Tips on How to Stay Stress Free!

This weekend I taught my Restorative Yoga Workshop and it was great! Many of the students came out of the class wondering why there aren't regular classes like these. Most of the classes offered and the ones most people want to take are the fast paced yoga classes. Why is it that we are attracted to the things that may keep us out of balance?

Well, it seems that most of our present day society is revolved around doing, doing, doing, and associate being busy with meaningful. On top of that, the continuous flow of stimulus that we deal with day to day, can drive us to continue doing more. We may not realize that we are possibly tired until we have a moment to really stop and rest.


In a Nutshell: What happens when we are stressed?

Physiologically, adrenaline and cortisol trigger our fight or flight mode in response to a real or perceived threat to our well being and survival. (Meaning that even a stressful thought could trigger our fight or flight mode.) These hormones play and important role in our body in these "stressful" situations because they cause our body to pump more blood and to the bigger muscle groups in our body to become more alert and get us out of a potentially dangerous situation.

Adrenaline and Cortisol


These are two very important hormones and  are closely related. Adrenaline provides a very shorty term response to stress and releases quickly from the body. On the other hand, cortisol is increased in the body when adrenaline is increased and stays very active even after a stressful situation has subsided. Cortisol has many benefits, but too much of any good thing even, can become a poison.

When we are constantly in that fight or fight mode and not getting the rest and nourishment we need. That means that these hormones are streaming through our bodies 24/7. What does that mean? When there is increased cortisol in the body, it relegates our bodies resources to our extremities, thus starving our vital organs of the energy and nourishment that it needs to heal, restore and renew ourselves.

Results of too much stress and cortisol in our bodies:


Premature aging, dis-ease, more sensitive to stressful situations, overall hormonal resistance, adrenal burnout, weight gain, weak immunity, memory loss, insomnia, poor digestion, high cholesterol levels, the list goes on...

Tips on how to stay stress free!

So how do we reverse or keep ourselves at bay from stress, and get the rest we need to stay healthy and happy? Here are some tips that may help you out!

* Make sure you are getting enough sleep Sleep is vital , and rejuvenates our body and mind. Ayurveda states that it is one of the 3 Pillars to good health. When we sleep, our organs and bodily system is cleansed and re nourished. If we are not getting the sleep that we need and not listening to our internal clock, our body is starved of the essentials and ultimately has to continue working even harder to stay alive.


*Eat when you are hungry It's as simple as that! When we overeat, or eat when we are not hungry. we disturb agni (aka metabolism. Yoga and Ayurveda recognize it as our internal fire that regulates the digestion of foods as well as the impressions that we take in through our sense organs and mind.) hindering its ability to digest properly. This can create disturbances in our digestive functions leading to indigestion, constipation, bloating, gas, water retention, etc) and down the line can lead to further dis-ease.


*Rest!!! It is essential! Nobody ever taught us how to relax, it is a skill to be learned, so keep practicing! Restorative yoga, take a vacation, take a moment out of your day to just sit there and rest, or meditate...


*Expose yourself to sunlight and moonlight. It feels good, and some studies show that by doing that, it can help restore hormonal balance.

*Be in nature It will clear your mind and remind you of how beauty-full our planet is. It's also a great way to connect not only to your environment, but nature has a way of reminding us of our intrinsic connection to the divine within.


* Laugh and be in good company This is a guaranteed path to releasing stress and it will definitely lift your spirits!


*Treat yourself! You deserve it!! We're so much harder on ourselves than we deserve. Taking the time to treat ourselves nice ( eat yummy meal or go to your favorite restaurant, receive a massage, taking the day off for yourself, indulging in a warm bath, take a vacation) ultimately makes us feel good. This is important! When we take care of ourselves we contribute to the peace and happiness for all beings!

Restorative Yoga

                                                                       

Whenever I am giving a workshop, the week of I tend to have my life revolve around whatever theme it is that I am working with. This week its Restorative Yoga!

Finding Judith Hanson Lasater's Restore and Renew Restorative Yoga Training a couple years ago,  changed my life forever. I mean the way that I practice, and the way that I teach now has completely shifted.

Prior to taking her training I realized that the way that I had been practicing Yoga was not only detrimental to the health of my already debilitated and broken body ( bio) but it was creating more pain and suffering in all aspects of my life. The cycle of pain and practicing with out awareness of what was happening to my body, was destroying me. I thought that I would never practice Yoga again. After coming to some pretty deep realizations and acceptance of what already was, I realized that I could practice, just differently.

Through my experience with pain, injury and recovering slowly but surely, I realized that I wanted to help my students through their difficulties. For the first time I felt like I could really understand what other's could be going through when dealing with pain.

After going through Judith's training and healing myself, I realized that bringing the mind and nervous system to a state of relaxation the way that restorative yoga allows one to, was the way to healing.

