Monday, May 30, 2016

Cultivating Relaxation


With no shortage of things to do and connections to maintain these days, it seems harder and harder for us to find time to relax well.

Relaxation is defined as a state in which we are free from anxiety and tension. In physics it is equated to the return to equilibrium after being in a state of activity. It can even be a state of mind.

When relaxation comes as a result of an activity, it is considered passive relaxation. Typically we find ourselves relaxing in this passive mode, as seen through the relative ease with which we can rest after a vigorous workout. Culturally we tend to engage our relaxation in this mode of reactionary experience. When we expend our energy, nature naturally will lead us back to our balance.

If there is passive relaxation then what about active relaxation? Despite sounding like a paradox, active relaxation takes the act of relaxation to a place of conscious effort. Through a little bit of focus we can initiate our own state of peace through our intention, breath and bodily awareness, inviting relaxation into our lives in any situation. When we can cultivate a practice of active relaxation, it can give us much more present and energetically stable experiences.

For example, when we take a moment to step outside of a stressful situation and take a few deep breaths, we can calm our nerves, invite oxygen into the blood stream, grounding ourselves and calming the mind. Doing so allows us to return to the situation with more awareness, clarity and energetic “lightness” or “openness”. When we maintain an internal openness we are much more efficiently suited to perform better at our tasks and express our potentials more readily. You will see athletes center themselves (actively relaxing) before they compete to improve their performance. In a perpetual culture, balance is the key and relaxation should be emphasized in its importance.


Active relaxation shows us that we can gain more mastery of our lives through not being subjected to reacting to a situation. It is a practice and cultivation that yields greater and greater results with time. It is the Yin to Yang.

With a rise in stress related illnesses, such as heart disease, depression and gastrointestinal problems, it has become apparent that we definitely need more relaxation in general in our lives, be it active or passive. Relaxation is integral to the principles of our wellness classes. Through actively relaxing during stretching and holding certain postures, we allow our bodies to energetically open in further depth and promise leading to improved states of vitality, robustness and healing.





Here are some helpful exercises to help you relax and release stagnate energy:

1. Full body tapping. Tapping is a great way to get our blood flowing, sensitize our bodies, and release stagnation from the meridian channels. We recommend you do this with joyful music. Starting with the crown of the head gently tap the surface of your body all the way down to the soles of your feet. As you tap each part of the body make sure to breath out to release tension and help new energy flow through. Enjoy awakening and feeling your body in a new way. This exercise should take about 10 minutes to complete.

2.  Plate Balancing Exercise.   Plate Balancing exercise is a simple way to energize your whole body and create internal heat. Plate balancing involves moving your arm in a figure-eight pattern in a vertical infinity- while balancing a plate on your hand. This exercise strengthens the body’s major joints and meridians, especially the upper body and abdominal area. We recommend doing this exercise 10 times with the left and right side of the body.
3.  Vibration.  Vibration is an excellent tool to utilize active relaxation. Through gently bouncing the body up and down we can awaken our senses and release stiffness and stagnant energy from our joints and muscles. To start, play joyful music and bounce the body rhythmically, keeping your feet on the ground. With your sense of awareness “feel” your way down the whole body starting with the top of the head to the feet releasing as you focus on each individual part by breathing out.



I encourage you to remember to take the time to listen to pause, and listen to your body and cultivate a practice of relaxation inviting more peace and harmony in your day to day.


Friday, April 29, 2016

On Mindfulness


If you've been to one of our wellness classes you may have noticed that you left feeling not only refreshed and relaxed but also energized. Why is that? What is the difference between an hour of our wellness classes and an hour spent working out at the gym? The difference is simple, it is mindfulness.


How many times have you been at the gym, in the middle of your run while simultaneously preparing everything you will need to do once you get home? Or you may have transported yourself to another world during your workout routine while being fully absorbed in an audio book. As we engage our bodies where does our attention normally go? Where doesn’t it go? Even during our daily routines, how present are we to experience the embodied moment? How does being present change the experience and why does it matter?

Scientific study has shown that we essentially have two distinct ways of interacting with the world using two different sets of neural networks in our brain. The first being our “default network” or “narrative circuit”, which becomes activated when we are involved in planning, daydreaming and ruminating on our lives. In this “mode” our mental energy is directed and processed towards our thoughts and mental projections of the world. In this age of information this is typically the mode that we tend to operate on.


The second network is that which is called the “direct experience” network and this “mode” is activated when you switch your awareness from thinking to that of the information of the senses. Through “direct experience” we can experience information through our senses in real-time giving us a more undiluted perspective of reality in the now. This second network is closely connected and activated with the mindfulness and meditation.



Direct experience is easily cultivated and activated when we “shut off our minds” (or switch networks) and focus on our bodily sensations or breath. When we tune in to our “direct experiences” we can experience ourselves and the world in a much different light.*

Experience your body and mind working together at our wellness classes today!

