PINK SQUIRREL

Thanks, Lulu. Supah fun. And so satya.

We are big fans of the neti pot and the practice of jalaneti up here in the Squirrel’s Nest.  If you come to class and I spot you sniffling and hacking, I will be all over you (in a very compassionate way) about using the neti pot to speed your healing (read: no thanks, we don’t want your cold) and prevent further illness (read: nose blowing in savasana is just plain nasty, even if we feel bad for you). Neti is the nasal equivalent of hand washing; wash your nasal passages daily as you wash your hands and you will have a much lower incidence of upper respiratory illness.  Practiced for a couple of thousand years in the east, neti is so cheap and practical that is has enjoyed a resurgence in the last few years.  Folks like Oprah and her pal Mehmet Oz, MD tout its benefits on TV.  So it’s all good, right?

Right.  EXCEPT. A few weeks ago, there was fairly widespread coverage in the media about two people in Louisiana dying “from using a neti pot.” I use quotes here because they did not die from the neti practice but from using contaminated water. The water used in the neti pot was obtained directly from the tap and contained the pernicious bacteria Naegleria fowleri. This bacteria penetrates into the brain from the sinus cavity, causing a fatal condition called amoebic meningoencephalitis. Each year, sixty cases of this disease are contracted by swimmers in fresh water ponds in the southern USA where Naegleria fowleri lurk.

These neti pot deaths are the first recorded.  Erring on the side of caution, we must be sure to use water that has been brought to a rolling boil then cooled, adding the neti salt and the using the pot as directed.  Distilled water purchased in a jug from the drug store is also a good alternative.

As always, the neti pot should be washed thoroughly in hot, soapy water or washed in the dishwasher, after use.

Even here in Wenham, where we are famous for our beautiful, fresh water from the Ipswich River and the Great Wenham Swamp — water so pure that Queen Victoria used to order her full year’s supply of ice to be cut from Wenham Lake and shipped to her across the sea — the water supply is degrading.  We recently had an E. coli outbreak that had the town issuing a boil water order for two weeks.  We now have so much chlorine in the water that even a whole-house filter and a Britta filter combined cannot remove the taste or smell.

Don’t stop your jalaneti practice.  Just make sure that your water is pure or purified before you run it through your head! Sauca (purity) is one of the niyamas in our yoga toolbox. Let’s take it out of the box and use it for good.

My daughter Sayer is subbing for Danielle at Yoga Sakti in Salem this afternoon, January 1st, 2012 at 4:30. Sayer grew up in the ashram, so to speak, and teaches from that place of knowing that develops when one has a truly life-long practice. I am looking forward to practicing Vinyasa with her this New Years Day. See you on the mat and Happy New Year!

Happy 2012! Below, some schedule updates for the Week Between the Holidays and additional classes in the New Year:

THIS Tuesday, December 27th TWO CLASSES @ Yoga Sakti, Sale

6-7:15 PM Hot Power Vinyasa and 7:30-9 PM Vinyasa

THIS Sunday, January 1st, New Year’s Day @ GymCore CrossFit, Topsfield

10 -11:15 AM Guerilla Yoga: New Year Revolutions

IN THE NEW YEAR:

Tuesdays @ Yoga Sakti, Salem

7:30-9 PM Vinyasa, Kat-style

Wednesdays starting January 4th @ Yoga Sakti, Salem

6-7:15 PM Hot Power Yoga

Fridays @ Treetop Yoga, Gloucester

9-10:30 AM Vinyasa

Sundays @ GymCore CrossFit, Topsfield 

10-11AM Guerilla Yoga

More yoga, more options, more tools for navigating 2012. See you on the mat.

Happy to say I’ll be teaching a little vinyasa at Treetop Yoga in Gloucester starting this Friday at 9 AM.  This is a 90 minute class designed to finish your week/start your weekend on the right note: steady and free, baby.  Come and see Rebecca and Katy’s beautiful new space at 7 Parker Street in Gloucester.  See you on the mat.

As promised lo these months ago, we finally have a guerilla yoga class.  My former teacher Greg Gurmucio is in the forefront of this movement — real yoga practice available and affordable to all  – with his raging success Yoga to the People®.  As an alternative to expensive drop in rates (it costs $24 to drop into a class in NYC; $22 in Boston; $15-16 on the North Shore), Greg has offered a yoga lifeline in this time of recession to folks who love yoga but are excluded for economic reasons, providing quality instruction for donation-only at some of his studios and $8/class at others. I’ve been practicing at his studio in NYC for the last several months and am psyched to bring this model to Massachusetts.

Starting on November 13, 2011, I will be teaching vinyasa on Sundays, 10-11 AM @ GymCore Crossfit, Topsfield, MA.  We have been warmly welcomed to GymCore Crossfit in Topsfield by owner/trainer Greg Damigella and these classes are open to the public. Everyone is welcome and your level of yoga experience (a lot or none at all) is unimportant.

This is Guerilla Yoga. Expect to:

• Get your practice on. This is a powerful, fun yoga practice geared to all levels.
• Pay less. $8 drop in for non members;$6 drop in for GymCore Crossfit members
• Pay in cash.  There is no CC machine.
• Make your own heat. Dress in layers.  Space is heated to 72* but you’ll make your own tapas, promise.
• Bring your own gear.  Self-reliance is a tenet of guerilla yoga.  Carry your own mat, blocks, water.

I’m teaching a few extra classes at Yoga Sakti in Salem this week: Prenatal Yoga for Kara Mears on Thursday, October 20th at 10 AM and Anusara-esque for Marc St. Pierre on Friday, October 21st at 9 AM. Looking forward to seeing you on the mat, dear ones.