Love Serve Meditate Realize

Tuesday, Nov 15, 2011 Favorite Things – From India with Love

One of Marydale’s friends recently returned from a trip to India and brought us these beautiful bags to sell in the studio. There are three styles: a zippered pouch (8 ½“ x 6 ½”), a zippered purse with an adjustable strap (9 ½” x 10 ½”), and a large tote bag (17” x 18”). All of the bags are multi-purpose. The pouch can be used as a clutch or pencil bag, the purse makes a handbag or shoulder bag, and the tote can be used as a shopping or grocery bag. The bags are made of a water-resistant material that looks and feels like oilcloth, and the pouch and purse are fully lined in silk. They all come in a variety of bright colors and Indian motifs. Each bag is $20 plus tax. There are only a few of these beautiful and unique bags left, so snap one up the next time you’re at the studio before they’re all gone.


Monday, Nov 14, 2011 11/11/11 Drumming Circle and Meditation

Students and friends of Param Yoga met at the studio this past Friday night to celebrate the once-in-a-lifetime date of 11/11/11 with a drumming circle and meditation. This was our second drumming circle at the studio and was, if possible, more enthusiastic and energetic than the first. There is a special significance in numerology to the number 11, and this confluence of three 11s comes around only once in every century, so we are incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to experience it.

In astrology and numerology, 11 is considered to be a Master Number. It represents duality and should not be reduced to a single digit. It is believed that the number 11 possesses the qualities of balance, equality, and justice, along with the doubled attributes of the number 1, including higher ideals, invention, refinement, congruency, fulfillment, and vision. Whether there is any truth to this, many people feel a particular resonance to the number 11, especially when it occurs in multiples.

Any reason is a good excuse to join together in community to celebrate our many blessings, so 11/11/11 was a natural call to gather in love and gratitude. Led by the amazing Ivor Weiner, we drummed, shook tambourines, and rattled maracas until the air thrummed with positive vibrations. We flowed this resonance into a guided meditation honoring the moment, all that had come before, and all that lay ahead. It was a beautiful evening and we thank everyone who participated and shared their loving energy with us.


Wednesday, Nov 09, 2011 Favorite Things – Double-Wall Glass Bottle

In use daily at the studio, this double-wall glass bottle with diffuser has become indispensable. The bottle is made of borosilicate glass, making it resistant to “thermal shock”, or cracking due to rapid temperature changes. This means that it can safely be used for both ice cold water and piping hot tea. The double wall insures that cold drinks won’t “sweat” and hot drinks won’t burn your hands. It also creates the beautiful illusion that the liquid is suspended in midair.

The bottle we sell at the studio has our logo on the front, our motto and website address on the back, and our ginko leaf on the lid, but they do not obscure the view of the liquid inside. Drop in a blooming tea ball and watch it magically unfurl in the hot water. I like to do this in the morning and continue to re-steep it, so that I can enjoy the beauty of the flower throughout the day.

You can use loose tea in two ways:

1. Put the tea in the diffuser and pour hot water over it into the bottle, then remove the diffuser before drinking, or
2. Remove the diffuser, put the tea in the bottle, fill the bottle with hot water, then replace the diffuser to use as a filter when you drink from the bottle. This is the preferred option if you like to re-steep your tea.

The bottle holds a generous 16 oz. and is dishwasher safe (the lid must be hand-washed). With a little care, you can enjoy this beautiful and functional bottle for years. Pick one up for yourself at the studio…and get one for a friend. It makes a perfect gift for the holidays.


Monday, Nov 07, 2011 Dr. Oz on Reiki

“America’s Doctor” Recommends Reiki

“It’s a brand new year, so make this the year you try something new.”  These were the words spoken by Dr. Oz at the beginning of his television show on Wednesday, January 6, 2010 which featured alternative medicine therapies. Many people know Dr. Oz from his years of appearing on Oprah, and now, of course, he has his own daily program, The Dr. Oz Show. Here’s a little more information.

