Tag: weight loss

Meditation in Pittsburgh

So….Bhante Pema is traveling in Asia and we are missing the Monday night meditation classes at Yoga Matrika.  Please note that Bhante Pema’s fall meditation class series is filling fast and not only is there a $40 discount when you register for the series before July 1st, 2012, but registering for the series now is the only way to guarantee yourself a space in this amazing class series.  Yoga Matrika offers intimate meditation classes with Bhante Pema for $175 (early bird registration before 7/1/12 makes tuition just $135) for the 12-week series.  There is no other meditation class in Pittsburgh like these.  The environment is calm and supportive and the small-group class series allows you to receive personal attention and build your skills over time.

If you need some guidance and inspiration for your practice this summer, why not try an online course?  An online course in meditation will allow you to enjoy the sun, go out and play, and study and practice meditation at your convenience.  It’s hard to come inside and focus when all you really want to do is run through the sprinkler, garden and enjoy time outdoors with your friends, family and loved ones.  So rise early and study or take some time for yourself in the evening when the day of play is done.  This online meditation course is 12-weeks, just like our class series—-so you’ll be all set and ready for class when September 10th comes.  While it may seem now that the summer lies before you as a great expanse, you know that fall will be here in the blink of an eye. 

Just in case you are curious about some of the benefits of meditation, please check out the amazing benefits of meditation here.  Do you ever feel like a victim of your genes?  Read here about how meditation can change genetic expression

Posted by Sharon Fennimore Rudyk, owner and director of programs at Yoga Matrika, a boutique yoga center in Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh, PA 15217.  Small group classes, private sessions, teacher training programs, workshops for all levels and more!

Lose Weight with Yoga

No diet will remove all the fat from your body because the brain is entirely fat.  Without a brain, you might look good, but all you could do is run for public office.
         GEORGE BERNARD SHAW

One of the most common questions that people ask me about yoga is if they can lose weight doing it.  The truth is that I’m never sure how to respond.  On the one hand, doing yoga is really inspiring—–you feel so good that you don’t want to ruin it with food that doesn’t provide energy and nutrition!  It’s amazing, but you will find that you automatically start making “better” food choices when you have a regular yoga practice.  And, yes, yoga is a physical activity that requires movement, breathing and calories are probably spent.  I actually gained some weight when I first started doing yoga.  I wasn’t sure about it, but my wise and trusted yoga instructor saw me wondering at myself in the studio mirror and said, “Your hair looks beautiful long like that Sharon and, you know, you’ve gained some weight and it’s nice on you.  It happens to everyone.  You start doing yoga and you come into balance.  If you need to lose weight, then it is released.  If you need to gain some, then it is increased.”  The man knew how to say things like this and walk away–quick.  You know, before you could figure out if you just received a compliment or not.

Those were my Diet Coke days—I was writing and translating Classical Chinese and staying up all hours.  Sleeping in my clothes. My favorite food group was aspartame.  What happened was that, doing yoga, I got hungry for food solids and found myself eating more regularly and exploring different types of foods and seeing how they made me feel in my practice.  Also, I was exhausted, so I’d sleep rather than consume another litre of my midnight elixir.  I never finished that degree, but I’m still doing yoga.

Every now and again, you’ll see a diet soda can in the garbage at Yoga Matrika.  I’ll admit, it’s mine.  Everyone needs a vice!

Stay lean and mean Matrikas!

Written by Sharon Rudyk
Owner and Director, Yoga Matrika
Located in Pittsburgh, PA
https://www.yogamatrika.com/