BLISS-IN 90: Week 4 - Trifecta

Last week Laurin and I recapped Surya Namaskar and covered some new hip-stretches to help heal the pain in her left hip – and Firelog pose was so transformative for Laurin that she no longer needs to take Aleve to sleep comfortably! I wonder how her practice went this week?

Don't forget to check out the Question of the Week at the end of the blog to share your experiences on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, too!

LAURIN'S WEEK 3 HOMEWORK EXPERIENCES

This week was a little tough for Laurin to practice consistently as she was helping a friend move for a few days and was sore from all the lifting and carrying things up and down many flights of stairs. So, she wasn't really able to practice meditation for more than 10 minutes, two times this week (but she said she did get to meditate for a longer period of time than last time so that's an improvement).


Laurin is now confident practicing Surya Namaskar, despite only having the opportunity to practice twice during her busy week. She now even practices Chatturanga with her knees up, and if her arms and wrists feel strained she just puts her knees down, so this means her arm and core strength is slowly improving the more she practices.

After our first week Laurin saw immediate results when she experimented with a Pitta-friendly diet, so she has continued to be mindful of what foods she eats since then. In keeping with her Pitta/Kapha Dosha, she's mostly cut out red meat and has begun using soy instead of almonds in her salads (as almonds are aggravating to Pitta) and has been feeling better over-all in terms of digestion. Laurin has a gluten-intolerance and avoids all sources of gluten, which is a good practice for pacifying Pitta and has come easily for Laurin – avoiding cheese, however, has not been a natural thing, and in Laurin's words "is uh, not happening". I wholeheartedly agree...I think if I found out I was lactose intolerant I would still eat a Lactaid, say a prayer and tough it out. Cheese is so delicious I'm surprised it's not illegal. Cheese does contain very small amounts of morphine, and milk contains casein which also has opiate-like effects; so cheese truly is a trifecta of pleasure. It's true, Google it. 


WEEK 4 ONE-ON-ONE PRACTICE

Now that Suyra Namaskar is second-nature to Laurin, practicing Moon Salutations together was a breeze. 

With Laurin's hip flexibility being a bit stiff, I showed her different variations of low lunge to practice depending on how she was feeling. You can practice with the arms straight up over head, hands can be in prayer at your heart, you can bind the hands behind the back (either clasping hands or grabbing opposite elbows or taking reverse Namaste hands on the back), you can place the hands on the knee for a deep hip stretch and more stability, or you can place the hands on the floor inside the front foot – whatever your body is into, low lunge has a variation that will work for you.

LAURIN'S HOMEWORK

1) Practice Surya Namaskar A and Moon Salutations throughout the week.

2) Continue practicing Lizard, Firelog and Pigeon nightly to open up hips.

3) Meditate once per day for at least 10 minutes.

4) Read Yoga Sutras 17-30.


MY HOMEWORK


1) Write up a simple hip-and-shoulder-opening sequence for Laurin to
take home next week and build on her practice.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Which variation of the Moon Salutations do you practice? Do you practice according to The Bihar School of Yoga's method? Or do you practice that fun, new-fangled sequence created by who-knows-whom? Personally, I like to play with both versions depending on my mood, what about you? Share photos of you practicing your Moon Salutations on Instagram and Facebook and tag with #blissin90 to share the love!

Check out our Bliss-in 90 progress again in 2 weeks! Going to be taking a brief hiatus from blogging due to scheduling conflicts between us, but I'm planning on filling in the space with some fun lil nuggets for ya'll so stay tuned :)

BLISS-IN 90: Week 3 - "Cobra-thingy"

So last week Laurin began practicing Surya Namaskar A and some hip-opening stretches at home – Let's see how she's doing this week!

Don't forget to check out the Question of the Week at the end of the blog to share your experiences on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, too!

LAURIN'S WEEK 2 HOMEWORK EXPERIENCES

It was really exciting to hear that Laurin has been practicing Firelog to open up her left hip--and only has been practicing about 1-5 minutes, at the most 3 or 4 times this week--and she no longer needs to take Aleve to sleep comfortably before bed. How's that for progress?! Pretty amazing what just one pose can do for you! 

