Do You Know Your Heart?
This weekend, Plamen Karagyozov will be facilitating a three-hour workshop featuring the heart salutations at Yoga Matrika, an intimate space for yoga, meditation and healing in Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh. Acquaint Your Heart will be held from 1:00 to 4:00pm on Saturday, October 1, 2011 at Yoga Matrika.
If you were asked to describe your heart’s desire, most likely, you would immediately formulate a cerebral response that would be conditioned by culture, religion, traditions, expectations and other aspects of your unique human experience. In reality, the heart is the very first organ of intelligence that you formed in your embryonic state. We can learn how to consult the heart, listen to the heart and act on the heart through yoga and movement practices that draw upon our embodied intelligence to gain access to this important source of information.
The Heart Salutations that Plamen will offer in the workshop are a twelve step sequence flow (vinyasa) of energetic seals of the whole body(mudras) and asana that are accompanied by the breath (pranayama). At first, the body is warmed up and prepared for comfortable and effortless movement. Then the sequence is taught in sections with highlights on important details and gradually the entire salutation is practiced, featuring the various aspects of the heart and the circulatory system.Once the Heart Salutation is learned, with each pass through it, we layer in additional material, like Om, Yin-Yang and Tantra, transforming them from an intellectual concept to very palpable and practical aid in practice.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that, in 2006, 631,636 people in the United States died of heart disease. This represents over 26% of deaths that year. In 2010, they predicted that heart disease would cost the United States $316.4 billion. This total includes the cost of health care services, medications, and lost productivity. There is most definitely a cost of life, quality of life and time with those we love when we ignore the intelligence of the heart.
In the Tantric view, we can use our bodies as a tool for liberation in this lifetime. Invest in learning the heart salutations and practice them. Learn how to relieve your cerebral perspective and listen to your heart. Feel your heart’s desire and include this important form of intelligence in how you move through the world.
This post was written by Sharon Rudyk, Owner and Director of Programs at Yoga Matrika and Matrika Prenatal. She hopes you will visit her soon and often at The Mat, an intimate space for yoga, meditation and healing in Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh, PA, 15217.
Spring Preparation #4: Nourish the Spring Body
In this season, we should be nourishing the body by adding foods that support the yang qualities of spring:
- Drink mint tea with honey
- Cook with pungent herbs: basil, fennel, marjoram, rosemary, caraway, dill & bay leaf
- Whole grains, legumes and seeds
- Beets, carrots and sweet starchy vegetables
- Cook vegetables at a higher temperature for shorter periods of time
- Emphasize raw and sprouted foods
- Eat moderate amounts of food and avoid late meals
All of these ideas were taken from a fabulous nutrition reference:
Paul Pritchford. Healing with Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition. Third Edition 2002.
What is Restorative Yoga?
Restorative yoga is a practice that brings the energy of the body into balance, releases deeply held tension and calms the nervous system. In this yoga practice, there are gentle movements, breathing exercises and physical poses that are held for five-minutes or longer with the support of blankets, pillows and other props. These longer held poses allow the body to release into the pose with support so there is no physical strain or effort. In this way, the practitioner receives the full benefit of the pose without creating any additional stress in the body or on the nervous system.
This type of practice is counter-intuitive to adults who have come to think that more effort, more work, more sweat and more pain means more and better results. One of the greatest challenges of restorative yoga is accepting the fact that doing less brings the most significant transformation in the body and mind. This is not a gentle, wimpy or easy practice! Restorative yoga is a gentle unfolding of the damage we do to our bodies each and every day through emotional stress, through our repetitive actions and by ignoring the signs of exhaustion, un-ease and chronic pain. Athletes will find that restorative yoga is the most excellent compliment to their activity as it eases the joints and can help heal chronic and minor injuries that would otherwise prevent a quick return to a favorite sport or activity. If you tend to enjoy a more athletic yoga practice, such as Ashtanga Vinyasa or power flow practices, then restorative yoga can help deepen your practice. Yogis of all styles will find that their endurance and strength actually improves through a regular practice of restorative yoga.
At Yoga Matrika, our restorative yoga classes are a combination of mindfulness meditation, healing movement and stretching. No experience with yoga or meditation in any tradition or style is required. Beginners are always welcome to this safe, supportive and non-competitive environment. This is a practice that is equally as wonderful for students with injuries or chronic illness as it is for the healthiest and most robust athlete. The “results” of a regular practice can’t be predicted, but they will be positive and significant. It may be that you have had shoulder pain for most of your adult life and, after two months of restorative yoga practices, you find that your pain is diminished and your range of motion increased. Or, you may genuinely believe that you are a very balanced person without pain, but slowly realize that, with a regular restorative yoga practice, that you lose your temper less often and feel more compassionate towards others—-you might just find that you are happier!
