Squeezing and soaking

Each time you practice yoga, you take your joints through their full range of motion. This can help prevent degenerative arthritis of mitigate disability by "squeezing and soaking" areas of cartilage that normally aren't used. Joint cartilage is like a sponge; it receives fresh nutrients only when its fluid is squeezed out and a new supply can be soaked up. without proper sustenance, neglected areas of cartilage can eventually wear out, exposing the underlying bone like worn-out  brake pads.
        Yoga increases the ability to feel what your body is doing and where it is in space and improves balance. People with bad posture of dysfunctional movement patterns usually have proprioception, which  has been linked to knee problems and back pain. Better balance could mean fewer falls. For the elderly, this translates into more independence and delayed admission to a nursing home or never entering one at all. For the rest of us, postures like Tree Pose can make us feel less wobbly on and off the mat.
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The Retreat

Every year I take my students on a retreat. Its not big, last year and the year before we just pitched tents in the beautiful Payson Blackhawk Canyon. last year we got rained on. also this year was so busy with my Thai classes and then the trek I didn't feel like doing all the work of camping again, so we went looking for something different. We were going to Nephi one day and came across Big Mountain Campground. later I found them on line, they have 6 cabins that sleep 4 each it was perfect so I booked all the cabins for our retreat. The next weekend we went to see all they had. It was more perfect then ever the cabins are darling they have a pool, and a pavilion with a little kitchen and lots of tables. We could pull the tables out to make room for our lectures and yoga if it rained. yes this was perfect. It did rain all day the first day but it stopped before I gave the first lecture on the "Subtle Body", then we did yoga, after yoga we ate dinner, that my wonderful husband prepared for us he is the best dutch oven cook ever. After dinner I gave a lecture on "What's your Dosha" I gave a test to see what dosha they were. It was really good. later that night at the camp fire I gave a lecture on "Mantra on The Mind". We chanted alot during the day it was great.
     The next day we did yoga first thing in the morning, I did a lecture on "Being Vs. Doing" it was long but it was good. Gary fed us breakfast while we talked about "Eating Wisely" which was one of the lecture topics
last year that was really good. Mishelle concluded our lectures with "The Energy of Yin Yang" which was excelent. A great time with great students and great people.
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My Thai Room

I have been doing Thai in my yoga studio, but it is getting really old getting my Thai mat out every time. The mat is really heavy. also I heat my studio to 88 degrees for yoga, if do Thai on my yoga days I have to cool down my studio so I can do Thai then heat it up again for the evening class. I told my husband I need a Thai room, the great man that he is said OK lets do it. This week end He and I cleaned out a room that was just being used for junk and painted it. We had a few problem areas so it took us longer then we thought. But it should be done in a day or two and it will be happy Thai Room to me.
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Deepen your Focus

This is part of an article I found a long time ago. I use it as a hand out when I teach my class about meditation. yoga quiets the mind, it slows down the mental loops of frustration, regret, anger, fear, and desire that can cause stress. and since stress is the cause of many health problems--from migraines and insomnia to lupus, MS, eczema, high blood pressure, and heart attacks--if you learn to quiet your mind, you'll be sure to live a longer healthier life. I can not remember who wrote it, sorry.

         "A good deal of mystique has grown around meditation, yet it is one of the most natural of our human capacities. You've no doubt had moments in your life when you were not thinking or analyzing your experience, but simply "going with the flow." In these moments, there was no past or future, no separation between you and what was happening. That is the essence of meditation.

Contrary to a common misunderstanding, meditation is not a limiting or narrowing of our attention so much as it is a focusing on what is relevant. Our attention can be narrow, as in observing our breath, or broad, as in cooking a five-course dinner. When the mind is able to focus on what is relevant to what is happening now, we experience ourselves as being at one with what we perceive. This experience is deeply joyful, as we become freed from the illusion that we are separate from everything else in the universe. In fact, meditation isn't a withdrawal from life but a deeper, fuller presence in life."
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Using Thai Therapy on the Trek

        Our Church took our youth on a pioneer trek in Wyoming. A young girl hurt her knee while walking the 14 miles over Rocky Ridge. I worked on her for about a half hour before dinner, then I told her I wanted to see her again after we ate. After dinner was over I went looking for her and she was running around with the other girls. I was amazed and humbled all at the same time this is why I do yoga therapy. I asked her how she was feeling and she said she was really good. She was a little sore in the morning so I worked on her again before we all headed home and told her to call me the next day if she felt she needed to be worked on again. I saw her on Sunday and she was totally back to normal. I am so blessed to have found Thai Therapy, running the Sen Lines and pressing out the Marmas where all our illnesses and stresses are held is  miracle  work. 
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Finished with Thai School