Laurin felt like she forgot a lot of Surya Namaskar A, and really wanted to re-cap this week and practice it some more together. (I let her know that for next week she shouldn't hesitate to text or call, I'd be happy to walk her through it so she can continue to practice on her own between our sessions.) She said she kept forgetting the "cobra thingy" (haha I love the way Laurin refers to poses) and couldn't recall where "baby-stance" (or Child's Pose, as Laurin refers to it ;) ) should go in the sequence. I understand why she was a bit lost. The way we practiced Surya Namaskar was modified for her body, and the videos she found online to attempt to practice along with were slightly different than what I was advising she do to protect her low back; so, I'd be confused, too! 

She's been practicing mostly at night since mornings are kind of hectic for her--as a fellow night-owl, I like to practice at night too, but we both love the way it feels to practice in the morning. I encouraged her to try to practice meditation in the mornings to clear her head and if she has time to throw in a few rounds of Surya Namaskar A. She's still only getting up to 8 or 9 minutes of breathing/meditation in because of her living situation. She says despite the short amount of time she's feeling a difference in her mood, feeling more patient, so that's good!

I completely forgot to ask Laurin about her experience beginning to read The Yoga Sutras, so, we'll have to get her thoughts on that next week.

Laurin's notes

WEEK 3 ONE-ON-ONE PRACTICE

Instead of hopping into a hip-opening sequence as I originally planned for this session, we recapped Suyra Namaskar A and practiced rounds of it together to make sure Laurin would feel more confident practicing on her own. 

We both felt the "cobra roll" from Budokon (which I explain in last week's blog) was a little too much to think about at the moment. Instead of the roll from Knees-chest-chin into Baby Cobra, we just lowered the knees in Plank and kept the knees down for Chaturanga, then lowered the torso all the way down to the ground and gently lifted the chest into Upward Dog (despite Laurin's low back issues, she doesn't feel much of a stretch in Baby Cobra and feels fine in Upward Dog. I just let her know if she ever feels more tension there to practice Baby Cobra instead.), then pressed back to "Baby-Stance"/Child's Pose, then pressed the hips up and back into Down Dog. (I will post a video soon of our modified Surya A so you can see it in action and try it for yourself! To be really real, I have little experience with editing video and I've been procrastinating on making this and any other demo videos because I fear a road-block in the production process. Ridiculous, I know-- when we all know there's no such thing as "no fear", just feeling the fear and then facing the challenge, so, face the challenge, I shall!)

After our Surya-recap we practiced Pigeon and a new hip-opener for Laurin, Lizard, for her to start doing at home. Lizard is a deep hip-stretch but there are baby steps to take along the way before you can go all-out in this pose. Lizard can be practiced with hands on the ground with the arms straight, wrists under shoulders, or with forearms on the floor. Additionally, the back knee may be off the ground for a more active version of the pose, or the knee can be down on the floor for a more restorative stretch. The stretch wasn't deep enough for Laurin with her hands on the floor, but her forearms wouldn't touch the ground all the way, so we modified with a block under her forearms to get a deeper stretch.

I asked Laurin if she wanted stick figures with explanations to take home with her and she said, laughing, "No, that's the problem you keep trying to push stick figures on me, I'm not a visual person, I need it explained and/or I need to watch you and have you there to spot me" haha, well, that's less work for me so I don't mind!

LAURIN'S HOMEWORK

1) Practice Surya Namaskar without the "cobra roll", just lowering down all the way from plank to the floor then lifting to Upward Dog 

2) Practice Lizard, Firelog and/or Pidgeon nightly. 

MY HOMEWORK

1) Write out Moon Salutations (the sequence as I learned it in my Teacher Training. Even the YouTube video I linked to is slightly different than how I learned it– you'll find that just like with Surya Namaskar A, there are variations, this variation is according to the Bihar School of Yoga.) for Laurin to take home and follow after we practice the poses together next week.

  

QUESTION OF THE WEEK 

Which Yoga pose (or poses) have helped to heal or ease pain in your body? How often did you practice and how long before you could feel a difference in your body?

Please share your healing poses on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and tag 'em with #blissin90 so we can all check them out :)

See you next week!

BLISS-IN 90: Week 2 - "Baby-Stance"

Let's check in with Laurin and see how she did with this the first week of homework! Don't forget to check out the Question of the Week at the end of the blog for your chance to share the love, too! Share your photos with us on Instragram, Facebook and Twitter, and tag 'em with #blissin90!

My "flow" notes. And yes, I am aware I spelled "Ujayi" incorrectly 
for some strange reason! :)

LAURIN'S WEEK 1 HOMEWORK EXPERIENCES

We left off last week with leaving Laurin with some breathing and meditation exercises to practice for the week, as well as a breakdown of Surya Namaskar A to study, and also left her with some resources on Ayurveda to check out if she so pleased. Laurin was going to begin reading The Yoga Sutras this week but her copy of the book didn't arrive until the day of our second session, so, that'll have to be done next week!