We provide all of the equipment that you need for your practice, but encourage all students in all classes to bring their own yoga mat. We have mats for you to use if you need one, but mats are really a personal use item. Try not to practice yoga on a full stomach, but it is fine to have a small snack (banana and yogurt, a bowl of cereal, etc.) an hour or so before practice if you are very hungry. Wear comfortable, stretchy clothing in layers so that you can wear less when you are moving and put on a layer or two when you are going to relax into a pose for a longer period of time. You may want to bring a water bottle with you.
Join us at 6:00pm on Mondays, starting January 10, 2011, at Yoga Matrika for this unique yoga practice for all levels. Your instructor is Sharon Fennimore Rudyk. If you have questions about this practice or would like more information, please call Sharon directly at (412) 855-5692 or see our New Student FAQ.
This post was written by Sharon Fennimore Rudyk, the owner and director of Yoga Matrika, an intimate, community-based yoga studio in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: http://www.yogamatrika.com/. For information on prenatal and postnatal programs, please see: http://www.matrikaprenatal.com.
You’re a Star…..Literally.
In my estimation, of the greatest joys of being a parent is that you get to reconnect with children’s literature. Sure, there are nights when I’m quite sure that if I ever even accidentally trip over a Dr. Seuss book again that I might immediately burst into flames–never mind READ it again. For the most part, I am delighted by the beautiful illustrations, the kind and meaningful tone and the idea that there is such great potential in this life.
Recently, we checked out The Greatest Intergalactic Guide to Space Ever by the Brainwaves from our local library. The illustrations by Lisa Swerling and Ralph Lazar are imaginative and, quite frankly, hilarious. The book is a brilliant collection of facts about space and it is everything that I had hoped my college course on astronomy would be, but without the physics.
Then, on page 25, I read something that awed me and put me in touch with a sense of wonder and wonderment that made me kiss my sleeping blondie on his little head before I continued my new favorite book:
“The Sun is mostly hydrogen and helium, but it also includes small amounts of other elements. Earth formed close to the Sun from the same cloud of matter. Humans are material made from Earth’s elements, so everything in our bodies was once a star.”
Just in case you didn’t catch it—–EVERYTHING YOU ARE MADE OF WAS ONCE A STAR! Now, I’d heard something similar in some yoga or energy text that suggested that our bodies are made up of the same elements that stars are made of, but this is something different entirely because it creates a chronology. The statement in this children’s book suggests a past for all of us, a past when our parts were shining clouds of matter in the night sky. This idea is at once humbling and liberating.
No matter what kind of yoga you practice, the foundation of the practice is a kind of mindfulness that becomes available when we focus the mind and acknowledge the constant stream of thoughts that so many of us make the mistake of identifying with. Maybe that stream slows down somewhat with time and practice, but for many of us, what we can obtain in this lifetime is just an awareness. In many classes, the smallest element that we break our awareness into is the cell. What I would like to suggest is that, based on this idea that our most elemental parts were at one time a star, we spend some time in meditation getting in touch with our inner star.
The first step, and perhaps the most challenging, is to release our physical body—the body of organs and bones and blood and guts. Especially if you are in pain, this may be a considerable challenge. But, to give it a try, just lie on your back and systematically relax from your toes to the crown of your head. Then, just wait for your breathing to naturally slow down and become shallow. Don’t rush it or try to control the breath. Just lie there until you feel everything slow down.
The second step would be to watch the transitions of the breath. Focus on the space where the in-breath becomes the out-breath and the out-breath becomes the in-breath. If you lose your focus, just return to it whenever you realize that you’ve drifted. If you constantly lose focus, then you can try to add counting—-count your inhale (1) and then just listen to the sound of your exhale, count your inhale(2) and then listen to the exhale and so on until you count to ten. Anyone who has tried this before knows that you will probably get lost before you reach ten, but just keep it up and return to one when you realize you are lost.
The third step is starting to feel the way that energy is moving through your body. There is no right or wrong answer. Bring your mind’s eye to your navel and just see how energy is moving from your center to the periphery. Maybe your center feels numb—that’s interesting! Maybe you can only feel your right side—that’s interesting! Please try not to make judgments. Instead, just be incredibly curious.
