August Newsletter

My August newsletter has been posted, view it here.

For the next 5 days I will be working at Herizen Yoga Teacher Training, and will blog when I return.

Good Lessons

I love this post from Spoiled Yogi: Steal From Your Teacher (And Other Good Advice That Sounds Bad)

Sometimes we need to do something that conventional wisdom would say not to. I listened to my inner wisdom. I'm not walking the same path as I used to, but I know it is my path.

My Yin Yoga Saviours

There are a couple of Yin Yoga moves that are absolutely helping my body right now. A lot of Yoga classes in a row, a lot of holding Pigeon Pose, somedays leaves me with very sore hands and wrists. And my new workout program includes a lot of squats and lunges which has left me with sore knees. So how do I recover?

I love these exercises for my wrists: Yin Yoga for the Wrists. If I do Pigeon on one side and find that my hands are sore, when I switch to the other side I flip my hands around to work my wrists as well. I'm fortunate enough to be able to flip my hands 180 degrees which gives me an amazing stretch.

I love Virasana for my knees: Yin Yoga for the Knees. I have been doing this any day that my knees are sore from squats and lunges. And I find without fail that my knees feel amazing after.

I admit I was a bit skeptical about these positions that seemed like they were just putting more pressure on an already taxed joint. But in the end, I feel they have made my joints stronger and more stable.

I love Yin Yoga, it's such a great balance to Yang Yoga and to our generally busy lives!

Reflections on Letting Go

In North American society, we have a general belief that more is better. A constant striving upward. More money. More things.

The fifth Yama in Yoga is Aparigraha, variously translated as non-possessiveness, non-desire, non-greed, non-attachment, non-hoarding.

Deborah Adele talking about Aparigraha looks at what we possess, possesses us and how our expectations can tie us down. Michael Stone says it well: "Owning things or accumulating knowledge adds nothing to a life authentically lived."

So how does Aparigraha fit into our lives? Most of us would agree that non-hoarding, non-greed and non-possessiveness seem like good things. Of course, that is dependent on what you define as hoarding, greed and possessiveness. Is 100 pairs of shoes hoarding? Then I know a lot of women who might not like this road.

And what's wrong with desire? Nothing; but where does the desire come from? If you have a perfectly good car, but yearn for a new one, what are you hoping that the new car will give you?

And attachment is a commonly misunderstood topic. When non-attachment comes up, many people envision a hermit, living alone, not talking to anyone, not having any real possessions. But that's not what non-attachment is about. Attachment becomes a problem when our fear of losing people or losing our things gets in the way of enjoying them in the moment. The reality is that everything changes, so we should worry less about the changes and just enjoy the now.

What does Aparigraha mean for me? Realizing before I buy something that it is a want, not a need, and making my decision based on that. Appreciating that I am blessed to live such a comfortable life in a large house. Treasuring every moment with my loved ones. Knowing that the people I love and things that I have do not define me. I am me. Whether my life continues to be blessed or I face challenges as I move forward, I know who I am inside.

Day Off

Apparently, I'm taking today off of blogging. I wrote a nice long post and it's gone now. Rather than recreate it, I thought I'd share this piece with you:

In Seattle, floating yoga on a paddleboard

These people are crazy. Brave but crazy. What a great way to test your balance! For me, I don't know that I'd be able to relax and really get actual "yoga" accomplished. If we lived in warmer waters I'd certainly give it a try though.

Yogic Numerology

I had one of those amazing moments on Saturday. I have a book on Kundalini Yoga (The Kundalini Yoga Experience). I've had it for years, since I took a Kundalini course in Victoria.

I don't use the book much now, except for the Chakra information which I use when I teach Chakra Meditation. On Saturday, I picked it up to look for additional readings for the end of my Yoga classes. And came upon the Yogic Numerology section.

I know that I've read this section before because my numbers are all done up in the book. And I can imagine that when I read it back then, it didn't mean a lot to me. But now that I'm at a different point in my journey, wow!

