YOGA FOR LIFE - YOGA DAY BENEFIT

.... FOR BREAST CANCER



On Saturday, April 5, 2008, a Yoga For Life-Yoga Day Benefit will be held at Sherrill Park, downtown between North and South-bound Shoreline Blvd & Kinney St. Starting at 9:00am I will lead a 90 minute, open yoga session. This is a public event for everyone to join; beginners and advanced alike. Some mats and blankets will be provided, but supplies are limited.

Donations of any size will be asked for which will go to the Avon Walk For Breast Cancer the following Saturday. Tax deductible donations can be made by check or credit card. Forms will be supplied for the donations as well as informative hand-outs on early detection of breast cancer and treatment centers.

I will be walking the full distance of a marathon (26.2 miles) for the event in Houston. I walk in honor of all who have had to live with the pain and suffering from this terrible disease. I walk for my sisters, my nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles, my grandmother, my mother and my daughter.

Along with helping hundreds of thousands of people who have been afflicted by this disease, you will also be helping yourself along a healthier and happier path of life by enjoying the benefits of a good, solid yoga practice.

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If you would like to donate to the Yoga For Life team now, you can navigate over to the donation page and click on the pink "Support Me" button. All information is kept confidential and tax-deductible donation receipts are available from the Avon Foundation.

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Yoga For Life - Yoga Day Benefit

for breast cancer

April 5, 2008

Starting at 9:00am

Sherrill Park

Open donations

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Sciatica Q&A

“Thou cold sciatica, cripple our senators, that their limbs may halt as lamely as their manners.” – William Shakespeare 1564.

A friend of mine - JuJu - asked about her sciatica and what I could possibly recommend for it from a yogic point of view. She participates in the MS 150s; Houston to Austin. I looked through all my texts and have consulted several times over - both past and present - with various medical and holistic professionals on this subject. Here is what I have for her and hopefully anyone else with the same question. Before you read on, PLEASE MAKE ALL YOUR MOVEMENTS DELIBERATE, SLOW AND CAREFUL. Fast movements and jerking can only increase physical problems. Besides, no one wants to be a jerk.

Sciatica is defined as pain caused by irritation, compression or inflammation anywhere along the sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerves are the largest and longest nerves in the body, reaching about the size of your thumb in diameter, and running down the back of each leg. Each sciatic nerve is composed of five smaller nerves that leave the spinal cord from the lower spinal column, join together and then travel down each leg. It then divides into smaller nerves that travel to the thigh, knee, calf, ankle, foot and toes.

Sciatic pain can usually be linked to two types of irritation:

One cause of sciatica is piriformis syndrome. The piriformis muscle extends from the side of the sacrum to the top of the thigh bone at the hip joint, passing by the sciatic nerve en route. When a short/tight piriformis is stretched, it can compress and irritate the sciatic nerve. People who stand pigeon toed - with their toes turned out - often develop piriformis syndrome, as do runners and cyclists, who overuse and understretch the piriformis muscle.

Also, sciatic pain is often the cause from compression of the L4-S1 nerve roots affecting the sciatic distribution. Occasionally irritation of any part on the branch of the sciatic nerve in the legs can be so severe it can set up a reflex pain reaction involving the entire length of the nerve. For example, if the nerve is pinched or irritated near the knee, you may feel the pain in the hip and buttock.

If a tight piriformis muscle is the problem, then it must be gently stretched. Do not overstretch or more spasm can result. Remember what you do to one side, do to the other to keep a proper balance of strength and stretch (limberness). Focus on improving posture and body mechanics in daily activities. Yoga practice should be modified so that the pain is neither created nor intensified.

Standing Poses:

The easiest is to start in Tadasana (mountain pose or standing position), ground your left leg and bring your right leg up onto a platform; a step, a chair, a box. 90* degrees is good. Feel the stretch in your hamstring, groin, glutes and lower back. If your body allows, hinge at the hips, don't round your back, and lean forward into the pose keeping your hands either on your hips or knees. Come back up, bring your leg down and switch sides.

