Welcome to the Living Practice – November
2001
Letter
from the editor
Fall ~ The Fall of the Year by
Howard Thurman (1900-1981)
Stress, Anxiety and Yoga Breathing -- A Primer for your
Non-Yoga Family and Friends by Sam Dworkis
Website Review by Dr. Kev
Yoga and Terrorism by Georg
Feuerstein
When Death Comes by Mary Oliver
Simple Guidelines on Sequencing a
Yoga Class by Arun Deva
A Child
Yoga Class by Rana Kirkland
A Note From Yogaeverywhere
Yoga eVents
Past Issues of the Living Practice
Hi There Lovely Readers,
Oh how I
love the fall, even in southern California! When I surrender to the shorter
days, the cooler nights and the slower rhythms, I return to my natural flow of
being true to the season and me. Of course there is always distraction. From
now till the New Year there is a tremendous amount of celebration
(unconditional as well as obligatory), over eating, and holiday pressure, oddly
during the darkest days of the year. Perhaps the celebrations are designed to
distract us from the dark. What’s wrong with the dark? Bears hibernate in the
dark. Shooting stars provide wishes in the dark. Santa Claus and the Tooth
Fairy are most productive in the dark.
The
attacks on the United States are creating more dark shadows of fear. I receive
eMails of people feeling hollow or dead inside. I feel my own anxiety levels
rising when I listen to the news. This is all a normal response to challenging
times. Please pause for a moment, close your eyes and take a few soothing
breathes. What do you see? Notice how resting your eyes allow you to see the
dancing shadows of light illuminating from your heart. Trust it. Again close
your eyes and listen to the steady beat of your heart. Feel you now. Present,
predictable and safe. Enjoy the moment.
With
love and grace,
Megan
http://www.yogaeverywhere.com/
Fall
~ The Fall of the Year by Howard Thurman (1900-1981)
For many of us the fall of the year is a time of sadness and
the long memory. All around us there are the evidences of fading, of
withdrawal, of things coming to an end. What was
alive and
growing a few short days or weeks ago seems now to have fulfilled itself and
fallen back into the shadows. Vegetation withers but there is no agony of
departure; there seems to be only death and stillness in the fall.
It is the time of the changing of the guard. It is the season
of the retreat of energy. It is a time of letting go. It is the period of the
first exhaustion. There is a chill in the air in the fall. It is not cold; it
is chilly, as if the temperature cannot quite make up its mind. The chill is
ominous, the forerunner of the vital coldness of winter.
But the fall of the year is more than that. It marks an
important change in the cycle of the year. This change means that summer has
past. One season ends by blending into another. Here is a change of pace
accenting a rhythm in the passing of time. How important this is! The
particular mood inspires recollection and reflection. There is something very
steadying and secure in the awareness that there is an underlying dependability
in life – that change is a part of the experience of living. It is a reminder
of meaning of pause and plateau.
But fall provides something more. There is a harvest, a time
of ingathering, of storing up in nature; there is a harvest, a time of
ingathering, of storing up in the heart. There is the time when there must be a
separation of that which has said its say and passes - that which ripens and
finds its meaning in sustaining life in other forms. Nothing is lost, nothing
disappears; all things belong, each in its way, to a harmony and an order which
envelops all, which infuses all.
Fall accentuates
the goodness of life and finds its truest meaning in the strength of winter and
the breath of spring. Thank God for the Fall.
Stress, Anxiety and Yoga Breathing -- A Primer for your Non-Yoga
Family and Friends by Sam Dworkis
The events of recent months vie for our attention and tug at
the normalcy of everyday life. We now live in extraordinary times and the very
foundations of society that have been stable for so long are now rife with
menace and danger.
Although material abundance and technology surrounds us,
most of us are experiencing to some degree or another, an underlying fear and
anxiety that are both elemental and pervasive. They just don’t seem to go away.
Yet fear and anxiety should not go away, for they are
proper responses to the events and things that threaten us. Fear and anxiety
are nature’s way of stimulating our nervous system in order to ensure that we
can respond to impending danger. However, excessive fear and anxiety can quickly
escalate to the point of circumventing our ability to take appropriate
action.
