THE HEALING

Namaste Yogis and Yoginis,

Happy New Year! I for one am elated to have a “New Beginning.” Of course as yogis we learn that each day, each moment, each breath is literally a new  opportunity to refresh and reorient. . Sometimes a metaphorical or symbolic stimulus can be the perfect inspiration to create clarity and shift energy.  And this year, the Drop of the Ball was exactly what I needed.

Here’s the short story, things fell apart for me this summer. I was pretty sick from June to September and am just making a recovery. Being a do-it-all, in control, healthy minded, ‘don’t ask for help’ kind of a person, this was quite a journey for me. Not to mention embarrassing. After all, being a yoga teacher I’m not supposed to bottom out like this. And if I did, shouldn’t I be able to use all my yoga tricks to get well.  So imagine my chagrin when for months I could not dig up my own healing powers. I just couldn’t shake my unwell, exhausted state. 

But that wasn’t the worst of it… the less I could ‘change’ things, the more anxious and worried I got. I had to stop working for the most part, rely on the help of family and friends, and give up the idea of my super hero strength.  On top of it all, I struggled daily with the feeling of not having the energy or well-being to mother William fully. I was utterly uncomfortable with my situation and continued to scare myself with my own distress.

Well…I can think of many four letter words to describe this summer, and even though I didn’t feel it at the time, in hind sight it truly was another opportunity to grow.  I have learned a lot about my own energy and prana; compassion and acceptance for my self; asking for and receiving support; mothering not only my son and family but MYSELF; Ayruveda as an essential tool for self care; and using yoga and meditation as a deeper healing tool.  Well, I guess G-R-O-W is a four letter word too!

So this issue of Yogalicious is dedicated to New Beginnings and includes lots of ideas for fresh starts, self care, and healing techniques that I have come know very personally.

I wish you and your loved ones a Health and Happy New Year!

With Great Joy, 
Jillian

PS. I will begin teaching my regular Saturday class beginning in February, at Devotion Yoga in Hoboken.

And I will be leading two very renewing and rejuvenating RETREATS: February 23-25 at Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz NY http://www.mohonk.com and in April 29- May 5 at Kripalu in Lenox Mass http://ww.kripalu.org again (more info below.)
PSS. There is a Guest Coupon at the Bottom of this newsletter for a free class at Devotion Yoga with me. Please come join me and send it along to your friends!

“If you are irritated by every rub, how can you be polished?” Rumi.    back to top

This past June, while struggling with three years of daily sleep deprivation (My son William averaged only two hours of consecutive sleep since he was born), I was hit with an illness that landed me in the Emergency room. After 24 hours of muscle tremors and chills, blood tests showed I had some sort of virus. I continued to feel unwell for weeks and worked a circuit of doctors for answers; Family Doctor, Internist, ENT, Rheumatologist, Neurologist, ECT. Finally, and strangely, I was diagnosed with Epilepsy and put on anti-seizure medication. While relieved to have an actual diagnosis, this news brought on a whole new set of stresses (and I still didn’t feel well)! After a second opinion and another battery of anxiety provoking tests my new Neurologist declared I did NOT have epilepsy and took me off the medication. Always Go For A Second Opinion! It was now August and I was back to square one (and still didn’t feel well).

With the support of my family and friends, I began to find moments of relief. In these small windows I was able to do some positive thinking, yoga, meditation, and gratitude practices. Little by little I gained more confidence in myself and my health.

In September, I started working with an Ayruvedic Practioner, Nikka Quistagard.  I began herbs, a special diet, and daily abyhanga (healing oil massage). By October I felt strong enough to work again and was back in action. That is until a big neon sign called the SHINGLES, started flashing the ‘Too Fast, Too Soon’ sign. My immune system was just too shot and it took another month to heal from the shingles. At this point I was actually able to draw from my own healing powers and thus December has been a much better month!

