Avoid These Common Weight Loss Mistakes

My Yoga Online - Part of an overall healthy lifestyle is maintaining an appropriate body composition. When attempting to decrease body fat percentages, many people make these common mistakes that greatly hinder success in achieving effective weight loss.

1) Not reading and understanding food labels: In order to properly engage a weight loss program, you need to be aware of the contents of all food consumed. Many processed foods have great variability in calorie, sugar, and fat content. Also note when you are reading food labels, take extra attention to the ‘serving size’ listed – these food items may appear to be low in calories, but the serving size may be small and unrealistic.

2) Being fooled by food marketing terms: Choosing food products because they are labeled as ‘low fat’ may be misleading. Often ‘low fat’ products contain higher levels of simple sugars and/or sodium. Again, read the food labels carefully.

3) Going alone: Regardless of what goals you have in life, you will be far more successful when you surround yourself by people who inspire and support you. Get your family and friends involved on your path to wellness. Seek out support (personal trainer, nutritionist, counseling, support groups).

4) Calorie Restriction: In order to effectively increase your lean body mass percentage, you need to add adequate exercise to your nutrition program. Without proper levels of food, your muscles will be depleted of necessary energy. Without this exercise, your ability to exercise and burn off fat calories will be highly diminished. Instead of thinking “calorie restriction”, focus on changing to nutrient dense foods packed with clean energy. Severe dieting should always be avoided as dieting can generate adverse hormonal reactions that can lead to increased retention of fat stores.

5) Consuming Energy Drinks During Exercise: When you exercise, you typically have 90 minutes of energy stores in the muscles, blood stream and liver. Most people do not exercise longer than 90 minutes and at high performance levels to justify the need for energy drinks. Consuming energy drinks during moderate length workouts keeps blood glucose levels up, thus preventing the body from tapping into fat stores. Drink room temperature water instead to stay hydrated.

6) Guessing what to do and following fads: Seek out qualified advice and guidance in your weight loss program. Get a personal trainer to properly assess your needs and establish a SMART fitness routine (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely). Also receive qualified guidance from a sports dietician. With this framework, you can empower your program with knowledge and awareness. Through proper planning, you also move to a level of greater ownership and responsibility.

7) Not changing the environment and patterns that led to weight gain: Without changing or removing yourself from the conditions that led to your weight gain, losing weight will be an uphill battle. Be bold and decisive by truthfully acknowledging who, what, where and how your current lifestyle factors contribute(d) to your weight gain. Make an honest list of what you feel has be the downfall to maintaining your proper body composition and then work diligently to change these lifestyle elements. For example:

*Do you tend to eat while watching TV at night? Replace watching television with a light physical activity, go for regular evening walks, go to an evening yoga class etc.

*Do you tend to overeat? Use smaller measuring devices when preparing food. Use smaller dishes to eat from. Prepackage your meals in advance and stick to this nutrition routine.

*Do you tend to purchase high calorie, low nutrient groceries? Shop alone (do not bring children to the grocery store). Eat a healthy meal before shopping for groceries to reduce cravings and temptations. If you lack discipline when shopping, subscribe to a grocery service that will deliver only high nutrient foods.

*Do you find yourself too inactive? Be inventive with increasing physical activity. Take the stairs as much as possible. Go for walks during lunch breaks. Do squats, lunges, sit-ups, and other quick muscle conditioning exercises during TV commercial breaks. Get a pedometer to track your daily physical activity levels and work towards slowly increasing your daily pedometer count. You will surprised how little changes and additions to your lifestyle can greatly increase your daily caloric expenditure.

*Do you feel constant stress? Constant states of stress lead to hormonal imbalances which often blocks the body’s ability to shed body fat. Explore daily methods of relaxing and resting. Learn to say ‘no’ and be willing to focus on yourself. Appreciate what is in the moment and discover how things and events of the past and future have little relevance to emotions you should be experiencing right now.

Entering a weight loss program is a major undertaking that requires proper goal setting and knowledge. Start off right with the proper education and support systems. Instead of just working hard, be wise and informed so your weight loss goals flow forward with greater ease.

Related Articles:
Yoga and Weight Loss
5 Quick Eating Tips for Weight Loss

Five Important Health Reasons to Reduce Stress

My Yoga Online has added a new health and wellness article by Kreg Weiss, Five Reasons to Reduce Stress. With people needing to work more, save more, and find more time just to manage schedules, stress is becoming a chronic ailment for most people. Without recognizing the effects of stress and not having a stress management plan in place, this negative energy can produce physiology and psychological health hazards. Here is our top reasons why it is so important to reduce and management stress.

1) Prolonged Stress Weakens the Immune System

Studies have shown that prolonged stress presents strain on the cellular functions that support the immune system. Stress causes hormone imbalances, poor sleep patterns, and wears down on organs. Suppressed immune function readily leads to increased sickness and reduced ability to combat ailments.

2) Stress Promotes Unwanted Weight Gain

Some resources suggest that increased hormone cortisol levels related to stress cause weight gain. No studies have concluded that this increased cortisol level does increase weight gain and studies suggest that the increased levels of cortisol in short to medium stress periods are insufficient for creating weight gain. However, chronic prolonged periods of stress (in terms of years) still present some possible argument towards a correlation between weight gain and stress. There is however still a strong correlation between stress and weight gain. This correlation suggests that ongoing stress patterns generate poor nutrition habits, increased use of food as a support system, and improper meal schedules.

3) Stress Hinders Proper Sleep

Studies have shown that elevations in stress-related hormones increase the prevalence of insomnia. This increase in sleep disorders was shown to be even more prevalent as people age as the sensitivity to stress-related hormones increases as we get older. Studies have also shown that people who focus on the emotions and anxiety stemming from stress more often suffered from shortened sleep and encountered more sleep deprivation issues.

4) Stress Creates Musculoskeletal and Physiological Imbalances

Stress is a highly tacking process that depletes energy from bodily systems affecting work and activity performance. Stress is often a culprit for generating muscle tension throughout the body. This muscle tension is most commonly experienced in the spine with discomfort radiating through the neck, back, and shoulders. Neck tension is often diagnosed as the origin of many headaches. Stress also greatly affects digestive function, reproductive organ health, and hormone balance. One can see how readily stress generates hormone and energy imbalances especially for those who have skin disorders like acne and eczema.

5) Stress Reduces Quality of Life and Social Relationships

Most people have difficulty managing stress and associate themselves with the factors causing this stress. Without managing stress, this negative energy manifests into emotions and physical reactions. As social beings, others encountering someone else’s stress manifestations will either facilitate these stress reactions further (like attracts like) making the environment even worse. Or, those who are sensitive to others’ stress responses will choose to remove themselves from this social environment. Stress can adversely affect our relationships with others causing us to lose healthy relationships and foster further negative social relationships.

The first element in managing stress is to become sensitive to the physical responses that stress creates. Emotions and physical sensations (tension, lack of breath, headaches, low energy) are clear signs that we can monitor and use as tools to help us make changes when needed. When stress responses are apparent, we can stop, breath, and observe. How relevant and true is my allowance for this stress to enter and act on my mind and body? I may not be able to remove myself from the external stressors, but I can dissociate myself from these factors causing stress and not become bound to them. As we become more accustomed to recognizing stress, we can then engage in stress management activities like exercise, yoga, meditation, Yoga Nidra and relaxation programs offering great physical and mental benefits.

Related Article:
Yoga: Cure for Modern Day Stress

5 Quick Eating Tips for Weight Loss

Part of an overall health and wellness program is managing body weight and maintaining a healthy percentage of total lean body mass. To optimize your healthy body weight composition, we have some simple, yet effective eating tips that will enhance your wellness strategies.

1) A calorie is a calorie! Even though some foods are 'empty' calories offering little nutritional value, all foods contain calories, so manage your intake regardless of the quality of the food you eat:
• Use smaller dishes to eat from so you avoid overloading your meals with excess calories
• Drink water or herbal tea before a meal to help decrease the amount of time it takes to feel full
• Load up on fiber rich foods like vegetables and whole grains as fiber also increases the feeling of fullness more readily

2) Eat smaller and more frequent meals Spreading out your food intake over several meals instead of the traditional three will allow you to manage digestive hormone cycles and maintain energy levels more effectively:
• Eat your larger, more dense meals at breakfast and lunch, then tapper your meals at the end of the day with fewer carbohydrates (if you are going to eat a dessert, eat it midday so you have all day to burn it off!)
• Snacks are critical as part of this multi-meal strategy. Snacks should be nutrient dense and clean.

