Inspiring Yogin Series-Practice and Non Attatchment by Dani Vani McGuire

Inspiring Yogin-December 2013-Mark Odle

Every couple of months we enjoy selecting an inspiring yogi from the community and hearing their "yoga story." Yoga is getting to be quite a celebrity in America. We have yoga teachers teaching to thousands in rock concert venues, companies using it to sell products, and hospitals listing it for wellness and pain management, for the first time!

It is an exciting time to be a yoga student-hence all the exclamation points!!! We have all experienced the fruit that yoga bares, still the ancient texts like the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and The Bhagavad Gita tell us to not be attached to the outcome.

How can we not be attached to something so AMAZING and powerful! For me, it helped calm the mental chatter long enough to heal an eating disorder; for others it breaks the pattern of addictions, and for many it is the pain management tool for emotional and physical well-being. The fruits of yoga are as diverse as its practitioners.

As exciting as this all is, we are told to let go of results, and show up!

Check out the Q and A featuring Inspiring Yogi, Mark, when we pulled him aside to ask how yoga is showing up for him.  Side note...Mark has visited the school 225 times since May 8th!

PY:  What continues to keep you motivated and dedicated to your daily practice?
Mark: When I started yoga, the rewards started. when the rewards stop, then I'll stop.

PY: What is your favorite class or teacher?
Mark: Every class is a dedication and a chance to give back, so every class is my favorite. Every teacher is a "teacher" so they are all my favorite. They all make my dedications perfect in their own way. It is safe to say that I have learned and continue to learn from EVERY one of them.

PY: Do you have a favorite asana? Why?
Mark: Every pose is part of my dedication. I need them all to feel whole, so each pose I am given by my teacher of that session, I present it(move) and dedicate it(breathe), to the best of my being.

PY:In what ways has your practice and determination benefited you?
Mark: In every way that is good and true.

Each time I begin teaching class, I ask if anyone is new.  Mark always raises his hand.  Mark has showed up NEW 225 times in the past 7-1/2 months. He says that when the benefits stop he will stop, however when we practice showing up new, we are warriors of the present moment. Yoga tells us that action without attachment to results is everything good and true.

“You may never know what results come of your actions, but if you do nothing, there will be no results.” 

― Mahatma Gandhi

A Raccoon Tale

The other night I awoke from sleep early in the morning.  I often wake in the stillness of the night and sometimes the mind wanders and worries.  Many teachers have taught me to use gratitude to harness the mind and steer it gently away from the cliffs of worry.  I stretched and began with gratitude toward the sun and the moon.   I like to begin at the edges of my boundaries and move to the center. Out of the corner of my eye I imagined a cat standing on the ceiling and smiled to myself, assuming I was entering the sweet semi-conscious dream state but the sounds were too synchronized, too real.  I turned to look again for the cat.  Gratitude banished as reality intruded, it was a raccoon tentatively hanging from the trap door of our attic in the hall outside our bedroom.

Propelled to action, I called out to my husband and shook his leg. “Steve!”

“What?” he responded gruffly, still asleep.

“There is a raccoon coming out of the attic.” I said tensely

“Okay” he said, as if it were the most natural occurrence.  He lumbered with sleepy limbs around the bed and we both stared at the raccoon.  He was hanging upside down with his head tilled upright, staring back at us.  His torso was pinched between the drop door and the ceiling.  Half in, half out, I marveled at fluid and sultry movements the upper body made as it spun around the waist, looking for an escape.

            Steve found his voice first and yelled, “Go on, get out of here.” I joined his choir too.  If he would just spin back into the attic, he could find his way back out. 

            The raccoon stopped spinning and looked, as if to say “I would, if I could, but I can’t.”  That was true.  The drop ceiling door was spring loaded and as soon as half the weight of the raccoon was down, the force of the spring began to pull the door shut.  Really, there was only one option and the raccoon took it.  He jumped with ease to the ground and jetted through to Heather’s, our daughter, open door across the hall.  Heather moved out a month ago so her room was unoccupied.  

