Mind In Body

I am not officially done with my Pancha Karma Cleanse as I still must do Anuvasan Basti. But I felt the need to report how things are going. What I have learned, what I won’t do and what I must focus on WHEN I do it again. This is my public confession.

What the heck am I talking about? I am doing an Ayurvedic cleanse, In brief it is a cleanse that comes from India that involves a step by step process of eliminating toxins. Pancha means 5 in Sanskrit. The cleanse is meant to help cleanse the physical, physiological, mental, spiritual and emotional bodies of an individual. It involves a series of tasks and eating habits one must do daily for a period of 3 days to a week. The prep lasts about a week and the reintroduction to the world of toxins;) lasts a few days. The Deepok Chopra site has an elegant definition and description http://www.chopra.com/panchakarma.

I have done an abbreviated version of this cleanse before. I was so terrified of it that I REALLY emotionally prepared for it. I had no idea how I would feel so I wiped my calendar clean. I did not socialize, only taught a few classes and had a lot of time during the day for my yoga practice, breathing practice, and meditation. I prepared my mono diet everyday and found great joy in doing so. I ate my small allotted amounts mindfully, slowly so I really tasted my food. My 3 meals of kitcheree and my drinking of ghee really satisfied me. I did not experience hunger.

That was then.

This week has been hell. Because the last time the experience was such a walk in the park, this time I didn’t emotionally prepare for it at all. I thought I picked a week where I didn’t have a lot going on but more things ended up on my plate and I HAD to do them (auditions, teaching more and even a gig). I kind of forgot the “Pancha” in Pancha Karma Cleanse. I could only focus on the dietary aspects of this cleanse. Hence, I was starving, a nervous wreck and furious for most of the week. It does not help that I am knee deep in menopause and my hot flashes are out of control.

Where was my yoga practice? When was I breathing? What happened to meditating? These are all Important aspects of the cleanse. The cleanse is a wonderful opportunity for self care. Instead I made it a MUST DO event where hell or high water I was doing this thing and damn it I was going to feel good afterward.

Hmmm. No wonder why most people go on retreat for this cleanse. It takes time, patience, and your responsibilities to the outside world MUST be reduced.

If I were to do this again, IN THIS WAY, my boyfriend promised to build a hut and lock me in it so I have no chance of interacting with him. Hmmm. I think should do it it the RIGHT WAY the next time. Oh and as for Anuvasun Basti… google it. I just cant even think about that right now.

Peace, health and happiness,

Molly Hagan

This Saturday, April 14

Olive Ave. will be closed from Buena Vista heading East all the way to Victory from 6 AM – 2 PM for a parade.

If you come from the 134 FWY, I suggest you continue North on Buena Vista (past Olive)and park in The Burbank Public Library lot just North of Olive on the East side of the street. Park as close to Olive as you can in the parking lot. On Foot exit the East side of the parking lot and turn right (south) onto Brighton. You will see a alley to your left (East) and enter Mind In Body from the back entrance. There is Mind In Body signage on the door.

You may also be able to find parking on Brighton. You can drive through the library parking all the way to Brighton and see what you find.

I greatly apologize for this inconvenience but the city gave the business owners on Olive no advance warning of the closure.

See you soon!

Peace and health,

Molly

The documentary HAPPY uplifted us, got us thinking and moving. For those who were not able to see the film here are some suggestions the film offered on how to increase your happiness. The film highlighted some specialists and their books.  I have included a reading list here.  It truly was a wonderful, thought provoking, and happy making film.

If you think happiness is not important:  A growing body of research shows that happy people are healthier and live longer. They are more likely to care for the environment and less likely to commit crimes or go to war. Happy people help others more often… and are more likely to find creative solutions. Increasing happiness benefits us as individuals and communities in infinite ways and is a goal worth sharing.

Play/Move

Get moving!  Get outside. Walk. Run. Dance. Stretch. Garden. Do Yoga;)

Build Relationships

Find ways to connect with people around you, especially those who make you feel good.

Increase Gratitude/Appreciation

Take time to notice the good things in life. The more we stop to notice them, the more there seem to be!

Find Flow/Engagement

Get engaged! Get lost in the moment by using your strengths. Try to note when you are in “flow”- when you are unaware of time passing and you are thoroughly engaged in an activity.  Then DO these activities!

Find Meaning

Find a way to connect to something larger than yourself.  Volunteer,  join a spiritual group or religion that shares your values, begin to think about what could engage you and how you can use that to benefit others.

Meditate

You can begin this potentially daunting endeavor by simply sitting quitely and watching your breath, or focusing on the sounds around you, or repeating a word aloud or to yourself, or focusing on one uplifting image internally or externally.