3) Never leave the house without food-PERIOD! Going hungry while out and about will likely force you to eat a less-than-nutritious quick fix. Plan ahead and always keep and nutrient dense snack with you.

4) Avoid the 'calorie' reduced processed foods Products promoted as low in calories or low in fat often offer little value in supporting your weight management efforts:
• Products that are 'low fat' are often filled with chemicals to enhance the flavor missing from the fat and these fats are often replaced with processed sugars-remember, fat is not always a bad thing
• Products that are 'low in calories' are often super small in serving sizes that are unrealistic (that's how the calories are reduced) or the calorie producing elements like fat and sugars are replaced with chemicals that are equally, or more, unhealthy

5) Increase your fiber intake with fresh fruits and vegetables as well as whole grains Fiber actually reduces the amount of fat and other food elements being absorbed by surrounding the food particles. The result is a portion of food is not digested and eliminated. Always optin for the salad instead of the fries. Order that sandwich with whole grain bread. Switch the potatoes for yams. Add some spinach to your pasta. Get creative with your fiber.

Have joy in eating and do it well. Dieting and calorie restriction is not effective and should be avoided. Eat for energy and invest in eating clean. Read food labels and educate yourself on healthy food options for every type of meal and snacks.

Happy Eating,
Kreg Weiss
My Yoga Online

Recommended Reading: Top Foods to Heal, Nourish, and Balance

Top Yoga Poses for Lower Body Strength

Practicing Yoga offers a great deal of benefits including the strengthening and toning of muscles. This strengthening and toning supports joint structures, promotes injury prevention, improves physical performance, and enhances body weight management. This strengthening is more appropriately classified as endurance, the degree and length of time in which a muscle can sustain a contraction, since most Yoga poses involve 'holding' the position versus the action of loading the joint through repetitions.

The following yoga postures are asanas that can be easily performed at a various intensities by beginner and advanced yoga participants and present direct endurance and toning benefits to the lower body:

Virabhadrasana A (Warrior 1 Yoga Pose): due to the isolated forward knee bend, this standing yoga pose directly targets the quadriceps (thigh) muscles and the gluteal muscles of the same limb.

Virabhadrasana B (Warrior 2 Yoga Pose): similar to Warrior 1, the flexion of the knee and hip deeply condition the quadriceps and gluteal muscles. Due to the groin opening position, additional muscular contraction of the abductors and external rotators are needed to maintain proper knee alignment over the forward heel.

Chandrasana (Elevated Crescent Yoga Pose): this standing high lunge Yoga pose presents similar toning benefits and alignment components as Warrior 1. Since the back heel is lifted off the ground, you are now balancing on the back toe mounds and additional conditioning is directed into the forward and back limbs. Any addition of proprioceptive/balancing work adds a greater element with conditioning efforts.

Utkatasana (Chair/Fierce Warrior Yoga Pose): there are a wide array of Chair pose variations from closed knee, open knee, and twisting forms. The basic performance of flexing both knees and hips generates direct muscular toning of quadriceps and gluteal tissues. Play with different degrees of knee and hip flexion as deeper bending motions increases the degree of conditioning - take note that bending the knees deeper lower than 90 degrees begins to add potential for tissue damage and injury.

Virabhadrasana C (Warrior 3 Balancing Yoga Pose): a personal favorite for overall conditioning and development of flexbility, this balancing Yoga pose directly targets the gluteal muscles of the leg that is extended in the air. To fully benefit on the conditioning of these gluteal muscles, emphasis the extension coming up and out from the hip all the way through to the heel.

Setu Bandhasana (Spinal Lift/Bridge Pose): this classic yoga back bend is typically viewed as an asana for strengthening the back, but the use of gluteal, upper hamstrings, and quadriceps presents wonderful toning of the lower limbs. With practice and mental isolation, you can deactivate the hamstrings and utilize more of the gluteal muscles to generate the pelvic lift.

Marjariasana (Balancing Cat Pose): the balancing variation of this yoga pose (one leg lifting as the opposite hand also lifts forward) is another great posture that not only benefits the core and back tissues, but also greatly tones the gluteal muscles of the extending leg. Hold this posture for many breaths and again focus, like Warrior 3 Balance, on the gluteal isolation and heel reach to fully target the buttock muscles.

Purvottasana (Table/Slide Yoga Pose): this classic back arch on the hands and feet presents similar gluteal muscle isolation and toning as our Spinal Lift. Explore both the knee bend and full leg extension variations and note the changes in muscle loading due to lever/limb length changes - what lower body muscles become more dominant from one variation to the other?

Garudasana (Eagle Yoga Pose): often participants focus solely on the leg-binding aspect of this pose resulting in less appreciation and application of the strengthening benefits. With a proper knee bend and alignment, the supporting limb receives a great muscular loading on the quadriceps and hip. Adjust your weight off the toes and into the supporting heel-this will direct the toning benefits into the thigh more effectively and reduce potential sheer forces out of the supporting knee. Like Warrior 3, the balancing component adds to the limb conditioning substantially.

Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana (Standing 1 Leg Extension Exit): following this standing leg hold, we can release the big toe and hold the leg forward feeling the immediate effects of gravity. The primary muscles holding the leg in the air against gravity are the hip flexors (psoas, iliacus, and rectus formis). The secondary muscular toning we experience is via the extension of the knee which is performed by the quadriceps. Depending on the degree of muscular development, we can clearly see the bands of quadriceps firing in this pose to maintain the knee extension.

By understanding how we can manipulate gravity, body position, and joint alignment, we can effectively work and condition lower body muscle groups. From this foundation of select Yoga poses, we can apply further variations to further deepen the benefits of strength, endurance, and muscular health in our Yoga practice.

Namaste,
Kreg Weiss
My Yoga Online

When a Yoga Workout Goes Wrong

My Yoga Online - I was recently asked about my opinion about 'fatigue' and reaching to one's physical limits in yoga practices. I had presented my earlier opinion that excessive fatigue should be avoided in a yoga class. As teachers, we should apply this principle and as students, we need to observe this mindfully. I realized that my definition of 'excessive fatigue' was not well presented as I was challenged on the idea that working the body to a place of fatigue is actually beneficial. I, therefore, decided to redefine my philosophy on fatigue in this blog post.

The body is highly adaptable to the stressors or lack of stressors presented to it. Without conditioning and challenge, the body weakens and looses vitality. Regardless of the type of physical activity, we should present the musculoskeletal and circulatory with progressive overload conditioning. This means we should bring the body's systems to an elevated state of conditioning that is very near maximal output in a variety of conditions. This overload principle acts as a stressor telling the body to adapt, to improve, to be able to accommodate this physical loading in the future - this is represented in many ways:

*increased muscle density if challenging strength
*improved alveolar capacity and oxygen uptake in the lungs if challenging the cardiovascular system
*improved elasticity of tendons and muscle fibers if challenging flexibility

Change will not occur without mindfully challenging the systems. However, it is often mistaken that deep, excessive fatigue is the representation of proper stressors in progessive overload. The problem with coming into a place of deep fatigue is the high potential for injury. Take Warrior 1 Yoga pose as an example. If you hold, and hold, and hold the pose, the quadriceps will develop lactic acid and the muscle fibers loose the capacity to generate contractile force (lactic acid prevents the reformation of ATP - the energy component crucial for muscle contraction). Therefore, the next series of tissues that need to takeover are the quadricep tendons. If the pose is already positioned very deep, the strain moving into the tendons can be highly stressful. Combine this with repetitive stress of other activities (like skiing or jogging), there is strong potential for acute or chronic tissue damage.

Another example: I see so many yoga students attempting full chaturanga (pushup transition to the ground) while ignoring their fatigue level and strength capacity. With deep fatigue setting into the triceps and shoulders, we often see the elbows fall outwards (as the body is struggling to shift the force load into the chest muscles). We also see the collapse of energy being transmitted into the shoulder girdle and core. Where is the functionality in this? Is it worth it to have excessive fatigue while placing harm to the wrists, shoulders, and spine? All for strong or sexy arms? All to appease the Ego?

