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Archive for the 'Japanese Inspired Zen Clocks' Category
 Zen Alarm Clock Zen Awakening
Is waking up to a blaring alarm really necessary? Now & Zen founder Steve McIntosh thought there had to be a better way, so he invented alarm clocks with soft, repeating chimes that wake sleepers gently. “Unlike every other alarm clock on the market, these wake you up with an acoustic sound, not a recorded one,” he says. Referring to notes on the musical scale, he adds, “You hear either an E-toned chime bar or a B-tone, the same sounds used by musical therapists.”
Unlike the snooze button, which jerks you awake again and again, Now & Zen clocks wake you gradually. “The first chime sounds, and then it’s silent for the next three and a half minutes,” McIntosh explains. “Over 10 minutes, the chimes become closer together.”
McIntosh says satisfied customers include notoriously hard-to-wake teenagers—and their parents.
 Digital Zen Alarm Clocks and Timers, available in maple, walnut, bamboo, and black lacquer Now & Zen Digital Zen Alarm Clock in natural wood or bamboo case: $110 for B tone; $120 for E tone. (800) 779-6383
adapted from Natural Home Magazine, November/December 2009
Now & Zen – The Zen Alarm Clock Store
1638 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO 80302
(800) 779-6383
Posted in Bamboo Chime Clocks, Chime Alarm Clocks, Japanese Inspired Zen Clocks, Natural Awakening, Now & Zen Alarm Clocks, Progressive Awakening
 Decluttering a bedroom space, Digital Zen Alarm Clock What’s the first space in your home that experts recommend tackling when you declutter? If you said the living room, kitchen or foyer, guess again. It’s the bedroom.
“I always start with the bedroom,” says feng shui consultant Andrea Gerasimo of Menomonie, Wisconsin. “It’s your sanctuary.” Gerasimo cites studies showing that what you’re thinking when you nod off affects how you sleep and your mood when you wake up. So if your last mental image is of chaos and clutter, you’re not setting the right stage for quality sleep.
In your bedroom space, do you trip over piles of clothing, boxes, shoes and assorted tchotchkes? Are stacks of DVDs careening from your bedroom entertainment center? Or, perhaps you’ve placed your home office—with its tangle of computer and phone lines, file folders, sticky notes and miscellaneous office supplies—in your sleep space.
The good news is that you don’t have to remodel to streamline your bedroom.
Rearranging furniture (even better, removing a few items), decluttering and adopting a resolute mindset to keep your bedroom space harmonious and clutter-free are simple steps that can make a big difference.
Transform your bedroom from cluttered chaos to serene retreat with these easy tips.
1.Furniture: Less is More
Having too many dressers, tables and chairs jammed into a space—no matter how large—makes it feel smaller. And stuff attracts more stuff. As we add more pieces, we tend to fill them, inside and out.
Solutions:
■ Invite a friend with a fresh set of eyes over for a streamlining session. Move everything out, then open your mind to new arrangements. Bring in the pieces you love most until the room seems adequately furnished but not overly stuffed; the remaining furniture is probably unnecessary. Choose a Zen Alarm Clock for the space next to you bed on your table. Pick the Digital Zen Alarm Clock that has a lid that can be closed to further declutter your bedroom space.
 Bamboo Digital Chime Clock, closing the lid to the clock helps declutter your bedroom space ■ Think about what you can donate, use elsewhere or sell. Candidates for the chopping block may include exercise equipment, a dresser, even your television. Family manager coach Beth Dargis of Holland, Michigan, singles out dressers as occupying too much space in a room. (What’s more, their long, low surfaces invite clutter, she says.) Whenever possible, Dargis recommends replacing a dresser with a highboy, which holds roughly the same number of items but with a smaller footprint.
■ While everything is out of the room, consider spiffing up your walls with a fresh coat of no- or low-VOC paint (VOCs are volatile organic compounds that outgas into the air). If you want to change your window treatments to hemp or organic cotton, this is an ideal time. At the very least, give your bedroom a good, thorough cleaning before moving furniture back in.
2.Clothing: The Hidden Culprit
Anytime you declutter a bedroom, you invariably run into a surfeit of clothing, shoes and accessories. This accumulation is the root cause of a number of ills. “People cram in another piece of furniture instead of going through their wardrobes and getting rid of what no longer fits,” says New York interior designer John Loecke, author of the Organizing Idea Book (Taunton, 2006). Many times, Loecke has seen couples introduce substantial armoires to their bedroom space to accommodate one person’s wardrobe because the other’s has overtaken the closet.
 zen-like bedroom Solutions:
■ First, simply pare down. Set aside half a day (with a decluttering buddy, if you can find one) and go through your wardrobe ruthlessly, donating what no longer fits, what you haven’t worn in a year or two, and what’s outdated. Take everything out of the closet and put it in piles to donate or consign, trying on only the items you aren’t sure about. (In the process, I guarantee you’ll discover at least one “treasure” that you’ll want to reclaim!)
■ Once you’ve whittled down your wardrobe, adopt a practice I’ve been following for years. Put two containers in your closet: one for donation, one for consignment. As soon as I wear an item and decide it’s no longer for me, I place it directly into one of the boxes. As soon as one fills, I pop it in my car and drop it off at my charity or resale shop.
