SPRING 2016
gives back 05 threads of hope 09 the give back yoga foundation 16 journeys for the soul 19 a veggie adventure
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• SPRING 2016
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E DITOR ’S LET TER
Do Yoga. Do Good. recently read somewhere that the reason why people are not happy, the reason the world lacks peace, and the reason that we cannot find ourselves, is that we lack happiness—the happiness that comes from self-giving. This is no surprise to me. After all, every day we are subject to the depletion that can be a side effect of life in the modern world. What I have discovered about yoga is that it is a tool for transformation. With that transformed self, I can show up for others and be of service. I feel a responsibility to engage in community that I had never felt before. I feel gratitude for all the gifts yoga has given me, and I want to give back. In the past several years, I have enjoyed serving as a United Way Loaned Executive, and every year I look forward to lending a hand during the United Way’s Day of Caring in my community, knowing that the service project will help a non-profit agency fulfill its mission of benefiting others in need. I leave feeling a sense of purpose, and experience more empathy, compassion, and solidarity with others as well. For the people featured in this issue’s cover story (page 11), yoga is something far more powerful than a fitness routine or a break from a busy life. Yoga has motivated them to offer their time and talents to those in need. Each impassioned practitioner started yoga programs, organizations, and more throughout the state that is uniquely their own; giving addicts, amputees, at-risk youth and their families, and first responders the confidence to take steps to improve their lives and well-being. I hope you will find motivation through the personal stories of Pella native Josiah Carter, whose organization helps enslaved children in Ethiopia (page 5) and Marybeth Wood’s yoga service for prisoners (page 9) in the Scott County jail in Davenport. They all serve as an inspiration to anyone who is unsure as to whether they have anything to offer. According to the ancient yogic text The Bhagavad Gita, “Karma yoga is the path of action. When action is performed selflessly with full focus and attention and with no attachment to the outcome, it brings fulfillment and freedom.” With all that takes place in life, it can be easy to overlook the fact that we are part of something greater than ourselves. Think about giving back by helping others in need. You’ll probably get more than you can possibly give if you do so. And you’ll likely be happier to boot.
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in service.”
Happy Spring!
Ghandi
Leaving chronic headaches and the corporate world behind, Lisa Acheson, RYT 500, has yoga to thank for her new life of ease and uncovered entrepreneurial spirit. She shares her passion with yoga teaching classes in the Des Moines area. Visit lisaachesonyoga.com. Noah Beacom is a mortgage specialist by day and a dog dad by night. He has a bachelor’s degree in religion and philosophy and a master’s degree in education. In addition to his involvement in his church community, he is currently calling on the universe to show him the next step in his yoga journey.
Linsey Birusingh, RYT 200, is also trained in Traumasensitive Yoga through the Justice Resource Institute of Boston. She’s implemented a program for women with trauma-related diagnoses at Broadlawns Medical Center in Des Moines. She also owns Yoga Thrill Adventures (yogathrill.com), holding events and retreats that financially benefit local charities.
Sheree Clark, EdM., AADP, CHHC is an inspiring author, television show host, health coach, and raw vegan chef (fork-road.com). She’s written about and presented on topics ranging from raw food 101 to overcoming career burnout. Currently, she hosts a television show called “Fork in the Road with Sheree Clark” and advises private practice health and nutrition clients.
Sandy Eimers is a pharmacist, yoga therapist, and owner of băl•ance yoga lounge (balanceyogalounge. com). She’s the lead instructor of Integrative Yoga Therapy’s 200-hour teacher training program at the lounge and available to collaborate with anyone in search of health and unity through the eight limbs of yoga.
Kerri Hays of Kerri Photography is a dog lovin’ Beaverdale yogi who specializes in family portraits and wedding photography. Her work highlights genuine emotion, candid laughter, and love shared amongst her clients. See how life is beautiful at kerriphotography.com.
Dana Hinders first became interested in practicing yoga as a way to naturally cope with her anxiety and depression. She’s currently a full-time freelance writer living in Clarksville. Learn more at danahinders.com.
Dustin Hockman is an English as a Second Language teacher at Edmunds Elementary in Des Moines where he also incorporates yoga into his classroom, based on the Yoga 4 Classrooms method (yoga4classrooms.com). Dustin is also an instructor at Lifetime Fitness and Lindsey Opp Yoga.
On our Cover
Olivia Kvitne, founder and director of Yoga for First Responders, with Firemedic Brian Eppers (left) and Lieutenant Brian Onstot of the Norwalk Fire Department (station). Photo: Melissa Stukenholtz, Gorman House Photography, Jamaica, Iowa.
Correction
In our Winter 2016 issue, two couples were incorrectly attributed. Our apologies to Amber Dawn and Matt Hazen, and Megan and Ryan Carnahan for the mix up!
Professional photographer Kaylyn Hoskins passionately specializes in empowering women of all ages to feel confident in their own skin through her photography sessions. Kaylyn’s main studio is located in Solon. She welcomes to you find more information about her work at KaylynHoskins.com. YogaIowa’s Managing Editor Tracey L. Kelley, RYT 500, teaches at her boutique yoga studio in South Des Moines and specializes in working with beginning students. Tracey is also the founder of re: communications, a firm focused on improving communication through mindful listening. Learn more at recommunicationsmedia.com.
AMBER DAWN & MATT HAZEN TOGETHER 3 YEARS PRACTICE: HEAT YOGA, CEDAR RAPIDS MEGAN & RYAN CARNAHAN TOGETHER 6 YEARS PRACTICE: HOME PRACTICE AND HEARTLAND YOGA, IOWA CITY
Olivia Kvitne is program director for Yoga for First Responders through the Give Back Yoga Foundation (givebackyoga.org/yffr). She’s written for YogaIowa since its inaugural issue. Olivia is the yoga instructor for the Des Moines Police Academy, the Des Moines Veterans Association, and the Carlisle Fire Department.
A recent college graduate, Theresa Macdonald has pursued photography for most of her life. After being introduced to YogaIowa while studying graphic journalism at Grand View University, she became a marketing assistant for Des Moines Parks and Recreation. Theresa has a passion for photography and loves capturing happy moments. Eric McCabe is a Zen Buddhist priest who teaches meditation, yoga, and Japanese calligraphy to children and adults. He undertook a 15-year mentorship at Mount Equity Zendo in Pennsylvania and also trained in Japan, France (with Thich Nhat Hanh), California, and Nebraska. To have him visit your group, contact him at zenfields.org.
Mary McInnis Meyer, MS-Engineering, RYT 500, is a conspicuous yoga teacher, writer, and mechanical engineer. She’s redefining the way yoga is delivered with the Field of Yoga Project (fieldofyoga.com) in Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids, and online. She blogs the yogic perspective at Real is the New Good (realisthenewgood.com).
Iowa native Kelli Soll is the co-founder of Global Service Partnerships (globalservicepartnerships. org), a non-profit organization that creates service projects to address educational challenges in Belize. She believes international service facilitates the opportunity for individuals to explore who they are and allows for a better understanding of our own roles in this interconnected world.
Jess Soulis loves her work, and the growth and connection it provides, with Lutheran Services in Iowa’s Global Greens (lsiowa.org/ globalgreens), an agricultural program that helps people who came to the US with refugee status reconnect with the land.
Melissa Stukenholtz of Gorman House Photography (gormanhousephoto.com) lives on a farm in rural Jamaica with her two dogs, one cat and 17 organic free-range chickens. Yoga, meditation, healthy meals, and enlightening conversations are a few of her favorite things.
Julia Theisen (juliatheisen. com) is founder and co-producer of the Dubuque Yoga Festival. With more than three decades of experience in the healing arts, her passion is to help others be more fully themselves and to live from a place of freedom in mind-bodyspirit. She’s dedicated to creating sangha: safe, sacred community.
Brenda Wegner is a writer, producer, and photo stylist specializing in whatever she’s into that week. When she’s not creating how-to projects for national publications or hunting down the perfect prop for a commercial production, she tames her busy mind by practicing yoga and remembering to breathe. Learn more at justbsue.com.
