My Winter Yoga Practice

Posted on January 30, 2012 by jenefer

Dec 2-4 I attended a Bhanda Yoga workshop at the Lila Studio with Dr. Ray Long. Ray is a surgeon and a yogi, but what I really liked about him is he also practices Chi Gong and Martial arts. He had a refreshing sense of understanding in the physical practice of yoga according  to medical anatomy, but I felt that his Chi Gong practice gave him heightened understanding of energy. To me, meditation is key to knowing your”self”. The physical exercise of yoga postures can be meditative, even when practicing a fiery vinyasa flow. Over the years my practice of many styles has given me knowledge to know what is right for me. Yoga is one of those things that tugs on your heart strings, you can get attached to a certain teacher or “way”, but it all comes down to YOU. Your teacher within is who you are searching for. I admit that I am a purist, I want authenticity.  Does that mean I want to have every posture filtered and measured and sifted until  somebody says, “Yes that is the correct way, here is your piece of paper that proves it”. There are countless ways to move this human form, from a zen perspective form is emptiness and emptiness is form. The space within is vast, it’s endless and waiting for your consciousness to unfold into.

In December I attended a chanting workshop at the center for Well Being. I love to chant and I really enjoy chanting with others. It was very expensive and I had to purchase the booklet for the class separately. That being said,$60.00 later it did improve my Sanskrit pronunciation.

The most recent workshop I attended was the most fun and insightful to the practice of yoga. My husband, Jim, and I drove to Philadelphia for a “Beginning Astanga”class at the Astanga Yoga Shala. Astanga means eight limbs, as in the eight limbs of yoga.

1.Yamas- Universal morality

2.Niyamas- Personal observances

3.Asana- Body postures

4.Pranayama- Breathing exercises for the control of prana

5.Pratyahara- Control of the senses

6. Dharana- Concentration and cultivation of inner perceptual awareness

7. Dhyana- Devotion, meditation on the divine.

8. Samadhi- Union with the divine.

An Astanga class is a dynamic blend of philosophy, vinyasa and held postures. Breath is at the core of the practice, with special attention for the control of the sense of vision. All these things combine to bring the practitioner into a state of focus on their inner being. Most Astanga classes offered are Mysore style, named for the city in India, home of the Astanga yoga research Institute. The classes are designed to allow each student to practice the series they are currently working on. So, everyone does their own thing. This may seem confusing to those of us who are used to being led, but it trains you to go within. The instructor monitors everyone, giving directions and physical adjustments throughout the two hour time period.  I was truly inspired by this workshop, I am currently working on the primary series everyday. My Gentle classes have been learning sun salutes A and B with standing, seated poses and supported inversions.

I couldn’t have had a more yoga- full filling winter! With my Chakra detox and all the in depth study I couldn’t have learned more if I had gone to India! I should mention the most important part of my practice, Dhyana (meditation). Without Buddha, Dharma and Sangha I would not have looked within and followed my own inner wisdom.

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Day 6 of my detox

Posted on January 30, 2012 by jenefer

" We loved learning about all the healthy options we could eat during the detox!" Vanessa and Andres

The first few days were tough, I gave up caffeine of all kinds, good bye green tea and strong organic coffee made in the French press. My stomach was a bit upset days one and two, and I was having trouble sleeping, but by day three I felt like a new woman! I had a cold the first two days, but on the third my head felt better and I actually looked radiant. My skin looked brighter, my usual morning grogginess had lifted.My mood was happier, my mind, sharper. On day five I had so much energy that after two yoga classes I had to apologize to my lymph drainage client for talking so much! I was so excited about the detox! Friday and Saturday I had no solid food, but continued with my usually teaching schedule. Each day I set aside a 45 minute meditation period which really helped me transition from work to home.
On day 6  I walked I walked in the park with my husband and children, the fresh air in the beginning of January was invigorating. It seemed that nature and I were in tune, like it had warmed up just for my detox. The moon at night glowed round and crisp in the clear winter sky, seemingly fitting for the throat chrakra work I was doing.