Trikonasana (triangle pose). Use bolsters or supports if needed.

Parivrtta Trikonasana (revolved triangle pose) with the support of a table or countertop can also help.

Virabhadrasan (warrior I pose)

Virabhadrasana II (warrior II pose)

Utthita Parsvakonasana (side angle pose)

Parivrtta Parsvakonasana (revolved side angle pose)

Forward Lunge

Seated Poses:

Seated Half Lotus. Sit upright on your sit bones, not your tailbone, in a comfortable chair with a flat seat. Pass on the lay-z-boy and try something more like an office chair or dining room chair. Bring your rib cage up and out to straighten your back and create a good strong base for your pose. Up and out, not puffed out. Feet flat on the floor, legs hip width apart, knees over ankles, hands on either your knees or thighs.
Bring your right ankle (not foot) up ontop of your left knee. Now is a great time to bring in your Pranayama practice and take steady deep breaths while holding this pose for up to 2-3 minutes. If your right knee is up, press down gently with your right hand to ulitmately bring your chin parallel to the floor. Then switch.
IF THIS HURTS, DO NOT DO IT. A good rule of thumb I pass along in all my classes is, "If it hurts, stop. This is 'find the enlightenment', not 'feel the burn'."
If your body can go further then with keeping your back straight, hinge at the hips and lean forward. Do not round your back, this will not help you no matter how far you go! The woman in the picture almost has it, but remember not to round your back and also, I prefer to keep my hands on my knees rather than increase the intensity of the stretch by reaching for the floor since this only increases the desire to round the back. If your sciatica is really acting up, this will be near impossible anyway.

Bharadvajasana

Agnistambhasana

Pasasana (noose pose or wall twist)

Baddha Konasana

Marichyasana III

Dandasana (staff pose or seated pose). If your sciatica is not as severe or not present at all, you will be able to do this. This and the next one are great poses for building strength in the lower back, glutes, abs and legs to forego any future nerve problems. However, if your sciatica is acting up, these next two will be near to impossible.

Paschimottanasana (forward bend)

If these are too difficult it is suggested to isolate the muscles more with:

Janu Sirsanan (head to knee pose)

Reclining Poses:

Viparita Karani (legs-up-the-wall pose) with or without a bolster. Many believe this to be the ulitmate pose. Restorative, cleansing, it takes all the weight off your lower back while letting gravity work its magic. I use Viparita Karani, Balasana (child's pose) and Savasana (corps pose) as restorative poses. During class I make a point of reminding everyone - including myself - that if at anytime they feel fatigued, short of breath, or dizzy to go into one of these poses.
It is always good to end with one of these poses, especially Viparita Karani or Savasana, after a full workout; whether aerobics, cycling, running, yoga or any other strenuous activity. It gives the body a chance to relax and assimilate all the channels you just opened in your system.

As far as yoga is concerned, there are a million, billion different poses and sequences to perform to help with sciatic pain (along with every other aspect of your life). This is just one sequential suggestion. Any and all of these poses can be worked into a regular Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutation) practice.

For more information with a medical slant try here. Remember to always speak with a physician before beginning any type of physical exercise.

Live long and prosper my fellow yogis.
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti

MS 5K - CORPUS CHRISTI

Today I managed to meet several of my personal goals that I've been putting off for far too long.

The first one started with waking up at 5:30AM. No coffee, no TV, no bodies, just me and the sunrise. It is a lifestyle change I've been trying to adopt for a while now. With having to get up early (for a Saturday) to participate in the MS 5K it gave me an incentive to wake up with nature -- as opposed to acrobatic kids on my bed.

Shortly there after I was able to follow through with another hard-to-achieve goal of mine which was to participate in and help with more charity events. Once I arrived I saw how beautifully the sponsors for the event had everything arrainged. There was a kids' area already put to good use by the time I arrived just after 7AM with moon walks, games and music. Some of our local businesses showed up to help all the walkers get into the swing of things: free coffee from Starbucks, free fruit and breakfast cakes from the grocer, hats, bandanas, a live band, water, hot chocolate, and more.

