When I think back to my teen years and early twenties, it boggles my mind that I was able to maintain the lifestyle I did. I moved fast, stayed up late, worked a high-intensity job in the film industry, lived on caffeine and cigarettes, and partied a lot. I was young and didn’t have kids. I was still a kid myself in a lot of ways, but when I got an ulcer, I knew it was time to make some adjustments. Or more accurately, my older sister told me I needed to.

Late one night, in a steamy room in Santa Monica, my sister, Jennifer, took me to my first power yoga class. I had done asana many times up to that point, but it was mostly on video at home or in gym settings. I had never done fast-paced and strong yoga like this. Sweat was pouring out of me from my first Downward-Facing Dog, and even though it was ten at night when class got out, I was buzzing. It was the best I had felt in years, and after just a few weeks of attending classes almost every day, I quickly became aware of the discordances between my old life and my desired new one.

Naturally, as someone with an addictive personality, I overcorrected at first. Rather than going out drinking five nights a week and chain-smoking all day, I discovered Ashtanga yoga and centered my entire life around it to the point that I had no room for anything or anyone else. Instead of living on microwaveable meals, I became so austere about my food choices that I decided I should be vegan and gluten free (even though I’ve never been diagnosed with a gluten intolerance). Also, it is worth noting that I am naturally anemic; multiple providers have begged me to eat meat. Not to mention that I was still actively bulimic during this period, so despite my strict “healthy” diet Monday to Friday, when Saturday or Sunday would roll around, I continued to binge and purge, which many times included over-exercising like doubling up on super strong movement classes.

I managed to get away with this “healthy” lifestyle for years, but as I began assisting and eventually leading teacher trainings, I started educating myself more deeply on the study of Ayurveda and I realized that just because my choices appeared good on paper or worked for others did not mean they were the right choices for me or my body. The clearest indicators that things were amiss were my high anxiety, insomnia, extraordinarily dry skin and hair, my quick-to-anger impulses (particularly on Los Angeles’s freeways), and my absentmindedness and lightning speed, which led to multiple car accidents on those same aforementioned freeways.

It also included my constantly upset tummy and hypersensitivity to everything around me. Oh, and let’s not forget to mention the fact that I hadn’t had a menstrual cycle in years.

As I sat in a lecture on Ayurveda one training, the master teacher listed off these very traits. She said that people who experience this are likely “vata types” and that when these traits were active, it was actually an indicator that the person was off balance. She spoke of the fact that many of us are attracted to the very things that send us off balance (hence my love for Ashtanga yoga and caffeine), but that in the Ayurveda system, opposites are what heal.

Over time, with the help of friends who intensively study Ayurveda and many, many books on the matter, I started to course correct. I adjusted my eating, adding in way more fats and oils and reintroducing meat. (Please note, I’m not advocating that you eat similarly. These were just the changes I needed to make at that point in time.) I adjusted my asana, favoring a much more grounded and slower pace to my obsessive and austere Ashtanga yoga habit. I started to let in a little more pleasure, including dating.

Fatefully, my menstrual cycle returned right before I met my husband (like, literally weeks before), and I was able to get pregnant and give birth to two healthy boys. I am no expert on the subject of Ayurveda, but even the little that I practice has helped me find the balance I have been seeking my entire life.
Ayurveda is an incredibly rich and extensive subject that people dedicate their entire lives to following and understanding. I have barely scraped the surface’s surface in my studies thus far, but it has given me a lens through which I can understand myself more deeply.

Something as simple as paying attention to when I should stop consuming caffeine during the daytime so I don’t disrupt my sleep can have a tremendous effect on my overall well-being and my relationship with my kids.

My practices of Ayurveda and yoga have helped me be a better parent, because when I feel my best, I parent my best.

The Yoga of Parenting

From The Yoga of Parenting by Sarah Ezrin © 2023. Reprinted in arrangement with Shambhala Publications, Inc. Boulder, CO. www.shambhala.com

Sarah Ezrin

Sarah Ezrin is the author of The Yoga of Parenting: Ten Yoga-Based Practices to Help You Stay Grounded, Connect with Your Kids, and Be Kind to Yourself. She is a freelance writer, yoga educator, and content creator based in the Bay Area. Her willingness to be unabashedly honest and vulnerable along with her innate wisdom, make her writing, teaching, and social media great sources of healing and connection for many people.
Sarah brings a wide spectrum of life experiences into everything she does. She is unafraid of sharing all sides of herself. She does so in the hope of giving others permission to be their most authentic self. At this time, when honest self-awareness is so important, Sarah’s is an essential and exemplary voice.
Sarah writes extensively on the subjects of yoga, parenting, and mental health, often interweaving these themes. Her work ranges from heavily-reported assignments to personal essays to blog content for brands. She is a regular contributor for Yoga Journal Magazine, Motherly, Yoga International, Healthline, Scary Mommy, Mind Body Green, Mantra Magazine, and LA Yoga Magazine. She has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes Magazine, Bustle, LA Weekly, and NBC News.

Sarah is a well-respected yoga teacher and a leader in the wellness community. A world traveler since birth, she has led trainings, workshops, and retreats locally and across the globe.

www.sarahezrinyoga.com

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 Through regular stretching and lengthening of the spine, it is possible to alleviate the effects of stress and gravity on spinal discs.

How To Treat Degenerative Disc Disease With Yoga

What is Degenerative Disc Disease?

As we age, our bodies break down over time, leading to aches and pains that can be chronic if left untreated. Years of wear-and-tear on your joints and spine can take its toll — through physical stress, injury, and illness.

Degenerative disc disease is a condition caused by years of impact and gravity. Affecting the spinal discs in between your vertebrae, these soft cartilage shock absorbers deteriorate over time, causing pain, weakness, and numbness. It’s a form of arthritis in your spine, and it commonly affects most people as they age.

In fact, according to a 2006 study on discs, around 40% of adults over 40 years old have developed one or more degenerative discs, and by the age of 80, around 80% of adults experience multilevel degenerative disc disease. It often manifests as low back pain, and neck and arm pain; however, some people don’t feel any symptoms at all.

What is the Best Treatment for Degenerative Disc Disease?

Even though this condition is widely prevalent, there is good news. You can help prevent degenerative disc disease and treat it through regular practice of yoga. A 2011 study published in the European Spine Journal found that yoga reduced chronic back and neck pain in adults, and in senior men and women suffering from disc degeneration.

Researchers noted that impactful degenerative disc treatment required long-term practice of yoga. Through regular stretching and lengthening of the spine, it is possible to alleviate the effects of stress and gravity on spinal discs. By continually practicing yoga throughout your life, you can actually prevent degenerative disc disease from happening and maintain a healthy spine.

Yoga For Degenerative Disc Disease

In my classes at MyYogaTeacher, I offer students with back problems some basic Hatha yoga poses to help alleviate symptoms from degenerative disc disease. These simple exercises will keep the back flexible and strong, preventing discs from degenerating, and giving some relief if they are suffering from this condition.

I also make sure to avoid any deep back bends. While yoga can be incredibly beneficial for treating degenerative disc disease symptoms, we don’t want to make them worse. Things to avoid with degenerative disc disease are strenuous back bends like Wheel or Camel Pose. They may cause injury if you’re experiencing back problems. Be sure to stick with gentle, Hatha yoga for best results without risk of injury.

Yoga Poses for Degenerative Disc Disease

1. Downward Facing Dog

This elemental yoga pose can give you enormous relief from back and neck pain, along with stretching your hamstrings, thighs, and strengthening your core muscles.

Start with your hands and knees on the floor, and push your hips upward until you are balancing on your hands and feet. Keep your head between your arms, and reach down with your heels. Remain in this pose for several breaths.

2. Thread the Needle

This pose offers a gentle twist that does wonders for your shoulders, neck, and lower back.

Again, start with your hands and knees on the floor. Reach your left arm up, and then down and across in front of you, “threading” it past your right arm until your left arm and the left side of your face are resting on the floor. Stay in this position and relax for a few breaths. Repeat on the other side.

3. Cat-Cow

Cat-Cow pose is a great way to strengthen and stretch your back and neck muscles. Plus, this pose directly alleviates pressure in the spine.

From your hands and knees, gently arch your back and lift your face to look up as you inhale. Then, as you exhale, curl your spine and turn your face down to look toward your naval. Repeat this movement at least 10 times in a fluid motion.

4. Child’s Pose

This resting yoga pose gently stretches your lower back, relaxes your neck, and calms the mind. Start on your hands and knees and then lower yourself down so that your backside is resting on your heels, and your big toes are touching each other. Move your hands forward, palms down, so that your forehead is resting on the floor. Allow your spine to lengthen and your neck muscles to fully relax. Breathe deeply and mindfully while staying in this pose for 5-6 minutes.

Yoga for a Healthy Spine

By practicing these simple, Hatha yoga poses regularly throughout your life, you can keep your spine healthy and prevent discs from degenerating. And if you’re in your senior years and you are a beginner, long-term practice of these yoga poses are still a wonderful way to stay active and reduce chronic pain caused by degenerative disc disease.

Zaeem Zaidi

Zaeem Zaidi is a Senior Research Fellow and PhD candidate in Yoga at SVYASA Yoga University. He teaches Hatha yoga, Power yoga, kriyas, and meditation at MyYogaTeacher. Zaeem has over 14 years experience in the fitness industry, and 8 years experience teaching yoga. He is using his research to help students improve cardiovascular endurance, joint health, and cellular health through the practice of yoga.

www.myyogateacher.com/teacher/zaeem-1

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Why Yoga Benefits Balance and Prevents Falls

As we get older it’s common to experience issues with balance. Changes in our bodies are the cause of this instability, like declining vision, slower reflexes, reduced muscle mass, and degradation of the inner ear vestibular system.  When balance becomes an issue, you may be at risk of falling — which can cause serious injury. In fact, falls are a leading cause of hospitalization among people aged 65 and older. We need to take action to prevent falls. And, you can improve your sense of balance and reduce your risk of falls as you age.

It’s simple — by staying active, you can help your body remain agile and adaptable. The kind of activity you choose is important, since improving balance requires exercise that builds both strength and flexibility. Yoga is an ideal activity for preventing falls, since it maintains and increases your sense of balance.

Yoga postures build both strength and stability while also stretching and often lengthening muscles, giving you the kind of flexibility you need for optimal balance. This wonderful low-impact activity is possible to start doing at any age, even if you’re a beginner.

Yoga is an ideal activity for fall prevention, since it maintains and increases your sense of balance. Over time, your core strength will increase, your coordination will get better, and you’ll gain confidence.

Yoga for Balance and Preventing Falls

In 2015, a study funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia found that by regularly practicing yoga, people ages 60 and over can safely and effectively improve their balance and mobility. Through practice of basic standing and seated yoga postures, participants in the study developed better balance without adverse effects.

By practicing yoga once or twice per week, you may begin to notice incremental gains in your balance and mobility. In the study, researchers found that most participants began to experience improvement in two to three months. They also found yoga to be an approachable activity for seniors of all abilities. With the help of a certified yoga teacher, you can practice yoga for balance safely and effectively. Yoga teachers can give you the support you need while you’re working to improve your balance, and offer adjustments where needed.

What types of Yoga Improve Balance?

To improve balance, it’s important to practice standing, seated, and prone positions. Hatha and Iyengar yoga are two examples of well-rounded styles of yoga that include a wide range of yoga balance poses, and will give you the structural foundation you need to feel steady and stable. And if you are new to yoga, you may want to start with a Gentle Yoga class.

If your sense of balance needs improvement, some standing postures may prove challenging for you. However, there are ways to give you support with the use of props — like yoga blocks, straps, and chairs. For many people with stability issues, Chair Yoga is a convenient way to integrate yoga into your life without risking injury. Over time, your core strength will increase, your coordination will get better, and you’ll gain confidence. And before long, your overall stability and mobility will be vastly improved.

9 Yoga Balance Poses to Improve Balance and Prevent Falls

We know that yoga improves balance, and that it’s important to practice standing, seated, and prone positions to get the full benefits of yoga. Balance isn’t just about strength, after all. It also requires flexibility and good coordination. So, what yoga poses are best to use as fall prevention exercises? I like to teach the following eight poses in my classes at MyYogaTeacher.

Tree Pose

In this pose, you practice standing on one foot, which not only builds strength, but it also teaches both your body and brain to balance.

Mountain Pose

The classic standing pose of Mountain builds awareness and strength. It is a wonderful pose to practice anytime (and anywhere) you need to feel more stable.

Warrior I and II

These standing poses increase strength and balance, as well as flexibility and range of motion.

Triangle Pose

Triangle offers an added dose of stability and flexibility through engagement of the legs and hips.

Plank Pose

More than simply inspiration for a social media challenge, Plank is a floor pose that builds core strength, helping you develop the structural support you need to maintain balance.

Downward Facing Dog

Downward facing dog activates the hamstrings and uses your hands on the floor for balance, engaging both your shoulders and your hips.

Yogi Squat

Yogi squat is another great way to work on your stability, since it requires that you shift your weight and adjust in order to balance.

Chair Pose

This essential standing pose builds core strength, and engages both your glutes and your quads.

Practice Cultivates Balance

Through regular practice of these poses, you can gain better balance, and improve your flexibility and mobility in just a few months. A steady yoga routine will also give you greater physical and mental well-being, helping you live a healthier, longer life. #

Shikha Sood

Shikha Sood teaches Hatha Yoga at MyYogaTeacher and has over 500 hours of certified yoga teacher training. She is passionate about the transformative power of yoga and its importance for mental and physical wellbeing. She is determined to share her knowledge and experience of yoga to help people discover its wonderful healing benefits and get relief from stress brought on by a modern lifestyle.

www.myyogateacher.com/teacher/shikha-1

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The simple act of breathing is something we often take for granted, since our body’s nervous system automatically takes care of that for us. We can go about our day without ever having to tell our body to “breathe.” But for thousands of years, the ancient yogic tradition has used mindful breath work to calm the mind, increase mental focus, and improve concentration. Called pranayama, yogic breathing techniques can actually improve your life, from helping to calm feelings of stress and anxiety, to oxygenating your blood and giving you better sleep.

You can also practice this type of yoga to build greater lung capacity.

What Is Yogic Breathing?

Yogic breath work focuses on mindfully breathing in and out while incorporating prescribed techniques that are meant to garner a certain effect. For example, the techniques used in the “humming bee” breath are specifically designed to help you relax and ease tension.

There are many types of breathing exercises in the yogic tradition that have been practiced for hundreds of years, all for the purpose of gaining self-awareness and enlightenment. In our hectic modern-day lives, regular practice of pranayama breathing benefits us by lightening our mental load, balancing our chakras, and giving us a dose of inner peace whenever we need it.

9 Yogic Breathing Exercises You Can Try At Home

In my Yoga Sangrachna classes at MyYogaTeacher, I like to teach the following 9 yogic breathing techniques. You can start by practicing one or more of these exercises in the comfort of your own home.

1. Nadi Shodhana or Alternate Nostril Breathing

This is one of the best yoga breathing exercises for anxiety. And it’s a great way to calm your mind and body if you’re stressed, overwhelmed, or feeling panicked.

First, exhale completely. Then place your right index finger onto your right nostril, and breathe deeply in through the left. Alternate and place your thumb over your left nostril, and exhale through your right. Continue alternating, repeating at least 10 times.

2. Ujjayi or Ocean’s Breath

If you’ve been feeling depressed, Ocean’s Breath offers a quick way to help yourself get unstuck.

Breathe in through your mouth, and as you exhale, pull in your chin and so that your throat is somewhat constricted, and then deliberately and mindfully inhale and exhale through your nose. Repeat at least 5 to 10 times.

3. Shitali Pranayama or Cooling Breath

When things get heated — either emotionally, or when summer temperatures are at their hottest — you can practice Shitali to cool down.

Roll your tongue into an “o” shape and slowly breathe in through it — as if your tongue were a straw. Hold the inhale for several seconds, then exhale through your nose. Repeat.

4. Sitkari Pranayama or Hissing Breath

Sitkari is another yogic breathing technique that can help you cool down and calm your nerves.

Close your mouth but open your lips as if you were smiling. Breath in through your teeth, and attune your mind to the hissing sound of your breath. Exhale through your nose. Repeat.

5. Brahmari or Humming Bee Breath

The humming bee breath is an effective method to use if you want to relax and release tension from your body.

Possibly the simplest yogic breathing exercise, simply inhale deep into the bottom of your lungs and make an audible humming sound as you exhale.

6. Bhastrika or Bellows Breath

Bhastrika pranayama can be used to reduce stress and tension. And it generates a lot of heat which can help your body burn calories.

Sit in lotus position and inhale through your nose. When you exhale, force it out through your belly as if your abdomen were a “bellows.” Do this vigorously for 10 breaths, after which take a long inhale, hold the breath, and then slowly exhale.

7. Surya Bhedana or Solar Breath

Another yogic nose breathing exercise that brings a lot of heat into the body is Surya Bhedana. This pranayama aids your digestive system and gives your parasympathetic nervous system a boost.

Sit comfortably and using the ring finger of your right hand, close your left nostril. Then, breathe in and out through your right nostril only. Repeat 10-20 times. When you are finished, remove your hand from your left nostril and allow yourself to breathe normally.

8. Viloma Pranayama or Against the Wave

This is a wonderful yogic breathing exercise to try if you’re working to increase your lung capacity and oxygenate your blood.

Lie down in a comfortable position and thoughtfully inhale for a couple of seconds. Breathe in again, and again, until you feel like your entirety of your lungs are filled. Slowly exhale. Repeat for five minutes.

9. Active Yogic Breathing

One of the best ways you can increase mental focus, reduce stress and anxiety, and increase your lung capacity is to practice active yoga breathing on a daily basis.

