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MAY~Maya
Hello dear friends and fellow yoga practitioners. We begin this wonderful month of May with a focus on the Maya (illusion) Kosha (body). From the ancient yoga texts these five
Maya Kosha that cover the light and consciousness within that never changes, are the physical body (Anna Maya Kosha), the energy body (Prana Maya Kosha), the body of mind and senses (Mano Maya Kosha), the body of higher wisdom (Vijnana Maya Kosha), and the body of joy (Ananda Maya Kosha). At the end of yoga practice we unwind and relax each of the Maya kosha systematically, from the outer to the innermost part of us. If we are new to the practice we may experience only one or two of the stages of relaxation but as we expand and deepen our practice we enter deeper into this labyrinth and return to the center where peace resides. As you return back to outside awareness you find that you have somehow changed, evolved, you feel more relaxed and your awareness expands into the world. As we connect to the peace within, we will find it all around us.
May is the month to celebrate our Mothers and the maternal nurturing side in all of us, female and male. Take time this month to allow your love to nourish yourself as well as others. If you are in need of a Mother’s Day gift, consider the gift that keeps on giving, Yoga! We also have a great selection of books, cards, and CD’s from Hay House that address all phases of living and dealing with the challenges of Motherhood, and we have the latest in Yoga attire from Be Present in this seasons colors and styles.
Here in Florida we begin to move into Pitta season. (For friends north you will continue to be in Kapha season until the days are consistently warm.) To maintain a balanced state of well being, we become aware of keeping the body comfortably cool. If your dominant dosha is Pitta this is especially important since the qualities of Pitta align with fire, they are hot, light, intense, penetrating, pungent, sharp, and acidic. To keep the body in balance you limit things with these qualities, such as stimulants and spicy foods, favoring sweet, bitter and astringent foods. You increase cooling foods and drinks, favor leisure, natural beauty and moderation. Exercise in the early morning or early evening, avoiding excessive heat or exposure to the sun. Never skip meals. When in balance, Pitta folks are warm, loving, contented, enjoy challenges, strong digestion, lustrous complexion, great concentration, articulate and precise speech, courageous, bold, sharp wit and highly intelligent! We love the Pittas of the world; they behold the fires of transformation and make things happen! Summertime is a great time to embrace change and move your ideas into reality! Let those Pitta fires burn away stagnation and create new opportunity in your life.
The new studio in Bonita Springs is flowing right along! We are still intending an opening in late July or early August. We have plans for new exciting classes, and workshops by nationally known and loved Yogis and Authors.
We bid a fond farewell to friends going north and look forward to your return in the fall. We will miss you. Keep up your practice (we have DVD’s of Joyful yoga Flow available for you to take with you if you have no studio that meets your needs) and feel free to contact us for any reason.
A warm Namaste, Tess and Jackie
The Boutique
As mentioned, we have the spring/summer line of Be Present Yoga wear available now. The colors are beautiful and if you haven’t tried them on you are missing out. In addition to being cute and comfortable, not to mention cool for the Florida heat, they maintain their new look even after numerous launderings, which makes them well worth the cost. If you need other sizes or colors we will be happy to try to order them for you but quantities are limited and the company has limited seasonal colors available, changing each season, get them while they last!
Spring Cleansing:
If you saw Dr. Oz on Oprah 4-26 you saw him demonstrate the neti pot. This is an ancient instrument used in many other cultures for thousands of years to cleanse the sinuses. This simple little pot, filled with warm water and special sea salt is inserted into one nostril, and with the head tipped over and to the side the water is poured through the sinus cavity, exiting through the other nostril. It feels great but more importantly, it removes the cause of sinus allergies, sinusitis (infection), improves sense of smell and enjoyment of food. (It is especially helpful to Kapha Dosha types with their mucous challenges.) Dr Oz actually made the statement that a good ENT Physician will recommend the use of this practice and eliminate the need for any chemical (drug) intervention as it removes the cause of the chronic problem. Nice that Dr Oz is into Yoga and Ayurveda (although he doesn’t mention it by name!) and is bringing it to mainstream America through the vortex of Oprah. YAY! If you are intrigued, you can purchase everything in the boutique. We have the Himalayan Institute porcelain pots and also hand thrown pots made especially for us by Joypots, and of course the neti salt. WARNING…once you start using the neti you may not want to ever stop, the instance and severity of the common cold will sharply decline!
Speaking of cleansing, we have a new shipment of tongue scrapers, both stainless steel and copper. And, like the neti, once you start scraping, there is no turning back. Not only are you removing the Ama (the sticky white substance that accumulates on the tongue and harbors bacteria that causes bad breath, and is the precursor to many digestive disorders), but you improve the ability of the taste buds to send the molecular messages to the satiation receptors to keep the body from overeating.
We also have a new batch of Joyful Yoga Mist in stock. It comes in 2 delightful fragrances, Spa and Garden. We also offer refills once you run out, recycling your bottle to reduce waste. Both made with a formulation of Revitalized, bioactive water and the purest essential oils. The new fragrance is a little more floral with the addition of Jasmine and Ylang-Ylang, and wonderful for Vata types. Both are suitable to balance all three doshas. One spritz of the Mist will allow you to move the body/mind into the calm, centered state that is achieved at the end of practice through sensory perceptive conditioning much like Pavlov’s dog. For those times throughout the day when you need a quick fix, this is a great way to reconnect to the feeling of Savasana with a few quick sprays to remind you to breathe.
Just as we have the habit of spring cleaning our homes as the season changes into summer, we should also cultivate the habit of cleansing our bodies, namely our colon, liver, kidneys, and reduce acidity (which has been found to greatly contribute to disease and deterioration of the bodily systems). In the same way we are sure to stay on track with regular oil changes for our car, we need to be even more conscious about maintaining our vehicle of life energy, our bodies! We only get one, after all! We have a new shipment of our favorite cleanse in store now, Colonix for the colon and parasite removal (not as scary as you think, actually quite gentle and non-invasive) and Toxinout, which is designed to remove heavy metals and toxins from the liver and kidneys, as well as balance the PH in the body, and replace healthy intestinal flora. We offer these at a $20 discount from the company website. Call or stop by the studio for details. 239-482-6677.
New Classes:
KIDS YOGA is finally back! We will start our summer kids yoga session on Tuesday, June 12th, at the Fort Myers studio. Ages 3-5 from 1:30-2:15pm and Ages 6-12 from 2:30-3:30pm. This will be offered in a 4-week session, pre-registration is required by June 5th. Cost is $35/$40. Parents are welcome to attend. Call Jackie to register 239-482-6677.
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