YOGA in Half Moon Resort, Rose Hall, Jamaica

As more and more people turn to yoga to improve their overall health and well being, Half Moon, the luxury resort in Rose Hall, Jamaica is responding to the growing niche with the Ultimate Yoga Escape Package.

Using the new "Fit Beams" at the Yoga classes in Half Moon Resort

According to a recent study released by US-based Yoga Journal nearly 18.3 million Americans say they are very or extremely interested in yoga, triple the number from the Journal’s 2004 study.

The Yoga Pavillion at Fern Tree Spa

Half Moon’s Ultimate Yoga Escape, one of the resort’s new exclusive-inclusive Ultimate Escapes offerings, gives yogis luxurious accommodations, two 60-minute yoga classes daily, consultation with the resort’s Spa Elder (a master therapist versed in the art of using indigenous herbs and botanicals to create custom treatments and remedies), a personalized massage at the new Fern Tree, The Spa at Half Moon, a rafting trip down the nearby Martha Brae River, Half Moon eco-tour, all meals and beverage, on-island airport transfers and much more. Rates for the yoga-inclusive vacation start at $900 per room per night double occupancy and require a three-night minimum stay.

Gabriel Lindsay

Led by Gabriel Lindsay, yogis will be taken through Iyengar Yoga and Kripalu Yoga, which emphasizes the development of strength, stamina, flexibility and balance as well as concentration and meditation.

Yoga Cabana

According to Lindsay, who learnt the art of yoga at the Sivananda Ashram in India and has been teaching yoga for 13 years, participants in the Ultimate Yoga Escape will learn the benefits of the asanas or postures, receive special programmes for their individual needs and deepen their yoga practice.

“As with the other packages in our Ultimate Escapes collection, the Ultimate Yoga Escape is created especially for those travelers who are focused on a path to wellness, whether they are at the beginning of their journey or are more advanced,” said Myrtle Dwyer, director of sales for Half Moon.

About Half Moon’s Ultimate Escapes

Half Moon’s Ultimate Escapes collection includes The Total Golf Experience giving travelers 54 holes of golf in one vacation; the Ultimate in Luxury, which includes a variety of activities for an action-packed vacation; the Romantic Rendezvous created especially for couples; Perfectly Pampered with an array of spa treatments; and the Half Moon Plan for the gourmand. All of the Ultimate Escape packages include accommodations, meals and beverage, on-island airport transfers and other resort amenities.


For more information on the Ultimate Yoga Escapes and Half Moon’s other special offers, please visit http://www.halfmoon.com/


Contact: Marcia McLaughlin / mmclaughlin@halfmoon.com

YOGA INSTRUCTORS PROFILES - CARIBBEAN

Andrea divides her time between Tulum, Mexico on the gorgeous Maya Riviera and Brooklyn, New York where she teaches Vinyasa flow classes and organizes international yoga retreats.

Originally from New York where she has experienced various types of yoga, she chose to study Vinyasa Yoga at Laughing Lotus in New York with Alison Cramer and Keith Borden (RYT 200) and prenatal Mama Sutra training with Heathyre Mabin. In addition, she is a Level II AASI certified Snowboarder Instructor.

Her yoga classes are steady and strong with a dynamic, creative flow and graceful sequences that are physically challenging and transforming through the connection of the breath and movement. Exploring both fluidity and stillness in the asanas while subtly expanding out of your comfort zone. Guiding you to move with intention, which transcends into changes and action in your life.

Andrea has an Apparel Design background with a focus on Color and Trend, this carries her all over the globe to research, photograph and gather inspiration. While traveling she seeks yoga, spas and immerses herself in the local culture sharing these experiences in her work, her teaching and her life.

Contact: andreagallo108@gmail.com

YOGA INSTRUCTORS PROFILES

STEVE UNGER

I am a Yoga Fit certified Yoga instructor with 60 hours complete towards my 200Y hour YRT certification. The style I primarily teach is Vinyasa Flow. I am also a certified Spinning Instructor with additional certification in Spin/Yoga. I conduct Spin/Yoga classes the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month at the Wilmington Family YMCA (2710 Market St.) at 1:30 pm. Admission is free to YMCA members and I can provide a complimentary one-week pass to first-timers. After that the charge is a $10 guestfee. I also teach both Yoga and Spinning at the YMCA as substitute since I am employed there full-time.


I conduct a regular Yoga class (Thursdays 7:00 pm) at The Gypsy Sun in Surf City (www.thegypsysun.com). It is located at 206-B N. Topsail Drive. It is a Level 1 class, suitable for beginners. I also teach Beach Yoga (both moonrise and sunrise) on Topsail Island in the summer and can conduct other group Beach Yoga classes upon request.

NAMASTE

Steve Unger - Instructor
Certified Yoga Fit
Spin/Yoga
Spinning

(910) 228-8679

Six week senior Yoga Project for free in Southport

Mentored Project for Duke Integrative Medicine Certificate in Therapeutic Yoga for Seniors with Ella Hill 10:30-Noon

Purpose: Explore yoga effects on blood presure over six week period of time.
Assistant, Bill Milligan M.D.
Date: Beginning February 1st, 2010, on every Monday.
Address: St Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church at 4843 Southport-Supply Rd.Interested seniors must come to class on Feb. 1st to be part of the project & make a commitment of six weeks, and they must be over 50 years old.


No yoga experience required. Classes will be free. Ella Hill Expressive Arts & Yoga. Telephone: (910) 297-6274.

WHAT IS ENERGY MEDICINE?

By Bill Milligan M.D
Pictures: Yndiana Montes

Energy Medicine is an updated contemporary view of the body's intricate energetic systems, composed of ancient healing techniques, used in China and the Far East for five thousand years. These incorporate acupuncture, chakras and several other systems, some very esoteric and difficult to describe within a limited space. Over a period of the last twenty to thirty years, certain practitioners have honed their skills to the degree that they can work within this system using their intuitive abilities. In order to teach this to students and clients alike, kinesiology, a way of testing the body via muscles is utilized. When done properly, this can yield very accurate results.
These ancient systems are complex, and involve the body's relationship to the seasons, earth and the cosmos. Although still very alien and difficult to accept by western medicine, the system is slowly being accepted, especially in more progressive areas, ex., New York, L.A. etc.
It is now well established that our emotional system is intricately involved with our physical body, known by the ancients for thousands of years, but only recognized from a western viewpoint in the past twenty years. A classic example is emotional stress and anguish, which ultimately ends up in stomach ulcers.
In our present world of processed, hormone and antibiotic riddled diets, along with electromagnetic energy (Wi-Fi, radio waves, microwave towers, microwave ovens, high altitude travel, computers, cars and many more), and stressed out life styles, our body’s ability to assimilate and metabolize this "gunk" is severely compromised, eventually leading to an inefficient immune system. With a break down in the immune system, it's only a matter of time until disease comes knocking at our door. E/M is specifically designed to help the body metabolize,ie., get rid of or neutralize these potentially damaging factors and maintain a healthy immune system. To maximize the benefits of energy medicine, one has practice it, pretty much on a daily basis. This can take anywhere from five minutes to an hour or more, depending on what systems need correction. There is a commitment, but the rewards are well worth the effort, even if you don’t “feel” it, over a period of time there will be a subtle increase in your basic energy, improved sleep and enhanced stamina.
Having worked as a physician in western medicine for twenty-nine years and studied Qi Gong for five, I was quite surprised when I had my first energetic work-up. I had many energetic malfunctions that were quite surprising to me. I have been working with them over the last eight years, and I can attest to the obvious improvements I have experienced, including all of the above mentioned.