My blood work cleared of the virus and I am gaining more and more quality sleep. I enjoyed an amazing healing weekend with my husband Brad at Mohonk Mountain Spa and also spent a couple of nights on my own retreat. Taking time to quite down, create my own space and peace in a retreat environment was key for me to turn the corner. In retreat, I am able to access and receive more of my own healing energy. I’ve also recently added weekly Acupuncture and chinese herbs to my routine (Aradhna at Hoboken Acupuncture.) which I am finding helpful as well.

Today, I am continuing to take things slow, and making “slow” my main intention. Slow as in unhurried and deliberate. Slow to not only reserve my energy, but to enjoy more, savor, notice more, and even listen more (inwardly and outwardly). I am deliberate and consistent in my healing routine but I am finding this routine truly maximized when I practice optimism and gratitude. It’s been a good month, and I’m looking forward to sliding back into teaching.

My Medical Doctor who is deeply rooted in holistic practices, summed up my condition as bad timing; I just couldn’t handle a virus while at the crossroads of being in a state of chronic sleep deprivation which weakened my immune and nervous system and concurrently experiencing dramatic hormone shifts from weaning my son. This has been a really long road I’d be fine with not traveling again. But as yoga teaches, we evolve and develop as a result of our challenges. I never imagined that I have to dig so deep to find that optimistic part of myself, the part that is determined yet light hearted and fun. And I am so relieved to report I have found that it’s still there! It’s in each one of us.

On another note, last week, William slept 7 nights for 8 hours each night!! Maybe he too, is ready for a new Beginning.   back to top

“We all need sometime to ourselves. Just a few minutes a day to get reacquainted with the one who’s been there since the beginning.”   back to top

Seriously (if you are not a vegetarian) make chicken soup! It heals all your senses. It’s so easy you won’t believe you haven’t done it before. I swear the whole process, the smell, the memories that you can bring up or start, the heat of the broth and the power of the veggies and chicken is so healing and so heavenly. After making it four times with a whole chicken, I have found that just using chicken thighs is super yummy and less labor intensive. Put on some good music and start:
-Rinse 4 chicken thighs/legs and put them in a soup pan.
-Add the following veggies whole, not cut up. Just peel or clean. You cut them after you cook them. This makes it a breeze!
4-5 carrots, a small onion, skinned. Two peeled turnips , one parsnip, two stalks of celery, two cloves of garlic (peeled).
-Add as much dill as you can get your hands on; fresh, not dried, and not cut up. Remember, the more the better!
-Pour in one or two carton of chicken broth (I like Pacific Organic; I am a firm believer in everything organic!). You can use purified water instead of broth, or do ½ broth and ½ water. Liquid should cover all vegetables and chicken.
-Add a teaspoon of salt and pepper or you can add after cooked to taste.
Cook for two hours. Maybe more if you have patience Chicken should fall off bone. Skin should slide off easily. Drain broth into a bowl. Discard garlic, dill, and parsnip. Separate chicken and veggies. Throw out bones and skin. Cut up veggies as you’d like them. Keep chicken and veggies separate from broth. Refrigerate broth over night; skim off fat in the morning. Add back in chicken and veggies to broth and salt and pepper to taste. I add rice or pasta when I’m ready to eat. Mmmm. mmmmm. Good! And I mean mmmmm.   back to top

Ayurveda, which means “knowledge of life”, is a sister science to Yoga. It is a system of preventive health care which originated in ancient India more than 5,000 years ago. I was educated in the basics of Ayurveda when I trained with Yoga Master Alan Finger  (www.ishtayoga.com). However it wasn’t until I applied Ayurveda to my own life that I began to truly understand its dynamic principles and experience my energy more directly. For thousands of years, Ayurveda has been using food, lifestyle, yoga, meditation, daily oil rubs, and sometimes medicinal herbs to either keep us healthy or move us towards and optimal balanced state. There are many great books and web sites, but I highly recommend finding a practioner to begin your journey! After an initial consultation, you can do a lot on your own!    back to top

AYURVEDA 101:  An easy overview :  http://www.ayur.com/about.html

BOOK TO GET STARTED: The Book of Ayurveda: A Holistic Approach to Health and Longevity Judith H. Morrison. Good read for all the basics

EXCELLENT COOK BOOK: The Ayurveda Cookbook, Amadea Morningstar with Urmila Desai. – Has great chapter on the healing properties of food and how to cook for your personal energetic makeup.

