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    August 17, 2008

    Raw Food and Yoga in Malvern Pennsylvania

    I spent the past week in Malvern, PA (just west of Philadelphia) at a Svaroopa yoga teacher training.  I am feeling so centered, balanced and grateful after doing yoga from 7 am to 9 pm for 5 days learning how to teach 3 hour workshops.  I have a new open yoga body, a calm and focused mind, a steady emotional base, and a deeper spiritual connection.  I just love this yoga - it has changed my life on every level of being and it can change yours as well!  Are you ready for bliss?

    Starting this fall, I will be offering 3 hour yoga workshops with various themes on Saturdays once or twice a month!  Schedule to come very soon!

    Thumb_chocblisstruffle There is raw food in Malvern!  I am so lucky and blessed to have found Oasis, a raw food / vegetarian lunch spot so close to the Master Yoga teacher training studio.  I have become a regular at Oasis every time that I am in town at a yoga teacher training or retreat, and I think that the owner, Tiffany, is an excellent raw chef who has a flair for making absolutely delicious flax crackers and other flax items as well as fairly low glycemic awesome raw chocolates (sweetened with agave).  Her salads and wraps are extremely tasty and filling, and I just love this place.  Her raw dressings are quite delicious as well.  And, she makes green juices to order (being the Green Yogi, I love my green juices non-sweetened, and she's always happy to please).  Check out the Oasis website - you can order items such as flax crackers and chocolates there.  If you're in the Philadelphia area, stop by for lunch!

    July 24, 2008

    Live Blood Cell Analysis at The Green Yogi in Sandwich

    On August 6th, The Green Yogi yoga center (and Dorothy Torrey) will offer discounted Strategic Health Assessments including:

    •  live blood cell analysis
    • stress testing for heart disease
    • hemoglobin A1c testing for diabetes blood sugar screening
    • UV Skin Damage Assessment

    These 4 Strategic Health Asessments are the wave of the future.  Each discounted test is $25, takes 15 minutes, and are then followed by an assessment.  These tests are excellent for putting you into effective action so that you make wiser choices more often.

    WHERE:  The Green Yogi 4 Merchants Square, Sandwich (behind the post office, next to the deli)

    WHEN:  Wednesday, August 6, 2008, from 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm

    Pre-registration is required and space is limited, so call soon to reserve your place.

    Call Dawn Gaynor at 508-681-8772

    Please click on the Sandwich Yoga Studio link for poster and detailed description of each test.

    July 22, 2008

    New Yoga Studio in Sandwich Summer Sale

    Bring a friend to class and the friend takes the class for free!  Click here for coupon.  See here for summer schedule.

    July 21, 2008

    How Svaroopa yoga changed my life. And more.

     It was raw vegan foods that led me to yoga.  I had been dabbling with raw foods for years - I believe I started reading about them and experimenting with going all or mostly raw in 2000 or 2001.  It didn't take me long to find David Wolfe's Sunfood Diet Success System (there weren't too many raw food books back then) - and I read that book at least 3-4 times - it was actually falling apart I read it and highlighted it so much.  In that book, he suggested to take up yoga.  So, in my local vegetarian restaurant at the time (back in 2002 I believe) in Middletown CT, It's Only Natural, (I love that restaurant - it's not raw, but raw-friendly and an excellent vegetarian restaurant near Wesleyan University.) I spotted a flyer for yoga classes, and I signed up with Elizabeth McKenty who was teaching Iyengar at the time.  So, I took a series of Iyengar classes - I really liked it, but it did flare up some old neck injuries (I had 3 whiplash car accidents in the early 90's) and I did get acute ear pain and head aches.  Elizabeth at the time was just starting to teach Svaroopa yoga, and I joined her second series of classes.  In the very first class, I felt so much relief of pain and tightness in my neck!  I was hooked. I had lived in fear of re-injuring my neck for over a decade, and my range of motion was almost non-existant.  I also started taking Embodyment Yoga Therapy with Elizabeth on a regular basis and this accelerated my healing significantly.  During the yoga classes and during the Embodyment I would also experience such a sense of calm and peace of mind that I had never experienced before.  My mind was becoming still - but I didn't know about that at the time.  I started taking weekend and weeklong retreats with Rama Berch, the founder of Svaroopa yoga at Kripalu in MA and in California.  I even drove to Ithaca NY for a Bliss weekend one time - I just couldn't get enough of the bliss and calm and the healing of my body and being.  During one weekend retreat at Kripalu with Rama Berch - perhaps my first one - all of the bitterness in my heart disappeared and it never came back.  During a weeklong retreat in February 2003 in LaJolla CA, I became so full of love, peace and joy from the deeper classes that my entire being was truly starting to change and be more present.  My fear about my neck was starting to go away.  My body was healing - after over a decade of living in fear and chronic neck and back pain, the fear was dissipating and the range of motion in my neck was coming back.  My mind was becoming open, still, and present.  My emotions were stabilizing, and I was becoming spiritually awakened on a very deep level.  (More about that another time.)  In Svaroopa yoga, the core tensions of the body are released and opened, and this opens the mind, calms the emotions, and opens the nadis. The yoga is relatively easy to do (anyone of any fitness level can do this yoga) and it appears subtle, yet powerful changes occur on every level of being.  I just love this yoga.  This style of yoga is not just about asana (poses and exercise).  In Svaroopa yoga we teach yoga philosophy, meditation, and chanting as well.  To most Americans, yoga is a form of exercise.  In Svaroopa yoga, I have learned that the true purpose of any yoga (asana - the poses), is to prepare one for meditation.  To prepare your body to sit for a long time so that you can meditate and find your true Self - the bliss of your own being. 

