Release that tension headache

I used to suffer from head-splitting headaches. Since I started practicing Wai Lana Yoga regularly, my headaches have disappeared. Apparently one big cause of headaches is tension. Tension from the neck and shoulders caused by poor posture and bad sitting posture can cause this tension.

When you do yoga, the muscle groups in the shoulders and neck are relieved and relaxed. And that helps you get rid of the headache! It's even better when you do Wai Lana Yoga sound meditation because it's just so good for relieving stress! It's scientifically proven to help calm your mind and nervous system too.

On a side note, here's a helpful article on what you should know about viruses.

Easy Plough

This week, Wai lana teaches the Easy Plough asana, click to watch the instructional video. The plough is one of those very helpful, amazing exercises that benefit the whole body. It's a must do! If you're just starting yoga or aren't too limber, this is a great variation to start with.

Eat your herbs and do yoga, ease menopause

Hatha yoga does wonders to stabilize the levels of hormones your body produces, so in tricky times like menopause, - for your sake, and for the sake of all the people you love, do your hatha yoga and eat these herbs everyday!

Four Herbs to Ease the Symptoms of Menopause
Menopause can cause a number of mild to severe symptoms such as mood disturbances, vaginal dryness, sleep disturbances and hot flashes. Yet many people don`t realize that these symptoms are a result of a physical imbalance. Herbs, along with plenty of exercise and a healthy diet can bring the body into balance and ease the symptoms durng this time of life. Here are 4 herbs that can effectively alleviate menopausal symptoms.

Black Cohosh

Black cohosh grows in Eastern North America. It contains phytochemicals that have been shown to help with menopause. It is believed that Black cohosh may contain phytoestrogens that work very much like natural estrogen. Black cohosh may work directly on the hypothalamus, which is located at the base of the brain and regulates body temperature, hormone production, and other functions associated with menopause.

Black cohosh can relieve symptoms including night sweats, hot flashes, anxiety, and depression. In a recent study, 80% of women taking a black cohosh supplement experienced an improvement in their hot flashes, sweating, and heart palpitations.

Dong Quai

Dong quai, also known as Chinese Angelica, is a Chinese herb and is one of the most well known herbs for treating the symptoms of menopause. Dong quai contains phytoestrogens that bind to the estrogen receptors in our body, increasing the levels of estrogen. Benefits include a reduction in hot flashes, mood swings, anxiety, and vaginal dryness. In clinical studies, women taking dong quai reported a 25% decrease in the severity of their symptoms.

Maca Root

Maca comes from South America, and has been used for centuries to treat menopause and other sexual health complaints. It helps to balance out estrogen and progesterone, as well as other hormones to relieve symptoms and promote optimum health. It is known to be highly effective at reducing hot flashes and vaginal dryness. It can also restore sex drive that was lost during menopause, boost memory and decrease the effects of osteoporosis.

Red Clover

Red clover grows naturally in Europe and Asia. It is well known as a powerful herb for all menopausal symptoms. Red clover is one of the primary sources of phytoestrogens, which are plant estrogens that mimic the female sex hormone. These phytoestrogens help to increase the levels of estrogen in the body, thus relieving menopausal symptoms.

Studies on red clover have verified that it does reduce menopause symptoms such as hot flashes and mood swings. In a recent study in the Netherlands, women taking a red clover reported a 44% decrease in their hot flashes over 8 weeks. Red clover is also believed to fight osteoporosis, and increase the amount of high-density lipoprotein, or "good" cholesterol, in the bloodstream. This has been linked to reducing the risk of heart disease in menopausal women.

Source

Asana of the Week

Beginner's Headstand with Corner

Try the Beginner's Headstand with Corner asana
along with Wai Lana . . .

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Headstand can be tricky, but using a corner for support makes balancing a lot easier.

1. Kneel down directly in front of the corner. Place your interlocked fingers 2 to 4 inches in front of the corner (the closer, the better). Your elbows should be shoulder-width apart. Open your hands, pointing your thumbs up.

2. Bring your head to the floor between your hands so the back of your head rests against your palms. Turn your toes under.

3. Straighten your legs, lift your hips, and walk your feet in so the top of your head rolls onto the floor. Move your shoulders away from your ears.

4. Bend your knees and jump up, bringing your feet to each side of the corner.

5. Slowly straighten one leg, then the other. Keep your heels together. Contract your thighs and buttocks, lifting your entire body upward. Breathe normally, remaining as motionless as possible. Your body should be quite straight. Hold for 5 to 10 seconds, gradually extending the time you remain in the pose.

6. To come down, carefully bend one knee, then the other. Bring your knees to your chest and lower your feet to the floor. Place your forehead on your hands to rest.

Focus in the Pose…
Have most of your weight evenly balanced over the tripod formed by your hands and forearms so that the crown of your head rests lightly on the floor. As you lift, extend both legs so that your feet move further up the wall. Feel light.

Hints…
Your buttocks may or may not touch the walls depending on your build and how far your hands are from the corner.

You can also relax in this pose. Continue to press your arms down and keep your shoulders lifted to help support your weight, but relax the rest of your body. This enables blood to flow back to your heart more easily.