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Raw Yoga Detox

Posted on December 31, 2011 by jenefer
Make Your New Year’s Resolution a holiday gift to your “Self”.  How about a seven day cleans at a mini oasis in the heart of State College? Join me a Lila Yoga to sweat, rest, clear your mind, clear your skin, heal digestive distress, nourish your body and your soul. We will blend smoothies, stretch our bodies, and sip cleaning teas! You will notice your energy increase and a new vibrancy glowing from within.

Zen Body Wellness at Lila Yoga

Don’t compromise yourself. You are all you’ve got.
-Janis Joplin

Beautiful Body Types

Almost all of us have a distorted image of our body, often due to the importance our culture places on outward appearance and the onslaught of media images of airbrushed models and celebrities. On a daily basis, we talk to ourselves in ways we would never speak to another. Imagine speaking to a child the way you speak to yourself about your body. It would devastate and squelch a child. It affects you similarly, causing stress and emotional pain in your body, which can make improving your health or losing weight even more difficult.
Think of all the intelligence, creativity and time you spend on improving, altering and judging your appearance. Who would you be and what could you accomplish if your valuable resources weren’t used this way? Constant emphasis on the external makes us discount the great presence and intelligence that is housed by the body. It makes us forget the magic of our internal rhythms and fail to acknowledge the beautiful bodies we have.
The body you have right now is incredible! It never misses a heartbeat, it maintains homeostasis and it miraculously digests whatever you put in it. It is your instrument for expressing your creativity, intelligence and love. By focusing on the 1% you don’t like or wish were different, you may be ignoring the remaining 99% about your body that is beautiful, unique and delightful.
What would your life be like if you were simply at peace with the body you have? You may wish to make your body healthier and stronger, but could you do that out of love and respect for your body instead of the opposite? Could you begin to treat yourself with kindness, to limit the negative self-talk and to reconnect with your inner wisdom? Take a minute to imagine what that would feel like. It would mean celebrating your body rather than punishing it. It would mean nourishing your body rather than depriving it. It would mean a chance to watch your body flourish when treated with care and respect.

New Year- New You Events

January 1- 10 day detox with Jenefer

Price:$150.00 per class

Learn more!

Food Focus: Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are on everyone’s mind this season. They seem to go hand in hand with the holidays, and fortunately, eating these and other sweet vegetables needn’t be limited to this time of year. Cravings for sweets can be greatly reduced by adding sweet vegetables, such as sweet potatoes, yams, parsnips, beets, squash, turnips and rutabagas to your daily diet. Sweet potatoes elevate blood sugar gently rather than with the jolt delivered by simple refined carbohydrates, so there’s no energy crash after you eat them. Much higher in nutrients than white potatoes and especially rich in vitamin A, sweet potatoes offer a creamy consistency that is satisfying and soothing. They are healing to the stomach, spleen, pancreas and reproductive organs and help to remove toxins from the body. They can increase the quantity of milk in lactating women and can lessen cramps and premenstrual symptoms. If you don’t have any sweet potatoes in your kitchen, go out and buy some (organic and local if possible) and make the recipe below.
Recipe of the Month: Sweet Potatoes with Lime and Cilantro
This recipe is an eye-opener for those who find sweet potatoes cloyingly sweet or those who are tired of eating them smothered in marshmallows and brown sugar. Japanese sweet potatoes, with their pale flesh and delicate flavor, are a treat if you can find them.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30-40 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:
4 sweet potatoes
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
2-3 limes
butter or olive oil, salt (optional)
Directions:
1.   Wash the sweet potatoes and bake them whole, in their skins, at 375 degrees until tender, about 40 minutes.
2.   Wash and chop cilantro leaves.
3.   When sweet potatoes are done, slit open the skin and place on serving plate. Season with salt and dots of butter or a sprinkle of oil, if you like, then squeeze fresh lime juice all over, and shower with cilantro leaves.
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Conflict

Posted on December 31, 2011 by jenefer

Black and white, yin and yang. Awakening or dreaming? Starving or gorging…Earth and sky, meat or vegetable. Dry or wet, inner world , outer persona. Sun and moon. Mine or yours. Love and hate. Emotion or tension. Gravity or centrifugal. Sweet and salty. Moving or still. Life or death. Heaven or Earth, floating or sinking. Breathing or drowning….

