Using Essential Oils: Helichrysum

 Helichrysum

A plant of Mediterranean origins produces essential oils that involves steam distillation of the leaves. It is also commonly know as the curry plant attributed to a common scent. Curiously, its similarity to curry which involves another anti-inflammatory herb tumeric helps to define its attributes and uses. . According to several holistic therapists the plants shape, smell or location in which it proliferates gives clues to its benefits. The word root helios in Greek signifies the sun.

This little burst of sunshine with yellow or orange flowers was always in my life. My mother had it as straw flowers that we carried from residence to residence and they remained in a small vase from decade to decade. Come to find years later their impressive role in reducing inflammation. 

The studies of this plant are minimal as in most essential oil research. Precautions are important: dilute the oil before application to skin, avoid placing on open wounds, ingest the tea or infusion (and not the direct plant materials) based on sound herbal practices, and test the application before a sustained or broad application.

That being said, its benefits include

1. Reduced inflammation of skin
2. Anti fungal, anti bacterial and anti viral
3. Assists in joint inflammation
4. Reducing allergic reactivity
5. Aids in addressing gallbladder disorders

Uses

• infuse 10-12 drops of the essential oil into 1 tbsp. carrier oil (coconut, olive, grapeseed or jojoba) 
• rub gently on skin in the affected area
• for joint or muscular discomfort repeat 3 times daily; making a larger batch and storing at room temperature.
• this solution can be applied to nasal cavity using a swab to anoint the nostrils (limit 1-2 x daily)
• combine with heat or cold pack or alternating 5 minute intervals on same location
• for reducing sensitivity of nasal cavity try direct placement of essential oil to a diffuser. Following recommendations of the element. Some diffusers or nebulizers require more or less concentration.

If any increased redness or suggestion of intolerance discontinue use and remove residue of oil.  Then contact an holistic practitioner for guidance or modifications such as creating essential oil combinations.

A Yoga Space for All

We stand in the place where opposites come together

Or, as I re-draft this. “We stand in a place where “perceived opposites” come together. We can use our practice today to experience how we feel a presence in our lives in the world and how the world is a presence in our lives.

Whether you have had a heightened experience deeply or remotely during the last weeks to follow the intensity of COVID we were brought back abruptly (back several years perhaps) to the deaths and social unrest stemming from racial violence, retribution and mass frustration.

The principle of Ahisma is the practice of non-violence. The practice is intended to be engaged on and off the “mat”. When our body, emotions or mind are in tremendous resistance, we can use our practice to restructure. That may require modification, removal of expectation or ego parts as we address or change opposite aspects of our pose, belief or lives. Often a muscle might dominate over something. Or, our mind might insist on moving longer or deeper into a stress pattern. Yoga offers another tool in these cases.

Letting Go – non possessiveness helps us to vary our practice and can create a strong relationship with equanimity. It is also mentioned in the yoga Sutra that to release the tendency to grasp or yearn can be brought out in our practice.

In this Yoga set today, I am offering a path and practice to unite and yoke together the moving center, emotional center and the mind. This can bring awareness to these philosophies.

Consider how your body in each pose is a place where aspects of yourself come together. See and feel where the poses might hang you up or push and work through the breath to enhance the union. Try to regain a sense of the balance the pose levels within you following the practice.

Glance through your morning as you approach the Sunday Class.

Link to Class

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85357112117?pwd=VlMvQmNldk0xRUdsbCs2REZzTTV0QT09

Zoom Village Class Pacific Standard Time 9:00 am-10:15 Class ID #853 5711 2117
Password: 031245

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💙   Begin with separation of the inhalation and exhalation.

💙   Lie of your back with a prop under your head and knees bent or resting on a bolster

💙   Our 4 minute breathing practice will lead to deeper and slower breaths. Try to engage in awareness on the moments of pause and shift from one to the other.

💙   Remove any bolster and continue to bend your knees suspending/them above your hips

💙   Allow even gentle rocking of your whole body

💙   From a seated position stretch over one leg, then the other (3 times)

💙   Calm your breathe to a slow and deeper pace as you reach your arms overhead

💙   Now stretch both legs in front of you and both arms up (alt. use a blanket under hips)

💙   Use your hands and knees to come into kneeling dog stretch – release your wrists

💙   Now, engage opposites energies of your back-front core–notice strengths & resistance

💙   Engage in Standing poses

1. · Tadansana
2. · Reaching back leg extension
3. · Warrior 1
4. · Warrior 3 (prep – meaning leaving back leg down)

💙   Return to Mountain pose and enter silent sun salutation – 8 sets

💙   Phase into wide leg stances

1. · High lunging
2. · Triangle Pose
3. · Warrior two
4.  End in a revolved pose of choice (revolved triangle, lunge, or half moon) 

💙   Return to Mountain pose and enter silent sun salutation – 4 sets

💙   This can be an excellent time to unify elements of your practice.

