Bellydancing: The Sacred Art
By Brandi Hubiak
If you longed for a physical fitness regime that would be more fun than push-ups and sit-ups, more gentle on the body than running, and more accessible and inviting to you right now in the shape you are in than—say—going to a health-club full of already pumped up and slimmed down bodies, don’t despair; there is an option for you. Bellydance is an incredibly fun and surprisingly intensive workout, engaging core muscles while encouraging whole-body strength and flexibility. As bellydance is essentially creative and non-competetive, it allows for personal style and embellishment, making it very accessible to people of all ages, sizes, and health conditions. The objective in the dance is to internalize the music you are moving with and let that unfold through articulated movements in whatever way feels most satisfying to you, the dancer. It’s not about pain; it’s about pleasure. If something gives us pleasure we will tend to do it more often; if that something happens to be a good workout disguised as a good time, surely the results over time will be improved health and vigor! .…

Yoga Poses: Warming Winter Poses for Cold Winter Days
By Cindy Dollar
Brrrr. Winter months are cold; there’s no doubt about it! We walk around town all bundled up and huddled over — our shoulders hunched up by our ears, arms crossed over our chest, and head looking down. These physical actions can cause us to become emotionally depressed and physically constricted. Other than move to the tropics, what can we do? We can, for one thing, adjust our yoga practice to include more warming and opening poses. We can, in addition, hold the poses for longer periods of time and/or do more of them. If you are a new practitioner, I suggest that you practice the same pose several times during a practice session until your body feels warmer and able to hold that same pose for a longer duration. More experienced practitioners can hold an active pose for an extended period of time to help the body warm up. You can move from one pose to another without much time between them as well, as long as you are still mindful about your alignment. It’s easy to get sloppy if we move too fast — in life as well as on the mat! .…

Let The Healthy Lifestyle Vortex Take You For a Ride
By Greg Hottinger
This winter season provides holidays and opportunities to give thanks for our many blessings, celebrate our families and friends, and even renew our faith. Regrets and depressions are also present during the “cold months of despair” that leave many searching for new beginnings. Fortunately, January 1 marks a time of resolution to vow to do things differently next year! And I’d be willing to bet that your personal finances and spending habits are near the top of that list of “how things should/could be” if only….
Let’s begin by focusing on the miracle of Abundance, by exposing the falsehoods of lack and unworthiness that permeate our society. We can make simple, conscious choices to re-create our financial pictures and thus reduce the stress and strain on our finances (and ultimately our health). Abundance grows best when tended with persistence and fertilized with nurturing support. …

Yoga and Movement For Your Life
By Teresa Soule
In 2006, yoga is everywhere. Most mainstream magazines have published one or more articles on yoga. Turn on the TV and the fitness channel has a variety of yoga classes and styles to choose from. Shop at Target or Walmart and you can pick through an amazing variety of yoga videos, books, and magazines. Whole lines of clothes are specifically designed for yoga students! It seems as if everyone is doing yoga. …

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WHAT's AHEAD:
Mar 2006 Issue: Mental and Spiritual Health

- Practicle use of duality: the divine and mental health
- Ecopsycology and our loss of connection with nature
- Treating depression, ADHD and more: conventionally and naturally
- How food affects our psycology
- Indigenous Healing

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