Thursday 30 May 2019







YOGA & PILATES ARE THEY SIMILAR?


Often I hear new students say to me, “I have never done Yoga before, but I have done Pilates. It’s the same, isn’t it?”

I wanted to share with you my interpretation of the differences between Yoga and Pilates.  I have also asked Yogini Karen Mowry, who is a Pilates teacher, to share her views about Pilates. 

Yoga is an ancient tradition that originated In India 5000 years ago. Some even say that ancient Egyptians used to practice yoga. Yoga is a holistic lifestyle incorporating physical, mental and spiritual practices. The asana practice (postures) is just one part of the eight limbs of yoga.  Asanas are done to keep your organs cleansed and stimulate your lymphatic system.  Additional benefits include toning your muscles and clearing energy blockages so you can focus in meditation and live a pain free life. 

A healthy body starts with a healthy mind. Living in tune with nature, self care through yoga and a healthy diet allow you to live your best life.  When you are in harmony inside then you will find harmony in your life.  Yoga helps you to live in the present moment and helps you stay in touchbacks with your intuition trusting your gut feelings rather than overthinking situations and suffering from stress and anxiety.

 Sattva is the term for a harmonious life.. This ancient yoga practice came to the West in the 20th century and became very popular by the 1980’s as a physical well-being practice. Yet from my experience Yoga practice offers far more than physical fitness.  It grounds you and makes you feel in tune with your true nature and love for life. 


Pilates

Pilates is a physical fitness system developed by Joseph Pilates in early 20th century. He referred to it as “contrology”.  It is an art of controlled movement.  Essentially it’s a workout to improve core strength, endurance and flexibility throughout the entire body. It puts an emphasis on alignment and breathing, developing a strong core and coordination. I asked Karen Mowry a Pilates teacher her intake on Pilates:
After working long hours at a desk for a large consulting firm, my body was tight, my posture was poor and my breathing needed work.  I loved to be active and exercise but I needed something different than my normal  running and resistance training.  I tried Pilates in a studio in Northern Virginia. The instructor used the equipment to help me understand the exercises and find the muscles I needed to “turn on” as well as the muscles vI needed to “turn off”. I was hooked!   Three years later I completed the BASI Pilates teacher training program.  I am currently teaching at Cobham Pilates. I continue to learn about the amazing resilience of the body and the genius of the Pilates method. 
I asked Karen why she likes Yoga; 
Practicing Yoga helps me quiet my “busy mind” so that I can focus on what is real and important. When my mind is steady my physiology is different and my body can also relax. I think Yoga and Pilates are a great compliment to each other and an important part of a healthy lifestyle!


Yogis, it shows you that this ancient yoga practice can be incorporated in your daily life and it doesn’t discriminate ages, genders or sports. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at the many benefits in your life. 
Yoga brings balance back in your body, mind and soul one with nature.
Namaste, 

Monday 20 May 2019





    Healthier you through Brain Yoga 

Living in harmony and to your fullest potential for a healthier loving life is achievable for all of us.  In fact, we are designed to live in this way making a heaven on earth.. 

So what does this have to do with brain exercise? Well, we don’t use the whole of our brain all the time. We have habitual pathways which means we use only part of our brain’s potential.  

What would it be like to use 100% of your brain?  You would become holistically complete.  When we start to engage in whole brain activity we enhance our ability to become happier and healthier.

So how can you begin the journey to expand your mind and access its full potential?  Yoga is a pathway to opening the mind.  You could call it “Brain gym”.  

Through the asana practice of yoga postures you activate both hemispheres of the brain.  For instance, your right hand is controlled by the left hemispheres and left hand is controlled by the right hemispheres. If it crosses the midline like crossing your arms or crossing your legs, you activate the other part of your brain.  With both hemispheres working together you create the opportunity for Super Learning. 

How do we tap into and activate this Super Learning state?  It can be difficult because of our habitual way of thinking conditioned from a young age.  Most adults don’t have synchronisation of both hemispheres. Your left brain is logic, rational, objective, looks at parts. Your right brain is holistic, intuitive, random, subjective and looks at the big picture.  

During the day it’s like a wave going in from the left to the right side of the brain.  Only one part is dominant and it’s not integrated with the other side. This will cause stress and disease in your body and mind. As mentioned before we need to use both hemispheres of our brain ( also known as Hemi-Synch).  If you use both hemispheres you feel calmer, life supports you, you are healthier, more creative and have an abundance of energy. Your body is in a growth, repair and learning state. 

Some ways to access Hemi-Synch

1) stand tall and cross your right ankle over left, hinge from your hips and drop your arms and torso over your legs. Sway your arms from side





to side. Repeat on the other side. 

2) sitting or lying down with ankles crossed and/or arms crossed.  This calms your body and connects your hemispheres. 
         3) Awareness is the first step to help you use both hemispheres and beak the old habitual                  patterns of thinking.
       
         4) Meditation


          I would like to acknowledge Dr. Bruce H. Lipton for sharing his articles, books and videos      about  brain health and how to be in hemi-synch for a healthier life. www.brucelipton.com

Namaste
Luma

Tuesday 7 May 2019





The Benefits of Grounding

Often while Teaching I say to my students, ‘ground yourself’ in a specific pose.  In Yoga we define grounding as connecting with the earth both physically and spiritually. Yoga poses such as downward facing dog are very grounding.  In DFD we begin on all fours, spreading  the fingers wide while the feet are pressing down connecting to the earth. Tree pose is another grounding pose. Your standing leg is rooted To the earth like a tree trunk. You engage your leg muscles and press all points of the foot downward connecting to the ground.  Imagine roots coming from your toes descending deep into the earth. You are physically and mentally connected to the earth’s energy. 
In yoga we talk about achieving spiritual grounding.  Spiritual grounding is being In the moment and feeling the earths energy enliven us to live fully without distractions of the mind such as fear, worry and stress. It is an important element of progressing your yoga practice to use the breath and grounding to focus the mind on the present moment and tame the monkey mind. The monkey mind is the endless stream of thoughts and emotions that pass through the mind like weather.

