Anatomic Yoga: Precision Asana

I attended a workshop this weekend with a gentleman who wrote one of the textbooks in my Yoga teacher training. Ray Long, MD, is an orthopedic surgeon who practices Yoga. He’s taken his in depth knowledge of the human body from his Western medical background, studied cutting-edge research and applied advanced computer animations to figure out how Yoga works in the body, and how we can use anatomic principles to do Yoga more effectively.

His basic premise is that we analyze each pose to see what muscles are involved in creating the form. We then stretch and engage the primary muscles and their opponents to create a precise, correct embodiment of the pose. He integrates modern scientific stretching techniques to enhance the efficacy. I myself got my torso on my leg in Janu Sirsasana (seated forward fold with one leg extended and one bent), which hasn’t happened since my full-time martial arts days.

This type of approach, interestingly enough, is a big part of how I was trained to be a Yoga teacher. Two of the three teachers who created the training program I attended have a detail-oriented, practical and anatomical bent to their teaching. The other instructor came out of a very holistic school of Yoga. She has much of the same knowledge, but different languaging.

Sunny Davis, especially, is skilled in combining anatomy and biomechanics to building good alignment in Yoga poses. But because of her background as a international level fitness educator and former competitive cyclist, her knowledge base is rich enough to inform any type of movement. Sunny has an amazing ability to analyze all the different embodiments of a pose in even a large class, and her corrections are subtle and powerful.

She and I have co-taught a series of therapeutic classes that focus on each functional area of the body, starting from the ground up with the feet and lower legs. In each workshop, we teach anatomy, common problems, options for treatment and then we practice stretching and strengthening approaches that come from her and my broad array of disciplines. Sunny brings in the perspective of an athlete, fitness trainer and long-time therapeutically-focused Yoga and Pilates teacher, and I bring in my martial arts, subtle energy expertise, lifetime Yoga practice and clinical massage background. Together, we make a pretty potent team.

I garnered some excellent asana cues and subtle anatomical insights from Mr. Long this weekend. It’s going to add to my ongoing process of combining disciplines to better help my students and patients. It was also lovely to meet an MD who believes that energetic blockages are the root of most illness. More than anything, it confirmed that I’m headed in the right direction – true integrative medicine. I love the ancient and mystical aspects of Yoga, but I’m quite sure I would not be so effective at using it if I didn’t have so much training in anatomy, physiology and kinesiology.

Here’s a little scrap I wrote in my notes near the end of the workshop:

“Our job as Yoga teachers is not only to help increase overall strength and flexibility, but to counteract the effects of modern sedentary life, which is rife with such problems as: kyphosis of the upper back, lower back pain, flat feet, weak core musculature, weak shoulder girdle musculature, tight hip flexors and hamstrings, sacro-iliac instability, living in a constant state of stress and lack of embodiment.”

A mouthful, I know. This is my life – I work with people every day who have a preponderance of the above conditions. People are stressed, tired, out of shape in crucial areas and not aware of their bodies. That’s what I do in my massage practice, yoga therapy practice and yoga classes. I strive to get people back in their bodies, to build awareness of the body’s sensations and wisdom, calm the nervous system and then get to work on strengthening and stretching safely.

The more trainings I attend, the more I can see that knowledge is knowledge, no matter what the source. Most disciplines and traditions of healing and personal development have similar insights, though they have distinct systems of symbolism and language. My sensei once said “the moves are the moves are the moves”.

Very true.

Happy Earth Day!

Today is the day to acknowledge and honor the Earth. The Earth is alive. The Earth is a giant organism, and we are deeply intertwined and interconnected with all the other forms of life who call this beautiful, messy, chaotic, imperfect place home.

Tonight there will be a global meditation to heal and honor our beloved home, won't you join me there?

Happy Earth Day!

The Healing Power of Silence

I’ve been thinking for quite a while now about one of my superpowers: silence. Doesn’t sound too impressive, does it? Perhaps you’d rather be able to teleport, have x-ray vision or some other flashy power. Me? I’ll stick with silence.

Consider what happens when we are silent: introspection, listening, presence in the moment, rest, receptiveness, focus.

In our fast paced modern lives, how often do we stay silent to truly listen to our partners? Or are we really formulating our next sentence?

How often do we talk on the phone just to drown out the thoughts and feelings inside our minds?

How often do we turn on the TV, stream media over the internet, or zone out in front of a smartphone…attempting to “rest” by overstimulating our senses?

And how often do we actually stop talking, doing, running, consuming…just stop and be with our inner selves?

If you’re like most of us, one or more of the above questions will strike a chord.

As a Yoga Therapist and Instructor, I teach people techniques like asana (yoga poses), pranayama (breathing exercises) and meditation. Like many people, I was taught that these practices are valuable and healing.

Which they are. Each has a different effect on our bodymind, and those effects are wondrous.

