On Friday, January 8th, I watched Martha Stewart’s television show that was devoted to the subject of yoga. Her entire audience was dressed in yoga clothes, each on a mat as they demonstrated a variety of poses during the show. You can see this image on her website for this event.

I am in the process of creating some yoga based designs to post on Zazzle.com. I already have a lot of products on CafePress but Zazzle has postage you can buy with original designs. More on that later.

Several days ago I created 3 yoga postage designs.

Postage stamp designs have to be approved before they are available for purchase. Two designs were approved within 24 hours. I was waiting for the 3rd approval which was the first design and one I use on my logo header in this blog.  Right after viewing the Martha show I received the following email notifying me that my design was rejected because it was pornographic. WHAT?!

Also on the Martha Stewart show were some pretty wild poses, including this one shown below. Is this pornographic?

I would love to have reader’s input on this issue.

Meanwhile, if anyone would like this design you can find it on a variety of T-shirt styles, sizes and colors find it here by clicking on the image at the bottom of the page.

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Included below are some of these poses recommended. I have added one of my images to illustrate the pose along with instructions for how to do the pose.

You can read Chris Ramos full article by clicking on his name below.

Managing Back Pain With Yoga
By Chris Ramos

. . .  Most back problems are related to weak back muscles and absence of flexibility from the body, which causes even the smallest amount if pressure or strain on the back to cause pain in the area. In order to lead a healthy and pain free life, people suffering from either acute or mild back pain should learn to manage it with the help of yoga. Currently there are many forms of yoga practice that are easily available in all Western countries, so it is quite simple to change your lifestyle to incorporate yoga into it for a healthier life.

. . .  Hot yoga, Iyengar, Anusara, Ashtanga are all great examples of yoga forms that promote physical fitness as well as mental wellbeing. Most of the basic postures in all these types of yoga are the same, with few specialized changes in each.

Apart from injury invoked back pain, the most frequent causes of back related problems include bad posture, utilization of incorrect bending and lifting techniques, excessive weight gain, weak back muscles and stress which causes the neck and shoulders to spasm resulting in pain shooting throughout the back. . . . When a proper yoga exercise routine is followed, it gradually aids in achieving a good posture, strengthens the muscles, assists weight loss and relives stress. . . .

. . . For people who already follow a yoga system, they can substantially reduce and eventually eliminate back pain by incorporating the following asanas into your regular practice:

Corpse: As this pose relaxes the entire body it is beneficial in reducing stress and tension which causes back pain.

Instructions

1. Lying on your back, let the arms and legs drop open, with the arms about 45 degrees from the side of your body. Make sure you are warm and comfortable, if you need to place blankets under or over your body.
2. Close the eyes, and take slow deep breaths through the nose. Allow your whole body to become soft and heavy, letting it relax into the floor. As the body relaxes, feel the whole body rising and falling with each breath.
3. Scan the body from the toes to the fingers to the crown of the head, looking for tension, tightness and contracted muscles. Consciously release and relax any areas that you find. If you need to, rock or wiggl part sof your body from side to side to encourage further release.
4. Release all control of the breath, the mind, and the body. Let your body move deeper and deeper into a state of total relaxation.
5. Stay in Shavasana for 5 to 15 minutes.
6. To release: slowly deepen the breath, wiggle the fingers and toes, reach the arms over your head and stretch the whole body, exhale bend the knees into the chest and roll over to one side coming into a fetal position. When you are ready, slowly inhale up to a seated position.

The Corpse pose is essential to practice at the end of every yoga practice. This posture rejuvenates the body, mind and spirit while reducing stress and tension.

Cobra Pose: This is an important pose used for stretching and strengthening the entire length of the spine. It is very useful in developing back muscles and reducing pain.

