A 12-year old's essay on yoga...

As parents we wonder if our children are listening.  We encourage them to make good choices and pray that they find their way.  This is the persuasive essay my 12-year old daughter wrote for 6th grade.  She's a budding yogini.  

Yoga

By Katie

You’ve had a long day. You spilled you coffee, lost your car keys, screwed up at work, and you still have to get your exercise in. What you need is a stress reliever. What’s the best way to relieve stress? The answer to that is yoga.   

Yoga is a calm, quiet outlet for relieving stress. In almost every yoga class, you’re going to meditate. Most people think of yoga as a complex of poses and exercises that improve strength and flexibility. But what they don’t know it that meditation is a huge part of yoga. Meditation really rounds out the benefits of stress relieving in yoga. It trains your mind to slow down, relax, and stay positive.  Yoga actually improves your mood. Scientists at the University of Maryland have proven that yoga increases pleasure in the neuro chemicals in your brain that elevate your mood. Different types of breathing are exhibited in yoga. Pamela Quinn, owner of her own successful yoga studio as well as a trained ayurvedic specialist, makes sure her students put the anuloma viloma breath in full spin. Anuloma viloma is Sanskrit for alternate nostril breathing.  This is where you breathe in through one nostril and out the other.  The breathing balances out your brain to help keep focus and release stress. 

As well as a stress reliever, yoga is a wonderful form of exercise. Who wouldn’t want to be relaxed as well as healthy? Yoga supports your digestion. You see, with stress certain chemicals are produced that compromise your digestive system. As stress is relieved, through yoga, of course, your digestive system is greatly improved. Yoga has better results as a workout then other forms of exercise. Scientists at the University of Maryland also compared yoga to other forms of exercise such as running or aerobics. It outperformed them in improving strength, flexibility, balance, and reducing pain or menopause symptoms. 

Yoga also helps you focus. Meditation not only dismisses stress, it also focuses you. With a clear mind after a meditation session all your thoughts aren’t scattered. Yoga helps ground you.  Nothing gets you more in touch with your body and mind than an hour with nothing to think about but yourself. All the different types of breathing in yoga help focus you.  What’s great about the breathing is you don’t have to be in a class to use it. You can breath in your car, at school, or anywhere else. There is many different kinds of breath such as breath of fire or the one I mentioned earlier, anuloma viloma breath. 

Yoga is easily one of the best stress relievers out there. Ask anyone who has experienced a class for themselves. It’s wonderful and also a workout that gets you focused. Give yoga a try. You won’t regret it.

Who has time to run off to an Ashram?

 I got a call yesterday from a wonderful woman who has been following Deepak Chopra for many years.  She loves his books and has dreamed of going away on retreat.  Like most of us, however, she has neither the time nor the means by which to do so.  Looking for a creative way to connect, heal and learn about Ayurveda without quitting her life, she search "Ayurveda and Cincinnati" which took her to Elemental OM and me.

You may not realize it, but Elemental OM is a very unique yoga center.  There isn't another center in the city or state (and probably most states) that is offering Ayurveda, meditation and multiple disciplines of yoga including Kundalini.  Our offerings are incredibly special and specifically designed to support not just our yogis, but our students who decide to participate in the Elemental Cleanse™.  

At Elemental OM, we teach Raja Yoga, known as the Royal Path of Yoga.  This includes yoga, meditation and Ayurveda.  Our yoga is Hatha based.  It is expected that students will progress in Hatha and meditation with Ayurveda as the foundation of the physical body.  These three aspects of Vedic philosophy work in union to facilitate happiness and health.

But I digress...

Wouldn't it be lovely if we could all run off to an Ashram for a month to get our habits under control, learn to meditate, focus on breath, move our body and embrace holistic nutrition? Wouldn't it be lovely if someone was in charge of us encouraging us to make good choices, follow a sensible routine for sleeping and living,  and help us to explore our emotional state and heal?  

It sounds so wonderful, but few can do that.  We have spouses, children and work obligations.  To be honest, I have had the experience of running off to retreat and doing just that.  The problem is, you return to your life and you go back to your habits.  I've found that it can actually create suffering because you remember how good you felt when you were there and how impossible it is to maintain once you are back in the real world.

This very situation is why I love my Cleansing program, The Elemental Cleanse.  You don't get to run off anywhere.  You get to learn how to incorporate movement, meditation, right choice making and much more into the life you are living.  The difficulties and situations in your life get addressed while you are living that life.  You get to shift and feel good living your life and you are empowered to continue your practice because your practice IS your life.

