Ankylosing Spondylitis: What it is, Who it Affects, and How to Address it via Yoga

Research tells us that a healthy diet and regular practice of yoga can help reduce inflammation in your body and reduce Ankylosing Spondylitis symptoms.

Yoga As Treatment For Ankylosing Spondylitis

When it comes to back pain, some conditions are hereditary. Certain genes activate specific conditions in the body, creating uncomfortable physical symptoms. Ankylosing Spondylitis is such a disorder, manifesting in adults between the ages of 17 and 45.

What is Ankylosing Spondylitis?

It is essentially arthritis of the spine, and symptoms can include lower back pain, hip pain, neck pain, fatigue, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, and difficulty breathing.

People with Ankylosing Spondylitis may experience stiffness and rigidity, as it causes inflammation between your vertebrae. This condition is genetic, which means it runs in the family. Having the gene doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have the disorder, and it’s more common and severe in men. If you’re experiencing any of the above issues, it’s important to see a doctor and get an ankylosing spondylitis diagnosis, so you can be prepared to alleviate the effects of this incurable disorder.

Yoga for Ankylosing Spondylitis

Despite the lifelong nature of this condition, you can help addressing ankylosing spondylitis symptoms with yoga. By improving and maintaining a healthy range of motion in your spine, you can offset feelings of stiffness and rigidity, and help reduce inflammation.

Yoga works by stretching and strengthening your back muscles and spine, increasing your flexibility and building core muscle. Yoga breathwork can also help reduce symptoms of Ankylosing Spondylitis that cause difficulty breathing. In fact, a 2021 study published in Annals of Neurosciences found that yoga can be used as Ankylosing Spondylitis treatment, and that regular practice could provide numerous positive effects, like relief from pain and improved breathing. Research tells us that a healthy diet and regular practice of yoga can help reduce inflammation in your body and reduce Ankylosing Spondylitis symptoms.

Ankylosing Spondylitis Yoga Poses

In my classes at MyYogaTeacher, there are several poses I like to teach when students are experiencing stiffness and pain in their lower back. These poses are gentle, and if you’re suffering from Ankylosing Spondylitis, they should help you feel relief without any risk or pain.

1. Cat-Cow

This easy pose can help reduce stiffness and give your spine some much-needed flexibility. Start on your hands and knees and begin by inhaling and looking up. Arching your spine, let your front-body fully expand. Exhale and curl your spine, contracting your abdomen, moving your gaze down and toward your belly button.

Continue this gentle motion back and forth between cat and cow for several breaths.

2. Downward Facing Dog

This common yoga pose can provide your lower back some relief. It also stretches and strengthens your legs, and builds core muscles for better physical support. Push up from your hands and knees, lifting your hips until you are balanced on your hands and feet, with your body resembling an inverted “V.”

Keep your head in between your arms, ears balanced over your shoulders, and stay in this pose for several breaths.

3. Cobra Pose

From Downward Dog you can lower yourself to the floor for Cobra pose. This slight back bend can help expand your ribcage, giving your lungs more room to breathe. From the floor, softly push up with your hands, arching your back, straightening your arms, and looking upward. Keep your legs resting straight behind you with the front of your thighs on the floor. Your body will resemble a cobra snake.

Stay in the pose for 1-2 breaths.

4. Mountain Pose

This yoga pose may look deceptively simple, but regular practice can help build the strength and support you need to have a healthy and strong spine. Stand at the front of your mat with your feet hip distance apart. With your arms at your sides, open your chest, keeping your head perfectly balanced with your chin parallel to the floor, and your gaze fixed forward. Widen your collar bones and keep your weight balanced evenly across both of your feet. Soften your gaze and breathe mindfully for 1-2 minutes.

5. Child’s Pose

This beginner yoga pose can give you relief from Ankylosing Spondylitis symptoms, and it’s a great way to help your mind relax. Start with your hands and knees on the floor, and then lower yourself down until your buttocks are resting on the backs of your feet. Extend your arms forward on the mat in front of you, palms down, and rest your forehead on the floor. You will feel a stretch and lengthening in your lower back.

Allow your neck muscles to relax, and breath softly while maintaining this pose for 5-6 minutes.

6. Viloma Pranayama or Against the Wave Breath

While yoga postures can be helpful in alleviating symptoms of Ankylosing Spondylitis, you can also gain relief from practicing yoga breathing techniques.

Against the Wave breath can help improve your ability to breath deeply.

Lie down in a comfortable position on the floor, and pay attention to your breathing. On your next inhale, slowly breathe into the bottom of your lungs. Without exhaling, breathe in again. Continue breathing in without exhaling until you feel like your lungs are absolutely and completely full. Then, slowly exhale. Repeat for 5 minutes.

Practice Yoga for Ankylosing Spondylitis for Relaxation and Benefits

By practicing these beginner yoga poses and breath work, you may notice that pain, stiffness, and difficulty breathing will reduce over time. Keeping your spine flexible and strong is essential in treating Ankylosing Spondylitis. And through a healthy diet and plenty of exercise, you can improve your daily life and reduce chronic pain.

Stuti Asher

Stuti Asher is a practicing physical therapist with 14 years of experience. She completed her master’s degree in kinesiology at Indiana University, and she has completed 900 hours of training at the Yoga Institute Mumbai. Stuti has also trained extensively in prenatal and postnatal yoga under Dr. Nutan Pakhare. She teaches gentle, restorative and Hatha yoga, kriya, pranayama, in addition to leading yoga philosophy and teacher training courses, on the MyYogaTeacher platform. Stuti, who is also trained in sound healing, believes yoga is a tool that makes this complex journey of life easier and simpler to live, while creating special bonds along the way.

www.myyogateacher.com/teacher/stuti-1

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How do I find a trauma-informed yoga class/instructor?

Cues for Trauma-Informed Yoga

“Know that the choices that you make with your body are absolutely celebrated in this space.”

“You are always in control of your practice.”

“You are your greatest teacher.”

“I invite you to send yourself gratitude just for arriving to your mat today. So often that is the hardest part.”

“I invite you to take a moment to reflect on your journey and how far you’ve come. Inhale and exhale at your pace.”

“Today explore taking up all of the space you deserve.”

“Know that you are welcome to leave the class at any time. Your comfort and safety are the most important elements of your practice.”

“All of you is welcome here.”

“Feel free to explore your own variations of the posture to increase your comfort. You are always invited to come out of the posture at any time.

“Rest is deeply personal. You have many options to explore what savasana looks like for you.”

“Know that you can keep your eyes open, close them, or find a soft gaze. This is your body and always your choice.”

“Allow being where you are to be enough. It is enough.”

“There are many ways to communicate your comfort level with assists. I honor your choices and you can change your mind at any time.”

Yoga Can Be A Practice of Empowerment

How did reading those cues land for you? We are all worthy of safe, compassionate, trauma-informed and empowering places to practice yoga. According to the National Council for Behavioral Health (2013), seventy percent of adults in the United States have experienced some type of traumatic event in their lives. I know that it goes without saying that the pandemic has also been incredibly traumatic and has revealed how unsustainable the pace many of us have been moving. Over the course of the past 20 months it has been incredibly challenging for folks to switch off their sympathetic nervous system. Living in constant states of hyperarousal is incredibly exhausting and can lead to adrenal fatigue. Our adrenals regulate the levels of cortisol in our bodies and adrenal fatigue can occur when our system is working in excess. This can ultimately lead to chronic fatigue, which can make even seemingly small tasks feel incredibly overwhelming. Please know that if this feeling is family to you: you are not alone. Additionally, we often replicate the busyness, the output, the pushing of our daily lives on our yoga mat and it can oftentime become a parallel process leaving very little room for moments of restoration. This is your compassionate reminder: your nervous system is worthy of rest.

Zabie Yamasaki photo by Leanne Sargeant

What is Trauma-Informed Yoga

Trauma-informed yoga is an empowering yoga practice that prioritizes the lived experience and healing of each and every student. Safety, trust, choice, and control are some of the core components of the practice.

Yoga can be a pathway for the integration of mind, body and spirit amid all of the disintegration that trauma causes. This notion alone has been a guide and anchor for me in my own healing and for creating affirmative and inclusive healing spaces. My work has been an intersection of my worlds as a survivor, a woman of color, and a trauma-informed educator and yoga instructor. Yoga is an ancient practice that began in India and seeks to help people transcend their suffering.

Affirmations from the Trauma-Informed Yoga Affirmation Card Deck

The National Sexual Violence Resource Center presents the following core frameworks of trauma-informed care:

* Safety
* Trust
* Choice
* Collaboration
* Empowerment
* Cultural Competence

Trauma-informed yoga is essentially integrating these frameworks into the way we teach and hold space. The core 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

I receive a number of inquiries from folks across the world who are looking for safe spaces to practice and want to find trauma-informed yoga classes and teachers. The Breathe Network  is an amazing resource that connects survivors with healing-arts practitioners that offer sliding-scale, trauma-informed, and holistic support. Survivors can search by geographic location and/or modality to find practitioners in their area.

Additionally, there are questions you might ask yoga studios and teachers to find the right fit for you. Just like finding the right therapist is so essential, so is finding the right yoga teacher and space to practice. You are worthy of taking your time and asking intentional questions that center your needs. These concepts are further explored in my book Trauma-Informed Yoga for Survivors of Sexual Assault: Practices for Healing and Teaching with Compassion.

Here are some questions you might consider asking when looking for trauma-informed yoga classes:

* What is your consent policy around physical assists?
* How do you ensure your classes are accessible to those who have experienced trauma?
* Do you encourage students to rest and take classes at their own pace?
* Do you use supportive and invitational language?
* How do you ensure choice is central to the classes you teach?
* How do you create an inclusive environment in your studio?
* Do your teachers receive any form of trauma-informed training during their 200-hour certification?
* What does consent look like in your yoga community?
* Do you have gender-neutral restrooms?

Integration of Discussions around Trauma in Yoga Teaching

One day I envision that every yoga teacher training will integrate education about trauma in their curriculum. These are some philosophies that I hold tenderly.

What if, together, we could re-envision healing spaces in this world? If every yoga instructor and studio could do the following, it would support these processes.

* Knew that there were survivors taking their classes every single day. That many of their students are coping with PTSD, anxiety and depression. And that often their symptoms have continued to permeate their lived experience long after the trauma)s) occurred.
* Could learn about trauma in their 200 hour teacher training.
* Integrated trauma-sensitive breath options to support survivors in the inherent triggers related to breath work.
* Provided a variety of options for resting in savasana and were mindful of the common triggers related to trauma to the freeze response.
* Reminded students that they can leave class at any time.
* Had a plan for supporting students when they are triggered in class.
* Used gender neutral language and asked about pronouns.
* Affirmed their students just for showing up. Because we all know so often that is the hardest part.
* Knew that being trauma-informed should not be optional.
* Knew that the diversity of their teaching staff matters.
* Used invitational and empowering language so students were reminded often that they are enough exactly as they are.
* Reminded students of the power of celebrating the choices they have with their own bodies
* Asked themselves who they are not seeing come through their doors and why that is. And what changes could they begin making to create a more inclusive and safer environment?
* Applied the concepts of consent to the studio environment and every class they teach. What if each class was a celebration of the physical and emotional boundaries of their students?
* Were intentional about creating spaces for all bodies, folks in the LGBTQ community, and people of every race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and gender identity.
* Had gender neutral restrooms and safe spaces for people to change in.
* Had a consent affirming assist policy.
* Were reminded frequently that their healing matters, too.

Practice Trauma-Informed Yoga with Compassion

Lastly, I just want to say that intentionally choosing rest, space, and ease can be incredibly challenging for trauma survivors. Be gentle with yourself when it’s hard, pace yourself, and continue to take what you need. If possible, try and resist the urge to fill the space. When you have been accustomed to survival mode for so long, embodying this new way of being in the world may take time. Keep reminding yourself that you deserve the space both in your practice and in your life to know what deep rest feels like.

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

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Coming Out of the Refrigerator

I’m crouched in a corner, knees to my chest. The floor and walls are freezing. I feel my hot breath blow back into my face. I’m curled up in my kitchen’s Frigidaire. I wiggle one of my legs from underneath me and force a kick.

A bright light suddenly slices through the darkness.

I jerk awake. My dream might as well have been real. I’m crouched on the floor with my knees to my chest. I can’t move, can’t call for help. Even a whimper steals my strength. I’m weak, my throat hoarse.

This is my reality, my rock bottom, my living nightmare.

The only thing colder and lonelier than waking up on a chilly linoleum bathroom floor is being trapped in a refrigerator. But today, I’m coming out of it. I need help…

The Mayo Clinic defines an eating disorder as “a group of serious conditions in which you’re so preoccupied with food and weight that you can often focus on little else.”

Edie’s not the ideal friend. She’s self-centered and tactless; the person that uses her cell phone at the checkout counter, who kicks the back of your chair at the theater. She’s always changing her look or coming by unannounced and she always overstaying her welcome.

Did I mention, Edie’s my eating disorder?

The first time I saw Edie, she was standing outside my high school cafeteria. Her thick blond hair and tanned skin made her every guy’s dream and every girl’s frenemy. She was everything I wasn’t; so naturally, we became fast friends.

During this time I was bullied for my weight and depressed, I tried losing weight. Weight Watchers was great, I loved the structure and solidarity of it. Celebrating “losing” with others was inspirational, and I worked so hard to get the ribbons and trophies for my weight loss. But life happens, plus Edie had a plan.

She told me I would lose weight faster if I tossed my lunch. Brilliant idea! I dropped thirty pounds the first month. It didn’t matter that my periods stopped or that my hair started falling out. Edie became my sole companion, and she made sure to keep me focused on my path to skinny.

Then one day I saw him, the cutest boy from school, running with his Walkman. I decided to catch up with him. Surely it would be love at first sight.