Instructions

1. Lie on your belly, with the chin on the floor, palms flat on the floor under the shoulders and legs together.
2. Pull up the knee caps, squeeze the thighs and buttocks, engage mula bandha, and press the pubic bone down into the floor.
3. Without using the arms, inhale and lift the head and chest off of the floor, keeping the neck in line with the spine.
4. With the elbows close to your sides, press down into the palms and use the arms to lift you up even higher. Drop the shoulders down and back and press the chest forward. Keep the legs, buttocks, and mula bandha strong, and keep the pubic bone pressing down into the floor.
5. Breathe and hold for 2-6 breaths.
6. To release: exhale and slowly lower the chest and head to the floor. Turn the head to one side and rest, rock the hips from side to side to release any tension in the low back.

The Cobra posture opens the chest, strengthens the core body, aligns the spine and invigorates the kidneys and nervous system.

Cat Pose: This posture helps improve blood flow trough the spine, which could be a cause of the pain. Once the blood flow increases, it will reduce the pain in turn.

Instructions

1. From Table pose, exhale and tuck the tail bone under, round the spine and let the head drop down.
2. Press into the palms to drop the shoulders away from the ears and to reach the middle and upper back up towards the ceiling.
3. Breathe and hold for 4-8 breaths, or vinyasa between cat pose and dog pose, inhaling into dog and exhaling into cat.
4. To release, inhale and flatten the back moving into Table.

Cat pose stretches the middle to upper back and shoulders.

Fish Pose: Strengthens the back and improves posture which is improves back problems.

Instructions

1. Lying on your back with the arms along side your body and the legs a few inches apart, slide the hands palms down under the tops of the thighs, just below the buttocks. Have the elbows slightly bent, next to the sides of your torso.
2. Pressing into the elbows, use the arms to lift the chest up, arching the spine, and rolling on to the crown of the head. Do not use the head or neck to support the posture, use the arms, torso, buttocks and legs to continue to lift the chest towards the ceiling. Little or no weight should be on the head.
3. Breathe and hold for 3-8 breaths.
4. To release: slowly remove all of the weight off of the head and gently lower the back of the head, the neck and then the spine back down to the floor. Remove the hands from under the legs.

Benefits: Fish pose deeply opens the chest and increases flexibility of the spine. Fish also stimulates the cardiovasc.

These are just a few poses that are beneficial for improving the back, but like all forms of exercise, caution should be used while practicing them and the body should not be pushed beyond its limits, in order to reap the maximum benefit of yoga for managing the back pain.

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Click on the image to find more Swine Flu help.

“The news which has dominated the world and made people forget about recession and other related issues has to do with swine flu. So what exactly is swine flu and why has it caused such an impact? Swine Flu also known as the H1N1 flu is one of the several kinds of swine influenza virus. It is predominantly found only in pigs. People with regular exposure to pigs are at more risk. The outbreak is due to a new strain and it has spread across the world causing loss of life and prompting the WHO (World Health Organization) to declare it as “public health emergency of international concern”. The vaccine that is used to treat it is known as Tami flu. This is the conventional form of treatment.

So how do you prevent the virus affecting you or your loved ones? It has been found that people with the least immune strength are the first to get affected. People with asthma as well as other respiratory problems are among the high risk groups. How does one strengthen the immune system and get rid of respiratory problems at the same time? The solution lies in the ancient and widely practiced form of science called Yoga.

Yoga has different types of asanas which strengthen the lungs and correct form of breathing has been found to effectively cure and prevent a number of diseases. Pranayama or the breathing exercise strengthens the internal organs, the nerves and glands of the body. The major types of Pranayama are Nadi Sodhana, Shitali Pranayama, Ujjayi Pranayama, Kapalbhati Pranayama and Digra Pranayama. Regular practice has been found to increase the immunity. An individual whose entire body is strong stands a better chance of fighting swine flu.

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Colour Meditation

by Margo Bastos

“I was given very good advice by a healer once. I was told that when I felt stressed, tense, emotional, tired … in fact, any feeling of strain I should take a “light shower.”

Literally stand still for a few moments, close my eyes and imagine/visualize a shower of light pouring down and over me. Imagine the light enveloping and swirling around me, penetrating my whole body.

At the risk of sounding “new age” we are made up of vibrations. And light is just that – vibrations! Very simply, each colour of the light spectrum has its own vibrations and those vibrations interact with and affect our personal vibrations. Yellow and reds are stimulating; blues and greens are calming.

