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Quote of the Month
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“
Nobody can give you wiser advice than yourself.
”
- Cicero
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ARTICLE: Deconstructing Cravings
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The body is an amazing source of intelligence. It is always there for you, pumping blood, never skipping a heartbeat, digesting whatever food you put in it, and maintaining homeostasis. Is this reliable, intelligent bio-computer making a mistake by craving ice cream or a hamburger or chocolate? Are cravings due to lack of will-power or discipline? I’d like to suggest that cravings are not a problem. They are critical pieces of information that tell you what your body needs.
The important thing is to understand why you crave what you crave. Perhaps your diet is too restrictive or devoid of essential nutrients. Perhaps you are living a lifestyle that is too boring or stressful. Your body tries to correct the imbalance by sending you a message: a craving. A craving for something sweet could mean you need more protein, more exercise, more water, or more love in your life. The key to stopping the sugar craving is to understand and deliver what your body really needs.
Your body knows best and is always trying to create balance. However, products like refined foods, sugar, caffeine, alcohol and drugs (which have little or no nutritional value) are confusing to the body. They throw the body off-balance and can create serious cravings as your body tries to get what it needs to restore internal harmony. The more your food is whole and healthy, the easier it is for your body to stay in balance and provide you with a happier, healthier life.
No book or theory can tell you what to eat. Only awareness of your body and its needs can tell you. Of all the relationships in our life, the one with our body is the most essential. It takes communication, love, and time to cultivate a relationship with your body. As you learn to decipher and respond to your body’s cravings, you will create a deep and lasting level of health and balance.
The next time you have a craving, treat it as a loving message from your body instead of a weakness. Try these tips to respond to your body:
• Have a glass of water and wait ten minutes.
• Eat a healthier version of what you crave. For example, if you crave sweets, try eating more fruit and sweet or root vegetables.
• What is out of balance in your life? Is there something you need to express, or is something being repressed? What happened in your life just before you had this craving?
• When you eat the food you are craving, enjoy it, taste it, savor it; notice its effect. Then you will become more aware and free to decide if you really want it next time.
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ARTICLE: Food Focus: Natural Sweeteners
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Who among us doesn’t love sweets? The sweet flavor releases serotonin in our brains, the chemical responsible for our sense of well-being and contentment. But when it comes to sweeteners, not all are created equal. There are side effects and health risks from refined sweeteners like white table sugar and high fructose corn syrup, and from artificial sweeteners like NutraSweet, saccharin and Splenda. Because they have been stripped of vitamins, minerals and fiber, refined sweeteners can spike blood sugar, which can often lead to cravings and mood and energy fluctuations. Instead, using naturally and minimally processed sweeteners can reduce cravings for sugary things, level blood sugar ups and downs, stabilize moods and have a dramatically positive effect on long-term health.
Here are a few natural sweeteners to substitute in drinks, food and baking. Since they are all approximately 1.5 times sweeter than refined sugar, you can use less. You can find them in most supermarkets or natural food stores.
Raw Honey Everyone seems to love honey, one of the oldest natural sweeteners on the market. Honey will have a different flavor depending on the plant source. Some are very dark and intensely flavored. Wherever possible, choose raw honey, as it is unrefined and contains small amounts of enzymes, minerals, and vitamins.
Agave Nectar Agave is made through the extraction and purification of the juice of the agave cactus. It does not stimulate insulin secretion as other sugars do, so it does not create a "sugar rush." It has a delightfully light and mild flavor.
Maple Syrup Maple syrup is the concentrated extract of the sap of maple trees. It adds a rich, deep flavor to foods and drinks, Make sure to look for 100% pure maple syrup, not maple-flavored corn syrup. As with all sweeteners, organic varieties are best.
Adapted from "The Cane Mutiny," New Age Magazine, March/April 1999.
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ARTICLE: The Practice
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Yoga can be your most powerful tool for tuning into your body’s messages. For those of you who’ve been practicing regularly, for how much of your practice are you actually present? How many sun salutations are done on automatic pilot? How much of Savasana is spent in review or planning? For how much of your life are you actually present?
It is sometimes helpful to go back to the basics, to start to clear out some of the habits that keep us from being whole in every moment. These patterns, called Samskaras in Sanskrit, are created through unconsciousness and repetition. They are literally like the ruts carved out by driving over the same path. In time, these channels become deep enough to automatically draw us in. The remedy is noticing that they are there, then slowing down, just as you would when trying to steer a car out of a ditch. Checking out and spinning your tires are equally useless.
