January – Shoulder Stand – getting to know your inner light

January is a perfect time to stand in reflection. The business of the holidays has died down, it is dark, cold and quiet. It is a wonderful time to take a look inside and find out what really stoked your inner fire during 2017. What people, what activities, what experiences gave you more life and made you feel more free, made your inner light shine brighter? And how can we support you in bringing more of that into 2018?

Shoulder stand (salamba sarvangasana)

So sometimes we don’t see new things if we keep look at something from the same perspective. If you want some insight, new information, new solutions, deeper understanding, change your perspective. Inversions in yoga give us the opportunity to do just that. Think about it…same room, same body, same head, but somehow when you go upside down, the view completely changes. The windows don’t look quite the same, the floor you can suddenly see in more detail, and wow does your body look different upside down.

For me Salamba Sarvangasana does a wonderful job of shifting your perspective, particularly in relationship with the body. Again same room, same body, but somehow when your feet are pointed to the sky, things look very different. And since shoulder stand is supported you can stay there for a long time (75 breaths). You aren’t going anywhere – you are staring at your belly and your feet without the help of gravity for 75 breaths. You begin to develop a new relationship with your body, you have a new perspective and maybe a new appreciation for what it is doing, can do, and has done.

The transformative power of deep inward folding comes from this practice of turning our gaze inward to ourselves – not to the person next to you or the instructor or the dog barking outside. It is the practice of focusing inward long enough to see your inner light and darkness. And with time we are able to really see and acceptance both the light and the dark. It is in the acceptance that the darkness begins to transform.

Physical effects of shoulder stand (salamba sarvangasana) are profound.

…soothes the nervous system, and promotes patience and emotional stability. The inverted state in this asana stimulates oxygenated blood supply to the chest area, which is considered to assist the healing of ailments in this region (e.g. bronchitis and asthma). The chin lock of Sarvangasana stimulates the thyroid and parathyroid glands, which are involved in the regulation of the nervous and muscular systems (parathyroid) and metabolism (thyroid).

BKS Iyengar says of Salamba Savangasana that “[i]t is a panacea for most common ailments. There are several endocrine organs or ductless glands in the human system which bathe in blood, absorb nutrients from the blood and secrete hormones for the proper functioning of a balanced and well enveloped body and brain. If the glands fail to function properly, the hormones are not produced as they should be and the body starts to deteriorate. Savangasana has a direct effect on thyroid and parathyroid glands which are situated on the neck region, since due to the firm chinlock their blood supply is increased, helping them to function properly.” (Light on Yoga, p. 171) For these reasons the pose is vital to the maintenance of general physical and mental health.

Learn more

What exactly is yin yoga?

Yin yoga is the natural complement to popular yang (vinyasa flow) yoga. Yin’s focus is on contemplative stillness, where sequenced poses are explored and held for three to five minutes each. The practice is done with muscles that have not been warmed by work, allowing its effects to target connective tissues such as ligaments, tendons, cartilage, and fascia.

Fascial release is particularly important. Fascia is the soft tissue component of the connected tissue system. It penetrates and surrounds many parts of the body, and accounts for much of the stiffness we experience in our muscles and joints.

Connective tissues do not stretch like muscles. In yin yoga, therefore, we load these tissues appropriately so that they will become stronger and more flexible over time. During the practice itself, the body is stable and the breathing is effortless—and yet there is sensation. Props are used to support the body’s intention to maintain stillness in each shape.

The benefits of yin yoga include increased circulation, improved flexibility, and greater joint mobility. The body as a functional whole is also strengthened and enriched.

Just as effort and ease coexist in our lives, so too yin supports and supplements yang. If we think about the strength of the branches of a tree contrasted with the suppleness of its leaves, we will have a vivid picture of the essential connection between yang and yin. All robust life includes balance. Just as yang yoga allows our Sacred Masculine to find expression, yin yoga recognizes the Divine Feminine, allowing the receptive and nurturing side of our being to be called forth and honored.

Yin Yoga Class are free during the month of July @ Bayou Bliss Yoga

Breathe With Dana In The Red Rocks THIS Spring!

