Menopause

During menopause the hormones in your body begin to change and you can experience imbalances in your elements or doshas. The Wind, Vata, increases and The Fire, Pitta, increases. The Wind is responsible for movement in your body and increases with age. The Wind imbalance causes you to feel nervous, depressed, anxious and unable to sleep. The Fire is responsible for digestion in your body...digestion of food, thoughts, emotions and ideas. The Fire imbalance makes you feel edgy, grumpy and short-tempered. In Ayurveda, the focus is to rejuvenate the reproductive system, regulate the change in the hormones and soothe emotions.

The Wind Reducing Plan for Body and Mind is most often recommended. This means sticking to an established routine including regular bedtime and three meals a day. Food is cooked and eaten warm. Choices are calming and nourishing including periods of silence. Meditation and Yoga are keys to aging gracefully and with ease. If you are grumpy and experience The Fire imbalance, then the Fire Pacifying Plan if followed for Body and Mind. Both plans are similar, but the Fire avoids spicy foods and "hot" situations.

Herbs to consider are:

• Shatavari for the reproductive system. Eases hot flashes and night sweats.
• Ashwagandha to calm your nerves and faciliate sleep.
• Aloe Gel (mix with a little orange juice 2 or 3 times a day)
• ChyavanPrash (this is a jam that can be taken by the spoon or put on toast)
• The scent of Sandalwood

If you find that you are feeling rather sleepy, lazy, holding weight or water then the Earth or Kapha has gotten involved. You need to Invigorate your body and mind. A vegetarian diet is recommended with lots of fruits and veggies. No napping. Set your alarm and get up. Try something new. Add Trikatu to your herbal therapy.

All of the Element's plans can be found at www.elementaom.com

The Oil Filter

Ayurveda teaches that all disease stems from poor digestion. Your liver is a vital part of the digestive process. It has over 500,000 functions and can largely be thought of as an "oil filter" for your body. It filters up to 2 quarts of blood each minute. The liver transforms food into nutrients that feed your cells. It builds metabolic enzymes. It breaks down hormones, converts vitamins and minerals and produces bile, cholesteral, estrogen and immune substances. It stores blood and glycogen and regulates blood sugar. It is believed that due to poorly functioning livers, we suffer from arthritis, heart disease, cancer, hormonal imbalances, depression, anxiety, suppressed immune function and weight gain. Thyroid function is directly linked to the liver.

The liver's job is to analyze every single thing that you put in your body. It decides if the substance is toxic or nontoxic. This includes analyzing, not just food, but atmospheric toxins such as cigarette smoke and other chemicals. It also includes viruses, parasites, fungi, allergens and unhealthy bacteria.

If your liver is overworked because of the pollution you are consuming, it will not filter as efficiently and you may suffer from high cholesterol, aches and pains, acne, psoriasis, allergies, fibromyalgia, pms, mood swings, sluggishness, depression, bloating, weight gain, high blood pressure, constipation and much more. The good news is that your liver regenerates! Time to detox.

If you are suffering from any of these symptoms, you need to detoxify your liver.

• Slowly eliminate caffeine, alcohol, acetametafin, dairy, refined carbs, fried foods and red meat.
• Choose fresh fruits and vegetables.
• Choose beans, nuts and whole grains.
• Choose water over flavored drinks and sodas.
• Take a Neem supplement twice a day. (this can substitute your acetamefin)
• Eat three meals a day. A meal is the size of two fists.
• Walk or practice yoga daily.

At Elemental OM, we offer the Elemental Immersion which is a 28 day detox program that resets your digestive function. It is gentle, nourishing, educational and empowering. It will give you the support and tools to eliminate and move forward making conscious choices. Go to www.elementalom.com to learn more.

The Yamas

There are 8 limbs or branches of yoga. The first branch of yoga is called Yama. The Yamas are rules of social behavior. The purpose is to set guidelines for facilitating a peaceful and ethical society. The Yamas include the following principles:

1. Ahimsa or nonviolence
2. Satya or truthfulness
3. Brachmacharya or appropriate use of one's energies including sexual abstinence or commitment
4. Asteya or honesty
5. Aparigraha or generosity

When the Yamas are practiced, they morally purify the Yogi to enhance Yoga.

Doors Wide Open

We are living with our doors wide open. Unaware that we are unconsciously letting in all the spiders, ants and bugs of the world. Only later, once an infestation has manifested, do we realize that we should have been more discerning and closed our doors. By then it is too late. We must suffer through the process of extermination and replacement of destroyed possessions.