In your next practice, approach it as if everything were new (which it is). Find not only your bodily sensations, but also the mental and emotional aspects of each pose or breath. Accepting that these aspects of the self are not separable, we can examine the repercussions of each movement on our thoughts and feelings. Not just that perhaps your hamstrings feel tight, but maybe there is also a concern you have been burying. Understanding these workings is really the path to enlightenment - not just being able to bend all the way backwards, but being able to see completely inward.
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Upcoming Events
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R&R Retreat
Many of you know that I spent a few weeks in Costa Rica this summer. It was such a transformative visit, that I am now bringing a small group back with me in early December. Together with my 2 most highly respected colleagues, I have planned a week full of workshops, movement as well as lots of rest and relaxation.
These seven transformational days will include:
• Daily Workshops to expand your possibilities for creating a powerful, purposeful and peaceful life
• Instruction in Yoga, Meditation, Chi Gung, Salsa Dance and more
• Whole Foods/Raw Food Meals and Cooking Classes
• Water sports, Surfing and Beach Play
• Lots of free time to explore, contemplate, rejuvenate
Enjoy the bounty of fresh, nutritious food through home-cooked meals.
Play in the beautiful blue Pacific Ocean.
Discover the majesty of the tropical rainforest.
Join us for the journey of a lifetime
December 11-17
Nosara, Costa Rica
$1295 all inclusive (except for airfare)
EMBRACING THE EDGE: a Yoga Immersion with Erin
At times the physical practice of yoga brings us to places of strength, stillness, and bliss; other times, the postures reveal moments of resistance and uncertainty. In this workshop, we will explore our fears and aversions in an uncommonly holistic approach to yoga and life.
Through the study of energetic anatomy, practice of asana, Tonglen meditation as taught by Pema Chodron, and guided inquiry, we will open the body, confront our fears directly, and learn how to embrace these moments as catalytic in awakening the Intuitive Self; the self that knows no limits, on or off the mat.
This experience will combine movement and stillness, and is suitable for yoga practitioners of all levels.
Date: Sunday November 18th
Time: 12-4pm
Location: CenterSpace Yoga and Wellness Studios
Somerset location (900 Easton Avenue)
Cost: $65, $55 by November 12th
EMBODIED VINYASA YOGA
Returning home to ECSTATIC EMBODIMENT with ERICA KYRIAKATOS
“In order to realize our higher Self and spiritual freedom, we must first harmonize our embodiment.”
Dr. David Frawley
Dive into ecstatic embodiment in this all-level two hour master class. Arrive with the intention of openness and let the flow take over.
Date: Sunday November 25th,
Time: 9:30-11:30am
Location: CenterSpace Yoga and Wellness Studios
Somerset location (900 Easton Avenue)
Cost: $25
Spiritual Roundtable
Have you been pondering the role of spirituality in your life? Interested in an open, informative conversation with your community?
Join us for this special series where we explore our positions as spiritual beings in a material world. Topics we will explore include:
* Reconciling religion and spirituality
* The spiritual path of householders
* Common threads among varied traditions
In addition to the mediated discussion, we will also watch and review films, share important writings and enjoy the wisdom of guest speakers.
Let's learn and grow together.
First Sunday of the month, starting December 2nd
6:30pm
Somerset location
Participation is offered at no charge in gratitude to the CenterSpace community.
Emotional Freedom Technique – An Introduction
"The cause of all negative emotions is a disruption in the body's energy system."
"Our unresolved negative emotions are major contributors to most physical pains and diseases."
EFT is one of the most exciting techniques I have come across to address both physical and emotional issues. It is based on the ancient science of acupressure points – like acupuncture without needles. Instead, you stimulate well established energy meridian points on your body by tapping on them with your fingertips. The process is easy to memorize and is portable so you can do it anywhere.
I have been using this method personally and with my clients with great success. It has been documented as providing thousands with relief from pain, diseases and emotional issues.
Join me for a FREE introduction into the power of EFT.
Thursday December 6th, 7:30pm, Basking Ridge location
Sunday December 9th, 5:30pm, Somerset location
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Positions Available
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We have a few good Work-Study positions available during the week and on the weekends. What is work- study? We offer a variety of options including administrative, maintenance and inventory, in exchange for free yoga classes. Interested? Please contact Pascale at work@centerspacestudios.com
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