Blissful Breathers,

I have been busy planning the Sedona breathwork retreat. It is going to be AMAZING! I adore Sedona, and I love doing breathwork there, so I am really excited to share it all of it with you. The retreat is going to be full of fun, nature, insight, self reflection and of course breath. Sedona just has a different energy, and what I see is that it makes it easier to do work that feels hard.Clients tell me that the hardest part of breathwork is letting go of hurt, and pain. The pace of daily modern life often does not leave enough time or space to cultivate the courage to see the difficult emotions. The energy in Sedona really just makes it easier to let go and the retreat environment gives you the space and support to cultivate the courage you need to face the ‘hard’ stuff. 2017 is flying by, so take some time in a place that will help you easily let go of the things that are keeping you from living your fullest life.
let it go, heal and connect to yourself

For those of you who are new to breath work this retreat is geared towards giving you the experience, knowledge and understanding to cultivate a 15 minute home breath practice. I have found my short breath practice to be one of the most impactful tools of transformation in my life.

We have linked all the information down below, including some lodging information. I can’t wait for our Blissful Travels!

Breath Retreat Info

Head over to our events page for retreat details and registration

Yoga Teacher Training Announcement

I am excited to announce that I am finally offering a yoga training program. I have developed this program specifically for people who want to dive deeper into their yoga practice, develop a strong home practice and/or would like to teach yoga at some point. The program qualifies for Yoga Alliance 200hr teacher training designation. During this training we will use one sequence as our foundational practice – I call it The OM Practice. Through this foundational sequence of yoga poses we will explore, the physical and energetic underpinnings of each pose in the practice, yoga philosophy as well as yogic practices including – pranayama, meditation, mantra, yoga nidra and kriyas.

The program is offered in two parts. You are welcome to take the first part without taking the second. Both parts 1 and 2 need to be completed within one year to receive the teacher training qualification.

Part 1 – Intensive Immersion – Jan 2-8, 2017, 7am-7pm.

You can take this seven day intensive as a stand alone program to start your new year off with a new practice and new perspective. You are welcome to let it be the first part of a longer program that will provide the foundation for a life long yoga practice, as well as the understanding, experience and confidence to share your practice with others. These seven days will consist of a robust yoga practice each day, a breakdown of the physical and energetic anatomy of the yoga practice, yoga meditation practices, and yoga philosophy. An ayurvedic breakfast and lunch will be provided each day. You will finish the week with a basis for a hOMe yoga practice as well as a meditation practice to start off the new year. All Classes are at the bungalow.

Part 1 – Investment $1500

Part 2 – Going Deeper – Jan – June 2017, 2 Saturdays a month plus a little more. (please click here for full list of dates)

With the foundation in place, our Saturdays together will allow us to explore topics such as hands on assists, Sanskrit, student teaching, living your yoga and more. 6 months of consistent practice and training will support you in owning your own practice as well as provide time and experience for you to develop the confidence to authentically share your practice with others. All Classes are at the bungalow. Part 2 – Investment $2500Please check out yoga teach training page for more details on the program.

As always you are welcome to reach to us with as questions. As you will see on the website we have dates for Winter/Spring 2017 and Summer/Fall 2017. I know Jan 2017 is right around the corner so to encourage you to dive in, I am offering a highly reduced price for the Winter/Spring 2017 program.

**Please note that this special price will only be available till Dec 28th. Use promo code FIRST at check out. FULL Program Winter/Spring 2017 – Special Price $3000

Announcing new Rising Strong™ dates!

Make plans now to participate in the Rising Strong™ program in 2017!

As you make your way through the end of the year with the hustle and bustle busy-ness of the holidays, there is an increased likelihood of being exposed to people in social situations and family gatherings that will challenge your ability to maintain healthy, clean boundaries and inner peace. As Ram Dass so astutely observed,

“If you think you are enlightened, go spend a week with your family.”

