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Last Sunday class was rather cozy but the week before, a bit of a full house, just few hours after stepping off the plane, feeling so light headed – my head was swirling and whirling with the celestial stars twirling and flickering (i.e., jet lag and severe sleep deprivation – admittedly I was a space-case… blurted Japanese word for Knee and Lower Back instead of English as I seemed to have forgotten certain anatomical words I thought was pounded and tattooed onto my brains…). That particular evening, in my hazy consciousness, nevertheless, I observed many pairings: mothers with daughters, girlfriends, boyfriends … friends … and I just want to say, I love that. Once during a class at a sports club I teach, there was a couple who set up their mats side by side, and when they folded into sleeping pigeons (or sleeping swans…), they held hands… not with passion but with tenderness… his hand over her’s as to console… and that sight was sooooo sweet to behold, I felt like taking out a handkerchief and making it a Kodak moment. I just so love it when there’s that kind of connection or at least an effort to use the medium of yoga as a place to deepen, strengthen or rediscover a relationship.

Life’s about relationships and experiences, good and bad – the vast huge range … ask anyone about to take his last breath … isn’t it so? If only there was an answer…

My attempts at match-making in the past have not been successful due in part by the fact that I was caught up with things ruled by … ego … and now that I am making a concerted effort to relinquish ego and come from a place of … love and concern, I would love it if the space we create together made our hearts less hard, more inter-woven as we breathe together. If ever we could see a budding of a relationship or a stronger bond as a result of a duo-practice, I would be so so honored to bear witness. IT would make my heart melt… ah, yes, it would.

While when I go to practice my own yoga, it’s more about me-time; my solace and private meditative solo TLC of self time, as I look around, I cannot understand why yoga is practiced primarily by women. The studio is maybe 90% women to 10% rest ratio… why is that? Are men thinking they are too macho to be doing yoga – is yoga for women???

Check out:

Baron Baptise
Rod Stryker
Roger Cole
Jason Crandell
Chaudrey Bikram
Rodney Yee

… then there are Gurus like Krishna Pattabhi Jois and BKS Iyengar…masters no longer alive but lives in the hearts of many teachers today.
so

we all know yoga is for both men and women…

And also … If I were a guy looking for my Muse and not finding any at work or school or … where do people meet these days? Online? Anyway, I highly recommend going to a local yoga studio for realness… there, you will find girls who care about not only their body, but their mind. Girls, who care about wellness and health – warm, compassionate and caring. Used to be that people went to church to meetup and while that’s still nice, why not your yoga class? Such thought crossed my mind when I saw the lovebirds warm each other’s hands… Haahhhh, a big sigh …

Someone who saw me might have seen a smile like a Cheshire Cat… I guess I will get into trouble with the Guruji for even uttering such an idea instead of just training… BUT MC Yogi met Amanda (a beautiful couple), his Muse at a yoga studio, introduced by the instructor, late Larry Shultz, so I have heard … so see, it’s real. It happens. It changes your life. IT = yoga, yes.

Oh, you can’t help that,’ said the cat. ‘We’re all mad here.”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

春…Spring passes and one remembers one’s innocence.
夏…Summer passes and one remembers one’s exuberance.
秋…Autumn passes and one remembers one’s reverence.
冬…Winter passes and one remembers one’s perseverance.

– Yoko Ono

Health Benefits of Restorative Yoga Include Trimming Fat, NIH-Funded Study Finds
October 16, 2013, 02:30:01 PM
Health Benefits of Restorative Yoga Include Trimming Fat, NIH-Funded Study Finds

PLAINSBORO, N.J. – Yoga’s health benefits may go beyond stress reduction – a study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that for overweight women, restorative yoga may offer a way to actually trim subcutaneous fat.

The benefits of restorative yoga – a form of the practice that emphasizes relaxation over flowing movements or challenging balance poses – compared favorably with simple stretching when tested among a group of women who were clinically obese.

The study’s lead author, Maria G. Araneta, PhD, MPH, of the University of California, San Diego, said researchers examined whether women could lose fat from less intense exercise than aerobic activity. Patients with a BMI of 30 or more, which the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines as obese, may have a hard time starting an exercise program, despite their obvious need for physical activity.

Araneta presented results at the 73rd Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association in Chicago, according the quarterly edition of Evidence-Based Diabetes Management, a supplement to The American Journal of Managed Care. To read the full article, click here.

Smaller studies had shown other health benefits from yoga to persons at risk of diabetes, but Araneta said no study had specifically measured a loss of fat. A 48-week study comparing two groups, one taking restorative yoga and one performing stretching exercises found that the yoga practitioners lost significantly more subcutaneous fat over the initial six months, and kept losing it afterward. There was no significant loss of visceral fat in either group. Of note:
Weight: Both groups lost weight, with the restorative yoga group losing more, an average of 1.3 kg at six months compared with 0.7 kg for the stretch group. Significantly, the yoga group maintained the reduction.
Fat: The restorative yoga group lost more than 2.5 times the amount of subcutaneous fat as the stretch group, and kept losing fat between the six-month mark and the 48-week mark. After six months, the stretch group reversed its progress, regaining almost half its lost fat.
While stretching and body alignment are involved, restorative poses are often performed in a reclined or seated position, with limbs and parts of the torso supported by blankets, pillows, or padded bolsters that resemble a sofa cushion. Poses are held much longer than in other styles of yoga, often as long as 7 minutes. Measured breathing is emphasized, and many commercial classes feature meditative music.

One explanation for the difference may be that restorative yoga reduces levels of cortisol, which rises during times of stress and is known to increase abdominal fat. Araneta told Evidence-Based Diabetes Management that results on cortisol will be released later in 2013.

CONTACT: Mary Caffrey (609) 716-7777 x 144
mcaffrey@ajmc.com
www.ajmc.com
– See more at: http://www.ajmc.com/newsroom/Health-Benefits-of-Restorative-Yoga-Include-Trimming-Fat-NIH-Funded-Study-Finds#sthash.17bXqxpu.dpuf