Healing Meditation and Lift Sessions

Guided Meditations for Life Balance and Inner Peace

These fully guided dynamic mind meditations have been specially designed to create change to enrich your life for the better. We help you create more peace in your life and the world around you.

Finding Peace in the Corporate World Meditation:

When:     Tuesday nights
Where:    Radiance Healthcare, Level 4, 261 George Street, Sydney CBD
Time:       6pm- 7.30pm
Cost:        By donation

Finding Peace Within Meditation:

When:     Wednesday nights
Where:    Radiance Healthcare, Level 4, 261 George Street, Sydney CBD
Time:       6pm- 7.30pm
Cost:        By donation



These are drop in classes.
No bookings or prior experience required.
Caters for all levels of meditation experience.

Winter Warming Daily Deeds ~ how to stay Fit & Healthy this Winter

Winter is Kapha season for all things cold, damp and heavy where life moves slowly. The predominant qualities of the winter season are damp, cloudy, heavy, cool & oily. The perfect environment for those pesky cold bugs to flourish in! Kapha is by nature slow and steady so you can feel good by changing your daily habits  to suit your environment! 

o   Waking up: an excuse to lie in bed! Unless work otherwise restricts, a 7am rise is perfect. 

o   Tongue scraping: do this after brushing your teeth. This is a vital part of daily hygiene. It removes toxins/coating & stimulates digestion. A stainless steel tongue scraper should ideally be used. Your toothbrush just wont do the job no matter what the branding tries to sell you.

o   Yoga Asanas: best poses for winter include Fish; Locust; Boat; Bow; Lion; Camel and Shoulder Stand. You can get a DVD and practice at home if you are too shy to join a class. When practising any yoga poses always work within your limitations, knowledge & awareness. If you are not or have never done a yoga class then think about starting one. There are heaps of gentle stretching classes for beginners.  Hatha yoga or Iyengar Yoga classes are best for beginners. Now I know what you’re thinking…but I’m not flexible enough! Well Ill let you into a little secret…. The whole point of yoga is to connect you to your breath and your physical body. It has very little to do with flexibility which is something that comes as a result of many years of practice. Having practiced yoga myself for the last 30 years (yes I am that old and I was lucky to have an old hippy as a teacher at 10 years of age who took yoga classes in the heart of Yorkshire England) and now about to qualify as a yoga teacher trainer, the benefits I have personally taken from  this ancient practice are immeasurable.  I used to suffer from a tight neck and would regularly be unable to turn my head for days. I also had chronic digestion problems that were helped with yoga practices. But the most amazing thing I take from yoga is the continual learning about my self, my body and my mind even after all these years there is always so much more to learn and discover about me…and lets face it, its all about us isn’t it!

o   Quiet meditation: follow your yoga practice with 5-10 minutes of quiet grounding meditation. Sit in a comfortable position (don’t lie down you are likely to fall asleep and this is not the object of this game) focussing entirely on your breath as it enters the nostrils following it all the way through the brain down the body & out through the feet and base of spine. Imagine that you can grow deep roots into the Earth. If your mind is busy think to yourself “thought” then take your awareness back to the breath. If you get physical pain then think to yourself “sensation” and take your awareness back to the breath. If your mind is distracted with surrounding noise think “noise” and again return your focus to the breath. Keep repeating this for 5-10 minutes. No one can do this well when they first start. It would be like saying Im going to run a marathon and then not train for it and expect to be able to run the whole course. Its just not going to happen. The benefit is in the practice. Its not the end goal of getting it perfect. It is a practice of training the mind to be still. Go on, give it a try today. 

o   Self-massage: stand in the shower without the water running & apply a handful in total of warmed organic black seed sesame oil to your entire body. I offer beautiful Ayurvedic body massage oils blended to balance your doshas. if you are interested email me and I can send you the details. Begin with your scalp (don’t worry it doesn’t make your hair greasy) and don’t forget your head and soles of feet (being careful not to slip in the shower with your oily feet). Use a soft rubbing motion massaging around in circular movements for the joints, and lengthways up and down your arms and legs. Follow this with a hot shower to rinse off. Warm sesame oil penetrates all 7 layers of the skin & will give you a nice winter coat for warmth and protection, boost your immune system, help rejuvenate and revitalise your skin, aid in proper elimination of wastes and give you an all over glow like the old porridge adverts on TV. It also helps with flaky scalp and greying on the scalp.

o   Winter Food Suggestions: winter is a time when we feel the need to eat comfort food. Some of us will start to reach for the pasta, home made puddings, chocolate and pies at this time. Well the good news is we can eat hearty meals without the need to put weight on if we keep it simple:

§  Breakfast: cooked quinoa, amaranth, barley or tapioca in water or rice milk with a pinch of cinnamon, tumeric, and add it whatever dried or fresh fruit or nuts you like. Mix it up a little so you don’t get bored with the same thing every day.  