Steve, thinking much faster than me, crossed the hall and shut the door.  We could hear the raccoon on the walls running the perimeter of the room.  I, having watched copious hours of Bug’s Bunny as a child, imagined him spinning tooth, claw, dust and stars like the Tasmanian devil.   We could hear the curtain rods crashing to the ground, books knocking to the floor and a lamp overturn as the raccoon circled again and again.  Steve looked at me and said “I will put on my cloths and get a blanket to throw over him and carry him outside.” 

I numbly looked at him and nodded my head.  What else was there to do?  I stood in the hall and listen to “the devil” as the sounds slowed down.  He must be realizing there was no other exit.  I could hear him scuffle in the direction of the door.  I watched nervously as I heard the approach and then, like the moment in Jurassic Park when the Velociraptor discovers the door knob, the door knob began to turn and the door to draw away from the hall.  I instinctively reached out and grabbed knob and pulled it tight. 

I yelled, “He is opening the door,” as Steve walked past me and downstairs. 

If he answered me, I did not hear.  My sole focus was on the rattling door.  I began to kick the door and yell, who knows what to scare the raccoon away.  His response was to back up and charge the door, slamming his whole body against the barricade.  He moved through a series of options searching for a way out; grabbing the handle, releasing the handle, shoving his two black fingered paws under the door and ramming his body against the door.    It seemed we were both using the same tactic; scare “the being” away from the door.  The more I up my thumping and yelling the more he upped his.  

This is how my youngest daughter found me, screaming and kicking the door.  She looked at me with the look I must give her, the “don’t you know what time it is and why aren’t you in bed” look.  I had a perfect excuse.  “A raccoon came out of the attic and ran in Heather’s room.”  I explained.

She looked at me as she was turning to go back into her room “I am out of here,” and shut the door.

I was left again battling the raccoon.  I could feel sweat begin to form a thin fine layer over my entire body, even my eyelids. My heart was trying to escape my chest.   A moment of recognition that the body was being ruled by the sympathetic nervous system, and somewhere in the back of my brain I knew that I would take at least 20 minutes to calm down, and maybe I wasn’t thinking too clearly.  At this point, I realized how stressed I was feeling and wondered what the hell I was doing.  I spend my days advocating ahimsa, non-violence, and here I am hurling insults and threats to a being a fraction of my size.  I began to see how quickly ethical precepts can dissolve in the face of confrontation.  Concurrently, I became aware that there must me another approach.

An idea came to mind.  One of my favorite chants is “lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu,” which means “may all beings be happy and free.”   How could this situation give both of us happiness and freedom?  How could the raccoon be happy and free and my family and my home be safe?  Definitely not by kicking and screaming.  I stopped and began to sing the chant to the animal.  I think it must not be the raccoon’s favorite chant because it kept banging the door.  My voice was shaky and I was totally not committed to this plan as I hoped no one would hear me trying to serenade a raccoon.  The pause did work though on shifting my resolve and opened an opportunity to change tactics.

I looked across the hall to the night stand and saw my phone.  I thought “I will call the police.  Either they will come to help, or they summon an ambulance when the blanket over the raccoon plan meets jaws and claws.” Anxiety overtook me as I realized I would have to let go of the door knob to get the phone.    I would like to say I took a leap of faith and let go of the knob, but no, I kicked the door a couple of more times and said a couple of more things I probably shouldn’t repeat  and took a brief second to let go of the door and grab my phone, dialing 911. 

Her name was Amy; the calm assured voice on the Fort Wayne Police on the phone.  I told her the story thus far, except for the chanting to the raccoon part.  In her reasonable person voice, she said that because the raccoon was in a room behind a door, they would send animal care and control in the morning. 

I pleaded, “But its turning the door knob and trying to pull the door open.”   As if on cue, the raccoon rattled the door again and finding it still secure, in frustration rammed the door. 

“Oh!” says Amy.  I could here the empathy in her voice as she realized the plight.  “I will contact Animal Control.  I have to put you on hold.”

Now, Steve comes back up the stairs with a blanket.  I told him what Amy said and told him I didn’t think that I would be a good idea to go through with the blanket plan.  Then through grace came another plan. If we, meaning him of course, put a ladder against house, climbed up, opened the window, the raccoon would have a place to peacefully exit because it desperately wanted out.

“So,” he said.  “You want it more at my face.”   

