by Jasmine | Apr 9, 2012 | Yoga Teens
Yoga for High School Students – Results of a Harvard Study
Overloaded Teens? Take a Downdog!
With all the stresses that teens face with homework, team sports, college admissions tests, qualifying for students loans, the pressure of fitting in, awkward body changes and raging hormones, having a part-time job, doesn’t it make sense that yoga is a way for them to get calmer, chiller and more composed?
A recent study by Harvard University Division of Sleep Medicine, followed high school students that did a regular Kripalu program of yoga with physical postures, controlled breathing exercises as well as meditation and a relaxation period over 10 weeks with classes being 2 to 3 times a week. Questionnaires were given to the high school students 1 week before the program and one week after. The main results of this were that that the students well-being and ability to manage their emotions were greatly improved.
The yoga students found that their mood was greatly improved with yoga and they were less prone to anger, irritibility and they had increased self-confidence and composure after regularly attending yoga classes during their PE period.
I know when I was an awkward teenager, I was pressured by my parents to get a 3.5 GPA or I wouldn’t be able to go out with my friends and use the car. Most of my friends were dating and had boyfriends so I felt like I had to have a boyfriend also….. Enter the hot and sophisticated German Exchange student.
I was also on the tennis team and when I first started it I was on the bottom of the team and felt like a loser. Having more self-acceptance about my place on the ladder would have helped me to handle my position better. I played about 2 to 3 hours of tennis about 5 times a week and was determined to not be on the bottom of the team tennis ladder.
Most of my friends always got As and I always seemed to get Bs even though we all studied together all the time. We all wanted to go to the top schools so my friends, parents and even friends of my parents all seemed to collectively put pressure on us to take the College Prep classes and only get As.
I was also having lots of the normal teenage girl battles with my parents at the time over the cliche subjects, going out, curfew, boys, drinking, partying and had plenty of heated battles with them. I wish I had a tool at the time for being level-headed and to see things more objectively which would have made relations much smoother with less stand-offs.
In addition to the demands of school, the pressure of getting good grades to get into a respectable college, battling with my parents, fitting in with my friends, the confusion of dating for the first time I worked part time as well. I had to learn to be more responsible in a professional manner for my conduct at quite a few different jobs as a teenager such as a camp counselor, pizza delivery girl (one of my favorite jobs ever) and a clerk at Seaworld (gotta love their otter show!) I had to learn to use sound judgment and didn’t have my peers or parents immediately available to me. If I had had yoga at the time, I think I would have had a more developed intuition and trusted my inner guidance to help me navigate the world of work at such a young age.
Benefits of Yoga for High School Students
Are you a High School student that does yoga? Do you have kids that do yoga at school? What changes have you or have they noticed in all of these areas as a result of a consistent yoga practice? Write your response on our Facebook page.
Benefits of Yoga for Psychosocial Well-Being in a US High School Curriculum: A Preliminary Randomized Controlled Trial
Harvard University Study of Yoga for High School Students
by Jasmine | Apr 5, 2012 | Yoga For Weight Loss
Yoga begins from the foundation up. You work to strengthen the deepest underlying muscles, release tightness and stiffness and stretch muscles. You begin to awaken what has been dormant. You breathe life into your body and mind. You start to notice that you are thinking more clearly. . You start to feel better, make better nutritional choices, modify your habits so that they serve you rather than you serving them. You start to have control.
Yoga Postures for Weight Loss
A quick word here about “desire” and “will power” as these two words are interrelated. It is easy to think that all you need to do is have strong enough will power to resist the temptations and desire you have cultivated for food. It is easy to say that you will just stop eating x, y, or z. It is easy to “know” that you need to exercise and move more, eat less. But just how do you actually do it? How do you actually stop yourself from having 3 bites of ice cream instead of 20?
This is yoga. This is practice.