■ Once you’ve reduced your holdings, you’ll be surprised at the amount of space you’ve freed up. Before you begin to reload, take this moment to sort everything by category—separate all shirts, dresses, pantsuits and tops into categories. Organize shirts and blouses according to color, from light to dark, or by use, such as dress shirts and T-shirts. This system helps you see what you have. (If you still have more than your closet will bear, and if you have a climate-controlled attic or basement space, you can rotate out-of-season items.)
■ To further streamline, remove as much as possible from the closet floor. A hanging shoe rack helps get shoes up and in sight. The same goes for ties, belts, scarves and hats. As you organize your wardrobe, it’ll be easier—and obvious—to see what you have and which items to chuck.
3. Streamline Bedding
Sometimes the bed itself—including all the attendant bedding and pillows—can create visual clutter.
 how to declutter your bedroom space
Solutions:
■ Bed size—like just about everything else in America these days—has become supersized. But do you really need a king-size bed? When you’re shopping for your next bed, consider scaling back and opting for a smaller model—if not a full, then try a queen.
■ Also consider streamlining your bedding, says Lisa Quinn, San Francisco-based
interior designer and author of $500 Room Makeovers (Clarkson Potter, 2006). Instead of feathering your nest with brightly colored, matched bedding sets, why not go for basic whites or plain pieces in a limited color palette? If you spill red wine on your butterflies-in-flight pillowcases—or if your zebra-print bottom sheet fades more quickly than the flat—you’ll probably have to discard the entire set to achieve harmony. Plain pieces are interchangeable; you can simply make up any loss with a generic replacement. You also can pick up spare linens at thrift shops and consignment stores. “If your bedding is all white,” Quinn says, “it can take so much off your plate!”
■ Instead of piling on the pillows, pare down to only those you actually use. It makes for a Zen-like bed, and you don’t have to juggle all the extra “show” pillows when you get into bed at night.
4. No Place for Your (Home) Office
Your bedroom should be a pleasure palace or at least a haven for sleep and retreat—not a place where you pay bills, haggle and hassle.
Solutions:
■ If you’ve placed your home office in your bedroom space, try to issue an eviction notice. Any place in the house—including the kitchen, dining room or guest room—is better than your bedroom. A friend in Los Angeles converted a garden shed into a home office, giving her physical separation from her house and a discreet space to do her work as a freelance writer. Another enterprising Los Angeles friend (also a writer) bartered five hours a month of her writing and public relations services in exchange for free space in a lawyers’ office. They even threw in use of their copier.
■ If you see no other solution than putting your office in the bedroom, choose a place where you can shut the doors, such as a closet or computer armoire. Being able to physically close off your home office will help promote peace of mind and better sleep, which, in turn, will make you more productive when you work.
Daily Rituals
These rituals will improve your bedroom’s serenity quotient.
1. Make your bed every day—preferably when you get up in the morning and before you do anything else.
2. Open your draperies or blinds to let the sun shine in.
3. When you come home at the end of the day, hang your clothes or place them in the laundry basket. Avoid the temptation to drape them on a chair.
4. To avoid bedside clutter, keep just one of everything out: the book you’re reading; one bottle of lotion; one pair of slippers.
5. Finally, scrutinize every new item that you introduce into your bedroom. You can avoid the problem of accumulated clutter by making conscious choices in the first place.
 Bamboo Zen Clocks, progressive chime clock and timer adapted from Natural Home Magazine, November/December 2009 by Wanda Urbanska
Now & Zen – The Zen Alarm Clock Store
1638 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO 80302
(800) 779-6383
Posted in Bamboo Chime Clocks, Chime Alarm Clocks, Japanese Inspired Zen Clocks, Natural Awakening, Now & Zen Alarm Clocks, Sleep Habits, Well-being
 Meditation Pose, centering prayer Going through a divorce, my world was askew. Physically, I was paying attention to my core with exercise, but emotionally I was a wreck. When my yoga teacher, Claudia, who was also a Benedictine oblate at Holy Wisdom Seminary, told me about Father Thomas Keating and the Centering Prayer movement I wanted to be open. Keating (along with other Trappist monks) brought the concept to the American public in the mid 1980s, reviving a practice that had been prominent during the first sixteen centuries of Christianity. During the Reformation, this mystical experience was discarded in favor of Rationalism and it wasn’t until the Western World discovered Buddhist meditation that it became popular again.
The goal of Centering Prayer is to know God’s love and feel God’s grace. To do so, you must get quiet, focus on a sacred word of your choice, and relax and enjoy the moment. The result—at least sometimes—a mystical experience. What’s not to like?
Well, for me, the God stuff was a problem. Having left organized religion, I wasn’t sure I believed in prayer or God. But when seeking inner peace, it’s hard to ignore the value of prayer to comfort. Meditation is one path to serenity, said Claudia; prayer is another. They both calm the mind and open the heart.
I met Claudia in her meditation studio. Sitting cross-legged on a cushion, she struck a chime and had me repeat after her: “Be still and know that I am love” (a slight modification of Psalm 46:10). “Be still and know.” “Be still.” “Be.”
I tried to clear my mind of thoughts, focusing only on the sacred word I chose. I tried “Home,” thinking it is so close to “Om” that it will be easy to find my meditation point. Nothing. Then “Freedom,” “Peace,” “Nothingness.” Finally, I settled on the word “Divine,” and fell through time and clouds into a space where I felt comforted. Then the chime sounded. Twenty minutes had passed.
