May 2017

Living in California is such a blast. It´s like you dont want to miss any opportunities. At least that`s what I feel. I have almost been here for a year, my plan was actually to relax a bit more these last weeks of my american journey. Finishing the book I am writing. Meditating and enjoying the sunsets as much as I could. Then Yin came along my way. Hmm, I emailed Adrienne Smith, the owner of Power of your OM, one of my favourite places to hang out, in dogs and cats. She answered: “Braxton is one of my favorite teachers…. he is extremely knowledgeable, passionate and relatable! ” – Ok, it was impossible to turn this down. So Yin happened.

Braxton and Adrienne at the teacher training!

The whole year has been like this, weeks and days filled up with exciting courses, workshops and meetings. Conversations about workouts, intentions, life and the meaning of all that we do. New York based Braxton Rose is one of these meetings. We had such a wonderful time doing the Yin Teacher Training and these days only added up on my wishlist of how I want to spend my days. Always learning, asking questions and being aware.

Yinning up with Braxton in a 120 minutes class….

So we did find time for a little chat. Afterall Yin is kind of new to me, and I guess for all the Yinilicious people out there, there is always more to learn!!!

Does`t hurt that Braxton is hensom too….

In your opinion, what is yoga?

Yoga is whatever it needs to be. This is what makes Yoga so powerful: It means different things to different people.

And what is yin then?

In every Yoga posture there is Yin and Yang. We feel this in a posture like Warrior Two, where we are active and engaged in our legs core and arms, but our eyes are soft and face relaxed. Yin Yoga is a practice where instead of being mainly Yang with a little Yin we are mainly Yin with a little Yang. It is designed to stimulate the connective tissues of our bodies (tendons, ligaments, fascia) in hopes of creating range of motion in the body.

Why is this good for us?

Physically it allows us to release tension, heal injury, create deeper range of motion, stretch our deep connective tissues and detoxify our organs. Mentally and Spiritually it allows us to heal past trauma, release stress and anxiety and open our minds in preparation for mediation.

Striking a pose here

Since I live in California and its always warm here, and I have noticed that there are many studios who offer Warm yin, could you explain the differences in the effect of Yin doing it with a cold body or a warm (hot) body?

When your muscles are warm the stretch primarily goes into your muscle. For instance, if you are tight in your hamstrings doing a stretch in a heated Vinyasa class may give you more range of motion.. However, when your muscles are cold, instead of the main stretch going into your muscle, the stretch goes into your connective tissue. This lubricates the tissues which allows your joints to move with more fluidity.

How do we avoid injuries in the Yin practice?

Listening to your body is crucial in the practice of Yin Yoga. As you practice is it is important to not have the sensation you experience in the posture to go too high. If you think of a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the highest try and keep yourself around a 7. If we listen to our need to go further and push past this level of sensation this can cause injury. Think listen to your body not your ego!

Think listen to your body not your ego!

My Yin sisters and brothers

What effects does Yin have on our mental state?

In the Yin practice we hold postures for up to 5 minutes. As we hold these postures it creates a therapeutic environment for your mind to be still. As our mind becomes still our para-sympathetic nervous system takes over; which creates a relaxation response inside our minds. Our muscles start to heal, the food in our stomach and digestion track starts to get processed and our bodies start to recover from all the action of day to day life.

If you are curious about this Teacher Training, feel free to contact me, I am – believe it or not – considering bringing Braxton home in my spiritual suitcase 🙂

Yinny and sunny smiles all the way,

Monica

PS: You can find Braxton here:

@braxtonroseyoga

www.braxtonroseyoga.com

To flow Power of your OM:

@powerofyourom

You know when the yoga teacher repeats: “Feel your intention, stay present, leave the outside world, what goes on in your mind, what do you feel, what are you escaping from… what happens in this pose, on the mat…” etc… WELL; This might be Yoga Philosophy, but in fact it´s real, in all kinds of workoutclasses. We have the tendency to try to escape from whatever feels uncomfortable. It`s an ongoing process which happens to each and everyone of us when we move out from our own comfort zone and into something new and unknown, to a feeling, pain, stiffness or exhaustion. It´s not just on the yoga mat, it´s real – all over the world.

