Breath Body Works
March 2015
Wellness Wisdom
March/April
Calendar
January 6
- March 31
February 23
- April 12
Be Positive
10-week Meditation
Molly Dahl
Back Care Yoga
8-week class
Marta Olson
March 20
First Day of Spring
March
14, 21, 28
April 4
Yoga for the
Complete Beginner
Ed Kingham
March
23 & 30
The Yoga of Gardening
2-day class
Ed Kingham
April 16
Kundalini Yoga
Beginners Donation Class
Onkar
April 17-19
Kundalini Yoga
& Meditation
Onkar
Find additional information
about our therapists, teachers,
classes and workshops at:
BreathBodyWorks.net
Spring
If you have lived in Northern Nevada for any period of time, you
know spring can arrive in many different shapes. But always with
color and the hope of good things to follow.
This issue of “Wellness Wisdom” introduces you to many new
classes that are coming to Breath Body Works that simply by
attending will head you down a path where good things will follow.
Our yoga and meditation articles will help with mental and physical
spring-cleaning. Our article on postural alignment therapy will both
interest and inspire.
Thank you for taking the time for better health. Your doing so affects
those around you and so it goes …
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Breath Body Works
March 2015
Postural Alignment Therapy, A Case Study
Marta Olson, LMT, PAS2, RYT
Sallie first came to see me for postural
alignment at the request of her
daughter, Sallie Carol. Sallie Carol
had experienced significant relief from
an injury she had sustained a number
of years ago working with an
Egoscue® therapist in Virginia. While
on a visit with her Mom in Carson
City, she googled “Egoscue” and
found me.
Review of Medical History
far forward into flexion that when I
walked behind her to lead her to the
evaluation room, I was not able to see
the back of her head. And two, within
our consult, Sallie reported that she
remarkably had no pain in her body.
She came to see me because she didn’t
like the way she looked and that there
had been some instances as a teacher
that she had experienced children
making fun of her and mimicking her
hunched-over walk.
cise stretch that would directly address
the position of Sallie’s forward tilting
pelvis. Her pelvis’s bring in the proper
place was imperative to allowing her
to stand erect. Sallie promised to do
the e-cise daily until we could meet
Exercise Therapy Session
Marta Olson is a Licensed Massage
Therapist (NVMT #133) and a Certified
Egoscue Method® Specialist.
I first met with Sallie and her daughter
in late July of 2014.
Sallie told me that she had suffered a
traumatic injury in 1992 when she fell
off a roof and fractured her left pelvis
and crushed her wrist and vertebrae in
her back at L1. The injury required her
to have rods placed within her lumbar
spine at L1 and L2 along with repairs
to her wrist. While in the hospital
recovering from her surgery, Sallie
contracted staph and E. coli infections.
It was necessary to do six surgeries to
clear the staph infection that resulted
in a surgical incision traveling from her
lowest lumbar spine to the top of her
thoracic spine between her shoulder
blades.
I recommended a simple 30-minute e-
again the following month
Read Wellness Wisdom next month to
see what is possible and what can be
accomplished when an individual
dedicates oneself to being well.
Since this injury and surgery, she has
been walking in a stooped position that
kept getting worse as she grew older.
She also told me that she would be at
the computer for long hours with poor
posture compounding her posture
issues.
Evaluation of Pain Issues
and Assessment of Posture
On our initial meeting I was struck by
two things. One, Sallie was curved so
Init ial diag nos tic ph otogra phs
of Sa llie wi th a red plum b lin e.
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Breath Body Works
March 2015
Mindfulness Meditation, Part 2
Molly Dahl
This article is a continuation of an article that was published in our February Wellness
Wisdom. You can find it on our web site at http://breathbodyworks.net/ww.02.15.pdf
Last month, you were introduced to
some of the concepts behind
meditation and its benefits. Now it is
time for you to try it.
The
Yoga of
Gardening
Want to grow your own fresh
and nutritious food free of
poisonous chemicals?
March 23rd
&
March 30th
Instructor, Ed Kingham, has
been gardening in the high
deserts of Arizona and
California since 1979. He
produces hundreds of pounds of
fruits and vegetables in his back
yard. He will teach you how to
connect to the natural
environment and nourish your
body through the food it
produces.
Additional Information:
breathbodyworks.net/spevent.garden.htm
Technique
Sit in a comfortable position, either in
a chair or cross-legged on a cushion on
the floor. The key is to have the hips
slightly higher than the knees so the
hips are open and the spine stays long.
If you’re sitting in a chair, keep the
ankles un-crossed and the soles of both
feet flat on the floor. Let the hands rest
lightly on the knees. Softly close the
eyes. As you exhale, feel the
connection between the body and the
ground beneath you. Feel the sits
bones firmly connected to the cushion.
Feel the feet on the earth.
Inhale as you gently lengthen the spine
by lifting the back of the head toward
the heavens. Tuck the chin slightly to
release and relax the muscles at the
back of the neck. Relax the jaw. As
you exhale, soften the shoulders down
away from the ears. Connect the feet,
backs of the legs, and the sits bones to
the floor and the cushion.
Again as you inhale, lengthen the
spine and create a feeling of
expansiveness in the belly, the rib
cage, and the heart. Exhale. Softly
drape the muscles over the bones,
keeping some of the space in the chest.
Soften the forehead and the space
between the eyebrows. Relax the eyes.
Let the eyeballs rest heavy in the
sockets. Keep the jaw soft, the lips
together and teeth apart.
Take one or two more deep breaths at
your own pace, getting settled and
connecting the body to the stable,
grounding energy of the earth.
Do a mental scan of the body. Start at
the crown of the head and slowly
sweep down over the entire body. If
you find tightness or stress, breathe in
relaxation to the point of discomfort
and exhale the tightness. Relax the
body, but keep the mind alert.
