Why Should You OOV?

The main reason is that it will make you feel good. Really good. You will feel more engaged through your core, able to stand up straight and elongate your body. It looks wierd. I get it. But the Oov was designed by a team of Orthopedic surgeons, physical therapists and chiropractors to accurately mimic and support the natural curves of your spine so that you can achieve optimal spinal alignment. 

You can lie on the Oov. You can stand on the Oov. You can have your whole body on the Oov or just one tiny part. There are so many variations that you will never do the same workout twice. The Oov provides imbalance to the bodies system which allows you to find a deeper engagement in exercises that were previously very familiar. The Oov will assist you in developing strength where you previously were weaker and range of motion where you may have been tighter. 

Doing Oov will improve your sporting performance, help rehabilitate injuries and  prevent injuries from developing. Oov is for everyone. All exercises can be modified and adjusted for any body.

Core class is a sneaky sweat. We start with a warmup to make you feel great and then gradually add on complexity and challenge. Being on the Oov is completely different to anything else currently in your workout repertoire so even if it is really weird looking everybody can benefit from trying this class.  

Functional movement training on the Oov involves moving slowly with a focus on control and quality of movement. Participants will work on developing stability via the pelvis and deep core muscles (transverse abdominis), joint mobility, balance, abdominal endLurance. and spinal articulation.

The Oov is used by elite athletes such as the American and Australian Davis cup teams, The Australian Rugby team and Australian and American Olympic swim teams. It is also used by many Physical Therapists and Orthopedic surgeons to aid in rehabilitation after an injury or recovery from surgery. 

The Oov is a fantastic addition to any workout routine it will make you stronger, longer with beautiful movement patterns and an increased awareness of your own body. If you want your yoga to become stronger, your golf swing to be more fluid, reduce pain and injury when running try the Oov!

Summer Reading

Although it does not arrive until Thursday, June 21st, it sure feels like we've skipped spring and moved directly from winter to summer already! The longer hours generally are accompanied by more time outside, and more vitamin D production which leads to more serotonin and a better mood in general! Whether you're spending time outside at the beach or on your patio, the summer is also the perfect time to pick up a good book (or dozen).

Below (and in no particular order) are several summer reading recommendations from Fusion Yoga. Many are on the lighter side but there are insights to be gained from all. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to share in the comments below and happy reading!

• Goddess Pose, by Michelle Goldberg. Indra Devi is generally credited as the first woman to bring the asana practice of yoga to the west. This book chronicles both her journey as well as the evolution of yoga from a relatively unknown spiritual practice to what it has become as a primarily posture-based exercise with wide ranging physical and mental health benefits. 
• Living Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life, by Judith Lasater. This book will help you understand yoga beyond its familiar poses and breathing techniques, and how it can be used to better your everyday life. This is also the current book being discussed in the Fusion Book Club starting June 13th. Click here to learn more.
• Poser: My Life in 23 Yoga Poses, by Claire Dederer. Poser is a partial autobiography of Claire's journey into yoga. From a skeptic to devotee and elsewhere, this is a personal look at the love-hate relationships with certain poses and how her yoga practice and life were intertwined. 
• The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom, by Jonathan Haidt. Although not a yoga book per se, this book examines ten psychological ideas that have recurred throughout history and discusses what can be learned by applying these ideas to our modern world. From acts of charity, impulse control, casting-off worldly attachments, meditation, decreasing cognitive dissonance - the common thread is a look at what modern cognitive science points to as sources of true and lasting happiness.

Yoga for Back Pain

Up to 80% of people will have back pain at some point in their lives. If the pain is chronic, it can impact everything that you do. Sometimes the injury is the result of the body trying to protect itself; other times it can be the outcome of a sudden over-extension.

A study published in the November 2016 Orthopedic Journal of Sports Medicine shows that injury incidence has the potential to increase almost 8 times among those 65 and older. Yet at the same time, the National Institute of Health has studied that yoga eases moderate to severe chronic back pain. So, which is it - does yoga help or hurt the back? The answer is that it can do both. However, the good news is that most benefits can be achieved and most injuries can be avoided when proper care is exercised.

