What feels better than loving your work-out, really achieving results, and feeling better before, during, and after your practice.  It is truly what brings me back to my mat over and over, and continuously renews my love for life.  I have studied and practiced yoga for 20 years now.  I have never been happier or healthier physically, emotionally and spiritually than during these 20 years of study.  Yoga is a mental and physical practice that will improve and cure the mind of life’s aversions and afflictions, instilling peace, tranquility and deep calm if practiced regularly.  Yoga actually took over my life time gym membership.  I don’t remember ever not exercising, because I just love it. 

As an avid athlete in my teens/twenties I accumulated injuries from gymnastics, water & snow skiing, in-line skating, kick-boxing and high-heels that left me now achy ankles, knees, hip and low back.  Even my yoga asana practice was becoming a challenge, one that left me sore and achy.  Arthritis was setting in, weakening the joints and causing chronic pain.  My core strength was suffering because of 3 pregnancies in 4 years.  I was sick from NSAIDs, physical therapy was not helping, and I didn’t like the thought of pain-killers, cortizone injections, hip or knee replacement (not yet, way too young).  I seriously feared for another 40 years of suffering in this body that I had pretty much destroyed in the first 30.  But the solution has been the precise mixture of yoga, pilates, and traditional ballet. 

This is the ultimate combination of 3 disciplines honoring the body/mind/spirit to heal and strengthen naturally though movement.  You don’t have to have ever had a class in any of the the three, don’t be intimidated.  Although it isn’t easy, it is simple.  Equipment requirements: a yoga mat, light wrist and ankle weights, the back of a chair.  The real medicine, the real beauty is in the specific choreographed sequences, that targets core strenght from the knees to the solarplexis.  We use pilates to deeply strengthen the core, the body as a free-weight creating long beautiful yoga poses, ballet technique ,and integrated weights to further sculpt and strengthen the shoulders, arms, booty and legs.  These specific sequences are also naturally a pain-reliever.  Strengthening creates a natural anti-inflamatory for the body that  relieves pain and swelling while burning up to 600 calories per session increasing muscle density and mass.

This practice is universally good for women and men who either want to strengthen, lengthen and define their already atheletic bodies, like runners, or distance walkers, weight lifters.  Or to an individual getting back into a fitness regime, post pregnancy, recovering from illness, injury or surgery. 

Lisa Tokarz, ERYT200 and founding director of the Yoga Studio of Shelby has worked in the fitness industry for 20 years.  She is a graduate of Walsh College of Accountancy and also worked in the financial markets during the great bull markets of the 1990′s training executives in market data and IT.   Her family lead her further down the path of fitness through the discovery of yoga, which fulfilled a hunger never quite fed through other adventures.   Lisa has studied with the foremost teacher’s from around the world including His Holiness the Dali Lama, John Friend, Sharon & David, and Sri K. Pattabis Jois.  She has incorporated these teachings in all areas of her life with joy and success and wishes to share her knowldege during a time when healthcare and related costs are at an all time high crisis level.

Check out her classes, Tuesday through Sunday at The Yoga Studio of Shelby.   Located on Van Dyke Ave. north of 21 Mile Rd. Shelby Springs Plaza. Click on Classes/Class Schedule for the complete schedule of classes.  Namaste’

Our yoga teacher’s will be downtown at the Compuware campus, studying with Anusara’s Founding Master, John Friend the weekend of March 19-20, 2011.  Our teacher’s are required to study advance continuing education every year to keep their credential’s and knowledge cutting edge.  Please join us at The Yoga Studio to get the most out of your yoga practice as we bring you the evolution of yoga asana based on the Universal Principles of Alignment.  Yoga to heal your body, mind and spirit.  Peace.

