Shining Waters Yoga​​

Menopause can be an exciting transition in a woman’s life - signaling the end of her reproductive years - a time of freedom and letting go. However, the end of fertility and a gradual slowing down in a society that does not hold high regard for its elders can also bring sadness, confusion and a sense of meaninglessness. Traditionally, women would be guided through this transition by other women - elders who had already transitioned through “the change”. If not prepared and guided through this transition, women may encounter fear, discomfort and even depression.  

Ayurveda speaks of 3 qualities or “doshas” present in all of us in varying degrees. These 3 doshas: Vata, Pitta, Kapha are present in all living things. There are 3 stages of life characterized by these...

Mindfulness has become a “buzz word” in the world of holistic health. Studies have shown that practicing mindfulness can improve one’s mental/emotional health and can be a useful tool in being more present in our daily lives. 

Some time ago, I took a mindfulness course, in which the instructor asked us to consider the opposite of “mindfulness” – He suggested that the opposite of mind-ful-ness, is “mind-less-ness”. When you put it those terms, it certainly makes sense to strive to be more mindful in our words and actions than mindless. But, what does that mean?

We live in a society that prizes “Multi-tasking”, yet multi-tasking is not good for our brains and is the anti-thesis of cultivating one-pointed concentration – which is preparation for meditation and mindfulness...

It is said that Yoga unites – Body, Mind and Spirit. 
My Seminole teacher taught me that each of these – Body, Mind and Spirit, have 3 parts:
The Body of the Body, Mind of the Body and Spirit of the Body; The Body of the Mind, Mind of the Mind and Spirit of the Mind, and the Body of the Spirit, Mind of the Spirit and the Spirit of the Spirit.

In this way – all 3 are not separate but parts of one whole. The Spirit lives in the Mind and the body, and the Mind lives in the Body and the Spirit, and the Body lives in the Mind and the Spirit. This may sound confusing, but consider it this way – In the practice of yoga, whether you approach it from the physical, mental or spiritual – if you develop a consistent practice, you will eventually experience how the 3 are intricate...

“Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another.” 
– Albert Einstein

“As we know through thermodynamics, energy cannot be created nor destroyed. It simply changes states. The total amount of energy in an isolated system does not, cannot, change. And thanks to Einstein, we also know that matter and energy are two rungs on the same ladder.

The universe as a whole is closed. However, human bodies (and other ecosystems) are not closed — they’re open systems. We exchange energy with our surroundings. We can gain energy (again, through chemical processes), and we can lose it (by expelling waste or emitting heat).”
- Jaime Trosper (Futurism.com)

“Nikola Tesla said it best, “the day science begins to study non-physical phe...

About a year and a half ago, a young man bumped into me as I was leaving a coffeeshop – he saw the calendar under my arm with a picture of Buddha on, and asked me, “Do you meditate?” I said, “Yes.”
A conversation ensued in which I discovered he was a student at SU and he found out I teach yoga and meditation. He asked me if I would meditate with him. I said “Yes” – I will meditate with anyone who asks me to with an open heart and mind. So, we set up a place and time to meet the next week. We decided to meet in the prayer/meditation room at Salisbury University. We sat together and shared about a 20 minute meditation session that included some stretching, breathing techniques and mudra. 
Meditation is the 7thlimb of the 8 limbs of yoga. It is the pathway towards Samad...

Make Hair Tea!
Last Sunday, I was cooking when I reached up into a cabinet to grab some spices and herbs, and I noticed movement in one of the containers that holds my dried herbs. So, I grabbed the container, opened it up – and it was full of weevils. So, then I had to take all of my herbs down and check them for bugs. The good thing is that many of these herbs were long past their freshness date, but I had been lazy about throwing them away. So, I decided to clean out my herb cabinet. At least 3 containers had bugs. I threw them out and washed the containers and the cabinet with soapy water and essential oil.Three glass jars of herbs: dried lavender, calendula flowers and rosemary – were bug free, but they were also outdated. So, I decided to make a hair tea with t...

As a yoga teacher and yoga therapist, I belong to several groups and professional organizations where I engage with other professionals to share insights and learn from each other. 

In the past week, on 2 separate occasions in different groups, there was a call to create a "Code of Ethics" for our practice b/c of an unethical situation brought forward (each was different, and too elaborate to go into here). However, my thought in both circumstances was – Why do we need a new code of ethics?
If one is indeed practicing “yoga”, there is already a 5,000 year old code of ethics set in place for us to follow. Yoga in the Western world has become more about the physical – stretching, strengthening, pain relief – and less multi-dimensional. However, yoga in its original inte...

Sometimes my blog posts are inspired by yoga science and philosophy; sometimes from my own personal experiences, or by insights or questions from my students, and sometimes they are inspired by the natural world. Just as the ancient sages were inspired by the natural world around them, as we see in the names of the yoga asanas and in the science of Ayurveda, I am inspired daily by the miracle of Nature.

This week’s post is inspired by the latter…only, it’s not the post I thought I was going to write. You see, I have been growing baby swallowtail caterpillars in my herb garden. It started when about 5 of them showed up one day, eating my parsley. I could see they would soon run out, so I transferred them to another healthier plant. At some point, 2 of them disappeared...

As summer temperatures soar, it is important to keep our bodies cool, and to also “keep our cool”, as tempers also tend to be shorter.

Here are some easy ways to “stay cool” this summer:
1) Stock up on lots of watery fruits like cantaloupe and watermelon. Keep them cut up in the fridge for easy access

2) Infuse some drinking water with cucumbers, mint and/or lime or lemon and drink throughout the day to stay hydrated. Coconut water is also a good way to keep cool, but there is no need to buy fancy drinks.

3) When going on long trips, make sure you have water available for you (and also your pets! – And PLEASE don’t leave pets in a hot car!). You can also wet a washcloth or small towel with very cold water or ice water, wring it out and place it around your neck.

4) Swimm...

The United Nations General Assembly declared June 21st as the International Day of Yoga on Dec 11, 2014.  On Dec 11, India's Permanent Representative introduced the draft resolution in UNGA. Hence, June 21, 2015 was the first International Day of Yoga.

The practice of Yoga is over 5,000 years old. It is more than simply a form of exercise. The practice of yoga itself has branched into many forms and fads in the United States, but the true, dedicated practice of Yoga unites us with our True Self. As my teacher, Dr. Ananda said, "If it doesn't Empower you, it isn't yoga."
This ancient practice of Yoga and her sister science, Ayurveda connect us to all life and the 5 elements that exist both around us and within us: Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space, giving us a greater...