Instead of trying to stop cold turkey, you practice having less. Each time you have less, you win! Each time you choose not to have the cookie, the extra helping, the next glass of wine, you pump your will power tank with gas.
Yoga Postures for Weight Loss
Every time you exercise, move your body, tune into your breath, you fill up with will power to take down and eradicate the negative desires in your life that are currently winning the battle. This is it, it is all out war. Become your most fierce warrior self. Step onto the battle field prepared! Begin your yoga practice by strengthening your will power!
Active Inquiry-
What do you desire most, moment to moment?
What desires run your life?
Make a “will power” check list. (Even the seemingly smallest of actions count!)
This system is not about starvation. This system is about kindness, compassion, and results. This yoga system is about asking very difficult questions, facing the even more difficult answers and actually doing something about them.
One of these questions is: “What are you attached to that does not serve you?” We all get attached to people, pets, and things in our life that we think and that do, initially give us pleasure. But, what happens when the pleasure lessens, but we continue to remember the initial joy, and get addicted?
What if we fall into a bad habit? What if we find ourselves, after many months or years, coming to depend upon the empty comfort of our attachments, only to discover that they make it harder for us to live fully and vibrantly.
How do we start to let go? Do we bury our heads in the sand, stay home and continue to eat Ben and Jerrys? No! We engage our bodies, our minds, our lives. We endeavor to change.
We do our yoga.
We get on the yoga mat and breathe.
Active Inquiry-
- Write down all of your attachments.
- Ask which attachments will take time to let go of.
- Visualize your life without these attachments.
by Jasmine | Apr 4, 2012 | Couples Yoga, eStore, Reviews
Music for Yoga CD at Intimate Retreats for Couples
In a yoga class setting up a scene with lights, music and space is such a key part of the experience. Before considering a space to teach a retreat at I look at the lighting pretty carefully. I also plan out the music carefully as well It really takes you to a sacred place and I tend to get all flustered is my sound system is not working. Whenever I am teaching at a new place or subbing I make sure to spend awhile understanding how their music system works. Just last week I used a new CD player and accidentally had the song on repeat. Since we were in the middle of a couples yoga massage sequence, I couldn’t change the music without disrupting the couples since the CD player was right next to them. It was not one of my best classes.
I actually have two CDs playing at our retreats. I have one in the reception area that is kind of funky so they know they are in for an adventure and then in the actual practice room another CD that is more tranquil.
Shamanic Dream – When I play this in my classes, I almost always get a student come up and ask me what the CD is. It is hypnotic, ambient and a bit tribal all at the same time but with a fairly even tone. I teach a lot of couples yoga classes and I usually play this at the end so people can drop into a very deep space when the lights are very low. This will transport you both
Dessert Dwellers – One of my students suggested this to me a awhile ago. I tend to have a lot of CDs that are not just Sankrit chants and Ooommming. I don’t like to have too many vocals on my music since that tends to be distracting and like to have the music be pretty clean sounding. I like the chill, funky vibe but the tone is even enough to play in a class. A fine one to play at your next cocktail party.
Snautam Kaur – Don’t let her turban scare you. She does a few songs in English as well. I discovered her when I was at the Omega Institute years ago. She was part of the Ecstatic Chant weekend. What a line-up they had! She has a voice like an angel and you can feel her soul into all of her chants. This is one of the CDs that my yoga students ask me about the most in my yoga class. I often chant some of her songs while I am driving in my car and going through “stuff”.
Rain – Another CD you won’t usually find on your top ten yoga music CDs. This is acoustic guitar and piano and I remember playing this when I driving around in the mountains of New England during the changing of the leaves. I still see the bright orange colors, and brilliant reds whenever I listen to this. The music just matched the mood so well – melancholically beautiful.
