Category Archives: travel

Relax in the new yoga room at San Francisco airport

Posted on January 27, 2012 | Leave a comment

From TODAY Travel

San Francisco International has opened a new yoga room to allow passengers to relax before their flights. KNTV’s Bob Redell reports.

By Harriet Baskas, msnbc.com contributor

Stressed-out travelers willing and able to be flexible now have a new way to relax and refresh at San Francisco International Airport.

On Thursday, the airport officially opens what it claims is the world’s first dedicated yoga room at an airport.

“The room gives modern travelers a space that fosters and supports quiet and reflection. Those aren’t emotions that people typically encounter at the airport,” said Melissa Mizell, design director for Gensler, the Terminal 2 architecture firm that also created the yoga room, in a statement.

Courtesy of San Francisco International Airport

San Francisco International Airport now has a yoga room where frazzled travelers can take a few moments to relax.

Located just past the security checkpoint in the recently renovated Terminal 2, the new yoga room is bathed in calming blue light, with a floating wall said to symbolize a buoyant spirit and enlightened mind. Lights in the room are low and warm — to counteract the bright concourse — and loaner mats are supplied.

The innovative idea is getting early kudos.

“Relax passengers between flights? Help them find balance in the crazy world of travel? How wonderful!,” said nurse consultant Anya Clowers of JetwithComfort.com.

“Airports like SFO get it,” said Greg Principato, president of Airports Council International – North America. “They are looking at the big picture and meeting the needs of travelers by offering products and services that contribute to their overall comfort.”

In the spring, large, felt-constructed rocks will be added to the room and arranged in a nod to Japanese-style, Zen garden spaces.

SFO spokesperson Charles Schuler said the new yoga room will be open whenever the Terminal 2 security checkpoint is open — currently 4:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. — and that a list of yoga room rules will soon be posted. “To help people find the room, we’ve even created signs that feature a stylized pictogram depicting a person in the lotus position.”

Sound too woo-woo for you?

For travelers seeking an alternate space to gather their thoughts without having to get down on the floor, SFO also offers the Berman reflection room — “a center for quiet reflection and meditation” — pre-security in the International Terminal.

And for those who find relaxation amid the bright lights and bustle, there’s no shortage of bars.

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Posted in travel

Can yoga and meditation help bring peace to Afghans? Amandine Roche means to find out.

Posted on December 5, 2011 | Leave a comment

From Reuters

As the Afghan government’s Western backers pour in cash, and tens of thousands of foreign soldiers patrol the country, a French human rights activist is trying a new way to break the cycle of violence in Afghanistan: yoga and meditation.

“In thirty years of war, we’ve tried everything and nothing has worked,” said Amandine Roche, who believes it is better to try to rid the mind of vengeful thoughts than to disarm a fighter at gunpoint.

Her organization, the Amanuddin Foundation, aims to promote nonviolence by teaching techniques of calm.

Volunteering since February as she searches for funds, she has given classes at which she demonstrates yoga and meditation to men, women, children, police officers, soldiers and former Taliban insurgents.

“It’s a new solution to an old problem. War starts in the minds of men, so peace starts in the minds of men. You cannot bring peace with the means of war, it’s as simple of that.”

The most recent conflict, which started with the U.S.-led overthrow of the Taliban government in 2001, has killed thousands of soldiers and civilians, and cost tens of billions of dollars. According to United Nations figures, 2011 is the most violent year since the war began: all signs, Roche argues, that the Western military and diplomatic effort isn’t working.

“My project might look crazy, but what is more crazy?”

Key to her work is the idea that peace cannot be imposed from outside, but must come from within an individual, she said.

“I’ve become firmly convinced that nonviolence is not the best way for Afghanistan, it’s the only way.”

The young Afghans who have tried yoga and meditation have been receptive.

“When I do yoga exercise I forget all of my pains and I feel comfortable,” said Masoda, a 12 year old schoolgirl at one of Roche’s classes for children in the capital Kabul.

INNER SHOWER

It might be quite a leap from working with children to bringing that same peace of mind to the gunmen of Afghanistan, but Roche, who was detained by the Taliban in 2001, says they are human too.

“My vision is to teach meditation to all the insurgents, to organize vocational training for them to become mediation teachers, so … they can go back to society, they have a job, they can reintegrate, and they will become peaceful.”

“Meditation is like an inner shower,” she said. “You feel dirty when you don’t take a shower for one week, you feel the same with your mind when you don’t meditate. It helps you to purify your mind, be rid of all the negativity, frustration.”

On Monday, the German city of Bonn is hosting a major international conference about the future of Afghanistan, at which the West will signal its long-term support for the country.