Another wonderful way to create your own experience of an Ashram in your life is to come to the studio once a week.  Elemental OM's class schedule in Montgomery is designed so that you can pick one night a week to be your "self-healing" night.  Tuesday is gentle yoga and medition, Wednesday is Kundalini and Yin, Thursday is flow and Kundalini.  You can stay for both class and have one physical and one more spiritual class.  Make it a weekly habit and it will change your life!  class schedule>>>

If you would like to learn more about the Cleanse you can read more here>>>

Going potty...a discussion of...well, you guessed it!

I know it's not something that we love to talk about, but it is something that we all do and when we are not doing it, it can greatly impact our level of happiness.  Teaching the Elemental Cleanse, I've gotten used to talking about, well, going potty.  (I'm not talking about pee, here.)  It's critical to have regular elimination.  Getting up in the morning and going first thing is ideal.  As you sleep, your body is hard at work digesting the food that you have consumed during day.  In the morning, you simply want to release the digested food and not allow it to sit in your system for any length of time.

Believe it or not, if you don't or can't go to the bathroom your body using it's innate wisdom and efficiently will actually notice that you have bile sitting in your digestive system and decide that it should reuse that bile rather than waste energy making more.  This means that the bile that was previously used to remove fat and toxicity including LDL cholesterol will be retrieved.  In retrieving this, the body also reabsorbs some of what it was trying to release...toxicity. 

We've all had the feeling of constipation at some point in our lives.  It makes you miserable, not just in your body, but also in your mind.  It can make you grumpy, not sleep and diminishes sexual energy.  In Ayurveda, constipation is termed a "Vata" or "Wind" disorder.  The energy of The Wind is responsible for movement in the body.  The act of pushing digested matter from your body is The Wind at work.  When the Wind becomes aggravated by lifestyle, routine or nutritional choices, it can become too high or too low.  Either way, you suffer constipation.

Things that aggravate The Wind include:

• Excessive amounts of dry and light food
• Not enough lubrication through appropriate water intake
• Staying up late and sleeping in
• Traveling
• Worry and anxiety accompanied with racing thoughts
• Lack of routine and too much running around and stimulation

Here is the program to ground the energy of The Wind and what you can do daily to facilitate elimination:

• When you go to bed each night, place a glass of water by your bed.  Drink the room temperature water first thing in the morning.
• Sit on the potty after you drank the water and tell your body that it is time to eliminate.  You may or may not go in the beginning of this practice.  Give it a few days.
• Daily you can take triphala in the morning and at night.  Triphala is an Indian blend of three fruits that acts as a very mild laxative.  It also is an anti-oxident and is awesome for skin, hair and nails.
• Eat three meals each day around the same time each day.  Cook your food and eat it warm.
• Choose foods that are "sattvic" or pure.  These include beans, vegetables, whole grains, fruits, nuts and seeds.  Meat and dairy should be avoided as they are interfering with your digestion.
• Drink hot spicy decaf teas.  Add fresh ginger for an extra healing zip.
• Before you go to bed each night, take up to 1 tablespoon of sesame or almond oil.

If you are in serious discomfort, you can turn to Castor Oil and Senna Tea for quick relief.  You don't want to rely on these daily, however.  Fix the root cause of the problem instead.

If you want to empower yourself in the potty, not to mention flush the whole system...body, mind and spirit... and learn a ton about meditation, yoga and Ayurvedic philosophy, participate in the Elemental Cleanse™.  

Cleanse online>>>

Cleanse in person>>>

 Om Shanti,  Pamela

Eat more honey

Each morning I start my day with a balancing and grounding Cleansing treat called the Yogi Breakfast.  I love it because it’s warm, nourishing and includes one of my favorite Ayurvedic secrets…raw, unfiltered, organic honey.

Ayurvedic philosophy designates honey as a “sattvic” or pure food.  Your body knows exactly what to do with it.  It promotes digestion and facilitates healing on multiple levels.  Think about it, it’s baby food for bees!  That means that it is pre-digested by a bee before it enters your bloodstream.  It is made from the pollen of plants.  That means that it is made from the portion of a plant that creates life. 

Honey is used as a rejuvenative.  That means that it nourishes the body and mind.  If you are feeling ungrounded, anxious, worried, stressed or recovering from illness that is Vata related, take a teaspoon of honey daily. 

