In the Spirit of Health

MY RESTORATIVE YOGA CLASSES

If you are in or around Sherman Oaks, join our RESTORATIVE YOGA CLASSES every Monday and Wednesday from 2 pm - 3:15 pm. Relax, Restore, Release Deeply Held Stress. Call our office for more information and directions at 818-915-1220. 

Chakras: The Importance of Balance

by Laurie Mazzarella

Ever wondered what a chakra is? You have probably seen the chakra charts with their different colors represented up the body. Chakras are not physical, yet the chakras interact with the physical. They are not emotional or mental, but the chakras interact with each of these realms. Chakras are best described as energy centers or, even, centers of consciousness. They are often described as spinning wheels that interact with the life force energy from within and from outside of us.

All chakras working together in harmony afford a person an ascending level of consciousness. If there are disharmonies in any of the chakras, there will be blocks to higher levels of thought and healing. One of the best ways to determine whether there are blockages is to examine our thoughts which often manifest in physical or mental ailments or dysfunctions. We are what we think. And, this is demonstrated in the harmony or disharmony of the chakras as manifested in our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual life.

While most people focus on the seven that run vertically up the body, there are many smaller, more precisely tuned chakras in the body totaling about 1,000. Our chakras   reflect our thoughts, feelings and emotions. They can be open or closed; they can be spinning fast or slow.

The seven chakras running up the center of the body are identified by a frequency with each chakra corresponding to a different frequency. There are colors, sounds, attitudes, gemstones, essence oils and even foods that vibrate to their corresponding chakra. For example, the 5^th, or throat, chakra vibrates at 384Hz. Since the 5^th chakra deals with, among other things, truth, anything that resonates with this frequency, will influence this area and affect our personal truth.

One of the best ways to balance the chakra frequencies is through meditation. By focusing on a particular sound or mantra, we affect the chakra that vibrates at the same frequency as the sound or mantra. Creative visualization is another tool to adjust an out of balance chakra. For example, the  6^TH chakra is associated with imagination and inspired communication. Practicing creative visualization strengthens the 6^th chakra like working out in a gym does for your muscles. Also, visualizing corresponding colors and chakras will strengthen the chakra that you are dealing with.  Using affirmations that relate to a particular chakra can also help the chakras to spin at their proper frequency. Movement can also open the chakras. For example, there are different yoga poses for each chakra that help to clear blocked energies. Breathing, or pranayama, is useful with meditation in bringing the chakras into balance.

Chakras close down or slow down when we have blocks in our thoughts and attitudes about whatever the particular chakra represents. In this case, the above tools can be used to help open or speed up the chakra energy center. When a chakra is out of balance, the Chi, or life force of a person vibrates below the appropriate frequency of that chakra. This can manifest as physical illness, mental dysfunctions, emotional disruptions or spiritual difficulties. The area or areas of your life that you think are not functioning well, whether they are physical, mental, emotional or spiritual usually points to chakra imbalances in the corresponding chakra. For instance, if you have an overactive 2^nd chakra, you may manifest this with poor personal boundaries, guilt, lower back problems or, even kidney problems.

Like any type of growth in life, chakras can be balanced at one point in your life and then become unbalanced if you have any crisis, trauma or experience where you need to change an  attitude, lifestyle factor or dispel a fear. Following is a brief explanation of each chakra and it’s corresponding associations.

First Chakra

Location – at the base of the spine

Sanskrit -  muladhara

Associations –  food and shelter, survival, safety, connectedness, tribal groups

Organs – reproductive, immune system, skeleton, bone marrow, endocrine gland: adrenal medulla

Element – earth

Color – red

Imbalance – chronic fear, paranoia, suspicion of the world, sciatica, depression, immune disorders, HIV, chronic fatigue, alienation

Balances – grounded, relation to earth, connectedness, belonging

Movement/Asana/Healing – warrior poses, mountain poses

Second Chakra

“Don’t get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water”  Bruce Lee

Location: 1” below navel

Sanskrit: Svadhisthana (dwelling place of the SELF)

