Elimination diet!

Recently a dear friend of mine, Jesse, came to visit Oahu for his birthday.  Among the many things that I love about him (his wit, adventurous & fun nature, taste in music, good food, beer & coffee, his love of all things orange, keen sense of style, the fact that he regularly sends me postcards) is that every year Jesse takes a 30-day cleanse.  He forgoes alcohol and caffeine (among other things) and dedicates the time to the pursuit of all things healthy.  For the past two years, Jesse's 30-day cleanse has culminated with Rachel & my President's Day yoga retreat at Aldermarsh.  This year, as sadly there is no Aldermarsh retreat, Jesse wanted to try something different.  So he scoped out Banyan Botanicals Ayurvedic Cleanse Kit and asked me to take a look at the package.  Ayurveda is a science that takes the individual person with their personal Doshas, in their current state quite seriously.  So while sure, the Ayurvedic Cleanse Kit is okay.... (honestly, fundamentally I have a problem with the one fits all idea Kit given the premise of Ayurveda), Jesse and I spoke and I put together a combination of herbs for him to order and mix; specific to Jesse's doshas.  I gave him a basic kitcheri recipe to follow as part of a 10-day Elimination diet.  He and I will be in touch over the course of his experimentation with Neti pots, herbs and kitcheri (oh my!!!).  

 I am a big fan of reduction (Elimination) diets and a big fan of food.  Most people (through the Ayurvedic lense) should not go on crazy fasts with no food.   In fact, the only Dosha equipped to handle no food is a purely Kapha person.  For the rest, the majority of us, fasting does more harm than good.  I appreciate the Elimination Diet because it slowly eases you in and out of the process of letting go of extras like caffeine, it minimizing cravings and adverse reactions, like headaches, and allows you to eat the entire way.  

 Personally, I try to do the Elimination Diet at the juncture of every season, however, it simply depends on what is going on in my life and if it will do more harm than help.  So, although the Winter season change happened in December, due to finals, holiday travel, etc., I'll be doing my winter Elimination Diet starting tomorrow.  Wish me luck!  If you'd like to join us on an Elimination Diet and need some advice or would like Ayurvedic consultation or follow up, don't hesitate to get in touch.  We can talk in person or via Skype!  Until next week, be happy, be healthy, be you!

Sadhana (practice) - Just do it!!!

There is a lot of controversy in the yoga world about practice.  How much should you practice? Daily?  If so, for how long?  How much is too much?  These are all good questions that I will get to after I take a trip down memory lane.

My first yoga class was in a community center in Illinois during my senior year in High School.  My memory of the experience is rather foggy but I think it was a Hatha class.  During college I took more classes in a variety of styles at different studios around Madison.  It was during this time that I began a home practice.  I did not have a mentor or a teacher or anyone telling me this was a good thing to do, it just made sense.  It wasn't so much that I was a broke college student, having the support of my parents and year round job, it was more that my schedule didn't always line up with classes. 

          
You may not know it, but I am something of an introvert.  My husband likes to call me the most extroverted introvert that he knows (he definitely being TRULY an introvert!!!).  But it is true!  I have always been shy and sensitive.  I have never felt comfortable with big groups of people I don't know.  So, when I had the choice to just practice at home by myself or enter a studio, often I chose to be at home.  Some people really struggle with creating and maintaining a home practice.  I cannot say I relate to this.  It usually takes less than a week away from my home practice when I start to see my life deteriorate in quality all around me.  I have a shorter fuse.  I am not as productive.  I commit prajnaparadha (crimes against wisdom) you know, bad choices, choices that will not make me feel happy and healthy in the short or long term.  This is when you willfully ignore your own inner wisdom or that little voice in your head.  
 
So how often should you practice?  My advice is that you practice every day!  While listening to an interview with Dr. Baxter Bell on Yoga for Healthy Ageing, I heard an interesting quote from Judith Lasater on practice.  When asked how often you should practice, she responded, "Only on the days that you want to feel good."  I agree!  This does not mean you need to practice 2 hours every day. Or if you miss a few days you should beat yourself up over it.  But, making a commitment to practice and sticking with it will have what is called the 'glacier effect'.  The weight of the practice, like a glacier, reaches a critical mass and it slips.  The practice and way of life takes hold of you and will just move you along (Sutra IV.26).  You'll feel so good from your practice that you will keep doing it, you will want to do your practice because you will see the benefits.