Consider your stages of awareness, your moving center, your mind (ego) and your heart.

1. · Balance with your feet (toes lifted, calves lifted) and (repeat with arms raised)
2. · Balance on one foot (turning out one knee – tree pose)
3. · Balance with one leg crossed and one bent behind (stability-strength-flexibility) Dancers pose)
4. · Finally open up from a high lunge to Warrior 3 (lifting the back leg this time)

💙   Return to Mountain pose and enter silent sun salutation – 2 sets

💙   Return to your seated position with single leg and both arms stretched forward (both sides)

💙   After a Slight Twist engage in comfort of kneeling pose (alt use low blanket under knees)

1. Experience Camel Pose – 3 times

💙   Lie on your back (use a strap if available) press one leg against couch or wall

1. Maneuver the alternate leg in lifted leg series
2. Switch legs

💙   Return to prone position for plank pose on forearms or palms 

💙   Return to kneeling downward dog

💙   Give yourself kindness! Elevate the legs (up the wall or in shoulder stand alt. blanket prop

We can conclude the practice with knees softly resting. Allow your awareness to reflect on the space of the breath – the space between the breaths. Release attachments and explore parigraha as a state of being.

Giving Ourselves Freedom

The practice of Yoga gives you freedom in that practitioners begin to enliven their senses =============================================================

empowering our senses has been a gift of slowing down, taking time to reflect on what you is going through our current time and experience. Imagine the rushed days of weekly schedules, hustling to commitments and work and than moving swiftly from task to task, deadline to deadline. 

Extreme work of any kind necessitates that we engage our senses so that sustaining that constant motion is doable. But what if the use of our awareness can create the spaciousness itself. In finding that during busy times we can become much more productive. The movement can fuel the next moment. Our days are fulfilled and we retain our energy.

Our flow today gives us exertion in order to bridge higher degree of effort and create, pose by pose and breath by breath more space for the freedom of our senses.

Join Mary in a live class for this practice, Sunday, May 31st at 9am PST. The Zoom link can be used to work on screen (phone and/or video)

ZOOM ID: 853 5711 2117

Password: 031245 

Introductions, 10min

Open with Being Yoga reading, 5 min

Hatha Yoga Practice, 40 min

Breath Meditation, 10 min

Metta practice, 5 min

Closing with Being Peace reading, 5 min

Connecting the fibers to construct a solid foundation let's begin with a Yoga Breath, the life breath opens our speech, the eye, the mind and our gut awareness. 

Keep with the idea of how we use each asana in a way to promote new and more sustained freedom - opening the possibilities of our body. Similarly, feel the way breath reduces tension and stress in each pose, allowing it to unfold.

• Seated Easy Pose – Forward Stretch Pose

• Rotated Seated Pose

• Repeat Seated Easy Pose

• Posterior lying flex and extend

• Four Post Pose – Holding Breath
  

• Childs Pose - deep inner breath

• Kneeling Gate

• Four Post Pose with Balance

• Stretch Pose with Breath of Fire

• Childs Pose

Learning to grow: allow the standing set to investigate your height. Within the spine and throughout your limbs.

• Tadasana/Alt. Chair – Uttanasana – Bridge – Chair – Rotation – Bridge – Chair Tadasana

• Lunges w/3 sets each side

• AdhoMuhka Svasana

• Triangle

• Hands behind Forward wide leg bend

• Ardo Chandrasana

• Revolved Triangle

• Vrkasana

• Supported Bridge

• Plough

• Janu Sirsasana

• Lying Rotation -Svasana

Namaste 

Opening - A Steady Journey with Downward Facing Dog

Opening - A Steady Journey

Let's call it, "Downward Facing Dog Adho Mukha Shvanasana is held by many as a pose that is a joy to perform and affirming to repeat. The variations of the pose also can potentially strengthen our limbs and create stability in our shoulders and pelvis.Variations can also help us readdress any constraints (mental or physical).

May 24th Sunday Morning Yoga for Today Class at EarthTones Center for Healing will address how to bring about a greater range of motion throughout the whole body. In this pose, all of our appendages open up in new ways and achieve the following.

• Unify the connection of legs into the hip space  

•  Draw out the suppleness of wrists, elbows and shoulder joints

• Clear the head and neck to release deeply in the pose 

So, we will begin by identifying what these areas feel like today and where we might address any restrictions. To help, le's call into action your breathing.

1. As many pranayama practices steady and balance the rhythm of your inhalation and exhalation.
2. Consider 5 minutes of controlled breathing at the beginning. Sitting erect is preferred.

