Yoga With Gaileee's E-RYT Weblog

Yoga on Monday is now starting at 6:30 p.m.

yogawithgaileee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:13:36 +0000

That is right. Monday Yoga at Wesley UMC in Nederland, Texas, starts at 6:30 p.m.

Starting in January, a second evening of beginning yoga will commence. Stay tuned!

gaileee

Oatmeal Yoga Class, August 31st, 2009. Nearly Free!

yogawithgaileee — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 22:44:47 +0000

Free Oatmeal Gentle Beginning Yoga Class. August 31st, Monday at 7 p.m. at Wesley United Methodist Church, in Nederland, Texas. 3515 Helena Avenue.

Bring2-3 items of oatmeal instead of a class fee. Call Gail Pickens-Barger, Experienced-Registered Yoga Teacher for any questions. 727-3177

Conditions Improved By Yoga, Self Reported – from “Yoga As Medicine” Book by Timothy McCall, M.D.

yogawithgaileee — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 04:02:40 +0000

As I am getting deeper and deeper into one of the books that we are to read for the YogaFit Therapy course, I am amazed at all the benefits of a regular yoga practice can do for folks. And I’m a yoga teacher. (The more you teach yoga, it seems the more you want to know….and need to know!)

Please read on for more information about “Yoga as Medicine” by Timothy McCall, M.D. at http://www.drmccall.com/ ~Gail Pickens-Barger, E-RYT.

Yoga appears to be effective in the treatment of a wide variety of health conditions. In Timothy McCall, M.D. Book, “Yoga As Medicine”, he goes on to say: We’ll be reviewing the scientific evidence later but, for now, let’s see what people who’ve tried therapeutic yoga have to say. In 1983 – 84, the London-based Yoga Biomedical Trust, run by Robin Monro, PhD, surveyed twenty-seven hundred (2,700) people, most between the ages of thirty-one and sixty, who used yoga therapeutically. To be included, participants had to have practiced yoga for at least two hours a week for a year or longer.

Though the number of people with some of the conditions in question was small, the results (see the table below, and in Dr. McCall’s book, Table 1.1) were impressive:

98 percent of back-pain sufferers found yoga helpful
90 percent of cancer patients
82 percent of people with insomnia
and 100 percent of alcoholics

The lowest success rate in the survey was for women with “menstrual problems,” two out of three of whom found that yoga helped.

Table 1.1 Conditions Improved by Yoga, Self-Reported

Medical Condition    Number of         Percentage Helped
                    People Reporting       By Yoga 

  Alcoholism               24                   100%
  Anxiety                 838                    94%
  Arthritis &
  Rheumatic Disorders     589                    90%
  Asthma or Bronchitis    226                    88%
  Back Disorders        1,142                    98%
  Cancer                   29                    90%
  Diabetes                 10                    80%
  Duodenal Ulcers          40                    90%
  Heart Disease            50                    94%
  Hemorrhoids             391                    88%
  High Blood Pressure     150                    84%
  Insomnia                542                    82%
  Menopausal Disorders    247                    83%
  Menstrual Problems      317                    68%
  Migraine                464                    80%
  Neurological &
  Neuromuscular Diseases  112                    96%
  Obesity                 240                    74%
  Premenstrual Syndrome   848                    77%
  Smoking                 219                    74%

Source: The Yoga Biomedical Trust, London

Imagine how much you’d be hearing about a new drug that could accomplish even a fraction of this. Nevertheless, (it is Dr. Timothy McCall’s) it’s my experience that few in the medical community or the general public have any conception of what yoga has to offer. Part of the problem, I’m convinced, is that many people who could benefit from yoga shy away due to misconceptions about what it is and isn’t, or who can do it and who shouldn’t.

Those subjects to be addressed in a different post.

Yoga as Medicine, by Dr. Timothy McCall

yogawithgaileee — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 14:20:36 +0000

In the book Yoga as Medicine, the Yogic Prescription for Health and Healing, Timothy McCall, M.D., makes the following statement in his book.

