Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Yoga and Money


I'm elbow deep in writing my business plan to facilitate the expansion of EOM. (read...give a yogi some cash please...) There is some good news supporting me...

Apparently, this is how you guys like to spend your money right now:


1. Small Indulgences

2. Health & Fitness

3. Prevention of aging and sickness

4. Going Green

5. Staying home

6. Consumers want more time


Yoga is just $13 class. It is health and fitness. It reverses the effects of disease, aging and cures sickness. It educates you and empowers you to make compassionate choices for your planet. If you come to the studio enough, you will eventually get to stay home and practice in your own personal sacred space that we taught you to make. As far as wanting more time, the more you meditate and practice yoga, you will develop yogic superpowers known as siddhis. Included in the list of superpowers is the ability to bend time.


Not bad?


All about you: (This is from Yoga Journal's study)
  • You are spending $5.7 billion dollars a year on yoga.
  • There are about 16 billion of you. This number has stayed the same for the past 10 years, but your spending on your love has more than doubled.
  • 72.2 percent are women; 27.8 percent are men.
  • 40.6 percent are 18 to 34 years old; 41 percent are 35 to 54; and 18.4 percent are over 55.
  • 28.4 percent have practiced yoga for one year or less; 21.4 percent have practiced for
  • one to two years; 25.6 percent have practiced two to five years; and 24.6 have practiced
  • more than five years.
  • 71.4 percent are college educated; 27 percent have postgraduate degrees.
  • 44 percent of yogis have household incomes of $75,000 or more;
  • 24 percent have more than $100,000.
Pausing to look at EOM, this is what I notice about you:
  • You are spending about $80/month.
  • 90% of you are women
  • 40 % are 18 - 34, 40% are 35 - 54 and 20 percent are over 55 (2 % of those are over 70)
  • Regardless of age, you are all at different skill levels...(that means age doesn't correlate to skill).
  • 50% of you have practiced for one year or less, 45% of you have practiced for two years, 5% have practiced longer.
  • All of you seem super smart to me so if you didn't go to college, you could have and probably would have kicked some buddhi butt at Harvard.
  • I think most of you have super sweet lives and you are very generous. Because of your generosity, EOM can offer yoga FREE to a lot of people when they find themselves in a bad situation. We do this quietly. We can do this because of you.
  • You are each very unique and add to the beauty of the studio.
Shanti, Pamela

Monday, November 29, 2010

Meditation slows and reverses again.

Cnn had an article today about the reversal of aging in mice. (CLICK HERE) Apparently it has to do with the length of these little caps in your body called telomeres. As we age, these caps are diminished, shortened and open up which causes us to show signs of aging like gray hair. The mice were genetically mutated so that the telomeres would do something or other....it got complicated.

Anyhow, the end result was that the mice regained eyesight, smell and even fertility! It got me to thinking about those telomeres and what meditation might do to them. You can click through to the amazing published study below, but in a nutshell.....meditation and mindfulness training appear to slow the deterioration of telomeres and therefore meditation and midfulness can stop and possibly reverse the effects of aging.

You've been hearing me say it for ages....for every day you meditate, you save a day of aging. Forget the fancy creams...go sit on your butt.

Can meditation slow rate of cellular aging? Cognit... [Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2009] - PubMed result

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Elemental OM is having a baby


(This was our studio in Lebanon...before...gutted)

Yogis,
I am so excited to announce that we are opening a Yoga STUDIO on Red Bank Road. The Learning Center is moving across the street behind Salt of the Earth. I plan to teach the Elemental Cleanse from this facility so that more people in Cincinnati with have access to the Cleanse.

The Cleanse will become a 3 hour program that includes the lecture AND yoga. I tested this methodology in Lebanon during the fall and it worked really well. We were able to take the lecture to the mat and practice meditation and yoga together. The Elemental Cleanse will soon be offered nationally as an online educational program including a community forum to exchange recipes, ideas and bounce questions off of experts. This online program will fold into the lecture series here in Cincinnati.


The studio on Red Bank will offer Hatha and gentle yoga. The classes will grow as we grow. There are lots of studios in that part of town so our studio will truly have to focus on building a community through outstanding customer service. I think we have a great opportunity as we are sharing space not only with the Midwest School of Astrology but several therapists offering massage, reiki, Alexandar and Acupuncture. It's the perfect blend to support true healing on every level.

We are located on the very back of the building that Salt of the Earth is housed in. This is great news because they are an Organic restaurant!
The theme of the new studio will be total comfy EOM zen. If you have been to the studio in Lebanon, you will feel right at home on Red Bank. True to our nature, EOM is taking over an unusual space and transforming it into a magical experience! I can't wait to share our transformation with you. Shanti, Pamela

Monday, November 22, 2010

My Weekend with Dr. Richard Miller...IREST


I've returned from my weekend getaway to experience Yoga Nidra (IREST) with Dr. Richard Miller. It was a profound weekend on many levels. First, I really needed a forced rest and second, I've been at a Spiritual crossroad for the past 6 months or so and was getting really really frustrated. My yoga hasn't felt right. My meditations have been forced. I haven't learned anything or heard anything new for months and months and you guys know how much I read....