     I finished my last weekend of Thai School yesterday. It was good, I was sad to see it come to an end  I learned a lot of great and valuable things, Syl (the teacher) did a great job teaching us everything she knows. I am really excited to start my new journey. On my way home I see so many people rushing here and there. I preach to my yoga students all the time to slow down, stop and smell the roses, and take a break from the hustle bustle of life. Life seems to be moving faster and faster We're continually being asked to be more productive and to do more things at once. But how has this affected our lives and our health?  think about it,  how do you deal with time. Have you ever pushed an already lit elevator button because it's not moving fast enough?  Do you hate waiting for a computer download? This frantic pace in our sped-up world contributes to our stress.  this pace is not good for us. When you find yourself stressed and hurried, ask yourself if it's really necessary to rush—or is this just a bad habit you should break? try to do less and enjoy life more. Practice slowing down by letting others go first in a bank line, or on the highway. This really will change your stressful day into a peaceful day. Use the extra time to breathe deeply and smile. You'll feel better—and so will the people around you.
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Good Experiences

     I have had some really good experiences with Thai therapy this last week. I worked on a man (about 70 years old) who has had really bad pain for a few years because of cancer treatments and different accidents. I only got to work on him for an hour, (Thai sessions are generally two hours) I could have done him more good with another hour. When I was finished he asked if I could get him out of pain, I said that I could then he said "I don't know how you did it but you put my back in, I can tell when my back is in because my arm no longer hurts". He made another appointment. I hope to be able to get this man started on the track of yoga. Yoga stretches and strengthens the body. Strong muscles do more than look good. They protect us from arthritis and back pain, I had back pain for most of my young adult life, after I found yoga my back pain went away and now I can do amazing things now like lift my grand kids. That's wants important, feeling good enough to do fun things. Strong muscles help prevent falls in elderly people. If you stick to yoga long enough You'll notice that aches and pains start to disappear. That's no coincidence. Tight hips can strain the knee joint due to improper alignment of the thigh and shinbones. Tight hamstrings can lead to a flattening of the lumbar spine, which can cause poor posture. In yoga it's what you do for yourself that matters. Yoga gives you the tools to help you change, the more you commit to practice, the more you benefit. This gets you involved in your own care, that involvement gives you the power to effect change, and seeing that you can effect change gives you hope, and hope itself can be healing.
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Where did Thai Yoga Therapy come from?

The seventh (and last) law of yoga is The Law of Dharma. We all have a purpose in Life. We all have unique abilities and our own way of expressing them. There are needs in this world for which our specific talents are ideally suited, and when the world’s needs are matched with the creative expression of our talents, our purpose—our dharma—is realized.
            The practice of yoga provides a direct mechanism to release energy blockages in the body (thai therapy does this also on a bigger level). When obstacles to the flow of our vital energy are removed, we become capable of expressing more expanded aspects of our self. Increasing compassion, wisdom, and playfulness are evidence that your life is flowing in accordance with the Law of Dharma.
            The history of Traditional Thai Partner Yoga dates back about 2500 years ago, along with the introduction of Buddhism from India into Thailand. It became one of four branches of traditional medicine in Thailand. Herbs, Nutrition, Spiritual Practice and Nuad bo-Rarn (Thai Partner Yoga Therapy) which means "ancient body of work"
             Around the second century B.C.E, there was a movement of medicinal practices into Thailand that accompanied the migration of monks and Ayurvedic doctors from India to Thailand around this same time.
Nuad bo Rarn developed with in the walls of Buddhist monasteries and temples.
               Traditionally, when there was disharmony in a villager's life, whether it be physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, they would seek relief from suffering from a monk within the wallls of the temple. Prior to practicing Nuad bo Rarn, the monk would have undergone deep mind, body, spiritual study and transformation in order to practice this type of healing. It is impossible to separate TPYT from the spirituality of its beginnings. The most predominate aspect of TPYT is that it is first and foremost a "spiritual Practice". The Bodhi Yoga philosophy roots TPYT in Yoga and Ayurveda, rather than massage. Thus, when practiced from it's original perspective, it is first and foremost a form of Ayurvedic Partner Yoga.
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The second weekend of thai therapy class