So I present this thought to Yoga Teachers and students who wish to approach their yoga practice as a 'workout', do you wish to have a long term practice? Does a body free of injury have getter priorty than accomplishment? When you bring your students or yourself to the edge of strength or endurance, pull your inner gaze in with full defined focus and see what the rest of the body is doing-is everything in check? Is the integrity and function still intact? If not, modify, rest, or change the state of the pose.

Consider as well the energetic quality. For anyone using their yoga practice as a workout, go watch a yoga video of David Svenson. The level of his practice is outstanding, but with such grace and control. You do not see fatigue in the body, the eyes or in his breath. Complete essence of integrity. Getting to this level of practice does not come from pushing the body to extreme fatigue and with Ego.

As a side note, we are wonderfully inspired by athletes, the Olympics, and other sporting events. We often become inspired to become 'fit' and view these athletes as role models. Keep in mind, almost every single high level athlete endures some form of major injury in their career. And this is a 'career'. They eventually retire from the sport and many retire with chronic injuries plaguing them for the rest of their lives. Do we need to treat our yoga practice as a sport, as a competition, as something we will need to retire from eventually? Whether you are in the gym, out for a run, or in the Yoga studio, ask yourself why I am doing this? To feel good? What is it that is making you 'feel good'-the health benefits or the accomplishment of physicality? What if a sudden deep injury eliminated all those accomplishments? Would you still 'feel good' within yourself?

Fatigue in Yoga and exercise is beneficial and is good, but when done with the right intention and application. As Yoga Teachers, we should offer practices that our students NEED and not WANT. Health is often one of the most undervalued assets when we have it. Remember this when you move deep into a physical practice. Breathe in humility. Exhale out the Ego. Understand where your desire for accomplishment in physicality stems from. Be your practice with grace.

Namaste,
Kreg Weiss
My Yoga Online

Baby Bibs and Burpies By Scaboozie

My Yoga Online - My kid drools. Drools like a waterfall. He smiles, he drools, he cries, he drools, he sees a favourite toy and boy does he drool. We bought a ten pack of bibs for ten dollars thinking we’d just switch them up every couple of minutes. They were cotton on one side and plastic on the other. The first time we washed them the plastic peeled off the back and the neck shrunk enough to choke the kid. And the ones that we didn’t wash created a rash around his neck from the plastic. Not good. We tried others, but they either stretched to the point that his shirt became the bib, or soaked right through within seconds. Useless and frustrating. Then we came across a great new independently owned company called Scaboozie.



They design and create and sell colorful and versatile bibs and burpies for little boys and girls. What makes these bibs and burpies great are the hand-made quality fabric that holds up to all sorts of baby projectiles while holding snug without stretching or choking around the baby’s neck. They have an amazingly soft and textured (to prevent slipping off the shoulder for the burpies) material on the back, almost as soft as a baby’s bottom that prevent any form of rashing from happening. And they never shrink.

The kid loves them. I can tell ‘cause he drools like crazy when it’s around his neck. Plus, baby’s become mesmerized by the designs and colors.

Scaboozie bibs are a must for any baby that soaks through his/her clothes on a regular basis. The thing is, you may need to order more than one at a time because when one is in the wash or hidden behind the sofa cushions and that projectile erupts and you’re reaching around frantically for that spare cloth, you don’t want to be without your Scaboozie to absorb the storm.

Check out bibs and burpies at Scaboozie…

Yoga and Anterior Pelvic Tilt

My Yoga Online has posted a new Yoga Anatomy article by Dr. Carla Cupido, Yoga and Anterior Pelvic Tilt. Dr. Cupido breaks down the anatomical components of the anterior pelvic tilt that is naturally set for the lower spine in order to sustain a healthy vertebral column. This yoga article brings attention to the cause of musculoskeletal imbalances leading to improper anterior pelvic tilts including the development of lower cross syndrome. This an important article for yoga teachers and participants to read in order to help appreciate the subtle alignments of the pelvis in basic to advanced yoga postures.

The anterior pelvic tilt is a hot topic in yoga and in manual medicine. Some people are overly concerned about the fact that their pelvis is tilting anteriorly without even understanding what it means. Let’s simplify the issues behind this increasingly common postural variation and learn how it can affect other parts of our body.

A normal pelvic angle is 30°; this means that our posterior superior iliac spines (the dimples above our bottoms) are slightly higher than our anterior superior iliac spines (the bones that stick out at the front of our pelvis). This angle can vary a few degrees either anteriorly or posteriorly due to our genetic makeup and even temporarily due to tight and/or weak muscles. An anterior pelvic angle of 40° is considered excessive and will produce a lower back (lumbar spine) curve that is also extreme. Our lumbar spine should have an anterior curve which is known as a lordosis; however, when this curve is excessive it is known as a hyperlordosis, which is not ideal. Cases of increased pelvic angles and lumbar hyperlordoses are very prevalent in today’s society.

Enjoy the full article: Yoga and Anterior Pelvic Tilt

Learn more about Dr. Carla Cupido.

Power of Acceptance and Gratitude

My Yoga Online has posted a great new article by Vijai Sharma, The Power of Acceptance and Gratitude. This wellness article brings perspective into the benefits of choosing positive thoughts and actions. Vijai also offers a Yoga Heart and Breathing exercise which can bring positive emotions in focus and hopefully also help you to calm your heart and breathing.

Acceptance, appreciation and gratitude for whatever lies around us, comes our way, “falls” upon us or even thrust upon us, connects us to the divine in us. They strengthen our faith, kindle hope and augment our own ability to deal with whatever it is. Feeling bad, angry or upset shrinks us and weakens our ability to act upon what needs to be dealt with without wasting a moment.

The misguided believe that anger makes them strong and invincible and prepares them to fight. For them acceptance is nothing more than surrender. Gratitude is for people who underestimate themselves or people who feel they are undeserving. They, unfortunately, do not fully tap into the resources they have and into many more powers they can generate which they are missing in their lives.

Enjoy the full article: The Power of Acceptance and Gratitude

Developing Devotion - Acquiring the Full Benefits of Yoga

Enjoy this new Yoga post on My Yoga Online by Kino MacGregor, Developing Devotion. Kino looks at the application of Yoga and acquiring the benefits of your practice when done through consistency and mindful devotion.

A yoga posture demonstrated by a master level practitioner is often the epitome of grace and ease. Yet when the novice student attempts to mirror these same movements the degree of difficulty is immediately evident. The real test of a yoga practitioner comes when the path ahead is laid out clearly and the student choose whether to commits to each step of the journey regardless of difficulty.

While the inner path is sometimes arduous, long and painful, it is also immensely rewarding, filled with timeless joy and one of the only sources of real, lasting peace. Each practitioner of yoga goes through periods of injury, pain and discomfort but not every practitioner has the dedication, heart and courage to find the light at the end of the tunnel. Those who maintain a relationship with their practice over a number of years begin to understand just how much it takes to make yoga a lifelong practice. There are moments of doubt, intense suffering and emotional turmoil as well as moments of bliss, ecstasy and realization. What commitment to yoga over a lifetime really demands is total devotion.

It is through the practice of dedicating yourself to your yoga practice everyday regardless of pain or pleasure that you learn the meaning of devotion. By traversing the murky jungle of the body and mind through yoga you develop the strength and fortitude of spirit needed to face life with dignity. By devoted yourself totally to the path of yoga you learn what it really means to surrender yourself to something. Before that moment of complete dedication there is always the chance to pull out, draw back or quit. But when you devoted yourself wholly your intention, energy and spirit moves mountains to create the real possibility of transformation. It is through the power of devotion that yoga changes your life.

When I started practicing yoga I was not a naturally strong person but I was deeply inspired by the masterful articulation of handstands and arm balances. For nearly five years I devoted myself entirely to the study of yoga with a special emphasis on the development of strength and steadiness in the body and mind. It is because I lived for strength in my yoga practice for a number of years that I now consider myself much stronger. It is because I followed the path of yoga through injury, pain, doubt, discomfort and disillusion all the way through into peace, joy, acceptance and love that I now share what I have learned through teaching. It is yoga that lead me to discover my own inner strength, a quiet voice that was always there though I did not know how to awaken it. When you begin your practice you will learn how ready you are to be truly devoted to yourself and to yoga. When you commit yourself fully to your chosen goal, be it in your yoga practice or in the world, there is nothing that can stop you.