“I hadn’t thought of that.” I replied, thinking.  “I can keep him distracted at the door, while you open the window and crawl down real fast. “  We went on with the conversation like this for several minutes.  Then Steve agreed to try it.  Dropping the blanket beside me, he went to fetch the ladder. 

Amy came back on the line and I told her what we were going to do.  With a voice full of concern she told me to call her back to let her know if we still needed Animal Care and Control.  I waited by the door anxious now for “the plan.”    I could hear something happening against the house and so could the raccoon.  His scraping against the door stopped.  I now pleaded with him to come back, fearful that he would be faster than Steve.  Then silence the kind of silence where the ears and mind extend to interpret any sound. Within a short time my ears were rewarded with the sound of foot steps on the stairs as Steve came back up to stand with me beside the silent door.  He said the raccoon came to the window as soon as he tapped.  I thought how brave of him to tap.  I would have scurried up the ladder, opened the window a couple of inches and scurried back down. 

Cautiously, we opened the door and looked around furniture and in the closet.  The raccoon had definitely taken the opportunity to leave.  In his wake was turmoil.  The turmoil one leaves when fighting to be free from entrapment.  Evidence of his fear and anger spilled around the room. The curtains were pulled from the rods, sheets from the bed and we could clearly mark out his path as feces and urine ringed the room over book case and cabinets.  This was a scared and trapped being and had done what a trapped animal needs to do to find safety.  Finally, the gratitude list began again in my head.  So grateful within a pause another idea took hold, one that gave us what we both wanted.  So grateful he fled to an empty bedroom.  So grateful he did not run downstairs with the dogs.

The Native Americans honor the wisdom of each animal.  As this is my third encounter with raccoons in my home over the past twenty years, okay twenty-five years, I though it might be wise to understand the significance of this encounter.  The raccoon is a mask wearing curious night traveler, symbolizing the ability to adapt to its environment in secrecy.  As I brought the cleaning supplies up to straighten and disinfect the room, my memory shifted back to the last time I cleaned this room.   Heather left right before her 18^thbirthday after we found four empty bottles of alcohol in her room.  The uncovering of the alcohol was the uncovering of her separate life.  The one she kept secrete.  As I cleaned again, an image of me pounding on the door and yelling reemerged.  Had she too felt like a trapped animal wanting a different life and freedom?  For the first time since she left, I was grateful that she was not here in this room, that she is exploring her masks and finding her own path. This short episode with the raccoon opened the door to look at her departure in another way; one where all of us have the opportunity to explore with curiosity our own path, make mistakes and grow in grace.

I am grateful for so many blessings.  Yoga and meditation are unfolding the tools to diffuse the anger and fear.   Recently Marsha Pappas was at Pranayoga for a stress reduction workshop.  Both my daughters and I attended together.  One of the many things she said was “The obstacles are not in the way, the obstacles are the way.”  She was quoting from another, but I do not remember the name of that sage.  “The obstacles are the way” really resonates with me.  Once I shift my perspective and see that the obstacle in front of me is my kind teacher encouraging me to remove a veil of Avidyā, or ignorance, suffering diminishes and connection to others and the universe appears.   I am so very grateful to my kind teacher, the raccoon, who removed a veil when removing my curtains. 

      Namaste My Kind Teacher

About the Writer: Jenny Yoga

Jenny started yoga for her daughter in 2010 but stayed for herself. This is when powerful healing began to transform her body, mind, and spirit, not necessarily in that order. Through a regular asana and sitting practice, studying with phenomenal teachers and soaking in the love of the beautiful yoga community, she has begun to discover a quieter mind. She became RYT 200 certified through Prana School of Yoga and Health in 2012 to deepen her own practice and to share the gift of yoga with others. As a teacher, she sees each student as beautiful. She strives to create a supportive environment in which each student can safely experiment in uncovering the beauty and joy that reside within the heart of each of us.

Teaching: Yoga Basics, Restorative Yoga, Meditation 101 Workshops, All Levels Yoga

Practice is a Breeze, Non-Judgement takes Practice. Blog by PranaYoga Teacher Jenny Young

I love practicing yoga outside.  It seems that poses can be held with a little more ease and a little longer when the mind is focused on the beauty of the grass, the grace of the passing breeze and the majesty of the trees.  This weather though is hot hot hot!  The sweat begins to pour standing in tadasana.  Listening to the hum of the cicadas and the lazy pants of my dogs, I am transported back to a lesson learned in my youth; 

move slowly, respect nature and learn from neighbors.