Well, the other day I bumped into the local workout Guru Jenny Schatzle. She didn’t know me, but since she is a local workout celebrity here in town, I knew her. I know about her enormously appreciated concept, her full classes, her supersweet persona and her twins to come. So I embraced that moment and called her name, and then we talked.

Jenny has been on my long “Got To Do list” the last year, and for some reason I kept postponing this experience. I knew she would challenge my comfort zone. And YES – I do have one. I am good at doing daily workouts, yoga, pilates and megaformers. I do add some cardio, but prefer the low impact workouts. By stepping into Jenny´s world I knew I was also stepping into a highly feared pain area..

I parked my car and met Holley (who also is a blogger and a health seeker- check her blog here) who works out with Jenny. We got paired up, and before I realized it we had started the class and I am actually jogging a warm-up round around the block.. I mean, I didn’t understand what I was doing before we got back and started the class. I had so much fun, Jenny kept instructing through her microphone encouraging right left and center and I pushed myself through biceps burns, ropekillers and a variety of muscle targeting moves… (I have already signed up as a regular every coming tuesdays).

Why? cause I had so much fun, I felt the community, I felt the burn and my body responded well to something new. I actually got sore the day after…. (WOW – that´s a sign)

Well, I am grateful for Whole Foods and my meeting with Jenny, I always believe that there is a deeper meaning to why we bump into to certain people along our way. And of course I got curious about her concept cause she promises some crazy changes, so here we go, if you want to learn abut her concept and what kind off workout this is you can continue to read…

“The Jenny Schatzle Program is a 6 week program that focuses on helping people change their lives. We are a program that offers 10 workout classes a day starting at 5:45am. Everyday is a new and different workout, we offer a weekly meal plan and we have a registered dietician/Nutrition therapist on staff. We guarantee results that you will not only change your body in 6 weeks you will change your life. ”

How did you et the idea to create something new and different?

“This program was created based on the way that I personally like to workout! I love people, variety, music and energy.

We keep the classes to one hour and everyday is a different workout so you never get bored and always have plenty of variety.”

We teachers tend to burn quit some energy, do you have any advices about how to not wearing yourself out?

“We believe in team work and self-care. I own the business but I don’t consider the trainers my staff they are my co-workers and we all work together. There are no egos involved and when one person is feeling burnt out or tired another co-worker steps in. We have amazing communication with one another which is key in any business and any relationship. ”
What are the core values in your method?

“COMMUNITY is number one. We are all in this together and our goal is to help people find their AWESOME and take back their lives. Our mantra is, “Don’t just change your body, change your life.”

For who is the workout?

“Our program is for everyone, seriously EVERYONE! We do circuit training classes at every level. Our workouts are always geared towards ways to make it harder for the people who want that and modifications for those who need that option also.

Every day in our program is different so some days are more cardio, some days are more weights, sometimes we run we are like a one stop shop you get it all! ”

How many times per week?

“When you are a member of the Jenny Schatzle Program you can come as many times per week as you want but we recommend a minimum of 4 times a week and a maximum of 6 times a week. (Everyone should always take at least one day of recovery). Also you don’t need to go as hard as you can everyday and burn yourself out. ”

What is your motivational secret?

“I am real, I am raw and I am open with my personal life. My true motivation comes from the fact I changed my own life and I am living proof you can go from the bottom to success. ”

What would you say is the biggest trends in the body/mind industry this year?

“Meditation is growing traction and I am so grateful for that I really do think it’s life changing. Diet and fitness have always been a big trend but what we are doing is trying to disrupt that imagine. Losing weight does not fix a negative body image. You can lose all the weight in the world if you don’t like what you see in the mirror you will never be happy. My goal is to make it trendy to LOVE WHO YOU ARE and LOVE WHAT YOU’VE GOT.

ALIVE and LIVING,

Check out Jenny Schatzle Program here

And you can follow Jenny on intagram if you wish: @jennyschatzle

Namaste Jenny,

Best wishes,

Monica

Yin Yoga New York Style

Don’t just change your body, change your life