top of page

Friday January 24th

Live Zoom 3-4

Yoga at Nueces with Kaisen 6:30pm


Saturday

Theory with Kaisen 6:30am-10am

Acro Fundamentals 10:30am


Sunday

Acro Yoga Practice Sunday


Weekend Assignments:

  • Choose the theme to your retreat offering for the Frio River

    • It can't be "Yin" or "Hatha"

    • Must be themed in a creative way

    • Ex "The art of Yin & the Earth"

  • Come up with a collective offering that deals with Acro Yoga & Thai Massage

    • Create a flyer with photos taken from the weekend

    • Create the event on our Divine Moon Facebook Page



Booking with Mehtab and Laura by January 29th.

Ayurvedic Health Program Gift Certificate | Yogi Mehtab

Code to sign up: divineTT

*You must have registered and paid with us to use this code.


Cart | Yogi Mehtab


Nourishing The Yogi


"This ritual is One. The food is One. We who offer the food are One. The fire of hunger is also One. All action is One. We who understand this are One."

-Ancient Hindu Blessing


Concepts

Western View of Nutrition:

Protein, Carbohydrates, Fats

Vitamins, Minerals, Calories

Food groups and daily allowances


Yogic View of Nutrition:

Prana - from the root pran (to breath) and refers to a vital, life sustaining force of living beings. One of the 3 primordial conditions of the cosmos (ojas, tejas, and prana)

Food as a source of Prana.


Sattva - "Essence"

Cosmic Force of equilibrium

Naturally peaceful and balanced state of a healthy body and mind

Quality of light, love and life -imparts dharmic virtues of faith, honesty, self-control, modesty and truthfulness

Daylight

Sattvic Food - whole grains, legumes and veggies, like kitcheri. Easting food slowly and methodically with awareness and intention.


Rajas - "Movement"

Cosmic force of activity

Active vital force in body which moves both the organic and inorganic universes to sattva and tamas - it lacks stability and consistency.

It gives rise to emotional fluctuations of: love and hate, fear and desire, or attraction and repulsion.

Dawn and dusk

Rajasic Foods - garlic, onions, hot spicy food. Consuming food too quickly is rajasic.


Tamas - "Intertia"

Cosmic force of inertia or cohesiveness

Natural state of the body during rest or of the universe during dissolution

It is a force which promotes one or more of the following: darkness, death, non-feeling. It can cause dullness, heaviness, emotional clinging and stagnation.

Night.

Tamasic Foods - Heavy Food requiring more digestive effort, like meat and cold dairy products. Overeating is tamasic.


The Five Vayus (Pranas)

Ancient yogis discovered Prana, or life force energy, through their exploration of the body and the breath.

The five Vayus have distinct energetic qualitities, functions and direction of movement.


Prana Vayu - "forward moving air"


Moves inward, propulsive in nature, setting things in motion and guiding them

Situated in head, centered in the third eye -- nourishes the brain.

Governs reception of all types - eating food, drinking water, inhalation of air, sensory impressions and mental experiences.





Apana Vayu - "air that moves away"


Moves downward and outward

Situated in pelvic floor / lower abdomen

Governs the elimination of the stool and urine, expelling of semen, menstrual fluid and the fetus, and exhalation of breath

Basis of our immune function on all levels





Udana Vayu- "Upward moving air"


Moves upward, positive energy unfoldment in life

Situated in throat, holds the head up through the neck

Governs digestion on all levels - gastrointestinal tract for food, lungs for oxygen, and the mind to digest experiences (sensory, emotional or mental)





Samana Vayu - "Balancing air"


Moves from the periphery to the center (churning and discerning)

Situated at Navel - digestion

Governs digestion on all levels - gastrointestinal tract for food, lungs for oxygen, and the mind to digest experiences (sensory, emotional or mental)





Vyana Vayu - "Outward moving air" All encompassing!

Moves from the center to the periphery

Situated in the heart and lungs

Governs circulation on all levels - moves for food, water and oxygen throughout the body, keeps out emotions and thoughts circulating in the mind, imparting movement and providing strength

It assists all the other Vayus/Pranas with their functions


Prana governs the intake of substances; samana governs their digestion; vyana governs the circulation of nutrients; udana governs the release of positive energy that follows digestion; and apana governs the elimination of waste materials.






