The Wellness Event was a Huge Success! Thank you.

Thank you everyone who participated in my Free Yoga with Denise Wellness Event last Saturday, September 12th. The Divine Spirit of everyone who participated came together to create a very wonderful, magical and healing afternoon. The energy of the day was just so loving, giving, amazing,…and I feel honored to have been able to associate myself with so many angels right here on earth. This day of service to the community and sharing was even better than I ever imagined. You had to be there to really feel the soothing energy. It was more than my words can say, and the message of preventive health care was incredibly strong, not through conversaytions but through action. I am humbled, and I feel blessed. Thank you. I love you all very much.

Denise

RAIN DATE: A Free Afternoon of Wellness- Celebrating Preventive Healthcare

RAIN DATE:

(We were rained out on August 22nd)

YOGA WITH DENISE  /  An Afternoon of Wellness in the Big Apple

Saturday, September 12, 2009

NEW LOCATION:

Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew

263 West 86th Street  at  West End Avenue

We are migrating out of Riverside Park and into a nearby church alleviating another rain date should the weather not comply, and also alleviating the numerous restrictions placed on our non-profit organization & this event by the NYC Parks Dept.

Enter the Church on West 86th Street. We will be in the Community Room under the Santuary.

This is wheelchair accessible and has both men’s and women’s rooms right there.

NEW TIME:

2 pm – to – 5 pm

Booths promoting wellness  such as massage, nutrition counseling, meditation, free give-aways and more. Be part of a documentary film for health and preventive healthcare as part of the new healthcare reform agenda.

With a Free Yoga Class with Denise from  3 pm – to – 4:15.  Bring your mat.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

New Moves, Inc.  212-316-9457

newmovesny@aol.com

THE COMMUNITY WELCOME!   IT’S FREE!  IT’S INFORMATIVE!  IT’S FUN!

See you there…

 

A Free Afternoon of Wellness- Celebrating Preventive Healthcare

YOGA WITH DENISE

presents

An Afternoon of Wellness in the Big Apple

FREE YOGA IN THE PARK  ON THE HUDSON RIVER  @  W 79TH STREET

Riverside Park — North Lawn — West 79 Street

Along with booths promoting wellness such as

massage, nutrition counseling, meditation & and more…

SATURDAY – AUGUST 22, 2009   —–   12 noon -to- 3 pm

(rain date Sept 12)

and it’s all free

The community is welcome!

BRING YOUR MAT & SUNSCREEN AND BE A PART OF

A DOCUMENTARY FILM FOR HEALTH

PROMOTING PREVENTIVE HEALTHCARE

AS PART OF THE NEW HEALTHCARE REFORM AGENDA

For more information

info@newmoves.org

or

New Moves, Inc.    212-316-9457

Self-Esteem Facilitates the Immune System and Good Health

Energetic vitality requires self-esteem. With a basic trust in ourselves we can better face the unknown. We have a sense of self that does not fall apart when things go wrong, that can still maintain consistency in th face of challenge. For a healthy ego it’s OK to make mistakes. for a shame-bound personality, there is no room for err, and expansion is severely restricted. How can we reach and grow if we can’t make mistakes? And without growth, how can we develop a sense of our own power? When self-esteem is low, we have a paralyzing uncertainty where there should be confidence and power.

In the many years of my practice I have seldom found much correlation between high self-esteem and accomplishment. Often the people with successful careers, extraordinary looks, or loads of money had the lowest self-esteem. Those with healthier self-esteem seem to be the ones with fewer expectations and more permission to simply live. Those who treated themselves well, took care of their bodies, were connected to their feelings, and allowed themselves pleasure had higher esteem because they felt better. They filled themselves by attending to simple first and secons chakra issues. Feeling full, they felt confident. They had energy. their sense of self was less defined by external accomplishments because there was a tangible presence inside. conversely, if self-worth is high, we are more likely to take care of ourselves.

Anodea Judith

Skin, the Largest Sensory Organ

This is an excerpt from MY STROKE OF INSIGHT – a Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey by Jill Bolte Taylor, Ph.D.  (Ms. Taylor is a Harvard-trained brain scientist who experienced a massive stroke in the left hemisphere of her brain and then recovered).

“The largest and most diverse sensory organ is our skin. Just as our brain runs various circuits that think, experience emotion, or involve specific combinations of physiological reactivity, our skin is stippled with very specific receptors capable of detecting very specific forms of stimulation. As with our other senses, we are all unique in how sensative we are to light touch, pressure, heat and cold, vibration and pain. Some of us adapt more quickly than others. although most of us don’t spend much time thinking about our clothes after we put them on, some of us remain so sensative that our minds obsess over their texture or weight. I thank my cells regularly for thier ability to adapt to incoming stimulation. Imagine how preoccupied our minds would be all the time if we couldn’t.