• SPRING 2016
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Taught by Kate Cardamon, M.S.P.T., and Libby Trausch, D.P.T., DMU physical therapists trained in Medical Therapeutic Yoga
YOGA@DMU ✷ Perfect for beginners or those wanting to refine their practice ✷ Emphasizes stability and balance over flexibility ✷ Promotes mindfulness and meditation ✷ Recognizes the breath as the foundation
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YOGAIOWA IS DISTRIBUTED QUARTERLY THROUGHOUT IOWA. SPRING 2016 VOLUME 4, NUMBER 2 P U B L I SH E R / E DI TOR Angela Banowetz Ossian MA N AG I N G E DI TO R Tracey L. Kelley A DVE RTI SI N G AC COU NT EX ECU TIV E Ron Klipfel A RT DI R ECTI O N
• SPRING 2016
For those with some yoga experience Tuesdays, 4:30-5:15 pm April 5 – June 21 $100 for 12 weeks Register at www.dmu.edu/clinic/physical-therapy
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Becky Langdon
Sheree Clark, holistic health and nutritional coach Diane Glass, facilitator, Tending Your Inner Garden Dennis Kelly, founder of Yoga in the Park and Meditation Around Town, Des Moines Ann M. York, PT, PhD, E-RYT 200, RYT 500, Associate Professor, Des Moines University
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IN IOWA, ONE DOLLAR BUYS A LOTTERY TICKET. IN ETHIOPIA, ONE DOLLAR BUYS AN ENCOUNTER WITH A YOUNG GIRL FORCED INTO PROSTITUTION. MODERN SLAVERY IS A SERIOUS HUMANITARIAN PROBLEM, WITH MORE THAN 27 MILLION PEOPLE ENSLAVED WORLDWIDE. A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION
n 2008, Pella native Josiah Carter was among a number of “The generosity Drake University students spending a summer in Ethiopia. One night, their team walked through a district in Addis of people in Iowa has made an Ababa, where every block was lined with tin shacks and young girls ensnared in prostitution—some as young as 10 years immeasurable old. The students later learned that at least 70,000 prostitutes, impact halfway often coerced or working against their will, live in this city of around the three-to-five million people. In addition, many of Ethiopia’s world.” young men are enslaved as sweatshop textile workers. “After that night, I never felt so lost,” Carter says. “How could it be that we didn’t know about this issue and something wasn’t being done? God put them in our path, and it was hard to ignore. Then we asked the question that has stuck with us ever since: if these girls were our sisters, daughters, or friends, what would we do to rescue them from being sold every night? We would do anything.” Carter mobilized a team of volunteers to return to Ethiopia in 2010 with a distinct solution for impact: scarves, handcrafted by former enslaved teenage boys. “Now freed, these young men go through our training program and become masters of work once used against them,” Carter says. “They are now business owners fighting the issue by bringing their product to the market completely slave free.” With this mission in mind, he founded the non-profit group Beza Threads. In the Ethiopian language of Amharic, beza means redemption or transformation. “We believe not only rescue but redemption is possible in the life of every enslaved child,” he says. “This means undoing wrongs and injustice, and creating hope and tangible resources for a better future.” When you purchase a Beza Threads scarf, 100% of the sale goes to rescuing children from slavery. The organization operates with a volunteer staff, including Carter’s wife, Megan, and a host of others. “People donate time to sell scarves, build our website, do product photography, and other things,” he says. “The generosity of people in Iowa has made an immeasurable impact halfway around the word.” He shares one of many stories that add to his motivation. “Over a week, I spent time watching the weaving process with a rescued teen, and we became friends. It was an experience of a lifetime to see how someone smiles, knowing their future is brighter. I came home thinking I’d never see him again,” he says. “Two years later, in a crowded marketplace of a city of more than three million people, someone yells my name, and it’s the same boy! He looks good, and hasn’t wasted a moment of his new freedom. This is what we are working toward.” The struggle to end modern slavery completely is, in Carter’s words, “a global movement,” and there isn’t a single solution for achieving success. Yet he believes in each step of the process. “For example, one program receives funding to rescue, counsel, and rehabilitate girls from prostitution. Each scarf covers one night of the program,” he says. “One night doesn’t seem like much, but to the girls being rescued, it means not being sold multiple times for less than a dollar. To them, a single scarf changes their world.”
Beza Threads partners with Hope for Children in Ethiopia, a nonprofit group designed to use 100% of your scarf purchase as direct funding to help enslaved teens receive education and new skills for independent lives. Four programs benefit: Freedom School, Freedom Boys, Freedom Girls, and Deborah Girls. Learn more at bezathreads.org.
• SPRING 2016
Photos courtesy of Beza Threads
IN IOWA WANTS TO CHANGE THIS. BY TRACEY L. KELLEY
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arma yoga is a vast subject, but at its essence it is about “selfless service.” You may have integrated karma yoga into your life by participating in a local studio’s charity drive. Or perhaps you’re a teacher who has offered a free class to those who may not have the resources to otherwise participate. In addition to these meaningful expressions of karma yoga, I’d like to share some practical ways you might integrate it into your daily life. My own practice of karma yoga has two main components: 1. Personal sangha (community): Practicing selfless service with myself by cultivating safe, sacred community within 2. Group sangha: Practicing selfless service by cultivating safe, sacred community with others
Cultivating Personal Sangha
Over time I’ve come to understand my body-mind-spirit as an intelligent, sacred community of life-force energy, connective tissue, organs, etc. My job is to take care of this community in the most loving way that I can. I do this through a daily practice of sitting meditation, gratitude journaling, and yoga practice. At the beginning of every yoga practice I also set an intention. Most often my intention is, “Spirit, show me what my work is today and I will do it; show me what my next step is and I will take it.” It’s taken me years to cultivate this daily practice of service within. Never has it been clearer to me that it is only by cultivating personal sangha that I am able to be of selfless service to others; we can’t give away what we don’t have.
Cultivating Group Sangha
Being in a yoga class, whether as participant or teacher, is an ideal environment for cultivating selfless service through group sangha. Here are some simple ways I go about doing this:
• SPRING 2016
• In each yoga class I talk about being a safe, sacred community for each other and for the greater community. In this way, I make the experience of sangha very explicit for everyone. • At the beginning of class I invite everyone to set their personal intentions (i.e. cultivate personal sangha) and to dedicate their practice to others. Sometimes a participant requests that we bring someone into this time of dedications by name. Setting intentions and dedications at the beginning of every class strengthens the experience of sangha and karma yoga. • At the end of class, as we seal in the benefits of our practice, I invite participants to keep what they need for themselves from their practice and to share the remainder with everyone else around them. In this way we give the benefits of our practice away to others–an experience of selfless service.
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We can fulfill our desire for selfless service in meaningful ways each day. Start small–maybe with your own personal intention at the beginning of each day–and grow from there.
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Yoga for Strength Does flexibility come easier than strength?
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Mindfully bring strength to the way you move and seek balance with your flexibility to sustain an asana practice for many years to come.
Patience for the Mission WHEN YOU WONDER IF YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE OR IF YOU SHOULD EVEN TRY, REMEMBER THIS. BY ERIC MCCABE
APRIL 12 & 26 6-7:15 PM
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A samurai once asked a famous Zen Master named Hakuin, “What is hell?” He wanted to know because daily he risked his life. Hakuin asked, “Tell me, what do you do for a living?” The Samurai haughtily responded, “I’m a general.” Hakuin laughed in disbelief saying, “What idiot made you a general? You look more like a butcher to me!” The Samurai began to shake, his face turned red, and his eyes grew large. He pulled his sword out, held it over Hakuin’s head, and was just about to strike him dead when at that moment Hakuin pointed to the Samurai and said, “That’s hell.” The Samurai apologized profusely saying, “Please forgive me.” He put his sword away and bowed in gratitude for the answer to his question. Hakuin pointed to the Samurai and said, “And that’s heaven.” In the snap of a finger the mind can be transformed from hell to heaven. The top part of the Chinese character for patience (above) means “knife” and the bottom part means “heart” or “mind.” Patience arises when the heart/ mind meets the knife’s edge. When our heart/mind meets this edge, we are granted the opportunity to grow. We are temporarily halted in our pursuits and returned to an acceptance of our present internal and external state as it is, thanks to whatever is on the other end of that knife.
