“Yoga is a powerful and comprehensive system that was designed to affect the student on multiple levels – physical, energetic, mental-emotional and spiritual. For a yoga teacher, it is possible to facilitate this process in both group class and private session setting. The main difference is that in a yoga class the teacher is a leader who sets the intention for the whole group. In a private session the teacher is a partner, whose sole purpose is to support the student’s unique process of personal transformation.” ~ Sequence Whiz

Imagine; an entire session of yoga designed around your needs and wishes in a location of your choice. Book your private class now!

A private session with a Rainbow Yoga Wellness Teacher is a very different experience to a group weekly class. It is not the same class with one person.

Both Private Classes and Weekly Classes have The Benefits of Yoga and The Hidden Benefits of Yoga plus their own unique benefits.

Private Yoga Classes are perhaps the most effective mechanism for tailoring your practice to your body; your history, your mental state, your lifestyle and your goals.

Private Classes are a great way to bridge our way onto the mat when we start our practice. Often after just one class students feel comfortable to attend group classes.

Private Classes enable our practice to continue if we are recovering from illness, injury or operations.

THE FIRST CLASS
The teacher will bring a waver for you to read and sign. For the class to occur all participants need to sign.

Then we have a short interview. Each interview is slightly different according to the situation but a few sample questions are below.

1. Do you practice yoga?
2. What type of yoga?
3. Do you do some other form of exercise?
4. How long since the last time you exercised?
5. Have you had an injury in the last year?
6. Are you under a doctors care?
7. Is there a physical or mental challenge we need to know about?
8. What is your occupation?
9. What are your goals?
10. Is there a pose or a flow you want to work on?
11. Is there an area of the body you want to work on?
12. Do you like to be adjusted?

They use this information to design the class with you in mind. After the interview we start the class.

The Class is planned around an Opening; the Warm Up; the Body of the Class; the Cool Down; and a Closing.

Every class includes Breath Consciousness; Meditation Practice as well as Mindful Movement and Posturing.

The teacher will be practicing the yoga with you most of the time so you have a clear visual cue of the practice.

At the same time the teacher will be observing your practice so as to provide verbal cues that provide options that suit your needs and body.

You will be able to ask all the questions you want – right in the middle of the class if you wish. You can share any sensations or feelings you want to talk about. It is a great way to have those questions you have about your practice answered.

The teacher will comment on your alignment progress and positioning within the goals you have set.

Sometimes a pose you have always wanted to do draws closer when able to work one on one with a teacher.

You won’t believe how quick an hour and half can fly by. Participants often feel the effects in one class.

Our goal is to encourage a home practice – bring some paper and a pen to write down a few poses you want to continue practicing.

 

 

 

“Chances are you’re reading this while leaning over a table or slumped back in a chair. Your head is tilted forward; your shoulders are curved.” ~ CNN

 

When I was a young child I had a tight neck area. I frequently woke with a painful stiff neck – at times I could not turn to look behind.

This predated computers and smart phones but I read a lot of books and hunched over a desk at school.

When I began practicing yoga I only knew one move for the neck but I practiced it slowly mildly during the day along with my regular yoga.

Like many of the other benefits I have had from my practice of yoga I did not realize at first that my neck was getting better. It was just one day I realized it had been perhaps a year since my neck had felt tight …….. I never really got that tightness back again…….

Good posture in the neck area is a challenging one. Most of what we are asked to do – even cooking – requires chin towards chest for long periods of time.

Even though I am a yoga teacher aware of my posture – when I work on computer I still find myself with ‘chicken neck’ with my head sticking way out in front of my body.

When standing with good posture, the average adult’s head weighs approximately 10 to 12 pounds but the more the neck moves forward, the heavier the head becomes due to gravity therefore the more pressure is put on the cervical spine.

According to the authors of a recent study – if the neck is bent at 15%, the weight of the head increases to 27 pounds, and if the neck is bent even further, say 60%, the weight of the head becomes an amazing 60 pounds!

