It’s all over the interweb.  This article from the New York Times, How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body, has got the yogis talking to say the least.   I thought the article was a little one-sided and harsh about the dangers of injuring yourself on the yoga mat, but I understand what it feels like to injur yourself and the frustration it brings.  I’ve dealt with hip pain after cardio kickboxing, knee pain after a running stint, neck pain from life and yoga, low back pain from being a desk jockey.  In many ways I think it’s just part of the human condition.  Our bodies are amazing feats of genetic engineering, but they are fragile, they age, and will one day will completely degenerate back to the earth.  Do we really think we won’t have issues with our bodies, that they aren’t fragile?  I feel strongly that people need to be nicer to themselves in yoga, that it’s not an athletic competition, that you can gain strength and mobility without torturing yourself.

I enjoyed this quote from the article which makes a good point about how different it is to practice yoga today in the west:  ”Indian practitioners of yoga typically squatted and sat cross-legged in daily life, and yoga poses, or asanas, were an outgrowth of these postures. Now urbanites who sit in chairs all day walk into a studio a couple of times a week and strain to twist themselves into ever-more-difficult postures despite their lack of flexibility and other physical problems. Many come to yoga as a gentle alternative to vigorous sports or for rehabilitation for injuries.”

And I really appreciate a response to the article from Sadie Nardini, another yoga teacher.  I love that she included some great questions to consider and also some resources for teachers and students to become better informed.  Some good quotes from Sadie:

“Yoga injuries? OK, so a lot of yoga injuries don’t bring people to the ER, but neither do many cycling injuries, which chalk up around 580,000 emergency room visits a year, according to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. I’m still waiting to see a “Can Cycling Wreck Your Body” story, one that would be more appropriate for more readers.”

“People can get hurt anytime they move, and sometimes even if they don’t. For example, other proven causes of injury, stroke, nerve damage, and death (involving many more cases than yoga, by the way) are: eating, having sex, running, walking, cycling, dancing, traveling, …”

And a quote that hits home and is nice reminder for me, a fairly green yoga teacher in all honesty:  ”From what I’ve seen, so many of our yoga instructors at every level could use a refresher course in the anatomy of yoga and movement, say, from a credible–and anatomically correct–expert. Not an expert in classical pose shapes, but in actual human anatomy and the anatomy of movement. In my opinion, there are way too many teachers out there with way too little anatomy experience.

I think Sadie sums it up nicely with this  ”I’d like to pose the question: Should you shy away from yoga because it could possibly, somehow tweak your body? My educated answer to you would be: Absolutely not.”

My birthday is coming up soon and I’m going to try to do 108 sun salutationsto celebrate another year of life and blessings; cleanse the body, mind, and soul a bit. I’m predicting it will take 2-3 hours, it usually takes me 1-2 minutes per sun salutation.  The number 108 has significance in many cultures and for many reasons.  The fact that it is connected to a bunch of nerdy math facts as well as yoga, well, I just can’t resist.  I’m excited to give this a try.  If you’re interested in joining me for part of this celebration, hit me up!

• Traditionally, malas, or garlands of prayer beads, come as a string of 108 beads (plus one for the “guru bead,” around which the other 108 beads turn like the planets around the sun). A mala is used for counting as you repeat a mantra—much like the Catholic rosary.
• Renowned mathematicians of Vedic culture viewed 108 as a number of the wholeness of existence.
• This number also connects the Sun, Moon, and Earth: The average distance of the Sun and the Moon to Earth is 108 times their respective diameters. Such phenomena have given rise to many examples of ritual significance.
• According to yogic tradition, there are 108 pithas, or sacred sites, throughout India. And there are also 108 Upanishads and 108 marma points, or sacred places of the body which are said to converge at the heart center (chakra).
• 108 is a Harshad number, which is an integer divisible by the sum of its digits (Harshad is from Sanskrit and means “great joy”).
• 108 is twice the number “54″, which is the number of sounds in Sanskrit.
• Some say that 1 stands for God or higher Truth, 0 stands for wholeness in spiritual practice, and 8 stands for infinity or eternity.
• 108 has numerological significance in that 1^1 x 2^2 x 3^3 = 1 x 4 x 27 = 108.
• The angle formed by two adjacent lines in a pentagon equals 108 degrees.
• The diameter of the sun is approximately 108 times the diameter of the earth.
• The distance from the Sun to the Earth is 108 times the diameter of the Sun.
• The distance of the Moon from the Earth is 108 times the diameter of the Moon.
• “One feels great. 108 is a journey.” -Shiva Rae
• “One represents union, zero represents the void and eight is infinity ” -Ben Thomas

