yoga for seasonal allergies

ah, springtime in atlanta. the good news is the trees are blooming beautifully. the bad news is the trees are blooming beaurifully and spreading pollen everywhere. it's so thick here anything outside is carpeted in green pollen dust. sometimes i can feel a burn in my throat when i take a deep inhale outside. lots of us are feeling sinus blockage and breathing issues with seasonal springtime allergies.

yoga can alleviate some allergy symptoms. i'm going to share a few, starting with the most mellow:

supported savasana: lay flat on your back on your mat. place a bolster (see my sidebar for purchasing this prop if you don't have one - they're heavenly) under the spine. the bolster should run from the lower back up to your head so your head is supported. hips are on the floor. spread the arms out in a t, palms up. you should feel gently supported and can relax in this for a long time. the bolster helps to open the chest, and gently allows you to stretch the abdominal muscles, intercostal muscles of the side body, and the diaphragm, which helps breathing.

supported shoulderstand: see detailed description of this pose at Yoga Journal. shoulderstands and inversions open the nasal passages for improved drainage.

backbends:bridge or camel, for example, expand the chest and lungs, increasing breathing capacity

other options include using an eye pillow. (see sidebar at the right to purchase one) ususally filled with organic flax seed and a bit of lavender. lay down in savasana, or in bed and drape the pillow over the eyes and bridge of the nose. relax for 5 - 15 minutes. i find the gentle pressure on my sinuses is really soothing.

also, try a neti pot or nasal wash with saline solution. you can buy these at CVS. for me, it took a few tries to run the liquid through my sinuses instead of down my face, but it's a lifesaver during allergy season.

will eat for world peace

when i went through my teacher training at Peachtree Yoga, we students spent a lot of long lunches at various veggie-friendly establishments around Sandy Springs. one of my favorites is the World Peace Cafe, located at 220 Hammond Drive NE
Suite 302, City Walk, Sandy Springs. It is volunteer-run by the Rameshori Buddhist Center, so the chance that a Buddhist monk dining nearby is high. The cafe is light-filled and has some beautiful large-scale murals, and the vibe is happy and relaxing.

I think the Peace Burger is delicious. I'd love the recipe - apparently it involves grains and veggies. I like to have the Peace Burger salad, which is a lovely mixed-green salad with a burger on top - best of both worlds. To warsh it all down, (east-coast spelling intentional) my favorite options are either 1. a mock mint julep - so summery refreshing yum, or 2. Velvet tea, which is perfect if it's chilly or rainy. The Velvet tea is made by The Art of Tea, a luxury tea outfit from California, and has chocolate or cocoa nibs in it, and is truly plush, organic, and caffeine free. the menu is much more extensive, but i tend to find a favorite and stick with it. i recommend sitting upstairs - if you haven't been yet, do check it out soon.

ode to boo and spooky

we have 3 dogs, all of them rescue dogs, two are "sisters", beautiful junkyard shar pei pit bull mixes that someone in our neighborhood abused and then abandoned. Despite their bad reputation, Doug took them in about 7 years ago, (we were dating at the time) and they were mean, mean, mean. Strangely enough, their names were Petite and Babette. Doug changed their names to a more befitting Spooky and Boo. Upon meeting me, Spooky promptly bit me in the leg - from behind- a sneak attack. Luckily things went uphill from there and with a stable home, regular meals, nature hikes, and lots of love, the girls have mellowed out considerably. A sneak attack is more like dogbreathy licking. Dog #3 is a ridiculous Katrina rescue puppy, a small wirehaired terrier mix that runs circles around the big girls. More on him later.

our dogs expand my heart constantly. this quote, by the Dalai Lama, on people, animals, and our big, happy planet:

the creatures that inhabit this earth--be they human beings or animals--are here to contribute, each in its own particular way, to the beauty and prosperity of the world.