§  Lunch: this should be the largest meal of the day. Why I hear you ask? Well because our digestion is at its most effective when the sun is highest in the sky – ie at noon. After that the fire in the sky and our bellies diminishes and we are less efficient at digesting our food and our emotions after this time. – try a nourishing and detoxifying Kichardi of mung dhal and basmati rice with winter herbs. Chicken or turkey can be added for extra strength in winter.

§  Dinner: this should be the lightest and smallest meal of the day – try steamed vegetables and hot home made soup.

§  Drinks: boil ½ tsp fresh ginger + squeeze fresh lemon + ½ tsp cinnamon + pinch cloves + pinch turmeric in cup water for 5 mins and drink – or better still put all ingredients in a thermos flask, fill with boiling water, allow to steep for 5 mins and sip this throughout the day.  This is fabulous for improving circulation, eliminates mucus from the system, helps clean and detox the liver, and stokes your digestive fire so you can easily digest your food and avoid unnecessary weight gain. Its also great for strengthening your immune system and preventing colds + flus.

Winter Herbs: the best herbs for winter are heating, decongestants such as: liquorice; ginger; black pepper and turmeric. Use in teas and/or add to food.

o   Physical Activity: get up a sweat! A brisk walk up a big hill will do it! Put lots of layers on and keep them on to keep the sweat going. Avoid naps during the day in winter and instead go to bed earlier. 

o   Bed time: rub 3/4 drops of organic black seed sesame oil on your scalp and soles of the feet to promote sound restful sleep. Avoid stimulating activities 1-2 hours before bed. Yes that includes TV, playstations and iPads folks!!

Yoga Nidra: Relax and get back into your body with Yoga Nidra - no this isnt yoga its a meditation practice that talks you through each part of the body to get you into a very deep state of relaxation. Its fantastic for sleep problems and when your mind is whirring away when you're trying to get to sleep. !!! I have just recorded my own Yoga Nidra CD which is now for sale. Contact me for all purchases!!!

 Energise ≈ Rejuventate ≈ Vitalise

Initiate Ayurveda

Anjani Helen Gregoriou, Ayurvedic Therapist | Energy Healer

0423 550 668 | initiate.ayurveda@gmail.com

www.initiateayurveda.blogspot.com

www.initiate-tours.com

BREEZE INTO AUTUMN

VATA SEASON

So here comes Autumn. There’s the all too familiar chill in the air. Its dark when we get up for work and we are most likely to be found curled up on the sofa of an evening.  With a change in the seasons our living and eating habits must change too. We need to be mindful of supporting our bodies and re-balancing any elemental disharmony.

THE ELEMENTS 

In Autumn, the Vata dosha (made up of the elements of ether and air) is most prominent. To put it simply there is more air or wind which stirs up not only the weather but also our emotions. The air can also get into our joints and can bring about cracking or popping. The temperature is cooler, which has a cooling effect on our internal body heat. Many of us will fall pray to the common cold at the turn of Autumn if we do not support the body during this change. The ether brings a dryness to the air outside which leads to a dryness of our skin, cracked lips and even constipation with the drying of faeces.

Vata controls the the mind, the heart, creativity, digestion, relaxation, and the nervous system. It becomes much easier to overwork your mind and nervous system in Autumn. Too much work and not enough down time in Autumn leads to anxiety,  a weak immune system and ultimately dis-ease. It can also lead to cramps, insomnia, stiffness in the spine and an overly busy mind ~ what those in the medical fraternity loosely term “stress”.

DAILY ROUTINES TO HARMONISE THE ELEMENTS

Its very easy to counter the effects of increased ether and air in Autumn. We simply offer to ourselves the opposite elements to bring our mind and body in tune with nature:

• Rest more
• Wrap up in warm clothing covering the head, ears and neck from the cold wind
• Eating warming, moist, grounding foods to nurture the body
• Adopt a regular routine by getting up, eating, exercising and going to bed at regular times. Ideally we all should be in bed by 10pm. If we miss the 10pm train we get our second wind and our body thinks its time to wake up again.
• Exercise should also be regular and more gentle. Try out some grounding yoga asanas (poses), tai chi or qui gong to build the energy body. Swimming in a heated indoor pool or occasional running or bike ride to get up a sweat is also good. 
• Take a warm shower or bath after exercise. Ideally sit in a warm sauna or steam room if available.
• Give your head and body a rub all over (self massage) with warmed organic black sesame oil before showering or bathing to lubricate the skin and internal organs, counteract dryness and enliven the body prana (energy). It will soothe, ground and insulate the body making you feel warm safe and secure. This will also aid digestion and allow toxins to be eliminated from the body
• Get a professional Ayurvedic full body Abhayanga massage on a regular basis especially if you work with your mind every day. This will reduce anxiety and tension in the body and mind and bring clarity of thought and a feeling of general well being.
• Counteract wrinkles with a daily helping of organic jojoba oil. Use 1 to 2 drops on the palms of your hands and gently rub in circular movements over the entire face and ears in an upwards motion
• Rub 1 drop of organic black sesame oil into each nostril using the tip of your little finger after you shower or bathe in the morning to keep it from drying out and keep colds and flu at bay
• If starting a new project plan carefully and adopt a solid strategy to avoid it becoming too stressful on the mind and body
• Rub warmed sesame oil on the soles of the feet and crown of the head at night before bed to help with insomnia and anxiety for a peaceful nights sleep zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

