Change the Way You Change

Eat more organic fresh fruits and veggies. Start each day with meditation and yoga. Drink more water. Think positive thoughts. Organize my desk. Add to my savings each month.

On the conscious path, we can always see the next change coming over the horizon in front of us. Once one area of our life shifts, another area rises up to be transformed. It is as predictable as the sunrise each day.

Living consciously encourages us to master the change process.

One component of mastering change is understanding how the environment around us effects our ability to successfully create and sustain a change. The phrase "you are product of your environment" holds true.

Lets consider why this is the case. The environment impacts our thinking. Then thoughts lead to feelings. And in the end feelings lead to action.

I am going to think different thoughts in a yoga studio than in my office. Which will lead me to feel and act in alignment with those thoughts.

Look around your life. How are your environments supporting your continuous conscious awakening as a yogi? Click on "Comment" below and anchor your awareness by sharing what you see.


Photo by: Jonathan Pozniak read more...

Check out what is making us laugh at Yogi Times Today!

I think we might become attached to Puppetji! read more...

Parents: Setting a Limits is a Gift!

In my experience, nearly every time I set a limit with Jack (4 years old), or Owen (2 years old), they get upset and express it. I have been seeing the limit as the cause of the upset! I have been thinking that what I am doing is in some way responsible for the emotions that start flying after the limit is set and enforced. I am dead wrong. What I have come to realize through reading and understanding how the human brain works is that the limit is not the cause at all. I'm so relieved!

Children who have unexpressed emotion(s) or are feeling disconnected in some way, end up with "broken thinking." They then start doing things that we like to call "acting out." Usually the result is a limit needing to be set to stop the inappropriate behavior.

So, here is the twist. "Broken thinking" and "acting out" are really a sign. The child is desperately looking for a place to express the feelings that are trapped inside them. And in many ways, the child ends up looking to us (parents) to create a safe space to express those feelings through the setting of a limit. Once the limit is set and enforced, then all those emotions come pouring out. The emotions probably don't even have much to do with the limit. They are more likely pent up emotions from something / somewhere else.

Once the emotions are expressed the child is then able to reconnect and think clearly. Wow! You mean that the limits I set are actually a gift? They give Jack and Owen an outlet for emotions that once released allow them to reconnect?

Have you ever resisted setting a limit knowing that emotions would start to come out once you did? Click on "Comment" below and share your thoughts & strategies. read more...

Golden Gate Bridge Benefit for Green Yoga

On Sunday, July 2 (I know, old news...but I've been out of town), Lululemon Athletica joined together with YOGAStudio in a benefit at the Golden Gate Bridge for the Green Yoga Association. It was a gorgeous day...made even more beautiful by all the smiles and wide open hearts of everyone present (at least a hundred of us!).

We walked out onto the bridge and chanted OM into the wind and sent prayers for the healing of the Earth, then we walked down to Chrissy Field and munched on yummy snacks. Peter Guinosso led us in a perfect yoga session under a big blue sky...complete with a live drumming soundtrack (back-up vocals provided by the football players in the field next door).

I felt so connected that day...to myself, my human family, the Earth and all its beings...it gave me hope and much inspiration. I realized that I felt stronger when I was with my community than I do when I'm by myself (duh)...how can we continue to bring more community to our yoga sangha? How do you stay connected? What gets you out of the house when Ben & Jerry's and the DVD player is beckoning?

photo courtesy of Gabriel Barkin read more...

Education Versus Energy

In the latest edition of Yogi Times Business, Jonathan Fields tackles the controversial topic of Valuing Teachers’ Education Versus Energy. At the risk of over-generalizing, a seasoned teacher has most likely studied yoga in India or with master teachers, practiced and taught for a long time and fully embodies the yogic lifestyle; whereas a newer teacher may have less expertise but provides a freshness and enthusiasm for the practice of yoga, infusing it with personality and physical agility. I fall into the latter category. Although I know that I have a lot to offer my students, if I compare myself to senior teachers, then I feel pangs of inadequacy. However, Fields provocatively examines who is bringing in more students and what type of teacher is worth more in terms of compensation and reputation from a studio owner’s standpoint. What do you value more, a teacher’s education or energy?
Photo by Jonathan Pozniak
read more...

We launched YT TV - first episode "Alter Ego"

Yogi Times has taken another step in its mission to provide the community with uplifting, informative coverage of modern healthy lifestyle with YT•TV, our new web TV offering. With YT•TV, visitors to yogitimes.com will be able to see behind the scenes footage of YT photo shoots, events, special exclusive interviews and interesting tidbits from our vibrant community.