Close your eyes and think about the information you are currently detecting from your skin. How is the temperature of the air? What is the texture of your clothing–soft or scratchy, light or heavy? Is anything pushing up against you–maybe a pet or a pillow? Just think about your skin for a moment. Cn you feel your watch, or your glasses on your nose? How about your hair draping on your shoulder?

From a therapeutic perspective, there is perhaps nothing more intimate than touch, be it physical connection with another human, a furry frined, or evne your household plants. The physical benefits of nurturing and being nurtured are priceless. Simply taking a shower and feeling the water splashing upon your body is a great way to jolt yourself back into the present moment. Feeling the pressure of the water against your skin, by taking a bath or playing in a pool, is excellent light pressure and temporature stimulation. Allow these forms of activity to lull you back into the here and now. Train yourself to pay closer attention to when your different circuits are stimulated. As you do, you encourage them to function.

Deep body massage is also great for a number of reasons. Not only does it help relieve tension in your muscles, but it also increases the movement of fluids in your cellular environment. The internal world of your body is how your cells obtain nutrition and clear their waste. I enthusiastically support any type of stimulation that increases their standard of living.”

The Benefits of Turning Your World Upside Down – Inversions

Inversions like handstand, headstand, forearm stand or shoulder stand not only help you face fears and look at the world differently, they also provide valuable medical benefits.

The following is from my YogaWorks Teacher Training Manual:

CIRCULATION: the heart has two pumping actions, one directs blood into the lungs to gather oxygen, and the other pumps oxygenated blood through the arteries into the nutrients. It then begins the journey through the veins carrying metabolic waste and carbon dioxide to eliminate through the kidneys and lungs. Waste too big to squeeze into veins is gathered in the lymphatic system. This waste transports excess cellular fluid, dead cell matter, and bacteria to lymph nodes, where bacteria is attacked and toxins neutralized. The pumping action in the lungs, which changes the pressure in the thoracic cavity, is partly responsible for pulling fludis back towards the heart. Muscular action pumps lymphatic and venous fluids as well.

Here are the benfits of inversions:

1- Inversions reverse the effect of gravity on the fluids of the body. The accumulation of fluids below the heart will, over time, weaken the elasticity of blood vessels, thus making it more difficult for them to pump blood back toward the heart and lungs. Inversions encourage this elasticity by varying the fluid pressure in the vessels themselves. Therefore, the venous and lymphatic systems in the legs are rested from their constant uphill struggle with gravity.

2- Relief and prevention of further deterioration with varicose veins.

3- Increase of fresh blood to brain and thyroid gland.

4.- Encourages the relaxation response and the release of endorphines from the hypothalmus, and then, quieting occurs to the neurons throughout the body.

5- digestive system, excellent for constipation and diarrhea.

6- Relief for and prevention of chronic sinus problems.

7- Venus return to the heart is enhanced.

8- Menstrual regulation gives relief from dysmenorrhoea (excessive flow) as the organ are “dried” so that congestion will not occur.

Here are the cautions:

1- High blood pressure, begin with forward bends, then supported postures.

2- Asthma, initially, headstand will increase adrenal activity and inversions are not advisable. However with steady practice they become therapeutic.

3- Eye problems, detached retina, glaucoma, anything that would suffer from the increased pressure is not advised.

4- Heart or stroke cases, to be approahed only with an experienced teacher.

5- Neck injuries, reverse cerical curve, herniated disc, osteoporosis all carry a big risk.

6- Temporary cautions, ear or sinus infection or congestion in the lungs.

Every Pose has a Purpose

In yoga asana practice, every pose has a purpose for for bringing the body into balance, and thus having physical and medical benefits. Some examples are:

TADASANA or MOUNTAIN POSE -  The template for many postures, in Tadasana we learn to understand many of the basic points in all the other poses. also imbalances in the body are easily identified.

PRASARITA PADOTTANASANA or WIDE ANGLE POSE -  Hamstring and abductor muscles are working and fully developed, while blood is made to flow to the trunk and head. It also increases digestive abilities.

UTKATASANA or FIERCE POSE -  removes stiffness in the shoulders and corrects any minor deformities in the legs. Ankles become strong. Leg muscles develop evenly. Lifted diaphragm gently masssages heart. Abdominal organs and back are toned. Chest develops by being fully expanded.