Finally, start to feel the pulse of energy through the body and give that pulse a golden light. When you feel the energy rise, feel yourself glow. When you feel the energy start to wane, then feel a complete release as your light dulls a bit. Just pulse energy and light like this for as long as you wish, until you fall asleep or until you wake up.
Confirmed by a children’s book—-you ARE a star!
REFERENCES
Stott, Carole
The Greatest Intergalactic Guide to Space Ever by the Brainwaves. London; New York:DK Publishers, 2009.
Posted by Sharon Fennimore Rudyk, Owner and Director of Yoga Matrika, a lovely little studio in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: 6520 Wilkins Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15217. Contact information for Sharon is available on the website: http://www.yogamatrika.com/. Please feel free to share and re-post, but be kind and give credit back to the Yoga Matrika blog and Sharon. Namaste!
Welcome Julika!
WELCOME JULIKA LOMAS
Pittsburgh’s yoga community is fortunate to have a new yogini in town. Yoga Matrika is delighted to welcome Julika Lomas to our community specifically and to Pittsburgh in general. Julika Lomas will be offering a Core Challenge Vinyasa Flow class on Tuesdays from 8:15 to 9:30am and on Sundays from 7:30 to 8:45 pm. This will be our most physically challenging yoga class with an emphasis on building strength and toning the entire body. Enjoy this sweaty and intelligent vinyasa flow class with creative vinyasa series and an energetic flow that is sure to keep you joyful and restored–no matter how grey, icy or cold it may be outside!
Please come and try a class with Julika. Introduce yourself and get ready for a real treat of a class. She starts this Sunday, January 24th at 7:30pm. Bring your mat, water bottle and a towel and get ready to FLOW.
About Julika:
After an inspiring journey in various mind and body arts (e.g., fencing, progressive muscle relaxation and M.A. in psychology), I have started my vigorous yoga practice in 2008. Wonderful teachers like Gerhard Gessner, Jeanie Carlstead and Amanda McCarroll inspired my spiritual and physical growth in a beautiful San Diego studio. In 2009, I became a registered yoga teacher at Prana Yoga Center. The same year I experienced the beauty of my pregnant body in various asanas. Yoga is opening my heart for this world every day. My teaching is honoring styles such as Vinyasa flow and Anusara-inspired yoga. I believe in paying attention to details, such as enhancing a student’s pose with hands-on adjustments or paralleling breath and movement. In my classes, I will present students at all skill levels a rigorous and restoring yoga experience. Each class includes meditation and pranayama to frame the yoga practice into a holistic experience.
Posted by Sharon Rudyk
Owner of Yoga Matrika located in Point Breeze, Pittsburgh
6520 Wilkins Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15217
http://www.yogamatrika.com/
Resolution Revolution
I’ve been frustrated lately and overwhelmed—-by my work, by my work relationships, by the fact that my husband has become obsessed with watching CSPAN and mostly by what I feel around me in the energetic field. We are exhausted and want more from our leaders, our medical system, our businesses and banks. We want people who have power to start using it in a way that is GOOD and GENEROUS and RIGHT.
Then, this morning, I woke up and I realised that we must have a REVOLUTION. We must have a great social movement in which EVERY PERSON decides to live each day according to their highest self. We must STOP violence against ourselves and open to the potential of every moment because it is in our collective pledge to make every moment, every decision and every interaction one that matters that true REVOLUTION will happen. We will, collectively, create a joyful and responsible energy–an energy where anyone who suggests that not protecting the earth, our heath and our ability to protect and nurture our children will simply feel out of alignment with what is real and right and responsible. And when I say “OUR” I don’t mean American “OUR”—-I mean the “OUR” of humanity and of all living things.
Dr. Seuss tells us this in Horton Hears a Who—-EVERYONE in Whoville had to make a great noise in order to be saved. In this revolution, instead of noise, we will make the silent vibration of positive energy. Energy that creates a force of peace and light and love that can not be ignored. In this lifetime, we can make a lasting vibration for peace that will have an infinite impact on the entire world. We may feel small and powerless, but this is a trick of the mind that we can reveal with yoga and meditation.
Yoga provides us with the support and inspiration we need to make this way of creating peace, energy and connecting to our own higher power. Yoga is not a class, it is a choice—-a choice to move through the world in accordance with our inner guidance. This practice can be done by anyone with a body, even if you can’t move your body or struggle with physical or mental challenges. The practice is not a religion and will only serve to enhance your commitment to any religious or spiritual practices that you are already committed to. This year, in 2010, consider joining the revolution.