A lifetime commitment to yoga teaches you the power of the deepest level of devotion. Whether you practice six days a week or only two times a week as long as yoga remains in your life over time you will delve deeper into the inner world and know what it means to fully surrender yourself to the path of yoga. When you are able to maintain your attention on your deepest dreams with the type of unwavering focus and heartfelt dedication that yoga teaches you, then you will also know the exhilarating feeling of actualizing your dreams in the world.

Learn more about Kino Macgregor

About Kino MacGregor
Kino MacGregor is a small business owner (www.miamilifecenter.com), yoga teacher and freelance journalist who has produced two yoga DVDs and is currently working on her first book, Inner Peace, Irresistible Beauty to be released late April 2009. For complete details please see www.ashtanga-awareness.com.

Other articles by Kino MacGregor:
The Unhappy Monk: How to Use Yoga

Core Fluidity Hatha Yoga Video

My Yoga Online has posted a new online yoga video by Kreg Weiss, Core Fluidity Hatha Class

Bring enhanced mobility into the core and spine with this warming yoga practice. With emphasis on the hips and pelvis, enjoy releasing energy and tension out of the lower back. Slow transitions and extended holds in asanas encourage a calming of the mind and nervous system as the body expands.

View a free online video sample of Core Fluidity Hatha Yoga Class

Kreg offers variations for those practicing at more gentle or beginner level in their yoga practice. An extended relaxation completes this yoga class allowing for a full settling of energy and intention.

About Kreg Weiss: Kreg is the co-founder of My Yoga Online and is a certified Hatha Yoga Teacher. Kreg enjoys applying his knowledge and experience in Kinesiology and exercise science in his teachings while also offering a personalized perspective of how the physicality of Yoga can be joyfully grounded and combined with a holistic, internalization to the Inner Teacher and Self.

Keep It Zen: Practical Tips to Organize Your Child

Enjoy this latest My Yoga Online article by Ranka Burzan who offers great tips in helping your children stay organized and tidy. An organized space encourages positive energy flow and establishes a foundation of groundness. What occurs internally is greatly influenced by the external environment.

Clean your room! Your child might tune you out because you're nagging him or her again. Or they know if you get frustrated enough, you're going to clean the room yourself. Nobody wins this one. Your child needs your help and guidance. More likely your child doesn't have the skills, enough space, shelves or containers to organize his room. Talk to your child and choose a date to organize and clean his or her room. In order to commit, persuade your child to mark it on the calendar. This is a perfect opportunity to spend quality time with your child, teach him or her a skill and accomplish something.

*Pull everything out of his or her closet. Sort the items that belong together: clothes, shoes, books and toys.

*Ask him or her to try on the clothes to make sure they fit. Get two big boxes and mark them: Donate or Keep. Go through every piece of clothing keeping only what fits and what your child likes. Keep in mind that 25 T-shirts is a barrier to the things they really need.

*To reward your child for donating his or her clothes and toys to a less fortunate child, take him to a movie, offer to do some of his or her chores or have his or her friend over for a sleepover.

*Use open shelves and containers instead of a toy box to store his or her toys. They will have a better view of their belongings and easy access.

*Help your child choose a color for their personal containers, baskets or shelves. Let your child decorate his or her containers with stickers, stenciling or pictures of animals, flowers or their favorite sports stars. Label everything! Buy a laminated chores poster and help him or her write down weekly chores, then erase the board when the chores are finished.

*Lower the rods in your child's closet to make it easier for him or her to hang clothes.

*To make it easier for your child to hang his or her clothes, buy child-size hangers.

*For older children, buy a portable filing system to store their documents, awards and pictures.

*Buy attractive big pegs to hang robes or pajamas.

*Buy a laundry hamper and garbage can for your child's room. Write down the laundry and garbage day.

Help your child to maintain his or her room by having him or her make the bed every morning and putting the dirty laundry in the hamper. Once the room is organized and cleaned, it will take him or her three to five minutes to keep it clean and tidy.

About Ranka:
Ranka Burzan is the owner of Solutions Organizing & Staging and the author of Helpful Hints to Organize and Clean Your Home, Your Junk or Your Life, 10 Tips to Organize Your Child, and Praise Helps to Get Children Organized and her first book” Kick the Clutter, Get Organized” Her latest articles were published in West Coast Families and Shared Vision. She offers a free monthly newsletter filled with tips and tools to get you organized. Visit her web site for informative workshops, articles and systems to help you kick the clutter. www.solutionsorganizing.com

Related Article:
How to Create a Meditation Space

Top 10 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day

My Yoga Online - Earth Day is around the corner and we would like to honor this important day with our favorite ways to celebrate this day of awareness.

1) Eat vegetarian - producing meat generates huge amounts of green house gases and ground pollution.

2) Turn down brightness level on display by at least 20% and preset energy saving settings on computer to cut down power usage more.

3) Throw on a sweater and turn the thermostat down a couple degrees.

4) Dry some or all of your laundry on a line/hanger.

5) Wash you clothes with cold water-the majority of energy in washing clothes is related to heating the water.

6) Take a recyclable shopping bag with you-kill the plastic bag addiction!

7) Turn off the TV and go for a walk!

8.) Switch one or all of your bill statements to online billing notifications-cut out the unnecessary envelopes and paper waste.

9) Put an end to disposable coffee/tea cups and water bottles-take a stainless steel beverage container to your favorite java huts and make your own filtered water at home.

10) Do you really need all those lights on? New habit: leave a room, turn off the light!

Green thinking, saving large, living better.

Namaste
MyYogaOnline.com

Related Articles:
Shampoo and the Planet
Make Your Banking More Green

Follow My Yoga Online on Twitter

You can now follow and interact with MyYogaOnline.com and Kreg Weiss on Twitter. If you have not joined Twitter, check it out and see how you can expand your community and interact with new friends.

Click to Find MyYogaOnline on Twitter.
Click to Find Kreg Weiss on Twitter.

Power of Movement Yoga Event Update

My Yoga Online would like to share the results of the Power of Movement Yoga 2009 event. The Power of Movement is the worlds largest yoga challenge in support of arthritis research.

On Sunday, February 22, 2009, 1200+ participants took part in Power of Movement - a yoga fundraiser in locations across Canada and helped raise about $250,000 for arthritis research. Check out Power of Movement for events happening again across Canada in 2010.

The Power of Movement supports the growing efforts of the AARC. The Arthritis & Autoimmunity Research Centre (AARC) Foundation is one of the three foundations at University Health Network (UHN) in Toronto, with offices at Toronto General Hospital.



The Foundation raises, manages and invests funds for arthritis and related autoimmune disease research taking place in labs and clinics across UHN. They strive to increase awareness of this large family of diseases, which affects over 4.5 million Canadians. Through leading-edge research and a greater awareness of the realities of arthritis-related diseases, we hope for a brighter future for those suffering from these debilitating conditions, and for better musculoskeletal health in Canada.

Learn more about the AARC Foundation.

Go Vegan Earth Day and Go Green

My Yoga Online is proud to support Farm Sanctuary and their campaign to promote eco-friendly vegan diets for Earth Day. Farm Sanctuary is conducting a nationwide outreach and education events that will highlight the harsh environmental impact of meat consumption.

Farm Sanctuary, the nation's leading farm animal protection organization, is coordinating a series of nationwide events for Earth Day (April 22) that will encourage people to "eat green" by reducing or eliminating their consumption of meat and other animal products. The group will be involved in nearly two dozen outreach and education events from coast to coast raising awareness about factory farming's negative impact on the environment, and that choosing a plant-based vegan diet is the most ecologically sustainable way for people to eat.

Here are just some of the documented facts that Farm Sanctuary cites to support its argument that industrialized animal agriculture is destroying the environment:

*Resource Depletion: Raising billions of animals for meat wastes massive amounts of resources because feeding plants to animals raised for food is many times less efficient than feeding plants directly to people. Overall, the animal agriculture industry consumes more than half the water and over one-third of the petroleum used in the United States. In addition, two-thirds of the planet's land surface is used by the agriculture industry to house, graze and grow grain for farm animals, driving the extinction of endangered species.

*Climate Change: A 2006 United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization report indicated that about 18 percent of total greenhouse gasses released into the atmosphere are produced by animal agriculture - more than all the cars, trucks, trains, planes, boats, and other forms of motorized transportation combined. Livestock also generate large amounts of methane and nitrous oxide, and methane is 23 times more potent than CO2, while nitrous oxide is nearly 300 times as potent as CO2.

