Mindful Monday: Mind Over Matter

Happy Monday, dear ones! We almost have January behind us! Super Bowl Sunday is coming up. Then Valentine’s Day. Spring is not too far behind!

One of my mantras during the winter season is: “I never get sick.” I say it at least once a day as people around me complain about being sick and tired. And ask me how many times I’ve been sick in the past several years. I NEVER get sick. I step in sweat people’s every day. I touch up to 100 people each day, maybe even more! I breathe in people’s carbon dioxide. I go from heated, humid classes to extreme cold temperatures. And I never get sick.

There’s definitely a power to verbalizing clear and precise intentions. When you do that, you set in motion the manifestation of your intention. This is why we start each yoga practice with intention. We merge the conscious with the subconscious. And then we act accordingly. When you speak an intention with conviction, trust and absolute belief, your subconscious mind takes notice and will seek out situations to align you with your wish or dream.

So you have two forces working toward success; your conscious mind is aware of your intention, so you will purposely do things to support it. For me, I’m aware of taking great care of myself. Getting enough rest. Eating properly. Staying hydrated. Observing saucha – cleanliness and purity. Practicing yoga to stimulate my lymphatic system and flush toxins. Creating an ideal environment for my immune system to do its job. Subconsciously, as well, my mind supports me. Naturally repelling me from the chronic sick and habitual complainers. And I NEVER GET SICK.

I recently tested this theory with my best friend and fellow senior yoga teacher Sarah Pogorzelski. For seven days, she had from one to three sick-as-dogs males home with her. Seven. Days. She was not only exposed to various stages of whatever virus or bacteria had infected her boys and her husband, but she was under increased stress caused from having to take care of them! Stress is the first thing that compromises your immune system! When you are stressed, your fight or flight response kicks in, and all of your body’s detox and repair projects are put on hold while your body responds as if it’s under attack. All hands on deck to fight the perceived threat.

So Sarah kept repeating my mantra: “I’m not going to get sick.” Her sons would questions her: “How do you know?” And “What if you do get sick?” But Sarah repeated the sacred mantra. She took care of them and met their basic needs. But she also took ample time to nourish herself and to get the proper rest her body needed. Normally when an illness would sweep through the Pogorzelski home, she would be the last one standing and then inevitably succumb to the illness.

But not this time! The power of the mantra worked for Sarah! And it will work for you, too! Whatever your mind can conceive, your body will absolutely without a doubt conceive. I can hear the wisecracks now: Well, I want to play in the NBA or the NFL. Who am I to doubt your dream? I know people who have accomplished seemingly impossible feats! My good friend George Hood held the Guinness World Record multiple times for longest time in a forearm plank. Diana Nyad was the first person EVER to swim from Havana to the Florida Keys without a shark tank = a feat she accomplished at the age of 64! After failing four previous times. When my dad was younger and living in his native country of India, he saw with his own eyes a yogi buried alive and dug out the next day – he hadn’t moved an inch! Or breathed a breath! And yes, he was still alive! My dad Prem would be so happy to share this story with you – just let me know and I’ll arrange it.

Bruce Lee says it best:

“If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.”

Happy Happy Happy Monday, dear ones! What will you manifest for yourself this week?

Mindful Monday: Samadhi

Happy Mindful Monday, friends! Wow have we been blessed with some beautiful spring-like weather these last few days! Such is nature and such is life, right? We never know what’s coming our way – well, sometimes the weatherman does actually get it right! – all we can do is make the very best of whatever life brings us.  Our yoga practice keeps us in tip-top shape physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually – so that we have all the tools that we need at our disposal to truly seize each moment as it arises!

We’ve been covering Ashtanga yoga – the eight limbed path of yoga. Below is a quick recap of the previous seven limbs that we’ve discussed.

1. Yamas – the guidelines for social behavior: clean your home
2. Niyamas – self-disciplines: reverence for your home
3. Asanas – yoga poses: start to settle into your home
4. Pranayama – breath control, life energy: animate your home
5. Pratyahara – the withdrawal of external senses, to rest in your home.
6. Dharana – immovable concentration of the mind
7. Dhyana – perfect contemplation of mediation

Dhyana sets the stage for Samadhi, which means harmony, “to bring together, to merge.”  Here, subject and object merge as one. This eighth and final stage of yoga brings on super conscious awareness. One loses a sense of “I” and enters this Samadhi state where the meditator, the process of meditation and the object of meditation becomes one. Samadhi is actually a series of states and experiences. Yoga Sutras describes various types of samadhis. One has to go through the different types of this Samadhi experience. Finally the practitioner reaches the highest stage of illumination called ‘Dharma Megha Samadhi’, which liberates the practitioner from all limitations of body and mind.