Yoga Matrika invites YOU to a YOGA CHALLENGE.
We welcome everyone to become a part of this yoga-based resolution revolution! You don’t have to live in Pittsburgh and we hope that EVERYONE will take advantage of this project that invites you to make yoga and meditation a part of EVERY day of your life in a gentle and flexible way.
Most New Years’ resolutions are about fixing what is broken, making changes, and trying to be better, greater, more than what you are right now. But what if, this year, you became a part of a RESOUTION REVOLUTION to:
PROMOTE PEACE and NON-VIOLENCE starting with YOURSELF
PROMOTE RESPECT for HUMAN LIFE starting with YOURSELF
HAVE NO FEAR by acting according to your HIGHEST SELF and INNER GUIDANCE
If we all do this, then our Resolution Revolution will cause ripples of hope, joy, gratitude and beauty through the entire Universe. Stop “not having enough time” and MAKE TIME. Stop, “being so worried about the economy” and MAKE ENERGY. Stop, “being so mad about the wars” and CREATE PEACE. Stop acting on your fears and INSIST on ACTING from YOUR HIGHEST SELF.
Let’s walk on our own two feet, feel the earth beneath us,
reach for the stars and make 2010 the year we really LIVE!
You might lose weight, get a better job, stop fighting with your partner or screaming at your kids, really start practicing the oboe and get your finances in order—- or you might not. But, I guarantee that if you make an honest pledge to the Resolution Revolution, this will be one of the best years of your life.
Every revolution needs a text, but this revolution has TWO! Our 2010 texts are:
1. Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul by Deepak Chopra. 2009
2. The Joy of Living: Unlocking the Secret and Science of Happiness by Youngey Mingyur Rinpoche. 2007
You don’t have to buy these books, but we think you’ll want to so you can read them again and again and again!—You can borrow them from the library, create a Resolution Revolution group with friends and collectively own one set of the texts, etc. If you do buy them and you have a local book shop, please order it through them or ask them to carry these titles. If not, then the book titles are linked to information that will help you purchase them online.
HOW THE RESOLUTION REVOLUTION WORKS
STEP 1: Print out a Revolution Pledge Form, read the pledge and think about your level of commitment to the pledge. If you would like to commit, keep one signed copy in a safe place for yourself and send one to Yoga Matrika in Pittsburgh, PA. In this way, you set a public intention to commit to the pledge.
STEP 2: Make a payment or donation in order to receive your WELCOME KIT and to start receiving monthly e-newsletters with a review of the readings for that month and some yoga tips and hints. The monthly newsletter will inspire you to stick with the pledge and provide great tips for your yoga practice.
STEP 3: Keep your pledge. Practice daily.
STEP 4: Provide feedback and ask for support. Starting in September 2010, we will begin to publish an online journal for the pledge that incorporates the feedback, thoughts, ideas and reflections of participants.
WELCOME KIT
When you make a pledge to the Resolution Revolution, you will receive a reading schedule & monthly email newsletter with a discussion and review of the readings and yoga and meditation exercises that support that month’s topic. You will also receive instructions on a meditation and yoga series that you will commit to doing 5-days EVERY week. This meditation and yoga series takes 15-20 minutes and can be done by EVERYONE. Even if you are not able to move your body or if you are confined to bed, you can DO THIS series with simple modifications that are included in the instructions.
Although the greatest benefit will come from starting on January 1st, you can make the pledge at ANY TIME! You will receive all of the previous e-mail newsletters and the yoga practice so you can “catch up”.
We will also be documenting the REVOLUTION and invite you to submit ideas, thoughts, reflections and personal stories to inspire more participation and to encourage anyone who has “taken a break” from their pledge. You will receive information about this in your WELCOME KIT!
FEES
The cost of the e-mail newsletters and year of yoga practice is $24–$2 per month to change your life and change the world. If you do not have $24, but would like to make this pledge. We honor your current financial situation and offer a DONATION option that allows you to choose an amount that works with your budget. Your purchase supports the costs associated with the administration of the revolution including, but not limited to: web fees, e-newsletter subscription costs and professional fees.
Mindful Focus of the Week
Last week, the focus for Mindful Yoga was “the organs.” We learned to support asana using the internal structures of the body and acknowledge our organs for all that they do.
