Summer Holiday Meditation

Enjoy this short meditation specifically designed to be done while you are traveling. Perfect for trains, planes and any other sort of transport (not while driving please). And check out my special offer for more ways you can add some yoga and mindfulness to your holidays this summer. [audio m4a="http://www.birthbreathbeyond.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/travel-meditation.m4a"][/audio]

Yoga and Nutrition

Yoga and Nutrition. These things are assumed to go together,but why? I started looking into this and it turns out there isn’t one simple answer. One of the things I am asked about all the time is vegetarian diets. Many people assume that I am veggie because I am a yoga teacher, but the truth is I am not. I was vegetarian for about a decade but started eating meat again before moving to Ethiopia and I’ve never gone back to the vegetarian lifestyle. It turns out I personally feel better as an omnivore! Now that doesn’t mean I am scarfing down Big Macs or eating a steak a day. Mainly I’ve become more aware of where ALL my food comes from. I only eat meat when I know where it came from, and when that place passes the ethical standards of a happy healthy life for the animals AND the workers. I also, as much as possible, want my food to be locally sourced. I care about the environment and eating strawberries flown in from California in January goes against my values. These values actually contributed to why I STOPPED be a vegetarian even when I returned to a place where it was easy enough to keep being one. Reading numerous books on the global food system (The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: Our Year of Seasonal Eating are two of my favorites) I began to realize that I had no idea where my vegetarian food was coming from, who produced it, or in many cases, how it was produced. Who was growing the soybeans going into my tofu? How were they paid? What did it cost to ship the wintertime kale to my local whole foods? Whose land was it grown on? I started becoming a more informed shopper and eater, informed in part by the yogic teachings of Ahisma, compassion for all living things. Some people see this to mean eating vegetarian and vegan, and I applaud them for that. Yet to me compassion isn’t about sparing an animals life. It is also ensuring human workers have rights. It is ensuring that we aren't harming the earth as it grows the food we consume. Instead of taking myself out of the meat food chain it is supporting local farmers who treat animals humanely, ensuring they have healthy lives, peaceful deaths and all of their body is used to nourish other bodies and the earth.

Mindfulness also plays a role in my integration of yoga and nutrition. Mindfulness is a key component of yoga and mindful eating is one of the many ways we can incorporate more mindfulness into our lives. Mindful eating doesn’t have to mean spending hours silently chewing swallowing and digesting your food. It can just mean carving out some time (often as little as 15 minutes) to be present with what you are doing, in this case eating. Noticing the taste and textures of the food. Noticing what it feels like to be full. Noticing what it feels like to enjoy a meal without distraction. This can start as a random practice but you may soon discover you incorporate it into most of your meals. I lived with an eater disorder in my teens and I know how easy it is to allow stress and unhappiness to affect the way I feel about my body and what I put it in. Mindfulness has helped me become more aware of how I am feeling throughout my day AND at the table and more aware of how my mood effects what I eat and how what I eat effects my mood.

You can bring yoga to your table both with what you eat and how you eat it. If you want to learn more about this particular topic I have good news. I am teaming up with Nutritionist/Metabolance Owner Claudia Kaiser for 2 back-to-back Yoga and Nutrition Workshops on 11 June at Radiant Light Yoga. You can get more information and sign up here.

Enhancing Your Practice: Private Yoga

For all of April I’ve been exploring ways to enhance your yoga practice outside of yoga classes. This week’s topic, Private Yoga! One of the greatest ways to enhance your yoga practice is to invest in a private yoga lessons.   Unlike yoga classes private yoga gives you the opportunity to move deeper into your practice in the way that is best for YOU.

