After a very snowy winter break, my local yoga classes will start up in the next week.  Here's my schedule:
Mondays 6:30pm at the G-Raj

Tuesdays at 7:00pm at the Congregational Church in South Haven

Thursdays at 6:30 at the G-Raj

If you'd like to join us at the G-Raj, my home studio, please send me an email to get directions.  Suggested donation $10.00

Give yourself the gift of self-care and a supportive community.

Yoga is famous these days for helping combat the stresses of modern life. How the ancient yogis of old knew all the particularities of the benefits of Yoga is still mind-boggling, but they knew.  It wasn't haphazard. Either by Divine inspiration, or  revelations from deep self-study, the sages  knew what was happening in a Yoga practice.

Now that Yoga has been around awhile, science has studied and discovered some of Yoga's secrets, and one of the most fascinating revelations is that Yoga regulates the nervous system by increasing the body's ability to respond to stress.  It's called VAGAL TONE.

 Have you ever thought about trying Yoga, but were intimidated by the lovely, lithe women in skimpy yoga clothes?  Well, my classes are just perfect for you!  Please join me for a 6 week series of classes at the First Congregational Church of South Haven.  If you don't have a mat, don't worry, I'll bring extras.  Just wear comfortable clothes--something that you can bend and stretch in without having it give you a belly ache.  Speaking of bellies, please come on an empty-ish stomach--no big meal beforehand.  

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1.   I've been teaching for almost 40 years, so I know a few tricks to make yoga accessible to anyone challenged by extra weight, stiffness, injury or too many nights on the couch.    We will do some stretches, some twists, some humming, some breathing, and a delicious guided deep relaxation.  You'll experience for yourself the benefits of yoga which include:

 ​Lowered blood pressure
  Better sleep
  Deeper connection to Divine
  Improved mood
  Improved breathing
  Can lower need for insulin in diabetics
  Greater flexibility
  Better body composition
  Better balance in seniors
​  Improves blood flow to the heart
​  Better posture
​  Strengthens cardiovascular system

You should give yoga a try, if you never have before.  It can change your life.  

Several years ago, my wealthy mother-in-law took a trip to China and came home with 3 shiny, gorgeous metal bowls, which appealed to her as a decorative curiosity.  Lillian was, shall we say, an heiress, and had incredible taste in all things.  The bowls looked beautiful in her well appointed home in Scarsdale.  ​

• ,  One of the tools we use to deepen our practice of yoga is simple    concentration.  Maybe I shouldn't say "simple"!  If you've ever tried to meditate, focusing the mind on one thing without interruption is extremely difficult.  That's why we begin with a practice that's not so daunting.  Calling it "concentration" offers the idea that you might start here, and work up to meditation.

​ It helps if you have something to focus the mind on, so many people start with the breath.   If you try to concentrate on the breath--the gentle inhale and exhale--you'll immediately see how the mind wanders off.  It's looking for some real work, or at least a nice daydream!  But the wandering is part of the process of learning how to concentrate.  Just 

​Around 5,000 years ago, the ancient yogis began to lose their capacity to memorize the scriptures by word of mouth, and there became a need to write things down for future generations.  The sage, Sri Patanjali, began the process of articulating the basic ideas about yoga in what has become known as the Yoga Sutras.  Sutra has  a similar meaning as suture, stitch.  Patanjali threaded together the meerest inkling of the profound concepts on self-realization.  A short work of four books with 196 sutras​ or aphorisms, the Sutras are the guidebook on how to control the mind and attain moksha, or liberation.

​In previous blogs I spoke about Asana and Pranayama as being "pillars", or building blocks of a Big Yoga practice.  I started with these more common concepts to begin this discussion of what makes up  Big Yoga .  But essential to any yoga practice are the ethical rules--yamas, and the good habits or observances--niyamas.  The very first of the yamas is Ahimsa, ​or non-

  Prana--the life force of the universe.  In the far east, they say "chi".  Hawaiians call it "ki".  And, Yoda calls it "The Force".  

We are all born with a finite supply of chi which gets depleted over time through aging, overexertion, bad habits.  But there is an infinite supply of chi in the universe that we can bring into the body to boost our energy, focus the mind, and have more fun in life.  Pranayama is the practice of breathwork that allows us to boost our chi.  If you do nothing else, you'll love the effect 

What is it about Big Yoga® that makes it different from other yoga styles?  How did I come up with the name?  How long have I been teaching Big Yoga?  

I thought you might be interested in these questions.  

Big Yoga is a spin off of Integral Yoga®, a yoga school started by Sri Swami Satchidananda.  He came to us during the 60's from India, where he had studied