I am a bit late in telling you about this great opportunity, but I guess late is better than never. My friend and businesspartner Charly Leetham is interviewing some fascinating, successful business women on how to balance their family life and work. How did they achieve success?

 I am sure this is a topic we can all benefit from.

 Check it out here: http://ladiesinbusinesstoday.com

Connie

Your Yoga Partner

from

http://www.yogainahurry.com

I want to let you know about a couple of special Yoga Events that
are happening.

The first one is the “Yoga Aid Challenge” where yoga teachers and
practitioners do a set of 108 Sun Salutations on a particular
morning at sunrise. They attract sponsorship and the money gets
donated to a worthwhile cause.

In case you are wondering: It takes about 2 hours to do 108 sets of
Sun Salutations and it is quite a challenge to do so many in a row!

To find our more go to:
USA:
http://yogaaid.com

Australia:
http://yogaaid.com.au

or find the “Yoga Aid Challenge” website.

For those of you who live in Australia, the Sydney Yoga Expo is
taking place on Sunday, 19.10.2008 at Wharf 8, Darling Harbour from
9am to 5pm. It is a great Yoga Day not to be missed.

And even more exciting: a Yoga Conference is coming up in Sydney
from 17-19 April 2009.
Have a look at:
http://www.yoga09.com

 
Till next time,
Connie,
Your Yoga Partner
from
http://www.yogainahurry.com

On the weekend I attended a yoga workshop and was reminded of some of the yoga basics. Here they are:

Whenever doing a pose be aware of the “foundation”. Without a strong foundation the pose will not achieve its full beneficial effect and cannot be done in the way it is intended to.

For example in dog pose the foundation are both hands and both feet. The dog pose is based on those four points of support – so they need to be placed properly and have strength. In some poses only the feet are used as the foundation. For inverted poses the foundation is different again.

There are two energies at work:
1. Pressing down into the foundation of the pose is “earthing” or “grounding” us.
2. The energy that returns from the earth upwards is “rebounding”.
Try and become aware of those two opposing energies next time you do your practice.

The above are all important reasons why we never should rush into a pose, why it is so important to get the “grounding” right first. When you think about it, this applies to everything else in life too, without solid grounding or foundation things, projects or even human beings soon run into difficulties.

The other important part of every pose is the breath. Quite often there is general confusion when we should exhale and when to inhale. Just a reminder: all yoga breathing is done through the nose unless otherwise specified.

The best rule to follow for breathing is:
Going away from gravity (meaning upwards, opening up, stretching up, lifiting up) – INHALE.

Going towards gravity (bending down, bending forward, curling in) – EXHALE.

Happy practice, till next time.

Connie,
Your Yoga Partner
from

http://www.yogainahurry.com

Often I get asked by my students “what is the difference between relaxation and meditation?” Nowadays a lot of people use the terms very loosely and yet there is a distinct difference.

Meditation is the harder one to explain and to attain! There a number of definitions. “Meditation is a continuous flow of perception or thought, like the flow of water in a river.” This quote is from Swami Vishnu Devananda.

Others have described it as a completely blank, still mind or the process of coming to inner stillness. Our thoughts are like the ripples on a very still lake, the less thoughts we have, the stiller the lake becomes till there are no more ripples. The mind is still and we find our true inner essence in that stillness. It is in that stillness that we realise that the core of us, our very essence, is unchangeable, no matter what happens around us on the outside. This knowing gives us a deep sense of peace.

Consciously or unconsciously all human beings are somehow seeking peace of mind. Everybody does it in a different way. For some it is sitting down and doing embroidery, going fishing, going for a walk and observe nature with fresh eyes. For some it might even be writing code for a website! When our attention is focussed on one thing, one object and we don’t think of anything else, the constant chatter of the mind stops. The mind becomes quiet and silent. We completely can forget our worries and problems.

Unfortunately this is only temporary. As soon as we stop our activity the mind goes back to its old habits, the thoughts and worries come back with a vengence.

Initially the same happens when doing meditation. We temporarily achieve stillness and as soon as we finish our practice, everyday life catches up again. With practice the mind stays more calm and still even after we return to our everyday activities. When we do get out of balance, it becomes easier and quicker to regain it. So don’t give up.

Till next time
Connie,
Your Yoga Partner
from

http://www.yogainahurry.com

It has always been known that stress during pregnancy is not healthy for mother or baby. In some cultures the mother has to be protected from all sad news, bad events etc.  I think this is a very wise thing to do.

Modern research has come up with some scary findings. Before I tell you what they found out, I need to explain some terms to you.

FSS stands for Functional Somatic Stress Syndrome. This is a fancy word for problems that are physical but only insufficient medical reason or explanation can be found. Problems that come under that category are irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, premenstrual syndrome, sick building syndrome, multiple chemical sensitivity syndrome…..and the list goes on.

The second term I need to explain is “allostasis”. This means the ability to achieve stable function in response to change. In other words, how well the body and mind can handle stress. 

The third term is “allostatic load”, this is the combined internal and external stress the body is under. Some of the not so well known stresses are: radiation exposure, overexertion, structural imbalances, imbalanced diet, lack of nutrients (vitamins, minerals, enzymes etc.), pollution, allergens in the air….Again, there are lots more of those.

Now – coming back to pregnancy and the mother being under stress. The Stress the mother is under affects the genes of the developing baby. One of the things that happens is that the baby will have a heightened stress response, it simply can’t cope well with stress. This persists throughout life.

The other thing that happens is that genes that are related to disease risk later in life are turned on and off in a particular way when the mother is experiencing stress throughout pregnancy. To put it into other words: Stress in the mother causes disease later in the life of the child. There is speculation that these children might be more prone to developing the FSS mentioned above.

Yoga is the perfect antidote to external stress, it also has the capacity to deal with some of the internal stresses.  Do as much yoga, relaxation and visualisation during pregnancy as you can. Choose an experienced teacher, don’t use a book or video and remember to use common sense. Never put pressure on your tummy, don’t do any strong twists, side bends or back bends and don’t lie on your back.

Till next time

Connie

Your Yoga Partner

from http://www.yogainahurry.com