The ONE BEST thing your Yoga Teacher Can Give You

It’s time for another one of my “whenever” Yoga blogs… I’m getting ready to teach again in another couple of weeks. While I may not teach continuously, I certainly PRACTICE continually… And so, that’s what my blog is about!

A woman I used to work with told me she was sore from doing something (like moving furniture) and she thought that going to yoga class would be the best thing to do. I mean, Yoga is good for that, right? Well, RIGHT, but…

Your Yoga teacher does not know what is up with your body, and even if they do, they certainly can’t teach a perfect class with a dozen students doing just the right thing for all the students. Recently, injured myself from ripping out brush and bushes from my yard, so, when I started my yoga practice, I stood on my left foot and held my right heal in my right hand while pointing my right knee out beside me. I relaxed my leg and let my spine open up on the right. I knew it was the pose I needed to do because that’s what my body told me to do. Your best yoga instructor is YOU. Your body will tell you what it needs through the awareness that a multi-year practice will produce. If you want that awareness after one yoga class, or from your instructor in each class, you don’t get what yoga is… yet.

It IS your teacher’s responsibility to instill a continuing interest in Yoga into you, so that you can practice on your own in order to get the best benefits.

The woman I worked with complained that she had never been sorer in her life after that class. A cross-trainer would say, “Good”. Some of you yoga instructors would say that too. Not me.

Yoga is not about ripped abs, extreme endurance, big muscles or perfection. Yoga is learning about yourself, and finding your own path to being the best that you know you can be.

Because of that, yoga is kind to many different body types and shapes, despite almost never seeing such things in yoga advertisements.

If you are only practicing yoga right now in a class, start to do some yoga on your own. If you “hurt” somewhere, think about something GENTLE that you can do that might make it feel better. Use gravity and try to relax into your self-created pose. BREATHE into it…

So, in my class coming up, I’m going to concentrate on passing that desire to my students – to practice it daily and on one’s own. That way I can improve as a teacher…

Namaste! And see you in class!

Robert

Yoga and Pain

It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog. This subject- yoga and pain- has been written about extensively in the literature, mostly in relation to alleviating pain.

Yoga has a special “problem” in that within the USA, it falls within “alternative and complementary health” which makes some people think of it as quackery and some may think of it as some sort of magical fix for all things. It’s important that we don’t think of it either way. Yoga is a lifestyle and a system of health. Check my other blogs for protestations about yoga being thought of as a stretching class too!

Yes, Yoga CAN help with pain, but not all pain. We must be realistic about what the limitations of Yoga are. The subject goes further, we must admit. It’s not just Yoga alleviating pain, but it’s about Yoga causing pain too. As an instructor, I know that Yoga should never cause pain, but, we must be realistic: we are in motion, sometimes trying things we have never tried, and, we are also sometimes unaware of a slight injury until we move in a certain way. Even the most “aware” of us can move a weakened spot in such a way that causes inflammation and injury.

Sometimes, I watch students attempt a move and see how the resultant strain may be causing discomfort, or an injury, and immediately move the student away from the stress point. Sometimes it may be too late.

Other times, it is a day or two later that the student realizes the strain has caused an injury. And then, suddenly, Yoga ceases to be what it was perceived to be, or, the instructor is a “bad instructor.” It’s important to realize that, indeed, Yoga may not be what one thought of it to be: we are all victims of hype: the new deodorant DIDN’T get you the pretty new girlfriend… Many Yoga practitioners want Yoga to be the mystic power it’s often presented to be, instead of the science with ancient roots that it actually is.

With all this in mind, here are some key points to remember for Yoga and pain relief, and preventing yoga injury. Some I concluded over time, and, others were taught to me: if I had just listened at the time.

For pain relief

·         Spinal expansion, not twisting is the key to relieving nerve pressure that may cause pain. This, however, may NOT be the cause of pain.

·         The relaxation and elongation of muscles and tendons that Yoga emphasizes, may help toxins to be released and more easily eliminated through defecation, urination, perspiration or respiration. Yoga may help certain chemicals used in the relaxation process to flush tissue of damaging substances.

·         Bruises and abrasions are best relieved with pranayama (breathing) exercises in lotus or savasana position. There is little else that can be done. The breath may help facilitate the natural healing process.

·         Bones are used for support in Yoga more than any other system of movement or exercise. Injured bones are best avoid Yoga asanas. Meditation and other practices may be helpful during these times.