Honey, because it is pre-digested, is used to transport healing herbs throughout the body.  In my Yogi Breakfast, I add both cinnamon and nutmeg because they are anti-inflammatories, control blood sugar levels and fight cancer.  These healing herbs attach to the honey allowing me to better digest them and utilize them to heal. 

Cool things to know about honey and Ayurveda:

·      Honey is called “madhu” in Sanskrit.  It means “perfection of Sweet.”  I love that.

·      Eating honey makes the ego sweet.  If you are participating in the Elemental Cleanse, add honey to your morning as we work to cultivate purity in our ego.

·      Honey is an aphrodisiac.   It is made from the semen or “shukra” of plants.  In Ayurveda, like increases like so eating shukra makes more shukra.   After making love, drink some non-milk milk with a bit of honey to recharge. 

Science facts about honey:

·      The American Medical Center in Amsterdam found that honey contains an antibiotic called defensin-1.  The bees actually need this to protect themselves and they pass it on to the baby bees through honey.

·      Honey does not spoil.  When King Tut’s tomb was unearthed, archeologists discovered edible honey. 

·      A honeybee will visit up to 2,000 flowers in just one day. 

·      Honey comes in different colors because of the different flowers that it is made from.  You might notice that “forest” honey is very dark.

·      Honey contains the beneficial bacteria that help you to digest. 

·      Honey is an effective cough suppressant. 

Eat more honey!  One teaspoon daily is the Ayurvedic recommendation.

To learn more about Ayurveda and Cleansing, take the Elemental Cleanse.  learn more>>>

Current trends in medicine

Last week I had the honor of attending and presenting at Christ Hospital's 2012 Medical Wellness Symposium.  Other presenters included Dr. Hans Diehl, creator of the Complete Health Improvement Program (CHIP), Dr. Roger Greenlaw, Lifestyle Medical Solutions and Dr. John Kelly, Lifestyle Health Education.

You can imagine this was a big deal for me to be up in front with all of these amazing doctors.  I got to spend the day listening to all the current trends and research coming from the CDC and from the work that many doctors and scientists are currently publishing on nutrition and health.  It was really interesting to see the scientific proof.  I want to share with you what some of the news is:

1. Being sick is really expensive and a burden on you, your family and your community.
2. Eating processed food (what I call non-food) is bad for you.
3. Eating meat is bad for you.
4. Eating dairy is bad for you.
5. Smoking is bad for you.
6. Alcohol in excess is bad for you.
7. People will change their habits when they are about to die.

Now I got to actually sit there and see the blood going sticky and gooey on the inside of a mouse's cheek after eating a fatty meal.  I also got to witness the separation of blood before and after a fatty meal.  It's so gross.  The healthy blood has a clear layer on top.  The fatty blood has yellow goop on top.   I got to see the statistics and learn that over 1/2 of the United State's population (150 million people) will be termed obese by 2020.  The actual life span of our children will be less than ours for the first time in recorded history.  That's right.  Your kids will die younger than you will die because of our gross American diet...lifestpan is decreasing. A person who gets diabetes over the age of 40 can expect their life to be reduced by around 18 years.

It was sad.  

Now the good news is that these same doctors and scientists have discovered that most disease is reversible.  In fact, Dr. Kelly who studies epigenetics was super excited because they have learned that nutrition is more powerful at turning off bad genes and turning on good genes than any drug or anything else you can do.  All you have to do is get rid of the above things and you will get healthy.  It's that easy.

Isn't it?

Sadly, it isn't that easy.  In Ayurveda, one of the seven causes of disease is called Prajnaparadha or "failure of intelligence."  That's a situation where a person knows that something is bad for them, yet they continue to do it.  Why?  I would argue that the substance they are imbibing is relaxing, giving pleasure or satisfying some emotional need.  How do you implement the change?  How do you get to the spot in your mind that makes bad choices even though you know it is contributing to poor health? 

I think that's where I can be of service.  I actually didn't need to see all of those gross things because I get to see the participants in The Elemental Cleanse on a daily basis.  They go through the Cleanse and they not only lose weight, but their skin clears, their eyes brighten and they start to love themselves.  When you love yourself and know that you your life has meaning, you stop making those bad choices.  It's a process that is well beyond simply knowing that something is good or not good for you.  It's about sitting in a body that you do believe is your holy temple and loving that body.  It's about learning other ways to relax and enjoy.  It's about healing from the traumas of life.

