Instead of a Nap, Nidra! – Yoga Nidra March 7th

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Yoga Nidra
with Yoga BETH
Thursday, March 7, 2013 @ 5:30pm
Mongoose Jct. Yoga Center
$15 – bring pillow & blanket
drop ins welcome!

www.yoga-beth.blogspot.com      340/643-6467

Yoga nidra is yoga without movement. Yoga nidra relaxes the body and the mind. It allows you to completely unwind and get in touch with your inner self. The benefits of yoga nidra are far reaching, and can be different for everyone. Yoga nidra is an ancient practice that is also referred to as yogic sleep or sleep with awareness that is done in a comfortable lying position. The goal of yoga nidra is full body relaxation and a deep meditative state that addresses physiological, neurological and subconscious needs using techniques including guided imagery, breathing, meditation, concentration and body scanning. The biggest benefit of yoga nidra is that anyone can do it. It doesn’t involve physical expertise of any kind so even if you have a health condition, you can practice yoga nidra. Yoga nidra helps to quiet the overactive mind, promotes better sleep, eases anxiety and calms stress.

Explore the 10 Steps of Yoga Nidra

Unless you are an experienced practitioner of yoga nidra, a guide is needed to lead you through the experience at a relaxing and beneficial pace. Beth Escardo is a certified nidra teacher. If you attend a session with her, you will be expertly led through the following ten stages.

Getting Started: Set up your practice space by placing a bolster lengthwise on your mat and slipping a block under the top end, so that the bolster slants gently. Lie down with your sitting bones on the mat and with the bolster supporting you from the low back to the head. Place a folded blanket under your head for a pillow. Notice and welcome sounds, smells, and taste as well as color and light. Release excess tension throughout your body and feel a sense of relaxation spreading throughout your entire body and mind.

1. Connect to Your Heartfelt Desire. Bring to mind your heart’s deepest desire—something that you want more than anything else in life. Perhaps it is a desire for health, well-being, or awakening. Feel this heartfelt desire with your entire body while imagining and experiencing it in this moment as if it were true.

2. Set an Intention. Reflect on your intention for your practice today. It might be to relax and rest, or to inquire into a particular sensation, emotion, or belief. Whatever your intention, welcome and affirm it with your entire body and mind.

3. Find Your Inner Resource. Bring attention to your Inner Resource, a safe haven within your body where you experience feelings of security, well-being, and calm. You may imagine a place, person, or experience that helps you feel secure and at ease and that helps you feel within your body the sense of well-being. Re-experience your Inner Resource at any time during your practice or in daily life when you feel overwhelmed by an emotion, thought, or life circumstance and wish to feel secure and at ease.

4. Scan Your Body. Gradually move your awareness through your body. Sense your jaw, mouth, ears, nose, and eyes. Sense your forehead, scalp, neck, and the inside of your throat. Scan your attention through your left arm and left palm, your right arm and right palm, and then both arms and hands simultaneously. Sense your torso, pelvis, and sacrum. Experience sensation in your left hip, leg, and foot, and then in your right hip, leg, and foot. Sense your entire body as a field of radiant sensation.

5. Become Aware of Your Breath. Sense the body breathing by itself. Observe the natural flow of air in the nostrils, throat, and rib cage as well as the rise and fall of the abdomen with each breath. Feel each breath as flowing energy coursing throughout your entire body.

6. Welcome Your Feelings. Without judging or trying to change anything, welcome the sensations (such as heaviness, tension, or warmth) and emotions (such as sadness, anger, or worry) that are present in your body and mind. Also notice opposite sensations and emotions: If you feel worry, call up feelings of serenity; if you feel tense, experience ease. Sense each feeling and its opposite within your body.

7. Witness Your Thoughts. Notice and welcome the thoughts, memories, and images that are present in your mind. Observe your thoughts without judging them or trying to change them. As you come upon beliefs that you hold about yourself, also bring to mind and experience their opposites, welcoming your experience just as it is.

