Moyo Yoga

Alternate Nostril Breathing

moyo — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 19:30:45 +0000

As yogis we know that our own energy is constantly changing, sometimes we feel that everything is going right and we can feel the flow, and others we feel like we are at the point of boiling to a meltdown. What these feelings really mean is that our own energies are not aligned. These energies that circulate with us are called nadis. There are over 72,000 that flow like water to every cell in our body. The first nadi, the shushumna, is the largest of the three. It wraps around the spine coiling up like a serpent from the base all the way to the crown passing through each chakra on its way, producing kundalini energy. The other two nadis, ida and pingala, spiral around the shushumna nadi crossing each other at every chakra until all meet at the crown chakra. Ida starts on the left side of the spine, bringing in a sense of coolness and controling the more feminine aspects of your thought process. Pingala, which starts on the right side of the shushumna, is said to have more warming and stimulationg quatlities bringing more masculine aspects to your personality. When the flow of energy (prana) gets stuck and things seem out of control, somewher there is a clog in these tow nadis. In order to bring the mind, body, and spirit back into alignmentwith one another the channels need to be cleared. How do we do that? With breath. Alternate nostril breathing can help you to see which nadi is clogged and help restore the flow bringing emotional and physical equilibrium back into your life therefore clearing the way for more spiritual growth. To begin, find a comfy seated postion. Taking the right hand, bend the index and middle fingers in toward the palm. Place the thumb outside the right nostril and place the ring and pinkie fingers on the left. Take an inhaleand then close off the left nostril exhaling our the right and then inhaling. Close off the right nostril and open the left with an exhale out the right. This is one round. Countinue until you feel the breath flow freely through each side of the nostril bringing balance back to your life.

Steph Neff, MOYO Teacher

Why Feel?

moyo — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 19:14:04 +0000

Why Feel?

I’ve been told more than once that I am a “Do-er.” I must agree I am pretty busy as a working single mom raising two girls. I also teach yoga, spend time with friends, hike, read, etc. And like you, I don’t have a staff to pay the bills, clean, buy food, cook and so forth. But when people call me a “do-er” I think they are referring to something else. Maybe it’s my tendency to fix things that are broke, make lists, and speak in terms of goals. Or it could be that I’d rather kayak, kick box or even journal then meditate. It might have something to do with the fact that I can inhale all-the-day-long, but when it comes to exhaling all I can muster is this short, pathetic gust. Yeah, I know I’m a “do-er.” It could be nature or nurture… but either way, I have begun to learn something else.

I have started to realize that all of this Do-ing gets in the way of my ability to feel. Do you think that’s a coincidence? (Yeah, me neither.) It seems that pretty early on in life I decided that I didn’t want to feel. I concluded that noticing how I feel may not be pleasant and just might result in realizing things that I’d rather not know. Luckily, this Do-ing thing solves that problem!

Only it doesn’t… Why not? Because feelings become increasingly more intense until you actually let yourself feel them. Plus, they give you messages you need about your life and the choices you need to make. Living my life as a Do-er didn’t really allow for any of those messages to factor into how I lived my life. Of course, I did not realize much of this until things got pretty messy. At some point the mess got bad enough that I was ready to change something. So I tried a lot of things and eventually tried letting the feelings happen. At first it was awful as there were a lot of feelings to catch up on! Ultimately I became more aware and focused, sorted through a lot of things and eventually began building a life I had consciously chosen. That’s about when I found yoga. Only guess what – yoga was still something to “Do.” I practiced and practiced… it really helped for a while and then it didn’t. Why? My yoga practice didn’t include noticing how I feel. Good Lord – I was still at the same pattern! (I should mention, I have also been told I can be stubborn…)

So lately I have been back at the feeling thing. Noticing how I feel, allowing the feeling to help direct me in the choices I make. I know it sounds corny – like an Oprah show or a Neil Sedaka song. In fact, talking about it makes me want to go learn how to rock climb. But I’m determined to do it anyway. The messages I get from my feelings actually help me decide the rules I want to live by. I base more of my choices on what works for me in the long run instead what gets me through the moment. Plus, the feelings do not last forever. The good ones & the bad ones do their job and if I respond, they move on leaving me happier from the inside out. Of course, just telling you this gives me a tremendous urge to go goal tend a sudden death hockey game!