*Pollution: Every year, farm animals excrete half a billion tons of manure, which is three times the amount of waste produced by the entire human population. This waste is typically stored in gigantic lagoons that leach toxic substances (such as nitrogen, phosphorous and heavy metals) into ground and surface water. According to Environmental Protection Agency estimates, farm animal excrement has polluted 35,000 miles of rivers in 22 states and contaminated groundwater in 17 states.

More facts showing the link between factory farming and environmental destruction can be found at
www.vegforlife.org/earth_protect.htm and www.farmsanctuary.org/issues/factoryfarming/environment/.

According to Farm Sanctuary President and Co-Founder Gene Baur, there is an unmistakable connection between factory farms' exploitation of the environment and abuse of animals. "The system of industrialized animal agriculture is based on maximizing short term profits" said Baur, "and producers that raise and process animals in the cheapest, fastest way make the most money, while animals and the environment pay the price. People need to know how their food choices impact the planet, so during Earth Day, Farm Sanctuary will be getting the word out, and promoting vegan lifestyles as a key part of the solution to our environmental
crisis."

Farm Sanctuary is coordinating volunteers around the country to leaflet and table at Earth Day festivals and celebrations, where they will speak with people about meat's devastating impact on the environment and hand out literature promoting a healthy, sustainable vegan diet. Attendees will also get a taste of vegan fare, as volunteers distribute coupons for Tofurky products from Turtle Island Foods, and soy jerky donated by Vegan Dream. Other events include lectures and workshops presented by Farm Sanctuary staff members. Details about these events can be found at www.farmsanctuary.org/get_involved/actionalerts.html.

About Farm Sanctuary
Farm Sanctuary is the nation's leading farm animal protection organization. Since incorporating in 1986, Farm Sanctuary has worked to expose and stop cruel practices of the "food animal" industry through research and investigations, legal and institutional reforms, public awareness projects, youth education, and direct rescue and refuge efforts. Farm Sanctuary shelters in Watkins Glen, N.Y., and Orland, Calif., provide lifelong care for hundreds of rescued animals, who have become ambassadors for farm animals everywhere by educating visitors about the realities of factory farming. Additional information can be found at farmsanctuary.org or by calling 607-583-2225.

Join Us for National Yoga Month

My Yoga Online is proud to be supporting National Yoga Month again this September 2009. Join us in educating, inspiring and building awareness of the positive impacts of yoga on health. As a yoga studio owner or yoga participant, learn more on how you can participate in this exciting event that spans across North America.

In 2008, the Department of Health and Human Services designated September as National Yoga Month. That same year, thousands of yoga and health enthusiasts participated in a 10 City Yoga Health Festival Tour featuring yoga classes, lectures, music, entertainment, exhibits.

This year, people across the country will participate in free events and activities, designed to build awareness of the mind and body benefits of yoga practice. In nearly every city, hundreds of yoga studios, teachers, individuals and event organizers will create National Yoga Month events.

Whether you’re trying it for the first time or are an experienced yogi looking to deepen your practice, there’s never been a more opportune time to practice yoga. The economy and job loss are always on our minds these days, causing anxiety and fear. But yoga provides an accessible way to manage stress for anyone.

Yoga is one of the oldest known sciences in the world and is widely acknowledged as a highly effective complementary alternative medicine. So, as we all explore ways to take better care of ourselves and even reduce health care costs, it gives us a proven way to do so.

The best reason yet to participate in National Yoga Month? It’s free – something you don’t hear a lot these days.

Just follow these steps to enjoy one free week of yoga in September:
1. Visit yogamonth.org to find participating studios and teachers
2. Print out the Yoga Month Card
3. Redeem it at the participating location most convenient to you

The Yoga Month campaign is produced and administered by the Yoga Health Foundation. The foundation is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization registered in the State of California. All funds benefit the national awareness campaign and yoga health education.

Activating Inner Energy through Nutrition and Lifestyle

My Yoga Online has posted a new nutrition and wellness article by Karla Heintz, BSc Nutrition, Activating Inner Energy. Karla offers a series of easy tips on how to manage your eating patterns to maintain energy throughout your day.

Some hours seem to drag on as time feels like it is standing still. Wooden toothpicks hold no power to the heavy eye lids sometimes. The good news is there are small steps you can take to renew that youthful energy.

The first thing to look at is the schedule of your eating and the quality of food being consumed. This means eating every few hours until your evening meal. When the morning alarm goes off instead of hitting snooze four times, and running out the door with bed head, enjoy a morning meal even if it is small. The brain has just gone 8-12 hrs without any fuel and it needs morning fuel from carbohydrates to charge and be ready to start your day. READ MORE

Learn more about Karla Heintz.

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The Unhappy Monk: How to Use Yoga

My Yoga Online - Enjoy our latest article by Kino MacGregor, The Unhappy Monk, that looks at the process of inner observance. Through our Yoga practice, we can more readily discover how our outward view of the world is a deep-rooted reflection of the energy and thought patterns that exist within us. How we see and experience life around us is greatly affected by the life we permit to flow in our minds and soul.



How you think, feel and act influences the kind of interactions you have in the world. While there might not always be an easy causal relationship between thought, action and experience, if you dig deep enough the connection is almost always evident. There is an ancient Zen parable that tells of a young monk-in-training who searches the world for a true master and a peaceful place, but finds only angry, unhappy people everywhere he goes. After roaming through many towns the young aspirant meets a Zen teacher in disguise who asks the traveler what he has experienced during his journey. When the teacher hears the report of anger and misery from the young monk, he replies, "I think that you will only find more of the same anger and unhappiness where you go." The would-be student neither recognizes the teacher nor the teaching and leaves angry and unhappy himself.

The young monk who sees anger and unhappiness everywhere himself actually carries the anger and unhappiness within himself. Whatever and wherever you are on the inner plane translates to the physical world through experiences and interactions. If you decide that the world is a dangerous place you will see evidence of your choice everywhere you look. But if you decide that the world is a peaceful place then you will literally see evidence all around that the world is peaceful. It would make sense then to gain control over the mind and its many layers of emotion and thought. With careful direction of the mind there is nothing that a person cannot achieve. Yet with out such direction one often experiences a tumultuous turn down a havoc-ridden highway.

If you carry the seed of anger or unhappiness inside yourself you literally attract experiences that match your internal vibration. Thoughts and emotional states have the magnitude of gravity in that they literally bring situations into being. If you are not aligned with peace and happiness on an internal level then there is really no way you will experience it truly in your life. It augurs well for everyone to pay careful attention to the emotional baggage and unquestioned assumptions lying dormant within. The yoga practice gives us a chance to see ourselves clearly under the mirror of self awareness. It is often through an injury, a challenging relationship with a teacher or other hard circumstances that students of yoga learn the most about their tough emotions and inner judgments. One of the most transformational aspects of a daily committed yoga practice occurs when you come face to face the ugly inner reality that you've been carrying around inside. It is only then that you can literally move through it, not by fighting, fixing or talking the problem away. But by accepting, breathing and just being with whatever you're going through.

Seeing deeply held emotional patterns in the clear light of consciousness dissipates the ghostly power these largely subconscious reactions have over your life. Imagine that you're the young monk in search of inner peace and all you experience in the world is a series of conflicts. At some moment your daily practice will direct the finger that you've been pointing at the world towards yourself. If the law of attraction states that like unto itself is drawn, then the best thing you can do for changing your life experience is seeing exactly what you're really like on the inside. You can't bring lasting peace to the world if you're angry inside. You can't share true love while your heart is filled with hatred. And you can't live in truth if your mind is riddled with delusion.

About Kino MacGregor
Kino MacGregor is a small business owner (www.miamilifecenter.com), yoga teacher and freelance journalist who has produced two yoga DVDs and is currently working on her first book, Inner Peace, Irresistible Beauty to be released late April 2009. For complete details please see www.ashtanga-awareness.com.

Top Ten Reasons to Eat Organic

My Yoga Online - Shopping and eating organic foods and products promote sustainability and offer a great number of healthy living benefits compared to traditional consumer products. Enjoy this new nutrition article, Top Ten Reasons to Eat Organic, by Joan Ullyett BA, RHN and learn why eating organic makes sense for you, your family, and your community.

