Yoga Can Create Change

A few articles about yoga!

Adaptive Yoga Changes Lives

By Rear Adm. Tom Steffens (Ret.), former Navy SEAL and founder, Exalted Warrior Foundation

http://navymedicine.navylive.dodlive.mil/archives/4329

New Study Shows Yoga Has Healing Powers

By Susan Brink, for National Geographic

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/02/140207-yoga-cancer-inflammation-stress/

Embracing Our Bodies - reprinted with permission from Shayna Gothard Kaufmann, Ph.D.

Clnical Psychologist and empowered woman Dr. Shayna Kaufman has a website entitled Embracing the Middle: Empower Women in Their 40'S, 50'S & 60'S - Discover and Apply Your Innate Wisdom, Awareness, and Courage. She leads short, day, and series workshops (formal and informal gatherings) on "an empowering approach to the second half of your life that invokes excitement rather than a mindset of "midlife crisis" or stagnation." She describes her program as one that 

...teaches how to examine outdated beliefs and behaviors and gracefully accept what is, even if that means embracing your growing "mid" section. My programs are educational and experiential and are best suited for women in midlife (approximately 40-60) who are open to examining aspects of their lives through the midlife lens of wisdom, maturity, awareness, and emotional bandwidth.

I want to share with you an email she just sent, that has to do with body acceptance. If this resonates with you please visit Dr. Kaufman's website at https://www.embracethemiddle.com/ or her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/EmbraceTheMiddle/ for much more information. 


What Embracing our Bodies IS NOT

Yesterday I received a call from Kyra (not real name) about attending an Embracing Our Bodies workshop. She shared her experience of being so extremely critical of her body that she actually avoids looking at herself in the mirror. “I love bright colors,” Kyra sadly told me, “but I mostly wear black, oversized clothing to make me look thin and hide my body.” Compliments from her friends or husband about her body are simply disregarded.  Kyra is weary of being at war with her body and ready to make a change.

Kyra was concerned that “Embracing” meant only accepting her body and weight and that she’d be hypocritical if she tried to accept her body and lose weight. Her angst was especially strong as she’d recently had some exciting success with a weight loss program. For the record, that is definitely NOT what I mean by Embracing. But Kyra’s earnest question inspired me to clarify what Embracing Our Bodies IS and IS NOT.

Foremost, Embracing our Bodies IS loving ourselves exactly as we are even as we strive to look and be our best. These are not either/or positions; they are both/and. I try my hardest to embrace and openly admit to having my share of vanity. Just ask my husband how many outfits I go through before heading out the door. I applaud Kyra’s weight loss efforts and wish her success. If, however, Kyra’s self-love is contingent upon her weight, then she is not “embracing.” The challenge for all of us, including Kyra, is to love ourselves the same regardless of our size (or wrinkles, or grey hairs, or...).

Embracing IS accepting and appreciating what our bodies are and are not capable of at this moment in time. I recently wrote a blog about giving up my 40 years of running due to serious knee issues. I am definitely not happy about the status of my knee, and am considering any and all medical procedures. But I accept this is the reality of my knee at this time, I’m not dwelling on my inability to run and I actively appreciate what I can do.  That is embracing.

Embracing IS NOT an excuse to skip the gym and eat bon bons all day; it’s not a reason for Kyra to discontinue dieting. To say, “I am embracing my body as it is and therefore I’m having fries and a shake with my burger” is a misdirected rationalization. Have your fries and shake if you choose to but don’t delude yourself by calling that embracing. That is splurging. 

Embracing IS always a work in progress, a dance of sorts. We’re human and the path to embracing is not linear, but more like a few steps forward, a few back, and a few to the side for good measure. You make some headway and then you backslide a bit. Furthermore, some parts of our lives are harder to embrace than others.

In my experience, the most important aspects to work towards embracing are those that are currently interfering with the quality of your life. I got serious about coming to terms with my weight because it was more than a mere inconvenience; it was a dark cloud over my life. There are people I came to forgive because holding onto my anger limited my joy. And there were beliefs I chose to release as they were holding me back.

