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“Yoga allows you to find an inner peace that is not ruffled or riled by the endless stresses and struggles of everyday life.” B.K.S Iyengar
Thanks to the conveniences of modern technology many of us now wake up and look at our phones first thing in the morning. We check emails, make phone calls, catch up on the whirlwind of world events online, and get on with our busy days often feeling frazzled and drained. Life can feel overwhelming at times with everything seemingly happening at once. At other times, especially in the last grey days of winter, life can just feel boring or dull and we may find ourselves feeling unfocused, uninspired and disconnected. Yoga can give us the opportunity to connect with a sense of inner peace, stillness and even joy despite the chaos. How? The practice itself connects us to our breath and through movement it brings us out of our busy minds and back into our bodies. Ideally this carries over to the rest of our day leaving us feeling better mentally, physically and emotionally than we felt before we got on the mat. So often being human means we live in endless pursuit of comfort, relaxation, stimulation, and happiness in general outside of ourselves. Through the practice of yoga it’s possible to step off of the merry-go-round of life each day, to reconnect with and even make friends with our bodies (in whatever shape they may be in) and to calm our monkey minds. When we allow ourselves to get quiet & and for that brief time to go within to that place of inner stillness and peace that lives inside of all of us, it can feel as if the world stands still. My name is Tara and I currently teach Basic Yoga on Friday’s at 9:30am at Puravegan. I encourage and invite anyone who is interested in yoga (*and able to get up and down from the floor) to join us! Staring Wednesday March 15 I'll be adding a 10am class to the schedule. Check the Puravegan website for details.
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If you're stressed out, there are so many ways that yoga can help. Typically when you are stressed out your breathing becomes shallow and you hold tension in your body. Yoga can help you release tension and breathe deeper, not just in class, but with time outside of class when you feel stress creeping in. You don't have to be flexible or able to touch your toes. Yoga teachers know how to help you get the most benefit out of your time on the yoga mat, offering you modifications when necessary, which also helps to avoid injuries. We hope to see you in a class soon!  2011, First Yoga Class at PuraVegan written by Monica Stoutenborough, PuraVegan Owner Ten years ago I never would have believed that I could feel this amazing. In fact, I didn't even realize just how bad I felt until I started feeling GREAT! I was 30 years old, beginning to gain weight, accumulate a variety of medications, suffered from regular migraines, and serious digestive pain. In spite of all that I thought that I was healthy simply because I was a vegetarian. Boy was I wrong. I was surviving on processed vegetarian food that was lacking in nutrients but abundant in calories, cholesterol, additives and lots of words/chemicals that I cannot pronounce. In 2007, I took the plunge to eat a healthy oil-free plant based diet and it was a real shocker. Before I knew it my migraine medication had expired because I wasn't requiring it, my digestion pain was gone, I lost 30 pounds and felt like a super human! My weight loss took place over many months, but the relief from pain and discomfort was almost overnight. I felt like I discovered something that was too good to be true and became the office health nut at my job.  2012, First Detox Program (group) After learning that I had the power to decide how my life would be, I tried some other changes. After taking yoga classes at a resort in Jamaica I told my spouse that I was going to do that as well, helping us afford to travel by trading my teaching services. Within one year I completed a yoga teacher training and was taking my family on a trip twice a year in exchange for teaching yoga at beautiful resorts I wasn't satisfied there though. I loved my job in corporate America, however I felt a pull to help other people create the life that they were capable of and craving as well. I finally left my stock brokerage job and here I am at PuraVegan sharing this lifestyle with as many people as possible. If you currently feel like I felt 10 years ago, stagnant, uncomfortable in my own skin, knowing that I was capable of more, then know that YOU have the power to create the life that you want as well. Through meditation, stress management, exercise (yoga and walking for me), and diet I found that I was less affected by my surroundings and more content with life. I was less reactive to my circumstances and able to find acceptance in what I couldn't change in the moment, bringing me more peace and happiness. I also felt that my former lifestyle was aging me and that I was able to slow that down and at times I felt I was reversing some of the damage done to my body from stress and unhealthful foods. My mind felt clear, my emotions more stable and my relationships improved from this.  In assembling the amazing group of employees and teachers at PuraVegan we have built a team of passionate, positive, health focused people that want to help YOU. Please come in and try a class, the food, check out some of the books in our shop - many of them were motivators and catalysts for change during my transformative period and that is why we stock them.