sources: Yoga Journal,
Yoga For Peace Santa Cruz

Isn’t everyone challenged in at least one of these three areas at some point in their lives? I suppose not everyone, but I wonder. What a neat little challenge package this provides. Watch out for money, sex, or power, they’re like the boogy man hiding around your next curve! This cycle of life I am challenged by time. I am moving. I am trying to change my career a bit. I am trying to practice yoga for reals yo, rather than acting like those five minutes before I pass out on my couch count as meditation. Balance is elusive sometimes. But change is good. And money, sex, and power are sneaky little devils that may be behind your next freak out or fearful moment indirectly. Watch it. And maybe add ego to that list.

Ziggy Marley said it best, the only thing that lasts is Love. (He is in in this months issue of Yoga Journal). I will keep that in mind.  Toodles for now bloggerini peeps. I miss you.

Some thoughts on incorrect perception from The Heart of Yoga by Desikachar, one of the foremost teachers of yoga in the west. Yoga, of course, is the answer to our worries once again.

If we are sure we do not clearly understand a given situation, generally speaking we do not act decisively. But if we are clear in our understanding we will act and it will go well for us. Such an action stems from a deep level of perception. In contrast, avidya (incorrect perception) is distinguished by superficial perception. I think I see something correctly, so I take a particular action and then later have to admit that I was mistaken and that my actions have not proved beneficial. So we have two levels of perception: One is deep within us and free of this film of avidya, the other is superficial and obscured by avidya. The goal of yoga is to reduce the film of avidya in order to act correctly. Clear understanding, decisive action, so much easier in theory than in action. Especially with the bigger choices, in my opinion.

The first branch of avidya is what we often call the ego. It pushes us into thoughts such as “I have to be better than other people,” “I am the greatest,” “I know that I’m right.” This branch is called asmita in the Yoga Sutras. “I deserve more money, time, clothes, food, queso dip…”

The second branch of avidya expresses itself in making demands. This branch is called raga. We want something today because it was pleasant yesterday, not because we really need it today. Yesterday I had a glass of fruit juice (or queso dip or a margarita) that tasted delicious and gave me the energy I needed. Today something in me says: “I want another glass of this sweet juice (or queso dip or a margarita),” even though I do not really need it today and it may not even be good for me. We want things we do not have. What we do have is not enough and we want more of it. We want to keep what we are asked to give away. We need 4 bicycles in our living room, fancy yoga mats at every horizon, and shoes, lots of shoes. This is raga.

Dvesa, the third branch of avidya, is in a certain way the opposite for raga. Dvesa expresses itself by rejecting things. We have a difficult experience and are afraid of repeating it, so we reject the people, the thoughts, and the settings that relate to that experience, assuming they will bring us pain again. Dvesa also causes us to reject those things which we are not familiar, even though we have no history with them, negative or positive. We reject love, jobs, change. These forms of rejection are the expressions of dvesa.

Finally, there is abhinivesa, fear. This is perhaps the most secret aspect of avidya and it’s expression is found on many levels of our everyday life. We feel uncertain. We have doubts about our position in life. We are afraid that people will judge us negatively. We feel uncertain when our lifestyle is upset. We do not want to grow old. All these feelings are expressions of abhinivesa, the fourth branch. Oh, this one is oh so sneaky and peaking around more often than we realize.

These branches, singly or together, cloud our perceptions. As long as the branches are expanding there is great chance that we will make false moves because we do not weigh things carefully and make sound judgments. When we perceive that problems have somehow arisen, we can assume that avidya was instrumental in their making. Yoga decreases the effects of avidya so that true understanding can take place. May we battle our egos, the unnecessary demands we hold on to, rejections, and fear on and off the mat. Sorry this is so long, if you made it this far…

I am participating in the SLO Leadership program this year to continue my quest to be constantly growing and learning. If you’re not growing, you’re dying, right? As much as yoga has completely transformed my life and rocks my world every single time I hit the mat, there is more to life than yoga, even I have to admit. How can I bring yoga to the workplace I am part of, how can I contribute my unique talents and skills in the best way? I am really excited about this program. I really enjoyed connecting with such a great, diverse group of people and I look forward to connecting with them more, learning about my community and how I can affect positive change in it, and how to become a more effective leader in my life. The word leader kind of sounds cheesy to me, in reality a lot of the tenets of leadership are really just how to function the best individually and as part of a group. Which, when you think of it, isn’t that far from the effects of practicing yoga.

