Welcome to the Living Practice – December 2001
Letter
from the editor
Kindness
by Naomi Shihah Nye
Chronic
Injury and Yoga Rehabilitation by Sam Dworkis, MS, LMT
Website Review by Dr. KEV
Namaste: The Significance of a Yogic Greeting by Nitin Kumar
Shree Maa's Message ... received
from the Heart of Kirtan
Unconditional Giving by Gary
McCarver
We Give-away Our Thanks by Dolores La Chapelle
Little
Teachers by Megan Lurie McCarver
A Note From Yogaeverywhere
Yoga eVents
Healthy Holiday Gift Suggestions
Past Issues of the Living Practice
Dear
lovely viewers,
Thank you for your love, support
and devotion to the Living Practice and to yoga. You inspire me! My simple
holiday message is this … the holidays are about “presence”, not presents. May
you be full of compassion and hope. Persevere because struggle is part of human
nature, even during the holidays.
With
love and respect to you,
Megan
Ps. Best
wishes go out to Carl in San Francisco for starting his first light yoga class.
Have fun!
Kindness
by Naomi Shihah Nye
Before
you know what kindness really is
You must
lose things,
Feel the
future dissolve in a moment
Like
salt in a weakened broth.
What you
held in your hand,
What you
counted and carefully saved,
All this
must go so you know
How
desolate the landscape can be
Between
the regions of kindness.
How you
ride and ride
Thinking
the bus will never stop,
The
passengers eating maize and chicken
Will
stare out the window forever.
Before you learn the tender
gravity of kindness,
you must travel where the Indian
in the white poncho
Lies
dead by the side of the road.
You must
see how this could be you,
How he
too was someone
Who
journeyed through the night with plans
And the
simple breath that kept him alive.
Before
you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,
You must
know sorrow as the other deepest thing.
You must
wake up with sorrow.
You must
speak to it till your voice
Catches
the thread of all sorrows
And you
see the size of the cloth.
Then it
is only kindness that makes sense anymore,
Only
kindness that ties your shoes
And
sends you out into the day to mail letters and purchase bread,
Only
kindness that raises it’s head
From a
crowd of the world to say
It is I
you have been looking for,
And then
goes with you everywhere
Like a shadow or a friend.
Naomi
Shihab Nye
Chronic
Injury and Yoga Rehabilitation by Sam Dworkis, MS, LMT
Because many of us were brought up believing in the saying
“no pain, no gain,” most of us, at some time or another, will experience a yoga
injury. After all, when we were in school, our coaches and peers encouraged,
and often demanded, that we give our athletic pursuits our very best effort,
even when injured.
Many of us
have transferred that concept right into our yoga practice. In addition, there
are many approaches to yoga whose teachers encourage their students to “push
their edges.”
Yet, even
if we practice non aggressive yoga, it is normal that muscle soreness will
follow; for it is simply the natural breaking down of muscle tissue and its
rebuilding that promotes strength and flexibility, and enhances performance.
However,
there is a point where pushing ourselves goes beyond normal enhanced
performance and enters the realm of chronic injury.
There is a
clear difference between “day after pain” following a hard asana practice
versus acute pain following an injury. Specifically, ‘’day after pain’’ usually
diminishes in a day or two. However, if pain persists, you might have a
condition where tissue has been so traumatized that it is replaced by scar
tissue. Then mobility decreases and pain increases which is, thankfully,
responsive to rehabilitative yoga.
Injuries
are supposed to be painful, because pain is the body’s way of telling you there
is a problem that needs to be addressed. Ignoring this message often creates
chronic injury, which becomes more common as we age (ageing mechanisms are discussed in my website).
Trying to
work through pain often exacerbates what might have been a minor injury and
often creates additional unwanted fascia adhesions (scarring) along with
stressed and atrophied soft tissue.
When
chronically injured, many structures away from a primary injury also become
affected; including surrounding muscles, tendons, ligaments, joint capsules,
and especially, the fascia, which when chronically contracted, becomes a
primary cause of chronic overall pain, weakness, and loss of flexibility (also
see my website for a full discussion of fascia).
When
applied to the healing process, yoga therapy is a non-painful and an extremely
effective rehabilitative tool. When appropriately practiced, it works on the
level of fascia, which serves to rebuild strength and endurance, and to restore
and maintain flexibility; both during and after the therapeutic process.
Sam
Dworkis is author of ExTension (Simon & Schuster 1994) and Recovery
Yoga (Random House 1998). He instructs individuals and small groups in
Wellington, Florida, conducts yoga trainings nationwide, and may be reached
through his educational website, (Please study with Sam at his yoga
seminar in December listed in Yoga eVents).
Namaste:
The Significance of a Yogic Greeting by Nitin Kumar
Written by a qualified Mechanical Engineer by education, Nitin Kumar studied Sanskrit under renowned scholars. He successfully completed the advanced course in Modern Art from the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi. Also successfully presented his thesis for the India Art and Culture curriculum at the National Museum of India. Great article on Namaste.