8. Experience Joy. Welcome sensations of joy, well-being, or bliss emanating from your heart or belly and spreading throughout your body and into the space around you. With every exhalation, experience sensations of warmth, joy, and well-being radiating throughout your body.

9. Observe Your Self. Be aware of your sense of “I-ness,” or personality. Notice this sense of identity when you say “I’m hungry,” “I’m angry,” or “I’m happy.” Then, experience yourself as an observing witness or Awareness that is cognizant of these feelings. Set aside thinking and dissolve into Awareness, awake and conscious of the self.

10. Reflect on Your Practice. As you complete your practice, reflect on the journey you’ve just taken. Affirm how the feeling of pure Being, or pure Awareness, is always present as a deep, unchanging peace that underlies every changing circumstance. Imagine integrating that feeling into your everyday life, in both pleasant and difficult moments, and always reconnecting to that sense of equanimity.

To Finish: At your own pace, transition back to your waking life, reorienting to your surroundings. Come back slowly, and pause for a moment to feel grateful for taking this time for yourself.

Be Nobody’s Darling – Alice Walker

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Be nobody’s darling;

Be an outcast.
Take the contradictions
Of your life
And wrap around
You like a shawl,
To parry stones
To keep you warm.
Watch the people succumb
To madness
With ample cheer;
Let them look askance at you
And you askance reply.
Be an outcast;
Be pleased to walk alone
Or line the crowded
River beds
With other impetuous
Fools.

Make a merry gathering
On the bank
Where thousands perished
For brave hurt words
They said.

But be nobody’s darling;
Be an outcast.
Qualified to live
Among your dead.

– Alice Walker

Awaken to Love – A Valentine’s Inspired Workshop

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Awakening to Love

A Valentine’s Inspired Workshop with Patricia Schneider and Andrew Junker

February 10th – 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM

Followed by an optional brunch at Café Concordia

Concordia Yoga Pavilion

 $30 or sliding scale if needed

Life is a relationship.  It’s through our personal relationships that we learn and grow.  It doesn’t matter who we are interacting with at the moment, be it family, friends, partners, lovers, co-workers, or someone you have just met, these people, our communications are reflections of ourselves and our awareness.  When we commit to entering into deeper relationships, to engaging, we take a vow to listen; to allow the other to become a mirror of ourselves and ultimately our connection to the universal whole.

 

Through meditation, guided imagery, and breath-centered yoga we will experience loving and being loved.  Circulating compassionate energy through our hearts, we are invited to find our own yoga flow – to move and breathe and surrender to love.

After the workshop, join us for fabulous food, conversation, and music with Bo and Lauren. Cafe manager Joe Feraco and Chef Brian Beggarly have a new menu with vegetarian options and healthy choices.   Brian says, “Stop into the cafe before yoga starts on Sunday and ask for a vegan or vegetarian brunch special.”  If the cafe gets advanced notice, they will whip up a special especially for the workshop attendees! Relax and share ideas in the clear headed and open hearted space the yoga practice provides.

About Patricia & Andrew

Patricia and Andrew have been teaching Yoga since 1982. They teach seasonally January through April on St. John.

They have an eclectic Yoga background, dating back to the late 1970′s when they found Yoga to be a useful tool for awakening.  They travel extensively to be with Master Teachers, and organize trainings and workshops with these teachers in Yellow Springs Ohio when not in residence on St. John.

While they were deeply influenced by and certified in the Iyengar system early on, since 1986 they have been inspired by the Inner Body teachings of Angela Farmer & Victor van Kooten. Patricia is their world-wide organizer and they travel each year to take Angela and Victor’s 2 and 3 week courses in Greece.  They have also studied extensively with Judith Lasater since 1986, and organize Judith’s popular Teacher Trainings in Yellow Springs each Spring.    In 1999 Patricia and Andrew met Erich Schiffmann and have been profoundly influenced by his teachings and by daily practice with him in California when they are in residence there.  Patricia is featured in Angela’s numerous DVDs and Erich’s ‘Freedom Style Yoga’ DVD.