     Dreamstime_2325688 pailoolom dreamstime

    I no longer live in fear or pain.  I have good range of motion in my neck, and I love this style of yoga so much that I have become a yoga teacher.  I live my life in the world as a yogi - the sense of presence rarely leaves me.  If you have aches and pains, or if you've ever wanted to just try yoga, or if you'd like to relieve stress, or if you'd like calmness of being, or if you'd like to be more meditative or learn how to sit and prepare your body for meditation, come try a Svaroopa yoga class.  It has changed my life in profound ways on all levels of being.  It will change your life too in any way you are ready to change it. And more. 

    July 10, 2008

    Cape Cod Yoga at The Green Yogi

    P1010250 I have been spending the past few weeks setting up my new life in Cape Cod - unpacking, setting up a yoga studio, and setting up a new business.  This is the just the start of transforming my life to live a life that I love.  To love everything that I am doing and everything and everyone that is in my life.  I love to teach yoga, and I am thrilled to be finally opening my new studio in Sandwich, MA this weekend.  I am starting off with two free yoga classes this Sunday, July 13th, so that people can get a taste of the style of yoga that I teach - Svaroopa Yoga.  I also want people to have the opportunity to taste surprise live (raw) vegan drinks and/or food.  And, I'm looking forward to meet the people of the area who are interested in taking yoga (and more!) classes with me.  Or, if anyone is coming to visit Cape Cod this summer, come take a yoga class or a weekly series!  Be ready to experience deep relaxation, peace and clarity of mind, and melt the stress away!

    The free classes on this Sunday are open to anyone of any fitness level who would love to give yoga a try.  Or, if you've done yoga before, give Svaroopa yoga a try. Practicing Svaroopa yoga and eating raw food has changed my life in profound magical (yes, magical!) ways.  All Svaroopa yogis that I know who have practiced Svaroopa yoga for a while have had significant changes for the better in their body, mind, emotions, and spirit.  All raw foodies that I know who have been eating raw food (not even 100% - although 100% ramps it up!) for a while have had significant changes for the better in their body, mind, emotions, and spirit. 

    I feel so blessed and lucky every single day because I have had the opportunity to have both of these life changing gifts in my life as my passions.  I want to share my passions and help people find the way to heal themselves on every level.  There is a change in this world of an awareness of consciousness.  If you are at all interested in consciousness awareness (perhaps you listened to Oprah and Eckhart Tolle), and/or becoming healthy on any or every level, come to my class, or sign up for a coaching package and experience vitality, peace, wellness of being, and more!.

    Come visit my studio and take a class at The Green Yogi in Sandwich, Cape Cod, MA.  The Place To Be. 


    For more info or to register:

    email: dawn@the-green-yogi.com

    phone:  508-681-8772

    June 09, 2008

    Moving and Shaking

    I am in process of changing my entire life this week.  I am moving to Cape Cod to open a yoga studio and start a raw (live) food coaching business in just three days!  I am presently finishing off the school year as a math teacher (and more!), and packing to move.


    Why in the world would I give up a very nice safe job that I love at a top boarding school to take the risk of starting my own business?  What could promote this change of state of being?  I'd love to hear from anyone else who has done this or who has thought of doing this!


    Stay tuned...   More to come soon...  Please be patient while I am in the midst of moving and shaking it up!