The concept of a Vegetarian Diet

Types of vegetarian diets

  • Raw

  • Ayurvedic

  • Macrobiotic

  • Yogic Diet / Sattvic Diet

Dairy, Meat, Eggs, Animal Foods

Yogic Foundation

The pitfalls of vegetarianism


The Yogic Diet Defined

Tradition and ancient texts

Differences and practices

For modern times


Fasting, Dieting, and Dietary Transitions

Special diets for cleansing and strengthening

Making transitions to healthier foods

Eating for emotional satisfaction

Eating disorders

The role of fasting in a yoga practice

Special Foods and Herbs to Support a Yoga Practice


Yogic Principles of eating a meal

Offer appreciation before you eat.

Eat with a focus on the food.

Bring awareness to preparing the food you are eating.

Eat in a quiet, no distracting, pleasant atmosphere.

Eat the proper quantity for you.

Eat at the proper time of the day.

Eat lighter in the morning and evening than in the afternoon.

Snacking takes away from the time your edigestive system needs to rest.


How to create a healthy yogic diet

Start cleaning up your diet. Remove more tamasic food like those with chemicals - preservatives, nitrates, hydrogenation



Fast foods - heavily processed foods

Fried Foods

Artificial Foods

Become familiar with the differences between sattvic, rajasic, and tamasic foods. Include more sattvic foods in your diet.

Experiment with eating "local" or "seasonal" - go to the local farmer's market

Take time to eat, relax, and digest - Don't eat "on the go"

Let the ingestion of food become part of yoru yoga practice. Do not try to be "perfect" or develop a perfect, ideal, controlled diet. Let it keep changing with you.

Experiment, and rotate menus!


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Basic Principles of Sequencing


Objective: To clearly understand and apply guidelines for creating safe, interesting and effective Hatha Yoga Classes & develop the science and art of teaching hatha yoga!


Themes/Purpose of class - Establish a goal / purpose / intention (bhavana) for a class and develop it in the class sequence.


Limit and choose one or two ideas - and weave through practice for consistency and effectiveness (structural, breath, context, feeling, chant, affirmation)


Sequenced design - should be like a superb piece of music/dance/artful using related elements much like a well rounded meal, enough but not too much.


Symmetrical- BEGIN sequence simply and symmetrically with asanas that move extremeties in an equal and balanced manner.

(We have said in training no more then 3 in a row on one side.)

Asymmetrical Postures: There is a higher risk for sacrum de-stabilization with linking more than three asymmetrical postures sequentiually. Use symmetrical postures between asymmetric postures for increased stability.

Anyone who states lower back pain would shorten all poses

Start and move from everyday positions to unusual position.

Variations: Limit # of variations in asanas

Never move from lying on back to standing and vice versa without smooth transitional movement -- too strong on heart/blood pressure

Transitions: Use smooth, purposeful transitions


Sun Salutation A


Directional Movement of Spinal Column: asanas may be sequenced to include all spinal directions

Forward bend is the hub of the asana wheel - move thru FB to other spinal directions and to neutralize / stabilize pelvis / FB most normal movement of spine

Use axial extension in all back bends and twists, and inversions

Forward bends are safe and effective counterposes as you move between other directions of spinal movement.

Everything else is preparation for extension and extension is preparation for all other spinal movements. Both have synergistic effects.


Preparation (purvanga) / Compensation (Pratikriya)

Give attention first to neck, then low back

If you prepare well, less compensation is needed


Preparation & Compensation: For unusual spinal directional movements and postures that are held for a time -- "sandwich moves" that return body to balance have a potential benefit and accumulated stress.

Keep proportional relationship between depth and strength of principle asana/s and compensation for principle asana/s

Dynamic, repetitive movements identify and re-organize movement patterns of the body.

Open frame: asanas where extremities of body are free to move

Closed Frame: asanas where extremities are wrapped around other body parts and are held. These are more risky to joints and the spine, and need more preparation and compensation.


USE CARE with SEATED ASANAS. Never begin with seated poses in the morning practices. These poses are risky to the low back because the pelvis is fixed and blocked by the floor. Therefore, seated poses should be placed toward the end of a practice when the low back is well-prepared. It's safer and more effective to sequence and emphasize seated poses in late afternoon and evening practices.




Your Instructor

  • Instagram
  • Facebook Basic
3442 S. ALAMEDA ST. CORPUS CHRISTI.    (512)676-7985 or (361) 884-2673

© 2025 by Leah Murray.

512-676-7985 

Corpus Christi, Texas 78480

bottom of page