I joined my neighbor & friend over at her team's hula hut booth, the SPASMATICS, to get aquainted with everyone. Since I was skipping my usual Saturday yoga class that I teach at Yin-Yang Fandango and Tango Tea Room for this event, I went ahead and had my own yoga warmup and stretch over to the side on a lovely sun-lit piece of grass. Sun was very important today since it started out at 40 deg., but thankfully no wind!

The SPASMATICS team captain was a woman who had just been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, herself. MS is described as a result from attacks to the nervous system by the body's own immune system. Some believe it is a metabolically dependent disease while others think that it might be caused by a virus such as Epstein-Barr. Still others believe that its virtual absence from the tropics points to a deficiency of vitamin D during childhood.

There are several medications out there to help with the symptoms, but nothing yet to prevent or truly fight off the disease. So..... we walk to help.

Another goal I met today was in the walk itself. The MS 5K offered me a great chance to get into the mindset for the upcoming Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in April. I was able to watch my diet and the effects more closely today, assess my body's wear and tear after only a few miles and my style for walking with several people (as opposed to my lone training walks these past couple months). One thing came through crystal clear, I needed to really stretch afterward. Walking soreness and tightness is not the same as running sore/tight.

When my friend and I crossed the finish line I checked the clock. My yoga class that Melissa was so generously covering for me was just barely starting. And the class was just a few blocks on the otherside of downtown. Knowing that it takes everyone a good 10-15 min. to set up and settle down, I decided to forego the free bar-b-que lunch and festivities after the event and hightail it over to yoga.

I arrived just a minute or two after they started. I was excited to see it was a full class so I slipped in and put my mat down in the very back by the door. By the second run of psycho-physicals (warm-ups) I noticed I was still wearing my walking number that was pinned to my back. I'm still not sure if that would be considered a super-focused mind or an unfocused one ???

It only took a few minutes for me to realize my decision to skip free food for yoga was absolutely perfect. I wasn't tired or sore from the walk, but my glutes and tensor fascia lata really enjoyed the extra stretch-and-hold work. Plus, Melissa is a great instructor and it's been too long since I last took one of her classes. We both received our yoga certifications at the same time through a Solar Yoga school and we have remained close since.

After yoga was over and Melissa and I took a moment to chat with our fellow yoginis, it was lunch time. Very much lunch time!

BUDDHA SAYS "HAVE PATIENCE"

"Slow down,
You move too fast,
You gotta make
The moment last,"

This past Saturday was the 4th of the month which meant you could find me at the Tango Tea Room leading my favourite morning yoga class. I can't really tell you why it's my favourite, because truth be told, I love all the classes I attend; whether leading or following. There is something.... fun, though, about my Saturday classes in Morrocan Lounge at the Tea Room. The people who come really seem to like what they get from the classes and it makes me feel so good to see the same faces coming back again and again.

With a late start due to room rearranging and getting everyone onto the same page - wave length if you will - we agreed to have a late ending, as well. No one was in a hurry this morning and from the sound of it, this class was pretty much the only thing on everyone's schedule for the day. So why not go the extra mile?

I say "pretty much" because even though I was in no particular hurry either, I did have other plans. Later that afternoon, in the same room used for my yoga class, was going to be a Buddhist Meditation workshop lead by a nun from the Chittanami Buddhist Center in Austin, TX. In yoga, meditation is also called dhyana, 7th of the 8 limbs of Raja/Hatha yoga. It has been a very difficult one for me to attempt, much less practise on any consistant basis. I've been looking for a guru or teacher to help guide me through the teachings and practises of meditation, but it has been one of those journies where I must be still and wait for my teacher rather than actively seek one out. "Be still and know that I am."

When I recieved the update about this Buddhist meditation workshop coming to town I knew I had to act upon it. One of the reasons was, as is typical of me, sheer curiosity. You see, my on-going martial arts study is from the Matsumura family who helped to bring the teachings to Okinawa from the Shaolin Temple monks. When I looked into the Buddhist teachings of meditation, their roots came from the same Shaolin Temple. I had to go.