Instead, it was love at first step. I never did catch the guy, but I ran, oh boy did I run. Edie couldn’t keep up. I even joined a team. The only thing more exhilarating than running was hearing the crowds’ cheers as I ran. I was high from the energy. I never wanted to let go.

I regained my appetite and found a hunger for something healthy – exercise. I felt strong, empowered, and motivated. Edie became my past.

Only one in ten people with eating disorders receive treatment. Only thirty-five percent of people receive treatment for eating disorders at a specialized facility for eating disorders. (National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, anad.org)

College proved to have its own challenges. My friends happily gained their Freshman 15, and I didn’t want to be left out, so I indulged. Some people countered their eating by throwing up. Me, I purged in miles.

I saw Edie a few times while I ran along the Charles River. She looked so collegiate with her fuzzy hat and mittens, but I never stopped. I just kept running.

Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. (anad.org)

All was well until Los Angeles. I lost my job and the following week was injured in a major car crash. I couldn’t physically run and was in a rut. I got a temp job in an office. This time, Edie took shape as my real-life boss, a 40-year-old knock-out in a tailored power suit. When I ask the age-old question, “What’s your secret,” she reached into her Birkin bag and pulled out a bottle of pills.

“Take one a day,” she said. “They’ll change your life.”

And oh did they! I dropped weight like crazy and had so much more energy. “Doctors” would supply them to me out of their storefront offices. When the pills were banned in the U.S., I found them online. They quickly lost their euphoric effect. I upped the dosage from one a day to fifteen. Anxious, breathless, and paranoid: I almost reached the old high with every additional pill… almost.

It was a cold, fall afternoon when the red flyer with the tear-offs at the bottom caught my eye. It advertised a new yoga studio. I had no mat or yoga clothes, just the T-shirt, leggings, and sneakers I donned after a long day at work. I was intimidated but intrigued.

Every class, I left a little more pain on the mat and gained a little more happiness. A sweet salve covered my wounds. I felt a kinship with my classmates as we moved and breathed together. I fell in love with this new me and became the person other people wanted to be around… the person I wanted to be around.

Yoga was the place I could feel safe, and though it took a while, the pills disappeared. Some days were hard. Some were effortless. But, it was conscious, and I wanted to break the cycle.

Encouraged by my teacher, I became one myself. I had found my peace and my purpose; to help others find healing through yoga.

Happily Ever After…

Or not… The Shakti hit the fan nine years later. I lost a dear client, broke up with my boyfriend, and watched cancer take my father. I was broken in body and soul. Money stopped coming in. Food became a luxury I couldn’t afford. I lost MY yoga.

Experts estimate that between one and three million adult women suffer from anorexia or bulimia and that ten percent of all eating disorder patients are over the age of forty. (eating-disorders.com)

I escaped by running.

When life got too painful or too quiet, I would run. I obsessed over every calorie and removed all food from my house, everything but coffee and tea. I fasted frequently and for days at a time. “Fasting is a common practice in Yoga.” That’s the lie I told myself, but I knew I was abusing the word.

I found rock bottom on the bathroom floor of the yoga studio. In the place that was my home, my salvation, my body finally gave out, and it took every bit of strength I had to call for help.

When I got home, I weighed myself… a good number. I looked in the mirror… a sad person. I was alone. There was no one… not even Edie. I called my mother in NY, and she told me to eat something, anything.

My superhero drove an ’86 Mitsubishi Mirage and arrived in thirty minutes or less. This man held my life in a Domino’s pizza box. It took me two hours, but I ate every bite of that small, thin crust, light-on-the-cheese pizza. I ate a whole day of calories in two hours… and lived.

Googling, “How do you know you have an eating disorder?” brought up article after article that reflected back to me the years of pain I had put myself through. I never sought help nor felt I had the tools I needed to deal with Edie. This mental disorder, this disease that had gone untreated, it’s progressive: triggered by trauma, loss, depression, and a so much more. Ironically, controlling food and the size of my body was my coping mechanism for loss.

The first time I attended a twelve-step meeting, I was struck by how much of myself I saw in the other men and women there. They repeated my story back to me. I was understood and I learned to pull from the strength of that support. Edie wasn’t my only friend anymore.

When I look back at the history of my disorder, I find yoga to be the starting point of my healing.

As a teacher, I see hesitant newcomers all the time. The first class can be terrifying, but it can also be liberating. The poses are a method, a means of centering oneself. Being a witness and supporting students when they fall, cheering them when they succeed, that is my calling… life finally makes sense.

I live amicably with Edie now. We’ve re-negotiated the terms of our relationship. I don’t try to get rid of her and she doesn’t try to sway me. Sometimes I want to challenge or change her, but she’s a part of my life. For me, that’s the deepest understanding of yoga – acceptance: to live peacefully in both the ebb and flow of life.

Every day I know I need to nourish my body to do all the things that I love. This body I’ve been given is the only one I have, and I’m lucky no matter what my scale or Edie says. Yoga reminds me that, trials and all, life is one breath, one vinyasa, and one day at a time. That keeps me rooted in my purpose – my intention – of coming out.

So, it’s time… get help, get out, and you will find the support to heal, float, fly, stand on your head, grieve, and manage your disease. Namaste.

Eating Disorder Recovery

National Eating Disorders Awareness Week is February 22 – 28. Follow #NEDAwareness and learn more at the National Eating Disorders Association.

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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Mt Madonna Founder Baba Hari Dass

 “Ayurveda is for freeing the mind which is trapped in the body. Yoga is for freeing the soul which is trapped in the mind.” –Baba Hari Dass

The Essence of Ayurvedic Healing

Both Ayurveda and Yoga accept the principles of Samkhya philosophy. While there are many foundational principles, for our purposes, let’s look at a few.  Sadkaryavad is the first, the principle of cause and effect.  For everything that exists in the universe, there is a cause. If we can find the cause of a malady, and can remove the cause, we create the opening for the person to come back into balance and heal.

Microcosms of the Macrocosm

Next, let’s consider loka purusha siddhanta; we are microcosms of the macrocosm. Everything that we find within ourselves can be found in the universe; everything in the universe can be found within us.

Underlying that understanding is the panchamahabhuta theory, the principle of that everything that exists in the universe is made up of Five Great Elements: Space, Air, Fire, Water and Earth.

These elements have inherent qualities, and once we know the qualities of each, we can use the principle of samanya vishesha siddhanta, “like increases like; opposites decrease” to bring about balance, healthy, harmony and healing in our mind-body complex.

5 Elements and Ayurvedic Healing

As these are so important to Ayurvedic healing, let’s look at the five elements that make up our physical universe:

Space

The quality of emptiness.  That in which all creation takes place, that which holds up creation.  We see space around us in our homes, our continent, our universe.  We recognize space within us, space in each cell, space in all of the orifices of the body. (Qualities: subtle, light, clear, soft)

Air

The quality of movement. We know a light breeze can move the leaves on the trees or a powerful hurricane can lift them up by the roots.  We see the effect of air in our digestive tract, moving the food along, in the circulation of our blood, in the movement of our eyes.  (Qualities: dry, rough, cold, mobile, light, subtle)

Fire

The quality of radiance/heat.  In our world, we see the sunlight, feel the heat of a lightbulb and enjoy foods cooked over a flame. In our bodies, we note the metabolic fire of digestion, the fire in the eyes, the warmth of the skin.  (Qualities: hot, clear, sharp, light, dry, subtle, spreading)

Water

The quality of liquidity. Around us we see liquidity in the oceans, rivers, streams and rain.  Our bodies are filled with liquid: interstitial fluids, blood, lymph, tears, saliva, urine.  (Qualities: liquid, heavy, cold, dull, soft, oily, slimy)

Earth

The principle of solidity.  We find this around us in the rocks, the trees, the minerals, metals, any and all building blocks. Inside us it’s our bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, cartilage… our physical structure. (Qualities: gross, dense, static, heavy, cool, dull, hard)

Practical Ayurveda: Therapeutic Tools for Working with Energy

How do we apply this Ayurvedic knowledge in practical terms? Remember the principle “like increases like and opposites decrease”?

Let’s say you are feeling ungrounded, flighty, anxious, unable to make a decision. Those qualities come from excess air element.  You need to balance air with earth and water.

For example, for your asana practice, instead of a standing, flowing series of poses, you may need a slow, strong hatha practice with plenty of seated poses.

For pranayama, instead of skull shining (kapalabhati) which consists of short, forced exhales, you might try a slow, long exhale (dirgarechaka) or even reclined abdominal breathing.

For a meditation practice, you might choose a mantra to tether the mind by constant repetition.  This could replace an awareness meditation where the mind has a tendency to run away like wild horses.

If you were to add all three practices you would be much more likely to rebalance the air element in the mind-body complex and thereby reduce anxiety and increase stability.

Learn more about the pathway to becoming an Ayurvedic Yoga Therapist: https://www.mountmadonnainstitute.org/school-of-yoga/ayurvedic-yoga-therapy-certificate

Kamalesh Ginger Hooven

Kamalesh Ginger Hooven is the Chair of the School of Yoga, Program Director of the Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy Program and the Coordinator of the Advanced Yoga Studies (YTT 300) program.

www.mountmadonnainstitute.org/college-of-ayurveda

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Yoga Therapy RX for Mental Health Clinical Program Director Julie Carmen Hoffman

The Benefits of Yoga Therapy

People practicing yoga therapy work with all aspects of health and wellness, from the physical, to the mental, emotional, and even spiritual. Adequate training and mentorship is important for yoga therapists to accomplish this. When it comes to clinical practice, encountering people coping with trauma, stress, PTSD, addiction, mental illness, and other mental health challenges can happen nearly every day. The new supervised clinical practicum offered through the Yoga Therapy RX program at Loyola Marymount University serves to train current and aspiring yoga therapists.

Clinical Program Director Julie Carmen Hoffman MA, LMFT, C-IAYT, ERYT-500, YTRX spoke to LA YOGA about the program.

For more information, visit Yoga Therapy RX for Mental Health

Yoga Therapy for Mental Health Clinical Practicum

LA YOGA: Why is it so important for yoga therapists working with a population suffering from anxiety, depression, and trauma to complete a clinical practicum?

Julie Carmen: When I go to any type of healthcare professional I want to know they’ve treated patients who have similar symptoms to mine.  Up until now, there has not been a local practicum where yoga therapists can gather face to face hours with behavioral health patients and be able to discuss their cases with clinical supervisors.

LA YOGA: Is your course restricted only to Loyola Marymount Yoga Therapy Rx alumni?

Julie Carmen: No, we are carefully reviewing applications from people with a variety of qualifications. For over a decade now Loyola Marymount University has been offering classes, certificates and even a Masters Degree in Yoga Studies overseen by Chris Chapple, PhD.

My clinic grew out of Larry Payne, PhD’s Yoga Therapy Rx that currently has four levels. These includes the Yoga Therapy for Chronic Pain practicum that Dr. Lori Rubenstein Fazzio created at Venice Family Clinic. This new Yoga Therapy for Mental Health practicum was designed as Level V. But now we’re opening registration up to anyone certified or ‘almost certified’ in yoga therapy, from any IAYT accredited school.

LA YOGA: Why are you opening registration up to a wider pool of applicants?

Julie Carmen: We’re looking for a total of six yoga therapists with diverse experiences to make our first cohort cohesive.

Benefits of the Yoga Therapy Mental Health Clinical Practicum

LA YOGA: What else do you hope to accomplish with this clinic?

Julie Carmen: Foremost, to be of service. Venice Family Clinic serves 24,000 people in the Los Angeles area and 73% live below the poverty line. We will be able to offer them one-on-one yoga therapy lifestyle practices that might ease their discomforts. Each yoga therapy student should complete 40-50 supervised hours with patients during the 12-week course.

LA YOGA: What excites you the most about launching a Yoga Therapy for Mental Health clinic?

Julie Carmen: I love the concept of creating a Scope of Practice Manual. For instance, one of the psychopharmacologists will help the students understand ways to interact with patients who bring up questions about medications. It’s definitely outside a yoga therapist’s scope of practice. We will be constructing dialogues that help the yoga therapists explain how adjunctive therapies and lifestyle practices can complement what they’re already doing right.

Yoga Therapy Textbooks for the Mental Health Clinical Practicum

LA YOGA: What textbooks will you be using?

Julie Carmen: One is Principles and Practices of Yoga Health Care. We are lucky enough to have Shirley Telles, MBBS, PhD consult with our students about the Fundamentals of Creating a Clinical Trial in Yoga. We will also read IAYT President Dr Dilip Sarkar’s book.

Our course provides 6 Law and Ethics CEUs. There will also be audio tapes and a manual to help students reflect on the cross section between the Ethical Codes per IAYT.org and the legal and ethical codes enforced by the Board of Behavioral Sciences.

Yoga Therapy for Mental Health Clinical Practicum Guest Teachers

Julie Carmen: Our list of Guest Speakers is overflowing with superstars in their fields:
Shirley Telles, M.B.B.S, M.Phil., Ph.D.: “Introduction to the Fundamentals of Yoga Clinical Trials.” William Resnick, M.D., “Psychopharmacology.”
John Casey, Ph.D. “Patient-Friendly Yoga Philosophy.”
Gerry Grossman, LMFT, “Law and Ethics.”
Mimi Lind, MSW, “Domestic Violence.”
Sabine Hazan, M.D., “Gastroenterology.”
Jewel Simpson, DDS, C-IAYT, “Dental Phobia.”
Randy Olson, Ph.D., “Non-boring Job Interviewing.”
Rebecca Hackett, C-IAYT, RPYT, “Post-Natal Depression.”
JulieCarmen Hoffman, LMFT, C-IAYT, “Scope of Practice.”
Arun Deva, DASc, AYT, C-IAYT “SEVA Trainings for Clinic Staff.”

LA YOGA: How you see the Guest Speakers as being integral to the training?