I didn’t know where I had been—it was like I had found a silent sanctuary in my mind that was there all along. Claudia says entering into Centering Prayer is similar to falling in love—all boundaries collapse and you feel authentic and fearless. The real payoff is in the regular practice of Centering Prayer. Knowing you will be calmed and comforted in the loving arms of the universe is a sweet retreat at the beginning or end of a day.
Although meditation can be done in almost any context, practitioners usually employ a quiet, tranquil space, a meditation cushion or bench, and some kind of timing device to time the meditation session. Ideally, the more these accoutrements can be integrated the better. Thus, it is conducive to a satisfying meditation practice to have a timer or clock that is tranquil and beautiful. Using a kitchen timer or beeper watch is less than ideal. And it was with these considerations in mind that we designed our digital Zen Alarm Clock and practice timer. This unique “Zen Clock” features a long-resonating acoustic chime that brings the meditation session to a gradual close, preserving the environment of stillness while also acting as an effective time signal.
adapted from Healing Lifestyles & Spas, by Judy Kirkwood, 2010
 Zen Chime Alarm Clock and Timer Now & Zen’s Meditation Timer Store
1638 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO 80302
Posted in Bamboo Chime Clocks, intention, Japanese Inspired Zen Clocks, Now & Zen Alarm Clocks
 zen-like bathroom retreat
Sometimes, in the words of William Wordsworth, “the world is too much with us.” There’s so much happening, so much to do. How do we stay sane?
Take a sensual bath.
“Frequently people look at the bathroom as a refuge or day spa for themselves,” says Jules Lambert, a kitchen and bath designer for DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen in Bellingham, Washington. “It’s a place they can escape from the kids, the television, the phone, their work.”
Ask people what their ideal bathroom would look like, and the details are delicious. “It would have a stone tile floor and a pebble composite-type sink with lots of natural light,” says Heather Pike, owner of PikeWorks Design Studios in Walls, Mississippi. “Balance that with a deeply textured rug for crawling out of the big tub, thick Egyptian cotton towels and, of course, candles. Lots of candles. And some fantastic smell, like rosemary, and a tray of gorgeous perfumes and soaps that I would use for only me. And lace somewhere.”
Sounds yummy, doesn’t it?
The biggest difference between the closet-size bath and the Cleopatra-like opulence is cost—to your pocketbook and to the environment. A full bathroom remodel might range anywhere from $3,000 to more than $20,000, depending on architectural changes, finish materials, and fixtures, and it will involve a hefty amount of natural resources and energy. But with some minor, earth-friendly modifications that introduce inviting colors, textures, and the right accessories, even a basic bathroom can become a personal sanctuary, a sensual space that nurtures the body and soothes the spirit. The key to a sensual bathroom is to remember all the senses.
 zen-like bathroom retreat Make it warm
“Warmth, warmth, more warmth!” wrote Spanish philosopher Miguel de Unamuno. “It is not the night that kills but the frost.” While a chilly bathroom probably won’t kill you, it doesn’t make for a pleasant sensual bath.
“You’re getting undressed in this room; you want it to be warm,” says Lambert, who frowns on forced-air heating because it “increases the wind chill. Plus, forced-air systems that turn off and on can’t keep surfaces warm.” Ideally, he says, the bathroom should have radiant heat. “That will keep everything in the room at a constant temperature, and the room’s heat will radiate back into your body.”
Towel warmers are another way to achieve radiant heat in the bathroom. Some models, such as Runtal’s Omnipanel, will work as the sole heat source in a bathroom up to 110 square feet. Larger rooms can be heated with two towel-warming units. Cost ranges from $600 to $1,000, depending on size.
Splash on color
Studies show that color can profoundly affect one’s mood, making it an important consideration in any interior design. For a soothing bathroom, consider the color spectrum’s cooler end. Blues generate feelings of tranquility. Greens are associated with calm and healing. Both colors can wax warmer by adding yellow or red undertones.
For a warm atmosphere, yellow, considered highly stimulating, can evoke cheerfulness. Red, suggestive of danger and excitement, arouses some and disturbs others. Ironically, diluted red (pink) is so tranquilizing that it’s now used in some prisons to suppress hostile behavior.
Catherine Hobbs, owner of Studio Frank in Telluride, Colorado, has a conservative approach. “From the designer position, it is important to create a grounded, sustainable background in the space,” she says. “If someone wants a sensual bathroom, I see creams, beiges, greens—colors that create a lighter, brighter feel—bright, but not harsh. For instance, off-white is much more soothing than white-white.”
Connect with the earth
Hobbs prefers natural materials in the bathroom. “We have an attachment to our past on this earth,” she says, “so when we walk into a room that uses materials such as limestone and wood, we get a feeling that is warm and relaxing, even if we don’t know why. In a sensual bathroom, I don’t see anything too glitzy or polished—more things that are raw—things that bring us back to home and to the earth.”
Wood adds warmth, rich color, and texture that can balance the coolness of stone, glass, and metal. Cedar and teak are decay-resistant and better suited to wet areas, but cabinets, wall finishes, even floors can be made from almost any wood if properly protected. As with paints, choose low-VOC finishes.
“And I’d like to see fabric,” Hobbs says. “Raw linen or raw hemp would make nice sheer window coverings. They’d also work well to cover a cushion on a bench or chair if you have room—a comfortable piece lets you really relax and spend some time there.”