It is easy to see how the curved forward positioning can cause fatigue, pain; tightness; loss of range of motion and can lead to early degenerative wear and tear on the body.

Studies back up my experience.

One study from Berlin found “Yoga led to superior pain relief and functional improvements”.

 

 

 

 

 

Yoga can positively effect the metabolic rate

Therefore Yoga can help to prevent chronic disease

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26035042#

“Stress is how the brain and body responds to any demand. Every type of demand or stressor — such as exercise, work, school, major life changes, or traumatic events — can be stressful.” ~ National Institute of Mental Health

“Anxiety is hardwired into our brains. It is part of the body’s fight-or-flight response, which prepares us to act quickly in the face of danger. It is a normal response to uncertainty, trouble, or feeling unprepared. However, if common everyday events bring on severe and persistent anxiety or panic that interferes with life, you may have an anxiety disorder.” ~ The University of Texas Austin

“Depression (major depressive disorder) is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act. Fortunately, it is also treatable. Depression causes feelings of sadness and/or a loss of interest in activities once enjoyed. It can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems and can decrease a person’s ability to function at work and at home.” ~ American Psychiatric Association 

In the past I had a tendency towards taking on stress in an unproductive manner – this often resulted in feelings of anxiety, racing heart and sometimes feelings of depression.

But over the years my practice of yoga has not only alleviated and managed but actually helped to prevent it.

Learning how to approach day to day stressors as well as major life changing stressors is a key factor in a healthy lifestyle; chronic stress can affect us physically, mentally, and psychologically.

One of the first things we can do is recognize and classify the stressor.

Is it something we can change? Is it something that will pass? Is it something that has to be acted on immediately? If so what is the time factor?

Another part of managing stress is being able to recognize the symptoms – how your body and mind reacts to stress. Everyone reacts differently but overall there are some reactions which many people say they feel. A racing heart; a dry mouth; loss of focus; insomnia ….

Once we know the stressor and the symptoms we can start to deal with the situation.

One of my key questions when I find my mind going over and over a stressful situation and my heart racing as a result is to question if those thoughts are going to change or better the situation I am in. Then I try to direct my thoughts to what I can do.

Regular practice of yoga is based on training the mind to direct thoughts and hone focus.

Is it something you have to deal with immediately? Does thinking about it make you feel stressed? Is it even something you can change or deal with at all?

Being able to recognize our common stress symptoms and taking the time to ‘treat’ them with stress management techniques can help prevent and alleviate the ramifications physically, emotionally and mentally that long term stress can have.

THE BENEFITS OF STRESS MANAGEMENT
According to The Mayo Clinic 

Stress can contribute to:
high blood pressure
heart disease
obesity
diabetes
many other health problems

Stress can cause:
Ailments
Headache
Muscle tension or pain
Chest pain
Fatigue
Change in sex drive
Stomach upset
Sleep problems

Moods
Anxiety
Restlessness
Lack of motivation or focus
Feeling overwhelmed
Irritability or anger
Sadness
Depression

Behaviors
Over eating
Under eating
Angry outbursts
Drug or alcohol abuse
Tobacco use
Social withdrawal
Exercising less often

YOGA AND STRESS MANAGEMENT

There are so many ways yoga helps us to manage stress.

Multiple university studies have shown just a one hour class can improve gaba levels and reduce cortisol levels.

Studies also show yoga can help with anxiety and depression even med resistant depression.

I believe part of the reason a Holistic Yoga Practice is so helpful for Stress Management is the blending of many techniques that each effect stress in different ways.

YOGA STRESS MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES
Many of the techniques recommended by The Mayo Clinic and Harvard Medical University I learned in the 1970’s through my yoga studies.

Deep Breathing

Mindful Movement

Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Guided Relaxation

Creative Visualization

Mindfulness Techniques

 

WHAT KIND OF YOGA?

Basically any kind.

It doesn’t have to be a Gentle Yoga Class to manage stress – in fact if you are not injured or a novice – a strong class that challenges your personal levels of fitness and flexibility is at times just what is called for.