Take a look behind the scenes of our special July/August fashion shoot titled, Alter Ego. You’ll see exclusive interviews with some of your favorite teachers. Also go inside Cisco Home where the Fashion Group International of Los Angeles (FGI-LA) presented a panel of green authorities offering their experience on incorporating sustainable business practices into their companies, inspiring others to do the same.

Click on "comment" below and tell us about your alter ego or what you thought of our first show! What other episodes would you like to see? read more...

what a wonderful world!

Launching a blog is not small business! Would you believe that there was an entire team who worked behind the scenes to take it from Friday afternoon small talk in the office to an actual fully organized, lively, colorful, technologically efficient BLOG! Well, at least so far so good. We are up to something really engaging, and inspiring with this Blog. You will soon be on the pulse of everything Yogi Times team is experiencing as a media source in this vibrant community. We will post our thoughts, visions, insights and questions...and we want to hear from you. Speak your mind! From your thoughts and engagements we will pull stories, news, and features that pave the pages of your magazine. Be part of it.... and yes, what a wonderful world we live in! Let's BLOG it! read more...

LOVE YOUR SMILE. MORE ON MSJ

One Day I just got it that the real goal of asana, meditation, visualization, chanting prayer or any other spiritual practice is My Sustained Joy, paramananda. Same with honesty, kindness, being of service or any other spiritual principle.

Speaking of honesty, Whatever I ever do for anyone else is really an attempt at sustained joy for myself. At some level. I believe that making you happy will make me happy. Acknowledging this basic truth is the beginning of honesty and the end of the victim/martyr myth.

But, you knew that. read more...

Allergy Symptoms Relief

Ah-choo! Itchy eyes, running nose, that nagging cough that won’t go away—sounds like it’s allergy time again.

One of my favorite natural treatments for allergies is a nutritional supplement called OPCs.

Try:

OPC Synergy- 1 to 2 capsules on an empty stomach per day, OR

Isotonix OPC-3 - 1 to 2 capfuls per day on an empty stomach

What are your favorite natural/yoga therapies for allergy symptoms?

~ Dr. Gina

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Someone asked what is OPC???

Great question! OPCs are powerful antioxidants several times more potent than vitamins C and E.

They're found mainly in the parts of foods that you remove before eating (e.g. grape seeds, peanut skins or lemon peels).

OPCs combat allergic reactions by blocking histamine without all those annoying prescription-drug related side effects.

~Dr. Gina read more...

That 'new paint' smell

The real estate boom over the last several years has turned nearly everyone in to some type of property investor. When I’m out in the field looking at properties one thing I notice is how responsive people are to the ‘new’ home smell or the ‘freshly renovated’ home smell, most notably caused by fresh paint.

What’s funny is that, that smell that we sort of love in a weird way, is actually a bad thing. That smell may be the smell of someone else’s DNA being painted over, giving us some sense of purification, but that smell is also the smell of our lungs being slowly poisoned.

The EPA says that indoor air quality is one of the top 5 leading healthy risks in the USA. Several of the leading causes for this poor indoor air quality are the paints, varnishes and solvents we use containing VOC’s. VOC stands for Volatile Organic Compounds and are key components in the composition of oil based and traditional latex based paints.

Exposure to VOC's in paint can trigger asthma attacks, eye irritation and respiratory problems, nausea and dizziness among other symptoms. Prolonged exposure has been linked to kidney and liver disease and even cancer. Oiveh!

Alternative paints have been coming on the market over the past few years and now present a well rounded, economical choice over VOC intensive paints. Check out this link for a comprehensive list of non-toxic paints and finishes. This site rocks!

EarthEasy

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MSJ, THE BOTTOM LINE

I start my Yoga classes by explaining that the goal of living (and Yoga) is paramananda or, MY SUSTAINED JOY (mine, because each person has to find it for themselves) . The fundamental human desire is really for as much joy as possible for as long as possible. Bliss, Nirvana, Samadhi, Peace, Stillness, Oneness, are all names for the same goal, MSJ, the extra- ordinary feeling that makes us glad we’re alive. Knowing that My Sustained Joy is ALWAYS the underlying goal provides a foolproof guide for making decisions and a standard for measuring actions and events. Any thoughts?

Robert, the Yoga and Spirituality Guy read more...