My family moved to rolling hills of the Piedmont in rural Virginia when I was nine.   We were northern transplants and came with a preconceived distain for the slow moving, drawling pace of southerners.  Fast talking and fast walking we guffawed at the extra syllables added to random words and impatiently waited and rolled our eyes as it took forever for people to move and finish sentences. We were filled with superiority.   We expected to maintain over an acre of lawn with a push mower, create a glorious garden at the top of a hill and renovate a house all in the 90 and 100 degree heat. 

Well, it is easy to see where this is going.  Within the first month, we found we had to mow almost everyday to keep the rapidly growing grass below mid-calf.   We were becoming intimately introduced to blood sucking insects; incessantly small chiggers that charged in red waves up the legs, opportunistic tics that dropped from trees and a flying barrage of mosquitoes and horse fly’s.   The faster we charged ahead, the more we were beaten back by the suffocating humid heat and abundant nature. The garden was half-weeded, dry and bedraggled.  The house’s paint was half-stripped and we were hot, itchy and confused.

Then... not so much through wisdom but through fatigue, we began to walk a little slower.  We took time to pause at midday and listen with respect to our slow talking neighbors and sometime during that summer, our words stretched from short staccato bullets to longer luxurious releases of breath.  “You” transformed to “youall” and sentences began to hover and slow in the thick heat.   We were learning the lessons of the heat and the lessons of non-judgment.  Our pre-judged neighbors were now our role models.  I still am working on the lessons of non-judgment but the lesson of heat I remember.  As I move though my practice, I move a little more slowly, find time to pause a little more often and find gratitude in the lightest breezy.   At the end of my practice I can even here an extra syllable in the Namaste'.  

Jenny started yoga for her daughter in 2010 but stayed for herself. This is when powerful healing began to transform her body, mind, and spirit, not necessarily in that order. Through a regular asana and sitting practice, studying with phenomenal teachers and soaking in the love of the beautiful yoga community, she has begun to discover a quieter mind. She became RYT 200 certified through Prana School of Yoga and Health in 2012 to deepen her own practice and to share the gift of yoga with others. As a teacher, she sees each student as beautiful. She strives to create a supportive environment in which each student can safely experiment in uncovering the beauty and joy that reside within the heart of each of us.Teaching: Yoga Basics, Restorative Yoga, Meditation 101 Workshops, All Levels Yoga

Summer Solstice June 2013

"Vulnerability is allowing ourselves to truly be seen."  --Jason Nash

If I create from the heart, nearly everything works; if from the head, almost nothing.-chagall

"All our interior world is reality, and that, perhaps, more so than our apparent world."--chagall


Tonight, the Sun moves into Cancer.  
As the sun moves into Cancer, it marks the point of the Summer Solstice, where the light of day is the longest of the whole year.

What does this mean for us?

We come into full awareness of that which we planted during the spring in the Aries cycle, and as we "square" that aries energy with the sun in Cancer, we add a new element to the mix that seems incongruent with the aries energy:  how our hearts feel, and we begin to nurture our intentions and actions into fruition from the inside out.  We begin to release our head into our heart, as we walk down the body from aries to cancer, from head to heart.

How does what you started feel to you now?  Is it in line with your heart's desire?  Follow the emotions with the breath.  Notice what you feel as you meditate on your intention in the full light of awareness brought with the solstice.  Notice what needs to be exhaled and let go of, and what needs to be nurtured to bring forth into our lives.

Meanwhile, we start this process by acknowledging our inner landscape.  Exploring the depths of ourselves in the light of the full sun, and reaching out from that place of strength, our humanity, the human heart.

How deeply are you penetrating into the depths of the shadow and light of ourselves?  
To ignore one is to ignore meaningful insights and understanding of the self as a human 'shell' or space embodying the spirit.

Cancer is represented by the crab.  half on land, half in sea, the crab learns to navigate the inner and outer environments with ease.....