Rising Strong™ is a six week program based on the teachings of Brené Brown that lays the foundation for relating more authentically to the people in your life. Specifically, you are taught the skills to:

Recognize when you are hooked by an emotion
Get curious about the emotion and notice your response to it
Observe the story you’re compelled to make up to give meaning to what is happening
“Rumble” with the narrative to deepen self-awareness
Live BIG with Boundaries, Integrity and Generosity
Discover the wisdom and meaning underneath the initial “hook” and created story
Intervene on your own behalf to write an ending that creates the kind of life and relationships you’ve always dreamed of

Classes are limited to seven participants each so pick your date and reserve your spot now! Click here to head over to our events page, and see which section works best for you

A Summer of Biofield Tuning

For those of you who do not know, I have been training and recently completed the work of Biofield Tuning and I am very excited to share it with the Bayou Bliss Community.

Haven’t heard of Biofield Tuning? Or you have heard it spoken before but want to know what a Biofield is, or what tuning is? Click here and it is given in some more detail about what it is and what to expect during a session.

All of us have had an experience when sound and vibration shifted your mood or frame of mind – a song on the radio that lifted you out of a grumpy mood, the sound of the St. Thomas bells bringing a moment of peace and ease into a chaotic afternoon, or listening to the crystal bowl concert at the Rothko Chapel opening your outlook for the New Year.

Biofield Tuning takes the transformative power of sound and vibration to a new level of healing. Through 20 years of clinical practice Eileen Day McKusick developed Biofield Tuning. The method uses tuning forks both on the body and in the energetic field to effectively bring you more harmony and coherence – bring more balance to your bioenergtic field.

“As within, so without.”

The coherence and harmony of your body and bioenergtic field is reflected in the world around you. If you feel chaotic, out of balance, or stuck, then most likely your bioenergetic field has chaos in it, is out of balance and has lots of stuck energy in it. Biofield tuning is very effective at bringing more balance, and cohesive flow to your bioenergtic field. That means it is easier for you to relax, feel more at ease, for you to experience less pain, less chaos, and more freedom. It becomes easier to start and maintain health choices and habits in your life. Let’s face it, most of us want more harmony and coherence in our lives. That means you need to create more harmony and coherence in your body, mind, and spirit or in scientific words, your bioenergtic field. Personally, I really enjoy giving and receiving Biofield Tuning and clients have experienced wonderful results.

In addition to being very relaxing, Biofield Tuning can help address a number of issues that are common:

– fibormyagia

– anxiety/fear/panic

– headaches/migraines

– depression

– PTSD

– adrenal stress

– menstrual issues

– grief

– pain

– fatigue

– stuckness

– life and career transition

Biofield Tuning is quite exciting and more encompassing than the short explanation above. There are some great resources that give you a deeper understanding of the method. Eileen has written a book that outlines the method and theory in detail Tuning the Human Biofield: Healing with Vibrational Sound Therapy. And of course there is the Biofield Tuning website. Eileen also has tons of videos on YouTube about this topic for those of you who are interested in actually seeing the process.

The best part about this post is that I want to encourage you all who are even the slight bit curious about Biofield Tuning is to offer you a special summer package!! You have from now, until July 5th to purchase 3 sessions for only $250 (these sessions must be used by Sept 1st).

As always if you have any questions about Biofield Tuning, Integrative Healing, or anything at all please e-mail me at info@bayoublissyoga.com I am so passionate and excited to share this with you!

Love and Light,

Dana Shamas

Vocal Toning Meditation – Tuning Into the Solstice

An astrological, energetically powerful time has arrived! The Solstice, Full Moon and Grand Cross coincide beautifully with June’s Vocal Toning Meditation taking place this Tuesday, June 21 @ 7:30pm CDT. This presents an opportune time for redefining and reaffirming who we are, our purpose in the short and long term, and re-establishing our beliefs based on our own truths. This Full Moon Grand Cross Solstice brings a potent energy we can tune into to for amplifying our passion and releasing what has expired. Portals to fresh paths will appear if we take the time to tune into and feel into our hearts. It is an ideal time for a grand transition.

Our vocal tones so perfectly resonate with our individual etheric blueprint. Meditative toning creates a unique sound current within ourselves that navigates beyond our thoughts and the voices of our misleading egos. When we intend for our toning to delve deeply into our souls, aspects of ourselves are revealed to us as a result of vibrating into consciousness more of our blueprint. The current astrological energies suggest we do just that, as they offer a great capacity for revelation and evolution. We will begin our meditation by embodying the light of the sun and the moon into our beings along with the qualities of the Solstice Full Moon they offer. We will sound a sun moon mantra during our vocal toning meditation re-aligning ourselves with our true nature, our relationships and as a being of the cosmos. We will birth a more authentic version of our dreams into the physical realms and into our lives.

