Why Skiers Need Some Yoga

Are you waiting for the snow to fall? Have you prepared your body for your first day out? Like many other athletes, skiers perform better and with fewer injuries with a balanced yoga practice. Here we outline seven reasons you should start or continue with a yoga practice, or join Jackie Buratovich for her upcoming Yoga for Skiers Workshop (November 2).

* You start the season feeling weak and unbalanced

* You want to progress in your skills faster

* You want to feel more balanced and powerful on your skis

* You are looking for movements you can do at home to prepare for the season that are fun and result in greater strength and agility

* You want some ideas on how to prepare yourself to have the most fun early in the season

* You want to learn ways to stretch safely after a day on the slopes or trails, or rehab an injury

* Increasing your strength and balance in a supportive fun environment with other skiers.

Mindful Meditation Practice: So Hum

So Hum is a meditation that harnesses not only the power of breath but also mantra (repetition of sound or words) to help quiet the mind and relax the body. 

1. Find a comfortable place to sit or lay down. 

2. Close down your eyes (if this feels safe), and take a few moments to connect with your breath. Feel the rise and fall of the inhale and exhale. 

3. Then, take a deep inhale through the nose and silently repeat the word SO. 

4. As you exhale through the nose silently repeat the word HUM. 

5. Without controlling the breath, continue to repeat the word so with each inhale and the word hum with every exhale. If your attention begins to wander to thoughts, sensations, or noises in the external environment gently return to your breath and the mantra. Silently repeating so hum. 

6. When you have finished, release the mantra (so hum) and take a few deep inhales through the nose allowing the exhale to release out the mouth. Connect to the sensations in your body, and feel the sense of peace and calm that you can continue to carry with you and reconnect with throughout your day. 

This practice can be engaged for as little or as long as you would like. It s a great method to employ throughout the day whenever you may need a moment to settle, ground and return your awareness to the present moment. 

—Contributed from Empower Shakti International

Yoga Flow for Flood Relief Fundraiser

Our community and those around us have been severely impacted by the recent floods. We are coming together to help bring healing and also necessary funds and goods for those in need. Please join Yoga Junction teachers, Nichole Golden and Shelley Coughlin for a MOVING, heart-opening flow class to be held at the Louisville United Methodist Church on October 2nd from 7-8:15 p.m. The church has so graciously offered us this space for our fundraiser.

We will also be having an awesome Silent Auction featuring everything from Lucky Pie gift cards to photography packages, a Mountain Kids birthday party, chiropractic and massage services and more. And we hear there will also be a bake sale, too!

Join the community in this event and help us raise funds for those in need.

Breathing to Calm the Nervous System

This breathing practice is a wonderful tool to help integrate the autonomic, para-sympathetic, and sympathetic nervous systems. Soothing to the mind and body, this practice is best begun at three minute intervals. The breath should be tailored to each individuals history of health and lung capacity. Additionally, any other contraindications (ex: glaucoma, hight blood pressure) should be considered before trying this breathing practice. 

To Begin, find a comfortable seat. This may be on the floor, on a cushion, or in a chair - whichever option offers the most comfort. 

Close down the eyes, and find a few rounds of deep inhalation through the nose, and deep exhalation out the mouth. Feel into your seat, and scan the body gently. Once you feel grounded, you will begin the breathing practice listed below: 

1. On the inhale, breathe through the nose to a count of 6. During the inhale, envision and feel the breath traveling  down the spine. 

2. There are no pauses between the breath. 

3. On the exhale, breathe through the nose and mouth to a count of 8. During the exhale, envision and feel the breath traveling up and out the spine. 

4. Please remember that if this breath count is too long, it should be modified to meet your body's needs. 

5. Continue for 3 minutes, then stop. This practice can be used throughout the day.

Breathing is an incredible tool that can help return us to our present-moment awareness, synchronize the triune brain (reptilian, limbic, and the neocortex), calm the nervous system, strengthen our lung capacity, and so much more. 

Guest post courtesy of Amanda Fiorino, Yoga Junction lead teacher and director of the non-profit, Empower Shakti International.

Kids Yoga this Fall

If you're looking for a rewarding activity for your children this fall, yoga may offer some of the greatest benefits. Beyond flexibility and strength, teaching children yoga helps empower them to find stillness and quiet, and enables them to manage their own stress. Studies have shown that children who practice yoga before testing, perform better and report less worry about the exams. Children that learn how to breathe deeply are able to calm themselves much quicker, as well—whether you're talking about a tantruming two-year-old, or a stressed out teen. Join us this fall for one of our fabulous kids yoga classes with Laura Zeigler. Register at louisvilleyogajunction.com

Sena, practicing yoga in the 4-6 year class.

