IntoYoga.ca Newsletter

Into Yoga Newsletter

February 2009 - Issue 26

Well, renovations are continuing on my home. I've spent a few very cold days with no doors or windows, but all in all, it's going smoothly and I'm looking forward to the facelift.

Although some classes were cancelled, most Winter classes are going strong, despite the slow start for registration because of the snow! I'm so glad we're done with the white stuff for now. We have some classes starting this month, so be sure to check our website for what's available.

Please visit www.intoyoga.ca, or go directly to our classes page at www.intoyoga.ca/classes.htm.

In this issue you will find the following topics:

     1)    Attend Yoga for FREE
     2)    17th Annual Wellness Show
     3)    Try This Pose
     4)    Recipe - Baked Potato Soup
     5)    Tips for Coping with Stress
     6)    Quips and Quotes
     7)    Past Newsletters
     8)    Your Contributions Welcome
     9)    Our Privacy Policy
    10)    Email A Friend

1) Attend Yoga for FREE in Burnaby or Coquitlam

Would you like to attend 10 weeks of FREE Yoga classes in our Burnaby or Coquitlam locations? Here's how you can do it.

Talk to your co-workers and co-ordinate a minimum of 10 on-site Yoga class at your office. Once we are booked, paid and have begun teaching the classes, you can receive your next session of 10 public classes FREE at either our Burnaby or Coquitlam location. Plus, if you co-ordinate your on-site staff classes, and there are at least 10 paid participants, you can also receive your office Yoga classes for FREE too! Now that's a deal! (Classes must begin before March 15, 2009).

We want to help create a stress-free environment at work. We believe that staff who take the time to breathe and realign themselves, work better and enjoy their jobs more.

Benefits to the Participant
* improved memory, focus and concentration
* reduced stress and tension
* boosted immune system
* lower blood pressure
* improved circulation
* increased energy
* improved self esteem
* a more firmed, toned and flexible body
* relief of common ailments such as backache and fatigue

Benefits to the Employer
* less absenteeism
* improved productivity
* enhanced decision making
* boosted morale
* reduced burnout
* less turnover
* increased motivation
* better team spirit
* lower health care costs
* increased efficiency
* enhanced company/employee relationship

Call 604-421-9872 or email info@intoyoga.ca. Visit our Corporate page on our website at www.intoyoga.ca/corporate.htm.

2) 17th Annual Wellness Show

It's here! February 6, 7, 8. Come visit us at the 17th Annual Wellness Show under the sails at Canada Place Convention Center. Come by and visit us at booth #700. We will be promoting our Isagenix Nutritional Cleanse products. Take a moment while you're there to enter our FREE DRAW!

Need help finding balance in your life? Join us in Vancouver for one of the West Coast's premiere consumer shows focusing on all aspects of health and vital living. Listed as one of the largest trade & consumer shows by Business in Vancouver and the fastest growing show by the Province, the Wellness Show features a comprehensive program including keynote speakers, demonstrations and special events reflecting the most up-to-date information on wellness and healthy living.

Please go to http://www.thewellnessshow.com/index.html for more details.

3) Try this Pose - Side Angle Trianle (Parsvakonasana)

While increasing flexibility in the feet, ankles, legs, spine and hips, this powerful posture will also help to tone and strengthen the muscles of the legs, hips, back, abdominal organs and the heart. It expands the chest while reducing the waist line and improves circulation to the spinal and pelvic areas. Digestion, and elimination are improved, as anxiety, nervous tension and sciatica are relieved.

1. Stand with your feet as far apart as comfortable and parallel with each other, legs straight, arms out "T".

2. Inhale, then exhale, pivoting on the right foot and bending the knee to form a right angle. The knee should never extend out over the toes.

3. Inhale, then exhale as you lean to the right and stretch out over the right knee, brining the right elbow to rest on the knee. Your left arm may reach up toward the ceiling or overhead by the ear. Your head should be in a straight line with the spine.

4. If you're comfortable so far, you can proceed to lower the right hand to the floor in front of the foot. This should only be done if you can keep the torso facing forward and the upper shoulder back. If you find your chest is rolling toward the floor, lift yourself back up to bring the elbow onto the knee.