This vocal toning meditation will take place at Bayou Bliss in HoustonTX, Tuesday 21st June, 2016 @ 7:30pm. No matter where you are, you can tune in via Zoom.us

Details to follow:
Topic: Vocal Toning Meditation – Tuning Into the Solstice
Time: Jun 21, 2016 7:30 PM (GMT-5:00) Central Time (US and Canada)

Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://zoom.us/j/3691111963

Or iPhone one-tap (US Toll): 14086380968,3691111963# or 16465588656,3691111963#

Or Telephone:
Dial: +1 408 638 0968 (US Toll) or +1 646 558 8656 (US Toll)
Meeting ID: 369 111 1963
International numbers available: https://zoom.us/zoomconference?m=BOAcAxvh2Yp3VQmgy71mkZ2JgAJe5m4y

Building you Temple of Light

For June’s First Tuesday meditation at Bayou Bliss, please join us with Joseph Ayaz in a favorite practice, Building a Temple of Light; and let’s join together in joy to send our friend Tanya off on her pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago.

Hail to the company of all who have become mad and drunk
with desire for the world of light, with their passionate love
for the majesty of the light of lights, and who, in their ecstasy,
have become like the seven poles of the world.
—Shihabuddin Suhrawardi

Using music, the breath, a mantra-like practice called wazifa, and guided imagery, we will recollect our light being and work to build, in and with our selves, the form of a temple of light.

June 7, Tuesday
7:30 pm
Bayou Bliss Bungalow
808 West Main St
Houston 77006

Your body is made out of the fabric of the stars. It started to exist in the great outburst of the Big Bang. The whole past is present in us, and that means that even in our bodiness we are beings of light. And that light has crystallized itself into what we think is matter. It has the faculty of absorbing light from the environment and being transformed by it.
—Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan

Join the Revolution

THE RISING STRONG PROCESS

The goal of this process is to rise from our falls,

overcome our mistakes, and face hurt in a way

that brings more wisdom and wholeheartedness.

THE RECKONING:

WALKING INTO OUR STORY

Recognize emotion, and get curious about our feelings

and how they connect with the way we think and behave.

THE RUMBLE:

OWNING OUR STORY

Get honest about the stories we are making up about our

struggle, then challenge these confabulations and assumptions

to determine what’s truth, what’s self-protection, and what

needs to change if we want to lead more wholehearted lives.

THE REVOLUTION:

PROCESS BECOMES PRACTICE

Write a new ending to our story based on the key learnings from

our rumble and use this new, braver story to change how we

engage with the world and to ultimately transform the way we

live, love, parent, and lead.

Brené Brown

November’s Vocal Toning Treatment

Tuning Into GRATITUDE With Toning

“Wear gratitude like a cloak and it will feed every corner of your life”. Rumi

This month, our vocal toning treatment will tune our energetic antennas into the extraordinary fields of Gratitude. Adopting a gracious and heartfelt attitude of thankfulness promises to reap startling positive life changes. There are countless adages, old and new telling us so.

The ‘law of attraction’ describes the uncanny manner in which life graciously returns to us circumstances that match the emotional tone of our hearts and the beliefs and thoughts of our minds. So if we are sending out a vibrational pattern of frustration, the cosmic laws of nature will generously return situations generating the same frustrated flavor. But what if we are sending out vibrations of gratitude? Willie Nelson said that his whole life turned around when he started counting his blessings! In sending out (and singing out) heart felt vibes of feeling blessed, he attracted circumstances and situations that created more of the same. One could say Willie’s life has indeed been blessed!

Our voices are powerful generators of emotive vibration. In vocal toning treatments, our vocal sound waves serve to carry an intention we set. The intention flows as a vibration throughout our beings, and into the cosmic currents of possibilities. It becomes alive in the electromagnetic fields of our existence, impacting our lives in astounding ways.

If you would like to experience this Gratitude Toning Treatment, please join us at Bayou Bliss Tuesday November 17th at 7:30pm.