Dr. Mehmet Oz received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University. He holds an MD and MBA from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and The Wharton School. He is the vice chairman of surgery at Columbia University, the director of the Cardiovascular Institute, and the founder and director of the Complementary Medicine Program at New York Presbyterian Hospital. He has hosted a number of specials and series, including Second Opinion with Dr. Oz on the Discovery Channel. He has also penned myriad articles on medicine and coauthored many best-selling books including Healing from the Heart, YOU: The Owner’s Manual and YOU: The Smart Patient, with his frequent collaborator, Dr. Michael F. Roizen.

And now back to the program… “I’ve worked and trained with some of the finest medical schools and hospitals in the country, and I know firsthand the amazing miracles we can achieve with modern western medicine,” said Dr. Oz.  “But I also know that for centuries people around the world have developed alternative therapies to treat the body, mind and soul.”

“Today I am revealing the alternative medicine secrets you need to know and my favorite treatment that could change the future of medicine forever.”

One of the guests that day was Dr. Woodson Merrell, chairman of the Integrative Medicine Center at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City, whom Dr. Oz called “a world expert in integrative medicine”. “Natural substances are becoming more and more a part of how conventional medicine offers care to its patients,” said Dr. Oz. “Why do you think there’s this debate between conventional and alternative medicine and where is it settling out?”

“Well, the evidence is helping to guide it,” replied Dr. Merrell. “What’s great is that so many of these safe, gentle and effective remedies that have been around for centuries or even millennia are entering the medical mainstream, and it’s really less now about alternative versus conventional and more about integrative medicine. We are at the point where over a third of the nation’s medical school deans have signed a statement that all medical education practices should be integrative.”

Dr. Oz then talked about a few “natural substances” including mud baths, aromatherapy and herbal remedies. He also talked about ways to “manipulate your physical body for better healing” including yoga, saunas and cupping.

Then Dr. Oz talked about “what I think may be ultimately the most important alternative medicine treatment of all. We are embarking on this whole new vista of opportunities that broadens dramatically the spectrum of where we might be able to go in our bodies, and this is the area of energy medicine.”

Reiki was the only energy medicine featured on the program. Dr. Oz introduced Pamela Miles, who is a Reiki Master.  He said, “Pamela has actually been to the operating room with me where we have done Reiki. My wife, Lisa, is a Reiki Master, so when the kids get sick or I am out of sorts… she uses Reiki. I actually feel the heat.” Pamela demonstrated Reiki on an audience volunteer with a headache. She explained that “Reiki is a balancing practice…it influences the person’s overall system toward balance. And then as her system becomes more balanced, symptoms tend to fall away.” Dr. Oz asked the volunteer if she felt anything, and she replied, “Yes. My headache is going away.”

Dr. Oz used a large microscopic image of a cell to “show why I think energy has been overlooked. This is an image of a cell, and it’s beautiful, isn’t it? You see that cell there, and it looks colorful. Look at the blue pattern on the outside. That’s the membrane of the cell. That blue area on the outside differentiates life, because it separates no energy on the outside from energy that’s present on the inside.”

“So if you think about it that way, if a membrane of a cell keeps an energy balance between inside and outside which is what defines life, if we put those cells together in an organ, shouldn’t the organ have energy? And if you put those organs into a body, shouldn’t our bodies have energy? And so many of the ailments that we suffer from can be treated through energy therapies – which will become much more prevalent over the next few years.”

At the end of the show Dr. Oz always features three things that he asks everyone to remember from that day’s show which he calls “Doctor’s Orders”. The first “Doctor’s Order” for that day was: “TRY REIKI”.

He closed the show by saying, “You have the power to change your life this year. Start by using one of these tips a day and see a difference.”

I am very happy to see Reiki getting some very good publicity on the national level. If you are a practitioner of Reiki or have experienced its healing peace, I am sure you share my joy. If you have never experienced Reiki and are curious about it, maybe this should be the year you “try something new” – “Doctor’s Orders!”

from New Life Transformations