I wasn't sure what to think about it, but I knew I was going to attend. Last February I had the privilege of sitting before the Dalai Lama and listening to him speak, but I've never met a Buddhist nun and I wasn't sure what to expect. Was she going to be a flighty, light-headed theologian that talked of whimsical beliefs and a generic view of love? Was she going to guide us through 2 hours of closed-eye, silent meditation? Was I going to be able to understand anything she said; either linguistically, intelligently or spiritually? But most importantly, was I going to be open-minded enough to listen?

That last one was the easiest for me to answer, at least. Yes. The simple fact that I was going told me already where my mind laid. Like all teachers before me, it didn't matter whether I agreed with them or not, I always learned something from them. And funny enough, the more I disagreed with a teacher or instructor, the more surprised I was at what I learned from them and the situation. Like the Dalai Lama said, "When you lose, don't lose the lesson."

So between the time my yoga class ended and the meditation workshop was to begin I slipped in a good 4 mile walk to keep up my training for the marathon. I know, 4 miles in 50 minutes is a far cry from 26 miles and 7 hours, but every bit counts, right? Plus I had the added advantage of being downtown for my yoga class so I was able to enjoy a full hour along the seawall that defines the eastern side of downtown. Bright Spring sunshine, 75 degree temperature, a briney breeze, lapping waves, pelicans, sailboats and to top it off, I was able to stop in and enjoy the Art Museum for a bit and view some of my godmother's work before heading back for the workshop.
When I walked into the Morrocan Lounge, where the workshop was to be held, I saw people already busying themselves with chair arrangments and jovial salutations. The spokesman for the group seemed very anxious and flitted about with an air of nervous energy. Being my first time there, I chose to step out of the way, take a seat on one of the couches along the back wall and wait for our lecturer's arrival. It wasn't long before I saw that most of the people gathered by this point were just as excited as Ms. Spokesman. The joy and excitement over having another chance to study with this buddhist nun was palpable.

Then she arrived. Her greying hair was cut short in traditional Buddhist fashion, she was draped in rust and saffron-colored monastic robes that looked to be pieced together from various large swatches of fabric. She smiled with ease and greeted everyone individually.

Her name was (is) Kelsang Inchug. She sat in the chair prepared for her at the front of the room and placed a cloth bound book on the little side table stationed next to the chair. By that time 12-15 people had arrived with about as many new comers -yours truly included - as returning followers. I was happy to see such a wide variety of people in such a small group: 40 years difference in ages, men, women, a middle aged mother with her severely down syndrome daughter, teachers, baristas, doctors.... oh my!

Kelsang Inchug began with a meditation preparation. The first step in practicing meditation that clears the mind by purifying hindrances caused by our previous negative actions. We closed our eyes and she guided us through So-Ah-Ham breathing; "Think 'So' as you inhale through your nose, 'Ah' at the peak when you hold your breath for just a second, and 'Ham' (hoom) when you exhale through your nose."

After our minds had quieted a bit and we were more in tuned to the moment, she proceeded with an extremely enlightening and informative lecture on the Buddhist way of Patience. It was our focus of meditation for the day. Beyond the specifics of Buddist teachings, what she had to share on the theories and practices of Patience was no different that what we've all heard our whole lives. The difference came in her own personal delivery and relay of the practice of Patience. With her calm, dignified demeanor she taught us about the principles and practices of Patience in the 21 Lamrim meditations.

She spoke of the Four Noble Truths, Samadhi, the difference between love and attachment, true Patience (joined with) (rather than) simple tolerance.....

This is also refered to as the time of contemplation. The purpose of contemplation is to bring to mind the object of placement meditation; in this respect it was Patience. She parleyed various lines of reasoning, contemplating analogies, and reflected on the scriptures - Buddhist, Hindu, and Christian alike.

