2011 June

There will be Gentle Yoga at 9am on the Fourth of July.  We will not hold Energy Yoga that evening.  Have a fun and safe Fourth of July!

If you are one of millions of Americans who suffer from mild depression, my advice is to get up and get moving.  Physical activity of any variety—walking, biking, dancing, even raking leaves—can lift that cloud that hangs over you.  You might also try yoga which is especially helpful in alleviating mild depression.  Besides offering a wide variety of physical exercises, yoga includes breath-work that is energizing and centering.

Furthermore, yoga’s underlying philosophy stresses that all people are worthy and wonderful by their very nature.  Everyone is successful at yoga.  When under the auspices of a true yoga teacher, you will discover that every effort in yoga and every achievement, no matter how small, imparts self-esteem, motivation, and the dissolution of feelings of helplessness.

Two types of yoga postures are particularly useful when you are in the throes of depression:  poses that open the front body such as the back-bending “Cobra,” and those that are powerful and challenging such as the “Warrior.”

Try the warrior and notice how you feel afterwards.  To begin, stand with your feet three to four feet apart.  Extend your arms out to the sides at shoulder height and open your chest.  Feel wide and strong.  Next, turn your right heel in and right toes out so your foot points to the right and aligns with your left instep.  Inhale deeply, and as you exhale, bend your right knee and lunge.  Bring your knee directly over your ankle.  Keep your torso vertical as opposed to pushing the head and chest to the right.  Your left leg remains straight.

Now, turn your head and focus on the fingertips of your right hand.  As you maintain a soft but steady gaze, take five long breaths through your nose.  Come out of the lunge and rest your arms.  Repeat the Warrior to the left.  While holding the posture you might internally repeat an affirmation such as, “I’m strong and able to meet all challenges that come my way.”

After completing the warrior, step your feet together, stand tall, and take a moment to notice precisely how you feel.  Now smile—you’ve taken one step toward becoming a stronger, happier you.

Our breathing is inextricably linked to our physical and mental states.  When you are anxious, your breathing becomes rapid and shallow.  When you’re focused, your breathing is slow and subtle.  When shocked, you may respond with a gasp and hold your breath.

Yoga teaches that just as our breath is affected by how we feel, how we feel is affected by our breath.   Hence, special breathing exercises are a large part of yoga practice.  According to yogic wisdom, breathing predominately through the left nostril produces quite different effects than breathing through the right.

Take a moment to assess your breathing.  With closed eyes, breathe naturally through your nose. Can you determine if your breathing is primarily through the right nostril or left?  You might like to check again at different times of the day.

The major traditions (or styles) of yoga include an alternate nostril breathing exercise because this practice brings about a sense of balance or equilibrium.  And in our hectic, overstressed world, who wouldn’t benefit from that?

Let’s go over some basics.  Do not attempt alternate nostril breathing if you are congested. Practice this exercise when you are in a relatively neutral mood.  If you are very excited, angry or upset, simple deep breathing is more appropriate.

In preparation for your breath work, minimize distractions in your environment. Always practice while seated with the spine erect, shoulders back and down, head lifted and face relaxed.  Either sit cross-legged on the floor or sit in a chair with both feet planted on the floor.

Bring your right hand up in front of your face, palm facing in.  You will use the thumb and ring finger of this hand to alternately close the nostrils.  The index and middle fingers can either tuck down into the palm or point upward.  Keep the breathing relaxed and rhythmic.  In this beginner’s variation, the inhalation, retention and exhalation will each be four counts.

Now, close off the right nostril with the thumb and inhale through the left.   Gently close both nostrils (use thumb and ring finger) and retain the breath. Lastly, open the right nostril by lifting the thumb and exhale.  Remember the count is 4/4/4.  Continuing, inhale through the right nostril, hold, and exhale through the left.  This completes one round.

You can start with a few rounds daily and work up to ten rounds in a sitting.  If at any time during your practice, you feel physically or mentally stressed, rest and try again later.   If you make alternate nostril breathing a daily habit, expect to feel better on many levels.  This practice may seem simple, but it can be profound.