Eight Limbs of Yoga

Yama (Self-Control: how to treat and care for others)

Ahimsa (Non-Violence: protecting all living beings, making life safe for others, practicing kindness, consideration)

 Satya (Truthfulness: think before you speak, remain silent if the truth would hurt, do not speak unnecessarily)

 Asteya (Non-Stealing: do not take what does not belong to you, do not waste another’s time, do not tell confidential information, save on non-renewable energy)

Bramacharya (Mastering Relationships: form relationships based on understanding, respect others relationships, practice moderation and self-control)

 Aparigraha (Non-Possessiveness: take only what is necessary, let go of attachments to things, don’t hoard, don’t be greedy, give away what you no longer use)

Niyama (Commitments: how to treat and care for ourselves)

 Saucha (Cleanliness: keeping your environment clean, eat healthy, encourage positive thinking)

Santosha (Contentment: be grateful and happy with what you have and who you are, realize everyone has struggles and accept and move through difficult situations with grace)

 Tapas (Daily Practice: keep the body fit on a daily basis, eat only when hungry, regularly pay attention to breath)

Svadhayaya (Daily Study: read something inspirational, become centered, get to know yourself better)

Ishvara Pranidhana (Surrender to Higher Power: let go of false sense of control, become attuned to God’s will)

Asana (Physical Poses: move the body everyday to improve strength, balance and flexibility)

Pranayama (Breath Control: to cleanse, strengthen, increase energy and improve health)

Pratyahara (Withdraw From External: letting go of outer distractions, turning inward)

Dharana (Focus: concentration, train the mind to focus without distraction)

Dhyana (Fixation: uninterrupted flow of concentration to see the Truth)

Samadhi (Perfect Meditation:  Begin to see your life improve, imbued with more love and deeper connections to yourself, your loved-ones and ultimately all humanity)

On Thanksgiving morning I was reminded of the sadness and dispair that still exists in everyday life.  In between the publications of our beautiful parades and treasured football games and in anticipaton of our excessive yet greatly appreciated meal was an equal reminder of the pain many of us suffer through the Holidays.  Through the repetitive commercials on depression and anxiety and the promise that perscription drugs will fix the problem.  Couple that with the list of possible side-effects ranging from sexual side-effects, blood disorders, abnormal bleeding, seizures, lymphoma, thoughts of suicide and death as a possible result .    I decided to research the statistics and found alarmingly that depression accounts for roughly 18% of our country’s chronic diseases, and that it would be the 2nd most common dis-ease GLOBALLY.  I also learned that anti-depressants, much like anti-biotics aren’t working as well, thus the doubling of drugs to help bridge that gap the anti-depressants miss.  I am not negating the need for anti-depressants through this post, I know many people who have had positive results, and many more who have not.   Just simply pointing out that these should not be viewed as a life-long solution.  (Can you imagine taking mind altering drugs for the rest of our lives?   That makes me sad.)  We suggest lifestyle changes for the long term solution. 

So what are the options, where do we start?  Wait for it……. Change your insides, and begin to see improvement over the next 6 weeks.   By the introduction of specific thoughts that change our body chemistry.  Did you know that our thoughts cause our bodies to secrete hormones, we can’t help it.  If you change your thoughts, you change your body chemistry, you can’t even stop it from happening.   And it happens immediately.  Certain behaviors change us, too.  And that’s a FACT.  I remember when my yoga teacher, Michael Johnson, began talking to me about these ideas years ago.  I truly thought, “PLEASE tell me the thoughts to think, teach me the behaviors. I’m in!”  The deepest transformation of my life began…..and absolutely NO HARMFUL side-effects(affects).  Just a natural Bliss and Peace that ran to the core of my body, and eventually became my natural state of mind.  Oh yes, plus the sore muscles (that were more lean and defined) from deepening my yoga practice, reminding me I was not only getting happier, but healthier inside and out.   My own waves of panic and anxiety began to lift, replaced by moments of happines, love and joy so intense, it would scare me sometimes…lol

Begin a yoga practice with a qualified teacher, and the beauty is, with committed and balanced effort it just starts happening, naturally.  Everyone is now contemplating the New Year, the start of something new…rather than giving up something this 2011, add something instead.  Add the element of lightening-up.  Get rid of anxiety and depression (it’s a symptom not a disease) by taking control of your mind.