Associations: creativity, procreation, emotional, sensual, money, passions, desires

Organs: reproductive, bodily fluids (blood, urine, tears), hips, sacrum, kidneys

Element: water; that flows and changes

Color: orange

Sense: feeling

Imbalances: fear of pleasure, out of touch with feelings, resistance to change, overly emotional, sexual addictions, poor boundaries, blame, guilt, money issues, constant entertaining, clairsentience

Healing: Being near water; being near the arts; getting involved in the arts.     Affirmation: “I am a money magnet and I attract abundance and prosperity into my life”.

Balances: creativity, money, change, able to flow and change without issue

Movement: pelvic rolls and circles, moving bridge, supported bridge, cobra

Third Chakra

Location: solar plexus

Sanskrit: manipura

Associations: self esteem, responsibility, personal power, self worth

Organs: liver, stomach, pancreas, gallbladder, intestinal tract

Element: fire

Color: yellow

Imbalances: power issues in jobs and family, recurrent ulcers, indigestion, heart burn, abdominal distress

Balances: healthy self esteem, dignity, respect, appreciation, belonging

Movement/Asanas/Healing: Abdominal exercises, plank, table top with alternate leg/arm extensions

Fourth Chakra

Location: center of the chest

Sanskrit: anahata

Associations: expansion of energy, unconditional love, giving and receiving love

Organs: thymus gland, heart, lungs

Element: air

Color: green

Imbalances: smothering, manipulative, excess guilt, easily hurt, depressed immune system, emotionally shut down, depression, withdrawn

Balances: compassion, healing energy for self and others, intuitive, empathetic, physically healthy

Movement/Asana/Healing: camel, bridge, savasana

 Fifth Chakra

“Truth resides in every human heart, and one has to search for it there and to be guided by truth as one sees it. But, no one has a right to coerce others to act according to his own view of truth.”    Mahatma Gandhi

Location: Middle of the throat

Sanskrit: Vishuddha (1^st chakra to focus on the spiritual)

Associations: faith, understanding, higher communication, speaking, hearing & listening, inspired communication, the poet, teach

Organs: thyroid, parathyroid, jaw, neck, mouth, throat, tongue, larynx

Element: ether/space (cosmos)

Color: sky blue

Sense: hearing, taste

Imbalances: neck and shoulders, jaw, throat, thyroid, fear of speaking, lack of authority, hearing problems, inability to listen, excessive talking, overactive thyroid, jealously, addictions, scoliosis, gum & teeth problems

Balances: able to discern truth vs lies, able to speak truth, able to speak up for needs, surrender to higher power, self expression, higher communication

Movement/Asana/Healing: neck stretches, plow, lion, inclined bound angle, chanting, singing, speaking, reading aloud (all affect cellular level)

Sixth Chakra

“To see a thing clearly in the mind makes it begin to take form.” Henry Ford

 “We are what we think, all that we are, arises within our thought, With our thoughts we make the world”.  Buddha

 Location: Center of the head in line with the brows

Sanskrit: Ajna – beyond wisdom or the perception center

Associations: center for clairvoyance, seeing your own truth, seeing energy, “bigger picture”, gain wisdom, see archetypically and symbolically, intuition, imagination

Organs: pituitary gland, eyes, head, lower brain

Corresponds to: “knowing”

Color: Indigo (bluish purple)

Imbalances: sinus trouble, headaches, living in your head, out of touch with intuition, judgmental thinking, criticism, hallucinations, difficulty in concentration, eye problems

Balances: “seeing things clearly”

Movement/Yoga/Healing: supported forward fold, eye exercises, shoulder stand, legs on the wall with rolls up and down, alternate nostril breath

 Seventh Chakra

Location: at the crown of the head

Sanskrit: Sahasrara

Associations: spirituality, oneness, harmony, guidance, wisdom

Organs: cerebral cortex, central nervous system, pineal gland, muscular and skeletal systems, skin

Element: Thought

Color: Violet

Imbalances: depression, scattered, genetic disorders, bone cancer, multiple sclerosis

Balances: higher consciousness, enlightenment

Movement/Asanas/Healing: mountain pose, tree pose, headstand, head massage

Meditation: “NG” sound, then get into Oneness, Harmony, Wisdom

This is just an overview of the seven main chakras. Keeping the chakras balanced means health in mind, body and spirit. It is also ongoing if you are to maintain the balance.

