Renew Your Practice

Spring brings a heightened awareness of new life. Flowers begin to bloom and trees begin to grow. It’s the perfect time for renewal and new beginnings. It could mean taking a new direction or following a new path in life, so let your creative juices flow!

With spring comes a time of fresh starts and it's not just about spring cleaning your home. It’s also internal cleaning. It's time to get rid of stuck energy, release anything that isn't serving you anymore and get ready to embrace what is to come.  Spring is the season of beginnings so it’s a perfect time to try something new or revitalizing something you’ve done a lot. Maybe you’ve fallen into a habit and routine and are looking to make a change. Perhaps it’s time to spice things up.

If you’ve been interested in taking a yoga class or are looking for ways to renew your practice, we can help.

Here are some ways to break old habits, get a fresh start, and a new perspective.  Let us help you find your most powerful self.

Try a new type of yoga class.

If you've never taken a yoga class or have only ever practiced flow yoga, then you’re probably pretty comfortable in down dog. But when was the last time you stayed in pigeon for more than five breaths? Alternatively, if you always attend the yin and restorative yoga classes, why not challenge yourself to try out a flow class?

Trying a different style can be as challenging as going to yoga for the first time. You will move your body in new ways and explore yoga from a different angle. At Empower Yoga we have a variety of styles to choose from. Whether it is Slow Flow, Yoga Nidra, Yoga Sculpt, Hip Hop Yoga or somethings else, a new style can truly renew your yoga practice.

Try a class with a new teachers.

No two Power Hour or Power Flow classes at the studio are the same. While we follow a similar sequence, each teacher brings their own unique personality, training, and experience into the class.  The more teachers you learn from, the more variety you are going to get. This can help you discover new poses, challenges, and ways of moving.

Schedule a private session.

One way to renew your yoga practice is to schedule a one-on-one session. Private classes obviously cost more money than a group class, but they are worth every penny. You get to work with a skilled yoga teacher who can help you explore and deepen your yoga practice and test your limits. Private classes are also a great way to learn how to go deeper into poses or learn modifications to poses. Modifications, can be critical to know, expecialyl if you have an injury or health impairment.  

Sign up for a Retreat.

One of the best ways to get a fresh start is to get away from it all entirely. When you leave your routine you’re forced to break habits. You begin to look at and do things differently. A yoga retreat can be the perfect way to do this. This May Empower Yoga is heading to Belize for our first ever retreat. Stay tuned for future retreat opportunities.

New practice, new attitude.

Having a fresh start is about more than doing something differently. It’s also about the attitude you do it with. Spring is the perfect opportunity to embrace change, so keep an open mind and an adventurer’s spirit. Awaken your mind to all the opportunities available to you and trust what the universe has in store.  You’ll probably be pleasantly surprised as to what new beginnings can do :)

Wishing you a wonderful Spring.

We look forward to helping you grow your yoga practice this season!

OPEN YOUR HEART- Heart Chakra Meditation

The Heart Chakra is the 4th Chakra, located at the center of the seven and associated with the color green. The Heart Chakra (or Anahata in Sanskrit) is our energy point for love and compassion, it is where the physical and spiritual come together. It is our link to love and our Higher Self.

By meditating on the Heart Chakra, we are bringing our awareness to not only personal and physical forms of love, but Universal love and the acceptance of the true self. The Heart Chakra embraces all facets of love, and anyone can benefit from exploring this energy center. Opening and balancing your heart chakra allows past grievances to be released and allows you to open yourself up to love, forgiveness, kindness and compassion.

When the Heart Chakra is out of balance, or closed, people tend to feel anger, grief, or hatred. Learning how to open the Heart Chakra can be a beautiful experience and a great way to start on the path to healing and self love.

Being in the month of love, what better way to show yourself some self love than to simply medite to your Heart Chakra.  

Here is a little way to nurture more self-acceptance, love, kindness, and compassion into your everyday life.

Connect to your heart's energy:

1. Begin by sitting in a comfortable position. Sit up tall with the spine straight, the shoulders relaxed and the chest open. Inhale the palms together and lightly press the knuckles of the thumbs into the sternum at heart level.
2. Soften your gaze or lightly close the eyes.
3. For just this moment, let go of your thoughts and the outside world. Let go of any distractions and let the mind focus on feeling the breath move in and out of your body.  
4. Now rub your palms together, making them warm and energized. Put one hand on your heart and one hand on your belly.  Close your eyes and feel the center of your chest- warm and radiant, full of energy. Notice how comforting that feels.  
5. Draw your attention to your spiritual heart center in the middle of your chest. Notice a green light begin to appear. Allow this light to grow brighter with each breath you take.
6. Resting your attention onto the light, continue to breathe and sense your breath flowing into your heart. Visualize the hearts energy and light you see permeating through the chest. See this energy as it radiates out from the center of your heart into the rest of your body. Feel this energy flowing out into the arms and hands, and flowing back into the heart. Know that you are safe and you are okay.
7. As you breathe, use the mantra - “I love myself and I forgive myself, I am as I am meant to be.”
8. Allow your heart to continue to open and radiate love and positive energy. Allow all the Universe has to offer to come in so you can feel all the love that surrounds you.
9. After you feel completely soaked with heart chakra energy, gently release the palms by your side.
10. On your next inhale, bring the arms up towards the sky, connecting with the heavens, then exhale and lower the palms lightly to the floor, connecting with the earth. Take a moment or two before opening your eyes & moving on with the rest of your day.

Fall Equinox

Even though we know the seasons change, autumn still has a way of surprising us. It seems like one day it’s hot and humid, summers in full swing, and the next there’s a shift- the airs cooler and it feels crisp. 

Then before you know it, it’s pumpkin-spice-everything, everywhere and we are wearing boots, long sleeves and sweaters. 

The fall equinox is what is responsible for this shift and the seasons changing from summer to fall. 

This year, the fall equinox arrives on Friday, September 22. The fall equinox happens the moment the sun crosses the celestial equator, which is an imaginary line in the sky that corresponds to Earth’s equator. Every year this occurs on September 22, 23, or 24 in the northern hemisphere.

From here, the days start to get shorter until the winter solstice in December, then they’ll begin their slow climb back to the long summer days. 

The word “Equinox” comes from the Latin words “equi” meaning “equal” and “nox” meaning “night.” So during the fall equinox, there are equal amounts of daylight and darkness. The equinox is a point of union and balance between the light and the dark, between fire and water, & between the yin & yang.  

This time is a great reminder for us to turn inward and check in with ourselves, slow down, and become more grounded. 

Often as the end of the year approaches, we want to work harder to get things done. Instead, take the opportunity to reduce your work and only complete what's necessary. As you check in with yourself, ask yourself: what do I need/want? Get more rest, eat earlier, develop a fall routine, get into a rhythm and stick with it. To feel more grounded, listen to slow rhythmic music with heavy drum beats and deep melodic chanting, these vibrations will resonate in the lower chakras, drawing energy closer to the earth. To also honor yourself during this time, meditate, take a yoga class, stay warm, and love and honor yourself and your body.

In honor of the fall equinox we will be holding a special grounding yoga class with Sam Benson on Saturday, 9/23 from 9:00-10:15am.  To register, please visit: http://empoweryoganj.com/schedule/

Namaste!

Meditation

With the hectic pace and demands of life, many people feel stressed out and over-worked. We often feel like there isn’t enough time in the day to get everything done that we need to. Our stress and tiredness not only make us unhappy and frustrated, but also can begin to affect our health. Meditating is a great way to help make you feel calmer, more focused, and more at peace.  In our busy day, we may feel like there is no time to stop and meditate, but a simple 10-15 min. is all you need to help calm your mind and body and allow yourself to feel less stressed.

My dad passed away on July 3rd. During the last few weeks, I’ve felt sad, depressed, and overwhelmed, so I decided to start meditating. Previously, I considered my yoga practice to be a moving meditation, but since I am always moving, I decided to try to sit in stillness for a while and see how sitting and focusing on my breath could help to calm my body and mind.  

In only 10 minutes a day, I was able to help transform my mind from negative to positive, from anxious to calm, and from unhappy to happy. Learning to sit with myself and love myself, helped me to find the inner harmony I was lacking.

Overcoming negative minds and creating constructive thoughts is one of the purposes of meditating. There are many different meditations techniques (i.e. walking, concentration, mindfulness, transcendental) you can choose from.  Meditating doesn't have to feel hard or cumbersome, so no matter what you choose or how you choose to meditate, it’s up to you. The most important thing you can do is focus on the present, try to clear your mind, and breathe. 

Here is a simple meditation exercise to try:

1. Sit or lie comfortably. 
2. Close your eyes.
3. Make no effort to control the breath; simply breathe naturally.
4. Focus your attention on the breath and on how the body moves with each inhalation and exhalation. Notice the movement of your body as you breathe. Observe your chest, shoulders, rib cage, and belly. Simply focus your attention on your breath without controlling its pace or intensity. If your mind wanders, return your focus back to your breath.
5. Maintain this meditation practice for two to three minutes to start, and then try it for longer periods.