Close your doors. Close your doors to the incessant babble of the media. It's mostly bad news and if it is really important, you will hear about it. Close your doors to violent movies and idiotic TV shows. They are the seeds of your dreams and ultimately your future. Close your doors to bad relationships, to gossip, to boredom and apathy.

Practice Discernment. Choose what you will listen to, what you will watch and who you will hang out with according to whether it is improving your life or not. Assume that everything you surround yourself with is there to uplift you and to improve your life...or not. Assume that there is a huge world-wide collusion to create for you the best life ever.

Close your doors to that which no longer serves you.

Unique You

Do the following:

1. Think of a person that you really admire. Write down five traits of this person.
2. Think of a person that you really can't stand. Write down five traits of this person.
3. Draw a big circle.
4. Put all 10 words in your circle in a random pattern.
5. Read all of the words in your circle out loud to yourself.

Nice to meet you!

The world is your mirror. The things that you like or don't like about a person are traits that you actually share. It's hard to accept your less favorable traits, but if you were only the admirable traits, you would be a boring person. All of you...the whole good/bad package...makes you unique, wonderful and interesting.

When you are confronted with your less admirable qualities, pause. Take a precious breath and choose to go to the highest level of that trait. Irritability, bossiness, anger, control, jealously and many more can simply be eliminated by pausing for a breath and making a different choice.

Cultivating Present Moment Awareness

The act of being "present moment aware" has many healing benefits. It releases stress over things that have happened in the past. It prevents worry for the future. It makes you engage in others and your environment more intensely which fosters better relationships and gratitude. All of these are good for body, mind and to connect with Spirit. To foster this skill, practice the following:

· Notice when you are not paying attention. Bring yourself back.
· Listen to yourself speak…what are you really saying?
· Notice how you react in any given situation.
· Take a big picture approach…don’t get stuck in details.
· Follow your energy. Where do you naturally want to focus.
· Notice your ego...Ask yourself “what am I getting out of this?”
· Immerse yourself in spirituality…books, movies, cds, yoga & meditation.


Namaste!

perfection

I had the perfect weekend with my kids. I guess I could give credit to the fact that it was our last weekend before school starts, but it was much more than that. We had the usual things to do to prepare for school. We went to the junior high and tried out the new locker and found our classes. We tried to figure out the bus schedule. We bought clothes and school supplies. It was busy.

Many years, this has resulted in frustration as you run from place to place. There is always something on the supply list that you can't find. This year it was clear plastic pocket folders. We went to Staples, Office Max, Biggs, Krogers and Costco. We went to Justice and Journeys and Dicks. We ran and ran. We had fun. We had so much fun.

Having fun is a gift you shouldn't question, but I had to wonder why this weekend was so great. What I realized is that my two children and I shared the same goals this weekend. We had the same intentions and desires. We wanted each other to be happy and we were very present with each other's needs. Staples was too girly for my 12 year old son. My 9 year old daughter loved it. Office Max was a hit with both and Costco met our needs for "freebies" when we were starving. There was a perfect ebb and flow and I can only contribute it to this perfect union of little souls all traveling on the same path for a weekend. It was effortless.

We are meant to live in this effortless and fun state even as we run crazy through Target. If you understand that it truly is all about the other person (serving humanity), then it is amazing how your own needs get effortlessly met. Everyday, ask the Universe "how can I help? how can I serve?" It will change your busy weekends.



Namaste

Suffering through Happiness

People seek out yoga for different reasons. Usually, they are going through some dynamic change in their life and are looking to make a spiritual connection. Many are suffering through break-ups, divorces, job loss or illness. They come to heal. They come to connect to a supportive spiritual community.

A natural side effect of yoga is that you heal. You start to feel daily joy and happiness. This can actually bring suffering. You begin to fear that the joy and happiness you feel is temporary and unsustainable. You begin to worry that if you miss a day of yoga or your meditation that spirit will abandon you and that the suffering will return.

A good friend of mine once explained to me when I was suffering through happiness that a spiritual journey is like going to the grocery store. You begin your journey starving and with an empty basket. You fill your basket with all that you see and as you fill your basket you are lifted up and up and up. Once the basket is full, you have to come back down. You have to sort through your basket and get rid of the things you weren’t really hungry for. You have to eat the rest of the basket and finally you have to digest the basket. When your basket is empty again, you go back up.

