Yoga Nidra BLISS

In the word of Richard Miller, (clinical psychologist, author, researcher and yogic scholar) "Yoga Nidra will lead you to experience profound relaxation, the release of chronic stress, restful sleep, resolutions to many of  your life conundrums, and a greater sense of harmony in your daily life and relationships."
 

During the practice of Yoga Nidra (translated as "Yogic Sleep") you nourish your TRUE self, stimulate your parasympathetic nervous system which helps you release tensions in your body and mind and find equanimity.

I discovered Yoga Nidra many years ago as I was diving deeper into the world of Yoga. As I am usually a "doer", the idea of a motionless practice has always brought me a little discomfort. Sitting there (or in this case laying) with myself, trying to shush away my thoughts usually made them get louder, so I was pleasantly surprised when I was able to listen to a guided meditation where my thoughts, while still being present, seemed further into the distance. I didn't feel them affecting me as much anymore. I was able to find peace within me and release my worries, anxious thoughts and tensions from the first time I practiced Yoga Nidra. I felt so much lighter, the world around me seemed more vibrant, lights brighter, everything was sharper, BUT what I noticed the most was that I was at peace...What a feeling!

It took me a few more years after becoming a teacher to realize that I could share this practice with all of you. I made me feel so good inside that I couldn't just keep it to myself, I had to share.

If you want to experience the practice of Yoga Nidra with me, I am offering workshops year long.
Check out my calendar and sign up for the Karmic e-news to stay up to date!

Come relax with me and let me give you the gift of Yoga Nidra that was offered to me many years ago!!
 

Namaste

NYSC Greenpoint This is not Goodbye...

Dear Wednesday night Yogis from NYSC Greenpoint, I am no longer teaching the 830p class.
I will miss you!
I am still teaching the Tuesday morning class at 930a...so come see me then!!

I have enjoyed sharing yoga with each and everyone of you...

Sending you Love and Light!
Stay in touch!!

Small Group Yoga Training at New York Sports Club

Starting Monday I will be leading 2 Small Group Trainings at New York Sports Club * West 38th St & Broadway

Here's how the Small Group Training program works:
Members and non-members have the ability to purchase classes on a monthly recurring basis. (8 classes to use during the month or 4 classes per month). 
A team training 8 is $180 per month (just $22.50 per class).
A team training 4 is $120/month ($30 per class).
Members and non members drop in classes are $40 per class. 
The classes may be mixed and matched, or a student may stick with the same class each week.

Small classes makes it easier to learn quickly as I will be able to assist each and everyone of you individually. Think of it as a personal training training with a handful of students.
I will be running it as a workshop where you will be able to ask questions and I will address the need of each student.

So if you want to start practicing yoga or if learning how to safely go upside down has been on your mind, this training is for YOU!!

Sign up on line: (click here) or directly at the front desk!!
For more info call the club at: (212) 575-4500

Can't wait to see you at NYSC - West 38th St, Mondays and Thursdays in March!!

Yoga Nidra Bliss

Stress symptoms can affect your body and your thoughts negatively.
We carry tensions both within the physical body and on even deeper levels in the subtle bodies which we are not always aware of. While we can ease physical tension by stretching, exercise or massage, subtle tensions are difficult to recognize and even harder to release. 
Yoga Nidra is a guided meditation that allows you to go below surface tensions to release and transform stress at its deepest level.

Meditation has shown to stimulate the pineal gland in recent research studies. 
The pineal gland regulates circadian rhythms (wake/sleep patterns) by producing melatonin.
The release of melatonin effectively relaxes both the body and the mind. This relaxation leads to increased activity in the parts of the brain associated with happiness (specifically the left prefrontal cortex) and decrease activity in the parts of the brain associated with stress. (so Yoga Nidra = Happy Pill!)
In other words, Yoga Nidra is effective in reducing mild depression such as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) also known as Winter Blues.
If the cold weather and gray sky has taken your smile away and you cannot get to a sunny sandy beach anytime soon, let Yoga Nidra take you there!

There are many, many, more benefits to this beautiful practice.
If you live near NYC, join me to learn more and come experience the magic on Feb. 20th from 2p-4p at Laughing Lotus Yoga NY

Space is limited, reserve your spot now!

Change your brain, reduce stress & anxiety and GET SOME SLEEP!

Have you ever tried to meditate
but find yourself distracted by the constant chatter of your mind?

Do you get frustrated and tell yourself that meditating
is simply NOT for you?

You're not alone!

Like learning to walk, talk or anything else worth doing, it takes time, patience and practice.
Guided meditation has been an easier entry way to calming my mind enough, to stay present longer. I find meditation more accessible by following someone's guidance. When I am listening to the instructions of a teacher, I find my mind less busy with thoughts and clearer of all the clutter I subject myself to (grocery list, unfinished projects, an email I have to respond to, a recent argument I had with a friend...(insert your list here).
I particularly like the practice of Yoga Nidra (a guided meditation done in savasana or corpse pose) because it has allowed me to go deepest into myself and feel many benefits immediately after the practice. I am calmer, at peace in general, more even and my mind seems to be sharper, quicker.

Science has backed up some the benefits, here are a few:

According to Sara Lazar, a neuroscientist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, one of the first scientists to take the anecdotal claims about the benefits of meditation and mindfulness and test them in brain scans, meditating can literally change your brain.
"In the study, We found long-term meditators have an increased amount of gray matter in the insula and sensory regions, the auditory and sensory cortex...they had more gray matter in the frontal cortex, which is associated with working memory and executive decision making. 
It’s well-documented that our cortex shrinks as we get older – it’s harder to figure things out and remember things. But in this one region of the prefrontal cortex, 50-year-old meditators had the same amount of gray matter as 25-year-olds."

Read the full Q/A here

Are the cold temperatures and gray skies of the winter months make you feel uneasy and bring you down?
Meditation reduces stress and anxiety in general, Yoga Nidra helps you "turn on" your parasympathetic nervous system to switch off the fight or flight response we are often over stimulating, which in return releases stress from our body and mind.
source: The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine

Meditation and Yoga Nidra in particular help reduce insomnia.
According to a Harvard School of Med Health publication, after 6 sessions of mindful meditation, the study group had less insomnia, fatigue, and depression.

Here is the full  JAMA Internal medicine study

 

Come experience deep relaxation and let me take you on an uplifting journey through you inner self where you will let go of the Winter Blues and discover the eternal Summer inside you!
Join me on Jan. 16th from 2p-4p at Laughing Lotus Yoga Center Brooklyn.
Click here for more details and to reserve your spot!