Rainbow Yoga Wellness blends at least 10 yoga stress management techniques in every session. Join us!

Support our goal of returning to Dominica and providing Free Yoga for Stress Management Sessions to the residents of the island who went through the worst hurricane to ever strike the island. GoFundMe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The best moments in our lives are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times… The best moments usually occur if a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.” ~ Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi; Author; Researcher and Psychology Professor

Definition of ‘Flow’ in Movement: “In mindful movement  programs ‘flow’ also known as ‘vinyasa’ is a steady, continuous stream of yoga poses coordinating the movements with the breath. This practice can be so intense it provides a strong cardio workout and sweat or so gentle it is doable by a beginner. This practice can involve one or 2 techniques or 10 or 20 techniques.” ~ Rainbow Yoga Teacher Training Manual: The Spectrum of Yoga; Vinyasa Flow Yoga.

Definition ‘Flow’ in Psychology: “In positive psychology, ‘flow’, also known as the ‘zone’, is the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. In essence, flow is characterized by complete absorption in what one does and loses sense of space and time.a state of mind: ” ~ Wikipedia

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is a psychology professor who has studied the state of mind called ‘The Flow’ for over 20 years and has found there are tremendous benefits to achieving this. He is not the only one to study and utilize this state of mind in their program.

The Montessori Educational system is designed to encourage ‘The Flow’ while learning.

‘Flow’ also has a documented correlation with high performance in the fields of artistic and scientific creativity, innovative business management; effective teaching; enhanced learning, improved athletic performance, computer gaming and even developing computer programs.

In a study performed with professional classical pianists who played piano pieces several times to induce a flow state, a significant relationship was found between the flow state of the pianist and the pianist’s heart rate, blood pressure, and major facial muscles.  This study demonstrated the fact that flow is a state of effortless attention. Yet in spite of the effortless attention and overall relaxation of the body within the activity, the performance of the pianist during the flow state improved.

‘Flow’ has been linked to persistence and achievement in activities while also helping to lower anxiety and raise self-esteem.

‘Flow’ was a concept written about within the practice of yoga well before scientists started exploring it.

Rainbow Yoga Cardio Flow Yoga is a fun and dynamic way to experience ‘The Flow’ of Yoga while practicing The Mindfulness of Yoga and building The Functional Fitness of Yoga

Note: This class requires a certain level of fitness. If you are not comfortable with Planks; Side Planks; Plows this may not be the class for you. If you have wrist challenges this may not be the class for you.

Experience ‘The ‘Flow’ of Rainbow Yoga’
We build a parable of positions; adding one position at a time; getting to know each new position intimately as it is introduced then practicing it over and over as we build each unique vinyasa. We create a different flow each time we practice together and often the flow is choreographed with dominate sides – the brain is fully occupied – we build not only a physical ‘Flow’ of poses all linked to the breath but the state of mind psychologists call ‘Flow’.

Practice ‘The Mindfulness of Yoga’
We keep connecting to The Mind Body Breath Connection as we move through the poses by transitioning and finding each pose with the breath. Linking one movement to one breath! The eye movements; the movements of the body; the mindful breathing and the focus on what is next in the flow all contribute to make the whole class being a  Mindful Moving Meditation.

Build ‘The Functional Fitness of Yoga’
We progressively journey through The Warm Up building the flow and progressively intensifying the workout during The Body of the Class. We stretch and release utilizing the Warmth of the Body effectively and safely. During one session we build: Balance, Flexibility, Range of Motion and  Strength; we consciously: Activate and Release Muscles and Soft Tissues; we Practice all the Major Movements of the Spine needed to keep it healthy. Thereby building a Function Fitness that allows us to go through daily life without injury.

Cardio Flow Yoga has been scientifically proven to have some different benefits then Hatha Yoga.

Studies released within the last year have shown that Yoga practiced at higher speeds then the usual speed yoga is practiced – results in a significantly greater caloric and muscular expenditure.