Testimonial  by Eve – Your class was profound for me. Thank you is not enough to convey the gratefulness.  Felt so fully fluid and connected after class. Wish I could come to your class every week or every day for that matter!

Look for These Upcoming Events

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Awaking to Love – A Valentine’s Day Yoga Workshop
with Patricia Schneider and Andrew Junker
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Concordia Yoga Pavilion
9 – 11AM
Cost: $30
Followed by optional brunch

Special guests return to St. John in late March for a follow-up to their sold out Ayurvedic workshop at Concordia. Join them along with Zach and Lindsey for more food, massage, yoga, and more. We will also be filling up the week with various short workshops focusing on adjustments and inversions!

In April we present “The Artist Within” with Annie Caswell. Free your creativity with Kundalini Yoga and intuitive clay play. Get creative!

Stay tuned for more information and dates and more events!

 

 

Fight Viruses the Ayurvedic Way

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Beth Escardo (Yoga Beth) shares the following ayurvedic approaches to preventing illnesses. Join her every 3rd Thursday of the month for RESTORATIVE YOGA & Ayurvedic Pichu at Mongoose Yoga Center – another way to boost your immune system!

The ayurvedic approach to preventing illnesses is by building up the immune system and toning the body to withstand viral attacks. The following remedies not only help to prevent catching a cold but also help in relieving symptoms naturally if you already have a cold.

  • Every morning make a drink consisting of a cup of warm water mixed with the juice of half a lemon and a spoonful of honey.
  • Amla fruit is known to have a very high vitamin C content and regular use builds up the body’s immunity. Amalaki capsules orTriphala capsules taken daily rejuvenate and build up the body’s defences against illnesses and infections. Another well known ayurvedic herb for colds is Vasaka
  • Chyawanprash is the best known ayurvedic remedy to build immunity and prevent colds. Made of a 5000 year old formula this remedy contains over 40 herbs in an amla base. A tablespoon everyday helps maintain optimum health especially during the winter months
  • If you have a cough, take a spoonful of honey every night. It has been found that honey has the same cough suppressing properties as dextromethorphan – the chemical ingredient found in cough medicines to suppress cough. While coughing is the body’s natural mechanism to remove phlegm, taking honey at night helps to relieve coughing and allow a restful night’s sleep
  • Make a warm tea by adding ginger, crushed cardamom, crushed black pepper, cinnamon powder and sugar. Boil and strain the mixture. This drink will instantly help to open nasal passages, relieve sinus pressure and soothe the throat
  • Gargle with warm water every day.
  • Use a neti pot to drain and moisten nasal passages
  • Inhale warm vapors by adding a tablespoon of carom seeds in a pot and allowing the water to steam. Put a towel over your head while inhaling.
  • Applying a small amount of amrutanjan to the forehead and nose will instantly give relief when you have a blocked nose or headache.
  • Avoid cold dairy products such as yogurt and ice cream
  • Take warm showers. The vapors will moisten nasal and throat passages.
  • Drink plenty of warm water and herbal teas

Beth’s next Ayurvedic Pichu is coming up on February 21st – 5:30pm @ Mongoose Yoga

$15 fee  repay to reserve your space or 1st come for prop set up (14 available)  …..a blissful experience!!!

Evening Classes Added at Concordia Starting January 22nd

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Season is in full swing and the popularity of the yoga program at Concordia is growing by bounds. In this spirit of expansion, we announce the addition of evening classes.

STARTING JANUARY 22nd From 5:30 to 6:45 PM on Tuesday evenings returning St. John Yoga, Qi Gong and Tai Chi teacher Emily Sada Sukh Sorensen offers an evening Hatha practice.

