Opening to Newness!

 

We are thrilled to announce YBB has a  brand new location! We will open our studio at 2300 South Street, Suite 2 on March 30. After months of searching, we found what we think is simply perfect--a beautiful, convenient, new space. We look forward to serving you there!

 

 

2300 S. 48th Street, Suite 2

Lincoln, NE 

 

 

 

And not only that, but YBB also has a face! We are so proud to have a logo and a website that is being developed! You can now go online at www.yogabodyandbalance.com to see class schedules, rates,  treatments, etc! Please note that the website is a splash page that is still in the creation stages. 

It has been nourishing for me to return to teaching and to see all the familiar faces. As I was teaching the other day, a thought came to mind while the class was in shavasana (relaxation). I realized that when people come to class, I get to experience them just as they are. I don’t know about their personal lives, what kind of work they do, or if they have a family. The only thing my eyes see is the person full of potential and possibilities. I have the pleasure to see living art perform in front of me in its pure beauty and expression of life! I was also wondering about why people feel “soooo good” after a 10 minute shavasana. What makes it special, and why don’t people get the same benefit at home?

In class we spend an hour emptying the mind, and by the end of class that powerful machinery that is always busy with an opinion and stories, has yielded. It is silenced and eased in a natural way. You find yourself with openness and spaciousness in the mind that feels incomparable. You’ve worked the physical body opening and relaxing muscles and aligning your body, refining your posture and experiencing your potential. All this happens as you use the breath as your mail tool, relaxing and bringing much prana (oxygen) inside yourself. You bring life to life for an hour! Aromatherapy also assists the relaxation of your senses and softening of the nervous system. The therapeutic grade essential oils we use in the facial massage promote a state of calm-- inviting you to give it all up (especially that little voice inside your head) and to rest deeply in your relaxing meditation. So come and join us for an invigorating yoga class. Feel empowered as you experience yourself out of the routine of the day, and then end up with the best rest you’ve had in a long time!

 

 

Please know I am back one hundred per cent! That means I'm returning to teaching 10 o'clock am classes Monday through Friday, and I'm available for private lessons. I would love to have you schedule a time to take your yoga practice to a higher level.

We are grateful for the response of the Lincoln community making possible the creation of this space for growth, and we hope to see you soon in class!

 

Time to Let Go and Gain Flexibility

 

 by Thomas

 

Flexibility, more of a theory for some of us and a distant goal for others, is one of the first things we think of when we hear the word “yoga.” It is a completely relative term since even those who are most flexible say, “I am still stiff here and there.” The majority of us measure our flexibility by whether we can touch our toes or not. Novices contend they can’t go to a yoga class because they are not flexible enough although that is in part WHY you go. The bendy pretzel type may go simply to demonstrate their flexibility.

 

Although books have been written on stretching and flexibility, yoga did not begin with flexibility, but yoga did affect flexibility. In the beginning, physical positions were limited to a few sitting postures in which other aspects of yoga were practiced. Later, asanas were developed and used to relieve and support sitting for hours on end. Yogis found that these additional postures and their regular practice cultivated pranic movement, emotional and mental awareness, physiological health, and, of course, flexibility. 

This brings us to where we are today and our own flexibility. It’s good to recognize a number of factors involving flexibility. First, all of us can be extremely flexible. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it; we are born that way. Flexibility is not inherited, and inflexibility is simply poor stretching and limiting lifestyles. What does that mean? We stand or sit in chairs or lie down 98% of the time. We don’t condition our bodies to touch our toes or twist around as children do naturally. Second, our flexibility is directly linked to our diets. The more poorly we eat, the more limited our flexibility. Of course, not everyone who is inflexible has a poor diet, and “poor diet” as a label needs to be defined. Unfortunately, that is not today’s discussion.

 

Lastly, “on the mat,” our yoga practice is directly related to time. The longer you hold a pose, the more opportunity you have for flexibility. Why? In any given position, our muscle tissue will begin to lengthen in about 30 seconds, but this isn’t the only thing to stretch. Our connective tissue, ligaments, and tendons open up in approximately one minute. The facia, a connective tissue that encases every organ, begins to let go only in 90 seconds to two minutes or longer. 

Time is a key to lengthening. This is why Tataya and I have begun to add long holding poses to our classes lately. Another key is “less is more.” Relaxing and letting go while still retaining good alignment with a certain amount of muscle energy is imminent to long holding. The repetition of lengthening will also “call” the body to increased flexibility, but all too often we push our bodies into a position. When we force the body, it actually resists and pulls tighter looking for support. It is more effective to reach toward your toes 20 times a day than yank down to touch them a few times a day. It is now obvious why a strong foundation coupled with time and an expansive letting go provide the theory of flexibility and the footholds for attaining it.

 

 

                             

Olga Caicedo begins Meditation classes this month on Sundays at 6 p.m.! Come and experience an hour of living in the present and embracing life exactly how it is. Learn simple techniques that you can use at home to nurture yourself when you can’t make it to class!

In April we will continue to explore yoga philosophy with Kit Ehlers every Saturday at 1 p.m.

May 10 and 11, Fe Bailey from San Francisco, CA will present a workshop in Quantum Touch and Aromatherapy. 

We’ll be moving! Since we are moving to a new location we will be needing all the help we can get.  If you wish to volunteer time to help us set the place up, there is much to be done such as painting, construction, decorating, etc. We would love to have the community be an active part of it!

Open Up Workshop
On Sunday, March 30, Tataya and Thomas will be teaching a yoga workshop in the new location to help practitioners, athletes, and other people who wish to improve their flexibility and feel more freedom in their bodies. We will teach a 15 minute home practice that will make a difference in your day. This is a great time to invite friends and family members and introduce them to the benefits of yoga. So mark your calendars! Pick up a flyer and register to secure your space. We hope to see you there!