Spirit never abandons you. Spirit was always there and will always be there. Spirit is the element of Space. Space is everywhere. It is the “in-between” that holds the entire universe together. Space is a mystery and undefinable. It is vast. Is is unchanging. It is ever-present.

Know this and enjoy your dessert!

Choices

I am so blessed to be able to do what I love for a living. Owning a yoga studio is joy and bliss on a daily basis. I’m spoiled rotten too because I’m surrounded by people who are consciously trying to heal their minds, bodies and spirits on all levels. They are people who are intent on facilitating change in their life. They are looking inward, not liking this or that and consciously changing. It is powerful to watch and a blessing to be part of.

I’m so spoiled in fact that I just assume the entire planet is full of humans just like my yogis...people who want to make a difference and want to be better people. People who care, are nonjudgmental and working consciously to realize their dreams. People who realize the importance of having a vision and a dream.

Because of this, I struggle in the real world. I find myself more and more frustrated with people who are not doing their work. This is my biggest challenge. They actually make me mad. I want to grab their shoulders and shake them and scream “Make a different choice TODAY”. Please stop feeling sorry for yourself, please unstick yourself. Dump him, dump her, quit that loser job, stop eating crap and go for a walk. Get rid of the cigarettes and bag of potato chips. Just do something...anything...I’m begging you....DIFFERENT! Anger is exhausting.

What is the lesson? For me, the lesson is obviously nonjudgement. I think the bigger lesson, however, is to know and honor that each person is responsible for himself. Each person is on their own singular journey and not every person is on a spiritual or self-improvement quest. You can only help the person that wants help. First, they have to help themselves just a little to get things moving.

That having been said, please just make one better choice today. Please?

A time to rest

Today was Monday in my Yogi world and that means I address all the "business" of having a business. Our Elemental Immersion is set to start in September and the studio gets crazy busy as we prepare to support our "detoxies". On the list is accounting, ordering herbs, reviewing the fall clothing line and marketing.

Monday's joy are my noon yogis. They have been with me the longest and I know them well. I look forward to seeing if they have had a pleasant weekend. Today the entire group was Vata imbalance. I worked hard to ground their energy and when that didn't work I turned our Hatha into a Vinyasa and wore them out. Then I grounded their energy and that worked.

More accounting in the afternoon and then home to a messy house, kids, their friends and pets. Digging into dishes and laundry I suddenly pause and notice my exhaustion. I debate the unfolded sheets, but a that little voice inside of me firmly says "STOP". I realize that if I stop when I am finished, I will never stop. I stop.

Upstairs to my pajamas. Grab a book. Lay in bed. Kids come in and roll around with me. Dogs visit. I lay there and breathe....just breathe. Exhaustion melts away. Inspiration for dinner comes. I get back to my sheets which are exactly where I left them. I notice that they are wadded up in the shape of a happy face.

Stop and give yourself the opportunity to notice how you are feeling. When you are exhausted from a long day give yourself permission to take a break. In the end, you will save time and stress by resting and returning to your tasks refreshed.

Your Best Life

I'm a Vata so I have the attention span of a flea. I got really excited this month with I saw Oprah's Best Life Contest. I didn't realize that this has been going on for years as I don't watch the show regularly. Anyhow, in my Vata distracted way, I assumed you would need to write an essay about your best life...so I did. Later, I couldn't figure out how to even put my name in for the sweepstakes. There was some requirement for a magic word which meant you need to watch the show. Anyhow....here is my essay. I think I would have won!

My name is Pamela Quinn. I am 40 years old. I’m divorced. I have 2 kids, 2 dogs and a cat. I’ve tossed all caution to the wind and used every bit of my alimony and more to open a yoga studio in Lebanon, Ohio. It’s called Elemental OM and is just around the corner from Ohio’s oldest hotel. It’s cute and comfy and we do lots of good work here on our hearts and souls.

My favorite program that I teach is called the Elemental Immersion. It is a 28 day detox program based in Ayurveda. We eliminate accumulated physical, emotional and spiritual toxins. It’s a magical program. Typically, participants will lose 6 - 12 pounds of body weight in 28 days. The emotional weight loss is immeasurable. Part of the program includes the task of writing your story. I encourage people to be mythical and large and to put their dreams on paper.

Your sweepstakes caught my eye because, while I encourage my students to do exactly this as part of the Immersion, I personally haven’t taken the time lately to be mythical or to focus on my own story. I’m busy teaching and helping people heal. I’m busy with kids and pets. I’m busy learning and reading so that I can help others. I’ve worked so hard to realize the “best life” that I’m sitting in that I’ve neglected my own future. So here goes....

