Thoughts, beliefs, perceptions and your health
Ann Bowditch

http://guernseyhypnotherapists.wordpress.com/2014/03/01/thoughts-beliefs-perceptions-your-health/

Glastonbury Detox & Spiritual Healing Retreat

Glastonbury Detox & Spiritual Healing Retreat has left all 13 of us attending on such a natural high that I feel pretty confident we will be coming back for more. 

Difficult to put into words quite the 'unique experience' we all shared. Described by one as 'being in the 'parallel universe' and another's response on arriving home was 'I'm finding it hard to describe to my family quite what we experienced, my description just does not conjure up the atmosphere!'

We arrived on Friday in time for our first vegan lunch, an incredible array of vegetables and salad. Even though I'm vegetarian, I never realised how different and varied going vegan would be. No dairy products, no wheat or bread and no stimulants including onions, garlic and chillies - only pure Sattvic food. I felt amazing and the difference was that my body felt much stronger by day two. I noticed this in my yoga postures and also noticed a loss of water retention (as well as a headache) not drinking coffee - a revelation and felt much better for giving it up too!

Friday evening we took part in the kirtan call and response chanting for two hours - quite incredible and fascinating. Never believed I'd end up chanting 'Hare Krishna', but we all got drawn into the hypnotic buzz of the crowd and simply following the sanskrit chant. I think they realised we were new to this and kept the script to Hare Krishna - as you can hardly go wrong with few words!

We got to experience first hand the path of the Bhakti yogi - the branch of yoga which denotes the spiritual practice of fostering loving devotion to a personal form of God. Yogis who develop this branch express and develop tolerance, acceptance and love for all living things. Life on the ashram and life in Glastonbury offered us more than we had bargained for and left a lasting impression and a deeper connection and understanding on what the true purpose of Yoga is all about.

Mandalas for Meditation

Mandalas ("circles" in Sanskrit) are sacred symbols used for meditation, prayer, healing, and art therapy. Clinical studies have shown Mandalas can have several healthy effects: boosting the immune system, reducing stress and pain, lowering blood pressure, promoting sleep, and easing depression.

"[Mandalas] are archetypal manifestations of higher consciousness" (Dr. Deepak Chopra, quote from: Divine Forces by Paul Heussenstamm).

Imagery is a form of meditation that helps exercise the brain's right side, which processes imagining and feelings; while the brain's left side is specialised in logical thinking and analysis. Mandala meditation will bring your brain's two sides in harmony and will create a different state of mind where Alpha waves are predominant.

January PowerYoga Detox finishes on a high...

Early Morning PowerYoga & Detox finished today with the best smoothie yet:  Nature's Red Bull (see recipe below...)

The one hour sessions (0700 to 0800) have included a blend of Meditation, Pranayama & Yoga postures, all aimed at detoxing and cleansing the body. Results have been amazing and this is what some of my PowerYoga students had to say about it:

• "I feel much better getting up early, having a quiet start to the day and doing the exercises.  The breathing is particularly beneficial, my abdomen is flatter.  The more gentle sun salutations are great for me first thing as I am at my most stiff at this time of day and find the more strenuous yoga too much so early."
• "I felt refreshed after yoga in the morning and my body ached in a good way- showing I had done something so didn’t feel lazy and stiff! It also made me more aware of my posture whilst sitting at my desk and generally made me feel healthier after having the goodness from the smoothies."
• "Felt I have far more energy than I did at the start of the week.  I feel energised and balanced (the opposite to over Christmas without doing yoga). As well as doing my normal yoga classes, this seems to have doubled the benefits and I'd definitely recommend to other students. It has got me back to my pre-Christmas fitness in just over a week. And I have been able to get deeper into some of the moves than I ever have."
• "I felt happier going to work rather than my usual get out of bed late and rushing there not really in the mood as I had got up and done something for myself beforehand."
• "I have noticed a couple of health-related things: Firstly my breathing is a whole lot better. Everything else also feels better / looser. My back doesn't ache, my shoulders feel better - all good really! I've also started making smoothies for myself at home!"
• "Felt better in myself, more energy, more flexibility and a sense of achievement!"
• "I had a lot more energy and felt very awake when I went into work. I was a lot more productive work wise throughout the morning. My digestive system felt a lot more cleansed after all the exercises and twisting. By the end of the week I had definitely noticed that the bags under my eyes had reduced quite a bit!"

The feedback has been amazing and I feel so pleased to have been able to offer these sessions. The idea came from what I thought would be useful for people before work - to kick 2014 off to a great start. 

Needless to say, was ambushed at the end of class today by students requesting to continue these early morning sessions - Tuesdays and Thursdays specifically, so keep a look on the website for more details coming shortly....

Natures Red Bull smoothie recipe (makes .5 - 1 litre):

Ingredients:

1-2 cups seedless grapes (red for a nicer colour)

1-2 strawberries

1 slice of pineapple (with core)

1 small slice lime (with peel)

1 small slice ginger (with peel)

1 cup ice

Method:

Put all the ingredients into the blender (this recipe is for a Vitamix) in the order listed and secure lid.

Select variable 1. Turn the machine on and slowly increase the speed to 10, then to High.

Blend for 60 seconds or until smooth.

Hey presto !!

Budokon Yoga - Monday nights 6-00 to 7-30 pm - Come along prepared to work, sweat & play...

BUDOKON YOGA takes place on Monday nights from 6-00 to 7-30 pm at the Yogic Arts Centre.

Anyone looking for a 'challenging' yoga practice - to take you out of your comfort zone both physically and mentally, this is the class for you!

Budokon is a mix of Yoga, Martial Arts and Meditation and also incorporates animal movements to refine our own.  We work on power, precision, agility, balance, grace and control.

Take a look and see what we do...

Sunday 26 January:  Yoga for Health & Vitality - a healing yoga practice

This-morning was the final session of four taking place throughout January on Sunday mornings. The theme of these "Forrest" inspired yoga workshops was looking at the balance between our physical, mental and emotional health and how the three cannot be separated if we desire total health. To understand emotion, we have looked at the 3 layers of the brain and recognised the 'limbic' system is fully developed by the time we are 3-5 years old. Primarily concerned with survival, the limbic system is emotionally reactive and incapable of making thoughtful decisions. Breaking free from this hijacking requires us to make new neural connections and patterns through mental conditioning.

Caroline's workshops focused on specific areas of the body, namely shoulders and hips, where we tend to hold most of our pain and struggle and looked at what needs to be done and shifted to take away the tightness and struggle from our yoga practice, through recognising our emotional triggers.

Ana Forrest (below) is the creatrix of Forrest Yoga and the author of Fierce Medicine. If you call yourself a 'yogi' and haven't read this book, it is a masterpiece and essential reading. Caroline was fortunate to undergo an Advanced Teacher Training with Ana in the summer last year, along with another 40 advanced teachers from all around Europe. An awesome experience and she adopts "Forrest" yoga into her classes at every opportunity.

Welcome to PowerYoga Guernsey blog....