    May 29, 2008

    What is and Why do Green Juice Feasting?

     

    What is juice feasting? 

     

    Juice feasting is making and drinking only freshly made fruit and vegetable juices as well as supplements as described in detail on David and Katrina Rainoshek's website www.juicefeasting.com.  Juice feasting alkalizes, cleanses, rebuilds and rehydrates every cell in your body, changing you on a cellular level. 

     

    What is green juice feasting? 

    Rick lee leafy-green-oct07 This is juice feasting without the fruit juices.  The juices are made primarily with cucumbers, celery, and bunches of greens.  See here for how to make delicious green juices.  I did a green juice feast for three weeks last November, and I just recently completed a 32 day green juice feast.   

    Photo by Rick Lee

     

    Why Green Juice Feast?

     

    It may eliminate candida and other blood sugar issues

    I chose to juice feast with just vegetables and low glycemic fruits (such as cucumbers and red peppers) since I have candida issues, and consuming only low glycemic vegetables starves the organisms that feed off the sugar in the fruit.  In time (three to six months) of only eating a low glycemic diet according to Gabriel Cousens, the candida issues, molds, fungus and any other critters will have nothing to feed from and they will die off.  

    Continue reading "What is and Why do Green Juice Feasting?" »

    May 25, 2008

    Being in Gratitude

    Every night while in bed before I doze off to sleep, I live in a few moments of gratitude to everyone and the Universe for everything in my life.  I thank the Universe and all of my teachers and special people in my life.  I am extremely grateful for being in the space where I am now - having the knowledge and experience of consciousness awareness and the raw food lifestyle.  I live in gratitude for this amazing life.


    This morning when I woke up, I was filled with an especially high intense feeling of gratitude for the people in my life who have helped me along my journey to a life of blissful being, really.  In less than three weeks, I am about to completely change my lifestyle and my environment and live the magical life of my dreams.  I will be moving from being a math teacher in Connecticut to being in Cape Cod to open a yoga studio and be a Raw Food Coach.  I have lived in a whirlwind of evolution during the past year, and the people who I have met or whose words I have read or whose classes I have taken have guided me to where I am now.  And NOW creates the magical life of the future.


    It is with deepest gratitude that I thank the following people for impacting my life significantly, especially within the past year.


    • Rama Berch, the founder of Svaroopa Yoga, whose direct and powerful teachings in workshops, retreats and teacher trainings over the past 6 years have opened my heart, removed all bitterness from my being, healed and opened my body and my mind, and awakened my inner energy and true Self through yoga and meditation.

    • Gabriel Cousens, the director of the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Patagonia, AZ.  I spent 3 weeks at the Tree of Life summer 2007.  Gabriel's brilliant and detailed teachings on Spiritual Nutrition and Fasting, Conscious Eating, and eating a low glycemic living food lifestyle have given me the knowledge of freedom from candida and blood sugar issues as well as a deeper connection to my Self.  His Spiritual Fasting retreat gave me the experience of green juice fasting (which easily prepared me for green juice feasting) as well as deep meditation experiences, and his profound words and teachings are with me daily.

    • Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach, who is the most generous, creative, brilliant teacher and coach that I could have ever wished for.  Karen's direct and enlightening words and teachings in her Raw Coach Training and Business Building workbooks and classes/sessions have empowered me make the jump to live the life that I want to live and to be who I really am - my authentic self.   

    Continue reading "Being in Gratitude" »

    May 23, 2008

    How to Create Delicious Green Juices

    I've been creating organic green juices for 32 days now.  No fruit, no carrots, no beets, not one high glycemic piece of produce anywhere to be found.  I thought that I'd share some of my tips and discoveries so that you can try to make some delicious green juices for yourself.  I must tell you that I did share one of my creations with one of my students here, and she loved it.  My mother, grandmother, and aunt came to visit a couple of weeks ago and we had a green juice tasting.  I flavored the base green juice with different tastes to create three different juices - parsley, red pepper, and ginger.  They all really liked the juices, and had different favorites.  So, anyone can discover and love green juices.

    I do use all organic produce so that I won't introduce more pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides into my body while I am trying to detox my organs.  However, although it is beneficial, it is not absolutely necessary to use organics.  You will still get the many benefits of consuming the juice for high enzyme and nutrient density flowing into your cells and changing you on a cellular level.  But, this topic is for a future post!  Also, take a look at www.juicefeasting.com for an extremely comprehensive study on juices, their benefits, and how to make them using the blender method.  I use a Green Star juicer since it does greens really nicely and since due to its juicing process more nutrients are kept intact.  