Colour can have a profound effect on your mood, vitality and well-being. Colour therapy with a trained professional involves the use of colours to improve physical, emotional and mental health. But you can do it yourself as part of your stress relief programme.

Try this simple Colour Meditation to calm the mind and help you relax.

* Sit comfortably with your eyes closed. Take a few deep breaths and relax.

* Imagine a ball of golden light above your head. Visualize the ball of light slowly descending through your head until it fills your entire body. Metaphorically, think of it as if you are seated in the middle of a beach ball and the colour completely fills that imaginary space around you. Imagine that this light is cleansing and healing your spirit.

* Practice this until it becomes familiar to you.

* Repeat, visualizing a ball of red light. Continue slowly through the colour spectrum – orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet – until you feel completely relaxed.

You will probably find that some colours are easier for you to visualize than others. Researchers recognize that colours bring about emotional reactions in individuals.

Notice what each colour feels like. You can expect each colour to feel different. People often experience a correspondence between colours and physical or emotional feelings. We all know the sayings … Feeling blue”, “Saw red”, “Black mood”, “In the pink.”

I also like to use Colour Meditation for a specific purpose.

Identify which colour you feel you need in order to balance your physical, emotional or mental state. Then do a Colour Meditation using just that colour. If you feel you need inspiration for a project that you are working on  “bathe” yourself in yellow or orange. Visualizing the colour blue has a calming and soothing effect when your temper is frayed.

As with all relaxation and stress relief techniques the more you practice the better the effect on your overall health!”

Margo Bastos is passionate about holistic healing and natural stress-free living. Her abiding interest, continuing personal research and every-day philosophy is in alternative mind, body and spiritual modalities.

She has a real estate business in South Africa and her formal qualifications include a MA in Jewish Studies from the University of Cape Town. Together with Alan Mounter, a practicing holistic therapist, she has a website dealing with natural remedies for managing the negative effects of stress.

I found Margo’s website excellent on the subject of stress.

For more on color see my post here on the chakras.

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The gesture Namaste represents the belief that there is a Divine spark within each of us that is located in the heart chakra. The gesture is an acknowledgment of the soul in one by the soul in another. “Nama” means bow, “as” means I, and “te” means you. Therefore, Namaste literally means “bow me you” or “I bow to you.”

Namtase Yoga Fairie

To perform Namaste, we place the hands together at the heart chakra, close the eyes, and bow the head. It can also be done by placing the hands together in front of the third eye, bowing the head, and then bringing the hands down to the heart. This is an especially deep form of respect. Although in the West the word “Namaste” is usually spoken in conjunction with the gesture, in India, it is understood that the gesture itself signifies Namaste, and therefore, it is unnecessary to say the word while bowing.

We bring the hands together at the heart chakra to increase the flow of Divine love. Bowing the head and closing the eyes helps the mind surrender to the Divine in the heart. One can do Namaste to oneself as a meditation technique to go deeper inside the heart chakra; when done with someone else, it is also a beautiful, albeit quick, meditation.

For a teacher and student, Namaste allows two individuals to come together energetically to a place of connection and timelessness, free from the bonds of ego-connection. If it is done with deep feeling in the heart and with the mind surrendered, a deep union of spirits can blossom.

Ideally, Namaste should be done both at the beginning and at the end of class. Usually, it is done at the end of class because the mind is less active and the energy in the room is more peaceful. The teacher initiates Namaste as a symbol of gratitude and respect toward her students and her own teachers and in return invites the students to connect with their lineage, thereby allowing the truth to flow-the truth that we are all one when we live from the heart.

©2008 Aadil Palkhivala

Article Source:

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For more on the sign of Aquarius I have posted here an excerpt from the Blog, Learning Curve on the Ecliptic.

