KUNDALINI YOGA

My senior year of High School after one of my best friend's mom passed away from an almost 10 year fight with cancer, I started having really bad tension problems in my neck and shoulders. Sometimes I would lock up and could not move. When I saw my doctor he said that I did have an inflammation problem in my right shoulder, but it also had a lot to do with stress. He suggested I try yoga. I never got around to it, but this time last year (after everything that happened that fall semester and over the holidays), I put my mind to it, it certainly couldn't hurt. I decided that I didn't want to take a class, because I didn't know that much about yoga and I wasn't in good shape. So I started doing research and trying to find the best yoga dvd. Ravi and Ana kept sticking out, they were at the top of many "best yoga dvd" lists I was finding. There are still the number 1 on Amazon's list, and they have 5 stars and between the 2 dvds I chose there are well over 300 reviews. Then I read that their client list included Madonna, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Donna Karan. I was convienced. So I decided to get their Beginners dvd and their Fat Free Yoga dvd. 

The type of yoga on these dvds is called Kundalini Yoga. It combines different types of breathing, movement, stretching, meditaion, chanting and the science of sequence. There are two types of breathing used on the dvds. The first is long deep breathing, and the second is "the breathe of fire." The Breathe of Fire is rapid deep breathing. The comparison they use for this breathing on the dvd is panting like a dog. Which I promise the first time you do it, you will feel like the biggest idiot in the world. Even if you are alone, you will laugh at yourself and think ... "If someone walked in right now they would seriously think something was wrong with me." Once you get use to it though, you don't even think about it anymore. The Breathe of Fire is used to get your heart rate up and keep it up throughout a sequence. The dvds start with a breathing exercise, then some spinal warm-ups and stretching followed by a special set called a Kriya. A Kriya might focus on de-toxing the liver, boosting your energy, massaging your organs to get your hormones flowing correctly, or mastering your moods, and developing will-power. After each Kriya there is a relaxation for a few minutes, to consolidate your gains. Each dvd ends with a meditation. www.raviana.com 

     People have grown up to 3 inches in some cases because their spine was so compressed and yoga stretched and lengthened their spine. Yoga also prides itself on helping people with back problems. The exercises are intense but very low impact. They really work with you to make sure you get the exercises right. And ultimately it helps your work with stress. To me yoga is unlike any other exercise I have tried. It is not about getting big arms or a perfectly chiseled six pack. Its strictly about getting healthy, and making your body work for you the way it should. It won't take long before you start feeling the difference. 

HERE GOES - 2008 ... a year for change!!

Well I have been wanting to start a blog for awhile now! I know I love reading everyone else's blog but I never thought I was interesting enough to start one myself. But here goes ... I figured with the new year and one of my many resolutions being to try new things ... I would finally go for it. And I also thought it would help me track my progress on my many resolutions!

1. There is so much I want to accomplish this year. I know you are legally an adult when you turn 18, but for the past 2 1/2 years in college I feel like I have still been playing the kid card a little (and I probably will until I can not get away with it anymore). But I also feel like I need to straighten up on some things such as money. UGHH the word just makes me cringe! I mean there is only so much I can do, since I am still in school full time. Yet, I think since I am an accounting major this should be something I get ahold of. Since part of my career will be managing other people's money ... scary!! Since I am having trouble with my own. So resolution number 1 is born ... Saving More Money. So I read up on it, and there is a lot of get rich quick things out there. Well I am just starting slow, especially since I do not make big money, I can not save big money. But I was watching the Today show and the lady on there told me that if I saved $200 a month and put it into an account with a 20% interest rate, in 20 years I would be a millionaire!! Crazy huh! As much as that may or may not be true. I have decided to save $200 a month, which is only $50 a week. So that started this month and it is going awesome so far. The second part of this resolution is to go talk to my bank. I have talked to family and friends about money, credit and things of that nature. But I really want to sit down with someone that does this for a living and get them to give me a plan. So maybe when I get settled with school, I will make that appointment and hopefully get on my way to being a millionaire one day.

2. Last year I started working out and eating healthy and I was doing really well. But somewhere along the way I lost my way and went back to do all the wrong things. Especially with all my stomach problems from the past year, it is something I seriously need to do for my health. This time last year I started doing yoga on a regular basis and fell in love!! It was amazing, its just astonishing how much yoga does for your mind and body. In case you are more interested in yoga and what works for me I will blog about it later and give you all the awesome details! Anyways, it really started paying off a lot. Then the summer came and I started working 40 hrs a week, and have been working every minute I am not at school since. So I got away from yoga because I did not have time. Well I have decided that it is not so much that I don't have time, but that I don't make the time. I always come home tired from work, and/or school. But I have slowly started working out again and finding the time for it. It takes 21 days to make a new habit. I started this past monday so its only been 3 days but I am determined. One thing that gives me a lot of hope with this goal is that my friends are all determined to get healthier this year also. We all signed up for the Crescent City Classic that is March 22 in New Orleans. Which I advise anyone in the New Orleans area to sign up for, it is $20 if you sign up before Jan. 31st. It is a 10k race, but you are welcome to come walk with us. But the really awesome thing is that when you sign up you get a training schedule. So it is definitely worth $20, an awesome investment into your health.

3. This one is simple but hard. Getting organized. I am a very organized person, but since I moved back home and my house is still under a long and very annoying remodel .... everything is being changed. Which is so exciting and annoying at the same time. It is just hard because with school and work it is hard to find the time or energy to do it or get excited about it. But we have made some progress since the New Year. While I was away in Michigan, my parents torn down a wall in my room and added on to my room. Now we are working on paint colors, and a ceiling fan.

4. Especially with this year being an election year, I want to get more involved with what is going on in the government. Through the past few years I have learned how much one person can make a difference. As silly as this sounds, recently I got an email from a friend on facebook that started a group to save their dog. The guy needed $5,000 to save his dog and somehow had made a deal that if he got 100,000 people to sign a petition someone would donate the extra money he needed. Well needless to say the dog was saved. Anyways, I want to educate myself on all the presidential candidates and their views. I also want to educate myself on state and local officials. In seventh grade my teacher told me "if you don't vote, then you can't complain." Which make a big impact on me and I hold that statement very dear to me. To go along with that statement I need to educate myself on my officials and my government and what I can do to make a difference. Politics scare me and I am in no way looking to push my beliefs and values on others. I just want to do my part.

5. Trying new things ... this blog is my first! Included in this is to be a tourist in my own town. New Orleans has so much to offer, especially this time of year with all the festivals just around the corner!! I awful people ask me about things in New Orleans and I have no clue what they are taking about. I mean I have lived here all my life!! So that is a big goal for me ... to get to know my own hometown better!