You likely already know which aspect of your life needs embracing. Maybe it’s your body image, maybe a relationship, maybe a work situation. I’ll be first to admit that the thought of embracing can be daunting. I assure you, though, that there’s palpable freedom and relief on the other side.  If you are ready to embrace, and want some guidance and support along the way, consider joining me and some other amazing women at an Embracing event. Kyra is. Cheers to Embracing!
--
Shayna Gothard Kaufmann, Ph.D.
Clinical Psychologist

Compassion ROCKS

Today I led a children's yoga class with the theme of compassion. no, we didn't talk about the school shooting - these are just 8-10 year olds and discussing that tragedy is best left to parental discretion. In fact they didn't even bring it up. What we did talk about is what compassion means to them. They danced around the idea a bit until one child said "kindness, right?" and the ball rolled from there about being respectful, caring, not thinking just of yourself, helping someone, charity, listening, etc. usually with respect to someone who had something bad happen to them. I reminded them compassion is also sharing GOOD moments with people, letting them share theirs with you, and just taking the time to notice someone else, like make new friend.

This being a group of jewish students I decided to take it one step further. With Purim holiday coming up, I brought up the name of the notorious bad guy (Haman) that hated the Jewish people and tried to advise the king for whom he worked to kill them. Basically, he had NO COMPASSION for people different from him.

When we read the story of Queen Esther in the Magillah (the story of Purim) that includes Haman, usually we make noise and "boo" when someone mentions his name. We express hatred for that man, and in some cases show cynical joy that we know he "gets it" in the end.

I asked the children "He hated the Jews and wanted them to be killed. His plan failed; if he wasn't killed, should we have wished that on him? Should we hate him so much in return that we get HIM killed? A pause in the room. One or two kids should laughing "YEEEEEEEEEEES!" and then, as they realize this was a bit of a trick question, they looked to me as if to ask why.

"What that man lacked," I said, careful not to say his name so they didn't start shouting again, "was compassion for the Jews." But we are supposed to learn from this, so in return WE shouldn't just shout hateful things when we say his name. We can use our noisemakers (groggers) to show we don't like what he did, but what if we show that we understand compassion instead?"

My older kids classes include both physical yoga but almost always a craft related to the theme (or at least revolving around self care or exploring the senses). Today, I tied it in to the upcoming Jewish holiday. We were to create two groggers: one that would be a "traditional" noisemaker (a plastic shell filled with beads that you can shake), and the other would be one to show COMPASSION ROCKS. We were to take a small river rock, paint on it a word that means compassion to us, and put that inside another plastic shell. We could then choose which grogger to use when the time came, during Purim, and hopefully long after.

After all, compassion DOES rock. When in doubt, COMPASSION IT (courtesy of www.compassionit.org).

Getting Political - about the value of human life

A wise friend, a lawyer no less, wrote this the day after a tragic event. She compassionately brings up a cultural lack of compassion, anger, disenfranchisement and dismissiveness, and in the face of the natural urge to place blame, speaks of trying to make a difference to help us move forward.

I quote her directly, and with honor.

I will tell you with 100% certainty that our schools are not equipped to deal sufficiently with the mental health well-being of our children and their classmates. And, early intervention is crucial. How about instead of funding a wall and more weapons of mass destruction, we prioritize our schools - the place our children reside 35+ hours per week - the place that is very often the only surrogate for a child's missing stable home? How about instead of pumping money and energy into our prison system, arming guards, and adjudicating criminal behavior post-event, we pump money and energy into bolstering compassionate care for troubled children and their families (who are often beyond desperate for resources and help)? So many of these young people are written off as bad, crazy, damaged, etc., when they actually are suffering horribly - often in silence - often unaware of it themselves - mental illness, early childhood trauma, attachment disorder, PTSD, you name it. How about applying early compassionate care in the form of emphasizing reparative health and training instead of emphasizing punishment and judgment? Instead of ignoring suffering children who are walking time bombs, how about believing in our ability to assist them and invest in them - hey, if we don't care about them, well then what about the lives of their future victims ? How about taking, dare I say, a more matriarchal approach? Think about how difficult life is for YOU, as an adult, with presumably developed coping skills. Now imagine life for a child with little support.

Sometimes I Dream I'm Trying To Rescue Drowning Hummingbirds

Please know that I very much appreciate people approaching me directly with comments and feedback. Sure, yea, I'm a yoga instructor, but that is not the whole of who I am. We are all just HUMAN BEINGS, and we are all working on self-awareness. Life gets tough - there's a lot of distraction in this world and a lot with which to get frustrated. If you know me, you know that I just want to make this world a better place. I want to help educate and energize, uplift and help us all be connected to one another. We may not agree, but if we respect each other we can make this work.

Inspiration

You are a much better person than you think you are...Don't be so hard on yourself...You have done some good, you have done some bad...You are human...Learn to love yourself, be patient..

-Jeffrey Zlotnick

The practice of meditation is not just for your own peace but because with a peaceful mind you can go out into the world and serve well. With that very idea you can meditate. So even your Yogic meditation becomes a selfless action.

-Swami Satchidananda

You.Are.Amazing.
As. you. are.
Stronger than you know.
More beautiful than you think.
Worthier than you believe.
More loved than you can ever imagine.
Passionate about making a difference.
Fiery when protecting those you love.
Learning. Growing. Not alone.
Warm. Giving. Generous.
Quirky. Sexy. Funny. Smart.
Flawed. Whole. Scared. Brave.
And so, so, so.much.more.
-Tia Sparkles Singh, 2011

Death of a Hummingbird

My son and I found a deceased hummingbird in our yard yesterday. I almost didn't see it, at first. Without my glasses, the bright green feathers and grayish wings fooled me into thinking it was a dead fig beetle in the leaf litter. When I bent down and saw this tiny bird, I was at first overjoyed! I picked it up delicately, cradling it in my hands hoping to see or feel a little bit of breath or movement.

When I realized the bird was not going revive I started to examine it like tiny treasure. The opportunity to just hold a hummingbird was a rarity, but to be able to actually do a bit of manipulation, knowing I'd be causing no harm excited the nerdy nature kid and adult in me.

I passed my fingertips over the smooth head feathers and into the "ruff" that were both that glistening ruby color when in direct sunlight. This identified this specimen as a male Anna's hummingbird, common in our area. We hear them whizzing past our porch every day, on the way to our neighbor's feeder, sometimes landing on the power/telephone lines, usually unseen chirping from the bushes and trees in our yards.

I touched the tip of the amazingly sharp beak, sealed shut in death sleep, unable to view the amazing tongue that makes hummingbird feeding such a unique process. The little eyes were closed into slits. When I flipped his little body over, I saw that his belly was completely bare. The gray/pink skin was still soft, and yielded to slight pressure; perhaps he had not been dead quite that long despite his legs and claws resembling dried noodles. I could trace his breastbone with my finger, and stroke his wing feathers that were so soft that felt like air brushing. He felt like nothing in our hands.

A quick internet check revealed that some hummingbirds, even males, will lose abdominal feathers to form brood patches - featherless spots with increased vascularity to facilitate snuggling up against eggs or chicks. Perhaps a nest high up in our tree was now missing its paternal figure, or, free from a paternal rival? Hummingbirds, the internet said, are also notoriously territorial, using those beaks as weapons. I saw no puncture wounds indicating predation or intra-species battle, no missing body parts or feathers (save for the belly), so as to the cause of death I can only speculate.

We showed his little body to our dog, who was curious as to what we were doing cooing and fawning over something that was not him. I held on to the bird snugly, partly expecting the dog to try to grab the corpse and run off with it like a toy. To my surprise, the dog gave it a thorough sniff-over, then just looked up at me, without the slightest aggressive action. Was this because the animal was already dead? Was this because he knew to not grab something from me? Was this because he is a kind and gentle soul? Logic dictates the two former answers, and my heart wants to believe the latter third.

I didn't feel the urge to do any sort of messy dissection, or taxidermic preservation (nor did I know how), and knowing there are better pictures of live birds on the internet dissuaded me from photographing our specimen. In fact the only documentation I really felt would be valuable was about the experience itself. Eli had lost interest after getting a chance to hold it once, surprised at how lightweight it was, and the amazing colors. He suggested we bury rather than the "trashcan" option, so I chose a spot underneath one of our vintage (and rather in need of some nutrients) rose bushes. Now the bird's body has a second chance to add to the beauty of nature.

I know there's a yoga lesson or a hundred in here, but I'll leave it for each person to contemplate. I will just savor the experience for what it was: teachable moment, a learning moment, a living moment, a dying one as well.