YOUR NEW FRIENDS: Banyan Botanicals is a wonderful catalog filled with all things you might need to support an ayurvedic lifestyle including herbs, body and essential oils and more. www.banyanbotanicals.com

YOGA FOR YOUR DOSHA Is your yoga class a good match for your Ayurvedic dosha?http://www.yogajournal.com/health/858.cfm

KRIPALU CENTER Kripalu offers treatments and education. http://www.kripalu.org/healing_arts/138/

NJ PRACTIONER: Niika Quistgard, CAS for Ayurveda lifestyle for woman: http://www.mayashakti-ayurveda.com    back to top

September through November I enjoyed this almost daily! It’s a delicious and simple dish of basmati rice, beans, and healing spices. It is a purification food in Ayurveda and can be used when your digestive system needs a break or if you need your energy for healing. But it is very nourishing for everyone, anytime.
-Melt 1 tablespoon of gee (clarified butter) in a sauce pan.
-Add ½ teaspoon of cumin seeds and let brown for one or two minutes.
- Add: ¼ cup SPLIT moong beans (mung) and ½ cup basmati rice. Let brown for one minute.
-Add 5 cups of water. Sometimes I use 6 cups for a more “soupy” texture and sometimes I use 4 cups for a more “porridge” like texture.
-Bring to boil. Then lower heat and cook for 30 minutes.
-After cooking add ½ teaspoon of salt or to taste and ½ teaspoon of power cumin or to taste. Add fresh chopped Cilantro to taste.

A self oil-massage (Abhyanga) is an essential component of an Ayurvedic daily routine. At first, I didn’t believe that simply rubbing my body with oil could be so healing, but having now had practiced it for 6 months straight, I can’t go a day with out it.  Abhyanga massage helps foster deeper sleep, stimulates the internal organs and circulation, calms the nerves, lubricates the joints, improves elimination of impurities from the body, and can pacify or harmonize your dosha. Organic Sesame oil is most commonly used. Sometimes sunflower oil or coconut oil is prescribed for a cooling effect. I personally use oils with healing herbs in them that I have purchased at Banyan botanicals (http://www.banyanbotanicals.com) and Pratima (http://www.pratimaskincare.com/php/doctor.php)

HOW TO DO IT:
In the morning, before your shower, heat your bottle of oil in a cup or bowl of hot water for a few minutes.  Dip your fingertips into the warm oil and apply it lightly with your whole palm to your entire body. Use long steady strokes on your arms and legs and a circular, clockwise motion, over joints, belly and chest. (Don’t apply over broken skin, rashes, or other irritated areas.) Spend more time where nerve endings are concentrated, such the souls of the feet, palms of the hands and along the base of the fingernails. (Because feet get slippery in the shower, I do my feet at night before bed, then put on socks). It’s great to do your head, if you don’t mind the grunge look.  (I do my head every two weeks on the weekend). After you're done, relax for 10-15 minutes, letting the oil soak in. The longer the oil is on, the deeper it penetrates. During this time I meditate, do yoga, or journal. (Sometimes I put on the radio and boogie a little bit!) Then take a warm shower, wash as regular. If you have time, it’s recommended to take a warm bath before you shower off. This helps deepen the benefits. Try this daily, or at least three times a week. It’s so worth it! If this sounds like too much, then simply use a little sesame oil, like a moisturizer, and massage your body lightly after every shower. Towel off excess oil before dressing.

