Healthy Living – Page 59 – Wag-a-Yoga: Healing & Revitalization with Kay T Ananda Yoga Therapy

There’s a big public bath house where photo taking is not allowed – then, there’s this private hot spring in this room adjacent to the tatami room.

Healthy breakfast of local fruits (berries and melons) and imported fruits (pineapple from Philippines) topping plain locally made yogurt, sprinkled with local raw honey and … KINAKO – soy powder often used in desserts in Japan.

Traditional Japanese Breakfast of Miso soup, sea and land vegetables pickles and seasoned in traditional methods … missing is Natto – the fermented soy beans that disappeared very fast from the buffet table.

More breakfast veggies

Locally dried raisins made from Kyoho grapes + decadence of pastries from locally famed bakery, Asanoya … all petit sizes so you can enjoy the variety – cinnamon danish topped with strawberry, chocolate blueberry toast, and matcha muffin.

To reacclimate myself to that incredibly uncomfortable summer heat and humidity, I have been in training ! Doing lots of hard yang yoga (for a wholesome balance, Yang-anything are always offset with Yin Yoga of course), then locating sauna, steam rooms, hot Japanese style bath … to get my sweat glands back in order. When my energy level peters out – restorative yoga to the rescue – yes, even lying on slabs of special hot stones infused with negative ions – to sweat sweat sweat … Native Indians used sweat lodge for health and … for a spiritual quest. Not so often – that we drain too much of good juice (minerals, electrolytes) but sometimes – depending on a person, bi-weekly or monthly for cleansing and purifying … letting our pores open and cleanse so that our breathing becomes porous. We can then breathe not just with our nose, mouth but also with our all five million or so pores on our skin … to truly embody and be in our skin ! Reminded always my SRI yoga teacher talk about yoga among being many things, for her, is the ultimate energy management protocol. After all, it’s all about the energy – PRANA – CHI – KI:)

We all have our irrigation systems so that our energy flows unimpeded; that Yogic breathing methods (oxygen pumped arteries and brain cells) ; and the digestive system to nourish and eliminate (fiber and clean); then there are the sweat glands (stimulated by exercise and heat) & the lymphatic system (stimulated by stretchy bendy yoga for one:). Living in this lovely comfortable not too hot; not too cold climate, this perfect Californian climate, our body gets spoiled. That is, our sweat glands can get a bit under-worked and in dysfunction mode when all the sudden asked to go in high-gear in Japanese summer heat. Then comes the heat strokes. SO … it’s all about preparations; conditioning; and … training.

Clearing and cleansing the irrigation system to maximize the “Flow” while Tending to our Inner Sun – Namaste:)