Julie Carmen: Some of the doctors, such as the gastroenterologist and the holistic dentist have been referring yoga therapy patients to me for years. Because of this, we have a clear understanding about what yoga therapy can and can’t offer. They are excited about our students teaching specific evidence informed yoga therapy practices to clinic patients. Clinic patients will be referred by their social workers for anxiety, depression, or trauma. Yet most patients have overlapping issues that our yoga therapists need to take into consideration. Mainly, our guest physicians will answer supervisory questions and pay attention to potential risks.

Advice for Yoga Therapists working in Mental Health

LA YOGA: Is there a message you’d like to share with yoga therapists who want to work with patients with mental health challenges and cannot take your course?

Julie Carmen: Listening and attuning to patients can be extraordinarily valuable. If you don’t know what to say, it’s best to simply bear witness. Do your personal work, reflect, journal, invest in personal psychotherapy, whatever you need to do to be clear about your intentions. I often refer students who come from families dealing with mental health issues, to the courses offered free by NAMI.org.

LA YOGA: Is the general medical community in Los Angeles open to hiring yoga therapists?

Julie Carmen: Yes, and it’s only changing because the International Association of Yoga Therapists is moving the profession forward responsibly. My main goals for the students in our clinical practicum include helping each student reflect on the population they want to work with and then actively reach out to potential employers in the private and public sectors.

About Yoga Therapy Clinical Practicum Director

Julie Carmen Hoffman is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, a certified Yoga Therapist and Clinical Professor of Yoga Therapy for Mental Health at Loyola Marymount University’s clinical practicum at Venice Family Clinic. She designed and implemented the yoga therapy and drama therapy departments at Passages Dual Diagnosis residential treatment facility (2001-2003). In addition, Julie was a yoga therapist for four years at Monte Nido Eating Disorder Center and contributed a chapter to Carolyn Costin’s Yoga and Eating Disorders, Routeledge, 2016. For thirteen years, Julie taught a popular community yoga class at Exhale Center for Sacred Movement. She has led local retreats since 1999 through her company www.yogatalks.com

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 Therapy for Mental Health Clinical Practicum: Why it Matters appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Photo of Tommy Rosen and Recovery 2.0 Community by DJ Pierce

How we create our community, choose our circles, and cultivate our connections impacts our mental, emotional, and spiritual health. This is particularly true for people whose lives have been affected by addiction. An addiction can impact all levels of our being: mind, body, and spirit. It also impacts our relationships with other people as well as our relationship with time. Addiction keeps us separated from the present moment so that we cannot access the very space where healing can actually take place. Instead, we seek solace in the creature comforts of the material world in order to avoid pain and re-create pleasure.

The mental component of the patterns of addiction can lead to increased feelings of anxiety, stress, loneliness, separation, and disconnection. This is part of the reason addiction is described as a disease of isolation. This also factors into why developing positive connections with other human beings is a central element to recovery and a remedy for isolation.

Addiction weakens our spirit and builds upon our illusion of separateness from each other: from our environment and from the essence of our existence. It is perhaps this separateness that drives us harder than anything else. We feel so alone and cut off that it becomes easy to identify with our disordered thoughts. We think we are our scattered minds rather than our infinite selves. Our vision narrows. We lose our intuitive capabilities and are in a state of disharmony with our own hearts. We try to manipulate our outer experience rather than living it. This is another layer of the web of addiction, in which we are addicted to patterns of thinking and belief systems that are built on our basic misunderstanding of separateness and isolation.

Because of the ways in which addiction affects brain function as well as all of the other systems of the body, the physical aspect of addiction necessitates a physical process of detoxification, rebalancing, and strengthening. The protocols of recovery require that we seek out teachers, sponsors, mentors, healers and guides as support. It is important to have good counseling from people who understand the path of recovery and who can stand as examples of victory. Establishing relationships with these people makes it possible to call upon them in those moments when our faith in the process wanes.

Both the mental and physical aspects of addiction require daily re-patterning in order to form new habits, patterns, and practices that recondition us to remain present and respond to life in a way that supports our health and well-being. Yoga and meditation are healing practices that facilitate our ability to remain centered in the present moment. The one day at a time concept from 12-Step philosophy emphasizes this important reality.

From this holistic viewpoint on addiction, it is no wonder that connection, support, and love from other people are so critical to the process of recovery. This brings up the question of how we find community through recovery in today’s world. There are really three main structures that are available to accomplish this: therapy, meetings, and treatment programs.

Therapy

Individual therapy involves a one-on-one connection with a therapist who helps you to understand yourself and the story that led to your maladaptive behavior. Numerous therapeutic modalities are available; one’s experience will vary depending on the therapist, the modality, and the unique connection or relationship. Recognize when seeking out and developing this relationship that different people need different things at different times. I have known many people to find recovery and healing through therapy, and quite often, their therapists were the ones who referred them to 12-Step (or other) recovery programs.

Meetings

Recovery programs or meetings are the second way that people can find community and therapeutic relationships in recovery. While 12-Step programs are the most widespread option in this category, there are several others that have found success in supporting people toward healing. These include Refuge Recovery (a Buddhist approach), Yoga of 12-Step Recovery (Y12SR), and Smart Recovery (a more cognitive, non-theistic approach).

In all these modalities, community and connection are critical components of healing. Doing the 12 Steps, for example, includes connecting with a sponsor who guides you through work associated with the process based on their own experience in recovery and working the steps. The sponsor-sponsee relationship is one of the most powerful teacher-student relationships in modern society. It is important to note: the outcome of one’s experience with the 12 steps will be influenced by the ability of a sponsor to present the steps in a way that is accessible and meaningful to the sponsee. Outcomes can also be affected by the quality of the relationships sought out by the person in recovery with other people they encounter, and, of course, their openness and willingness to see their life and even their thoughts in a new light. Service is another key component of these programs; service helps people develop perspectives beyond their individual lives to include community.

Treatment Programs

A third option to start or maintain recovery in our society is choosing is an in-patient or out-patient treatment program for more intensive experiences. community once again plays a significant role as a person is interacting in group settings, along with participating in one-on-one counseling to review all aspects of their life which led to the blossoming of addiction.

Photo of Tommy Rosen and Recovery 2.0 Community by DJ Pierce

Recovery 2.0

A challenge of treatment is the incorporation of a sustainable continuance of care after release. When a person’s treatment experience comes to an end, the onus lays upon the addict to continue to connect with others and to build community that is conducive to maintaining recovery. It is simply too easy to fall back into “alone-ness” and familiar behaviors when a person returns to what they may perceive as the extraordinary and unbearable pressure of everyday life. This is why participating in meetings and other recovery programs are essential. It is also why being grounded in daily practices (such as yoga and meditation) that maintain focus on the present moment essential.

Recovery from addiction is possible. People can change and heal at all levels of their being. It requires the development of new habits – a willingness to ask for help whenever you need it, to be in regular connection with others who are on a path of recovery, and to develop the capacity to be of service to others. An ongoing connection to positive, supportive community is the key element throughout every aspect of this process. In 26 years of recovery from severe addiction, and while working with tens of thousands of people in initiatives like Recovery 2.0, I have never seen anyone recover sustainably without a regular connection to others on a path toward wholeness. We really do need each other.

Tommy Rosen

Tommy Rosen is the author of Recovery 2.0, published by Hay House. In 2013, Tommy founded Recovery 2.0, a global community of more than 100,000 people who embrace a holistic approach to addiction that includes the power of connection: recovery2point0.com

www.recovery2point0.com

The post The Importance of Community in Recovery from Addiction appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

LA YOGA: How is yoga a supportive practice for you?

Nikki Myers: The 12-step program saved my life and continues to be an important foundational component for what I call my “platform for sustainable addiction recovery.”

My experience is that there are stages of recovery. I firmly stepped into yoga when I experienced a relapse after eight years of abstinence. The story of that relapse is fascinating, but the most striking thing about it was how I quickly morphed into the old addict personality after years of abstinence.

After finding my way back to a 12-step program, I began an Ashtanga yoga practice and studied everything I could find related to yoga philosophy. After a while, I decided that yoga was enough and that I no longer needed the support of the 12-step program. Then after four years, I relapsed again. After the second relapse, it became clear to me that both yoga and the 12-step program were needed in my platform for sustainable recovery. It’s now been more than 16 years since my last relapse.

There are many ways that yoga is supportive for me: Asana, pranayama, chanting, meditation, and sangha (community) are all tools for deeper connection and integration of body, energy, intellect, behavior, and heart. When those align, my experience is that a shift occurs that orients every dimension of my being toward a state of balance and wholeness. Often, even a single shift in perspective, muscular/skeletal alignment, energy expansion or contraction, behavior, or connection will realign everything, internally and often externally. In that experience, I recognize that there really is no separation between mind and body, heaven and earth, or me and you. From that place, giving to and receiving from others is organic.

LA YOGA: The topic of your upcoming talk at SYTAR is related to the issues in our tissues and the link between the adjunctive therapies of yoga and 12-step recovery. What does this mean to you and how do you explain it to people? 

Nikki: In Y12SR I like to say that we connect the dots. We connect the dots between the ancient wisdom of yoga philosophy and practices, the very practical tools from the 12-step program, the neuroscience relative to how addiction affects the brain, and trauma healing.

I assert that underneath all addiction there is some level of trauma. In a sense, we can think of trauma in the same terms as the Sanskrit term ama, used in Ayurveda. Ama refers to a toxic byproduct that lies somewhere in the five-body system in an unresolved, undigested, incomplete state. Beyond undigested food in the belly, ama is also the undigested experiences of our lives. When this energy doesn’t move, it stagnates somewhere in the body. This is what we mean by “the issues live in the tissues.”  The beauty of a well-designed, trauma-informed, integrated yoga practice is that there is a possibility of releasing that energy without even necessarily having a cognitive association with it.

I’ve found that it’s not absolutely necessary to go into a great deal of technical detail about this with students. Instead, after doing my best to create a container of safety in the class, I encourage students to stay with whatever release is happening like the muscle tremor or tears that start to flow.

LA YOGA: How can this idea be helpful for students?

Nikki: One of the phrases often heard in 12-step meetings is, “You have to feel your feelings.” I heard that phrase for many years and had no idea of what it really meant. Knowing and experiencing that feelings can be felt and processed in a place of being detached from the story is a huge revelation for many in recovery.

LA YOGA: What do you suggest that people do with feelings or issues that come up from the tissues during practice? 

Nikki: The invitation is to acknowledge the feeling, make a decision to experience it, and then to just notice any mechanisms the mind might use to escape. Then the student/client is invited to bring their attention and awareness to the physical sensations in the body and to become very inquisitive about the sensations, asking questions like: Do they have a texture, color, shape? Where are they in the body? Are they static or moving, et cetera. The person is invited to stay with the feeling rather than any story that the mind begins to make up about the feeling. Feelings are energy and the nature of energy is to move.  Often with just this level of attention the feeling will move.

LA YOGA: What happens in yoga practice that is supportive to people in addiction recovery? 

Nikki: One of the things I’ve found most useful for myself and students is the focus in the practice on synchronizing attention, breath, and movement. When my awareness is on my breath and my breath is guiding my movement, I am in the present time. The addictive mind time travels. The ability to consciously return to the present moment is a tremendous support on and off the mat.

LA YOGA: How can yoga be a helpful practice for maintaining sobriety?   

One of the things we do in Y12SR is turn those often used program cliches, such as, “Keep coming back,” into embodied affirmations that are felt rather than merely spoken. For example, we might say something like, “I keep coming back to mountain pose on and off the mat, especially when grounding, strength, and self-containment are needed in recovery.”

For more information about Nikki Myers and Yoga of 12-Step Recovery, visit: y12sr.com.

Nikki Myers is speaking at the Symposium of Yoga Therapy and Research in Newport Beach in June. For more information, visit: iayt.org.

Thank you to the Recovery 2.0 community for the photos of Nikki by DJ Pierce.

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 to Support Addiction and Recovery with Nikki Myers appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Photo of client Brittany Addison-Prescott and Yoga Therapy Bethany Dotson by Photographer Christian Leigh Sykora

Establishing yoga as a recognized therapy is the mission of the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT). IAYT supports research and education in yoga and serves as a professional organization for yoga teachers and yoga therapists worldwide. Founded in 1989, IAYT has consistently championed yoga as a healing art and science. Membership is open to yoga practitioners, yoga teachers, yoga therapists, healthcare practitioners who use yoga in their practice, and yoga researchers.

IAYT is committed to a providing a professional certification (C-IAYT) that is internationally recognized and respected by yoga therapy practitioners and educators steeped in the yoga tradition, and by practitioners from other healthcare fields with whom yoga therapists work in partnership.

Certification is the latest pillar of the comprehensive self-regulatory initiative that IAYT began in 2007. This initiative has included developing educational standards for the training of yoga therapists, accrediting training programs that meet those standards beginning in 2014, and now a certification process for credentialing individual yoga therapists who meet IAYT’s standards.

IAYT certification provides recognition to yoga therapists that meet or exceed an established set of standards. It is a quality control mechanism whereby, through a credible, objective, peer-review process, a public stamp of approval is given to highly trained yoga therapists. Additionally, the requirements for ongoing certification help the wider community have confidence as IAYT-certified yoga therapists make a professional contribution to health, healing, and integrative healthcare environments.

With IAYT certification now well-established (over 1,100 C-IAYTs have been approved as of April, 2017), IAYT is now turning to focus on raising the profile of yoga therapy in integrative health environments and supporting yoga therapists who want to work in that area. They are also actively working to identify and support quality continuing education and professional development courses. Last, but certainly not least, it is time to focus on educating the public on what is yoga therapy, how it is different from yoga (at least in our contemporary environment), and especially, why someone might want to consider seeing an IAYT-certified yoga therapist because of their extensive and specialized training and experience.

There are articles and resources on the IAYT website about how yoga teaching is different from yoga therapy. For the grandparenting application, the elements that distinguish yoga therapy from yoga teaching (whether in one to one or group settings) will typically be:

You address specific condition(s) by providing yoga therapy sessions to address identified and defined conditions, with consideration for the individual circumstances and nature of each client. It does not include teaching students/clients yoga for life stages such as pregnancy or menopause, where there are no difficulties or conditions.