This identity without differences is a liberated soul that enjoys pure awareness. The mind and the intellect have stopped and there is only the experience of truth and unutterable joy. Which is the ultimate aim of our yoga practice.

Dear friends, wishing you a lovely week filled with mindfulness and increased awareness of all things.

Annica! Annica! Annica! Be happy! Be happy! Be happy!

Mindful Monday: Happy MLK Jr. Day

Happy Mindful Monday, friends, yogis, deep thinkers and not-so-deep thinkers, too! 

Most of us have the day off today – from work and our children –  from school. Except us yoga teachers and staff. Yoga doesn’t take federal holidays! 😂

But how many of us truly know exactly WHY the third January of the month is a federal holiday? We all know Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous speeches right? And that he was a champion of non-violence. We may know that he gave his very life for his beliefs in racial equality, freedom and justice. 

Today we celebrate the life and legacy of a great American whose inspiring words, vision and the way he lived  continue to uplift us.  He taught us through his example — the values of courage, truth, justice, compassion, dignity, humility and service that so radiantly defined Dr. King’s character and empowered his leadership. On this holiday, we commemorate the universal, unconditional love, forgiveness and nonviolence that empowered his revolutionary spirit.

Many of Dr. King’s beliefs and morals mirror the teachings of our Yoga Sutras. His steadfast belief in non-violence aligns with our very first Yama – ahimsa. 

Dr. King dedicated his life to the service of others. And we practice yoga specifically to strengthen mind, body and spirit precisely to be of service to others off of our mats. 

We commemorate his guiding principle of unconditional love and equality for all. Dr. King’s great dream of a vibrant, multiracial nation united in justice, peace and reconciliation mirrors the highest ideals we seek when we step on our mats. Yoga becomes the great unifier for us all. It doesn’t matter what your racial, economic, political or social status and beliefs are when we practice moving together,  breathing together, focusing in the same direction, sharing energy as we all move to embody our highest and best manifestations. 

Today, let’s practice yoga together in honor of one of our greatest leaders. If you can’t get to your mat today, make a personal committment to serve and uplift humanity in some small way – karma yoga.  Or practice your breathing while stuck in line or in traffic. Meditate for five minutes today. As we elevate ourselves, we cannot help but to elevate humanity. Move with love. 

Mindful Monday: January Blues

Happy Mindful Monday, friends! We’ve made it through our first week of 2017! Yay us! We’ve wound down the holiday season and kicked off this new year with a huge bang! As this momentum wears off, and we move back to normalcy and our safe and steady routines, we segue into the real JANUARY – long, dark nights; cold, dreary days; post-Christmas blues and the “letdown” from the newness of it all.

Things don’t seem as shiny and exciting. The reality of this long, cold month really begins to set in. I hear so many friends and yoga students complaining of lethargy, grumpiness, stress, low-energy, insomnia, sluggishness … yup, there it is the January Blues! And when we are feeling low and rundown and uninspired, our immune systems are compromised, and it is very likely those suffering from the blues will catch a bad cold or even the flu.

Well, I have to ask … didn’t you feel this way last year as well? I know I did! And it’s no wonder! I’ve been eating and drinking like a rock star for at least the past month! Oftentimes we do this to ourselves! What goes in, must always come out.

So what are some ways to beat the blues?