I've been smiling a little less lately. I hate to admit it because I want to be a beacon of light for all of you. I want to lead by example. It's very important to me. This is what has happened to me. I reached the point of spiritual growth where you want to run off to an Ashram and renounce the world. I haven't been able to break through that feeling and I've been acting on it by slowing pushing it all away. I've been desperately reading, learning and searching to find the bridge that allows me to stay in my world which I love and not run off. However, the lure of solitude and quiet has made the activity of my current life unbearable. I was coming to the conclusion that all of this is a bunch of garbage unless you live in an Ashram. Kids, family, pets, cars, phones and jobs.....oh my. It's not sustainable. It's too much work.

I'm going to let you in on a little secret that practicing yogis, gurus, clergymen, saints and nuns don't tell you. Your journey never ends. Not only does it never end, it starts over again and again where ever you are. The "where ever you are" feels a lot like the first time you started, just different surroundings. What does that mean? It means you are living on a wheel that just keeps spinning. The best you can do on your path is to spin out in a more compassionate manner. When I speak of compassion here, I'm speaking about the compassion that you show to yourself. There isn't a font bold or big enough for that last sentence...compassion that you show to yourself.

This is an important piece of spiritual growth because we have the belief that as we heal our lives and grow, our problems will not only go away, but we won't have any more problems. This simply isn't true. Karma is working its way through your life and you will be met again and again with all kinds of challenges that you must resolve. What's the point otherwise? We are here to learn and grow. We are here to greet the challenges of our life. Your spiritual connection will allow you to do this with a smile on your face.


This weekend I found my smile. I don't have to run off. I can have it all. I feel giddy and present now.
What's the secret? The secret is to simply be...to practice being. To just BE here. BE HERE. Be. The secret is to look at the world with new eyes in every moment. To be amazed at the people and objects around you. To engage with joy and love. To feel your emotions and embrace your duality. Now I know that sounds like a bunch of crap. BE. Be Happy. Be present. That's not a new concept. You are right. It's not a new concept. The problem is that you need a practice for learning how to BE.


Yoga Nidra is that practice for me. Yoga Nidra truly teaches you to embrace your duality and accept things as they are. Yoga Nidra teaches you to be expansive and yet small. It teaches you to meet your negatives with your positives and find a neutral playing field that we refer to as happiness. Do I sound drunk? Amazingly, that's how I feel.
My practice is going to change dynamically. I am going to meditate because I love it. I am going to do yoga because it makes me feel so good and I love it. I am going to practice Yoga Nidra because it is teaching me how to BE. I love this feeling of being drunk.

The Lover is ever drunk with Love.
He is mad,
she is free.
He sings with delight,
she dances with ecstasy.
Caught by our own thoughts,
we worry about everything.
But once we get drunk on that Love
whatever will be, will be. ~ Rumi

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Value System

I am currently drafting a business plan for EOM to facilitate not only its expansion, but also the development of a therapeutic product line. There is loads to learn and decide when developing a business plan so I've been reading many books and seeking advice from friends, family, clients and professionals.

A friend of mine asked me what my core values are and how they resonate at work. I thought it was a great question because I'm constantly challenging my Immersion participants to connect with what I call their "soul qualities". These are the "satvic" or pure qualities of their nature. They might include kindness, compassion, optimism or humility. I think core values are the same.

I took some time with this process and realized that what I personally want to do does align with what I want Elemental OM to do. I personally think there is nothing more important in life than learning. Michael Angelo said on his death bed in wonderment, "and still I am learning..." I want to say that on my death bed and I want all of you to say it too.

Education is a core value for me and for EOM.

I can only do so much for you in the one hour and fifteen minutes that you are in my class. I need you to do a lot of your work on your own. I want to empower you through my speech and my actions to take charge of your own healing. Ultimately, you must heal yourself. I can give you the tools, but you must do your work.

Empowerment is a core value for me and for EOM.

I want to create a space that is nourishing and facilitates healing. I want you to feel like you've walked into your best friend's home...you know the one where you can just go straight to the kitchen and dig through the fridge. I want the doors to be always open. Hang out. Borrow a book. Give me and EOM advice too!

Facilitate Healing is a core value for me and for EOM.

I expect you to do your work. It doesn't matter what you are going through in life...death, divorce, illness or depression; the cure is the same. Sit down and meditate. Express Gratitude. Move everyday. Choose the more nourishing choice for your body and your mind. You have to do these things everyday. I do feel for you. If you need a hug, I'm here. If you want to talk, I am here, but you still must do your work or you will never change yourself or your life.

Stern compassion is a core value for me and maybe for EOM...he has a hard time being stern.

I expect you to embrace your practice with joy and with regularity. This goes to the discussion about doing your work. Your work shouldn't feel like work. When you come to EOM, love every minute of it. It's your little world away from the world. As soon as you walk through the doors, you've got nothing else to do but work on yourself for the next hour. LOVE IT.

Joyful discipline is a core value for me and for EOM.

Putting this all together, my Personal Mission statement for EOM is:

"To educate and empower my clients in a compassionate, joyful and disciplined manner so that they might facilitate their own healing."

Now that I know my core values, I can always compare my business decisions to them. If it's a match, then it is a good decision. I challenge you to pause and think about the what you are trying to accomplish through your work. What do you value? What do you want to accomplish through your work? Does your place of employment match your values?

Shanti!