Deanna Hirsch Health & Wellness

As each new year approaches we find ourselves taking stock of where we’ve been and where we want to go.  Since August of 2008, I’ve had the privilege of training clients at Fitness Together Cherry Creek, Denver’s premier one on one personal training studio.  I was drawn to the Fitness Together philosophy, “1 Client, 1 Trainer, 1 Goal.”  I didn’t want to lose the effectiveness and closeness of the trainer/client relationship by moving into a large mega gym atmosphere.  I am happy to say I’ve found the perfect home at Fitness Together.  Here, I’m able to continue providing quality, personal training and private yoga with state of the art equipment, the shared knowledge of other top trainers and technology specially formatted to track client progress and results.

Make 2009 the year you reach your health and fitness potential.  This year, resolve to see real and lasting results.  To get started you may contact me directly or call Fitness Together at (303) 322-7132.  For more information on Fitness Together go to www.ftcherrycreek.com

Teaching prenatal yoga is one of the great passions in my life. I am so honored to be able to help women embrace the joys and challenges of pregnancy and motherhood, through the practice of yoga. This Friday, I will be heading out to the Golden Bridge Yoga center in LA, for a week long prenatal yoga teacher training with Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa, lovingly known as “Gurmukh” in the yoga world.

This additional training with Gurmukh will allow me to further offer my students a comprehensive and empowering approach to pregnancy and beyond. During this 60-hour complete Pre-natal Certification Course I will be immersed in Kundalini yoga & meditation as taught by Yogi Bhajan. Complete with chanting & singing, speakers, expert in their fields, open discussions, hands on training and the principles of conscious birthing.

The Khalsa Way, “teaches a woman to lift the blocks of fear, doubt and old conditioning out of her pregnancy, her birth and her life.” I am so excited to take part in this once in a lifetime training and journey. A colleague of mine who has studied with Gurmukh could not have praised her more. She told me that after being with her for a week in LA, I would want to move there! You never know! Life, like pregnancy and motherhood, is a grand adventure. I look forward to sharing my adventure with you when I return. Namaste – Deanna

Deanna teaches prenatal yoga on Wednesdays from 5:15-6:15PM and Saturdays from 10-11:15AM at The Yin Yoga Center in Parker, CO. She is also available for private prenatal yoga and personal training in Denver and Parker. For more information or to schedule an appointment you may contact her at (720)971-2393 or at dhirsch@deannahealth.com

As a mother, a business owner, a teacher and a trainer I am constantly on a quest for balance. Most of the time I feel as though I am just chasing my tail. Constantly reacting to the demands of the day. The more roles I have to portray the harder it is to feel authentic and at ease. As my life expands with new opportunities and responsibilities I am careful to note if my heart is as full as my plate. In our effort to be more and do more - we have to be careful not to become our to-do lists.

One of the ways we can attain Samadhi, a non-dualistic state of consciousness, in which the mind becomes still, is through yoga. Lately, the more fragmented I feel the more I’m drawn back to the practice. While stressing in traffic I hear my voice telling my students to soften their faces, relax the corners of their eyes and I think, why not me? When overwhelmed with the struggle to juggle, I think of instructing my class in Vrksasana, tree pose. “Root down, to lengthen up, come into your breath, find your drishti (or fixed gaze, where the eyes stay soft, never straining).” In that moment, I am reminded that the power to slow down and be still rests in my limbs, just a tree pose away.

The first time I attempted, Eka Pada Rajakapotasana (Mermaid Pose – variation of One-Legged King Pigeon), I was less a graceful mermaid and more a flopping fish! The harder I tried to yank my limbs together in an image of perfection the more my body flailed and failed me. I kept practicing and several months later I heard my own teacher’s voice in my head, “the key to this pose is to hug everything in.” In that moment I returned to me, softened my gaze, opened my heart and gave myself as much love as I’ve tried to give others. In that moment, I became “The Mermaid,” I became balanced, I became me.

I read a quote recently by Jack Nicholson that struck me deep within. He said, “I sat there opposite John Huston and realized that at least for a short while I knew the best man alive. That is on a very personal level, it’s not about what he did, it is just the actuality of the person.”

While I and you may be mothers, teachers, professionals or students, we are not those things. The actuality of our person resides deep within. The balance we seek exists simply in the rhythm of our breath.

– Namaste, Deanna Hirsch

Recently I have begun to delve deeper into the practice of Kundalini yoga, also known as the “yoga of awareness.” Imagine if you will, all of your potential, your hopes, dreams and endless possibilities. Now visualize all of that prana coiled at the base of your spine like a snake, just waiting to stretch and expand. That is kundalini.

With its unusual (often uncomfortable) postures, breath of fire and intoxicating mantras, kundalini yoga is often thought of as an express train to enlightenment. Impatient westerner that I am I was drawn to the illusion of magic on the mat. It was during a class with the enchanting yogini, Tana Pittman, that I stopped sprinting toward serenity and rediscovered, Sat Nam.

Sat Nam is a bija or seed mantra, single syllable sounds that have several meanings depending on the intention and tones touched upon when chanting. Sat, means “the truth.” Nam means, “to call upon, name or identify with.” When linked together, Sat Nam declares that, “truth is my identity and I call upon the eternal truth that resides in all of us.”

By chanting this mantra we can awaken the soul and uncoil the serpent within. Through Sat Nam we realize that the truth and meaning we seek in the world resides simply in our spine, just a breath of fire away.

Namaste – Deanna Hirsch, RYT

If you are suffering from stress related skin conditions such as acne, eczema or hives you may want to add meditation to your skin care routine. Dermatological conditions such as acne can worsen when the mind is consumed by anxiety, fatigue and stress. What’s on our minds can often manifest itself in the rest of our body. For some, our emotions can literally be written all over our face.

So before you fork over a co-pay to the dermatologist or invest in Jessica Simpson’s beauty regimen, you might want to try meditation. The simple act of sitting quietly in a comfortable seat, with the eyes closed and focusing inward on the breath, has been shown to benefit the mind and body in a number of ways. Those who meditate on a regular basis are less likely to smoke, drink and use drugs. Meditating for as little as five to twenty minutes a day has been shown to normalize blood pressure, improve immune function and increase mental clarity. It may help clarify your complexion as well.

Namaste – Deanna Hirsch