Results from other studies have also shown that transitions from one held phase of a pose to another produce higher normalized muscle activity than the held phases of the poses.

This proves that Rainbow Yoga Cardio Flow Yoga can be an effective alternative program for those targeting cardio metabolic markers.

While taking your body to the next level of strength and flexibility and building stamina and aerobic parameters a Rainbow Yoga Cardio Flow Yoga Session will assist you to find your ‘Flow’.

 

 

Traditional

Cambridge Dictionary
Definition of Mindful adjective

1. Formal:careful not to forget about something: Mindful of the poor road conditions, she reduced her speed to 30 mph. Politicians are increasingly mindful that young voters are turning away from traditional parties.
2. deliberately aware of your body, mind, and feelings in the present moment, in order to create a feeling of calm: I’m trying to be more mindful and I think it helps me with stress.

Definition of Mindfulness noun

1. the practice of being aware of your body, mind, and feelings in the present moment, thought to create a feeling of calm: Mindfulness can be used to alleviate feelings of anxiety and depression.

I don’t remember hearing the word Mindfulness or Mindful much in the 1970’s when I first started studying yoga. But the word does so aptly describe the focus of the mind in all aspects of yoga practice: mindful movement; mindful breathing; mindful meditating; mindful socializing; mindful eating; mindful livity.

Archa my teacher was the first teacher I had who really took you inside the body as you practiced. When I came out of her classes – I would often remark to myself how the class was like a holiday from the daily chatter of my mind.

My mind has always been FILLED with daily chatter from the moment I woke up till the moment I slept. Yoga taught me I could control that; I could focus on the moment. I could actually decide to enjoy each moment more; I could actually decide whether that thought that was going round and round in my mind was beneficial to me.

For me it was the Mindful Movements that helped me go within at first; then the Breath Control Techniques and then the Mindful Meditation Techniques.

Mindfulness is one of the side effects of Practicing Yoga no matter what style no matter what technique.

What is Mindfulness?

That is one of our topics of study during our Yoga Teacher Training. To give you a taste of the information we will be sharing I copied and pasted our document on ‘The Mindfulness of Yoga’ from our Training Manual ‘The Spectrum of Yoga’; Chapter: The Techniques of Yoga” below:

Quote                          “The path of yoga requires faith, energy, mindfulness, meditation and wisdom. ~ Pantjali; Yoga Sutras 1.20

NAME:                      THE MINDFULNESS OF YOGA

Sanskrit:                    Smṛti / स्मृति)

Other Names:                        Zen

At Rainbow Yoga promoting The Mindfulness of Yoga is one of the most important goals of our Rainbow Yoga Wellness Program. The Mindfulness of Yoga is interwoven into almost all the paths and practices. Knowing how to be mindful/conscious and in the moment is one of the most basic of our life skills. When we are not conscious we do not enjoy life to the fullest.

We encourage students to bring The Mindfulness of Yoga into their day to day life outside the studio as well as we deeply believe this results in a more holistic, healthy life and is a another step towards achieving oneness with the absolute.

The Mindfulness of Yoga teaches students to recognize and then control negative or stressful thought patterns. It teaches us to pause; realize our first reaction is often one of limited perspective; look at the bigger more holistic picture and then make some intentional choices on what to do.

We trust once The Mindfulness of Yoga has been experienced in class through a variety of techniques – it will gradually flow into other areas of daily life.

Definition

At Rainbow Yoga Health and Wellness we consider ‘mindfulness’ to be a ‘state of being’; a ‘multidimensional consciousness’ – a state of active, observant attention to the present.

Our sensations. thoughts and feelings are observed from a distance, without judging them good or bad  as we maneuver through our day to day life. The ramifications of our actions are considered before we act; with each decision we strive to enhance our prana/energy levels.