But instead, guess what I have been doing each morning before I wake up my girls? Did you guess meditating? I sit on my cushion and I breathe in, I let go and breathe out. My inhale is still longer than my exhale… but somehow it still turns me inward. When I started it was pretty icky in here, but lately it’s been better. Or maybe I am just getting stronger. Or perhaps when you allow the feelings to happen you become more self assured and just down-right happier. And you know what time it is when we are happier? Time to go learn how to rock climb!

-Christy Holland, MOYO Teacher

Young Yogis Take to the Mats

moyo — Fri, 28 May 2010 18:29:25 +0000

http://www.healthkey.com/a-z/reproductive/sns-health-fitness-april2010-yoga-for-kids,0,3527702.story

MOYO Retreat to Hawaii Updated

moyo — Fri, 21 May 2010 15:20:13 +0000

Join us June 27th at 6pm for questions and information.

http://www.kalani.com/workshops/2010/find-your-%E2%80%98ono

MOYO’s Breast Team Ever!

moyo — Thu, 20 May 2010 18:31:52 +0000

LBBC’s Yoga Unites was a great success for MOYO’s Breast Team Ever! Last year, we had only 10 members on our team. This year our team grew to 43 and we raised over $5200! I’m so proud of our studio and the wonderfully big hearts. It was a touching and powerful experience to practice yoga with breast cancer survivors. Thank you to everyone helping to make a difference one person at a time.

Jackknife Pose

moyo — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 20:46:00 +0000

Jackknife (utthita urdhva paschimottonasana):

ó From tadasana, exhale the arms out to the sides.

ó Hinge at the hips, come forward to a flat back and hold.

ó Reach the hips towards the back and the crown of the head towards the front. Keep the legs strong and reach the fingers out to the side walls.

Red Flags: Low back, legs and hips.

New to our massage therapy team: Nathanael Weber!

moyo — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 21:06:47 +0000

Nathanael’s curiosity about how the body works and his desire to help people is what influenced him to become a massage therapist. Nathanael excels at a combination of trigger point therapy, deep tissue and swedish massage to give clients a relaxing yet restorative experience. Nathanael is a graduate of the Cortiva Institute.

Come treat yourself to a massage with Nathanael. First time massage is $55. He is available every Tuesday from 10am-8pm!

Eileen Connell

moyo — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 19:42:05 +0000

Eileen Connell, Graduate of MOYO Teacher Training, 2007. RYT, CMT. Yoga has transformed Eileen on all levels. Eileen’s energetic grounding presence empowers and inspires students to reconnect to their body, breath and soul. Eileen is dedicated to personal growth and healing. Eileen is a graduate of the Pennsylvania School of Muscle Therapy. She has her own Massage and Energetic Healing practice in Collegeville. She is also a Certified Cycle Reebok Instructor and AFAA Group Fitness Instructor.

America’s Oldest Workers, still going strong

moyo — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 22:05:56 +0000

Tao Porchon-Lynch, 91

Tao Porchon-Lynch teaching a yoga class

Yoga instructor
White Plains, New YorkTao Porchon-Lynch learned yoga while growing up in India, in the former French colony of Pondicherry, but she didn’t become an instructor until half a century later.

For much of her career, she danced, modeled and acted in India, France, England and California. She appeared in Hollywood movies and on television before landing a job with UniTel in the 1960s, establishing TV stations in India. “I was playing with life,” she says. “There was so much to do and so little time to do it.”

Porchon-Lynch has taught yoga since the 1970s and certified 400 other teachers. Until recently, she was able to suspend herself by her hands in the full-lotus and peacock positions before she broke her wrist. She’s still a competitive ballroom dancer, despite undergoing hip replacement five years ago. “I’m not going to give up,” Porchon-Lynch says. “I’m going to dance and do yoga for as long as I live.”

By Aaron Smith, CNNMoney.com staff writer

Yoga Kids Summer Camp…Register Today!

moyo — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:02:01 +0000

Yoga Kids Summer Camp