But evidence of the damage done by the cycle of attack and revenge is everywhere in Afghanistan. This week, in reaction to a NATO raid along the Afghan-Pakistan border that killed 24 of its soldiers, Pakistan pulled out of a major international conference on the future of the country.

“You look at the story of Afghanistan — from the British to the Russians to the Mujahideen, the Taliban, now democracy — it’s always revenge for the past war,” Roche said. “It’s never ended. If once, one day someone says ‘I stop, and you stop, and let’s stop together’ … let’s see.”

Still, Roche, who has worked on peace-building projects in Asia, Africa and South America, knows there are no easy fixes for the troubles of Afghanistan.

“I’m not a prophet, I don’t want to convert people. It’s not even a solution, it’s a tool. I don’t pretend I’m going to save Afghanistan.”

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Posted in Compassion, travel, yoga class, yoga philosophy

Yoga sweeps Lebanon as people seek inner calm, combat stress

Posted on July 23, 2011 | Leave a comment

From The Daily Star

By Alex Taylor

BEIRUT: Up dog, down dog, vinyasas, asanas – to many the vocabulary of yoga may as well be an alien language, but slowly more people in Beirut are getting down with their downward facing dog and giving yoga a shot.

Pioneering Beirut yogi Danielle Abisaab, who teaches classes out of her home studio in Mar Mikhael, has witnessed the growth of the trend since she moved from New York City back to Beirut to open her studio six years ago: “There are maybe 30 teachers now and [six years ago] there were less than 10. My classes grew from five people to 30 people and it keeps on growing.”

When Hiba Saab, until recently a teacher at the Shiva Lila studio in Clemenceau, first attempted teaching in Beirut three years ago, people “would either have all these misconceptions about what [yoga] is or they would just blow it off or not really be interested.”

But Saab is finding new studios and new teachers all the time. Now when she says she is a yoga teacher, Saab gets a very different response from people. “They’re immediately interested,” she says. “It’s just a very different energy around it – that’s how yoga is, wherever it starts it will just exponentially boom.”

Beirut has a number of formal yoga studios including Shiva Lila, the Clemenceau Yoga Center and the Beirut Yoga Sivananda Center in Gemmayzeh. But yoga has also taken root in many nooks and crannies of Beirut. Yoga classes are popping up in home studios, converted living rooms and balconies across the city, feeding off of the growing curiosity surrounding the 5,000-year-old practice.

According to Catherine Chidiac who teaches out of her family’s living room in Tabaris, many of her students decide to try yoga because, “people started hearing about it in the media – this star and this actress are doing yoga,” or they hear about it as a way to get in better shape.

“Most of the students come to me to lose weight … this is one of the reasons why they start but once you start your awareness changes,” she added.

It can be difficult to find an entry point into the Beirut yoga scene. An important resource is the website yalayoga.com, which lists teachers, studios and events in Beirut and the region.

Abisaab recommends that first-time yogis call a teacher to talk about their class, but “as much as you can talk about yoga the best way to really grasp it is to experience it.”

Whether beginners are seeking to tone their body or just calm their mind, yoga can have many benefits.

Health experts have long heralded the positive impact of yoga, from improved flexibility and posture to reducing blood pressure and managing chronic health problems such as arthritis, cancer, pain and insomnia.

But the most common benefit that most yoga practitioners talk about is stress reduction.

Yoga actually prepares you in practical ways to deal with the stresses of a chaotic city like Beirut, says Chidiac – including road rage.

While stuck in traffic, the calming lessons of yoga “help you take a step back and a deep breath in and think shall I react this way or not … Yoga postures are actually designed for you to act the same way you act in them, in real life,” she says.

Abisaab, who sought yoga to help her manage her high stress architecture job in New York, believes that yoga’s growing popularity reflects a desire to find better ways to manage stress.

“The ambient anger [in Beirut] is so strong that you cannot but be affected by it. That’s also a reason why people, whether they recognize it consciously or not, want something that’s going to calm them down, they need all the tools that they can get,” explains Abisaab.

Abisaab is on a mission to change this reality of Beirut through yoga.

“I always say that if I can change one person around me by being an inspiration to them and they can in turn change another person – that’s how it works, it always starts with one.”

Change your body, change your mind, change the world? It might sound like an ambitious agenda, but Abisaab is realistic: “I’m not overly ambitions, I don’t want to change the world because that’s a stupid concept, you cannot change the world, you can change yourself. By changing yourself you can inspire others into doing the same. That’s my mission.”

