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Serving South Jersey,Philadelphia & SuburbsServing South Jersey,Philadelphia & Suburbs
Volume XIV, Issue I
www.yogalivingmagazine.comSummer 2012
Summer 2012 Issue
Yoga as SciencePg 28
Benefitsof BalancingPg 16
Plant Healingfor Summer
Pg 42New Conceptsin EconomicsPg 32
4 Ways to CreateMore Meaningful Time
for Your FamilyPg 44
Summer 2012 Issue
Yoga as SciencePg 28
Benefitsof BalancingPg 16
Plant Healingfor Summer
Pg 42New Conceptsin EconomicsPg 32
4 Ways to CreateMore Meaningful Time
for Your FamilyPg 44
2 YOGA LIVING Summer 2012
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Delaware andS. Jersey46| Delware Conscious Living
46| South Jersey Yoga Directory
Directories39| Holistic Resource Directory
45| Green Business DirectoryLook up businesses that supportthe environment
48| Yoga Directory:Local places by county for study/classes
51| Advertisers Directory
59| Community SupportedAgriculture
Our listings help you find holisticpractitioners for all your needs.
Events51| Events Listings
Join holistic events, retreats andon-going groups
Yoga Living Online! www.yogalivingmagazine.com
Summer 2012Local Resources for Healthy Living!
YOGA =SELF-TRANSFORMATION
ADVERTISERS ISSUE DEADLINE:
Fall 2012SEPTEMBER 6 2012
Psychology& Health32| New Concepts in Economics
By Linda Lyng
34| Genius and MeditationBy Anthony Michael Rubbo
36| Health and the Magicof WholenessBy Michael Reddy, Ph.D.
42| Plant Healing for Summer:Mullein & EchinaceaBy Jayne Stevlingson Tamburello
HealthyFamily38|What’s that Taste?
Umami? Umami!By Marilyn Moser Waxman
44| 4 Ways to Create MoreMeaningful Time forYour FamilyBy Marney Makridakis
60| New Treatment Considerationsfor Children with ADHDBy Lisa Beth Freedman, MD
62| Mixed Media ReviewsBy Kristen Butera
8| Contributors
10| EditorialBy Kristen Butera
YogaTheory12| Visualization: A Creative
Meditative PracticeBy Bob Butera
16| Playing with Perception:The Benefits ofBalancing PosesBy Kristen Butera
22| Moving Beyond the MatBy Jennifer Busa Littel
24| The Yoga of SpeechBy Stephanie Knox Cubbon
26| Keeping The Companyof SoundBy Manorama
28| Yoga as ScienceBy Michael Cheikin MD
YOGA LIVING Summer 2012 5
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YOGA LIVING Summer 2012 7
Michael >>Cheikin | MD
is a holistic physician, BoardCertified in PM&R ("Physiatry"),Pain Management and licensedin Medical Acupuncture. Hehas studied alternative healingfor over 30 years and designeda multi-dimensional evaluationand treatment process to identifyand heal the “root causes” ofobscure and chronic problems.Contact him at 610.239.9901or www.cheikin.com.Yoga as Sciencepage 28
<< Linda Lynglives, writes, and teaches inKimberton, and may be reachedat [email protected] Concepts in Economicspage 32
<< StephanieKnoxCubbon
is a yoga teacher and peaceeducator based in San Diego,CA. She is passionate aboutpromoting peace and sees yogaas a fundamental way we cancultivate peace in ourselves andin the world. Contact her [email protected] Yoga of Speechpage 24
<< JayneStevlingsonTamburello
has an MS in herbal medicinefrom Tai Sophia and practicesherbal medicine, homeopathicmedicine and nutrition inMedia, PA. Learn more abouther practice online atwww.providencehealthandhealing.comPlant Healing for Summerpage 42
<< MarilynMoserWaxman
integrates practices andtechniques from a variety ofholistic health and healingsystems from around the world.Her classes and coaching offera well-rounded education that isapplicable to a wide spectrum ofdietary needs and health issues.Learn more atwww.thenourishingwell.com.What’s that Taste? Umami? Umami!page 38
