6 Ways Yoga Can Relieve Seasonal Stress

Stop and breathe. Simply taking a moment to consciously breathe can alter your nervous system. Try to breath into your belly which will help to release the diaphragm.  You can do this any time any where any time during the holiday season when you are feeling tense or anxious.   (The hard part is often remembering to do it!).  Here are six common breathing mistakes and how to spot habits that aren't maximizing the benefits of the 'life force' - oxygen in the body.  

Enter the yoga pose called "Instant Maui"  This marvelous creation is Judith Lasater's - the preeminent restorative yoga teacher in the US.   You lie on the floor on your back and place your calves on the seat of a chair.  You may need to raise the level of the chair if your calves are not parallel to the floor.  You can do this with blankets or towels.   The thighs should be perpendicular to the floor so that you have 90% angles at your hips and knees.  You can place a blanket or soft pillow under your head and, if you have one, a sandbag over your shins.  And a blanket over all of you. The restorative pose got its moniker because it "instantly transports you to Maui."   Well, it does feel pretty good.   

Listen to music.   I'd avoid the carols that pervade the stores and go for something different, different melodies that will catch your attention. Classical or opera can alter your brain waves (See Oliver Saks terrific new book, Musicophilia :Tales of Music and the Brain). Really listen to the music and don't just play music as background noise.   Be mindful and try to limit the multitasking.  See if you notice your breath altering to match the rhythm of the music. (This is why you might want to try calmer music).  

Put your legs up the wall.  This yoga pose, also known as Vaparita Karani, is terrific to do after shopping.  The action of inverting the legs improves the circulation.  Don't worry if you're hamstrings are too tight that you can't get your butt to the wall.  Just move your butt away from the wall.   Also, if you don't have a yoga bolster, you can use stacked towels or even have the whole torso flat on the floor and still benefit from the pose.  Yoga Journal offers a picture and complete instructions.  

Enjoy a guided meditation.  At busy times like these, meditation can be challenging as lists of things to do dance as rambunctiously as sugar-plums in a child's head on the night before Christmas.  One solution is to try a guided meditation which can help you keep your focus.  Here's awhole page of free guided meditation that range from five mintues to an hour and guided by Tara Brach of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington. 

Place a roll under your upper back. This is a modification of savasana or corpse pose, which you can read about here.   The roll (which can be a blanket or a towel) goes under your back at the base of your scapula.    The purpose is to counteract the forward curvature of the upper back and to open the front torso for the breath to move freely in and out of the body. The diameter of the roll depends on what you can tolerate.  If the pain of unfolding your back muscles is too intense, try a smaller roll. 

January Class Schedule Being Formulated

Well, it was just terrific to see some of the regulars in the free holiday classes this month. And I'm looking forward to returning to a regular schedule in January.

When you're making your list and checking it twice, give some thought to when you'd like to come to yoga. The schedule is being formulated so email me and let me know when you'd like to come and I'll schedule a class. Please send first and second choices. And if you've got a friend or two, and you've got a time you'd like to come, I'll do my best to accommodate.

Classes will begin the week of January 21st, 2008. Here is nilambu's proposed schedule of classes. Do not hesitate to contact me with feedback or suggestions or requests.  I will adjust if at all possible. Flexibility and responsiveness is an advantage of a small studio!  

A Healthy Chocolate Mousse!

When I was a little girl, I liked chocolate mousse so much that once a New York City restaurant owner presented me with the entire serving bowl.  I thought I had died and gone to heaven!

Rebecca Mohning MS, RD, LD of Expert Nutrition offers a healthy spin on that classic holiday treat - using natural sweeteners.  I've been working with Rebecca to help me manage my medical condition, and I can recommend her services and her chocolate mousse.  

Chocolate Tofu Mousse
Ingredients:
    1 package of silken tofu (16oz)
    10 oz chocolate chips (semi-sweet)
    3 tablespoons maple syrup or aguave nectar
    3-4 TB soy milk or to appropriate consistency
    optional: graham cracker crust

Directions:
Blend tofu in food processor (or blender) just until smooth.  Melt chips over double boiler.  Add maple syrup to melted chocolate and combine.  Put chocolate & syrup blend into processor and mix with tofu until creamy.  Optional: put into a graham cracker crust.  Chill.  Top with fruit.