Wah!– The ! is not a typo. I’ve seen her play a few times and it always shocks me that she is is not in bigger venues (she usually leads a Kirtan at a yoga studio) I actually went to one of her events at she was leading a somewhat unsual and at times bizzare yoga class. I fa chanting Indian guru and Natalie Merchant had a baby then this is who they would create. I discovered her when I was working at the Chopra shop in California a few years ago. We used to play her CDs in the store to give it a Chopra vibe.
Couples Yoga Workshop
Le Spa Sonique – Don’t let the lavenders flowers scare you. This had a chill kind of vibe to it, sweet, sultry and sexy. I think I discovered this at Kripalu a few years ago.The beat can be a bit funky and might not work that well during shivasana. This is a great CD to play for a a lounge-y cocktail hour.
Deva Premal & Mitten I don’t think you can call yourself a serious yoga student unless you have at least 2 of their CDs. Deva’s voice is like an angel and their tunes are soulful and sensual. I still remember the first time I heard their music at a tantra workshop. I get plenty of students that come up to me after class asking what the music is. I remember the first time I went to one of their concerts. They think of their concerts more like a community getting together and singing…very interactive and the way that they lead some of the mantras you’ll feel incredibly connected to the ether of the universe.
Krishna Das – He is the Bruce Springsteen of Kirtan. (group chant) scene. I saw him perform at the same ecstatic chant weekend at the Omega Institute a few years ago. His songs are in Sankrit which might turn off some of you (or could turn you on…everybody’s different). His CDs are work well in any yoga class but buy a ticket to one of his live shows and watch yogis jump and twirl around in. Quite the spectacle…. and you’ll find yourself hopping and jumping as well.
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by Jasmine | Apr 4, 2012 | Couples Retreat, Couples Yoga, Date Night, Romantic Date Ideas, Spirituality, Yoga DVDs, & Podcasts
Partner Yoga For Couples at a Retreat Center near Philadelphia in West Chester
The past few Valentine’s day weekend, we decided to host a partner yoga for couples workshop at a retreat center near Philadelphia in West Chester called Temenos, which is about 40 minutes outside of the city. We were looking for a retreat space that was small, intimate and cozy since we didn’t want it to be a huge group. Partner yoga for couples is a very bonding and buoyant practice and it works well whether you are very athletic and a seasoned yoga practitioner or if you are out of shape or limited with injuries.
I am always pleasantly surprised by who shows up for our classes. When we first started to have our events, I thought it would be hippie, crunchy people that were really into the yoga lifestyle that would show up. I thought it would be people that attended yoga classes on a regular basis or people that had a regular spiritual practice such as Qigong or meditation. Instead, I find people that are more often than not without a regular practice and want to explore their spirituality and connect with their significant other as well.
We aim to present our classes and workshops as welcoming to yoga newbies ( or yoga virgins as we call them) and encourage beginners and the stiff and inflexible to come to our events. Some people, especially the guys, are a little intimidated and scared of yoga. They worry that they are going to end up wearing a loincloth or having to attempt to contort their bodies into ridiculous position a la Cirque Du Soleil.
We have had quite an array or people come into the class. We have had military guys, IT guys, a professional football player, construction guys, doctors, nurses and a few yoga teachers as well.
Instead, we start off each class with a grounding and centering exercise where we establish some communications guidelines and go over boundaries and pushing into other past our limits of comfort and flexibility. Then the next part of the retreat, we start to do some simple movements while seated on the floor. It’s usually a simple movement such as raising your arms together in devotion and then your hands our coming back in tandem together. I like to start off with a very simple pose so that it puts everyone at ease.
Often the next move after this is something that will make people laugh and giggle such as bicycle so that people can start warming up their bodies. We encourage people to be playful and creative with this movement and since their toes our interlocking at this point we encourage people to “make-out with their toes” so that people can start to feel more romantic towards each other.
We then usually go into more challenging poses which are some standing poses. Depending on how athletic the group is, we might do a more challenging pose which requires more core strength and flexibility. The couples are often a bit anxious on some of the balancing poses, especially those that are weight bearing and you are trusting your partner to hold all of your weight and not let you fall on the floor. This part of the class produces some adrenaline and confidence. Having a bit of danger and adventure for a couples help to heighten sexual arousal so we always include a bit of this.
