Yoga at the Highland Lake Inn, Part II

The Highland Lake Inn is pleased to announce a new ‘Wellness Week’ series for 2010 dedicated to  guests who are looking not only for a few days ‘away from it all’, but a program to take home for sustainable habit change and improved quality of life . BodyVision Health Coaching company has created a program exclusively for the Highland Lake Inn, all details are available just by clicking HERE.

Health Coaching, Stress Management, and Yoga will be the key features of the 2010 series. Below, specialist Jeanne Lurie shares a great introduction to yoga and her approach, based on 30 years of experience in the health world and a deep understanding of individual needs. Read PART II below…

Explanation of the different components involved in a kundalini yoga class:

Kundalini yoga or the yoga of consciousness is one of the most powerful and complete forms of yoga and considered to be the mother of all other styles of yoga. With the practice of kundalini yoga it is possible to attain health, happiness and harmony. Kundalini refers to the awakening of the energy of consciousness or the serpent energy found coiled dormant in the base of the spine.

Kundalini yoga consists of ancient kriyas or formulated sets of exercises which were passed down through the centuries and were brought to the west by Yogi Bhajan in 1969. Each kriya or yoga set is designed to target specific issues within the body by focusing on the individual systems or muscle groups. The kriya is designed to be performed in a specific sequence whereby the sum is greater than any of the individual parts. By consciously combining specific methods of movement or stretching (asanas), body contractions (bands or locks), meditation, mantras, hand gestures, (mudras)  and breathing (pranayama) this practice promotes amazing immediate results and lasting long term physical, emotional and spiritual benefits.

Asanas are stretches or physical postures designed to ease and release physical or muscular tension, as well as to activate different body systems such as the digestive system, circulatory system or nervous system. Body awareness is achieved by establishing communication between mind and body and the mind is silenced to prepare for meditation.  The asanas sistematically apply pressure on the intermal organs thereby improving circulation to these organs and achieving rejuvenation and renovation of all the body systems.

The practice of mantras is considered the “yoga of the mind”. A mantra is a word or a syllable or a phrase in one of the sacred languages like Sanskrit or Ghurmuki or sometimes in English, which elevates or modifies consciousness through its meaning, the sound itself, rhythm, tone and even the reflexology of the tongue on the palate. Mantras can be performed in a normal strong voice, or in a whisper or mentally or silently.

There are two things you can do to make the use of a mantra more powerful, regardless of how you recite. One is to see the mantra, as if it is being written as you say it (visualization), and the other is to actively listen to it as you say it.

Breathing or pranayama exercises are practiced to channel and direct the flow of prana and thereby alter consciousness and the physical state. The most frequent are long deep breathing, (calming and produces an automatic high) the breath of fire, energizing and detoxifying (2-3 breaths per second), alternate nostril breathing (left is tranquilizing and right is energizing) to create balance and harmony in the hemispheres of the brain.

Meditation involves the stilling of the rational, reasoning dualistic egotistical mind to allow the neutral mind to focus awareness on inner reality beyond intellectual concepts, and on outer reality beyond physical, earthly objects. Meditation uses many techniques to achieve this purpose, and produces a calm, sensitive, less emotional, alert, intuitive, effective, efficient and self controlled personality and an enhanced sense of being and consciousness.
Consistent meditation promotes inner peace, happiness and higher consciousness or transcending the limitations of normal consciousness.

One of the most important factors in maintaining a healthy body is a flexible spine. The yogis say that youth is determined by the flexibility of the spine, and old age is characterized by rigidity. When the spine is flexible, so is the mind.

Low back pain and upper back and neckaches are often caused by stress  and are some of the most common health complaints of adults. Poor posture or habitual postures are almost always at the root of back problems.
The best way to avoid backaches is to take care of the spine on a daily basis.
This kundalini program of simple postures and breathing exercises helps to give flexibility and strength to the spine and to the supporting muscle groups, it is ideal for preventing as well as for alleviating back problems.

Learn  how to apply these techniques at the Highland lake Inn Wellness Weeks program of 2010 and get the lasting changes you want in the lifestyle you lead.  To meet Jeanne and to work with her is a true experience and her education-based style will give you a toolkit to use for years to come.

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Yoga at the Highland Lake Inn

The Highland Lake Inn is pleased to announce a new ‘Wellness Week’ series for 2010 dedicated to  guests who are looking not only for a few days ‘away from it all’, but a program to take home for sustainable habit change and improved quality of life . BodyVision Health Coaching company has created a program exclusively for the Highland Lake Inn, all details are available just by clicking HERE.

Health Coaching, Stress Management, and Yoga will be the key features of the 2010 series. Below, specialist Jeanne Lurie shares a great introduction to yoga and her approach, based on 30 years of experience in the health world and a deep understanding of individual needs. Read PART I below….

YOGA
“Verily there is no merit higher than yoga, no good higher than yoga, and no subtlety higher than yoga; there is nothing that is higher than yoga!” Patanjali Upanishads

Yoga is considered to be one of the safest, quickest and most efficient ways of reducing stress, anxiety and nervous tension.  Thru the practice of yoga, one can achieve the integration and balance of the physical, mental and spiritual energies that enhance health and well-being.

