Author: Patricia Reich

Santosha: A Path to Contentment in Challenging Times

Posted on by Patricia Reich

Thank you!

Santosha is Sanskrit for thank you. Since those of us in the United States are celebrating Thanksgiving this week, I just wanted to take a moment to say, “Thank you!” To all of you, my students, my followers, my clients, both present as well as past. Because of you I am able to share my love of health and fitness with all of you!!

I looked a little deeper into the meaning of the Sanskrit word “Santosha”. It means contentment and non striving. Being satisfied with what one has. Wow! This hit me very personally. Since 2020, I feel like life has just been an uphill battle.

In 2020, we were locked down. All of my classes and services had to stop because of this. Which meant that my income went to ZERO! Even though the government was offering pandemic unemployment for self employed people, I was denied unemployment. I then began delivering for DoorDash just to make some money. Well, the wear and tear on my car, killed it so I needed to purchase another car! The money I had made didn’t even cover the cost of the car, now I was at even more of a loss. But, I live in the Myrtle Beach, SC area were public transportation is non existent. This made me work even harder. I was definitely not non striving. That’s a double negative, so I was striving soooo much. And I have continued to strive just to survive.

You see, after lock down when we opened up, not many people were coming out to take classes. Many were taking classes online and continued to even after lockdown. As I learned more about Santosha, I realized how much I needed this lesson. Sigh of relief! Yes, 2020 has been difficult for many of us and things have never returned nor will they ever return to “normal” again. However, I can choose to find contentment (Santosha) in what I do have. All of you wonderful students, clients and followers. Attendance has been increasing and I’ve been able to add classes. Wow! What a blessing!

You see, when teachers teach, we think teachers are teaching their students, but usually we, the teachers are the ones that need the lesson. And many times we learn more from our students than they realize. So once again….SANTOSHA!

If you were touched by this post or would like to share an example of Santosha in your life, please feel free to leave that in the comments. Also, feel free to share this post with others!

Namaste!

25 Reasons to get a Massage

Posted on by Patricia Reich

1 Relieve stress
2 Relieve postoperative pain
3 Reduce anxiety
4 Manage low-back pain
5 Help fibromyalgia pain
6 Reduce muscle tension
7 Enhance exercise performance
8 Relieve tension headaches
9 Sleep better
10 Ease symptoms of depression
1 Improve cardiovascular health
12 Reduce pain of osteoarthritis
13 Decrease stress in cancer patients
14 Improve balance in older adults
15 Decrease rheumatoid arthritis pain
16 Temper eff ects of dementia
17 Promote relaxation
18 Lower blood pressure
19 Decrease symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
20 Help chronic neck pain
21 Lower joint replacement pain
22 Increase range of motion
23 Decrease migraine frequency
24 Improve quality of life in hospice care
25 Reduce chemotherapy-related nausea
Reprinted from AMTA

Hatha Yoga

Posted on by Patricia Reich

What is hatha yoga? Hatha yoga’s focus is to get to a place of cognizant relaxation. During hatha class, there will be asanas (physical exercises), pranayama (breathwork), and meditation. Hatha yoga is great for people of all ages and all levels. The only requirement is to be able to get up and down off the floor. If someone is not able to get up and down off the floor, I suggest Chair yoga (which I teach as well).

Yoga comes from India where Sanskrit is the language spoken. Many of the yoga poses have Sanskrit names. I usually use both English and Sanskrit. This will expose you to Sanskrit terms so that if you find yourself in a yoga class that only uses Sanskrit, you will be familiar with the terms.

During a hatha yoga, we hold the poses for a few breaths. This increases muscular strength as well as flexibility. We also work on our balance during class. Inversions are not a part of my classes due to my audience. We occasionally do legs up the wall, but that is the extent of inversions.

There is an extended savasana. Savasana means relaxation. I usually will lead a guided relaxation, walking my students through a progressive relaxation of their muscles. We then transition to a recovery position. Lying on one’s side and breathing at a comfortable pace. This is the time where one can integrate the lessons they learned on their mat in class that day with their life and how these lessons may help them out in the world.

Next, we come to a comfortable seated position. The important thing here is to have a straight spine. We chant for a minute. Then we practice breathwork for a minute. Next, we do a visualization meditation for a minute.
Finally, we close the class with the sound of “Om”.

