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The Inner Voice
A weekly newsletter from Debbie Jensen-Grubb, RYT500
January 13, 2014 - Issue 62
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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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To access past issues click here:
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Welcome back to a New Year of Yoga! 
A new start to get another chance to live a better life, learn more healthful ways, and be the best that you can be!
The coming year will have its ups and downs. The trick is to enjoy the ups while you have them and look for the positives while in the downs. Yes, there are positives in them, though perhaps they are not evident until after we have endured them.
It is the challenges in our lives that have strengthened us, helped us become more resilient, and inspired us to something greater than we could have dreamed of before.
Within each of us lives a Superhero, an ability of vast potential, power, and proficiency. We each have the power to influence change within our lives and within the world. You need the confidence to know that you have the power, and then have the courage to use it.
The question is: what do you do with that power? Do you use it to raise yourself to a higher level, do you give it away, or do you let it languish inside of you never choosing to take a chance?
Many students come to yoga because of their health challenges, whether it be physical, mental, or emotional. Yoga is the medium in which you can turn those challenges that you face into positives; to meet yourself on the mat, to do the best that you can, and discover the personal power that lives inside of you.
Use your inspiration to spur you forward. Remember it every day to help sustain you.
Keep your promise to yourself.
Use your personal power to bring out the best YOU that you can be.
Please join me on our journey together through this New Year of 2014. Let's begin to recognize and bring forth that Superstar within!
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| Something To Make You Smile |
 May the force be with you! |
| 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 (from Louise Hay's 'Heal Your Body'). Just repeat it whenever you need a lift.
I choose to allow my greatness to shine!
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Yoga: A Personal Practice
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 | Inspiring video!
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Yoga is all about you! It is a personal practice that guides you to find the best that you can be. It can do this in many ways: doing poses, developing breath awareness, chanting, and noticing the thoughts you think - but there is more to it than that. At the beginning of the class I ask, "What brought you to yoga? What do you hope to accomplish from coming to yoga class?" This directs your attention inward and helps you to realize that you made a conscious choice to be in class. You chose to do something healthy for yourself! Now what do you want to get out of it? It is your personal practice! What would you like to achieve? How much effort do you wish to dedicate to yourself? This is why it doesn't matter what anyone else is doing in class. You only do what you can do. The gift of yoga is that you get to spend some time with yourself, accepting your current abilities, and challenging yourself to a healthier standard. You begin to discover all the potential that you have to create the life that you want for yourself and, thus, for all living beings on this planet. It is in this new potential awareness that change begins to happen. Once you become aware you cannot go back to the old way of doing things. With each new step forward you grow and begin to transform allowing that beautiful Spirit within you to shine out for all to see and that leads to making our world a more beautiful place for all to live. "If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. ... We need not wait to see what others do." ~ Mahatma Ghandi
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Nutrition Prescription - Persimmons
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 Persimmons, just what are they? They look a lot like a tomato in shape and color, and like the tomato they are actually a berry, though most people consider them a fruit.
There are many different varieties that are raised all around the world, and it even grows wild in Eastern America. The most popular variety in America is known as the Japanese Persimmon even though it is native to China. There are also two different types: astringent and non-astringent, with a rare third type that is available at specialty food markets. There was a lot of talk about how to eat a persimmon as I was searching the web. The Hachiya, an astringent variety, cannot be eaten until it is fully ripe. You know it is ripe when it feels like you are holding a water balloon in your hand, then you cut off the top and scoop out the jelly-like flesh with a spoon. It is said to taste like a cross between a mango and apricot. The Fuyu, a non-astringent variety, can be eaten like an apple while it is still firm or once it has ripened. When it is cut it reveals a beautiful star shape inside. It has a cinnamon-like taste. Persimmons are awesome for their health benefits too. They are low in fat and calories and pack almost as much vitamin C as an orange. This berry also provides 15% of your daily iron intake (more than a serving of beans!). They are high in fiber and anti-oxidants and are said to be better for your heart health than apples. Persimmon is rich in vitamin A, C, and the B vitamins. In the minerals department, it is densely-packed with calcium, potassium, iron, manganese, phosphorus and copper. Persimmon does have laxative and diuretic properties and is particularly recommended for people suffering from liver problems. It is also an energy-dense fruit, that's why it is recommended for children, people playing sports and people who are physically or mentally tired. Due to its high content in sugars, people suffering from diabetes, obesity or overweight should use caution adding it to their diet.
You may still find persimmons in stores now because they are harvested in the Fall and are especially good after the first, even after the second, frost.
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Personal Power
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 Can you remember a time in your life when you felt truly inspired? When you felt like life was full of opportunity and promise? Remember how it seemed like almost anything was possible? How empowered you felt and that nothing could stand in your way?
When we are feeling inspired we manifest a positive, optimistic outlook that allows us to see new opportunities and to act on them with focus and determination. Being inspired is the ultimate state of personal power. Tapping into that state is what enables us to accomplish extraordinary things. It's the power of inspiration that will propel us to reach beyond our imagined limits and test the boundaries of our potential to reach even greater goals. So how do you get inspired? The best, surest way is to get to know yourself...your TRUE self. And how do you get to know your true self? Meditate. Spend some time having a conversation with yourself, asking questions, and becoming quiet enough to hear the answers. What questions to ask of yourself? Find out what your passions are, what interests you, and what you are good at doing. Notice what you think of yourself and how you speak to yourself. List your strengths and deficiencies. Register what you like about yourself and what would you like to change. Learn from your successes and failures. Take notes. Create goals. Once you discover your Self, then take that first step to honor yourself and begin to follow your dreams, even if they don't make sense to anyone else. Stand up for yourself, not aggressively but in a firm, determined manner with courage and confidence. Create new habits that support the true you. It all feels scary, risky, and awkward at first. Keep going. The more you do, the more you will figure out the true you. What you like, what you don't. As you continue you begin to find comrades that have similar interests or beliefs and you begin to see how Life supports you on your authentic way. With each step you take you get closer to becoming more comfortable with who you are. When that happens then all of life flows with clarity; for with each circumstance life presents you will see what the best response will be for you.
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With the New Year we begin anew, full of hope, inspiration, and zest! After awhile, life happens, we lose our determination, and shelve our aspirations. One reason might be because we aren't in alignment with our true self. We might be buried under layers of what we think we should be or what other people have told us we should be. Begin to dig...deep. Take the time, you are worth it. Get to know yourself. With good effort, strong commitment, and patience you will begin to see what a treasure to this world you really are.
Thank you!
Hugs and Namaste,
Debbie
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Please join me in my next TWO workshops...
Yoga Nidra
January 19, 2014
1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
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Healthy Joints
Workshop: Feet
January 18, 2014
9:30 - 11:30 a.m.
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