Archive for the ‘Yoga to Heal’ Category

The Kids are going back to school!  Now it’s time for busy moms to regroup, recharge and relax!!   Summer is enjoyable and stressful at the same time.  Let’s face it kids are demanding.  I know my own have run me ragged, and the thought of them going back to school makes my heart smile.  Having an extra hour during the day that can be used for productive growth, change and inner-peace.  Yoga does just that.  One of my clients calls her yoga practice “organic xanax”.  No harmful side affects, just bliss.  One word of caution, it’s addictive.  But if you find yourself addicted, what better vice.  It’s inexpensive and easily available.  Yoga helps us reduce stress, which directly affects the central nervous system.  A calm nervous system boosts the immune system.  Reduces wrinkles, because we’re not frowning.  Naturally improves the quality of breast tissue, at my last mamogram, the tech said, “wow you have great muscle tone at your ribcage connecting to the breast tissue.”   And, my husband finds me very attractive after a yoga class.  He says, “you just ooze sexy calm”.   Which really increases my sex drive naturally.  When we are centered, relaxed, and calm, we can make-love easily.  It doesn’t feel like a chore, it feels like an expression of feminity and love.  Who doesn’t want that.

Yoga reverses the affects of aging.  This is not just marketing jargon, it’s true.  The ancient yogis not only outlived their peers, but did so with great vitality and health.  When we study yoga, we become sensative to life, we want to make better life choices.  Better lifestyle choices, which doctors say is key to improved health, not only for ourselves, but our families, too. 

One of the first lifestyle choices to make to drastically improve your health…eliminate toxins from our diet.  Simply put, greatly limit processed foods.  Sounds crazy, but my family stopped eating high amounts of processed foods about three years ago, and everyone became healthier.  Less stress in the body is the reason.  Processed food bogs down the liver, and the liver is one of our most important organs. A diet full of processed food invites thousands of toxins for our liver to filter out, this is an unnecessary strain on this essential organ.  Right? We only have one!!!

Introduce more organic foods into your diet.  What ever veggies you eat on a regular basis, try to make organic.  Many local grocers, including Kroger and Meier, carry the freshest organic fruits and veggies.  They receive shipments daily.   Avoid any veggies that are limp and lifeless, this is a sign that they have been harvested too long ago to reap the nutriet benefit of the higher cost.  Organic foods taste better.   Reducing pesticides and artificial fertilizers is always a plus. 

Organic milk is amazing.  Tastes creamy, and fresh.   You can literally taste the difference.  Medical professionals are claiming the reason children are developing so early is the consumption of hormones in our food source.  Since my children switched to organic milk over three years ago, they have been healthier through the winter.  They are not consuming the antibiotics that remain in regular milk, so their immune system is stronger.  Antibiotics destroy not only the bad bacteria, but also the good bacteria necessary for great health.  We haven’t seen  sinus, bronchial, or ear infections since.  So you can guess, our health care cost has reduced to make up for the higher cost of organic milk. Again though, Kroger has a brand that is about $5 a gallon.  But my kids only see the pediatrition once a year, rather that once every 6 weeks like we used to.  And with shrinking benefits of our health insurance this is actually a savings.

Finally, look at reducing meat protein for dinner.  Meatless Mondays, and Fish on Friday.  Remember to eat fish that is Wild Caught. Grocers and local markets will label fish as wild caught of farm raised.  Farm raised fish have antibiotics in them, the fish are overcrowded and consume each others waste, ewww!  Again, more toxins for our bodies to filter out.  Increase healthy nuts and beans for protien, instead of dairy.  I know alot of vegitarians who struggle with their weight because of consuming to much dairy for protein.  At our house we make a mean chili with organic chicken, lots of kidney beans and fresh celery, onions, organic canned tomatoes and spices. Yum.

Someone once said, ‘you are what you eat’.  When you eat a diet filled with toxins…….create more health for yourself and your family.  The neighbors will think your crazy, Yoga, organic foods, better health and moods, better interpersonal relationships, more sex….who doesn’t want that?   Hope to see you at the Yoga Studio of Shelby.