I had a few a-ha’s during the retreat. I tend to have difficulties when going from planning to taking action when it comes to work and life projects. At some point you just have to get ‘er done and stop the over analysis and perfection. I also realized how useful it was to keep the end in sight with regards to goals and resources. I need to constantly hear how much time I have, how close to my goal I am. Bottom line: Leaders are people who get things done.

I am also in the process of reading Light on Yoga by B.K.S. Iyengar. It’s known as the bible of modern yoga and includes a thorough explanation of the practice of yoga and has an enormous chapter of postures. Every time I pick it up I fall asleep reading it. It’s driving me crazy! I need to write 6 book reports to complete my yoga certification requirements and I feel like it’s taking me forever. Even though I love what I’m reading and learning, it’s still a challenge. The first chapter defining yoga is great. I fell in love with yoga without really knowing why or what it really was, and the more I read about it, the more convinced I am that it’s exactly what our world needs.

“Work alone is your privilege, never the fruits thereof. Never let the fruits of action be your motive; and never cease to work. Work in the name of something bigger than yourself, abandoning selfish desires. Be not affected by success or failure. This equipoise is called Yoga.”

Cheers to a new year of growth and transformation!

Ever wonder what yoga is beyond super flexibility and zen people wearing black yoga pants and chanting om? One of the historical teachings of yoga is in the ancient text, The Yoga Sutras. I am reading a translation by Sri Swami Satchinanda. I found myself meditating lately on the Eight Limbs of Yoga. The practice of asana, or yoga postures, is just one of the eight limbs Pantanjali offers us in this text. Asana is what brings many people to yoga in the first place, yet most people also find that the other limbs of yoga also resonate with them.  They help guide us in the direction to lead healthier, happier lives. They help us find a way to live.  I have been coming to the conclusion recently that that is what spirituality is all about, learning how to live a good life, whether or not you believe in God, Buddha, or Mother Earth, that seems to be the bottom line.  The Good Life.  A Good Life.  Here are the Limbs:

1. Yama (Abstinence)
2. Niyama (Observance)
3. Asana (Posture)
4. Pranayama (Breath Control)
5. Pratyahara (Sense Withdrawl)
6. Dharana (Concentration)
7. Dhyana (Meditation)
8. Samadhi (Contemplation, Absorption, Super-Conscious State)

The first of the eight limbs references the Yamas, in particular practicing non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, continence, and non-greed. Non-violence is equivalent to not causing pain. In 2.35 he further clarifies that In the presence of one firmly established in non-violence, all hostilities cease. Finding non-violence in our physical yoga practice teaches us how to challenge ourselves healthfully.  It teaches us how to turn off the hostilities and tensions we hold inside of us, and to stop bringing hostilities upon ourselves. We eventually learn to carry this off the mat and practice it in our lives. We soon realize that violence can come in the form of physical violence but also in thoughts, words, tone of voice, and actions. I notice it in my tone of voice to my family at times, and I can finally see the violence it brings back upon me.

Truthfulness is not lying. In sutra 2.36 he clarifies that for one established in truthfulness, actions and their results become subservient. “All nature loves an honest person.”  Being truly honest can also lead us to a state of fearlessness allowing us an open life. This brings us the fruits of work without doing the work, according to Pantanjali. Who doesn’t want that?!?!  It also implies we should no longer tell white lies and if by being honest we will cause trouble, difficulty or harm to anyone, we should keep quiet. Instead of saying, “I don’t know,” we can be frank: “I know but I don’t want to tell.” As a yoga teacher I most definitely can’t lie about who I am, how I’m feeling, what I know and don’t know. We have to be willing to tell people what they don’t want to hear, show people what they don’t want to see. Over and over again. I find this to be a major challenge.  Somewhere along the lines I learned that all conflict = bad and I am starting to realize that some conflict is good, it can offer that healthy challenge we all need to grow, an opportunity to see things from another perspective, an opportunity to see things outside of ourselves.