Couples Yoga Moves for Beginners or Seasoned Yogis
Then we have a transitional restorative pose to help calm everyone and have them drop down into a more tranquil space. After the restorative pose, we go into the massage part of the class. The massage part of the class is more about intention and we don’t emphasize technique or skill so much.
After the massage part we have a nice juicy-spooning and cuddling shavasana and then we close the class and everyone usually is completely blissed out at this point. We send our students off and encourage them to have wine, herbal tea, soft music and candles so they can start in this peaceful state. Some people say it is like a tantra workshop but we don’t use that word to describe it since it has such a negative connotation these days and don’t want people to get the wrong idea.
Here are my reviews: Couple Yoga DVDs and Book Reviews – Buoyant Bonding Tips at Home
by Jasmine | Apr 3, 2012 | Beginner Yoga
Beginner Yoga in Havertown, PA
There are not too many studios that have yoga in Havertown, PA. Here are the places that I know about.
There is Tri-Yoga in Havertown on West Chester Pike. The style is a bit esoteric but quite meditative and structured. I have only been to a a few classes here and the space is quite small and intimate. There are a few levels of yoga here and if you are a beginner then you will probably feel pretty intimidated if you go to an intermediate of above class. I appreciate has there is not a lot of talking from the teacher in the class so you can really tune into what is going on in your body and heart.
This studio has monthly full moon classes which I still have yet to get to. I often am teaching couples yoga in Manayunk on Friday nights so full moon yoga or candlelight yoga is very tricky for me to get to. When I do have a Friday night off, I usually want to veg at home or go out and get a yoga sabbatical. The location is quite convenient, right of West Chester Pike and plenty of parking. This studio has a big emphasis on community events such as potlucks etc every few months and it is a very warm group of people that teach and attend classes there.
There is also East Eagle Yoga, located at 18E. Eagle Rd., Havertown, PA, has classes for Beginners, Intermediates, Advanced/Vinyasa, Kids, and Pilates. Parking is a bit of a hassle here. I came here a few months ago and went to the lot in the back and the machines that take the quarters were not working so I had to re-park 2 blocks away and ended up being later for the class than I expected. It’s a nice big studio with traditional sun salutations so if you want a vinyasa yoga class in Havertown, PA then this is a good choice if you don’t mind some parking hassles.
Yoga in Havertown
There is also Cerca Trova yoga which I haven’t been to yet on Darby Rd. Cerca Trova has a variety of yoga classes from Scaravelli Inspired Hatha Yoga, Vinyasa Flow, Power Yoga, Heart Yoga and plenty of yoga for kids classes. It is on Darby Rd, actually down the street from East Eagle Yoga. Parking can be a bit tricky here too but not as tricky as East Eagle Yoga. I haven’t been to a class here yet but have been wanting to try out their Monday morning restorative class.
There are also the Tuesday late morning classes that I teach at the Healing Touch on Darby Rd but this is not a traditional hatha yoga class. We don’t do a bunch a sun salutations and you’re not going to get Taylor Lautner’s abs from this class. This class is aimed at people that want something gentle and restorative and they might not be in great shape. If you are intimidated or scared or yoga and just want an invigorating class that will help to release pain and stiffness then this is an appropriate choice then. In the Healing Touch, there are other healing and personal growth modalities that range from acupressure to a Wise Women’s cafe that meets once a week. There is also ballroom and belly dancing so there are all kinds of funky classes and workshops that are happening here.
In a ten minute drive there are actually 3 full-fledged yoga studios so there are some solid options for yoga in Havertown, PA which range from gentle, restorative, meditative to a more active, vinyasa and hatha styles.
Healing Touch Yoga Studio in Havertown