Preventing injury

·         The general awareness yoga instills can assist with preventing all sorts of injuries and avoiding danger, but, this awareness comes about over years and is not the result of a few good yoga classes focused on expanding awareness.

·         Every asana of muscular and tendon strain or contraction should be released and countered with an asana that focuses on such release.

·         Proper breathing with complete exhalation should take place throughout the yoga routine.

·         Any pose that causes pain or discomfort should be stopped or lessened immediately

·         No pose that causes a furrowed brow should be done: if you cannot maintain a gentle smile throughout the routine, it is too extreme. Instead, take more intermediary steps to reach the desired next level, so that when you do, you arrive at it through consistent learning and building.

There is far more to the subject of “yoga and pain” than a basic blog can cover, but this should start you off with some information to ponder.

We must be realistic about our craft: a craft we indeed consider an art. It is what we love, and like that which we love, we must be gentle in our approach, and expect its secrets to unfold in their own time.

The Yoga Crisis: Is it real? Is it just a step in growth?

The first experience I had naming what I now refer to as a “Yoga Crisis” was with a Savaroopa Yoga Instructor at our 7 Senses Health Center in Fountain Hill Pennsylvania. It was about 2003 sometime (it seems odd that any post 2000 date is beginning to seem long ago, but…). Judy Wolfe was our Svaroopa instructor’s name, and she was mentioning how one of her instructors became inaccessible to her students, and kept plunging into crisis after crisis, and, I thought, “that’s odd, the same thing happened to one of my instructors…Hell, the same thing is happening to me right now…”

Most of us who teach Yoga, jump into it in the United States once we have gotten the Asana down as far as a precise physical movement. What we don’t expect, is that arrival at proficient physical alignment, just spurs the beginning of internal alignment, which has to do with emotion, ego, mind and the connection to spirit. I am reminded of the idea that the practice of Yoga can lead to crisis, when so many say they seek Yoga to relax or help deal with and prevent crises. Crises are not relaxing (just in case you didn't know). Yoga does help to prevent and deal with crisis, ultimately, but, Yoga can cause crises, or, move us along by precipitating learning in this regard.

Crises, can come about by external, non-controllable events and circumstances (like being in a sudden earthquake), by the way we choose to act or react to any circumstance, or, by some combination thereof. For most people, it is a combination, and how our "self" reacts to any happening.

Yoga crises come about when the practice of Yoga collides with self, and the stories we tell ourselves about “who” we are and “how” others are. Note we are always somebody and others are always the way we perceive them to act. See any possible conflict with that? A Yoga practice leads us directly into, backs us into, and slips to us (cleverly on the side) aspects of how we are connected to others and the world, and crises occur when our “self” collides with the “self” of others, and occurrences in the world.

I know this from being pretty bad at sorting it out, and constantly experiencing the dregs of reacting to things. Most of us do, and will continue to do so. It’s only been truly since the white has increased in my beard that I’m able to separate any of this and focus on it at all.

Crises will occur until you learn from them, or, they kill you. That’s what I said. Seems cruel… But not really. Crises reduce, not because bad stuff stops happening, but because we no longer allow it to collide with self, and our participation in happenings becomes that of non-attachment (which should not be confused with apathy or lack of caring). It’s difficult to put your hands on your self, pick your self up, and move your self to the side. Most of us just get to the point of putting our hands on our self and picking our self up. This leads us to examine our self, and ultimately to more and more ego, instead of less and less. If we could just realize that we’re not really that interesting…

The only way to become your true self is to put your self aside. That’s the ultimate purpose of Yoga. Yoga is not something you step aside to do each day or once a week. Ultimately, it becomes who we are if we continue its practice. Now, if you approach and someone rolls their eyes and says, “There goes Mr./Ms. Yoga…” then we are likely still connecting Yoga and its knowledge and practices with our own ego. I might even go so far as to say that you might notice a great Yoga instructor, not by their charisma, but by their lack thereof.

So, is the Yoga Crisis just a step in growth? Well, I promise I’m not being smart, but… Personal growth might be an important part of the journey, but we’re not really getting anywhere until we put that aside as well. Again, personal growth has to do with ego. We can have and share knowledge, but that is a function of the ego. Wisdom, is where we reflect the true nature of the Universe… So guess which one this blog post is?

That’s right. It’s still just ego. You have to get to wisdom, well, not by your “self” or  any one else's…

Namaste!

Yoga - What it is and what it ain't...