    Use celery and cucumbers for a base because celery and cucumbers are mild tasting, create a lot of juice, and have their own individual benefits.  Then, just add whatever fresh greens are available.  I travel to The Berkshire Coop to buy my organic greens.  I typically add one milder tasting green such as romaine, green leaf lettuce, escarole, and then I add one darker green to really get the benefits of the nutrition found in the darker greens.  You can add darker greens such as spinach, kale, red kale, lacinto (dinosaur) kale, collards, bok choy, or swiss chard because the darker the green, typically, the more nutrients it has.  You can also add an entire package of sprouts (or grow your own) because sprouts add a really delicious light flavor as well as being packed with enzymes and protein.  I really feel an immediate boost in energy when I drink a juice made with sprouts.  Then add low glycemic fruit/vegetable/herb flavorings such as red peppers, daikon root, radish, parsley, cilantro, fennel, ginger, lemon, tomato or whatever you see that you like. At times or every time, also add Himalayan or Celtic salt (highly mineralized salts), cayenne, turmuric, or kelp granules.  However, the simpler you make your juice, the easier it is to make, the faster it is to make, and the more inclined you'll be to make it on a regular basis.  The combinations are endless. Play with it and have fun!   

    Please share any questions you might have.  Try making a juice, and post your recipe!  I'd love to hear how it goes!

    The Green Yogi's favorite green juice recipes: 

    1Q:  1 head celery, 1 cucumber, 1 package of baby spinach, 1 package of pea shoots. 

    1Q:  1 head of celery, 1 cucumber, 1 bunch of brocolli, 1/2 lemon, 1/2" ginger

    1Q:  1 head of celery, 1 cucumber, 1 bunch of Romaine, 1 bunch of lacinto kale

    Tip:  Rotate the ingredients in the juicer so that the juicer runs smoothly, the celery will push in the greens, and it will create less foam on top of your juice.  For example:  Push in 2 celery stalks, then a handful of spinich, then a slice of celery, and then repeat.


      

    May 20, 2008

    Changes in Being: Part I - Green Juice Feasting Day 30

    As I mentioned in my last post, one change in my self that I have noticed is that I am staying calm during times of extreme business and what would typically be a very stressful and an overeating time for me.  Drinking green juice (and eating greens in general) is an amazing way to become calmer and more at peace with everyday stresses that may occur.  Doing a green juice feast puts one on the fast track to peace and stillness of mind.

    Physical changes I've noticed in the past 30 days:  My hair (which has always been extremely thin and fine, and has been thinning) is growing fast and seems to be healthier.  There have been two occurrances when after having the juice, my eyes burned slightly and watered a bit, and then I could see better.  My reading eyesight has improved quite a bit (I am nearsighted and wear contacts), and I wear reading glasses although I can see without them.  Now, things are not as blurry without the reading glasses.  I believe I've lost about 15 pounds.  I'm not one to typically weigh myself, but I can guess about how much I weighed before I started by the way my clothes fit me.  I weighed myself this weekend :).  The skin on my face especially feels very smooth and is clearer.  My eyes are getting brighter, clearer, and more green :).  I also noticed this weekend that my joints in my feet and hands are more loose and flexible.  My knuckle joints move every which way - backwards easily and even sideways if I gently move them with my other hand.  I don't recall this ever happening in detox before!  My joints are cleaning out.  My fingernails are very hard, and I also typically tend to rip them off when I get very stressed with time (as I typically would be now), but I haven't done that either.  Most of the time, I am filled with high calm energy.  One of my friends recently said out of the blue that I looked radiant!

    Parsley-celery Today's organic green juices:

    1Q: spinach, celery, cucumber, lacinto kale

    1Q: spinach, celery, cucumber, lacinto kale, alfalfa sprouts

    1Q: spinach, celery, cucumber, lacinto kale, alfalfa sprouts, parsley

    Juicing Tip: Above made with 3 cucumbers, 2 heads celery, 1 package alfalfa sprouts, 1 bunch spinach, 1 bunch lacinto kale, 1 bunch parsley.  Make all of the juices at once by alternating the veggies through the juicer.  Make the first quart.  After that is made, add in another veggie "flavoring" such as the alfalfa sprouts.  Then add the parsley bunch to the last quart.  Note:  one bunch of parsley in one quart has a very strong parsley flavor.  I love it, but I'm the green yogi.  :)  1/2 a bunch per quart might be best.