Mindfulness is a training of the mind to be more aware of what we are doing; it differs from deep sleep or relaxation or even deep meditation in that it involves active mental effort rather than total rest, release or surrender.  Through mindfulness we can gain new perspectives on life. The practice of yoga refines this awareness through a variety of practices such as concentrating on the fine tuning and alignment of the postures; the subtlety of the breath; the focal point in balances, the ramifications of conscious living and turning the consciousness inward (pratyahara). From there the practice moves to increasingly subtler forms of mindfulness such as one-pointedness (dharana) to one-flowingness (dhyana) to absorption (samadhi).

You will often find one tiny concept of the yoga lifestyle extolled as the only way to reach mindfulness but it is the wide range of techniques that makes yoga so effective.

Note: Not to confuse The Mindfulness of Yoga (state of mind) with The Mindful Meditations of Yoga (techniques to assist with a ‘mindful’ ‘state of mind/being’).

History

The Mindfulness of Yoga predates most mindfulness programs of today and most of the techniques utilized to reach a ‘mindful’ ‘state of being’ are yoga based. The general populace looks on mindfulness as deriving from Buddhism yet the first yoga carvings predate Buddhism by 1000’s of years.

The Mindfulness of Yoga can be used beneficially to alter or build healthy patterns of living; enhance overall health and increase cognitive function.

Present Day

Recently a scientific program designed by John Kabat Zahn based on Buddhist mindfulness meditation traditions and various techniques used in yoga named Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction MBSR has become very popular. There are many people who use the terms Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness interchangeably. MBSR is more accurately one of many programs incorporating a few of The Mindful Meditation Techniques of Yoga with a few of The Mindful Breaths and Breath Movements of Yoga and a few of The Mindful Movements and Postures of Yoga to promote health and wellness.

In Psychiatry mindfulness is being used to treat a host of mental challenges within the fields of Positive Psychology and Cognitive Therapy.

In Neurology ‘mindfulness’ has been broken down into various terms of sense: “proprioception” – refers to the awareness of ‘one’s own body’ and its muscular, tendon, and articular movements; and the awareness of the positioning of the body parts in relationship to each other’; “introspection” –    ; refers to the awareness of ‘one’s own internal messages;  “exteroception” – refers to the process by which Extroceptors (organs which process information outside of body, such as the eyes, ears, mouth, and skin) send information to the brain; “interoception” – refers to the process by which interoceptors (organs which process informaton inside of the body (such as taste buds) send information to the brain, (Charles Sharington, 2007).

Benefits

Practicing The Mindfulness of Yoga can help people to begin to recognize their habitual patterns of mind; movement and ways of living that develop over time and then respond in a new rather than habitual way.

When you consider the ramifications if everyone in the world utilized mindfulness in their daily life – mindfulness can help with almost every situation and every condition we meet as individuals; communities and organizations – the world would be a better place.

Traditionally the ultimate goal of mindfulness was absorption/oneness/unity with the absolute.

The Benefits

The benefits of ‘Mindfulness’ are so many it would be hard to list them all. Literally every aspect of our lives can benefit from mindfulness; our physical health; our mental health; our energetic health and those around us benefit too. Our communities our earth

Studies

Over the past 20 years there has been a plethora of studies on the health benefits of the practice of ‘MBSR or other Mindfulness Techniques’. Studies have shown ‘mindfulness’ to be helpful in the treatment of Post Traumatic Stress; Depression; Obesity; Schizophrenia; Eating Disorders; Stress Management; Heart Disease; Stroke; Diabetes; Metabolic Syndrome. Studies have shown The Mindful Lifestyle of Yoga can: enhance The Immune System at a cellular level; build brain function and memory; reverse Heart Disease; change Prostrate Cancer cells at a cellular level.

During our Rainbow Yoga Teacher Training Programme we share the studies we have gathered for a lifetime.

Note:

 

Teacher Tips:

Rainbow Yoga encourages the development of The Mindfulness of Yoga through the practice of The Mindful Movements and Positions of Yoga; The Mindful Breaths of Yoga; The Mindful Breath Movements of Yoga; The Mindful Meditations of Yoga; and The Mindful Living of Yoga.

