Free Online Rodney Yee Yoga Videos!

If you are a yoga enthusiast, whether you practice in classes or only at home, it can be tremendously beneficial to study with master teachers. One of the master teachers of yoga is Rodney Yee. Read more about Rodney. Or check out his Facebook page. While searching for new ideas for my yoga class I happened to come across some short video clips by Rodney that are light, fun and informative. I find him to be particularly clear and concise in his communication, which is an important element of a good yoga instruction video. If you like yoga, and are looking for some fresh inspiration, I highly recommend checking these out.

Click here to see the videos.

A Mindfulness-Oriented Reading List

This is a relatively brief reading list. I will be adding more titles from time to time. You can come back to this post by doing a search under “reading” in the categories list.

A General Theory of Love by Thomas Lewis, MD, Fari Amini, MD, Richard Lannon, MD.
A Still Forest Pool: The Insight Meditation of Achaan Chah by Achaan Chah and Jack Kornfield
Breath by Breath by Larry Rosenberg
Coming to Our Senses: Healing Ourselves and the World Through Mindfulness by Jon Kabat-Zinn
Emotional Alchemy by Tara Bennett-Goleman
Faith: Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience by Sharon Salzberg
Finding a Joyful Life in the Heart of Pain: A Meditative Approach to Living with Physical, Emotional and Spiritual Pain by Darlene Cohen
Finding Happiness: Cajole Your Brain to Lean to the Left by Daniel Goleman
Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain and Illness by Jon Kabat-Zinn
Heal Thy Self: Lessons on Mindfulness in Medicine by Saki Santorelli
Insight Dialogue: The Interpersonal Path to Freedom by Gregory Kramer
Living in the Light of Death by Larry Rosenberg
Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness by Sharon Salzberg
Meditation and the Practice of Awareness by Larry Rosenberg
Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana
Mindfulness Yoga: The Awakened Union of Breath, Body and Mind by Frank Jude Boccio
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression by Segal, Williams, Teasdale
No Boundary: Eastern and Western Approaches to Personal Growth by Ken Wilber
Old Path White Clouds (and many other books) by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Wisdom in Dark Emotions by Miriam Greenspan
When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chodron
Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life by Jon Kabat-Zinn
Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki

I thought I’d pass this on to you in case you are interested or want to pass it on to others. The last person presenting, Amy Salzman, is a longtime MBSR teacher and physician in the Bay Area.

Denise

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Dear Friends and colleagues,

You are invited to participate in the webinar: The Buddha: Teaching Mindfulness. This will be a panel discussion on PBS Teachers (http://www.pbs.org/teachers/webinar).

The discussion has four parts:
1. David Grubin discussing the making of the film The Buddha http://www.pbs.org/thebuddha/, which will air on April 7th,
2. Mirabai Bush from the Center for Contemplative Mind discussing Mindfulness in Education
3. Peter Brown discussing how he teaches the life of the Buddha and Buddhism in a secular independent school, and
4. Amy Salzman discussing secular mindfulness in K-12 education.

Please share this information with interested friends, colleagues and list serves.

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We are at the tail end of winter. Before the spring push for new growth, it can be good to do a last bit of tonification of the yang variety, nutrition-wise. In macrobiotic philosophy, which is a Japanese philosophy on living in harmony with nature, wintertime signifies a need for warmth and energy to fight cold and strengthen the body’s resistance.

Macrobiotics is a system of living, eating and healing that originated in 19th century Japan. This Japanese philosophy now enjoys a worldwide following attracted by its principles of harmonious living with nature through a balanced whole foods diet, an active lifestyle and respect for the environment (see entire article.)

There are other reasons adding more yang to our diets can be beneficial: when we are run down due to overwork or poor sleep, if we have been partying or drinking a little too much, if we are feeling emotionally unstable, chances are good we could use a little stability or grounding.

Macrobiotic cooking is a system for combining foods in such a way that the yin and yang balance of our diets are balanced for our individual constitutions and environmental needs (i.e., seasons, temperature, noise, crowded conditions, state of health.) Macrobiotic living can take a little learning, however, there are easy ways to bring some macrobiotic balance into one’s life. I’m going to tell you about a favorite one of mine.

Twig Tea
Twig tea, is made from the twigs of the tea plant and plays a central role in the macrobiotic diet, which is based on the belief that balance is the key to optimum well-being. Twig tea helps add to that balance.

The flavor of Twig tea ( Also known as kukicha or bancha twig) is delightfully light, nutty and the tea is also very low in caffeine. It is usually harvested late in the year when the caffeine count is at its lowest. You can buy it in tea bag form (my favorite Choice brand Twig Tea) or in bulk. If you buy it in bulk, it’s nice to toast it for about a minute in a frying pan to bring out the aroma and strengthen the yang properties.