Laurin can't really meditate in solitude due to close-quarters living situation but she valiantly makes an effort as much as possible on subways and other quiet moments she can find. She's been using the 2:1 breath to relax before bed every night, and feels the difference and falls asleep faster (not that she had sleep trouble before but she noticed that happened). Aside from bedtime practice, when she's attempted to meditate she's only gotten up to 8 or 9 minutes due to distractions from her living situation. (The beauty is that over time it gets easier to tune out external stimuli the more you practice concentrating on the sound of your breath.)

Laurin read up on Ayurvedic diet recommendations for her Pitta/Kapha-ness and did some experimenting this week already: She tried a baked potato (okay for Pitta to eat) with sour cream (not great for Pitta to eat) and felt very sick afterwards.The next day she tried potato w/ butter (close to ghee which is good for pitta) instead, and was totally fine. With those results she said she's going to continue exploring Ayurvedic recommendations, but, instead of going crazy monitoring every morsel that goes into her mouth she's just going to increase Pitta-pacifying foods (Excellent approach, dietary changes that stress you out aren't going to do any good for you anyway).


WEEK 2 ONE-ON-ONE PRACTICE

We spent this second session breaking down the poses and transitions of Surya Namaskar A. We modified the sequence without Chaturanga/Half-Push-Up due to Laurin's cervical spine and shoulder issues. Instead we practiced Surya Namaskar while employing and modifying a movement from the Budokon system where you move in a "rolling wave" from Astangasana (8-limbed pose, colloquially known as "Knees-Chest-Chin") into a Bhujangasana (Cobra) or Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward Dog).

 
To protect Laurin's sensitive low back, instead of moving into Upward Facing Dog from Knees-Chest-Chin we moved into a "baby" Bhujangasana (Baby Cobra) with a less intense backbend, more bend in the elbows than in the back. And instead of moving from Baby Cobra back to Downward Dog, we moved into Balasana (Child's pose, or as Laurin referred to it in a moment where she forgot the name: "Baby-stance", which is now what I shall use to refer to Child's pose, now and forever) and then straightened the legs and lifted the hips into Down Dog from Baby-stance (I said "now and forever." I'm a lady of my word.)

For Downward Dog we modified the pose to widen the feet further than hips distance to protect her low back, and also practiced feeling the difference being both in- and out-of-alignment in Down Dog. When one has upper-back issues the tendency is to hang out in the shoulders and put too much weight in the wrists and shoulders, the remedy is to pull the heels down toward the floor, even if the heels aren't touching the floor, actively reach them toward the ground -- this helps take weight out of the shoulders. Since Laurin is building flexibility in the hips and hamstrings, I had her bend her knees super deeply when walking from Down Dog into forward fold. 

Laurin exploring Down Dog in Union Square.

 


No Savasana this time as we didn't really flow and I could tell she hadn't moved enough to feel the sweet release of Savasana. Her and I both being Pitta's, I know she needs to exhaust herself a little in order to feel good being still for a while.

Instead of Savasana, I thought it would be good to practice some hip-opening stretches. As Laurin has undiagnosed pain in her left hip, Pigeon and Firelog (with blanket under left hip when it's on top due to tightness) are some poses that could help her open up her hip pretty quickly. When practicing Pigeon, her left hip was so tight she was falling over to her right, I had her pull her right hip back and left hip over to the left to balance it out and she felt the stretch even more (with no pain). She said already she felt a difference (in a good way), can't wait to see how she feels next week!


LAURIN'S HOMEWORK

1- Read Yoga Sutras (as translated by Satchidananda) Sutras 1-16.

2 - Practice Surya Namaskar A at least 3x/week and at least 5 rounds to start, reccomend she go as long as she can/feels like then practice Pidgeon and Firelog (with a blanket) for 1-5 minutes each, as often as she would like to stretch/open up her left hip.

3 - Continue practicing Meditation and breathing exercises at least 3x/week

MY HOMEWORK

1 - Create a simple hip-opening sequence for Laurin to practice and take home the following week.

2 - Explore more restorative hip-stretches for Laurin to practice.

3 - Research hands-on adjustments in restorative poses to help open up her left hip, and relieve lower- and upper-back pain.