For more on Abhyanga http://www.mapi.com/en/newsletters/ayurvedic_abyanga.html

“Go in there, be clear about what you don’t know, and let yourself be taught in the doing of it.” Erich Schiffmann

- An hour or two before bed drink warm milk with cardamom and apple pie spice or cinnamon. Cook milk till it froths. Don’t use a microwave.
- Give yourself a Brahmi Oil massage an hour before bed. (www.banyanbotanicals.com).
- Journal before bed (or anytime you can fit it in). Write down anything you might be worried about. I journaled daily from 9 years old until I got married at 30.  For some reason, I dropped it. It is so helpful to be writing again. Try this one for sure!
- Lie with your legs elevate for 5-15 minutes before you retire. (Do this regularly!
- Pray, meditate or think of what you have gratitude for before you go to bed.
- Count your exhales. Start with 50, and count down to 1. Count as you exhale and enjoy the space at the end of your breath.
- Use lavender scented eye bag (William likes to say “the sweet smell of lavender”).
- Go for a walk during the day, in nature if possible.
- Turn the TV off a couple of hours before bed.
- Limit beverages two hours before bed.
- Avoid spicy or salty foods for dinner.
-  Beware of caffeine intake during the day. Try to limit it especially after 2 in the afternoon… Or better yet, eliminate it unless you are a Kapha. Look, I am a true coffee Lover, and have long enjoyed a daily dose . But I truly believe I am benefiting from limiting coffee. If you are looking for sleep or healing, try it. I think in times of health and balance, moderation is okay. I have come to really love tea, plain steamed milk with cinnamon, and get a fix with an occasional decaf soy latte.   back to top

If you're in a bad situation, don't worry it'll change.  If you're in a good situation, don't worry it'll change.  John A. Simone, Sr.   back to top

Niika Quistgard - Ayurveda lifestyle for woman: http://www.mayashakti-ayurveda.com
Aradhna Behl - Acupuncture and herbs: http://www.hobokenacupuncture.com/
Dr. Robert Strell: Physical medicine, Physiatrist. Hoboken, NJ. 07030. 201-222-0082
Kimberly Baubles, MSPT Physcial Therapist. Hoboken NJ, 201 798 2922 http://www.hobokenchiropractic.com/   back to top

This year I surprised my self as I spontaneously created a ceremony that brought me to tears. I rolled out my yoga mat in front of my fire place, where I enjoy a wide, endless view of the NY city sky line from my living room. I began with some journal writing then enjoyed a yoga practice. After savasana, in my final mediation I posed some questions to get clarity on the things I’ve been grappling with and then picked angel cards for bright inspiration. I wrote down the things I need to let go of, and burned the list in a candle. Then I wrote down the qualities I want to accumulate more of.  I finished with sage smudging my body and then began my home.  (The practice of burning herbs or smudging for emotional, psychic, and spiritual purification is part of many religious traditions, from the incense burned in Catholic churches to the smudge ceremonies of Native Americans. Smudging is a ritual way to cleanse a person, place or an object of negative energies or influences.) I had the intention of clearing my entire environment of the ‘negative energy’ of the past 6 months.  Well, what initially started as a desire to extricate each room of all the ‘bad’ turned into a gratitude session towards the house for actually holding me, and my family, over the past six months. I never expected to feel such an aliveness and care from my home as I moved from room to room.  In the kitchen I was flooded with thankfulness for the ability to cook healthy food, reminded of all the food we are able to afford, and all the people involved in the cultivation and deliverance of the food; in the bathroom tears rolled as I realized the restoring gifts of our shower, the cleansing soaps, and even the toilet for it’s role in our elimination of toxins or simply what we don’t need. (Never, have I ever thanked a toilet bowl before! But it just bubbled up from inside.) Our bedroom for holding all the fear, the care, the intimacy, the joy. William’s room for breathing new life, creativity, innocence, possibilities.  Even my laundry room was an honor to enter, for all of our clothing receives such special and needed care. The process of irradiating turned into honoring. And something in me shifted. Instead of focusing on what I don’t need, I indulged in what I had, what I am blessed to experience, and what keeps me well. And I felt so alive and full. It was wonderful. Try it, or make your own ritual. You might just be surprised as to what you find yourself connecting to. I myself had a joyful homecoming.    back to top

MOHONK MOUNTAIN SPA RETREAT - February 23-25.