As Rainbow Yoga Teachers we encourage participants to experience The Mindfulness of Yoga through:  The Flow of Yoga; The Mind Body Breath Connection; Body Honesty; Verbal Cues; Visual Cues and Mindful Business Practices.

As participants start to tune into themselves this can facilitate emotional release. As Rainbow Yoga Teachers  we are supportive; non-judgmental and accepting guiding our students to approach a professional if the emotions extend from trauma.

As Rainbow Yoga Teachers we start every class with the concept of mindfulness and refresh everyone’s memory and intention of mindfulness repeatedly as the class goes on. Remind each class to carry their mindfulness into their daily life.

Opening classes with the Progressive Muscle Relaxation is a great way to promote mindfulness of the body.

After the students become more aware of the body from within bring the awareness to the breath through a Breath Observation or a Mindful Breath Technique of Yoga. Observing the breath from within is one of the basic mindfulness skills in almost every practice.

After the class has found the breath and the body encourage them to find the Mind, Body, Breath Connection to promote their mindfulness by executing a few movements that Warm Up the body in coordination with the breath and move it in most of the main directions.

Verbal Cues, Visual Cues, Imagery Cues and Kinesthetic Cues are invaluable for the promotion of mindfulness throughout class especially when purposely blending them to address all Learning Styles.

A clean healthy soothing Environment and a safe protective supportive Atmosphere is essential for students to feel secure enough to be able to let everything go and focus on the moment.

At Rainbow Yoga the concept of The Mindfulness of Yoga is incorporated in every program we teach from Cooking Workshops to Hatha Yoga Classes.

We are constantly adding to our programme to keep our clients interested and stimulated – ‘mindful’.

The Business of Teaching Yoga

The Mindfulness of Yoga is incorporated in every program we teach at Rainbow Yoga from Health and Wellness Vacations to Hiking Tours; Cooking Workshops and Hatha Yoga and Meditation Classes.

At Rainbow Yoga we strive to bring The Mindfulness of Yoga into our own daily lives and business operations – whether designing and teaching our programmes; when managing our day to day operations; when working with our associates and clients no matter what their status.

Bibliography

Dictionary definitions.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/mindful

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mindfulness

Wikipedia State of Flow

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology)

Wikipedia Mindfulness in Buddhism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindfulness

Wikipedia Mindfulness in Psychology

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindfulness_(psychology)

Wikipedia Proprioception

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprioception

Wikipedia Introspection

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Introspection

Wikipedia Mindfulness Based Stress Release

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MBSR

Yoga Concept of Mindfulness Meditation

http://www.swamij.com/mindfulnessconcentration.htm

Mindfulness – About.com

http://ptsd.about.com/od/glossary/g/Mind_def.htm

Further Research

Books

Online

Centre for Mindfulness; University of Massachusetts

http://www.umassmed.edu/cfm/stress/index.aspx

Mindfulness Information Website

http://www.mindfulnet.org/

Mindful Awareness Research Centre; UCLA

http://marc.ucla.edu/default.cfm

Ted Flow for Happiness

http://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_on_flow.html

Cultivate the Seeds of Mindfulness

http://www.yogajournal.com/wisdom/1667

The Neuroscience of Mindfulness

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-rock/the-neuroscience-of-mindf_b_2908665.html

Autonomic Nervous System

http://www.mashpedia.com/videoplayer.php?q=jIz4uVnZo0M

Dr. Mihalv Csikszentmihalyi Calaremont University

http://www.cgu.edu/pages/4751.asp

Mihalv Csikszentmihalyi TED bio

http://www.ted.com/speakers/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi

flow the psychology of optimal experience; Mihalv Csikszentmihalyi

http://www.integralvision.net.au/share-it-hub/flow_the_psychology_of_optimal_experience.pdf

blog post on book flow and yoga

http://hathayoga.com/flow-by-mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/

 

 

 

One of the main reasons I wanted to be a Yoga Teacher was to share the Benefits of Pregnancy Yoga to help other women who were traveling through life and found themselves on the pregnancy journey. I used yoga in many ways during my child bearing years.