The nose knows
One of the least expensive senses to satisfy is the sense of smell. “You can use essential oils to uplift and de-stress,” says Bobbi Lacroix, manager of product development at Green Valley Aromatherapy in Courtenay, BC, Canada. “Geranium is an antidepressant, great for picking you up as opposed to stimulating you. Lavender is calming and soothing. Rose, jasmine, and neroli [from the flower of the bitter orange tree] are aphrodisiacs.”
To use pure essential oils, add four to six drops to running bath water. You can also use a diffuser—warmed either by electricity or tea light candles. “I like using the tea lights so I have the added benefit of the candles—and candles are always a nice part of a sensuous bathroom,” Lacroix says. Select beeswax or soybean candles to keep the air chemical-free.
 Pure essential oils added to a sensual bath For soothing sore muscles, add pure essential oils to Epsom salts—five or six drops of oil to a half cup of salts—then add to running water. Or for post-bath aromatherapy, add one drop of essential oil to one milliliter of sweet almond oil or sunflower oil. Beware of using petrochemical-based oils, such as baby oil, which clog your pores.
As an alternative to oils, fresh flowers in a sensual bath provide both scent and beauty. Pike suggests gardenias—soft and velvety white. “Hyacinth is a good water plant, too,” she says, “with an intoxicating scent. And magnolias, if you can get them, have a rich lemony smell.”
 Orchid with Wood Vase
To help you breathe deeply, you’ll need ventilation to remove stale air and moisture. An operable window is ideal—plus it adds natural light to the room. For windowless rooms, Lambert recommends Panasonic Whisper Lite bathroom fans. “They have low sone ratings—from 0.5 to 1.5. That means very quiet.” Cost is around $300.
Either revel in the near-silence or relax to music. “Music in the bathroom really sets the tone,” Lambert says. “I recommend people run some good wire from their stereo system into the bathroom and install a discreet speaker like the Stealth Speaker System from Dimensional Communications. You can’t even see it—it looks like drywall.”
The secret
High-end bathrooms might also boast spa-like accessories such as jetted tubs, steam showers, and saunas. But the secret to enjoying a sensual bathroom is to make the time to be in it. So lock the door. Draw the bath. Take a deep breath. Now steep.
Flat Towels?
Ever wonder why your organic cotton towels seem to lack the fluffiness you find in those chemical-laden ones? Because cotton is not naturally absorbent, harsh chemicals are often used to add bounce during the finishing process. You can get that feel in untreated organic cotton towels by filling your washing machine with hot water, then adding a detergent that contains washing soda (sodium carbonate) and 1 cup of cider or white vinegar. Soak your towels for one hour, then wash in the same water. Voila! All the fluff— none of the chemicals.
Zen Timer, a Meditation Tool
Remember to add a Zen Clock to your bathroom so that you can end your heavenly soak with a beautiful chime.
Zen Alarm Clock Sounds for the Bath
Music makes the bathing experience a true retreat because it blocks out distracting noises and transports you to another realm. Here are a few recommendations to enhance your next sensual bath.
For healing
Gabrielle Roth and the Mirrors: Refuge (Raven, 1998)
For relaxation
ad dios: Aquatica—Aspects of Water (www.wellnessmusic.com)
For inspiration
Rafael Toral: Sound Mind Sound Body (Moikai Records, 2000)
For meditation
Krishna Das: Breath of the Heart (Razor and Tie, 2001)
For a natural high
Orb: The Orb’s Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld (Island Red, 1991)
For a dreamy groove
Morcheeba: Big Calm (Sire, 1998)
Use our unique “Zen Clock” which functions as a Yoga Timer. It features a long-resonating acoustic chime that brings your meditation or yoga session to a gradual close, preserving the environment of stillness while also acting as an effective time signal. Our Yoga Timer & Clock can be programmed to chime at the end of the meditation or yoga session or periodically throughout the session as a kind of sonic yantra. The beauty and functionality of the Zen Clock/Timer makes it a meditation tool that can actually help you “make time” for meditation in your life. Bring yourself back to balance.
 Singing Bowl Clocks and Timers for Meditation adapted from Natural Home Magazine, September/October, 2002 by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
Now & Zen – The Zen Alarm Clock and Chime Timer Store
1638 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO 80302
(800) 779-6383
Posted in Bamboo Chime Clocks, Japanese Inspired Zen Clocks, Now & Zen Alarm Clocks
 Orchid Sun Salutation
Perform asanas each time with a fresh mind and with a fresh approach.
1. Tadasana
Translation
Mountain Pose
 yoga mountain pose How to Do It
Stand with big toes touching, heels slightly apart. Create a straight line from ear to shoulder to hip to knee to heel. Relax your shoulders. Engage the legs; lift your kneecaps. Bring your hands together in front of your heart, keeping the collarbones and chest broad. Lift the crown of the head upward, as you take deep breaths in and out through your nose.
Modification
Stand with your feet hip-width apart, toes facing forward.
What It Does
Energizes the legs and focuses your attention, grounding you in the present moment.
 yoga upward hand pose 2. Urdhva hastasana
Translation
Upward Hand Pose
How to Do It
On an inhalation, sweep your arms out to your sides and bring the palms to touch up above your head, keeping your shoulders down. Reach through the sides of your body so your torso becomes long, gently bringing your gaze to your hands.