1. Practice POSITIVITY! As soon as you hear yourself go into autopilot to bitch about how cold it is, just remind yourself, “Well, no duh! it’s January in the Midwest; there’s really no surprise there!” When I used to teach 6 a.m. sculpt classes, I would try to appreciate the stillness and beauty of those 4:30 a.m. mornings rather than the earliness of the hour or the temperature outside. Many days it took some work as I struggled to leave the warmth and comfort of my bed, but as it slowly became habitual, (no pun intended there) it was easier and easier!
2. Practice GRATITUDE! While that may seem like a trite phrase that every single yoga teacher on this planet throws around, it truly is such a huge key to finding contentment and happiness! When we focus on all of the blessings we do have, there is that much less time to complain about what is lacking or what we don’t have! Even though it may be freezing outside, can we appreciate the sun as it shines? Or the fact that we are not sleeping outside in the cold weather as many do!
3. Speak only of HEALTH, WELLNESS and PROSPERITY. What we speak out loud tends to manifest itself! We all know those chronic complainers who talk about how sick and tired they are all the time, and guess what? They are constantly sick and tired all the time!
4. Surround yourself with positive, happy people! You know where you can find a lot of them? Yup, you guessed it – at a yoga studio! Or a health club. Or any other place where people gather to FEEL GOOD. And nothing feels better than shutting your crazy brain off for an hour and MOVING YOUR BODY! We won’t even talk about all the feel-good hormones that are released that instantly lift your mood! Just think of it as MAGIC.
5. SLOW DOWN. Take your cues from NATURE. Many parts of nature are DORMANT during this time. Don’t feel guilty about hibernating on your sofa for an evening or even an entire weekend doing something to soothe your soul! Binge watch your favorite show! Or find a new one – I have some recommendations, if you’re looking for a new one! Inbox me.
6. January is the perfect time for a DETOX or a CLEANSE. Find something to PURGE. You can clean up your diet. You can tap out of social media for a few days. You can clean out your kitchen cupboards and pare down to the essentials. The daily DECREASE of STUFF is so good for the mind and spirit as well as the body.
7. Focus on OTHERS. Be very cognizant of those who seem to be in a January funk – reach out to those persons and help to lift their spirits!  Surprise them with one of your YBD guest passes! Or buy a random stranger a cup of coffee or pay for their meal. Help out at a homeless shelter or your local food pantry.

Let’s remember the concept of ANNICA – the impermanence of all things in LIFE. The weather; our desires and temptations; feelings, thoughts, emotions; circumstances and conditions are all subject to rising and falling. This thought allows us to maintain an equanimity of mind knowing that soon things are bound to shift. Let’s learn to enjoy each fleeting moment, including the cold and dark ones, for they remind us that we are blessed with life and with breath.

Annica! Annica! Annica! Be happy, my friends!

 

4 Week Shred is back in 2017!

Looking to spark a change? Be happy. Be strong. Be healthy. Be free from what holds you back! We have a few spots open for January 2017 Shred! You will work with fitness instructor Teresa & nutritionist Susan to fit a customized plan for your life! Call or sign up at any location for an informational call to find out more & start the ball rolling to finding the you – you know you can be!

4 Week Shred is back in 2017!

Our successful 4 Week boot camp program starts January 8^th in Western Springs. Don’t miss this amazing opportunity to get customized nutrition coaching, meal plans, and workouts! This is the first step toward achieving your health and fitness goals! Whether you are trying to kick start your weight loss, increase your fitness levels or live a healthier lifestyle the 4 Week Shred will set you up for long-term, sustainable achievement. Make 2017 your best year yet!

What is 4 Week Shred?

4 Week Shred is a food and fitness program designed to support, educate, and motivate. We will meet once a week on Sundays for a boot camp workout and nutrition workshop.

Program Schedule: January 8^th – January 29^th         

Sundays 1/8-1/29

3 pm to 5 pm Nutrition Workshop and Boot Camp Western Springs YBD

Due to the customized meal plans, nutrition workshops and coaching from the Shred Leads, we will have to limit the number of participants!  Secure your spot today!

Components:

• Customized meal plan written by Registered Dietitian (RD), Susan Rizzo
• 4 Nutrition workshops with opportunity for Q+A with RD
• 4 HIIT boot camp classes customized for maximum results
• Customized workout plan
• 1 month unlimited yoga and yoga sculpt at ANY 6 YBD locations
• Support from fellow Shredders and leads
• Food and experience journal
• Hard work and life changing RESULTS!

 

Pricing:

Yoga By Degrees Members: $150- includes 4 HIIT boot camp classes, 4 nutrition workshops and customized meal plan

Non-members: $275 – includes 4 HIIT boot camp classes, 2 nutrition workshops, customized meal plan, one month unlimited yoga and yoga sculpt classes at ANY YBD location

Email Teresa at 4weekshred2017@gmail.com for any questions you may have!

Are you ready to sign up? Enroll online, in studio, or over the phone at any YBD location by 

January 7th!

 If you want to read about a Shredders experience in April, please follow this link https://breathesweatsmile.wordpress.com/2016/05/11/4-week-shred-success/

 

Who are the leads?