You conduct an intake appropriate to the individual client so that the session can be focused on their specific therapeutic needs and concerns.

You develop and deliver an appropriate yoga therapy intervention based on the information gathered in the intake and from your assessment of the client.

IAYT certifies individual yoga therapists under three eligibility pathways: graduation from an 800 hour IAYT-accredited yoga therapy training program OR through two grandparenting pathways.

Grandparenting refers to a process in which someone with the specified experience and expertise in a particular profession is granted certification along different pathways than others entering the profession. The grandparenting process usually begins just after a profession starts to certify practitioners and is limited to a prescribed period of time. As a field begins to develop standards, grandparenting is typically addressed in a generous way, respecting original training, continuing education, and experience.

The IAYT grandparenting process is similar to that of other emerging complementary and alternative medicine professions.

There are two pathways for grandparenting eligibility:
• Grandparenting Pathway 1:
Yoga therapists with at least 300 hours of formal yoga therapy training that began prior to 2014, a 200-hour teacher training program, and at least 150 hours of yoga therapy experience.

• Grandparenting Pathway 2:
Seasoned yoga therapists who may not have graduated from a 300-hour program, or indeed any formal training program at all, but began practicing as a yoga therapist prior to January 1, 2008 and have at least 1,000 hours of sustained yoga therapy experience across the years of practice.

If you are a practicing yoga therapist, you may be interested in applying NOW for certification by the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT.org). The grandparenting option began in 2016 and will close soon, on June 30, 2017.

Visit the Certification pages on the IAYT website where there are resources to guide you and answer many questions. Begin with the Eligibility Chart to see which Pathway suits your scenario. Then, go to Apply Now for your Pathway and look at the documentation that will be required for the application. You will also find instructions, a link to all the policies and procedures you must read, a sample of the online application and the full Rules for the Pathway. Click on the FAQ page and Tips for applying for more clarification. For more information, visit: iayt.org. Attend the IAYT Symposium on Yoga Therapy and Research to learn more about the profession in Newport Beach, June 15-18: sytar.org.

Beth Whitney-Teeple

www.iayt.org/?page=CertificationCommitt

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Photo of Szilvia Gogh by David Young-Wolff.

I did not choose to have breast cancer. However, the choice I do have is how to go through my journey.

I could have been depressed when hearing the news. After all, I had a horrible year leading up to my diagnosis. All in one year: My grandmother died of old age (that I can accept). My mother went through treatment, yet died from breast cancer. My first cousin died at age 39 of breast cancer. Now, I have cancer at the age of 39.

While I could ask myself, “Why Me,” after all—I eat organic; I exercise every day. But I could also simply consider what I needed to do to take action.

I chose to look at the positive side of everything from the past year. For example, my grandma was 97 and she had a beautiful life. My mom was 67; she saw my sister and me grow up. She was with me when my son was born two years ago, and she was gifted with a granddaughter last summer from my sister. Fortunately, my own cancer was detected early.

The only reason I even got a mammogram was because I was advised to do so after my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. After my first mammogram in 2015, everything was clear. I didn’t feel a lump or any other signs, but in January 2016, after my routine check-up, I was called back for a follow-up ultrasound.

Then I had a biopsy the day before I flew to Europe to see my mother one last time as she was losing her battle with cancer. In only one year, the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes, liver, and pretty much everywhere else in her body, despite all treatments the doctors tried.

As soon as I landed in Budapest, Hungary, I called the doctor who performed my biopsy, and given my circumstances, she made an exception to her usual policy and promised to give me the results on the phone. Even before we spoke on the phone, I had a feeling. Deep inside I knew that she would say that the biopsy showed cancer. I was afraid that I would not see my son grow up. Then, I shook myself, took a deep breath and said to myself, “Let’s do this! Whatever I need to do, I will. I will see my son grow up. I have unfinished businesses here. It’s not my time to go.

After the initial shock of hearing the news that I did, in fact, have breast cancer, I knew I needed to come up with a plan. Yet there I was, with my mother who was in a hospital. Her lungs had filled with fluid and her liver was failing. Yet she and I had two days together; she was so happy to see me we even took a short walk through the hospital garden that first day. The second day, I had to push her in a wheelchair. When I left, I felt horrible; I knew that I would not see her again. But my experience with family members taught be that time was of the essence in my own case. So we said our heartfelt good-byes and I flew back to LA.

During my 11-hour return flight from London to LA, I reflected my life: I have been making inspirational jewelry for years, and now I needed that inspiration to buoy myself up. One of my favorite inspirational affirmations—and one that I use in many of my jewelry designs— is: “Never, Never, Never Give Up!” Winston Churchill said this more than 70 years ago. Yes, I reflected, that sentiment is a good place to start.

As soon as my boots touched the ground at LAX, I headed to meet my oncologist. He said he had bad news and good news. My answer was, ”I already know I have cancer, so give me the good news.” Here was the good news: My strain of cancer responds well to hormone therapy and at the time of diagnosis it was Stage 1 (since the largest of my three tumors was only 19mm and the cancer had not spread beyond the initial tumor).

After meeting with a few surgeons, I made a decision that I felt comfortable with and I decided to move forward with a double mastectomy even before I would learn that my cancer had a genetic component (from my father’s side). This surgery allowed me to avoid recommended radiation—and I would be able to get a nice boob job out of it.

Even though they removed the cancer during the surgery and it had not spread to my lymph nodes, my doctor did recommend chemotherapy based on the tumor type testing which revealed that my cancer is one of the most aggressive types. By the time of my operation, just one month after my diagnosis, my tumor had already grown to 24mm, progressing it into Stage 2 (which meant that is was locally advanced).

I don’t know any other way to say it, but overall, chemotherapy was not fun. Although there were many challenges, one of the things that hit me hardest was losing my hair. After all, looking in the mirror every day is a constant reminder—and as a stuntwoman and scuba teacher, I work with people all the time so my look is obvious. Yet, when I considered my options, I decided to be bold and be bald since the lifestyle of a scuba diver does not easily lend itself to wigs. Most importantly, however, I did not want to pretend that everything was normal.

Over the past few months, I have had good days and bad days. On every good day, I made a point of going outside for a walk, practicing yoga, and eating well. On every bad day I reminded myself that this is only temporary. To lift my spirits, I would remind myself that my cancer was detected early and I am on my way to recovery. To support my recovery, I watched movies and slept a lot to give myself time to rest.

The presence and loving care of my husband, son, and friends gave me the strength to feel better on good days, and gave me hope that that I will be better on bad days.

I’m still on my journey at this time, but I feel that I am over the hump. To celebrate, a week after my final chemotherapy treatment, I organized a girls’ day on Catalina Island. We practiced yoga, went scuba diving, and shared a chocolate circle.

I believe that it is important to have things to look forward to when going through challenging experiences. This summer my family  (my husband, my son, and I) traveled to Ireland on a castle tour celebrating my 40th birthday. This birthday means a lot to me as I am glad to be done with 39. The age 39 in my family is like 27 for musicians – my father died at age 39 from cancer; my cousin died at 39 from cancer last year; and I was diagnosed with cancer when I was 39.

Szilvia Gogh still wearing the drains post-reconstructive surgery. Photographed by David Young-Wolff.

At this time, I’m also in the midst of reconstructive surgery that requires several weeks of recovery and in this photo, the drains are still in place that are part of the healing and recovery process. Even with these challenges, I still believe in staying strong and maintaining positive activities like my yoga practice.

In order to have something else to look forward to, we are planning to celebrate my new bikini body and my re-grown hair with a scuba dive trip to the Maldives at the end of the year.

I could feel sorry for myself, and my family, for what we have had to go through, but I choose to feel grateful. Cancer brought us closer together and made us stronger.

Szilvia Gogh

Szilvia Gogh is a Professional Scuba Diver, Stuntwoman, Yogi and Jewelry Designer: SzilviaGogh.com.
Learn about female scuba enthusiasts: Miss-Scuba.com
View Szilvia’s inspirational jewelry: GoghJewelryDesign.com

The post Breast Cancer, A Journey of Strength appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Teachers Lainie Devina and Holli Rabishaw shot by Jeff Skeirik

The term Golden Age refers to a period of time when flourishing and abundance happens within a specific community or society.

The Golden Age of wisdom was around 400 BCE when Socrates charmed the West with profound discourses and The Buddha illumined the noble paths to end suffering in the East. Art experienced its Golden Age in the Renaissance when Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa made the world fall in love with simplicity and Michelangelo enchanted people’s hearts on the ceilings of the Sistine Chapel.

Although it’s rare to predict a Golden Age before or while in the midst of happening, the times today beg the question: Are we entering a Golden Age in the field of Yoga Therapy?

Yoga Therapy is the philosophy, art, and science of adapting classical Yoga techniques to contemporary situations to support people with physical, mental, and emotional ailments. According to the definition of the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT), “Yoga therapy is the process of empowering individuals to progress toward improved health and well-being through the application of the teachings and practices of Yoga.”

Practically speaking, Yoga Therapy is the reinvention of a personalized Yoga experience where the practice is modified to meet the individual’s ever-changing needs. Since ancient times, adaptability in one’s teaching, practice, and approach has rested at the heart of Yoga’s most fundamental influence: the relationship, insights, and trust created through the practice by one teacher working with one student. Unfortunately, this ideal is sometimes challenging to uphold in the contemporary group class environment that dominates much of modern Yoga culture.

Today, a private Yoga Therapy session is often a quasi-amalgamation of movement science and physical therapy (asana), breathwork and energy cultivation (pranayama), stress reduction therapy (meditation and Yoga Nidra), nutrition (Ayurveda), psychology and behavioral therapy (Yoga sutras), and euphoria (samadhi) all rolled into one.

Sounds great, right?

You’re not alone. Millions of other people think so, too.

The latest long-range market research describing the yoga community, released by Yoga Journal and Yoga Alliance in January 2016, found that the number of people practicing Yoga in the US alone rose from 20 million in 2012 to 36 million in 2016 while industry sales figures increased from $10 billion to $16 billion. It is interesting to note that the largest growing sector within this community are people aged 55 and up. This demographic of yogis jumped 350% from 4 million people to 14 million people in the same four year time period. The 55 and over crowd are currently trying Yoga at the highest rates of any population.

Score #1 for Yoga Therapy’s Golden Age.

Yoga is being practiced by a specific population devoting a large amount of resources to healthy lifestyles.

Esteemed orthopedic doctor and Yoga anatomy expert Ray Long, MD says, “There has been an explosion of interest in practicing Yoga, both for its healing potential and its ability to enhance quality of life.” While many Yoga classes emphasize a competitive atmosphere of ‘pushing to one’s edge” and “exploring one’s physical limitations,” Yoga Therapy, in contrast, accepts practitioners where they are physically and also nurtures their mental, emotional, and spiritual selves. It offers a multi-layered and holistic approach linking the practice, the individual, and one’s lifestyle and environment to create balance or homeostasis—referred to in Yoga Therapy as “a sattvic life.”

What’s more, Yoga Therapy values function over form. Just like a tailor adjusts clothing to fit an individual’s unique shapes and curves, Yoga Therapy tailors the practice to the individual’s, needs, abilities, restrictions/illnesses, aspirations, and goals. This mindful method of personalizing one’s practice cultivates longevity and is integral to prevention.

Taking this into account, the migration of today’s maturing demographic to Yoga as therapy is not surprising.

The current baby boomer population dynamics have created what is known as the “2030 problem” in the scientific literature – which means that by 2030 over 61 million people in the US will be between the ages of 66 – 84 and will require healthcare that addresses their needs.

Think about that for a moment.

Approximately 61 million people in the US alone (likely topping hundreds of millions worldwide) will be over the age of 55 by 2019. This population explosion will be adding, year-by-year, to Yoga’s largest growing and most influential population sector, those 55 and older.

Yoga Therapist Terri Roseman with Student at Venice Family Clinic. Photo by David Young-Wolff.

Score #2 for Yoga Therapy’s Golden Age.

Yoga Therapy has the power to affect and influence millions of people whose evolving needs might otherwise remain underserved or inadequately served by the current healthcare industry.

Collectively, people over 55 are paradigm-shifters who have been part of a number of significant social changes such as civil rights, medical marijuana, single parenting, and gay marriage. This group grew up with The Beatles practicing Transcendental Meditation and Ram Dass encouraging people to Be Here Now. One of the most important social stigmas that the Baby Boomers have removed, which has had the biggest impact on Yoga itself, is that you are weird, strange, or uncool for practicing Yoga.

In today’s world, it is quite the contrary! I dare to say that in 2016 anything Yoga-related is The New Black.

Stylecaster’s picks for 2016 fitness trends includes Eastern medicine, stretching classes, nutritional beauty, inner body wellness, mindful exercise, and holistic happiness. The most popular ways to stay in shape are code for practices and techniques found within the scope of Yoga Therapy.

The Yoga community is even adapting to accommodate.

A variety of approaches to yoga have sprung up to deliver a more Yoga Therapy-esque version to the group class setting including Viniyoga, Silver Age Yoga, Yoga4Seniors, Urban Zen, Chikitsa Vinyasa Yoga (Therapeutic Flow Yoga), and Prime of Life Yoga. Instructors in styles such as Prime of Life Yoga focus on how the practice can prevent osteoporosis, decrease back pain, minimize stress, maintain muscle pliability, and reduce the risk of falls. Elizabeth Visceglia, MD says, “Yoga practice is a low-cost intervention with no significant dangers or side effects when utilized by a knowledgeable practitioner.” And, as if that weren’t enough, Yoga will also help make you cool again.

Score #3 for Yoga Therapy’s Golden Age.