Modification
If you begin to feel compression in the shoulders, keep your hands 6 inches apart, palms facing each other, and look straight ahead.
What It Does
Opens the chest area and the lungs, increasing your lung capacity. “From the yogic perspective,” says Rea, “this pose activates the solar, or expansive, energy in your being.”
 yoga forward bend 3. Uttanasana
Translation
Standing Forward Bend
How to Do It
As you exhale, sweep your arms out to the sides and bend at the hips to come into a deep forward bend. Bring your fingertips to the floor alongside your feet. Let your head gently release toward the floor.
Modification
If you feel tight in your hamstrings or lower back, bend your knees so that you can bring the fingertips to the floor, or rest your hands on blocks.
What It Does
Stretches the backs of the legs and lengthens the spine. “This bowing forward is the essence of the Sun Salutation,” Rea explains. “You are bowing to the perfection of our solar system — how we’re moving around the sun and how it forms the rhythm of our life.”
 yoga lunge pose 4. Lunge Pose
How to Do It
Keeping your fingertips where they are, inhale and take a giant step back with the right foot. The left knee bends at a 90-degree angle. (Note: In your subsequent rounds of Sun Salutation, alternate the lunging leg to keep both sides of the body evenly balanced.)
What It Does
Opens the legs and pelvis; warms up and energizes the base of the body; elongates the spine.
 yoga plank pose 5. Plank Pose
How To Do It
As you exhale, bring your palms to the floor and step the left foot back to meet the right (a starting push-up position). Grip the mat with your fingers to take the weight off your wrists. Reach the top of your head forward and your heels back. Engage the abdominal muscles to come into one even line. Be careful not to let the hips either rise up higher than the lower back or sink down toward the floor.
What It Does
Activates the entire body; builds upper-body and core strength; creates heat; develops your sense of confidence and power.
 yoga four-limbed staff pose 6. Chaturanga Dandasana
Translation
Four-Limbed Staff Pose
How to Do It
At the end of an exhalation, bend your elbows straight back and lower your body down to the bottom of a push-up. Keep elbows close to your sides. Continue lengthening through the heels and the crown of the head to keep your entire body long and engaged, as you draw the navel in to activate your core muscles.
Modification
Lower the knees to the mat, coming into a modified push-up.
What It Does
This pose helps to build strength throughout the entire body. “Being strong is just as important as being flexible,” notes Rea.
 yoga upward facing dog 7. Urdhva mukha svanasana
Translation
Upward-Facing Dog
How to Do It
As you inhale, roll forward over your toes and straighten your arms. Your hips, thighs, and shins should all be off the floor. Press into the tops of your feet and palms, as you melt the heart forward past your arms. Gaze straight ahead.
Modification
Come into cobra pose instead: Rest hips and legs on the floor and straighten the arms comfortably, reaching the chest forward through the arms.
What It Does
Creates suppleness in the spine while opening the chest, lungs, and heart. So vital to our well-being, this area is frequently compromised by chronic bad posture. “Creating openness across the chest is strengthening and revitalizing,” explains Rea.
 yoga downward facing dog pose 8. Aadho mukha svanasana
Translation
Downward-Facing Dog
How to Do It
As you exhale, roll back over the toes and lift the hips to come into an inverted V shape. Press your fingers into the mat and reach the thighs back, lengthening the sides of the body and the spine. Keep your shoulders down. Release the weight of your head.
Modification
If the hamstrings or lower back feel tight, bend your knees slightly. If you are unable to keep your arms straight, bring the knees to the floor and push back into Child’s Pose.
What It Does
Serves as a counterpose to Upward-Facing Dog; cools the mind; improves circulation.
 yoga lunge pose 9. Lunge Pose
How to Do It
As you inhale, step forward with the leg you initially stepped back with, coming back into Lunge pose. Keep your front knee at a 90-degree angle and your fingertips on either side of the front foot.
10. Uttanasana
How to Do It
Exhale and step your back foot forward; fold over your straightened legs, keeping your fingertips on the floor. Take a moment to notice whether your hamstrings or back muscles feel any looser than they did at the beginning of the cycle.
12. Tadasana
How to Do It
Exhale and float your arms back into prayer position. Keep the chest broad, the legs engaged, and the spine long as you enjoy the stillness of this pose. You can choose to end your session here or go on for another round.
Use our unique “Zen Clock” which functions as a Yoga Timer. It features a long-resonating acoustic chime that brings your meditation or yoga session to a gradual close, preserving the environment of stillness while also acting as an effective time signal. Our Yoga Timer & Clock can be programmed to chime at the end of the meditation or yoga session or periodically throughout the session as a kind of sonic yantra. The beauty and functionality of the Zen Clock/Timer makes it a meditation tool that can actually help you “make time” for meditation in your life. Bring yourself back to balance.
adapted from Body + Soul Magazine
 Digital Zen Yoga Timer in Walnut Finish Now & Zen’s Yoga Timer Store
1638 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO 80302
(800) 779-6383
Posted in Bamboo Chime Clocks, Chime Alarm Clocks, Japanese Inspired Zen Clocks, Yoga Timer, Yoga Timers by Now & Zen
 creating a sacred space in your garden “According to mystics, spaces aren’t sacred because of their location but because of all the prayers said on that land,” Chris Prelitz says. He offers these tips for creating sacred space outdoors.
