Meet Ernie Santoro our featured student spotlight!
Ernie is a active and cheerful yogi that represents All That Matters well!

When did you start yoga and what attracted you to the practice: My wife began about 6 years ago and I noticed an
improvement in her strength, flexibility and balance; as well as an enhanced sense of inner peace. Hence, I wanted to experience those same benefits.
What is your favorite style of yoga:  Yoga/Pilates, it combines the best of both worlds. Yoga-breathing, relaxation.
Pilates– strengthening.

What other activities do you enjoy:  I also enjoy Tai Chi,
gardening, biking, special times with family and friends.
Favorite sound:  Baby’s laughter and songbirds signing!
Least favorite sound:  Blaring car horns.
Favorite meal:  Freshly picked home-grown veggies over wheat pasta!
What keeps you doing yoga:  I keep doing yoga because I enjoy the daily benefit of enhanced physical vitality and balance to both the body and the mind. Being “on the mat” provides a peace of mind beyond anything I’ve experienced.
Advice to beginners: Approach the practice with an open mind and heart and one will begin to experience greater flexibility, strength, and peace of mind. Remember that everyone’s abilities are different, and it’s not a competition! As one of my favorite teachers said: “The postures all around the room should look different” What do you like most about All That Matters: The new parking lot:) ATM has a great atmosphere to practice yoga and to enjoy the benefits of working with a fantastic group of teachers and staff that are fully focused on teaching the yogic lifestyle.
Any other words of wisdom? New parking lot is small...so get there early!:) We are all on this journey together and we know it is the journey and not the destination that counts. Let yoga lighten your load as you travel on this journey.

Ever wonder which yoga mat is really right for you? Can't decide between prAna or Jade? Let us help you out! Watch the video to discover the basic differences between them all, and as always, please don't hesitate to stop in the store where we would be happy to assist you in choosing your perfect mat:)

Congratulations to Kerri Handrigan for her winning bid on a session with our Health Coach Katie McDonald!

Katie bid on this package at the Farm Fresh event, it was a huge success and we thank all for their support!:)

With our upcoming Meditation Weekend with Dr. Dwyer and Michael Mamas coming up (Aug 19-20) we wanted to share some insight on how good meditation really is for you!

Your Brain on Yoga: New Studies in Neuroscience Show Meditation Positively Changes Your Brain
This is your brain. This is your brain on yoga! Meditation to be exact. New, real, comprehensive studies are being done to prove that meditation does indeed actually transform the circuits of the brain to increase functionality, focus, empathy and happiness. How fabulous! Changes have been seen in the limbic system or the brain’s emotional command center controlling the endocrine and autonomic nervous system, the prefrontal cortex in charge of focus, thoughts and actions, and left-sided anterior region responsible for generating positive emotions. You know, just minor parts of the brain necessary for your overall energetic existence and prosperity.

But maybe you already knew this? Having your uh duh! moment? We can cut these scientists a break, as it’s only just until recently when technology and things like MRI machines could actually scientifically prove what many were just experiencing, see?

It’s a growing field called contemplative neuroscience – the brain science of meditation – and it’s gaining more credibility and perhaps even better, more funding for research. The National Institutes of Health, has upped its grants in complementary and alternative medicine ($300 million in 2007 to an estimated $541 million in 2011) , and has helped establish new contemplative science research centers at Stanford University, Emory University, and the University of Wisconsin, the soon-to-be new home of the world’s first brain imaging lab with adjacent meditation room.

How does meditation work on the noggin?
“We all know that if you engage in certain kinds of exercise on a regular basis you can strengthen certain muscle groups in predictable ways,” [Richard] Davidson says in his office at the University of Wisconsin, where his research team has hosted scores of Buddhist monks and other meditators for brain scans.

“Strengthening neural systems is not fundamentally different,” he says. “It’s basically replacing certain habits of mind with other habits.”

And you’ll never guess who’s been a big proponent of the growing research. Why, the Dalai Lama of course! And he’s actually arranged for Tibetan monks to travel to American universities for brain scans, while also participating in speaking gigs at annual meetings of the Society for Neuroscience, the world’s largest gathering of brain scientists.

Although many of the previous studies had focused on compassion meditation or “lovingkindness”, for scientific purposes, the meditation exercises have been stripped of Buddhist roots.

“This is not a project about religion,” says Davidson. “Meditation is mental activity that could be understood in secular terms.”

So if you were worried about the compassion demons invading your brain and stealing your soul during meditation, you can rest assured that only happens after a sinful round of sun salutes and a few minutes of playing dead.

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