"Proper form is especially important for people with back pain"

According to Dr. Laura Elison from Harvard Medical School, yoga-related back injuries result from people "quickly dropping into a yoga pose without gradually lengthening into it."  Harvard Men's Health Watch's Matthew Solan says,

"Yoga is one of the more effective tools for helping soothe low back pain"

So, what can you do to ensure that you're getting the most out of your stretch?

• Each movement should be intentional and active - if you don't feel that your muscles are engaged, chances are there is something off with your form. 
• Try not to move so quickly that it impacts your form. Your body has natural limitations and mechanisms to signal that you are going too far. By moving too quickly, you risk 'jerking' into a posture before your body sends the signal that you're approaching your natural limit to a healthy stretch.
• Start slowly. Just like you wouldn't jump straight on a treadmill at your max speed, neither should you push yourself until your body has had adequate time to warm up.

A double-blind study in the June 20, 2017 Annals of Internal Medicine showed that carefully adapted sets of yoga postures do help to reduce back pain and improve mobility. 

As always, consult your physician before starting any exercise program as well as let your yoga teacher know of any specific limitations or goals. "By mindfully practicing yoga, people can safely improve their mobility and strength while stretching tight and aching back muscles."

The Challenge

I sometimes feel it is easy to learn from those who are older than us because it’s easy to look up to them; we revere their life experience, it seems to be the common course of nature. As for learning from those who are younger, I find that I am refreshed, I am given a new perspective and to be honest  - - they make me a little more hopeful. Because I’ve made this a daily effort, I’m tempted to pat myself on the back and give myself an ‘atta girl!” but, have I truly listened or just nodded and moved along my way? Further, do I justify meeting my goal based solely on just running into people over the course of the day? If so, this seems like all I’m doing is stroking my ego.

So…come my new challenge:

Spend time everyday with someone or something that challenges you.
We all have those people in our lives. Great people who challenge us to be better; people who might be the opposite and who inadvertently challenge us to be more understanding, loving, or peaceful; or maybe someone neutral like the cashier at the store – someone who can be on the receiving end of our impatience because it’s easy to dismiss someone we don’t know. Whoever it may be and whatever the situation, can we take those nuggets of wisdom and experience from the old as well as the fresh, hopeful perspectives from the young and put them to the test? I don’t mean that one should schedule in a day planner specific times to meet up with someone that challenges them -  the universe often works in mysterious ways and many of these challenges will naturally show up.  But, can we face the challenge or present ourselves with daily opportunities to practice?

Here are some of my ideas:

• Choosing the human instead of the self check out at the store. (Let’s face it - - the grocery is a great place to feel challenged!)
• Writing my congressman to share my thoughts on my local or national government/policies
• Choose a yoga class I don’t usually go to (this is the ultimate for me - I attend what I love, thus where is the challenge? - - attending something new or out of my box challenges me)
• Doing the chore I hate
• Metta Meditation (you know the part - - loving kindness to someone who has been an obstacle)
• Call my mom (hahahahaha)
• Get to know the person I made a snap judgement about

What are your ideas? Whatever the challenge may be - - God Speed Friends!

xo,

Celeste

Ayurveda in the New Year

Whether you're someone who lives to eat or eats to live, there's no getting around it... our digestion is central to our being.  In fact, the center of our digestive system is located at the body's center point.  When digestion is going smoothly, we're rewarded with a sense of well being.  And, when it's not, the stomach lets us know.

Digestion affects our lives on many levels.  For example,  there's the obvious physical discomfort that occurs when the digestive process is going awry.  This is an evolutionary safety mechanism... the body telling us that something needs to be fixed.

The foods you eat can make all the difference when it comes to improving our digestion, and alleviating common symptoms such as gas, bloating, poor nutrient absorption, and digestion.  If your feeling sluggish, bloated, and low on  energy, then taking a look at your digestive system is a great place to start.

An article from Britain's Daily Echo says that ayurveda is, "basically the food equivalent of 'if you're feeling hot, take off your jumper, or if you're feeling cold, put it back on".

If this is interesting and you'd like to learn more, Fusion Yoga is offering a three part series on Yoga and Nutrition led by Nutrition Counselor Ramona Lee and Yoga Instructor Mary Newell.

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Ramona Lee has a love for food, cooking, nutrition and healthy living.  She is a registered nurse and certified nutrition and wellness consultant. Her mission is to help individuals age successfully, achieve optimal health, and prevent degenerative diseases through positive food and lifestyle choices.

Aerial Yoga

Did you know that researchers date yoga's development to over 5,000 years ago? That's an incredibly rich tradition. The benefits of yoga are well documented. Studies have shown that yoga has positive effects on the brain. The Cleveland Clinic has yoga classes to help with chronic pain. Yoga is even correlated to slowing the effects of stress and aging.

From Ashtanga to Vinyasa, there's a type of yoga for everyone. But, have you ever heard of aerial yoga? Fort Wayne's own, and one of our good friends, Studio Seva offers this type of yoga. Owner Joni McCarran recently appeared in Fort Wayne Magazine to explain more. Congratulations, Joni!

Kombucha 101, Health Benefits, Meet the brewer of Lunar Infusions

What is Kombucha and Jun? 

Being in the yoga world, it is likely you have heard of kombucha, you may have even tried it, or you may be a devout kombucha lover already! In any case, “Kom-boo-cha” is a sweet and sour tasting fermented tea. Kombucha is ancient, and has become very popular in the recent decades. It is made by sweetening tea with sugar, and adding the kombucha culture, called a SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony Of Bacteria and Yeast). In the same way a yogurt culture ferments milk, the kombucha culture ferments tea. Jun is like the lesser known, but just as fabulous cousin of kombucha. The bacteria and yeast of a jun culture prefer green tea and honey over black tea and sugar. The result of the culturing of either tea is a beautiful, bubbly, delicious, probiotic, health tonic!

Kombucha Nutrition Profile

                You have probably heard of people who take raw apple cider vinegar (ACV) every day to be healthy. Like ACV, kombucha is an acetic acid ferment, so they have similar health effects. The acetic acid is the ingredient in vinegar and kombucha that gives them their notorious sour taste. However, ACV is about 5% acetic acid where kombucha is about 1%, resulting in kombucha being way more palatable. Kombucha contains many other healthy organic acids, such as amino acids, enzymes, and probiotics. It has vitamins, especially B vitamins and vitamin C. While they are found in small amounts, they are bioavailable, meaning they are easily absorbed by the body. Often times nutrients (even from supplements) are not bioavailable, so they are not absorbed by the body.

                In addition, there are the inherent health properties of tea. Tea is high in antioxidants, alkaloids, and amino acids, all made more bioavailable from the alchemical process of fermentation! Kombucha extracts the flavonoids and vitamins from the flavoring agents (herbs, fruits, superfoods) used in kombucha as well. Flavonoids are phytonutrients, or antioxidants, that protect cells from free radicals. Overall, the finished kombucha and jun product is like a bottle of micronutrients that if made well, tastes great!

An Overview of Health Benefits

               There can be some pretty high expectations that kombucha is a miracle cure-all. I think we all know that is not the case with anything. Unfortunately, due to this unreal expectation, I have had people tell me that they quit drinking kombucha because they ‘didn’t notice anything different.’ I look at kombucha as any other health food. For example, salads are generally healthy. However, eating a salad once a day for a few days might not make you feel any healthier. There are so many variables. Maybe the dressing was full of sugar. Maybe you had pizza and doughnuts that day as well… My point is, there are many factors to consider when making decisions for your health or trying to prevent or treat illness and disease. Drinking kombucha and not changing any other factors is probably not going to have as strong of an effect as if you included kombucha as part of a balanced healthy lifestyle. Now don’t get me wrong, if you drink a glass of kombucha three times a day for a week, I would be surprised if you didn’t notice an improvement in digestion and getting more ‘regular.’ That is one of the easiest effects to see. Also drinking a glass of kombucha can just flat out make you feel good. Especially if you are in good health and are in tune with your body enough to notice those kinds of subtleties.