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“There’s a spider over here,” a student at the yoga studio announced, pointing to a black splotch on the wall.  Another student, who’s new to the studio, moved rapidly with a raised arm in the direction of the little creature.  “No!”  I blurted out as I raced across the room to save the spider.  “No killing in here.”

I encouraged the jumpy spider to take refuge in my hands to be taken outside. I’m sure some people think I’m going overboard with my practice of “ahimsa,” non-harming, which is a rudimentary practice for serious yogis.

I will go as far as to insist that a paying customer not smash a few fire ants that have wandered in, and will suggest that the student just move her mat to a different area of the room.  Or I might allow a room of students to remain in a yoga posture for a couple minutes while I work to catch a cricket.  Call me a freak, but as far as I’m concerned, if you choose to adopt a set of moral principles, you must live by them without compromise as much as possible.  Any breech should be taken seriously.

The yogic code of nonviolence goes far beyond “Thou shalt not kill.”  If you embrace ahimsa, you attempt to never knowingly and willingly do harm to any being in thought, word or deed.  This means that even violent thoughts and hurtful talk are avoided.  Why vow to live by such a strict code of conduct?  Is it due to a fear that if you transgress the code you will go, in my young stepson’s words, “down there”?

No.   I think the desire to live by ahimsa arises as one taps into his or her innate compassion.  Or, at least, the choice to live to this high standard of ethics is motivated by a belief that “what goes around comes around.”   In yoga, this is referred to as the law of karma.  Violence begets violence.  But realize that positive acts also boomerang, so peace begets peace.

Imagine what it would be like to be in a space that for eight years has rarely housed any harmful thoughts, words or deeds.  I know exactly what it is like.  Peace just hangs in the air and fills you when you reside in the space.  Many of my students have expressed that they’re surprised to feel amazingly peaceful when they enter the yoga studio.  I’m not surprised.  I believe we have all cultivated this peace over time.

You can cultivate peace, too.  By practicing non-harming, you can create your own sacred space, your own little piece of heaven.  If only everyone would.

Do you want to maintain or regain your youth?  Then maintain a healthy, flexible spine.

Those who consistently practice yoga generally feel young, look young and act young.  Frankly, years spent basking in the glorious sun will eventually show up on the skin, but other telltale signs of age may be avoidable.  The stiffness, slow and restricted movement and hunched posture that seniors often display are not as inevitable as often assumed. I have yoga students in their sixties who are more flexible and vibrant than many students under thirty—including some children.

What’s really important is that people at all stages of life keep moving, and especially keep moving the spine. Granted, many people stretch nowadays.  Smart personal trainers and gym assistants have convinced exercisers that stretching is beneficial before and after workouts.  But at the gym I attend, I primarily see people stretching hamstrings, calves, quadriceps, and maybe shoulders.

In yoga, emphasis is placed on stretches that contribute to the suppleness of the spine.  Yoga includes four different types of movements for the spine that help one maintain youth and vigor:  forward bends, backward bends, lateral bends, and twists.  Learning yoga postures or other exercises to limber up your spine is a great idea because in our relatively sedentary culture, our daily movements are limited.

Here’s an easy variation of a yoga twist that you can do every day:  a veritable youth tonic.

Sit your hips in the middle of a firm chair seat– a dining room or desk chair usually works.   Plant both feet on the floor and sit up tall, creating length in your spine.  Now breathe in deeply, and as you exhale, twist your torso to the right.

Gently lever yourself into a deeper twist by pressing your left hand against your outer right thigh.  Taking hold of the chair back with your right hand is another way to spiral further.  Never force the stretch—just ease into it.  Keep your shoulders relaxed down and parallel to the floor.  Hold the stretch for several breaths, and then slowly come out of the pose and repeat to the opposite side.

Have you ever seen a healthy, graceful, youthful “senior” frolicking with a grandchild or great grandchild?  I hope to be one of those one day, and I hope you will be one too.  Limber up your spine!