New Moon in Taurus

Posted on by Patricia Reich

Patricia Reich's avatarNakini Nanda

Today is the New Moon in Taurus. A New Moon is when the Moon meets up with the sun. It is the start of a new cycle. This is why a New Moon is a good time to set an intention or start a new project.

This is occurring in the zodiac sign of Taurus which is represented by the bull. Taurus is a fixed sign. So it is very stable think of the determination of a bull. The intention you set or project you start will have this type of energy behind it. There is a great probability it will be successful.

Taurus is also an earth sign. Earth signs are strong and grounded. Again increasing the success of what you begin now.

Take some time today to meditate on what you want out of life. Then set an intention. And begin the work. Soon you will see the…

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Winter Solstice

Posted on by Patricia Reich

In the Northern hemisphere, the Winter Solstice is the shortest day and longest night. I was recently asked, “Is there anything good about the Winter Solstice?” My answer was a resounding, “Yes!”

Although this is the shortest day of the year, this means there is the least amount of daylight. But, now, the days are getting longer. Each day the amount of daylight increases by about two minutes. The Winter Solstice is considered to astronomical New Year. Couple this with the fact that we have a New Moon in Capricorn on Friday, December 23rd and the energy right now is a great time to set your New Year’s Resolutions.

New Moons are always a great time to set goals and intentions. This New Moon is in the sign of Capricorn, which is ruled by the planet Saturn. Saturn is a very methodical, logical, and ritualistic. Thus making it a perfect time for you to be planning your resolutions as well as begin preparing your taxes. But I digress.

Happy Winter Solstice to my fellow Northern Hemisphere people. (In the Southern Hemisphere it’s the Summer Solstice)!

Thank you for taking the time to ready this. Happy Holidays to everyone regardless of the holiday you are celebrating!

Namaste!

Rebounding

Posted on by Patricia Reich

What is that?

That’s the question I am asked anytime I mention the word rebounding. I’ve been exercising on a rebounder since I was a teen to protect my joints. Basically, a rebounder is a mini trampoline. They range in size from 30-40 inches in diameter. Some even fold up so you can store them under your bed.

What do you do with a rebounder?

Any cardio exercise. You can just jog in place. Do jumping jacks, kicks, hamstring curls and on and on. There are plenty of work outs on youtube.

Anyone can rebound. Some rebounders have a bar that you can hold onto to stabilize yourself. If you don’t use the bar, you will increase your balance. Otherwise, exercising on a rebounder is a great low impact cardiovascular work out. It increases bone density as well as muscle mass and is great for moving your lymph.

Hope this piques your interest in rebounding. Let me know what you think.

Let’s Chant!

Posted on by Patricia Reich
This is not a comprehensive guide to chanting.  Rather it is a suggestion to empower us as we are quarantined at home during the Covid-19 event.  Many of us have lost our income, some of us are not allowed outside of our home, people are sick and our world will forever be changed.  Despite all of this, we can make a difference.  We can change not only our own environment at home as well as our mental state, but we can make a positive impact on the world simply by chanting.

Chanting.  Now, you can chant out loud and if you’re like me and live alone, I can do it out loud anytime and not have to worry about disturbing anyone.  BUT you don’t need to chant out loud, you can chant at a whisper level or even just in your head.  You decide what you feel most comfortable with.

Why should you chant?  It is a form of meditation and some people enjoy it.  Chanting improves our parasympathetic nervous system and this is what strengthens our immune system.

Our immune system is our first defense against Covid 19.  A strong immune system will fight it off and as studies show most people that have been infected have NO symptoms.  Why no symptoms, because their immune system knocked it out.  Most people that do have symptoms experience mild symptoms.  But, if you have an impaired immune system, which can occur due to stress, disease, insulin resistance, etc, your immune system will have troubling fighting Covid 19 off.  These are the people that especially need to quarantine to protect themselves.

However, all of us can strengthen our immune system by chanting.  Chanting also lowers blood pressure, slows your breathing, decreases release of cortisol as well as many more benefits. And it’s FREE!

So you can chant whatever you would like to chant, but my suggestion is let’s send out some positive energy into the universe.  Whenever we say a word, its vibration continues on even after we have said it and can no longer hear it.  If you’re not chanting out loud, our thoughts are energy and travel out into space and all around the world so we can change our world by chanting!