Reason 1 – Organic food is healthier & safer.
60% of herbicides, 90% of fungicides and 30% of insecticides that are commonly used in non-organic farming are endocrine disruptors, carcinogens and/or xenoestrogens. Non-organic farm workers have unusually high rates of multiple myeloma (a cancer of the immune system), stomach, prostate and testicular cancer. None of these chemicals are used in organic farming.

Reason 2 – Organic food contains more nutrients.
A study done by the Journal of American Nutrition revealed that organic food contains from 10-250% more vitamins and minerals than non-organic food. In 2001 the American Chemical Society reported that organic oranges contained up to 30% more vitamin C than non-organic oranges, even though they are half the size.

CLICK HERE to read full article to enjoy all of the top ten reasons to eat organic.

New Online Hatha Yoga Video Class

My Yoga Online has posted a new Hatha Yoga video class by Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg titled Be Here Now. Tara explores classical Hatha Yoga poses with various modifications while bringing in the important elements of breath and connection. Through the integration of warming yoga asanas, Tara offers a practice in which you can readily move into your range of flexibility. This online yoga video embraces the wholeness of building energy while also settling into this warmth, thus offering a complete sense of groundedness along with the expansion.

Enjoy a sample of this level 3 yoga video: CLICK HERE



About Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg:
Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg is a professional yoga teacher, dancer and choreographer. Tara began her yoga journey and dance training at age 3. Her teacher training has taken her to Santiago Chile, San Francisco and New York. Tara lives and works in Vancouver where she teaches yoga at Semperviva Yoga studios and is full time artistic director and principal dancer with Tara Cheyenne Performance (www.taracheyenne.com). Tara's dance theatre solos have won her acclaim across Canada and in Europe.

Yoga and Finding Expansion

My Yoga Online - The function of our hatha yoga practice is to generate physical expansion and to facilitate circulation of positive energy with the end result being balance. This physical balance is then meant to deliver support for the mind and soul to experience balance and harmony as well. All too often, the Ego sneaks in during our Hatha yoga class and the intention of expansion becomes diluted with goals leading to postures that are driving damage and strain into tissues. By taking time before our practice to center and to experience the sensation of holistic, non-judging expansion, we offer our practice a foundation to grow from.

This centering exercise can be done any time of the day and even beneficial when you need a break from working at a desk/computer:

*Come to comfortable sitting on a cushion or chair. Modify the legs so that your knees and ankles are very free to settle and release. Gently shift through your pelvis and clearly feel the rocking motion on the sitbones. Slowly decrease this motion until you find the center of the sit bones. The pelvis sets the framework for the rest of the spine and posture.

*With your pelvis balanced, notice how the belly and lower back retain equal expansion. The belly is long, but the lower back is not caved in nor belly pushed out. The lower back has length as well, but not generating a forward collapse into the organs. Equal space for balanced flow of energy.

*The natural, healthy curve of the lower (lumbar) spine now can be easily transmitted up into the remaining spinal curves. At this point, many people tend to drive muscular tension into the body to generate a lifting motion. To stay free, imagine your sit bones lightly sinking into the cushion/chart. This light anchoring or rooting allows the body to traction open next. Keeping the front bottom ribs slightly contained, visual 2 points: on the chest and directly behind on the upper back. Feel that these 2 points rise up at the same time without any tension or muscular contraction involved. With each additional lift through gravity, we reciprocate with tissue release and softness. Feel as though the mid section of the body spreads vertically - keep your sit bone anchors intact.

*Now transmit this lightness further up threw the top of the head. Play with the head position. Make subtle shifts back, forward, side to side until you find that the back of your neck is no longer required to hold up the weight of the skull.

*With this tension-free vertical expansion in place, we keep breathing deep into the belly and bottom ribs. We explore how the vertical openness can be expressed in other directions.

*Fully relax the shoulders and arms. Elongate the neck and the upper shoulder muscles. Invite in horizontal expansion - feel that you can open the chest and collar bones while also opening the upper back - lower ribs still contained and lower torso balanced. Your body now opening right and left. Every adjustment feeling minute in motion, but profound in effect.

*The horizontal space can easily be brought into the forehead, especially between the eyebrows. Dissolve the vast number of muscles in the face: in and around the eyes, soften the cheeks and lips, relax the tongue, and become free all through the jaw and into the throat.

With all these expanding adjustments, the nervous system becomes more and more receptive to balance. When you find yourself sitting and collapsing, mind cluttering with negative energy, stop and find your physical space and bring this into the mind. Take the extra few minutes before each Yoga class to center and observe your capacity to expand without effort. Then invite this effortless quality into every pose. We often believe that we have to 'push' the body in order to progress. This Ego driven intention gets us nowhere. Consider running - you can easily see the difference between an experienced, high performance runner who moves with control, fluidity, and expansion versus another that runs with compression, tension and struggle. Who is receiving the benefits more readily?

Observe your yoga practice - from beginning to end - does each pose regardless if it is a forward bend, back arch, side stretch etc, bring the quality of space? Does your posture facilitate wellness beyond the physical? In order to bring forth balance and openness, we need to expand equally in all directions. If only one part of the body expands, another may be closing to compensate. Enjoy feeding reciprocating lines of gentle pulling into the physical tissues and feel the grace of space cascade throughout the rest of the practice and living. Notice how every yoga posture can integrate the qualities of your initial centering.

Breath and Expand

Namaste,
Kreg Weiss

Yoga at Work: Restore Gluteal Strength

My Yoga Online has posted a new Yoga Anatomy article by Dr. Carla Cupido, Restore Activity to Gluteal Muscles. This new wellness article offers insight into the unwanted development of inhibited or weak gluteal muscles that can lead to lower cross syndrome and other postural problems. Also learn a series of tips on waking up the gluteal muscles to bring balance back into the body.

Most of us sit on our backsides all day long. This often contributes to lower cross syndrome. This condition involves the combination of tight hip flexor and erector back muscles with weak or inhibited abdominal and buttocks muscles. The specific buttocks muscle affected in lower cross syndrome is the gluteus maximus, the largest and most superficial gluteal muscle. The main action of this muscle is hip extension and is therefore active in the majority of our movements.

Click Here to learn some easy exercises that can be done at home or at the office to both rouse and strengthen your gluteus maximus muscles.

Learn More about Dr. Carla Cupido.

Hinging at the Kidneys Yoga Class Tip

My Yoga Online has posted a new Yoga workshop video with Jesse Enright, Hinging at the Kidneys. This Yoga Tips looks that the important aspects of retaining safety in your Yoga flows when bringing motion into the lower spine.

Without proper alignment, the mid-lower back (where the kidneys are located and the mid spine meets the lower or lumbar spine), the vertebrae and discs can easily become compressed when we move without awareness. In this mini workshop we learn key points in maintaining the health and integrity of this important area of the body.

CLICK HERE to enjoy a sample of this yoga video.

Jesse Enright has been a student of Yoga for eleven years and an instructor for the past nine. He began his studies with Sivananda Yoga before exploring the more dynamic Ashtanga Vinyasa, the detailed alignment of Iyengar and the comprehensive intelligence of Vijnana Yoga.

Other Yoga Video Workshops by Jesse Enright:
Preventing Shoulder Impingement in Yoga
Knee Torsion in Yoga
Wrist Safety in Yoga

Is Your Yoga Hygienic?

My Yoga Online - Plantar warts and athlete's foot are not desired benefits of doing Yoga. However, there is a steady increase in the occurance of skin infections and conditions related to communal use of Yoga mats. Even though there are no direct studies linking Yoga to increased skin infections, there is a common element of Yoga studio participation and these increased infections.

Yoga mats are a breeding ground for viruses, fungi, and bacteria. Yoga participants walking around the room pick up and spread infectious agents on mats. The mats become moist and warm, and then rolled up, acting as a perfect environment for growth.

With teachers becoming more creative with Yoga flows, where one has stepped multiple times with the feet easily becomes a place for the face and other skin contact points to rest as well.

Keep your practice clean:
*Be aware of your personal hygiene and address any skin conditions. Respect your yoga neighbors and do your part to reduce the spread of infectious agents.

*Clean any communal Yoga mats prior to using them. If possible, use your own mat and also make a point to clean after each use.

*Wear your socks to your mat. Walking barefoot around a studio and then jumping on a 'clean' mat can still spread germs.