All you have to do is mindfully practice breathing deeply and evenly throughout your day, especially when you’re active.

When you’re out walking, gardening, or just going to the park, pay attention to your breath.

Try walking 5 to 10 steps as you inhale, and then exhaling over your next 5 to 10 steps.

Through incorporating these yogic breathing exercises into your life, you can bring more serenity, self-awareness, and peace to your every day.

Bodhi Abhishek Singh

Bodhi Abhishek Singh has been practicing yoga and meditation for 14 years and teaching for 5 years. He earned a Masters in Science in Yoga and Consciousness from Svyasa Bangalore and has over 500 hours in teacher training. At MyYogaTeacher, he teaches Ashtanga Vinyasa, Kundalini, Meditation, Pranayama, and Yoga Sangrachna, and assists in teaching the 200-Hour Teacher Certification program. He currently resides in Rishikesh, India (aka the yoga capital of the world).

www.myyogateacher.com/teacher/abhishek-2

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Why it is Important to Strengthen Your Immune System

• Do you frequently feel tired, or lack enough energy to get through your day?
• Are you always catching a cold or infection?
• Are you experiencing an excess of stress in your life, along with stomach and digestion issues?

These are signs you might have a weak immune system, which can cause a whole host of problems for your mind and body. A poor immune system can cause you to feel tired and stressed all of the time, and leave you vulnerable to viruses and chronic illness. A weakened immune system also makes it difficult for your body to heal itself and prevent infection. You might get lots of headaches, and/or experience poor circulation, problems with your digestion, and develop autoimmune disorders. Basically, a weak immune system isn’t something you want to leave unchecked. It is important for all of us to participate in practices to strengthen the immune system.

Practices to Strengthen Immunity

If you feel you might have a low immune system, don’t worry — there are things you can do to help bring yourself back into good health. Eating right, exercising, and getting plenty of sleep are all good places to start.

Developing a regular practice of yoga can give your immune system a strong boost.

Yoga can actually help improve your immune system by calming your nervous system, oxygenating your blood, increasing your lung capacity, and flushing your organs.

Yoga also supports your lymphatic system, which is why it’s so beneficial to your body’s immunity. Blocked lymph nodes can negatively affect your immune system, and yoga offers us a way to clear and drain the lymphatic system.

Yin Yoga for a Better Immune System

When it comes to balancing the lymphatic system, Yin Yoga can be supportive to effectively drain your lymph nodes and strengthen your immune system. Through regular practice of Yin Yoga poses, you can work with your lymphatic system in a direct way.

Yin Yoga also benefits your mind.

By holding each pose for a longer length of time — allowing your body to sink deeper into the stretch — your busy mind gets the chance to release tension, stress, and anxiety. In my classes at MyYogaTeacher, I will often teach some of the following Yin Yoga postures to help my students balance their lymphatic systems and thereby strengthen their immune systems. Each of these poses help clear and drain your lymph nodes, along with relaxing your body and giving your mind some much-needed rest.

Yin Yoga Sequence for Immunity

These 5 restorative Yin Yoga poses can help you bring your immune system back into balance, and can be practiced at home or in a Yin Yoga class.

1. Seated Neck Stretches

It’s important to address the lymph nodes in your neck, and you can help them release fluid build-up through some simple neck stretches.

Sit comfortably on the floor, or on a block or blanket, and fully relax your shoulders. Gently tilt your head so that you are bringing your right ear down toward your right shoulder. Be careful not to force it, only stretching as far as your body feels comfortable.

Hold for 30 seconds, and then repeat on your left side. Alternate back and forth three times, and finish with some soft head rolls.

2. Cat Cow Pose

After your neck rolls, move your body so that your hands and knees are on the floor. Start the Cat/Cow movement by slowly arching your back and lifting your chin to look upward.

As you exhale, reverse the movement by curling your spine and bringing your chin to your chest, looking down toward your belly button.

Repeat this movement for 2-3 minutes, stretching your back muscles and contracting your abdomen, allowing lymphatic fluid to drain and circulate.

3. Downward Facing Dog

From here, push your hips up and position yourself on your hands and feet in the Downward Dog pose. This simple yoga posture puts your head below your heart, using gravity to drain your lymph nodes. Hold the Downward Dog pose for 1-3 minutes, making sure to breathe mindfully.

4. Low Lunge

Another great way to help flush your lymph nodes is by squeezing them in a lunge. And if you can, turn that lunge into a twist to give your lymph nodes an extra squeeze.

To practice a twisting lunge, bring your left foot forward, and drop your right knee to the floor into a deep lunge. Then, slowly rotate your abdomen so that your right elbow rests on the outer part of your lower thigh.

Bring your hands into a prayer position and hold for 2-3 minutes. Repeat on the other side.

5. Standing Forward Fold

This is one of the most basic yoga postures, and with regular practice it can also help lymphatic fluid circulate throughout your body.

After your lunges, stand at the top of your mat, and fold forward, placing your hands on the floor, or resting them on a block. Hold and rest in this position for 2-3 minutes.

At the end of this practice, you can add one more pose to your Yin Yoga sequence to further assist your lymphatic system.

6. Legs-Up-The-Wall.

Simply lie down next to a wall, place a rolled up towel or blanket under your lower back/hips. Then bring your legs up so that they are resting on the wall in front of you. Stay in this pose for at least 3-5 minutes and let your body fully relax.

Annelise Piers

Annelise Piers specializes in physical and emotional healing, using a combination of Yin Yoga, essential oils and neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) metaphor therapy. At MyYogaTeacher, she teaches Yin, Hatha, Pranayama (breathing), and meditation. She is a qualified Hatha and Yin yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance USA, and licensed under co-founder Dr. Richard Bandler and the Society of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (USA & UK).

www.myyogateacher.com/teacher/anneliese-1

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Archery Inspired Yoga: Connecting to the Heart

Looking for a way to soften your heart and ignite your warrior’s courage? This archery inspired yoga sequence will help you get there.

Practicing Beyond Your Comfort Zone

If you live in Los Angeles, you’ve heard of Terranea, the coastal resort considered the gem of Palos Verdes. Terranea is well-known for rooms with sweeping ocean views, first-class dining, and sea-side nature walks. Yet this pristine resort has much more to offer by way of self-discovery than appears on the surface.On my most recent visit to Terranea, I decided to escape my comfort zone and try something completely new: archery. And boy, was I glad I did.

From the hilltop overlooking Terranea’s private beach cove, I saw canvas covered cork targets in the distance, lined up along the cliff wall. As I embarked upon the sandy walk downhill, the targets looked bigger, but no less intimidating. We were greeted by our instructor, Bob, who assured us that no one would get stuck by any arrows that day. Over the next hour, we were taught the basics of archery. As we began to practice using the bow and arrow, I was struck by how much the pulling of the bowstring required a soft, gentle touch while holding the arrow.

In some ways, it felt familiar to my yoga practice because posture is integral in archery. (Have you ever seen an archer slouch while aiming to shoot?).

With each subsequent loading of my bow, I became more practiced and adept as my focus narrowed. I stopped noticing extraneous sounds around me and began to only hear my breath and see the target. And there, with the waves crashing behind me, bow pulled taut in direct aim at the target, all that was left was my breath. Just as when I am in the zone during yoga practice, each moment became solely about the breath and the connection to my heart.

The focus of this archery inspired yoga sequence is about centering the heart.

As I have now made archery a regular hobby, I have come to appreciate the connections between yoga and archery. A true warrior, just as a yogi, leads with her heart and seeks peace, no matter the circumstance. She centers herself with her breath and keeps her awareness fully in this moment.

Before the sequence, start with a few sun salutes or other preparations to warm up your body.

Warrior I (Virabhadrasana I)

Starting with your left foot forward, and your right foot at 45 degrees. Bend your left knee directly over the ankle and face your hips toward the front of your mat. Inhale and reach your fingers to the sky, engaging the triceps to straighten your elbows. Hold here for 3 breaths.

Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II)

From Warrior I, turn your back foot to 90 degrees and rotate your hips to the long edge of your mat. Keep your left arm extended over your left leg, and bend your right elbow, resting your right hand near the front of your right shoulder. Gaze over your left fingertips as you breathe here for 3 breath cycles.

Reverse Warrior (Viparita Virabhadrasana)

From Warrior II, keep the front knee bent over the ankle, and place your right hand on your heart as you reach your left arm overhead. Shift your torso so your heart shines up to the sky and allow your gaze to follow your left hand. Stay in Reverse warrior for 3 breath cycles.

Upward Facing Dog (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana)

Cartwheel your hands down to the earth to frame your left foot. Step the left foot back, into plank pose, then lower yourself all the way to the ground. Press your hands firmly into the earth, and lift your torso up and through your arms. As you straighten your elbows, shine your heart to the sky. Engage your quadriceps by pressing the tops of your feet into the ground, and lift your knees off the mat. Hold this posture for 1-2 breaths.

Bow pose (Dhanurasana)

Lower to the ground and lay flat on your belly with your forehead resting on the mat. Bend your knees and catch hold of the ankles. If this is not accessible to you, wrap straps around your feet to extend your reach, and catch hold of the straps. Inhale and press your ankles away from your hips as you lift your chest and knees off the mat. Stay here for 1-2 breath cycles, or however long feels good for you.

Archer Pose (Akarna Dhanurasana)

Come to a seated position and extend your legs straight out in front of you. Bend your right knee and rotate it out to the side. Flex your hips and reach forward to grasp your left big toe with your left index and middle fingers. At the same time grasp your right big toe with your right index and middle fingers. On an inhalation sit upright and lift your right foot and knee off the floor, pointing your right elbow behind you as if you were drawing back on a bowstring. Draw your right foot as close to your ear as is comfortable. Keep your gaze focused forward over your left foot. Take 3-5 breaths here.

Flow through one sun salutation and perform this sequence on the other side. End in Savasana.

Ingrid Yang

Dr. Ingrid Yang, M.D., J.D., E-RYT500, C-IAYT, is a physician, certified yoga therapist, Reiki master and an advisory board member at wellness company obVus Solutions, where she contributes her expertise to the breathing exercises featured in the minder® posture corrector + breathing coach app. When not practicing medicine, Dr. Yang leads yoga trainings and retreats all over the world, with a special focus on kinesthetic physiology and healing through posture modification, breathwork, meditation and mind-body connection. Dr. Yang has authored two books: Hatha Yoga Asanas and her latest release, Adaptive Yoga, published in November 2020.

ingridyang.com

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What does it Mean to Deepen Your Yoga Practice?

You deepen your practice by committing to period of time during which you dedicate your time and your energy to an exploration into Yoga.

Yoga offers a vastness of knowledge and materials. Stay curious during this time of deepening practice.

In yoga, there is a value of Svadhyaha. Svadhyaha is a Sanskrit word that refers to self-study; a moment to turn your lens inward in a healthy and productive way. This is a rare thing for most of us, so I believe when the opportunity arises it is a calling toward knowing ourselves and building our compassion muscle as we journey forward into life.

Deepening Practice through Yoga Teacher Training

My personal journey of deepening my practice definitely began with teacher training. I did two trainings, one right after the other. Over that 18-month period of time, I was absolutely immersed in the movement practice, anatomy, and the philosophy. It was such a privilege and a gift that I gave myself to surround my life with such uplifting material, community, and teachers.

I have found that yoga teaching is about clear communication, and who doesn’t want that skill?

As I went through the process of teacher training, and as I continue to study different modalities; I know that I need to be able to communicate those ideas. My brain and body just light up in ways that I wouldn’t if I didn’t have that responsibility of having to share the knowledge. I believe we learn yoga faster and deeper when we also have to teach it.

You Can Experience Breakthroughs When Deepening Practice

You can experience breakthroughs when deepening our practice.

For example, maybe you discover that you are not who you thought you were!

You are affected by your life conditioning. Then you can experience breakthroughs when you observe that conditioning. You can then decide what you want to keep and what you would like to put down.

This leads us to the essential yoga practices of abhyasa and vairagya.

• Vairagya is the putting down of something, releasing what we no longer need.
• Abhyasa is the picking up of something.

The question we ask is ourselves is, “Who am I authentically?”

It is absolutely life-changing to commit to a study that helps you see the possibility of what it means to be human, in a body with a mind.

How often do you get to engage with yourself on that level? This is one of the benefits of a committed period of self-study.

Deepening Practice is a Life-Long Process

Your attention is your gold; your jewel in life.

Yoga can give you the tools to dynamically shift and hold your attention throughout your life.

For instance, say you want to shift your pattern of unfinished projects. You love to start them, you don’t love to finish them. That’s the tapasya in yoga that is practiced over and over again, moving towards the discomfort, the heat, rather than away. And then you apply that heat to the part of the project were you start to lose interest. You have the neural repetition you have practiced of applying your attention, even when it doesn’t always feel great.

I think this is one of the greatest boons you get from your yoga practice: Being a person who actually follows through with your intentions.

7 Tips for You to Deepen Your Practice

1. Make a schedule! Sounds simple, but organizing your daily calendar and actual place yourself and your practice on it.
2. Read something inspirational every day, a passage, a poem, something that uplifts your heart and turns your mind towards lightness.
3. Talk to your yoga teacher, let them know you’re interested in deepening your practice, they’ll be so happy to give you some extra attention.
4. Consider taking a yoga training, a dedicated period of study can be absolutely life-changing, whether you have a desire to teach yoga or not.
5. Pranayama (breath-work), everyday!
6. Pay attention to the pain in your body and get some help with it. Too often I see people pushing thru their pain points and it inhibits any growth in practice. I use a technique called Neurokinetic Therapy, its remarkable for tracking down compensation patterns, which are the main source of movement pain, and reversing them. Find a practitioner and retrain your movement to be pain free. Yoga shouldn’t hurt!
7. Kindness, it’s a practice. It’s everything.

Yoga Teacher Training Deepens Your Practice

Deepen your own practice by joining the Rising Lotus Yoga Teacher Training February 11th.

• Bring dharma talks and themes into your yoga classes.
• Deepen your practice and knowledge of asana, and apply it confidently to create strength, mobility and healing in yourself and others.
• Confidently teach in a 1:1 or group setting and acquire the skills to teach all levels of students.
• Be able to create interesting and challenging sequences to keep students engaged and excited about your classes.

Claire Hartley

British born Yoga teacher, Claire Hartley, is known for bringing the deeper layers and meaning of Yoga and Yoga philosophy through all of her classes and workshop experiences, leaving the practitioners with an experience of the authentic joyful Self. She always does this with a healthy dose of her Brit wit and sensibility! She teaches weekly at her LA studio Rising Lotus Yoga, as well as trainings and workshops. She has been leading yoga teacher trainings since 2008 and is excited to launch the next training on February 11th.

www.risinglotusyoga.com

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There is a Golden Kundalini Energy

Every yoga practitioner is aware of the often blazing and oh-so desirable Shakti kundalini. This is the red serpent who winds her way up the spine to clear and clarify. But few know about a different kundalini, golden in hue and gentler in impact.

I wish I had known years ago about the golden (not only red) kundalini, especially when I first started practicing yoga.

At the time, I was six months pregnant.

I was dreadfully scared of accidentally setting off an inflammatory situation, the kind the upward climbing serpent is known for creating. Can you imagine? I already felt like a huge bowling ball—but to be turned into a cannon ball? That would have been overwhelming.

The Gentle Energy of Golden Kundalini

When someone is seeking a kindly interaction with kundalini, though one equally powerful, I now encourage them to associate with the golden kundalini. They don’t need to ignore their interactions with—or aspirations for—an awakening or rising of the red kundalini. The golden is the other side of the red kundalini coin, however, and a beautiful link to physical healing and spiritual gain all by itself.

As I explore in my upcoming book, Advanced Chakra Healing, a plumped-up version of a book by the same name I wrote 15 years ago, many kundalini experts perceive the kundalini sequence as starting with a ball of energy opening in the first chakra to rise into the seventh or crown chakra. This flame, often equated with the feminine divine power of the Shakti goddess, is first seen as red. It slides up the spine through a network of subtle energy channels called the nadis, equated with the neurological system. Crisscrossing at the chakras, the advancement is often envisioned in the form of an uncoiling snake.

The Love Story of Kundalini Rising

The storyline is often considered a love tale, which too often ends with the feminine Shakti meeting with her male consort Shiva at the crown. That is merely the beginning of the plot, for at this point, a series of events occur that involve the downward movement of energy into the body, all beginning with the formation of a substance produced by the Shakti and Shiva. A golden nectar. This nectar is the foundation of its own form of kundalini, which I call golden kundalini. While the two forms of kundalini are inseparable, they are also unique.

Effects of Kundalini Energy

Research suggests that the rising red kundalini produces true biological effects. Jana Dixon’s amazing and complete book, Biology of Kundalini, explores systemic responses to a serpent kundalini activation. Basically, there are significant alterations in every bodily system, including the immune, neurological, cardiovascular, endocrine, and more.

My own research, shared in my book, suggests that the golden activation also alters the biochemistry of the body. I use the term enlightenment body/bodies to describe the bodily regions that transform with the falling of the golden kundalini, to include the following.

Transformation through the Movement of Golden Kundalini

• Quantum-scaled microtubules. Tiny tubes in certain brain neurons that link us to the universe.
• The pineal gland—and a throat duct. Once the golden kundalini begins to descend, both the pineal gland and a small duct at the back of the throat begin making METAtonin (not melatonin). This hormone enables out-of-body experiences and the unification with the Oneness.
• The caudate nucleus. This head-based organ is part of the basal ganglia and associated with executive functions, prayer, and mysticism. Activation by the golden kundalini might also galvanize millions of “psychic antennae” into action, triggering various forms of ESP.
• Melanin and neuromelanin. At baseline, melanin is a dark pigment found in the hair and iris in people and animals, but also bacteria, fungi, plants, and interstellar space. Neuromelanin is a form of melanin that appears as we age and is found in granules in neurons. Both are possibly involved in the evolution of our spirituality. With the falling of the golden kundalini, they can enable the transmutation of energy from lower to higher states and the spin of transition metals, certain elements that result in high-level healing. The golden blessing that I most like to receive is spiritual, however. As the golden kundalini washes downward and through our body, we can better live our lives according to spiritual law, which starts and ends with Divine Love.