QUESTION OF THE WEEK!
We'd like to know: What's your dosha and how do you keep your dosha in balance? (If you don't know you can take a test here to find out! And, in a pinch, you can use Google to find more info on the doshas and Ayurveda). Share pictures of your Ayurvedic practices on Instragram and tag 'em with #blissin90!

Have you ever tried any dietary changes or changed your Asana practice to balance your dosha? If you made changes, did you notice a difference? Do you think Ayurveda is a buncha bologna? Tell us in the comments below!

BLISS-IN 90: Week 1 - "Darth Vader on Morphine"

It's the first week of Bliss-in 90! If you missed the explanation of this project, you can check it out here. 

Bliss-in 90 is not just meant to be a documentation of private sessions in the spirit of sharing experience and knowledge. It's a call to action to get curious, be creative, and be your own teacher; look inward instead of reaching out for external sources of happiness; explore and educate yourself; seek actions you can take right now to invite more bliss into your life--and we want you to participate!


So, don't forget to check out the Question of the Week at the end so you can share your photos with us @missbernklau on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. (and tag your pictures with #blissin90 so we can all share the inspiration and positivity!) 

Let's jump right in, shall we?

To get to know students better before our first session, I created a little "New Student Kit" with a basic health questionnaire and dosha quiz (which I adapted from David Frawley's Yoga & Ayurveda: Self-Healing and Self-Realization) and a little bit of information about Yoga practices and other Yoga-inspired movement systems (Restorative Yoga, Yoga Nidra, Budokon® etc) students can choose to try during our sessions together. Laurin filled it out before our meeting and we spent our first session discussing Laurin's history with Yoga and her goals in starting a regular practice.


QUESTIONNAIRE

Part of the "New Student Kit" includes a few questions I always ask new students. Here were Laurin's answers:

DO YOU HAVE ANY INJURIES/CHRONIC PAIN OR HEALTH CONCERNS AND/OR DO YOU HAVE ANY PHYSICAL RESTRICTIONS IMPOSED BY YOUR DOCTOR? No doctor restrictions -- Chronic hip pain (left side) and back pain (lumbar, cervical)

HAVE YOU PRACTICED YOGA BEFORE? IF SO, HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN PRACTICING/HOW OFTEN DO YOU PRACTICE? I've been to maybe 3 beginner classes about a decade ago.

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS OR WHAT ARE YOU HOPING TO ACHIEVE, IF ANYTHING, BY ATTENDING PRIVATE YOGA CLASSES? Strength, concentration, endurance, flexibility.

HOW WERE YOU INTRODUCED TO YOGA AND WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO KEEP PRACTICING? Don't know yet [love the use of "yet" it implies Laurin is open to possibility!]

LIST A FEW OF YOUR FAVORITE BANDS OR THE TYPES OF MUSIC YOU'D LIKE TO HEAR (WE CAN PRACTICE IN SILENCE AS WELL) WHILE PRACTICING. 

Surprise me. I trust you. [Music to my ears!]

DOSHA QUIZ RESULTS

Laurin's Ayurvedic constitution, according to the questionnaire in David Frawley's book, is Pitta 23, Kapha 15 and Vata 12. So there's a Pitta dominance with a slight Kapha imbalance as well. (Disclaimer: I'm not "certified" as an Ayurvedic doctor, I do not purport to heal or cure any illness, injury or disease, the results are just used as a guide to help make a more personalized practice. However, I will be a Certified Health Coach within the year and will be studying over 100 dietary theories, including Ayurveda, so, that'll be cool to share what I learn!)

I asked Laurin what type of exercise she preferred, and in keeping with her Pitta nature, she likes running, despite knowing it wreaks havoc on her joints. Good thing she likes to sweat, because that's what movement systems like Asthanga and Vinyasa Yoga and Budokon will make you do! Since she has a slight Kapha imbalance, having a heated practice can help balance Kapha energy. But, too much of a heated practice can aggravate Pitta (Pitta imbalances can manifest emotionally as feeling agitated, and quick-to-anger). 

Ultimately, after we cover the basics of Asana and alignment, we'll have put together a practice catered specifically to Laurin's physical needs and her Pitta/Kapha dosha (this personalized practice will be shared when completed, of course!) Using cooling Pranayama (breath work) exercises and poses to keep Pitta in check, we'll also include some heating twists, core work and some Budokon-inspired movements to keep things interesting for Laurin since we know she likes to move and sweat.