This week, our focus is the sacral center (2nd Chakra). I always pick a focus based on what I am working on in my personal practice and recently, for the first time in years, I managed to aggravate my sciatic nerve. It’s hard to say how I did it—-Demonstrating a reverse triangle when I wasn’t warmed up? Carrying a heavy messenger bag on one shoulder? Sitting with my legs crossed for too long? Good news is that it doesn’t matter how it happened, only that it’s over now and the experience provided inspiration to give some juicy love to the sacrum this week.
The sacral area is associated with creativity and when we create and acknowledge sensation here we are filled with optimism, passion and direction. Life is vibrant!
If you can’t make it to Mindful Flow on Tuesday night at Yoga Matrika in Pittsburgh, then here is a little exercise that will take less than 10-minutes that you can do anywhwere to change your energy and open up to a little creative juice:
SIT
On the floor with your legs crossed OR on the edge of a chair.
BREATHE
Take at least 10 deep breaths so that the in-breath takes a minimum of 4-counts and the out-breath is released to an equal count. It may take a few minutes to slow the breath down and open to this depth. Take as much time as you need.
MOVE
For one minute, start to take your upper body in circles over your hips. Keep circling in the same direction for the entire minute, inhaling as you circle forward and exhaling as you circle back. The breath should be relaxed and the movement should be at a speed that allows you to take full deep breaths.
After a minute, change directions and take your upper body in circles over your hips in the opposite direction. Breathing in as you circle forward and exhaling as you round back.
LIE DOWN
For five minutes, lie down on the floor with your hips propped up on a folded blanket or pillow. If this causes any pain in your lower back, then bend through your knees and place your feet flat on the floor. Breathing in, feel your belly rise towards the ceiling. Exhaling, feel your belly release towards your spine.
Slowly sit up and move on to the next wonderful thing with a little more spring in your step, oxygen in your blood and a juiced up pelvis—-Vroom! Vroom!
Posted by Sharon Fennimore Rudyk
Owner and Director of Yoga Matrika
http://www.yogamatrika.com/
This great idea is inspired by Gurmukh’s wonderful book, “The Eight Human Talents” published in 2000 by Harper Collins. Highly recommended!
A Great Healing
About 2-weeks ago now, I went to the emergency room in some of the worst pain I have ever been in. The back of my throat was blistered and I had a deep pain in my upper chest. For three-nights I had been up with this terrible pain that did not respond to Ibuprofen or any of the over the counter treatments I had to try. In the emergency room, I was told that I had acid reflux and was given some very powerful medications—-including one that has irreversable neurological problems as one of the common side effects.
I had a suspicion that I actually had a viral infection and made an appointment with acupuncturist Melissa Sokulski at the Birch Center. In addition to the viral infection, I suspected that recent headaches and some of my complaints were related to stress and grief. I had responded well to acupuncture before, so I had high hopes for this treatment and my recovery.
To my absolute amazement, the morning following my treatment, the blisters in the back of my throat were almost completely gone and I had a good sleep. There was obviously a profound shift in my health and well being. The Birch Center is a very comfortable and warm place and does not feel clinical. Melissa provided a unique treatment that was adapted during the treatment based on my response and changes in pulse. There was a great kindness in the entire experience and I highly recommend the Birch Center both for the sweet environment and the obvious technical skill of Melissa Sokulski.
I have a great admiration for healers in all forms—-biomedical doctors, acupuncturists, therapists of body and mind, shamans, nurses—all kinds. There is a certain kind of release that happens when we get the sense that we are in good hands and this peace and trust opens the gate to the healing experience. Part of our yoga practice is being present with both the energetic and the physical body. Disturbances in the energetic body manifest themselves as dis-ease in the physical body and we should actively use our intuition to seek out healing from people that we relate to with a sense of peace.
Pittsburgh is home to many types of healers and we can open to the experience of being healed when we remain open to our intuition and seek healing experieces that are in alignment with our personal truth. While not every healer is the best healer for every person or every problem, I can honestly make this referral to the Birch Center for anyone seeking acupuncture or other alternative treatments. It’s also great to get on the Birch Center newsletter list! The last newsletter had some great information on acupuncture and alternative treatments for H1N1 and for recovery from the flu.
Melissa and David Sokulski, Licensed Acupuncturists
The Birch Center for Health, LLC
1931 East Carson Street, 2nd Floor
Pittsburgh, PA 15203
(412) 381-0116
www.BirchCenter.com
www.FoodUnderFoot.com ~ Wild Edible Plants
Intuitive Health: Yoga for your Spirit
Kari Samuels will be leading a series of workshops titled Intuitive Health at Yoga Matrika in October and November.