I started with some simple meditations on my own, but then began to explore some guided meditations. Here are a few things I found and enjoyed:

1. Meditation Studio- I enjoy this when I don’t have much time and am looking for a shorter guided meditation. They offer meditations for stress, relaxation, and sleep, just to name a few.  
2. For longer meditations, I enjoy listening to Deepak Chopra’s Healing Meditation on youtube. He has quite a number of them and I really haven't found one I havent liked.

Next time you are having a hard time or are feeling stressed, find a comfortable seat or lying position and begin to meditate. This may not make the negative experience go away, but it can help you tolerate it with kindness and patience.

Namaste!

Mindfulness

As a yoga instructor, I frequently have students asking about mindfulness and how to live more mindfully.  A good place to start, is defining the term.  The commonly acknowledged definition of mindfulness is a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations.

Mindfulness is often practiced and cultivated through meditation, but being mindful does not require you to sit and meditate for long periods of time. To me, being mindful is more about just being aware and paying attention to the present without judgement. Recognizing feelings & sensations and noticing them. Mindfulness has been linked to reducing stress, and improving one's physical health, mental health, and well being. Mindfulness has been found to be the key element of happiness. Mindful people are overall healthy and happier. The moments we spend being mindful compound and pay interest in the form of clarity, gratitude, and presence.

When we start paying attention to how much we pay attention, we’ll notice how often our attention dwindles and it’s hard for us to actually pay attention. Sounds confusing, right?! Our minds are constantly moving, thinking, processing, and being over stimulated that it is actually hard for us to become more present.

When we make the decision to stop and focus, to be grateful, to notice our emotions without trying to change them, we not only improve the quality of the present, but invest in our ability to be mindful in the future. The time we spend lost in thought, emotionally scattered, anxious and stressed become compounded and lead to unhappiness, stress and depression.  So adding up mindful moments whenever we can is so valuable and healthier for us.

Carving out time in your day to become more mindful will only help you appreciate the present. Remember, every moment counts!

Here are a few things that you can do to become more mindful:

Take a yoga class:

Yoga can help teach you how to become more mindful and aware. In a yoga practice, you focus on movement and breath and everything else seems to fall away. When we become more present and mindful on our mats, we can start to become more mindful in our daily lives.

Go for a walk:

Get outside. Take in the sights and sounds, enjoy nature. Feel the weight of your feet pressing into the earth on each step you take. Notice the sun on your face, wind at your back, and the sound of your breathe. Enjoy it!

And if you can’t make time to “go for a walk.” Do this when you walk to your car in the morning or after work. Do it when you walk towards your bed at night. Walk and be present.

Write down 3 things you’re grateful for every morning:

Maybe start a gratitude journal. Take a few moments every morning and reflect on how wonderful your life is. Stop stressing and thinking about all the negative (what you don’t have, want) in your life and begin to think about the positive. What’s good in your life, what is it that you love, & what you’re grateful for.

Check in when you move:

Moving from one position to another gives us a chance to check-in with ourselves. When you stand up from your chair, getting out of your car, moving from your desk at work, are you in a hurry? Notice how you feel. When you sit back down does your mind begin to rush towards the rest of your day before finishing the task at hand? Gently reel yourself back to the present. Close your eyes, take a breath, release tension in your body &  jaw and focus on what’s happening right now. Allow the rest to fall a way, you’ll get to it with time. Be present.

Enjoy your food:

When you eat, are you always ready to devour your food? Where are you when you’re eating or what are you doing? Are you on the couch, watching TV, checking your phone? If so, you may realize that before you knew it, your food is gone and you have no recollection of chewing. Instead, during your next meal, sit at the table, avoid distractions and focus on those first few bites. Notice the smell, identify the flavors and taste. Tune into your body and mind during the meal.

Turn off your devices:  

Every once in awhile, turn off your electronics (i.e. phone/ipad/ipod) and engage with the natural world around you. Have a proper conversation with someone, rather than like what they did on FB, talk to them and tell them what you liked in person. Enjoy the company of friends and family, make the time to spend with them and enjoy life together.

Listen to soothing music:

Turn on relaxing and soothing melody and really listen to it. Lay down or sit in a comfortable position, close your eyes and feel the music in your soul. Soothing melody will help you clear your mind and thoughts after a busy or stressful day.

Meditate:

Sit quietly and focus on your natural breathing or on a word or “mantra” that you repeat silently. Allow thoughts to come and go without judgment and return to your focus on breath or mantra. Sit in stillness for a few moments or an hour, just relax and listen to the sound of your breath.

When we are mindful, we learn, grow, and have an overall better quality of life. Just remember, when you’re practicing mindfulness, there is nowhere to arrive at. If you focus on what is going on right now, the rest take care of itself.