If you'd like to read more on Ayurveda, I recommend checking out Frawley's book to start, as well as simply going down the Google and Wikipedia wormhole on Ayurveda. Since it's an extremely old practice, just like Yoga, there are a ton of resources and approaches on the practice, it's up to you to explore and find what works and makes sense to you.


WEEK 1 HOMEWORK


When Laurin described her first Yoga experience a little more in-depth, she said had taken a few classes with a former classmate that "probably had no formal training" and she said she "didn't feel anything and we laid there for 10 or 20 minutes at the end." Hahaha, well, I'm glad Laurin is open to trying again despite her less-than-stellar introduction to Yoga.

Considering Laurin's minimal experience with Asana, we're going to go back to basics when we start next week and practice Surya Namaskar A (Sun Salutation A). Just really spend time feeling what it feels like to be in or out of alignment in each pose. I gave her a little handout I made with some stick figure guys and alignment/breath cues to study for the week. Since we were in a soup and sandwich shop for our consultation, we couldn't practice Surya Namaskar A together, but it still helps to study on paper! Laurin said she would prefer to practice with me the first time so she doesn't hurt herself instead of attempting it and doing it wrong to the point of injuring herself (good call--already adept at practicing Ahimsa toward herself!) 

Since the breath is the most important part of practicing Asana with integrity, I thought it'd be great for Laurin to practice some basic Pranayama her own this week to prepare for Surya Namaskar.

To help soothe Pitta energy, I taught Laurin the basic 2:1 breath (exhales are twice as long as inhales, breathing from the diaphragm.) as well as Ujjayi  (oo-jah-ee) Breath. You may have heard your Yoga teacher explain it this way: closing off the back of your throat on the exhale, as if making the sound to fog up a window but your mouth is closed and you exhale out the nose. I've heard teachers liken the sound to Darth Vader--that's a little too intense to me, maybe it should sound like Darth Vader on morphine, that seems more accurate to me. As Wailana explains in the video, "like a soft sleeping baby, almost a soft snoring sound"...I like to think of Darth Vader on morphine, too, just 'cause why not?

In any case, Ujjayi is great to practice focusing on the breath, staying present and linking breath to movement on the mat. In addition, practicing Ujjayi helps increase oxygenation throughout the body, balances blood pressure and calms the nerves. It's also a warming breath that helps keep you energized throughout the physical practice.

LAURIN'S HOMEWORK:
1 - Pick up The Yoga Sutras as translated by Swami Satchidananda and read Sutras 1-16 in Book 1.

2 - Practice 2:1 and Ujjayi breath 10-30 mins at least 3x/week

3 - Study Surya Namaskar printout


MY HOMEWORK:
1 - Read up on Laurin's hip and back issues and be prepared to adjust for injuries/pain in those areas.

2 - Find poses to open up her hip and lower back that she can practice safely at home.

***

That's all for now, check out our Sun Salutation adventures next week! But before you go...

QUESTION OF THE WEEK!

What are you reading, studying, practicing, writing, drawing, eating, drinking, or doing to invite bliss into your life every day? Please share your pictures with us @missbernklau on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Don't forget to tag 'em with #blissin90 and share the love. 
 
Peace, Love, & Positivity,
Heather

04.22.13

So it's been a long, long while, I know!

I've got LOTS of new stuff going on to share with you soon! But this right here, is the most important! It's a new 90-day "project" I've conjured and I'm really excited to share it with all of you, starting... NOW! Be excited!

It's called "Bliss-in 90", I thought it would be cool to share the experiences (through words, pictures, video and illustrations!) of myself and a private student, from how we develop a personal Yoga practice together, to how to modify poses for their specific injuries or body type, to how some of the more subtle practices can enhance mental and physical health, concentration, endurance and flexibility (of mind, body and spirit...and who doesn't want all that?) I also will be starting training to become a Certified Health Coach at Institute for Integrative Nutrition beginning in May! I'll be sharing what I learn on the way about holistic nutrition and lifestyle theories and practices in the coming weeks as well!

In exchange for weekly "free" private yoga classes, Laurin (our lovely volunteer student), has kindly allowed me to share our experiences weekly on my blog with all of you over the next 13-or-so weeks.

The format is a bit nebulous at the moment, but, I thought to do this project and being so excited to get started I just wanted to get it out there no matter what it would look like at first -- imperfect action is better than no action, My hope is that it serves as a resource of sorts for students and teachers (we're all students and teachers simultaneously, eh?). I'm super stoked because I know myself and Laurin will learn a lot from and thoroughly enjoy this experience, so, winning all around!

