My mother always told me, “ Food is the best way to a person’s heart.” There is so much value in this expression. The act of preparing and eating a meal together grows our social and cultural connection. With every bite we are developing our very own healthy relationships with food. This tremendous daily gift plays an essential role in promoting a greater state of overall well-being.
Food carries an insurmountable variety of medicinal properties. It’s the best medicine, second to laughter and Penicillin. There is a bevy of information out there, from tons of well information beings who are more than happy to share in their knowledge about what concocted dietary habit...
Read morePosted on 06/18/2019 at 09:50 AM
I have acne. It gets deeper than that. I have inflammation in my gut that causes inflammation in my skin. This inflammation is caused by eating a low variety diet of foods with large protein molecules that are hard for GI receptors to break down. I have leaky gut. I have acne. This is my detox story.
Stepping Into Health Conscious Living
I had recently partaken in a Kinesiology test, where I found the food groups that made my body most sensitive. Being that Val is a Co-Owner, and Facilitator of Zen Den Yoga School and Retreats, she uses her years of extensive knowledge within the health and wellness field to best support guests as Nutritional/ Wellness Coach of Zen Den Yoga School & Retreats...
Read morePosted on 06/04/2019 at 05:49 PM
Coming into Self Acceptance
The fourth limb of yoga, Niyama, brings us into the education of self, Svadhyaya. This internal journey is the yoking mechanism that unifies all as one. It's funny about life how our growth and exposure can build our awareness to be able to honor all gifts in life as they simply be. This growth is cultivated through practice, no doubt. Let us travel into our heart space with a story about the gifts we can harness through posturing our bodies into Wheel.
In the physical asana practice, you’re sure to stumble across a posture or two that you really don’t care to get into. For many months, that was wheel for me. During class, when teachers would cue me int...
Posted on 05/21/2019 at 12:38 PM
Freedom to Fly
Freedom to be in flow and allow your body and mind to let go
Our spirit takes control and guides us through the unknown
Past and present collide
Releasing old energetic ties
Futures fades no more
As animated bodies electrify the dance floor
Grounding into earth mother’s womb
Our fears she lovingly consumes
Sending us flying
Higher higher
Into the abyss of ether’s gentle geyser
Get Down With Dance Awakening
Sacred Dance, Ecstatic Dance, Conscious Dance, Spirit Dance, or whatever title you want you to call this nameless formless sense of higher self expression is what all the yogis are talking about. It’s funny how the universe works, once you go to one ecstasy driven ev...
Read morePosted on 05/12/2019 at 06:20 AM
Inhale your belief
Exhale release the grief
Have you ever heard the sound of bliss within a yoga class?
How often do you tune into your breath, letting it shift your body throughout an asana sequence?
Listen for the class collective exhale. Add to it. On three… ”Ahhhhhhhhh.”
That moment of “Woo Sah” is the key to nourishing your body in practice.
Breathe in Meditation
All answers are translated through our body’s language, breath. This is one on of the primary spokes on the cosmic wheel that yoga rolls with. Breath Control, or Pranayama, is one of my favorite of yoga’s eight limbs of yoga. It is a foundation for leading a healthy life both on and off yo...
Read morePosted on 05/07/2019 at 12:21 PM
Hi Zen Den readers! This is Christina here, I've come to join the Zen Den Team and I'd like to introduce myself. My conscious yogic path started 4 years ago, in 2013. I was sitting in the doctors office and my doctor tells me, you need to start doing yoga and meditation if you would like to become a person again. Interesting, I thought to myself. I better try that then. Growing up I was a spiritual kid, without knowing it. I prayed, saw energy, played with energy fields and trusted the universe. I can remember being 11, 12, years old and already then having the urge to do yoga. My mom and I decided to do it together, but it turns out, that was not what our karma was planning for us, so we ne...
Posted on 06/20/2017 at 07:55 AM
You’ve heard kale is “super food” good for you…right? If you haven’t heard this and tried it by now, I’ll tell you straight up, it’s true! I had never even experienced it in a salad until recent years when the raw foodies started popularizing it. Mostly I’d eaten it as my mom’s delicious kale and potato soup, which is one fabulous option for another post. However, in recent years, I’ve discovered that kale has many uses and it is eaten in countries across the globe, even as long ago as Greek and Roman times. There’s two types, Tuscan kale (or dinosaur kale) which has more long bluish-green leaves, and the borecole variety has...
Posted on 06/20/2017 at 07:45 AM
This is a great question for all the yogis thinking by simply taking some yoga classes or starting to meditate that everything will miraculously fall into place. As far as most of us know, a yogi lifestyle gives you access to being pretty spiritual, and this is a good thing. Meditating each day, and twisting our bodies into all kinds of demonstrations of enviable feats of flexibility means that you've achieved this status. That's all partially true. These things certainly influence you in a positive way, however, true growth and balance is not achieved without cultivating some consciousness around your day to day choices.
What does it actually feel like living in balance? Really the true te...
Read morePosted on 06/20/2017 at 07:45 AM
Morning Yoga Session with Michael Franti and Spearhead. Gratitude for the gifts that keeps giving. Sending out gratitude to Michael Franti & Spearhead. It was great sharing space with you guys yesterday. Your practice on the mat was just as great as your performance on stage. Om shanti Namaste Love, Yoga, Source.
Posted on 02/12/2017 at 04:29 PM
From the bottom of the lake at the dirtiest and darkest place comes the light. A lotus must first know the darkness and dirty secrets of the lake in order to bring the beauty and light that thrives in to the top. Dont be afraid to go deep inside to know your self. #zendenyogaschool, #yogaretreat, #sunrisemeditation, #namaste
Posted on 08/23/2016 at 11:38 AM