Homeostasis

Human or divine

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Posted on February 2, 2011 by jenefer

Zen Body’s “Living Yoga Retreat” is a wonderful opportunity to deepen your yoga knowledge. The foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Clemson SC offer a scenic setting for our practice.

On this retreat weekend we will immerse ourselves in yoga philosophy, movement, meditation and vegetarian cooking. You will leave inspired to take with you the necessary skills to make positive changes in your life with lasting health benefits for your mind, body and spirit.

As space is limited, please secure your place at the retreat by registering at this link:

http://zen-body-yoga.com/LivingYogaRetreat.html

Make payment through Pay Pal, available at the link above, if you plan to attend the entire Living Yoga weekend. Contact jenefernadenicek@yahoo.com for other arrangements.

For hotel/lodging accommodations go to: http://travel.yahoo.com/p-hotel-479203-clemson_hotels-i?fromiy=1&sortby=popularity

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Free Workshop -”Eating Sugar the Right Way”

Posted on January 21, 2011 by jenefer

Before you try your next weight loss plan or the latest fad diet, come attend this informative workshop aimed at teaching you how to reduce your sugar cravings and to eat sweet foods in enjoyable ways without affecting your weight or your energy. Why suffer eating foods you don’t enjoy or buying packaged “diet food” that you really don’t care to eat? The FREE workshop will be held at the Center for Well-Being, 123 Mt. Nittany Rd Lemont, PA on January 22, 2011, at 1 p.m.

This workshop explores the effects of sugar on the body. Since Americans, on average, consume 576 cans of sugar-based soda per year, causing multiple health conditions including diabetes and obesity, it is imperative to learn about healthy alternatives to improve your health and energy. Participants will gain a greater understanding of why we crave sweets, how sugar decreases our energy and the cycle of sugar addiction. In addition to understanding why we overindulge in sweet foods, participants learn what alternatives exist to the typical refined sugars we find in junk food, candy bars and other unhealthy snacks.

Jenefer Nadenicek, Certified Health Coach, facilitates this workshop. She works in State College and has a private practice, coaching clients on how to reach their goals for health, weight loss and stress reduction. Additionally, she presents workshops and lectures on living a healthy, balanced life. Please contact her for more information.

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Living Yoga Weekend Retreat in Clemson, SC

Posted on January 19, 2011 by jenefer

hosted by Jenefer Nadenicek

February 11-13

Come join Jenefer, Erin, and Renee for a weekend of yoga, meditation, cooking, and community!

Friday 2/11

6:00pm- Dance the Chakras with Jenefer Open to the present with movement, music and poetic visualization. Establish your Intention for the weekend and awaken your roots!

6:30pm-Yoga for everyBODY with Erin

8:00pm- Vegetarian Fare and Tea, meet and greet our yoga community!

Saturday 2/12

10:00am- Vinyasa style yoga with Renee Join Renee for a mixed levels session of yoga poses, breathing techniques, and meditation.  Yoga poses help us untie the knots in the body.  A breath centered yoga practice allows us to also release stress and anxiety while bringing fresh energy into our bodies and uplifting the spirit.  A breath centered yoga practice also brings us into the present moment where we are naturally at ease, and meditation fortifies the work of yoga.  During this session, Renee will focus on how we can begin to live with ease at all times, even after the euphoria of practice has worn off.

12:30pm- Yoga Kitchen cooking with Jenefer Vegetarian Lunch featuring alternative grains and sweeteners?Sugar Blues talk- How does sugar affect the emotional body?