In much the same respect as the Dalai Lama, Kelsang Ichung listened fervently to any and all questions and stories that arose during her lecture, she used parables to illustrate her responses and laughed unreservedly with her whole body. Not once did I ever feel this Buddist nun putting on anything more than her true face and showing us her true self. Not once did I feel she didn't wholly believe and embody the very word she was speaking and teaching. It was one of the most supportive environments I have had the pleasure of being in, in my short 29 years.

I can not relay to you all that was covered during that workshop. There was so much information to digest and so much personal growth that I still have to go through (lifetimes of it) that I must stop now in my story. For the sake of your eyes and my fingers if nothing else.

Some recommended readings:
Introduction to Buddhism
The New Meditation Handbook
The Joyful Path of Good Fortune

Namaste :)

WALK LIKE AN EGYP......

A couple of weeks ago I came across an event for Breast Cancer research. Avon is hosting a walking marathon (26.3 miles + 13.1 miles) to raise funds for cancer research. One walk in each state. Houston will be hosting it for Texas, in April.

I know, there are fundraisers and charity events going on pretty much every weekend in one place or another. And the larger the city, the more frequent the events. For this one, however, I chose to throw my name into the pot. My first reason, as shallow as it was, brought me the motivation I sorely needed to get off my keester and move. Sure, I move daily through my yoga practices and classes, but as anybody knows, holding Virabadrasana II for 3 minutes does not give the same benefits as walking 10 miles in the morning. So my initial motivation actually had very little if nothing to do with curing cancer and more to do with body image - internally and externally.

After I got to sharing the info with my friends and family I came to fully acknowledge the fact that the people developing cancer need as much help as they can get. There's no guarantee that before I die, I won't have already lost a family member to the ravages of cancer or cancer related illnesses. If there is something I can do to help prevent that, by golly I'm going to do it.

This thought process brings me to this morning. Steeped in my "walking" training. Irene, a fellow cool chic and one I hope to call friend someday, joined me for the first time. We haven't talked much, but this morning offered us a chance to get to know one another better. Come to find out, our scheduled morning walk was getting rained out (more like drizzled out) and we were both feeling bad for the other for not creating a better situation. HA. As if we had some ability to control the weather and the mind-set of the other. It was one of the sweetest gestures thrown my way and I dearly appreciated it. So on that note, we took a walk in the rain. 4 miles, 1 hour. Neither of us had any decent rain gear to speak of, but the rain was warm and soft, as if it was already June.

Even though I walk nearly everyday getting ready for this event, Irene and I had been planning this Wednesday walk for a week. And wouldn't you know it, the very second we stopped stretching and stepped onto the pavement, it started to rain. Right there on our parade. All we could do was invoke our yoginis from within and roll with the punches. Be present, be flexible.

Rather than fight the drizzle and rain, complain about the unfortunate circumstances, we invited it and embraced the time we had to share with one another. Plus, it sure did make tea time more enjoyable afterwards; green tea and mint spiked with honey, mmmmm :)

OM SWEET OM

On Monday my youngest munchkin woke up in the middle of the night with a low grade fever and a rash all over her body. Cut to today: She and I took the morning off to hike over to her pediatrician's office for a visit.

I was slightly annoyed because it meant she missed out on the celebrations at school and I had to cancel my morning yoga class at the Martial Arts Academy. Not really a huge deal for my class since I have hardly advertised for it at all and more often than not, since starting the class last month, no one has shown up. I really should advertise..... but that's another topic for another time.

Anyway, I could tell by the time we left the house (without my phone, without my sketchbook, and without money) that this was not just going to impact my morning, but the whole day. I did what I had to do, but without any particular flare or excitement behind me. My daughter, on the other had, was perfectly happy with spending the day with Mom.

After we checked in at the doctor's office I anticipated a long wait, reached for my sketchbook, remembered I forgot it - along with everything else - and sank a little lower into my plastic seat. On the side table was one, mind you One magazine, WebMD Wire. Woopidydoo.