But...
We first reach inward, into the depths of the sea, or our unknown depths.  Become whole with ourselves.
Then we extend outward in full awareness of that self reaching out.
Cancer's have a tendency to absorb others, environments, energy, being a highly psychic sign due to their call to dive deeply inward, they know the depths and potential of the human spirit, mind and body.

So in this tendency, call it the shadow of cancer, to reach outside before inside we develop illusion.... we absorb that which is not us.  We are called to release, feel, purify, and then build that heart space with awareness, with nurturing, love. 

When we don't, we become "shelled", unable to break open that soft heart into what we truly are called towards that lies known only in our heart individually.... the process of going inward is deep, complex, and many run, unable to face the good, bad, and ugly.

But that is our beauty.
Why are we so embarrassed of ourselves.
We are human.  We feel.  We sense.  Let yourself dive deep into the ocean.




And then emerge with the grace of vulnerability as you extend yourself out.
Remembering that internal world, just as when we "wake" out of end svanasana in yoga, we keep that sense of the breath in the body (gemini) moving in a current that draws us inward as we sense the flow, the rhythm of our own body, mind, and emotions.  Through this sensitivity we watch with that witness (see post from earlier today), the observer, to keep that sense of self as we interact and experience.  

We give ourselves space by tapping into that depth.  Space to feel out whatever comes.




If we become too externally focused, stop feeling and start reacting, we become hardened by that "crab shell" and sense the urge to protect ourselves.  

This is what keeps us in pain, in illusion.  Really the work is in the self, the rest flows with ease.  When we don't sense that ease, we go back into the internal world to build, rework, feel, and release.  

Instead in culture, we are taught to ignore that soft internal world.  We are told that feeling, vulnerability is weak, and focusing on nurturing ourselves is weak.  Why?!  Because it's scary to us.  It's dark, deep and unknown.

So make it known.  Love that internal self wildly, madly, completely, and nurture that dream, that vision, that we find in our own hearts.  Soften to become strong.



Just like in yoga:

It's not how hard I can become through the struggle of external effort to hold the pose. 
Rather it's about how soft I can become to RESPOND to the pose, my body, my self.
A flexible mind releases fear and struggle of effort into easeful effort, using the breath.
We learned through the gemini energy that it is the breath that draws us into mindful ease where we release into the flow that surrounds us always and we can truly RESPOND to ourselves, to our feelings, without the attachment, without the struggle.  the struggle comes when we don't feel the breath, that flow, a symbol of our ability to feel, sense, and move in ease.

The breath is the body, the body the breath.  
With the breath, the subtle body awakens and move the energy to the physical, where effort becomes doing instead of struggle to do.

We become alive, from the inside out.  




Without the internal world becoming strong through awareness and letting go to our feelings, we become shelled, protective, defensive, and those crab claws emerge and attach us to that which may not be in our heart afterall.  Because... we didn't look.

Cancer energy is a call to develop the self... that soft spot of the heart which holds our humanity in a bridge to our spirit.  We unlock inside to unlock outside.  

It can't happen any other way, otherwise, it's just effort, just trying.  

And watch as you love yourself to death, how you emerge as that butterfly from the cocoon, new, alive, and living in integrity.

Otherwise we're crusty shelled hearts, unable to feel our way through life.

Yeah, you say, but you don't know what's so wrong with me!  What i do, what I struggle with!  It's horrible, it's evil, its embarrassing, I can't let that out!

You're right... no one will ever know who you are, until you let it out.

But we're called to look at it first, with our own eyes.  

As a cancer myself, it was always easier to take what other ppl said as my own.  That caused me pain through illusion.  

On one hand we're right, nobody does know what we go through.  That's our job to bring it to the world, taking it from victim hood to strength.

And THAT is the power of vulnerability, of looking in and then out.  

As we deal with our own Shit, literally, we become at peace with it.  We feel it, pass it, let it go with the breath.  But we have to feel it first!  You can only heal what you feel.  So know you're own self.  Take yourself from victim to strength through vulnerability, practicing on the inside as we comb through our heart, and then taking that strong nurtured self with us as we extend out.

I can't imagine anything stronger than being totally authentic, vulnerable.  

The ego becomes pure, connected to the spirit, and the heart becomes light.

Watch how your world responds.  