• Find a place that’s quiet and peaceful. “Your best clue is to notice where your cats hang out,” Chris notes.
• Transform an ugly spot. Damaged land offers an opportunity for healing. Spending time in meditation and prayer at a certain place helps sanctify it.
• Remind yourself of your oneness with Creation. Place statues, art, water, candles, crystals, or stones engraved with inspiring words in your garden.
• Make places to rest. Place a chair or bench in a comfortable spot, then sit quietly. Spend time “being” rather than doing. Set your Zen Timepiece for a 20 minute meditation.
 Zen Timepiece, tibetan singing bowl timer and clock • Create ceremonies. Burn incense or sage. Write your prayers and intentions on colorful strips of paper and bury them or tie them to branches. Plant a tree as part of a ceremony. Host a wedding. Start a garden meditation circle with family and friends.
Use our unique “Zen Clock” which functions as a Yoga and Meditation Timer. It features a long-resonating acoustic chime that brings your meditation or yoga session to a gradual close, preserving the environment of stillness while also acting as an effective time signal. Our Yoga Timer & Clock can be programmed to chime at the end of the meditation or yoga session or periodically throughout the session as a kind of sonic yantra. The beauty and functionality of the Zen Clock/Timer makes it a meditation tool that can actually help you “make time” for meditation in your life. Bring yourself back to balance.
adapted from Natural Home Magazine, June/July 2005 by Marsha Scarbrough
 stillness in the garden Now & Zen’s Singing Bowl Timer Store
1638 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO 80302
(800) 779-6383
Posted in Bamboo Chime Clocks, Chime Alarm Clocks, Japanese Inspired Zen Clocks, mindfulness practice, Now & Zen Alarm Clocks, Well-being
 drink more tea Drink more tea.
When the whole Starbucks craze started, I always felt left out when my girlfriends wanted to meet for coffee because while I love the aroma of fresh brewed coffee, the taste makes me gag and cringe. But then a friend turned me onto hot tea, and things have never been the same since.
I love hot tea for many reasons. For one, it has turned out to be my herbal Xanax. It calms me when I’m feeling anxious, and comforts me when I’m having a rough day. I’m known for being freezing cold at all times, so I enjoy holding a hot mug while reading a book or people watching. These are all of my emotional reasons for drinking tea, but here are 10 health reasons to make the switch!
- Tea contains antioxidants that protect your body from the ravages of aging and the effects of pollution.
- Tea has less caffeine than coffee. An eight-ounce cup of coffee contains around 135 mg caffeine; tea contains only 30 to 40 mg per cup. If drinking coffee gives you the jitters, causes indigestion or headaches or interferes with sleep — switch to tea.
- Tea may reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke. Drinking tea may help keep your arteries smooth and clog-free, the same way a drain keeps your bathroom pipes clear.
- Tea protects your bones. It’s not just the milk added to tea that builds strong bones. One study that compared tea drinkers with non-drinkers, found that people who drank tea for 10 or more years had the strongest bones, even after adjusting for age, body weight, exercise, smoking and other risk factors.
- Tea gives you a sweet smile. Tea itself actually contains fluoride and tannins that may keep plaque at bay. So add unsweetened tea drinking to your daily dental routine of brushing and flossing for healthier teeth and gums.
- Tea bolsters your immune defenses. Drinking tea may help your body’s immune system fight off infections.
- Tea protects against cancer. Thank the polyphenols, the antioxidants found in tea, once again for their cancer-fighting effects.
 tea
- Tea helps keep you hydrated. The only time the caffeine becomes a problem as far as fluid is concerned is when you drink more than five or six cups of a caffeinated beverage at one time.
- Tea is calorie-free. Tea doesn’t have any calories, unless you add sweetener or milk. If you’re looking for a satisfying, calorie-free beverage, tea is a top choice.
- Tea increases your metabolism. Green tea has been shown to actually increase metabolic rate so that you can burn 70 to 80 additional calories by drinking just five cups of green tea per day. Over a year’s time you could lose eight pounds just by drinking green tea. Of course, taking a 15-minute walk every day will also burn calories.
People frequently wonder which tea is better – green, black, or white? To be honest with you, there really isn’t enough difference to get overly excited about. All teas generally contain the same amount of flavonoids. Green and black teas come from the same plants, but green tea is dried for a shorter time and doesn’t go through a fermenting process used for black tea.
“The Zen Alarm Clock & Chime Timer’, uses soothing acoustic chimes that signal it’s time – gently and gradually.
Rather than an artificial recorded sound played through a speaker, the Zen Clock features an alloy chime bar similar to a wind chime. When the clock’s alarm is triggered, its chime produces a long-resonating, beautiful acoustic tone reminiscent of a temple gong.
adapted from Ode Magazine, Feb. 2009
 Digital Zen Alarm Clock, a perfect tea timer Now & Zen’s Chime Timer Store
1638 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO 80302
(800) 779-6383
Posted in Bamboo Chime Clocks, Japanese Inspired Zen Clocks, Zen Timers
 Toyokuni Utagawa, Flower Arrangement By skillfully managing your attention, you’re able to both experience life in a balanced way and stay oriented in a positive, productive direction. John Milton might have been thinking of the power of focus when he wrote: “The mind is its own place, and in itself / Can make a heav’n of hell, a hell of heav’n.”