Yogic Numerology has 5 numbers: Soul, Karma, Gift, Destiny and Path. The Soul and Karma numbers reveal challenges. The Gift number is just that, a gift. The Destiny number relates to past lives. The Path is what you are meant to do in this lifetime.

While I related to all of my numbers, I was particularly hit with the Soul and Karma numbers which to me really did represent 2 big challenges I've faced in my life.

I'm sure this is not the same experience everyone would have, but for me Yogic Numerology let me have a little more insight into my life. It helped me feel more connected to my journey through this world.

July Love List

20 things I'm loving right now:

1. The on again, off again weather (I kind of like the hot one day, cool the next).
2. The yummy home-baked treats a good friend brought me yesterday.
3. TGIF. I know I don't have a day job anymore, and I do work Saturdays, but somehow Fridays are still Fridays.
4. The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching by Thich Nhat Hanh.
5. New animal poses I made up with some 9-10 yr old girls I worked with yesterday.
6. The Dalai Lama's Book of Transformation, lent to me by one of my students.
7. Grey's Anatomy reruns from previous seasons (still only watching a little TV each week, but Grey's is certainly part of that).
8. Recipes from Meals for Good Health.
9. Hip Hop, our resident cottontail.
10. Walks with friends (I got out to Westwood and Divers Lake this week).
11. My cat being so incredibly cuddly lately.
12. My mom for trying new recipes with me (even when the recipes don't turn out).
13. Connecting with family and friends that I haven't talked to in ages.
14. Child's Pose, Bow, Pigeon, Dancer.
15. My hair just starting to curl.
16. Finding a productive rhythm for my days so that I get in work, chores and relaxation.
17. Our relatively clean carpets (we shampooed on July 2nd and they're already starting to get dirty again).
18. Great mystery and chick lit novels from the libary.
19. My new clothes from Jockey (new red hoodie and 2 new pairs of capris for dirt cheap during the Canada Day sale).
20. Outdoor movies (I just wish we had them more often).

Moment of Meditation

Today I came across this cartoon video: One-Moment Meditation Cartoon.

What do I love about this? This makes meditation accessible. You don't need a lot of time. You don't need to bend your legs a certain way. You just sit for a minute. I think it could be really helpful for a lot of people.

What would I like to add? It does not encourage you to lengthen your meditation beyond the minute. I think that being able to meditate for a moment is really helpful in a stressful situation, in a boring situation and basically while you're doing other things. But I also think there are great benefits to be had from meditating for longer periods of time.

Extending the length of our meditation allows us to better train our minds for stillness. It also allows us to tap into an inner or outer wisdom, to take our meditation beyond stress reduction and into further improvements in our lives.

But a moment is a great start and a great option to have in your personal toolbox.

Feeling My Breath

In my regular meditation practice, my morning meditation is mindfulness of breathing. It has evolved over the years and for the past few months I'd been using a phrase in my head, one on the in breath, one on the out breath.

Words can be very good during meditation, they can give me a focal point and help keep my mind from wandering.

However, I'd recently noticed that I would suddenly be saying the words very fast, which means that my breathing had sped up. Then I realized that while I was tuning in to the words about breath, I wasn't actually tuning in to my breath. And while my brain was still churning on other things at the same time, it was getting too busy, speeding my breathing rate up.

Back to the breath. That's where I've gone. The words can still be helpful, but for me they are secondary to actually noticing the breath. The rise and fall, the feeling in my body. And as soon as I do that, my breathing again becomes slow and deep.

Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in a certain process and forget what it's all about (being in the moment, a connection with myself and tapping into something greater than me).

Yoga Improves Quality of Life for Cancer Patients

This is a guest post from Jillian McKee, a complementary care
advocate for the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance.

Many people find that yoga is good for helping with flexibility and centered thoughts. However, recent studies by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners have found many benefits to this ancient technique for cancer patients. The studies examined the use of yoga relieving symptoms such as insomnia, pain and fatigue from mesothelioma cancer therapy.