This Wednesday I'll be sharing what happened during our consultation, and keep your eyes peeled every Wednesday for the weekly Bliss-in 90 updates!

In closing, I leave you with a photo-quote in the spirit of learning and expanding the horizons of our consciousness (feel free to spread the love-wisdom on Instagram/Twitter/Facebook!): "Study is all right, but not for mere logic, quoting or fighting. Actually, it is only when you 'quote' from your own experience that your words have weight. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa used to say, 'Forget all you have learned; become a child again. Then it will be easy to realize that wisdom.'"

Om.

01.11.12 Ego vs. Ahimsa

It's so nice to be back after the longest blog hiatus of all time (okay probably not the longest but, you know what I mean)! I hope all of you had a wonderful, happy, love-filled, and healthy Holiday Season and a Happy New Year!

I was gone since September because I was completing my Yoga Alliance Teacher Training. My teacher training at Revolution Yoga proved to be one of the best, most fulfilling, challenging and fun experiences of my life. My day job was the busiest it's been all year, 11-18 hour days every day for the duration of my training. I spent most nights awake doing homework and studying to have everything ready for our classes over the weekends. It was SO worth it, I enjoyed every moment with all my heart, including the challenging ones.

I finally had the urge to write today, since the New York Times article meme, and all the responses to it (check out YogaDork and elephantjournal). The concept that Yoga "will wreck your body" is not what I want to get into, because we know as yogis, it won't wreck your body if you practice without ego and without force. There's Tapas (determination or that "fire" inside that propels you to your goals, or what keeps you in Utkatasana for just one more breath!) in your Yoga practice, but that has to be balanced out by Ahimsa (non-harming in thought, word, and deed).

Sounds like a safe bet: Don't let ego and ambition get in the way so much that you try to force your body into something it just doesn't want to do in that moment.

Well, this week, even with all of the reminders from the Media, I kind of lost track of that balance and ended up feeling super sore, and super sorry that I did not listen to what my body was telling me, which was: "Please, for the love of everything that is good in this world, just go home and relax."

Although I was feeling tired and weak physically due to ladytimes (I don't think I need to explain), I felt the need to make myself go to a yoga class on Monday night. I simply had to go. 1) Because I made a pseudo-resolution to myself that I would practice asana every day in some capacity, and 2) because it was the first time in months that I was able to leave work in time to attend a group class—Lord knows that that was going to be the last day in history that would ever happen, so I couldn't not go. Also I hadn't practiced asana for more than 45 minutes since sometime before Christmas, so my body was itching to go to class, even in its tired state.

I felt great after class of course, but the day after my shoulders were pretty sore from all the Chatturangas the night before, I also only slept 4 and a half hours so that wasn't helping my body to recuperate. And wouldn't you know it, I got out of work an hour early again that following day (yesterday/Tuesday)! Even with my four and a half hours of sleep, sore shoulders and ladytimes in full effect, I still decided to go yoga class last night. On the train on the way to class in my head one voice was saying "You should really just go home and practice for maybe 45 minutes, your body needs to gradually come back to where it was, this is going to be too much, especially this time of the month." Then another voice was saying "Oh, you're young, don't be a baby, you can do this and you're strong so it's not going to hurt you to go two days in a row, you know how to take care of your body in class, it'll be fine." So, I went, trusting that my ego knew what it was talking about (because I was half-right, to be fair, I do know how to protect myself from serious injury).

I felt strong in class, I kept my knees down in Chatturanga and Plank to take the pressure off and I took frequent Child's poses. My body felt good after Savasana, but even modifying my practice to be a little more gentle than what the teacher was offering, a few hours after class my body felt like it was hit by a truck. Thank goodness I have an awesome boyfriend that massaged my aching muscles until I fell asleep last night.

Today I have the opportunity to let Ahimsa win this time. There's probably a chance, since it's slowed down a bit at work, that I could get off early again in time to make it to class. But, in an effort to practice Ahimsa toward myself, I'm going to make myself go home and relax. If I feel the need to practice asana, it will only be a restorative practice at home today.

Yoga is not about asana, it's about practicing Yoga. I would not be practicing Yoga wholeheartedly if I forced my aching body onto the mat again today.

I challenge you, dear yogis, to notice, without any judgement, when you've lost this balance in yourself. If you do notice you've lost this balance, I challenge you to take it one step further and let your ego take a back seat.  "The ego is the world's biggest despot." so how can you/do you tame it when its demands are out of line with practicing Ahimsa toward yourself (or someone else)? What does it feel like to not give your ego what it wants? Hmm, I feel an idea for a visual meditation to cope with this creeping into my mind, more on that after I try it out for myself I will definitely share it with you all.