Like consciousness or mind, attention is a complex neurological and behavioral business. There’s no tidy “attention center” in the brain. Instead, an ensemble of alerting, orienting, and executive networks collaborate to attune you to what’s going on in your inner or outer world in a coherent way that points you toward an appropriate response.
Along with performing the Apollonian task of organizing your world, attention enables you to have the kind of Dionysian experience beautifully described by the old-fashioned term rapt—completely absorbed, engrossed, fascinated, perhaps even “carried away”—that underlies life’s deepest pleasures, from the scholar’s study to the carpenter’s craft to the lover’s obsession. Some individuals slip into it more readily, but research shows that with some reflection, experimentation, and practice, all of us can cultivate this profoundly attentive state and experience it more often.
Considering attention’s importance, it’s surprising that until recently, science has come up with few strategies to improve it. Most new strategies have a “back to the future” quality derived from their origin in meditation, secularized and made amenable to scientific study. These cognitive regimens can strengthen attention and are both free and safe, all of which must appeal to the 78 million baby boomers and their aging children, who are equally concerned about maintaining their mental and physical health.
 Bamboo Alarm Clocks & Meditation Timers Deciding what to pay attention to for this hour, day, week, or year, much less a lifetime, is a peculiarly human predicament, and your quality of life largely depends on how you handle it. Moses got his focus from God; Picasso from his nearly supernatural creativity. We have other motivations and gifts, and most of us have to go through a more complicated process to find the right things to focus on. We must resist the temptation to drift along, reacting to whatever happens to us next, and deliberately select targets, from activities to relationships, that are worthy of our finite supplies of time and attention.
Perhaps the most important thing I’ve learned is that it shouldn’t take a crisis to show you that your life is the sum total of what you focus on or to make you question that your well-being depends on what happens to happen to you. After running that tough experiment, however, I have a plan for the rest of my life. I’ll choose my targets with care—writing a book or making a stew, visiting a friend or looking out a window—then give them my rapt attention. In short, I’ll live the focused life, because it’s the best kind there is.
Excerpted from Utne Reader, March/April 2010 from the book Rapt: Attention and the Focused Life by Winifred Gallagher
Although meditation can be done in almost any context, practitioners usually employ a quiet, tranquil space, a meditation cushion or bench, and some kind of timing device to time the meditation session. Ideally, the more these accoutrements can be integrated the better. Thus, it is conducive to a satisfying meditation practice to have a timer or clock that is tranquil and beautiful. Using a kitchen timer or beeper watch is less than ideal. And it was with these considerations in mind that we designed our digital Zen Alarm Clock and practice timer. This unique “Zen Clock” features a long-resonating acoustic chime that brings the meditation session to a gradual close, preserving the environment of stillness while also acting as an effective time signal.
 Zen Alarm Clocks with Chimes & Singing Bowls Now & Zen’s Chime Timer and Alarm Clock Store
1638 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO 80302
(800) 779-6383
Posted in Chime Alarm Clocks, Japanese Inspired Zen Clocks, Meditation Timers, Meditation Tools, Natural Awakening, Now & Zen Alarm Clocks
 yoga To find a yoga style that jibes with you, first consider whether your intentions are mainly physical, emotional, or spiritual, says Hansa, president of Yoga Alliance, an organization that registers yoga teachers nationwide. (She uses only one name.) Some people practice yoga for strength and flexibility, some crave relaxation, and some seek a connection with a higher power. (Some want all four.) There is no right or wrong reason to practice yoga, but different styles fulfill different needs. Just as if you were placing a personals ad, you need to think about what you want before you get started.
class consciousness
Yoga’s popularity has exploded of late—18 million Americans now regularly twist themselves into pretzels, more than double the number in 1997. But the sheer variety of classes to choose from can be daunting. Here’s a primer to help you decide what’s right for you.
 partner yoga ananda
founder: Swami Kriyananda
What it is: A gentle approach to postures, ananda yoga emphasizes calming the mind in preparation for meditation. Holding the postures is said to create self-awareness, and affirmations are often incorporated to enhance the poses.
Sign on if: You’re looking for a deeply spiritual experience that also builds strength and balance.
For more information: www.expandinglight.org
ashtanga
founder: K. Pattabhi Jois
What it is: The foundation of many “power yoga” or “power flow” classes, this fast-moving series of breath work and sweat-inducing poses is said to purify the mind and body. The room isn’t heated, but you’ll sweat anyway.
Sign on if: You like pushing your muscles to the max and conquering new heights of cardio endurance.
For more information: www.ayri.org
anusara
founder: John Friend
What it is: A dual focus on principles of alignment and physical expressiveness gives practitioners an in-depth understanding of the poses as well as a strong dose of spirituality. Although physically challenging, the style emphasizes accepting each student’s abilities.
Sign on if: You seek a physical and spiritual workout and are internally driven.
For more information: www.anusara.com
bikram
founder: Bikram Choudhury
What it is: Known as “yoga to the stars” because of its popularity in Hollywood, Bikram consists of a 90-minute series of 26 poses. Ideally, classrooms are heated to 105 degrees with 60 percent humidity to facilitate stretching and loosening of muscles and tendons.
Sign on if: You have a high tolerance for heat and respond well to a highly charged, athletic environment.