Manorama >>is a graduate of ColumbiaUniversity and the author ofLearn to Pronounce Yoga Poses(2005). She is a worldrecognized leader in the fieldof Sanskrit & Yoga who toursthe world training studentsin the Path of LuminousShabda, which brings Sanskrit,Meditation, and Yoga philosophytogether to bridge sacredteachings into every day life forthe purpose of Self-fulfillmentand authentic happiness. Visitwww.sanskritstudies.orgto learn more.Keeping The Company of Soundpage 26
Lisa Beth >>Freedman | MD
is a family physician practicingin Villanova and HuntingdownValley, PA. She is trained inmost areas of medicine andoffers preventive services toscreen for problems, along withcounseling to improve healthand quality of life. To learnmore visit www.lbfmd.com.New Treatment Considerations forChildren with ADHDpage 60
Marney K. >>Makridakisis the author of Creating Time.She founded the Artella onlinecommunity for creators of allkinds and the print magazineArtella. A popular speaker andworkshop leader, she createdthe ARTbundance approachof self-discovery through art.She lives in Dallas, Texas.Learn more about her onlineat www.artellaland.com.4 Ways to Create More MeaningfulTime for Your Familypage 44
Anthony >>MichaelRubbo | MHS
is a consultant to education andindustry, and the author ofbooks on personal leadershipand meditation. He is currentlywriting a novel and collaboratingon a production that promotesthe spiritual lifestyle. If youhave questions or comments,you can contact him [email protected] and Meditationpage 34
8 YOGA LIVING Summer 2012
Jennifer >>Busa Littelwent to Kripalu to become ayoga teacher and came homerealizing that dance was hertrue love. She studied writingand dance at Rowan Universityand has found a way to combineher two passions via her blog,where she documents herexperiences in movement,mindfulness, and other healingmodalities. Learn more atwww.flowtationdevices.com.Moving Beyond the Matpage 22
<< RobertButeraM.DIV., PH.D.
is the director of The YogaLifeInstitute in Devon, Pennsylvaniawhere he trains Yoga teachersand Yoga therapists. A boardmember of the InternationalAssociation of Yoga Therapists(IAYT), he is also the authorof The Pure Heart of Yoga(Llewellyn Worldwide, 2009)and the publisher of YogaLiving Magazine. Learn moreat www.yogalifeinstitute.com.Visualizationpage 12
<< KristenButeraE-RYT 500, CYT
is the Editor of Yoga LivingMagazine and writer ofeducational articles on Yoga.She is also the Manager of theYogaLife Institute, where sheteaches weekly classes & trainsyoga teachers. Contact her [email protected] Posespage 16Mixed Media Reviewspage 62
Doers | Player | Teacher | Representat ive | A Voice | Impetus | Ref lect ion | Learn ing | Imagine
Contributors | Inside YogaLiving
Michael >>Reddy | PH.D. CPC
combines Certified WellnessCoaching with FamilyConstellation Work to revealand re-align hidden loyaltiesthat block successful living.Previously, he taught shamanicspirituality and healing for twodecades. He is an Elder whoadds a wealth of knowledge,experience, and love toachieving the health andfulfillment goals of individu-als, families, and other wellnessprofessionals. Learn more atwww.reddyworks.com.Health and theMagic of Wholenesspage 36
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YogaLivingYour Healthy Lifestyle Guide
Summer 2012Volume XIV, Issue I
��
PublisherROBERT BUTERA, PhD
EditorKRISTEN BUTERA
Graphic ArtistMARIE KOZLOWSKI
Partners Press, Oaks, PA
AdvertisingANGELA NEVIUS
Published by:YOGALIFE INSTITUTE, INC.
111 Lancaster Ave.Suite G
Devon, PA 19333610-688-7030
www.yogalivingmagazine.com
Yoga Living, Your Healthy LifestyleGuide, promotes the field of Yoga as ahealthy lifestyle. The practice of aTraditional Yoga program includeseach facet of life. This magazine in-troduces readers to resources for heal-thy living. Please share your copy ofYoga Living with your friends. Contactus at 610-688-7030 or at [email protected]. Advertisers goto www.yogalivingmagazine.com for amedia kit.