Susan Rizzo, RD, LDN, CDE

Registered Dietitian

Susan has been a Registered Dietitian (RD) for over 30 years. She is passionate about the value of good eating and exercising for its role in health. For the past 15 years she has enjoyed educating clients as nutrition counselor and diabetes educator for AMITA Health-Alexian Brothers. Over the years she has been involved with various weight loss programs including Weight Watchers, the YMCA and The Solution Program.  Recently she has advised clients involved with The Daily Herald’s Fittest Loser competition. Susan holds certifications of training in Adult and Pediatric Weight Management with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Her expertise in nutrition has helped many clients individualize their food choices leading to improved weight and health status.  She is dedicated to educating people with the tools needed to self-manage their weight and meet health goals. A long time believer in the powers of physical activity she has enjoyed a variety of pursuits throughout her life including running, walking, yoga, tennis, ice skating, soccer, biking and dancing. She raised 4 children and is sensitive to the needs of busy lifestyles.

Teresa Larem

Yoga Instructor/ Yoga Sculpt Instructor/Shred Facilitator

Teresa has always been a lifelong athlete, starting with soccer in kindergarten and continuing with tennis, basketball, softball, track, yoga, dance and rock climbing. If it’s active she likes it! Teresa discovered Yoga sculpt in 2013 and has been in love ever since due to the intensity, fun and results she has received from sculpt and fusion.  She began teaching Yoga in 2014 and soon followed with Yoga Sculpt in 2015 and has recently helped train the latest group of teachers at YBD. She loves teaching sculpt and fusion because she loves to have fun and motivate people. She truly believes that being active is the key to a long and healthy life and hopes to make working out fun for her students. Her other hobbies include soccer, CrossFit spin, walking her dog, reading, and yoga.

JANUARY POSE OF THE MONTH: SIDE PLANK

Side Plank, Vasisthasana

Have you set an intention for the new year? If you’re like many of us, you may set resolutions in January but by the following December realize they haven’t come to fruition. Often times that happens because we have big, audacious dreams but forget to put into place the mechanisms to achieve these goals. Big dreams start small. So today, think about your final goal and then dial it all the way back to the daily or weekly things you’ll need to accomplish in order to get there.

Perhaps this year you work towards a strong vasisthasana (vah-sish-TAHS-anna), side plank! This is a terrific posture to focus on because it’s accessible at all levels of practice; it’s modifications and variations are nearly endless! You can start with your bottom knee grounded for more support, as you feel more comfortable you may choose to stack your legs, and ultimately you may decide to float your top leg up to challenge your balance. Just like goals outside of the studio, there’s little steps you can take along the way to reach your final destination. Give it a try today!

To find your side plank:

• Press your left palm into your mat
• Shift weight to the knife edge of your left foot
• Stack your right shoulder over the left and reach your right hand to the sky
• Engage your bottom tricep
• Draw your low belly in and up
• Strengthen into your thighs and keep your legs active and engaged

Playful modifications and variations:

• For a grounded modification, drop your left knee to your mat and stack it directly below your left hip for support
• As you feel more stable, firm into your right leg and hover it parallel to your mat
• If you’re feeling playful, then this can be taken all the way to your Wild Thing by dropping the ball of your right foot behind you and spiraling the barrel of your chest towards the ceiling

Benefits of vasisthasana:

• Strengthens your arms, core and legs
• A great posture for your wrists as it both strengthens and stretches them
• Improves your focus as your balance is tested

“Nothing happens without focus. Don’t try to do everything at once. Take it one step at a time.” – Dave Ramsey

Meet Loukia, YBD Teacher of the Month

Meet our first Teacher of the Month of the new year! Loukia has such an amazing story of transformation and following your heart. After leaving her career as a high school administrator, she completed her teacher training with us at YBD and has been inspiring students ever since. We are very grateful to be part of Loukia’s road to happiness and are grateful she shares her joy with our YBD community!
Monday

6am, YBD2 95°-Western Springs

Tuesday

6am, YBD1 95°-Naperville

Wednesday

4:30, YBD1 85°-Elmhurst

Friday

4:00, YBD1 85° & 5:45, YBD2 105°-Downers Grove

Saturday

12:00, YBD2 95° & 1:30 Restorative-Western Springs

When and how did you come to yoga?
I began regularly practicing yoga in 2011 when YBD in Wheaton opened. I had a number of physical ailments so I thought yoga would help. I was also looking for a way to reduce stress from my role as a high school administrator.  The heated studio felt detoxifying and relieved my stress after a long day of work.  The candles of the dimly lit studio exuded an aura of calm and it was a rare opportunity for quiet time in my day. I found yoga to be physically challenging with the added benefit of challenging me mentally every time I stepped onto my mat.  As I began to move in and out of the poses in the vinyasa flow classes, my body began to feel alive, my mind began to quiet, turning my negative self-talk into positive, self-love.

