Question:  Do yogis make new year resolutions, or do they just practice being present through the holidays, or is it as individual as each student’s practice? In the spirit of consciousness, is there actually one answer for this question? I’m considering setting an intention for the new year, just the way we do in class.

Terry

Hey Denise, I just started yoga and I dig your class. Its so cool. You are awesome! Kevin

As we discussed in this mornings class at YogaWorks,  although the holiday season is a time to celebrate, to gather with family and friends, and to contemplate gratefulness, it can also be a time filled with stress. One way to slow down and feel less pressure is to find small moments to sit quietly alone and focus on your breath, Short periods of meditation (practiced for thousands of years) can help one become more centered, grounded and calm. It can also assist one in finding authetic inner peace and to appreciate the true blessings of the season. I sincerely hope you and yours have a very Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and Joyful Kwanzaa full of love, laughter and endless blessings. Guardian angels, I believe, certainly do walk among us.  Happy Holidays to all, xoxo- Denise

To all my friends and fellow yogis:

My current schedule has left me with no time to blog recently; however, beginning with the fast approaching Thanksgiving holiday, I wish everyone and their families a miraculous holiday season filled with endless blessings. Thanks so much for all I have learned from you and all you have generously given to me. I love my family. I love my friends. I love my dance and yoga associates. I am truly blessed and I want you to understand you are blessed too.

With gratitude,

Denise

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:

(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…

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

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

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.”

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.