Are you ready to experience the flow of this golden kundalini?

It is perfectly safe to do so. You can follow this short process.

Practice to Experience Golden Kundalini

Take a few deep breaths and enter a meditative state. Acknowledge that your Higher Power or your own higher self will manage this process.

Ask to sense the rays of light that always fall gracefully upon you from the heavens. Silently give permission for these to stream into your crown chakra and to next awaken the amber nectar that lies within. Only the perfect amount and intensity of this liquid will be created for this moment in time. When ready, the heavenly light mixes with the nectar to formulate a beautiful golden flow of energy, which now streams downward through your body.

As it spread throughout, you sense the stimulation of the body’s enlightenment systems, and an activation of your spiritual knowledge. Serenity and peace become your heart-mates. Enjoy this flow of joy until you are ready to return to your everyday life.

Cyndi Dale

Cyndi Dale is an internationally renowned author, speaker, and energy healer. She is the author of 28 books on energy medicine, intuition, and spirituality. Her newest book is Advanced Chakra Healing: Four Pathways to Energetic Wellness and Transformation.

cyndidale.com

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Zabie Yamasaki photo by Leanne Sargeant

Intentionality and Empathy in Teaching: What it Means to Be A Trauma-Informed Yoga Instructor

“Never have I felt so safe without having to speak a single word about my assault.” I’ll never forget the day when a survivor shared these words with me after participating in an eight-week trauma-informed yoga series for sexual-assault survivors. Every part of her was beaming. I think that is the power of survivors gathering in circles to share community, connect in their truth and the power of their stories, move and breathe at their own pace, and celebrate the choices they have with their own bodies. As she accessed safety in the space, her capacity for connection also increased. It was a defining moment for me in the scope of my work as a trauma-informed yoga instructor. And it was a powerful reminder of the need for this body-based modality to be accessible and integral to the services that are offered at universities, trauma agencies, rape crisis centers, and clinical settings across the country.

I have witnessed something so moving by offering this practice from a trauma-informed lens: Survivors—of all gender identities, racial and ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations, and abilities—can finally feel and believe with every part of their bodies that their trauma does not define them. The practice is a reminder of their innate capacity to heal and that they are never alone in their experience.

I still remember the very first trauma-informed yoga series that I taught, nearly 10 years ago. I remember the butterflies. I remember the passion. I remember the pathways for healing that suddenly became possible. I began teaching trauma-informed yoga classes in the community for many reasons. To support survivors in what is oftentimes a lifelong process of healing. To create spaces in which to love ourselves throughout the journey and be reminded that our pain is not invisible. To affirm that we are not broken and that we can return to our bodies on our own terms. To support empowerment and empathy and space in which to be seen. To foster compassion when we tap into the deep knowing that there may be no sense of finality to this thing called healing. To hold on fiercely to our worthiness amid the many storms we will navigate in this life. To let ourselves be present with moments of relief and of joy. To consciously practice self-love with the many paradoxes of healing and hurt, courage and fear, joy and grief. To know that there are many entry points to healing.

While I specialize in working with survivors of sexual trauma, I firmly believe in the profound healing and power of integrating trauma-informed frameworks into all teaching settings.

I take into account all of the ways trauma impacts a student’s mind, body, and spirit and offer intentionality and sensitivity into the way that I teach. I honor each student’s pace, remind them that their choices are celebrated, offer many variations of each posture, integrate invitational language, trauma-sensitive breath practices, and co-create with them. We are not having uniform experiences and I remind students often that their lived experience is their greatest teacher. As yoga teachers, I believe we have an obligation to be mindful of the way trauma shows up for our students, the same way we are around physical injuries.

The Philosophy of Being Trauma-Informed

The commitment to being a trauma-informed practitioner and a trauma-informed yoga instructor is is lifelong. Being trauma-informed is a philosophy and a systemic framework of the way we truly see people and honor their humanity. It is leaning in and doing the work of being an ally, educating ourselves, being aware of our biases, and engaging in inclusive and culturally affirming practices.

It is at all costs avoiding re-traumatization. It helps us to compassionately and empathetically hold a safe container. It allows every interaction to be a powerful reminder: people are the experts of their own experience.

Trauma-informed yoga supports students in activating their parasympathetic nervous system and creates more space for safety, rest, growth, and abundant joy. When given these tools, students can also access greater depths of inner capacity and resilience in navigating not only chronic stress, trauma, and crisis but also the everyday challenges that life presents.
One of the first places I started teaching yoga from a trauma-informed lens was at a CrossFit gym. At first I think the students were not quite sure who the hell I was and what I was doing. But as I invited more softness into the cues and reminded them that their choices were celebrated and that they were enough just as they are…you could quite visibly see the ways they were able to be more compassionate with themselves. I know so often we carry those experiences off of the mat. It was beautiful to be witness to.

I envision that one day every 200 hour yoga teacher training will be required to include curricula on trauma. The numbers speak volumes. There are survivors of trauma practicing with us every single day. They deserve to be supported with compassion and care. They deserve to know that their pain is not invisible.

Affirmations from the Trauma-Informed Yoga Affirmation Card Deck

Grounding Survivors in their own Worthiness

I feel that so much of my work as a trauma-informed yoga instructor entails helping to ground survivors in their own worthiness. I think a lot about various fitness spaces and so often students are affirmed in class when they are only in the most advanced version of the posture. This adds to the daily messages that we should be pushing harder or doing more. We already receive these messages constantly in the context of our hurried world. Our language is a powerful tool that we can offer when teaching yoga to affirm that rest is one of the most productive choices we can make for ourselves.

Some of the frameworks of teaching from a trauma-informed lens include:

• Empowering and invitational language
• Anti-oppression lens
• Accessibility
• Holding a safe container and supportive space
• Sensitivity to triggers
• Safety of the physical environment
• Trauma-sensitive breathwork
• Consent framework for assists
• Self and community care for teacher and students

If you are looking for a starting point, I invite you to view the chart below for some language re-frames which are further explored in my book, Trauma-Informed Yoga for Survivors of Sexual Assault: Practices for Healing and Teaching with Compassion.

Our research at the University of California has shown the following benefits of trauma-informed yoga:

• The recognition of choice’s in one’s life
• Feelings of safety and strength
• Ability to be more expressive in therapy
• Positive coping skills
• Self-care strategies
• Understanding of how to ask for help
• Improved trust in self and others
• Development of a strong sense of community
• The establishment of boundaries and understanding how to be assertive
• Decreased feelings of depression, stress, and anxiety
• Decreased symptoms of PTSD
• Empowerment to seek additional resources
• Increased confidence and courage
• Increased feelings of self-compassion
• Increased awareness of needs, mindfulness skills and resiliency
• Strengthened self-esteem
• Increased feelings of being seen, valued, and affirmed
• Strengthened emotional, physical, mental, spiritual, and interpersonal skills

Zabie Yamasaki photo by Leanne Sargeant

The Capacity of the Human Spirit for Healing

For centuries survivors have also known this to be true in their bodies. Something that has carried me in the process of birthing and writing my book is just how important it is for survivors to be invited to trust in the beauty and power of their own experience.

As a survivor of sexual assault, I struggled for years with the physiological impact of trauma on my body. I knew I wasn’t alone and I wanted to create a program that spoke to the language of the body, was soulful, intersectional, and culturally affirming at its core.

I wanted to be intentional about supporting survivors in what can oftentimes be a life-long process of healing. I also felt passionate about providing a compassionate framework for healing professionals who want to integrate trauma-informed yoga into the scope of their work.

The capacity of the human spirit to heal amidst the unfathomable is something that continues to take my breath away. There is so much power in truly seeing people and empowering them to make choices that best serve them. The yoga as healing program has been an intersection of both of my worlds as I have been propelled on this journey to learning how powerful yoga can be as a tool for healing trauma.

Following this path has also allowed me to trust the power of my voice. As a survivor and a woman of color, it has taken me years to believe in myself. I never imagined in a million years that my trauma-informed yoga curriculum would be implemented at over 30 college campuses and trauma agencies. It is an honor to support your journey of healing and teaching.

Order Trauma-Informed Yoga for Survivors of Sexual Assault

The book and affirmation deck published by Norton: Trauma-Informed Yoga for Survivors of Sexual Assault: Practices for Healing and Teaching with Compassion will be released in 2022 and is currently available for pre-order.

Zabie Yamasaki

Zabie Yamasaki, M.Ed., RYT (she/her) is the Founder of Transcending Sexual Trauma through Yoga which is an organization that offers trauma-informed yoga to survivors, consultation for universities and trauma agencies, and training for healing professionals. Zabie has trained thousands of yoga instructors and mental health professionals and her trauma-informed yoga program and curriculum is now being implemented at over 25 college campuses and trauma agencies including the University of California (UC) system, Stanford, Yale, USC, University of Notre Dame, and Johns Hopkins University.

Zabie received her undergraduate in Psychology and Social Behavior and Education at UC Irvine and completed her graduate degree in Higher Education Administration and Student Affairs at The George Washington University. Her work has been highlighted on CNN, NBC, KTLA 5, and The Huffington Post.

Zabie is widely recognized for her intentionality, soulful activism, and passionate dedication to her field. She is a trauma-informed yoga instructor, resilience and well-being educator, and a sought after consultant and keynote speaker. She has worked with thousands of survivors to support them in their healing journey, ground them in their own worthiness and remind them they are inherently whole. Zabie centers survivors in her work, and provides them with tools to help uncover trauma imprints, support the healing process, create balance of the nervous system, and lessen the grip that past experiences of trauma may have on the heart.

She is a survivor, mother, partner, daughter, sister, friend, and activist. She has received countless awards in victim services and leadership, including the Visionary in Victim Services award from one of the largest rape crisis centers in California. Her book and affirmation deck published by Norton: Trauma-Informed Yoga for Survivors of Sexual Assault: Practices for Healing and Teaching with Compassion will be released in January 2022. It is currently available for pre-order.

zabieyamasaki.com%20

The post Building the Lifelong Skillset of a Trauma-Informed Yoga Instructor appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Tracee Stanley photo by Chloe Crespi.

Fifteen + Steps to Get into the 24-Hour Householder’s Flow

1. Let go of the idea that your practice needs to be 15, 30, or 90 minutes long to be meaningful or valid.

2. Instead of one long practice, try 2- to 3-minute mini practice portals that you can weave throughout your day. You can set the timer on your phone to remind you when to practice.  When you do have a few minutes of space to practice, notice how resistance to resting or practicing may show up. Be aware of what you feel called to do instead. Is it nurturing, supportive, or healing? Is your default mode moving you toward healing or toward distraction and staying stuck?

3. Use your least favorite chore as a portal to practice. Chant, sing, or follow your breath while washing dishes, doing your taxes, doing laundry, or mopping the floor. Use your resistance as a way to turn the mundane into the sacred. You will find suggestions for mantras in the resources, but any song or affirmation that is offered with devotion will work.

4. Leave a small space in your home—a chair, your yoga mat, a corner of a room, a closet, or even your car—set up and ready for your practice. Begin to see every seat as a potential meditation seat or yoga nidra nest.

5. Acknowledge your obstacles. Let go of being surprised and frustrated when they show up. Observe the barriers to practice that arise and the obstacles that you place in your own way. Be aware of which patterns keep showing up. How can you shift something to create a new outcome?

6. Remember that all the practices you do, no matter how small they may seem, are preparing you for deep relaxation, yoga nidra, and truth.

7. Decide what you are willing to commit to.

8. Connect to the desire in your heart to deepen your practice and let that be what guides you. Even when you feel like you cannot “do” a single thing, connecting to that longing with a sense of gratitude that the fire is burning within you will support you. Connect to it with gratitude, as opposed to despair and disappointment that the desire has not yet been fulfilled; know that you are moving toward it. Connect with your faith that things can change. Remember the cycles of nature where nothing is permanent. There is a season for everything.

9. Be creative. Look for the pauses, transitions, spaciousness, and silence. The day is full of natural transitions: sunrise, high noon, sunset, moonrise. Use these natural transitions to remind you to pause. When you pause, you create a natural void, so place a mantra, an affirmation, a bible verse, or a blessing for yourself in that space to empower yourself. These are the little nidra moments that will change your relationship to the practice.

Tracee Stanley photo by Chloe Crespi.

10. Use every relationship as a mirror to understand more about yourself. Notice your reactions and what beliefs you hold on to. Be willing to see another point of view as a way toward understanding. Examine conflicts and ask yourself, Could I have created a more healing outcome for all involved? What am I not willing to admit about myself? What systems or conditions are present that prevent me from thriving and what resources are available to me for assistance?

11. Find at least one friend who is like-minded with whom you can connect to share insights and experiences. Even if it’s a text to say, “I had a tough day today,” or “I meditated in my closet today,” or “I removed some apps from my phone so I would have more time to practice—I can’t believe I didn’t do it sooner.” Use technology as a way to support your practice instead of as a distraction.

12. Reframe your deep relaxations and yoga nidra practices as surrenders. Remind yourself, It’s time to surrender instead of It’s time to practice. Let go of the energy of doing. Yoga nidra is a practice of non-doing, and grace descends when you let go.

13. Set up an altar at home. Let it be a reminder to pause at least once a day and remember your commitment to yourself.

14. When you notice negative thoughts, replace them with kindness and compassion. Study and practice Yoga Sutra 2:33, translated by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait as “To arrest conflicting thoughts, cultivate thoughts opposed to them.” This is said to be a way toward a peaceful mind. It also helps us become aware of our thoughts.

15. As soon as you wake up, bring awareness to the flow of your breath for one minute. Even if you have a child who wakes you up, you have a moment to say to yourself, What is my breathing like? Let me bring awareness to my breathing, feeling my navel rise and fall, while I am also bringing attention to my child. Can I hold the feeling of inner peace while experiencing that a part of my attention is also being directed externally? Parents are the best multitaskers around. You can do this!

16. Be aware of the phases of the moon, taking just one moment each night to see the moon in the night sky. Remembering the phase from the night before, see if you can imagine the current moon phase in your mind’s eye prior to looking up. Offer a prayer, a blessing, or gratitude for her cooling light. Notice how you feel at each moon phase; look for patterns and take notes.

Radiant Rest and Tracee Stanley photo by Chloe Crespi.

SELF-INQUIRY

1. Recall a time when you directed all of your will to one thing. What was it? How did it feel? How did it change you? How can you tap into that force of will within you to commit to reframing your practice to a twenty-four-hour Householder’s Flow?

2. What do you have faith in? How can this help to shape and support your practice?

3. Is there someone in your household you can ask for support so you can take 3 minutes a few times during the day to do mini practices?

4. How are you careless or forgetful? When do you “check out”? Can you bring more presence and purpose into your daily activities?

Radiant Rest: Yoga Nidra for Deep Relaxation and Awakened Clarity

From Radiant Rest: Yoga Nidra for Deep Relaxation and Awakened Clarity [pgs 82-85] by Tracee Stanley © 2021 by Tracee Stanley. Reprinted in arrangement with Shambhala Publications, Inc. Boulder, CO. www.shambhala.com

Tracee Stanley

TRACEE STANLEY is a noted and lineaged teacher of yoga nidra, meditation, and self-inquiry. Her practices are inspired by the tradition of Himalayan Masters and Sri Vidya Tantra, into which she was initiated in 2001. She is co-founder of the Empowered Wisdom Yoga Nidra School and created the Empowered Life Self-Inquiry Oracle Deck. Tracee travels internationally leading retreats, teacher training, and presenting at festivals and conferences including Oprah and Gayle’s Girls Get Away. She has online classes available at Commune, Yoga Journal, Unplug Meditation, Pranamaya, and Wanderlust TV. For more information, please visit www.traceeyoga.com.

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Yoga: A Path of Building Mental Resilience while Having Fun!

Similar to the roaring 1920s after the 1918 flu pandemic, many of us are eager to engage in more self-care, as well as more fun, to help us separate ourselves from the unpleasantness of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yoga, through movement and exercise, is an excellent way to restore our mental resilience while having a bit of fun at the same time.

Laughing Yoga

When we authentically smile, our body releases the “feel good” hormones dopamine, endorphins, and serotonin. Laughter accelerates this benefit even further by mitigating stress and potentially mitigating against depression by lowering levels of cortisol, epinephrine, growth hormone, and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid.

Laughing yoga incorporates various movements and breathing exercises to promote intentional laughter. The founder, Madan Kataria, a family physician in Mumbai, India, claims that this unique type of yoga will help lift our mood, reduce stress, strengthen our immune system, increase energy levels, in addition to a host of additional benefits.

The controlled breathing that is a component of this practice helps stimulate our parasympathetic system, which is our body’s relaxation system—a system in our body that helps soothe our stress and the “fight or flight” response from our sympathetic system.

When we relieve feelings of anxiety and stress, optimism and hope have more space in our lives to thrive. Through a combination of invigorated laughter, the benefits of the practice’s poses, and pranayamas (otherwise known as breathing exercises)—laughing yoga is believed to help remedy physical, psychological, and spiritual ailments.

Goat Yoga for Having Fun

If forcing yourself to laugh feels contrived, then maybe give goat yoga a try instead. Trying to bob and weave through asanas as goats roam around your yoga class might just be the type of fun that brings about a genuine giggle.

