Simply call (530) 881-1000 just prior to 6PM (PST), May 7th and enter Participant Access Code: 677390#

You are going to be muted, you can press *6 to unmute if you’d like to ask a question.

Click on the link below to access the power point.

Kaoverii Detox teleclass

Here’s the recording: Subtle Yoga Spring Detox

1. Something green in the morning
For years I couldn’t handle this idea. Salad for breakfast? Ugh. I’m going back to bed. But then I started making green smoothies in the morning. Let me be clear, I DO NOT OWN A VITAMIX (not that I don’t want one – text me if you happen to be moving abroad). I bought a good Oster blender, which I didn’t have to take out a second mortgage for, and it does just fine – a little noisier than my morning nerves like, but no chunks. In case you are considering crossing over to the dark green side, here’s a recipe to tinker with:

Ingredients:
1 handful of almonds
1 t of chia seeds
2-3 dino kale leaves – deveined
1 granny smith apple cored and cubed
½ cup of frozen blueberries
Maybe ½ of a frozen banana
1 T hemp powder protein
Maybe some greens powder or spirulina
¾-1 c of almond milk

The night before: Soak a handful of almonds in one small bowl or jar and a teaspoon of chia seeds in another. In the am: almonds and chias go in the blender first. If I have time, I pop the almonds outta their skins. Then the powders. Add kale, apple, blueberries and optional banana. Plug your ears. Blend enthusiastically, because you are going to feel great after you drink this stuff.

My friend Sam tells me my smoothies are like my schedule. Just shove it all in there and blend.

2. Twist poses are excellent for detoxing!
Matsyendranath, the father of Hatha Yoga, has a powerful pose named after himself – Ardha Matsyendra’sana. “Half Lord of the Fishes.” I’m sorry that the translation sounds, well, a little pathetic. Believe me, this sage had many talents beyond his skill for half-heartedly dominating fish. Matsyendranath can be accredited with initiating the understanding that asanas help to detoxify and rejuvenate the body. His name indicates that he was from a fishing caste. And also from the group of yogis called the “Nathas” who were Shiva worshippers and great Tantric experimenters. Whether or not Matsyendranath himself created this asana is up for discussion – nevertheless, it can be found in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika – one of the original poses. It’s a powerful digestive system rejuvenator.

3. Sweat
Which doesn’t necessarily mean you have to do sweaty yoga. In fact, it’s not my favorite way to detox with asanas – they can be used much more creatively and intentionally. However, sweating is really important so, in whatever way you like to get worked up, make a commitment to yourself that 4-5 days a week you will get out there and sweat somehow cause gosh darnit, you are going to feel better if you do. Lazy yogi cop-out tip: even though it’s not necessarily better than internally generated hear, you can also sweat in a sauna.

4. Examing the urge to retox
Here’s the thing: we’re all dealing with toxicity. Let’s face it, we’re pretty much living in a toxic garbage heap of a planet these days – but that’s another blog. Nevertheless, it’s essential to find ways to unload the burden from our bodies. But toxicity is not only physical – frankly, a lot of it is emotional. “Toxic” emotions like guilt, shame, anxiety and anger all inhibit the body’s ability to detox. It’s great to do all the right things physically but we also need to unearth the roots of the urge to retox. This calls for lots of mindful compassion. You have to recognize the urge before you can do anything about it. And when you see it, can you respond with compassion and kindness rather than judgment and punishment?

We’ll talk about all this and lots more next week! Hope you can join us for this free webinar next Tuesday night (May 7)  at 9 pm EST. 

And here’s a cat…

If you’ve been thinking about our RYT500 Subtle Yoga Therapeutics Training – this is your year. Did you know that if you begin an RYT500 therapeutics training before Dec. 31, 2013, the International Association of Yoga Therapists will grandfather you in as a Yoga Therapist?

If you start a training after that, you will have to complete an additional 300 hours of training.

And boy have we got trainings! One RYT500 is beginning in the spring in Charlotte and two more will begin in the fall – one in Asheville (an intensive, yay!) and the other in Chattanooga. We are still working out the dates for the fall trainings, but the spring training is ready to go. Click here for details.

And please remember that you can have a certification through Subtle Yoga or any other approved school to start our RYT500 program, which is actually only 300 hours.

I am humbled and thrilled by the amount of positive feedback we’ve had on our trainings (both RYT200 and RYT500) and in this month’s newsletter, I want to introduce you to the AMAZING trainers that have made these programs possible…

I have to start with my husband, Brett Sculthorp, who, as an introverted New Zealander, hates this kind of attention. However Brett is a central force behind our curriculum and the logistics of our trainings. Brett is a licensed certified prevention specialist, and a provisionally licensed social worker and substance abuse counselor. It is no exaggeration to say that his vast knowledge of both social work and yoga has enabled us to become a national forerunner in the field of a yogic approach to behavioral health.