Now, lets move your hands around your body and check in with the lines of energy that flow within:

1. draw the hands cupped over your cheeks and eyes, 
2. draw into the back of your occiput,
3. allow the hands to rest crossed at the front base of your neck, and
4. finish by extending out across the room, flexing and extending your wrists. 

For our head! You'll feel great as the energy of the head opens to more movement and liberates it's role in downward facing dog. Allow time to focus on it's full range of motion. The before and after will feel marvelous and it will help in maintaining vital lymph flow.

This pose involves getting in contact with the whole of our arms. So as we condition and build from the wrist up towards the shoulder. Staff pose dandasana with a little support under the pelvis let's us open and circulates synovial fluid. Begin a four part sequence and repeat 3 times;

1. flex elbows and pull away from the center of your body (abduction),
2. hover extended arms over legs with slight tilt (elevation),
3. reach full arms overhead to your comfort (extension), and 
4. return arms, palms down, fingers forward next to hips (depression and lateral rotation).

These poses can also be done using a wall for support.

Relax the wrists so that we can bring the weight onto them to find ideal arm support. Begin in cobra pose so that the upper arms begin to sense outward rotation. Remember we are hoping to open our upper appendages as well as evenly strengthen the following:

1. Shoulders
2. Clavicle
3. Wrists

From a kneeling forward bend, stretch one arm at a time forward bend connect to single arms straight forward, shoulder width apart fully extending the wrist to help initiate the lower arm in medial rotation. 

Two other poses help reenforce the stability we are adopting for the shoulder:

1. Cat and Cow (consider props of padding for knees or wedge for wrist) 
2. Sphinx Pose with neck rotation (consider soft pad or halved blanket under belly or pelvis)

Our standing sequence involves stability of lower limbs: Let's transition into standing poses using:

1. Mountain Pose Tadasana with feet together
2. Forward Bend Uttanasana  with knees bent
3. and leg extension/balance to awaken the ankle positions moving 2-times alternate limbs forward (flexion) and to side (abduction)

In these poses we are trying to employ the benefit of the target pose for flexibility, strengthen and resilience of our:

1. hamstrings
2. hip flexors, and
3. calves

Intrinsic bones and muscles of the feet are essential to enjoy long term benefits of yoga.

A few lymph movements might help as well (calf raises, circulate the ankles with hands on knees and lunges). My favorite creates a movement and compression involving the whole body with breath of fire.

Standing wide and engaging in forward bending at the hip will help sustain the proper alignment of the low back. Try putting your hands on your hips and then fully extending them on your back/hips with clasped hands.

Return to the floor prone and help your body relocate the plantar tendon, the ball of the foot and the spaces between toes. Child's pose and kneeling dog (quarter-dog) are also helpful to fully innervate the feet.

Before your first lift to downward dog, however, extend the arms overhead from Virasna or kneeling.

In my school of yoga. Iyengar Yoga, downward dog and 3-legged dog poses can be entered from a prone position, with the hands beside the chest, setting the distance between hands and feet or cobra bhujangasna.
Downward Dog is a restorative pose for experienced practitioners, but can be hard work for beginners. Let's practice how to approach the poses in various ways:

•  by bending the knees, allowing the heels to lift slightly;
•  by supporting the heels, such as with a rolled-up yoga mat or towel 
• by lowering one forearm to the floor, extending the other hand forward; by placing a block under the forehead 
• and by combinations of these.

We will move into lifting our hips up and expressing length into low back. And, in returning to extended legs we can feel the form of our legs releasing bound muscles form all directions.

Let's move together with variations of downward dog. Enjoy the stretch of the heels down. And, let's look at a variation of hooking the ankle around the opposite side.

And, another effort will help to extend the head (possibly using a block under the brow) and re-engage the shoulder structure: outward upper arm and internal rotation to forearm.

Remember to break from the inverted pose and enjoy alternate movements.

In our final work with the pose is 3-legged dog elevate alternate legs to enjoy the rebalancing of the body. (Kneeling extension is a helpful stage).

Use a ledge, bench or chair and notice the symmetry of your powerful and relaxed upper body. 

The Eagle pose and its variations are calm ways to rehydrate the body, relax the breathing and re-educate the body of the benefits of your practice thus far. Think about it, after flight we can learn the steadiness of our effort as we pull energy back from soaring.

Returning to the floor, we will reflect on the changes using several supine and prone positions:

1. Back lying alternate leg stretch-crossing ankle over knee
2. Full extension of limbe floating on the floor
3. Restful position of reclined tailors (bound angle) pose bhadda konasana
4. Knees relaxed over pelvis to center SI joints
5. Cross knee rotation (including neck)
6. Seated forward bend paschimottanasana.