Compared to interventions such as pharmaceutical drugs or surgery, Yoga Therapy is a relatively low cost treatment that teaches the practitioner how to live a harmonious relationship with the self. Plus, Yoga Therapy has relatively few to no negative side effects if you find a knowledgeable therapist who works with people as individuals and refers out when necessary.

This landscape of an aging population looking for a natural fountain of youth is one of the motivating factors contributing to the rise of increased self-regulation in the field. In 2015, the IAYT released new educational guidelines for its member schools; and just last month in August 2016, the IAYT began granting a standardized professional credential for Yoga Therapists (C-IAYT). Paula Tapia, a Chilean graduate of the Yoga Therapy Rx Program at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, speaks to the importance of these initiatives. “Having the necessary skills and appropriate training to be part of the healthcare system is not only a privilege for Yoga Therapists, but also a responsibility,” says Tapia, who recently completed her clinical internship in Yoga Therapy at the Simms/Mann UCLA Venice Family Clinic.

(Read about the Yoga Therapy program at the Simms/Mann UCLA Venice Family Clinic in LA YOGA.)

Paula Tapia, Yoga Therapy RX Graduate

Yoga Therapy schools differ in style and philosophy, so it is important to do your research whether you are pursuing Yoga Therapy for support, treatment, or further education. IAYT’s website (iayt.org) has provider listings where you’ll see that in addition to Yoga Therapists like Ms. Tapia, there are many medical doctors, psychologists, chiropractors, nurses, and acupuncturists who are also trained as Yoga Therapists.

IAYT Executive Director, John Kepner, MA, has been an integral part of this increased professionalism in the field. In Yoga Therapy and Integrative Medicine: Where Ancient Science Meets Modern Medicine, Kepner reflects, “Professional interest in the field of Yoga therapy has soared in the past 10 years and IAYT’s membership has grown almost five-fold (from < 700 to over 3,400 members) in almost 50 countries at the beginning of 2014. Perhaps even more illustrative is the growth in professional training. IAYT listed just five schools with Yoga Therapy training programs on our website in 2003. Now, in 2014, we list over 120 member schools. Yoga Therapy, with its comprehensive set of practices and teachings for body, breath, and mind, is one of the answers to a much needed transformation of our contemporary approach to health care.”

It has become such a popular [and potentially legally liable] subject that in February 2016 the Yoga Alliance announced that all teachers and member schools listed on their registry website are no longer allowed to use the words Therapy, Yoga Therapy, or Chikitsa (“Therapy” in Sanskrit) on their website. While the move has been widely criticized for being based in fear, which is the opposite of what Yoga teaches, or not being in the best interest of members, Yoga Alliance as an organization is demonstrating a line of demarcation between Yoga teaching and the in-depth, patient-centered, wellness care-based practice of Yoga Therapy.

At its essence, though, Yoga Therapy isn’t meant to diagnose and/or cure diseases; its aim is to lessen the suffering of the person. The legendary B.K.S. Iyengar probably described it best, “Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured.”

As research continues to confirm Yoga Therapy’s benefits as a lifestyle science and anecdotal success stories are shared throughout the media, this lifestyle revolution becomes even more mainstream. The artists, entrepreneurs, philosophers, educators, and yogis, who have shaped our modern world are also, quite possibly, initiating its next big movement, the Golden Age of Yoga Therapy, simply by being here, now.

Eden Goldman

Dr. Eden Goldman, D.C., C-IAYT, E-RYT500, is Director of Yoga and Mindfulness at La Quinta Resort, A Waldorf Astoria Resort, where they host 5-star teacher and studio led retreats, along with corporate retreats, and feature an Ayurvedic-inspired vegetarian menu, Manduka mats and props, an enchanting desert and mountain backdrop, 41 swimmable pools for guests, and one of the newest installations in Amanda Giacomini’s 10,000 Buddhas street art series. Professionally, Dr. Goldman is also Director of The Yoga and the Healings Sciences at Loyola Marymount University Extension and co-author of Yoga Therapy and Integrative Medicine: Where Ancient Sciences Meets Modern Medicine. He can be found online on Instagram at @dr.edengoldman

www.YogaDoctors.com

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Dristi is most commonly known as the gazing point on which the eyes may focus. The word “dristi,” derives from the Sanskrit root “drstr,” which is where we get our English word “to direct.” Dristi can refer to a focal point, yet it is more than simply where we focus; it also refers to the power of this focus since it has a harnessing effect on our thoughts and energy.

When we direct our visual gaze to just one spot, we are sending our energy there. Imagine someone who is “all over the place.” They may be literally looking all over the place and cannot rest their eyes on one thing. Even during an asana practice, some students are looking around the room or busily fixing their bodies, thus unable to drop into a state of equanimity. The opposite of being “all over the place” is being directed and focused, a goal efficiently achieved by the tool of dristi.

Dristi as a Point of Focus

Some strains of yoga suggest gently gazing at the tip of the nose whenever possible. It is said that this draws an internal focus and allows the outer world to soften and fade. Many practitioners find this helpful.

Another popular dristi point is gazing out over the fingertips in standing postures.  This soft gaze can support the practitioner in feeling expansive; it is also great for empowerment and confidence building.

Most often, we are taught to look upward whenever anatomically possible. This has many benefits: It is an energizing action (when I look up, my energy goes up.)  Upward movement is associated with solar and masculine energy, and used to give yourself a boost when you are tired.  

On the other hand, many of us need to settle down. If you want your energy to settle, simply direct your gaze downward. (When I want to get grounded—I look at the ground!)  Gazing downward embodies feminine aspects: Mother Nature, fixed energy and a literal magnetic downward pull (gravity).

Dristi can refer to a focal point, yet it is more than simply where we focus; it also refers to the power of this focus since it has a harnessing effect on our thoughts and energy.

Another option is “Atma Dristi,” which can be translated as “Soul Gazing.” Once the outer body is comfortable, we can turn the gaze inward by closing the eyes.  When the gaze is directed inward, there is an opportunity to “see” what is happening on the inside.  Atma Dristi ignites the Ajna Chakra, the third eye, which sees past the obvious. Practicing Atma Dristi can be like looking at your treasure map and then being given special glasses that allow you to see the map in 3D. There is more to us than meets the eye. If we don’t look, we’ll miss it.

The dristi emphasized during balancing postures holds the space of the pose. It is helpful to set the dristi first and then build the pose around it. The point can be just about anywhere, up or down, as long as it is one spot that doesn’t move. (This is not the time to look at the teacher or another student, as they are moving!) Once the pose is complete, try sustaining the dristi while coming out of the pose mindfully. This holds the space, meaning that you do not stop doing yoga simply because one pose is ending and another one is beginning.

Sustaining your dristi during balancing postures has the additional effect of helping us to clarify our destination. At first glance, it would seem that the point of a balancing pose is to strengthen muscles, create flexibility and enhance our agility. These are all an important first step. The ultimate goal, however, is to teach us to focus the fluctuations of our minds (what in Sanskrit is called our chitta vrttis) on command. The repetitive practice of yoga is not done so that we can get good at yoga.  It is done so that the tools we learn from yoga can help us navigate our individual, epic journey. When we see clearly and when our eyes—and then our gaze—are focused, we too can discover and demonstrate our inner superpowers.

Staff Writer Lakshmi

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Yoga is a method of healing.

Beyond the postures, the breathing, meditation, visualization and manipulation of flows of energy through locks (bandha) help people transform their lives, heal injuries, and improve their relationships.

The first ingredient necessary for healing is space. When you go to a chiropractor, he or she creates more space so the joints can move freely. In yoga class, you stretch, rotate, and twist the body so the energy can move freely. When you need to create more space in a structured mass, if you can’t change the matter, you can use rotation to create the spaciousness, to give relief. When you rotate the spine, legs, or arms correctly, it creates space. Micro adjustments in the body allow what was congested to become spacious.

Where is the space in the breath? How can you find more space? By inhaling more? If you’re full already, it can be difficult to add more.  Let’s relate this idea to shopping. Let’s say you need more “breath” –- so you go shopping, look for it, find a store, select the right breath and style for you and purchase it. And then bring it home. That’s the moment when you realize you don’t have any space for this or the stuff you purchased last week. That’s when you need the exhalation. The exhalation is the process of cleaning out your closets, making room for the new. The exhalation and its retention increase your capacity; when you finally inhale, it’s a fuller breath. This is why the exhalation is emphasized in many healing modalities including yoga.

The purpose of yoga as a tool for healing is to create a structure of bones and muscle tissue that allows spaciousness. As you move into a structural correction, look for the spacing. The rotation of the bones, the rotation of your schedule, or even the rotation of your relationship should create a feeling of openness. When a teacher makes a correction to someone’s posture in yoga class, to fulfill this intention, the teacher asks, “How does that feel?” If it feels worse, there is a missing link—the communication about where spaciousness can be found is missing.

Spaciousness needs to be present both in your relationship to self (the body) and your relationships with others. If you are in relationship with someone and you’re not allowing them to be who they are, then there’s no spaciousness. If you are expecting your partner to adhere to the same principles that you hold to be true, then you’re not allowing your partner to find his or her way. There’s no spaciousness. You might say, “I found yoga and it’s working for me, so really darling, you should be doing yoga too.” That’s not spacious. Your partner might prefer jogging or windsurfing.

How can you allow and welcome new energy and new energetic structure? The first place I begin is with the breath. You create a breathing form and then rotate or change the form so there’s more spaciousness in it.

Let’s explore a little bit. To show the contrast, first notice the way you breathe — you may be grabbing breath sporadically to fuel your conversations.  You can put the breath into a structure. Try inhaling four counts, holding four counts, exhaling four counts, and holding four counts. This is a structure. Once you establish it, you can widen it, slow it down, change the rhythm in order to affect a change.

Creating a structure with the breath or in yoga postures will entrain the body to find space. To me the breath feels like water, moving freely throughout the body and tissues. Yogic breathing can bring you to a more relaxed state of mind; it can open you to consciousness itself.  

Create Right Relationships for Space in Healing

This will in turn bring spaciousness in the body, with food, with relationships, and so on. Yoga is about finding and establishing right relationship. If you are doing a lot of yoga and your relationships are not harmonious, then you haven’t yet begun your work. Find right relationship to self (how to care for mind and body), right relationship to others (how to care for friends, family), and right relationship to Source (how to allow partnership with soul or spirit).

Find right relationship with the Earth, including how much you throw away, how much you discard as being unworthy, how much you give back, how much you replenish.  In all this, we’re looking for space because space is the first ingredient for healing.

We all want more space but we don’t give the old outdated energy a way to leave. You can’t hold onto old paradigms and simultaneously invite the new. For example, with the cancer patients I have worked with, as various congested areas start to transform, it is important to give the energy a way to go out.

Once the old goes, there’s a new space. What are you going to fill it with?  Bring in new ideas, paradigms, energy. Coherent energy: Geometric, sacred, symmetrical, beautiful, Fibonacci style algorithms. Spacious, divine things that feel good, things that are inclusive. Flow like nature flows.  

Wah!’s book Healing: a Vibrational Exchange explores ways you can find more space and healing in your life. Purchase Healing: a Vibrational Exchange here. 

Wah!

Wah! has been making music for the yoga world for 25 years and published books on yoga and healing. Wah! teaches women’s leadership training, sound healing workshops, yoga teacher training, and performs Healing Concerts in planetariums and theaters across the country.

wahmusic.com

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Julian Walker

When I took my first yoga class at Ana Forrest’s Santa Monica studio in 1992, I was quite proud of my straddle splits. I had been working with my genetically inflexible body for the previous three years in a home practice sourced from a library book, combined with some martial arts training I had picked up London—and I thought I was pretty darn impressive. That is, until the teacher—who I recognized from my childhood watching American television in South Africa as the actress who had shot J.R. on Dallas—guided us into a variation of pigeon pose.

I’ll never forget that first moment of intense burning tightness, and the feeling state of confusion and fear as I found myself in this new experience. My lateral hip rotators had simply never been stretched!

Worse still, I wanted to cry. Immediately. In front of one of my teenage TV crushes.

I was no longer a masterful egoic ninja showing off my splits. This was pure out-of-control vulnerability. It brought me directly back to the experience of being 12 years old and back in Johannesburg bending over the desk of our headmaster’s office as he prepared to punish me. I knew this would entail a thin and flexible wooden cane whipping across my buttocks six times. We called it “six of the best.”

Whether or not you have ever been subject to corporal punishment, you may be nodding along here, recognizing the similarity in the intensity of your first encounter with the relationship between yoga postures and the emotions-in-the-body.

The practice of yoga, with its tools of mindful present attention, self-compassion and breath, and the intention to grow, heal and become more free, will inevitably lead us to come up against the constrictions that trauma creates in our bodies and minds.

Perhaps it is helpful to share the standard dictionary definition of trauma: “A deeply distressing or disturbing experience.” A trauma can be any overwhelming experience that leaves an imprint on how we react to life. As such, trauma limits our ability to be present, to feel resilient, worthwhile and empowered. It blocks our ability to respond in fluid and self-aware ways to our world and to one another. On the yoga mat, the practice of being present with ourselves through shifting postures, breath patterns, thoughts, and emotional reactions can bring us face-to-face or body-to-body with unresolved traumas. I would argue, in fact, that if the practice is effective, this is inevitable.

Since my own experience in the first few years of my practice, I have been fascinated with studying this phenomenon. I have committed to doing deep healing work on myself and I have supported many others in healing their own trauma through the vehicle of yoga practice.

Our modern understanding of how yoga can be meaningful in addressing trauma is augmented by newer fields of study including somatic psychology and neuroscience. Yet these are not new ideas: both the Buddha and Patanjali discussed how the inner work of bringing awareness and compassion to kleshas (the perceptions and obstacles in the mind) and samskaras (patterns laid down by old experiences) can interrupt how old experiences and perceptions color our present time.

Scientific evidence is building up to confirm that the patterns sages observed through meditation relate to nervous system’s pathways; unaddressed, these pathways can still carry the associations of past events that were overwhelming or distressing.