Described as “low maintenance dogs” in an article in the LA Times, the science that supports that companion animals have positive therapeutic effects on stress for humans likely applies to this style of mind-body practice. Research from John Hopkins showed that being affectionate with our canine friends lowers our cortisol (a hormone associated with stress) levels. Social interaction with animals also increases levels of oxytocin (a hormone associated with pleasure). Although goats are not puppies, one can infer that engagement with any cute animal will likely reduce our stress.

“Yoga goats” are typically baby goats, which helps with the element of fun and cuteness as they dutifully submit to hugs and selfies. Typically there is a bountiful amount of child and tabletop poses in goat yoga. These types of poses provide the opportunity for the small creatures to literally come along for the ride and hop onto the practitioners’ backs—enticing delight throughout.

With everything from goat yoga Airbnbs to goat yoga happy hours, one can’t take themselves too seriously when you’re mingling with tiny goats—with each twist, turn, and laugh, your stress naturally melts away.

Rage Yoga

Mood-boosters come in many forms, and while some people have joy restored through peace, tranquility, or laughter, others need a cathartic release to get themselves back to baseline. For those of the latter category, there is rage yoga, or “alternative yoga for the modern badass,” as founder Lindsay Istace describes it.

So, how does embodying rage and cursing equate to restoring our feel-good brain chemicals? According to psychotherapist Courtney Glashow, founder of Anchor Therapy in Hoboken, New Jersey, cursing can actually translate to an emotional release.

In an interview, Glashow said, “In the right setting, I believe that cursing can be therapeutic because it can allow us to let our anger out—we get to use specific words to express ourselves.”

Rage yoga can also help reduce some of the trepidation for those who have been scared off by traditional yogic atmospheres. A safe space that provides a fun way to express yourself in a way that feels genuine (in a non-judgemental environment), this form of yoga still embodies all of the traditional components of the practice, such as postures and breathing exercises. Rage yoga simply consists of bonus add-ons of the occasional war cries, dirty jokes, heavy metal head-banging music, creative cursing, and sometimes even the occasional cocktail.

Rage Yoga is an ironic juxtaposition of two very different ways to decompress, but it might be just the ticket to revitalizing stability for you. Who knows, maybe going to a class where everyone can collectively let their freak flags fly will inspire a bit of laughter, too—further encouraging the release of dopamine and improving one’s mood.

Have Fun with Yoga Practice

Yoga has always been a means to find balance, both literally and figuratively. Still, by having a bit of fun with the practice as well, those of us who are not drawn to traditional methods might find with a joyful reframe of the practice, we actually love it. Rather than giving into the facade of solicited seductions of easy fixes that are so strategically advertised to us by modern-day society, why not find some equilibrium through movement and fun? With better control over your mind and body—while having some fun in the process—you’ll have a delightful new way of taking care of your holistic well-being.

Michael Rucker PhD

Michael Rucker, Ph.D. is a long-time advocate of positive psychology and a charter member of the International Positive Psychology Association. He received a Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology from Alliant International University in San Diego. Rucker authored the book The Fun Habit, which offers a practical reframing of positive psychology, making the case that we should cultivate the habit of fun to bring a greater sense of happiness and joy to our lives.

Dr. Mike Rucker is the author of The Fun Habit, a book offering a practical reframing of positive psychology, making the case that we should cultivate the habit of fun to bring a greater sense of joy and wonder to our lives. The Fun Habit is set to release in early summer 2022.

michaelrucker.com

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Healing is an Inside Job and Melanie Salvatore-August’s Book, Yoga to Support Immunity, Gives you the Tools

“Healing comes from within. We have the power to heal ourselves—no one else can do it for us; it is truly an inside job,” says Melanie Salvatore-August in Yoga to Support Immunity: Mind, Body, Breathing Guide to Whole Health. In 2014, Melanie Salvatore-August (“Mama Mel”) gave birth to her third child. She had just turned 42 years old. Although she was blessed with three uncomplicated pregnancies and healthy babies, she came out the other side of this last birth a shell of herself.

Melanie Salvatore-August and Her Story of Healing

Salvatore-August had it all: three beautiful boys, popular classes and teacher trainings, two published books, a strong yoga practice, an eco-friendly home, and a loving partner. But the pressure to maintain it, to be this kind of “superwoman,” as she described to LA Yoga, began to take its toll. In taking care of so many other people, she would often treat her body more as a machine than a temple, and her health began to deteriorate.

What began as mild discomfort in her hips developed into chronic pain and stiffness. By the time her son was born, she had pneumonia in both lungs and was covered in silver dollar-size hives. As she was often multi-tasking when preparing food for and feeding the family, she was completely out of touch with her hunger signals. She was either over-eating or forgetting to eat altogether. Emotionally, she was quick to anger and easily agitated and she was constantly exhausted even after a full night’s sleep.

Of course, none of these symptoms developed overnight. They were years in the making, the most severe of which began immediately after birthing her second son almost five years prior. But where before Salvatore-August was once able to push past many of her body’s messages, her body started screaming to be heard and she finally heeded her own oft-spoken words, “I just can’t do this anymore.”

After extensive medical testing, Salvatore-August was diagnosed with the autoimmune disorder Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.
This was confusing for her at first. By all accounts she was “healthy.” She ate a mostly organic, plant-based diet and was a yoga teacher by trade who practiced every day. She had just written a book called “Fierce Kindness”, which was all about living selflessly and being of service to the world, which she tried to practice in all aspects of her life.

We Are Active Participants in Our Own Health

As Salvatore-August told LA Yoga, “I don’t think anyone ever said, ‘Hey, Mel you need to be beautiful, smiling, radiantly healthy, while rearing smart perfectly happy children, keeping a spotlessly clean and eco-friendly home, staying madly in love with your husband and showing up every day for others with an inspiring quote on your tongue.’ Yet somewhere inside that was what I pushed for.”

Push being the operative word. Prior to her diagnosis, her entire life was a push forward. Pushing through strong practices, pushing to write her books, pushing her schedule to the brink.

What the autoimmune disorder diagnosis finally revealed, was that immunity is not just something we passively experience. We are active participants in our health, and it starts with the choices we make every single day. Immunity comes from the food we eat, the types of movement we engage in, even the thoughts we hold. Immunity also changes throughout our lifetime. What once served us, may no longer be appropriate as we get older or life circumstances change. In fact, those choices may now be depleting and damaging.

Seven years later, Salvatore-August is at the top of her health. She still battles with flare-ups, including recently having lost all of her eyelashes or re-developing hives during a period of particular depletion, but where before she treated her body as an enemy she needed to outsmart and fight against, she truly lives what she had been teaching so many students around the world for so many years: Our body is our greatest ally in our healing.

It was this journey that inspired her third book, Yoga to Support Immunity.

Small Acts Create Big Changes

The shift from Salvatore-August feeling energetically bankrupt and as though “the bottom was falling out” towards optimal health took time and commitment. It was not as though her diagnosis came with a cure, as most autoimmune disorders are incurable. Although there is medicinal support. Instead, Salvatore-August started with slow, small changes, that added up over the years.

First, she brought awareness and clarity to the behaviors that had become habitual. She observed that a lot of the choices that once served her were now harming her. Most importantly, she began to listen to her body’s natural cues. For example, doing light yoga and healing kriyas when she was tired, rather than powering through a long flow. Resting instead of going out. Learning the power of ‘no’ and mustering the courage to ask for help.

Diet, Yoga and Healing

But the most powerful healing perhaps came from her diet. Although it had been mainly organic, and plant-based, it still contained a lot of foods that can lead to inflammation, such as gluten, diary, sugar, alcohol, and even caffeine. (Which she humorously shares throughout her book that she still enjoys in small increments!). The Anti-inflammatory Protocol Diet has been shown to mitigate certain auto-immune symptoms. So Salvatore-August spent time eliminating the foods that left her feeling ill or wired and learning which foods that helped her feel whole and nourished.

In Yoga to Support Immunity, Salvatore-August guides readers through a similar healing process. First, she offers ways to cultivate awareness of one’s habits and teaches readers how to pay attention to their bodily cues. The second part of the process is a bit of a detoxification as the body recalibrates based on those cues. Finally, Salvatore-August, offers how to integrate these changes into reader’s lives.

Only One Thing? Do This!

She sets readers up for success from the go, making sure the changes are do-able and accomplishable. For example, she offers condensed versions of the sequences into three-minute offerings and concludes each section with a handy Cliff’s Notes-style round-up, entitled “Only one thing? Do this.”

But what makes this book so powerful, is not just the amount of research and science-based evidence Salvatore-August provides, but that Mama Mel (as her friend’s lovingly call her) lives this every single day. In fact, she ends the book with a sample schedule of her current daily life to share with readers the intentional and self-compassionate choices that she makes every day.

Most importantly, the schedule she shares is not only one readers may want to strive for, but one can they can accomplish, through small acts over time. But really it is Mama Mel’s loving tone and humorous honesty that helps readers feel seen and supported. This may be the most healing part of the book: knowing that someone has walked this path and is there to now walk you along it, too.

Yoga to Support Immunity: Mind, Body, Breathing Guide to Whole Health

This book By Melanie Salvatore-August was released June 29, 2021. At the time of this article it has held its spot as #1 New Release in Homeopathy & Preventative Medicine since its release. For more information, including where to order, visit Mango Publishing’s website to buy Yoga to Support Immunity. For more information on Melanie Salvatore-August, visit her website: https://www.melaniesalvatoreaugust.com.

Sarah Ezrin

Sarah Ezrin is the author of The Yoga of Parenting: Ten Yoga-Based Practices to Help You Stay Grounded, Connect with Your Kids, and Be Kind to Yourself. She is a freelance writer, yoga educator, and content creator based in the Bay Area. Her willingness to be unabashedly honest and vulnerable along with her innate wisdom, make her writing, teaching, and social media great sources of healing and connection for many people.
Sarah brings a wide spectrum of life experiences into everything she does. She is unafraid of sharing all sides of herself. She does so in the hope of giving others permission to be their most authentic self. At this time, when honest self-awareness is so important, Sarah’s is an essential and exemplary voice.
Sarah writes extensively on the subjects of yoga, parenting, and mental health, often interweaving these themes. Her work ranges from heavily-reported assignments to personal essays to blog content for brands. She is a regular contributor for Yoga Journal Magazine, Motherly, Yoga International, Healthline, Scary Mommy, Mind Body Green, Mantra Magazine, and LA Yoga Magazine. She has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes Magazine, Bustle, LA Weekly, and NBC News.

Sarah is a well-respected yoga teacher and a leader in the wellness community. A world traveler since birth, she has led trainings, workshops, and retreats locally and across the globe.

www.sarahezrinyoga.com

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Could something we do every day really be that simple and at the same time complex? Absolutely!

It could be said that the two most important breaths in our life are our first and our last breaths…but what is most important to me as a passionate breathwork and wellness coach is that we remember to pay more attention to all the breaths in between.

That’s what breathing into happy really means for me, helping students and clients remember the magic of breath. To that end, I don’t want this to be just another article that says “Take a deep breath and all will be well again.”

While it can often be that easy, breathwork for everyday life offers much more and has a variety of other amazing health and mental benefits beyond just feeling calmer.

If you are a yoga practitioner and/or a fitness or wellness pro, you may already be familiar with pranayama. Pranayama is simply breath control, breathwork, or breath manipulation, which is done in an effort to deliver desired outcomes.

I love this practice so much. The respiratory system is the one system in our magical, complex bodies that both functions involuntarily all day long. While at the same time, we have the opportunity to harness it voluntarily for our benefit.

Of course, that only happens once we understand the power of using the breathwork for everyday life for mind, body, and soul wellness.

Breathwork? What about BreathPlay!

This may be an area that is new to you, beyond simple meditative breathing. If you are curious to take a deeper dive with me, let’s go deeper into the magic of prana, with what I also like to call BreathPlay.

Global Awareness of Breath

First I do want to call out the elephant in the room. As a breathwork coach and breathwork teacher trainer, it’s not lost on me that in the past year-and-a-half, everything that has occurred via COVID-19 and other socially devastating events, has catapulted the topic of breathing, breathlessness and deep breaths front and center.

We could say one silver lining from the past 15 months is that there is more global awareness now around not only the importance of breath for better health but also the benefits of mental and spiritual wellness.

If ever there was a time to understand how to use the breath, and maximize and harness the gift of breath it is now!

Usually when I describe to people what I do for a living they sort of look at me like I have three heads! I imagine it’s because…well, breathing is something we all “know how to do” and for the most part we all do automatically, even involuntarily, unless of course you’re a “breath holder” but we’ll get into that later.

So how is breathwork as a practice different from just regular daily breathing?

There is so much to this question. I feel that breathwork can be broken down into three main buckets:

1. Breath exercises also called prescriptive breathing.
2. Breathwork styles for transformational healing.
3. Breathwork for optimal health and enhanced sports performance.

In this article, I will share some great ways to play with the breath to affect a physical change in your physiology and mental state.

Here are a few of my favorite breathwork for everyday life exercises and their benefits:

The Cooling Breath

This technique not only cools down the body, but it cools down the mind. It has a calming effect on the blood pressure as well as the nervous system. It stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system by triggering the rest and digest reaction. This technique can also reduce acidity, hypertension, and indigestion.

To start, sit comfortably and close your eyes. Stick out your tongue as far as possible without straining, and roll it so that the sides of the tongue are facing upwards. Inhale for four counts through the rolled tongue, like sipping air with a straw. Then close your mouth and exhale for six counts through your nostrils. This is one round of the cooling breath.

As you inhale, the air is cooled down by the moist tongue, and you’ll feel the air being colder when entering your body. You can continue for 10 rounds to start with, slowly progressing up to 40 or 50 rounds.

Visualizing Breath

As you inhale, envision the air traveling into your nose, through your entire body, and back out again. Imagine it traveling through all your muscles, all the way to your toes and fingers before it comes back out again during your exhale.

Focusing on your breathing activates your parasympathetic system, encouraging it to calm down, relax, and lower your heart rate in preparation for sleep.

4-7-8 Breath Exercise

This exercise is great for both stress relief and grounding. It is also beneficial to practice before a big event, presentation, or meeting. Start with only four cycles to and work up to eight cycles twice a day
Sit with your back straight. Place the tip of your tongue against the ridge of tissue just behind your upper front teeth.

Keep it there through the entire exercise. You will be exhaling through your mouth around your tongue. Purse your lips on the exhale. Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound. Close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose to a mental count of four. Hold your breath for a count of seven. Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound to a count of eight. This is one breath. Now inhale again and repeat the cycle three more times for a total of four cycles.

Breath Counting

This is a great exercise for those new to meditation and breathwork. Sit in a comfortable position with the spine straight and head inclined slightly forward. Gently close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Then let the breath come naturally without trying to influence it.

Try to keep the breath quiet and slow, but the depth and rhythm can vary. To begin the exercise, count “one” to yourself as you exhale. The next time you exhale, count “two,” and so on up to “five.” Then begin a new cycle, counting “one” on the next exhalation. Never count higher than “five,” and count only on the exhale. You will know your attention has wandered when you find yourself counting higher than to eight or beyond.

Breath of Fire

This breath is great for increasing energy, warming the body, stimulating detoxification, improving circulation, strengthening the muscles in the abs and around the solar plexus, and stimulating the brain.
With the mouth closed, breathe in and out of the nose. Puff out the cheeks on the exhale. Practice quick and short breaths. The breathing should be loud and quick. Pull your abdomen in during the exhale, and press it out during the inhale. Imagine your belly fills up with air during the inhale and use your abdominal muscles to push the air out during the exhale. Do no more than 10-30 seconds at one time and repeat for two to three sets.

Breathwork for Everyday Life

All of the above breath exercises can be used when and where needed to start to foster a deeper connection to your breath. The beauty of these exercises is they are short and sweet yet deliver tangible physiological benefits which in turn impact your overall wellbeing. They can be used anytime and anywhere…thus the beauty of breath.

Until then, remember you are alway just one deep slow breath away from happy.

Rebecca Kordecki

Rebecca Kordecki is the owner of The Breath Zone and the creator of Booty Slide.  She has enjoyed a very successful 26-year career as a highly sought after celebrity trainer and wellness expert.

Over the past 5 years Rebecca has added Breathwork to her list of expertise after training with Dan Brule and David Elliot.

Rebecca is beyond passionate about teaching people to use breath + movement to get out of their heads and into their hearts and be the boss of their happy and healthy one breath at a time.

She’s been featured on The Today Show, EXTRA, Daily Candy and in Vogue Magazine, Men’s Health and many others.

You can follow Rebecca on Instagram @rebeccakordecki or visit her website www.thebreath.zone to find classes and dates for her upcoming breathwork teacher training.

www.thebreath.zone

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Transforming Trauma–The Gift in the Wound

Investigating the impact of trauma in our lives can be an important part of healing our anxiety. Unresolved traumatic experiences from our past can fuel (and be the source of) our anxiety, unbeknownst to us. Sometimes people don’t realize that some of the experiences they have had may have been traumatic and could be the root causes of their suffering.

As a trauma survivor, trauma therapist, and trauma-informed yoga teacher working with survivors for almost two decades, I have many thoughts on the topic of healing trauma. I have worked with people who have endured the unimaginable. I have seen people triumph over trauma and come out better on the other side of it, people become trapped in the grasp of trauma unable to come out, and everything in between. Ultimately, I believe that we can all find some healing from trauma, and, with the right information and support, let ourselves be transformed by it in a meaningful way. As my teacher Peter Levine says, “Trauma is a fact of life, but it doesn’t have to be a life sentence.” He goes on to say, “I believe not only that trauma is curable, but that the healing process can be a catalyst for profound awakening.” When I think of trauma, I don’t just think of the negative impacts of it, I also think about the ways we grow and learn when have to deal with overwhelming situations. My intention is not to bypass the pain and horror that trauma can inflict on people, but I also don’t want to bypass peoples’ resilience and capacity.