However, her secret dream to accomplish her goal is to gather all of Lebanon’s political figures for a “kick a**” yoga class.

“I was thinking how awesome it would be if I could do it on Martyrs Square, just imagine …”

For more information visit the following websites: Yalayoga: http://yalayoga.com/. Abisaab’s website: http://danielleabisaab.blog.com/. Chidiac’s website: http://www.catherinechidiac.com.

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Posted in Health, personal yoga practice, travel, yoga class

Yoga Camp for Kids

Posted on May 31, 2011 | Leave a comment

From The Well Daily:

Kids are natural yogis; they’re open, flexible and fearless. Yoga is play for them (as it should be for us!) and provides tools that will serve them well for the rest of their lives. Summer yoga camps are a great way to encourage your kids to explore yoga—and just maybe fall in love with the practice for life.

Very little ones are welcome at Bija Kids in Clinton Hill, which runs half and full day camps for kids ages 3 to 8 from June 29th to September 2nd and a mini camp from August 1st to 12th. Camps open with an hour-long yoga session, followed by eco-friendly arts and crafts, music sessions, field trips to parks and museums and organic gardening.

Uptown campers can have Adventures in Yogaland at Land Yoga, open to ages 3 to 10 on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, June 21st to Aug 25th. This new yoga center in South Harlem is run by Ashtanga teacher Lara Lauchheimer, who has taught autistic and HIV+ children and spent three months working with genocide survivors in Rwanda. Lara teaches kids yoga poses by encouraging them to mimic plants and animals. Art and music projects and healthy snacks are included.

Don’t worry; we haven’t forgotten your bored teenagers. Namasteens uses music to engage teens and pre-teens at Pure Yoga East (ages 10-12) and Pure Yoga West (ages 13-15). These classes are designed by Pure senior teacher Lara Benusis, who spent two years teaching in New York public schools and designed a yoga program for The Children’s Aid Society. Each weekly class uses games, creative sequencing, story-telling and music to draw teens out. The goal is to help teens express themselves, release stress and tension, focus their minds and build confidence and strength.

If your kids are adventurous and ready to try sleep-away camp (and you’re ready to part with them for a week), send them to Camp Yogaville for the last week of June. The camp is held at Satchidananda Ashram in Buckingham, Virginia, which is situated on 600 acres of woodlands on the banks of the James River. Against the backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains, 8- to 12-year-old campers will experience a week of yoga, meditation and vegetarian meals, plus more traditional summer camp activities like hiking and canoeing.

Wait, can we go?

Foot Traffic:
Camp Yoga
Bija Kids Yoga
900 Fulton Street in Brooklyn

Land Yoga
2110 Frederick Douglass Blvd

Pure Yoga East
203 East 86th Street

Pure Yoga West
204 West 77th Street

Camp Yogaville
Satchidananda Ashram in Buckingham, Virginia

The Well Wisdom:
One of the reasons yoga is so beneficial for children is that it teaches self-regulation—the ability to control and direct one’s thoughts and actions. Improving a child’s self-regulation skills can have a positive impact on attention, behavior, school performance and social skills. Just learning to breathe deeply will help children handle their emotions for the rest of their lives.

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Posted in Children, Health, Meditation, travel, yoga class

Notes from My SXSW Talk – Taming the Monkey Mind: Yoga and Creative Focus

Posted on March 27, 2011 | 1 Comment

Being a presenter at SXSW was an incredibly exhilarating experience. I get a little teary eyed when I think about how awesome it was to be there. I cannot thank the dedicated SXSW team enough for all of their hard work and their generosity in having me be a part of such an incredibly talented group. It was humbling to be with such a creative set of people. I also owe a huge hug of gratitude to the 40 amazing people who attended the session at SXSW, and a special thanks to friends Amanda, Jordan, and Colleen for the personal support they offered before, during, and after the presentation. Namaste in the highest – the light that is in me honors the light that is in all of you. Thank you a million times over.

My pal Jennilyn Carson, a.k.a. Yogadork, and I presented on the topic of Taming the Monkey Mind: Yoga and Creative Focus. I am sad to report that the podcast I recorded on Cinchcast was lost to the cloud. However, here are some notes on the session, complete with references and links that I hope you will find helpful. As always, would love comments, ideas, suggestions, additions, questions, etc. Fire away!

Main points:
Awareness – This is the moment we so often miss. Yoga and meditation help us to be right where we are.

Thank you Albert Einstein, one of history’s great yogis: “It’s not that I’m start; it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” Yoga and meditation help us sit with our challenges longer. This is how we get to our breakthrough ideas.