Serves: 6

Enjoy!

Simplify Your Holidays with New Dreams

In nilambu's holiday yoga classes this month, we focused our thoughts on the third yama of Patanjali which is asteya. Most often translated as "not stealing," the principle encompasses more. Misappropriation, waste, hoarding are other aspects of asteya. And not only of things, but time, emotional resources, energy.

This desire usually arises out of a sense of deprivation. Donna Farhi suggests we "relate to others from the vantage point of abundance rather than neediness." There are many ways to do this - ask someone if they have time to talk before you launch into a tirade, offer the gift of your time and energy or be full of thought when selecting your gifts to signify your love - so that they signify love and are not simply an obligation.

For more ideas, I suggest a great web site, New American Dream. This month they feature a 24 page guide on how to simplify your holidays and make them more meaningful.   The suggestions are very

helpful and it's not too late to implement some!   All you have to do is register and it's free!  

What Stress Does Inside & How to Keep Your Cool

Talk of the Nation featured a terrific 24 minute discussion on holiday stress.  "Health experts discuss the effects that stress can have on your health, and offer some suggestions for keeping your cool during this frantically festive season."  

Doctors from the Mayo Clinic and from NIH give the best explanation I've ever heard that accounts for what happens in the body physically when we are under stress.   And they reveal the latest scientific data on how to help temper the adverse effects.   The Mayo doctor even has a "Stress Blog" !!  And get this, the first caller to the program was a yoga teacher who offers a yogic breathing technique!  

Among the suggestion are expected ones – exercise (even just 20 minutes).  But others are a bit unusual like how to trick your brain into thinking you’re more in control they you are.

Find out what the doctors thought…..You can listen to the NPR segment here.  And check out the Mayo Stress Blog here.  Too busy to listen to a 24 minute radio segment right now?  Well, Beliefnet.com also has a 10 minute mindfulness guided meditation you can do right at your desk!

nilambu Yoga Suggests Books and Treats for Holiday Gifts

In nilambu's product gallery, I recommend and annotate the best yoga books available. You can choose from the rich history and literature of yoga, beautiful yoga books for your (or another's) coffee table, yoga living, healing and meditation and last but NOT LEAST - technique.

Check it out for some gift ideas or subscribe a friend to the e-newsletter above or forward this nilambu notes to a friend as a not-so-subtle hint!

Explore the nilambu product gallery...

Give the Gift of Yoga

This year, give the gift of yoga to someone you love. Sometimes, a free lesson is all one needs to get started and hooked. Do you know someone who might benefit from yoga?

And flexibility is NOT a prerequisite!  I often hear that one "can't" do yoga because he is not flexible. (It's mostly guys I hear this from.)   In fact, some who are flexible need yoga to build strength; others who are strong need yoga to promote flexibility. It's all about balance. And well, most people can benefit from the awareness that yoga brings. Special holiday rates for gift certificates or first time customers are now available...And current clients can give a gift to themselves too!

Just check out the rates and contact me to order.  Note that these gift certificates will NOT expire (unless I move, which is not foreseen), and will be scheduled at a mutually convenient time as soon as requested. You can also sign up a friend for nilambu notes, this e-newsletter, by filling out the box above. 

Ginger Clove Tea Can Warm You and Your Home

This tea is a favorite of mine, and more days than not, I've got it brewing on the stove. The first few sips can be strong.  The ginger is an anti-inflammatory and can sooth stomach ails too.  The recipe is an adaptation from the Ginger Tea I drank at my first yoga retreat at Parrot Cay.  And I drank it constantly.  For more on the benefits of ginger, click here. And my home always smells wonderful, too.  