Sunday 2/13

10:00am- Iyengar style and Partner Yoga with Jenefer All of us would like to be free from suffering, whether it be physical, emotional, or spiritual in nature. In this class we will explore Intention within asana (poses) with yogic philosophy and Sanskrit. Solidify your intention and learn how to apply it to your practice, pose by pose with the alignment of the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual bodies. Using props such as chairs, blocks, blankets and straps, you will learn how to adapt the poses for your own unique needs. We will explore partner yoga poses for establishing connection, and as a way to shine your own healing light out and into the world.

12:30pm- Yoga Kitchen Cook off! Pot Luck Brunch- Try a new Living Yoga Retreat recipe, or bring a favorite dish to share and enjoy!

Event fee $190.00 — –1 day only $70.00 — – Yoga class only $30.00

Click here to Register

About Jenefer Jenefer began practicing yoga in 1998 and taught her first class in 2000. Her interest has always been how to heal with yoga through the mind-body connection. She is a Reiki practitioner, massage therapist (including Thai massage), and a 250 hr RYT.  For the past 6 years Jenefer has studied Iyengar Yoga with Rebecca and Dean Lerner at the Center for Well -Being where Jenefer has had her Massage practice.  In February she will finish her health counseling certification and continue her last hundred hours of yoga training for her 500 hour Advanced Yoga Alliance Certification.

About Erin Erin has been practicing yoga since 2000 and completed her teacher training at Asheville Yoga Center in July 2010.  She recently finished five years of teaching Biology and Anatomy, and was chosen as Teacher of the Year for 2008.  Erin has attended workshops with Max Strom and Michael Stone.  Erin is especially interested in the physical benefits of a regular yoga practice.  She believes that yoga is for everyone and everyBODY.

About Renee Renee’s approach in class is to share what she has learned from her practice with others and to provide a space for people to come to their own understanding of yoga in mind, body, and spirit.   After an eight year martial arts practice, she began a consistent yoga practice in 2002, the same year she began teaching yoga.  In 2010, she completed Max Strom’s teacher training and earned a 200RYT.  She has also had the good fortune to attend training’s and workshops with renowned teachers such as Sri Pattabi Jois, Tim Miller, and Tias Little.

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Letting go

Posted on March 22, 2010 by jenefer

My family and I drove to SC to prepare for our new lives. New home, jobs, schools. When I stepped out of daily life as certain peace settled in. I’m sure my family noticed the change. Our new house is just fine and does not require any changes be done to it, unlike our current house. We’ve been busy carefully polishing every nook and cranny in order to appeal to buyers.
I stumbled upon a studio called Dharma Yoga Inc. It was in an unassuming mini mall beside a dental office. Shoji screens created a cozy entry area and a “hut-like” practice space. Chris, the instructor, repeated his “be nice to yourself” mantra. It was probably a good idea, there were many beginners mixed in with more advanced yogis.
Being nice is always good.ahimsa. Non violence.
I’ve been reading a book about how important it is to feed our minds,bodies and spirits. It reminded me of a discussion I had with a friend. He mentioned how good it felt when he took 30 min and just stretched in his wheelchair. He has also told me how it makes him sad to remember that he could once stand on his head. My thoughts about yoga are that our practice changes at different stages in life. It teaches us to surrender, to soften and let go. From day to day week to week year to year birth to death. Yoga is about fulling ourselves with loving acceptance for where we are in the moment. The integration that happens, mind body spirit is deeply satisfying.
Be here now! -Ram Das