Friday, April 8, 2016

Spring Awakening

With May just around the corner, it has come time again to hang up those heavy coats and put the winter boots away.  Like letting out a cathartic exhalation, our winter hibernation has finally come to its end and soon brown, grey and white landscapes will be a distant memory.


Sprouts are breaking soil.  Magnolias are budding.  The forsythias have pronounced their presence.  And the late afternoon chorals of peepers slowly builds through the landscape.  The entire world is awakening once again.   One cannot help but feel the buzzing electricity of new energy permeating the earth, rattling up our being.



Symbolically, spring marks a time of renewal and rebirth. It is the release of the latent energy of winter into bold and vibrant new movements of life.   The season of beginnings and initiations, spring embodies the essence of youthful energy, gifting us another opportunity for new strides towards personal growth and discovery. 

During this time of year, our physical energy expands which can trigger a desire to make changes to our lifestyles and set new goals.  Often the energy of spring brings along with it an awareness of our personal direction in life and our future plans.

It is an unique time to utilize the abundant creative energy around us and to release stagnation and unfulfilling patterns we may have accumulated.  By harnessing the natural momentum of this season, and setting our intention or goal, we can blossom forward towards a fruitful transformation of our self and our world.

Some simple ideas to help you move through spring with more energy and joy:

1.  Give yourself a spring cleanse.  We all do some spring cleaning at home, but take time to nourish your inner self so that you may shine brighter to the outward world with a bit of Yogaand tai chi, Meditation or other wellness therapies/treatments.  There surely is no lacking in personal wellness opportunities and services in the Hudson Valley Area.    

2.  Immerse yourself in the Natural World!  Leave the tech at home, soak up the sun and sink your feet into the earth.  The warmer weather is calling us to breath, to move, to play and enjoy; letting us know Spring is THE time to be active, out and about.  It's the perfect time to start that gardening project at the community gardens you've been thinking about all winter.  Or to take that camping trip upstate .   Or explore/hike the local trails, and mountains.  The natural world is never so abundant nor beautiful as it is in the spring months.   Take it all in!

3.  Listen to uplifting music.   Music is a huge mood influencer and can help amplify our experience of spring enriching our lives through rhythm and melody. There are plenty of music venue's throughout the Hudson Valley with spectacular events to groove to and move to such as a few of our favorite places: Bethel Woods, or BSP Kingston Check out this great resource as well here for some more great tunes.

4.  Try new things!   There is no shortage of activities and local groups to connect with to engage in new adventures and activity during the warmer months of the year.  Some of our favorite activities include: local rock climbing,  kayaking, and sky diving.   You can always check out the latest show at the Shadowland theater.


With the warmer weather coming in full effect, make sure you get out there and circulate and enjoy yourself!  We hope you become refreshed and prepared for your new you!

Saturday, March 5, 2016

Easy Steps to Stress Management

We've all been there...  After a long day of errands you find yourself at home and now the little ones have you at your wit's end.   Or, last minute your supervisor gives you an unexpected project that they needed done yesterday.  Or you just can't seem to come to an agreement with a close relative about an issue that keeps repeating itself. 

Just imagining these situations gives us a not so great feeling, what to speak of experiencing them? What do they all have in common?   They can all potentially give us more stress!!!  



Life happens.  As commonplace as stress has become in our perpetually moving culture, we often are not equipped with the tools to check in with ourselves and to take control of the situation to combat the compounding effects of stress on our bodies, energy and mind.




When stress comes the first thing we need to do is wake up and realize that we can have a choice in how to respond to the situation.   



With a few tools we can help to alleviate tension, reground ourselves and move through the challenging circumstances with increased ease and ownership of our response to it.


Image Source

MOVE YOUR BODY:  A gentle shake or vibration of the body can quickly help to let go of mounting stress by loosening up our muscles and joints, circulate our blood and bring us back into our body.  A good way to do this is to find a secluded area with minimal distractions, and while standing gently bounce your body with your feet keep contact with the floor.   Systematically feel your body from the crown down to your feet while maintaining gentle exhalations to help release stress and stagnant energy from each part.   A simple 2 minute shake can really help to clear out any negative effects of the situation.

TAP YOUR BODY:  Through tapping our body we can help to lighten our energy and re-ground ourselves.  You can discover where your stress is accumulating and gently tap those areas, while emphasizing a soft exhalation to help send new energy to those places.   It's good to tap from head to toe.  

BREATH DEEPLY :  After tapping or shaking pause for some deep breathing while feeling the sensation of your body.  Keeping your attention turned inwards, breath in feel your abdomen expand and as you exhale relax your shoulders and chest.    Continue this for a few minutes or until your mind begins to settle and watch your body naturally release its tension. 