Why did you start teaching yoga?
I experienced a series of losses in 2014 and practicing yoga healed me from the inside out. Being on yoga mat helped me heal and come to terms with all the pain of my loss and grief. In 2015 I decided that if I could help even one person feel better and find peace through yoga, then training to be a yoga teacher would be worth it for me. I completed my training in the fall 2015 and have been enjoying the journey of being a new teacher this past year.

What is your favorite pose?
My favorite pose is tree pose, vrksasana. The essence of tree pose is to find balance. However, in tree pose you might sway, like a tree does in the wind but your foot stays rooted in to the ground. Allowing myself the freedom for my body to move and find its balance while I visualize still being rooted into the earth allows me to find acceptance of my body and my life in that present space and moment. Balance is something I work really hard at on and off the mat so I love tree pose because of that!

Who inspires your teaching?
My own yoga teachers have been my inspiration.  I’ve been blessed to have caring, kind, and compassionate yoga teachers and realize the impact a teacher can have on students every time they step on the mat.

Tips for beginners…
Learn to live in the uncomfortable.  You will inevitably find your first class challenging and a bit awkward and uncomfortable as your body moves in and out of the various poses.  Learn to live with that uncomfortable feeling of a beginner because everyone at one point or another was a beginner, even your yoga teachers!

What’s your favorite quote?
Life is a balance of holding on and letting go.

Mindful Monday: New Year, New YOU

Happy First Mindful Monday of 2017, yogi friends! It is truly a blessing that we have an opportunity for a crisp, clean, beautiful slate! The truth is that we ALWAYS have that opportunity – each morning we are reborn. Each new breath carries with it pure potential. Yet the symbolism of a brand-spanking-new, squeaky clean year for a fresh start is simply irresistible!

Often times, it is not the daily increase, but the daily DECREASE where you find significant growth. More than 100 of our YBD teachers and students have participated in my 21 day reset detox over the past four years, and many have described this experience as life-changing. I’ll be leading it once again from our Wheaton studio this month. Continue reading, if you are at all interested in uncovering a brighter, shinier, leaner, healthier and more vibrant version of YOU in 2017.

Why a detox?

We will be removing five potentially harmful substances from our diets in order to observe the deeper levels of our unconscious minds and uproot deep-seated complexes, patterns and fears. We will reveal a deeper sense of clarity within and break from the habit of instant gratification.

Removing these substances will create space to observe a deeper connection to the role food plays in our lives and how it affects us. You will have the opportunity to break from artificial stimulants and depressants and return to the natural rhythm and flow of your body. Ending the vicious cycles of spikes and drops in your blood sugar levels and self-indulgence followed by self-flagellation.

The human body is a brilliant living organism that has the intelligence to heal and rejuvenate itself. This cleanse will allow you to identify and to eliminate your common cravings and triggers – releasing yourself from stale habits and moving you toward a higher level of wellness.

It takes 21 days to shift your tastes and cravings and start to respond to healthier, simpler foods. Your blood sugar will balance out as you are freed from old addictions.

Over these 21 days, you will be performing a hard REBOOT of your habits and routines surrounding food. It is most interesting to see what happens with those substances we cannot “live without” (morning jolt of java, day drinking, evening glass of wine?) I challenge you to LET GO and see what happens. Can you transcend your petty attachments? Aren’t you stronger than your desires? What is it we are covering up with food?

The process will be key during the detox. What comes up? Emotions, struggles, triumphs – you will begin to see exactly how food has affected your moods, body, mental state. You will uncover emotional attachments to food – do you reach for a cookie when you’re unhappy?

This process is a GIFT to yourself and to your body. Removing processed foods and alcohol gives a break to your liver and kidneys; your body will release stored junk (toxins, emotions, habits). You will experience more clarity about yourself and within your relationships as you begin to confront your own defenses and barriers.

Please remember that we are working toward progress and NOT perfection! If you’re ready to jumpstart your path to a healthier body, clearer mind and a deeper sense of conscious awareness, then this cleanse is definitely for you!

ANYONE can do this cleanse for 21 days. It is medically unassailable, and you will literally feel your body and mind vibrating from their highest levels. But it is definitely not for EVERYONE. This cleanse is HARD WORK. You will be forced to your uncomfortable edges. It is a way of living and eating SIMPLY for 21 days. Where MINDFULNESS reigns in every moment of your day. How much are you willing to WORK to begin to truly unlock your POTENTIAL?

Sign up at any of our YBD locations or online! We will meet Sundays 3- 5 p.m. in our Wheaton studio on January 8, 15, 22 and 29.

Wishing you and your family a new year filled with happiness, good health, success and prosperity!