Namaste

Lighten Up the Season with Happiness

by Laurie Mazzarella

A couple of years ago, I had the opportunity to read a wonderful book by physician assistant and author, Blair Lewis. I had been thinking, searching and writing a lot about what happiness means to me and how I measure my happiness factor. Blair Lewis’ book, “Happiness the Real Medicine and How It Works” captured the essence of my search. He writes about how “happiness is our inherent nature”. It is inside each and every one of us! What then, keeps us from experiencing it fully?

Many of us search for happiness passionately. As a species, we invest a lot of time and money seeking it out. Whether we call it bliss, enlightenment or joy, we all want it, and we want more of it. Mr. Lewis’ book enlightens us to specific traits that happy people have. He also informs us of what specific blocks most of us have to experiencing these traits. Blair Lewis goes further by giving us specific natural tools that can help assist us through our blocks to happiness.

Blair Lewis takes us through his own journey towards happiness and shares a path that I expect most of us can personally relate to. Through his account, I was able to give structure to my own search. Additionally, since Mr. Lewis is a medical professional, he highlights the importance of happiness and its effect on the physical as well as mental and spiritual level. Holistic happiness! How much better does it get?

If you are interested in pursuing happiness or are wondering if you are happy at all, please read Blair Lewis’ book. It is inspiring, insightful and is sure to increase your happiness factor. If you know someone else who needs a little lightening up around this time of year, turn them on.

Start enjoying the light of the season. Look at the holiday lights. Enjoy the inspiration they bring and read this book. It will lighten up your search for true happiness.

Happy Holidays!

Intuitive Business Basics Workshop for Independent Yoga and Fitness Professionals

 by Laurie Mazzarella

Please note price change.

If you are serious about growing your business, join us this Sunday, October 17, at 1 pm - 4 pm. It will be an investment in yourself and your business. Can you afford not to be there?

If you are in the Los Angeles area and are an independent yoga and/or other fitness instructor, you might be interested in my upcoming workshop, Intuitive Business Basics, where I will be discussing creative ways to build a foundation for your business. We will explore ways to breakdown old mindsets about business as we generate personal Mantra Statements; some people still call it a Mission Statement. We will write a Vision Plan, or Business Plan. We will determine our niche market a and come up with out of the box ways to market. And, of course, there will be much, much more. It will be fun!

This workshop is scheduled for Sunday, October 17, 2010 from 1 - 4 PM. Cost of the workshop is $60 in advance or $65 at the door. It will be held at Golden Monkey Healing, 13259 Moorpark St., Sherman Oaks, CA 91423. Call 818-915-1220 or emai:l Lauriemazz@yahoo.com

$60 in advance and $65 at the door.

Upcoming Workshop for Independent Yoga and Fitness Instructors

by Laurie Mazzarella

Please note price change.

If you are in the Los Angeles area and are an independent yoga and/or other fitness instructor, you might be interested in my upcoming workshop, Intuitive Business Basics, where I will be discussing creative ways to build a foundation for your business. We will explore ways to breakdown old mindsets about business as we generate personal Mantra Statements; some people still call it a Mission Statement. We will write a Vision Plan, or Business Plan. We will determine our niche market a and come up with out of the box ways to market. And, of course, there will be much, much more. It will be fun!

This workshop is scheduled for Sunday, October 17, 2010 from 1 - 4 PM. Cost of the workshop is $60 in advance or $65 at the door. It will be held in the San Fernando Valley. I will have the exact location in a couple of days.