“Gut feeling” is rooted in intuition and in neurology. We actually have more nerve endings in our gut than we do in our brains. (Isn’t that crazy???) Prajna is the Sanskrit word for wisdom, the knowing before knowing. This is the philosophy of the gut.

When we sleep, the rational mind disconnects and that’s why we often have odd dreams that connect our thoughts and experience is strange ways. These strange connections are often what help us develop our creativity. They help us see things in new and different ways that we can’t when we are awake and active because our rational minds often block them. This is why sleep, rest, and idle time are so crucial to the creative process.

We have 60,000 – 80,000 thoughts per day. (This fact still shocks me!) And still, the quiet mind is actually always present within us. Yoga and meditation help us to clear away the frantic thoughts so we can experience the quiet.

Meditation practices:
Nadi Shodhana – this is a very powerful breath practice, pranayama, that helps to balance the body and the mind by closing off one nostril for a pull inhale and exhale and then switching to the other nostril. When first practicing it, it can feel a bit scary and the heart may race slightly. If that happens, just rest with both nostrils fully open. You can also open the closed off nostril slightly if that helps to ease the anxiety.

Awareness Breathing – Sit in a comfortable position, allow the palms to face up toward the sky with the back of the hand comfortably resting on the knees. (The Sanskrit word for hand positions are called mudras and this one is the mudra of receptivity.) Be aware of the sounds around you; allow them to just be. Feel your body resting into the Earth and the Earth supporting you in return. If after a few minutes, your mind still feels busy count “1″ picturing the number one fading in with the inhale and fading out with the exhale. This method of counting “1″ can also be practiced in Savasana (final relaxation posture at the end of a yoga practice) if you feel any anxiety about the yoga class ending and having to return to the outside world. Stay in this practice as long as you’d like. With practice you may find that you are able to sit for longer periods of time with a very clear mind and that the effects of the meditation stay with you for longer stretches of time after you complete your practice.

Other practices to enhance your creativity:
Dimitri, one of the awesome SXSW volunteers and an attendee of our SXSW session asked what else he could try in addition to yoga and meditation to enhance his creativity. Beyond yoga and meditation, these are some other practices that may help you find more peace and tranquility which in turn will help you hone your creativity further:

Kirtans – I started going to kirtans as part of my yoga teacher training. Kirtans are gatherings of people who sing and play percussion instruments, many of them of Indian origins. You can join in the music (it’s very much an improvisation) or just be there as a silent observer, however you feel most comfortable. I’ve found kirtans to be truly transformative and healing events. I highly recommend giving them a try. To find one near you, just do a Google search of “kirtan + [the city or town you live in]“

Pilates – Pilates is a physical practice that focuses on strengthening our core abdominal muscles. The chakra, or energy center, within our core is the seat of our creativity and strengthening this area of the body has a wonderful effect on our creativity. Pilates was created by Joseph Pilates in the 1920′s and has its roots in yoga.

Writing / Journaling – It’s been said that all burdens can be bourn if you can put them into a story. Whenever I am upset about something or at a loss of how to proceed, I find that writing out the problem helps to release my anxiety about the situation and clears my mind. This practice may help you as well. Try it and see if it works for you, too.

Nia – Nia is a sensory-based movement practice that leads to health, wellness and fitness. It empowers people of all shapes and sizes by connecting the body, mind, emotions and spirit. For more info on a class near you, check out http://www.nianow.com/

References:
The Journey from the Center of the Page (Thanks, Amanda!)
Breath Pacer iPhone app (Thanks, Veronica!)
Stretch: The Making of a Yoga Dude (Thanks, Neil!)
New York Zen Center from Contemplative Care
Books on Chinese Medicine by Dr. Nan Lu OMD have extensive information on the mind-body connection as well as the intelligence of the body

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Posted in Health, Meditation, personal yoga practice, travel, workshop / training, yoga philosophy

Yoga Keeps You Healthy When You Travel

Posted on June 25, 2010 | Leave a comment

NBC Travel Expert, Peter Greenberg, offers up yoga a prescription to keep you healthy while traveling. This is especially on my mind as I travel to Greece this weekend with Shiva Rea.

Yoga can be an easy way to stay fit and healthy when you travel.

It doesn’t require a lot of equipment, and you can practice yoga almost anywhere—from your hotel room to the beach.

Travel correspondent Margaret Emery shares her tips for doing yoga on the road, and fills us in on some hotels that offer yoga programs and unique yoga experiences.

And even if you’re a yoga beginner, there are options for you, too.

Check out Peter’s post, complete with an instructional video and additional health travel tips.

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Posted in Health, travel