MHA's First Mega Yoga Event: A Mega Success!

June 21, 2012--It was the summer solstice. It was hot, it was light and it was a celebration. More than 500 people streamed onto Court Street in White Plains on Wednesday night, June 20^th for Get On Your Mat For Mental Health, The Mental Health Association of Westchester’s very first mega yoga event ever to take place in the county.  As participants rolled their mats out, the music of the band, House of Waters drifted through the air.  Soon, MHA CEO, Dr. Amy Kohn welcomed the crowd and introduced White Plains Mayor Thomas Roach who expressed his amazement at the transformation of the busy city street into an island of calm.

Yoga Haven founder, Betsy Kase, led the opening meditation, inviting everyone to connect to their breath and then leading all gathered in a giant “OM”, ushering in summer together.  Then celebrity yoga teacher, Gwen Lawrence, enthusiastically took the stage, promising she’d “go easy” on everyone, given the record-breaking heat.  Moments later, the only thing visible was a forest of arms moving through the air to Gwen’s instructions. Later Gwen would say, “I wish you could see the view from up here! Just amazing.”

MHA’s Dr. Kohn, who had a front row mat and participated in the class, said: “I am deeply delighted by the outpouring of support for this event. There seems to be a smile on every face.”  Lauri Nemetz Yoga Teachers Association co-President commented: “It was amazing to see the diverse crowd, packed in tightly mat to mat, happy to practice and be together.   Even in the middle of White Plains, all of us gathered in both sweat and stillness, in a blissful evening for mental health!" After the class, there was one last treat in store. 14-year-old Mike Sabath, of Katonah, NY, asked everyone to stand and clap as he sang the song he wrote especially for MHA, entitled, Talk About It.  Sabath wrote the song to raise awareness of the stigma associated with mental illness. Available on iTunes,  Mike is donating all the funds raised to MHA.

MHA event manager, Constance Moustakas, was elated, “When we began to plan this event, we had no idea what the response would be, only that there is definite synergy between yoga and other holistic approaches to health and mental wellness.” With more than 40 Westchester yoga studios participating and the success of the event, this summer solstice celebration is no doubt the first of many to come.

MHA is a community-based mental health agency that has been helping Westchester County residents for 66 years through direct services, professional and community education and advocacy. MHA supports 20,000 individuals annually through a comprehensive array of mental health services for all ages at licensed mental health clinics, and to best meet each individual’s need, at home or at a community location. MHA strives to help each individual to achieve their personal goals and to lead an independent, healthy and successful life in the community. For information on critical mental health issues and MHA services, visit www.mhawestchester.org or MHA on Facebook and Twitter.

Yoga's Core Value by Gwen Lawrence

Gwen with her New York Giants' yoga students. (Photograph: Matthias Clamer for ESPN)

                   By Get On Your Mat For Mental Health’s yoga teacher, Gwen Lawrence

A strong core helps us keep our balance, protect our backs and move with ease.  Yoga, through poses that twist, torque, bend and stretch, engages our core with every breath. However, some poses engage our abs more than others. Here are a few to try:

FOREARM PLANK:  This one’s essential whether you’re new to my class or one of my pro athletes. I include it in every session.  Complete three in a row, holding for one (full!) minute each time. Here’s how:  Place your forearms and knees on the mat, toes tucked under. Line your elbows up perfectly under your shoulders, aiming to get forearms as parallel as possible, palms flat on the floor.  When you are ready, straighten your legs, body in one straight line with bellybutton lifting to spine--no high butts, no sagging butts. Breathe evenly. Hold the pose, pressing your heels back as you stretch the crown of your head forward. Bend knees and lower down. Repeat at least twice more.

TIBETAN RITE LEG RAISE:  This exercise is part of the 5 Tibetan rites (see article at www.poweryogaforsports.com).  Lie on your back,  palms under your lower back to support and ease strain, palms face down.  Bring your legs up straight to the sky.  Glue one leg to the other, flex your feet and send energy out through your heels.  Lift your chin to your chest.  Slowly lower your legs and head at the same time. Just before touching the ground, exhale and lift the legs and head back up.  Repeat 1-2 minutes.  When you become stronger, try pressing the arms into the floor alongside your torso, palms down, lower back pressing into the floor. Lift and lower head and legs. Want more of a challenge?  Extend your arms overhead and keeping elbows close to ears, slowly raise and lower head and legs in sync with each other.

PLANK KNEE TO ELBOW:  Begin in plank pose, which can also be thought of as the top of a push up.  Be careful to perfectly align your shoulders over your elbows, over your wrists.  Send energy equally out through your heels and the crown of your head.  Lift belly firmly up to the spine. Bring your right knee to your right elbow and then back to plank position. Then right knee to forehead, back to plank. Finally, right knee to left elbow and back to plank. Rest in childs' pose.  Repeat on the other side.  Do these 1-3 minutes.

These may be a challenge now, but stay with them. You’ll be amazed at how quickly you progress.

About Gwen Lawrence

Gwen Lawrence has been a practicing fitness professional since 1990. Her current practice includes private yoga training, class instruction and her sport-specific Power Yoga for Sports training program www.poweryogaforsports.com. Gwen is the yoga instructor for several New York Yankees baseball players, team yoga instructor for the New York Giants, New York Knicks, New York Red Bulls, New York Rangers, several major college teams, including Yale and UNC, and  many youth teams in a variety of sports. She is also the official spokesperson for AFRIN PureSea, an ambassador for Lululemon and Manduka, Gaiam, and Yoga Earth. Her writing appears in Men's Health, Women's Health, Fitness Magazine, Shape Magazine, Yoga Journal, Details magazine, shape.com and espn.com.   She makes regular appearances on NBC TODAY show, Good Day NY and many TV news and national radio shows. Gwen is a featured teacher for Gaiam’s new yoga channel.