The Healing Power of Nature

by Laurie Mazzarella

Lately, all I have wanted to do is get deep into nature and experience the nurturing, healing effects of it. From my computer, I stare out a large window and see trees. I feel lucky. I walk my dogs in a neighborhood where there is a lot of grass and more trees. I feel calm.

However, I want more. I want the deep peace I feel when I am in the quiet of a forest. It’s there that I can actually “feel” the trees as if they are embracing me. I feel connected. I experience the rhythms of the natural flow of nature. It is healing. It is deeply healing for me.

Is this something that you feel? Are you more joyful, content and whole when you are in nature? Or, is this just my experience? I decided to do a bit of research on nature and healing, and here is a bit of what I discovered.

In her article, "Nature’s Healing Effects on Your Body and Your Mind", Jennifer Edwards writes about forest environments being advantageous to acute emotions, in particular, chronic stress. She makes reference to a Japanese study that was released by the University of Kyoto and published in Public Health. This study talks about shrinrin-yoku, or forest air bathing and walking as methods that reduce stress. In light of this, Ms. Edwards, writes that the study points to the forest as a therapeutic landscape. Additionally, Ms. Edwards relays that after 911 there was a gut instinct to connect with nature and heal as was evidenced by the record number of New Yorkers who sought refuge in parks and botanical gardens.

Another author, Singh Vineet, wrote an article for Ezine, the online magazine. The article entitled, "Effects of Nature on Our Mental Health", made note of how currently there are hospital therapy gardens and wilderness trips for various populations suggesting that when we are connecting with nature we heal. Also, this suggests that we have become urban creatures and that we are disconnected from nature. Vineet’s article further conveys that research from Netherland and Japan found that people living closer to the green of nature lived longer and enjoyed a healthier life. And, further, according to this article, a leading researcher in the area of nature and healing, Roger Ulrich, discovered those people recovering from surgery who had a view of nature from their hospital beds recovered more quickly than the ones who did not have a view of nature. All of this makes sense to me!

I know that the forest or a lush park imparts a feeling of peace and wholeness to me. It is as if I become so aware of being part of the rhythm of nature I lose my “stressed” self to a bigger picture. I am not separated from the broader view and flow of nature. I am undeniably an integral part of it, and I feel the unity. I am nourished and comforted. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter how I explain it or what anyone else calls it, I like it. I crave it. I want to flow with it.

Now, I’d better get myself into it!

I'm Not Flexible. Can I do Yoga?

by Laurie Mazzarella

I think I hear this remark more than any other when I tell people I am a yoga instructor. My answer, from now on, is going to be telling the story of my first yoga teacher back in the 70's. She told those of us in her class that her first teacher was in a wheelchair. More than just about anything I have heard since, this drives home that yoga is not just about being flexible in body. It is about connecting intimately to your body and mind. It is honoring the wisdom of your own body and not thinking you should look, in a yoga asana or not, like the person in front of the class or next to you. Yoga is connecting with yourself. As the story of the yoga teacher in the wheelchair demonstrates, yoga is not only something practiced by the movement of the body, but is just as much a movement and connection with the mind. Maybe it is more important to say that flexibility of the mind will help you practice yoga.

When I first started yoga, there was less emphasis on the asanas, or poses. My first classes took place in a darkened upper hall at a small church in Venice Beach. We not only did yoga asanas, we chanted, meditated and focused on breath, or pranayama. We went to class for the inner connection with hopes of further acknowledging the connection to something much larger than ourselves. We did this whether we were able to do a perfect full shoulder stand, forward fold or fish pose. We moved in a darkened room without music in hopes of increasing our awareness of ourselves. Sometimes I miss this kind of  yoga class where the emphasis was on going inward. I think they were less intimidating than the way we have class a lot of times now.

So, remember the story of the yoga teacher in a wheelchair the next time you think you are not flexible enough to do yoga. I believe almost anyone who wants to practice yoga can practice yoga. There are many variations and adaptations to the physical poses just as there are to the mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of yoga. Flexibility helps, but maybe flexibility of our mind is more important than flexibility of the body.