The technology of yoga dates back several thousands of years, and is considered to be among the oldest known systems of health practiced in the World today, an ancient technology totally indicated as a means of reducing the ever increasing stress of modern life in the fast lane or in the age of technology.

Everyday more and more people are discovering and enjoying the many health benefits obtained from a daily practice, even just a short practice of 30 minutes a day can effectively create significant changes in one’s level of health, happiness and well being.

Stress is the number one reason for 90% of visits to the Doctor and is a principal factor involved in the creation of unbalance and disharmony.  The principal cause of disease is a lack of harmony between mind and body and yoga actually means the union of mind and body and union of the human body or microcosm with the universal body or macrocosm. When the body and mind are in harmony, creating a balance between movement and stillness, inner peace is experienced and an expanded state of consciousness can be achieved.

Kundalini yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan Ph. D. is the Yoga of consciousness. In this yoga form we systematically train our mind and attune our body to hold higher frequencies of energy.  Kundalini refers to the energy of our consciousness, our vital energy or our maximum creative potential as a human being.

As we enter the dawn of the Age of Aquarius, the practice of yoga is becoming absolutely essential for everyone as a means of coping and adapting to the higher frequencies of energy and consciousness.
“The evolution of consciousness is a universal reality. It is certainly wiser to prepare one self for awakening than to live in denial and try to remain asleep.” Yogi Bhajan Ph.D.

Yoga is a safe, simple and natural method to regain health and well-being and can be practiced by anyone, irrespective of age, health, life circumstances or religion. Thousands of medical studies have been performed confirming the benefits achieved from the regular practice of the physical postures, the breathing exercises and the meditation techniques in reducing stress, lowering blood pressure, regulating heart rate, and even decelerating the aging process.

Yoga helps at the physical level by giving relief from countless ailments, strengthening the body, and creating a sense of well-being. The breathing techniques calm the mind, nourish the body with vital energy, and effectively eliminate toxins. The meditation helps to reduce stress, anxiety and depression; it is the only activity which has been proven to lower the secretion of stress related hormones.

Meditation allows one to connect with an inner oasis of peace and calm and to hear the whisper of ones own soul. As the world becomes increasingly more complicated and invasive of ones personal space, it becomes increasingly more indispensable to learn to practice a meditation technique as a means of attaining inner peace, health, happiness and harmony and not to be overwhelmed by speed of modern life.

If more people on the earth spent just 10 min. a day meditating, without a doubt we would be able to achieve a world based on peace and happiness. Peace must begin within and then must spread in ever expanding waves to reach every corner of the planet.

Next week: Yoga at the Highland Lake Inn,  part II

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What is Health Coaching and How can it Help You?

A JOURNEY OF GROWTH

by Tatiana Abend and Wellcoaches, Co.

In these challenging times, when the complex health care system is tough to navigate, the demands of everyday life have never been greater. We face a bewildering array of health and wellness guidelines, products and services, making it difficult to create a personal formula. Change is challenged by obstacles such as resistance and ambivalence. Many of us have histories of repeated failure. Most of us do not believe that we can master our health and well-being. Becoming the boss of one’s own health is a complex matter!

Mastering health and well-being is a journey of personal growth, rather than the typical model of getting patients to comply with expert advice. Carl Rogers, a leader in humanistic psychology, taught us that human beings are innately designed to grow and develop. But there are certain preconditions. People are most successful at growth when they have a passion for the outcomes of change and they are free to choose it. In addition, these studies show that people grow best through relationships – growth promoting relationships that energize and inspire, while preserving autonomy and choice.

Today, patient interactions in the medical world primarily focus on numbers and deficits – blood pressure, LDL, alc, etc. – with little time spent building a relational dynamic that promotes personal growth. In other words, instead of selling the benefits of healthy behaviors, it is better to fish for the patients’ perspectives on the benefits to them. People are better persuaded with their own words and thoughts and, in almost all cases, resist being changed by others.

The coaching relationship is the growth promoting relationship critical for the future success of individual health and sustainable change. The emerging industry of professional coaching has, in the past 5 years, included health care as a field of specialty to optimize health and well-being, founded upon evidence based theories and fields. The health coach/client relationship includes: personal responsibility, self-awareness, self-efficacy, peak performance, personal growth and lasting change. Coaches dig out positive emotions, happiness, appreciation, and strengths from the noise and clutter in our lives.

How does this translate into a program for the client? While clients define and decide where they want to go and what they want to work on, their coaches direct the process to get there. The reason we want to get to the ‘top of the mountain’ is because something we care about in our lives is not going to be at its best, or not going to work, if we don’t have optimal health and wellness. Creating a Personal Health Vision, connecting to it on a deep level, and keeping the inspirational fire burning lead the client to the ‘best self’ at the top of this mountain, regardless of how the client has defined his ‘best self’. Coaches help people to be their best self!

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