A Summer Solstice Yoga Workshop: Yoga Belly/Divinely Guided Mind
On June 21st 2011, the Summer Solstice, the 1st day of summer nearly 20,000 hippies, Druids, Fey, yogis and sun worshippers will watch the sunrise in Great Britain's megaliths of Stonehenge. To this day, the sun does not fail to fall upon the Heel Stone, casting a lingering shadow on the morning of the Summer Solstice and again on the evening of the Winter Solstice.
My ancient Celtic ancestors called the first day of Summer "Litha." A short and sweet version of the ritual space's megalith name. I wish I could join them. I'll close my eyes and be there for a moment.
In celebration of what appears to be the sun standing still in the sky for 6 days prior to and after the Summer Solstice in addition to being the longest day of light for 2011, I will teach a healing yoga workshop called Yoga Belly, Divinely Guided Mind.
This workshop will focus on opening, clearing, toning and assisting the healing process of our 3rd chakra. In other words we are going to strengthen our bellies and loosen our lower backs to get us up and out this summer. See yourself playing volley ball on the beach, swinging a golf club, driving to your vacation destination pain free and doing whatever comes to mind for you regarding a youthful and healthy summertime.
What are Chakras?
Chakras are wheels of different colored spinning light energy that run along our spine and through our skull. Yogis, Eastern medicine practioners like acupuncturists, healers and Shamans refer to chakras as our subtle body. We have several of them and each energy center of light governs different emotions and behavioral patterns within our conciousness.
Our 3rd chakra, Manipura Chakra in Sanskrit, is a yellow mist of swirling light found at our sternum which is the area above our navel and below the center of our chest. The back gate to this center would be our lower back ribs.
Our 3rd energy center is said to be the area of our body where the sun's light comes into us and then funnels throughout our entire system. This sunny center is where our will power, ego and gut instinct is born. When this center is overactive we have thick repetitive mind patterns. We charge through our lives doing what we think we are supposed to do while never paying attention to our personal truth. When this center is under active we simply watch our dreams come true in movies and never in our own reality. The result of an unbalanced 3rd center is emotional eating, excess belly fat, digestive disease and lower back pain.
Regarding our abs and lower back..
Countless times I've heard students say off the mat "I love this teacher because they teach abdominal exercises." In a yoga physical practice there are only a few postures that target the abs. However if you learn how to inhale and exhale while activating your locks, in Sanskrit they are called bandhas, specifically your navel lock/uddiyana bandha, you will be able to to tone your core body throughout your yoga practice more deeply than doing gym style crunches.
Imagine, you can tone up your abs if you pay attention to your gut instinct's truth, your divine guidance and activate the subtle locks in your body while breathing in all yoga postures.
When: Saturday June 18th 3:30 pm 2 hours
This is the Saturday before the Summer Solstice. Focusing on our sun chakra at this time will be given extra power as we align our intentions with the sun's strongest day.
Where: Bamboo Moves Yoga Englewood, NJ
Exchange: $40 in advance $50 at the door
Please visit http://www.bamboomovesyoga.com/ or call 201 871 7000 to register
With this past Wednesday's New Moon and partial Solar Eclipse along with 2 more eclipses sandwiching the Summer Solstice on the horizon, practicing yoga together can be very grounding.
My weekly teaching schedule @ Bamboo Moves Yoga Englewood:
Tuesdays Basics 11:45am 1hr and 30min
Thursdays Basics 11:30am 1hr and 30min
