Moyo Yoga

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

MOYO Community Acupuncture

moyo — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:46:15 +0000

What is community acupuncture?
Community acupuncture is acupuncture done in a group setting for a less expensive fee. Because we are able to treat more patients an hour, we pass the savings on to you. At Moyo, all acupuncture treatments will be $35.
Community acupuncture patients are often treated sitting in a chair and fully clothed. Acupuncture needles are inserted in “distal” points, powerful points located from the foot to the knee and from the hand to the elbow. Additionally, it is common to use “auricular” or ear acupuncture.
Group or community acupuncture is the way acupuncture is traditionally done in China, where patients are often treated several times a week. Community acupuncture makes frequent treatment affordable.

What should I expect in my acupuncture treatment?
It would be best if you wore loose comfortable clothing. You will be asked to roll up your sleeves and your pant legs, and to take off your shoes and socks. Our acupuncturist will spend approximately 10 minutes discussing your concerns and placing the needles. Then you will sit quietly for 20 or 30 minutes. At the end of that time our acupuncturist will remove the needles. You should feel calm and relaxed. Your whole treatment should last approximately 45 minutes. Acupuncture treatments are usually more effective cumulatively. You will probably see some results after the first treatment, however the best results are often experienced after consecutive treatments, especially with long term or chronic conditions.

What is the difference between Community and Private sessions?
Community acupuncture can treat a variety of concerns, ranging from stress release to digestive disorders and pain mangement. Each treatment is individually designed specifically for you, regardless of how many people you are sitting with. However, if you would like to discuss your condition at length or would like our acupuncturist to spend more time with you, you may prefer a private session. If you have questions about which format would be best for you, feel free to talk with our acupuncturist.

What are Moyo Community Acupuncture hours?
To begin with we will be open 10:00 to 2:00 on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

How do I make an appointment?
To make an appointment call Moyo or you may book online at tp://moyo-yoga.com or call Moyo 610-584-1108

What problems are commonly treated with Acupuncture?

The most common ailments presented to an acupuncturist tend to be pain related conditions. For example; arthritis, back, neck, knee and shoulder pain, carpal tunnel syndrome and sciatica.
Traditional Chinese Medicine is a complete medical system that is capable of diagnosing and successfully treating a wide range of conditions including:(This is by no means a complete list of what Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine can treat.)

Eye, Ear, Nose, Throat Disorders
• Sinusitis
• Sore Throat
• Hay Fever
• Earache
• Nerve Deafness
• Ringing in the Ears
• Dizziness
• Poor Eyesight
Circulatory Disorders
• High Blood Pressure
• Angina Pectoris
• Arteriosclerosis
• Anemia
Gastrointestinal Disorders
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Spastic colon
• Colitis
• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Food Allergies
• Ulcers
• Gastritis
• Abdominal Bloating
• Hemorrhoids
Gynecological / Genitourinary Disorders
• Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS)
• Irregular, Heavy or Painful Menstruation
• Endometriosis
• Menopause
• Fibroids
• Chronic Bladder Infection
• Complications in Pregnancy
• Morning Sickness
• Kidney Stones
• Impotence
• Infertility in Men and Women
• Sexual Dysfunction
Immune Disorders
• Candida
• Chronic Fatigue
• HIV and AIDS
• Epstein Barr Virus
• Allergies
• Lupus
• MS
• Hepatitis
Addiction
• Smoking Cessation
• Drugs
• Alcohol
Emotional and Psychological Disorders
• Anxiety
• Insomnia
• Depression
• Stress
Musculoskeletal and Neurological Disorders
• Arthritis
• Neuralgia
• Sciatica
• Back Pain
• Bursitis
• Tendonitis
• Stiff Neck
• Bells Palsy
• Trigeminal Neuralgia
• Headaches and Migraines
• Stroke
• Cerebral Palsy
• Polio
• Sprains
• Muscle Spasms
• Shingles
Respiratory Disorders
• Asthma
• Emphysema
• Bronchitis
• Colds and Flus
Acupuncture Also Treats
• Chemotherapy/Radiation Side Effects
• Diabetes
• Dermatological Disorders
• Weight Control

A Thank You to MOYO Students

moyo — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 17:03:27 +0000

Thank you for making our five year birthday so incredible. We cried, laughed and had an amazing time. My staff and I feel so fortunate to teach and enjoy the amazing, talented and beautiful people at MOYO. We are humbled by your support and love!

