Yoga in Beirut - Interview with Aaed Ghanem

"Yoga offers an efficient way to shift from the ego to the hear"

Aaed Ghanem discovered yoga at the age of 15 in the first Indian book on Yoga translated to Arabic (Yoga Prolongs your life by Sri Yogindra). “I got pulled towards that book. I picked it up from the shelf and started reading and practicing every thing that was described in it.” Aaed was hooked. From then on he worked on deepening his understanding of the yoga philosophy and his practice of asana (postures). In 2006, he studied Thai Yoga and Thai Massage. He went to Madurai, in Southern India where he took his first yoga certification from the Sivananda yoga vedanta center, Meenakshi Ashram in 2008. Then to the Himalaya, Uttarkashi where he attended the Sadhana Intensive on the Banks of Ganga. Lately to LA where he received The Bikram Yoga Certification or known as Hot Yoga.

Aaed began teaching Yoga in Beirut,Hamra in 2008. “During this time, yoga was not known as it is today, with less than 10 practitioners in a session. Classes were relatively small. Nowadays, it is more popular and my average attendance varies between 25 to 30 or more students in one session.” I asked Aaed why, in his opinion, did yoga grow to become so popular?

Expansion of yoga in Beirut and Lebanon

Aaed in Utkatasana (chair pose)

“It is the right time for Yoga. We are living in times where we have reached the last level in our descent, and now we are rising in consciousness into a fourth dimension merging this new level into the experiences of our day to day life". He adds that “Yoga offers an efficient way to shift from the ego to the heart, from the blunt disturbed agitated mind to the serene tranquil and joyful loving Heart.” For Aaed, Yoga is a tool for personal growth. He however notes that many people do not initially start yoga for that purpose. “The popularity of Yoga in the West, mainly in the US, has contributed greatly to its expansion in Lebanon. But as a result many students come to practice because they want to tone up their body and loose weight through a good sweat.” No matter for what reasons his students attend his class, Aaed is a dedicated teacher. For the last few years, he’s been teaching throughout Beirut in yoga studios and in the major fitness clubs.

“He has Yoga written all over him!” told me a friend who recently started taking classes with Aaed. After meeting and seating with Aaed I couldn’t agree more with her. He breathes and lives yoga, and he loves it!


Contact Aaed by email.

Read More

Is Stress Contagious?

Stress in others appears to affect our own emotions. And it doesn’t just happen with direct interaction like when a family member shares his worries with us, or our stressed out boss pressures us to get things done. It can happen by just seeing someone manifesting signs of stress. It often takes place under the radar of our consciousness. You have a glimpse of a colleague who is frowning his eyebrows, you hear him sigh, and you start feeling some of his distress. Why is that?

Seeing and feeling

Our nervous system has the ability to pick up in others very subtle clues: facial expression, body movements, breathing patterns, etc. It happens unconsciously due to mirror neurons (see box below). These neurons that are part of the autonomic system fire automatically when an action is taking place, but also when that same action is observed. If you watch someone furrow their brow and tighten their jaw, the neurons required to do the same facial expression will be activated in your brain, although your face doesn’t change. The same process can stimulate the feelings and emotions linked to the actions observed. In that case, worries and negative mood.

2 steps to stop the contagion!

Even though this mechanism appears to make us vulnerable to how others feel, it is in reality an essential part of living in society. Indeed, these mirror neurons allow us to feel what others are going through. Now, how to not get overwhelmed by the stress from other people? There are 2 things we can do. First, be vigilant about our body. If we start to slouch and hold our breath, catch it on time before we start to feel down for no apparent reason. Stand up straight, take a nice breath, go for a walk, or do whatever you have to do to shake off the tension. Second action we can take, if the situation allows it, is to go up to the person manifesting signs of stress and just ask them how they are feeling. 2-3 minutes of attentive listening can go a long way in helping the other person feeling understood. It will often offer her some relief for the good of all.