During periods of stress or extraordinary challenge, people
tend to hold their breath or hyperventilate which are very worst things you can
do. The mechanics of excessive stress and inappropriate breathing causes
elevations in blood pressure, pulse, metabolism, and oxygen consumption; all of
which creates an abundance of harmful blood chemistry that is both damaging to
body and emotions.
And if that weren’t enough, prolonged stress greatly
interferes with effective thinking and decision-making. Although it is never
appropriate to lose control, now is a particularly critical time to maintain
command of your physical and emotional health. One of your most important tools
in learning to control stress; or more succinctly, how to control your reaction
to stress, is learning how to control your breathing.
All forms of meditation, including yoga, use controlled
breathing. Even though breathing is “autonomic,” meaning that it is always
there and there’s nothing you need do in order to breathe; it is also
controllable and in so doing, yields substantial rewards.
Yoga exponents have known for millennia what science has
recently confirmed: There is an intimate connection between yoga breathing and
your ability to control aspects of your nervous system, immune system,
emotions, and your overall health.
Forget about learning esoteric yogic techniques and forget
about contorting your body into a pretzel. Anyone and everyone can learn simple
breath control techniques, for it is scientifically proven that a regular
practice of even the most rudimentary breath control techniques creates
positive changes in brain and body chemistry. This in turn lowers blood
pressure, increases oxygen absorption, and slows metabolism; all of which helps
you to think more clearly, especially when under stress.
The more you practice, the more you get. A basic and simple
practice yields immediate relaxation and a clearer mind. Over time, a sustained
practice provides a potential for maximizing physical and emotional stability
and health. It’s been said that in life, there is no magic bullet; but to my
way of thinking, breath control is the next best thing.
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, www.extensionyoga.com. (Check out Sam’s yoga seminar in December
under Yoga eVents)
When Death Comes
by Mary Oliver
When death comes
like the hungry bear in autumn;
when death comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse
to buy me, and snaps the purse shut;
when death comes
like the measle-pox
when death comes
like an iceberg between the shoulder blades,
I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering:
what is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness?
And therefore I look upon everything
as a brotherhood and a sisterhood,
and I look upon time as no more than an idea,
and I consider eternity as another possibility,
and I think of each life as a flower, as common
as a field daisy, and as singular,
and each name a comfortable music in the mouth,
tending, as all music does, toward silence,
and each body a lion of courage, and something
precious to the earth.
When it's over, I want to say all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.
When it's over, I don't want to wonder
if I have made of my life something particular, and real.
I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened,
or full of argument.
I don't want to end up simply having visited this world.
Simple Guidelines on Sequencing a Yoga
Class by Arun Deva
A breath is just a breath. However, were we trying to learn
how to manage it we would break it up into inhalation, internal retention,
exhalation and external retention. Similarly, to learn to manage a yoga class
we need to break it down into four parts.
Let us call these four parts segments. They are centering,
warming up, body and resolution.
“Centering” refers to bringing the attention of the student
into the space they are in and then focusing it on the practice they will be
doing. In a level one class it is usually best to start in a seated position. A
chant or a few words by the teacher will then prepare the student for the work
ahead of them. In an intermediate class the teacher can even start in
“sama-stitthi” or “attention pose” which is more active and appropriate for
this level of student. An advanced class could begin in “Uttanasana” or
“intense forward bend”. The purpose of this opening segment is to allow the
student to completely concentrate on their practice so that they may deepen it
by adding awareness.
Once this concentration is achieved, it becomes time to make
the body malleable. This next segment is thus called “warming up.” Generally,
warming up is achieved with a few sun salutations. If, however, it is an
intermediate or advanced class, this may not be advisable. A level one or
beginners class may be better served by breaking up the sun salutation into its
parts and perhaps even leaving out “down dog” as this can be hard on the wrists
if the upper body strength is not there or the weight is incorrectly held.
“Upward facing dog” may also be replaced by “cobra”. As the student begins to
warm up, one or two “chatturangas” may be added to the sequence to begin to
build up that upper body strength and to help in warming up the body faster.