Then we have a choice to make. Do we continue on our present path, which may include frustration, fear, or anger, or do we take a different route? The choice we make will depend on whether or not our actions align with our life’s purpose. We can blame whatever is on the other end of the knife (boss, politics, issue, etc.) or we can buckle down, draw from our interior resources, and find the resolve to continue our mission. If we are clear about our life’s calling and have patience in the process of doing our work, then nothing and no one can prevent us from carrying out that work, even if we don’t see the results in this lifetime. Like the small plant that finds a way to the sun from under the weight of a huge boulder, we each have the capacity within us to feel our way through the darkness and into the light.
• SPRING 2016
Illustration courtesy of Eric McCabe
Patience.
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PRAC TI CE
Self-Care through the Eight Limbs of Yoga BY SANDY EIMERS Yoga is taught and learned through relationship, and teachers arrive in many forms to deliver lessons to us. With open hearts and minds we process daily experience and juggle opportunities to give and receive, laugh and cry, live and learn. Many days the various hats we wear consume more energy than our bodies and breath can generate. As we search for the space between the need to belong and the need to grow we stumble from exhaustion. When the scale tips and energy Mudra from Joseph Le Page’s book, is depleted, look to the eight Mudras for Healing and Transformation limbs of yoga as a return path to unity. We cannot maintain balance giving more to others than we give ourselves. When it feels like the world is draining you dry, it’s time for self care.
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Asana Leave the ego behind as you step on the mat. Any posture done with deep breathing and a focused mind is advanced yoga, regardless of how simple the pose is. Embrace all six edges—strength, flexibility, balance, endurance, fear, and pain—from minimum to maximum sensation. Cultivate joy in your practice while releasing anxiety from the body. Pranayama The breath is the gateway to the autonomic nervous system, both sympathetic and parasympathetic. Conscious control of the breath immediately increases awareness and supports relaxation and restoration. Breathe slowly and evenly without strain. Pratyahara The five senses provide communication with the outside world. Filter the wave of information entering the nervous system and brain to better focus on inner sensation. As the senses withdraw, the intuitive mind awakens. Dharana Allow the mind to explore a narrower field to become stable, and silence the flurry of thought-based activity. Notice how the “sense of self” diminishes as you grow in the ability to concentrate while undisturbed by distraction. Dhyana Silence establishes clarity. With practice, inner listening will become a way of being. Meditation opens you to the wisdom and guidance from the Infinite Mind. But first, you must somehow manage to suspend what you now believe to be true about yourself in order to have a new experience.
Find Balance and Stability
Kevin Peterson BS. LMT. CPT
Yamas and Niyamas How we discipline ourselves and how we behave toward others affect our success in relationship. When we bury our limitless, true being and filter interactions with others to reflect the person we want others to believe we are, energy is depleted. The closer our “two faces” energetically align, the greater our connection with reality.
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Samadhi Bliss arrives in moments. Acknowledge the smallest experiences of joy. Allow yourself to feel happiness for no particular reason. Imagine yourself the individual wave settling down and experiencing the unbounded ocean.
Breaking the Cycle The Give Back Yoga Foundation’s Prison Yoga Project is making a difference in the lives of inmates at the Scott County Jail in Davenport. Volunteer MaryBeth Wood, who spends her days working as the Scott County health coordinator, teaches weekly yoga classes to help inmates develop discipline, improve their physical fitness, and sleep better at night.
THE GIVE BACK YOGA FOUNDATION HELPS TO INSPIRE GRASSROOTS SOCIAL CHANGE AND COMMUNITY COOPERATION, ONE ASANA AT A TIME. BY DANA HINDERS ob Schware co-founded Give Back Yoga in 2007 with his yoga teacher, Beryl Bender Birch. They both shared the dream of making yoga available to people who otherwise wouldn’t have a chance to experience the transformational benefits of the practice. “I’m keenly aware that I am privileged to attend a yoga studio and regularly practice,” Schware says. Based in Boulder, Colorado, Give Back Yoga runs service programs nationwide. The Eat Breathe Thrive program supports people struggling with eating disorders by using yoga to promote a positive body image. Mindful Yoga Therapy helps veterans diagnosed with PTSD or other stress-related disorders reclaim their bodies and minds. The Prison Yoga Project promotes yoga as a way for incarcerated men and women to develop non-violent problem-solving skills. Yoga of 12-Step Recovery uses yoga as a tool to support addiction recovery and prevent relapse. In addition to its four core service programs, Give Back Yoga also organizes several smaller projects to expand the benefits of yoga to a broader audience. For 2016, it’s working with sponsors to launch a Yoga Readiness initiative for soldiers stationed on military bases across the country. “Each Yoga Readiness Kit represents the beginning of an active duty military service member’s yoga journey,” Schware says. “This kit includes a mat, blocks, strap, guides, books, and meditation downloads. These tools will guide them in the practice of asana, pranayama, and meditation.” Like any nonprofit organization, Give Back Yoga relies heavily on the support of its generous volunteers. If you’re wondering whether you’re “good enough” to make a difference, Schware encourages you to be brave and take the plunge. “The populations we work with—veterans, persons recovering from addictions and disordered eating, and incarcerated individuals—need approachable yoga, not perfect poses,” he says. “Let’s full-power ahead to give back yoga to unserved and underserved populations,” Schware says. “Join our tribe!”
Wood acknowledges that the idea of teaching yoga in a prison can be a bit intimidating for some people. However, she urges anyone interested in volunteering to keep an open mind and not let fear get the best of them. “Yes, the inmates have done bad things. But that doesn’t make them bad people. In so many cases, their lives have been marked by drug addiction, violence, and mental illness. They need help to break that cycle and start making better choices. You can’t pull yourself up by your bootstraps if you don’t have shoes.”
Visit givebackyoga.org to learn more about all of the organization’s programs, register for teacher training, or purchase yoga guides and other merchandise to provide program funds. Visit prisonyoga.org to learn more about teacher training, donate a yoga manual to an inmate, or provide financial support.
Photo courtesy Give Back Yoga Foundation
The Give Back Yoga Foundation
‘Yoga has helped me learn what voices are real and which ones are part of my disease.’
She began teaching out of a desire to make a difference in the lives of the Scott County inmates, but Woods says her experience as a member of the Prison Yoga Project has helped deepen her own understanding of the transformative potential of yoga. “Every one of my students is special to me, but one young man in particular stands out,” she says. “When he arrived at the facility, he was an unmedicated schizophrenic who stared off into space. After getting back on his medication and coming to my classes, he started improving dramatically. He said to me, ‘Yoga has helped me learn what voices are real and which ones are part of my disease.’ Watching his transformation and seeing him take control of his condition reminded me of why yoga is so powerful.”
• SPRING 2016
Soldier: Missy Rosol; Photo Robert Sturman
Her work has even helped forge a few seemingly unlikely friendships. “Jails are diverse places, with people from a wide range of backgrounds,” Wood says. “Once, I had a student who was a white supremacist with a swastika tattoo. When he started my class, you could feel the tension between him and one of the black inmates in the room. As the weeks passed, though, they moved their mats next to each other and started talking like they’d been friends their whole lives. I was amazed at how yoga helped them break through prejudice to form a real connection.”
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global greens BY JESS SOULIS
Looking around at Global Greens Farmers’ Market, a program of Lutheran Services in Iowa (LSI), you might see some vegetables that are new to you, such as bitter melon, amaranth greens, and long beans. The vegetables are fresh, delicious, and Certified Naturally Grown. Many have global roots, but these veggies are special for other reasons, too. Look into the eyes of the farmers who greet you with a warm welcome, the eyes that have seen so much but are still so quick to smile. Listen to the laughter of children who help their grandparents practice English and, in the process, have something precious passed on to them. You may even find that you can sense the hearts that find healing and the minds that find peace in reconnecting with the land. All of these farmers came to the United States with refugee status after being forced to flee persecution in their home countries. In Iowa, they bravely started new lives. While adjusting to a place that’s so different can be tough, bringing something with you—something that you know, defines who you are, and connects you to your family and past—makes a real difference. When that something is growing food, it can also help you connect with your new community. Global Greens was created after leaders of local refugee communities drove to Washington, D.C. with the director of LSI’s Refugee Services. This was the first time many of them had a chance to see rural Iowa. As they drove through acres upon acres of farmland, the farmers wondered how they could put their love and knowledge of growing food into practice in their new home. Six years later, Global Greens supports 160 families in community gardens around the city of Des Moines. Global Greens also provides production, marketing, and business development education and support to 25 families who grow produce at Global Greens Farm, hosted by the Valley Community Center in West Des Moines.