Emotions, memories of traumatic experiences, and patterns of physical tension are all related. For most people, effectively traveling the path of embodied liberation that yoga represents will at some point include facing their own personal demons on the mat.

Even though yoga teachers usually don’t have the tools, education, or intentions of a psychotherapist, they still have responsibility to be aware that the arising of traumatic material on the yoga mat is a common occurrence. In fact, this may even be part of the work that emerges when people are guided into being present, reflecting on their lives, and observing the flow of embodied experience. The yoga room may be a place where healing of traumatic patterns takes place.

In this light here are some suggestions to support this healing potential:

Yoga students: Know that everyone needs healing in some way. Your practice is an opportunity to develop compassion for yourself and others; compassion is precious commodity to cultivate as life can be hard and painful. Allow the energies of bliss, empowerment, community, and gratitude that arise in yoga to come into contact with the places where you are wounded and your growth will truly soar!

Yoga teachers: Keep doing your own inner work. The more teachers continue to heal and grow, the more there is to offer students. The less judgment, denial, or ego teachers have around our own imperfections and vulnerability, the more students will intuitively feel safe to open up authentically in the space that teachers hold.

This can be tricky in a yoga culture that often expresses an unrealistic ideal of empowerment and positivity that can run counter to a compassionate understanding of trauma. As teachers we may be repeating some of these ideas and beliefs in an authoritative way, just because they are so ubiquitous in spiritual culture, and also because they can often serve a kind of defensive protection against acknowledging the reality that bad things can and do happen to good people.

Chief among these is the idea that attention on the present moment means that any thoughts about the past or future are wrong, illusory, or unspiritual.

Perhaps it is helpful to reframe: Being present does not mean disconnecting from our lives or feelings. Being present can include becoming aware of how we are affected by the past. Gaining mindful insight about the origin of our reactions and feelings supports healing and integration.

The popular New Age idea that no one is ever victimized because we all create our own reality may for some people feel empowering and metaphysically valid. But in healing trauma, there is a value to consciously honoring the feelings of in fact having been unfairly treated, violated, and harmed through no fault of our own.  

Feelings of helplessness around such events is natural as are moments of deep grief, fear or anger. Healing happens when we find the safety and support to be with these feelings as they are, and then move through them —discovering resilience, self-compassion, and dignity in the process.

Creating a safe space includes not confusing students in those vulnerable moments with statements that may inadvertently imply that those feelings are wrong or shameful.

Our language as teachers can either shame, minimize or deny the reality of trauma and difficult emotions, or it can normalize, encourage compassion and support our students in being authentically present in ways that promote healing.

Acknowledging inner work as a process. It will contain the full spectrum of sensations, feelings, and thoughts; it does not impose a preconceived ideal or belief system.

Some of the following cues can support holding space for inner work:

“Bring breath and compassionate presence to whatever shows up in your practice today.”

“Come as you are, work with what is, and honor the journey that brings you into the room.”

As I say in most of my classes, any time we come together to practice, there are people who are grieving, celebrating, in love, heart-broken, disillusioned, or even inspired. All life involves change and transition and in community, we take turns experiencing the facets of the human condition. They are all felt in the body. Some of them are traumatic. Some of those feelings may surprise us in the middle of a pose, even if we have practiced many times before. Holding all of it in a non-judging, compassionate awareness is the heart of a yoga that heals.

Julian Walker is a yoga and meditation teacher, bodyworker and ecstatic dance facilitator in LA. He is co-founder of the Awakened Heart, Embodied Mind yoga teacher training: ahemyogateachertraining.com.

Julian Walker

Julian Walker is a yoga and meditation teacher, bodyworker and ecstatic dance facilitator in LA. He is co-founder of the Awakened Heart, Embodied Mind yoga teacher training: ahemyogateachertraining.com.

www.ahemyogateachertraining.com

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by John Sahakian C.Ht. ERYT

photo by David Young-Wolff

Whether we smile or frown, laugh or scowl, approach our lives with wide-eyed wonderment, or bitter tears, our faces are almost always active. Day in and day out, our facial expressions can have a powerful effect on our lives. It doesn’t matter if we’re communicating feelings such as happiness or anger, reacting to the facial expressions of others, or responding to stimuli in our environment, our face is a gateway for emotional energy. With a relaxation practice that directs our attention toward this part of our body we can experience relief from the demands of life and restore a sense of peace and well-being that will be felt on the inside – and be visible on the outside.

The stress reaction of muscular tension in the face and its consequences is not unlike the stress reaction in other parts of the body. A primitive and natural response to danger, fear triggers the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system modifying our blood chemistry, affecting distribution of blood, and potentially saving us from harm’s way. This life saving function is rarely needed in the modern world because its purpose is to help us during actual physical threats in the wild. We frequently use fear unintentionally to combat psychological attacks instead of physical ones. Evidently, it is difficult for our body/nervous system to make out the difference between a predatory beast and a job interview, or other psychological stressor.

The first steps in letting go of tension are to accept that there is nothing to fear and that it’s more helpful for us to be calm in any given situation. This might be easy in theory, but changing a primitive response designed to keep us alive requires a diligent practice in awareness. Just remember — the practice of reducing tension is cumulative and builds on itself to gently coax our nervous system into more frequent states of safety and homeostasis, or balance.

Studies show that we tend to wait until we are suffering from the effects of stress before we take action. The practices of Downward Face (see below) are recommended not only for recuperating from the adverse effects of stress, they can also serve as preventative medicine by helping to better manage the unconscious emotional reactions that create tension in the first place. By repeatedly catching ourselves when the stress response is activated in the face, we begin to accept that it’s not always necessary to be afraid of something that only threatens us psychologically. Additionally, knowing that we have the power to choose healthy responses to life’s challenges could even inspire us to use our facial muscles to smile more often, which research has shown can have a positive influence on others and improve our experience of life.

Regardless of how you feel right now, try taking a few minutes to practice Downward Face. Mindfully follow these simple steps and remind yourself that awareness without judgment is key.

The first part of the practice delivers more blood flow into your face to stimulate the muscles. The second part of the practice focuses on relaxing the face through the use of focused attention.

Practice Downward Face: Restorative Facial Yoga

Sit or lie down in a comfortable position, close your eyes, and take a long deep breath.

While you take three more slow, deep breaths, use the tip of your tongue to massage the inside of your mouth and push the skin outward all the way around in front of your teeth, behind your cheeks, and even along roof of your mouth. Include the soft tissue in the massage below your tongue and behind your front teeth, as well. After your third breath, simply relax the face and tongue and notice what you feel.

As you continue to consciously take slow, deep breaths, open your mouth and eyes as wide as possible. Keeping your eyes stretched wide open, very slowly lower and raise just your eyelids a few times.

Let the breath settle, but continue to be aware of it and close your eyes again. Use your fingertips to softly and lightly tap all over your face and forehead repeatedly, like a spider scampering over your skin.

Keeping your eyes closed, rest your awareness at the center of the top of your head. Be aware of your breath, allowing it to move naturally and with ease.  

At a snail’s pace, move your attention down the front of your face, beginning at the forehead and temples, then to the middle of the forehead over the eyebrows, then finally rest your awareness at the third eye between your eyebrows. Linger there for three to five breaths with the intention for your face to be passive, neutral, and inactive.

Continue to move your attention around the eye sockets, repeating the suggestion silently in your mind for your face to be passive, neutral, and inactive, while relaxing the eye muscles.

Slowly move your awareness around your nose and cheek muscles, relaxing the jaw, tongue, and top and bottom of your lips, inside and out, still maintaining the attitude of being passive, neutral, and inactive.

Take your time, as you move your awareness around the chin, dropping down to the throat, allowing it to be passive, neutral and inactive.

Conclude your practice with a nice long, comfortable breath and notice how relaxed your face feels. Turn your attention to the feeling in the rest of the body. Enjoy the experience of simply being.

Practice the restorative yoga of Downward Face as often as you’d like to release the habitual tension that builds up in your face to promote balance, peace, and harmony. You might find yourself frowning less and smiling more.

John Sahakian C.Ht., ERYT is a clinical hypnotherapist who conducts workshops on stress management. He is the creator of The 3-Minute Cure and the founder of the Clinic for Integrative Mindfulness and Stress Reduction in West Los Angeles. He is also known to teach some yoga, and he finds a sense of balance and connection to the breath and nature while surfing. threecircleflow.com; johnsahakian.com.

John Sahakian

John Sahakian is a Clinical Hypnotherapist and Counselor and sees clients daily for all stress related issues, via Skype, Facetime, Whatsapp, and in his west Los Angeles office. This article is based on the short film “Into Being,” featuring John and his son Bodhi, and was a winner at the Patagonia Short Film Festival. Please visit: www.johnsahakian.com

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Yoga teacher, Yoga House Pasadena co-founder and co-owner Farzaneh Noori thought the following when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009, “I was shocked. I thought, ‘Here I am with a healthful lifestyle, a strict regimen of advanced yoga, daily meditation and a simple, wholesome diet–how could I have cancer?’ Once I got over the disbelief, my attention turned to how I could deal with this and move forward.”

Throughout 2010, Farzaneh Noori was immersed in the process of cancer treatment, which for her included a bilateral mastectomy and a course of radiation. During that time her body went through myriad changes, so much so that she says, “At first I felt like I couldn’t do anything.” The feeling in her arm was affected, it was often numb, and her typical range of motion had decreased dramatically. Yet, practice still offered solace, however modified. “I never stopped doing yoga, but I started working with it differently, incorporating more restorative practices to restore the range of motion. And I used the breathing and pranayama practices to calm myself down.”

The use of simple practices to cultivate equilibrium for people with a cancer diagnosis and/or going through treatment cannot be underestimated. As Farzaneh says, “Until I went through it myself, I didn’t realize just how much fear can come up and just how significant anxiety can be for people going through this kind of dramatic event in their lives.” She sees it in others, too, “When a novice someone comes into a yoga class for the first time, I immediately notice the fear in their eyes,” Farzaneh says, “My family and friends were really present for me, which was a blessing,but yoga was there as a restorative practice beyond medication.” When she was in the hospital throughout her surgeries, even when she couldn’t move her torso at all, she incorporated whatever yoga she could, including meditation, the breath, and even flexing and pointing her feet, to prevent stagnation and move prana, the subtle energy of the body.

When Farzaneh wondered, “How do people who don’t have yoga in their lives deal with this?” she took action. Supported in the idea by Yoga House Pasadena co-founder and co-owner Bruce Schwartz, she introduced  weekly Therapeutic Yoga for Cancer classes  at the studio with six students in February 2012.

In the beginning, she put up flyers at cancer treatment centers in the Pasadena area. Now, between 25-30 students consistently attend the free weekly class, students who are often referred by their oncologists or surgeons. In fact, Farzaneh says that her medical team was so impressed with the speed and quality of her own recovery as a result of yoga that they now send their patients to the class. The Wednesday 11am class is offered free-of-charge in recognition of their increased individual and family financial burden.

One way to lift this burden (even energetically) is through a practice that, as Farzaneh says, allows people a breath of fresh air—literally. She frequently begins class with a long restorative pose accompanied by instructions in pranayama or breathing techniques. The idea is to encourage people to connect to an internal peaceful rhythm rather than ending up being pushed around by anxiety and fear. Through the breath practice, Farzaneh’s intention is to guide people to find the place of internal equanimity, loving-kindness, joy, and compassion. This experience allows people to feel the truth of their being, that they are more than their physical body, although that is also an important part of Farzaneh’s practice. Her sequencing of yoga poses is designed to address the effects of lymphedema and neuropathy. Farzaneh’s hope is that during class students can reach within themselves and find the serenity that will give them strength throughout their course of treatment.

The serenity and strength can also come from the opportunity to be in community with people going through a similar experience who are able to support each other in the process of healing.

Yoga can also help people who are going through cancer treatment manage their own energy. At best, people may be fatigued; more likely, they are exhausted. Farzaneh says that after receiving radiation, her energy would be sapped, and she would find herself laying down in savasana (supine relaxation) and meditating on the energy within herself. Even with yoga, Farzaneh said it took her two years for her energy to come back to the level it was before cancer treatment. She encourages people to do what they can and to be present to what is.

Something happens when people are in the present moment. At the end of class, Farzaneh notes the calm in the eyes that were once fearful. It is a present-moment experience that she says is her greatest reward as a teacher.

Farzaneh reports that students plan their week around the class. For her, she says teaching this on an ongoing basis is both a tangible reflection of her gratitude as well as a rewarding practice that helps her to grow as a teacher.

When Farzeneh speaks both about being cancer-free and the community at Yoga House, she often repeats the word “gratitude.”

Her love of introducing people to the practice in moments that are meaningful for them stems in part from the impact yoga made in her own life. She took her very first yoga class at what was at the time Center for Yoga on Larchmont Avenue in Los Angeles, and she laughs when she says it was, “so many years ago” when she was pregnant with her daughter.

Her daughter is now 27 and Farzaneh remains hooked on the practice. Yoga not only helped her during her pregnancy; Farzaneh says that yoga helped her find a sense of her own balance, particularly straddling two cultures as a Persian woman living in Los Angeles. And, whatever her students’ stories, whatever they are seeking to find within themselves that they may not even know they are seeking, Farzaneh serves as a compassionate guide.

For more information on Farzaneh Noori and the Therapeutic Yoga for Cancer program at Yoga House in Pasadena, visit yogahouse.com.

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

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Photo of Garth Hewitt by Jeff Skeirik/Rawtographer

Start your day with Sun Salutations and connect with your inner light.

The sun is a frequent symbol in yoga of the inner light that is in each of us, representing what we are trying to awaken in ourselves. Saluting the sun in our practice connects us to this inner light.

