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MadMat Yoga
Resources for Yoga Education and Practices
Peace is insight Peace is in sight
973 . 900 . 1990
Resources for Yoga Education and Practices
Peace is insight Peace is in sight
973 . 900 . 1990
The word yoga derives from the root word yug meaning to yoke or join. Yoga is an 8-limbed path that incorporates practices of the body and the mind to develop calmness, reduce reactivity to stress, and improve mental focus. Learn techniques to join together body, mind and spirit. Integrate your being and feel the serenity that lives within you. A committed practice of yoga can help instill a greater sense of peace, energy, health and mental clarity.
Restorative Yoga
Imagine yourself in a yoga posture, surrounded by props to support you in that pose so that you are able to rest while receiving the benefits of this particular asana. The props fill the space between you and the floor so that the only effort required by you is to stay aware and breath into this beautiful, resting body for anywhere from 5 - 20 minutes.
Restorative yoga provides a space for inner quiet that brings wellness and healing deep into the body. It's a must-do for those whose lives are operating at top speed and intensity most of the time or those who are recovering from physical injury, emotional strain, or spiritual disconnection. It's a must-add for those who already practice yoga, but focus entirely or substantially on practices that are vigorous, athletic, movement-based or intense.
Restorative yoga offers to add the balance to a yoga practice that will create a softer, more supple outer body reducing tension and movement restriction. The softening of the outer body allows awareness of the inner body to develop so that a strength can be gained deep in the core of the body. Yoga is all about creating harmony and a union of integrated action and awareness. Restorative yoga provides the means to develop those qualities in our practice and in our daily lives.
Yoga Therapy
The classical Indian practitioners classify people in 3 categories: Rogi; Nirogi; and Yogi.
Rogis are dealing with illness
Nirogis have the absence of illness
Yogis are enjoying life
Nirogis have the absence of illness
Yogis are enjoying life
In my 20 years of practicing meditation, yoga, and body/energy work modalities, I have come to see that even those of us who do yoga are not necessarily 'yogis' by this definition.
The truth is most of us could be getting more out of our yoga practice. And if you don't already have a yoga practice, then for sure you could be getting more out of your life!
Yoga as therapy utilizes the powerful aspects of yoga to help bring the body and mind and all the intricate systems into a more harmonious balance so that the body can maximize its own natural ability to move toward greater health.
Simple practices (not necessarily 'easy') will be utilized to build internal strength and vigor; to increase suppleness and flexibility; to balance out-of-balance states of body/mind. In time and with persistent practice, you will begin to see improvements in health and ease in living. You were meant to enjoy this life!
Kriyas, Mudras, & Nadis
Kriyas are purifying exercises done originally as the basis of a yoga practice.
Mudras are gestures done either with the hands or the entire body used to signify and garner a specific energy that has a potent effect on the 5 koshas (physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, and energetic).
Nadis are the energy channels of a being. Said by B.K.S. Iyengar to total 72,000, these are equivalent to the combined functions of the nervous and endocrine systems in our bodies.
This practice will focus on series of exercises to purify and clear the energy channels of the body. The practice will be a series of forms that are repeated so that from week to week the advancement in ease and ability can be recognized. Each series of forms will be a foundation for growth. Pranayama will be practiced along with the forms to deepen and enhance the clarity in the energy channels.
All are welcome and Yoga Therapy is a recommended class to advance deeper in this purifying series.
Holistic (Ear) Candling
An ancient practice used in many indigenous cultures. Holistic candling has been used with success for: Sinus & Migraine headaches; Sinusitus; Vertigo; Ear infections; Vertigo; Hearing loss; Swimmers Ear; Common cold and flu symptoms; Allergies and more. A beeswax-coated linen cloth wrapped conically to create a cone or 'candle' which is inserted into the ear. The warmth, the shape, and the constituent essential oil ingredients of the candle create a relaxed state that encourages the body to shift into its innate healing system.
A yoga- based form of body and energy work that utilizes a series of energy lines, call Sen lines, mapped throughout the body. This practice is said to work on all five koshas or layers of one’s being: physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and energetic.
Regular Thai Yoga Massage work can deepen awareness and physical capacity in one’s yoga asana and pranayama practices as well as introduce a feeling of fluid ease and grace to the recipient during their daily life.
Sound and Vibration Tuning
Vibration and frequency impact our energy system by causing entrainment, i.e., our cells vibrate with the intervening vibration or frequency. We can cause greater states of well-being to occur by choosing frequencies that cause a more harmonious vibration in our out-of-balance chakras, which are basically hubs of vibration. In addition, stones, gems and minerals carry their own grounding and vibrating properties. The stones can be used to ground and stabilize or to move energy into or out of particular chakras thereby literally channeling the energy into desirable pathways and opening blocks to the chakras and their pathways. This is a sweetly pleasant session that can generate states of mind ranging from highly alert to deeply relaxed. The result is to rebalance the energy body and the chakra system to a state of optimal functioning and relaxed alertness.