Private yoga is the opportunity to work one on one with your yoga teacher on a practice that was designed for your own needs. This can mean a variety of things. It may be to develop a practice to manage the effects of an injury or recent surgery. For some people who have specific goals or objectives (add flexibility, reduce tightness in lower back, manage weight, reduce stress) private yoga means that their yoga practice is not dictated by the whims of their yoga teacher.   We probably all know that feeling. All day you’ve been looking to stretching out our hips in yoga class only to discover that your teacher planned a class focused on arm balancing or back bends.   This isn’t a bad thing, you may get something you didn’t even realize you needed, but you didn’t get the hip opening you were looking for.   With private yoga class you have the opportunity to discuss your changing wants and needs with your teacher at every class.   Ever get a GREAT adjustment from a teacher, allowing you to feel GREAT in a pose, only to realize you don’t remember what she showed you or how she adjusted your body?   With private yoga sessions you can go through poses in a step-by-step way that allows you to practice a pose in a way that you can retain and continue to practice on your own.

Private yoga sessions also work to balance your mood and well-being. As a private yoga teacher I also know one of my jobs is to help my clients find balance. If clients to an evening class come in “buzzing” I might suggest we focus on relaxing while in the early morning we may harness that energy towards a strong physical practice. If a client tells me they’ve had a stressful day at work I am able to use that information to teach them Breathwork to reduce some stress, as well as a physical practice that can enhance the relaxation response.

Private yoga can be scary. Unlike a public class where you can “hide’ in the back or let go of your focus in a private class the teacher is always looking at YOU.   Your teacher notices all the ways you can enhance your pose, notices when your eyes look distracted and notices when you are fidgeting during savasanah. Don’t worry, you won’t get in trouble! What you will get is personalized instruction to improve these aspects of your pose.

Private yoga is, of course, more expensive than public offerings.  There are numerous reasons for this.   As noted above, you are getting the teacher’s undivided attention.   Every posture will be explained and instructed to best fit your body on that particular day. Sequences will be designed for your own level of experience and your goals. When I work with clients I also design sessions around the time of day and even their menstrual cycle if women’s health is a focus of our work.

With private yoga sessions you also have more accountability, from both your teacher and yourself.   My private yoga students all go home with homework to practice throughout the week. Homework is typically taken from what we worked on that day, perhaps a few poses I determined could use more work, or a meditation that really resonated with the student.   My students can contact me throughout the week to update me and check in about any challenges they are experiencing. In this way we are also cultivating their home practice, giving them the tools to be able to practice their yoga whenever is best for them.   For certain private packages I also include recordings of meditations, another tool to foster home yoga practice.

Private yoga isn’t right for everyone.   It may seem like a way to ensure you do yoga, but if you aren’t willing to put in the work you won’t get much out of it.   Private yoga is an investment, of time, money and energy to your own physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being. It is an amazing way to practice self-care and learn to better know and understand your own body and mind.

If you are interested in learning more about private yoga you can read about my private yoga packages  and contact me to chat today.

Women's Circle Podcast Episode 1

Introduction Welcome to the Women’s Circle. Monthly discussions by women, for women, on topics related to nutrition, wellness and health. These talks are hosted by Emily Gold and Claudia Kaiser.

Emily Gold holds a Masters in Public Health and is a registered yoga teacher as well as a certified doula. Her yoga work focuses on women’s health and wellness including pregnancy, fertility, reproductive health and mental health as well as Hatha, Yin and Restorative Yoga. Originally from New York, when Emily isn’t on her mat she can be found with a book or knitting needles in her hand or exploring Brussels with her husband and Dog, Puddles. To learn more about Emily and discover opportunities to enhance your own wellness through yoga visit her website today: www.emilygoldyoga.com

Claudia Kaiser is a certified Nutrition Counselor & Metabolic Typing Advisor and currently studies for an Eating Psychology Coach certification. She offers customized & holistic mind-body nutrition coaching for individuals, workshops for groups, and nutrition consulting services for companies. She also runs a shop for nourishing & sustainable Real Food in Brussels & online. Claudia particularly enjoys working around preconception and hormonal balance, but you are also welcome for concerns around energy, fertility, weight, body image, general well-being… She can attend you in EN, FR, NL, DE and ES. Originally from Germany, Claudia is passionate about good food and cooking and loves spending quality time with her partner and cat. To learn more, visit: www.metabolance.com.