Many teachers and traditions value this practice as a way to begin a session or even as a stand-alone practice. In his book, The Practice Manual, renowned Ashtangi David Swenson encourages students who only have a few minutes to just do sun salutations. During several trainings with my teacher Sri Dharma Mittra, we would often flow through several rounds of sun salutations early in the morning followed by a seated pranayama and meditation. The sun salutations warm the body, prepare the mind to concentrate, and can deepen and slow down the breath, encouraging us to relax.

When I was in training with another of my teachers, Srivasta Ramaswami, he shared a story with us of a possible origin of the sun salutations. We are all born into this world owing three debts. (One translation of the word for sun in Sanskrit is debt.) The first debt we owe is to our parents for providing our soul with a vehicle so we can travel through this life. We pay back this debt by honoring our parents. The second debt we owe is to the sun for the light and energy it brings into our world. We pay back this debt by bowing down every morning and thanking the sun. The third debt we owe is to our teachers, their teachers and the original teachers, who gave us the practices we do in yoga. We pay back this debt by being good students, honoring our teachers, and passing on the knowledge.

The next time you practice sun salutations, consider the debt you owe to the sun. Offer your heart up. Then, bow down and say thank you. Offer gratitude. Move with intention. Match the movement of your body to the movement of your breath. Close your eyes. Concentrate on your heart and visualize the sun there. Imagine this light is within you; imagine you are this light. Take your time; you can’t rush a thank you.

Thanking the sun each day shifts our perspective through the practice of gratitude. Practicing gratitude can help to release our attachment to the ego and the desires of the mind. The intentional practice of gratitude is a powerful practice of yoga. Practicing gratitude is practicing yoga.

Staff Writer Lakshmi

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Tom Valencia practicing yoga. Photo by Robert Sturman (robertsturmanstudio.com)

6 ways to create yoga classes for people of all abilities and body types

It was 1995. It was the second yoga class I ever taught. I remember it vividly because it was terrifying; it was a beginning level class, and in walked a woman who was probably in her 80s with her leg in a brace. The butterflies already racing around that my stomach did an extra flip.

I decided that all I could do was teach the basic class I had been trained to teach and pray for help. Once we got started I saw that she had a very advanced practice, and I realized that she didn’t need me at all. In fact, she was teaching me a valuable lesson: Don’t make assumptions about people’s abilities or experience levels based on their outward appearance.

This eye-opening experience, and the fact that my best friend was very sick with AIDS, led me to start teaching Yoga classes for the HIV/AIDS community in San Francisco. My interest grew as I saw the dedication of my students with disabilities and chronic illness. Many of them embraced Yoga as a source of healing—not always a physical healing, but a radical personal healing that offered a deep peace. They inspired me to dig deeper in my personal practice and to consider innovative ways to open the doors to Yoga.

Yoga teachers want to serve their students to the best of their abilities. But, we don’t all receive clear training in how to make our classes user-friendly for people of all abilities and body types. Here are some ideas that might help:

1. See all students as equals. We often hear the expression, “We are one.” As teachers we can put this teaching into practice by seeing that spark of the Divine in each student. On a simple level, this means saying hello to each student and looking them in the eye, giving each student equal attention during class, and seeing beyond the physical body to respect each person regardless of their physical appearance or ability.
2. Open the door for all students. Keep your mind open to each student’s potential. If a student is unable to do a pose the way you are teaching it, consider it a challenge for you! In my experience, advanced Yoga teachers are the ones who can make a pose—or any Yoga practice—work for every student who comes to them. The more physically limited a student is, the more creative the teacher can be. This may mean asking the student to collaborate with you in finding a form that works—or trying a few different variations of a pose to see what’s most effective.
3. Move beyond right and wrong.  Identify your motivation for teaching Yoga. Are we teaching gymnastics or cultivating an inner connection? When we consider all the amazing benefits of asana practice can we really say that someone is doing a pose wrong? Perhaps the only wrong way to do a pose is a way that causes injury. For some students with chronic illness or a disability, simply getting out of the house and coming to class is a great achievement that can be celebrated.
4. Break down the pose. Asana can increase energy flow, improve digestion through abdominal massage, lengthen the spine, calm the mind, and so much more. If a pose is too challenging for your students, consider breaking it down into parts according to its benefits. For example, a seated forward bend (Paschimottanasana) offers a stretch to the hamstrings as well as an inward surrender. For students who struggle in this pose, consider offering Staff Pose (Dandasana) for a hamstring stretch, and Child’s Pose (Balasana) for the experience of surrender. By breaking poses down by their benefits we can work towards offering all students the experience of a full and effective practice.
5. Inspiration instead of competition. Generally, when teaching we offer a form of a pose to the whole class, and then if an individual student is struggling we offer them a “modification.” Consider a different approach: teach the whole class a modified form of a pose, then offer individual students other variations. Or, offer a few different variations of a pose and have the students choose which they want to practice. Remember, students want to please you and can be competitive, so they will often try to do the most challenging form you offer. Be conscious of your language in suggesting that one variation is more “advanced” than another. What is “advanced” Yoga anyway? My teacher, Swami Satchidananda, used to say that “Yoga is not just standing on your head, as many people think, but learning how to stand on your own two feet.”
6. An invitation to practice. Sangha, spiritual community, is the most important element in our spiritual practice. Building a community that is welcoming to students of all abilities is a wonderful way to support them—but this is just a start. Actively seeking out students of different abilities is the way to invite everyone to practice. This invitation can be reflected in your marketing materials as well as your language. Even in the intention that you set for your teaching practice, you can envision yourself serving all students equally, and sharing the blessing of Yoga with everyone who is interested.

The Second Annual Accessible Yoga Conference will be held September 16-18, 2016 at the Santa Barbara Yoga Center. This is an opportunity to study with senior adaptive Yoga teachers from around the world. accessibleyoga.org.

Jivana Heyman

Jivana Heyman is the founder and director of Accessible Yoga, an international non-profit organization dedicated to increasing access to the yoga teachings. Accessible Yoga offers Conferences, Trainings and a popular Ambassador program. He’s the author of the upcoming book, Accessible Yoga: Poses and Practices for Every Body (Shambhala Publications, November 2019), co-owner of the Santa Barbara Yoga Center, and an Integral Yoga Minister. Jivana has specialized in teaching yoga to people with disabilities and out of this work, the Accessible Yoga organization was created to support education, training, and advocacy with the mission of shifting the public perception of yoga.

www.accessibleyoga.org%20

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For D’Lita Miller, her yoga practice helped cope with years of pent-up anger and aggression.  In this case, Miller’s emotional backlog is because she is a survivor of human trafficking, a situation that is unfortunately an issue today for people around the world.  Many like Miller are finding that yoga therapy is a powerful tool for releasing symptoms of depression and trauma; psychologists are recommending the practice and researchers are confirming what yoga therapists already know.  In her words, Miller says her yoga practice “allows for an exchange of energy” — an exchange in which she feels the positive, transformative energy that was missing from her life for 15 years.

During that stretch of time, D’Lita was trapped; a victim of human trafficking, a situation from which she freed herself after two pivotal events.  First, and what woke her up to the gravity of her situation, was that she came across a letter written by her daughter to her higher power asking for help for her mother.  Second, and even more shocking, D’Lita discovered her youngest daughter was being trafficked.  This motivated Miller to escape her trafficker, along with her children.  D’Lita’s story of trauma and healing is becoming more common: yogic practices as sources of positive energy that promote healing from post-traumatic stress.

Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery where trafficking victims are exploited for labor of commercial sex purposes by means of force, fraud or coercion, according to the U.S. Department of State.  One reason human trafficking is prevalent in the United States is related to our 1.7 million teenage runaways.  Many of these teens end up in the hand of a trafficker (a pimp), who makes them promises such as shelter.

Many trafficked youth, even girls younger than 14, are wrongfully arrested on prostitution charges (a minor cannot consent to having sex).  At Central Juvenile Hall in Los Angeles, UpRising Yoga facilitates classes for incarcerated youth.  They’ve found that many of these young people have experienced trauma so founder and director Jill Ippolito and her team of trained instructors utilize yoga to encourage the youth in these programs to build strength and resilience internally as well as externally.

The statistics worldwide are both tragic and eye-opening; Unlikely Heroes, a nonprofit advocacy and education organization, has gathered these numbers:

• 27 million people are trapped in slavery today.

• $28 billion is generated from commercial sexual exploitation, making it one of the most lucrative crimes in the world.

• 100,000 children are sexually exploited in the U.S. each year.

Unlikely Heros valiantly provides safe houses for child victims, including in Mexico, the Philippines, and Thailand.  Founder Erica Greve and her team incorporate yoga along with other sports and physical activities for the people they serve.  Erica says she has seen yoga make a difference in the attitudes, sleep patterns, and emotional regulation of Unlikely Heroes’ clients.  Program Director Norielle Aurelio states that for the past three years, Unlikely Heroes’ Mexico home has trained instructors, who help lead the survivors on a path to healing and holistic physical activity.  With her highly trained team, Erica says that they endeavor “to give every child the component to restore their lives for wellbeing and healing.”

Melissa Grace Hoon (Meera) is the founder of Inner Awakening Writing Center (based in Orange County) as well as an anti-sex trafficking specialist and a state-certified peer counselor.  She joined the fight against human trafficking in 2011 after serving as a mentor at a home for abandoned, abused, and neglected children in South Africa, many of whom were victims of sexual abuse.  Through Inner Awakening, she teaches therapeutic journaling workshops to survivors of abuse, including sex trafficking.  She sees journaling as a form of yoga therapy; her therapeutic journaling workshops are spiritually focused, with attention on swadhyaya (self-study), the fourth niyama of Patanjali’s eight limbs of yoga.  Journaling is a profound method for recovery from trauma.  “Writing helps string pieces of fragmented memory together, allowing the survivor to form a full or nearly full memory ready for processing and healing,” says Melissa.  “Workshop participants meditate to cultivate calmness, clarity, and a safe inner space in preparation for writing.  They meditate afterward to restore the balance of emotions that may have been agitated during the writing process.”  As yoga therapist and International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) board member Dr. Amy Wheeler states, the yoga therapist is present without judgment or expectation and they serve an important role sharing tools for people recovering from PTSD.

Another example is found in the work of Dr. Richard  Miller, developer of iRest (Integrative Restoration), who currently uses the adapted relaxation practices of Yoga Nidra to aid in the recovery of survivors of sex trafficking in the United States and India.   He says, “iRest aids practitioners in recognizing their underlying peace of mind that is always present amidst all changing circumstances in life.”  Dr. Miller has also worked alongside Academy Award-winning director Jeffrey Brown on his new feature film Sold.  Based on the novel by Patricia McCormick, Sold is the story of 13-year-old girl who journey from a village to a brothel house in India.  Brown’s film posits that human trafficking is an enormous and complicated criminal act since worldwide, pimps and traffickers are working below the radar.  The film calls to action global activism against sexual slavery.

Although organizations such an Unlikely Heroes, UpRising Yoga, iRest, Inner Awakening Writing Center, and others are focused on combating the issues of human trafficking, it still remains a human rights issue.  Now that D’Lita is living a life of freedom and dignity, she has embarked on the mission to spread awareness about resources available to people who have been enslaved by human trafficking.  We, took can support initiatives to raise awareness and resources available to people who have been enslaved by human trafficking.  We, too, can support initiatives to raise awareness to prevent, identify, help people heal, and ultimately end this epidemic.

Amanda Ridder is a senior at Cal State San Bernardino majoring in English, and will be pursuing her master’s degree in Journalism at Northeastern University in Boston this fall.

Staff Writer Lakshmi

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Teaching Yoga One on One DVD with Julie Carmen

Years ago, a friend invited me to take a yoga class with Julie Carmen at Exhale in Venice since we were both yoga teachers and actors as well as mental health professionals. I went in not knowing what to expect, and left feeling both exhilarated and grateful, because I knew Julie is truly a teacher’s teacher.

Julie’s latest DVD, Teaching Yoga One on One, exemplifies this. Her extensive knowledge and experience as a yoga therapist, teacher, and psychotherapist, along with her compassionate being, is inspirational.

Teaching Yoga One on One was shot in real time, giving the viewer the sense of being present in the jungle with the teachings. The DVD was filmed on the Costa Rican Nicoya Peninsula (at the Sanctuary of Two Rivers_, where three families were on retreat with Julie. It rained incessantly throughout the week, leading to everyone staying inside the yoga studio treehouse where spontaneous filming took place. The 108 minutes are divided into 15 chapters of varying lengths with sections including “Teaching Students with Depression”, “Teaching Students with Stress”, and “Teacher Self-Care.” We see how Julie makes assessments, demonstrates modifications, and engages all of the senses. This is a must-see for students in teacher training programs as well as experienced teachers who wish to increase their skills and sensitivity related to teaching students with underlying mental health considerations.

Reviewed by Dale Nieli MFT, RYT, a yoga teacher, personal trainer, and mental health professional.

Dale Nieli

Dale Nieli MSW, C-IAYT, CHT has a powerful gift for helping people discover sources of pain and stress, whether the source is physical, emotional, or spiritual. She is a compassionate transformational guide for people when they are in crisis points in their lives. Dale is skilled at facilitation with people at all stages of recovery, from those who are beginning their own path to those deepening their long-term sobriety. Her work allows people to release patterns of long-held tension that become lodged in the body, holding them back and often leading to symptoms such as fatigue, sleeplessness, and anxiety. Dale helps people remove these barriers to health in order to experience increased energy, enjoy sound sleep, and to feel peaceful, more at ease, and even full of joy.

In her work one-on-one and in groups, Dale uses her intuitive skills to help people integrate body, mind, and spirit in order to actualize their full potential. Some of the interconnected techniques she uses include the therapeutic application of yoga, trauma release work, somatic experiencing, vagus nerve regulation, psychoneuroenergetics, sound healing, user-friendly mindfulness meditation, aromatherapy, hypnotherapy and affirmations, pressure points and hands-on healing, breath training, therapeutic movement, energy work, intuitive healing, and mind-body fitness.

