maybe you want to be more resilient rather than playing it safe and staying indoors with another viewing of Lost in Translation and a yummy bowl of natural popcorn doused in truffle butter and sea salt(1). Possibly, you want to more connection with people, feeling comfortable, trusting and confident with everyone, regardless of their love for Donald Trump. I think most of us want to feel light, happy,comfortable, and confident and all situations as we slip and slide through life. Don't you? I do. But how do we find that sweet spot? It's about positivity. In the article "Are You Getting Enough Positivity in Your Diet", Barbara Fredrickson discusses how cultivating positivity can make us more creative, resilient and connected to others. She studies positive emotions and research shows that positive emotions can "reshape who we are, and they build up our useful traits in ways that bring out the best in us, helping us become the best versions of ourselves". And there's more:
1. People are more creative and have wider awareness when they're experiencing positive emotions.
2. We're more resilient and bounce back more quickly from adversity.
3. Kids' academic performance improves.
4. Medical benefits? Doctors make better medical decisions when they're given a bag of candy!
5. Even across groups, positive emotions make us more socially connected, people are more trusting and come to more win-win situations.
Fredrickson says that if we increase our daily dose of positive emotions, we can actually change ourselves down to the cellular level literally altering who we are in the future. Crazy, I know.
She is clear that telling yourself to "be positive" without being sincere and genuine is not the approach. She says "toxic insincerity has shown to be corrosive to our own bodies....and for our relationships with other people." We need to create the "mindset" of positivity because positivity brings positive emotions.
But how you might ask, can I add positivity to my life. Here's how: "be open, be appreciative, be curious, be kind, and above all, be real and sincere." Fortunately, Fredrickson has a website (of course) complete with a positivity test and the options of buying her book (of course, again) and an informative video. There's another video from Greater Good here or click video above. Try to add more positive emotion in your life. You can also start handing out candy.....a bit for your doctor, landlord, and even your yoga instructor (smile). Who knows where this could lead. (1) Seriously, my friend, Nancy, made this and it was amazing.
*Recycled article
Want to read some of my past articles?. They're archived right here. Enjoy.
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 Next Friday (2/5), I'll be subbing Ann Austin's Fun Friday class! I'm so excited as I love Ann'e students. Thanks, Ann, for the opportunities!
Dana Davis offers a Neck and Shoulders at
Yoga Studio Ganesha on Saturday, February 13, 1 PM to 3 PM. Learn how to align your neck
and shoulders to relieve pain and feel more comfortable.To register, contact Dana (707)278-8718, or visit www.sonomabodybalance.com
Yippee!! Anne O'Brien offers Expansive Backbending on Saturday, 2/6 12:30 pm-3:30 pm $40 at POST in Petaluma.
Are you an emotional eater? Shirley Ghillotti will offer a supportive evening for people to feel self acceptance and confidence to look at the specific and universal ways we struggle with food and body image. There will be lots of good information about Bach flower Essences specifically as they relate to Emotional Eating. (pssst...it's free!) More about the evening and Shirley right here.
Tony Briggs and Liz Levy will pair up and offer Anatomy & Yoga Therapeutics starting in February. These two topics from these seasoned and brilliant teachers are a must for not just teachers, but students alike. Go to Westside's site for info.
On Feb 7, the lovely, Iris Lambert, will offer a free intro to her Irie Yoga Teacher Training program at the Dhyana Center in Sebastopol. There will be chanting, pranayama and asana. Hi, Iris!
We're lucky to have Judith Lasater in Northern California. She's offering a small group, Advanced Restorative Yoga series on 4 Wednesdays in March in Marin. I'm signed up!! Go here for more info.
Know about Yoga in Graton? It's hopping! Find 5 classes a week ranging from Gentle to Slow Flow to All Levels, featuring me, Corina Stoicescu and Denise Hammond. Time and places at YogaInGraton.com.