• SPRING 2016
Community gardening projects are growing in Iowa for people who came to the United States with refugee status. These include projects in Columbus Junction, the Council Bluffs/Omaha area, Storm Lake, and Waterloo. They are at various stages of development and often involve local members of refugee communities working in conjunction with local food and agriculture organizations and/or ISU Extension.
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Learn more about Global Greens, including where you can find veggies and other ways to connect, at lsiowa.org/globalgreens.
Photos courtesy of Lutheran Services in Iowa
Global Greens farmers are eager to share their produce and a taste of their home countries with their neighbors. You might notice these vegetables even taste better because of the wisdom, love, and hope that live in the hands and hearts of those who grew them.
yoga
gives back ONE PRIMARY DEFINITION OF SEVA IS SELFLESS SERVICE “ON BEHALF OF, AND FOR THE BETTERMENT OF, A COMMUNITY.”
FOR MANY YOGA TEACHERS, THIS CONCEPT EXTENDS TO UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS, PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS, AND
COMMUNITY-FOCUSED ENDEAVORS THAT PERPETUATE THE JOY OF FORMING A UNION OF LIKE MINDS. THE TEACHERS IN THIS STORY ARE SOME OF THE HUNDREDS THROUGHOUT IOWA WHO BELIEVE SEVA AUTHENTICATES THEIR PURPOSE IN YOGA. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JUSTIN MEYER, KAYLYN HOSKINS, MELISSA STUKENHOLTZ, AND THERESA MACDONALD
Emily Boyd and Julia Dellitt Founders, Pop Up Yoga in Des Moines Teach in Des Moines, West Des Moines, Clive, and Urbandale In 2015, we developed a plan to create more community yoga in parks around Des Moines. Right away we knew that this wasn’t “our” thing alone. We prioritized the support and feedback of local studios and instructors to help us narrow down the type and frequency of events Pop Up could offer on a sustainable level for a short period of time, and we partnered with The Hub at the Downtown Farmers Market as well as the Des Moines Parks Department. We’ve been deeply impacted by yoga as teachers and students, and we’ve hoped that keeping all classes free or donation-based would make it less intimidating and attract people new to yoga. And we wanted to give any local instructor a chance to give back in the form of volunteer teaching. JULIA SAYS: I want all people to be able to experience different types of yoga to figure out how a practice might best serve them—or not. I think yoga is too often limited to white, upper-middle class residents who have the means, education, or access to make yoga part of their lives. That criticism includes me, and since I know how much a yoga practice in varying forms has changed my life for the better, I feel responsible to help improve access. It’s humbling to teach to students of all backgrounds and body types; it’s wonderful to raise fundraising dollars for a few charities along the way; and it’s important to keep the doors of growth and conversation open with all teachers and studios in our community.
Left to Right: Chris Goodwin, Julia Dellitt, Emily Boyd, and Derek Cassaday
• SPRING 2016
EMILY SAYS: Building community is something I’m incredibly passionate about, and it can be done in so many different ways. Partnering with nonprofit organizations has been a way for people to enjoy a yoga class and make a contribution, knowing that they get the benefit of practice and also impacting a local organization.
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YOGA GIVES BA C K
Mary St. Onge Owner, Sattva Yoga Therapy Teaches in Des Moines I was inspired to offer the Yoga + Recovery class after attending a parents’ weekend retreat visiting my son in a rehab program. I learned that most people who suffer from addiction say that they use to dull the pain or to escape their problems and many feel disconnected from their bodies. When one believes that the pleasures received from the addiction are the only mechanism for functioning, one feels hopeless in coping with the stresses of daily living. I knew that blending therapeutic yoga specifically addressing trauma and addiction with the practical tools of the 12-step program could provide a truly holistic recovery approach. Not a program replacement, this type of yoga therapy offers adjunct tools that help us through our recovery off the mat and in our daily lives, specifically as it relates to relapse prevention. The Yoga + Recovery class is donation-based. Addictions can derail our lives in varying degrees and often in the area of financial resources. I wanted to remove the financial barrier to attending by providing a safe and nurturing environment to introduce or encourage a regular yoga practice for those in recovery.
I am in awe of the yogis who show up every week and work things out on the mat with humor, humility, and heart. They embody the true meaning of sankalpa (intention), tapas (perseverance), abhaya (fearlessness), and ishvara pranidhana (surrender). Like the descent through layers of tension to rest in the release of savasana, ishvara pranidhana provides a pathway through the obstacles of our ego toward our divine nature of grace, peace, unconditional love, clarity, and freedom. I heard once that illness begins with “I” (when we separate ourselves and feel alone and desperate); whereas wellness begins with “we.” It’s gratifying to observe how taking this journey in community provides a touchstone for healing and connection.
Diana Gallegos, PhD Adaptive Yoga Teacher Teaches in Iowa City I had a medical condition that doctors were unable to figure out; I was losing my vision. This went on for years before being corrected. I became a master of developing strategies and pushing through, but this put me in a surreal and constant state of anxiety, pain, and fatigue. Yoga saved me from my pain and brought me back to the present. I went into neuroscience research to help people, but when I kept seeing research participants with neurological disease and trauma feeling in pain and not at ease, it made me want to share yoga with them. I realized my purpose was not to be in the lab; my purpose was to share the gift of yoga. In private practice, I teach yoga to individuals with amputations, traumatic brain injuries (TBI), Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, dementia, scoliosis, and arthritis, and people in recovery from a stroke. I also teach yoga at an adult daycare to individuals with developmental disabilities and traditional yoga classes at Heartland Yoga and North Dodge Athletic Club.
• SPRING 2016
My adaptive yoga students are really my teachers, who I’m grateful for every day. And their comments are heartwarming. A student with TBI had lost sensation on the left side of his body said that he “felt parts of my body that I thought no longer existed.” A student with Parkinson’s said, “For the first time, I no longer feel constant tension in my body.” And Jeffery Ford, pictured with me here, started yoga with me a few months after the amputations of fingers and legs due to a severe infection. Now, he’s celebrating two years of being a yoga practitioner and says, “I feel great!”
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Yoga empowers us. It teaches us we don’t have to push so hard, how to have joy in our bodies again, and how to feel our presence. It is my heartfelt passion, joy, and life work to bring the gift of yoga to others, no matter their age or ability.
I am in awe of the yogis who show up every week and work things out on the mat with humor, humility, and heart.
My adaptive yoga students are really my teachers who I’m grateful for every day.
YOGA GIVES BACK
Olivia Kvitne Founder and director of Yoga for First Responders Teaches in Des Moines, Carlisle, Indianola, and Norwalk As I went deeper into my studies and practice of yoga, I realized that the commercialized yoga scene prevalent in the West tends to isolate certain segments of the population from the transformative benefits of traditional yoga. So I focused my teaching on more of the neurological benefits through the yoga postures and the breath work. I have always believed that citizens should serve their country using their time or talents. My way of doing this has been to teach yoga to veterans who struggle with post-traumatic stress (PTS).
25-30% of police officers have stressbased physical health problems.
Then my mother brought my attention to the needs of first responders. I did some research and found that 25-30% of police officers have stress-based physical health problems, and that 40% suffer from sleep disorders. In addition, numbers are rising for PTS among all emergency personnel, not merely police and firefighters. Research also indicates that yoga can help with these issues, yet one would be hard-pressed to find a cop or firefighter taking the initiative to walk alone into a yoga studio.