Namaste,
Maureen

Clean Water for Haiti

moyo — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:58:58 +0000

Memory serves me all too well the devastation and destruction suffered in the Oakland and Los Angeles earthquakes. Within a week of arriving to complete my last year of college at the San Francisco Art Institute, we witnessed the bay turn into quicksand as the entire marina front disappeared into the ground, the Golden gate twist like a twizzler and the water in the Bay literally swoosh from the Oakland to San Francisco shores as the Oakland bridge collapsed. In the Northridge quake, I lost my home. Both were painful “Acts of God”. Our first response to each disaster once we knew we were ok, was to count how many bottles of water we had responsibly stored in our earthquake preparedness kits. Unlike in the U.S., the existing water crises in Haiti has only deepened as a result of the earthquake. It was hard enough to find daily clean water sources before the earthquake let alone have water storage.

Clean Water for Haiti is a volunteer run, faith based missions and humanitarian aid organization. “Through BioSand Filter projects CWH is able to provide a simple, effective, and affordable solution to the lack of clean water sources for Haitian Families”. Visit www.cleanwaterforhaiti.org to learn more.

The value is in sending support that will raise the people from earthquake survival into a future of clean “self-sustaining” drinking water thereby strengthening community by reducing illness and loss of life.

Black Sheep Pottery strongly supports Clean Water for Haiti BioSand Filter Projects and Potters for Peace Ceramic Water Filters organization www.pottersforpeace.org. Contact Black Sheep Pottery at (610) 584-5877 or www.blacksheeppottery.org for information or to lend support.

Christy Holland

minima — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 22:41:40 +0000

I began practicing yoga looking for answers. My life had not turned out according to plan and I was deeply unhappy. Over time, I developed a strong practice on & off my mat. I began to see myself and my life through a clear lens. I dug deep within myself for the courage to live in the present moment and let go of the past and future. I discovered that the changes I need most begin with me. After that, there’s just the letting go. I teach yoga because it turns our focus inward and grounds us in what is real. Once grounded, we can fully engage and enjoy our lives – every moment. I believe that true happiness comes from within and is not dependent on other people, events or results. This is a powerful shift that has made a real difference in my life. I completed my Yoga Teacher Training Program with Verge Yoga and I am a certified instructor through the Yoga Alliance. My teaching reflects a deep respect for alignment and breath. I believe even the most basic pose has a lot to teach us about ourselves.

Lower back pain? Yoga therapy can help.

moyo — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 11:09:06 +0000

Yoga has become a familiar part of the health and fitness scene in the United States. Nearly 16 million Americans currently practice yoga. Another nine million say they plan to try it within the year. Although many people turn to yoga to ease stress and improve overall health, a growing number have specific medical aims and are following the recommendations of their doctors.

According to a study in the journal Spine (Sept. 1, 2009), yoga therapy can reduce pain and improve function in people with chronic low back pain. Chronic low back pain—defined as pain that lasts more than three months—is notoriously difficult to treat. Not surprisingly, it drives many sufferers to turn to alternative and complementary therapies in search of relief. The Spine study is the second of two randomized trials to test a specific form of yoga called Iyengar (pronounced eye-en-gar) yoga, which is based on the teachings of B.K.S. Iyengar, one of the world’s most well-known living yoga teachers.

Diane’s Journey

moyo — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:22:05 +0000

This is my journey. Breast cancer was and is part of this passage. Shaping the many roles that I fill
as a mother, teacher, daughter, sister, and girlfriend. I didn’t see it as a battle, or a fight against cancer.
There are bigger forces out there fighting that fight. My own journey led me through diagnosis of
Ductal Carcinoma In-situ (DCIS), knowledge overload, biopsies galore, waiting on pins and needles for
results, surgeries, radiation and contemplation about the future. So where does this all leave me?
With a full appreciation of my yoga practice in my life and of life itself.
When I was diagnosed over a year ago, I was also teaching yoga to cancer patients and survivors
at the Wellness Community at the Anne McCouch Center in Lansdale. I went through the process
much like many of my students had with their own diagnoses. I experienced first hand the support
and comfort they needed and the connectivity that not only the Wellness Community but also the
entire yoga community provided. I was drawn to the compassion and understanding like a bee to a
flower.
Yoga has been a part of my life for over a decade, both as a student and a teacher. But I never connected
so completely with my yoga practice until I was diagnosed. I have vivid memories of being in
the pre-op room where the medical staff needed to place a marker at the surgery site. Three hours
later and a pincushion for a breast, the needle was finally in. What got me through that ordeal? Yoga
did in the form of breath, focus, strength, meditation and a very supportive team behind me, literally
and figuratively.
I continued to teach and practice yoga throughout biopsies, surgeries and radiation. During radiation
I started each session with the mantra “I dive into life without fear” and ended each day’s session in
the dressing area going through a few yoga poses either to energize me for the ride home or to relax
me.
As much as this was a difficult journey, I do not regret having cancer. It has led me to deepen my
practice both on and off the mat. It has brought me to wonderful places like Kripalu in Lenox,
Massachusetts, for a yoga retreat. I’ve experienced powerful moments with thousands of other yogi’s
as in the Yoga Unites Day, where a mass yoga class was held on the Art Museum steps. Whatever
your journey is, it falls back on those powerful, life-changing moments that shape you and shape the
world that we are in.
A deep thank you to my friends and family who kept me lifted up and continue
to do so. Gratitude to the yoga community and to my students for providing
an enriching experience, one in which I am always a student.

Diane Kistler, Certified MOYO Teacher

Knee Pain? It Could be Your Hips…

moyo — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 22:15:56 +0000

So often when we experience muscle pain or soreness in our joints, our focus goes directly to the source of the pain as we find ourselves attempting various exercises or rehabilitation strategies for our aching body part. Yoga helps shift that symptomatic focus to a holistic approach for taking care of the body. Knee pain is a common ailment that I am approached with regularly by my students. Recent studies at the University of Pennsylvania have shown yoga to be beneficial for osteoarthritis of the knee and for improving gait in people with knee osteoarthritis. For more information on the research being done at Penn’s Complementary and Alternative Medical center click here.

So, what does this have to do with the hips? A recent study at the Running Injury Clinic has demonstrated that it’s not just flexibility but also strength of the hips that is essential for optimal functioning of the knee and lower leg, especially in women. When people with knee and lower leg pain performed three basic hip strengthening exercises targeted towards strengthening the hip abductors, adductors, and flexors everyday for six weeks a marked improvement in knee and lower leg pain was documented by researchers.

How can you put this research to work for you? Yoga poses such as Pigeon, Double Pigeon, Frog, and Baddha Konasana can help with flexibility of the hip, which can in turn improve the functioning of the knee joint. In addition, poses such as twisting lunges, Goddess, and Warrior I strengthen both hip and knee joints together. Finally, to download the basic strength training program from the Running Injury Clinic in a free .pdf click here. As always, don’t hesitate to ask us at MOYO for more information and personalized assistance!

Nine Reasons for the Heat

moyo — Mon, 11 May 2009 18:03:24 +0000

1. Enhances Vasodilatation so that more blood is delivered to the muscles. This means that the capillaries that weave around the muscles respond to the heat by dilating. This brings more oxygen to the muscles and helps in the removal of waste products such as carbon dioxide and lactic acid.

2. Allows oxygen in the blood to detach from the hemoglobin more easily. When blood passes through warm muscles, oxygen releases more easily from the hemoglobin. Blood passing through cold muscles release less oxygen.

3. Speeds up the breakdown of glucose and fatty acids.

4. Makes muscles more elastic, less susceptible to injury.

5. Improves coordination, as movements are more fluid, concise and controlled.

6. Reduces heart irregularities associated with sudden exercise.

7. Burns fat more easily. Warmed muscles burn fat more easily than cold ones. Fat is released during stress. The stress of intense exercise causes a deluge of fatty acids into the blood stream. If you exercise with cold muscles, your muscles can’t use the fatty acids, and they end up in unwanted places, such as the linings of your arteries.

8. Higher temperatures improve the function of the nervous system, meaning that messages are carried more rapidly to and from the brain and spinal cord.

9. The heat helps you to naturally sweat and release toxins, through your largest organ of elimination – your skin.

Common Pitfalls for Chaturanga

moyo — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 16:46:43 +0000

Avoid common Chaturanga pitfalls: One tendency is to either sink at the center of the torso (creating a backbend), another is to leave the butt up in the air as the shoulders dip toward the floor (creating a pike). The more you can activate the front of your body so that it supports the back of your body, the more success you will have at avoiding these polarities. Engage the belly and quadriceps by lifting the tops of the thighs to the ceiling and drawing your tailbone toward your heels.

Another pitfall is to put so much energy into reaching the chest forward that you forget to press the heels back. When this happens, you come too far forward onto your toes and lose the strength of the legs, forcing the shoulders to work overtime. If the shoulders carry the pose, they often collapse, sacrificing alignment and creating vulnerability. To prevent this, stack your heels over your toes in Plank, and keep pressing them back even as you enthusiastically extend your sternum forward and move into Chaturanga. When your legs come to the party, your shoulders will thank you.

source: http://www.yogajournal.com/basics/2308?page=2