In my presentations on trauma, I often show a slide of a diamond and a piece of coal, with the phrase, “A diamond is just a piece of coal that handled stress exceptionally well.” It is only by being exposed to the stress of extreme heat and pressure that the coal can transform. The stress of life shapes us as well, yet none of us are perfect diamonds—we have parts that are shiny, parts that are broken, parts still covered in coal. Trauma shapes us. As we reflect on this, please keep in mind both ends of the healing process—the coal and the diamond—and the spectrum in between. It’s important to consider what has shaped you and its implications for who you are today. I also want you to reflect on how trauma might have impacted those around you. If the pain is fresh, deep, or in any way overwhelming, I encourage you to seek the support of a therapist. It’s not always appropriate to work with trauma on one’s own; you deserve support!

Trauma is anything that overwhelms our capacity to cope and respond and leaves us feeling helpless, hopeless, and out of control. As I mentioned before, it is not the event itself that is traumatic, it’s our response to it that determines if it was traumatic or not. Not all trauma comes from what most people would consider a major experience—some traumas are what we might call “little t” traumas (as opposed to “big T” Traumas). “Little t” traumas may not be as major, but they can overwhelm us and shape us nonetheless. I often share that I have “hair trauma.” I say this not to joke about trauma but to share that even seemingly small experiences we have can have a significant impact. You see, I have very frizzy hair. I grew up in Miami, Florida, which has 100 percent humidity most of the time. My mom used to cut my hair. She is not a professional hairdresser. I had short hair that just seemed to puff around my head like a disheveled mass no matter what I did. This may not sound overwhelming, but to an adolescent girl, where concerns around peer group acceptance feel like life or death, it certainly is! Coupled with being an immigrant and feeling like an outsider, my hair preoccupied me for most of my adolescence. I was never part of the popular group of kids, and I often felt excluded and judged. This experience shaped my identity, and to this day there’s still a part of me that feels like I don’t fit in.

Three Categories of Trauma

I think about trauma in three categories: shock, developmental, and systemic. We are all shaped by at least one of these categories. We can experience “big T” or “little t” traumas in each. Sometimes we don’t realize that certain things are traumatic because the traumatic experience is all we know and we don’t have the perspective to realize that our experience may be out of the ordinary. As you read through the next sections, reflect on your own life experience and what has shaped you. Remember, just because a lot of bad stuff might have happened to you doesn’t mean you are traumatized. If you had good resources and support, you may have been buffered against the negative impact.

Shock Trauma

Shock traumas are events that happen to us. These are things like car accidents, medical trauma, experiencing or witnessing violence, natural disasters, divorce, and the death of loved ones. These events can overwhelm us and when they do, we defend, dissociate, or find other strategies to cope as best we can. (The possum being chased by the fox in chapter 1 experienced a shock trauma.) When something happens that we can’t cope with and respond to, it can cause us to go into a freeze or collapse state. These are both protective mechanisms that our bodies use to try and keep us safe. Freeze is a rigid immobility response. People can experience this after a car accident or in the face of a threat that they can’t deal with. Once the event is over, if they’re not able to discharge the energy from the body, it can get “stuck” and impact them indefinitely. They might find themselves panicky and on high alert each time they’re in a car or constantly worried that something bad is about to happen.

The collapse response is similar to freeze but looks a bit different. Collapse is a shutting-down experience. (Remember the ON/OFF graph? It’s the OFF part.) Collapse is common with sexual trauma. It’s a survival strategy: if someone is doing something to your body that you don’t want but feel powerless to stop, one of the most protective things you can do is shut down and leave your body so you don’t feel anything. This is an involuntary reflex—it’s not something one chooses to do. Often sexual trauma survivors feel ashamed because they may not have done anything to stop the abuse. This is because they froze or collapsed. Their nervous system got overwhelmed and, to protect them, shut down all feeling. Collapse is necessary at the time yet becomes a problem when it’s happening in situations that are not necessarily traumatic.

I had a client who experienced molestation by a family member as a child. (This is a shock trauma that was chronic and repeated.) When it was happening, she would “fall asleep,” which was a collapse response that allowed her to dissociate from the abuse. As an adult, she found that if she was in situations that became physically intimate, she would get spacey and leave her body only to realize later that she had engaged in a sexual experience without actually consenting to it. In some cases she wanted to be intimate, in others she didn’t, but mostly she was confused. She didn’t have the embodied awareness to know what she wanted in order to make an empowered choice. It was as if her internal GPS would just turn off in intimate situations.

Conversation around “enthusiastic consent” is so important in order to ensure that all parties in a sexual situation are fully present and truly want each step of the interaction. Sexual assault survivors may not always be vocal about whether they want sexual intimacy or not, and people can take advantage of that, both knowingly and unknowingly. True consent should be active and positive, it’s not just the absence of saying no. As my client worked through her trauma, she was able to stay grounded and present when in intimate situations. Rather than dissociating, she used the self-regulation resources that she practiced using during our sessions to stay present in her body when on a date. Grounding was especially important for her. Then she was able to start setting boundaries and vocalize what she needed and wanted. Much of her work was done when she found a supportive partner who was familiar and safe. He supported her by checking in consistently when they were being intimate to make sure she was comfortable. He encouraged her to set boundaries and ask for what she wanted, and he was patient when she didn’t know what she wanted and needed time to figure it out.

Developmental Trauma

Another source of trauma does not have to do with a specific event but rather results from our relationships with a primary caretaker. Developmental trauma occurs when there is an ongoing misattunement with one’s primary caretaker. A vital part of healthy childhood development is feeling cared for and responded to by our caretaker—a parent, grandparent, or any other caring adult. For example, an infant’s cries should ideally be responded to with warmth and a desire to assess and meet the baby’s need. Most babies have very basic needs—food, comfort, and safety. Humans are born 100 percent dependent on their caretakers for survival for years, so attunement is literally a life-or-death need. For most other animals, this isn’t the case. A baby horse, for example, can walk within two hours of birth and is able to eat on its own within two weeks. It doesn’t rely on the mother for its sole sustenance and survival for too long.

Human babies can’t do anything for themselves. If our basic needs aren’t met fairly consistently or predictably, we can develop a sense that people and the world are unsafe, unpredictable, or unresponsive. This leaves a lasting imprint on us, and for many people with developmental trauma, it takes work to figure out how to be in a healthy relationship where their needs are met. Love and pain get coupled together, and people can find themselves drawn into unhealthy relationships with people who have similar traits to their original caretaker. Relationships end up being the cause of much pain and anxiety, yet they also can be the source of healing.

Healing developmental trauma has to happen in relationship. It can’t just happen on the therapy couch or meditation cushion. We have to actually learn how to relate with others in a healthier way, and we can only learn that by being in relationships that give us the space to make mistakes safely—to “practice badly,” so to speak. Whether it’s learning a new language or learning how to ride a bike, gaining any new skill requires us to be willing and able to be bad at it before we can get good at it. This goes for relationships too. Working with a therapist can be the first step—the clear boundaries of a therapeutic relationship can create a lowstakes environment without too many unknown variables. The next step is to figure out how to translate that work into relationships outside of the therapy room. Marcia’s story offers a good example.

Marcia grew up with a mother who was emotionally unstable and had bipolar disorder. As a baby, when Marcia would cry, her mother would shout at her that she was selfish and withdraw from her. Sometimes she would be left with a soiled diaper for hours. It didn’t take too long for Marcia to stop crying altogether because it never yielded a good result. As she got older, she learned to avoid doing anything that might upset her mother. When she would do something that disturbed her mother, she would get screamed at or hit. For a toddler this is incredibly overwhelming, and Marcia became immobilized by her anxiety. She felt extremely ashamed anytime she committed something her mother saw as an indiscretion, even though most of these things were developmentally appropriate behaviors like wanting to be picked up, feeling scared at night, or making a mess. Marcia learned that her needs were an inconvenience and that her role was to meet her mother’s needs. That was her imprint of what a relationship is that she carried into her adult life.

Inevitably, in her adult relationships Marcia had a very hard time finding mutually supportive friends and partners. She had no idea how to navigate having her own needs in relationships and was mostly focused on not upsetting the other person. She didn’t know what behavior was acceptable and what wasn’t, and she constantly second-guessed herself. Relationships of any kind made her feel anxious and overwhelmed. She also tended to be drawn to people who were emotionally unpredictable and volatile—they felt familiar and matched her original experience of what relationships are. Marcia had to work really hard to figure out both how to choose more stable people and how to show up in relationships in a healthier way. With the support of a skilled therapist who could offer consistency and warmth, she was able to explore her issues and get more clarity on the role she tends to play in relationships. She practiced communicating her needs and setting boundaries. Eventually, she was able to experience healthy mirroring and consistent warmth from her therapist, which began to give her the space to not feel so anxious while relating to another person. This was important because as she got more regulated, she could imagine approaching other relationships feeling more grounded and empowered in herself.

Her next step in healing was to practice, in very small ways, showing up differently in her existing relationships. She practiced setting boundaries and expressing her needs. Sometimes this would go well and the other person would respect the request, and sometimes it backfired and the other person would get angry and push back. She had to end some relationships with people who weren’t able to participate in a healthy dynamic. She also began to look for healthier people to engage with. She started dating someone who was very different from the emotionally abusive men that were typically her type. Joel was warm and kind. Marcia wasn’t initially attracted to him; in fact, she found him annoying. Her therapist gently reminded her that guys that were “her type” replicated her trauma. Maybe someone she didn’t think she’d like would afford her a chance to shift her pattern and try something new. Marcia was able to express herself with Joel without anxiety. He was consistent and didn’t lose control if Marcia did something that bothered him. He was the perfect person for Marcia to “practice badly” with. Ultimately Joel wasn’t the right person for Marcia, but he was an important teacher because without his extra gentleness, she would not have been able to learn the things she needed in order to show up for her next relationship in a healthy way. Richard was a better match for Marcia. He had a stronger personality than Joel, but was kind as well. With Marcia’s new confidence and self-awareness, she could be with someone like Richard without losing herself. But there would have been no Richard without Joel.

Eventually Marcia was able to understand that her mother was a trauma survivor who was doing the best she could with the tools she had. Marcia’s mother was physically abused as a child. She was never attuned to herself, so she didn’t know how to do that for Marcia. Because she didn’t get the support she needed, she passed her trauma on to Marcia. This is one way that trauma gets passed on from generation to generation, as discussed earlier.

Parents don’t have to be perfectly healed to be able to do a good job raising their kids. Donald Winnicott, a child psychologist, coined the term “the good enough mother.” He found in his research on attachment that although it is very important that children be attuned to and responded to, it is also important that they find age-appropriate ways to self-soothe and meet their own needs. He found that attunement need not be perfect; in fact, it’s better if a child learns to deal with “manageable disappointments” at appropriate stages of development in order to feel their own sense of competency. So as you consider your own childhood, use caution and don’t blame your parents for everything. And if you’re a parent, don’t feel like you have to do everything perfectly either! I have to admit, before having children of my own, when I would hear clients talk about some of the ways that their parents failed them, I felt a lot of judgment for the parents. Now that I’m a parent, when I hear stories of parents’ shortcomings I have a lot more empathy. Being a parent is hard!

It’s possible to feel that you have some development trauma even if you think that all your needs were met as a child. For example, if you had smothering or overly fearful caretakers, you
may not have been given enough opportunity to experience your own resilience and independence. If we aren’t given a chance to experience our own competency, the world can feel overwhelming and unmanageable. This tends to be more of an issue these days when some parents can track their children’s every move on a cell phone and stay in touch with them twenty-four seven. The terms helicopter parent and snowplow parent have been used to describe how some modern parents tend to watch over their kids way too much (like a helicopter) and/or try and remove any potential obstacles from their children’s path (like a snowplow). This is more possible for some families than others, of course; not all people have the same access or ability to overprotect their children in this way. Children need the right balance of challenge and protection to grow and thrive.

Systemic Trauma

Systemic trauma is caused by the overwhelm of having to deal with issues that stem from larger systems and institutions that are meant to care for us and protect us. These include health care, education, the criminal justice system, financial institutions, government, and culture, to name a few. Unfortunately, at least in the United States, these systems benefit some and harm many. Discrimination and oppression also become normalized by cultural beliefs and enforced through social norms and behaviors. Things like classism, ableism, racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, mental health stigma, and more are very, very stressful to the people on the receiving end.

One heartbreaking example of systemic shock trauma is police violence against Black people. The disproportionate killing of Black people by police is traumatic to the Black community, whether they have been directly involved in this violence or not. Black people are up to six times more likely to be fatally shot by law enforcement than white people. They are more likely to be stopped by police and questioned and searched without reason. Many Black people have to maintain a constant hypervigilance when out in the world, whether they are anticipating the potential for violence from law enforcement or being perceived as a threat by non-Black people who may call law enforcement on them.

Black parents (and non-Black parents of Black children) worry constantly about the safety of their children. They have to have “the talk” with their children starting as early as age eight—about the fact that not all police officers are safe and, for example, that they cannot play with a toy gun because someone might think it is real (as in the case of Tamir Rice, a twelve-year-old Black boy who was playing with a toy gun by himself in a Cleveland park when he was fatally shot by an officer who claimed to have felt threatened by the boy after only two seconds on the scene). They often live in a constant, daily state of fear that they or their children could be hurt or killed by the very people who are supposed to protect them. If this is not your lived reality, take a moment to pause and sit with how this systemic experience of trauma might exacerbate a person’s anxiety.

All the personal therapy and self-help books in the world are not going to let a Black parent feel totally safe with their child out in a world where they are targets. Most parents worry about their children already; having to worry that the systems that are allegedly put in place to help us might actually harm us is an added and overwhelming burden. That’s the thing with systemic trauma: it can’t be healed just with personal work. Personal work can help people cope with the stress, but until the laws, practices and culture change, people subject to identity-based violence will have to remain on high alert.

Systemic inequality and oppression can also result in developmental trauma. Consider these scenarios: A child is crying because she is scared, but no one comes to her aid because she is in an understaffed day care center since parents each have to work two minimum wage jobs just to make ends meet for the family. Or maybe the child is being shuffled through the foster care system because her single mom is in jail after being racially profiled for a crime she did not commit. In both of these scenarios, the parents may have the emotional capacity to attune to the child, but because of poverty, lack of societal investment in social supports like affordable day care, or racial injustice, they can’t be there. What about a child who is raised as a boy but knows herself to be a girl? Maybe this child expresses very early on that she is a girl, but because her family doesn’t understand what it means to be transgender, she is told that she is a boy and is discouraged from expressing feminine behaviors or preferences. Perhaps this is what the parents are told to do by psychologists and their pastor. In this example, the caregivers are trying to do the right thing, but inadvertently they are misattuning to their child.

For some people, the threat of systemic trauma might not be immediate physical threats but other types of threats to safety and well-being. Women get paid less than men for comparable work. Low-income people don’t generally have access to good health care, housing, or schools. Black people are disproportionately arrested and incarcerated. People who are not citizens can be separated from their families and forced to leave the country without any notice. Transgender and gender nonconforming people don’t always have a safe bathroom available to them or adequate health-care options. Formerly incarcerated people often become ineligible for low-income housing and other types of assistance. Many of those listed above are also at risk of being the victims of violence based on their identity.

These examples complicate a trauma framework that focuses simply on individual and familial psychology and reveal how systemic and cultural dynamics can impact people profoundly. Most of these scenarios are currently legal and thus upheld systemically and institutionally. It’s legal to have only gendered bathrooms, for example. Until recently, sentencing laws were different for drugs typically used by people of color versus white people. Public schools are funded by property taxes, so schools in affluent areas get a lot more resources than schools in poor areas. Quality health care is expensive, and there are no laws that protect low-income people from inadequate health-care providers. Many of the things built into our policies and systems are a reflection or even a cause of cultural norms. Even when the laws change (like sentencing laws, for example) bias lingers in the culture, past harms and unfairness aren’t necessarily addressed, and the dynamics don’t necessarily improve.

It is important to note that systemic advantages and disadvantages are not earned. I did nothing to earn my light skin or the money I inherited from my parents, for example. Similarly, a transgender person does not “earn” getting harassed simply by walking down the street and a Black person does not “earn” a harsher sentence than a white person for the same offense.

If you find yourself getting defensive around these ideas, it could be because you benefit from these systems. It’s often harder to see discrimination if it’s not aimed at you. So please bear with me here if these ideas rile you up. Use the tools I’ve shared; notice your sensations, impulses, and emotions. Try to stay resourced so that you can be curious about your reaction and what it may reveal to you. Just because I might be implying that you benefit from these systems doesn’t mean you haven’t seriously struggled in your life. It also doesn’t mean you created these unfair systems. And it doesn’t mean that you don’t benefit from one system while being oppressed by another.

Some people don’t believe in the impacts of systemic trauma because they were able to get themselves out of poverty or a life of marginalization, crime, or addiction. They may have a hard time empathizing with those who don’t have the same strength, determination, or opportunities. This sort of exceptionalism is tricky because it reaffirms the idea of the “American dream,” which says that anyone can make it if they try hard enough. Some people certainly experience this, but, until the playing field is fair, the dream is deceptive. Research has shown that the idea that we live in a meritocracy—where anyone can succeed if they try—is a myth. I have immense respect for people who were able to create abundant, meaningful lives even if they grew up with very little opportunity, but I’m interested in a world where no one has to dig themselves out of a ditch in order to feel human or be treated with dignity. I want us to change the rule, not celebrate the exceptions to the rule.