The next segment or “body” of the class will consist of the
sequence of asanas that the class wishes to address. Usually the sequence
follows a pattern that logically and systematically begins to open the body:
standing poses to seated poses to backbends to inversions to twists. In an
intermediate class you could add in arm balances after the standing poses and
in level one classes you could completely leave out inversions or make them as
mild as a “downward facing dog” or a “supported shoulder stand.” As for
advanced classes, they could take the form of a workshop and concentrate
primarily on specifics such as backbends or inversions. Even here, though, a
sequence must be followed and it should begin with at least some of the
standing versions of forward bends, triangles, warriors and balances. It should
also flow from the specific difficult poses attempted to seated forward bends,
some mild backbends followed by back releases, to twists.
At the end of this segment the student has to be brought
back to a state of relaxation that will allow them to get on with their day.
They cannot be left to their own devices as far as resolving the class goes.
Therefore this next and last segment is referred to as “resolution.” This is
where the practice has to be assimilated so that it does not get “left in the
classroom.” There is also the question of manifested energy that can remain
“undigested” unless it is channeled appropriately. The best way to achieve this
is for the teacher to honor the “cooling down” period. Thus, resolution will
consist usually of a simple twist, a forward bend and “Savasana” or “corpse
pose.” The length of this final pose should be determined primarily by the
intensity of the practice and less so by how little time is remaining before
the class must be ended. The importance of this cannot be emphasized enough.
Most yogis acknowledge “Savasana” as being just as crucial to the practice as
“sama stitthi” and believe that all asanas must have some element of each in
them to be effective. Therefore, if we begin in “Sama Stitthi” we must end in
“Savasana.”
A few words by the teacher, a short meditation or a final
chant will usually help cement the practice, moving it back out of the physical
realm into an integration of mind, body and spirit. This integration is what
Yoga is all about and when we achieve this in some small measure we know we
have had a good class.
Arun is a yoga therapist and teacher specializing in Ayur*yoga. Originally from India, he makes his home in Los Angeles.
A Child
Yoga Class by
Rana Kirkland
Yoga gives children the opportunity to settle down, get focus
and get direction. Children begin to see calm as a source of strength through
yoga. To teach calmness one must be calm. Children will learn this quality
through observation of their instructor. A child-yoga class should have a
supportive and nurturing tone because young children may not be able to see the
benefits of the yoga process. In our especially goal-oriented society where
kids are focused on winning video games, a child-yoga instructor will point out
the excellence in their students' efforts. Yoga is non-competitive. Qualities
such as patience and gentleness are encouraged.
Children bring joy and enthusiasm to life. They can relate
to snowflakes and fairytales with ease. Therefore, a child-yoga class should
include opportunities for kids to use their imaginations. They can practice
breathing by use of a Lion's roar. Instead of just squatting they can walk like
a duck while making quacking sounds if they like. Students can face each other
and partner as butterflies or grasshoppers. Children can relax in a cradle
position. The fun is pure and simple.
Many teenagers today can hardly bend over and touch their
toes. And studies have shown that many kids become less flexible as they get
older. It is tough for young children to understand how to relax their muscles
so they need to work up to it slowly with the guided and calming support of
their teacher. Sometimes, balancing or sitting quietly with eyes closed can be
a challenge for young children. Again, yoga is a patient process and with practice,
children can find ease in all of these areas. Expecting deep or lengthy
meditation for a child is unnecessary. Yet by asking them to lay quietly as the
instructor tells a story or plays calming music can be just as beneficial
without being overwhelming.
When children enter a child yoga class, they should wear
comfortable clothes, be well rested and have not eaten anything just before
class. What I've found to be most important in a child-yoga class is that kids
have fun. If they are enjoying themselves they will receive the benefits of
flexibility, strength, and focus, simply by participating. Watching them smile
through their gentle asanas brings a sense of accomplishment and joy to
everyone.
Yoga instructor Rana Kirkland, the author of newly published
teen drama book Mad About Monologues for Teens, is an actress and mother
of a six-year-old son. A certified child-yoga instructor from the Ananda Yoga
Teacher Training Center, Rana has been teaching kids drama and various aspects
of the arts for over five years. For more information on Rana’s schedule at
Ground Level in Santa Monica, California (310) 786-5925.