Here’s how I make it –

Ingredients:
A large piece of ginger root (a little larger than the size of your hand)
5 or 6 whole cloves
A gallon of water
2 limes
Honey (optional)

Instructions:
First, wash the ginger root.   Don’t peel it.  It's difficult to do and not really necessary.   I dice up the ginger into about half inch pieces (about the size of a pinky nail) and put them in a pot with the water and the cloves.  Sometimes as I'm dicing the ginger I find some more dirt in the , and I just rinse the piece off again. Then simmer and reduce the liquid until the brew is a nice caramel color.   After you make it a few times, you’ll figure out what shade provides the strength of flavor you prefer.   Adjust the amount of liquid or ginger accordingly.  Sometimes I add more water when I’ve left it too long on the stove and start the reduction again (but by then my home smells wonderful).   

  

To serve, I either use a French Press to filter out the ginger pieces and cloves, or I scoop out the liquid, avoiding the ginger, directly into a mug.   I add the juice of one half lime per mug.   You can add honey to taste.  I used to add the honey, but I don’t any longer.  Agave syrup or maple syrup is fine to use as a sweetener if you prefer as well. 

And voila!  A winter drink that’s healthy and yummy.      

Free Holiday Yoga Classes  

This month, nilambu yoga is offering free classes in gratitude to my clients for their patience during this time of mourning and recovery. In the spirit of the season, I'll be offering classes to alleviate the noise and stress of these dark winter weeks. Such quietness is hard to achieve amid contemporary commercial clutter.   Traditionally, these weeks before the holidays are a time of watchful preparation, calm and quiet as well as a time of heightened awareness that dovetails well with yoga's year-round goals.  

The following classes will be offered.  Each will have a physical focus and a philosophical focus and, of course, all will start with

• a guided meditation to transition away from our busy lives and into our class (see below)
• sun salutations as we should worship what little we have this time of year!; and
• standing postures to provide a foundation and prepare the body for twisting, balancing, sitting or backbending.  

I will teach as few as one person or as many as four. Current clientele will be given priority.  Email me to reserve your place.  I look forward to seeing you.     

Monday December 3rd Twist             Not Grasping (5th yama) 
5:30 - 6:45 pm
7:00 - 8:15 pm  

Tuesday December 4th Balance         Compassion (1st yama) 5:15 - 6:30 pm

Thursday, December 6th Balance         Compassion (1st yama)
1:30 - 2:45 pm

Monday, December 10th Seated           Not Stealing (3rd yama) - also known as not consuming too much. 
5:30 - 6:45 pm
7:00 - 8:15 pm  

Tuesday, December 11th Backbending   Purity (1st niyama) 1:30 - 2:45 pm
5:15 - 6:30 pm

Happiness Buddhist Spiritual Leader to Speak at French Embassy

Many of you may recall my review of Ricard's book, Happiness in the last issue of nilambu notes last year. And now he is going to be leading a whole day seminar at the French Embassy, right in my neighborhood!

The day begins with a 30 minute social gathering, and builds from there. Discussion highlights the different paths to happiness, how to increase happiness and illumination about Tibet, a country that measures Gross National Happiness rather than Gross National Product. Should be an interesting day.

To see the full day schedule and register...

Foremost Christian Meditation Guide Comes to DC

If you've never heard Thomas Keating speak or read any of his writings, you are deprived. He is irreverent, real and entertaining, and lucky us, he is speaking on Thursday evening, March 15 somewhere in DC (tbd) sponsored by the Smithsonian Associates program.

Fr. Keating founded Contemplative Outreach and is very knowledgeable about the tradition of meditation and contemplation in the Christian faith. With his ministry and writing, he is really the proponent of the renewal of modern Christian meditation and will show you how the practice of meditation can enliven Christian spirituality.

For more info and to register....

Women Convene at Cathedral to Implement Love

Sacred Circles, a "celebration of woman's spirituality" only comes around every two years. I attended for the first time in 2005 and wow, what an awesome experience. This year's theme is "Implement Love." No words can capture the joy and wonder of worship in the National Cathedral with those who gather for this event. And the individual break-out sessions address a wide variety of interests and needs.