Loss, Grief and Changing Your Life

by Laurie Mazzarella

Letting Go and Moving On to New Opportunities

My heart has been heavy lately. I have let go of a lot of things in the past several years of my life. I continue to go through the grieving process, and I move forward. After the tears, the acceptance, the hope in my new situation, I am beginning to see new growth. But, it has been a painful ride getting here. By sharing my story of letting go, moving on and embracing change, I hope to inspire those of you who are going through loss (and thus change) whether it be job loss, marriage break up, foreclosure or anything that has forced you through painful change.

Because things are the way they are, things will not stay the way they are.
-Bertold Brecht

Things change all the time. We have the seasons that change. We change our minds, our jobs, our living space. Some of us reinvent ourselves, move away from home or decide to change careers. Of course, there are other changes like divorce, being let go from a job or loss of a loved one. All change requires that we let go of what we have become very accustomed to and leap, whether it be by choice or not, into territory unknown. We need to say goodbye to the familiar and hello to the new adventure. We suffer loss and grow as a result.

Saying goodbye to what we think provides us with comfort can be painful, but if we let ourselves move through the grieving process, it will be productive and we will change. There are at least five stages to the grieving process, and, actually, I have read models that use seven. Even though there is not a set pattern or order for any of these stages, it seems that most of us go through all of them at one time or another. So, if you are in a situation where everything is changing in your life and you are angry and depressed, it does not mean that you have skipped denial or bargaining, it just means that you are going through those stages first. Also, there isn’t any type of timeline for the stages of grief, everyone grieves in their own way and in their own time. Below, is a list of the stages.

5 Stages of Grief
1. Denial – This can’t be happening. Not accepting the loss/change
2. Anger – Blaming the situation or loss on ourselves or others
3. Bargaining – This stage finds us trying to delay the inevitable loss
4. Depression – Realizing the loss is realty and feeling powerless. May withdraw
5. Acceptance – It has happened. You can move forward from here

Even though, I rarely write about my personal life in my blog, I am going to share some things and how they relate to the grieving process and change. Two years ago I lost my father. Six months later, my boyfriend passed away. Several months later, a cockatiel that I had for 14 years was killed by two dogs. In the midst of all of this, I moved back to California after living out of state of 26 years. Not only did I lose people and pets close to me, I lost a particular lifestyle, career and familiarity that I had built up over 2 decades. When all of this was happening, I was in shock!! I did not want to deal with any of this. It was too overwhelming. I became numb with disbelief which was the denial stage.

Next, I blamed the loss of my boyfriend on his ex-wife and even myself for somehow not being able to forestall his death. Of course, none of this was really rational. I just needed something or someone to blame. I blamed the loss of my familiar living situation on the circumstances presented by moving from a smaller city back to a big city which I found difficult to deal with. The traffic was unmanageable. Dating was awful. My living space was too small. I was frustrated, critical of my new life and longed for my former situation which, of course, did not exist anymore. This was definitely the anger stage.

I did not readily let go of my ties to the state I had lived in for 20 years. I am only now, 2 years later, transferring my auto license and insurance to CA. I kept a “sometime” residence in my former state in case I just couldn’t move on. I had one foot in the past and one foot in the present not being able to fully let go and move on. This was bargaining.

Off and on for the last two years, I felt really down. I kept to myself a lot. Usually, a very social person, I found myself pulling inward, crying and not being very motivated. I was processing a lot and seemed to need the space to let things unfold and face the reality that two very important people in my life were gone, my dear bird was also gone and my life had changed radically. This time of sadness and withdrawal was the depression stage.