Before beginning yoga, cancer patients should talk with their oncologist for recommendations. Some positions associated with yoga might place a strain on joints and ligaments, having detrimental effects on cancer patients. Once the oncologist clears patients, they can begin yoga.

Cancer patients who participated in various studies have reported numerous benefits to yoga improving their quality of life. Cancer treatments such as radiation or chemotherapy can negatively affect a person’s well being while fighting the growth of cancer cells. Many of these effects include insomnia, pain, fatigue, and loss of appetite, stress and anxiety.

Yoga might help cancer patients who suffer from insomnia to relax and get a good night’s sleep. For some patients, yoga can also decrease the pain caused by some cancer treatments. Typically, patients also take pain medications and experience a marked improvement when combined with yoga.

Another way that mesothelioma life expectancy and quality of life improves through yoga is the decrease in fatigue, giving patients more energy to enjoy other things. Some patients experience a loss of appetite after a cancer diagnosis; however, yoga can help to relax the mind and restore the appetite.

A cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatments can cause stress for many patients. Practicing yoga helps to reduce the stress levels many people experience. Studies have shown stress is reduced on two levels. Clinically, some patients reported feeling less stressed while attending yoga classes. Physically, stress in the body was also reduced with lower blood cortisol levels. Cortisol is believed to cause cancer to progress.

Yoga may also reduce the anxiety level cancer patients have during treatment. The breathing practices and centering activities play an important role.

The benefits of yoga improve the quality of life for cancer patients by relieving symptoms. Yoga is not a form of cancer treatment. Patients should not participate in classes to replace the treatment plan prescribed by their oncologist. Rather, yoga is integrated with treatment to help patients cope with the symptoms.

Sitting Gets Complicated

I have been meditating somewhat regularly for a couple years now (and sporadically before that). I say "somewhat" because I always take some periods of time off and then get back into it.

One of the things I am experimenting with right now is how to sit during meditation. For more than a year I'd been sitting cross-legged (sometimes half lotus), which has precipitated a recent meditation break. My hips and back were not loving the rotation.

Now that I've reclaimed my meditation practice, I am trying out different sitting styles. During my morning meditation I am sitting in rock pose with my legs under me, sitting on my heels. I am sitting on a stack of blocks to reduce the stress on my knees. I do find this pose lets my back relax since it tips my pelvis slightly.

During my mid day meditation I am sitting in cobbler's pose with the soles of my feet together. Instead of keeping them close to my body, I leave them out further. While this is still rotation of the hips, it is much gentler than cross legged. And I keep my spine up for the first half and then bend down over my feet for the last half.

During my evening meditation I am sitting with my back somewhat supported on the wall and my legs straight out, knees bent over a bolster. This is great for my back but I find the wall uncomfortable so I'm going to try a small pillow between my back and the wall.

I find it is a fine balance between wanting to challenge my body to sit during meditation but still providing it enough comfort that it doesn't become a distraction.

The Fine Line of Religion

At the end of most of my Yoga classes I do a reading. Since I started teaching, most of my readings have been from Deborah Adele's Yamas and Niyamas. I love this book. The readings were on a variety of subjects including self-love, balance, surrender, courage.

But I wanted to branch out my readings to other voices as well. I started doing some readings a couple of weeks ago from Thich Nhat Hanh's You Are Here. The first two readings were great on letting go and emotions. Then I chose another reading that would have been for this week. It was on the nature of no-birth and no-death. But something was grating at me about reading it to my students.

I realized it is a reading about a particular religious perspective (Buddhist). And while I'm happy to share with my students my views if they want to know them, I want the readings to be accessible regardless of their particular beliefs. So, while I love Thich Nhat Hanh's messages, I will definitely only be reading those that pertain to mindfulness and not those that wander into Buddhist teachings.

With that, I'm moving back to more Yoga based books that look at things from a broader sense for my readings.

July Newsletter

My July newsletter has been posted on my website, view it here.

Happy Canada Day!