VIRABHADRASANA 1 or WARRIOR 1 POSE -  Chest is fully expanded to improve breathing. It relieves stiffness in shoulders, neck and back, tones the ankles and knees. It also reduces fat around the hips.

PARSVOTTANASANA or SIDE ANGLE POSE -  Relieves stiffnes in legs and hip muscles, and makes the hips joints and spine more elastic. Abdominial organs are contracted and toned.  Wrists open up and move freely. Correction of rounded or hunched shoulders. Creates balances and makes leg muscles stronger.

These are a few of hundres of poses designed to improve and maintain the natural healthy body.   –   Denise

High Blood Pressure and Yogic Relief

High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, happens when the pressure from blood pressing against the artery walls is too high. This causes the heart to work beyond it’s capacity, and in turn can lead to medical problems like heart attack or stroke. Some of the causes are stress, homone changes, too much salt or alcohol, and arteries hardening from activities like smoking. Symptoms can include dizziness, headache, blurriness or blackout. Through the years arteries which carry blood to vital parts of the body narrow, stiffen and obstruct organs from needed oxygen.

Yoga postures can sooth the system and relax arteries, or a student can be lead through postures for improved blood flow.When a practitioner in yoga class is held in a posture generally pressure is placed on a specific organ(s) to stop the blood flow, when the posture is released fresh oxygenated blood shoots through the specified organs to flush the arteries and area of this part of the body. This is one way yoga assists in cleaning, healing and improving the body’s health.       — Denise

Yoga and Good Health, The Mind-Body-Spirit Connection

When I was a young dancer we used to say: “A dancer with a heavy heart can’t get off the ground.” I have also heard it said in yoga:  ”A healthy spine is a healthy mind.” Many individuals are dis-embodied and do not make the connection of good health and the balanced or integrated anatomical system. one can observe this by the rise of obesity in the world. Dancers, yogis and martial artists very much live in their bodies and they understand the kinesthetic connection to good health. Efficient breathing habits, controlled focus, choice of foods, balanced human frame, physical activity…, it’s all connected to optimal health.

Yoga was created to free the mind of chatter and bring the body into balance, to move closer to individual liberation. Inner peace is one of the goals of yoga, and at the top of the list of factors affecting inner peace & good health is stress. When the stress levels in an individual are brought down through breath, meditation and asana (posture) practices, the the individual’s health then improves. Through poses which are held then released, organs are flushed with fresh oxygenated blood. People feel great. I’ve seen it happen a number of times.

One of the ways a yoga teacher guides the student through this process is by bringing the student into a pose and holding it for an extended period of time, and when various levels of discomfort arise, the student is lead by a breath count and focusing on each breath entering and exiting the body as they maintain the pose. What usually comes up inside a student holding the asana is the “fight or flight” syndrom. Ask any student, and they will tell you, as their heart rate rises, they either want the teacher to shut up because they don’t like them in the moment or they want to break from the pose and leave the room. By the teacher keeping them in this place and having them breath through it, over time it dismantles the fight or flight response, and practitioners find they become much calmer and content both inside and outside the yoga studio.

With this calmness and contentment come some of the endless medical benefits of practicing yoga. Blood pressure goes down, breathing capacity increases, and body becomes more fit and lean… Yogis refer to their frame sometimes as a body-temple. How you treat it, what you put in it, how you think about it, do you laugh with it,…all of this is important. If one views the balanced human being metaphorically as a piramid, the four bottom corners represent the balanced foundation of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual, with the piramid power shooting out the top point at the peak. A balanced human being is a healthy human being. Good health lives in the mind, the body, the spirit, as well as the breath.      –Denise

Yoga for Wellness & Preventive Health Care

If you want to feel good and improve your health just continue to attend a yoga class. Since I began practicing yoga the reports from my doctors for my annual health care visits are always generally in the excellent category.– excellent blood pressure, excellent heart rate, excellent cholesterol levels, etc.

On Saturday, August 22, 2009, here in New York City in Riverside Park at 68th Street, I am hosting an Afternoon of Wellness and Celebration of Preventive Health Care. I will teach a free yoga class and there will be many booths there with offerings like free massage, Reiki and nutrition counceling.

With our president and our government struggling with a new health care reform package, I want to bring awareness to, and educate the public, about systems like yoga at a time when we must take greater charge of our own health. These new alternatives can prevent illness and be part of a grand health care system.

Namaste,

Denise