How much should you practice?  For me, it was helpful to set a minimum daily requirement (MDR).  It is not much either!  My MDR is ten minutes of asana, five minutes of pranayama and ten minutes of meditation.  That's 25 minutes.  Also, if I am feeling very tired those ten minutes of asana might just be restorative yoga with a bolster, blanket and eye pillow, savasana anyone???  This leads me to my next point; daily practice should make you feel better, not worse.  So if you are tired, let your asana practice be mellow, if you have some steam to work off or need to do some strengthening work, pump up the volume (dance, dance) on your practice and get moving!  Your MDR may be more or less or include different things.  If you don't have a pranayama or meditation practice, no worries (although I would highly recommend them!).  To sum it up, daily sadhana is worth it!  Just do it!

See you next year at LAX!

Ahhhhh, nothing like holiday traveling to bring out the best behavior that humanity has to offer.  Ironically, in the midst of collective societal New Years resolutions I found myself at LAX trying to navigate my way from the American Airlines terminal to the United terminal. 

I have been at airports all over the world, I have traveled places where I cannot speak the language and I must say, navigating LAX was harder than most of the places I have been.  Within 2 minutes at LAX I felt bewildered.  There were no maps to explain the layout of the airport and few airline personnel to be found.  Finally, I found someone to point me in the right direction, a fifteen-minute walk to another terminal where I would have to go through security again.  

While standing in the security line, which seemed pointless as I had gone through security to get on my first flight, I stood behind a man screaming at his wife on a cell phone.  His energy was so negative that I found myself cringing and energetically closing off while physically moving away.  Everyone in the vicinity grew quite.  As I observed the scene unfolding, the man went from screaming at his wife to yelling at the security personnel, and something shifted in my mind.  I noticed my frustration, tiredness, and discomfort with the situation.  I stopped (nirodhah) my inner dialogue, judgment and feelings.  I took a moment in the security line to breath in light and breath out darkness, and I kept breathing until clarity and well being filled my mind. 

In a matter of a minute, one man's rage turned my personal agitation and suffering (duhkha) into presence and compassion.  As it turned out, the man had lost his wife somewhere in the airport and had all her carry on luggage.  Two carry on bags are the limit, so security wouldn't let him through to his flight and to meet his wife who had somehow found her way to the gate. Granted his reaction wasn't fantastic but hey, how would you feel?

One of my teacher's Jo Leffingwell says to use everything as a reminder to come back to the practice.  So if you are sitting in meditation and you hear a practitioner obnoxiously clearing their throat you should thank them in your mind for reminding you to be present.  The things that bother you are invitations to get a little closer to all the uncomfortable parts of yourself that you try so hard to push away.  This allows you to integrate the shadow side of yourself with the one that you put out on display for the world to see. 

Coincidentally, a similar situation unfolded a few days earlier while I was practicing asana in the garage (aka my yoga studio) in my parents' home in Florida.  My adorable 2-year-old niece Shea came in to play in my yoga studio ;)  Her mother Megan looked at me and playfully chimed, "I hope you weren't trying to meditate!" Sincerely, it was no problem and Shea's presence was completely welcome.  She played and I practiced.  Sure, it's a lot more enjoyable to have a little girl’s chatter or the sound of crashing waves to remind you to be present with your self but we cannot always control our environments.  Nor should we!  We can plan for the best, but life always throws you curve balls.  Sometimes those uninvited guests are exactly what you need to face yourself honestly and to grow.

Pema Chödrön explains this concept perfectly.  She writes, " I saw a cartoon that describes this.  A head of iceberg lettuce is sitting in a garden saying, 'Oh no, how did I get in this vegetable garden again?  I wanted to be a wildflower!'  The caption reads, Oscar is born again as a head of iceberg lettuce in order to overcome his fear of being eaten."  Ha ha ha. 

As I am continually working on making friends with my fears and my humanness I have come to the following conclusion...

Traveling around the holidays will always provide a plethora of experiences that will allow me to see all of my dirt and situations that force me to pull out all of my tools in the hopes that I will handle the stress a bit more gracefully. 

All that being said, I am very much looking forward to next year's holiday travel time!  See you at LAX!