With Jillian Pransky and Nina Smiley
Find your own perfect balance of renewal, rest, and play at this incredible make-your-own spa retreat. You will be deeply nourished by the spectacular natural landscape, as The Spa at Mohonk Mountain House is perched atop legendary cliffs above a pristine mountain lake. Since 1869, this historic unique mountaintop resort has been an extraordinary destination for the renewal of body, mind, and spirit. During the weekend make your own schedule and choose all or any of Jillian’s four yoga classes or Nina’s meditation sessions. Indulge in a world class menu of spa treatments, sit by the fire in the solarium, soak in the out door heated mineral pool; enjoy the indoor heated swimming pool and state of the art fitness center. You may also try Pilates, Qigong, aerobics and water classes. For the outdoor lover there is incredible hiking, ice skate, and cross country skiing right on the grounds. For family’s there is a kid’s camp and baby sitting. This weekend is appropriate for students of all levels, and beginners are welcome.
Email yoga_julie@yahoo.com for details or
For complete brochure visit http://www.mohonk.com/Uploads/YogaMeditation07.pdf
For over view of Mohonk visit http://www.mohonk.com    back to top

KRIPALU RETREAT - www.kripalu.org

Blooming Love – The Essential Spring Renewal. - April 29-May 4
“And there came a time when the risk of remaining closed tight in a bud far outweighed the risk it took to bloom.” —Anaïs Nin
Cultivate a deep sense of loving-kindness that will relax your body, open your heart, and calm your mind. This restorative yoga and metta (compassionate) meditation retreat is designed to help you explore and awaken your fullest potential.
Come experience a joyful week of deep renewal. Jillian’s unique series of restorative yoga poses, peaceful vinyasa flows, and metta meditation will help you cultivate inner harmony as well as greater sensitivity and empathy for yourself and others.
Email yoga_julie@yahoo.com for details or visit www.kripalu.org.    back to top

Thank you so much for reading! It’s been a long time since I felt up to writing this newsletter, and I really enjoyed meeting you here.  I know I offered a lot of information and it’s not humanly possible to make so many overnight changes. But you can improve your health dramatically by adding or changing just one thing a week or month.  Focus on one habit at a time, such as going to bed before 10:00 p.m. to feel more rested during the day. Once you start feeling freer and more energetic as a result of your new health habit, it will be easier to tackle the next one. It's best to change a habit gradually. Make your own timeline based on your body's needs, and go from there.

And I’d like to end by offering some very Special Thanks to My Team…
I have tremendous appreciation for my healers but I couldn’t have gotten by with out the unwavering support of my family and friends. I am so grateful to my husband Brad and my son William, Julie Delaney, my mother Phyllis, my in-laws Norma, Jules, Bob and Anne. And the essential long distance support of my dad and Nicole Alley. I was lucky to have the understanding and support of Liza at Devotion and Libby, Nikki and all the team at Yoga Works. And of course, I owe special thanks to all the subs who kept my classes going and gave such great attention to my students especially Emily, Jenny, Sauna, and Katie.

Thanks for reading everyone! Hope to see you soon!

With so much joy,
Jillian

NOTE: This coupon is good for a Free Class for non members or anyone who hasn’t been to Devotion in the past 3 months. I will not be teaching Feb 23 or March 10 as I will be away on Retreats. And of course, it’s best to call before you come.