Health Properties of Twig Tea

Kukicha tea benefits are numerous and potentially profound. Its primary impact lies in its alkalinizing abilities; kukicha tea helps to alkalinize the body’s fluids and tissue, thereby balancing acidity levels and preventing disease.
Read more:

The next time you are feeling a little run down, jittery, frazzled, or otherwise worn thin, make yourself a cup of Twig tea. In fact, if you make it your daily beverage, according to the above article, you’ll be adding beneficial minerals like calcium, zinc, selenium, copper, manganese, and fluoride to your diet. It is also apparently a rich source of B-complex vitamins, vitamin C and A. You’ll also be helping your body neutralize free radicals.

If you are interested in learning more about Twig Tea, or macrobiotic diets and living, these are some enjoyable resources to check out:

Solay Wellness, Inc. article on Kukicha Twig Tea health benefits.

Book: This is a classic macrobiotic text, The Macrobiotic Way. by Michio Kushi. Often considered the bible of the macrobiotic movement.

Funner Book: For something lighter and sexier, check out the book The Hip Chick’s Guide to Macrobioticss or, alternately, her website.

Enjoy your yang and be strong.

Denise

Cycles of change may ebb and flow…
Sometimes they provide the stimulation we need to move ahead and grow. Other times they challenge our reserves and even influence our immune systems. When we approach change as an ally, and not necessarily a negative, we can come into partnership with ourselves. Change can ultimately provide us with new opportunities for empowerment and developing skills that may have us, one day, looking back and saying: “In many ways _________ is the best thing that ever happened to me because if it wasn’t for ________ I would not be the person I am today.” Change offers mysterious gifts that may almost seem to have been sent by an unknown messenger from our future that says: “Things will be different but the opportunities can bring a new richness you will not know otherwise.”

How to Meet the Challenges of Change
Change can be challenging. In fact, degrees of stress are often defined as the amount of effort it takes to adapt to ones circumstances. For example, if you graduate from school or have a child, your daily routine will undoubtedly change, as well as your social life and many other activities. It take a certain amount of emotional, mental and physical energy to adapt to change. Even positive change.

If we keep this in mind, we can better support ourselves through times of change. Many times we don’t give ourselves credit for how difficult things can be. Especially if there is a crisis of some sort, many times people assume that once the crisis has passed, life returns to normal. But actually, what happens is that we return to a new life. That new life requires adapting. Even perhaps getting to know ourselves in a new way.

Feeling Our Strength: Trusting Our Intuition
We all have strengths that we have developed over the course of our lives. If we have made it to adulthood, we have inevitably honed coping strategies that help us navigate change cycles (when one change promotes another and another and another.) If we find ourselves dealing with a negative impact of stress on our health or relationships or work (or anything else,) chances are good that we have exceeded our coping skills and need to add to our repertoire. There is no easy answer to figuring out what these may be. It can take some soul searching or the help of a professional -such as therapist, doctor, life coach – or other helping professional to figure things out. Inevitably, it will, at the very least, take some reflection.

Something that can be a key component to navigating the stress of change is having periods of quiet. Whether in prayer, meditation or spending time in nature, when we are still, our intuition can speak to us. This may come in the form of insights, urges, impulses, or sense of knowing or understanding. We may become more in touch with our bodies: physical symptoms can provide clues to what’s happening in our unconscious. These can provide information regarding our needs (physical, emotional or spiritual,) and desires (that which provides fuel and inspiration for moving forward toward greater wholeness.)

Starting Life Anew
Change may be a welcome or unwelcome companion. The degree to which we can meet it, match the challenges it brings with the energy of optimism, believe in ourselves and have faith that we can navigate whatever comes — these will help us feel a greater sense of control and predict a greater positive outcome. There is a saying that many people usually speak with a sense of irony: “That which does not kill you makes you stronger.” Change is not the only thing that can bring strength. But when we do face it, we are likely to learn that we have strengths we would not have known otherwise. We also may have new strengths we would not have known otherwise. Things like compassion, patience, fortitude, a well-crafted delivery of assertiveness, street smarts, self-love — or maybe simply the skill of better balancing our check books. Regardless: we will know ourselves better when we consciously investigate how to develop new coping strategies, whatever these may be. To quote a saying that we often use in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction classes, “As long as you are breathing, there is more that is right with you than there is wrong.” Sometimes change means slowing down enough to notice what this may be. Each new moment is an opportunity to start life anew. Take a deep breath and start now.

Blessings. — Denise 3/13/10

Massage Your Stress Away

Massage has always played an important part in Indian life—it was mentioned in the earliest Ayurvedic texts, nearly 4,000 years ago. An Indian head massage helps break down muscle knots, relieves chronic neck and shoulder stiffness, and leaves you feeling relaxed. Use your own fingertips to relieve your stress by following these simple steps:

Read more:

http://www.yogajournal.com/dailyinsight/yjnl_20100312.html?utm_source=homepage&utm_medium=site&utm_campaign=dailyinsight

Wishing you many blessings!

Denise