But as it turns out, part of why they are effective is that many of them invite us into silence and bring us into calm, quiet environments.

I’m also an Environmental Educator, and today I led a hike into some lovely woods. One of my participants repeatedly remarked on how quiet it was, and I could see that it was having its subtle effect on her.

Modern science is catching up with the ancient wisdom of Yoga on this topic. Research published online in European's leading cardiology journal, European Heart Journal, links exposure to chronic noise with an increased risk of heart attack.

Just recently, I was reading an Ayurvedic text, and was struck by how it talks about meditation. Meditation is not just helpful because of the practice itself, but because it gives us a few minutes of complete silence every day.

Yoga teaches us that silence is healing because the reduced stimulation allows our nervous system to rest and regenerate. This is why a good Yoga teacher will tell you that savasana or corpse pose is the most important pose of the class.

Time in nature has the very same effect. In fact, the sounds of nature may be even more healing than just plain silence, but that's a topic for another blog post!

Why not add a few minutes of silence into your day? Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Sit quietly in your backyard
• Take a walk outside
• Meditate
• Practice Yoga
• Journal
• Take a “silent fast” – set aside some time, from a few minutes up to a day or even a weekend, in which you turn off all electronics and remain in silence as you do whatever calming thing that you like, or nothing at all.

Remember, the goal is to reduce noise, become aware of the present moment, and be present with your Self.

I’d love to hear about your experiences; please leave a comment with the results of your experiment!

The Spiritual Practice of Saving Money

What’s holding you back from having the life you want? If you’re like most people, the answer is stress. But what is truly stressing you out? Is it your job, your spouse, your children…or is it money?

We can’t change the fact that life hands us constant challenges, nor should we. These are growth opportunities, whether positive or negative. The growth comes with how we choose to meet these challenges.

But what we can change are all the niggling things in the background. When you can’t sleep at night, what are you thinking about? Commonly, it’s the events of the day. But often enough, it’s that nagging worry about money.

Money. We all have issues with it, seemingly no matter how much or little we earn. But consider this: money is simply energy in material form. The energy of the work that you do is exchanged for the money that you earn.

Nothing more, nothing less.

But that also means that money, as a form of energy, is a part of our spiritual practice. I think followers of most spiritual traditions would agree that balancing all the aspects of our lives – physical-emotional-mental health, spiritual practice, relationships, a clean and pleasant home, career, and community is important.

I’m not sure that many people include finances on that list, but it absolutely should be. How can we have the resources, materially, emotionally and mentally, to live our lives in a healthy manner when our very survival is in question? Of course that sounds dramatic, but most of us don’t live in the woods. Money is essential.

So. Consider efforts toward putting your financial affairs in order as a part of your self-care routine, as a vital part of your spiritual journey to wellness.

Here’s a simple idea that most of us can afford: the 52 Week Money Challenge. This is an image that I came across here on the internet, and it made me realize something: saying that you’re going to save money isn’t nearly as effective as setting dates, amounts and dare I say it, some accountability.

Maybe you’re already a financially responsible citizen. If so, I salute you! Maybe you’re like me, a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of person. That’s ok too. Either way, you can benefit from this challenge.

Is there a special project you’ve always wanted to work on? A trip that just won’t get out of your head? Perhaps an offering to your community, church or favorite charity that you’ve always wanted to make? Or would an extra cushion of savings help decrease your stress?

Here’s your chance. With each week that passes, you will be showing yourself that you are valuable. Your dreams matter. Your security is important. Join me – let’s do this thing!

Asana: Not the Best Part of Yoga

 Finally, my chance to write about Yoga! But first, let me tell you a story.

The other night, we were having a gathering of my Meetup group. I forget now how it came up, but the topic of my weekly Yoga class came up. We were trying to describe exactly what we do in there, and it was a little tricky.

See, I don’t teach traditional Yoga. Well, I do, actually. I’m a Hatha Yoga instructor, trained by some very skilled old school teachers. But I don’t teach *just* traditional yoga.

No, I seem to have gone off the rails somewhere, into the unknown. I find myself letting it all hang out in the Yoga studio. My…err…colorful mode of speech comes out. We have “booty blankets” to sit on, for example. I’ve been known to fistpump and I crack jokes constantly. One night we danced. More than once, we pulled out colored pens and index cards.

One of my students finally said that I’m teaching “renegade yoga”. I like it. And thus the name of this blog was born.

But I kept thinking. The word 'renegade' implies a certain level of rebellion. I'm not actually rebelling against the tradition of Yoga. I love an honor the traditions. In fact, my way of teaching is in many ways more traditional than what you will find at most Yoga studios today. But we are doing something different in my class. So finally, I renamed my class to 'Wild Freedom Yoga'. 

Anyhoo. Back to asana. Yoga is freaking awesome. But asana, or the physical poses, are far from the best part of it. Oh sure, they’re important. One of the purposes of asana is to strengthen one’s body enough to sit in meditation. And I love me some meditation.