Last time, I did yoga to the prayer of St. Francis of Assis, applauded Marianne Williamson as she acknowledged the distress of war and division, and expressed my admiration personally to Sharon Salzberg, one of my favorite mediation teachers and Buddhist writers.

This year Sharon Salzberg is back and other highlights include

• Artist Karnamrita will chant devotional Vedic verses
• Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, a South African, will describe the process of reconciliation to help us bridge our own divides
• Carol Gallagher, a Cherokee Episcopal bishop, will highlight our connectedness to the living earth
• Roberta Bondi will illuminate Julian of Norwich's teachings on love

To find out more and to register...

Abhyanga, Self Oil Massage, Nourishes Skin & Body

A regular practice of giving yourself a full body oil massage is an essential part of yogic health. Ayurvedic medicine complements and completes yoga and is the traditional healing system of India. As old as yoga (5000 years old!), Ayurveda uses the same Sanskrit language as yoga.

Snehana is the Sanskrit term for massaging herbal oils into the skin. The root of this word highlights a vital aspect of this practice. Sneha means love, and the literal translation ofsnehana is to love your own body. So as you do this, you really need to feel affection for your own skin and what's underneath.

Abhyanga is a broader term and refers to any massage treatment that uses oil, and here I will be describing how to administer a self oil massage. Abhyanga is also a Sanskrit word and with ang meaning "movement" and the prefix abhi meaning "into" or "toward", Abhyanga literally translates as moving into the body. Moving what into the body? Energy, love, prana.

One of my clients suggested I was highlighting this because of Valentine's Day. The connection is apt. If you have someone in your life, this practice is wonderful to do with a partner. Whether with a partner or alone, practicing love toward your body with the practice of abhyanga is a perfect way to celebrate St. Valentine's Day.

To find out more about why to do this and how to...

Revised Schedule & Music Now Available

Are your days flying by but you've not yet made time for yoga? nilambu classes began this week with a return to the basics - a review of that self-administered foot massage to wake up the feet for standing postures. We then did the standing postures with an emphasis on extending the spine. Finally, we started our nilambu philosophical focus with a spotlight on compassion. A new schedule is shaking out so be sure to check the schedule on the nilambu web site for updates.

Please come by a try a class! Or if you're too shy, try a private. The first try out is free. Yoga is for everyone and more than physical postures (called asana in Sanskrit). An asana is not a posture which you assume mechanically. It involves thought, at the end of which a balanced is achieved between movement and resistance. - BKS Iyengar.

Finally, with the start of the new year, I've assembled some unique nilambu playlists. Yes, music is an integral part of nilambu classes. Using music in yoga classes is a source of debate. I use it in class because I've experienced music's power with movement and how sound can work on a subtle level on the brain and even change the breath. My perspective on this debate is shaped by my experience growing up in ballet classes, no doubt. And my yoga practice deepened when after 4 years I discovered yoga could be done to music. Sound gave me a whole new dimension to "meditation in movement."

But that said, I also very much appreciate the value of silence. So nilambu classes offer a bit of silence too. There's just not enough of the absence of sound in our lives and silence can be immeasurably useful in order to bring awareness to our experiences and to our body.

I've published my playlists on iTunes as an iMix, and the list is available now. (For some reason, clicking on the link below doesn't work with my default internet browser, Mozilla Firefox. But if I paste the link into Microsoft Explorer, itunes opens the imusic store no problem. Unusual instance of synergy between Microsoft and Apple.) Look for more in the future.

To check out nilambu music playlist...

If Yoga Means Union, How Does the Disassembly of Loss Recover Through Yoga?

If Yoga Means Union, How Does the Disassembly of Loss Recover Through Yoga? I forget this often, but my yoga began because of death. A man I'd been seeing introduced me to yoga, and he and his family had begun to do yoga to deal with their grief after the death of a brother and a sister. For more on how my path started, click here. And so my path has circled back and again I was curious what yoga resources I could find to help me and what yoga says about grief.