Offering yoga to first responders requires a different, although similar, approach than that which is tailored to veterans. I developed a protocol to not only insure the safety and effectiveness of yoga for first responders, but to deliver it in a manner that can be understood and, most importantly, accepted within their culture. This protocol turned into an organization, Yoga for First Responders, which provides vital emotional-wellness and physical/mental-resiliency training for academy settings, for in-service trainings, and for community-based programs. Through teaching yoga to first responders, I thank the men and women who put their lives on the line to help their communities. The unexpected personal benefit to my offering gratitude in this way is the balance it provides in my own life.
Sarah Cram Driscoll
Owner, Toula Family Studio Teaches in Cedar Rapids
yoga is about lifting each other I volunteer several times each up by reminding year teaching prenatal yoga at Young Parents Network (YPN) people, over and and Kids Yoga at Gems of Hope. over again, of our I want to support wonderful worthiness and organizations like these that our connection support others on a daily basis. to each other YPN has many programs to support and educate young families. I teach prenatal yoga to expectant mothers at YPN, many of whom are single teenagers. Yoga not only soothes the aches and pains associated with pregnancy but also soothes the mind of apprehension, confusion, and worry that these young mamas-to-be experience.
When you can reach them, you can teach them!
Initially I reached out to Life Connections because I know the CEO, Angela Eich. She was running her family therapy center differently by offering free services such as resume work and teaching life skills. I spoke with her about the benefits of yoga and explained how it could help with emotional management and patience, as many of her clients are going through very hard times. She was immediately on board and together we set up the free yoga program at Life Connections in Cedar Rapids and Dubuque. Breathwork and self-observation begin as soon as you step on the mat. I once taught a class to moms who had lost custody of their kids due to drug use. They entered the space groaning and saying things like, “There’s no way you’re going to twist me up like a pretzel!” By the end of class, they were all so interested in what they just experienced. There were tears, and they opened up— and they wanted more yoga. As yoga teachers, we get to deliver this ancient system and enrich lives. Then we get to hear their stories about how much yoga has helped them. There’s nothing better than those stories—well, maybe those big sighs from students during class!
This is why I want to work with more organizations to reach more people. Everyone has a role in our community, and if we can make people feel better, we can have a more peaceful community.
I teach poses to keep the young ladies strong, to soothe prenatal hip and lower-back pain, and to decrease swelling, all while delivering a message of empowerment and self-worth. The breathing and mindfulness techniques they learn ease anxiety and can be used during labor. Yoga helped me so much physically and mentally during all three of my pregnancies, so it feels great to pass that on to others. Gems of Hope is an organization that provides cancer patients and their families support and resources to inspire hope when dealing with a cancer diagnosis. A fun kids yoga adventure is a great break that makes their bodies and minds smile, while giving them relief from worrying about their parents or other loved ones fighting cancer. I also teach them breathing techniques they can use to cope more easily and manage emotions. I’m excited any time I can introduce the healthy practice of yoga to anyone because it can be used all of their lives. Ultimately for me, yoga is about lifting each other up by reminding people, over and over again, of our worthiness and our connection to each other and to a bigger support system beyond ourselves. These two organizations embody the true message of yoga, and I’m honored to support them.
• SPRING 2016
Owner, The Breathing Room Teaches in Cedar Rapids Members of our community who struggle with mental health and the stress of poverty need the tools yoga has to offer. Often, they think yoga is weird and has nothing to do with their daily conflicts. When you can reach them, you can teach them! I love to show people how tangible yoga can be.
Andrea Franz Parks
Tell us about the charitable efforts of your studio or teaching! FACEBOOK.COM/YOGAIOWA
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“ADAMANTINE® YOGA HAS BEEN LIFE-CHANGING. Being a total yoga ‘newbie’, and never enjoying the few group classes I’ve tried, Adamantine® Yoga is completely unique. James’ philosophy and teachings are simply one of a kind, integrating the body, mind and spirit. With James’ guidance in my daily practice, I’ve grown so much in only 10 weeks. It is part of my morning ritual. It challenges, inspires, and mentally grounds me. I’ve noticed tremendous positive changes in how I relate in my day-to-day activities. It has far surpassed my expectations. I am so grateful to have Adamantine® Yoga in my life.” — Stephanie Brown
The Conscious Consumer BY BRENDA WEGNER Your yoga practice can lead to extending the positive energy you experience on the mat to all areas of your life. It’s the concept of Karma yoga, usually translated as “the yoga of action”—that is, using the ordinary actions of your life as a means of “waking up.” One way to take action is being mindful in your role as a consumer by shopping local when possible and supporting businesses and individuals with cultures and directives that mirror your values. There are many opportunities to do this in Iowa. Frontier Co-op, Simply Organic, and Aura Cacia in Norway rank among the top corporations in the nation for yearly social giving as a percent of sales. They’ll reach the million-dollar mark in social giving contributions this fiscal year. PR Manager Anne Rierson says, “We think consumers are becoming increasingly aware and mindful of the impact of their choices as buyers and are in the business to provide an avenue for environmental and social change.” Some non-profit, fair-trade stores operate on a volunteer-based model, including The Work of Our Hands in Pella, World’s Window in Cedar Falls, Hands Around the World in Orange City, and Worldly Goods in Ames. Worldly Goods has been in business since 1987. “We have volunteers from all different backgrounds,” says Andrea Gronau, store manager. “Some volunteer because they want to support fair trade in the world. We even have some volunteers with special needs that help in any way they can. Many of our volunteers are customers who love what we do at the store and want to help even more.” Small businesses also find ways to merge business with charitable action. Andy Roat and his wife, Kathy, own Fleet Feet Sports in Des Moines. “We want to be a welcoming hub for people who like to move. As a result, we like to support our community by giving back to local charities,” he says. “Our preferred way to donate is for charities to have packet pick-ups for races at Fleet Feet Sports. Then we’ll donate a percentage of sales to the charity.” Iowa author Adam Hammes wrote the book Stress-Free Sustainability. He donates two dollars for every copy of the book sold to One Million Minds Campaign. “I wanted to raise awareness of two amazing organizations, Net Impact and the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, that are educating the next generation of sustainability leaders,” he says. Hammes thinks if enough people take action, our choices as consumers can make a difference. “I like to say, ‘Vote with your dollars, and join a larger cause.’ Spending without educating others why will never be enough. We get happier, healthier communities that we can be proud of when we make informed choices.”
Experience for yourself.
• SPRING 2016
TRY ADAMANTINE® YOGA FOR ONE WEEK FREE.
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Call 515.829.9213 or visit
AdamantineYoga.com/free-yoga-trial
Research the social impact of companies and products online: • knowmore.org • goodguide.com • fairtradeusa.org/shopping-guide
studios give back IOWA YOGA TEACHERS PRACTICE SEVA, OR SERVICE, TO THEIR
INTERNAL LIFT Exploring the Bandhas FRIDAY, MAY 13 • 6PM
COMMUNITIES IN INNOVATIVE
t’s Tuesday night in tiny Bertram (population 298), and the locals are gathered at the town hall. It isn’t a chili supper or a meeting, but free, gentle yoga. Children as young as three practice in the same room with 80-year-olds. Some people are in chairs, and some are on mats. Cuing the asanas and selflessly giving her time is yoga teacher Maria Dummermuth. “At one class, there was a comment, ‘I never knew there were so many people in Tell us about the Bertram!’” she says. “Despite the fact that charitable efforts we are a small community, we don’t always of your studio or get to know our neighbors. Practicing yoga teaching! together develops connections.” Dummermuth collects optional FACEBOOK.COM/YOGAIOWA donations for Bertram United Methodist Church, which she says has given so much to the town, including a religious education to her children. “The Sunday school teachers volunteer their time and provide many activities for the entire community. I knew that my gift of teaching was one way that I could give back.” In Sioux City, similar selfless acts are in motion. This past year, Evolve Yoga and Wellness collected thousands in community donations. Its Yoga in the Park series helps two organizations: Gigi’s Playhouse, which gives free therapeutic classes to children with Down Syndrome; and STARS, which uses horseback riding therapy for people with cognitive, emotional, behavioral, or social challenges. Evolve’s owner Erin Kuehl says yoga students are grateful for the opportunity to contribute. “We have witnessed a shift in awareness...a community that elevated its loving compassion and created authentic connection.” In addition to the annual Park series, Kuehl continues to find new ways to give. “There’s no greater reward than to see a life changed by being of service and to experience the healing effects of yoga.” In Iowa’s capital city, a studio has raised nearly $50,000 for local charities and given more than 300 class packages for charity auctions. “We strive to be an integral part of our community. This means assuming some responsibility to help make it great,” says Power Life Yoga’s Katie Blakely. “We promote healthy minds and bodies which helps nurture, support, and maintain a strong and healthy community.” For over three years, Power Life Yoga has offered more than 850 free classes in studios, businesses, parks, schools, prisons, day cares, charities, health events, and even at the Iowa State Fair. “Yoga isn’t financially accessible to everyone. We hope these donations make it into the hands of people who need yoga and hope they experience such an impact and in turn, share this with others,” Blakely says. Iowa City’s Zen Den Yoga opened in October 2015, and owner Kelli Jackson offered a reduced-fee class right away. For $5, participants enjoy the session and simultaneously support a cause of the instructor’s choice. The current instructor, Mary Hernandez, who gives her time for free, chose Camp Courageous for people with disabilities. “The particular free class is a Pilates class, but two yoga teachers are expanding the concept,” Jackson says. “Even some members who pay monthly also donate $5 because it’s about the community.” With a full-time job and a new studio, why does Jackson take time to develop her charitable classes? “Small business owners get so much wonderful support from the community. I’m giving back that love and support. I don’t think you can say you’re a part of the community as a business and not give back to it.”