I finished my second weekend of thai therapy classes. The 1st weekend we learned about the Marmas and how they are holding places for stress and illness, they are like pressure points and a Thai therapist works them like acupressure.
The second week we learned about the Sen (Energy) lines and how to run those to help people feel better.
next week I'll talk more about where thai yoga therapy came from. this week I want to finish talking about the seven laws of yoga.
      The 4th law of yoga: The Law of Least Effort means that nature’s intelligence functions with effortless ease. If you look at  the flow of the tides, the blossoming of a flower, or the movement of the stars, you do not see nature struggling. The Law of Least Effort is so valuable during the practice of yoga. Yoga is the antidote to the prescription “no pain, no gain.” The greatest benefits of yoga come from relaxing into a pose, rather than forcing your body into it. When moving into a flexibility pose, find the point of resistance. breathe into the resistance—surrender into the resistance.
     The 5th law of yoga: The Law of Intention and  Desire. If you accept that your  body is not separate from the body of the universe, then by consciously changing the energy and information  of your own body, you can influence the energy and information of your extended body.
     The 6th law of yoga: The Law of Detachment: In order to acquire something in this world, you have to give up your attachment to it. your willingness to embrace the unknown, is your only true security.  By  giving up your attachment to the known, you step into the field of you true self in which the wisdom of uncertainty is factored into all your choices. Being open to what is happening instead of trying to control how things unfold; you experience the excitement, adventure, exhilaration, and mystery of life.
     Look for the 7th law of yoga next week.
     Thai Yoga therapy is way faster than any other therapy. If you need therapy or your knees or hips hurt give thai a try. Namaste
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seven spiritual laws of yoga

Every month I do a home work paper and a hand out, which is something I run across that I think will help my students in their yoga. In February I decided to expound on the seven laws of by breaking them down and talking about one law each month. We already talk about this all the time but we had never labeled it. Deepak Chopra has written a great book on the laws of yoga.
    The first law of yoga is the law of pure potentiality. This is not your social mask, the roles you are playing (parent, child, teacher, student, friend). Your social mask thrives on approval, strives to control. Your ego lives in fear of losing approval, control, and power. Your true Self, your soul, is completely free of these things. It is immune to criticism, fears no challenge, and feels neither beneath nor above anyone. Your soul recognizes at its deepest level that everyone else is the same Self in different disguises.
   The second  law of yoga is the law of giving and receiving. Your body, your mind, and the universe are in constant and dynamic exchange, stopping the circulation of energy is like stopping the flow of blood. When a river stops flowing, it begins to stagnate. You must be open to giving and receiving in order to keep the life force circulating within you. The intention should always be to create happiness for the giver and the receiver, because happiness is life-supporting and life-sustaining. The act of giving has to be joyful—the frame of mind has to be one in which you feel joy in the very act of giving. Then the energy behind the giving increases many times over. have the intention to give something to everyone you come into contact with. It might be a kind word, a compliment, a smile, a prayer, or a small gift.
   The third law of yoga is the law of karma. Every action we take generates a force of energy that returns to us in kind—as we sow, so we reap. When we consciously choose actions that bring happiness and success to others, the fruit of our karma is happiness and success.
   If everyone in the world followed the laws of yoga what a great place to live.
four more laws next week.
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The Yoga Life

I love Thai Yoga Therapy, I worked on five of my yoga students (of course the were willing to be experimented on) they all loved it and said they preferred it over massage. That kinda makes me feel bad because my daughter is a massage therapist. I also worked on a friend, my massage therapist, and my husband. Some of the people I worked on have been coming to me for the yoga therapy that I developed myself over the past three years, I just added the Thai Therapy to what I already do for them. I can tell this Thai Therapy is going to make me much better. Yoga can't help but heal people, I invented props and poses to help heal people that had knee or hip surgeries, or people who have really stiff necks. I think I like to work on necks the most, it almost always helps when I work on them, and I love to see the relief on their face when they leave because they feel so much better. Yoga therapy gives people who have any kind of problems a better life, It can strengthen you and stretch you so you feel strong and healthy, hence my business name YOGA STRONG
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becoming a thai yoga therapist

I found this Thai yoga therapy course totally by accident. I have been doing yoga therapy for the past 3 years, I love helping people feel better and I found that I really had a knack for it. I have worked on people after knee surgery's, people with neck pain, and people with back pain just to mention a few.  I found that yoga therapy recovers people a lot faster and a lot nicer than traditional therapy. I started looking for a school to certify with and found the a Bodhi Yoga Center. the course is three four day weekends through the summer and about 100 more hours on your own.  I did my first week end in June. The four days were intense, but it was excellent Thai yoga therapy is like getting a stretch and a massage at the same time. most of the people I have worked on said they like it better than massage. I still like a good deep tissue massage, but my massage therapist says I am going to put her out of business every time I work on her.
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My 1st Post

My name is Nancy Adams I have been teaching Yoga for 10 years.  I live in Payson, Utah and have an in home studio.  I teach 6 classes a weak and have been specializing on yoga therapy for the last three years.  I am currently taking a course in yoga thai partner yoga therapy.
http://www.gobodhi.com/