I teach a De-Stress Yoga and Meditation class every single Thursday evening at 5:30pm. I don't care how healthy you eat - if you are stressed out your immunity is still compromised. It is time to take care of yourself and your whole body. Do not think that you have to be affluent, skinny, perfect or anything other than what you already are to start living the life that you desire. Your time is now - and we at PuraVegan would love to help support you on your path to feeling AWESOME! You start from here and now. Sincerely, Monica This is for our meditation students that would like a guided meditation for at home. Kim Eng guides you through a ten minute breath focused meditation.  "Take Action! An inch of movement will bring you closer to your goals than a mile of intention." ~Dr. Steve Maraboli It's December, do you remember what resolutions & goals you set last January? Did you accomplish any of these goals, make progress, or forget about them by February? If you fall in to the later category you are not alone. According to Forbes Magazine only 8% of people are successful in achieving their New Years Resolution. Here's the thing, intentions are great to get us started, but action is what gets us where we really want to go. You've heard the saying 'the road to hell is paved with good intentions'. Of course most of us 'intend' to better our lives each New Year by eating healthier, losing weight, quitting smoking, or exercising more. But we seem to either lose sight of, or just get worn out by, the work that is required to make a real lasting change in our lives. What if we took resolutions and intentions out of the equation and just focused on one thing, one action step that we can take each day to move us closer to how we want to be? Instead of saying to yourself, "2016 is the year I will lose these extra pounds!", what about saying 'I will do one healthy/new/scary thing each day!' Would that take some of the pressure off yourself to clear some huge self imposed hurdle, to break it down to a daily goal? After all, small 'wins' can snowball and help us build momentum to keep moving in the right direction. I believe in being kind and compassionate to yourself. I also believe in stepping outside of your comfort zone to stretch yourself, to grow, to evolve and maybe even surprise yourself. We can start to make change in our life with something as simple as spending 5 minutes first thing in the morning in silent meditation, just allowing ourselves to breathe and set the tone for the day. Or how about going to bed at night with a guided loving-kindness meditation online to end the day with gratitude. Maybe you don't feel ready to come to a yoga class yet, but you could check out some short beginner yoga videos online in the comfort of your home. The simple movement and breathing can actually start to shift how you live your life by allowing you to really honor your body and spirit, to really listen to what you need. Change does not happen overnight, but the person taking a short walk each day is literally going to be miles ahead of the person who stays on the couch. So take action today, THIS IS YOUR LIFE! Interested in trying out some basic yoga and meditation at PuraVegan to kick off the New Year? I'm offering a 75 minute Intro to Yoga Class on Saturday January 9, 2016. Check out the website for details, call, or sign up in person. In the meantime, I also encourage you to check out the Meditation & Yoga Nidra classes currently on the schedule. If you're ready to start now, we're here for you and we'd love to see you!
 Tree Pose (Vrksasana) written by: Tara Beckmann When you see or hear something about yoga, does it just seem like something that requires you to be young, flexible, thin, basically ‘in shape’ to practice, and that it is therefore, not for you? Have you seen posts on social media that make yoga look like more like a performance or a feat of contortionism that appears to put the body in terribly uncomfortable looking positions and just thought, ‘No thanks.'? I’d like to help in any way I can to make the practice appear less intimidating, more approachable, and actually doable! My hope is that more people will see that yoga is a deeply personal practice, something you do for yourself, and that it can be whatever you want it to be, whether you come to our studio or any other, or simply decide to start a practice at home. Know that your choices are not limited to ‘hot' ‘power' ‘flow’ ‘vinyasa’ or whatever classes. You do not have to do headstands if that’s not your thing, and in fact, I highly recommend checking out beginner, basic, yin, restorative classes, or intro classes if you are indeed a newbie. If you haven’t practiced in a while, or maybe you used to run, hike, bike, weight train or whatever, and you’re just interested in getting yourself moving again, you might actually enjoy a Zen Yoga class with me. I used to weight train and hike, I love to move, and I’ve always been active in general. As time went on though, the weights and the trails left me feeling sore, and not really in a positive growing pain kind of way. More like a repetitive use kind of soreness. In addition to that, I had always struggled with insomnia, anxiety and depression. I got sober and stress did not magically disappear, in fact it got a lot worse at times. I struggled with socializing and feelings of loneliness and isolation. For me personally, going to a yoga class became a way to be around other people, but not in a way that I felt obligated to talk necessarily. It became an opportunity to take ah hour long break from ‘reality', to check in with myself, to clear my mind by moving my body, breathing, and linking that breath with the movement. t’s a powerful tool for connecting to your own intuition, to find your own inner reserve and resolve, to get down on the mat and simply get to know your body. For all of these reasons, I decided to study so I could teach this practice to others to help them find a better experience of life in the way that it’s helped me. My yoga practice gives me the ability to have a gentler, kinder and more compassionate relationship with my own body and mind. It is self care, daily hygiene, a time to work out the kinks in my system, both physically and mentally. It calms and settles me, and I can assure you that more times than not it looks nothing like an Instagram worthy post.