Let me say that studying with Judith has been such a blessing! She has been teaching for 30 plus years and has studied with B.K.S.Iyengar extensively, she has a doctorate in Eastern and Western Psychology and is a physical therapist. Besides all that, if you've ever studied with her, you know that she teaches from a place of deep understanding and experience of the human body, especially through injury and pain. She is a vast source of wisdom and is a living embodiment of what Yoga represents. If you'd like more information on Judith, click here for more information.

 So as I am preparing for my Restorative Yoga Workshop this Sunday, I decided to browse through some writing that might help people get a better idea of what restorative yoga is, and how it can help you. Here's an article from Yoga Journal that might help if you are a newbie to all of this  click here

And remember that its not WHAT we do, but HOW we do it!

~REMINDER~

*Restorative Workshop this Sunday April 29th from 2-430 pm at Free Spirit Yoga Studio in Bixby Knolls Long Beach. sign up here. Live music with harpist Joy Shannon. She is amazing!!! Check her out at www.joyshannon.com We are limiting the workshop to 10 people and we've got 8 signed up already! So if you miss this one, join my mailing list or stay posted for the next restorative!!!

With Love and Light
Jennyogini

Take birthing and our bodies into our own hands!!!

Im really looking forward to my bellydancing workshop this Sunday! I've taught regular belly dancing classes in the past and they are so much fun. When I took my doula training, we learned a lot of movements to teach wombyn during pregnancy and while in labor, that were quite similar to belly dancing. Many movements were performed sitting and rotating the hips on those huge inflatable balls, to slow dancing with your partner moving the hips side to side.

Its not surprising that the hip opening and strengthening movements are great for strengthening all the muscles in our pelvic floor and uterus ( yes, your uterus is a muscle!) that are used during labor. The movements mimic birthing, and is essentially a dance of the feminine, fertilty and birth.

If you are pregnant or know anyone that is, send them to this class!!! Its really accessible and easy for anyone and everyone!! You don't have to be a dancer to come to this class. If you're also interested in increasing fertility or expecting to get pregnant, this is a great class for you!!! The movements are great for opening and loosening up old debris and tension that wombyn tend to hold in the hips. This creates more freedom in our hips and sexual organs so that we are more open and the organs are functioning at their optimal. It's very important to get blood flow into those areas that are so essential for fertility, pregnancy, increasing our sensuality and body awareness.

If you are interested and want to sign up, click here Or just show up!!! its a $10 drop in class!!!

This Sunday, April 22nd

Where: Free Spirit Yoga Studio
            Bixby Knolls Long Beach, Ca

Time: 4 to 5pm

Cost: $10

I look forward to seeing you there!!!

With Love
Jennyogini

New Yoga classes!

Greetings Everyone!!!

Just wanted to let everyone know that I have 2 new classes on the schedule! Monday I will be teaching over at Free Spirit Yoga Studios in Bixby Knolls. Its a gentle yoga class from 430-545. 

I am also teaching a class for the next 3 months over at the downtown Yoga World location from 530-645,FLOW.

Friday morning at the East West Ice Palace in Cerritos at 9am, Flow/All levels.

Also a couple workshops coming up this month, check out the events page for more information!!!

I look forward to seeing you there!!!

Blessed Love

Jennyogini

ZINE!!!

As usual I have many projects going on at once!! Which is always fun!!! Right now I have been working on creating a zine to go along with my moon pads and monthly full moon hikes. This zine was created with the intention to raise awareness about wombyn's bodies and how they are intimately connected with the different cycles of the moon. At the very end of the zine you will find a chart where you can follow your own menstrual cycle in relation to the moon.

Earlier this evening, Renee Tello Spencer ( who I've been collaborating with on the moon pads project) and I made little packages of eye pillows and Reusable pads stuffed in cute little boxes to sell for our upcoming events. This would be a great zine to go along with your kit!!! Especially for young girls coming into their moon cycle! They need this kind of education!!! Especially in schools!! I'm pretty sure they're not teaching this kinda stuff to young girls in middle school. The only thing they are learning is to stuff their bodies with birth control pills! There is another way!!!

We're also going to be selling kits and pads at the Everyday Zen Relaxation Studio in Bixby Knolls Long Beach. We're also planning to carry some at Native Sol in Downtown Long Beach. We need to start making more pads!!!

We've also started making Lactation pads for mama's who are breastfeeding. We are selling a pair for $5.

A special shout out to my little sister Kathie Ahn for making the cover page for the zine.Thank You!!! Tomorrow I will go to Kinko's and put the whole zine together for printing and packaging. I  love it when I can finish my projects! It is so full-filling! And I wouldn't have been able to do it all if it wasn't for all the help that I get! Thanks Ladies! And thank you again for all the womb-moon for the inspiration to continue doing what I love doing!!!

If you want a zine, contact me!!! Or find me at my next event and I will have one on me!!!

Much Love to you all!!!
Jennyoni