Please feel free to join us in our warm welcome to our summer intern: Amanda. We are thrilled to have Amanda in our community. We look forward to learning and sharing with her.
Counteract the negative tendency of tech neck with yoga
Technology is changing our lives. We have the world at our fingertips. But the tool that helps keep us connected has a profound effect on our spine. Maybe you have images of humans evolving to slouch over a computer or perhaps you notice that you are looking down more often. Our beloved technology is affecting how we hold our neck and in response our spine health. The new norm of checking phones and tablets promotes us to spend more time with our shoulders hunched, neck flexed, head forward and chest withdrawn, a position that is sometimes called tech neck.
Group Meditation Offers Positive Benefits for Your Wellbeing
Scientists have been studying the differences between the brains of Iamas and others who spend numerous hours in meditation and found stark differences in the structure of their brains. It would take a dissertation to explain all of the neurological benefits the studies have reported, however, in short we can say that brain research shows that meditation is beneficial to our overall physical health and emotional well-being.
Dogwood Studios dedicates February 14-20th to service
This quarter we have updated and expanded our Karma Class initiative to a full week of service. Our intention is to make participation easily accessible. The proceeds from all of the group classes during the week of February 14th, which we are calling Service Week, will be donated to Compass Center for Women and Families, a 501(c)3 charitable organization aligned to our values. When the community comes together to support each other and those in need, everyone benefits. Service Week is an initiative to keep our DE&I statement a living document.
Service: A Key Component to Resiliency and A New Years Survey Link
Service promotes togetherness and builds a strong community. That’s why service is one of the five components of resiliency. Service along with mindful movement, stretching, humor, and pranayama offer a roadmap to thriving when faced with adversity. Doing something good for others is an antidote to isolation. Studies have shown that between 2020 and 2021 there was an increased rate of depressive symptoms. Isolation contributes to poor health such as heart disease, depression, and premature death. In stark contrast, studies have found a correlation between those who help others and reduced mortality.
Invest in healthy bones. Learn how to move safely with Dogwood’s Osteoporosis and Yoga Workshop
In every yoga class that we teach at Dogwood Studios, we mention the importance of keeping our spine healthy. Osteoporosis is a silent disease. You can not feel when your bones get weaker. So much so that people often don’t realize they have low bone mineral density (BMD) until a bone breaks. The National Osteoporosis Foundation reports that the disease is responsible for an estimated two million broken bones per year. One in two women and up to one in four men over age 50 will break a bone due to osteoporosis.
Yoga May Benefit Respiratory Function
I remember the first time I recognized how much yoga changed my breathing. I was teaching a biology unit on respiration and wanted to demonstrate how much carbon dioxide was in our exhale. I started to exhale into a beaker of water with a universal indicator and made bubbles for about a minute until the water turned green (I had exhaled enough water to make the water acidic). The students were amazed - not about the color change but that I was blowing bubbles for an entire minute! Many students asked to try it themselves. None of the students could exhale long enough to make the water change color. Although it appeared like I had magical lungs, in reality yoga helped me strengthen my diaphragm and intercostal muscles so I could access my full lung capacity.
Dogwood Studios is committed to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Dogwood Studios has been working on our level of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. We recognize that we need to do more and be better. We are committed to having courageous conversations and taking active steps to promote diversity, equity and inclusion. In the last few months, our team has come together to put what we think is important about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion into words. Creating a DE&I statement is the first step in transforming our ideas about diversity, equity and inclusion into action and results. We hope you can join us in this process of learning and growing.
Nourish yourself with Restorative Yin Yoga and Yoga Nidra
Yoga Nidra, translates to the yoga of sleep, is a guided and passive meditation that provides therapeutic relaxation. As you listen to the soothing meditation, you consciously harness the biological function and benefits of sleep. You enter into a mind state between being awake and asleep, allowing your body to completely rest and restore.
Dogwood Studios Offers Many Options to Support You
As the season has started to shift from hot and humid to wet and windy, nature reminds us that times of transition are very important. Each season is critical to sustaining life, and we should embrace each with equanimity. We might find ourselves irritated with the endless summer heat, but in a blink of the eye the days get shorter and the next phase of capricious weather arrives. Welcome changes in nature and embrace what is in store for us right now.