 

 

 

 

Health Tip from Thomas 

 

I still remember when my friend’s dad got a mobile phone for the car. I was in junior high school. The phone had a full sized handset that rested in a box the size of paper towel roll which contained the battery. My how things have changed!  In the haste of bigger, faster, better, or in the case of the cell phone--smaller, faster, better, again we must ask: "Have we done our homework?” 

 

We are currently exposed to over one million times more EMFs (electromagnetic fields) than we were at the beginning of the twentieth century.  EMFs are invisible lines of force which surround any electrical device. This is includes cell phones, computers, microwaves, vacuums, televisions, cordless phones, refrigerators, humidifiers, etc, and  the list goes on. Well, so what? We can’t feel, see, or hear them, so why the fuss?  Much research has been done into the effects of EMFs, especially with the use of cell phones, and this research is supporting the suspicion of danger. Case studies also abound of diminished health and well being.

 

There is simply too much to write here about here, but beyond the already accepted dangers of microwaves and radiation, we are learning that EMFs heat and denature cells in soft tissue. Sometimes the tissue is destroyed; sometimes cell DNA is altered stimulating the growth of tumors or cancerous cells. The first cell phone and health trail was begun in the 90’s when a husband filed lawsuit for an antenna shaped tumor above his wife’s ear. She ultimately died from it. Before I rant and rave too long about that, I will say we certainly must think about the consequences of computers on our laps, video controls on our laps, cell phones on ear and on belt (men!) and so on.

 

What can we do? There are companies out there with technology to reduce our absorption of these EMF’s, such as BioPro and Wave Shield. We can also reduce our own electro pollution. We can unplug computers at night, or at least turn them completely off, unplug appliances and even entertainment equipment, move electrical equipment away from us. My sister-in-law recently mentioned her range top clock and humidifier surprisingly had the highest EMF radiation in her house. You can buy equipment to read the levels in your home. Don’t sleep with outlets near your head and never with an electric blanket!  If you live under high voltage lines or electrical transformers, MOVE. 

 

There is plenty to do, and it all helps. See www.lessemf.com for more information, and consider this the tip of an underrated iceberg.  EMF radiation from cell phones alone causes strokes, heart attacks in young people, high blood pressure, arrhythmia's, asthma, flu-like illness, reduced sperm count, auditory disturbance, epilepsy, autism, ADD, thyroid disease, cataracts, leukemia, and brain cancer.  Thank you to The Cellular Phone Task Force out of California, (707) 937-3990. Lastly consider this important information: children absorb 3.3 times the rate of adults and their DNA damage is more rapid. I’m rethinking cell phones and Wii system already.  Thanks for rethinking our modern life along with me.

 

 

 

 

 

 "Pass it on"-- an invitation to the community 

We are introducing this new section to the newsletter because Yoga, Body and Balance isn’t just about business or about us, it is also about you. This is your portion of the newsletter where you can share information and tidbits about news, local happenings, events, wishes, gratitude, or whatever fits the docket. For April, it is up to you. Email tatayananda@yahoo.com to add your two cents.  

For this month, I would like to suggest--might it be time for spring cleaning? Tataya and I we will be furnishing the new Yoga and Body space in ‘localized’ fashion. If you happen to have tables, desks, furniture, lamps, chairs, coat hangars, floor covering, or things of the like that are cluttering up your house, we may just be interested in them. Whether you chose to give them away or lend them is up to you. We hope to provide a welcoming environment and this might be a help us do that in way that would not add to our consumptive society.  

And if you feel inclined, donations or gifts to YBB to help us get off the ground so to speak, would be gratefully accepted.  Please contact againtatayananda@yahoo.com.  If you don’t feel this is of your interest, at the end of the day it is truly about the yoga. Class is at 6 am sharp. See you there!  

Thanks in advance, Thomas

  

 

 

 

 

    March Schedule

  

 

	Sun	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thurs	Fri	Sat
6:00-7:00 am			Silent  Flow Thomas		Silent  Flow Thomas
8:30-10:00 am							The Rocket  Thomas
10:00-11:15 am		Level 2-3 Tataya	Level 2-3 Tataya	Level 2-3 Tataya	Level 2-3 Tataya	Level 2-3 Tataya
10:15-11:45 am							Astanga Tataya
12:00-1:15 pm			Vinyasa Kundalini all levels Flame		Vinyasa Kundalini all levels Flame
1:00-2:30 pm							Yoga Philosophy Kit Ehlers
4:30-5:45 pm	Vinyasa Kundalini all levels Flame					Vinyasa Kundalini all levels Flame
6:00-7:15 pm	Meditation Class Olga Caicedo	Level 2-3 Tataya	Level 2-3 Thomas	Level 2-3 Tataya	Level 2-3 Thomas
7:30-8:30 pm			Level 1 Thomas		Level 1 Thomas

Unlimited 6 month yoga pass-- $480  (80/month)        Level 1:   First time 

Monthly unlimited--$90                                                        and basic yoga instruction      

5 session yoga pass (good for 8 weeks)--$50

10 session yoga pass (good for 12 weeks)--$90         Level 2: Requires experience 

Drop-in class--$12                                                               with alignment and breath 

Yoga Private--60 minutes--$55                                            work

Yoga Private--75 minutes--$65                                                                   

Yoga Private--90 minutes--$75                                                                      

                                                                                  Level 3: Incorporates

                                                                                          advanced variations

 

60 minute massage--$60               ALL CLASSES COED

90 minute massage--$85                                 

 

 

VISA AND MASTER CARD ACCEPTED