Benefits
• Revitalizes the entire body
• Rejuvenates the brain
• Strengthens the lungs
• Regulates the glandular system

Wailana's Asana of the Week

It's not called king of the asanas for nothing!

Wai Lana's Biography

It would be difficult, if not impossible, to find anyone as influential as Wai Lana in bringing yoga to the mainstream. Her internationally aired TV series continuously attracts a huge audience and plays a key role in yoga’s skyrocketing popularity. Famous for making it easy and effective, Wai Lana excels at making the ancient art of yoga a life-enhancing experience for anyone who practices along with her.

Wai Lana is not only a beautiful and charming modern-day yoga advocate, but also a highly energetic and prolific artist. She has produced several yoga videos and DVDs for people of all levels, published books, designed kids’ products, recorded music and meditation albums, and produced and hosted nearly two hundred half-hour television programs of yoga instruction. Wai Lana is one of the most well known yoga teachers in the world today. Her daily yoga TV shows are regularly watched by millions of people around the globe on five continents, including in the United States, where her shows appear nationwide on many PBS stations.

Along with co-directing and hosting her TV shows, Wai Lana also designs the colorful clothes and flower garlands she wears during production. She travels the world to shoot her projects in the world’s most beautiful, pristine locations in order to create inspiring visuals for her audience. Instructing us from the breathtaking coastlines of California and Hawaii to the snow-capped mountains of New Zealand to the spectacular red rock deserts of Sedona, Wai Lana has become a favorite of viewers of all ages—from preschoolers to great-grandparents.

Among Wai Lana's most recent endeavors is her Little Yogis line for children. Two lively, colorful DVD workouts combine live action, catchy songs, and playful cartoons to make yoga fun for kids. She also gives us her Daydream CD and DVD to help children calm down and rest with soothing sights and melodious sounds. Her Little Yogis card games and coloring books are also a delight for the family with hours of fun and games. An artistic accomplishment in itself, Wai Lana’s beautifully illustrated Fun Exercise book is filled with charming characters, funny jokes, playful activities, and secret surprises to get kids exercising and loving it.

As a yoga practitioner and vegetarian for over twenty years, Wai Lana’s commitment to good health couldn’t be more evident than in the luscious, mouth-watering recipes she shares in her popular book, Wai Lana’s Favorite Juices.

Well known by now are Wai Lana’s yoga exercise videos and DVDs. The Easy Yoga Series is now available around the world in different languages, as is her second series, Hello Fitness Yoga. A third, Fun Challenge, targets intermediate and more advanced levels. She also has a new series in the works.

Her faithful exercise products continue to impress with their quality, durability, and fashionable designs. Whether it’s a cushy Yoga & Pilates Mat or a body-sculpting exercise ball, Wai Lana is firm in her goal to bring people the best quality for the best prices.

The latest addition to her array of user-friendly products are her fusion fitness kits, which combine yoga and Pilates exercise with resistance training to make for fast, focused fitness on the go. Lightweight and portable, these simple accessories, like resistance bands and cords, stow easily in a briefcase or suitcase to help busy people stay fit. Each kit includes a yoga and Pilates-inspired video/DVD for the most effective body-mind workouts available.

In addition to the spectacular scenic backgrounds, all of Wai Lana’s productions feature beautiful, soothing soundtracks to help viewers relax and let go of stress while they exercise. Including many original vocal recordings of her own, Wai Lana’s yoga music has attracted an audience of its own.

The soundtracks from her yoga DVDs feature songs from the albums, Yoga Music of the Heart and Yoga Sound. These are just the first of several albums Wai Lana will be releasing in the category of New Age/Relaxation music.

To the serene and warm-hearted Wai Lana, the teaching of yoga is not a business but an important service to the global community. She has dedicated her life to this endeavor, and what began in a small way has grown very quickly.

Wai Lana has traveled the world for the past fifteen years, working with dedicated professionals from different countries to produce the highest quality work in every field into which she ventures. This has earned Wai Lana unmatched admiration and made her a household name. Wai Lana’s popularity and recognition is certain to increase as she continues to make the timeless gift of yoga easy and effective for millions more.

Wailana's Biography

Sharing - life

I was thinking about how some people just make themselves blind to everything going on around them. They'd just rather not see the pain, the suffering, the lack of life, and happiness of all the people around them. They'd rather not see the suffering that animals go through, or the ruination being done to the environment. They don't want to see all this because they'll have to change the way they live. They'll have to... do something about it or make themselves harder. So eventually people live in this veil of illusion- where, basically, "ignorance is bliss".

So what got me thinking about all this? I stumbled on Animals Need Help. I've been an advocate of animal protection and environmental awareness for most of my life. I continue to fight against animal abuse and environmental destruction by trying to open the eyes of people about how it isn't actually necessary to create so much destruction and pain in the world.

This is actually one aspect that practicing Wai Lana Yoga has awoken in me. By practicing hatha yoga I have become more aware of myself. It made me more aware of the things happening around me, and to me- and therefore it's made me also more aware of other people. It just awakened me to a whole new existence.

Oh and side note- Wai Lana's got some new products! She's got some supplements out. I'm going to try them for sure. I'm going to order a big bunch while they're all on sale still and give my friends and family these supplements for thanksgiving and Christmas.