Continence is celibacy. YIKES, I KNOW.  By one established in continence, vigor is gained says Pantanjali in Sutra 2.38. “It doesn’t mean you must completely stay away from sex. Instead, be moderate. Preserve as much energy as possible. A yogi should always keep this in mind. Teaching yoga is not like teaching history or geometry. The teacher must impart a life force – a little current – into others. How can he do this if he himself is weak, if he has a rundown, discharged battery?”  ….all I can say about this is interesting perspective

Non-greed is not hoarding things, or not accumulating beyond our capacity to use things in the proper way. In sutra 2.37 Pantanjali states that to one established in non-stealing, all wealth comes. If we are completely free from stealing and greed, contented with what we have, and if we keep serene minds, all wealth comes to us. If we do not run after it, before long it runs after us. Kind of like personal relationships. If nature knows we aren’t greedy, she gains confidence in us, knowing we will never hold her for ourselves. May we all clean out our closets from time to time, internal and external.  Having just finished up a fall dietary cleanse, there is something very energizing and inspiring about cleaning our diet, digestive system, giving our bodies a break, and also of getting rid of the piles of dust and crap that accumulate around our house.  It helps us feel open, let go of old emotional patterns, pass things on to people who need them more than us.  Do I really need 3 bikes, a car, a pantry that’s stocked for apocolypse?  Hmmmm.

On that note, my cleanse went really well!  I am feeling amazing going into my busiest time of the year with work and travel.  This is so rare.  I went out for a post-cleanse celebratory lunch and guess what I was so excited to order?  A freaking green salad with tofu and bean soup!  It’s amazing how it really resets your mind and body and turns off the excessive desire for junk food.  It’s humbling to be reminded how much good food I am so blessed to eat every single day.  How many people eat a bowl of rice and that’s it each day?  Wow.

My pre-training yoga challenge has been great.  I have mostly practiced yoga every day for the last month leading to the training, although Sundays I have mostly taken off.  I have really enjoyed the benefits of just 15 minutes of yoga practice wherever I can get it. Last Sunday I did it in the grass at a friends house.  Why o’ why do I have to make things so much bigger and harder than they have to be?  Yoga doesn’t have to be the hardest pose, 90 minute sweat-a-thon I sometimes make it out to be.

I have been reading The Subtle Body by Cyndi Dale and this book has made me feel like it’s cracking my brain open.  I am reading about Energy Fields.  “Because of fields, reality is both local (here and now) and nonlocal, which means that everything is interconnected.  In many ways, the future of healing and healing modalities that link allopathic methods and complementary practices lies in the area of fields, simply because they are found both inside and outside of the body.  We are not isolated, closed circuits; we are interconnected brilliant beams of energy.”

I am also enjoying the Yoga Sutras of Pantanjali.

Sutra 2.33:  When disturbed by negative thoughts, opposite (positive) ones should be thought. This is pratipaksha bhavana.

Sutra 2.34: When negative thoughts or actions such as violence etc. are done, caused to be done, or even approved of, whether incited by greed, anger, or infatuation, whether indulged with mild, medium or extreme intensity, they are based on ignorance and bring certain pain. Reflecting thus is also pratipaksha bhavanam.

While you practice yoga, live life, climb mountains, ride waves, remember to turn that frown upside down and stick to the positive.  It doesn’t have to be that hard.

I am currently reading the second section, the portion on practice. There are also sections on contemplation, accomplishments, and absoluteness. The very first sutra of the second section (or sutra 2.1) really hit home today and I wanted to share it.

“The last part of Kriya Yoga is simple but great. It is surrendering to the Supreme Being. I understand this to mean dedicating the fruits of your actions to God or to humanity – God in manifestation. Dedicate everything – your study, your japa, your practice – to the Lord. When you give such things to Him, He accepts them but then gives them back many times magnified. You never lose what you have given. Even virtuous, meritorious deeds will bind you in some form or other if you do them with an egotistic feeling. Every time you do something, feel, “May this be dedicated to the Lord.” If you constantly remember to do this, the mind will be free and tranquil. Try not to possess anything for yourself. Temporarily keep things but feel you are just a trustee, not an owner.”

“Be like the mother who receives a soul, nourishes it for nine months and then lets it come out into the world. If the mother were to always keep the baby in her womb, what would happen? There would be great pain. Once something has ripened, it should be passed on. So dedication is true Yoga. Say, “I am Thine. All is Thine. Thy will be done.” Mine binds. Thine liberates. If you drop “mines” all over, they will “undermine” your life – or blow up in your face. But if you change all the “mines” to Thine, you will always be safe.

