Overcome the allergy symptoms with easy tips

Spring has finally arrived. And with the long-awaited beautiful weatherand the shades of green painting our landscape, come the fragrances ofspring and summer-flowers, tree blossoms, and cut grass, which can meanpuffy eyes, sneezing, coughing, and sinus pressure for millions ofAmericans.
* Take a whole food based Vitamin C. – Vitamin C acts as a naturalantihistamine. Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn, NY found that taking vitaminC daily, significantly reduced blood histamine levels.

* Magnesium eases breathing – Some immunologists suggest taking 400milligrams of magnesium daily helps with nasal allergies and breathingproblems. If you want to supplement your diet with magnesium-rich foods, thebest sources are nuts, beans, whole grains, green leafy vegetables, andbananas.

* Wear sunglasses when going outside – Allergic rhinitis, or hay fever,creates a certain amount of photosensitivity. Wearing sunglasses helpsreduce your sensitivity to light and thus helps your eyes from excessivewatering.

* Drink a lot of cool water – It probably seems counterintuitive, torecommend drinking water with all of that liquid in your sinuses, nose andeyes. But re-hydrating is one of the best ways to eliminate toxins from yourbody. Besides, it cools you down and provides some symptom relief.* Check the local pollen count – If you have severe allergies, you mightconsider wearing a mask on days when the pollen count is unusually high.

* Stay away from dairy – I know, it is summer and that means ice cream.But if you have hay fever, eating dairy will produce even more phlegm andmake you feel worse.

* Use your bathroom exhaust fan when taking a shower – This will helpprevent to growth of mold in the shower. Cleaning your bathtub or showerliner is also important. Better yet, replace your liner every month or two,if you have mold sensitivities or asthma.* Keep your dryer vent clear – Build-up of lint in the dryer vent willcause an excess of dust in your house. Have your vents cleaned regularly toavoid aggravating your allergy symptoms.

* Use a vacuum with a HEPA Filter – HEPA filter vacuums do not recirculateback into the air the polluting particles that the vacuum has just pickedup. Make sure you have a true HEPA filter and not a HEPA-like filter. Youcan tell by looking at the manufacturer’s test results of their filter. Atrue HEPA filter will have test results stating that .3 microns are 99.97percent or above.

* Get rid of clutter – Allergy sufferers need to be especially carefulabout controlling dust in their homes. And clutter is a major source ofdust and dust mites. If you can’t see your floors or walls in closets andbasements, you have a clutter problem. Just as clutter clogs your house and obstructs the free flow of energy in your home, clutter also clogs your nose and obstructs the free flow of life-giving air into your body.

For more information, please visit http://www.chicagohealers.com/.

Why is Yoga so confusing?

I enjoy being and advisor for a Hatha Yoga Teacher’s Training; it allows me to review the material frequently and to support new teachers in their yogic learning experience.
I recently received a great question from one of my advisees: “One of my students asked me why if I take a class from any of the five teachers in this studio, I receive a different explanation or instruction for the same pose?” She said the question took her by surprise and did not know what to answer and wanted some feedback on that.
What a great question! There are some different explanations to this. The difference between the verbal instructions or emphasis might be based on the teacher’s experience and the training she had. Some people go to weekend training and they think they can teach yoga, others go trough a long and more demanding training.
The type of yoga they teach will also put the emphasis on the breath, on the movement, on the alignment or in all of them.
Yoga is a living and evolving Science of the mind and body, new styles are created quiet often and though most of the them resemble the original teacher they had, the teacher adapt the teachings to their own style and personality.
As far as we know there were six schools of classical Indian philosophy. Those schools from all the yoga styles we know today evolved from are Samkhya, Raja , Vedanta, Nyaya, Mimamsa, and Vaisheshika.
Yoga is like a big and old tree, full of branches from where other branches are evolving and adapting to the needs of the time and society they live in.
Is one yoga style better than the other? I don’t think so. It all depends on what the student or teacher are looking for. Is it strength, relaxation, the develop of a breathing technique, or more of an athletic goal?
It is up to the student to determine what they are looking for and if they feel safe in the class’ environment created by the teacher.
Here is just a cautionary guideline, if the teacher pushes the students without giving them permission to rest or to give preparatory poses, that might not be a safe environment to learn yoga. If you have a special condition, you need to make the teacher aware so he can decide if we can help you or not. Try different teachers, levels and styles until you found what you are looking for. All yoga styles when the teacher has been well trained will offer something important and special, the student needs to decide if that is what they are looking for.
After trying different styles, a serious student will choose a path and fully immerse herself on it until it is time to move on.
Maybe yoga is not confusing after all but a living tradition!

Namaste,
Rocio Morales

Can yoga by donation really work?

Last week was an interesting and exciting week of events.
I had a chance to meet with a group of teachers and students in a new yoga collective called Seva Yoga. Seva is a Sanskrit word that means, service a work that is offered to the Divine. Seva yoga is innovative because it is a complete donation based studio in Austin that wants to showcase all styles of yoga. Part of the proceeds go to a charity designated by the teacher. Here is the link to watch the interview they gave to Yoga Sanga Seva Yoga interview

There was also the Rise Event in Austin. Rise organized for third year a week of activities where they included more than 150 sessions where entrepreneurs share their experience all around Austin to other entrepreneurs. It was amazing to be with this people full of expectations, hard work and enthusiasm to make their ideas work. I took classes in building, dance studios, art studios and conference rooms. Rise is a free event for the participants.

As for events this week you will find:

Austin: If you practice Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, David Williams will be in town. There will be a workshop on how to balance the solar and lunar centers and how to recharge with Kundalini.

Dallas: There will a free Kriya Yoga introduction, a restorative yoga workshop and how to learn adjustments to help and support your partner. Also a workshop on yogabhyasa (persistent practice)

Houston: Shiva shakti book club, Meditation workshop and a Journey for peace.

San Antonio: Continues with Kundalini foundation series and iRest meditation.

New Baunfels: How to approach safely arm balance poses

Don't miss the multimedia section, every other week we are giving away books, DVDs and at the end of March 2 itunes-downloads for a 45 min. practice! Just enroll in our e-mail list for free. Your information won't be sold or share with anyone else.

Check our Calendar of events, and see how alive and committed is the Yoga Community in Texas!

Share the journey and Namaste!

Rocio Morales

Photo courtesy of Julia Land. Golden-cheeked Warbler. Click on the picture to see more pictures.