*Ask your studio owners what type of Yoga spray they are providing. Is it natural antibacterial product and in a concentration strong enough to kill germs? Reusing yoga rags over and over to clean mats can do more harm than good. How often are rags changed? Most antibacterial sprays need to be in high concentration and left to sit for an extended period to truly be effective. Again, best to use your own mat and clean it properly at home after every use.

We enjoy sharing our energy and experience with others in our yoga class, but we do not need to share everything. Keep your mat clean and engage your studio owners to insure that they are taking measures to keep your skin and the rest of your body healthy.

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Yoga and Your Immune System: Should I practice when I am sick?
Building Your Immune System

American Yogis Teach Entrepreneurial Spirit to India's Poorest Women

My Yoga Online has posted a feature article by Kino MacGregor. This article provides an inspirational view of Yoga Gives Back, an organization that has been supporting female entrepreneurs in developing countries like India. Enjoy this wonderful article offering insight into how one's Yoga practice can spread benefits across the globe.

Imagine if all you needed to lift your family out of generations of poverty was two hundred dollars. You would undoubtedly have the resources and connections to secure such a modest sum between your family, friends, credit cards, bank or government assistance. But imagine if you lived in a place where not only was money not readily available but the fact of your female gender prevented you from having access to the means of acquiring a source of revenue? Welcome to India’s rural villages and meet Jayashree. She is a young, beautiful seamstress and mother of two who made just 75 dollars a month working at a garment factory to add to her husband’s meager income earned by driving a rented an auto rickshaw (taxi). She dreamed of buying her husband’s rickshaw so their family could earn more money but had nowhere to turn to for the meager sum of 7,000 rupees or about 175 dollars.

Not only does Jayashree not have the education most Americans take for granted, but she also does not have the opportunities that are a vital component of earning a reasonable income. In India it seems like all Americans are rich because the money spent on groceries or on a month’s yoga classes has the potential to change the life of someone like Jayashree. The Americans most familiar with India are often the spiritual seekers who journey across land and sea to meet yoga teachers, learn meditation techniques and study ancient sacred texts. Yet for the cost of one month’s membership to the average yoga center in America a woman’s entire family could be altered forever.

Kayoko Mitsumatsu, an avid yoga practitioner who lives in California and studies with Joel Bender, thought she could make that difference in people’s lives with the creation of Yoga Gives Back. Rather than just giving money to provide shoes, food or resources Mitsumatsu initiated this charity endeavor after interviewing Dr. Muhammad Yunus for a TV documentary about the power of micro-financing for poor women. Dr. Yunus is a Bangladeshi economist who won the Nobel Peace Price in 2006 for developing a micro-credit program through the Grameen Foundation in Bangladesh that enabled millions of mostly women to buy everything from cows to cellphones in order to earn money for their families.

Yoga Gives Back works with the Grameen Foundation in India to provide particularly destitute families in Mysore and Bangalore with the same micro-financing that has succeeded in lifting families out of poverty in Bangladesh. Mitsumatsu and Bender aim to reach the more than 15 million people (a majority of which are women) in the U.S. who practice yoga and support rural families in India. One of the reasons Yoga Gives Back focuses its efforts in the Mysore-Bangalore region of South India is because many American yoga students journey to Mysore to study with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, the 94 year old master of the tradition. It was after a three month visit to Mysore to study yoga that Bender himself made the personal commitment to find a way to give back to the local community and upon his return partnered with Mitsumatsu to create Yoga Gives Back.

At least half the yoga practitioners in Mysore are Americans and nearly half of the world’s poorest people call India their home. While the Western world lives in relative abundance and benefits from India’s yoga legacy nearly one in four of India’s 1.1 billion people live below the poverty threshold of less than 40 cents a day. The Western world values equality of opportunity and rewards the entrepreneurial spirit in the meritocracy of capitalist enterprise and it repays another kind of debt when yoga practitioners from the U.S. teach the most needy in India how to run their own businesses with the power of micro-credit.

The cycle of poverty in India is a vicious cycle that traps generations upon generations into an indentured servitude to a series of creditors, lenders and lessors who control the resources and money available. When a poor family falls behind and their children are forced out of school and into work they dig themselves deeper into the repetitive and prohibitive system of entrenched poverty, virtually ensuring that the next generation will be as poor if not more than the previous one. Empowering women to find a way out of this trap opens a door to the real possibility of their happiness and self-sufficiency.

Jayashree seemed destined to perpetuate the cycle of poverty in her life until she applied for loan of 7,000 rupees or the equivalent of about 175 dollars from the Grameen Foundation and Yoga Gives Back. With the money she bought her husband’s auto rickshaw. Whereas he previously paid rent for use of the vehicle his profit was marginal at best, but as an owner the income tripled. In one year the loan was fully repaid and Jayashree applied for a second loan to buy a sewing machine so she could sew bags and other small items to sell. Her goal is to own a garment shop and send her sons to college and with the help of the Grameen Foundation and Yoga Gives Back that she finally had someone to turn to for the help, direction and guidance she needed in order to make her dreams an attainable reality. Mitsumatsu says, “Most women only went to primary school, had to work as daily labor to help family as young child, and got married young. Like their mothers, they never had an opportunity to improve their economical situation until they had access to micro credit.”

The old axiom that says that you cannot feed the world but if you teach a person how to fish or make bread they can feed themselves for a lifetime is at work in Yoga Gives Back. More than a charity, the work is a kind of education in business for rural women with an entrepreneurial spirit. They are rewarded for their hard work, given a chance to succeed without the pressure of the unfairly high interest rates of local lenders and find a way to break the relentless cycle of poverty they were born into. Most Yoga Gives Back loans average about 25 dollars a month and with this micro-credit loan rural, poor women start their own small business, buy their husband’s businesses or invest in their already existing businesses and double or triple their income almost immediately. Mitsumatsu states, “Many women used to worry about having enough food for the family, or sending children to schools. But with this micro credit, their life become much more sustainable.”

Yoga helps Westerners find peace and thus make their lives more sustainable. With the power of micro-financing Yoga Gives Back helps Indian women gain access to opportunities that would otherwise simply not exist.


To read more inspirational stories about female entrepreneurs that Yoga Gives Back has helped or to contribute, please visit their website at www.yogagivesback.org

About Kino MacGregor
Kino MacGregor is a small business owner (www.miamilifecenter.com), yoga teacher and freelance journalist who has produced two yoga DVDs and is currently working on her first book, Inner Peace, Irresistible Beauty to be released late April 2009. For complete details please see www.ashtanga-awareness.com.

17 Facts: We're Consuming Our Planet

My Yoga Online has posted a new Green Living article by Michael Bloch presenting statistics on consumption habits. Part of our practice of being mindful can be transmitted into the simple action of consumption. This informative set of statistics brings to light how Western society has generated a severe imbalance in global energy and product consumption that is directly impacting social, economic, and environmental sustainability.

Sometimes it can be difficult to relay to people just how much we consume; particularly those of us in developed countries. While purchasing green this and eco-friendly that are all well and good; one of the root causes of our environmental problems is hyperconsumption. We simply buy too much of what we do not need and often even what we do not really want.

CLICK HERE to read this article and the fast facts on consumption relating to various goods, services and resources we use.

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Best Antioxidants For Your Hard Earned Dollar

My Yoga Online has posted a new nutrition article by Karla Heintz, Best Antioxidants For Your Hard Earned Dollar. Karla offers some easy and unexpected methods of boosting your antioxidant intake while living on a tight financial budget. This nutrition article also provides a great list of common foods that provide high levels of disease-fighting antioxidants.

With the economy in the position it is in right now, it sometimes is challenging to purchase the best food items in the local grocery store as the cost can be overwhelming. One great way to keep your family healthy is keeping your kitchens stocked with ‘better’ antioxidant choices that will protect ourselves from aging faster than what we should.

CLICK HERE to read full article.

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Balance and Intentional Flow in Yoga

My Yoga Online - I was recently reviewing some Yoga anatomy material by David Keil and was reintroduced to a wonder concept of creating balanced energy and flow in your yoga practice. David presented the common bandha applications of mula and uddiyana in a more generalized concept throughout the entire body. As a reminder, mula means to root and uddiyana means to flow or rise upwards. In our yoga practice, we strive to generate expansion and balance. By looking at your practice in terms of creating both a state of mula and uddiyana, we can establish a constant intention towards balance.