WITH BRETTE BERLIN SCOTT
experiment. explore. learn. CLASSES FOR ALL LEVELS • WORKSHOPS • TEACHER TRAINING
DR. DOUGLAS BROOKS
LOVE, LUST, & ECSTASY
Conversation on Yoga for a 21st Century Life APRIL 29 – MAY 1
SHAKTIYOGADM.COM
remember: you are love.
celebrating the divine feminine BRENTON ARBORETUM SATURDAY, JUNE 4 Reconnect with the divine feminine during this one-day, women-only retreat. Deepen your experience of the divine within yourself through exploring your connection with the nature of this beautiful place. Rita Henry will guide your through qigong, breath-work and meditations for an energetic reset. Let go of wrong messaging about the feminine and accept the remembrance of your magnificence. Register by May 15th and save $14!
transform your life. • SPRING 2016
Photos courtesy Meghan Nelson and Maria Dummermuth
WAYS. BY LINSEY BIRUSINGH
PHONE: 515 313 1156 15
Journeys for the Soul BY KELLI RAE SOLL Imagine traveling to a beautiful, tropical country with fascinating new faces, places, sights, smells, and ways of living daily life. Visualize your days with a new Belizean friend, engaging in intimate conversations regarding life lessons and skills. Now, you’ve returned home with a new friend who lives a continent away, yet is held close to the heart and impacts everyday life. There is a particular smile you’ll never forget. International travel with the purpose of impacting a life through direct interaction has been the most rewarding experience in my journey to date. So much so, that as a young woman from a small town in Iowa, I was motivated to provide the opportunity for others to be influenced in the same way. I created Global Service Partnerships (GSP) with a mission geared toward providing international service opportunities in Belize. It’s for lifelong learners of any age and profession—individuals with a passion for self-discovery, and travelers with the desire to leave their comfort zone and expose themselves to different ways of life. GSP facilitates cultural understanding via immersion activities and time for reflection. –Mary Oliver
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
But the true heart of the program is an empowering service program with Belizean youth and communities. GSP partners with schools in the United States and Belize to provide mutuallybeneficial opportunities that address educational challenges. Belize is an English-speaking country with a 40% literacy rate. Students are struggling with national exams that significantly impact their future opportunities. Each service program builds on the last and we continue to return to the same schools and communities to maintain effectiveness.
• SPRING 2016
We all have hearts and hands that operate with a desire to make a difference in someone’s life. The best part of this work is that it does an incredible job of doing just that: your heart is bursting at the seams and lives are forever changed as you take the time to make a difference in this world.
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GSP arranges four-to-six trips a year. Scheduled trips for the remainder of 2016 include May 27-June 4 and October 1-9, as well as a summer social work internship. Learn more at globalservicepartnerships.org.
Photos courtesy of Global Services Partnerships
Insta
All travelers have different takeaways at the conclusion of their service experience, regardless of where they were born and raised. From my own travels and service, I realize I’m a woman from the Midwest who loves the mountains. I grew up with cornfields in my backyard, yet I love the ocean and all of its beauty. Iowa and Belize have taught me my heart knows no boundary and the importance of exploring. More than anything, I believe appreciating diversity in this world is the key to life.
T RANS FORM AT IVE T RAVEL
India:
Balancing Out a Year of Crazy BY MARY MCINNIS MEYER
nyone who asked me why I was going to India got the same response: Most afternoons, I’d hike in the foothills I’m gonna balance out a year of crazy in two weeks! Then we’d laugh surrounding campus with one of my insta-tight our driest laughs. You see, it was a lot of crazy. friends. Sangha is automatic at an immersion like this. The crazy peaked on Labor Day when I crashed in a bike race Rocky climbs to torn fabric flags at peaks, following and broke my sacrum. Wake-up call for sure. But I didn’t know what I was winding goat herding trails that looked remarkably like supposed to wake up to. With my activity restricted to walking, my mind turned mountain bike trails back home. things over and over with every labored stutter-step, trying to figure out On my first hike, I dropped my line about balancing what I was supposed to take away from all this. Chitta vrtti, mind never still. My a year of crazy, and quickly added, “I know that can’t meditation practice could have helped, but, whoops! That had crashed, too. really happen.” My hiking partner stopped me right So I packed up my one large duffel and headed to India to reconnect there. “Don’t say that. It’s possible.” I raised my with my lineage. The Institute had built a shrine in honor of our Sri Vidya eyebrows. We hiked on. Nearing a peak, it was my turn lineage, and it was go-time for consecrating it (translation: meditate in to lead. Not far ahead of me, on the path I chose, was a the shrine a lot). I did my part. But really, it did its part. There was some large bone. I picked it up. It was a sacrum. shakti there, all right. And I got to be in it. Planting my meditation cushion The Sacral Chakra is the seat of kundalini—of waking alongside others on the marble floor before dawn every morning. Mumbling up. That sacrum bone told me something. Maybe, just along to the chants that rang out from the shrine. Then sitting with my maybe, I’d wake up to what I was supposed to know personal mantra ringing in me. after all. I received a new mantra on this trip from retreat leader and meditation pro Rolf Sovik. This mantra was to help me stay within myself, be within myself. Because, yeah, I told him the whole crazy story. My routine there was a recipe for balance. But—in two weeks? Regular group meal times, Ayurvedically-sattvic local foods, no wifi nor cell service, silent hours in mornings and evenings, spiritual practice twice-a-day, and just enough oment programming to keep a vata mind satisfied. Most Memorableng aM and il with our whole retreat group, Eight days in, walking alo tra t same old disempowered questioning tha conscious that I was not replaying I had k home. Realization bomb: what bac lk wa ry eve r ove en tak had t of the tha India had made it so. The shakti and , ant lev irre s wa r ove g nin been tur had all d, my meditation, my new sangha . This shrine, spiritual leaders, the lan ngs d all that trying to figure thi out combined, and I had simply stoppe s I within myself? Like my mantra? . Wa feeling was completely new for me m of really knowing myself? cal Had I—gasp—woken up to the
ought Home s something I’d 3 Greatest GiftmesntIof Br noticing my stilled mind wa
have a yogic trip to share?
E-MAIL US AT EDITORS@YOGA-IOWA.COM
The Himalayan Institute’s newest campus is located in Khajuraho, a rural region known for its prolific temples and shrines. The Sri Vidya shrine built on the site is a haven of good energy. The grounds are a testament to revival of flora, fauna, and Indian culture. Wild brush bursting with fragrance of mythological proportions, and beautiful flowerbeds sustainably irrigated. Wildlife at every turn: black-faced monkeys, peacocks, jackals, and nilguy (yeah, look up that one). Learn more about Himalayan Institute Spiritual Excursions at himalayaninstitute.org/spiritual-excursions.