 We all can quickly come up with a list of obstacles preventing us from taking time to exercise, prepare a healthy meal or relax, but the most frequent reason I hear is guilt. So often we feel guilty for taking action, time or money to do something that improves our health and/or happiness. I say hogwash! How can you be a patient and kind parent, spouse or friend if you are stressed out, run down, or operating on crappy fuel and junk food?
You owe it not just to yourself, but to your loved ones to take care of you! If you have ever flown, you know that each and every time you fly the attendants will remind you that in the case of an emergency you should put on your own oxygen mask before helping others. Why is that? Well you can only go so long without oxygen right? You only have a matter of minutes before you will pass out. After you have passed out you cannot help anyone! In fact, then others will need to help you instead. So, put on that oxygen mask immediately, and you can be of service to the entire plane. Is this any different than real life? I would argue that it isn't. It's likely that you have a number of others that depend upon you including children, pets, co-workers, family members, neighbors and others in your community. If you are neglecting to take care of your health, you won't be able to help anyone else for too long. If you are stressed out and under nourished it is a matter of time before you will exhaust yourself or even worse get sick. Long-term stress that goes on for years can have even more serious results such as chronic diseases including cancers and depression. But with a little planning you can take a few minutes for yourself and take action to feel great for years to come! Here are some suggestions / reminders of ways that you can help yourself out:
These are just a few ideas, I think you get it. The main point is do NOT feel guilty about taking time for you. This life is a gift and so is your body. Take good care of it and reap the benefits of self care. .  winds of change, time is ticking, years replay, in your mind drifting, forward you move, towards your goals, inward you move, towards your soul, may your spell bind, all in your chant, as atoms expand, and molecules dance, give you the power, raised from sleep, you call on the essence, of inner peace Poem by Sol Asar, Raw Foods Chef and Kemetic Meditation Teacher at PuraVegan Cafe. You can take meditation class with Sol in exchange for a donation on Fridays at 12pm, inside PuraVegan Yoga Studio.
 How often do you rush through your entire day wondering where the time went and how it's already time to climb into bed? Or how many parents feel like the time slips away and their kids have grown up in the blink of an eye. We spend so much time "being busy" and doing things we think will pay off in the future, we often forget to pause and savor the current moment. Learning to pause, taking a breath, and participating in the present moment can have tremendously healing benefits and provide much needed breaks from our repetitive thought patterns (aka: stress).
What does it mean to pause? What do I do? It's simple. Put down the phone, or close your laptop. Look around and observe your surroundings. Look at the person you are with, or look at the sky, your hands or anything in front of you. Listen to the sounds, even if it is as simple as the hum of your refrigerator. Feel the sensations on your skin, or of your heart beating. Smell the air, or pause and notice the scent of your food before or in the middle of your meal time. When is a good time to pause? I think a better answer is when should you not pause, because you can almost pause any time. I do not recommend pausing when driving or operating machinery. Avoid pausing when engaged in activities that require your focus for safety. Otherwise most any time is a good moment to pause. Below are some examples:
By now you are probably getting the idea and understand some benefits of pausing. Now is a good time to get started!  written by: Gina Schneider (bio below) Happiness is not an unattainable mystery emotion handed out to a lucky few. It’s more like car maintenance. Just like shaving and cleaning, happiness is easier to maintain with regular attention. The longer you let it slide, the harder it is to get back under control. Here are a few simple ideas to help you be and stay happy.
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