My suggestion for chanting today is the Sanskrit saying:
Lokah samaste sukhino bhavantu

Don’t know how to say those words, no worries.  Say it in English:
May all beings we happy joyous and free!

Isn’t that what we all need now?  We can send that energy out and help the world heal.  Would you please join me and chant this?  I will be chanting everyday for at least 1 minute, probably longer.  Can you chant for a minute every day?

Hope you found this helpful.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

May all of you be happy joyous and free! Emoji

Namaste 

Patricia

Everyone Can Practice Yoga

Posted on by Patricia Reich

I had a 90 year old woman in one of my Chair Yoga classes this week.  And this was her first yoga class ever!  So what’s keeping you from trying yoga?  Think you’re too old?  Think you won’t be able to do it?  Worried about what others will think?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you’re operating from your ego.  A fear based place to be.  I create a positive and encouraging environment in my classes.  You do what you can do.  There is no judgment.  You are not in competition with anyone else not even yourself.

Why?  Because our bodies are always changing. One day you may be able to bend over and touch your toes then the next day you can barely reach your knees.  One is not good and the other bad.  The important thing is that you are creating a good habit and moving your body.

So now, what’s your excuse?  You can do it and once you do, you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner! In case your excuse is that you don’t know when my classes are, here is a link to my schedule: Class schedule See you in class.

Namaste!

 

 

Happy Mother’s Day?

Posted on by Patricia Reich

Mother’s Day isn’t happy for everyone.  Maybe your biological Mother died recently and this is a sore reminder of that loss.  Maybe you’re trying to start a family but having fertility issues.  Maybe your Mother abused or neglected you.  Maybe your biological Mother gave you up for adoption and you struggle to understand why.  Whatever your reason for not wanting to celebrate Mother’s Day, it’s alright.Whatever emotions you experience, don’t judge yourself.  Allow yourself to experience them. Watch them come and go.  Once you’ve let your emotions pass, let’s see what we can be thankful for.

Maybe you’ve had other females in your life that took over the roles of a mother. Maybe they encouraged you and listened to you.  Maybe they were just there for you.  Maybe they taught you how to cook.  The possibilities are endless.  These women are the ones that should be celebrated today.  If another woman you know helped you, reach out to them and thank them.  Let them know what they meant to you.  They may not realize it and they may need to hear what you have to say.

So we just turned a not so happy experience into a more positive experience.  Has anything changed?  The only thing that changed was your focus.  What were you focusing on when you weren’t happy?  What you didn’t have.  What were you focusing on to make it a positive experience?  What you did have.  That’s it, just a shift in your attention.  Meditation can help us to improve this.  When we meditate, we focus on something.  It may be our breathing or a mantra.  But that is our focus that is all that matters while we are meditating.  Meditating on a regular basis makes this become easier and more natural.  To learn more about meditation join us Saturday, May 21st at 8:30am.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Sugar Addiction

Posted on by Patricia Reich

Sugar is an addictive substance.  Do you crave sweets?  Once you start eating something sweet do you have trouble stopping?  It’s not a matter of willpower, sugar is highly addictive.  I’ve read sugar is as addictive as heroin.  There was another study with rats that were addicted to cocaine.  They then gave the rats a choice cocaine or sugar.  Guess which one the rats chose?  Sugar!  Also, when people stop eating sugar they experience withdrawal symptoms.

So if you are trying to stop eating sugar and are having trouble, don’t feel bad.  Your body is addicted to the substance and will crave it.  The best thing to do is treat it as an addiction and decide to give it up completely.  At first, you’re not going to feel well.  You’ll experience withdrawal symptoms and will feel like you are willing to do anything to get your sugar fix.

What can you do to help yourself give up sugar?  Find alternative foods to eat such as fresh vegetables, raw nuts and seeds, plain yogurt, kale chips.  Also, make sure you stay hydrated if your stomach is full (even if it is water) you will be less likely to eat empty calories.  Meditation can also help.  When the cravings come, take a deep breath in thru your nose and out thru your mouth, slowly and deeply.  Take 10 breaths like this and by the time you finish the 10th breath, your craving will have passed.  Finally, one last suggestion: exercise.  This will distract you from the craving plus you’ll burn calories and increase the release of your feel good hormones.  Exercise can be as simple as going for a walk, doing some push ups or sit ups, or just stretching.

Hope you’ve found this helpful. Please leave your comments below.

Namaste!