Several months ago I had the pleasure of being introduced to Kundalini Yoga at LaResidencia Hotel and Spa in Mallorca, Spain. I was intrigued by the class, so I asked the instructor, Jeanne Lurie if she could spend some time with me to share her insight and experiences of this form of yoga.

Jeanne Lurie of HappyYoga

All yoga seeks to awaken Kundalini energy. It’s creativity, soul energy, universal energy and we use it to elevate our consciousness. The practice en-kindles the process of living life to the fullest and maximizing our potential as human beings.

Kundalini was first introduced into the western world in 1969 by Yoga master Yogi Bhajan ph.D. kundalini yoga is an ancient and powerful form of yoga, considered to be the mother of all other forms of yoga. An ancient yoga form - very appropriate for the times in which we are living in- ideal for the active person who needs to lower their stress level, achieve inner peace and calm and improve their health and well-being.

Kundalini Yoga is referred to as the yoga of the consciousness because it works to integrate the glandular system and the nervous system. The benefit is then a balance between the physical, emotional, spiritual aspects of the self. The breath, combined with posture and with mantra (mantra = mind -vibration, a sacred primordial current of sound) focuses the mind and can help to eliminate harmful negative thought patterns, a word or combination of words. It is the scientific use of sound to affect the consciousness.

Can you share a story or two of how your classes have helped people?

• I taught the wife of a man suffering with terminal illness, her life was dedicated to caring for him. After the class she told me she had never before experienced such calm and inner peace, and I had made a profound change on her life is just one session. She now felt she had the strength to carry on with inner strength and calm.

• In the US when I was 18 years old, I taught a group of men and women of mixed ages. One older woman came up to me after a few classes and said she had not felt so full of life and energy in many years. The sad thing was all her friends who did not practice yoga were suffering from poor health and lacking in energy. She wanted to go out dancing and had no one to share her newfound youthful vigor and vitality with, her friends were all too tired!

What advice would you give to a beginning yoga student?
The first step is always making a commitment to making a positive change in your life. The second step is discipline, to keep at it. It’s always easier to stay in bed or not to go to class. Take one step at a time and stick with it and keep moving forward.

If a yoga student only has 5 minutes a day, what should they do?
There’s really no substitute for attending a class. There’s a group energy and connection that nourishes and enriches an individual. But individual practice can be very beneficial as well.

• Make the commitment to reserve time to practice
• Don’t wait until you have an hour. Start with 10 minutes and let it grow. You’ll find that it feels so good that even just 10 minutes on a daily basis will bring positive results and the practice will easily turn into an hour because it is too enjoyable to stop!
• Stick to the discipline, it is always easy to find an excuse why not to practice.
• Sit still and breathe and center before beginning your practice, connect with your higher self, connect with the universe, connect with the mantra of connection, the Adi Mantra

Jeanne is a Kundalini yoga teacher and owner/director of happyyoga in Mallorca.  Feel free to contact her directly for information on yoga retreats in Mallorca.  Her email is: mallorca [at] happyyoga [dot] com.

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I used to be a gym rat. Not really a rat, but I did workout about 6 days a week. I also taught kickboxing and was a personal trainer.
I was also 12 pounds heavier and 2 dress sizes larger.

Funny isn’t it?
During my little nature walk this morning I watched as bikers raced by and a runner came huffing and puffing past me. Don’t get me wrong. It is great to work up a sweat, and get the blood pumping. However, I do not think this is necessarily the be-all end-all answer to weight loss because that wasn’t what worked for me.

I remember a gal in high school who was always chubby. She walked a lot every day. By junior year she had lost about 25 pounds and everyone noticed her. Wow. How incredible. She watched what she ate and she walked.

In my case, I had some emotional baggage I was carrying. Depression is a heavy load: mentally, emotionally and even physically. I spent a lot of time worked on healing myself. I learned how much of my eating and craving of food was triggered by my emotions. I received a lot of bodywork to heal the emotions through my body.
As I felt better, loved myself more, and had higher self esteem, the pounds started to come off. I also discovered Eat Right for Your Type a book that links food and nutrition to individual blood type. I’ve been eating right for my type (which happens to be O) and this is how I stay slim without “working out” at all. I do yoga, nature hikes, swim and dance. Not to lose weight, but to have fun and move when I feel stuck.

Do you have a story of how you’ve transformed and improved your life in some way? I’m working on a slideshow for Glam that includes stories and images of people who have changed. Feel free to email me: rebecca [at] glam [dot] com.

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This book has really helped me eat better and lose weight.

Eat Right for Your Type

I have struggled with IBS (irritable bowel syndrom) and stomach aches for most of my life. I have always felt bloated and tired after consuming wheat. I usually get stomach aches from dairy. Yes, we might say that I’m lactose intolerant and have a wheat allergy, but this book explained to me that these symptoms make perfect sense for someone with Type O blood. Type O, the “oldest” blood type, should not consume wheat or dairy. Wow. Type O’s were the hunters and gatherers who ate meat. This is not something that vegetarians want to hear.
For Type A’s, however, wheat isn’t much of a problem. According to D’Adamo, A is for Agrarian, the blood type that developed after populations increased on the planet and there wasn’t enough meat to go around, so people settled and created farms. One of my type A friends was amazed when I told her about that. She said, yes, for me, I feel bloated and tired if I eat meat. Things like cereal or bread are fine for me.

This book describes the evolution of blood type. It contains specific meal plans and lists of foods for each type that are beneficial, neutral or should be avoided. I highly recommend this book to anyone who struggles with food, nutrition, weight loss and diabetes.

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