               Most importantly, I find that drinking kombucha helps to support your body’s already brilliant system of digestion, elimination, and detoxification. For example, the liver needs specific amino acids to effectively remove toxins from the body. So kombucha doesn’t ‘detox you’ but it provides the liver with gluconic and glucuronic acids the liver needs to remove toxins. The contents of kombucha also help to support the immune system, promote healthy bacteria in the gut, and may help other digestive issues like constipation, diarrhea, acid reflux, and IBS. In fact, I went through a period of acid reflux, and found immediate relief from drinking kombucha. I don’t get it as long as I eat relatively healthy and have it a few times a day. There is also evidence that balanced gut flora helps with mental health. The enteric nervous system, often called our second brain, is made up of neurons that line the entire gastrointestinal system. It contains about 90% of our body’s serotonin and 50% of our dopamine, suggesting that the gut health really can influence our mental health.

How to Drink Kombucha

                I get this question a lot and in short, there is no wrong way to drink kombucha! The first thing I recommend is to listen to your body. If you try some and want more, then drink it! If your body feels like it has had enough than don’t drink any more. Some days you might not have any and some days you might drink a 32-ounce bottle!  If your brain needs more of a concrete answer to this question, I recommend drinking smaller amounts more often than a large amount all at once. I typically drink 4 ounces, about three times throughout the day. I love drinking kombucha or having some kind of raw fermented food with cooked meals, because cooking can destroy the enzymes in the food that help with digesting it. 
 

Are There any Contraindications to Drinking Kombucha? 

               Kombucha is very safe to drink, there is not one recorded fatality from consuming kombucha in the thousands of years it has been around. But just like some people have a bad experience from eating peanuts, it can affect every body differently. If you are new to kombucha try a small amount on an empty stomach first thing in the morning. This will give you the chance to assess the effects. If you have a compromised immune system, I would advise to start slow, in the same way you should introduce anything new into your diet. Take only small amounts and monitor the effects on your body. For pregnant women who are used to drinking kombucha, it can be great to alleviate some of the common issues like fatigue, heart burn, indigestion and milk flow but again, everyone is different. If you have never had kombucha before, pregnancy might not be the best time to start, as with anything else. If you are on many different pharmaceutical medications for many different issues, and or have serious liver damage, I recommend consulting your health care provider. 

Lunar Infusions, Meet the Brewer 

               Everyone wants to know the story of how and why I started brewing kombucha. I have always been interested in natural health. I first tried the elixir in 2010 and I was immediately intrigued. But, I was at the beginning of a road trip leading me to my seasonal job in Alaska for the summer so it got filed away into the bank of things I wanted to learn more about in the future. I was a free spirit for the next 4 years living and working at different national parks and traveling. Over that time, I became quite interested in fermenting and probiotics, and I knew that when I settled down, I was going to experiment with brewing my own kombucha. In 2014, I finally decided live in one place for a while. I moved to a beautiful coastal town near the epic redwood forests, Arcata, California. The first thing I did was find a SCOBY, and learn how to brew. I quickly found I had a knack for fermenting. I put a lot of love into each batch. I experimented with all sorts of herbs and flowers and superfoods, and I loved to infuse my brew under the moonlight to capture some of the soft, creative energy of the moon. I know, I am kind of a hippie… but that is where the name comes from! Anyway, as I shared my kombucha with practically anyone who would try, people started asking if they could buy it from me. They really liked my stuff so I started brewing more and more and eventually I couldn’t keep up with the demand! I wanted to make it a legitimate business but life took a turn when I met the love of my life while visiting family here in Indiana. So, I moved to Indiana in January 2017 and I decided to keep creating my health tonics. People like it here just like in they did in California, so my dreams of making Lunar Infusions a business have come true! I am so happy to be able to put my passion and creativity into something that is truly beneficial for people. I use only the highest quality herbs, fruits, and teas. I make everything in small batches and use reiki to make it the highest vibration possible. I have done a lot of research and experimentation and continue to learn as much as possible about health and healing and all things kombucha.

Love and Blessings

Sarah Grace Trombley, owner of Lunar Infusions

lunarinfusions@gmail.com

Lunar Infusions Komucha can be found every day at Fusion Yoga