As I prepare for my Restorative Yoga Workshop I will be teaching this upcoming Saturday, January 21st, I am pouring over my notes and photos from various Yoga workshops I have attended. I also started reading a book that focuses on dealing with anxiety and fears called, The Chemistry of Calm, by Henry Emmons, M.D. This was recommended reading from the Advanced Relax and Renew Training in San Francisco taught by Judith Hanson Lasater.
As we all inherently know, stress is intertwined in our daily lives. This point is felt more so during the holiday season while rushing around to attend parties and buying too many gifts. What might not be as obvious is that stress isn't a problem until it becomes chronic. Dr. Emmons goes on to say:
"The adrenal/stress response is the key to whether or not fear makes us sick. It is not that stress itself is bad. Studies show that short-term stress can even be good for us. But as the military has discovered, if the amount of stress is great enough, anyone can be broken down by it. Most of us, of course, don't experience severe stress in our day-to-day lives. but if your daily life is filled with constant, unremitting stress - if stress is ever present, like background noise - it can be destructive. Still, what determines how well you survive chronic stress is how you react to it and whether you are able to shut it down."
As a Yoga teacher and someone who studies Ayurvedic Medicine, I know that Yoga isn't a cure-all. Yoga can be a tool, like eating a healthy diet, to aid the student to unravel the tension that most of us carry literally in our bodies on a daily basis.
When a student leaves relaxed and invigorated from a Yoga class, I am reminded on how powerful this medicine is for the teacher and the student. If you give your brain just 20 minutes of relaxation (not sleeping, but quiet observation) while in a supported reclining restorative Yoga position, students report being more alert and focused throughout the rest of the day or better able to sleep at night.
I will be teaching a Restorative Yoga class on Saturday, January 21st, from 12 noon - 3 pm.
Restorative Yoga Workshop Link
B.K.S. Iyengar even said something to the effect that you cannot learn Yoga through just reading books. Yoga must be experienced. Come to a Yoga class or workshop to experience what true relaxation feels like. I know you won't be disappointed!
Namaste`
As we all inherently know, stress is intertwined in our daily lives. This point is felt more so during the holiday season while rushing around to attend parties and buying too many gifts. What might not be as obvious is that stress isn't a problem until it becomes chronic. Dr. Emmons goes on to say:
"The adrenal/stress response is the key to whether or not fear makes us sick. It is not that stress itself is bad. Studies show that short-term stress can even be good for us. But as the military has discovered, if the amount of stress is great enough, anyone can be broken down by it. Most of us, of course, don't experience severe stress in our day-to-day lives. but if your daily life is filled with constant, unremitting stress - if stress is ever present, like background noise - it can be destructive. Still, what determines how well you survive chronic stress is how you react to it and whether you are able to shut it down."
As a Yoga teacher and someone who studies Ayurvedic Medicine, I know that Yoga isn't a cure-all. Yoga can be a tool, like eating a healthy diet, to aid the student to unravel the tension that most of us carry literally in our bodies on a daily basis.
When a student leaves relaxed and invigorated from a Yoga class, I am reminded on how powerful this medicine is for the teacher and the student. If you give your brain just 20 minutes of relaxation (not sleeping, but quiet observation) while in a supported reclining restorative Yoga position, students report being more alert and focused throughout the rest of the day or better able to sleep at night.
I will be teaching a Restorative Yoga class on Saturday, January 21st, from 12 noon - 3 pm.
Restorative Yoga Workshop Link
B.K.S. Iyengar even said something to the effect that you cannot learn Yoga through just reading books. Yoga must be experienced. Come to a Yoga class or workshop to experience what true relaxation feels like. I know you won't be disappointed!
Namaste`