Winter Ritucharya

Winter is officially here.  Ahhhhh winter.  When we are in balance it can be a cozy season of rest, introspection, quiet practice, warm teas, warm baths and warm blankets to balance the external cold.  When we are out of balance, it can be a season of internal darkness, sluggishness, lethargy, loneliness and harshness, seemingly increased by the lack of light and color.

Don't get me wrong, I despise the cold.  I have a chronic case of where's my extra layer???  My side of the bed always has an extra blanket and you may find me curled up with socks and a sweater while I sleep.  My body lacks a strong internal fire, the kind that finds some people throwing blankets to the other side of the bed in the middle of the night and searching for cold drinks regardless of the single digit on the thermometer outside.

Despite my aversion to all things cold, I understand, respect and enjoy Winter's purpose.  Winter provides the perfect space for rest.  If you look outside, nature is resting.  She is hibernating, saving her energy for a more appropriate time of year.

If I have learned one thing from studying Ayurveda intensively this year, you do not get into a battle of wits with Mother Nature.  She will smack you down.  There is no way to get around nature, you cannot talk a hurricane into shifting it's course or pretend that you will get on your flight to Chicago when they have actually cancelled it due to a foot of snow (yes, this did just happened to me yesterday).  Nature will run it's course, regardless of how you feel about it.

So my advice?  Work with it.  Seek the beauty of winter, it's stillness, it's silence and even it's darkness.  It is easier to see the stars that way, both in the sky and inside of ourselves.  What glows inside of you regardless of the season?

Oh, and eat warm food and drink warm beverages.  Do your asana practice with determination and effort.  Focus on commitment and strength.  Think long holds in standing or inverted postures.  Take pranayama practices that uplift energy and create internal heat.  Winter can also be a fantastic time to take back some time for quiet meditation.  Winter is already doing it.  Follow it's lead.

The Autumnal Equinox: Reflections on Balance

It’s been coming for some time now.  Cooler nights.  Longer nights.  While we have enjoyed one of the driest periods of time on record in the PNW we all know what is coming next.  Clouds and mist.

Before we go rushing into the future, anticipating the need for rain boots, a waterproof coat and a change of clothing; or pining for our single layer summer days; let’s pause and observe what has been creeping up on us, the autumnal equinox.  For a single day in the autumn and a single day in spring, the balance between light and dark on the planet is even.  The opposing qualities of light flitter into brief harmony.

Interestingly enough, the concept of duality or opposing qualities has been following me around like an annoying little sibling (much love to my three younger siblings!)  When something presents itself over and over in my life, I have learned to pause and reflect on what I might need to learn from this concept. 

Our minds have a need to create order and categorize.  When we were running around with little less than sticks, rocks and trees to protect ourselves, this served us rather well.  It helped us survive. Buddhist thought asks us to step out of the duality of good and bad, right and wrong and accept all aspects of life as experience.  I often speak about this as radical acceptance or big love. 

Being a human being means, we have an amazing capacity for emotion.  It runs the gauntlet from high to low.  I am learning more and more to value the lows.  To stop running away from frustration, irritation and embarrassment and to sit with it.  To say to myself, oh, this is what anger feels like in my body, in my mind, and in my energy. 

The question then becomes could I hold with as much love the parts of my life and myself that I dislike as much as those parts that I do like?  Could I practice radical acceptance, not only a narrow like for the ease in my life but a love without borders for every part of my life?  The effort for this kind of living must be fierce.  But with practice, as with all things, it gets easier every day. 

On this day after the equinox, I choose to appreciate the highs and lows in my day.  I am reminded of the dual necessity of summer and winter, light and dark, a season of growth and a season of rest.  Balance, by design, is all inclusive….  big love!

Nature rules!

Something magical happens to us when we get outside and into the elements.  No matter how many waterproof layers I have to drape over my body in winter, nor how much I sweat pours out of my skin during summer, I always feel better after I have been outside. 

Ayurvedic wisdom teaches us that we are made of a unique composition of earth, water, fire, air and ether.  Earth, the bones in our bodies; water, the blood running through our veins; fire, the digestive acids; air, the force that feeds our metabolic processes; ether, the space in our inner organs and bones.  As Carl Sagan so fondly says,"We are made of star stuff." 