But here in the US, we have gotten fixated on asana, and performing all sorts of acrobatic feats. We even have such a thing as Acro-Yoga now. Blame it on the media, blame it on our relentless type-a drive for perfection, physical beauty, whatever. I’m not here to dissect our social problems.

The fact is that the art and science of Yoga is broad and deep. There’s really something in it for everyone. Like serving others and the world? Karma. Devotions to God (no matter what deity/archetype/concept you worship)? Bhakti. Are you the scholarly type? Jnana.

And those are just the branches on the big tree of Yoga. On each branch are scads of practices. Me? I like to meditate. I like to chant. I like devotion. I like service. Luckily, the Yoga police aren’t out to get me. I can do just as I please.

A great teacher of mine once said, “Yoga is liberation”.

Indeed.

Cleaning: Secret Spiritual Weapon

I’ve always had resistance to cleaning, for a variety of reasons. Traditional gender roles irk me, for one. Personal stuff, for another. Also, I like to begin projects, not clean up after them. I’m a creator, not a maintainer!

But lately, I have realized something. The Universe has been sending me messages in a variety of ways. A myriad of different contexts and situations have been presented to me, and with a tiny, unheard CLICK, it finally came into focus for me.

Cleaning is how you finish things, physically, emotionally and mentally. It’s the last step in the processing of an experience.

A clean and organized life sets the stage for happiness and peace.

From a warrior’s perspective, having your life in order means that you’re ready to die at any time.

Being ready to die doesn’t mean that you’re fatalistic. It means that you’re at peace with your past.  It means that you’re living in the present. It means that you’re fulfilling obligations and living your dreams. It means that you’ve lived every day to the best of your ability. Whether or not you are a physical warrior or a spiritual one, the same principles hold true.

And doesn’t that sound a lot like the goals of the Yogic path, or the Buddhist path, or any number of spiritual traditions?

But back to cleaning. I’m using the term ‘cleaning’ broadly: it’s not just sweeping, dusting and vacuuming your home. But also organizing. Decluttering. Dealing with emotional issues. Doing file maintenance on your computer. Getting tax or business records in order. Paring down your email inbox. Cleaning out voicemails. Doing estate planning. Spiffing up your vehicle. And once you’ve got it clean, why not make it beautiful?

All the extra energy that we expend when we can’t find something, don’t have the needed supplies or have to work around piles of junk…we now have available to me to move FORWARD. To meditate, to create, to dance, to worship, to explore, to…do everything you have been putting off because the miasma of things undone and things festering and things procrastinated about were keeping you paralyzed!

Perhaps even more important than that, getting your affairs in order is a profound act of self-love. Every time you file a record, fill a vase with flowers, or bring out the good tablecloth just because it makes you smile…you are showing yourself and the world that you are worthy. You deserve to be happy, peaceful and prosperous.

How did it take me so long to see this? Now I understand why my sensei was so meticulous. Why there were always a few extra touches at the dojang.

It could be that my sensei’s inner world was orderly, so his outer world reflected that. It could be that he knew that by keeping the outer world orderly, it gave him the space and support to deal with his inner world. Or maybe he knew that the seemingly prosaic act of cleaning is a highly spiritual one. Scratch that. Probably all of the above, knowing my sensei.

I have been cleaning, decluttering and organizing like mad for the last few weeks. Getting the energy flowing again. Throwing off the funk of winter. You know what? It feels AMAZING!

A Snowy Winter's Hike

Snow doesn't come often in the Carolinas, but this year we have been blessed. The first snow that came, I eagerly Jeeped down the road to my favorite trail. It was a lovely day, quiet with that special hush that only comes with thick snow. 

I felt the years melt away with each squeaky step. My cheeks grew flushed and my eyes got as wide as a child's. Look, deer tracks! And here, the way the snow makes puffy little mounds on each holly leaf! And there, a perfect heart shape in the snow! How am I to endure all this beauty?

And so it began. Photo snapping led to poetry. The rhythm of our steps would slow and stop as I would get inspired over and over to write just one more haiku. My partner ranged far ahead at times, and each time I caught up to him I would cheerily shout "I wrote another one, wanna hear?"

On such a day, I feel my connection to the Earth so strongly that it leaks out in poems, spontaneous scampers and a radiance that surely must be visible. I take such joy in walking the same trail month after month, to see the passing of the seasons as they should be seen: close-up and with an appreciation for the symphony of minute changes that heralds each one's passing.

This is ritual in its purest form: no-form. Walking in snow, to me, is a sure path to altered consciousness, to Divine communion, to meditation. One's steps are naturally slow, giving rise to present-moment awareness. 

Here is one of the haiku written on that hike:

following the deer

into quiet snowy woods

here I am at peace

by Jan Nerone