“It’s all about you!” is an advertising slogan that seems to pop up often these days.  Messages such as this are obviously targeting individuals who actually believe “It’s all about me.”  This type of thinking is now prevalent and acceptable, but I ask, is it conducive to a happy, meaningful life?

I definitely recommend that people take good care of themselves physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.  If they do not, they run the risk of getting so depleted or even ill that they cease to be productive and are scarcely available to give attention, help or love to others.  A nice metaphor for this is found in the preflight safety instructions you are given on a plane:  Put your oxygen mask on before assisting others.

But frankly, while I know a few people who are almost always giving to others and not replenishing themselves, I’d say this does not describe the majority of people in our culture.  We have become a culture of individuals so engrossed in ourselves and the pursuit of ease, comfort and pleasures, that we accept self-centeredness as the norm.   “Be selfish and indulge yourself,” advertisers command.  And we obey.

But with all our pampering and primping, travelling, spa-ing, and delegating or shirking of responsibilities, do you think we’re one iota happier than our harder working, giving, serving, sacrificing counterparts in other places or times in history?  I’m no sociologist, just an interested observer, but I contend we are not happier.  Look around.  Just one indicator of our sad state is the rampant use of both prescription and illicit drugs.

The great teachers and texts of yoga have made clear the folly of a life lived only for self-gratification.  Yoga advocates selfless service to others as the means to overcoming egotistical tendencies.  We can only experience true happiness and peace when we come to understand our true nature and our true purpose in life.  To perform actions without any expectation of reward, not even praise, allows our inner goodness to flourish.  Whether it’s getting involved with an adult literacy program, helping with a highway litter cleanup, or just assisting a friend with a difficult task, try engaging in some selfless service.

Feel your heart expand and your mental burdens lighten as you affirm, “It’s not all about me: it’s about all of us.”

After class, a yoga student frets, “I just can’t keep my thoughts from racing.  You’re asking us to focus, but my mind is jumping all over the place.”  As exasperated as she may be, this student has just taken an important step toward controlling what in yoga we call the “monkey mind.”  She has become the witness of her thoughts and become aware of the nature of her mind.

When yoga and meditation novices first attempt to concentrate, whether on the breath, an area of the body, a mantra, a symbol, or some other a focal point, they are often shocked to realize how difficult the task is.  Many, I’m afraid, turn away from their practice very early on, convinced that they are just not cut out for this sort of thing.

Rest assured, those of you who have become discouraged with your first attempts to quiet your mind:  there is hope.  Just think—it took you three, or four or maybe even seven decades to create your current mental habits.  You’re certainly not going to tame that monkey mind in three classes.

In the beginning, be content to learn how your mind operates.  Witness how it follows one train of thought and then takes a tangent, then another tangent and yet another.  And notice what types of thoughts prevail.  Are they reminiscences, plans, worries, self-criticism or the rehashing of conversations?  Just notice.

As you delve into yoga or meditation, certainly heed your teacher’s guidance and reminders to reign in your mind, but give yourself some slack.  Always treat yourself with love and patience.  Understand that these practices may take a lifetime to fully master.  But every bit of effort on the path to becoming your highest self is valuable.

It seems to me that most people live as slaves to their minds, cowering under the lash of obsession, worry, craving, judgment, resentment, and other life-sapping mental manifestations.  You can learn to be the master of your mind instead of its slave.  First, just grasp the nature of the beast.

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Kid’s Yoga now on Saturdays, 10:15 – 11:10am  This class is for boys and girls ages 6-11. Benefits include : Healthy fun, fitness, friends, flexibility, coordination, concentration, self-esteem, interpersonal skills & more! Details: $10 a class, or a 6 class pass for only $48 (pass expires 2 months from start date). Kids should wear comfy clothes and sandals. Bring a yoga mat, or borrow or buy one at the studio. What to do: Email Tracey (tracey@stilllakeyoga.com) today to pre-register your child! Please give child’s name, sex, and age. You will be emailed registration forms to bring to the first class. Or call Still Lake Yoga to pre-register: 352.978.8356