Chaga Challenge – Day 3

The days continue, the mix is mixing and the days are getting warmer.

With daily yoga, good nutrition, and now a killer daily mix, I am feeling on top of the world.

Won’t you join me?

http://www.foursigmafoods.com

Chaga Challenge – Day 2

It’s so late in the day, probably chaga giving me power to stay awake all day.

It was a little challenging getting my instant mixes today, and the weather changes made me actually super tired, but had a fabulous bike ride and sunset picture experience, and i am enjoying watching the world through the eyes of Four Sigma Foods products.

Chaga Challenge – Day 1

Ever hear of Four Sigma Foods?
If you have, then you are familiar with their groundbreaking approach to wellness, if you have not, well, be sure to click here, or on their name.

 

When I heard about their 30 day Instant product challenge, I was inspired and asked the company if I could participate.
They were excited as well, and sent me a care package with 4 boxes of Instant Chaga mix, what I will consume 3 times a day for the next 30 days.

I started my day with a makeshift Chaga tea, basically the instant packet with hot water. I took it with me to my yoga class, which I had to teach and though I drank half on the way there, I finished the mug sporadically while teaching. I taught a hot BikYasa class, and between active savasana when I opened the door, I snuck some sips.
The earth warm taste had a musky sweet taste to it, and left me feeling rather nourished.

After my second class of the day, the noon flow class, I came home and decided to make a juice. I blended greens, carrots, apple, pear and ginger, mix a small portion of chaga with hot ater for a quick dissolve and poured it in the juice mix. The result was a scrumptious liquid lunch. It was so good that I decided to make it my dinner as well, this time only mixing carrot, apple and ginger with my chaga addition.

At the end of day one I feel rather amazed, lucid, clear and elated. Managed to teach 3 classes, two meetings, clean the house and enjoy the day.

Looking forward to what the day will bring tomorrow!

5 Reasons Never Teach from the Back of the Room

Yoga’s popularity and growth knows no bound. With new studios constantly opening and yoga teacher training filling Fabebook ads.
One of the fastest growing markets of yoga is Hot Yoga classes. These classes showcase teachers who use their voice alone to guide the class. Compare this with other yoga classes where the teacher sets up their yoga mat at the front of the class and while some will teach by example the entire class, other will move from demonstrating to walking and talking, and return back the front where their mat is.

There are pros and cons to both style of teaching, however, many hot yoga teachers seem to stand at the back of the room, behind the students screaming their instructions.

Here are 5 reasons why this teaching style is not only disrespectful but also devoid of building connections with students:

1 – When someone goes to the back of the room it indicates that they are hesitant, timid, shy and insecure. Is that the feeling you wish to leave your students with?
Face your own fears and stand at the front of the room.

2 – Yoga teaching is interpersonal communication. Do you communicate with your friends by sanding behind them and talking to them? How would you feel if someone was talking to you from behind?
Standing behind someone denotes a sense of superiority and dominance. Do you wish to subconsciously communicate to your students that they are inferior to you?
By standing in front of someone you are presenting a sense of connection, interaction, and respect.

3 – teaching yoga allows both student and instructor to discover that there is something larger than their individual sense of separation. When you stand behind you only reinforce the sense of separation.  Be part of the experience of discovering that place of peace, light, love and joy and stand in front of someone facing your desire to run away.

4 – Be the mirror for your students rather than to rely their reflection in the mirror.
When you stand in front of students you are able to be a reflection for them as to their unconscious habits.

5 – What exactly are you looking at? – let’s take the downward facing dog pose for example. Standing behind someone gives you direct view of student’s ass. Compare this with standing in front of them where you have a direct viw of their shoulders. Considering that DFD pose tends to put undue strain in students shoulders, you want to quickly identify this part of the body, rather than day dreaming about something else.

This last point I find most shocking, especially since the majority of practitioners are women who wear very short clothing. I have noticed in more than one occasion that male teachers standing in the back of the room are gazing at the groin of their students in poses where the leg is raised to the sky. Considering that there are more women teaching yoga, these suggestions might never have crossed your mind, but as a male yoga teacher trainer I find that once you seat students down and show them what it looks like from an observation perspective it becomes immediately obvious to the serious disrespect that can follow with such behavior. Whether male or female you communicate more confidence, with greater respect and ability to verbally correct body positions when you stand in front of students.

Remember, you just finished yoga training, allow yourself the confidence and create a space for trust between you and your students.