Please share your own stories of battles with your ego in the comments below, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Namasté <3

09.26.2011 - Stuck on the negative? You can blame, then TRAIN your brain.

Hey kids!


This weekend at yoga school I learned so much about the brain, not sure if I'd learned it before in school and forgot or if I'd never heard it before. But your brain is biologically wired to remember stressful situations far more vividly than pleasurable memories.


In your brain, the Amygdala, responsible for the basic emotions like fear, anxiety, and desire, is nestled closely to the Hippocampus, which is responsible for memory and turning short-term memories into long-term memories. This was clearly developed for survival, back when we used to have to run from lions and bears. So, the first time we encountered a bear and it lunged at us, the senses activated in the moment are immediately seared into the memory (so next time this happens, we know whether to run away or stay and fight): the smells of the trees, the sight of the shiny sharp teeth and claws, the sound of the bear roaring (what to bears do...lions roar...bears...yell?? I don't know they are so scary yet they look so huggable), the feeling of the rocks and leaves under our feet running as fast as we can away from this life-or-death, fight-or-flight situation. You can feel the fear in your chest, and your heart pumping wildly inside it...the stress response is super-intense for a really good reason. But, now that we don't have to run from bears anymore, and modern life is all sorts of complicated crazy, this mechanism is actually destroying some people, leaving them stuck living and making decisions based in fear and darkness.

Love yer brain...even if it is a Negative Nancy by design!

I learned that teachers actually create stress for students, by giving ample homework assignments and pop-quizzes, because people commit the information to memory easily and permanently when they are stressed while learning. Obviously there's a healthy amount of stress required. I think if a situation is too stressful or traumatic, the mind will just repress everything about an experience other than the residual, visceral negative feelings that remain in the subconscious mind caused by the experience.


This explains that depressing statistic that when someone has a good experience they'll only tell 1-3 people, if they had a bad experience, they'll tell 9 people (I don't know the numbers, I actually got that statistic from The Office (UK) point is, people love to talk shit, it feels great...in the moment.) It's why it's so hard for people to "take the good with the bad" because, the mind is programmed to remember the bad stuff more deeply than the good stuff.


We know the mind is powerful beyond comprehension though, and can be controlled and transformed, if the will is strong and the work is done to make it happen.


Knowing this now, how can we train the mind to be as alert, and accepting to commit all the sensations of a positive situation to memory, as vividly as we commit a negative experience to memory? Is it even possible if this mechanism to remember stress is hard-wired in our physical brain?


I personally do not know the answer to this question, but I'm going to begin doing work on myself to see what happens and will most definitely share the results here. I know I have a very easy time taking myself back to a past negative experience and nearly re-living it, I can feel the pain in my chest and/or stomach the moment I think of it. Once something triggers a bad memory, and it can be as innocuous as a commercial on TV, my brain and body take me back almost immediately. I don't think this is something I will live with forever, because I know why my mind goes to a dark place. I understand and have forgiven loved ones that have hurt me in the past and have a great relationship with those people now. I know they didn't mean any harm to me, but I also know there's nothing they can do to take the residual pain away, clearly the forgetting part is harder than forgiving, and that has to come from me.


I'm going to try my own meditation "experiment" on myself to see if I can train my mind to feel positive memories as viscerally, if not more so, than negative ones. I've already done Biofeedback Therapy and I know the mind is completely trainable, it just takes time and practice. It's about finding a practical "exercise(s)" to re-train the mind. The other thing I learned in Biofeedback about myself was a little alarming: One day the therapist tried to teach me this technique called "The Heart Exercise", where you concentrate on your heart and feeling the warmth there, which is supposed to soothe. But, I found when I concentrated on my heart, all I wanted to do was cry, because I just felt sadness there. The therapist just told me not to do that exercise, she surmised I must have things I need to work on, but she didn't recommend continuing to practice that exercise, but to continue to manage stress in other ways. 


This weekend though, I told one of my Yoga teachers (and the owner of Revolution Yoga) Amanda, about it, and she thinks (and I agree) that there's a blockage in my Heart chakra. My emotional pain in stressful situations goes right to my heart. I feel a deflating, crushing ache there, and I know most other people are familiar with that pain in their chest (which I believe maybe has something to do with the Vagus Nerve in the heart which is associated with the parasympathetic nervous system; just an educated guess based on what I've learned about that nerve this weekend.) I store all the bad feelings there, that's why memories bring that same sensation in my chest as much as something bad happening in-the-moment.