Writter:Nicole Skelton, RYT200, Yogastrology Inspired Teacher

With a life-long interest in the mind-body-spirit connection, Nicole realized her     passion for teaching self awareness by following her heart into a 200 hr teacher training at Pranayoga in Fort Wayne, Indiana. From elemental yoga to the expanding fields of metaphysics and astrology, Nicole has developed a breadth of experience, resulting in a Yogastrology-Inspired teaching style with pioneer Diane Booth Gilliam in Colorado Springs, Colorado. As a yoga teacher, Nicole reveals the subtle, esoteric concepts of yoga through a combination of alignment based on sacred geometry, meditation, visualization and pranayama. Tailored to the individual, her classes often include elements of meditative movement, sun and moon attunement (as presented by Diane Booth Gilliam's Yogastrology out of SanFrancisco), intention setting and gentle yet strong yoga. Nicole deconstructs poses down to their elemental and restorative design with influences from tantra and Tibetan traditions from her time as a teacher at the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center in Bloomington, Indiana.

Nicole is trained in Shambala Meditation, teaches Hatha, Vinyasa, and Restorative Yoga with a RYT 200 hr from Pranayoga, and is currently practicing yogastrology under the guidance of Diane Booth Gilliam, established astrologer and founder of Yogastrology.

How Can You See Yourself… When You Can See Yourself? By Lauren McMann

 When I am practicing my asana, I truly see myself for who I am. I feel powerful, beautiful, serene, and at peace with body. It is the one time where I am not feeling that strain of judgment of my physical body interfering with my life. Stepping into my studio, whether it be my home space or PranaYoga, I feel it all fall away, and I look forward to an hour and a half of true “me” time.

            While out of town this week for work, I decided to find a studio to practice and decompress from a stressful work week. I was really excited about practicing at a new studio- almost like taking a yoga vacation! The studio was absolutely beautiful, the teachers and students welcoming, and don’t even get me started about the new and exciting retail that I perused.

            After I changed clothes and stepped into the space, I noticed that the wall that our mats were facing was a wall of floor to ceiling mirrors. I had never practiced in front of mirrors before, and I was interested to see what my practice actually looked like in the flesh. We started at the top of our mats in mountain pose. I immediately noticed that the shirt that I had chosen to wear made me look awfully wide. I looked over at the girl next to me, thinking that maybe the mirrors had a strange effect on our bodies, but she looked the same width in the mirror as she did in person. Interesting. Maybe I would not choose to wear this shirt in the future. It did nothing for me, visually.

By the time I was getting over the hideous shirt, we were through sun salutations. Time for some standing poses. Warrior II. OH MY GOODNESS. Is anyone noticing the fact that my stomach is sticking out this far? I look like I am with child. Mula bhanda, Lauren. Tuck that bad boy in. I suppose that looks a little better… it’s probably just the brownie that I shared with a friend after dinner.  

By this point, I was hoping for any pose that would put us in the opposite direction of the mirror, or involved laying on our backs. The entire class, I was scrutinizing my make-up, clothing, and physical body. There were a couple of times that I noticed a posture needed adjusted, but I probably missed some obvious corrections that I could have made due to observing that my hair was getting frizzier and frizzier.

Which begs my original questions- How can you see yourself, when you can see yourself? How are you supposed to look inward if you are looking outward? If PranaYoga had mirrors in their studio, would I be able to overcome this obstacle, or would I have never fallen in love with yoga?

I left the class feeling dejected and more stressed than I was before I walked in. As I was sitting at lunch the next day, eating my PLAIN grilled chicken, thank you very much, I decided that I would not again choose to practice in front of a mirror. I prefer the way that I see myself without getting my reflection’s opinion.

-Lauren McMann, Is currently enrolled in PranaYoga's Yoga Teacher Training, Karma Yogi Support Staff at PranaYoga School of Yoga and Health. In her spare time she is  Branch Manager and Associates Vice President at Old National Bank, a Newlywed, and Proud mother of four fur children.

Conquering Kapha!