Now, bring the awareness to the
breath at the belly. Feel the belly rise
slightly on the inhale and drop in
toward the spine slightly on the
exhale. As thoughts do come into the
mind, let them pass on their way, like
clouds moving through the clear blue
sky. You don’t need to grab on to the
thought, or go with the story. Just
watch as it dissolves from the mind.
Return the attention to the breath at
the belly.
As the awareness settles on the breath,
see if you can count 10 perfect breaths.
That is, 10 inhales followed by 10
exhales without thinking of anything.
Simply let the mind rest on the breath.
If you find yourself drawn away from
the breath to the thoughts, start your
count over at one.
The Count
The count goes like this: Inhale …
exhale, one. Inhale … exhale, two.
Count at the bottom of your exhale.
Don’t count tttwwwoooo the full
length of your exhale. A single two at
the end of the exhale. Then inhale.
That’s a good start for now. Practice
this one at least once a day for about 6
minutes, to start with. You can
gradually build up until you’re
meditating on the breath for around 15
minutes a day.
Enjoy the silence.
Molly Dahl has been teaching the
principles of spiritual living for the past
28 years and holds a Master’s Degree in
Educational Leadership. She is teaching
Meditation – Be Positive at Breath Body
Works from January 6 to March 31 from
6:00 PM to 7:15 PM.
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Breath Body Works
March 2015
Yoga and Inner Spring Cleaning
With Twists and Visualization
Cindy Webb
I’ve never been a big fan of extreme cleanses or detoxes.
That’s why I love yoga so much. Yoga means to unite,
and when we unite our body and mind in a healthful
way, we can begin to clean out the clutter. Through
breathing and movement we naturally detoxify our
bodies.
Incorporating twists in your yoga practice can help jumpstart your internal spring-cleaning. Here are a few of my
favorite detoxifying twist postures:
Walk your hands over to your right foot; stack your hands,
right hand on top. As you inhale for a count of 5 reach
your right arm out and up slowly visualizing the colors of
the rainbow streaming out of your arm and reaching for the
top of the arch.
Rainbow Pose
Seated Spinal Twist – This is a classic twist. Start seated
on the floor, cross bend your left knee underneath you
and cross your right leg on top right foot outside of left
knee. Use your lower abdominals to initiate the twists
placing your left elbow outside your right knee and your
right hand behind your sacrum. Hold for 5 breaths,
counter twist, and then switch sides.
Exhale with a count of 5, reaching the top arm out and
down. Walk your hands on the floor over to the left foot
and repeat to complete the rainbow. Visualize and feel
yourself squeezing the toxins from the inside out.
Rainbow Pose with a twist
Seated Spinal Twist
Rainbow Pose (Standing Straddle Forward Bend with a
twist) - Start in a wide straddle, bend forward from your
waist reaching your hands to the floor.
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Breath Body Works
March 2015
Yoga and Inner Spring Cleaning
With Breath
Cindy Webb
Left nostril for calming; right nostril for energy.
Pranayama is rhythmic control of the breath and is one
of the five principles of yoga. Proper breathing carries
more oxygen to the blood and brain, allowing more
control over Prana, or the vital life energy. The union of
movement and breathing is considered the highest form
of purification in yoga.
Practicing pranayama for a few minutes each day can
help restore balance to your brain. Yogis believe that
many diseases are connected to disturbed nasal breathing.
Alternate Nostril Breathing - This breathing technique is
used in the beginning of many yoga classes because it
profoundly helps to calm an agitated mind. As little as
two minutes of this practice will yield a difference in how
you feel.
Believe it or not, we don’t breathe equally through our
nostrils. We tend to favor one side over the other.
Breathing through your left nostril is reflective, calming,
cooling and female. Breathing through your right nostril
is bright, fiery, awakening and male. Consciously
alternating your breath between nostrils will allow you to
activate and access your whole brain.
Technique: Sit comfortably with a tall spine and straight
back. Rest the back of your hands on your thighs. Begin
by taking a deep breath through the nostrils with the
mouth softly closed. Bring your right hand up to rest
your index and middle finger between the brows (Third
Eye).
Step one: Use right thumb to close off right nostril
Step two: Inhale slowly through left nostril
Step three: Pause for a second
Step four: Now close left nostril with ring finger and release
thumb off right nostril
Step five: Exhale through your right nostril
Step six: Now, inhale through right nostril
Step seven: Pause
Step eight: Use thumb to close of right nostril
Step nine: Breathe out through left nostril
Alternate Nostril
Breathing
Step ten: This is one round of this 4-part breath. Repeat
each side for 6 rounds. Observe (with your mind’s eye) how
you feel. Energized? Clear headed?
There are many, many different techniques of pranayama
such as inhaling for 6, holding for 3 and exhaling for 6. A
natural rhythm with the breath will come, stay relaxed.
Take a cleansing breath and yoga class for deep cleaning
of the body, mind and spirit. Namaste.
Cindy Webb teaches Gentle Yoga on Monday and
Wednesday at Breath Body Works from 5:30 PM to 6:45
PM.
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Breath Body Works
March 2015
You don’t want to miss
Upcoming Classes
Yoga for Complete Beginners
Never feel intimidated again about practicing yoga or attending a
class. Instructor, Ed Kingham, will walk you through classic
yoga poses with personalized attention and handouts to take
home and study.
Kundalini Rising
Calmly set your sights for this class for beginners. Onkar is
teaching this Donation Class to introduce you to Kundalini Yoga
the day before her three-day course.
Deepening Your Devotion
Kundalini Yoga and Meditation
Join Onkar for this three-day inward journey to deepening your
relationships. All levels are welcome!
Complete information may be found on our web site:
BreathBodyWorks.net