We can see how this is applicable with various points in the body. Let's take the foot, for example. In any standing yoga pose, we wish to ground or root (mula) through the toe mounds and heel. This earthy support allows us to draw energy from ground while bringing stability into the physical and mental state of the pose. In an opposing intention, we also wish to engage the medial (inner) arch of the foot. This mimics the intention of uddiyana-bringing a lifting energy from the base of the body up through the crown of the head. Hence, grounding flow downwards into the earth is reciprocated with an uprising intention. With lines of opposing energies and intentions, a natural expansion forms in the body. This physical expansion then readily transmits back through the nervous system into our mental practice.

Consider this application in the hands in Downward Facing Dog pose. As we establish our hand and arm positions, we encourage a mindful and rooting expansion downwards through the index finger pads and thumb pads. This rooting mula effect balances force loads across the wrist and hand joints. We can also create a subtle lifting energy (uddiyani) into the center of the palm that generates a direct unloading of the carpal tunnel. With the hands now properly aligned and balanced, imagine how this intention of balanced mula and uddiyana can be carried further into the pose. The uddiyana flow in the center of the palm can be welcomed up the arms, into the spine, and right out through the sacrum and sit bones. In opposite direction, the crown of head flows with release and grounding heaviness (mula) with the application of the rooted index and thumb pads. With the head and pelvis traveling in opposite flow, the vertebrae are holistically opened giving life and vitality to the spinal column.

Whether you are standing, sitting, inverted, lying, or balancing, visualize how the intentions of mula and uddiyana can coexist to bring greater integrity and purpose to your yoga practice.

Related Articles:
Subtle Rooting in Warrior Yoga poses
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Shoppers' Guide to Pesticides

My Yoga Online - Check out this great free download that you can conveniently take with you while shopping to help you avoid unwanted pesticides in your food. Get the guide so when you are shopping you will know which produce to buy organic, and which conventionally-grown fruits and vegetables are okay if organic is not available or if you are working through a tight budget.

Click Here for the download.

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Organize Your Home for Healthier Living

My Yoga Online is happy to introduce a new article by Ranka Burzan, specialist in organizing, titled: How Organized Is Your Home. This new healthy living article offers great tips in generating positive energy and flow in your home through practical organization.

Have you ever heard this phrase or perhaps you have said it yourself, “I really have to get organized, one of these days”. One of these days may never come. As with everything else in our lives our power is in this present moment. The ancient Chinese proverb, "A cluttered space equals a cluttered mind" rings true for many of us. It has been said that the majority of us lose at least one hour a day looking for the things we need and spend 20 percent of our annual budget buying things we need to replace things we lost.

According to experts, organizing is a very simple and learnable skill. Yet, according to the National Association for Professional Organizers (NAPO), only 25% of the population is organized. The rest of us struggle to some degree with disorganization and clutter in our home and work place.

If organizing is simple and learnable what prevents us from being organized? It is helpful to ask ourselves, is the physical clutter in our home just that: physical? Or perhaps it is closely related to emotional and spiritual clutter; not being able to part with stuff, holding on to memories and relationships that don’t work for us anymore, all prevent us from growing emotionally and spiritually.


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Is Your Shampoo Toxic?

My Yoga Online has posted a new Green Living article by Michael Bloch, Shampoo and the Planet. What has been considered acceptable by review boards for human usage or consumption offers some serious questions as to the true safety of consumer products.

Shampoos and other body care products often contain vast amounts of chemical agents, that, if were in higher quantities, would be highly toxic. No wonder why so people suffer from allergies and sensitivities. Know what you are putting in and on your body. There are alternatives to standard consumer products that offer the function required without presenting harmful agents into the body and the environment.

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Interview with Our Wellness Expert, Dr. Carla Cupido

My Yoga Online - Dr. Carla Cupido is a contributing author and presenter on My Yoga Online. Dr. Cupido is a chiropractor and specialist in kinesiology (exercise science), and she has provided My Yoga Online with a great interview discussing the field of Yoga and holistic wellness.

As a holistic practitioner, how do you see Yoga as a tool for therapeutic programs like chiropractic?

With the appropriate application, yoga can be used to both prevent and rehabilitate injury. Certain yoga poses can be used to lengthen tight muscles, while others can be used to strengthen weak muscles. Many injuries are due to weak links in the body. Often, people assume that their injuries are due to tight muscles. However, typically weak muscles cause other muscles to compensate for their strength limitations; this leads to injury not only in the assisting muscles, but also in the weak muscles. It also places the joints that these muscles cross at risk for injury. Therefore, although many people believe yoga’s primary therapeutic purpose is to improve flexibility, in regards to injury prevention and rehabilitation, yoga can also be used to improve strength and stability, as well as proprioception (balance). The combination of all of these benefits can aid patients from a therapeutic perspective.

Yoga is a practice that is meant to be understood thoroughly as yoga can cause just as many injuries as it can help prevent or rehabilitate. Therefore, make sure that you comprehend each of the poses you practice and why you are doing them. It is wise to understand the strengths and weaknesses of your body to know how yoga can be used to your advantage. Every person’s yoga practice should be unique as we all have individual strengths and weaknesses that must be considered in every move we make on our mats.

As participation in yoga classes increases, it appears that more attention is on the "science of Yoga", especially in terms of injury prevention. In regards to instruction, what do you feel needs to be made known to the general public in order to make Yoga a life-long, sustainable practice?

Yes, the science of yoga is now receiving more attention; it is great! More research is being done in the medical community on how yoga can be used for injury prevention and rehabilitation. This information is fantastic! Science is what needs to be made known to the public as if yogis understand the anatomy and biomechanics behind each pose, they will be able to perform them safely and enjoy yoga for their lifetime without experiencing yoga related injuries. Yoga can offer you and your body enormous benefits, but benefits are hard to achieve if you do not recognize how to attain them. If you want to practice for the rest of your life, take the time to learn some general anatomy and biomechanics. If you understand the etiology of injuries, you will better be able to continue safely growing on your mat throughout your existence. Yoga offers a lifetime of learning; enjoy the journey towards wisdom.

For someone just starting Yoga, with average fitness experience, what do you recommend?

Start slowly, find an incredibly knowledgeable teacher, and consider being assessed by a manual medical practitioner or sports physician before beginning your practice. The latter will be able to identify areas which should be monitored in your practice for safety as well as recognize weak or tight muscles which require more attention. Despite the gentle nature of yoga, it is a repetitive and sometimes strenuous activity and can cause numerous injuries if not practiced properly. Listen to your body; if it hurts or doesn’t feel good, do not do it.

In general, the hatha yoga practice should originate from the spine outwards. Often, due to Ego, people practice from the limbs inward, trying to place themselves in contortions without appreciation for the possible contraindications acting on the spine. As a specialist in spinal health, how would you encourage yoga practitioners to practice with their primary focus on the spine?

Ego can cause many injuries. Whether reaching all the way to the floor in a forward bend and allowing the curve in your lower back to be lost, or remaining too long in shoulder stand or headstand, you are placing your spine at risk for the benefit of your Ego. It is absolutely essential to understand which movements are safe for the spine and which are hazardous. Large class sizes make it impossible for teachers to work through risky poses with students, or any pose for that matter. If you do not understand a pose or are nervous about trying it, wait until you can work through it independently with your teacher. Yes, this means you will have to sit the pose out in your class, but is that so bad? If you understand the pose, you will be less likely to compromise your spine for the asana’s believed aesthetics.

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I would like to leave you with an inspiring story. One of my girlfriends is an incredible yogi; she has a background in kinesiology and an amazing amount of strength, stability, and flexibility. She once told me that her most liberating yoga moment was taking child’s pose when she felt her body needed a rest. I will never forget this as it shocked me that such a strong yogi found this to be her most liberating yoga moment! Her knowledge of anatomy and biomechanics kept her safe on her mat and provided her with an experience that was positive instead of negative when she knew her body needed a rest. I hope this impacts you as much as it did me.
Enjoy your practice and have fun asking questions; learning should be an exciting and FUN experience!

Click Here to learn more about Dr. Carla Cupido or visit her website.

Articles by Dr. Carla Cupido:
Addressing Our Scapular Stabilizers
Managing Plantar Fasciitis
Carpal Tunnel and Yoga