Yoga will help with THAT??

Running around for the Holiday’s doing my shopping, I was taken back at what I witnessed.  A guy came in to the photo department at Walgreens, and proceeded to rip the Walgreens worker to shreds because his pictures came a little off.  It was uncomfortable just being in that space.  The 2nd encounter was the poor girl who greeted people at the BMV.  Many people couldn’t understand why their place in line wasn’t saved, when they went out in their car, chatted to friends, etc. on their phone, and missed their text informing them they were up in line.  The girl did the best she could to fit them it, meanwhile making everyone wait longer behind them.  

My point?  It always circles back to yoga.  Yes, I know it is flustering when you loose your place in line, or when someone gets your order incorrect.  But to simply take it out, and vent your flusteration is doing harm to your body.  When a strong emotion comes in us, everything possible says we must get rid of it, and we usually do so by taking it out on an innocent bystander, or even worse our own loved ones.  Seems like there is a better way, and yes it’s yoga.  Yoga helps you deal with strong emotions.

This is also a good reminder on how karma works. When you yell at someone, you create a seed, that one day will ripen at someone telling you off, and ruining your day.  We must remember to simply breath, remove ourselves from the problem, take a deep breath, and then start to communicate without using strong emotions or words that harm others.  Seems like there is a shortage in service industries so know before hand that you might wait. 

It’s also helpful to give yourself some leeway to learn this new way of communicating.  Sometimes you will fail, and fly off the handle.  But if you sit silently, and carefully review your actions it will help you do a better job next time you want to yell at someone.  

Remember you are creating your own world each and everyday.  Do your best to get to your mat, and get rid of the tension in your body, and your mind.  This was a HUGE difference I noticed in myself after yoga teacher training.  One day, I just turned to my husband, and asked him if I was kinder lately.  I felt different, less reactive than before.  It was a very good feeling indeed!!

See you on the mat,

Paula

The reason behind the pose

Every pose in yoga has a direct effect on your physical and mental body, and most importantly your central nervous system. Some postures simply build strength, while others allow the body to become more flexible. A master of yoga knows this. A yogi master knows when students are anxious, and teaches a sequence to combat these feelings. A yogi also can teach a sequence for a grumpy back, a sore knee or even a broken heart. A yogi knows that if you show up, do the prescribed asanas or postures, that eventually the hurts will heal, and the mental state will become steady and serene.

Too often the asanas or postures become an egotistic goal. There is nothing wrong in progressing in your asana practice, and one should feel a certain sense of pride of simply showing up week after week, and doing the work. It’s when you want to do a arm balance to impress your fellow yogi’s, or show your kids that you can stand on your hands, that the asana becomes egotistic. This can come and bite us further down the road with falls, or more injuries.

The real reason of the postures is to become comfortable in a seated meditation posture and learn to BE with your thoughts. When you sit for awhile, and your hips scream at you to get up, or your low back starts to ache, the energy of the body, the wellness of the organs is not balanced. Yes, each organ has an energy line that feeds that organ/tissue. If somewhere on that line is tight, the organ will not be balanced, and is at risk for dis “EASE” later in life. This is how asana keeps us healthy.

For instance lets look at the spiral line of the body. A vitally important line to keep balanced. When the Spiral line has an issue, most of your body will be influenced.  These influences are not always obvious at first.  By the time most of you notice the nagging low back pain, radiating hip pain, TMJ issues or neck pain the spiral line will have many areas that need to be addressed. By this time, there will be a group of myofascia involved. It is most probable that the first signs were too subtle to notice.

A spiral line can be felt in pigeon pose, seated hero pose, revolved triangle pose to name a few. If this energy of the spiral line becomes stuck, stagnant or tight, issues such as ankle pain, edema, or swelling due to arthritis, cold feet, kidney disfunction, water filtration, difficulties regarding urination, urinary incontinence, poor circulation, peripheral vascular disease, limited range of knee, sciatica, hip pain, knee pain or constipation can arise.

That is why we do a yoga practice. Keep your body moving, healthy, and thriving.

See you on the mat,

Paula