The 7-11 year olds with a toe-stretch and reach.

And the teens learning how to partner together.

Join Us for a Holistic Arts Symposium at YJ!

If you have ever been curious about holistic arts practices and integrative health, or you have experience in such healing arts join Empower Shakti International and Yoga Junction for a night of healing, relaxation and exploration. 

On July 27th (Saturday) from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. we will be hosting a Holistic Arts Symposium. With a variety of practitioners present, all donating their time and expertise to our mission, and all highly adept in their fields, you will have the opportunity to experience different healing modalities such as Reiki, Reflexology and Massage. With 20 minute sessions, $10 per booth, you can gain more knowledge and experience with each healing art. 

For every booth you visit, not only will you have given yourself the gift of self-care, your presence and all contributions will be given to Empower Shakti International - a local non-profit partnering with women's organizations internationally in support of social change through the application of mindfulness-based programs.

Practices such as the ones you will experience at our symposium, are a sliver of the wide field that is integrative health. Modalities like Reiki, Mediation, Yoga and more can be harnessed for women's development and empowerment, and can be made more accessible to everyone. 

"It is our belief, at Empower Shakti International, that when women are supported and given the opportunity to be active contributors within their communities, positive growth and development happens. Help us support women's grassroots movements in places like Mongolia and Nepal. Your support and participation allows us to continue our programs, expansion and partnerships with women's movements globally," shares Amanda Fiorino, founder and director of Empower Shakti International.

Mindfulness creates awareness, and awareness allows choices to be seen and to be made. Empowerment happens when we become aware of the opportunity to choose, and each choice we make actively creates change. 

Paleo Cooking from Elana Amsterdam

We have a lot of students interested in gluten-free, as well as Paleo cooking and what better way to learn than from one of Boulder's best cookbook authors, Elana Amsterdam? Her new cookbook is filled with inspiring recipes that make you rethink what constitutes a full meal (and how to prepare it as well). Here's a taste to get you going.

Reprinted with permission from Paleo Cooking from Elana’s Pantry: Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Dairy-Free Recipes by Elana Amsterdam (Ten Speed Press, 2013). Photo Credit: Leigh Beisch.

Upside-Down Apple Tartlets

Serves 8  Sweetness: Medium 

Crust

2 cups blanched almond flour

¹/₂ teaspoon sea salt

¹/₄ cup coconut oil, at room temperature

¹/₄ teaspoon vanilla crème stevia

Filling

6 large apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¹/₄-inch slices

1 cup apple juice

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tablespoons arrowroot powder

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place eight 1-cup wide-mouth Mason jars on a large baking sheet.

To make the crust, pulse together the almond flour and salt in a food processor. Add the coconut oil and stevia and pulse until the mixture forms a ball. Transfer the dough to a piece of parchment paper and place in the freezer for 20 minutes.

To make the filling, place the apples, apple juice, lemon juice, arrowroot powder, and cinnamon in a large bowl, and toss to combine. Transfer the apples to the Mason jars so that each one is overfull. Divide the remaining juice from the bottom of the bowl between the jars.

Remove the dough from the freezer, place between 2 pieces of parchment paper generously dusted with almond flour, and roll out the dough ¹/₄ inch thick. Remove the top sheet of parchment.

Using the top 
of a wide-mouth Mason jar, cut out 
8 circles of dough and place one on
 top of each apple-filled Mason jar.Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the juices are bubbling and the crust is golden brown. Serve the tartlets hot out of the oven.

Coconut Whipped Cream

Makes 1 cup  Sweetness: low 

This dairy-free whipped cream recipe calls for full-fat canned coconut milk. The fat is what makes the recipe creamy and luscious; light coconut milk won’t work and results in a watery mess. Serve over Upside-Down Apple Tartlets.

1 (13-ounce) can Thai Kitchen coconut milk

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

5 drops vanilla crème stevia

Pinch of sea salt

Place the can of coconut milk in the refrigerator at least 24 hours before making the whipped cream, so it is well chilled. Chill a metal bowl in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Take the coconut milk out of the refrigerator and remove the lid. Gently scoop out the coconut fat, placing it in the chilled bowl. Pour the remaining liquid into a glass jar and store in the refrigerator, saving it for another use.

Using a handheld blender, whip the coconut milk fat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Whip in the honey, vanilla extract, stevia, and salt.

Use right away or store in a glass jar in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.