As someone who has been an MD for over twenty years, I can tell you that yoga is quite simply the most powerful system of overall health and well-being I have ever seen. Even if you are currently among what might be called the temporarily healthy, as preventive medicine, yoga is as close to one-stop shopping as you can find. This single comprehensive system can reduce stress, increase flexibility, improve balance, promote strength, heighten cardiovascular conditioning, lower blood pressure, reduce overweight, strengthen bones, prevent injuries, lift mood, improve immune function, increase the oxygen supply to the tissues, heighten sexual functioning and fulfillment, foster psychological equanimity, and promote spiritual well-being….and that’s only a partical list.

For continuing my education in my yoga studies, this is one of the books that we are to read, to get ready for YogaFit Therapy course. As I delved into this book and the others, I’ll be posting a bit of what I’m learning.

For more information on Dr. McCall’s book, visit his site at
Yoga As Medicine – A Yoga Journal Book by Timothy McCall, M.D.

Stiff Achy Neck, Sewing yoga for you!

yogawithgaileee — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 22:52:52 +0000

On SewNews January 2007 issue, they described the Yoga for Sewers series.

Now in looking at the poses that Kat presents, you could use these poses to help you in the office environment too!

Here is a little snippit from the SewNews site:

YOGA MEANS “UNION” IN SANSKRIT. When yoga is practiced, movement and breath are united to create a relaxed body and a clear mind. Yoga’s deep breathing and gentle stretches relieve tense shoulders, a stiff neck and an aching lower back, and help circulation in the legs.

“Sewing Yoga” is a series of yoga postures combined with deep breathing designed to target the aches and pains associated with sewing. The postures are gentle enough that even the most novice yogi can do them. The entire program can be completed in a half hour and many of the postures can be done while sitting at your sewing chair.

Overview

Seated Poses

Standing Poses

Lying Down Poses

The program takes about 30 minutes…Sew if you’ve got a achy back, go ahead and try this program!
Gaileee, E-RYT

Free Day of Yoga in Nederland Texas at Wesley United Methodist Church, January 24, 2009

yogawithgaileee — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 20:10:37 +0000

Free Yoga Class on January 24th, Saturday from 10 am to 11:15 am. Registered Yoga Teachers through Yoga Alliance come to give a free or low cost yoga class to our communities.

This class will be formatted in such a way to help eliviate low and upper back pain, plus the aches and pains from sleeping. Come and take a gentle beginning restorative yoga class with Gaileee, at Wesley United Methodist Church, in Nederland Texas.

Questions? call Gail at 409-727-3177.

Yoga giveaways

yogawithgaileee — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 03:45:07 +0000

Click on over to my original blog for details about a new yoga giveaway….

http://yogawithgaileee.blogspot.com/2008/10/yoga-giveaway-yoga-deck-cards-or.html

Deadline, Nov. 1st, 9 a.m. Central Time.

Have a Pain Free Delivery

yogawithgaileee — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 18:16:28 +0000

If you are pregnant (or know someone who is) this could be one of the most important messages you ever read.

Ob/Gyns, Midwives, and Mothers-to-be have been stunned by the research about how yoga eliminates the pain of labor and delivery.

The practice of yoga has many positive effects on pregnant women. Yoga includes physical stretching, mental centering and breath awareness. This makes it an ideal preparation for labor and childbirth.

Yoga encourages relaxation, internal focus and slowed breathing patterns, goals that are common in many types of childbirth preparation classes such as Lamaze and Bradley Childbirth method.

Yoga may help relieve many of the common discomforts of pregnancy, such as lower back pain, nausea, insomnia, carpal tunnel syndrome and headaches.

Research suggests that yoga can help relax the body while preparing the muscles of the lower body for use in childbirth.

The breathing techniques used in yoga can help reduce or manage the shortness of breath that may accompany pregnancy and teach women how to breathe through physically challenging experiences such as labor.

Yoga encourages pregnant women to be mindful of the body’s innate capacities and to recognize the connection among mind, body and breath. Yoga techniques also may be useful in promoting postpartum recovery and coping with the stresses of parenting.

