Yoga : Asheville Culture Project : RadiantLifeYoga.com : Matt Portwood

The Importance of a Daily Practice

I'm gonna just put this out there.... We don't usually say things straight up in this society because there is an unspoken mutual code that we not pierce the armor of egoic structures with truth.... We tiptoe around what is true to be polite and

Immune Boosting Tonic

Quick smoothie recipe I wrote out for a client, but I thought I'd post it here for you too.

2 or 3 cups chaga tea
banana
handful of fresh chicory leaves or any other greens
handful goji berries
teaspoon reishi ext
teaspoon cordyceps ext
tablespoon Maca
teaspoon vanilla extract or powder
optional
handful soaked raw organic almonds or raw milk

Tulsi (or Tulasi) - Holy Basil

Tulsi is a much revered plant medicine from Aryuveda.  It is considered adaptogen and used to increases immunity and antibody production.  Tulsi is thought to have anti bacterial, anti-fungal and anti viral properties.  When used over time it has been shown to reduce the bodies response to stress.  Besides being regarded as cure all, and known as a supreme health promoting earth, Tulsi is held as a Talisman and considered to have almost supernatural ability to protect her devotees.

Tulsi is great used fresh and can be easily cultivated.  It is traditionally made as tea with ginger.

I enjoy making this

Tulsi Lemonade:

4 cups Spring Water,
Fresh Tulsi or 1 teaspoon Tulsi extract,
1/4 Lemon juice,
1/3 cup local honey,
1 teaspoon ginger
you can optionally add a pinch of good salt.

I have Tulsi Extract available here http://radiantlifeyoga.com/products-page/herbs/
The videos below only start to express how highly Tulsi is regarded.  I can only think of

Yoga as Activism part 2 - The Practice of Liberation, How Sustainablity is a Prerequisite to Your Ability to Act as the Expression of Who You Really Are.

coming soon.......

Yoga as Activism part 1- The Warrior Practice and Skill in Action

In light of the many leveled war that rages around us I would like to reflect on Yoga as activism.

One of the ways that this practice has come to me is through the form of martial arts. In my practice there is no difference between martial arts and yoga. Yoga is a martial art, meaning that it is a warrior practice.  Martial Arts is the practice of skill in action, how Krishna defines Yoga in the Bhagavad Gita.  Both are the practice of
skillfully expressing your intention.
In Hatha Yoga, the practice of asana and pranayama is a martial practice.  Asana means seat.  Seat is your connection to the earth.  Asana is the practice of maintaining a conscious connection to the earth.  This connection is first maintained through the existence of the physical body.  Intrinsic in the practice of Yoga is the practice of maintaining to what ever degree the integrity of the physical body.  It is not that the warrior/yogi is attached to the physical body, rather the body is the foundational level of tapping into conscious awareness of the self which is not limited to the body alone.

Pranayama is conscious awareness of breath.  Breath is of coarse intrinsically connected to and symbolic of life.  So pranayama is the practice of conscious awareness of life, we are aware that we are having this experience right now that we call life.  We are aware that the body is going to die, and that everybody is going to die.  We embody this awareness not as morbidity, but

Guided Yoga Practice1 - Where Pain Becomes Strength

Chaga in Stock

Right now we have in stock some amazing North American Wildcrafted Chaga.  This medicinal tree mushroom is a supreme immune modulator and said to be the number one anti-cancer herb (although its not an herb its a mushroom.... Rich in Poly Saccharides and anti-Oxidants, tea made with Chaga has a distinctly Vanilla flavor due to the vanillic acid it contains.  I can not fully describe the profound effect that this mushroom has had on my life and my families life, but as someone who does not want to be dependent on antibiotics, in this ever changing world, to me Chaga is invaluable.
You can buy it here.  http://bit.ly/gOiC7e

Power Vinyasa : Matt Portwood : Asheville Yoga

Asheville Yoga Center: Join me 5:30 on Sundays... New Students: 8 days 20 dollars