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.

~Discover the beauty of Satya Jewelry~ Available in our store.

We would love to share this article with you on this cooler Monday Morning.

A Kick In The Butt: When You Don’t Feel Like Practicing
by Claudia Altucher
A few days ago I was not ‘feeling it’: The practice.
You know what I mean: Too early. Don’t want to. Let me do what the body wants. Bukowski out of all people came to the rescue, and it was his poem (interspersed here) that got me through primary series:

If you’re going to try, go all the way.
Otherwise, don’t even start.
It could mean not eating for three or four days.
It could mean freezing on a park bench. It could mean jail. It could mean derision.
It could mean mockery–isolation. Isolation is the gift.



It is Wednesday morning and I find myself in a fascinating literary spot in New York City. I am surrounded by cartoons of the New Yorker all over the hallway. In the wall paper. The lobby presents me with pictures of incredible writers among the potted palm trees. Long chandeliers make me think of Mark Twain. Who wants to get on the mat?

All the others are a test of your endurance, of how much you really want to do it.



Too Early
That:‘too early’, is, of course, just a marketing line. A chosen deliminator in our thinking that now defines what we think we are. Until we notice it and go pass it, there is always: Afternoon practice.

And, you’ll do it, despite rejection and the worst odds.

Don’t Want To:
We can compromise. Give up the practice if you must, but not the ritual.

Pull up your hair, get in the sweating clothes and stand on the front of the mat. Take that first ujjayi breath, balance the weight over the four corners of the feet, engage the bandhas and start that first sun salutation. Go to where you can. Never give up the ritual. See what happens.

And it will be better than anything else you can imagine.

Want To Do What My Body Wants:
Paul Dallaghan’s philosophy is so powerful I have made it my own: “if it ain’t broken and you don’t have a fever, then get on the mat”. The point is that it is a daily practice for a reason. It works only if sustained for a long time and we have to get real. If it ain’t broken and you don’t have a fever, then get on the mat.

If you’re going to try, go all the way.
There is no other feeling like that.

In Conclusion:
1) Try afternoon if morning does not work
2) Never give up the ritual: get on the mat and do what you can
3) If it ain’t broken and no fever, do it!

You will be alone with the gods, and the nights will flame with fire.
You will ride life straight to perfect laughter. It’s the only good fight there is.

I find intriguing that Bukowski uses the same concept as Patanjali for the end-goal. You will be “alone with the gods”. Patanjali could not have said it better himself.

Meet Brenda Ahlgren our featured student of the month!
Brenda is a talented and dedicated yogi that represents All That Matters well


When did you start yoga and what attracted you to the practice: I was attracted to yoga because a friend invited me and thought it would help me relax. I took a couple of Coral’s classes and I became hooked!
What is your favorite style of yoga:  I like Coral’s and Jessie’s vinyasa classes, and the work out I get, as well as the calmness that comes over me. When life is stressful it helps me concentrate on myself. What other activities do you enjoy:  Walking, kayaking and needlepoint.Favorite sound:  A babbling brook, with some singing birds…. Least favorite sound:  Cars..horns..traffic..
Favorite meal:  Pizza! I know it’s not the healthiest but I am Italian:)
Great Movie or book to recommend?: Amish Grace. By Donald Kraybill, Steven Nolt & David Weaver. It is a great book about forgiveness and it’s truly amazing, hopeful and a book to be embraced.What keeps you doing yoga:   I keep doing yoga because it keeps me grounded. It strengthens, tones and relaxes my body and mind.Advice to beginners: Don’t give up on the first day! It might seem difficult to follow along but give it time and it will become second nature.What do you like most about All That Matters: the friendly instructors AND students..it is a very relaxing environment:)

Interested in learning more about Satya Jewelry? Click this link to the discover it's beauty! We are proud to carry Satya Jewelry in our store..

http://allthatmatters.com/viewVideo.cfm?id=205

Join us for LADIES NIGHT!
This Thursday: July 7th. From 5-9pmMain St. in Wakefield is offerring great store specials, serving refreshments and alive with music and fun!

Come on in to our store where ALL jewelry will be BUY ONE GET ONE FREE, as well as a vita coco sampling event AND a raffle for a free pair of OKA-B sandals~
Hope to see you here! Happy Summer.

~Welcome to a new week~

How do I listen to others?

As if everyone were my master

speaking to me

their cherished

last

words.

Image: Postcard by Nouvelle Images
Poem: Author- Hafiz. from the book Mala of the Heart
both available in our store:)

Click on these links below to watch a brief interview with our Holistic Health Coach Katie McDonald and also learn how to make all natural, home-made Almond Milk!

http://allthatmatters.com/viewVideo.cfm?id=193 - Interview



http://allthatmatters.com/viewVideo.cfm?id=194 - Almond Milk

Books to Beach with...

Looking for that perfect beach accessory? What better way to kill time in the sand and sun then with a book of your liking!

Here are three books that we would love to reccommend to you for your next day of relaxation.