These simple exercises should take only about 5 -10 minutes and leave you feeling more present, recharged and able to take on the rest of your day empowered! 


To learn more please visit  www.earthmindwellness.com or contact us at 845-210-3143

Saturday, February 6, 2016

Staying balanced and warm this winter season.


Having been lucky enough to have somewhat of a mild winter, here in upstate NY, we are still not completely out of the clutches of the winter season and its bite.   With potentially a few more flurries and teen degrees expected (or lower) , it's important that we still maximize all that we can do to cap off this winter season inviting balance and wellbeing for a smooth transition into the spring.    

Here are some tips to help round out the rest of your winter season:

Create lasting inner heat!
The cold in the air has the capability of permeating into our body lowering our immunity.   Just like our homes during this cold season we should take the necessary steps to keep our body at a suitable temperature to help maintain  healthy circulation, metabolism, and boost our immunity. 


We recommend : 

Light physical exercise.   To help prevent stagnation we recommend light exercises to help circulation of blood and energy such as jogging, walking, or hiking.  You want to create just enough warmth in the body.  Even something as easy as simple stretches through yoga or qigong are great methods to warm the muscles.



Choose warming foods.  It is a good time to eat lots of porridges and root vegetables.  Some great additions to your meals can include:  carrots, potatoes, chestnuts , cabbage, pine nuts, anchovies, mussels, trout, and legumes.   You may consider adding the following warming herbs and spices to your meals or to teas: ginger, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, fennel and anise.  One of my favorite seasonal go-to is Korean Beef Broth soup!




Take it slow!

Whether considering what we would like to improve for the next year or setting up our intention to reach our goals, the inward nature of winter provides us an opportune time for reflection and reexamination.


Remember winter is the time of the year to take things slow, to get that extra rest, and not demand so much from ourselves.   With the buzzing of spring just around the corner, cherish these internal days no matter how cold externally they may be.   The more we find harmony and balance with each season's qualities the easier it is for us to transition and move through them with more pronounced ease and grace.  Stay warm everyone!



Wednesday, October 28, 2015

The Journey Within Pt.1

Today as I was leaving for work I stepped outside and was pleasantly surprised by the dancing of golds and reds as the turning leaves sashayed and tumbled through their tour of the yard.  I delighted to the life they lived as they kissed and scattered amidst the autumnal morning rays.  

Something about their grace caused the moment to stretch as I became aware.  The cool wind moved across me as the sun crawled slowly over the western hemisphere. I was overtaken by the opportunity of the moment to allow myself to receive the nature's presence in this morning's minutiae.  My eyes closed and I awoke to another landscape.

Feeling the soft warmth of the sun sink deeper into my body, my awareness began to awaken to the subtle exchange of my breath and the sky, to the traveling of fresh energy through the caverns of my chest into my limbs, to the releasing and circulating of fluids and cells.  I found myself in a place that is always there within us beneath the mind, where feeling and awareness lead the conversation...

To be continued...


Wednesday, June 18, 2014


Help relieve stress with Energy Yoga

EarthMind Wellness at Honor's Haven Resort & Spa




Energy Yoga at EarthMind Wellness benefits the mind as well as the body, helping practitioners find relief from tension and anxiety, sleep better at night and even decrease blood pressure. That's why many people use the practice as a stress-easing tool. But what do you do when the people around you are under mental pressure and showing signs of apprehension? Stress can be contagious, and second-hand stress is everywhere you look, from school to work to home. If you're constantly surrounded by friends, family or colleagues who are experiencing anxiety, it will eventually rub off and trigger stress in you. Here are some guidelines for warding off second-hand stress:

Get Into a Regular Yoga Routine

Daily exercise is key in helping you evade anxiety caused by your environment and the people around you. Physical activity such as yoga poses can boost your endorphins, enhance self-confidence and ease symptoms of depression, helping you keep your cool in the face of stress.

Use Breathing Exercises in Emergencies
When tense situations cause your fight or flight response to kick into high gear, deep and focused breathing exercises can help bring you back down to a place of calm and tranquility. When you become stressed, your breathing pattern changes, and you may find yourself taking shallow, small breaths using your shoulders rather than your diaphragm to guide air into your lungs. In EarthMind Wellness classes, students learn energy breathing techniques that involve inhaling and exhaling deeply using the abdomen to increase and guide one's ki and, in turn, help enhance positive energy while pushing out bad energy.


EarthMind Wellness is located at Honor's Haven Resort & Spa in Ellenville NY. Offering a variety of Holistic classes, R&R Getaways, workshops and healing sessions, EarthMind Wellness hopes to contribute in the proliferation of personal health, happiness and peace of the Hudson Valley area.


To learn more about EarthMind Wellness classes, services and getaways and to see a class schedule please visit www.earthmindwellness.com