The Trager Approach
is named after its creator, Dr. Milton Trager. It is an approach, not a method, to creating ease and harmony between body and mind for increased freedom in movement.
Our movement is patterned due to the way our nervous system functions for efficiency. Changing those patterns involves more than just learning a new movement pattern. It actually involves learning new movement "thoughts," since it is our underlying thougths that create our ultimate movements. Milton said that "for every tight muscle there is a tight thought." He taught his students that those thoughts were ultimately what we wanted to reach and change in order for our intentions to create shift for our clients/patients.
The Trager Approach helps release deep-seated physical and mental patterns and facilitates deep relaxation, increased mobility and mental clarity. Many people seek Trager sessions for personal gro/WST.aspxwth or increased feelings of joy and wellness.
The Trager Approach has also been reported to ease or manage a wide range of conditions including:
* Stress * Headaches * Multiple Sclerosis * Fibromyalgia
* Back pain * Physical & emotional traumas * Cerebral Palsy
* Limited movement * Sports & other injuries * Parkinson's Disease
* Everyday aches & pains * Carpal tunnel syndrome * Long-held emotional trauma
* Muscle spasms * Pain from automobile accidents * Neuralgia
* Depression * Neck pain
"It's in the mind!" declared Milton Trager. What he was referring to are those patterns that seem so densely a part of our body's behavior. They are really in the mind. When we have a tight muscle or a restricted movement pattern in our body, it's really just the body carrying out the mind's instruction.
The Trager Approach is a movement re-education approach that invites the body to remember how to move more freely, easily and effortlessly so that old patterns can be 're-programmed' by finding what is softer, freer and easier. There are two aspects to this approach, one is on the table where you are moved by the practitioner, the other is off the table where you are guided to remember that feeling in your own movements. This is truly artful work that has the potential to change your body, your mind and your life!
Click here! for a link to some great videos about The Trager Approach. Roger Tolle is one of my teachers and a great inspiration to me in doing this work.
Meditation
A mental exercise undertaken to develop the ability to concentrate on a single object or point of focus. The practice of concentration leads to the experience of meditation, which state is technically marked by specific brainwave states (theta 4-8 Hz/second) that have been measured in scientific research studies. For the average person, developing an improved ability to focus the mind will bring a greater sense of calming peace and insight into their ordinary daily activities. The health benefits of a regular meditation practice are many.
These sessions can be done privately or in a semi-private (2-3 people) group.
They are conducted in group format in a series of 4 weekly sessions at the office of Debbie Lubetkin Psy. D., licensed psychologist. Please feel free to bring your own meditation bench or cushion. There are standard, comfortable sofas if you prefer not to sit on the floor.
Active Meditations
Techniques designed by Osho to adjust to the current passive lifestyle. They add a preliminary “active” step to traditional meditations. Before we can truly sit and relax our minds, and encounter ourselves as we are, we need to let go of many repressed emotions and feelings, which create our internal tensions. This is what unstructured chaotic movement does. It can be in many forms like dancing, breathing, whirling, babbling. For a period of time, we stop strict control of our movements, and let them just happen spontaneously, responding to the music. We just watch. We let our bodies and minds be active, while we just passively observe them. When the traditional meditation step comes and our tired body also becomes passive and relaxed, the inner and outer passivities merge and in that stillness, we can see ourselves.
The Taoist mystic, Osho, taught philosophy before setting up the ashram which became famous with people from the West wanting to experience meditation and transformation. He is said to be one of the 10 people – others include Gandhi, Nehru and Buddha – who have changed the destiny of India. His own epitaph is: Never Born – Never Died – Only visited this planet Earth between December 11, 1931 and January 19, 1990. His books have sold in tens of thousands.
Hypnosis & Regression
These techniques start by bringing a person to a consciously relaxed state of body and mind in order to access brainwaves associated with a subconscious state. At that time it is then possible to recall information that has been buried by the conscious mind or, alternatively, to implant desirable suggestions to the subconscious mind. The information retrieved or the desirable shift of perspective can be effectively utilized during ordinary waking states for greater empowerment in one’s life.
Yoga Nidra
The word "Nidra" means sleep. "Yoga sleep" is a form of meditation that is guided so that the practitioner experiences a deep state of rest/sleep in the body, but an alert state of awareness in the mind/consciousness. Through the practice of yoga nidra, the mind can be trained to achieve a state of mastery over facets of daily life, including manifesting intentions which are a critical aspect of the yoga nidra practice.
These sessions can be done privately or in a semi-private (2-3 people) group.
They are conducted in group format on a monthly basis at N.J. Acupuncture and Fertility Center. Please bring a pillow and blanket to ensure your comfort during the session.
Click here to read a descriptive testimonial about Yoga Nidra.