Yoga during pregnancy is safe for most healthy women.

My name is Gail Pickens-Barger and I teach pre-natal yoga classes right here in the Golden Triangle Area (Beaumont, Port Arthur, Nederland). I also teach privately at the Port Arthur YMCA.

Please pick up the phone and give me a call at 409-727-3177 to discuss whether pre-natal yoga is right for you.

You don’t need any background to get started. Even if this is the first time you have ever done yoga in your life, I urge you to give me a call at 409-727-3177.

Sucessfull Stress Management Techniques by Beth Shaw

yogawithgaileee — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 16:57:11 +0000

Beth is the founder and President of YogaFit International Training Systems, Inc. YogaFit is where I received my Yoga teacher training.

Successful Stress Management Techniques
by Beth Shaw

Stress Management means basically, learning how to manage stress, by witnessing it, and releasing it. Stress management, is simply, a daily process of letting go ( letting go of tension stored in the body / mind. Without this letting go process, we become candidates for ulcers, heart attacks, migraines and premature aging. All known to be caused by stress. Stress Management techniques, allow us to discover and experience, how, we hold emotions, thoughts and experiences in out bodies. Exercises will offer us the opportunity, to tune into different moods, feelings, attitudes, and states of consciousness beside the low-grade stress levels, most people in our society, operate under. In our busy information society, we are constantly bombarded by external stimuli. A good stress management program, can help tune out the exterior world, and allow the participant to drop inside their bodies, and find a place of stillness. Some techniques that aid in this process, are deep breathing, extended stretching, and body scanning – all done in a quiet, warm room, with soft music playing, or simply, the relaxing sound of one’s own, deep breathing. We learn to increase the probability of desired moods, and feelings through our heightened self – awareness, while simultaneously decreasing negative states of anxiety. Excess of stress can also result in an extended period “flight or fight syndrome” which over time can drain the adrenal glands. Participants in a stress management program gain a powerful awareness of how to positively influence health, reactions, feelings and response. A good mind/body class can give clients the tools they can use for the rest of their lives.

Yoga is the 6,000 year old secret to health and vitality. Yoga can be considered technology for getting back in touch with our true essence and ourselves. It is a way of remembering the health and wholeness that is our natural state of being. Yoga, when broken down to its most simple form is breathing and feeling. Through this breathing and feeling we learn to control our reactions to events and people. It is not the events and people in our lives that give us stress but the way we react to them. What makes yoga unique in terms of stress reduction is in its multifaceted approach. By working at the physical and psychological levels concurrently, yoga reduces stress at each level and this reduction in stress is supported by the work done at other levels. Yoga postures combined with deep breathing facilitate deep relaxation that combats stress.

Physically – Yoga massages the skeletal system which supports bone mass and growth while taking the stress away from the supporting muscles and tendons. Yoga mechanically removes tension from the muscles through stretching. The steady even yoga breathing reduces stress levels in the body. Stress response, is accompanied by rapid, shallow breathing., Yoga encouraged deep diaphragmatic breathing activating a relaxation response. Yoga also massages the internal organs reducing high blood pressure, stress in the cardiovascular system at the level of the heart, arteries and blood. The nerves are massaged and stretched through yoga, conducting messages; throughout the body.

Emotionally the body believes what the mind believes. Affirmations about peace, calm, and tranquility, along with positive imagery are conveyed to the nervous system. Yoga brings greater relationship with others, life, and us. As we begin to explore these relationships more, we see which interactions genuinely support us in moving towards calmness. As we become more relaxed through yoga and stress management classes, we release addictive behaviors, which are often used to relieve stress. Yoga brings awareness to the emotional blocks that limit our experience of life. Our perception of life has been conditioned by our experiences and sometimes we close ourselves off from feelings and emotions. Through yoga we learn to bring awareness to all parts of ourselves with the understanding that through integration, we come to a natural place of balance. Many of our stressful habit patterns are conditioned. Yoga teaches a whole set of patterns which are helpful in reducing stress.

Check out my Slide Show!

yogawithgaileee — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 16:01:55 +0000