For the love of Yoga..check out

THE SUBTLE BODY: The Story of Yoga in America

by Stefanie Syman

Syman begins her embracive and illuminating history of yoga in America by discussing how polymorphous a practice yoga has become. From an age-old spiritual tradition in India designed to enable disciples to gain mastery over their bodies to attain the divine, yoga has morphed over the last century and a half into a form of exercise so mainstream, people performed yoga poses on the White House lawn during Easter celebrations—a sight no one would have imagined when yoga first scandalized Americans with its frank approach to every aspect of physical life, from breathing to sex. From Thoreau, the first American yogi, to the earliest yogis from India in America, including the influential Swami Vivekananda who arrived in 1893, Syman profiles a great array of colorful yogis and yoga teachers while chronicling with remarkable knowledge and wit all the permutations yoga has undergone. Of particular pleasure and discovery are Syman's coverage of yoga in Hollywood, the profound social changes propelling the union of yoga and psychedelics in the hippie era, and the yoga for success of more recent vintage.

For the Activist..

New Self New World

by Phillip Sherpherd

New Self, New World challenges the primary story of what it means to be human, the random and materialistic lifestyle that author Philip Shepherd calls our “shattered reality.” This reality encourages us to live in our heads, self-absorbed in our own anxieties. Drawing on diverse sources and inspiration, New Self, New World reveals that our state of head-consciousness falsely teaches us to see the body as something we possess and to try to take care of it without ever really learning how to inhabit it. Shepherd articulates his vision of a world in which each of us enjoys a direct, unmediated experience of being alive. He petitions against the futile pursuit of the “known self” and instead reveals the simple grace of just being present. In compelling prose, Shepherd asks us to surrender to the reality of “what is” that enables us to reunite with our own being. Each chapter is accompanied by exercises meant to bring Shepherd’s vision into daily life, what the author calls a practice that “facilitates the voluntary sabotage of long-standing patterns.” New Self, New World is at once a philosophical primer, a spiritual handbook, and a roaming inquiry into human history.

For the Food Lover..

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

by Barbara Kingsolver

This book chronicles the year that Barbara Kingsolver, along with her husband and two daughters, made a commitment to become locavores–those who eat only locally grown foods. This first entailed a move away from their home in non-food-producing Tuscon to a family farm in Virginia, where they got right down to the business of growing and raising their own food and supporting local farmers. For teens who grew up on supermarket offerings, the notion not only of growing one's own produce but also of harvesting one's own poultry was as foreign as the concept that different foods relate to different seasons. While the volume begins as an environmental treatise–the oil consumption related to transporting foodstuffs around the world is enormous–it ends, as the year ends, in a celebration of the food that physically nourishes even as the recipes and the memories of cooks and gardeners past nourish our hearts and souls. Although the book maintains that eating well is not a class issue, discussions of heirloom breeds and making cheese at home may strike some as high-flown; however, those looking for healthful alternatives to processed foods will find inspiration to seek out farmers' markets and to learn to cook and enjoy seasonal foods.

SPRINGING INTO SUMMER!!

Check out these great deals in our store for fabulous summer savings!

Dr. Hauschka Deals:

20% off All Decorative Cosmetics
Introducing the Summer Impressions Collection:
New, limited-edition bronzers, powder duos and make-up palettes.

Inside all of life, beauty lives. Revealing your beauty is a gift to the world and an appreciation of yourself. When you give your beauty to the world, the world reflects it back upon you tenfold. Dr.Hauschka Decorative Cosmetics come from nature. Made from botanicals and natural minerals, they not only enhance your beauty—they nurture your skin, helping you make it healthy, fresh and beautiful. Beauty is yours to embrace. Live life naturally. Live life beautifully.

Also, all Intensive Treatments, including Regenerating Day Creams - Eye Creams - Serums, ALL 20% off! Look your best this season:)

To compliment your look, add an Envirosax for all those runs to the Farmers Market..

Buy one Envirosax Bag and get the other 50%off!

Choose from Linen, Sling Sax or the Original, all in many colorful styles.

Happy Shopping!

~Watch this video to learn how to release tension in your hips~

As the weather heats up, stay cool with this

pranayamic technique to decrease body temperature!

Sitali which means cool, is a method of yogic breathing that reduces the fire energy principle we call pitta which is associated with catabolic processes in the body. Yogis likely have our animal friends to thank for this one - try it below and you be the judge.

EASY METHOD
1. Purse your lips into a tiny "o" shape, like a reaching kiss. Keep your tongue inside floating , so it doesn't touch teeth or gums.
2. Slowly inhale through your mouth, feel the cooled air. If your mouth becomes dry, be patient and slow it down more.
3. To exhale, use the tip of your tongue softly against the top inside roof of your mouth. Exhale even more slowly as you inhaled. The air will exit your nose, so feel the heat exiting too.