Ultimately we are all harmed by systems of inequality in some way. The book, Peace from Anxiety, was written in 2020, during the onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic. At the time of this writing, hundreds of thousands of people have died, tens of millions of people are unemployed in the US alone, and essential workers are risking their lives every day to keep the world running. Older people, people with disabilities, people of color, low-income people, and people without access to quality health care are being disproportionately impacted. Among other things, the pandemic is revealing that until the most vulnerable are cared for, no one can be safe. Unless we find a way to protect everyone, this virus will continue to spread. And until we find a way to take care of essential workers with adequate protection, health care, and paid sick leave, they will not be able to do their work, which provides the basic needs and infrastructure we all rely on. Many of these essential workers do work that is unseen and underappreciated—such as health-care workers and first responders, people in waste management, those who work in grocery stores and pharmacies, food production and agricultural workers, transportation and postal workers, people in manufacturing, and mental health providers.

Research shows that in countries with higher income inequality, everyone fares worse. Plus, just knowing that some of the advantages many of us have come at the expense of others is psychologically disturbing. It takes a certain amount of denial to deal with that. I know each time I buy cheap clothing because it’s what I can afford at the time, I feel guilty knowing the workers who made the clothes were probably not paid a fair wage. When my husband and I bought our first home, I felt conflicted owning land that was stolen from the Indigenous peoples who originally inhabited the area. Even though we donate money to the local Tongva tribe, I still sit with the discomfort being complicit in an unjust system.

Reflection on the roles we play in systems of inequality as well as the ways we’ve internalized some of the values and messages they give us is one key to our collective healing from overwhelm and anxiety—how we can all heal together as a society, culture, and world. None of us alive today created the oppressive systems that surround us, but together we can change them so that everyone is treated with dignity and respect and has access to what they need. Call me an idealist, but I’ve dedicated my life to this goal. We may not see it in our lifetime, but we can be part of setting things into motion for future generations. Just because I might not see the fruits of my labor isn’t a reason to give up.

Peace from Anxiety

From Peace from Anxiety: Get Grounded, Build Resilience, and Stay Connected Amidst the Chaos by Hala Khouri © 2021 by Hala Khouri. Reprinted in arrangement with Shambhala Publications, Inc. Boulder, CO. www.shambhala.com.

Hala Khouri

Hala Khouri, MA, SEP, E-RYT, has been teaching yoga and movement for over 25 years and has been doing clinical work and trainings for 15 years. Originally from Beirut, Lebanon, she has dedicated her life to the study of trauma and building resilience on a personal, interpersonal, and systemic level. Hala is trained in Somatic Experiencing, a body-based psychotherapy that helps resolve trauma and its symptoms. 

Hala is a co-founder of Off the Mat, Into the World, a training organization that bridges yoga and activism within a social justice framework. Hala also works with A Thousand Joys, training direct service providers and educators to be trauma informed and culturally responsive. She is a sought-after speaker and trainer on the subject of trauma, yoga, and social justice. She lives in Venice, CA with her husband and two sons and teaches yoga classes weekly. To learn more, please visit www.halakhouri.com. 

www.halakhouri.com

The post Transforming Trauma appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Rituals and Routines for Transitional Times

How do we keep practice alive, fresh, and rich with presence? When done regularly can we maintain an attitude of curiosity, of refined awareness? Ritual, or routine with intent, can lend support to daily and larger life transitions; practice is a part of that. Such rituals don’t have to be grandiose. They can be a minute, five minutes, or a half hour. When informed by our authentic aspirations and love, any time keeper is replaced by the heart. We start where we are with something sincere and manageable gaining confidence over time to extend a practice period as we receive the benefit and impact of our intentions bearing fruit.

Before creating a routine for yourself, or expanding the one you already have, consider what your intent is. Know what you are up to and for what purpose. Why do you practice? What are the expectations? What do you hope to gain? How do you create routines during transitions throughout the day that help you stay in the here and now? Start out by asking yourself these questions and apply your insights to your life.

Early Morning Reflections

The early morning hours of stillness when earth and animals have just begun to stir is a precious time for practice and reflection. Naturally, we are supported in this liminal space from the darkness of night into the light of day. It is an opportune moment for welcoming a new beginning. We ourselves might have gone into a space of deep settling and dream; possibly renouncing the day’s engagements so we wake refreshed to meet another moment in its’ true newness. How often does this happen though? A time when we don’t carry with us the echoes of previous turmoils and trouble, whether in body, thought, or felt sense. It is a challenge worthy of the victory to stand in the present moment…one that pairs well with dedication and perseverance. We have to be able to try again, and every day, when we rise, we are given a chance to do just that. That way we welcome this opportunity is up to us.

Practice Awareness and Tune In

If you will, take a moment now and sense the support that you are sitting on. Let your physical body attune to this support. As you begin to settle, tune into the feeling of your body and see if there are parts that might relax more deeply. Perhaps the jaw and tongue can release. Could you lower your shoulders away from the ears? Sensing into the abdomen, might it also relax? Feel the back of your body in contact with something…is the support soft? Firm? Is there any way you might move to be more comfortable? Trust the inherent intelligence of your body to make adjustments that generate a deeper sense of ease and connection.

From this place take a few fuller and conscious breaths and let a sigh out. Invite the entire body to release, to relax. Time all the time you need with this. When you feel ready – more alert, and that doesn’t mean without tension but rather with expanded awareness – ask yourself: How, in the past week, did I begin my day? What was the feeling tone? The qualities? What do I do first in the morning? Is there anything I would choose to shift? What would be my ideal start? If it is helpful, you could write some of these answers down and make practical steps towards them.

Listening to Our Soul’s Messages: Yoga for Transitional Times

During the night our soul speaks. We have access to its guidance, encouragement, and unwavering support. What follows in the days of our life is ample opportunity for application of these messages so we may live rich with vitality, choice, and listening. Or, perhaps we might start the day with a ‘same bullshit, different day’ mentality; during which we turn a blind eye to what is dynamic and alive, act mechanically, and repeat patterns of behavior that may not have second thought. If we are aware of making shifts, we have some agency depending on what we choose for ourselves. We have the power of choice.

Yoga in the Morning

If you have the opportunity to do a morning Yoga practice start with a moment of pause and centering. Attune to your body and ask it what it needs. Side stretches? Activity? A slow start towards more movement? Inversions? How do you know what your body is asking for? What does that feel like? Doing this allows you to stay present and mitigate the possibility of practice becoming overly regimented or done absentmindedly.

For me, in the morning, no matter what pose I am in I choose to pay attention to my body and mind. I bring mantra into the poses if I wake up with a thoughtful mind. I choose areas of concentration depending on the posture: the throat in bridge pose, plough, or shoulder stand; the heart in forward folds or tortoise; top of the head in headstand. I intend to feel what I am doing in a given asana or ‘situation.’ The same presence that I bring to practice is what I wish to bring to my day; that way practice is not something I do during an allotted time frame but rather something that is lived and embodied. Again, why do you practice?

I have found my morning routine most useful when I enter the space as a way to become present rather than with intent to achieve or get better. Yoga, whether it be on or off the mat, is not something to accomplish. It is a way of living life; the way we practice reflects upon the way we are as human beings. As Richard Rohr says “the way we do one thing is the way we do everything.” May your morning practice and beyond be filled with gentleness, refinement, and an acceptance that echoes of mercy.

Yoga Before Bed

Equally as important is the way we put ourselves to bed. If we go to sleep in a state of anger it has real potential to carry over into the dream space. The residue is felt, consciously or not, and can inform our decisions, our thoughts, even our sense of safety. One way the mind works is to perpetuate a story, to stay in control of what it knows. Way to go mind! Yet our nervous system longs for resolution of activation from high states of arousal. Like animals, we benefit from developing skills in releasing. We can use our practice in the night to create a protected space to honor our transitions. These can even be small life/death life cycles.

The Importance of Transitions : To and from Bed

On a practical level, there are many things to consider when creating a nighttime ritual. Sleep hygiene is a popular topic because the regularity of our sleep/wake cycles can either be a benefit or detriment to many aspects of our health and well-being. This includes and stretches far beyond mood and stress levels, as well as the optimal functioning of our endocrine and nervous systems. Let’s support our sleep, receive insights, and integrate them into our waking lives!

When we talk about sleep some questions to consider include: How do I begin the transition from activity to rest? You might again review the previous few days and gather some information on your patterns without criticism. Awareness is the first step to change and awareness helps nourish our reflection. Ask yourself: Is there anything I could do that would help me transition?

As we transition from a deeply inward state, for many of us, to waking, you might consider some of all of the following questions. These questions are meant to help you gain awareness of your patterns in your life, making changes as necessary, and the art of noticing without judgment. What is the sound of my alarm? Is it jarring? Do I jump right out of bed and get going? Do I pause for a moment? Could I? What’s the rush? What qualities do I want to bring into the morning? What can I hear in bed as I wake up? You might explore pausing in the morning to listen. Are there bird calls? Sounds of traffic? Animals? Take some time to allow your ears to open and hear things.

Suggestions to Support Sleep

• Take a few deep breathes, counting to four on the inhale and sighing on the exhale.
• Engage in the 4/4 breath, balancing the rhythm of inhale to exhale.
• Feel more of your breath in the lower abdomen.
• Hum for a few breaths.
• Place a hand on your belly and a hand on your heart before going to sleep.
• Recall your previous night’s dreams.
• Imagine a place in nature or somewhere you feel safe and allow my body to have that experience of safety and support.
• Brush your hair at the edge of the bed.
• Open and close your mouth a few times to relax your jaw and face.
• Do a little shake of the body and then stand upright in stillness.
• There are so many simple things that could be integrated and only take a minute. Think about what comes to mind for you.

Life Happens in Transitions

You matter. As some say, life happens when we are busy making plans, and life too happens whether we are conscious of it or not. We can, with love, offer ourselves to this great power of life and co-create in harmony with such a force. We have that birthright. We have that possibility. Transitions, too, are where life happens. It isn’t when you get to where you want or wish to be that it’s all rainbows.

As many say, it is about the journey we take to get there. How can you fill practice and the moments of this one precious life with ever expanding awareness, gratitude, and humility for all that you are given and all that you can create? What is your responsibility? Those are the final questions for you to hold close to heart; perhaps more like an active koan that something with a final answer. May your life not be about ‘getting somewhere’ but about embodying, more fully, just where you are.

Julie Macadam

www.myamountain.com

The post Creating Routines: Yoga for Transitional Times appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Hala Khouri Photo by Sarit Rogers

What Does it Mean to Participate in Redefining Self in These Times?

There is a collective anxiety that many people are experiencing these days. It’s an anxiety about the state of the world—politics, the environment, lack of safety in public spaces, our relationship to people different from us. For some people, this is not new, and for others it is a disruption of a feeling of peace and stability that they’ve been accustomed to. So, whether you just got to the collective anxiety party or you and your community have been here for generations, it’s undeniable that right now, at the time of the writing of this book, there is a sense of unease about our future on a national and global level. There is a collective pain that many people don’t know what to do with. Some people want to bury their heads in the sand, others don’t have that option, and many are looking for ways to cope and even contribute to making things better.

This is a time where we might finally choose to use our collective pain to transform us. We all have a different role to play, and we need to figure out how to work together to make the world a better place for all beings. I believe that as a global culture we are being asked to love bigger than we ever have and that this is what will help us navigate our way out of this overwhelm.
In the book Peace from Anxiety, I touch into what it means to be a global citizen and help build a culture of care for all living things. This requires us to have what I like to call a “global heart.” Some questions I ask myself are: How can I turn my overwhelm into overwhelming love? How can I let the whole world into my heart, so my heart can be bigger and more loving? How can I let my heart break open rather than break apart? How can I let my pain transform me? I don’t have lots of clear answers to these questions, but I try and let them guide me whenever possible.

“It’s All in Our Face Now”

Yesterday, a friend said this to me: “Everything is in our face now. We can’t get away from all that is happening in the world.” Why is it all in our face now? It’s partly due to the twenty-four-hour news cycle and our ability to access information about local and global issues with a single click. We receive information (and misinformation and disinformation) at a rate and speed that was unfathomable to the generations before us. None of us can keep up! Our nervous systems were not designed for this amount of input.

There is an interpersonal impact of technology and social media; there are also political and cultural implications to this technology. On a positive note, social media platforms can spread the stories and messages of those who have been historically silenced. Whether it’s a Black mother who lost her child to racially motivated violence or an Indigenous group protecting their land and water, we can connect visually and emotionally to people and events in a way that wasn’t possible in the past. With the Internet we can have immediate access to video footage of a school right after a mass shooting and displaced people fleeing violence in other countries. We can donate money, sign petitions, and share their stories to bring awareness to their plight. Social media can be a way to organize movements and protests, such as in Hong Kong or Beirut.

Our hyperconnectivity can allow us to be aware of and act swiftly to address some of the tragedies that are happening far away or close by. The author and organizer Adrienne Maree Brown said in a Tweet, “Things are not getting worse, they are being revealed. We must hold each other tight and continue to pull back the veil.”I agree wholeheartedly, and I think that much of our work as a global society is to face what needs to change while finding ways to unite around a common goal.

Collective Overwhelm

The flip side to all this access is overwhelm. Overwhelm can lead to immobility, apathy, or desensitization. News and information is available to us all day and night, often via notifications on our phones alerting us to breaking news just minutes after an event occurs. This can distract us in moments when we need to be focused on other things, and it can disrupt moments of peace and stillness. A recent study found that the average person in the US checks their phone eighty times a day, and most of us don’t go more than ten minutes without looking at the device.

The Center for Humane Technology has a website with ideas for how to control your technology rather than having it control you. The center warns, “The extractive attention economy is tearing apart our shared social fabric.” The more that our devices get our attention, the less the world immediately around us does. Many of us are being desensitized as we are overexposed to “breaking news” and shocking headlines multiple times a day. How often do you find yourself skimming a headline about something that, in the past, would have made you pause, reflect, get more information, or take action? Now we can read something important and just move on to the next thing automatically.

REFLECTION

What are your habits around technology and news?

MEDIA HYGIENE PRACTICE

• What can you do to curate your media consumption so that it is deliberate and useful, rather than distracting and overwhelming?
• Consider how you can set alerts, how you can create time boundaries around technology, and how you can start and end your day.
• If you currently stay away from the news completely, what might it look like to engage in a way that is not overwhelming?

In addition to having access to important stories that need to be told, we are inundated with fake news stories curated to enrage and divide us. Often, we don’t know what to believe because many news outlets are no longer impartial conveyers of information. The have to compete with the abundance of content available to people, and the only way to get peoples’ attention is through sensationalized headlines and stories. In addition, most smartphones and news and entertainment platforms are designed to get us hooked. As James Williams, cofounder of the initiative Time Well Spent, a movement to help people take control of their technology use, says, “The attention economy incentivizes the design of technologies that grab our attention. In so doing, it privileges our impulses over our intentions. That means privileging what is sensational over what is nuanced, appealing to emotion, anger and outrage.”

The way that computer algorithms are set up, many of us find ourselves in an echo chamber where we only see the news that is in alignment with our views. Our browsers automatically show us news articles that fit our profile and user history. We rarely see opposing points of view, so we get more and more entrenched in what we believe and less exposed to other perspectives. This, coupled with the lack of nuance in most stories, decreases our tolerance of opposing viewpoints. In his book Why We’re Polarized, Ezra Klein, cofounder of Vox, makes the point that the United States is more politically polarized than ever.5 Historically, the country’s political parties did not generate a strong sense of group affiliation. Each party included people of many races, genders, and economic classes. This is not true today, and people’s party affiliation seems define them more than ever. According to the Pew Research Center, “Political polarization—the vast and growing gap between liberals and conservatives, Republicans and Democrats—is a defining feature of American politics today.”

This polarization has us fearing those on the “other side” and pointing fingers at all the ways everyone else is wrong, bad, and even dangerous. We are also fighting among each other and unable to tolerate differences even with people who share our same general viewpoint!

Collective anxiety is running high as people are getting more and more suspicious. Our faith in each other is eroding. We dehumanize people or groups who we perceive don’t have the same values as us, and this makes a constructive conversation almost impossible. This is the collective fight-or-flight response in action, and it goes against our best interests. One way to address this collective overwhelm is to challenge this response.

A Paradigm Shift: Collective Care

A culture of collective care asks us to let the whole world into our hearts. To move toward one another when things are difficult rather than away. It asks us to see ourselves in everyone, and all people as equal. It asks us to know our different roles in the movement for change and value and respect all roles, even (or perhaps especially) the less visible ones. It requires some of us to step up and some of us to get out of the way. Collective care means that we have each other’s backs and think about the impact of our actions on all beings. It invites us to see well-being as everyone’s birthright, and our mutual responsibility in ensuring this well-being for everyone as a natural part of life rather than a burden or a form of special altruism.

Addressing our collective anxiety is going to require continued work on so many levels—politics, environmental policy, economic structures, education, health care, immigration, and more. One thing we all can do to contribute to a culture of care is redefine what we think well-being is. Kerri Kelly, founder of CTZNWELL,7an organization dedicated to democratizing well-being and making it accessible to everyone, says, “Well-being is not a privilege, it is a human right. But we live in a system that privileges well-being to those with time, access, and money. We have a responsibility as citizens to actively create the conditions of belonging, safety, and well-being so that everyone can thrive.”

A culture of care prioritizes the well-being of all people equally, and it values environmental sustainability and respect for non-human life as well. Martin Luther King Jr. called this the Beloved Community, which is a community founded on economic and social justice. When we can participate in a way that contributes toward collective care, we are able to be well ourselves. For some of us, this is exactly the missing element in our journey toward being well.

Practicing collective care is a paradigm shift for those of us brought up in more individualistic cultures. It asks us to reimagine what we have been taught about basic things like who we are, what real happiness is, and how we deal with conflict.