Shree Maa's
Message ... received from the Heart of Kirtan
BE TRUE. Say what you mean & do what you say. If you are true, you will be
without fear. If your conscience is clear, your heart will be silent. That is
Peace. No matter what the result.
BE SIMPLE. Many words are a burden to the soul. The real message of your heart
will be communicated by your actions. The words will only explain the actions.
But they must agree, lest we become hypocrites who preach what we ourselves do
not practice.
BE FREE. Leave your selfishness behind. The people whose
opinions are valued will love us for what we are, not for what we have. The
respect which can be bought is as useless as a tree which bears neither flowers
nor fruits. When the leaves will fall & the
trunk wither, none will come again.
TAKE REFUGE IN GOD. Neither your friends, relations or others will take you to
heaven. Only Wisdom will be our salvation.
CULTIVATE WISDOM. Learn from everyone, everywhere. Then use that knowledge
which will bring you into harmony with the universe.
DEVELOP DISCRIMINATION. Pursue only those desires which will make you free.
Leave the ones which will get you into trouble. Know the difference &
remind yourself daily. Remember that the God you seek resides in every atom.
You can offer respect to every atom, even while you maintain your own
discipline inside. That you are a spiritual seeker is not something you need to
show outside. It will manifest in your behavior, without your having to try. If
we are gentle, loving, kind & honest in our dealings, that is spiritual.
Your spirituality cannot be hidden. Similarly, if one is full of fears &
trying to hide his inner emotions, such a person is not full of spirit. That is
only ego.
LET ALL OUR ACTIONS MANIFEST OUR LOVE. Work is visible love, the expression of
love that we can see. People want
realization, liberation, to become enlightened. Do not think it is something
different from doing for others as you would have them do for you.
SPIRITUALITY IS VERY SIMPLE. "I am everywhere," says the sage.
"I exist in every form of creation. If I hurt any form, I hurt myself. If
I raise any form to a higher level, I myself find progress." It is easy.
BLESS YOU!
"Shree Maa's basic teaching is that every home is a temple, & all of
the occupants within are the priests; that a Guru is an example of inspired
leadership, & wherever there is teaching the Guru is present; & that
whenever anyone performs any action with respectful attention, sincerity &
devotion, that person is performing worship.
Worship means paying attention. Learning takes place when one pays attention.
When we love something or someone, we pay attention. We offer respect through
paying attention. The practice of concentrating our attention is called
meditation. Through the practice of meditation we learn how to learn, we learn
how to love, we learn how to respect, how to worship, how to pay attention --
how to increase the efficiency of every function in our lives."
A Retelling of a Story of Unconditional Giving
by Gary McCarver
As the holidays are upon us, my mind goes to a story to
which I cannot remember the source, but is still well worth the retelling. It
is a story of Timmy, age seven and his younger sister, Sara, age two. Sara
contracted a serious condition that could only be remedied by the transfusion
of her rare blood type. Miraculously, Timmy had the blood type and his mother
asked him if he would be willing to save his sister’s life by donating his
blood.
Timmy agreed to save his sister. On day of the procedure,
Timmy handed his mother a tightly folded piece of paper, which she hastily put
in her pocket. As the collection bag filled with Timmy’s life-giving blood, he
asked the attending nurse how long would it be before he would die. The nurse
explained to Timmy that you do not need to die to donate blood to save another.
When the mother opened the letter, she discovered it was Timmy’s will which he
had hastily written leaving his favorite toys to Sara. Timmy was unselfishly
willing to give his all for his little sister, even his life.
Every year at this time, I ask myself what I can give for
the holiday season that will make a difference in the lives of others.
Gary McCarver is a Certified Financial Planner with his own
investment advisory company, serving clients throughout Southern California. In his spare time he helps in the production
of the Living Practice eNewsletter and maintaining the YogaEverywhere.com
website with his wife Megan.
******************************************
We give-away out thanks to the
earth
which gives us our home.
We give-away our thanks to the
rivers and lakes
which give away their water.
We give-away our thanks to the
trees
which give-away fruit and nuts.
We give-away our thanks to the
wind
which brings rain to water the
plants.
We give-away out thanks to the sun
who gives-away warmth and light.
All beings on earth: the trees,
the animals, the wind and the rivers give-away to one another so all is in
balance.
We give-away our promise to begin
to learn
how to stay in balance with all
the earth.
- Dolores La Chapelle
Little Teachers by Megan Lurie McCarver
The
other day I was easing into Half Moon pose, Ardha Chandrasana, and little Rose
who is almost three pressed down on my right standing foot as she attempted to
lift my left leg higher. She then proceeded to my back where my head was
hanging and supported my head with her little hands. Two and three quarters you
guys. Once again, it shows me how natural yoga is, how organic the poses are
and how inviting the energy is. If you have kids, share your practice with
them. Begin now!
Megan is the founder of www.YogaEverywhere.com
She teaches several classes per week and is available to teach yoga for
corporate seminars and conventions. Her specialty is introducing people to the
yoga community in a gentle and kind
fashion. Please check out her 15 Minutes to Relaxation audiocassette tape
listed in the holiday gift suggestion section below.