"Fountain of Youth" Tibetan five rites yoga and Chinese cupping technique and how it may enhance your life!
I hope everyone is having a happy holiday! After a long hiatus, the Aspire newsletter is back! I promise not to be away for so long this time. Well, I have some exciting and shocking news, I recently had a Chinese "cupping" technique performed on my back. If you have never heard of this, it is when suction cups are applied to pressure points that correspond to the meridians located on your back. These meridians are pathways through which energy flows to every part of the body, including every tissue and organ. The suction of the cup is able to pull from up to four inches deep into the tissue which causes the tissue to release toxins which are brought up to the skin.This stimulates the lymphatic system, which can do many things such as clear the colon, veins, capillaries, activate skin, clear stretch marks etc. Basically, it helps detox and oxygenate the blood and releases stagnated red blood cells which have clotted because of an accumulation of toxins within the tissue from immobility in the muscle or from a stressed organ. So yes, sitting there at your desk in dinosaur-posture is causing your body to be immobile which will promote the blood stagnation!
Lets take a look at this picture: all of those red and black dots on my back are toxins from stagnated, clotted blood being pulled up from my tissue to the skin. This pic is somewhat scary looking, but the pull of the suction cups is painless. Now, I believe I live a fairly healthy and very active lifestyle, training 4 days a week while doing dynamic stretches pre-training, and static-stretches post training. On top of that I eat a very healthy diet, which is loaded with Superfoods (which we will touch on next letter) and I keep my body well hydrated. So how do I have such an accumulation of toxins?
Our bodies are exposed to an extensive amount of stress throughout the day from sedentary desk lifestyles, sitting in a vehicle, pollution, and toxic products in our toothpaste, shampoos, and everyday personal care items just to name a few! Those factors, combined with the stress of overtraining, a big problem amongst athletes thinking "more is better," when all they're really doing is making themselves less efficient and more toxic, in turn making it harder for the body to heal and thrive.
Now you might ask, "What can I do to help my body run efficiently?" Well, today I will give you one clue: stop sitting and start moving! Stretching, playing sports, running! How long has it been since you ran a sprint for 25-50yds? We must keep moving! Since movement is the first key to success, I'm offering one of my many New Years specials today with more to follow in the next two weeks, so keep posted!
The week of Jan 5th I will be starting Tibetan 5 Rites Yoga classes. I have been asked, "Why yoga?" and "Isn't that just for women?" Yoga was first performed by monks in India and Tibet. Then the western world put its commercial spin to it which distorted the true essence of yoga. Tibetan 5 Rites is made up of dynamic yoga movements held for short pulses or stretches, instead of holding long, static stretches. The Tibetan 5 Rites are designed to help open up the 7 energy centers in your body, which correspond to the 7 major endocrine organs. The energy centers in the body are like fans, and when each of the energy centers spins efficiently then the body will thrive and be healthy and balanced, omitting energy and will be free of disease. When these energy fans fail to spin is when we experience illness, disease, and fatigue in our everyday life.
Increase your metabolism, build muscle, improve posture and perfromance, and open your energy centers. The Rites not only condition and open up your body, but they help put the mind at rest and relieve stress. Another little bonus too is that each class will be illuminated with Himalayan salt rock lamps, which will provide our bodies with an exposure of healthy, negative ions. Throughout the day we are bombarded with so many positive ions from computer, TV's and daily electronic devices. If you aren't fimilar with ions, they are microscopic particles that carry a postive or negative charge. Negative ions are more abundant near the ocean, waterfalls and mountains. This is one of the main reasons we feel good when we are at these environmental destinations because of the presence of such a large amount of negative ions being admitted from the environment. This exposure to negative ions will help increase seratonin in a healthy dose to make you feel good throughout the day. It will also help oxygenate all of the cells in your body which will help with functioning of the brain and body, alleviating allergies, stress, and improving overall quality of your daily life. So, why not come in and try the most beneficial yoga session of your life!
*To get in free the first week of classes please print coupon at bottom of newsletter. Spots will be limited, so reserve your spot today by calling Fuel the gym or signing up at the front desk at Fuel the Gym.
Class Times (approx 30mins)
Morning Evening
Monday 7am, 8am 8pm
Wednesday 6am, 7am, 8am 8pm
The Home of Aspire:
Fuel The Gym is at 2 Cedar Street, Woburn, MA
781.315.8001