Expect the announcement of more additions to the evening schedule at Concordia. We welcome feedback on what nights of the week and what times you would like to see us add.

Help us welcome Emily to Concordia. Here is an introduction to Emily’s philosophy on practice:

The moving practices of yoga serve multiple purposes such as flushing the organs of toxins, strengthening and stretching the muscles, quieting the fluctuations of thoughts in the mind and preparing the body for meditation. As we learn to “be inside” our bodies, we gain a deeper understanding of ourselves and the triggers that lead us to particular patterns. The stillness practices give us the space to let go of anything that does not serve us and connects us to the “One Source”; providing peaceful soul nurturing and harnessing our prana.

The human body needs both Yin and Yang exercises to maintain a healthy balance throughout a lifetime. Taoist Yoga suggests to explore both the gross anatomy and the subtle anatomy; the rhythmic dynamic movements of Yang Yoga and the soft, long-held static deep tissue stretches of Yin Yoga.

Each is beneficial, dependent upon what is needed to keep the harmony of self. Taoist Yoga teaches the skillful means upon which to build a personal practice that serves the individual; organically unfolding each day of life, to provide optimum health. There are myriad movements and meditations to pool from, practice teaches us what to utilize and when.

Combining the streams of yoga, with clear intentions, is awakening the DNA of Humanity and the connected consciousness is strengthening, pushing up to blossom like a lotus from a pond. Chanting mantra is reinforcing the new patterns to build a foundation of infinity going forward into the Aquarian Age.

Of course, our highest priority is mastering the inhalation and exhalation, linked intentionally with our stillness or movement, in the appropriate rhythms. This awakens us to our highest potential and gives back with radiance, clarity & strength. The more we put in to the practice, the more we receive for body, mind and spirit!

5:30 to 6:45 PM
Tuesdays – Concordia
Emily Sada Sukh Sorensen
Hatha Yoga

Peace.

Join Beth Escardo on a JourneyDance™ – January 25th

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Join Beth Escardo (Yoga Beth) on a JourneyDance™

 

January 25th – 6:30pm @ Concordia Eco Resort Pavillion

 

$15 fee if you prepay or $20 at door

 

NO EXPERIENCE necessary  …come get funky!

 

JourneyDance™ is a grooving celebration that will have you loving your body and loving your life! Weaving simple, guided movement sequences and free exploration, JourneyDance™ reconnects you with your innate state of joyous well-being. Your mind becomes clear, free, and positive, and your body feels supple, energized, and powerful. Practiced to inspiring world music, your dance is an empowering journey to self-acceptance and transformation.

 

What happens during a JourneyDance™?
JourneyDance™ moves us through deep, personal exploration into a loving, intimate relationship with body, mind, and source energy.  This exhilarating union of dance, visualization, and ritual calls us to get funky and divine!

 

In a Shamanic style, we are carried through an intentional and seamless flow of simple movement sequences and free expression. We are led with exuberance and compassion to a place of authentic communication with our creative spirit, where we discover our hearts’ desires.

 

We embody our physical temple, unleashing animal energies from within as we ground ourselves.  We explore our inner realms, delving and diving into our ocean of emotion. We connect with our inner shaman creator to burn the mind’s clogging clutter and make space for the abundance of joy that is available to us. As we create this powerful ritual together, we liberate old cellular memories, cleanse the body and mind with sweat and breath, and elevate our vibration.

 

We open to the joy of life. We are the Prayer: our body, our movement, our breath.  We are the Goddess: our passion, our emotions, our sensual heart.  We are the Warrior: our power, our intentions, our life’s journey.

 

JourneyDance™ is a transformational experience that does not require any previous movement or dance experience. Travel this sacred and provocative journey, feel bliss, and express ourselves as soul.

Over 50? We have Yoga for you!

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As part of the baby boomer generation Suki Buchalter would like to offer her peers the joy, ease and stability she has found in her yoga practice. She has been able through her yoga practice to remain active and pain free.

