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Yoga in the West : Dilution and Misunderstanding

We have begun our Summer Book Club with the Foreword and Introduction to “Embrace Yoga’s Roots” by Susanna Barkataki! Join us in examining the social norms and constructs we have all helped to erect within yoga as practiced in the West.

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Summer Book Club! – “Embrace Yoga’s Roots”

The Summer Book Club of 2023 is here! Join us in reading and working through “Embrace Yoga’s Roots” by Susanna Barkataki!

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It’s Not Just Breath – It’s PRANA !!!

BREATH – the power is in the prana! Prana is our life’s energy, and is also the only explanation of WHY breath practices have such amazing health and wellness benefits. It is our last reading of our Summer Book Club, but pick a practice to try before we meet!

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A Little Faster – Now Hold….

From conscious hyperventilation to stopping your next breath – inducing short bursts of extreme stress on our nervous system through breath regulation may teach us to relax and restore more completely. Practices introduced in Chapter 8 and 9 of BREATH by James Nestor may require some supervision!

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CHEW CHEW CHEW – or MEW ???

Chapter 7 of BREATH takes us on a journey of discovering HOW to create space in our mouths that ultimately effects our breathing! Chewing real food and attempting the exercise of “Mewing” seems to bring change for James Nestor…what are you willing to try???

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Less is More – Even in Breathing

Chapter 6 of BREATH by James Nestor is entitled “Less” and is a continuation of the last couple dealing with slowing down the breath and increasing the time of exhalation for optimum health and wellbeing through breathing.

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Slow Down, Don’t Breathe Too Fast

I admit that Chapter 5 of BREATH left me a little skeptical, but curious. The premise of “SLOW”, the Chapter’s title, is that the poisonous waste product of carbon dioxide…

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Exhaaaaaaale…

Chapter four of BREATH by James Nestor is titled “Exhale”, and he introduces us to some interesting stories of changing diaphragm malleability and lung capacity through different means to increase longevity and wellness. Once again, he refers to the practices and intuition of ancient sages who seemed to know the power of yoga movement and breath before the West began to study it so intensely.

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Necessary Nose Breath

On our second week reading BREATH by James Nestor, he gives the anecdote to the mayhem caused by mouth breathing. He gets to un-stuff his nose and experiment with taping his mouth shut at night for the maximum effect and benefit of nose breathing.

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Mouthbreathing Mayhem

In our first week reading BREATH by James Nestor, he introduces us to the “dysevolution” of the human species toward mouthbreathing. He catches my attention here in the beginning in three ways – 1) I have been obsessed with freedivers since I was little 2) I am a Physical Anthropologist by education and 3) he uses himself as an experimental subject.