EAT YOURSELF WELL

The keys principles to a great Autumn eating are WARM, MOIST NOURISHING foods:

• Favour foods which are sweet, mildly spicy, sour and salty as these increase moisture and encourage feeling nourished and grounded
• Reduce dry, cold, raw, fried and frozen foods
• Breakfast should be warm and moist. Replace the cold cereals and dry toast with warmed hot quinoa or amaranth (ancient grains) and cooked fruit, or warmed oats with added raisins, crushed walnuts or almond slithers and agave syrup or honey to sweeten
• Favour soups and stews, kichari, curries, warm and savoury foods. Salads should be warm such as a warm roasted veggie salad with aduki beans
• Make good use of warming herbs in your food: black pepper, ginger, tumeric, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg
• Drinks should be sipped and taken warm. Try warm milk spiced with nutmeg and cardamon before bed for a sound restful sleep
• Avoid eating solids after 7pm

FASTING IN AUTUMN

 A 7 day fast of kichari (mung dhal, rice and vegetable curry)  and cooked fruit can be taken to prepare the body for the on-chill of winter. It can also be good for hayfever, stuffiness or mucous build up which are all caused by a build up of toxins in the body. The kichari can be eaten for breakfast and lunch with cooked fruit, cinnamon and cloves for dinner. Herbal teas can be sipped for the duration of the fast. Mung dhal eats away toxins and is extremely light to digest. This fast allows the body to rest, recoup and eliminate toxins naturally. It is really important to rest during such a fast. You should not go to work whilst during this fast. To tax the body while fasting will weaken the immune system and can lead to sickness, headaches, nausea and insomnia. After the fast, re-introduce sugars, carbs, coffee and alcohol (if you feel you must!) slowly.

YOGA ~ GROUNDING ASANAS

Yoga asanas (poses) should be focused on downward-moving energy (apana)  and the hips to help ground the nervous system and build strength and heat in the body.

Practicing any yoga posture in a relaxing way with slow deep breathing and the intention to let go and relax the nervous system can be very beneficial in decreasing the symptoms of allergies.

 

Good asanas to practice for Autumn are:

• Sitting poses to ground and still the body: Virasana (Hero), Siddhasana (Cross legged with the toes tucked in, Padmasana (Lotus), Lion pose (Simhasana)
• Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutes):  at least 3 rounds slowly and with conscious slow breath
• Standing poses: Tadasana (Mountain) Vrkasana (Tree), Trikonasana (Triangle), Virabhadrasana 1 and 2 (Warrior)
• Inversions: Sirshasana (Headstand) or lie on your back with your legs up against the wall
• Forward bends:  Uttanasana (standing forward bend), Paschimottananasana (sitting forward bend), Vajrasana (child’s pose) great for constipation and wind
• Spinal twists: Especially lying and seated to calm the nervous system. Ensure the breath is as full as possible for the full effects to be felt 
• Savasana or Yoga Nidra (deep relaxation of entire body - yoga sleep)-  20 - 30 minutes and wrap up warm

PRANAYAMA

Practicing stillness and focus on the breath relaxes the nervous system which sends signals to the immune system to settle down.  Pranayama (conscious breath control) and meditation are a great way to achieve this. 

A great Pranayama technique for Autumn is "Kapalabhati"   Kapalabhati breathing is great for allergies and hayfever and mucous build up as it forces out the toxins and mucous and clears the nostrils.

How to:

1) Sit crossed legged with a straight back.  Rest hands on knees with palms upwards. Relax face and neck. 

2) Inhale deeply through both nostrils and allowing the abdomen to fill up like a balloon at the same time. 

3) Exhale out of the nostrils by forcefully contracting the abdominal muscles. (Pull the abdomen in by quickly contracting the abdominal muscles and exhale through the nose) to push the air out of the diaphragm. 

4) The focus is on the outward exhalation - allow the inhalation to happen naturally 

Start with rounds of 15 breaths. At the end of this round breathe in and out slowly and deeply and bring your awareness to your forehead as you do so.You can repeat this up to two more times.

 Peace of I ~ Anjani xx

RELAX ~ REPLENISH ~ REJUVENATE