Start with this:  Begin to contemplate Love and Kindness towards yourself and others.  Think of how much you really love your life, even if there is sadness or struggle.  Think of how much we love our families, friends and community.  Think of how we would all like to see more kindness in the world.  Then, rather than waiting for more love and kindness to come to you, be the  lovingest kindest one.  Even if you are faking it a little at first, shovel it out to everyone,  especially yourself.  Cut some slack, see perfection in imperfection…take time for yourself.   Take a yoga class at The Yoga Studio in Shelby Twp., or any of the amazing studio’s on the east-side, Santosha Yoga (Chesterfield), Bodhi Seed (Mt. Clemens), Body Mind Studio (Richmond), and the west-side’s Red Lotus Yoga and the new Yoga Planet (near The Village). We are all here to change the face of anxiety and depression, to irradicate it, to make it a thing of the past..NATURALLY

Lisa Tokarz, ERYT200 and Founding Director of  The Yoga Studio of Shelby has been a constant dedicated student of yoga and Dharma for 18 years.  She has 5,000 hours of teaching experience that extends over a 10 year career as a yoga teacher and life coach.  Her playful, uplifting and sometimes silly spirit teaches her students that REAL happiness exists inside all of us.  “We learn how to groom and nurture our mind and body from the inside out, like a gardener tends to a field, he prepares the soil, that is where the richest transformation comes from.  We cannot continue to live the way we are, hoping to change the outside and ignoring or medicating the inside, it simply doesn’t work that way,” says Lisa, “and that’s a FACT.”  Peace

It’s so easy to be nice to the easy people.  Throw a smile at a stranger, a co-worker, a neighbor.  But have you ever tried to be nice to the difficult people?  Why are they so difficult?  And why do they seem to show up in our families, on the road in front of us?  Because they are in the most pain….if you remember that people don’t really want to be difficult, then  it becomes an act of compassion.  If  we understood that every difficult person had an ache or pain in their body or mind, maybe we would be more gentle, maybe we wouldn’t be defensive, or offensive.  Maybe we would try to heal their pain.  Maybe we would say, “I’m sorry, let me help you, what can I do for you, I really want you to be happy, what do you need, let me help you.”  If we looked at every being as if they were our child, would we have more patience? 

If we looked at others as if they could be our friend, would we be more kind?  Would we try to help ease their pain?  That is compassion….that leads to our own bliss.  Every time we try to heal the pain of others, we heal our own hearts. We lift our spirit.  Have you ever tried it? 

Tomorrow, tell a loved one how important they are, especially the difficult ones.  Tell a stranger they look nice.  Let a car get in front of you, and then be patient if they drive below the speed limit.  Slow down, look in someones eyes, listen before answering.  Feel someones pain with out pity.  Shed tears of joy.  Live in the moment.  Because the present moment is a gift…..that’s why it’s called present…..

What’s your eat, pray, love?  Hmmmmm, eat?…gotta be the infinite supply of giant chocolate chip cookies on Silent Retreat last weekend. Pray?… for peace every day, and please stop the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.  Love?  My amazing husband and partner, my kids, my cat….all the beautiful people practicing & teaching yoga at the Yoga Studio of Shelby.   Find out your eat, pray, love with a yoga class at the Yoga Studio of Shelby.

Why Even Explore The Essential Study of Yoga?

Many people are interested in the secret teachings of yoga to achieve greater health, and then be further inspired by them to achieve personal and professional goals.  The Essential Study of Yoga is a complete and comprehensive practice utilizing the teachings from “The Essential Yoga Sutra” (the crux or main book of yoga) in order to do just that.  “We also study yoga poses (asana), breathing techniques (pranayama) and other “outer” practices, such as nutrition, supplementation, and sleep.  As well as, the “inner” practices, like Yamas/Niyamas, Sanyama, meditation and many of the “tantric” or secret teachings of yoga.  The information in this 6 month study prepares a strong foundation of yoga practices to begin to see change.  If one wishes to share their wisdom, they will be qualified to teach yoga in a complete lineage if desired.

The Essential Study of Yoga is a certified program recognized by the Yoga Alliance, which is the organization that sets minimum standards and requirements for Yoga Teacher’s.  Our 200-hour study exceeds these standards and requirements. 