Appealing to those new to Yoga or those with injuries sustained over an active lifetime, Suki is offering St. John ”Young at Heart Yoga”. This is a slow–flow Hatha class based on Suki’s training in Vini Yoga. Vini Yoga stresses and encourages the practitioner to adopt the yoga pose to his or her body—not adapt the body to the pose. We attempt to work pain free in Yoga modifying the poses for an over 50 body. “I believe in the ability of our bodies to heal if we give them the right ingredients: Conscious exercise and stretching, being aware of our posture and breath, Giving the body the right foods for our individual constitutions. Nurturing the heart with plenty of connections with loved ones, nature and our higher self to generate those feelings of wellbeing in the heart which resonate in the body. All of the above contribute to our wellbeing, mental health and emotional receptivity.”

Suki began and continues to this day to encourage all people  to practice yoga. She began teaching yoga at Maho Bay Camps Eco Resort in 1997. She is available for private yoga classes, Professional  energy bodywork massage. Suki specializes in Shiatsu, Asian bodywork, Neuromuscular, Reiki, Cranial Sacral techniques and Gemstone therapy and Sound Healing with crystal singing bowls.

Wise Women’s Circles are the next phase  of Suki’s ceremonial work.  Supporting each other in our search for truth and meaning as we enter the third stage of our lives is the intention of the Circle.  If interested in forming a group give Suki a call  at 340-642-3739 or email her at  sukistjohn@gmail.com.

Sunrise Meditation in Cruz Bay and Coral Bay

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It’s a new dawn. Whether you’re in Cruz Bay or Coral Bay or points in between, you can now greet the day with group morning meditation. Unite the island as we sit together while the sun rises over the sea.

Downtown Cruz Bay at YagaFLO
Silent seated meditation
Monday through Saturday
6:30 AM – 7:00 AM
Arrive 15 minutes early for instruction
FREE – Donations accepted

Coral Bay at Dr. Bob’s Chiropractics in the Cocoloba Center, Second Level
Silent seated meditation
Monday through Saturday
5:45 AM – 6:15 AM
Arrive 15 minutes early for instruction
FREE – Donations accepted

The Benefits of Meditation

The benefits of meditation are endless and certainly deserve your contemplation and consideration. Many successful business people, celebrities and sports professionals practice and enjoy the benefits of meditation. Numerous businesses promote and provide help and assistance to their staff with the benefits of meditation courses and because of this they gain an advantage over their competitors and create more profit.

Research has scientifically proven that meditation is a safe and simple way to balance your physical, emotional, and mental state and its countless values have been known and practiced for thousands of years. More and more doctors promote the benefits of meditation to cure many stress related illnesses. Everyday most of us experience stress in many different ways and I believe many people are simply not aware of the benefits of meditation or of how much stress we actually hold on to. Normally life threatening situations trigger off the stress response which enables us to act without contemplation and deliberation and survive intense situations using fast reflexes. When our bodies are exposed to a sudden threat we respond with the characteristic fight or flight reaction which is known as an adrenaline rush. When adrenaline and other hormones are released from the adrenal glands the pulse races, blood pressure increases, our breathing becomes faster and the blood flow to the muscles increases. If we are in extreme danger these reactions are of great assistance and gain to us. We have inherited this survival response from our ancestors who faced many life threatening situations every day. The same response is now triggered in our daily lives when we are in a traffic hold up or someone irritates us at work or we simply break a cup. If we do not confront the situation (and many are beyond our control) we end up being in a permanent state of stress.

One of the most important benefits of meditation is how it releases stress from our bodies. Meditation practiced regularly will lead you to a deeper level of relaxation and contemplation. If you want to be free of constant worry, pressure and stress the benefits of meditation can give you a life that is calm, peaceful, happy and relaxed.

Even ten minutes of meditation a day will help alleviate stress.