Gabe Yoga is the founder of H3 Yoga, an international yoga teacher training school that empowers teachers with tools and information that inspire and build universal communities. His training method and Hot Flow (BikYasa) program have been implemented in studios all around the world, from Thailand to Europe and the USA. http://www.gabeyoga.com

Yin Yoga Training for Teachers, Students and Enthusiasts

 

 

Akasha Yoga Vacaville

presents

Yin Yoga Training

What: Yin Yoga Training for Teachers, Students and Enthusiasts

Where: Akasha Yoga Vacaville
373 Merchant St.

When: May 17-19, May 24-26 Time: Fri 4-9pm, Sat & Sun 10-7pm

Topics: Yin Yoga history, philosophy, anatomy, insights, story telling and more…

Cost:
$500—before April 1st, $600 After April 1st
$150 Individual Sat or Sun, $75 Individual Friday

Course Includes:

YinYasa E-Book, Yin Yoga Video Class, Yin Yoga Audio Class, YinYasa Flash Cards, YinYasa Poster, Osho jokes, Zen Koana, Meridian Theory & Organ function

H3 Yoga Alliance CE Certificate for YA Reg. teachers

YinYasa Yoga

The word ‘nYasa’ means:

to place together
Gabriel fused the words to
highlight how Yin Yoga poses go
together to achieve deeper
health, joint function and stability

For over 15 years, Gabriel Azoulay, an International Yoga developer, has lead trainings and workshops. His company H3 Yoga provides VinYasa, YinYasa, BikYasa teacher trainings around the world. His teachings are filled with humor, simplicity and depth from years of daily practice and enthusiastic studies. While Gabriel credits Pichet Boonthume as his major Thai Yoga influence, he credits, Tim Miller, Anthony ‘Prem’ Carlisi, Lisa Schrempp, David Deida, Vincenzo ‘Enzo’ Coribello for influencing his yoga practice, teaching and approaches to the mat. Read Gabriel’s full bio on his website http://www.gabrielazoulay.com/.

http://www.akashayogastudio.com/
http://www.yinyasayoga.com/

13 Primary Organs and their Meridians

Organ	Gross Function	Subtle Function
Kidneys	They control the growth and development of bones and nourish the marrow.	The body’s most important reservoir of essential energy.They are the seat of courage and willpower.
Pericardium	Not Recognized in the west.It is the heart’s protective sack	Protects the heart from damage and disruption by excessive emotional energies generated by the other organs, such as anger from the liver, fear from the kidneys, and grief from the lungs
Triple burner - Not a single self–‐contained organ, but rather a functional energy system involved in regulating the activities of other organs.	Not recognized by the West. The Upper Burner controls intake. The Middle Burner controls transformation. The Lower Burner controls elimination.	Regulates our consciousness. As consciousness becomes stable our mind intent rests on being benevolent and kindhearted.
Gall bladder	It secretes the pure and potent bile fluids required to digest and metabolize fats and oils.It provides muscular strength and vitality.	‘The gall bladder is daring, the heart is careful’Is responsible for making decisions and judgments, as well as providing courage and initiative.
Liver	Responsible for filtering, detoxifying, nourishing, replenishing, and storing blood.Synthesizes the various forms of protein required for growth and repair of bodily tissues.	Responsible for planning and creativity, as well as instantaneous solutions or sudden insights.
Lungs It is said that the Lungs are “the priest” or The Minister of Heaven and are responsible for establishing the foundation of Qi for the entire body.	The lungs are massive vessel-like organs in the chest cavity. They are the largest and most essential part of the respiration system	The Lungs psycho‐emotional attributes positive are righteousness, dignity, integrity, and high self-esteem; negative attributes are disappointment, sadness, grief, despair, anxiety, shame, and sorrow. The Lungs house the body’s are responsible for self-protection and self-preservation.
Large Intestine	It controls the transformation of digestive wastes from liquid to solid state and transports the solids onwards and outwards for elimination through the rectum.It plays a major role in the balance and purity of bodily fluids and assists the Lungs in controlling the skin’s pores and perspiration.	The Large Intestine relationship to the Lungs makes it equally affected by the emotions of sadness, grief, and worry.
Stomach	Your stomach is a stretchy bag of muscle that is very important in digesting foodResponsible for extracting and balancing all Five Elemental Energies (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) from foods and fluids ingested.	The Stomach influences the mental state; an excess condition can agitate the mind and cause mental symptoms such as: mania or hypomania, confusion, severe anxiety, and hyperactivity.
Spleen	Controls quantity and quality of blood in circulation and coordinate with the Kidneys to control fluid balance throughout the system.Directly influences and is reflected by the tone and condition of muscle tissue.	Houses the body’s thoughts and intentions.Responsible for directing memories to the Kidneys for short‐term memory storage. The Kidneys will later transfer these memories to the Heart for long‐term memory storage.
Stomach	Your stomach is a stretchy bag of muscle that is very important in digesting foodResponsible for extracting and balancing all Five Elemental Energies (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) from foods and fluids ingested.	The Stomach influences the mental state; an excess condition can agitate the mind and cause mental symptoms such as: mania or hypomania, confusion, severe anxiety, and hyperactivity.
Heart - Houses the spirit, and controls the emotions.’	Commands all of the organs and viscera (the organs in the cavities of the body, especially those in the abdominal cavity)Dominates sleep; if the Heart is strong the practitioner will fall asleep easily and sleep soundly.	Psycho-emotional attributes are love, joy, peace, contentment, propriety, insight, wisdom, orderliness, forgiveness, and courtesy. • Its negative attributes are hate, guilt, shock, nervousness, excitement, longing, and craving.
Small Intestine	Receives partially digested food from the stomach and further refines it, separating ‘the pure from the impure.’Influences the function of the pituitary gland, the ‘master gland’ whose secretions regulate growth, metabolism, immunity, sexuality, and the entire endocrine system.	The ability to distinguish relevant issues with clarity before making a decision is attributed to the Small Intestine
Urinary Bladder	Is responsible for storing and eliminating the urinary waste fluids passed down from the kidneys.	As energy system the bladder is intimately related to the functions and balance of the autonomous nervous system.