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International Association of Yoga Therapists Symposium on Yoga Therapy and Research

Some of the most engaging sessions at the International Association of Yoga Therapist’s annual Symposium on Yoga Therapy and Research (SYTAR) are the Common Interest Community (CIC) sessions where a number of people offer short presentations on related topics. The short lectures are modeled after TED talks and are designed to be engaging and spark group discussion and interaction.

Submissions are being accepted from now through February 23 for the following two sessions:

1. Rehab Professionals: Bridging the Past with the Future (chaired by Staffan Elgelid and Matthew Taylor)

2. Mental, Emotional, and Spiritual Health (chaired by Julie Carmen and Michael Lee)

For more information, call 928-541-0004, visit iayt.org or log on to the CIC and visit the workshop page.

Photos by: Gabriel C. Perez

Staff Writer Lakshmi

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Staff Writer Lakshmi

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After pursuing yoga teacher training and then gaining some experience, some people decide to embark on a course to prepare to become a yoga therapist. The International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) is the professional organization for yoga therapists. IAYT offers the following items of consideration for prospective students:

1. Shop carefully and purposefully before digging a deep well. It will take an investment in time, energy, and scarce funds to find the right program for you.
2. Log on to the IAYT site and search the “Find a Member School” function to locate schools near you, and throughout the world, to begin the tasks of learning more about a wide variety of training programs.
3. The International Association of Yoga Therapists provides resources for members including publications for people interested in gaining a professional perspective on the field of yoga therapy.
4. Do your research. Peruse school’s websites to see what a wide variety of leading training programs are like, even if you are only looking for a school close to you. There are advantages to different types of programs.
5. Attend professional conferences to meet a number of people in a short amount of time. Conferences provide a wide exposure to the many different ways people are actively working as yoga therapists, such as in structural, physiological, psychological and/or spiritual realms and both individually and in integrative health care institutions.
6. Once you have begun to narrow your choices, attend a weekend or introductory session with one or more different programs to gain a deeper perspective on their program and their teachers. Make sure you resonate with the teachers, their underlying approach to yoga and the school’s teaching methodology. Ask for referrals and speak to current and former students.
7. Last but certainly not least, for individuals seriously interested in a professional career as a yoga therapist, consider a program that has obtained, or is in the process of, seeking IAYT accreditation. Accreditation is an important step in the professional development of this field. Graduates of IAYT accredited programs will be eligible to apply for IAYT certification as a yoga therapist.

John Kepner

www.iayt.org%20

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By Dale Nieli

During the first workshop I ever took with Richard Miller, I entered a state of consciousness that I had never before experienced. Having known Richard both personally and professionally throughout the years, I can tell you that his personal life and what he teaches are the same; he is one of the most trusted and respected yoga teachers in the world today. Richard is known for being the co-founder of the renowned non-profit International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) as well as the developer of iRest, a modern-day application of the deep yogic meditation practice of Yoga Nidra.

Can you explain iRest?

Richard Miller:  iRest is a modern-day adaptation of the very ancient meditation practice of Yoga Nidra that dates back thousands of years. I’ve traced it back as early as 4500 BC in its rudimentary form. The practice focuses on helping a person gather their attention, develop their concentration, proactively learn how to meet, greet, and welcome all of their body sensations, emotions, and thoughts, and be in relationship with themselves as a human being. It also supports them to experience their interconnectedness, not just with themselves, but with the entire universe. iRest is essentially a practice that awakens the qualities of love, kindness, caring, and compassion at all levels of our humanity.

How is iRest different from Yoga Nidra?

Richard Miller: iRest, as a modern adaptation, differs from classical Yoga Nidra in several ways. When I learned Yoga Nidra, I was teaching primarily to people who were showing up for my yoga classes and who wanted to learn meditation. Over the years I became interested in reaching a wider, more secular population. I began to adapt the classical form of yoga nidra by dropping the archetypal imagery of India. Instead of imposing images, colors, or forms on people, I began to ask my students what they were experiencing when they brought their attention to various parts of their body, or their emotions, or their thoughts. I began to teach yoga nidra as a deep form of self-inquiry to help people deeply contact themselves. As I started working with populations that included active duty and veterans with PTSD, as well as folks in homeless shelters, and addiction and recovery centers, I began adding various components to the classical practice. For instance, the classical yoga nidra begins with an intention, called a Sankalpa. I split this single intention into three aspects:

1. Our intention(s) for a particular practice of yoga nidra.
2. Our intention(s) for our life.
3. An Inner Resource, our intention or felt-sense of well-being and safety within.

This third aspect, the Inner Resource, I found to be particularly helpful with individuals who’ve experienced some sort of trauma. For as we progress deeper into the practice, we are able to relate to disturbing thoughts or emotions from an inner sanctuary of safety, security and ease of being.

What was happening in your life when you first encountered the practice of yoga nidra?

Richard Miller: It was when I first moved to San Francisco from the East Coast in 1970. As a way of meeting people I took a yoga class. At the end of the first class the teacher taught a rudimentary form of Yoga Nidra, during which I experienced a deep connection with myself and the feeling of being at one with the entire universe. This experience had a deep, profound impact where I felt like I came home to myself. In my teenage years, I’d experienced a lot of depression and separation, and this moment in yoga nidra brought me home myself, which in turn set me on this path of deeply inquiring into this practice of Yoga Nidra.

How would you describe this state of consciousness that iRest facilitates?

Richard Miller: When we look at the research we’ve been doing with iRest, as well as research on meditation in general, when we do Yoga Nidra, a number of things are happening: Your natural opiates such as serotonin and oxytocin are being stimulated in your brain and throughout your body, which produces a natural high and feeling of joy and well-being. We see places in your brain, which create your sense of self, self-narrative and self-criticism, that a friend of mine, Gary Weber, calls “The blah blah blah network” and others refer to as the “default network,”, go off-line. These parts of the brain calm down and self-referential thinking stops. At the same time, other parts of your brain which form the “present centered network” come online. These areas are involved with creative thinking and insight. So with yoga nidra your self-narrative slows down and creativity and insight come alive. We also see your brain turn on reparative and restorative processes throughout your body that help boost your immune system, increase your overall sense of well-being and joy, reduce stress-related symptoms of PTSD, and support you to have restful sleep at night.

DN: In your work with veterans how does iRest affect trauma or PTSD?

Richard Miller: A lot of people, especially military, have a skeptical view of meditation and yoga nidra. When we present the science behind the practice, it helps them bridge the gap from skepticism to a willingness to experience yoga nidra and experience the first-hand effect of it themselves. One of the best answers I can give to your question comes from a recent experience I had at VA center (Veterans Administration). I was asked to deliver an iRest class to veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI). These are severely injured and often profoundly depressed veterans who are receiving treatment as inpatients for six to nine months or more. I taught an iRest Yoga Nidra class with a group of them, and at the end, one of the fellows, when I asked for reflections said, “I feel like I just came home.” This is a report I hear a lot as a result of people experiencing iRest. The practice is helping them heal through terrible wounds and memories. We know that one of the effects of PTSD is that leaves people to feel disconnected from themselves and from the world around them. During Yoga Nidra, these folks start to feel reconnected to themselves and the world around them and experience the feeling of finally coming home from the war, to themselves, their families, and daily life.

What suggestions would you have for beginners?

Richard Miller: Starting a practice, like any journey, begins with an intention. Write down your intention for why you want to take up this practice, what you’d like to take away from it, and how you’d like it to impact your daily life. Then take up the initial practices of learning to sense and rotate your attention through your body. As you move into experiencing sensation, your thinking slows down and that alone can have a deeply restorative and relaxing effect. Take up the practice slowly and incrementally. As you enjoy body sensing, learn how to weave in various breathing interventions, and then learn how to work with your emotions and thoughts, and develop a deep sense of joy and well-being. Yoga Nidra begins with that first intention and then, step-by-step, learning to create a daily practice. Begin with a few minutes and build incrementally. It also is important to find a well-trained teacher and to have guided audio to support your practice.

What would you like to see for the future of iRest?

I would love to see every yoga and meditation teacher having learned iRest or other forms of Yoga Nidra, and weaving elements of the practice into their classes. I’d like people who otherwise wouldn’t learn yoga nidra be able to experience it and understand how to weave the practice into their daily lives. I’d also like to see every hospital and VA center offering iRest as a supportive practice so that everyday people could experience the effectiveness of it in their lives for health, healing and well-being.

How have you seen yoga therapy change over the years?

Yoga therapy is becoming more mainstream and people are searching it out as an alternative practice. When I began teaching in 1973, few people really understood yoga. Now, our challenge as teachers and yoga therapists is to showcase the deep efficacy and potency of yoga to the growing audience of people who want to practice, teach, or integrate it into their lives and professional settings. In the beginning there was little research available on asana, pranayama, and yoga nidra. I’ve made it my life’s work to keep adding to the research literature so that folks can see, “Hey, this isn’t,’Trust me,’ rather, yoga is something that deeply impacts people on all levels of the body, mind, and spirit.”

Along with yoga, meditation is becoming a mainstream affair for people. I want yoga teachers to deeply appreciate the tradition of yoga that they’re involved in and to incorporate meditation into every class they teach in one form or another. We have a rich tradition of meditation in the field of yoga. Yoga Nidra is a form of yogic meditation that enables teachers to offer a systematic and easily learned regimen of meditation for their students. iRest in particular, and Yoga Nidra in general, is simple to practice, yet profound and exquisite as a doorway into meditation. I don’t see how people can live without meditation because of the effect that it has on our well-being, joy, love, and interconnectedness with ourselves, in our relationships, and in how we relate to the world around us.

Learn more about Richard Miller, his teacher trainings and retreats at: www.irest.us

Richard is teaching his iRest Level I training at YogaWorks, October 1-5, 2014 and again March 22-26, 2015.

Dale Nieli

Dale Nieli MSW, C-IAYT, CHT has a powerful gift for helping people discover sources of pain and stress, whether the source is physical, emotional, or spiritual. She is a compassionate transformational guide for people when they are in crisis points in their lives. Dale is skilled at facilitation with people at all stages of recovery, from those who are beginning their own path to those deepening their long-term sobriety. Her work allows people to release patterns of long-held tension that become lodged in the body, holding them back and often leading to symptoms such as fatigue, sleeplessness, and anxiety. Dale helps people remove these barriers to health in order to experience increased energy, enjoy sound sleep, and to feel peaceful, more at ease, and even full of joy.

In her work one-on-one and in groups, Dale uses her intuitive skills to help people integrate body, mind, and spirit in order to actualize their full potential. Some of the interconnected techniques she uses include the therapeutic application of yoga, trauma release work, somatic experiencing, vagus nerve regulation, psychoneuroenergetics, sound healing, user-friendly mindfulness meditation, aromatherapy, hypnotherapy and affirmations, pressure points and hands-on healing, breath training, therapeutic movement, energy work, intuitive healing, and mind-body fitness.

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In an announcement that demonstrates the growing reach and professionalism of the field of Yoga Therapy, the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) announced the first set of 12 accredited yoga therapy training programs on June 7, 2014, in Austin, Texas, at it’s annual conference, the Symposium on Yoga Therapy and Research (SYTAR),

Although the definition of yoga therapy has been debated for many years  the board of directors of IAYT collectively decided on the following, “Yoga therapy is the process of empowering individuals to progress towards improved health and well being through the teachings and practice of Yoga,” said John Kepner, Executive Director of IAYT. The full version of the definition can be found the IAYT website as part of the Educational Standards for the Training of Yoga Therapists.

Schools around the world are represented in the first round of accreditation acceptance: Canada, New Zealand,, and the US. The list includes: Ajna Yoga Centre (Victoria, British Columbia), Ananda School of Yoga and Meditation (Nevada City, California), American Viniyoga Institute (Oakland, California), Essential Yoga Therapy (Falls City, Washington), Inner Peace Yoga Therapy (Durango, Colorado), Wellpark College of Natural Therapies (New Zealand), YATNA-Yoga as Therapy North America (San Francisco, California), YogaLife Institute (Devon, Pennsylvania), Yoga North International Soma Yoga Institute (Duluth, Minnesota), Yoga Qigong Academy (Toronto, Canada) Yoga Therapy RX LMU (Los Angeles, California), Yoga Therapy International (Vancouver, British Columbia). [your location description was not at all consistent.]

The IAYT is the only international professional yoga therapy organization granting accreditation in the emerging field of yoga therapy. This milestone, is a key step in the development of yoga as a recognized and respective therapy in integrative medicine. was the result  of five years of sustained work  and the coming together of many schools and traditions throughout the yoga therapy community.

In the press release distributed by IAYT, Kepner notes, “Our goal was to develop a system that was credible to both to those steeped in the yoga tradition and the many health care fields we work with – or, in other words, accountability with soul.”

IAYT received 36 applications since they began accepting them in 2013-2014. While twelve have been approved thus far, the others are currently in various states of the application and approval process. Schools had extensive paperwork to submit related to standards and curriculum. “While schools were free to teach principles consistent with their own yoga tradition, they were required to demonstrate that they taught, and assessed, all the competencies in the standards, and have qualified faculty to teach their curriculum,” said Hansa Knox, Chair of the Accreditation Committee, “Schools also had to show that they met modern standards for sound business practices for professional training programs.”

“Yoga therapy is here to stay”, said Dilip Sarkar, MD, president of the IAYT board of directors.  “It’s already a part of many integrative and lifestyle medicine programs around the world.  It’s safe and effective, and supported by growing body of conventional research”

The IAYT will begin accepting new applications for accreditation on October 15, 2014.

Moving forward, IAYT will follow a two-pillar regulation system. The accreditation of certain programs is the first pillar while the second will be certification of individual yoga therapists. Guidelines for what is expected of individual teachers – both new and previously certified – are in progress, and the estimated earliest release date is in 2015.

The entire list of programs that received accreditation and accreditation requirements can be found on the IAYT website at: iayt.org

Morgan Rogers

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