Books referenced in movie

The How of Happiness (Sonia Lyubomirsky)
Flow (Mihaly Cskszentmihalyi)
Happy for No Reason (Marci Shimoff)
Stumbling on Happiness (Daniel Gilbert)
Happiness:  Unlocking the Mysteries of Psychological Wealth (Ed and Robert Diener)
Happiness:  A Guide to Developing Life’s Most important Skill (Matthieu Richard)
The Emotional Life of Your Brain (Richard Davidson)
The Essence of Happiness (Dalai Lama)
Positivity (Barbara Fredrickson)
Authentic Happiness (Martin Seligman)

To get involved in this movement and to find out more about this film please visit thehappymovie.com/

The delightful host of Yoga Chat and writer of the blog The Accidental Yogist, Joni Yung, interviewed me for her weekly radio show.  She is terrific, plays great music and is interested in all things Yoga – even things like The Thinking Body – The Feeling Mind® that sometimes seems Yoga adjacent.

She introduces me about 43 minutes in.  It’s another opportunity to hear me try to describe what I teach. And I may say things you have never heard before;)  It’s fun.

For those on mobile devices that can’t see the MP3 file, click on this link Yoga Chat 1/4/12 killradio.org

Peace and health,
Molly

New beginnings, fresh starts, clean slates!  The New Year always brings such hope and promise.

Mind In Body will be rearranging classes and adding new classes throughout the next months, like Belly Dancing!  So always check the calendar for changes and new classes.  Please be aware, some teachers are still away.

We have also added a new page to announce workshops and other events.  In January there is a lot going on so be sure to check it out.

May the New Year bring you health, wealth, joy, and glorious new beginnings!

Love,

Molly

The Holidays are fast upon us.  For the young ones it can be a time of wonder and fun.  The decorations are bright and shiny, there is  more hustle and bustle, and of course the promise of presents.  As we get older these Holidays may not be so exciting, wonderful or fun.  This time of the year can be the most stressful, the most sorrowful, most painful time of year for many reasons.  So take a moment out of your day for this treat.  Bernice is a 91 year old Yoga teacher.  Yoga truly is for all ages and it is never too late to start.  There is always something a body can move and it is moving in mindfulness that makes it Yoga.  Enjoy reading about Bernice and Move to Live.

Alas, due to Diane’s knee surgery, Thursday morning classes have been put on hold until the new year.  I will keep you posted when they return.

I will be teaching for Diane this Saturday morning (October 15). It will be a gentle Hatha Class with a healthy bit of  The Thinking Body -The Feeling Mind® thrown in – can’t help it;)

However, my schedule does not allow me to take this class on full time. So I am looking for a substitute.  I will keep you posted about all of this AND Diane’s progress.

Peace and health,

Molly

Our dear friend and fellow teacher, Diane Beglin, took a nasty fall on Wednesday morning.  The ground was quite slick and during her morning walk she slipped on a wet patch and went down.  Diane’s knee cap broke in half.  That night she went into surgery  and through the miracle that is western medicine, they put pins in her knee and put it back together.  Quite astonishing.

More astonishing is Diane was up and around the next day. I went to visit her yesterday and by her demeanor you would never have known this happened.  Being the Yogini she is, Diane breathed her way into calmness during her 12 hour wait for surgery.  And she is currently only taking Advil for the pain. Wow.

But it did happen and her knee needs to be immobilized for at least 2-3 months so it can heal.

I will be teaching her class this morning Saturday (Oct. 8).  But we will be looking for someone to take over her classes.  We will keep you posted if we need to cancel anything until a good substitute is found.

Please think about Diane and send her light.

Peace and health,

Molly Hagan

It was a trip I will never forget.  The people of Bogota are incredibly friendly, sophisticated and fun. One of our hosts said there had been studies done on the level of happiness in different countries and the people in Columbia rated the happiest in the world.  There is great wealth and great poverty but it makes no difference in the happiness quotient.  I have never seen people as passionate about their country as Columbians.  They have an extraordinary history and a seemingly limitless future.  Their museums are like none I have every experienced. They have made incredible changes in a short amount of time:  The country is exponentially safer than it was in the height of the drug trade.  Bogota was vastly cleaner than LA, and their health care outranks ours.  I would highly recommend visiting.

The health in longevity symposium was very interesting. Each presenter was unique and informative.  Dr. Linda Lack and I hit it our presentation out of the park. In front of a very receptive and eager audience:  we did a bit of performance art, demonstrated a high level beautiful sequence as a duet, Linda gave an incredible lecture, delivered a power point presentation of some of the older individuals who have been practicing The Thinking Body- The Feeling Mind®, Linda lead a brief class that they could experience standing in front of their chair and sitting while I assisted, and then we answered questions. It lasted about an hour and 40 minutes and it was terrifically fun for me.  Oh and I think the audience got a lot out of it too;)

I may write more about this later but wanted you to know what I was up to last week.  As I wasn’t quite sure until we did it.  To lean more click on symposium and you may get a taste of how eclectic and wonderful it was.  Oh and by the way, it is in Spanish – so enjoy.  We had translators at the event.  They were two woman who had crafted and honed their amazing gift.  Linda and I were very indebted to them.