I could not find much. I found one article from the December 2005 Yoga Journal, The Longest Goodbye. This essay deals with thoughts and perspective. I was more interested in doing than thinking and so more curious about my physical practice and how to adapt the poses and sequence them. I even called the International Association of Yoga Therapist. And they sent me a bibliography that also seemed sparse in this respect.

One of my own teachers gave me guidance. When you experience a loss or multiple losses, your heart is tender. So intense back bending, which exposes the chest and the heart, is not recommended. Child's pose, supported forward bends, face down corpse pose - all support the broken heart. It felt right.

The effect of back bending on emotions is well documented in yoga. See Emotions in Motion. If any one has any information to share regarding yoga postures and grief, please pass along. Meanwhile, I will continue my research.

The French essayist Montaigne wrote, "We must learn to endure what we cannot avoid..."

Purposefully Going to a Good Space

If you read no further in this newsletter, at least click on the link below. Steadiness & Ease, from the latest issue Yoga & Joyful Living (formerly Yoga International), covers the breadth of yoga - including physical postures, promotion of vitality, nourishment and building relationships. The authors go back to the roots of Sanskrit woods (which I just love) to delve into the meaning and include some helpful sidebars. One author, Dr. Robert Svoboda, is one of two leading Ayurvedic doctors in the USA. A few ideas may strike some as fanciful: "Never cook when you are angry, depressed, or frightened for you will transfer that negative energy into the food you are preparing." (Actually, my meals have been looking pretty sad and pathetic lately). But most of the information, particularly the section, "On The Mat," is very good. Reading this piece is a great way to start your year. Read on...

A Mother's Nurturing and Teaching

May 2007 bring you happy tidings and much yoga! I've got some great links to share with you and news about nilambu classes starting in February. I hope that yoga, in the physical sense but also in the meaning of unity, will be a part of your new year and that doing so will bring you equanimity and relief.

Also, many of you are aware that my mother died six weeks ago. I am very grateful for the sympathy and support from so many of you. She foremost taught me the value of community, and I've realized in the past weeks I've reaped the benefits of her teachings and priorities in the meaningful ways my own hamlet has helped me. Thank you.

Nurturing and teaching were tasks my mother knew and did well, and the importance of that noble profession will be recognized in her memory. For any who would like to make a contribution in her name, Oak Knoll School set up a memorial fund. The monies will be used to recognize the special service of teachers there, as teachers are too often undervalued. My mother served on the board of trustees, my sisters and I all graduated from there and my nine nieces and nephews are or will be enrolled.

Nine years at Oak Knoll built my character and taught me so much. The school was founded by the Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus and is based on the principals of their founding mother, Cornelia Connelly. Click here for more information her (Her custody battle with her husband is a fascinating legal case across national borders and involving the church) and here for information on Oak Knoll, including the address.

How can doing yoga postures bring equanimity and relief? First, yoga is not just the physical practice. Second, how you practice is integral to the effects. Equanimity, effortlessness, ease and elegance. Relief, release, respite and reprieve. These things are my wish for you in 2007. Try some yoga, at nilambu or otherwise, and enjoy the effects.

Namaste - Cassandra

Classes Resume After Candlemas

Candlemas in the Christian tradition occurs on February 2nd.

Forty days after the birth of Jesus, Candlemas marks the end of Mary's purification. And the date also is about at the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. In medieval times and still today in some highly liturgical churches, the candles are blessed for the entire year too.

All this by way of saying that on February 2nd, I too will re-emerge ready to go and to support you in your practice.

nilambu classes will begin the following week, the week of February 5th. The schedule is still being formulated but will be adjusted to the time availability of my current clients.

If you are one, please email me and let me know if you're interested in the same time slot. I am flexible (in time and otherwise!). Also see the link below to see the class outline through the beginning of May, including a specially planned class for the week of February 14th.

And if you're not yet a client and would like to be, please don't hesitate to contact me and let me know - even if you're just sort of thinking about it. Class are small with only 4 spots. Finally, if anyone rounds up at least three yogis, I'd be happy to initiate a new additional class.