It’s morning. I wake up and untangle myself from the arms of my amazingly gorgeous, fun, creative, intelligent and insightful soul mate. We are tangled in a mass of organic bamboo sheets. My feet hit the reclaimed hardwood floor of my eco-home which is situated on a beautiful piece of land with a pond. I hear chickens in the yard. I hear dogs barking and playing.

I wash my face, brush my teeth and make my way to my meditation hut. It sits just on the edge of the pond and is surrounded by mature trees and flowers. I wrap a blankie around me and settle in to connect with my soul.

The smell of french press coffee brings me back to myself and after saying Namaste to my turtles and frogs I return to my kitchen. Music is playing sweetly. My kids and their friends are there and I cook everyone an awesome breakfast before I get ready for my big day.

Today is special because my healing center is having its grand opening. Our cute little studio got so jammed pack full of people that we had to get a bigger space. The new space is awesome. We have two yoga rooms, one room for meditation, three healing rooms and a child care center. On staff is an acupuncturist, a hypnotherapist, a spiritual counselor, a chiropractor and many more. We are equipped to help you through any situation.

The yoga is donation only. People come and they give what they can to practice. You’d be amazed at how truly generous people are. All the proceeds from yoga go to benefit charities. The studio sustains itself through website sales. Not to mention, my detox book sold very well.

Every single day is an adventure and a blessing. To be in a position to help and serve others is a dream for me. I want to touch as many people as I can so that they too can live their best life ever.

Problems

My little pond in my backyard is truly my sanctuary. I sit by it every morning and enjoy my coffee watching the fish and frogs and not thinking. In those moments of non-thought, I arrive at the most inspiring places. I crave and need my pond.

My pond broke. The little fountain stopped splashing and the ceramic frog started sputtering water. I sat with it for a few days willing it to fix itself, but came to conclude that the magical pond fairies would not be taking care of this one. I tackled the task of the cleaning the filter. No good. Clearly I needed a new pump. Now keep in mind, I did not install this pond myself. I know nothing of pond care or maintenance. Plumbing, however, cannot be that hard to figure out. It’s just a bunch of tubes.

New pump in hand, yoga pants rolled up, I dive in. The fish are not afraid of me. They spend the entire time nipping at my ankles. Midway through, my daughter craves a waterfall. It can’t be that hard. I reroute water flow from sputtering frog and gather huge quartz crystals I’ve accumulated. Instant waterfall.

Sitting back, covered in mud, soaking wet, deep gash in thumb from a rough cut quartz, I am pleased. I am also proud of myself. My personal mantra is “I’ve never met a problem I couldn’t fix”. I tell this to friends and kids and especially to myself. Some days I doubt my mantra and sit by my problems hoping magical fairies will fix them. I always end up diving in and fixing the problem myself.

Don’t ignore life’s issues. You were born with all the knowledge and power you will ever need to fix life’s problems. When faced with any challenge, look at it as an opportunity to learn. Rerouting one’s thoughts or heart is just like rerouting a sputtering ceramic frog and turning it into a magical crystal waterfall.

tilting...

I firmly believe that everyone should get up in the morning and sit quietly for 10 minutes minimum. You don't have to meditate....unless you want. Just sit quietly and enjoy nature. If the whole world participated in this "gift to self", I believe we would have world peace. I didn't get to sit by my pond today. I got up and hit my mac and got sucked into twitter, facebook, blogspot, marketing, emailing, accounting and writing newsletters. These are all things you must do nowadays to run a successful business. The good news is that I love all this stuff. The bad news is is that it is easy to get sucked in and not take those precious moments.

I haven't missed a day by my pond since I put it in. I could hear it out the window, but it wasn't the same. I willed myself to move to the pond and work, but I couldn't move. I miss that body of water. I went to the studio and filled up the sink and splashed around a little. It just didn't have the same soothing effect as being under a gorgeous honey locust and smelling my neighbor flowers and listening to that perfect splash of the fountain. ahhhh

In yoga I couldn't balance. I kept falling over. The world was tilting. This is very embarrassing for a yoga instructor even if we believe we have overcome our ego. The students look at you and think..."gosh, she sucks".

I'm going to go for a walk on the bike trail by the Little Miami River today. I'm going to throw some rocks and stick my feet in. My work can wait because my innerwork cannot. Take time for yourself daily. Find your silent self and connect. Balance.