Dear Student,
I hope this
letter finds you well and enjoying the Springtime weather.
This time of year for many begins a time of increasing physical activity,
weekend “warrioring”, gardening, yard care as well as summer sports of all
types.
To best enjoy
yourself with the minimum of discomfort or problems the annual reminder is to
build up to your activity. The important thing to remember as the years go by is
not that age or activity are to be feared and avoided—as if that is even
possible—but that we need to bring our wisdom to the process. The gift of your
Yoga practice is that it can be a year round part of that process, enhancing
your strength and vitality on the physical, mental and energetic levels to
support all that you do in life.
For now, regular Yoga classes are on brief hiatus until Saturday, May 31st.
The new summer
schedule of Yoga Class begins on Sunday June 1st Raven’s
Wing Yoga. The schedule is attached. Additional details are available on the
website:
www.creativeedgeyoga.com .
-----The ongoing Kundalini class at
the Shoreline Center for Wholistic Health on Wednesdays at 7:30pm. I hope you
will take some time to try this unique and powerful practice.
-----The ongoing Saturday special class integration of Yoga and posture
alignment practice;
Yoga and Functional Movement for Posture Alignment, Pain Relief and
Stress Management
continues from 10:00-11:00am at the Shoreline Center. The new series begins on
Saturday, May 31st, Contact me with questions you may have about
this fundamental work and how it may help you work through difficult pain issues
and enhance your other life activities.
----This week is
“workshop week”. Enjoy these opportunities for deeper immersions into
Yoga, meditation and complementary healing approaches to be held.
at The
Shoreline Center for Wholistic Health
This Tuesday May 27th, from
6::15-8:45pm is :Yoga
and Mindfulness, Meditation and Self Mastery----A Workshop To Re-discover the
Healer Within
This Wednesday, Wednesday from 6::15-8:45pm:
Align Your Posture--- Ease Your Pain Yoga,
Meditation and Posture Alignment Therapy for Healing and Pain Relief and
Enhanced Living.
Special thanks again Ana Brett and Ravi Singh and all those who attended
their March 29th workshop experience! Feedback on their work
continues to be terrific and we are looking forward to seeing them return this
fall!
Yoga Therapy:
Sustaining and Success--Overcoming the Obstacles to Practice
“Yoga
practice begins as chore, becomes and habit and transforms into a joy”
Author unknown
Over the
years of my teaching I have come to believe more than ever the challenge
we face as we grow older is to avoid buying into convenient and inconvenient
myths of aging that would limit our lives pre-maturely and hasten our dis-ability
in all things. The aging process is a part of being human, but we are capable
and responsible to affect a good deal of how it impacts our lives. Yoga and
science are coming to more of an agreement lately, that much of what "ages" us
is related to environment and lifestyle, areas that personally and as a
community we have a measure of control.
From the point of
view of Yoga, on the level of the individual the stress that fatigues
us, anxiety that overwhelms us, pain that debilitates us and other health
symptoms reflect the seeds of dis-ease within that have emerged as messages
to be heard, not annoyances to be eliminated unconsciously. Our self care
practices can be our way of checking and in an ongoing manner hear and respond
to the needs of our selves and become partners with those whom we work on the
path toward a life of balance and wellness..
Whether enjoyable
or problematic…or both…, the working, family and even social obligations we do
have are real in their own way. They can be compelling and overwhelming. Keeping
up with them unconsciously can obscure these messages of stress, fatigue or some
deep felt sense that tell us that somehow we have lost balance in our lives.
Placing your
health and well being first
is not, from the Yogis point of view, indulgent, but instead is a valuable
support to continued accomplishment and enjoyment in the “real world”. In
addition to its fundamental purpose to be of inestimable support to our growth
and our evolution our practice is care for the vehicle with which we are given
to survive, and thrive in our lives.
It is common in my conversation with students or those considering beginning
some for of Yoga or Meditation practice is the hesitancy to consider self
care as important as the things that they do day to day to meet the
challenges and obligations of their lives. In addition often there is a sense
of conflict between the potential gains of Yoga they may have heard about,
fear of new challenges and the unknown. It is also very common to hear
people that they “aren’t flexible enough to do Yoga” or their “minds are too
busy” to be able to meditate. These felt obstacles can make beginning
a practice seem daunting and difficult, more of a problem that a solution.
