Yoga for Zumba Enthusiasts Workshop

Saturday, October 8th 12:30-2:30pm

Yoga for ZUMBA!

Yoga for Zumba® Enthusiasts is a great workshop for the Zumba goer at any experience level. You will have the opportunity to learn how the practice of yoga aids in everything from injury prevention, body balancing, cross-strengthening, mind exercises, and breathing techniques. Whether you have just started taking Zumba or have been dancing for years, please join us for this fun event!

At Life Time Fitness, Savage, MN
6554 Loftus Lane West
Savage, MN 55378
Main 952 226 1222
Class offered in the Education Center

Cost: $25.00 per Life Time Fitness Member OR $35.00 per Non-Member

Please pre-register by e-mail: maryaasher@gmail.com by Thursday, October 6th
6 participant minimum required by October 6th to run this Workshop
Please honor a 24 hr. notice of cancellation.

Meditation

Meditation – 4 week session: Sundays, 6:00 – 7:00 pm, Mar 20 – Apr 10
Registration deadline: March 14. ($48) Yoga Bella studio - Chanhassen, MN

Meditation is what is needed right now. With our foundations shaking, stress and strife rampant and many people pushed to the brink, we need to turn inward to find the answers.

Meditation (in what ever form or name) has always been the way for humans to stay connected to our source and to hear the inner voice. It is our way to connect to our intuition, to know the truths of our Self and Ourselves. We have all become so disconnected to everything that we've allowed great atrocities to occur, without even the blink of an eye. It's time to come back, to re-connect and to re-member who we truly are and what we are here to do. Meditation can take us there.

Physically, meditation has numerous benefits, from stress relief to better breathing, memory retention and lowered blood pressure. Even if you don't know what I mean by "reconnect and remember", you know you can get some physical benefits from exploring this practice. It is just the beginning and a great start it is!

Each class we’ll explore different methods of meditation and we’ll try both quiet meditation and guided meditation. Use this class as a way to create a meditation practice and to address the specific concerns or issues that come up as you continue your practice. This class is definitely for you if you’ve ever said, “I can’t meditate because I can’t make my mind stop.” (and I'll explain the misconceptions about meditation as well) Wear comfortable clothing and bring something soft to sit on, such as a blanket or cushion.

When our Foundations are Shaking

earthquake a photo by peace science and social studies on Flickr.

"We turn to God for help when our foundations are shaking, only to learn that it is God who is shaking them." ~ Charles C. West

"...then I feel like I'm living on a fault line." ~ Anita P.

My dear friends, I - we - are being shaken, and maybe a little stirred too. And why is it that in these, the times of my own shaking, that I've turned away from something that, at least in theory, could be a solace, a method of emission for these emotional disturbances? Writing, expressing oneself is a way for many of to endure hardship, express ourselves and commiserate with others.
Many times over the last 6 months I have thought of many brilliant ways to express myself. Unfortunately many of those times were in the car, the shower or in bed while I'm on the verge of sleep. Even now I unable to remember my thought in the distance between the bathroom and my office.
Many other times my feelings were so deep and private that I dare not share them with the world. If I thought that all of my readers were total strangers maybe I could open up my innermost thoughts. But knowing that family and friends are watching, I hold back.
But, we are being shaken and it is no longer time to remain silent. As much as I may think in my own darkest hours that no one is listening, or that my voice isn't necessary, I find that it is. Not only necessary but required, requested and maybe even crucial. We all need to speak up. We have been silent too long. The earthquake has begun, the cracks are opening up and we need to speak up - for ourselves and for each other - in order to stay out of the fissure.

Backcare Basics with Yoga

Did you know? 31 million people say they suffer from low back pain during the year.

The statistics are staggering, but statistics aside we all know about back pain. Either we've experienced it for ourselves or someone we loves has experienced it. Maybe it's not pain that plagues you, it's a feeling you aren't standing tall. It could just be that you know you need a stronger core. Aside from the foundation that our feet provide, your back is crucial to your physical well-being.

Join me this Saturday for a special workshop all about the back. I'll talk about how the back works in relation to your posture and basic movement and we'll take that knowledge into using the back in Yoga poses. We'll do poses to help strengthen and stretch the back and to work the core to support your back.

If you are new to Yoga this class will help you to prevent injury in your back during Yoga class. If you are more experienced in Asana, use this class as a way to further your back flexibility and strength to get deeper into your backbends.

Backcare Basics with Yoga
Saturday, February 26 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
$25 for Life Time Fitness members/ $35 for non-members
Register by e-mailing me at maryaasher@gmail.com

How do You Grow Your Mind?

There has been talk over the last few years about challenging or "exercising" the mind in order to aid in avoiding Alzheimer's disease, among other things. You may have also heard of those individuals living to great age explaining that they have "kept their mind young" as a secret to living to that age. Any way you look at it, using and challenging your mind is just as crucial as exercising your body.
The terms or concepts of Mind and Body or Mind/Body/Spirit are also being used a lot. The concept is a useful one, but now it seems to have just become a marketing term and everyone has jumped on the bandwagon. What does it really mean? It's stems from an age old questions and one in which philosophers and psychologists have wrestled with for centuries. Is the brain separate from the body? Is the body just a machine run by the brain? Are they connected? The answer is most definitely. The mind and the body - and the spirit - are inextricably linked. What you do to one affects what happens to the other. So when I say exercising your mind is just as crucial as exercising your body, it's more than just point of reference.
It's necessary to grow all parts of your self. When you grow your mind, chances are you'll make improvements to your body (or they may even happen with little effort). Work on improving your body and find your mindset improving as well. Now your spirit. Ever notice that when you exercise your body regularly that you feel better, your thoughts are clearer, your mood improves, you are kinder to others or more tolerant, and you have more patience? There are all kinds of physiological processes that can be described to explain all of this, but do you need to know that in order to know it's just better? All you need to know is that everything in your life seems to improve. That's all that's important. Then use that to keep doing what you're doing.
It can work the other way as well. Grow your mind and chances are you'll find junk food no longer appealing or you may find giving up soda much easier. You may stumble on a class or be motivated to go for more walks or develop a meditation practice. The question is, how do we grow our minds? We all know what it takes to exercise the body, but do we really know what exercises our minds?

Write something. The act of having to articulate your thoughts and put them together in a coherent fashion can really cause you to think.

Take up a class in something new. Knitting, acting, dancing, book clubs or language classes are good ways to make you think.

Read a non-fiction book. Fiction books are great, but truly are more entertaining. Better yet, get a how-to book and learn something new.

Avoid the news. We think news educates us, yet it's really just depressing information that adds no particular value to our lives. Does knowing who got murdered really help you? Does hearing about the latest politician test your brain skills or just your patience? Can you live without it? Probably.

Help someone else. Volunteer somewhere, anywhere. Go to your kids school, the local shelter, build a house for someone or visit an invalid or someone elderly. You may be surprised by the skills you learn but more importantly the perspective you gain. That could be the most important learning of all.

Do you have examples of how you grow your mind? Please share!

Mind Games

I often say that I sometimes consider meditation to be a mind game. It's a game of getting your mind to do what you want, or in some cases, to do nothing at all. It's about controlling and about letting go. I am also not above trickery, especially when it comes to my own mind and the rampant thoughts therein.

Your mind has somewhere up to 60,000 thoughts a day. Many of those are mundane, repetitive and, let's face it, annoying. "Where did I leave my keys?" "Why hasn't he called yet." "Wow those are ugly pants." Did I mention repetitive? I think I thought, "it sure is hot today" about 40 times today. Meditation is a game of eliminating some of that repetition and focusing some of those other straying thoughts.

Have you ever been stuck in what I call the "spiral of negativity"? Those thoughts that feed off of one negative thought or bad event and the next thing you know the world is coming to an end (at least in your mind)? Meditation is a game of catching that first thought and turning it over. It's redirecting and finding something positive to focus on instead. It's pulling you out of the spiral.

Our thoughts are a melange of dwelling on feelings, revisiting the past, fear of forgetting, worrying about the future and anger over everything and nothing. Our thoughts are everything and for most of us, they're out of control. The problem is that we don't always realize how out of control they are and the possibilities that exist for gaining control. Meditation is control. It is a practice in which you slowly take back your thoughts and choose consciously what you want to think, and how you want to feel. Control is not always a pulling in process, sometimes control means letting go too.

Many people tell me they can't meditate because they "can't stop my mind". My response is that you probably don't want to stop your mind, you just want to get it under control a little bit (or maybe a lot). Meditation is for everyone and everyone has the capacity and capability to do it. Just start somewhere. Sit quietly. Hear your thoughts for even just a moment. Awareness is the first step.

The Hidden Good in All

Many people believe these to be tough times. Many are experiencing challenges like they've never experienced before. Small challenges, such as your children getting in to trouble a lot or appliances breaking down, and big challenges, such as job loss or life disturbances caused by the earth (can anyone say volcano?). How do we handle these challenges? What do we do in the face of seemingly insurmountable circumstances?

We need to let go. We need to focus in. We need to go with the flow. We need to surrender to love.

In times of challenge we're usually pushed into fear and fear brings panic. I can't think of anyone who hasn't done something regrettable when in fear and under pressure. Lose your job? PANIC - I need to make money NOW and take the first job I can get! Kids have bad grades? PANIC - They need to be grounded to show them how serious this is. Family member have a health crisis? PANIC - we need to fix it NOW!

Most actions taken when in fear and panic are not what your heart truly desires. These actions are of the ego and not from the authentic self. The authentic self, your soul, knows no bounds and only has your best interest as it's goal. In every challenge there is a lesson to learn. In seemingly bad situations there is often a path of even better options. It's a path we sometimes miss when we're caught up in the panic.

How do you know that your job loss isn't really a path towards an even better job? How do you know that the illness you experience won't set you on the path towards true and lasting health? How do you know that your kids failing grades won't bring you to the path that really brings your family together? You don't. So stop trying so hard to do things your way and trust that there are reasons and better ways, if only you stop long enough to pay attention.