Next, Samantha Noto, RYT500, is the director of our programs in Charlotte and the incredible shakti behind all the programs we are offering there. Sam, who was a corporate trainer in her past life, has the uncanny ability to see both the large picture and the devil in the details. She is a powerfully subtle teacher with the empathic, intuitional ability to help trainees hone their talents and fine tune their skills. I am infinitely grateful to Sam for her support and drive as we take Subtle Yoga to the next level.

Marek Sawicki, BA. CAyu. LMBT, eRYT 500, a certified Ayurvedic Medical Practitioner and lead faculty instructor of Therapeutic Massage at AB-TECH Community College, is our Ayurveda and Structural therapy guru. Marek’s command of Vini Yoga and ayurveda is impressively vast! He’s a warm, helpful teacher who offers solid guidance served up with a healthy side of amazing kirtan!

Ramesh Bjonnes, a certified yoga health educator and a popular yoga columnist for Elephant Journal as well as the author of Sacred Body, Sacred Spirit: A Personal Guide to the Wisdom of Yoga is a true gem of our faculty. Ramesh, who spent several years studying in India, wows our students with his expansive understanding of yoga history – the mainstream, as well as unorthodox perspectives. Ramesh also teaches detox techniques. You can read his articles here: http://www.elephantjournal.com/author/ramesh-bjonnes/

Eric Siler is a Rolfer, yoga instructor and master of prana. Eric has an incredibly extensive list of trainings from Kripalu, to Anusara to Para Yoga. He teaches a whole weekend on prana and pranayama for our programs and also helps students explore the modern day relevance of the Yoga Sutras.

We are delighted to introduce Jessica Boylston-Fagonde, a heartfelt branding whiz who teaches a refreshingly authentic Business and Marketing module. We are also incredibly honored to present Dr. Marcy Braverman Goldstein, an expert in Asian religions, and instructor at both UNC Charlotte and Davidson College, who teaches our Sanskrit modules.

Other fabulous contributors in our RYT500 Chattanooga trainings include worldclass yoga instructors Doug Keller  and Roger Cole  whose reputations speak for themselves.

Sue Reynolds, the founder of Clearspring Yoga and an accomplished yogini (Sue was the second yoga teacher to hang a shingle in Chattanooga!), teaches a module on Yin Yoga for our program and helps keep our program cogs turning and Maggie White, a brilliant young teacher whose skills include group facilitation, prenatal and kids yoga has been a true pleasure to work with. Also a shout out to Janka Livoncova who teaches a heartfelt module on Addiction Recovery.

In Asheville we are tremendously grateful for Amber Acheson from Asheville Community Yoga who is the glue that holds things all together.

Our groundbreaking Subtle Yoga Training for Behavioral Health Professionals at MAHEC in Asheville and the workshops we are now presenting all over the state at the AHECs (area health education centers) would be exist without the support and efforts of Ashley Lester, LCSW, RYT200 and the good faith and advocacy of our program director, Elizabeth Flemming.

In Charlotte in our RYT200 program, we have Helen Mason, who teaches basic anatomy with infinite kindness and flair in our RYT200 programs. There’s also Katherine Metzo, Mariana Schuster, Julie Flanagan, Kim Neater, and Amy Schneider of Community Yoga and so many others who have been so supportive to our programs.

I’m sure I’ve missed a few of the fabulous people who have contributed to the thriving of Subtle Yoga and for that, I apologize. I am truly humbled by the amazing community that has evolved to merge the authentic tradition of yoga with today’s evidence based practices and serve their communities with health, wellbeing and spiritual expansion. I am also in awe of the tremendous contributions of the students to these programs. Each program is a rich and satisfying – filled with the knowledge and wisdom of so many participants who truly hold space for and nurture each other on the path to learning to share this tradition.

Om shanti,

Kaoverii

Dear Kaoverii,

I can quickly get to that quiet place where my mind stops – it’s nothing special that I’ve done, I’ve always been able to do that. Is there something I should be doing or looking for or *something* while I’m there?  Since I don’t have to spend all of my meditation time trying to find the quiet place, what should I be doing once I get there?  How can I grow here?  I meditate often, because it makes me feel better and really reduces my stress levels on a physical level — but I feel I’m missing an opportunity here.

Elizabeth, Asheville NC

Answer:

Hi Elizabeth,

I’m so happy to hear about your meditation practice and that you are finding it so beneficial.

Your question about “what next?” is a really good one and it strikes right to the heart of the question, “What is meditation?” There are certain styles of meditation that suggest that stopping the mind is the goal. And in fact, this quieting is a very important aspect of any meditation practice.