The wisdom accentuates the lives of practioners personally and professionally so much it’s a valuable tool worth sharing with others.  Many people are looking for a healthy way to live, they admire their teacher’s and want to learn quickly all the practices which help us achieve health, and then create more succes and freedom personally and professionally.  The evolutionary quality of human adaptation needed is compassion.  We have lot’s of brainiacs around that can’t create peace, or change.  We need those dedicated to working through the heart to adapt and evolve for a successful future for all.  It sounds strange, but it is the Way…

Join us in September for The Essential Study of Yoga, meets three Sundays a month 8:00am-3:00pm, and every Wednesday from 5:30 to 9:30pm.  Two week break for Christmas.  See The Essential Study of Yoga.

Modern medicine is one of the greatest advances in human development.  Yet, it’s only part of the solution in creating good or hopefully, excellent health.  Doctors help get us out of critical conditions.  They help to stablize us when we can’t stablize alone.  It’s like, we can’t save ourselves from drowning.  And for that I am eternally grateful.  However, healing can only truly be done by us.  The human body is an instrument that has the potential to heal itself.  For example, when we get a cut, a cold, a broken bone, or even a clogged artery, doctors don’t “heal” our bodies, they get us out of critical conditions, they aid us.  We heal our bodies.  I remeber feeling so encouraged when hearing that fact.  But I knew there was more to it.  I’d like to share some information that really does work.  This information is not intended to replace good medical care, but with your doctor, a powerful tool to naturally heal the body and mind.

No one wants to live on perscription medication for the rest of their lives. No one looks forward to knee and hip replacement, or bypass heart surgery.  Sometimes we get to the point that it is absolutely necessary to save our lives, or improve the condition of it.  What if you could use short-term perscriptions medication to get out of a critical conditions, and learn the secrets of healing enough to begin to reduce the usage and need.  Too good to be true…remember our body has the capacity to renew itself roughly 90% over the course of a year.  Meaning the body you have today will either be renewed or degenerated over the course of the next year.  If you’d like to renew, read on….

The first step in using Yoga to heal is to understand, it’s not just the yoga poses or the breathing that does the work.  It’s a lifestyle adaptation.  The first adaptation is to commit to not harming the body and mind any more.  What harms the body is what we put in it.  The food, the beverages, the media, TV, movies,  our thoughts even. 

Yoga and meditation teaches us how to train our thoughts.  The brain is simply an organ, and thinking is what it does.   So much like an active puppy, we can train it, with training we can change our thoughts, and by changing our thoughts we change our body chemistry.  It’s a well know scientific fact that the thoughts we think can either increase or reduce the hormone release of cortisol and adreanaline.  For expample, what happened to your body that last time you were driving and heard a siren and saw flashing lights behind you.  You thought they were after you, heart elevated, blood pressure increased, body became flush and began to shake.  Then, the vehicle sped by you, and you knew they weren’t after you. Whew!  The body returned to normal because your mind told you, they weren’t after you.  It was all happening in your mind.  This is an amazing realization, we’ve all had.  It’s the tip of the iceberg.   Our bodies have been living in this state of disruption because of our mind.  Another example is anorexia, these precious women tell themselves  they are fat over and over again until they believe they are.  Then through starvation, become addicted to the stress hormone adreanaline to get “high”.  I say this with love, because I have personal experience with the disease.  And again, with good medical care, yoga, meditation, the commitment to never harming the body again, I have seen healing. 

Begin a yoga practice with a qualified teacher, like ours at the Yoga Studio.  Make a commitment to yourself to practice regularly, at least once a week, over an extended period of time.  People see results immediately, but real progress takes roughly 6-8 weeks.  I don’t know about you, but I’ve spent lot’s of time and money at the doctor’s office, leaving with a perscription that left me scared of possible side effects that included death.  

Give up your attachment to the idea that you can’t heal your own body.  You can, if only you believed you could.  Begin with a daily affirmation, “May I enjoy happiness and freedom from pain, and may my thoughts, my words, and my actions contribute to the happines and freedom I deserve.”

Lisa Tokarz, ERYT200, founding director and senior teacher at The Yoga Studio of Shelby, has studied yoga and dharma for over 17 years with the foremost teacher’s from around the world.  She has been sharing her wisdom successfully for 10 years.  Join her, with her playful spirit and uplifting presence, and begin to heal your body and your life naturally.