Mind Body

I co-facilitate an international retreat called Embody Your Soul Retreat which utilizes tools of yoga, meditation, and energy medicine. A daily practice includes a 30 minute vinyasa yoga class in the morning, followed by a guided meditation, and ending with a 90 minute yin yoga practice in the afternoon.
 
Transcript: "Every year I co-facilitate a retreat, an international destination of choice. Last year it was Costa Rica, next year it will be Mexico. But I co-facilitate this retreat called Embody Your Soul Retreat. And it primarily revolves around utilizing the tools of yoga and also meditation and energy medicine. When it comes to the daily practice, this is what someone can anticipate. First thing in the morning we will start with a 30 minute vinyasa yoga in order to wake up and to warm up the tissues first thing in the morning. Then we do guided meditation specifically around running various different energy systems within our body. And typically those meditations are guided. Then in the afternoon we come together in the afternoon in order to complete with another 90 minute yin yoga practice. So this allows time for integration with all the other additional tools. Please join us."
 Embody Your Soul Retreat

Yes, chair yoga can be just as beneficial for overall health and wellness as traditional yoga even if someone is not physically limited.
 
Transcript: "Can chair yoga be just as beneficial as traditional yoga for overall health and wellness even if someone is not physically limited? We do yoga for a variety of reasons and one of the reasons is to make space in us for us, to make space in our life for ourself, to make space in our body for our breath. And one of the harder aspects for many of us in yoga is learning to listen to our body as it is right here right now. So chair yoga, and let's be clear about what I mean by chair yoga, it's sitting in the chair or using the chair for support as you're doing standing poses. Those things are all beneficial for everybody, not just the ones who have special needs. All kinds of yoga matter."

In order to encourage more men to try Pilates, we need to market it specifically to them, emphasizing that it is not just for women and can be an intense workout. Additionally, stressing the benefits of injury prevention and recovery may be beneficial in convincing men to give Pilates a try.
 
Transcript: "How can we encourage more men to try Pilates? Well, that is a very good question. Pilates was developed by a man, Joseph Pilates. So I really feel that a lot of men can benefit significantly from Pilates. As far as the men that I train, most of them have found their way to Pilates through injury because they weren't able to do the activity that they wanted and that they heard Pilates was good for that rehab type of stuff. And then once that injury has become better, then they realize how beneficial Pilates can be in general with respect to adding it into their other activities that they do. And some men come to it because their wives have been doing it for so long and they decided to give it a try. And again, they find that it's a very good form of exercise for them as well. Again, it's very complimentary to a lot of other activities that people do like strength training and any sorts of cardio activity. I think we need to market more specifically to men in order to encourage them. A lot of times it's, you know, get the long lean muscles in the flat abdominal area. But I think marketing to men specifically will help to encourage them to take Pilates and have them realize that it's not just for women and that it can be a very intense workout for them as well."

Yes, climate and seasonal changes can have an impact on a person's health according to Ayurveda. To stay healthy in the summer, one should incorporate cooling activities, foods, and drinks into their lifestyle while avoiding ice. Ultimately, all of our choices make a difference and we should approach them with joy.
 
Transcript: "Can you discuss how Ayurveda views the impact of environmental factors such as climate or seasonal changes on a person's health? Because Ayurveda looks at everything as being connected, mind equals body equals spirit equals mind, and all of the things that are around us and all of our choices make an impact on our health. Yes, the climate has an impact. Yes, the seasonal changes have an impact. In a very hot summer, for example, we need to be choosing cooling activities and cooling foods and cooling drinks. Not, however, with ice for most of us because that works against our digestive fires. But it does have an impact. Everything has an impact, and all of our choices can make a huge difference. All that you do, do it with joy."

In Ayurveda, the doshas are constitutions or body types determined by a unique combination of opposing qualities. Everyone has all three doshas in varying degrees and percentages which helps to understand what we need in terms of diet, lifestyle, and sleep for better health and wellbeing.
 
Transcript: "Can you explain the different doshas in Ayurveda and how they relate to an individual's health and well-being? In Ayurveda, everything counts. And in Ayurveda, everything possesses opposing pairs of qualities in unique percentages. We humans have what are called doshas or constitutions or body types, mind-body types, and those are determined by the amount of each of those qualities within us. And each of us is unique in how those things are combined. If you have a great percentage of one type of qualities that makes you mostly a kapha, or you might be a pitta, or you might be mostly vata, you have, we have, all of the doshas within us, just in varying degrees and percentages. And so it's important to understand that we're not just one or the other, we are a combination of all of these things, and that helps understand what we need to eat, what we need to do, how we need to sleep. It also makes it challenging, and I will talk about each of these doshas in other videos as well."

In order to assess individual needs, I ask students questions and observe their practice. I then offer options so they can maximize their practice and make it as accessible as possible to them.
 
Transcript: "How do you assess the individual needs of students with injuries or limitations and adjust your teaching accordingly? My whole premise is to make all of yoga as accessible as possible to the people, the bodies that are in front of me. So I've taken to saying over the years that I don't really teach yoga, I teach people. I ask questions, I ask students to share their information with me. If it's one-on-one, I have a whole questionnaire of things for them to let me know about. In a class, I ask people to raise their hand to answer the question, are you taking care of your ankle or your foot or your toes or your lower back or your shoulder or your hands? And I look at them and I can see if they're out of balance, not all the time, but if something is really obvious. And I watch as they're doing the poses so that I can make recommendations for how they might approach it differently. Or I can bring a prop to them and offer it to them, never making anybody do anything because it's their practice, it's their body, and I'm offering options so that they can maximize the practice and make it as accessible as possible to them and they can then enjoy it because isn't that what it's for?"