 Spring is an exciting time for all of nature, a time for planting , starting new projects, cleaning out the old, and enjoying the outdoors. Why then can our physical bodies sometime not keep up with the ideas and projects we have started. In the science of Ayurveda, Joyful living, Spring is Kapha season. Kapha is made up of the elements of Earth and water. While this elements are very grounding after the winter season and can inspire us to create new projects and ideas in the world, it can also become a little too grounding and create fatigue and stagnation, a lack of motivation or a heaviness can settle in, especially in the late afternoon hours. Another thing that can stop us is uncomfortable allergies and excess mucous or bronchial illnesses.

 Once we start on this cycle of imbalance, it is hard to break, but here are a few tips to balance your physical body with all the projects you are thinking of doing or are already underway!

 Top 5 things to do for health and balance this Spring Season! March 21^st-June 21^st.     

• Get up at sunrise. Get up and get some fresh air first thing in the morning! Even if it is just a quick walk around the block it will do more for you than the morning cup of Joe!
•  Dry brush. We can tend to hold a little excess water in our bodies during this time of year. Dry brushing in the morning before a shower will encourage the lymphatic system to drain and leave your skin feeling extra smooooth!
• Turn up the intensity. We can actually turn up our physical fitness routines in the springtime, one day at a time of course. Meet yourself where you are but try things a little outside of your comfort zone. Maybe some pushups, or a hot yoga class or workshop, or a jog on the greenway!
• Eucalyptus oil- This is great for putting on the bottom of your feet or in a diffuser for respiratory problems. Great for kids who usually are prone to excess kapha illness such as respiratory and good for those that are balancing their blood pressure.
• Eat your greens, Kale, dandelion greens, and arugula are excellent sources of vitamins and super cleansing.
• Avoid sugar and heavy dairy foods. Maybe switch to almond milk for the spring/summer and cut out everything but a little cheese. I prefer raw goat cheese, which is more nutritious and easier to digest than cow’s milk.
•  Enjoy yourself. Slow down. Smile more. These are useful ways to be more joyful throughout the year! Stay tuned for preparing for summer article to follow!

Dani Vani McGuire E-RYT500, is the founder of PranaYoga School of Yoga and Health, Writer, Yoga Therapist and Ayurvedic Health Educator. For more information visit danimcguire.com 

Simply Breathe by Tina Tazian

We live in a fast paced culture.  Too many of us suffer from stress related illness. Yoga can be a remedy.  It can do this by shining the light of consciousness on our ingrained habits that perpetuate stress. Whether it is a shallow breath or shoulders hutched up to the ears, yoga can reconnect us with the physical habits that mirror of our emotional states. Yoga teaches us to simply be present and observe our breath and our body. When we observe what we unconsciously do, we can make changes that move us toward the path of greater health.
Our life begins and ends with our breath. The breath is what animates the matter of the body. But our breath also connects our bodies to our minds. The patterns of our breathing are deeply related to our psychological states. Working with the breath is literally a doorway into the human nervous system. Instinctively we know this. We tell an anxious friend to relax and take a deep breath but too often we ignore this capacity or can not activate ourselves when we need it most. The ancient yogis developed the science of controlling the breath called pranayama to actively engage the physical, psychological and emotional benefits of conscious breathing.

When the breath is calm and full we can observe our body without judging it. From there we can begin to explore our physical edge. The place where we feel the bodies limits beginning to be challenged but where we still maintain a sense of ease.  In the process, you discover your own unique pace where you can increase the feeling of space in the body that begins in the spine and extends through the limbs. As we exhale we ground ourselves and reconnect to the earth and as we inhale we rise upward, feeling light and joyful.

From this spaciousness and light, we connect ourselves with an intrinsic feeling of goodness. Of feeling good not only in body but also in mind.  This is the power of the energy of healing and positive growth that the yogis called prana.  Feel yourself flowing with the rejuvenating life force of prana with each breath.  Then notice how within the motion of this flow there is a place of stillness. In the place between the inhale and exhale, there is a gentle pause that can open us to a place of inner peace.  Explore that place.

I ask you to give yourself over to the path of yoga. Be truly present, really listen to wisdom of the body and follow the breath.  I promise it will be more than worth it.  Let go trying and doing and just be your yoga.  Begin by simply following each breath

Tina Tazian RYT200 Teacher at PranaYoga School of Yoga and Health

Join her class at PranaYoga southwest on Wednesdays at 9:15am and 6pm!