We have an undeniable connection to the natural world.  When we are in it, it can be the most profound meditation to be experienced.  It's no coincidence that spiritual seekers tuck themselves away in high mountains or travel to deserted beaches.  When the only thing that remains is you and the elements, you must hold up a mirror and face yourself.  You see clearly your doubts, fears and insecurities.  The patterns of your thoughts.  The things you must change in order to be healthy and happy.

Beyond all that heavy stuff, using your body to move through incredible scenery feeds your soul.  You see a beauty that is beyond anything you could pay for.  You experience the great gift that is your life.  This has the power to stir a fierce commitment to make every day the best that it can be and to never take for granted each moment that you have.

So what are you waiting for?  Get out there!

Yoga for Sleep

Yoga for Sleep

The fine folks at Soaring Heart have allowed me to create a yoga class to educate their community on ways to sleep well.  If you have not made it to a class yet, donation based classes are held every Friday through May 25th from 6:30-8pm.  Hope to see you there!

At some point in our lives, most of us have experienced what it is like to have trouble falling asleep, have lied awake in the middle of the night or have woken up endlessly before it is time to get up in the morning.  When sleep is disturbed, it seems like everything in life becomes harder.  Our energy is low, we feel irritable, fatigued, stressed and cannot seem to get anything accomplished.  Sound sleep is essential to our overall well-being, both physically and mentally.

Sound sleeping is a gift, which some people seem to possess more than others.  There are many factors that can hinder restful sleep: insomnia, sleep apnea, back and neck pain, jet lag, anxiety, depression, stress or a combination of these common issues.  Regardless of whether you have chronic sleeping issues or have intermittent challenges to restful sleep, there are natural solutions that can help you sleep with greater ease.  It is important to note that some sleeping conditions and some folks will need medical assistance for their individual situations, however, we can all benefit from tips on how to sleep well.  One fun way to learn natural sleeping techniques is through yoga class geared towards gentle stretching, breath work and meditation.

Yoga is an ancient practice of well-being that fully integrates the body with the mind and spirit.  In our Emerald City myriad yoga studios and styles can be found in practically every neighborhood from Greenwood to Georgetown.  When asked, yogis and yoginis will avow their increased flexibility, strength and body awareness.  Beyond a renewed feeling of physical ease, yoga practitioners profess a reduction of stress, increased mental clarity and tranquility in their daily lives.  It seems almost to good to be true!

On a physical level, yoga can address physical aliments that prevent sound sleeping through a combination of stretching and strengthening.  Back and neck discomfort are the two most common aliments that contribute to poor sleep.  By directly stretching these areas as well as the surrounding tissues, our bodies can learn to relax.  When the body is at ease, sleep is simply better. 

While the actual yoga postures are like one chapter in the practice of yoga, breath work and meditation are additional chapters unto themselves.  Anyone that has taken a yoga class can identify and hopefully create the sounded breath (Ujjayi) that accompanies the yoga practice.  There are also other breath practices that are specifically meant to relax the body and mind.  Once mastered, these practices can be taken on ones own to help ease the busy mind.  An anxious mind can be a major hindrance to falling asleep and staying asleep.  Breath practice teaches practitioner to still the mind and enter into the deep relaxation that comes with meditation.  Many body based meditations exist that can make meditation accessible to all!

Yoga would not be yoga without mindfulness.  The first principle in the philosophy of yoga is Ahimsa or non-harm.  This means not harming yourself or any other sentient being in thought, word or deed.  Life is valued, be it of a stranger on the street, your neighbors barking dog or the very Earth that surrounds us.  When we embrace Ahimsa as a value in our lives, we live and breathe acceptance.  We accept ourselves, exactly as we are, here in the present.  We accept all of our thoughts, be they helpful or not.   We accept how, perhaps, we have ended up in a pattern of restless nights.  By accepting and knowing ourselves, we have the power to hold on to things that are working in our lives and let go of anything that is not.  We have the power to learn, change and grow. 

 

Yoga for Sleep includes gentle stretching to open the body and alleviate tight places that have accumulated over the workweek.  Breath and mindfulness practices are integrated to keep the busy mind focused and receive maximum benefits from the movement.  Props such as supportive pillows are provided for the movement practice to create ease for the body in restorative, long held comfortable positions.  The last part of class features guided meditation to release layers of tension in the physical body and relax the mind.  Please bring your yoga mat, blanket, comfy clothes and an open mind!