Mirror neurons: we neurologically mimic what others do

Mirror Neurons were discovered in 1995 by an Italian team of researchers in psycho-neurology. The discovery happened, as major discoveries often do, by chance. They were studying the brain function of a monkey. During their lunchtime, as they started to eat a pizza, they noticed that the scanner to which the monkey was hooked started to ring. The animal was nonetheless seating quietly looking at the researchers who were eating.  As Professor Giacomo Rizzolatti, the lead researcher, looked closer at the scanner, he noticed that the monkey, when he saw the men reaching for the pizza, was firing the same neurons he would have to move his right arm. That initial discovery was further studied over the following decade, and major research center like the Center for Brain and Cognition at the University of California, confirmed the mimetic function of neurons.

Read More

Oat Meal with Flax Seek, a Great Breakfast! (Video, Eng)

‘Healthy Foods’ with Layane Makarem

Layane Makarem opened with her friend Sabine the first certified organic store in Lebanon. Located in Achrafieh, Beirut, A New Earth opened its doors in 2009 offering a wide selection of organic and healthy foods.

In this video, Layane tells us about the great benefits of eating Oat for breakfast. Sprinkle your oat with crushed flax seed (2 spoons give you your omega3 needs), add some dry fruits or honey, hot water (or rice milk) and you got yourself a super breakfast high in fibers, rich in proteins, essential fatty acids, and anti-oxidants.

You can contact Layane by email and join her Facebook page.

 Enjoyed the video? Give us your feedback!

Cold or Heat? Which Therapy Do I Use, and When?

 I often hear this question. Most people know that applying heat or cold can be beneficial but they are not sure when to use what. In this post I will try to answer this question. Let’s start with cold therapies.

Hot or cold? 

One simple thing to remember:

 Touch the area of pain or injury. 

If it is warmer than the rest of 

your body don’t put heat on it. Use cold.

Using cold

Cold therapy is commonly used during the first 48 hours of an injury (presence of inflammation). The application of cold can take many forms: cold packs, cold cloth, crushed ice compress, and ice baths. When cold therapy (also called cryotherapy) is used, the blood vessels narrow, which will decrease the blood flow to the injured area, thus reducing the swelling. By its numbing effect, cryotherapy also reduces pain. In addition, cold can help ease a muscle spasm.

Use cold safely

- Use it for an average of 20 minutes (don’t exceed 30 minutes). Wait a minimum of two hours before reapplying cold to allow the skin to regain normal temperature and prevent frostbite.

- Wrap the ice packs in a towel before applying to skin.

- The normal sensations are in this sequence: cold, burning, aching, numb.

When to not use cold

- If you feel your heart racing with a cold application.

- On open or infected wounds.

- When there is already numbness in the skin.

- With Poor circulation.

Hot therapy

Moist heat (wet cloth, warm bath) 

is more effective than dry heat.

Heat is indicated in sub-acute and chronic conditions (after 48hrs when there is no more swelling). The heat (applied through electric pads, hot water bottles, hot gel packs, or via a warm bath) dilates blood vessels, which promotes an increased blood flow.  This will bring nutrients and oxygen helping with the healing process. It also help to decrease pain, muscle spasm and tightness, and joint stiffness. Moist heat (wet warmed cloth, warm bath) is more efficient than dry heat because it reaches deeper within the body tissues.

Heating up carefully

- Put a towel between the hot pack and the skin to prevent skin irritation and burns.

- Apply hot packs for 15 minutes (20 minutes maximum).

- If you experience strong discomfort, discontinue treatment.

- Don’t sleep with it.

When to avoid heat

- During the acute phase (if the zone is warm to touch don’t heat it)

- Impaired circulation.

- On injured skin (bruised areas).

- Decreased sensation to heat.

- Infected areas.

- Areas of numb skin

Alternating cold and hot

Passed the acute phase (only cold), you can do a session of alternating cold and hot. Try two minutes hot followed by two minutes cold and repeat 6 times. That will help to stimulate circulation. It will flush the waste material and bring the elements necessary for healing. I like this third option.

Now that you have the basics you can safely use this effective thermal therapy. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comment box.

Did you find this post useful? Sign in to our subscription list to stay in touch!

Read More