5. In either of the variations, you can look straight ahead, or up under the arm toward the ceiling. Make sure your neck is comfortable. Remember to breathe as you hold the pose.

6. To release from the posture, reverse the method you moved into it with.

7. Repeat on the opposite side.

NOTE: Practice this posture at your own risk.

4) Recipe
Baked Potato Soup
www.wordpress.com

Here's a recipe for comfort food. With all the cold weather we've had lately, somehow I think there's probably a need for it. A little rich, so if you're a calorie counter, you'll have to give it up for the day.

The recipe is basic. It's the toppings that make it! Serve it with some crusty bread and a salad.

Ingredient List

Baked Potato Soup
Ingredients:
2 and 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut up into 1-inch cubes
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup half and half
1/4 cup sour cream (don’t use non-fat)
salt and pepper to taste

Toppings:
Bacon
Chopped green onions
Shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions
1. Put potatoes in the crock-pot and add enough water to cover them. Cover and cook on high until the potatoes are cooked and falling apart, about 4 and a half hours.

2. Turn the crock-pot to low, add butter, half and half, and sour cream. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until hot, about 20 minutes.

3. Serve in bowls and add toppings. Makes about 6 servings.

Notes: This soup reheats very well. To save some money, buy a block of cheddar cheese and shred it yourself. It is cheaper and the cheese tastes better too!

Nutritional Information
Per SERVING: Sorry I don't have the nutritional value for this recipe, and you probably don't want to know anyway!

5) Tips for Coping with Stress
http://www.mayoclinic.com

With credit card payments coming due from what we spent over the holidays, I thought this might be a good topic to discuss. It's a good reminder too, that Yoga doesn't just happen on the mat. It's about how we look at things and how we deal with things. Although identifying your triggers and finding ways to alleviate them is certainly ideal, it's not always practical. This is a great article, but I believe it's missed the mark by one very critical step.

As stress takes over our body, it is governed by the sympathetic nervous system. We need to connect with the parasympathetic nervous system in order to induce the relaxation response. Using our breath in order to trigger the parasympathetic nervous system is a simple, albeit not always easy, method to finding calm. As I always remind my students, EXHALE. This is where you'll find the parasympathetic nervous system's driving force. A long exhale, is the number one way to relax the body and mind.

So now that I've had my two cents worth, here's the actual article.

Coping with stress is easier when you identify your stress triggers, manage your time well, and take steps to curb job burnout.

In small doses, stress is a good thing. It can energize and motivate you and perhaps even prevent or delay certain types of damage to your cells. But prolonged or excessive stress — the kind that overwhelms your ability to cope — can take a severe psychological and physical toll. High stress levels have been linked to depression, anxiety, cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal problems, an impaired immune system and cancer.

The following tips may help reduce your stress.

Identify your stress triggers

Your genes, personality and life experiences all influence the way you respond to stress. Situations and events that are distressing for most people might not bother you in the least. Or, you may be particularly sensitive to even minor stressors. The first step in dealing with stress is identifying your particular stress triggers.

Some causes of stress are obvious — job loss, a divorce, the death of a loved one. But small, daily hassles and demands such as a long commute or trouble finding childcare also contribute to your stress level. Over time, small, persistent stressors can wreak more havoc than sudden, devastating events do.

Try one or more of these techniques to help identify the factors causing you stress:

Keep a stress journal. For one week, note which events and situations cause a negative physical, mental or emotional response. Record the day and time. Give a brief description of the situation. Where were you? Who was involved? What seemed to cause the stress? Also, describe your reaction. What were your physical symptoms? How did you feel? What did you say or do? Finally, on a scale of 1 (not very intense) to 5 (very intense), rate the intensity of your stress.
Make a list of all the demands on your time and energy for one week. Some examples may include your job, volunteer work, driving kids to after-school activities or caring for an elderly parent. Then, on a scale of 1 (not very intense) to 5 (very intense), rate the intensity of stress that each demand causes.