In my old copy of Llewellyn George’s “Student Chart Reader” (1934), he says this about Sun in Aquarius:

“In Aquarius the Sun gives a quiet, patient, determined, unobtrisive and faithful nature, as a rule. The Aquarian is refined, pleasant, friendly, generous, charitable, dignified and humanitarian; fond of art, music, scenery and literature; cautious, steady, intelligent, intuitive, discriminitive, concentrative, studious, thoughtful and philopsophical. Good reasoner, practical as well as theoretical; strong likes and dislikes and often with very radical and advanced ideas; is cheerful, sincere and honest, easily influenced by kindness, slow to anger, but will not be driven; loves liberty and is fond of occult research.”

To read the entire post find it HERE

I couldn’t resist posting this video of the 5th Dimension’s Aquarius from the origian musical Hair, of 40 years ago in 1969. Watching this one might think they were at the Obama inauguration celebration party.

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For the list of easy moves and the full article see HERE

And on the same subject from Living Health -

Yoga Eases Hot Flashes and Boosts Memory

“Sun salutations may be the answer when getting older makes you sweat and forget. A new Indian study involving 120 women found that those who practiced yoga (along with breathing exercises and meditation) for an hour five days a week had 50 percent fewer hot flashes and night sweats than those who simply did stretching exercises. The yoga group also reported improved memory. By helping you unwind, yoga is thought to free up your mind to control body functioning.”

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December 21st marks the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, the shortest day of the year. It is the beginning of the Winter season and tomorrow begins the Astrological sign of Capricorn. On this image, from Wikipedia in an article about Christmas and the Solstice we see that Santa is included with the goat.

“Christmas is the celebration of the birth of the God Incarnate or Messiah, Yeshua of Nazareth, later known as Jesus Christ. The birth is observed on December 25, which was the winter solstice upon establishment of the Julian Calendar. Banned by the Catholic Church in its infancy as a pagan practice stemming out of the Sol Invictus celebrations, Christian churches eventually recognized the sustained practices as a Christian festival in various cultures within the past several hundred years, allowing much of the folklore and traditions of local pagan festivals to be preserved.”

It’s YogaBabe Capricorn time.

Capricorn the goat is associated with determination and discipline. Capricorn is an earth sign born from December 22nd to January 20th.  Your ruling planet is Saturn, the god who ruled sowing of corn. Your colors are green and brown. Your gem is garnet. The body parts ruled by Capricorn are the bones, joints and knees. Your best quality is steadiness. Among other things you are Capable, Civil, Constant, and Career minded, ruled by Sober Saturn.

Lynn Hayes, my favorite astrologer, has an article about Pluto in Capricorn which will be in that sign until the year 2023. Her article can be found HERE.

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One of the searches I did was for “Yoga Forums” and found 583,000 listings. I checked out the top link in the list actually called, “Yoga Forums,” and what amused me was that in that forum the top number of posts were discussions about “Marijuana and yoga” with 5,525 posts. I took a quick look and found some interesting posts. I think they were mostly men.

The next largest group was for “Yoga for Erectile Dysfunction.” LOL! Who knew? This was the second highest with 2,122 posts. I took another quick look at the responses there and had to get out quick – lots of people discussing things I didn’t really want to know and not appropriate for Yoga Babes anyway.

Among other searches I found for yoga trends For 2008 the following in the order of number of searches were from:
1. India
2. Canada
3. Singapore
4. United States
5. Australia
6. Switzerland
7. Chile
8. Netherlands
9 Sweden
10. UK

I was surprised to find that in the US for the year 2008 the highest number for those interested in yoga was from the state of Vermont with New York 2nd, Massachusetts 3rd, Colorado 4th, Hawaii 5th and California coming in at 6th.

But “Yoga clothing” trends listed just 4 countries #1 – The United States, 2 – Canada, 3 – Australia, and 4 – United Kingdom. Interesting that they are all English speaking countries, yet they are not the highest seekers of yoga information.

For the people searching for yoga clothing the 10 cities listed were:
1. Denver, CO, USA
2. Vancouver, Canada
3. San Diego, CA, USA
4. San Francisco, CA, USA
5. Pleasanton, CA, USA
6. Boston, MA, USA
7. New York, NY, USA
8. Portland, OR, USA
9. Austin, TX, USA
10. Seattle, WA, USA

Back to my headline question – Do Yoga Babes do Marijuana? Do any of you have thoughts or comments on this?

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