Peace from Anxiety

From Peace from Anxiety: Get Grounded, Build Resilience, and Stay Connected Amidst the Chaos by Hala Khouri © 2021 by Hala Khouri. Reprinted in arrangement with Shambhala Publications, Inc. Boulder, CO. www.shambhala.com.

Hala Khouri

Hala Khouri, MA, SEP, E-RYT, has been teaching yoga and movement for over 25 years and has been doing clinical work and trainings for 15 years. Originally from Beirut, Lebanon, she has dedicated her life to the study of trauma and building resilience on a personal, interpersonal, and systemic level. Hala is trained in Somatic Experiencing, a body-based psychotherapy that helps resolve trauma and its symptoms. 

Hala is a co-founder of Off the Mat, Into the World, a training organization that bridges yoga and activism within a social justice framework. Hala also works with A Thousand Joys, training direct service providers and educators to be trauma informed and culturally responsive. She is a sought-after speaker and trainer on the subject of trauma, yoga, and social justice. She lives in Venice, CA with her husband and two sons and teaches yoga classes weekly. To learn more, please visit www.halakhouri.com. 

www.halakhouri.com

The post The Global Heart: Redefining Self appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Photo by Brooke Ziegler

Connecting to Health through Time Outdoors

In many ways, getting out of the studio and into nature during the Covid-19 pandemic have unintentionally deepened our yoga practice, our connections to each other, and our connections to the earth. As a naturopathic doctor, there a number of benefits I see that relate to spending more time outdoors in nature.

Moving beyond Walls

Without our usual cozy yoga studios to house our mindfulness practices, we have moved outside and connected to each other (our quarantine crew or our family) and to the earth by finding creative ways to practice yoga and meditation. No doubt we all had our share of Zoom classes and YouTube “stress reduction meditation” during our multiple lock downs. But as our need to heal our eyes from screens, our minds from worry, and our bodies from staying inside constantly, we are being drawn to nature.

Om Outside The Home

Families living under one roof have at times in the past 12 months felt like guinea pigs in a lab. People have been moving within a confined space for much longer than usual, with rules about when and how to leave if at all.

Through our resiliency we have found unique ways to play, to learn, and to work. In doing so, we have deepened our family roots. Yet when we safely emerge to a spot on the beach or travel to a desert to be together without masks, we unexpectedly feel like we have returned home. We have returned home to ourselves. We have been moved to practice in nature and in doing so reconnected to the earth and to our families.

“Pandemic-related stress has made girls in our Girl Powerful program feel confined to their rooms and lonely. What the girls can control in their lives and what they can do to feel good (mind, body, soul) has been our most frequent conversation. We encourage girls to take action and create a safe space outdoors to unplug and connect with nature. This helps youth think clearly, feel free and alive and hit their inner reset button.”  –Sonya Serge, Co-founder of Girl Powerful

Photo by Brooke Ziegler

Vitamin Sea and Theta Therapy

Being near the ocean and other large bodies of water can actually have a medical effect–and science explains some of the reasons why. According to marine biologist Wallace J. Nichols, author of the Blue Mind, just being near the water engages relaxation. Research backs this up by showing that being near the water reduces levels of stress hormones such as cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine. And we experience an increase in Theta waves in our brains (which also occurs during meditation or falling asleep). Our nervous systems lean more toward a parasympathetic state (rest and digest) instead of the sympathetic state that has become the “new normal” in today’s world. (In the sympathetic nervous system state, the body shuts down or slows proper digestion, while our pulse, blood pressure, and cortisol levels all rise since the body thinks we are running from a bear…or a virus).

Negative ions flow from the ocean to our bare feet and into our lungs, circulating in our blood and gently reminding our brain and our gastrointestinal tract to increase serotonin production. Serotonin strengthens our motivation and improves our mood.

Vitamin D and Time Outdoors

Most of us have required supplementation with this crucial vitamin (it is actually a hormone). We need our Vitamin D levels to be high enough to support bone density, mood regulation, and hormone health. When we spend daily time outside without sunscreen (while avoiding the damaging midday UV rays) for about 15 minutes, the sunlight helps us to absorb Vitamin D through our skin. For supplementation, keep in mind that Vitamin D must travel through the liver and kidney to be activated, so it is important to do what we can to maintain organ health.

Hydrotherapy: Heat and Cold

Switching between warm/hot and extreme cold water as a formal therapy has a long history of use, thousands of years in fact, throughout the world. It arrived in the United States in the late 1800s. Hydrotherapy is used to reduce pain and anxiety. It can reset the mind, metabolism, and nervous system. The practice is to go from warmth to cold quickly (and always ending on cold). The alternation in temperature reduces inflammation and supports detoxification by changing flow of blood in the body’s small vessels. It also stimulates nerve endings. As Wim Hof, also known as the Iceman explains, “We have become alienated from nature. But the cold is capable of bringing us back to what we once had lost.”

Earthing and Time Outdoors

By practicing yoga directly connected to nature instead of through a studio floor allows us to experience another layer of healing and connection. Feeling the sand or dirt under our feet brings us a sense of deep grounding and connection. Moving and balancing on the uneven natural floor of nature challenges us to stay present and movable in our flow. From the book, Earthing, The Most Important Health Discovery Ever! Ober, Sinatra, and Zucker explain, “ Contact with the earth restores your body’s natural electrical state.”

Mother Nature inspires and informs the practice of Yoga. We bow to the luminaries, we fill our lungs with oxygen, and we connect to the earth. In this way we remember that we are not separate from nature, we are very much a part of her.
– Desi Bartlett

Photo by Brooke Ziegler

Imitating Nature

We all need to let go, laugh, and have a bit of fun with our yoga practice. Try creating new postures inspired by nature and animals. Can you make the shape of a wave, a cactus, or a mouse? Teaching each other, getting creative, and playing is good for our mental health. In fact, research strongly shows a correlation between laughter and increased dopamine levels.

May we remember the depth and creativity we have found by practicing in nature so that we can come to the earth more often and know that she supports us. Grab your round mat or just your bare feet and reconnect to yourself and heal by spending time outdoors and practicing outside in nature.

Natiya Guin

Dr. Natiya Guin is a family medicine doctor and safe skin leader who enjoys healing skin from within, increasing client self-confidence, and magnifying whole person health outcomes. Deep Living Skincare by Dr. Natiya

Her vegan, organic line by Deep Living is founded on the belief that skincare should not only be healing, it should be safe. Her products are designed for all ages and are designed to be shared with the whole family.

Photos in article and meditation by Dr. Natiya Guin

Testimony about the author:
Dr Natiya is an amazing naturopathic doctor, who will guide and nurture you in discovering health, expressing your creativity and support you in seeing your magnificence. -Dr. Moira Fitzpatrick

www.natiya.com

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The Modern Use of CBD

Over the past few decades, yoga and the use of cannabidiol (CBD) have become two leading practices in American home physical therapy and health supplementation. While this is a fairly recent phenomenon in Western countries, you might be surprised to know how far back it goes in Central Asia, where the two have been used in combination for centuries.

In India, cannabinoids and yoga share a long-running connection in the pursuit of health and wellness. Practitioners, yogis and ascetics alike use them complementarily on a regular basis today. The natural synergy between the two is acknowledged even in ancient religious Indian texts.

Let’s examine the most important ways CBD can enhance the yoga experience for practitioners of all levels, starting with a brief overview of the role and functions of CBD in the body.

How Does CBD Work?

All of CBD’s documented effects are the result of its interaction with the endogenous cannabinoid system (ECS). This system is named because it was discovered during the study of cannabinoids’ effects on the brain. The ECS is a network of receptors found throughout the body that influence the production and uptake of hormones and neurotransmitters. By acting as a modulatory influence on the ECS, CBD can ameliorate symptoms of anxiety and mood disorders by regulating serotonin or dopamine imbalances in patients.

CBD’s positive interaction with the ECS is how CBD drops with higher than average potency have been used to calm the seizures of children with Dravet syndrome. It’s also why Olympic athletes like Michael Phelps and world famous performers like Katy Perry credit CBD as a staple of their health supplement regimens.

It’s worth noting that the stretching in various yoga poses or asanas naturally activates and heightens the sensitivity of ECS receptors found in muscle fibers and fascia. This naturally improves the effective bioavailability of CBD by priming the body’s ability at cannabinoid absorption.

Increased Focus and Concentration

Yoga helps a person develop both self-awareness, and mind-muscle connections. This is true for anyone; from novices learning their first sets of poses to teachers. Luckily according to researchers, CBD does plenty to nurture the bond between mind and body.

Of course, this doesn’t mean a simple dose of CBD will have a beginner sliding comfortably into a perfect Hanumanasana in his or her first session. But in the same way CBD’s effect on the ECS positively influences cognitive processes associated with depression, anxiety, insomnia and even post-traumatic stress disorder, CBD has been shown to enhance focus and concentration — making it a very good health supplement for improving one’s yoga experience.

Enhanced Muscle Recovery for Beginners

CBD’s analgesic and spasmolytic properties are invaluable in aiding new practitioners in their first few weeks of experimentation. A simple plow pose, for example, can create significant pressure and pain in the upper back, trapezius and neck muscles when performed incorrectly. In most cases, this pain is at its worst in the hours or days following the yoga session.

Supplementing with CBD can not only help to relieve these periods of chronic pain; it can calm the onset of muscle spasms as well. Spasms most frequently occur in budding practitioners who also engage in other sports, such as running or weightlifting. Moreover, the muscles most prone to spasms are instrumental to proper yoga posture — such as the calf muscles, hamstrings, deltoids and triceps.

While the best course of action for a beginner with muscle injuries is to resume the practice of yoga after they’ve made a full recovery, CBD can aid in the healing process by controlling pain and relaxing injured muscles.

Relief from Joint Inflammation

As an endeavor revolving around focus, coordination and concentration, yoga can be challenging enough for first-timers even in an appropriate environment free from external distractions. Yet one of the most common and disruptive aspects of a beginner’s yoga experience — particularly among those getting along in years — is inflammatory disorders. These include arthritis, tendonitis and gout.

CBD’s well-established anti-inflammatory properties have made it a mainstay in the sports medicine industry. CBD is infused into recovery balms, roll-ons and salves not only to offer localized pain relief for athletes on the move, but to double as a natural alternative to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) as well.

By controlling the pain and swelling from joint or muscle inflammation, CBD can improve the yoga experience for beginners of all ages, moving even middle-aged practitioners past inflammatory disorders common to their age group, such as tennis elbow or rotator cuff tendonitis.

Promotion of Hormonal Balance and Homeostasis

The complexity of human hormonal health is due primarily to its natural ebbs and flows, as well as how they vary between individuals. Let’s look at cortisol as an example: levels of this so-called “stress hormone” shift in 24 hour cycles, generally peaking in the morning and dropping to its lowest levels around midnight in healthy individuals.

Factors such as sleeplessness, anxiety, poor diet, or fatigue can disrupt this flow in hormonal levels, and can lead to a cortisol imbalance. Typical symptoms of a cortisol imbalance include severe mood swings, muscle weakness, rapid weight gain, and high blood pressure. Any of these factor can significantly complicate the practice of yoga for beginners and intermediates alike.

CBD is currently being studied for its viability in normalizing cortisol levels, showing success in attenuating cortisol production to normal hormonal circadian rhythms in volunteer trials. While new studies are still ongoing, there’s an appreciable amount of evidence in scientific literature to suggest that supplementing with CBD can help to promote a healthy hormonal balance.

Using CBD as a Health Supplement

CBD is available in an impressive variety of formats. This includes everything from isolate powder to infused muffins or even vape oils. However, for simple, straightforward use at home or on the go, CBD oils can be the best and most versatile option for aspiring yogis.

When out and about, CBD oil can be used with a dropper for direct oral consumption or incorporation into cold tea. In a home kitchen, CBD oil becomes a much more versatile medium, and can be mixed into fruit smoothies, vinaigrettes, waffle syrup, or protein shakes. The only real limiting factor in home supplementation using CBD oil is imagination. As long as heat is avoided to preserve product potency.

With proper dosages and regular supplementation using quality products, yoga practitioners of all levels stand to benefit from CBD’s medicinal and therapeutic potential in their pursuit of harmony across body, mind, and environment.

Staff Writer

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The Ego Trap of Spiritual Arrogance

Do you ever experience any version of the following thoughts?

Asteya and the Spiritual Arrogance of Stealing from Others

Cynthia Abulafia reflecting on the lessons found through faith.

The Guidance of Faith

Lessons found in Examining our own Spiritual Arrogance

Moving forward with Faith

Study with Cynthia Abulafia

Cynthia Abulafia

Cynthia brings an eye for detailed instruction to her challenging and creative classes. Her attention to detail brings her class deeply into the experience of the body, breath, and heart in order to tune attention to its finest point– believing that the purpose of the practice is to simply notice ever deeper into the silence that is the root of all form.

Her passion for biomechanics, non-dual self-inquiry, and the beautifully rooted grace of the yoga asanas themselves shines in her classes. She believes time on the mat should be playful, fun, sweaty, and a celebration of this amazing dance we call experience.
In addition to teaching asana she teaches courses in yoga philosophy, subtle body, human anatomy for yoga and yoga ethics.

She has been instrumental in the creation and leadership of Yoga Soup’s 200 Hour Teacher Training, is E-RYT 500, YACEP (she teaches continuing education), IAYT (Yoga Therapy), and Pilates certified, and holds a Masters in Nutrition. She has over 25 years of study with world class teachers in several schools of yoga, including Yoga Therapy, Ashtanga, Iyengar, Vinyasa Krama with Srivatsa Ramaswami, modern flow blends originating at Yoga Works in Santa Monica, and many beloved meditation, Advaita, non-dual Tantra, kundalini-Shakti, and self-inquiry teachers.

Cynthia believes strongly in educating students about Kundalini energy (not to be confused with the system of yoga in the same name). The poses of Yoga are designed to wake up our subtle body, and yet when this happens- as it inevitably does for many people- we often find ourselves without a compass or a safe community. This site will offer writings and explorations on topics related to the body, the breath, the subtle energies, non-dual literature and self-inquiry, Kundalini energy, & meditation techniques in order to facilitate understanding and conversation around these complex and beautiful topics.

www.cynthiaabulafiayoga.com

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If you experience anxiety you are not alone. Statistics show that 18% of Americans report anxiety and it’s predicted that 31% of adults, will experience anxiety at some point in their lives.

For many of us, it is our struggles with anxiety that led us to our yogic and spiritual practices in the first place. If you have been seeking solutions like I was and are still dealing with limiting beliefs, uncertainty, anxious thoughts, worry, or fear, it doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong, or that anything is wrong with you.

Our mind likes to think in black and white, and that can block our progress. I want you to let yourself off the hook and take a deep breath. There are things in your life for which you have had no control over. Our programming runs deep, most of which was not implanted by us. So be kind to yourself on this journey. But, if you struggle for an extended period of time, what I want you to know is that there is a grace within the universe that offers you a way out. There is a way into a new experience; into deep joy and inner harmony. And we can find answers in the practical and ancient teachings of The Yoga Sutra.

By the time I was thirty-five, I’d tried everything from traditional treatments such as individual and group therapy and medication to alternative medicines like sound healing, acupuncture, yoga, chakra balancing, meditation, herbs, and oils. They provided me some relief, but I was still struggling with anxiety.

Trauma and Anxiety

By the age of thirteen, I had been emotionally, physically, and sexually abused and was homeless, neglected, and abandoned. As an adult, I reflected on this experience when I took the Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) questionnaire. It includes 10 questions that identify your level of childhood trauma and the effects it can have on your life. It is a test where ten out of ten is not a good thing. I scored a nine out of ten. When I was twenty-six years old, I was diagnosed with post-traumatic-stress-disorder (PTSD). With this perspective, there is no wonder that I have experienced anxiety for years. But you don’t have to have a high ACE score to experience suffering.

While it was true that I’d experienced trauma as a child, I didn’t want to be labeled by it. I grew up thinking I was unworthy and needed to be fixed. I was tired of that. So I searched for something else. To do so, I followed a need to solve my inner suffering. In 2005, I enrolled in my first yoga teacher training. Getting accepted into that yoga teacher training was the beginning of a rebirth. It was the first time in my life I wasn’t being motivated by fear. I was listening to my heart.

Then in 2012, I learned about a yoga teacher, Robert Birnberg, who’d spent years traveling to India studying with T.K.V Desikachar, a revered yogi. At the time, he lived in Los Angeles, teaching students what he’d learned, which centered around an ancient foundational text of yoga called The Yoga Sutra, which also happened to be the same work one of my more holistic-minded therapists had loosely introduced me to almost a decade earlier.

The Yoga Sutra and how to Reduce Suffering

The Yoga Sutra is a complete guide for living, and describes one of the oldest systems of healing on the planet. It includes a set of teachings and practices designed to help people reduce suffering and create more sustained joy in their lives by transforming the mind.

The Power of Practice: Abhyasa and Reducing Anxiety

Through this relationship with my new teacher, I experienced a powerful shift in my perception. Abhyasa is a Sanskrit word that means practice. But it is not the practice of touching your toes or standing on your head – I could do all of that, and I was still internally bound. Instead, it is the daily continuous practice of becoming on the inside what you want to experience on the outside.

Abhyasa refers to the practice or discipline of achieving a tranquil state of mind and a state of harmony with one’s self. I realized I had to make a decision. Would I continue to practice becoming less anxious, or would I commit to becoming confident and joyful? Would I commit to living in trust or fear? It’s easy to mistake the tool for the answer, but the spiritual tool is there only to serve your commitment to reclaim your joy and reconnect with who you truly are.