Traditional tantric yogic meditation opens up the practitioner to the simple, expansive beauty of mantra. What is a mantra? Something that makes your mind expand and leads to the infinite. “Man” = mind and “tra” = “the liberator.” So traditionally, yogis have used mantra to get them beyond the mind and open up to the infinite.

Why use a mantra? The idea is “As you think, so you become.” Mantra is a way to take the mind into the infinite – because the mantras used for meditation always are some variation of the theme, “I am the infinite.” By reinforcing these neuro-cognitive pathways the mind is able to use itself as a springboard out of itself.

A few traditional mantras are “Shivo Hung”, “Om Shanti”, and “Hare Krishna.” But I would suggest that you receive a mantra from a qualified teacher – there are many different organizations that offer mantras, many of them free of charge – and will teach you a simple technique to use. Mantras that come from a teacher rather than a book are specially vibrated. They are imbued with the “shakti” or power of that teacher. So find a teacher you resonate with and then use the mantra they give you.

Mantra is not the end of the road, it is the beginning. There are many other sophisticated and intricate meditation practices in yoga, but mantra is the foundation of them all. Using mantra for meditation will help your meditation move beyond contented quietness towards deeper transformation.

Hello Kaoverii,

Lately with my meditation, when I am in that happy place, my eyelids flutter fairly hard.  It actually hurts/ strains my eyes.  Many times my focus is pulled to my eyes rather than meditation.  I’ve asked the eyelids to stop, but my full focus is not on meditation.  I tried to look up some information, but can’t find anything on how to deal with it.  I thought about wearing a sleep mask, but think that might be too restrictive.  Do you have any advice or know where I can find more info.?  Thanks!

Beth, Charlotte, NC

Answer:

I believe what you are experiencing is what is sometimes called a “kundalini symptom.” What this means is that when you go to “that happy place” the kundalini energy begins to stir. This is  sometimes experienced in weird physical ways – often the body will shake or rock, some people make weird sounds, sometimes there is laughing, crying or even jumping. In a western sense, this is explained by the idea that the nerve cells or fibers are going through a purification process. Prana gets “stuck” someplace and can’t flow through easily – so the body does weird things to try to let it get through. Fluttering eyes is  one of those things.

I would suggest that you sit with it and observe it. This is an opportunity to go deeper in to your mantra, to focus with more energy and awareness. See if it helps to bring your focus down into your chest and away from your third eye.  Oh, and don’t forget to gently splash water in your eyes before you meditate to see if this helps calm them.

Hi Kaoverii, I am starting to think that I can teach downward facing dog. But I have such a hard time getting my students to do it correctly. They have too much weight in their hands, can you help?

Donna, Florida

Answer:

Glad you are venturing into the land of dogs, it can be playful!

The trick is to ask your students to bend their knees a lot, get the weight out of their hands as much as possible and push the hips towards the seam between the wall and the ceiling behind them. If they can’t get it with that instruction, you have to stand in front of them, not behind, put one hand on each side of their waist, and then lift them up and back. This will get them going in the right direction – they have to have their knees bent while you’re doing this if they have tight hamstrings or if won’t work and you could injure them.

Now, I’ve been teaching yoga and watching yoga trends for a long time – but it’s only been in the past few years that yoga has been getting serious attention from the health profession. There is a tremendous groundswell of interest in yoga as a complementary therapy and it seems like everyone wants to know how they can use these simple, powerful techniques to help themselves and their clients/patients.

I have been contacted by several other AHECs in North Carolina to provide similar classes for their students. And The Subtle Yoga Teacher Training program for Behavioral Health Professionals at MAHEC is starting up again August 22 – we have participants attending from Wisconsin and California. One therapist applicant commented, “I’ve been searching for a training like this for years! You do realize that you are the only people in the country doing this, don’t you?”

It’s not that we are the only folks teaching about yoga and mental health in the country (although I do think that we have a unique take on it) – it’s that MAHEC, a well respected continuing education institution, is supporting it.

Last week, a student came up to me after class at Asheville Community Yoga and told me that the practice we had done in the beginning of class, Bhramari Pranayama (bumblebee breath), had helped her, more than the medication she had been given, to regulate her irregular heart beat and associated anxiety. Yes, there’s research that also shows this.

And today another student told me through Facebook that Legs up the wall is the most reliable thing she can do to minimize her PTSD induced tachycardia.

Yoga is neither expensive nor laden with dangerous side effects. It can offer potent therapeutic support for an array of mental and physical challenges.

But the world needs more professionals who can teach this art/science and adapt it to specific clientele. For example, I teach yoga nidra for PTSD and the US military has done numerous studies to support its use. But yesterday, a therapist who specializes in women’s recovery from sexual trauma said she probably wouldn’t use it with her clients because it could trigger women who have been sexually assaulted – lying on the floor, being spoken to softly, etc. Of course! What a great insight. But we need specialists to make these kinds of calls and to continue to do the amazing research that is supporting yoga’s therapeutic application.

In addition to our training for Behavioral Health Professionals – we are also offering an intensive RYT500 Therapeutics Training – in a format more suitable for people coming from far away to train with us. So far we have people participating from Japan, Mexico and Europe.

I hope you find a chance today to do something relaxing and soothing for yourself – like putting your legs up the wall for 10 minutes.

love and shanti, Kaoverii

Over the years a lot of people have come up to me after class and said, “Yoga has saved my life.”

My usual response is, “Mine too.”

I don’t know how sensitive people survive in this culture without it. Unfortunately, survival often morphs into escapism – attempted through insidious addictive behaviors – drugs, alcohol, food, sex, shopping, gambling etc. And while we know how harmful addiction is on one hand, on the other, our culture fosters, condones and promotes these behaviors. Why be uncomfortable for one second when there is a distraction for everything that irritates you? Why feel bad about yourself or your society when there’s a pill to fix that feeling?

Of the millions of people who are entrenched in addictions in the U.S., less than 10 percent get treatment – and that treatment often is ineffective. Addiction rips apart lives, families and communities. It is one of the largest public health crises that we face as a society and at the same time, the fact that our culture is plagued with addiction is not even remotely surprising. We are fighting against ourselves.

While people tell me “Yoga has saved my life” for many reasons – one of the biggest is their recovery typically from a drug, alcohol or food addiction – followed by the reclaiming of their purpose, meaning and joy in living.

Yoga teaches us to tolerate the feelings in our bodies – the good, the bad and the ugly. And to be okay with whatever sensations arise. To be able to tolerate them and remember that everything passes. It also heals – physically, emotionally and spiritually – the devastation that addictive behaviors can wreack.

In a 2009 study on reducing addictions with yoga, the Kissens wrote, “[it] can be argued that the overall yoga experience is antithetical to addictive tendencies and behavior. The ritualistic aspects of yoga are uniquely self-soothing & produce atmosphere of comfort & feelings of being held w/out the self-harming aspects inherent in addictive behavior.”

I’m looking forward to teaching about yoga as an integrative part of substance abuse recovery again at the Mountain Area Health Education Center’s yearly conference – Addiction: Focus on Women. I’m also teaching Yoga for Reducing Depression and Anxiety at Charlotte AHEC tomorrow and later in the summer – another one day course at Northwest AHEC.

Yoga is quickly gaining acceptance as an important component of recovery. It’s not a stretch to say that addiction affects everyone, and yoga can be a powerful part of the healing process for individuals, families, and communities.

I believe that yoga can help anyone at any point in their lives whether they are dealing with a disease or illness, recovering from it and trying to reclaim life, or enjoying good health and moving towards  self-actualization and thriving. I also think yoga is one of the most powerful prevention tools available to young and old alike. I mean who doesn’t need to both move more and find more quiet?

Not only does yoga benefit physically and emotionally, perhaps the greatest benefit is spiritual – an area that conventional medicine is just starting to understand:

“By ignoring the spiritual dimension of health, for whatever reason, we may be depriving ourselves of the leverage we need to help empower individuals and populations to achieve improved physical, social, and mental health. Indeed, unless and until we do seriously address the question—however difficult and uncomfortable it may be—substantial and sustainable improvements in physical, social, and mental health, and reductions in the health gradient within and between societies, may well continue to elude us.” - John-Paul Vader, University of Lausanne Medical Centre, Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, Lausanne, Switzerland

So how do we reach people who don’t think yoga is for them? How do we bridge the chasm between the yoga world and the conventional health world? These are questions inform my work of getting yoga out into the world. All of our programs are designed to help train teachers who can confidently walk that bridge and interface with community health providers to institute yoga as a key part of truly transformative integrative health care strategies.

I want to introduce our conceptual model to you. Now before you stop reading or your eyes glaze over, take a moment to consider this: The lower right corner is about treatment – what most people think about when they try to help people. But health is a complex web of relationships and individual behaviors. Our model helps to expand our idea about what health is and how yoga can help. The health care world is starting to understand that we have to address all areas, not just treatment.

Things are changing in the yoga world too. The celebrity allure is falling away. Practitioners have a strong desire to share the wellspring of wisdom that yoga offers and to deliver it in a way that meets the needs of the people they are serving. As practitioners and teachers, if we are to see our profession grow and flourish and really make a dent in our ailing nation, we need to learn the language of the medical people and the mental health professionals. We need to offer our practice in community context and perhaps strip if of some of the cultural trappings that keep people away.

Yoga is for everyone, let’s figure out how to bring it to them.