My weekly schedule is below (scroll down or click here!). Or, you can always go to my website and click on the always up-to-date calendar to find where I might be.
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 Saving Your Marriage with Mindfulness Whoa! We can all use this advice. Not just for intimate relationships, but our interactions with our children, co-workers, neighbors and friends.
"Mindfulness is not just a technique. It is a saving grace in all of our relationships. We talk about being mindful of our breath, of how we cut the carrots, of our posture. But the most important way we can practice mindfulness in relationships or in any other area of life, is being mindful that what we're experiencing is not a solid reality. It's an experience that we construct all day long, moment by moment." |
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You probably know if you have elbows that hyper-extend or you have a carrying angle. This puts the arm in an awkward position during weight bearing poses on the arms, like downward facing dog, handstand and other arm balances.
Doug Keller has an illuminating video for dealing with hyperextending elbows in downward dog. It's worth a look. It's above.
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Meditation Apps
Oh yeah, me too. I commit to a meditation practice and all goes well for about, to be generous, 3 weeks. Then it tapers off, then it's gone. Do you know what I mean?
Meditation guides can be really helpful. Here's a clip from an article from the NYT Well section, How to Pick a Meditation App:
"By now you've probably read about how meditation may help you manage anxiety, stress and blood pressure, and help you sleep better, be more creative and improve your relationships. While researchers are still debating many of these claims, a number of apps offer guided meditation specifically designed to take you from a firsttime meditator to mindfulness guru."
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 The Adult Nap
Thanks to your interest in this important practice, I'm offering a a Restorative Yoga on Wednesdays from 5:15 to 6:45. at Yoga Studio Ganesha on the Square in Sebastopol. Pricing - Buy a 4 class pass for $54 ($13.50/class) or 8 classes for $100 or Drop-In of $16. Yoga in Graton students can use your punch card ($11 per class)!!!
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Why Parents Sing to Babies
Research shows that music is critical to emotional and social development. Most parents, even those who don't normally carry a tune, sing to their babies. Here's some interesting information and studies from my favorite Greater Good Science Center. What? Don't know about Greater Good. It's out of UC Berkeley and lives to offer research-based tools to boost happiness, resilience and kindness.
"While it's easy enough to observe parents singing to their babies and to see the positive emotional impacts of that singing, it's harder to tease out whether singing itself is responsible for those effects-or some other factor, like a parent's attention or soothing touch. "
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 When to Exercise to Lose Weight
"There is some evidence that working out on a completely empty stomach - or, as scientists call this woozy, weehours condition, "in a fasted state" - prompts the body to burn more fat and potentially stave off weight gain, compared to exercising at other times." |
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Schedule of Upcoming Classes
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Class Schedule - Week of January 24, 2016
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Tuesday
5:00 - 6:00
Private, Healdsburg
Wednesday
Yoga Studio Ganesha, Sebastopol
Restorative Yoga
Thursday
8:45 - 9:45
Graton Community Club
All Levels
5:00 - 6:00
Private, Healdsburg
Saturday
All Levels Flow
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Wednesday
5:15 - 6:45
Yoga Studio Ganesha, Sebastopol
Restorative Yoga
5:00 - 6:00
Healdsburg, Private
Thursday 8:45 - 9:45 Saturday All Levels Flow
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Graton Yogis Info:
Did you know your class pass (get these from your instructor) are accepted by all yoga teachers at Yoga in Graton?
We Gratonite Yogis have a place to call our own. It's www.
yogaingraton.com. There is information about current and new yoga classes offered in Graton.
Don't live in Graton? No problem. We want you to come anyway.
Quotes I Like
You cannot be lost if you don't care where you are.
Judith Lasater
When people ask me what equipment I use, I tell them my eyes.
Ansel Adams
"Not to have what we want is stressful; to have what we do not want is stressful."
Buddha
"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion."
Dalai Lama
"Everything will be alright in the end. And if it is not alright, it's not yet the end!" The Magnolia Hotel movie
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