While raising my children my yoga practice kept me healthy; more calm and mindful during my parenting years. I was not a perfect parent but it helped.

Rainbow Yoga has been providing Yoga for Pregnancy Programs for over 15 years.

Science has shown yoga to be so beneficial that the governments of some countries provide yoga to encourage low risk pregnancies and births.

Birthing was an intense but manageable experience for both children I had. I feel my yoga practice and yoga lifestyle prepared my body for pregnancy; contributed to conceiving easily at 31; kept me healthy during pregnancy; contributed to the health of my babies; eased my labour and birth; assisted me to have a medication free birth and  helped  my body recover after birth. I had very few challenges but with trimester adaptations  yoga can easily help with many common challenges of pregnancy. Some yoga practices are particularly beneficial for pregnancy. Find a trained yoga teacher if at all possible so they can share The Cautions and Adaptations  and the Tips for Yoga in Pregnancy  we need to learn during pregnancy.

Psychologically I was definitely more emotional than usual but I did not feel depressed for long periods of time. At the time I never really considered this as a benefit of my practice but science has shown this to be true as well.

In 2014 the University of Colorado announced that “Mindfulness techniques can help protect pregnant women against depression”.

Mindfulness Techniques can mean many things – in this study they taught: prenatal yoga, walking meditation exercises that could be done later while soothing a baby, and shorter practices that could be easily integrated into the busy lives of new moms. The lessons also specifically addressed worry, which can be common during pregnancy, and put particular focus on kindness for oneself and one’s baby. –

I found it interesting that the researchers remarked that they were surprised by the number of pregnant women who expressed interest in participating in a mindfulness program, even though they didn’t meet the criteria to participate in this study. A high percentage of the women who began the courses—86 percent—completed the study, a sign that the women found the sessions valuable, Dimidjian said.

In 2016 the same university announced “Pregnant and postpartum women at risk of depression are less likely to suffer depression when they meditate or get in a yoga pose than when they are treated with psychotherapy or antidepressants.”

The Mindfulness Therapy Program they used included meditation, yoga and walking birthing and labour meditations; other mindfulness techniques many of them ancient yoga techniques such as Breath Control and Awareness Techniques; Creative Visualization; cognitive therapy and yoga postures and movements  as well as strategies to relate differently to negative thoughts and to bring greater self-care into their daily lives. The women were also assigned practices to do at home each day.

The scientists looked at 42 women who had had at least one previous episode of major depression. They took eight mindfulness classes and were asked to complete homework assignments to develop their mindfulness skills.

Data shows that risk of depression is high during reproductive years. The risk will be higher if the woman had already suffered from the condition earlier. Nearly 30 percent of the cured cases relapse during pregnancy, according to the authors.

Genetic predisposition, social factors and hormonal changes are some of the major factors behind this occurrence. Treating the mental condition early is crucial as a prolonged depression can lead to poor weight gain, preeclampsia, premature labour and trouble in bonding with the new-born.

Women in the MBCT group achieved 40 percent reduced risk of having a relapse than others.

Yoga can truly improve our journey through pregnancy.

Rainbow Yoga Pregnancy Classes encourage father and mother to attend so both can have a little quality time together and connect over the pregnancy.

 

When looking at yoga from a therapeutic point of view there are often 2 ways of approaching a specific illness – sometimes even more but we will talk about that later.

In the case of diabetes yoga is usually looked at from two angles – prevention and alleviation of symptoms.

Practicing yoga and even better a yogic lifestyle dramatically lowers our chances of getting diabetes.

Practicing hatha yoga has been scientifically proven to lower metabolic rate; lower stress; lower weight therefore practicing yoga can lower your chances of getting diabetes. Practicing a yoga lifestyle including conscious eating; conscious socializing; conscious exercising lowers your chances even more.

But yoga has also been scientifically shown to help those who already have either type 1 or type 2 diabetes.