For more information: www.bikramyoga.com
iyengar
founder: B.K.S. Iyengar
 yoga What it is: Precision, alignment, and symmetry are key elements of an Iyengar class. Postures are held up to five minutes to build strength and encourage deep release. Props, such as blocks, belts, and blankets, help students hold difficult poses, but can also create a start-and-stop pace that some people don’t like.
Sign on if: You’re a detail-oriented person who likes to get things right, no matter how long it takes.
For more information: www.bksiyengar.com
kripalu
founder: Swami Kripalvananda
What it is: Slow-paced classes focus on creating an emotionally and physically safe learning environment. Offers a strong emphasis on mind-body integration.
Sign on if: Relaxation is just as important to you as building strength and increasing flexibility.
For more information: www.kripalu.org
kundalini
founder: Sikh master Yogi Bhajan
What it is: The focus is on freeing energy by awakening kundalini, the coiled energy located at the base of the spine. Despite its sexy reputation, kundalini emphasizes breathing exercises and chanting in lieu of a more physical practice.
Sign on if: The spiritual and emotional dimensions of yoga interest you more than getting a workout.
For more information: www.3HO.org
viniyoga
founder: T.K.V. Desikachar
What it is: A gentle style that incorporates asanas, chanting, breathing practices, and meditation, Viniyoga focuses on an individual’s needs and abilities.
Sign on if: You’re looking for a supportive and nurturing environment where your limitations are taken into consideration in each asana. Especially good for people with chronic health problems.
Use our unique “Zen Clock” which functions as a Yoga Timer. It features a long-resonating acoustic chime that brings your meditation or yoga session to a gradual close, preserving the environment of stillness while also acting as an effective time signal. Our Yoga Timer & Clock can be programmed to chime at the end of the meditation or yoga session or periodically throughout the session as a kind of sonic yantra. The beauty and functionality of the Zen Clock/Timer makes it a meditation tool that can actually help you “make time” for meditation in your life. Bring yourself back to balance.
 Singing Bowl Yoga Timer excerpted from Natural Solutions, June, 2003 by Catherine Guthrie
 Meditation & Yoga Timers and Clocks Now & Zen’s Yoga Timer
and Chime Alarm Clock
Store
1638 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO 80302
Posted in Chime Alarm Clocks, Japanese Inspired Zen Clocks, Meditation Timers, Meditation Tools, Now & Zen Alarm Clocks, Yoga Timer
 Honey Japanese Maple Leaves Zen Alarm Clock, calming alarm clock useful for remembering one's dreams Steve McIntosh is one of those spiritually driven achievers whom marketers define as part of the “cultural creatives” demographic group. He doesn’t shy away from that label; in fact, he believes that group is on the cultural frontier, making changes in their own lives that will influence our future.
It’s a movement that is going beyond materialism, but still expresses itself with certain material goods. “I want to be part of that culture. I want to express an aesthetic that would capture the mood of the time like the Tiffany lamp expressed the Art Nouveau culture prior to World War I,” McIntosh said.
The former investment banker and lawyer headed the Celestial Seasonings tea company, where, he said, he saw “how a brand can affect American culture.”
In the mid- 1990s, McIntosh was ready to set out on his own. “I wanted to create a line of consumer electronics that would use natural sounds, acoustic sounds that were housed in wood cases rather than plastic,” he said.
In 1996 in Boulder, Colo., he began his company Now & Zen, making the Zen Alarm Clock, (shown below, $119.95) a clock that emits chimes at intervals, and more recently introducing the Tibetan Phone Bell (shown above, $119) on the same principle — that sound should be beautiful and gentle.
His products “exemplify an aesthetic that combines elements of Zen, sacred geometry, classical Greece,” he said.
 zen The clock wakes the sleeper up with an initial chime, followed in 3 1/2 minutes by another, then in smaller intervals until it sounds each four seconds. That interval allows the sleeper to conclude a dream before waking, according to Now & Zen literature.
“Instead of jerking, you get this buffer between sleeping and waking that gives you your consciousness,” he said.
The Tibetan Phone Bell, which features a brass bowl from Asia, “replaces the artificial sound of a phone ringing,” McIntosh said. “Those electric sounds cause stress.”
The sounds of both products are based on an esoteric tradition that dictates what frequencies are most soothing to humans, he said.
Hardcore materialists may laugh, he said, but many people find the Zen Alarm Clock and the Phone Bell pleasant.
“You don’t have to be a Buddhist to appreciate an esthetically beautiful phone,” he said.
 Zen Alarm Clock in Maple Finish, Japanese Leaves Dial Face, harmony in design Now & Zen products are available at the Elephant Pharmacy in Berkeley; Planet Weavers Treasure, Zen Center Book Shop, Walden’s and the Tibet Shop in San Francisco; Body Wise and Siamese Dream in San Rafael; and Milk & Honey in Sebastopol or online at www.now-zen.com.
Excerpted from San Francisco Chronicle, March 2004 by Laura Thomas
 The Zen Clock Showroom Now & Zen – The Zen Alarm Clock Store
1638 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO 80302
(800) 779-6383
Posted in Chime Alarm Clocks, Japanese Inspired Zen Clocks, Meditation Timers, Meditation Tools, mindfulness practice, Natural Awakening, Now & Zen Alarm Clocks, Progressive Awakening, Uncategorized
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