1-2-3-2-1 – Insights into Thai and Ashtanga Yoga

In the Thai Yoga tradition there is a technique, a path toward understating.

It is not the Way, but a path to discover a direction in which the Way follows, a simple technique.

Technique is needed.

Even Van Gogh needed technique.

But the technique is not the message. It is only a tool for one to discover the Way.

The Thai technique I will describe is very simple. It has been taught for centuries, and the entire Thai Yoga Massage modality is gaining a huge popularity in the West because it is so simple, so effective. Almost like archery. Something so simple. An action so simple, yet also complex. But action that are simple, it creates many participants, many archers, individuals shooting at targets.

I must admit I am just like all other archers.

My teacher, Pichest, though is more like PO-HUN WU-JEN, the great Japanese Zen archery master. I will tell you the story of PO-HUN WU-JEN in a little bit. But first it is important to mention that I was no different than one of these archers. I sat next to my master for many days, sometimes months, but it was not until today that I understood. I always knew that ‘one, two, three, two, one’ was a great technique. I have had my insight on how it is an incredible technique to discover the beginning, the middle and the end. But today I realized that it was a return. It was a full circle remission, to the place where one begins, and where everything lies.

We make so much more of things. I made so much more of the technique.

But that is the nature of technique. You must practice it before you can surrender to it. Without practicing it, without moving into it there is no chance of discovering how to be in it without doing anything. Effortless effort one can say.

1-2-3-2-1 is how it is written in most Thai Massage manuals. When you look at it this way it is even easier to escape its subtle beauty.

That is the problem with the Way, It is so simple, so evident, it is so easy to miss it.

How else can one explain the elusiveness of experience?

Elusiveness, yes. Because if it was evident, we would be living in a different human existence, an existence of the kingdom of Heaven, to paraphrase the words of Buddha, of Jesus, of Mahavira, of Van Gogh.

1-2-3-2-1. Everything has a beginning, a middle and an end, and to return we must go through the middle before we get back to the beginning. We believe we traveled far, and yet we are back where we began.

The Zen tradition, where PO-HUN WU-JEN belongs to, is grounded in the Way. It is very simple, and yet very challenging. In Zen there is a saying: ‘before Zen, mountains were just mountains, rivers were just rivers. When one meets Zen suddenly Mountains seem more than mountains, rivers seem more than rivers. When one attains Zen, mountains return to mountains, rivers return to rivers.

Get it?

Things ARE always, and STAY always.

Confused?

Let’s me share a story with PO-HUN WU-JEN. Maybe one day you will find the discourse Osho gave on this story. It will serve you while you empty your bowels. Did I say bowels?

Maybe I should say bowl.

Yeah, your bowl, your cup, it is so full, you can’t even see how full it is, yet you try and stuff it with more.