TRADITIONAL METHOD

1. Curl up the sides of your tongue and stick the tip outside your lips. Use your teeth gently to keep tongue in place, lips kept as relaxed as possible.
2. Inhale slowly as in step 2 above then exhale through your nose as in step 3.
3. In a more advanced method, breath is retained and chin locked against collarbone (jalandhara bandha).
To experience these instant cooling, calming effects, start with 3-4 minutes of relaxed practice. Never strain, never struggle. Rest about half way through and enjoy a few quiet moments afterward. To enhance your concentration think the word "cool" with each in-breath and the words "I am" with each out-breath. Now...SMILE.

FROM A STUDENTS' PERSPECTIVE
One yoga student reports that she combines Sitali with drinking plenty of room temperature water when she does outdoor work in the Houston summertime. "I used to get very overheated and suffer from complete exhaustion while doing heavy yard work. I'd be wiped out for the rest of my day." Her futile attempts to combat these effects by alternating heavy physical activity with lots of iced tea only increased these effects. After deciding to adopt a more yogic approach… "I take Sitali breaks in the shade and drink water without ice. I find myself cool, more energized and ready to go again."

Just watched this and I think it explains why All That Matters is here...to support folks who are ready to live well. Click Here. Joan

Looking for a little advice, pick me-up or just another reason to feel inspired?

Besides the wonderful words of our yoga teachers, we've got some great new "daily" books in the store, from positive affirmations to ways to the save the Earth. We would love to share some excerpts for you now~

From: 365 Ways to Save the Earth

Use heat for weeding. You can sidpense with chemical herbidie, for example, by using heat: Pour boiling water on the weeds. The weeds darken almost immediately and turn brown withing a few hours, much like the effect of a contact herbicide, but there is no toxic residue and the area is immediately safe for children.

From: Wisdom - 365 Throughts from Indian Masters

You have to stand against the whole world although you may hav eto stand alone. You have to stare the world in the face although the world may look at your with a bloodshoot eye. Do not fear. Trust that little thing in you which resides in the heart and says: forsake friends, wife, all, but testify to that for which you have lived and for which you have to die.-Mahatma Gandhi

From: 365 Tao-Daily Meditations

Be still to know the absolute.

Be active to know the outer.

The two spring from the same source,

all of life is one whole.

Meet Bob Votava our featured student of the month!
Bob is a friendly and active yogi that represents All That Matters well!


When did you start yoga and what attracted you to the practice: I was first introduced to Transcendental Meditation I would read related books but it wasn’t until years later when I realized what an asset All That Matters is to Wakefield.
What is your favorite style of yoga: I have only gone to the 50+ classes, and even though my family has ventured off to other classes, I’m afraid to leave my senior cocoon.
What other activities do you enjoy: Working with community organizations, traveling and exploring back roads both here and abroad, many times doing this on my bike.
Favorite sound: The voice of the one you love. Also, classical, opera or music by Pink Floyd:)
Least favorite sound: Morning Alarm clock...
Favorite meal: NY C Hot Dog! (w/ mustard and sauerkraut)

What keeps you doing yoga: For me, it has become a time to encounter Peace….it has
become somewhat of a religious experience.
Advice to beginners: Depending on age, yoga can offer different answers for different needs. For youth, it can offer a component to a more sustainable, less materialistic existence. For seniors, it’s more of a concern with staying healthy, but this will hopefully lead to a more rewarding philosophical experience.
What do you like most about All That Matters: I appreciate that Joan Dwyer has created such an all-encompassing facility in Wakefield, so close to home. She has helped make our town very special within RI.
Any other words of wisdom?: Don’t be afraid to step outside your definition of security. Allow yourself the joy of experiencing different ideas, cultures, food...and of course, people!

Much to save in the month of May!

It must be all the beautiful blooming flowers or maybe the increase of Vitamin D, either way we want to give you

20% off ALL THINGS ROSE in the store!!

This includes facial care products by Dr. Hauschka, Weleda, Badger and more!


A picture of haromny, the rose plant is considered perfectly balanced in root, stem and blossom. Rose extracts, essential oils, and waxes are beneficial for their protective, soothing and balancing properties to the skin.




Also, take 20% off all books by Christiane Northup, M.D.

Choose from: Women's Bodies-Women's Wisom , Mother-Daughter Wisdom, The Wisdom of Menopause, and others!

Some praise for Christiane - acclaimed and renowned author and speaker:

"Her books are masterpieces for every woman who has an interest in her body, her mind, and her soul" -Caroline Myss, Ph.D.

"I recommend her books to all women and also to all men who want to understand and nourish the women in their lives"-Deepak Chopra, M.D

So stop on into the Store where we are always happy to help you find what you are looking for and point out the latest in discounts and more:)

This mothers day, let's also share the love with our connected mother - mother earth!
We offer many environmentally friendly products in our store that not only help to reduce our carbon footprint but that also teach us how to really reduce, reuse and recycle that which is good.

Take a peak at this video which shows our top 5 eco-friendly products!
(maybe you will even want to get one for your own mother :) )