From The Beauty Desk, Keep On Being Beautiful

Seeking an exciting new eyeliner? Throw caution right out, sometimes what a girl really needs is a new beauty routine. A pencil that glides on just perfectly will make it into your favorite pile. Maybe even a night out.

The best beauty rituals are ones that derive from and reflect nature. Always take it back to the basics – Protect and hydrate your skin rather than just covering it up with useless chemicals. Keep looking beautiful while educating yourself on ingredients and company practices.

My recent beauty rituals include a new favorite, Sue Devitt. It infuses fun back into beauty with a gorgeous palette of colors and options for day or night. It’s easy to be on trend with beauty that cares and gives. 

Yoga Nidra – Between Asleep and Awake

Somewhere between sleep and wakefulness, I’m lying on my back in full Savasana (Corpse pose) listening to the slow melodic drone of bells and my teachers voice guiding me thru the 10 steps of iRest. iRest is short for Integrative Restoration – a form of Yoga Nidra. My body is completely relaxed and I fall in and out of consciousness. This is what she said might happen. “If you fall asleep, that’s totally fine, it is what your body needed, just try and tune into the sound of my voice to bring yourself back into the moment.”

Yoga Nidra or Yoga Sleep is the practice of yoga relaxation. It is a transformative practice drawn from the ancient teachings of meditation. It is a tool for deep relaxation and restoration of your life force. Once you master staying awake and deeply relaxed you are able to go into a state of pure bliss and well being. This state is reached through increments by a process that is designed to help you release stress, anxiety, fear, depression and a host of other issues we all experience as human beings.

Yoga Nidra is best practiced with an experienced teacher guiding you through the different stages using different techniques of imagery and experiences. As an alternative you can also listen to a self-practice CD. The process can take about 25 – 45 minutes.  Your goal is to rest, observe and welcome the various sensations, breath, feelings, emotions, beliefs, images and memories that naturally arise. There is nothing you need to “do” or “be”, just notice what is in the present. No need to force anything or strain to achieve something. Simply just “be” and relaxation occurs naturally.

Some of the Steps of Yoga Nidra 

Preparation – bringing yourself into the present moment

Setting an Intention for Your Practice – stating a positive affirmation

Breathe Sensing – tuning into the natural rhythm of the breath

Body Awareness – tuning into how different parts of the body feel

Awareness of Feelings and Emotions – observing emotions that are present, good and bad

My teacher expertly guided the class through these steps and through the pleasant emotions as well as the negative.  It is during Yoga Nidra that we learn to stay peaceful when these strong emotions rise.  She used ‘opposite’ emotions as a way of reminding you that emotions are constantly changing. Although a negative emotion may exist, a positive emotion can be present at the same time.  This process teaches the brain to create new patterns so that the next time a negative emotion arises your brain will remember the positive emotions at the same time.

Benefits

Decreased insomnia

Reduced depression, anxiety and fear

Decreased perception of chronic and acute pain

Improved interpersonal relations

Increased comfort with situations and increased sense of control of your life

Who Can Practice?

Anyone can practice this, even beginners who are not flexible.

Yoga Nidra has been successfully practiced by Military personnel for PTSD, by children with developing emotional and cognitive intelligence, by people who have insomnia and by people trying to overcome chemical dependency.

After Practice

After coming out of this practice I felt totally invigorated. While this is not unusual, the opposite is just as prone to happen. Some people feel depleted and just want to go back to sleep.  My teacher encouraged us to honor where ever you are and listen to your body.

A daily practice is important. It teaches you to cultivate tools you can use in your daily life and stay connected to a state of well-being.

Another great tool to use for my health! Why not give this ancient practice a try for health, healing and awakening?

Eileen Filomeno, RYT, is a Yoga Teacher in Berkeley, California. She is inspired to share her love of yoga and is committed to sustainable, organic living and well–being.

Crazy Over Brussels Sprouts – Healthy Weekend Snacks

Organic Brussels Sprouts & Turkey Bacon

Exercise In Comfort & In Organic Style

Now that New York Fashion Week is over and we can resume back to our regular schedules the only way I can think of relaxing is with comfort and exercising. Allow your body to rest or get the good adrenaline going in these stylish picks from Adidas by Stella McCartney.

What Does Namaste Mean?

Ever wonder what it means at the end of yoga class when the teacher puts her hands together in front of her heart, bows her head and says, “Namaste”?  Traditionally, Namaste is a customary greeting in India and Nepal when individuals greet and is reciprocated accordingly. It is pronounced “Nam- a-stay”. From Sanskrit it is a combination of two words “Namah” and “te”.  “Namah” means “bow” and “te” means “to you”, so translated it means: “I bow to you”. However, the literal translation is a little more nuanced and suggests that it is not a superficial gesture or word but has deep spiritual significance. Here are a few meanings that I have uncovered:

“All sacred in me greets all sacred in you”

“Honor the peace within”

“The light in me honors and respects the light in you”

“I bow to the divine in you”

“The light in me recognizes the light in you”

In yoga, Namaste (the gesture of putting the hands together and bowing the head and saying “Namaste”) is a symbol of gratitude and respect towards the students. In other words one person is recognizing that we are all one light or spirit in addition to seeing themselves in another. Essential what it is saying is that we are all one, we are all connected. This gesture is characteristic of most Vinyasa style yoga classes and is also done at the beginning and throughout class.

This idea of being connected is reflective of yoga’s end goal, to bring balance and dissolve any illusion that opposites exist. Every time we look for similarities between ourselves and another we are experiencing yoga that is all around us. We remind ourselves of this balance when we bring our hands in front of our heart in prayer which reminds us of why we come to the mat.  Namaste

Eileen Filomeno, RYT, is a Yoga Teacher in Berkeley, California. She is inspired to share her love of yoga and is committed to sustainable, organic living and well–being.

Love and Happy Valentine’s Day To You All

I Love You Greeting Card from the Ruff House Art letterpress & design studio