• SPRING 2016
Photos courtesy of Mary McInnis Meyer
1) That sacred sacral mo zy. I had a did it: I balanced out a year of cra take with me. I believe I actually hin myself, of being okay. profound experience of being wit ily. These rtz rocks from the trail for my fam 2) I pocketed four small rose qua love. The “within yourself” kind of love. cing rocks mean love. Not self-sacrifi us. This was a gift for all of . s, “Hey, girl. You wanna meditate say It l. stil me to ls cal It a. ntr 3) My ma Come on. Be within yourself.”
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COM MU N I TY + FAM ILY
$15
per deck GET TO KNOW DUSTIN HOCKMAN
Give the gift of focus, strength and balance with this 41 card deck of kids yoga poses created by Molly Schreiber. Molly is a fitness/yoga instructor, childrens author & wellness coach.
To order, visit www.challengetochangeinc.com or email molly@relaxlivewell.com
Where do you teach yoga? A variety of places, including Edmunds Elementary School in Des Moines, Lifetime Fitness, and with Lindsey Opp Yoga. Website: yoga4classrooms.com Favorite yoga pose: Warrior 3, or Virabhadrasana III One thing people don’t know about you: My middle name, and also my son’s name, is Heath. This is the candy my mom craved when she was pregnant with me! Please describe the difference that yoga has made in your life. It helps me find better balance in my life. Between family, work, friends, and the many other things we all have going on, life starts to get a little hectic. What did you find most challenging about learning yoga? I’m wired at a fast pace so it was, and still is, difficult to slow down. I wouldn’t say that I have completely overcome that mentality yet and that’s why I practice yoga!
zero residue zero worries
What prompted you to get involved with the Yoga 4 Classrooms program? As a school, we wanted to help our students learn to selfregulate their emotions and develop strategies for becoming life-long learners. We looked at many different programs and chose Yoga4Classrooms because it incorporates traditional yoga poses and mindfulness, which helps students focus better in the classroom. It also provides the teacher with a variety of tools and materials to help teach. We also wanted to adopt yoga as a whole school and not just a gym class, which meant we needed it functional and meaningful for all grade levels.
Feel clean and good. Here’s $20 toward your carpet cleaning service. We’re waiting for you at zerorezdesmoines.com.
Why do you think yoga makes a difference to the students you teach in elementary school? Many children in Iowa are facing tremendous pressure to succeed in school. This doesn’t include a variety of stressors in their lives outside of school. Learning and practicing yoga helps my students learn to take control of their emotions and behavior. It also helps create a classroom community where students feel comfortable taking risks, which in turn builds their confidence. I want my students to be able to come into my class and feel like the weight of stress is lifted off their shoulders, and hopefully they eventually become comfortable enough to use what they learn in yoga in their lives at home. What was your most memorable experience from teaching yoga? While lining up students to leave the classroom, I noticed two students were missing. I walked back into class and found one student coaching another student through a breathing sequence they had learned to do when feeling overwhelmed. The student told me her friend was upset with another student, so she thought she needed help doing “ocean breath,” a kid-friendly version of ujjayi breath.
Photo by Kerri Hays
How has the yoga philosophy resonated with you? For many years I have exercised but it wasn’t until I started practicing yoga that I learned the importance of having a healthy mind, body, and soul.
GONG FU TEA
®
• SPRING 2016
140 LOOSE-LEAF TEAS | ACCESSORIES | GIFTS
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LIFE + HEALT H
a veggie adventure SHOPPING AT THE FARMERS’ MARKET. BY SHEREE CLARK othing beats food that you plant, nurture, and harvest yourself, but the abundance of buying options in the coming months truly makes for a budget-friendly, healthy food nirvana. Farmers’ market produce is renowned for being locally grown and the freshest available. Whether you are a newbie or a seasoned farmers’ market shopper, here are a few pointers to help you get the most for your time and money. Plan ahead. Think about how many meals you’ll be preparing in the coming week, and buy your produce accordingly. Avoid bringing home more than you need—it’s not a bargain if you end up throwing it away. Be an early bird. The best vendors are usually also the most popular, and they can run out of things quickly. Arrive soon after the market opens for the best selection. Or be a night owl. If you’re not the early bird type, know that shortly before the market is about to close, the farmers will often give drastic reductions. Some may be willing to sell their produce at a discount just to avoid having to haul it away. Ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask growers for tips on food preparation and storage. You can adapt any suggestions you receive to your own tastes and use the ideas of others as inspiration. Understand terminology. Many people believe that organic produce is preferable because it is grown without pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Sometimes growers who call their growing methods “chemical-free” actually do adhere to organic practices, but simply lack the resources to become certified. Money talks. Bring cash. Certain vendors are not set up to take credit cards or checks. Small bills are appreciated, and your shopping time will be more efficient if you don’t have to wait for change. Stock up on fresh produce while it’s at its peak. Use this chart as a guide. Depending on where you live and on growing conditions in any particular year, not all produce listed is available locally.
PRODUCE SEASON
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Beets
May-October
Smooth, deep-red color Greens should be vibrant and not withered
Bell Peppers
AugustSeptember
Brightly colored Smooth exterior; no blemishes Stems should be vibrant green color
Blueberries and Blackberries
July-August
Bright, indigo color Taut exterior Uniform size Shiny and plump
Cantaloupe
AugustSeptember
Should have a sweet aroma Slight oval shape Beware of soft spots
Cherries
May-August
Look for slightly heart-shaped, unblemished and shiny fruits
Figs
July-September Plump with deeply rich color Soft, but not mushy Avoid those with bruises or a sour odor
Grapes
AugustSeptember
Green Beans
July-September A smooth surface Beans should snap when bent and appear moist inside
Peaches
JuneSeptember
Yellow and cream-colored fruit Look for a fruity aroma Opt for a firmer fruit if not consuming right away
Pineapple
March-July
Smell the green leaves for a sweet aroma Vibrant, golden-yellow color
Raspberries
May-November
Uniform color and shape If you see hulls, the berries are under-ripe and tart
Spinach
March-May
Crisp, vibrant greens
Strawberries
June-August
Red color should extend all the way to the stem Should have fruity aroma A smaller berry usually has more flavor
Tomatoes
May-August
Rich color Smooth exterior; firm
Watermelon
May-August
Creamy, yellow underside where the ripening took place Smooth exterior A knock on the exterior should sound hollow
Zucchini and Summer Squash
June-August
Heavy, unblemished skins Smaller squash are sweeter and more flavorful
Wrinkle-free and firmly attached to the stems Avoid those that are browning at the stem
• SPRING 2016
By special arrangement, season one of “Fork in the Road with Sheree Clark” is available on DVD to YogaIowa readers for only $10 + shipping. The 13-episode set includes an indepth trip to the Des Moines Farmers’ Market. fork-road.com/specialoffer10.
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THE ROLF METHOD
BEFORE
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The Rolf Method is both technique & the art of connective tissue manipulation which realigns and rebalances the major segments of the body and releases chronic muscle tension and pain.
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• SPRING 2016
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STEVEN V. SMALL, CPA
4090 Westown Parkway, Ste. A1, West Des Moines 515-222-1735 | steve@stevesmallcpa.com
Yoga for men BY NOAH BEACOM Prior to my yoga teacher graduation in 2014, I read a variety of articles in industry publications about utilizing yoga for social and emotional health in places such as Rwanda, where citizens were recovering from genocide, or Haiti, where people were salvaging their lives after a hurricane. I had also heard about a program for teaching yoga to prisoners and the effects that had on inmates. Teaching yoga with impact mattered to me. The benefits many of us feel from yoga in our personal lives, such as greater awareness, a sense of our being bodhisattva (heart warriors), and improved health and vitality, are purported to have a cumulative effect on communities struggling with grief or loss. This is what initially inspired me to seek out an opportunity to offer a low-cost yoga series, which I call PRIDE Yoga Des Moines, to members of the LGBT community and their allies. I also wanted to create for myself an opportunity to meet and network with LGBT folks outside of what may be seen as the typical bar scene. Selfishly I prefer going to bed early and cuddling up with my lab-terrier mix, plus I experience chronic social anxiety. Like many self-starting efforts, the project was an idea to meet both my needs and those of the community. I also had fantastical imaginations that I’d meet my future husband! What I discovered when my students first arrived is people truly were looking for a sense of community. By the end of the six-week series, I was being invited to enjoy dinner and drinks with a mother-daughter pair and their families. I got to witness love and affection expressed between a lesbian couple in the safe space we helped create. In Child’s Pose and savasana, people dealt with injury, recovery from surgery, and the loss that comes from aging. As yogis and yoginis, we know that some of the great Eastern masters are men, but the healing we experience on the mat knows no gender. More importantly, the work we do on the mat is exactly the kind of spiritual awareness we need to achieve greater healing. So let us as men courageously cultivate a heart-warriorship needed to create a community of like-minded people, people willing to encourage themselves and others with the loving-kindness that is so deeply needed not just in Rwanda or Haiti, but perhaps in our own yet still broken homes.