I decided to practice actually believing in my worthiness instead of trying to prove it to others. I decided to imagine best case scenarios for my future instead of catastrophic outcomes. And I committed to a daily and consistent practice of becoming more peaceful on the inside so that I could experience more peace within the conditions of my life.

Being in a State of Wholeness

Samadhi is a Sanskrit word that means “to be in a state of wholeness or completeness.” When we are in this state, our mind is free from anxieties and fears. Our intuition and joy can truly emerge when we are in this state. As we go through life, we can become blocked from this part of who we are. We build a protective layer to hide our fears and limiting beliefs such as “I’m not enough.” Then, we create an image or façade which we present to the world.

Being in a state of deep joy involves both the letting go of this façade and the embracing of a new identity, all of which requires trust and faith.

How I finally reached this experience in my life was by living and embodying the teachings and principles I outline in my new book If I’m So Spiritual, Why Am I Still So Anxious? I’ve been on this journey for almost twenty-five years. The gratitude I feel for where I am today is beyond words. I know for sure it is the inner work that will detangle us from our anxieties and fears.

Spiritual life is not an academic endeavor.

It is a practice of unlearning and awakening.

Do I ever still experience anxious feelings or self-doubt? Yes. That’s part of the human condition. But I exist on a new footing. I am established in the truth of who I am, and through consistent, committed practice, I have created a positive and empowering chosen identity and a way of relating to myself and my life.

You can too.

Our anxious mind likes familiarity and therefore wants to keep us where we are. To that end, it creates obstacles, worst-case scenarios, and stories about why we’re not enough or not doing enough. But these stories aren’t the truth of who we are, and they don’t represent what we are capable of.

My hope is that by sharing a piece of my story here, and more in-depth in my new book, that it will help you know that you too can reconnect to your inner guidance system and create a new and liberating reality for your life, free from the suffering of anxiety and self-doubt.

Order If I’m So Spiritual, Why Am I Still So Anxious?

You can order a copy of If I’m So Spiritual, Why Am I Still So Anxious?  Here is the link to order on Amazon: https://geni.us/IfImSoSpiritual

Joy Stone

www.joystonecoaching.com

The post Reducing Anxiety through Yoga appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Yoga in Our Daily Lives: Yoga in the Real World

When we first start our yoga or meditation journey, we are seeking relief. We might be drowning in stress from work. Our body may have experienced an illness or injury and we want to ease our pain. We may have suffered an emotional trauma and we want to find a sense of stability. We could be lonely and are looking for friends. When we arrive at the yoga studio, we’re looking for an escape.

For many people, an hour of yoga or meditation a few times a week brings balance to their lives. But for some of us, it’s not enough. We may have started our practice in a casual way; we wanted relief and were not interested in the spiritual side of things.

However, as we become more adept, we experience an internal stillness while on the mat. The world drops away, and we discover peace and unreasonable joy. But once we’re back in the mix of work and play, we feel unsettled. No matter what we do, we find ourselves unsatisfied. An hour or two of escape just doesn’t do it for us. We need more.

When this happens, it’s time to bring our yoga into the real world.

The word yoga means Union. Yoga, in the traditional sense, is the practice of communing with the Divine. It is a meditation that happens through the body and is a pathway to Awakening. In our western society, sometimes this is forgotten.

Yoga classes are sold as a form of exercise and meditation is pitched as way to relieve stress. There is nothing wrong with secular yoga and meditation. They are powerful practices that improve lives in countless ways. Yet their roots lie hidden in plain sight. When a practitioner is ready, the pathway deepens.

We start to recognize our time on the mat is only half of the practice. Our spirit longs for the stillness in the middle of our workday. During our play time with friends, we want to touch the magic of the Divine.

The connection between our practice and normal life becomes apparent. We learn to bring the determination we have to master a posture into our projects. When we interact with others, we show them the same gentleness we offer to our bodies in yoga asana.

As our longing to commune with the Divine increases, we are drawn into mindfulness. Mindfulness means to be fully present with whatever is. We train our mind in day to day activities the same way we train our mind and body on the mat. We bring our yoga into real life.

Unreasonable Joy: Awakening through Trikaya Buddhism offers some tips to directly engage in this process through our body, mind, and spirit.

BODY

Pay attention to your body throughout the day.

Ground your attention in your body. Notice how you sit, stand, walk, and how you recline.

Treat your body with respect, listening to what it needs in each posture.

Is your body relaxed? Every hour, scan your body for any tension. Take a minute to breathe deeply. Consciously release your muscles and bring your bones into alignment.

If you spend time commuting in a car, use every red light you stop at as a reminder to stretch. Reach out in front you with your arms and roll your neck from side to side.

Observe your eating habits. Does the food you eat nourish your body? Do you eat out of habit or only when you are hungry? Eat in silence so you can slow down and taste each bite.

MIND

• Pay attention to the thoughts you think.
• Are your thoughts beneficial? Are they related to what you are doing right now?
• Notice the emotions that arise when you think different thoughts. Do you get lost in these emotions?
• Train the mind to focus on the present. Consciously focus on beauty or gratitude by finding something in your current environment that is beautiful or you feel grateful for. Let your mind rest in these states of beauty and gratitude while interacting with the world.
• When faced with a challenge or something new, coax your mind to stay with it the same way you encourage yourself to stick with a difficult pose in yoga class.

SPIRIT

• Pay attention to the subtle aspects of your being.
• What does your spirit want?
• Feed your spirit by reading books and visiting teachers that inspire you to look deeper into your true nature.
• Make time to contemplate spiritual teachings and record any insights.

For more practice pointers to bring yoga and meditation into the real world, explore Unreasonable Joy: Awakening through Trikaya Buddhism. Visit www.TuriyaBliss.com to register for meditation and readings, and for information about guest appearances.

Felicia M. Tomasko

Felicia Tomasko has spent more of her life practicing Yoga and Ayurveda than not. She first became introduced to the teachings through the writings of the Transcendentalists, through meditation, and using asana to cross-train for her practice of cross-country running. Between beginning her commitment to Yoga and Ayurveda and today, she earned degrees in environmental biology and anthropology and nursing, and certifications in the practice and teaching of yoga, yoga therapy, and Ayurveda while working in fields including cognitive neuroscience and plant biochemistry. Her commitment to writing is at least as long as her commitment to yoga. Working on everything related to the written word from newspapers to magazines to websites to books, Felicia has been writing and editing professionally since college. In order to feel like a teenager again, Felicia has pulled out her running shoes for regular interval sessions throughout Southern California. Since the very first issue of LA YOGA, Felicia has been part of the team and the growth and development of the Bliss Network.

www.blissnetwork.com

The post Yoga in the Real World appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Increase Your Energy for Success

Your current energy state is a connector to help you move forward in life. Or not. How does your energy level feel right now?

Practice the Morning Trio for Discipline and Energy

Asana for Deepening

Warrior I

Crescent Lunge

Humble Warrior

Firefly

Motivation Off the Mat

Wise Words

Teacher Tip: As you tell your students to be present, to drop their thoughts of past or future, remind yourself to do the same. Be your most mindful self when you teach.

More Motivational Yoga

Nancy Gerstein author of Motivational Yoga

Yoga and meditation teacher, author, and entrepreneur, Nancy Gerstein is the founder of Motivational Yoga, a yoga practice that empowers one’s life decisions, goals, and results.

A Himalayan Institute certified yoga teacher, Nancy’s teachings embody a self-motivating charge through spiritually strengthening practices that bolster personal growth and action development.   Her classes feed body and mind, encouraging students to make conscious choices about how they direct thoughts, energy, and focus to live the best live they can.

Nancy is the author of three books including Motivational Yoga: 100 Practices for Strength, Energy, and Transformation and Guiding Yoga’s Light a go-to reference book for yoga teachers and students. Nancy has contributed to numerous publications including Yogi Times, Elephant Journal, Yoga Magazine, and Pop Culture.

Visit Nancy online at MotivationalYoga.net, and follow Motivational Yoga on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

www.MotivationalYoga.net

The post Your Energy Is Your Current Identity appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Sarah Ezrin practicing yoga at home. Photo by Emilie Bers.

Creating a supportive home yoga practice is essential

For many of us, our home yoga practice is not just how we keep our bodies healthy or minds clear, it is our safe haven. It is where we retreat into when we need to get away from the chaos of outside.

Recently, the stressors of the world have become so profound, they are permeating every area of our life. Making it much harder to find places to take refuge or find community. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, yoga studios have shut down. Beaches and public parks are closed.

Even our homes are no longer our sanctuaries, as they now must hold all the parts of our self that we could once leave at the door. Acting as our places of business, our children’s schools, our gym and yoga shala.

Sarah Ezrin practicing yoga at home. Photo by Emilie Bers.

How can you get away from it all when there is no where to physically go?

These are the times when we learn that the tranquility we seek actually comes from within. And, believe it or not, practicing yoga at home can be one of the best places to discover this.

When we do yoga at a studio, external distractions have been removed for us. Cell phones are prohibited. Talking is discouraged. The walls are often simple and plain. The doors shut, the lights are dimmed, and we are transported from our worries and into our practice. All of these elements make it easier to focus on the present, but the sterile studio environment is a far cry from real life.

Outside of the shala we are juggling stress, responsibility, distractions, and, as much as we hate to admit it, a complete lack of control. This is why doing yoga at home can be the best training for managing stress and staying focused.

At home, you are in the epicenter of chaos. Dogs are barking, babies are crying, bosses are emailing, children are asking questions, neighbors are being neighbors. Distractions abound in the forms of television, chocolate, and social media. Your to-do list is not just in your head; it is the laundry and dirty dishes right in front of you.

Not only is it possible to find peace in the middle of all that, this is the true work of the practice! Remaining inwardly focused, regardless of outside circumstances.

Here are some simple things you can do during your home asana practice to support shifting your attention from the outward toward the inward, particularly during times of high stress.

Sarah Ezrin practicing yoga at home. Block by Manduka. Photo by Emilie Bers.

5 Ways to Improve your Home Yoga Practice

1. Quality over quantity.

Fifteen minutes of a deeply focused practice is worth way more than an hour where you are not mentally present. Instead of defining a “full” practice as getting every pose in or moving for a certain length of time, think of a it as one where you are FULL of presence.

2. Designate a meeting time.

Set a standing daily meeting with yourself by blocking off your calendar. This will help create a boundary with work and prevent others from interrupting you. You are the most important person you can meet with. This meeting is mandatory.

3. Have a sense of humor.

You are going to get kicked offline mid-class. Your cat will sit on your mat just as you are jumping back to chaturanga. You will forget the sequence halfway through. Go with it! Enjoy simply being on your mat and see where your body takes you. Recognize that you are doing your best and laugh your way through it.

4. Use headphones or ear plugs.

Our brains process sound before any other sense. This means that what we hear is a direct line to our present moment. No wonder the neighbors drum solo is making your savasana challenging! Pull your attention inward by shutting off outside noise.

5. Incorporate your home.

Speaking of being interrupted, if your pets, children, or significant others are vying for your attention during your practice time, rather than trying to ignore them, include them! If you are a plant parent, surround your mat with your plant babies, to help nourish your breath as you move. Ask your spouse for an adjustment. Big dogs can be great props. Dogs or cats can help you feel as though you have a sangha, or community, practicing wih you.

We have a lot of stressors to manage these days as humans. Fortunately, we do not need the perfect mat or the quietest yoga studio to escape those stresses. We can find peace anywhere, anytime, because peace really comes from within. It is just a pause and a breath away.

Sarah Ezrin

Sarah Ezrin is the author of The Yoga of Parenting: Ten Yoga-Based Practices to Help You Stay Grounded, Connect with Your Kids, and Be Kind to Yourself. She is a freelance writer, yoga educator, and content creator based in the Bay Area. Her willingness to be unabashedly honest and vulnerable along with her innate wisdom, make her writing, teaching, and social media great sources of healing and connection for many people.
Sarah brings a wide spectrum of life experiences into everything she does. She is unafraid of sharing all sides of herself. She does so in the hope of giving others permission to be their most authentic self. At this time, when honest self-awareness is so important, Sarah’s is an essential and exemplary voice.
Sarah writes extensively on the subjects of yoga, parenting, and mental health, often interweaving these themes. Her work ranges from heavily-reported assignments to personal essays to blog content for brands. She is a regular contributor for Yoga Journal Magazine, Motherly, Yoga International, Healthline, Scary Mommy, Mind Body Green, Mantra Magazine, and LA Yoga Magazine. She has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes Magazine, Bustle, LA Weekly, and NBC News.

Sarah is a well-respected yoga teacher and a leader in the wellness community. A world traveler since birth, she has led trainings, workshops, and retreats locally and across the globe.

www.sarahezrinyoga.com

The post Doing a Home Yoga Practice during Stressful Times appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Why has YogaToday’s Stay at Home Free Spring Yoga Challenge been the antidote for my stay-at-home torpor and quarantine quandaries? The Spring Challenge is a curated selection of 10 online classes offered free of charge on the online platform YogaToday.com. One of the things that I’ve appreciated about the opportunity to engage with these classes is that they are completely free—I didn’t have to sign up for a trial, but after this experience, I’m ready for more.

In the midst of how the pandemic has put some parts of the world on pause, I’ve found myself doing web searches for islands I’ve not yet seen and going on mini vacations in my mind. I see what I’m wearing, where I’m walking, attempting to feel the breeze or sun on my skin and fill up my eyes with the new wonders around me. It’s my new guided meditation within my stay-at-home environs.

10 Classes in the Stay at Home Spring Yoga Challenge

One of the great things about these 10 classes in the Stay at Home Spring Yoga Challenge is that they completely fulfill my personal meditation and my desire for indulging in dreaming of beautiful destinations–while keeping up with my practice. The practices were all filmed in gorgeous outdoor locations around Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Arizona, Utah, and more. While I usually love the motivation of going to the studio and sharing the space with the camaraderie of fellow yogis, I’m having to find another source of motivation for movement. If an island jaunt is not on today’s itinerary, I can fill my screens with National Parks, canyons, stunning mountain views, and flower-filled fields for practice with Yoga Today. And I can easily imagine the wide-open spaces, expansive nature, and the grounded feeling of the earth beneath me.

I found that I could choose a practice by tuning into what I needed in the moment. Too much time binge watching TV on the couch? “Healthy Happy Hips” is a mellow solution that helped me hit the internal reset button. After hunching over to return endless texts messages? I found relief in “Backbending” with teacher Simon Park instructing a progressive series of poses that focus on spinal extension and decompression. “Creating Space” with Mona Godfrey helped me tune into subtleties. After indulging in that second helping of boxed mac n’ cheese (no judgment, please) “Yoga Sculpt Full Body Exhaust” with Bea Whitton combined invigorating standing poses with weighted repetitions.

No matter what is happening in our lives these days (or any day), we can use our practice to continue to be comfortable in an uncomfortable, changing world. “Embrace Change” with Sara Clark gave me the chance to flow through all the feels right now. Rather than take this time to learn a new language, it feels to me that self-healing is one of the best uses of my time. Amanda Botur offered a powerful reminder for this to “Explore Self-Healing.”

Engaging with all of these practices, I love the fact that if I wanna bust it out, I can do a hardcore practice, like that “Yoga Sculpt”. If I’m feeling inspired, I’ll go Pro and try a pose I’m usually nervous to try in a studio filled with expert yogis (the tripod headstand in “Embrace Change”). Feeling blue and introspective, I can find some relief in “The Power of Presence” with Neehsa Zollinger. Sarah Kline’s “Kundalini Kriya for Elimination” is invigorating with focus on the core and a bit of detox.

I also loved the opportunity to cross-train with a refresher of Pilates’ fundamentals. These classes not only help with the physical practices, but they’re great for managing to build resilience with encouraging words and inspiring thoughts to embrace change, heal, and “spring back” from setbacks.

Connecting through Practice

Connecting online has become the new normal and has reinvented our definition of the word “connection”. And instead of memes or getting sucked into political conversations or pandemic mania, why not spend time with others in the beauty of nature and let yourself go there, move with the breeze of your breath and connect with others in this new way. In this space of connection, a friend and I did a class at the same time – she was in LA while I practiced in Atlanta and chatted about it later over a glass of Rose. We’re reinventing connection in real time.

Learn More about YogaToday

YogaToday offers a comprehensive subscription service covering a range of yoga, perfect for everyone from newbies to pros, people looking for pain relief as well as prenatal yoga, and weight loss along with hardcore training. Its $15 a month and $119 for the year. But for this special time in history, you can take part in the Stay At Home Spring Yoga Challenge for free and connect with other yogis teaching and practicing in breathtaking locales. Bring new meaning to the term binge watching by creating a home yoga retreat, or practice one class per day for ten days at home alone or with your quarantine buddies. You can always skip a day. And practice any class in any order.

Yogatoday.com combines great yoga practices with beautiful visuals that make you happy and keep boredom at bay. Aside from the great classes, they also provide informative weekly Blog posts (archived on the site) to help support your lifestyle off the mat.

And, it’s accessible on multiple devices. If you have Roku, Fire TV or Amazon Fire, Apple TV, and Android or iPhone, you can find the YogaToday app.

Feel the breeze, move your body, take a shower and namastayathome.

Laurie Searle

Laurie Searle is an international yoga teacher leading workshops and trainings with Yoga and Fitness to Go and the Sphota Yoga school. She’s the creator of Lady Yoga, Superhero and F.E.D. Fight Eating Disorders, a 501(c)(3) in Los Angeles: YogaAndFitnessToGo.com.

Meet Lady Yoga and her Super Hero Wellness Team. Follow them on exciting adventures as they promote healthy living and well being. Learn fun easy ways to relax, stay fit and enjoy life. Watch out for their arch enemy Cookie Couch Man. The big meenie who tries to turn everyone into couch potatoes with his powers of persuasion.

www.YogaAndFitnessToGo.com

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