We are lucky in Yoga doing the poses with bare feet. We physically feel the ground under us and feel Mother Earth’s healing energy.  We know we are part of a collective system of life that is circular and co-reliant, feeling calm and safe despite the chaos and life challenges we face.  

Research like Dr Mercola and Clint Ober has shown the many health benefits of grounding.  Grounding replenishes the body with healthy energy, electrons, anti oxidants and reduces inflammation!. It is very healthy for adults, children and babies ( reduces colic). 

Ways to Ground Yourself

1) As often as you can walk with bare feet.  Feel the four corners of your feet on the ground whether it’s at home  or in the garden or on the beach. 

2) Practice Tree pose and visualise roots coming from your feet down into the earth. The deeper the roots the taller the tree creating length in your spine. 

3) Root chakra (Mula Bandha) exercises engaging pelvic muscles for an uplift energy.  

4) Breathe and be aware of your inhalation and exhalation. It will calm your body and mind stimulating your parasympathetic system to heal and repair. 

5) Practice yoga inside or outside with bare feet.

6) Play outside with bare feet.  Throw a frisbee, jump on a trampoline or just walk on the grass and feel your connection to the earth.   
          Namaste,
          Luma
        Luma

Sunday 5 May 2019


                 

SOUND HEALING 

Are you a secret singer belting your favourite ballads in the shower or humming a happy tune in traffic or tapping to the rhythm of your favourite Jazz track while chopping veg?  Or is your enjoyment and connection to sound more subtle?  Perhaps walking your dog you pause listening to birdsong or the sound of wind rustling through leaves overhead. Have you ever wondered why sound has such a transformative effect on your mental state and emotions?

Sound therapy includes both music and sound at all levels of vibration and intensity.  What all sound therapy has in common is the positive impact on the human body, mind and spirit.  Scientists have discovered the profound healing power of sound and have begun to research the ways it can be used to address mental and physical illness.  Bruce Lipton, biologist, speaker and author has studied the benefits of gong baths.  

There are many types of sound healing including vocal therapy, gong baths, music therapy, chanting and drumming workshops.  Music has been used for thousands of years to bring the body back into harmony both in cultural ritual and everyday practice.  One of the many benefits of sound therapy is that it has so many versions which means you can tailor it to your personal needs and preferences.  

I love using tuning forks to bring vibration into the body and clear blockages in chi or energy pathways.  Alternative healing practices such as sound therapy are inexpensive, immediately accessible and have no negative side effects.  Conditions such as anxiety, stress, depression, loneliness, negative thinking and many more can be alleviated with sound therapy.  Experiment with different methods to find what you enjoy.  

Music therapy, one form of sound healing, can accompany other harmonising practices such as yoga, meditation, massage, breathing exercises and mindfulness to enhance and deepen the benefits.  Music can have such a positively powerful effect bringing new energy, hope and vitality to people.  

Take the opportunity to bring the harmonising benefits of sound healing into your life.  It is a gentle but powerful way to help yourself restore balance and harmony between your mind, body and spirit. I highly recommend Gary and Olga from http://holistichealingtherapy.co.uk/ with their Gong bath and forest bathing meditation .

Namaste

Luma

Thursday 2 May 2019



Yoga and Natural Remedies 
The Yogic path advocates keeping close to nature and living in harmony with the natural world including utilising plant based remedies for healing, relaxation and nutirition.  

Both aromoatherapy and homeopathy are ancient plant based healing practices designed to help people address mental and physical illness through the powerful healing qualities of mother nature.  Plant based aromatherapy oils have a vast spectrum of uses to improve our daily life from a relaxing massage with Chamomile and Lavender oil to an anti bacterial air freshener based on Tea Tree and Eucalyptus oils.  

The Yogic tradition is based on a healthy diet, plant based remedies for illness both mental and physical and time spent in nature healing the body and mind with fresh air, sunshine and exercise. Fresh herbs are another way of bringing the outdoors inside.  

Oregano is often used to help boost your immune system or rosemary to enliven the mind.  It can be a great adventure to discover the plants, herbs and oils that provide the most benefit for you.  Experiment with your diet by adding fresh herbs to meals and indulge in drops of warming geranium and rose oil in the bath for a deeply relaxling experience.  I do love DoTerra oils which I have found are very effective.  

If you are struggling with chronic illness or just a weak immune system homeopathy can often provide an answer where standard drug treatments have failed.  Homeopathy works with the power of the natural world to heal the body without the side effects of chemical drug treatment.  

Children can also benefit from more natural treatments to address low energy, depression, lethargy and hormonal fluctuations.  I would like to acknowledge Dr Rob Verkerk from alliance of natural health for his outstanding work and providing the public with information about the health benefits of a plant based approach.  Please share and subscribe to alliance of natural health website. This is free information for your health and well-being 🌿 https://www.anhinternational.org/
With Dr Rob Verkerk

          Namaste
          Luma