Intuitive Health: Balancing your Body, Mind and Spirit
We are all born with an intuitive awareness that guides us, protects us, and helps us make purposeful decisions. Through subtle messages from our body and our circumstances, our inner guidance communicates with us, leaading us towards our natural state of joy, vitality, and self-esteem. This fun, interactive class offers tools for transforming your life form the inside out. You will learn how to increase your positive energy, reclaim your power, and start living the prosperous healthy life you deserve.
October 21: Listening to your Body’s Wisdom
Every day you are receiving messages from your body that guide you towards your personal truth. In this workshop, you will learn now to listen to those subtle messages, so you can make empowering choices for your body and your life.
October 28: Mapping Your Inner Landscape
In this dynamic interactive class, you will explore your sacred architecture–the seven major energy centers of the body (chakras) and the human energy field, otherwise known as the aura. We will explore the many ways that your body reveals your personal blueprint, and ways you can create lasting change in your life through balancing your energy.
November 4: Positive Energy
Our outer world is a reflection of our internal reality. When we learn how to heal our fears and limitations, we can create more peaceful harmonious circumstances. This class offers practical techniques towards growth, healing and love. Practiced daily, these techniques will result in more joy, vitality, passion, and purpose.
November 11: The Energy of Relationships
We can attract and maintain healthy relationships when we understand the energy dynamics that transpire between ourselves and others. Through meditation and exercises, you will learn how to protect yourself against energy drains, create healthy boundaries, and live more compassionately towards yourself and others.
Register for workshops here: http://dharmatribeonline.com/matrika/index.php?tab=2
Find out more about Kari Samuels here: http://www.karisamuels.com/index.html
Posted by Sharon Fennimore Rudyk
Owner and Director of Yoga Matrika in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
http://www.yogamatrika.com/
Qigong and Yoga: What is Zhong Dao?
It’s always a risk to put a class on the schedule that has a name that no one recognizes. I have taken just this kind of risk by creating Zhong Dao. But, the name is such a perfect reflection of this combination Qigong Energy work and Yoga class that I just can’t call it by any other name!
First, I think that we can examine what the different elements of the class are for clarity. One aspect of the practice of Zhong Dao is inspired by Qigong. Qigong is a system of exercises that allow the practitioner to “learn how to control the flow and distribution of qi to improve the health and harmony of mind and body (Cohen 3).” What precisely is qi? Qi (pronounced: chee—as if you were going to say cheese without the “se”) has been translated in many different ways, but one that can be helpful for beginners and is especially appropriate for this context, is that qi is life energy. Gong means to work. Qigong is a “wholistic system of self-healing exercise and meditation, an ancient, evolving practice that includes healing posture, movement, self-massage, breathing techniques, and meditation (Cohen 4).”
Second, what is the connection between this Chinese Qigong practice and yoga? “In India, the life energy, prana, is described as flowing through thousands of subtle-energy veins, the nadis. One of the goals of Yoga is to accumulate more prana through breath control exercises (pranayama) and physical postures (asana) (Cohen 26).” One system of Yoga that has incorporated Chinese yin-yang theory is Yin Yoga. One of Paul Grilley’s students, Sarah Powers, has written a beautiful book called Insight Yoga that shows the Chinese energy patterns (meridians) and yoga asana that activate different energy meridians in the body.
Zhong means middle or center and Dao means path or way. Therefore, this practice is the middle way and a way to create a sense of balance and ease in the body and mind. This practice is designed to relieve stress and tension in the body so that there is equilibrium in the spirit, the immune system is supported and optimum health can be maintained. We do some gentle stretching and energy warm-ups followed by a practice of the Eight Brocades and end every practice session with a healing meditation.
Hope to see you on Saturdays for Zhong Dao at 10:30am!
Here are some excellent references for Yoga and Qigong:
The Way of Qigong: The Art and Science of Chinese Energy Healing. Written by Kenneth S. Cohen. Ballantine Books, New York: 1997.
Insight Yoga. Written by Sarah Powers. Shambhala Publications, Boston & London: 2008.
Yin Yoga: Outline of a Quiet Practice. Written by Paul Grilley. White Cloud Press, Ashland, Oregon: 2002.
Happy Happy,
Sharon Rudyk
Owner and Director, Yoga Matrika
http://www.yogamatrika.com/
http://www.prenatalyogapittsburgh.com
YOGA MATRIKA is located at 6520 Wilkins Avenue in the Squirrel Hill/Point Breeze neighborhoods of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. You can reach Sharon by calling (412) 855-5692.