We welcome any feedback and would love suggestions for future topics. Episode #1: Stress:

[audio mp3="http://www.birthbreathbeyond.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Womens-Circle-1-Stress.mp3"][/audio] This month’s talk is all about STRESS. A common complaint for most of us in the western world Claudia and Emily talk about what stress is and how you can manage it with yoga, meditation and nutrition! Listen to the end for a special Relaxation Response meditation to reduce stress today!

Enhancing your Practice: Yoga Books

I’ve been writing about various ways to bring your yoga off the mat. Today I am writing about Yoga Books, which combines two of my favorite things, yoga and reading! Here are some insights for taking yoga off your mat and onto your bookshelf! I’m an avid reader. My husband and I gave out our favorite books as wedding gifts. Not being in the middle of at least one book is a real fear for me, I can’t think of the last time I wasn’t reading at least one novel and one non-fiction book. And of course this includes books about yoga, spirituality, meditation, Ayurveda and more. Many Many books. But not all books are created equal and not everyone wants to invest half their incomes in books like me. So I’ve narrowed down my top 5 favorite yoga books to share with you. Would love to hear your thoughts. And read on to the bottom to find out about my new yoga book club!

Relax and Renew: Restful Yoga for Stressful Times., Judith Hanson Lasater, PhD, P.T. If you’ve done restorative yoga before you know the magic created from strategically placed blankets, pillows and blocks. If you haven’t I highly recommend spending some time on restoring yourself. And if you don’t have time for a class this book is a great way to learn how you can place yourself in some delicious restorative yoga poses. Complete with pictures and inspiring quotes on every page this book is essential for those times when you wish you had a magic tool to help you relax! I had the great pleasure of getting to take a training with Judith last month and I’ve regularly returned to this book to create ideal restorative yoga sequences for myself and my yoga students.

Science of Yoga: The Risks and Rewards, William J. Broad. This book caused quite a controversy when it was first published, accompanied by an article in the New York Times detailing some of the negative sides of yoga including physical injuries and false health claims. Since along with being a yoga teacher I am a Public Health Scientist I LOVED this book! I love data and when it doesn’t show what I want it to show that is all the more reason to encourage dialogue and continued research. The book isn’t all negative, in fact it details the very many amazing benefits of yoga and have they have been proven effective. If you are a yoga nerd (like me) you'll love this book!

Cool Yoga Tricks, Miriam Austin. I am going to right away say that I HATE the title of this book. Its content, however, is amazing! A compilation of tools and yes, tricks to modify yoga poses to better fit your body. As a private yoga teacher I use this book all the time to help my clients come into a pose in a way that best suits their bodies. And as a practitioner I am constantly consulting this book to enhance my own practice and work into more advance poses. With just a few props and perhaps a helpful friend you can enhance your hope yoga practice.

The Complete Guide to Yin Yoga: The Philosophy and Practice of Yin Yoga, Bernie Clark. This is my favorite Yin Yoga book. And I have a great deal of Yin Books! Bernie Clark has been studying with the founders of Yin Yoga for years and has created a book that combines the philosophy, anatomy and science behind Yin Yoga. The book includes a breakdown of all the Yin poses with modifications, appropriate counter poses, and reference to the comparable Yang pose. It also includes an accessible breakdown of the meridian lines and how you can use Yin Yoga to work with the meridian lines. If you are interested in deepening your Yin practice this is the book to get

Bringing Yoga to Life , Donna Farhi. Donna Farhi’s book provides advice for how you can take your yoga practice into “real life”. She writes for each reader to become their own teacher, in order to utilize yoga to create new patterns in their mind, ultimately evolving how they live their life. A teacher read from this in class one day, after class when I asked her about it she gave me the book! A heartfelt gift is always the best and I’ve cherished this book ever since. That is why I’ve made it the first reading for my Yoga Book Club.

Yes that is right! I am starting a Yoga Book Club right here in Brussels. If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about how to enhance your yoga practice but not sure where to start, or you want a group to discuss yogic texts, this is the place for you. The first club meeting will be 23 May. Join the Facebook Event to stay up to date on location and additional details. Hope to see you there!