I cultivated presence as I moved from town to town and transitioned from teacher to student during this year's Chaya Surya Winter Tour.

Each co-creation along the way has taught me something about the practice of Yoga and Ayurveda which is about relationship. The connections made have offered insights into the flow of prana or energy, which is the unveiling and experience of the divine that lives in all of us and has the ability to increase our ojas, which is a subtle essence that is responsible for our immunity, healing potential and ability to love and be loved. When the prana is not flowing or we are not tuned into it, we are no longer present to our own potential. Being unhappy blocks and diminishes our prana and anytime we are unhappy, we are diminishing our ojas. When we are unhappy we are not present and are in reaction based on our past. Through the practice of yoga we still the mind in order to be present and discontinue destructive reactions that lead to the depletion of ojas in the body.

Ojas is a subtle form of Kapha. It is precious and once burned up or depleted it is very hard to restore. Besides losing it through unhappiness, it can also be depleted by excessive activity, striving, excessive exercise, excessive thinking, negative thinking, worrying, over working, over achieving, staying up late, and eating the wrong types of food. All of these are symptoms of not being present; that is, being present to our relationship to ourselves, our environment, and the divine that exists in both.

Foods to build ojas include ghee, milk-boiled and spiced with saffron, in addition to eating according to your dosha or constitution. Activities that build ojas are laughing, tap dancing, art and music, loving, nurturing and being present. Tools like yoga, breathing, meditation and deep relaxation offer us the ability to be present and as a secondary bi-product build our ojas and allow us to be happy and free from disease.

A question posed to me by my teacher that I pass on to you is “are you present?” Notice when your mind goes to the future or the past, when you are analyzing, interpreting, if you are dissatisfied or not balanced in your body and mind. When you observe the nature of your own mind, you can choose to change into being in the present. Yoga is the practice of stilling the mind so it’s activity of going to the past, future, and into illusion or wrong knowledge, are changed to being in the present. Yoga offers the ability of being present and observing clearly the nature of what is, in ourselves and our environment. Ayurveda helps us to understanding its essence, the core spirit that is in all things including their natural rhythms and attributes which are constantly moving and changing. When we can stay present to, and understand deeply the essence of, who we are at our core, we can make choices that move us in the direction of true liberation and peace.

Peace ~ Chaya

Holistic Lifestyle and Adaptive Yoga for People with Multiple Sclerosis and Similar Conditions

Chaya’s programs were well-attended and deeply impactful in North Florida. She teamed up with the National MS Society of North Florida and Yoga Ananda to offer programs that included the relationship of Adaptive Yoga to the nature of mind and lifestyle in order to go beyond the body and into the deeper realms of what it means to live a life of balance.

Chaya's book companion book, Yoga of Action; Holistic Lifestyle and Adaptive Yoga for People with Multiple Sclerosis and Similar Conditions is included in the tuition for program participants who attending her program at Kripalu Center October 13-18, 2008. The book is also now available for anyone wishing to purchase it directly through her website. Click here for more information.

Chaya was also recently interviewed about Adaptive Yoga for People with Multiple Sclerosis by Lori Batchelor of Disaboom, a website geared toward connecting people with disabilities. You can read Lori's article by clicking on a link found the press page of Chaya's website.

Ayurveda’s Applications for Appropriate Yoga Practice for
Yoga Teachers and Practitioners

Chaya’s programs in Fayettville, North Carolina and Jacksonville, Florida were well-attended and very well-received by Yoga teachers and practitioners of yoga who wanted to learn more about its sister science and about the ancient and meaningful relationship between Yoga and Ayurveda. Both workshops were followed by a series of private consultations and future workshops are forthcoming.

Spring is a good time for purification.

Chaya’s Ayurvedic cleansing programs are tailored to your specific needs. Please contact her to arrange for your personal program and details. Cleansing helps to balance the body, mind and spirit. It helps to alleviate symptoms of imbalance such as allergies, joint pain, stiffness and inflammation, skin conditions, and other imbalances due to excess and accumulation in the tissues, and helps bring clarity of mind, emotions and be more present.

Your Success is My Greatest Reward…

My mission at A Life of Balance is to empower people through the practice of Yoga and Ayurveda, so they can find their inner balance and ultimate joy. My vision of health and journey to wellness takes into consideration the total lifestyle and constitution of the whole person to support health and welllness by learning to live again in the most natural way possible, according to nature, to access our hightest intuition and truth, unlocking the human healing potential. Thank you for your committment to a life of balance. Your results are my deepest joy. I am grateful for the opportunity to witness your continued success, unfolding and seeing you live again with ultimate joy and ease of well being.

Lenox, MA 01240 I 413.329.2182 I Email

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