Amanda explained Samskaras (impressions/memories) and their effect on the subconscious mind by pressing chalk into a piece of smoothed out Play-Doh. Mom yelled in your face when you were 5: that leaves a permanent imprint; your first kiss, that leaves an imprint; losing a loved one, that leaves an imprint; seeing a violent movie, that leaves an imprint. 


Long story short: a consistent meditation practice can help to "smooth out" and erase those impressions. One reaches Samadhi and finds peace when the Samskaras are removed completely.


I've come up with three things I can do every day to help cultivate lasting positivity in my mind; I think this could be applied for many people, so if you try it, please leave a comment and let us all know how things went for you! Here goes:


1 - Touch/See/Taste/Hear/Smell Memory. As soon as I'm aware (because we take a lot of little things for granted) that I'm having a positive experience, even if it's just listening to my favorite song while riding on the train and taking in a beautiful day, (if possible) I'll close my eyes, and focus my attention on each of my 5 senses one at a time. Feeling the warmth of the sun on my skin, the taste in my mouth at the time, the feeling of the headphones in my ears and the seat supporting the weight of my body, my breath traveling in and out of my nose and lungs, the sound of the music, the way it makes me feel, the colors of the train seats, etc. I'll then imagine these positive sensations as some kind of stream of light, wrapping around my heart and warming it from the inside out, really feeling the lovingkindness swelling in my chest, viscerally and emotionally.


If I can employ this in mundane situations, I could eventually do this with all kinds of positive experiences without even thinking about it or concentrating on it. Eventually, my hope/inference as to what the result will be is that when something good happens, my "heart" feels uplifted and warm, as intensely as it feels pain when faced with negative stimuli; and also when this positive memory is recalled, the lightness/warmth I felt in the heart at the time can be immediately felt again days, months, years later; the way my heart can feel a depressing feeling when I recall a negative experience. Which brings me to the second part of my practice:


2 - "Tar Melting" (visualization) When faced with a stressful situation, I need to find a way to protect my heart. I know shit's going to happen and my heart's going to hurt at one point or another no matter what I do, that's life. I'm most definitely of the mind that one doesn't appreciate goodness in life if they haven't experienced pain; and that the bigger you love the deeper the pain is felt when the heart has empathy for another or is hurt by another. Here's where it's tough because it's hard to do visualization meditation when you're in the thick of an argument or something. As soon as I feel the sensation of pain there, I have to remember that the situation is transient, and more than likely is a bazallion times less scary or upsetting than I assume it will be. As soon as I can get a moment to myself, I'm going to try visualizing the pain I'm feeling as black tar around my heart. With each inhale, I'd imagine my heart beginning to swell and glow underneath the tar, and with each exhale, the tar begins to melt and drip away. I think by continuing my first exercise, I can use the physical sensations I've recalled from my positive experiences to help myself really fell the positive-warmth from the inside of my heart that's temporarily being blocked out by this "tar" of negativity.


3 - Nadi Shodhana, or alternate nostril breathing. This isn't my own idea, obviously, but the practice I think will physiologically help create balance in my mind/brain and body. Well, I don't think, I know it will create balance physiologically because that's what Nadi Shodhana does. Science says so. Your Right and Left nostrils are connected to your Right (creativity, spatial perception) and Left (reading, writing, speaking) brain. Quoted from the linked article:

EEG-measurements of participants on the three month courses (1986-91) showed the same improvement of the R/L ratio. The measurements then, however, were not done in connection to any meditation practice, but during ordinary rest, before and after the course. This result indicated a permanent long-term effect (see Bindu no. 5).

These positive changes were found in all instances in regions of the brain that are closely linked to the limbic system, which is the seat of our emotions.

On the basis of our results we therefore conclude that Nadi Shodana, if it is done regularly over a longer period of time, has a favourable influence on the balance between the brain halves and thereby an emotionally stabilising effect on the individual.

Pretty cool, huh? You can learn how to practice Nadi Shodhana properly/safely in this video: 

Check out this video for the energetic/philosophic explanation as to how Nadi Shodhana works:

If you try any of these techniques for yourself, or have your own methods that work for you, please share them in the comments below, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Everyone experiences things differently, not every technique works for everyone, so the more unique ideas shared, the better it is for everyone :)

Namasté!