All the variations of downward dog help to remove fatigue as they help to stimulate the lymphatic system. See from the heels to the calves we have unique opportunity to create lightness, movement and lengthening that is unique to the body. That downward dog strengthen the ankles, counteract stiffness and arthritis in the shoulders, strengthen the abdominal muscles, will help us to embrace life.

Namaste

Footnote: It is my plan to produce a Blog for the Sunday class and Weekly Digital Program to be released on Saturday mornings. You are welcome to view the class on-demand. The Live Class will be held at 9:00 a.m. using Zoom conferencing until the public health guidelines permit meeting live as a group. I am grateful for your understanding as I implement this plan and am appreciative of your Ideas, help, $support, and encouragement.  

Earth Day 1970-2020

For More Information

The Earth Day Poetry Initiative offers a point in time for anyone of any age to reflect on the value of being a steward of the Earth. The point in time is relevant to the 50 Year Anniversary of Earth Day. It is a journey the author has lived through and her personal approach has included awareness, activism, consciousness reflection and citizen scientific endeavors.

Consider writing poems or prose as a dedication to the Earth and a voice for Gaia. This project has been realized with three SLO community members and hopes to inspire more stewardship for the Earth. Shelter-in-Place has been a revelation and has pinpointed the planet and it's inhabitants' fragility, inter-connectedness.

As we realize on April 22nd the virtual Earth Day Live Stream we can focus on our resilience and dedication to working together, all, as stewards for The Earth.

Feel free to consider the images. Let them stimulate your curiosity. Allow them to inspire creative thinking and contemplation. Share them with your classroom or family.

Here is a short demonstration of writing Japanese haiku and tanka poetry to help inspire you.

General Instructions on Writing Haiku and Tanka Poetry

Then, let yourself contribute to this time capsule - a journal of Earth Day Poetry, writing during a Pandemic and assembled for future generations.

California Mid-State Fair Series PART II: Yoga Movement for the Fair - THIRD EYE & CROWN CHAKRA

Part II of  THIRD EYE AND CROWN CHAKRA: Asana

Today is a day to recover from all the fair activity, though we hope you stayed nice and balanced feeling following our blog suggestions over the past couple weeks!

We recommend coming in for some PALO SANTO sticks or incense to help you feel grounded and calm after your fair experience.  PALO SANTO is a great scent for meditation, which is our asana focus today.

There are two asana/postures that are particularly supportive of a meditation practice.

Vajrasana, or "Thunderbolt Pose", and Ardha Padmasana, or "Half Lotus Pose".

Vajrasana - Thunderbolt Pose

Kneel to the floor with the toes and knees touching, gently sitting on your heels. Let the tops of the toes lay flat on the floor, ideally all ten toes are supported and can relax to spread.  Keeping the big toes touching, open the knees apart about as wide as your fist (4 inches). Hands go to the knees with straight arms.  Let the tail bone drop toward the floor as the crown of the head lengthens upward.  Use a cushion underneath your tail if the knees feel too stretched here.

 

Sit cross legged, "Indian style".  Using your hands, bring one foot up to rest on the opposing upper thigh, or wherever it will rest comfortably on your leg.  Like the last posture, let the tail bone drop toward the floor while the crown of the head lengthens upward.  Shoulder blades sink down the back as the heart opens toward the front of the room.  There are different hand positions, or mudras, that can be used in this posture.  Use your own inner compass to decide if you'd like to have your hands palms down on your knees, palms up, or a combination of the two.

The traditional mudra for the third eye chakra looks almost like a heart, with only the middle fingers extending, and the other three knuckles pressed together while the thumb pads press against each other,  like this:

The traditional mudra for the crown chakra looks like this:

There are many great guided mediation resources online if you're not sure where to start.  Let your breath be your guide.

Interested in a mediation group or class here at EarthTones?  Make sure we know!

California Mid-State Fair Series PART II: Yoga Movement for the Fair -THROAT CHAKRA

Part II of  THROAT CHAKRA: Asana

Last week, we talked about this energy center being all about communication and connection.

We also provided an asana suggestion, but here's another for you because communication and connection are so important!

Bhujangasana: "Cobra Pose"

See video below:

Make sure to keep your gaze directly in front of you.  There's no need to overstretch the neck/throat here.  In this posture, the throat chakra is already opening up!

Opportunities for Communicating and Connecting

on the LAST DAY of the Mid-State Fair Today

Do you have any good stories from your fair experiences this year?

 Why not work on this throat chakra by telling someone at the fair?

We dare you.  Tell someone your good fair story today.

Another good throat chakra exercise would be cheering people on!

At 6pm there is the Watermelon Eating Contest

at the Headliner Stage

The big Monster Truck show is happening at the same time.

Try using that voice of yours at the Island Stage in the Quad

where you can sing Karaoke at 9pm!