Sit down and look at your stress recordings. Pay particular attention to events that you ranked as very stressful. Select one of them to work on using problem-solving techniques. That means identifying and exploring the problem, looking for ways to resolve it, and selecting and implementing a solution.

Suppose, for instance, that you're behind at work because you leave early to pick up your son from school. You might check with other parents to see if your son can ride with them. Or, you might come in early, work through your lunch hour or take work home to catch up. The best way to cope with stress is to try to find a way to change the circumstances that are causing it.

Improve your time management skills

Effective time management skills can help you identify goals, set priorities and minimize stress in your life. Use these tips to improve your time management skills and lower your stress level.

Create realistic expectations and deadlines for yourself, and set regular progress reviews.
Throw away unimportant papers on your desk.
Prepare a master list of tasks. Throughout the day, scan your master list and work on tasks in priority order.
Use a planner. Store addresses and telephone numbers there. Copy tasks from your master list onto the page for the day on which you expect to do them. Evaluate and prioritize daily.
For especially important or difficult projects, reserve an interruption-free block of time behind closed doors.

Extinguish job burnout

Nowhere is stress more likely than in the workplace. Twenty-five percent of people say that their job is the primary stressor in their lives. And the vast majority of workers believe that on-the-job stress is worse today than it was just 10 years ago.

Job stress can affect your professional and personal relationships, your livelihood, and your health.

Here are strategies you can use:

Identify the source of the problem. Whether it's an unrealistic workload, job insecurity, inadequate compensation, office politics or a hostile work environment, you need to figure out what's making you miserable at work and then take steps to deal with it.
Develop friendships at work and outside the office. Sharing unsettling feelings with people you trust is the first step toward resolving them. Minimize activities with "negative" people who only reinforce bad feelings.
Take time off. Take a vacation or a long weekend. During the workday, take short breaks.
Set limits. When necessary, learn to say no in a friendly but firm manner.
Choose battles wisely. Don't rush to argue every time someone disagrees with you. Keep a cool head, and save your argument for things that really matter.
Have an outlet. Read, enjoy a hobby, exercise or get involved in some other activity that is relaxing and gets your mind off work.
Seek help. If none of these things relieves your feelings of stress or burnout, ask a health care professional for advice.

6) Quips and Quotes

This is the beauty of life, that it goes on growing, and it knows no end; that it goes on living and knows no death -- that it is eternity... And it is time we should have a look inside our own beings, because within our own being is all that we are looking for outside. We will not find it on the outside, it is not there. It is here.
~ Osho ©© Osho International

7) Past Newsletters

You may read past Newsletters on our website by going to www.intoyoga.ca/articles.htm and clicking on the Newsletters link.

8) Your Contributions Welcome

If you would like to contribute in some way to upcoming newsletters, please contact us at info@intoyoga.ca. We welcome your views, thoughts, enlightenments, articles, etc. When contacting us, please be sure to let us know that you'd like to have your contribution inserted into our newsletter.

To submit articles for our website you can visit www.intoyoga.ca/articles.htm to review our guidelines.

We'd love to hear what you think of this issue!

Please send your comments, questions, and ideas for upcoming issues to info@intoyoga.ca. Your feedback matters to us!

9) Our Privacy Policy

We appreciate your patronage. We will never violate your trust by giving out your personal information. We will never rent, sell or otherwise offer your personal information to anyone, ever.

10) Email this Newsletter to a Friend

We would be honored if you thought this email worthy of passing along to your family and friends. Please do so with our gratitude.

You are currently subscribed to www.intoyoga.ca. Our Privacy Policy states that we will never transfer or sell your personal information including your email address to anyone. Please be sure to add info@intoyoga.ca to your Address Book, so our emails will not go to your bulk mail. If this has reached you in error, we apologize. To remove your name from future mailings, please type REMOVE into the subject box. By removing your name, you will no longer receive ANY emails from Into Yoga including class updates.

Sheri
604-421-9872
www.intoyoga.ca
Corporate & Public classes
Yoga, Pilates, Body Rolling, Prenatal Yoga, Kids Classes, Baby Sign Language and more
www.CleanseYourBody.ca
Cleanse Your Body and Increase health and vitality - Company & Product Information