“Let us all dedicate our lives for the sake of the entire humanity. With every minute, every breath, every atom of our bodies we should repeat this mantram: “dedication, dedication, giving, giving, loving, loving.” That is the best japa, the best Yoga which will bring us all permanent peace and joy and keep the mind from the disturbances of chitta vrittis (mind stuff).”

Somehow the yogic scriptures can say “God”, “Him”, and “Supreme Being” and it doesn’t make me feel closed or uneasy like I would feel when studying the bible in Sunday school as a kid. I just thought this was a beautiful thought to keep in mind as I go about my daily business.

The idea behind the 3/50 project is for you to spend $50 per month in each of 3 local businesses that you would miss if they disappeared. According to the project, of every $100 spent in locally owned independent stores, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll, and other expenditures. If you spend that in a national chain, only $43 stays here. Spend it online and nothing comes home.

I personally don’t make many purchases online, I do mostly research, but I really appreciate hearing an actual cost of where I’m spending my money. This just reiterated the fact that so much of what we consume, some necessities and some not so, really have bigger costs than we often think about or realize or are told.

I really enjoyed my Buy Nothing Weekend as well, instead of participating in the excesses of Black Friday. I went out to eat at a local restaurant and bought some onions at a local grocery so I could cook for a friend. It really brought some awareness to my spending, it wasn’t really that difficult to minimize spending and to focus on local spending, and I look forward to trying to spend my money locally more in the future.

I also happen to be reading the Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan which I highly recommend to anyone who is interested in the true cost and implications of what they’re eating. I like to spend money on food, a lot of money, and I often wonder how much of the money I spend is necessary and how much of it is just me consuming for the sake of consuming, hoarding, listening to the pretty packages offered by Trader Joe’s pretty shelves.

I’d like to share some interesting tidbits from the book…
“It’s true that cheap industrial food is heavily subsidized in many ways such that it’s price in the supermarket does not reflect it’s real cost. But until the rules that govern our system change, organic or sustainable food is going to cost more at the register, more than some people can afford. Yet, for the great majority of us the story is not quite so simple. As a society we Americans only spend a fraction of our disposable income feeding ourselves – about a tenth, down from a fifth in the 1950s. Americas spend less on food than any other industrialized nation, and probably less than any people in the history of the world. This suggests there are many of us who could afford to spend more on food if we chose to. Aren’t we spending it on cell phones, tv, and other goods?”
“Our food system depends on consumers’ not knowing much about it beyond the price disclosed by the checkout scanner. Cheapness and ignorance are mutually reinforcing.”

During this perverse grace period, there’s no need for you to be inhibited as you unleash your tortured squalls. You don’t have to tone down the extremity of your desolate clamors. Unhappy Hour is a ritually consecrated excursion devoted to the full disclosure of your primal clash and jangle.

Here’s the catch: It’s brief. It’s concise. It’s crisp. You dive into your darkness for no more than 60 minutes, then climb back out, free and clear. It’s called Unhappy Hour, not Unhappy Day or Unhappy Week or Unhappy Year.  Do you have the cheeky temerity to drench yourself in your paroxysmal alienation from life? Unhappy Hour invites you to plunge in and surrender. It dares you to scurry and squirm all the way down to the bottom of your pain, break through the bottom of your pain, and fall down flailing in the soggy, searing abyss, yelping and cringing and wallowing.  That’s where you let your pain tell you every story it has to tell you. You let your pain teach you every lesson it has to teach you.

But then it’s over. The ritual ordeal is complete. And your pain has to take a vacation until the next Unhappy Hour, which isn’t until next week sometime, or maybe next month.

You see the way the game works? Between this Unhappy Hour and the next one, your pain has to shut up. It’s not allowed to creep and seep all over everything, staining the flow of your daily life. It doesn’t have free reign to infect you whenever it’s itching for more power.

Your pain gets its succinct blast of glory, its resplendent climax, but leaves you alone the rest of the time.

If performed regularly, Unhappy Hour serves as an exorcism that empties you of psychic toxins, while at the same time — miracle of miracles — it helps you squeeze every last drop of blessed catharsis out of those psychic toxins.

Pronoia will then be able to flourish as you luxuriate more frequently in rosy moods and broad-minded visions. You’ll develop a knack for cultivating smart joy and cagey optimism as your normal states of mind.

READ THE REST OF “UNHAPPY HOUR” HERE.

From Rob Brezsny, author of Free Will Astrology and Pronoia, the Antidote to Paranoia.  Both his astrology and book take you outside of your box and allow you to feel a little internal smile outside of the box of common culture.