Welcome to the first in what I hope are many “useful” Wellness Transitions Blogs… My first will be on Yoga, and, of course, I want to write the one Blog that begins and ends all Yoga Blogs. But, I’d be full of baloney if I claimed I could do that, or, even tried to be “complete” in a single Blog (should I even capitalize Blog)?

Anyway, I hope you’re a voracious reader, because I usually use too many words to get an idea across.

Oh ya, Yoga. Soon, my classes will start at the Unitarian Church. If you want to know all about what, when and how much it costs, see HERE.

This year, B.K.S. Iyengar passed away. I know this because my Dad sent me an article he clipped from his magazine via snail mail (thanks Dad). Iyengar is credited with bringing Yoga to the West in the 1960’s… Well, certainly lots of people knew about Yoga in the West before that, but, Iyengar made it mainstream. Neither the U.S. fitness scene nor Yoga was ever the same (at least not what happened to Yoga in the good ol’ U.S. of A). Mostly, because we need to simplify everything we do, and fit it into our daily schedule, for, you know, about an hour. The trouble is, yup, I’m about to say what you expected: Yoga is not an “about-an-hour” kinda thing. It’s a whole philosophy and lifestyle.

What we think of Yoga in the U.S. – a stretching class – is so far from what its potential is, that, if you're going to use it solely as a stretching class – well, take Yoga anyway, because it will still benefit you and may lead to bigger and better things.

Yoga really has eight limbs…

The Outer Aids:

Yama- A foundation consisting of 5 right attitudes or passive ideas: non-violence, non-lying, non-sexual excess, non-steeling and non-attachment to worldly things.

Niyama- The second part of Yogic foundation which consists of 5 right actions: contentment, purity, self-study, self-discipline, and surrender to God.

Asana- The popular “postures” or exercises which many think are all of what Yoga is.

Pranayama- The breathing techniques which extend the life force and also include health of the system through nutrition, herbs, and control of the mind.

Pratyahara- The control of the senses and withdrawal from distractions.

The Inner Aids:

Dharana- The control of mind or “right attention”

Dhyana- Meditation, or sustained attention- the proper way to be aware, rather than a trance like state, which one “goes in and out of”.

Samadhi- The process of becoming one or unified with the observed, seeing how one is connected, and finally how one is the same.

You may have noticed that “Asana” is only one limb, and, well, I’ll be: it doesn’t say anything about a one-hour-only stretching class. In fact, stretching is exactly what we need to forget about, because, Yoga is the only exercise science that emphasizes the release and relaxation of muscle and tendon as well as contraction. Stretching uses contraction of other muscles to lengthen a muscle. That’s not what Yoga teaches.

Yup. I called it a science. There are specific chemical signals that come into play when tendons and muscles relax, and gaining conscious control over those signals so that you can truly relax is one of the key elements of yoga. A trained athlete that wants to do “power” yoga has probably made a mistake.  Yes, yoga can be “power yoga” as it was once used to train and strengthen warriors. However, the athlete’s sport may already give them all the power they are looking for. What most athletes need to learn is how to “release” in their sport. That’s why so many different athletic disciplines all turn to Yoga. In addition, its other aspects can help an athlete focus, but, it can help a supermarket cashier focus too, and, it can help anyone at any time in their life distribute energy more efficiently and effectively – not because of some hocus-pocus religious aspect to Yoga that some people think it has (well, it does, but more on that later), but, because it is a precise physical science.

That said, strengthening-Yoga can help athletes and laborers gain equalizing strength in muscle groups that support the main muscles of their activity or sport. You read that right: If your job strains your lower back: Do Yoga.

If you read through the eight limbs again above, you’ll notice that all but three (Yama, Niyama and Samadhi) have to do with regulation of our physiological response to things. The reason it contains aspects that seem more philosophical or religious, is that it comes from a culture that prizes the spiritual over all other things, as the ultimate pursuit – therefore, this is how to “be well” so that you can have a successful spiritual pursuit – but, it will benefit you even if that is not your goal. It is also non-dogma and non-religion specific, so, it can make you a happy healthy conservative Christian or Wiccan. It’s an equal opportunity practice.

The surrender to God part might be troublesome for some, but, it really just calls us to be in control of that which we can, and to leave all those non-controllables alone. You can control your breathing rate, but, you can’t control everyone’s behavior around you.

I’ll leave my first Blog now, since I can’t cover everything. It’s 917 words long! I hope it inspires you to learn more about your health, and Yoga in particular!

Namaste,

Robert