Health and Fitness

[click "Play", Susan speaks with Kristin Holbrook about Paige Hamilton's bags and "Clutch for the Cause"]

 

Coco_rust_web Relationships are everything in the town of Telluride. For better or for worse. The San Miguel Resource Center kicks in when interpersonal dynamics go on the fritz. It is the region's only nonprofit serving victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.

Kristin Holbrook, owner of one of Telluride's most popular Main Street boutiques, is a board member of the Resource Center. Last year, she hatched a plan for an unconventional fundraiser for the non-profit: Clutch for the Cause, launches this year on Thursday, July 21, with a cocktail party at Two Skirts, 4 – 7 p.m.

The following is from an on-and-off series about summer hikes by Deb Dion Kees, who blogs for Telluride HIking Guide.

IMG_1198Don’t look down, I reminded myself. I could feel my breathing get choppy, and even though we were above 13,000 feet in elevation, I knew it wasn’t from the exertion of being at altitude—it was fear. The serrated ridgeline, sharp and snow-covered, stretched out hundreds of feet ahead of me and I dug my trail running shoes into each icy step, hoping it would hold. Don’t look down.

It was probably a couple of weeks too early in the summer to do it, and I definitely should have brought an ice axe, but the Telluride Peak Traverse still ranks as my all-time favorite hike. The Traverse is one of the new routes in the upcoming third edition of Telluride Hiking Guide, and even later in the season, when the high alpine basins and the knife-edge of a ridgeline are no longer coated with stubborn spring snow, it is a serious adventure.

[click "Play", Allison English talks about her path to Yoga]

 

AllisonEnglish Allison English among the top tier list of presenters scheduled to teach at the 4th annual Telluride Yoga Festival, July 14 – July 17

Allison is a certified Forrest Yoga instructor and faculty teacher trainer at Pure Yoga. She has completed over 1000 hours of training through the Foundation and Advanced Forrest Yoga Teacher Certification programs and was voted "Best Yoga Instructor – Chicago" in 2008. Nevertheless, Allison is not content to rest on her laurels: she continues to deepen her teaching skills and intensify her personal practice by attending workshops, teacher trainings, and intensive practices with her guru, Ana Forrest.

[click "Play" to hear Susan's conversation with Mark Whitwell]

 

Mark-whitwell Telluride Inside... and Out celebrates the return of guest presenter Mark Whitwell to the Telluride Yoga Festival, this year, July 14 – July 17. And this one is personal: no teacher influenced by personal practice or my teaching more than this wise, funny, compassionate man whom I got to know at last year's event.

Mark Whitwell thumbs his nose at the circus of gonzo asanas (postures), focusing instead on the elegant simplicity of breath-generated movement. He learned how to develop an authentic yoga practice based on the specific needs of the individual sitting at the feet of the master,T. Krishnamacharya.

[click "Play" to listen to Sean Johnson's conversation with Susan]

 

Sean Johnson At Jazz Fest It was music to our ears to learn that Sean Johnson and his Wild Lotus Band will make an appearance at the 4th annual Telluride Yoga Festival. This summer, the event takes place Thursday – Sunday, July 14 – July 17.

Kirtan derives from the Sanskrit (the language of yoga) "kirtanam," meaning praise or eulogy. The term refers to devotional group singing of mantras, sounds charged with psychospiritual powers. It is a well-documented fact that prolonged and concentrated chanting of these sounds, even without a clear understanding of the literal meaning of the words, leads to positive alterations in consciousness.

[click "Play" to hear Susan's conversation with Dana Slamp]

 

Yoga central park king pidgeon (2) Aubrey Hackman, visionary founder of the Telluride Yoga Festival, July 14 – July 17, describes guest presenter Dana Slamp as a "vinyasa and bhakti yoga teacher, who truly embodies the integration of physical asana with the beauty of chanting and the practice of devotional yoga."

Dana Slamp, ERYT, was introduced to Yoga while completing her M.F.A. at American Conservatory Theatre. She earned her teaching certification from Sonic Yoga in New York City and completed Prenatal Teacher Training with Gurmukh at Golden Bridge Yoga in 2008. Dana continues her studies with Sri Dharma Mittra.

By Elisabeth Gick

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What makes the Compassion Festival a festival rather than a conference or symposium? The short answer is that a festival is more fun than a conference. There is art, there is food, there are things to look at, touch, hear, smell and taste.

The Compassion Festival, to be hosted this coming weekend by the Telluride Institute, may not have all those tempting ingredients, but a good number of them.

By Laura A. Cattell, PA-C

Ed. note: It's the Fourth of July, with local crowds on Telluride's Main Street soaking in the fun – and, if the weather gods are on our side – the sun. Sunscreens should be as much a part of the celebration as flags, fireworks and BBQ. This first installment of the Telluride Medical Center's new series, "To Your Health: Medical News You Can  Use" is all about sunscreens. This first post was created by Laura A Cattell, certified physician's assistant, Telluride Medical Center. You will meet the rest of the doctors, including the visiting doctors, as "To Your Health" unfolds. Look for the column every other Monday.

Dr. Laura Sunscreens remain the mainstay of a sun protection regimen as we enjoy all the amazing outdoor activities the Telluride region has to offer. Now picking a good safe sunscreen just got easier.

The FDA recently announced new rules for labeling of sunscreens and issued the following statement:

“Sunscreen ingredients are safe, and the benefits of regular sunscreen use far outweigh any potential risks.”

 

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By Elisabeth Gick

[click "Play" to listen to Elisabeth's conversation with Peter Gold]

Author/anthropologist Peter Gold is coming to the Telluride Institute’s Compassion for a World in Crisis Festival.

Peter Gold is a man of many titles - anthropologist, ethno musician, student of Buddhism, traveler, author, professor. Maybe it’s a result of his Buddhist training that he is so easy-going, with a great smile. He will give one of the keynote speeches at the Telluride Institute’s Compassion for a World in Crisis Festival, July 8 – 10.