On our staff at Infuse, at least 2 of us say "outer" and 2 of us say "inner." So which is right?
Wow, it's truly hard to believe Infuse Yoga Spa has been open for a whole year. It seems like just yesterday I was working on a business plan, ordering a ton of yoga props, and wondering who our clients would be when they walked through the door.
As far as I'm concerned, we're in the peak of Chicago's running season and it doesn't end until that first serious snow hits the ground. If you love hitting the pavement (or the treadmill) and want to be able to do so for years to come, a combination of yoga and bodywork is a must to keep your body healthy and injury-free.
Andrea's blog |
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From Dawna Matthews...
In my evening Restore class on Monday, we are currently exploring one Chakra per two weeks so that you can truly experience your chakras in your day-to-day life and bring about healing shifts and expansive openings to your soul’s journey. Each two weeks I will introduce you to the chakra of the session and its influence on your physical, emotional and spiritual being. By working with visualizations, asana poses, and mantra we can bring expanded health, balance, and vibrancy to your body, mind, and spirit. Yoga helps open the chakra life-force channels and strengthens the body. It is important to also feel and experience the sensations of the energies within you as you move through yoga so that their flow is assisted through the movement of the physical body. We draw the energies upward, chakra by chakra, opening the channel wider at each step along the way. What are chakras??? The Chakra System consists of areas of dense energetic activity located along the spine. Each chakra vibrates at a different frequency and influences various aspects of your physical, emotional & spiritual being. Working with the magic and holistic medicine of the elemental vibration of each chakra, you can heal blockages and expand more fully into the truest expression of your divine being. |
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Or maybe it just makes sense. Check out this article (thanks for submitting it, Christy!) and then check out this book: "The Yoga of Eating". Our brand new yoga book discussion group will meet Friday 10/30 for tea and... well... discussion. Excerpted from ScienceDaily.com 8/16/09 "...we found that middle-age people who practice yoga gained less weight over a 10-year period than those who did not. This was independent of physical activity and dietary patterns. We hypothesized that mindfulness – a skill learned either directly or indirectly through yoga – could affect eating behavior," said Kristal, associate head of the Cancer Prevention Program in the Public Health Sciences Division at the Hutchinson Center. The researchers found that people who ate mindfully – those were aware of why they ate and stopped eating when full – weighed less than those who ate mindlessly, who ate when not hungry or in response to anxiety or depression. The researchers also found a strong association between yoga practice and mindful eating but found no association between other types of physical activity, such as walking or running, and mindful eating... |
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Need a reason to try yoga? Don't take our word for it -- check out what these central New Yorkers have to say! Why we love yoga -- 23 Central New Yorkers share why they chose this exercise
Yoga instructor Beth Pettingell Lacey of Syracuse stretches before class inside the gazebo at Hiawatha Lake at lower Onondaga Park. We balance like trees, arms stretched upward as branches. We sink like warriors into fighting poses. We stretch chests upward from the ground like cobras. We arch backs like cats. Sometimes we sweat. Sometimes we quiver. We breathe in and out, sometimes audibly. We gather in studios wedged above coffee shops, in gyms, church basements, medical centers, parks and health spas throughout Central New York. We're devoted yogis. We are men, women and children who do yoga for fitness or relaxation, or both. We've become stronger, more flexible and better balanced. We love our chosen activity, for a variety of reasons (read 23 below.) And, our numbers are growing. "Interest in yoga in our community is certainly there - and growing quickly. More and more people realize yoga is a unique exercise because it provides a great workout and helps you relax," says Beth Pettingell, who teaches classes in the gazebo on Hiawatha Lake in lower Onondaga Park. "The great thing about yoga is that there is a style and level for everyone." Tony Riposo is answering the rising interest in yoga by teaching people how to teach yoga. His school - Infinite Light Yoga - recently graduated 15 new teachers. Another training session begins in January. He says the practice is becoming more important because of stress that's so prevalent in our society. "Yoga is a great way to restore our health," he says. "The muscles are contracted and released, which increases circulation and lymphatic detoxification. As a result, the muscles become more supple and, yet, are strengthened, increasing the 'feel good experience' in our body." Julie Daniel teaches at CNY Yoga Center in Liverpool. "I think there is a growing awareness in general in body/mind information and study," she says. "There are so many stresses that we're all dealing with. Practicing yoga can truly be an oasis in your life." Tina Ramsden, who teaches in Marcellus and Camillus, agrees."We are all so tired, running here and there and are exhausted and feel this urgent need to slow down before life passes us by. Yoga does that. It restores and slows us down. "The crazier and more out of balance this world becomes, the more yoga will continue to grow," Ramsden continues. "The West is extremely out of balance. We eat too much, shop too much, entertain too much. It's go-go-go. Then we drop, exhausted or sick or - worse - face a disease. That is also one way of slowing us down. Yoga is a nicer way." Read why Central New York yogis are drawn to the activity... |
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Tonight in Morgan's Relax class, someone asked a question that got me thinking. In Happy Baby pose, do you grab the inner or outer edges of your feet?
For me, it's about the rotation of the shoulders. Holding the outer edge allows your collarbones to widen and your shoulders to relax toward the floor, making space in the upper back & chest. For Morgan, holding the inner edges allows the low back & hips to release more. As with any technical asana question that comes up to which I don't know the answer, I came home and looked in what I consider to be the yoga asana bible "Light on Yoga" by B.K.S. Iyengar. But, of course, happy baby is not included in the 200 poses in "Light on Yoga". Yoga Journal's web site says "outside." Other websites say "inside." But as I was poring through tons of references, I realized something: It doesn't matter. |
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Why do you practice/study Thai Bodywork? Why do you practice yoga? How do you think the two work together? |
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Check out the following from our teacher, Morgan McDonald, who just returned from an amazing meditation retreat! ***************
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The truth is that Infuse is a dream come true and I am so amazed at how much we've grown in this short time. When we first opened, it was just Christy, Morgan and me. Now Jennifer, Manuel, Monica, Dawna and Ali have joined our yoga & bodywork staff, not to mention Nicole & Erin on our admin staff. We've doubled the number of classes we offer, started a collaboration with Illinois Masonic Hospital on women's health, prenatal and mom & baby classes, and organized 3 social meetup groups on meetup.com. Most importantly, we've had the pleasure to meet and work with so many awesome men and women who've come to us to relax, stretch out, work through injuries, eliminate chronic pain, get centered and enhance their lives in the midst of busy, energetic, crazy Chicago. Without all of you, there is no Infuse. So I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your support and loyalty. |
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