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Zen teacher

Posted on March 4, 2010 by jenefer

I’ve been thinking about the teachers I’ve encountered upon my lifes path. I was drawn to zen at an early age. I was probobly 14. I was into any offbeat religion I could find at the time, probobly trying to identify with something. I was taking martial arts classes and had a strong need to know more about philosophy.thats when I found my first zen book, The Three Pillars.
My first teacher was my dad. He’s a strong silent type of guy who’s happiest when sitting in the woods. He taught me how to walk quckly without making a sound. He took me hunting when I was 12. I spent many hours sitting alone in the dark freezing, so happy when the sun came up. There were times when I saw amazing things like animals living their lives. I was invisible like a tree with eyes and ears. How simple was it for the squirles to gather acorns scurrying along tree branches with their little families. To see mother birds teaching their young to fly. I was once walking along and there directly infront of me was an opossum. The babies were all in their pouch but I could see them moving around with fingered hands. The mama fell and did her best to play dead.
My second teacher was an old horse. A black Arabian/quarterhorse. She showed me deep peace and what it ment to be brave. She carried me on her back carefully when I was 4. I remember falling off under her hooves and she just stopped. My grandfather said she knew I was little and took extra care with me.
My third teacher was a handicapped man with a debilitating illness. It began when he was 35 and I recently spent alot of time with him, now in his 50s. He taught me about water and how once it’s polluted it will never be the same. He also taught me acceptance. His ability to adapt was phenominal. Every little thing took so much patience. I watched countless times as he started the fireplace when he could bearly use his hands.certain things he just liked to do, even if it took 30 min to get his shoes on. He is an inspiration to me, the most caring person I have ever met.
Now I am learning from a little boy. He’s a unique child. Creative and complex. His thoughts are endearing. I see him struggle with school because he has a learning disability, but he’s always so happy to show me his kid writting books. With him everything is miraculous. Anything can be exciting, he just enjoys being with me. He has taught me unconditional love.
I had a teacher once who studied at Harvard. I was going through a very dark time stuck in my mind wrestleing with thoughts. I couldn’t breath, couldn’t meditate without crying endless tears. He told me that in our thoughts and in the world there is happiness and sadness. Whenever we are sitting and experience a blissful state, the mind creats an oppossing thought such as disparity. As zen practitioners we must sit directly in between them both. Sit with the duality. That’s what he taught me, probobly not in so many words. He saved my practice.

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Moving in stillness

Posted on March 1, 2010 by jenefer

What is yoga? This is a question I’ve asked myself many times. I’ve looked up the definition in many yoga books and on line. After all, if I teach it I should be able to explain it past the translation from Sanskrit to English, “to yoke, to become one with supreme consciousness”, or one can experience different kinds of yoga by practicing in a way prescribed by a guru.
To myself yoga is to experience the koshas or layers of awareness in a way which brings lightness. Mind, body and spirit merge into bliss. That bliss itself is what I strive to understand. It can heal, it can awaken, unwind, it can rise up, it can connect, it can encompass, submerge and embrace.
There is nothing it cannot do.
How can we experience yoga?
Some say to just sit, stop thinking and it is there. Well “stop thinking “is unthinkable.
Some say to Simply put your faith in one highly spiritual teacher and do as they teach and you will experience yoga .
Do we experience yoga by going deeply within ourselves or by being lead, by sitting, letting go and waiting, or by holding with all our effort until some awareness of balance catches hold and pulls us into alignment with the divine?
Maybe yoga is that being within that calls out to us to save the dolphins or feed the starving? that being that lends a moment of clarity in the brink of disaster.the being who realizes that we are no different from the worm in an apple.
Yoga is not just what we practice on the mat, but what we take into the world with us. It’s the light upon the faces we see. It’s loving the earth which we are supported by. It’s honoring all of our teachers for their gifts of their experience of yoga.
And it’s minifesting bliss whithin. Ask yourself, is your practice healing, does it make you more comfortable in yourself, and are others more comfortable with you? Does it make your life an act of yoga? If not what is missing? Yoga is all encompassing . It feeds the fire within and connects us to the flow of the universe. We should not be left wanting anything els. My intention for my own yoga practice is to be in blissful stillness within, while moving in awareness. I want to take that awareness with me and give a little of the lightness to each person I meet. To walk lightly upon the earth and be gentle with the many animal beings who co-inhabit our planet. Once the fire of yoga is ignighted within, it shines out and all are enlightened.

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