Join me for the Elemental Cleanse.  If I heard the stat right, there are around 150 million of you that I would like to help.  www.elementalom.com  Om Shanti, Pamela

Yoga and Christianity

I got a call from the mother of a potential student the other day. She was trying to find an appropriate class for her daughter to attend while she watched the new grandbaby. We talked extensively about body types, styles of yoga and the most efficient forms of exercise.

At the end of the conversation, she threw me the wildcard which is “She is Christian, and just wants to make sure that she won’t hear anything spiritual or anything like that. “

Sigh…..

I told her there were lots of places to a fitness version of yoga devoid of spirituality. Elemental OM is not that place because we are founded deep within the philosophy of Ayurveda. Yoga is one branch of Ayurveda that addresses the spiritual aspects of man. Most people don’t realize that about yoga. Most people think that since you are moving your body and learning to breath, that yoga must be about the body. It is not. Ayurveda is about the body. Yoga is about God.

I’m sure you’ve heard it said a million times that Yoga means to yoke or to join the body, mind and Spirit. It is the merging of three systems of being human into one divine expression of being. The body, as temple, moves to become healthy physically and energetically. The breath, as the life force animating you, moves to deeply bond the mind and the body. Moving in a devotional manner with intent, you fully realize your spiritual nature.

This experience is unique to each individual. There are 7 billion people on the planet and 7 billion ways to get to heaven. Your experience of yoga will be unique to you.

Ayurveda is not dogma. It is a philosophy that is ever expanding and all encompassing. It honors the unique nature of each individual. It is elegant and intelligent. It is a philosophy that honors that there is a creator, a spirit or a God. How you choose to visualize, connect to, talk to or be with this creator aspect is unique to you and probably very much connected to the family you were born into as well as the culture.

Gurus come in many forms. As my friend and teacher Mark Whitwell says, a Guru is a friend no more, no less. Of course you can call your partner, your family, your friends gurus easily because you are having a tangible relationship with them. Can you say that of God? Can you say that of Jesus? Are you in a conversation? Are you learning and feeling supported?

Yoga creates the conversation with that which you believe. Of course if you come to a class and the teacher is talking about a Monkey god or an Elephant god, you are not going to understand. That is Hinduism and probably doesn’t relate to you on an emotional level. Think of the other religion’s deities as you would a character from mythology. The stories and lessons are really good and there is much wisdom and insight to learn from them. You, however, are probably not going to start praying to a monkey or an elephant. For you, these are just stories to inspire.

You will hear all kinds of things in a yoga class meant to get you thinking and connecting. Yogis believe that Jesus was a guru. When you call in your guru or begin your conversation, call in Jesus. Wouldn’t it be amazing to feel that Jesus was your friend?

Traveling and Ayurveda

Happy Easter to All!

I'm spending my Easter in Destin, Florida with my 2 children and 2 of their friends. I set many intentions for this trip including trying to figure out how to feed 4 kids a healthy diet for the week, daily meditation and yoga on the beach and lots of time for reflection and journaling.

Of course, we make plans and God laughs so here goes:

12 hours in a very small car with 2 pre-teens and 2 teenagers. I have new respect for Green Day, Eminem, 50 cents and Snoop Doggy Dog. Yes it is possible to silently repeat mantra and jam to the grooves. On occasion, foot must be put down so the mama driver can have some peace. Thank God for MC Yogi. Kids now think yoga and mantra is a little cooler. Go Elephant Power!

Publix is not interested in organic. I did the best I could....

If you turn eating asparagus into a game of Fear Factor, kids will eat it.

Caution on Kundalini Meditation on beach: People will stare at you funny when you shake like a leaf all over your body at the end of Kundalini Kriya. Have children near so they will shake with you.

Kids will respectfully hover around you while you meditate peacefully on the beach....for about 1 minute. At that point they interrupt to ask you a question. Just treat it as a distraction, answer the question and go back to your meditation.

Sometimes it's hard to find a level spot in the sand for yoga. Just do a seated practice instead and go for a walk. Not worth tweaking a knee or shoulder.

Accept that traveling makes your Vata skyrocket. Be a little more quiet, take your triphala, hot bath first night helps and so does pasta!


Off to the beach to sit with Spirit. I can hear the whispers of eternity in the waves and the wind.

Om Shanti, Pamela