Photo courtesy of Noah Beacom
COM MU N I TY + FAM ILY
STUDIO
B
on our
GAIN INSPIRATION FOR HOW YOU WANT TO GIVE BACK
YOGA
Mary McGuire, M.A. Educational Leadership and Provisional Certificate in School Counseling, RYT-200, RCYT Suzanne Wright, E-RYT500, RCYT, RPYT
Join us for Kids Yoga Training ~ June 25 & 26
Deliberate Acts of Kindness: Service as a Spiritual Practice by Meredith Gould
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Determining how you’re ready to answer the call of service and evaluating the significance of this expression is the heart of Gould’s guidance. This book includes tips, reflections, and insight to help you make the greatest contribution.
People Over Profit: Break the System, Live with Purpose, Be More Successful by Dale Partridge Serial entrepreneur Partridge uses this platform to reveal seven core beliefs that stimulate success by putting people first. He outlines practical yet innovative social responsibility programs adapted by companies both large and small.
NEW STUDENT SPECIAL: One month unlimited group classes for
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Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth: A Brief History and Philosophy by Stephen H. Phillips Phillips explores the four paths of yoga and how these concepts relate to not only the modern yoga practice, but also to life. A formidable yoga scholar, he details the philosophies of action, knowledge, devotion, and meditation.
Soul of a Citizen: Living with Conviction in Challenging Times by Paul Rogat Loeb Loeb inspires people who want to move past powerlessness and cynicism to lead lives where their voices are heard and discover the rewarding connection of purposeful action.
What Makes a Hero: The Surprising Science of Selflessness by Elizabeth Svoboda This book unveils the psychology and biology of why we sacrifice for others. Svoboda explains how your genes may compel you to do good, how suffering is linked to altruism, and how heroic actions improve your mental health.
and John David Mann Following the proverb “give and you shall receive,” Burg and Mann use a modernday business parable to convey values of receptivity, influence, compensation, and authenticity.
• SPRING 2016
The Go-Giver: A Little Story about a Powerful Business Idea by Bob Burg
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pleasures at the table
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Connect with SELF
REVELATIONS CAFÉ • FAIRFIELD
& allow your inner sense of destiny to emerge School of Metaphysics 3715 University Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50311 515-255-5570 desmoines@som.org www.som.org
Watch for new classes/events on meetup.com DesMoines Metaphysics & DesMoines Dream Catchers
40+ years helping individuals through workshops and coursework! One of 16 School of Metaphysics Centers across the Midwest
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hen I first announced to my circle of yoga friends in Los Angeles that I was moving to Iowa, they all had the same enthusiastic response: Revelations Café “Go to Fairfield!” With a small Fairfield, IA 52556 Vedic temple, consciousness641-472-6733 based education at Maharishi University, world-renowned “For people who homeopathic doctors, and a believe vibrational community rich in culture and energy is absorbed art, Fairfield is definitely the destination for Iowans living in by food as it is an age of awakening. made into meals, In Fairfield’s sweet downtown, this is the place you’ll find Revelations Café. to satiate your Revelations Café is a restaurant, bookstore, learning space, appetite.” and community hot spot. Its beginnings go back twenty years, when Betsy Howland and her daughters ran a small bookstore in a garage space, offering merely instant coffee. Now Betsy and her daughter Joan Allen have a large inviting space in which one can flip through pages of an Eckhart Tolle book, listen to poetry readings, or laugh wholeheartedly with friends. On every wall you’ll find yantras available for purchase, all hand-made by a local artist. Betsy and many of her patrons have noticed positive life changes since the yantras have been around. For people who believe vibrational energy is absorbed by food as it is made into meals, this is the place to satiate your appetite. While deciding what to have for lunch, I sipped on traditional homemade chai tea. Right away the perfect mixture of cream and spices took me back to the ambiance of the friendly cafés in Rishikesh, India, with their warm gatherings of community. The wood-fired pizza must be one of the most popular items on the menu, since the patrons at almost every table had ordered it. I sampled the traditional caprese pizza, made with fresh mozzarella and drizzled with vinaigrette, and the Tuscan linguini with sun-dried tomatoes. Each one had wonderfully complex and full rounded flavors. My favorite dish, however, might just be the fresh avocado feta sandwich with the side of apples. It’s made with thick toast, creamy avocado, and flavorful feta, and is a great vegetarian alternative to the old BLT. For a comfort dish to fill you up, I recommend the organic brown rice quinoa stir-fry. It’s packed with greens and has just enough savory sauce to excel to the level of superb! Revelations Café is a Blue Zone restaurant, a special designation that means it “delivers greater service to patrons by making it easier to choose healthier foods, with the aim of improving quality of life and overall wellbeing.” This includes not only how food is made, portioned, and served, but also community building and a “wine at 5” event. Revelations Café is one of the many reasons Fairfield can be a mini retreat within Iowa. Go for a day trip, stop in for lunch, and perhaps you will have a revelation all your own!
Photo by Olivia Kvitne
BY OLIVIA KVITNE
COM M U NIT Y + FAM ILY
BY LISA ACHESON
I’ve always been inspired and awed by Karma yogis, those generous souls who give so effortlessly you know they were born to do their work. I used to think that I could never
MICHELLE STAFFORD
ILLUMINATIONS HEALING ARTS CENTER CEDAR RAPIDS
In the theme of giving back, we asked our teachers:
“How has your practice inspired you to selflessly give time, talents, or abundance?”
THE YOGA COLLEGE SIOUX CITY
My teacher, Rama Joyti Vernon, told me to always give from your heart, and your arms will never tire of giving. Also, the strong evidence and my own direct experience proves that yoga helps everyone. Believing in what I do makes it easy to give to anyone in every shape, size, and condition. I also try to discount classes for those in need as much as possible. For 18 years now I have helped so many, and that inspires me to continue upward and onward.
I gave a holistic retreat to the homeless women and children of Waypoint and Rise. The women received three sessions of their choice, such as massage, reflexology, Reiki, angel reading, and so on, as well as one session of yoga and one session of meditation. The children received a yoga session and craft activities.
attain their mindset of generosity, but through my study and consistent practice of yoga, that mindset shifts ever so slightly with each passing year. While I know I have a long way to go, personal materials and status levels are now less appealing, while connections and support of others have proven to bring more joy and peace.
CONNIE REYNOLDS
I was inspired because I once was in a homeless shelter as a child and I know exactly how these people feel. And I wanted to give them an opportunity to experience holistic therapies that they otherwise would never be able to afford. My hope is that through the sessions of yoga, meditation, and healing that they would feel loved, wanted, and increase their self-worth. I believe that yoga is its own healing session and very powerful when people can experience it and align with the healing energies.
CARYN LEE MEEKS POWER LIFE YOGA DES MOINES
I worked in television for many years and took my 200-hour teacher training. As a result I realized I was not happy nor fulfilled. I needed to follow my passion and it would lead me to my purpose. And my passion is building community and helping others, whether that’s with personal struggles, hardships, what have you. I am able to do that through yoga. Each and every day I’m fulfilled by the many students I get to see walk in through the door. The funny thing is they don’t realize what they have given and continue to give to me!
Please submit your questions for Ask the Teacher to editors@yogaiowa.com.
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