We can never really foresee exactly how an issue of YogaLiving magazine is going to come together. Of course, thereis a process involved, but at the end of the day, it is really up
to the writer contributors to tell us what they are thinking about and howthat inspiration is going to be relevant to you, the reader. These aretypically intelligent, highly sought after healers who are leaders in theirfield and willing to work extra hard to put themselves and their ideas outthere for the betterment of humanity. It’s a collaborative process of a highdegree. As the editor, I then look to see if the ideas that are being offered
are going to form a cohesive whole. More often than not, this happens by divine provenance.Yes, there are tweaks that I need to make here and there, editorial suggestions that get offeredfor consideration and things that get moved around until they find their proper home. Yet at theend of the day I never feel like magazine comes through me. The process serves as acontinual reminder that I am part of a larger whole, and has become a big part of my deeperspiritual practice of Karma Yoga.
I have to admit that the spiritual concept sometimes gets lost in the daily minutia. Yoga Livingisn’t my only job – I also run a yoga studio, teach classes and train yoga teachers. Deadlines,emails, communication breakdowns and just plain old getting it done energy can take my focusaway from the bigger picture. This is true for any job, is it not? Yet every time that delivery truckpulls up and the palates of the final product are unloaded, I am reminded of just how manypeople came together to make this issue of the magazine a reality. Whenever I crack the wrapon that first bundle, slide out a crisp new issue and open it for the first time, I am a little in aweof how a group of people, some who have never even met each other, can come together withan intention to make the world a better place and actually make it happen.
The theme for this issue came together in it’s usual cosmicfashion, and it appears that as collective, people arethinking a lot about creativity, time, food, health andrejuvenation. In total, there are thirteen articles in this issuethat offer a variety of perspectives on different healthylifestyle topics, including Yoga, Meditation, ExpressiveDance, Creative Economics, Plant & Food Healing and more.As always, the editorial article content is separate from theadvertising content, so that you can read the articlesknowing that they are selfless offerings, given from a sinceredesire to share the author’s insights from their healingtraditions and illuminated by years of practice and service.
It is such a gift to be a participant in this process, and I thinkthat I can speak for all of us when I say that we hope youreceive the gifts in the same spirit that they have beengiven. As we share our gifts, we hope that you are inspiredto begin or continue to share your gifts with the worldas well!
In Loving Service –Kristen Butera, Editor
Letter From the Editor
Teaching my niece the Handstandbalance in Ocean City, NJ
YOGA LIVING Summer 2012 11
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IN THE SAME WAY THAT WE TAKE BREATHINGFOR GRANTED, we tend to forget the importanceof our visual images and thoughts. It is easy to
think that shallow breathing is normal if you are ashallow breather. Likewise, if you secretly thinkthat you are not good enough or smart enough,then you automatically become those things. Tounderstand and be aware of what we visualize eachday is vitally important for our long-term healthand personal growth.
Each culture of the world has a visual element inits healing and spiritual traditions. Many peoplein Western culture have heard the termvisualization – we hear about athletes visualizingbefore a big competition, or may have experimentedwith a form of visual prayer at church or in a healinggroup. Many of the mind-body movements in theWest have used visualization in some form oranother as a means to unite mind, body andspirit. The reason people from so many differentcultures and backgrounds use these practices issimple - visualization works.
We all form pictures in our mind. If I say to you,“Don’t visualize a white elephant,” what does yourmind do? You probably see a white elephant.Think of how this concept plays itself out in dailylife. Let’s consider the common human issue ofworry. If you are worried about something andhyper-focused on it, you create a picture in yourmind of the very thing that you are trying to avoid.If you worry about being late, you create a visualof yourself as the rushed person who arrives late. Ifyou use that energy to create ways to arrange yourschedule to ensure being on time, you create avisual of yourself being on time and will find waysto make that vision a reality.
12 YOGA LIVING Summer 2012
With some practice, just about anyone can learnto focus on positive images instead of negativeones. To start a practice of visualization, one mustbegin by honestly confronting the visuals that arealready in their head. It is a good idea to start bymaking a list of 3-5 themes that you visualizeregularly and probe until you discover an imagethat you have associated with those thoughts.When you find a weak or negative image, attemptto replace it with a positive one.
Since we all visualize or associate images withthoughts, we already know how to visualizeunconsciously. However, at first it may be difficultto place the new images in your mind. In the casethat visualization is a practice that doesn’t comenaturally to you, give yourself time to learn yourpersonal method of visualization. Once you learnhow you visualize, use that method for a period oftime. If you find that you master that style in time,then try adding other methods of visualizationinto your practice repertoire on an as needed basis.
