Happy Lunar Fire Monkey New Year!
As I have mentioned before, I always feel much more ready for the New Year in tune with the Lunar cycles of the year. And for it to be a Yang Fire Monkey Year, what could be better for iHanuman? It sounds like this is going to be a fire cracker of a year, so get ready!
But as we mentioned last month, we are still in the slower, darker, yin winter season, so it's ok to continue to ease your way into your new year. The winter season of the year is when we nourish our Kidneys, the organ which rules the winter season. The kidneys are responsible for our long term energy stores. They house your ancestral chi (energy). This is where good genes come into play, so you can thank your grandparents, if they came from good healthy stock and passed along strong stores of energy to your parents and to YOU!
If your chi is low, the winter time is a particularly important time to rest and recuperate and build up your reserves for the required energy of spring and summer. One way to do is this is by practicing gentle restorative back bends which subtly
stimulate the kidney organ and the kidney and bladder meridians on the back of the body. Another yogic practice for building energy is through the
practice of pranayama or breath awareness, inspiration and release. A simple practice is to lie on your back and gently draw in long slow steady inhalations and expire long slow steady exhalations, increasing your prana, life force.
We are excited to release some more high quality recordings with Senior Teachers, Kofi Busia and Lois Steinberg, which we hope will keep you warm in your winter cocoon for a little while longer. We have more recordings coming out next month too, so stay tuned.
With Much Love and Kidney Warmth this Winter,
Sara Miles Pope Agelasto
Co-Founder, iHanuman
Available Now! 2015 Yoga Intensive with Lois Steinberg, PhD! Lois Offers her Annual Summer Intensive! For Iyengar Yoga practitioners to deepen their practice, skills, knowledge, and teacher education. This recorded week long intensive includes six asana classes and three pranayama classes. A minimum of two years study in Iyengar Yoga with a certified teacher is recommended. Listen to samples and download single sessions or the entire Intensive Now! Not Ready to take the Plunge? Download Lois' Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced Classes!
Available Now! Kofi Busia at Common Ground Healing Arts! We are honored to record and release another workshop with Senior Teacher, Kofi Busia. The recordings from this weekend workshop are available now! Kofi's first iHanuman Recording, along with these upcoming recordings are part of our Karma Collection in which over 50% of the proceeds from the recordings are donated to charitable organizations, in this case, the venue, Common Ground Healing Arts. Learn More about Common Ground and Listen to samples of Kofi's recordings Now!
Latest Asana Sequence: Winter Backbends for Kidneys and Urinary Bladder Meridians: Inspired by the desire to nourish the kidney meridian which flows through the center of the body including the center line of the legs as well as the Urinary Bladder meridian which flows down the entire back of the body. Backbends can be very stimulating, but move through this challenging sequence slowly, working to balance these meridians as opposed to over working and taxing these important energy centers. View the Sequence Now!
D
id You Read The NIH Study about Yoga And It's Impact on the Brain? A 2015 NIH study found that those who practice yoga regularly, have more brain cells than those who don't! AND long-term practice prevents the age related decline of gray matter! Learn More about This and Other Interesting Stories on Yoga and Health by Staying Tuned to iHanuman Via Social Media! We LOVE to share useful and interesting links, news, images and videos via our Social Media Accounts - Be Sure to Stay in Touch with Us! Like Us on Facebook and Pinterest, Subscribe to Us on YouTube , Follow us Twitter! And Please Tell Your Friends! Thanks!
