Be sure to check out our upcoming classes (below).

How to increase your energy in 9 easy steps

Step 1:  "Breathe"
Step 2:  "Rest and Relaxation"
Step 3:  "Reset Your Aura Daily"
Step 4:  "The Power of Water"
Step 5:  "Reduce Your Stress"
Step 6:  "Exercise"
Step 7:  "Food"
Step 8:  "Structural Care"
Step 9:  "Goals and Dreams"

Step 6: Exercise

A few generations ago, our grandfathers and grandmothers worked all day on the farm. They physically moved and expended nervous stress energy through physical work.

While it's true that many people love our modern conveniences and don't want to return to those old times, it is also true that our sedentary lifestyle is creating massive problems in the human body.

Many jobs entail being stuck in a chair all day in front of a computer.  No physical movement occurs.  No exercise.

If you keep a healthy arm in a sling for months, the muscles atrophy.  This once strong arm can no longer lift even a feather.

The same thing happens in your body!  Allowed to weaken and grow ever-so-flabby, the body's own muscles can turn into your worst enemy if not treated in the proper manner.

Also:  did you know that physical movement in the body also activates your body's system to flush out toxins?  (I'll talk more about this in a future issue of the newsletter.  Some amazing research proves that cell waste is primarily flushed out by body movement and deep breathing!)

Begin a simple daily exercise program immediately.  Start today, especially if you sit at a desk all day.  Begin by walking for 20-30 minutes in the early morning or at night (when the temperature is cooler) .  You can also purchase a rebounder, a mini trampoline that you can walk or run on in front of the TV (sorry, this takes away the "It's raining, it's too hot, it's too cold excuses). 

What about your heart rate?  Use your nose as your monitor!  Make sure when you start that you do not exercise any harder than your ability to breathe through your nose.  If you're having to open your mouth to breathe or if you're having to gulp air, you're working harder than your heart's ability to keep you in the aerobic zone. 

Exercise:  you'll feel better, have more energy, eat less, and create incredible balance in your body.  When you increase your lean (muscle) mass, you automatically burn more calories, even while you're sitting still.

Invest just a few minutes in exercise, it can dramatically change the way you feel.

Bonus Tip

Breath Walk

For many people, one problem with exercise is that it gets to be boring.  Here's an easy but very effective method from yoga to super charge your exercise routine and keep you focused “in the present.”

While walking, divide your breath into four parts on the inhale and four parts on the exhale.  Breathing through your nose, sniff in on your first step, sniff in again on the second step, and the third and fourth steps.  On the next four steps, exhale slightly on each step.  Be sure to breathe in and out through the nose; if you use your mouth you'll tend to hyperventilate.

This four part inhale/four part exhale yoga technique will greatly increase the amount of Prana available to your body.  Prana is the life giving, energizing, uplifting quality in the breath.  The Chinese call this same energy the Ch'i.

Once you've mastered the 4:4 breath walk, you can try advanced patterns.  If you're feeling especially anxious and distressed, change the breath pattern to 4 inhales (with 4 steps) and 8 exhales (on the next eight steps).  This promotes increased relaxation.

If, instead, you're feeling down, depressed, or needing a quick pick-me-up, change the breath to 8:4.  Break the breath into 8 parts on the inhale (taking 8 steps), and 4 breaths on the exhale.
 

Herbs and Nutrition for Health

Yogi Tea

Years ago my yoga teacher, Yogi Bhajan, came to the USA to teach Kundalini Yoga.  He taught us not only yoga and meditation but a whole lifestyle of living a healthy, happy and holy life.  Included in his teachings are breathing techniques, tips on raising children, male and female relationships, and a huge body of knowledge on using food as medicine.

One of the most wonderful recipes he gave us is for YOGI TEA.  This delicious tasting tea has been used for centuries to rejuvenate the body, strengthen the nervous system, cleanse the liver, aid in digestion, fight flus and colds, and make the house smell wonderful as it's cooking. 

As each season changes it is an excellent idea to clean and detoxify your body. You can go on extended fasts and practice all kinds of austerities, but most people don't want to or don't have the time to devote to proper fasting.  One simple answer is YOGI TEA.

Do you drink coffee and wonder if or how you can stop?  I have found many people can use YOGI TEA as a substitute for coffee both for a different kind of taste as well as for the invigoration it provides.

Drink YOGI TEA as often as you want.  It's delicious hot or blended with ice cubes for a frothy summer treat.

For each cup of tea, begin with 10 ounces of water.  Bring the water to a rapid boil and add (for each cup):

Let this boil, covered, for 15-20 minutes (longer for larger amounts). Then add:

1/2 cup cold milk (per cup of remaining liquid)

Bring the tea back to a boil and shut off.  Add for a couple minutes:

1/4 t of any black tea (I prefer jasmine)

If you wish to make more than one quart at a time (it's recommended), you will need less spices. A good amount of spices to use for 2 quarts of YOGI TEA, is about 20 each of cardamom pods, peppercorns, and 15 each of cloves.  For cinnamon, use about 3 sticks. For the ginger, use about 1 inch of the sliced root.  Use 1 quart of  milk and 1 T of black tea.

The black pepper is a blood purifier, the cardamom is for the  colon, the cloves for the nervous system, the cinnamon for the bones,  the ginger strengthens the sex organ system and also helps when you are suffering from a cold, the flu, or general physical weakness.  The milk aids in the easy assimilation of the spices and avoids irritation to the colon and stomach. The black tea acts as an alloy for all of the ingredients, achieving a new chemical alloy structure which makes the  tea a healthful and delicious drink!

If you find all this too much work, come by the office or check your local health food store for YOGI TEA in tea bags.

Check out more information about the Yogi Tea Company at their website:  http://www.yogitea.com
 

Upcoming Classes

Yoga in a chair for your back and neck, techniques to relieve that daily headache, what to drink instead of coffee, how to prepare for that stressful presentation… 

Discover and handle the emotional cause of disease through muscle testing.  Uncover the negative “snapshots of emotion” that are being stored in your body and that reduce your health and vitality.  A hands on workshop. 

Learn what foods enhance digestion, cleansing, immunity, and relaxation.  Find out the importance of vitamins, herbs and water in maintaining your health and vitality.