Practicing Yoga has als been scientifically proven to alter

West Virginia University School of Public Health, Morgantown recently published a review of over 30 different papers reporting on conclusions from 25 controlled trials.  They found that ‘collectively, findings suggest that yogic practices may promote significant improvements in several indices of importance in DM2 management, including glycemic control, lipid levels, and body composition.’ (note they say significant 🙂

The Yoga Lifestyle

When I first came to this island it was known for it’s ratio of centenarians

The numbers on diabetes throughout the world are staggering.

Since 1996, the number of people with diabetes in the UK has risen from 1.4 million to 2.9 million.

In 2005 my Aunt and my mother came to visit – I was so happy to have them visit.

My mother knew my love for Dominica for over 20 years and my Aunt too – too have them come and share my home was so blissfull.

My mom kept saying “my hair will never be the same” as we took her island wide windows open and breezes flowing in.

It is always an iffy thing when my mom visits as to how we eat. her and my aunt are staunch meat eaters – my aunt co-owned a large cattle operation and my dad was a hunter so I grew up knowing the eating of deer and moose.

We have worked out this lovely medium where I cook lavish vegetarian meals and we enjoy that at home and we go out for them to get their fish and meat.

My aunt was pre – diabetic and had a blood sugar guage which she read every morning.

While talking and cooking breakfast the first morning

Diabetes prevalence is estimated to rise to 4 million by 2025.

Nearly half the adult population in the United States suffers from prediabetes, a condition in which blood glucose levels are above normal. Most people develop full-blown diabetes within 10 years of being told they have the precursor to it.

In today’s Europe, approximately 60 million people live with diabetes, of whom more than 50% are unaware of their condition.

Studies show that shedding just a few pounds, only 5 to 7 percent of your body weight (a mere 10 to 15 pounds for a 200-pound person), can turn the metabolic tide.

In India, yoga is a common prescription for conditions associated with insulin resistance such as diabetes and hypertension.

This fat can actually chemically react with our bodies. Fat tissue, especially around the abdomen, decreases the body’s sensitivity to insulin. Unable to use insulin efficiently, the body demands more than the pancreas can easily produce. The pancreas gets exhausted and can’t keep up. Without enough insulin to regulate blood sugar, glucose builds up in the bloodstream. The result is insulin resistance and prediabetes.

“Yoga has evolved in 1000’s of ways through 1000’s of teachers over 1000’s of years in 1000’s of places.” ~ The Spectrum of Yoga by Trudy Prevost.

Rainbow Yoga: The Style

Rainbow Yoga Sessions celebrate The Cultural Diversity of Yoga – as you participate in A Rainbow Yoga Style Session you will hear the teacher mention Yoga and Mindful Movement Practices from a few different cultures.

After nearly 50 years of yoga practice and study I feel like I have only just skimmed the surface of what there is out there to learn.  But I find it inspiring and interesting to research the many influences there have been on our yoga practice. The Cultural Diversity of Yoga is not only interesting but it can improve your practice as you look at a different pose or a different of way of doing things.

So far in my studies I have found I can usually categorize The Styles of Yoga into a few general Cultural Based Yoga: African Yoga; Indian Yoga; Tibetan Yoga; and Chinese Yoga.

There are many Styles of Yoga but each involves the practice of a variety of The Techniques of Yoga in a variety of ways with a variety of goals and focuses and claims a heritage to a Culture Based Yoga

Rainbow Yoga; The Style of Yoga is fundamentally based on sharing this concept therefore our classes are diverse; cross cultural; and unique.

This is the start of a series of posts on The Cultures of  Yoga and Rainbow Yoga The Style.

Join our Facebook Page; Email us or Comment on this page so you can join our next The Cultures of Yoga Workshop or Retreat!

Learn more about The Cultures of Yoga in our Yoga Teacher Training! We study the history; the tenants; the practice; the poses and the styles that have evolved from Indian Yoga; Tibetian Yoga; Chinese Yoga and African Yoga.

Do you enjoy The Rainbow Yoga Style? Learn more about Rainbow Yoga; The Style in our Yoga Teacher Training!