WHAT IS YOUR VISUALIZATION STYLE?You can answer this question by taking a fewminutes to practice a simple visual exercise. Close youreyes and imagine your bedroom. Without any otherinstructions, observe how you handle this task.
Do you see the room like a photograph? Do you feelthe bed and think that the location of your dresseris two steps from the door? Do you visualize in termsof space and feeling? Do you use memory andimagination to visualize your bedroom? Do you thinkabout the room as a means of visualizing? Or do yousimply see things as if you were in the room? Whilethere may not be many other possibilities, if youanswer no to all the above questions, please considerqualifying your unique method of visualizing.
Visualization:A Creative Meditative Practice
Yoga Theory | by Dr. Bob Butera
continued on page 14
Visualization:A Creative Meditative Practice
YOGA LIVING Summer 2012 13
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14 YOGA LIVING Summer 2012
6. Choose a visual and a phrase that is uniqueto you!
7. Make the affirmation and visual fresh andalive by creating it yourself. Relate it directlyto an aspect of your life that is immediateand relevant.
8. Believe in yourself, your visual and yourcorrelating affirmation. You are what youbelieve and what you perceive. “I will be thebest athlete” affirmation relies on a nearimpossible perfection where as, “I am reachingmy highest potential” is believable.
In the beginning, visual images can remained fixed.Try to imagine things concretely. For example, ifyour goal is to be relaxed while driving, focus onseeing a deep-breathing, relaxed driver. As yougain more experience, you may want to try beingmore receptive in your approach. The receptive(sometimes also called passive) mode allowsimages to form and pass through the mind as theyrelate to your topic of meditation. This approachmay come in helpful when you are processing aspecific problem or seeking an insight. If you findthat the mind is restless, you can always return toa more concrete image.
Develop a daily visualization practice centered ona goal. If you are an artist, sketch out your image.If drawing isn’t your thing, try using a photo.If you can’t find a photo that works for you, trywriting a description of your image on a piece ofpaper with the matching affirmation beneath it.Put this creation in a place that you will see it ofteni.e. the refrigerator door, bedroom or bathroommirror or next to computer monitor at yourworkplace. Focus on this image daily and enjoy theprocess of consciously re-patterning your beliefs.Every few months, change the visual to suit yourcurrent personal growth or meditative practiceneeds. In time, maintaining a positive imagebecomes a new habit and the effort to practice itbecomes less and less. �
OVERCOMING VISUALIZATION BLOCKSThe psycho-spiritual term block can relate to anyaspect of one’s personality that acts as an obstaclein the mind. For example, someone who is workingon overcoming a life-long issue like low self-esteemand can’t seem to get past the negative self-talk orunderlying belief that they are not good enough.No matter how hard they try to change, nothingseems to happen. Discipline escapes this personand good intentions do not manifest into aplausible reality.
In this case, blocks usually indicate deep andunresolved emotions that have yet to beacknowledged and processed. Such extreme blocksmay require assistance from a professional counseloror good friend. Less difficult negative emotionsmay cause a similar resistance to meditation orpersonal growth. These lesser blocks can leavepractitioners missing one specific quality, andcause them to find excuses for not furthering theirpersonal growth activities. Ultimately theseunresolved issues lead to even bigger problems. Inthese cases, visualization can be used as a tool tohelp the practitioner confront the weaknesses.
8 STEPS FOR ATRANSFORMATIVE VISUALIZATION PRACTICE
1. Accept negative self-talk without worry.Resistance will only feed it. After you acceptit, you can work to change it in the moment.
2. Affirm yourself daily with a verbal mantrain tandem with a strong visual image.
3. Write this affirmation with only positiveimages. For example: “I am a caring parent”gives a positive image, “I am not a bad parent”leads to a negative images.
4. Use present tense. We live in the moment.The “I will become or I am trying to”statements do not create a sense of immediacy.The present tense affirmation of “I am”creates a positive impact on the mind.
5. Be short and simple. Create a phrase andsupporting visual that can be recalled quicklyat any time, regardless of where you are.
