Mountain Views News          Saturday, May 16, 2015

12

HEALTHY LIFESTYLES

Mountain Views-News Saturday, May 16, 2015 

 
THE JOY OF YOGA

BHAVANA


SUNSHINE IS HEALTHY

It’s always the right 
time of day for a 
nourishing yoga 
practice. It’s the 
right combination 
of freedom of 
movement for my body and pure love and 
acknowledgement within my spirit. And, since a 
good asana practice can do so much, my reasons, 
or needs for practicing change. If my body aches, 
I concentrate on joint care and do poses that free 
up each joint and give a gentle stretch or attention 
to the problem areas. If my attitude needs an 
adjustment, I add more poses that change the flow 
of my energy. You get the point. In each focus, I 
am creating a subtle feeling with my practice. This 
feeling is called a Bhavana. 

 In a group yoga class, we have a beautiful, 
skilled teacher leading us in and out of yoga poses. 
Is the job of the student to perform each pose to 
textbook form? Is the goal to have the best down 
dog ever? No way! Teacher Lauren Toolin, who 
just gave a wonderful workshop at Yoga Madre, 
reminded me recently of our job in asana. She 
said the job in each pose is not to be on the cover 
of Yoga Journal, but to be in the Bhavana, or 
the feeling and connection. This is such a wise 
point. Our bodies and minds contain the divine 
wisdom we crave. It’s in that Warrior pose where 
I can experience strength, determination and 
clear communication. It’s in easy sitting pose, 
Sukasana, that I experience my internal divine 
relationship. The entire class, in fact, becomes a 
venue for connection, development and creation 
of what I want in my life. The teacher is there to 
help develop specific Bhavana through poses, 
breath work and cleansing techniques. 

 Being in the feeling without resistance is 
happiness. It’s peaceful, unchanging and uniquely 
beautiful. See if you can bring your awareness to 
this next time you are practicing. 

Namaste, 

Keely Totten

If you read the paper 
or watch the news, you 
have heard about the 
importance of vitamin 
D. Most people know 
that the best way to 
get their vitamin D 
is through daily sun 
exposure. Our bodies 
make vitamin D when 
our skin is exposed 
to the sun. Actually, 
vitamin D is not a 
vitamin at all but rather a hormone that targets 
more than 2000 genes in your body. Because most 
people do not get out in the sun on a regular basis 
without sunscreen on, (sunscreen blocks vitamin 
D production) vitamin D deficiency is believed to 
be wide spread. To complicate matters, as we age 
it becomes more difficult to produce vitamin D. 

 Experts can’t agree on the amount of vitamin 
D we need but we know that the body produces 
approximately 10,000 IU’s of vitamin D when our 
skin is exposed to the sun for 20 to 30 minutes. 
We know that daily exposure to the sun, meaning 
exposure 365 days a years, is not necessary because 
the body stores vitamin D for future use.

 What if you can’t get out in the sun regularly? 
Is a vitamin D supplement the next best thing? 
Most experts agree that allowing your skin to be 
exposed to the sun is best but in the event you 
can’t do this, go for a supplement. If you take a 
vitamin D supplement you need to make sure 
it is being absorbed. When we take vitamin D 
supplements we may require more fat soluble 
vitamins like vitamins A, E and K. People with 
certain illnesses such as ulcerative colitis, celiac 
disease, and pancreatic issues may find it hard to 
absorb fat soluble vitamins. 

 I always tell my clients that the best way to 
get your vitamin D is from the sun. Sunshine is 
healthy for you. You just need to respect the sun. 
To make up for insufficient sun exposure, vitamin 
D supplementation may be in order. Have your 
doctor routinely check your vitamin D levels with 
blood work. If you are taking a supplement and 
your vitamin D levels are still low you may not be 
absorbing well. Try supplementing with digestive 
enzymes which can help you to maximize nutrient 
absorption. 

Dr. Tina is a traditional 
naturopath and nutritionist 
at Vibrant Living 
Wellness Center


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