Lisa Tokarz, ERYT200, founding director and senior teacher at The Yoga Studio of Shelby, has studied yoga, nutrition 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.

With so many people trying yoga today, it can be a difficult task finding the right yoga teacher.  Everyday, people take yoga classes at the gym or through local community centers.  For the most part, it’s an inexpensive and somewhat safe way to try yoga.  But if you have medical conditions of any kind from blood pressure, arthritis, back pain, shoulder issues. carpal tunnel, or rehab-ing from surgery,  it’s not only important, but vital to work with a Yoga Teacher who has been professionally trained, and has considerable experience with alignment principles.  These two credentials are challenging to find.  And here’s why……

There are no legal regulations on the teaching of yoga.  You could literally take a yoga class with a person who has no professional training, no education, and worst of all, no experience with teaching individuals who have physical conditions.  That’s like seeing a doctor with no training…

Our bodies are our tool to experience life.  If it’s in pain, life can be disenchanting and challenging at best.  Yoga can relieve the pain in our bodies, even help heal the body, along with proper nutrition.  But your yoga teacher needs specific wisdom to help you do just that.  So what to look out for…

First, if it’s cheap or free, there is usually a reason.  And that is the red first flag.  No talented and well trained yoga teacher can work for free.  Yoga teachers who are continuously updating their talent and studying with Master Teachers pay dearly for their training.   Teachers at the Yoga Studio are professionally trained, and are required yearly to complete advance training that exceeds the minimum requirement of the Yoga Alliance.

Second, be very careful taking the yoga classes at the gym or community center.  I talk with people about yoga frequently.  What upsets me most is hearing that someone took a yoga class with 20-30 people in it, and they hurt themselves seriously, and they don’t want to do yoga ever again.  That is always an indication that the Teacher had little to no knowledge or wisdom of the science, and the class was too large for the students to get proper attention.  Remember, there are a lot of doctors in the world, few with exceptional talent.  Yoga is the same.

Third, if you already train heavily or if you are a runner.  Please, please, please check your teachers out.  If you are tight already, your yoga teacher can help you stretch properly.  It’s not, lunge or spread your legs, touch your toes and bounce.  In fact, that’s exactly the wrong way to stretch.  Nothing screams hamstring,  or groin tear louder.  And sadly, I heard a story about an athelete that had that experience in their gym yoga class.  And had to stop running forever…

What do you do then?  Referral is always a good start.  Then check out your teachers credentials.  A good yoga teacher is always willing to dicuss their training.  And literally brag about their own teachers.  Because a good yoga teacher is always a good student. You can also go online to the Yoga Alliance.  They keep a relatively accurate database of professionally trained yoga teachers with miminum standards and requirements.  The teachers at the Yoga Studio, not only have the minimum requirements, but are required to exceed these standards.

Lisa Tokarz, ERYT200, and founding director at the Yoga Studio of Shelby, located in Macomb County has received this credential by having a minimum of 200 hours of training, and teaching a minimum of 200 hours within 2 years of training.  Over the past 10 years of teaching, Lisa actually has 500+ hours of professional training,  and she has taught roughly 500 hours in the last year alone.  She has worked with students recovering from breast cancer, back surgery, shoulder surgery, severe and chronic arthritis.  She specializes in knees and hips as she is an extreme athelete herself, and in her 20′s broke both knees skiing mogels, and suffered from complications of improper healing which lead to chronic and severe hip and low back pain.  All of these issues with time, have been overcome by studying with many of the foremost yoga teachers from around the world. 

Bottom line, don’t be afraid of yoga, be afraid of improperly trained yoga teacher’s.   Do your homework, interview a few yoga teacher’s, make an appointment to visist a yoga studio.  Don’t take yoga classes that are cheap, and watch out for free classes, (they are usually taught by teachers with little or no experience).  At the  Yoga Studio, we have a free class on the schedule, however, Anna is one of our most talented and skilled teacher’s in the industry.  We picked her because we understand how important it is to have a positive nurturing experience as a new student of yoga.

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, 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 Yoga Studio of Shelby has not registered this program with the State of Michigan. We feel that  fewer people taking the course actually become yoga teachers.  Teaching yoga is not really a lurcrative profession, but 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.