YOGA LIVING Summer 2012 15
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Yoga Theory | by Kristen Butera
DARLENE, MY VERY FIRST (AND MUCH BELOVED)YOGA TEACHER had a wonderful way of explainingbalancing - she would always say - “balancing is
a practice of falling.” In some classes, she actuallyfocused on teaching us how to fall properly in order tohelp us face our fear of falling before we even attemptedthe full pose. These concepts helped her students moveaway from the need for perfection in a balancingpractice and have more fun while we worked on gaininga new skill set.As a beginner student, I learned from her that a balancingpractice is fluid and not rigid and that the body is nevercompletely still. I perceived that every time my heartwould beat my center of gravity would shift a bit andmy body would naturally re-adjust if I trusted it. In treepose, I embraced the quality of the tree floating andbending with the wind as a metaphor for my symbioticrelationship with the cosmos. Most importantly, Ilearned that my ability to laugh at myself was moreimportant than any alignment cue.Many years later, as I became a yoga teacher, I came tounderstand the depth of wisdom in Darlene’s approach.Balancing poses are always an interesting portion of theclass to observe. The energy in the room changes and itis obvious that practitioners tend to either love balancingposes or hate them - some even have a love/hate relationship.There are so many visceral responses from studentswhile they are practicing. From the vantage point of thefront of the room, I observe the whole spectrum ofhuman emotion, from pure bliss to extreme anger, fromsteady stillness to fumbling frustration and everythingin between – sometimes from students practicing nextto each other, and other times from the same personover a period of a couple of minutes!Why such a variety of responses? I think that it’s becausebalancing is a practice of embracing opposites – seriousfocus, stable strength and determination need to comeinto harmony with good humor, levity and fluid ease inthe body. It’s also a reflective practice and gives thepractitioner immediate feedback of how the mind bodyconnection works. If the mind body complex isdisturbed at any level (emotionally, spiritually, physicallyor energetically), the instability of that disturbance isimmediately reflected back to the practitioner in theirexperience of the pose. At times, it is a mirror that theymight not be ready to look into. In this way, the practiceof self-inquiry becomes an important component ofbalancing in order to utilize the information gained
through practice in a way that enhances overall lifebalance. This is just one of the gifts of cultivating abalancing practice.Another gift of balancing is increased proprioception, orthe ability to sense the orientation of the body in space.This ability doesn't come from any specific organ, butfrom the nervous system as a whole. Its input comesfrom sensory receptors - nerves that are on the insidethe body rather than on the surface. Balancing poses arean excellent way to train this ability – in order tobalance, the nervous system must help the body feelitself in space – it monitors position while processingand directing minor muscular or gravitational positionalcorrections in the body. It is a complicated dance thatcan be developed with time and concentration.The physical benefits of increased proprioception carrythemselves over into other life pursuits. Balance is a keyelement in any sport - you will not perform your sportvery well if you fall down all the time! Any martial artistwill tell you that balance is the key to generating power.From a functional life perspective, balance in movement(i.e. walking or running) is a process of constantly andconsciously losing your balance and regaining it quickly.The quicker you can regain your balance, the safer yourmovement will be. Given that 70% of accidental deathsfor people 75 and older are related to falling the benefitsof balance and increased proprioception may actuallyprolong lifespan along with overall quality of life.Some of the more abstract benefits of a balancingpractice include the development of mental focus andconcentration abilities. When we focus on balancing,the mind has no choice but to be still. Balancing posesalso provide the opportunity to understand and masterthe ego in new and interesting ways. From an energeticperspective we are connected to the earth and at thesame time reaching for the heavens, experiencing thebody as a vessel for all of the subtle energies of theuniverse in perfect harmony. From an emotionalperspective, working out the fear of falling allows us toexplore new definitions of trust and faith, not only inourselves, but also in the larger reality. At a higher levelof the nervous system, the impact of attitude towardsbalancing becomes clear, and the emotional equilibriumthat comes through self-observation is illuminated.These types self-awareness that are brought aboutthrough a regular balancing practice are invaluable,especially as we become able to translate our understandingof them into daily life experience.
Playing with Perception:The Benefits of Balancing Poses
“There is no secret to balance. You just have to feel the waves.” – Frank Herbert
continued on page 18