Finally, a hard look at the reality of my situation has forced me to accept the loss in my life, move forward, adapt and change. Only when I was able to fully let go of my life as it was, could I move on and open up to what life had in store for me. With every ending, a new beginning happens, and this means opportunity. Having been in a very high stress career before, I now find myself teaching yoga and enjoying it. I have reconnected with old friends and made some wonderful new ones. I am not totally “there”, but I feel like a new chapter has opened up in my life. The heaviness in my heart still appears now and then, but for the most part has lifted, so that I can truly see the light of change.

If your heart is heavy with loss and you are trying to make sense of your life and all the change, allow yourself to go through the stages of grief. Nurture yourself along the way and know that there is always light at the end of the dark tunnel and the change that is waiting for you can be a much brighter, more hopeful way of life. So, let go, trust that there will be a new beginning, and in your own time, move forward.

Sleepless in Studio City

Last night was one of those “toss and turn”, sleepless nights which prompted me to do a little statistical research on insomnia. Even though I only have a sleepless night rarely now, I have had difficulty sleeping on and off for as long as I can remember. Only in recent years, have I learned several ways to manage my sleep issues and not feel so alone with my intermittent insomnia.

About a year ago, I entered a sleep study at UCLA to help those of us who had gone through breast cancer treatment and were now experiencing insomnia. There appears to be a connection between breast cancer treatment and insomnia. I met a lot of people who were not meeting their minimum sleep requirements in this study. Additionally, a social worker friend of mine told me that most of her patients report problems with sleep. Why are so many people having trouble sleeping, and what can we do about it?

I have read several statistics on how many people have trouble with sleep (or lack of it). The National Sleep Foundation reports about 47 million adults have trouble sleeping. The National Center on Sleep reports an even higher number of over 100 million people have some symptoms of insomnia during a year. Some people are not sleeping because of medical conditions; others are awake because of stress; older adults and women subject to menstruation, pregnancy and menopause are also subject to experiencing insomnia. Whatever, the cause, we have an epidemic!

If you are one of the people with symptoms of insomnia that can include difficulty falling asleep, waking up frequently, irritability to name a few, what can you do? Begin by discussing your symptoms with your physician, then deciding on a course of action.

Part of your plan might include looking at your current sleep environment. In this article I am going to discuss some conditions that you may want to look into as well as some yoga asanas (postures) that you can do as a routine before bed to calm your mind and your body.

Turning first to your sleeping environment, make sure that your bedroom is quiet, dark and on the cool side. Limit your bedroom to sleep and sex only. No TV’s, computers or reading in bed. Since I can hear the din of traffic from my bedroom, I use earplugs to facilitate a quiet environment. Because I have windows on the east side of my bedroom, I bought “black out” curtains to help darken very early morning light. A few changes in your sleep environment,can help you move toward getting the sleep you need.

Another easy change you can make is to add a nightly relaxing routine. There are a number of ways to relax that you can do before going to bed to help your mind and your body relax. Among them are aromatherapy, meditation, guided imagery and yoga.

Yoga, alone or in combination with other relaxation enhancers, can help stimulate your brain which in turn can help with circulation reducing tension in your body. Below is a list of asanas that can produce a state of calm in your body and mind.

• Standing Forward Bend
• Supported Bridge
• Happy Baby
• Legs on the Wall

This is a partial list. I will be elaborating in future posts. I will also try to include directions on how to do each asana and how to organize a sequence that works for you. I would also include some pranayama with your yoga. One of my favorites is Alternate Nostril Breathing. I think you will find it very relaxing especially if you take it slowly and do it with awareness.

Sweet Dreams!!

Gentle-Flow Yoga Class in Sherman Oaks, CA

New Gentle Yoga Class starting Wednesdays in Sherman Oaks, CA.

I am teaching a class every Wednesday afternoon from 2 pm - 3:15 pm for people with fibromyalgia, chronic pain, active seniors or anyone seeking a gentle-flow yoga class.

We will meet at Golden Monkey Healing located at 13259 Moorpark (just east of Fulton), Sherman Oaks, CA 91423. Class is by donation with a suggested minimum of $5. Contact me for further information or to register at Lauriemazz@yahoo.com.

See you there!