Tandem Tantric Balancing & Massage
This session developed when my partner and I began playing with offering two-handed sessions to our friends and colleagues. After very little time, we became aware that this was clearly NOT massage, nor was it Trager Approach, it was something unique unto itself. Much bigger than just the combination of our attempt to combine our two backgrounds in healing, and our desire to offer an effective form of bodywork.
What developed quite quickly was a session that offers a range of experiences from simply deeply relaxed healing touch to profound channeled insight and information held in the tissue of the body to provide guidance and direction, often to overcome issues that the recipient has been working on or even struggling to understand.
Each session is unique and guided, not by format or routine, but by meditative presence. Trusting in the practices of presence and attention, my partner and I allow the energy of the receiver's being to guide us to areas that want to 'speak' or release held patterns.
Part massage, part quantum physics, part energy healing, part channeling, this is likely to be a session that you will not quickly forget.
Tantric Couples Coaching & Workshops
Sessions for couples of any gender to deepen the bond that brings them together.
The practice of Tantra was defined by Osho as a transformation of sex into love through awareness. These workshops and sessions are designed to use a playful approach to finding awareness of self and lover through movement practices, breathing exercises and guided visualizations, as well as gentle, loving touch.
With no specific demands, couples can learn to come into the moment with a state of present awareness that renders an open and receptive mind and spirit. The present moment holds all that we need to be spontaneous, inviting, vulnerable, authentic, kind, and loving.
Learn to honor yourself and your partner through the practice and philosophy of Tantra. In that honoring, you can reveal the truth that holds the potency of magic to re-ignite, re-kindle, inspire, and expand your love!
Wellness Through Essential Oils 
* Ever wonder what exactly are essential oils?
Essential oils are the equivalent of the plant's blood. Like our blood, the oils carry a multitude of nutrients through the body of the plant to provide nourishment to all the plant's parts. These nutrients, like all substances, have a frequency. In fact, like everything that is alive, there is an energetic frequency. Like striking a gong and hearing the resonance of the sound go on and on and on, all living things have a resonance and a frequency at which they vibrate. So, the oils also have resonance and frequency. And, depending upon which nutrients are significant, an oil will have a frequency or vibration consistent with that nutrient. When we apply those oils to our body, or ingest them when safe to do so, we take in that nourishment and is assists us in raising our frequency to the level of the oil's.
* How does using essential oils create wellness?
Well, as I previously described, when we take in the life blood of the plant with all its rich nutrients, we absorb those properties to raise our level of health by increasing (or reducing in the case of an overactive situation) our vibration. Not unlike all other practices that we may do to achieve greater states of health, yoga helps us to move the body with specific exercises and breathing techniques that flush out toxic energy and leave more healthy, pure states of resonance, meditation assists us in nurturing the soil of our mind so that the health thoughts which we have planted may take root, sound healing literally resonates the cells of our body so that they begin to vibrate in harmony, all of these methods and more act on a fundamental level to bring us to greater states of health. When health is good, our vibration is said to be pure. We become like a fine-tuned instrument. And we are!
* What if I just like the way they smell?
That is great! There are plenty of reasons that enjoying the scent is healthy. For one thing, our sense receptors through the olfactory system send chemical messages directly to the brain. It's like sending an email to your brain when you wear a scent that you like and that also has healthy properties as a bonus. And if you find you need the properties of a particular oil, but you can't tolerate the scent, just apply it to the bottoms of your feet. The absorption rate is quick (3 minutes) and you won't have to smell it in order to receive the benefits. Sometimes, as we begin to purify the condition around which that oil is needed, we begin to have a better tolerance for that scent. So applying to the feet is a great step to ultimate de-toxification. As a secondary intention, don't underestimate the power of how you smell and its affect on those around you. You may find that when you start wearing the oils people approach you and ask "what is that you are wearing?" It happens to me all the time. The oils have such a potent and rich quality that no perfume can even come close. Don't be surprised to find people hanging around you just to get a whiff!
* There are so many oils around, how do I know what I'm buying?
It's not always easy to tell the quality of the oils you are purchasing if you do not know the producer of those oils and how strict they are in sticking to good farming and distilling practices. There are many good brands of oils available, but keep in mind that if your oil producer is not choosy about where they procure their constituent parts, you may end up with oils made from plants grown just down the road from a garbage dump or a polluted body of water. The idea of organic farming becomes very appealing when you think about using oils. Whatever is in the soil, will ultimately be in your oil. So this is not something to take lightly. I have sampled many oils in my ongoing search for the most pure, the best smelling, the most cost effective. For the past 13 years or so I've been a distributor for Young Living Essential Oils. Time and time again, I return to these oils because, though they are sometime costlier than other oils, they are consistently potent and they give me results. Whether it's applying Lavender to a mosquito bite and having it disappear or applying their digestive blend (Di-Gize) to my belly and feeling relief from a nauseous tummy, I am consistently pleased with their scents, their availability, their longevity and the response I receive from those around me who have to smell me!