I opened it at random and immediately recognized a picture of a man in the lotus possition. The article was titled "Om, Sweet Om". 80 plus pages and I managed to open up to the only meditation article in it. Sometimes the Universe whispers to us, sometimes it screams.

In a nutshell the article pointed out that meditation research has become a point of interest over the past few years at several leading research facilities and the interest is growing exponentially. Though it's a difficult field for scientists to study, - try to measure metaphysical growth - several individuals have dedicated most of their professional lives to paving the way for western medicine to jump in. What was previously a subject ignored as flippant mysticism is now setting roots as a medication.

Research facilities such as Dalian University of Technology in China, National Academy of Sciences, Harvard Medical School, Society of Neuroscience, and the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center have popped up in more than 1,000 articles stating their results from continued meditation studies. Everything from anxiety, depression, blood pressure, hot flashes, HIV, ADD, ADHD, schizophrenia, rheumatoid arthritis, and daily stress is being linked with meditative studies.

Of all the articles I've read on "leading research" in meditation, I keep coming back to the same thing. Well of course meditation can help! It's as if the new world powers, the leaders in technology and life, are taking their sweet time to, not so much discover, as realize what has already been in practice for thousands of years. And been a success at that.

TWO TO TANGO

This morning's class at the Tango Tea Room brought to light something I've been trying to watch over closely since my very first class. Injuries. More importantly, injured parts of the body that scream for attention.

As a student I have run into other fellow students working with pain, guided by pain, or otherwise ignoring their pain. None of these tactics ever seemed right to me. Especially considering that the majority of the time I studied Yoga (before teacher's training) I was in constant pain; whether it be my ankles, foot, neck, or more often my lower back. So for years, in watching more-seasoned students struggle through asanas or pranayama because of their near debilitating pain, I simply thought that's the way it was to be. That my pain was a cause of my own actions and someday, through shear determination and a consistant yoga practice I would magically wake up one day and be physically healed. My body would be happy and so shall I.

As great as the classes were, pain just wasn't talked about much. It was something largely ignored by my past instructors, only talked about when a student approached them privately after class. As if pain itself was the problem and should not be acknowledge for fear of exacerbating the situation. Unlike the truth of it all, which I've come to find is that all people are in pain at some point: physically, emotionally, mentally and yes, spiritually. The physical side of the spectrum is usually where we put our focus, though, when in class.

So with today, I started the class with my usual nod to a bit of Jnana Yoga by discussing some theories of yoga that applied to our day's practice, then reminding everyone to take care, listen to their bodies, and when in doubt or pain, come out of the pose and/or go to Child's Pose - Balasana.

About an hour into the practice a friend of mine who was seated in the back row came out of the pose we were working through and started rubbing her wrist. After guiding the rest of the class back down to Dandasana I looked over to see if she was O.K. She said she was fine, just that the particular pose we were in was not working with her wrist and so she sat back down. I decided to take that moment to basically make an example of her. She didn't seem to mind and the timing was perfect. I used her great judgement and style to reitterate my point about bringing the "yoga mindset" into our yoga practice; being aware of our bodies and listening to them. "Remeber this isn't feel the burn it's more like find the enlightenment."

After that I noticed one more student in the front row do the same thing: slowly lower down out of her Downward Facing Dog and relax into Balasana. I have to say, I was very happy to see that. This second student was someone just getting back into yoga after a few years of hiatus. I noticed she had been struggling already a few times earlier in the class and whether she needed a restorative pose then or not, I can not say, but I was happy to see both students use good judgement, listen to what their bodies were saying and rather than jerk out of their positions, lower slowly to their mats and relieve the stress.

As an instructor with a full class I know that I can not give each and every student the full attention they need. I know (as much as I don't like it) that some things will go unnoticed on my part. The best I can do is give a great lesson in yoga each and every time. The rest I must leave up to the wonderful yogis that come to participate. It is in that thought right there why I insist on reminding several times throughout our 90 minute class to "listen to your bodies", "don't strain yourselves", and "if it hurts, stop."