Health Tips

Yoga, Stress, and the Vagus Nerve

I have a confession to make. When I hear science confirming what yogis have known for a long time, or at least what I know to be true from my experience, I get really happy inside! Fortunately, this happens a lot these days since much more research is being done about the benefits of yoga. And that science shows that yoga practice works in ways other kinds of exercise does not. Things we do in every yoga class such as asana, pranayama, and chanting soothe and tone an important nerve in the body called the Vagus Nerve. Scientists are beginning to understand this fascinating cranial nerve which travels throughout the body and responsible for the relaxation response. When you are in constant stress your sympathetic nervous system never has a chance to switch off. This creates low vagal tone and brings depletion to your body making it feel like life is more difficult to manage. But healthy vagal […]

Yoga Is “Sensational”

I have been using the word “sensational” in class a lot lately. Not in the traditional meaning of “very good or great” – well that is partly true. When I say “sensational” I mean “lots of sensation” which IS actually great. Even when you perceive the sensation as uncomfortable. Let me explain. The body can have sensory motor amnesia. That means that some muscles forget how to work. This often results in using another muscle too much or inefficiently. In many cases this bio-mechanic disfunction is the cause of chronic pain. Pain is actually a great tool. Its purpose is to help you and let you know that something is not right. As a yoga practitioner it’s helpful to learn to discern injurious pain, which your don’t want, from the beneficial pain of strengthening, stretching, or waking something up from this amnesia. I dislike the word “pain” for that beneficial sensation you get from your yoga practice. So now you can call the intensity from an exercise or posture “sensational!” Truth be told, there is […]

Yoga, Your Brain, and Stress

The research keeps pouring in about yoga and why it has such profound benefits on your health. Here are the cliff notes about yoga, your brain, and stress. You have two parts of your brain that deal with stress. There is the emotional part and the cognitive part. The emotional brain triggers stress and turns on the fight or flight response. But the cognitive brain has the capacity to turn off the stress switch. When you hold a yoga posture you are busy concentrating and trying to balance. This turns on the cognitive brain and switches off the stress response. Some postures naturally activate the cognitive brain and turn on relaxation. While other postures actually turn on the stress response, you know the one’s that are difficult and leave you feeling anxious. Because you are focused on practice the difficult postures simply provide a challenge for your cognitive brain to work extra hard to overcome the stress signal. Like a muscle the cognitive brain gets stronger over time and it […]

Alkalize Your Body

Acidity is the cause of chronic inflammation and the root of most disease. Here is an easy way to reduce inflammation and acidity in your body and improve your overall health. When you wake up brush your teeth first thing. The organs release toxins while you sleep that end up in your mouth and are harmful to swallow. Some of you might already do a practice called “oil pulling” and/or use a tongue scraper first. After your mouth is clean, squeeze the juice of one lemon into a 16oz. glass of warm water and drink. Stay hydrated with warm or room temperature water throughout the day and add lemon when you feel like it! Here are some of the benefits of lemon water: Balances pH Lemons are one of the most alkalizing foods for the body. Lemons contain both citric and ascorbic acid, weak acids easily metabolized by the body […]

Fall Reboot + Recipes

In Ayurveda it is common to eat a simple diet of kitcharie and vegetables each fall and spring for about a week. This helps to remove toxins from the body and give it a chance to find balance again. Even though I have done this many times in the past, this year I missed my spring time cleanse and have been very reluctant to do it. I like to enjoy the pleasures of life, especially when it comes to food. Though I eat really healthy, I dislike limiting or restricting myself. Despite my resistance I began a reboot for my system a few weeks ago with the intention to do it for one week. I felt so good that I continued on a second week, and now I am on my third week of eating simply, though I am slowly adding variety back into my diet. I am so thrilled I did this for myself. I feel more vibrant than I have in […]