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Health & Fitness

Part I: Jan 11-12, Two-Day Retreat at Sohum Yoga and Meditation Studio

With one week to go until the New Year, you may be trying to figure out what your "New Years Resolution," or other type of intention, will be this year. Sohum Yoga and Meditation Studio is offering the perfect way to set intentions, and jump-start your commitment to them, with a two-day retreat, the weekend of January 11-12. The retreat, taught by eight Sohum instructors, offers a diverse sampling of knowledge for living with mindfulness, yoga, and spirituality. Students may register for one or both days.

For a complete listing of classes offered during the Wisdom and Bliss Transformational 2-Day Retreat, please see the Sohum website: http://sohum.org/pages/SohumWorkshopsEvents#JanRetreat

Leading up to the retreat, I will be posting some ways to learn more about each topic, in hopes that you may consider how it might become helpful and interesting in your own life. For more details about each class, please feel free to contact individual instructors.

The first three classes that I will highlight in this series of posts is 1) Laughter Yoga and Meditation for Happiness and Stress Relief, with Ajay Kapur 2) Restorative Yoga, with Ritu Kapur, and 3) Living La Vida Yoga (Ayurveda workshop) with Eileen Nikopoulos and Nicole Percuoco.

1) Laughter Yoga and Meditation for Happiness and Stress Relief with Ajay Kapur

From the Sohum website: "Laughter Yoga is a unique concept where anyone can laugh for no reason, without relying on humor, jokes or comedy. Various studies have shown that Laughter Yoga can reduce blood pressure, heart rate & cortisol levels, increase positive emotions and reduce negative emotions & stress. In this workshop we will use Laughter Yoga and Mindfulness Meditation to laugh for no reason, drop our worries and be happy."

If you have never seen or practiced laughter yoga yourself, and want to see how it works, this simple video showing laughter yoga clubs in action may just get you laughing yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EGTETc5oFU


2) Restorative Yoga with Ritu Kapur

From the Sohum website: "The practice of restorative yoga enables you to actively and fully relax as you enhance awareness of your body and breath, improve your range of movement, focus on your alignment and calm your nervous system.  You will feel in harmony with your body, breath and mind at the end of this workshop."

Michelle Wishhart writes in an articles on the benefits of Restorative Yoga: "Poses are often supported with props such as blankets, bolsters and blocks to allow the muscles to completely release tension." Restorative Yoga also distinguishes itself from other yogic traditions by emphasizing long asanas.  To learn more about the health benefits (like relaxation, cardiac health, and weight loss, among others), read the full article here: http://healthyliving.azcentral.com/benefits-restorative-yoga-12334.html

3) Living La Vida Yoga (Ayurveda workshop) with Eileen Nikopoulos and Nicole Percuoco

From the Sohum website: "In this workshop we'll explore the ancient wellness science of Ayurveda.  We'll learn simple daily self care routines for every body and introduce more specific diet and activity choices based on ones unique constitution."

In Ayurvedic tradition, each individual human being has their own "constitution," or bodily makeup, that refers to body shape, energy level, nutrient needs, and other factors. The constitutions include Kapha, Vata, and Pitta; many people represent a combination of two constitutions. Although the best way to learn about your constitution--and how to live and eat in order to complement it--is to work with an instructor like Eileen and Nicole, this fun quiz should spark your interest in the subject: http://www.banyanbotanicals.com/constitutions/

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