Bringing the our attitude of accomplishment through struggle to the Yoga
mat or meditation practice or to demand a “quick fix” to long term
difficulties only increases the frustrations and derail the process further.
The good news is that there are simple, albeit not always easy, answers to these
dilemmas.
The first is to begin our practice, and when our practice has waned, to return
to it. In
doing so you will learn or remind yourself that your work on yourself can be
satisfying and enjoyable!
This fact can be lost when resistances take hold.
Related to that is to giving yourself permission in the early stage to
explore practices and styles as a reasonable and important way to understand
how your needs may be met and what you do enjoy. At some point homing in upon a
principle approach or more closely aligned practices allows for more focus that
helps overcome resistances to growth and creates real progress in our practice,
Occasional forays into deeper immersions such as workshop or retreat can give
experience with more advanced practices . Confronting limits in this way
can bring renewed vitality to ongoing practice and break through
habits or rigid patterns that may have developed over time.
Remember that Yoga and meditation is not a quick fix, yet its benefits
are immediate. Our practice reminds us again and again that consistent
practice leads to consistent results. For most these benefits can and do
expand their scope over time.
Yogi’s recognized there are times of year and phases of life in which the
demands of our lives in which the forms of and degrees of immersion in our Yoga
and meditation practice are amended and adjusted in order to be sustained at
all. At one or for one person one day a week of formal yoga practice is all that
is possible or desired. For others, a daily practice of yoga and meditation is
good as well. Feeling like you aren’t doing enough or otherwise judging your
practice from any other yardstick than your progress toward positive goals can
add needless burden and be counterproductive over time.
Developing a positive and healthy motivation may begin from familiar
goals—health concerns, weight loss, stress reduction, etc--and we may succeed in
resolving the presenting issues through our initial commitment. To continue on
the road to greater overall balance and a lifelong intention to commit to
wellness;a love of health and well-being needs to evolve. Rather than being
saddled with a set of prohibitions and feeling saddled with additional task for
which we need some illusory form of discipline, our practice can enjoyable in
its own right then become a living and responsive aspect of our lives addressing
the changing climates of family, work, age and intentions.
At the bottom of it all is developing the ability to set and reset the firm
intention to do what sustains your well-being and supports you in
those endeavors and services you render in your day to day life. With this
intention conflicts are more readily resolved, obstacles are overcome and a
more integrative and enjoyable practice results.
Yoga Practice
Breath of Joy**
From the view of Yoga, the Naval energy center (Manipura
Chakra) also known as the Hara center of the body is the storehouse of or
vital(prana) force. With ample supply of this energy accessible to us, we are
able to live our day to day lives with greater fearlessness and focus. With
proper intention and practice we access this energy to fuel our journey to
greater connection to our higher self.
One powerful and "crowd pleasing" practice is Breath of Joy. It is a “hara”
breath technique that helps access the naval(hara) center energy and expands it
through the body to energize and relax the body/mind all at once.
To perform Breath of Joy:
• Stand erect, feet sat or about hip width, comfortable stance knees relaxed
slightly.
• Inhale to your breath to 1/3 full as you swing your arms up in front of your
body, at shoulder height.
• Continue the Inhale to 2/3 full as you swing your arms out to the sides,
shoulder height.
• Complete the inhale to fill your lung as you swing your arms overhead.
• Finally, exhale all the breath out of your lungs by bending forward and
swinging the arms down and back beside you while chanting a powerful “Ha”. The
breath sound comes as you contract the belly at the naval to expel the breath,
stimulating the hara center.
• Continue for 5-15 breaths.
Take some time at the end to enjoy the effects of the wonderful tonic for
your life!
**Pregnant women, those with heart or other vascular problems should not
do this. No one, particularly no one with significant illness, musculo-skeletal
vulnerability, acute or chronic injury or pain should do this or any other
exercise or movement practice that is not cleared by their doctor”
Private, semi private and small group Yoga classes and
Therapeutic Sessions:
Over the past
several years I have worked with several students in private sessions in both
brief and longer term scenarios. The sessions have served different purposes for
each individual depending on specific needs and intentions. Students have
utilized this time to:
