Aug
Blog
Aug
21
Yoga Therapy Adapts to the Individual
The following piece was written for a local health related magazine this summer. It was edited liberally for publication in their September issue, however I thought it might be interesting to have the unedited copy here.
What is Yoga Therapy?
There is an alternative, complementary healing field called Yoga Therapy that is expanding rapidly – drawing on what the sages of old knew; that yoga heals us. The International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) describes Yoga Therapy as “the process of empowering individuals to progress toward improved health and wellbeing through the application of the teachings and practices of yoga”. This is a broad definition as the knowledge base for the practice of Yoga Therapy is vast.
Just last month the IAYT began certifying schools to educate yoga therapists through 800 hours of training over a minimum two-year period (after 200 hours of teacher training, which is the basic level for yoga instructors who are not Yoga Therapists). The standards that the IAYT has outlined as basic knowledge for practice in the field includes: Ayurveda, The Yoga Sutra’s of Patanjali and other foundational Yogic texts, Anatomy, Physiology and Kinesiology, the major conditions effecting the human systems, as well as both Eastern and Western models of health and wellbeing, along with close supervision and mentoring throughout an intensive practicum – and more.
In addition, a contingent of doctors and scientific researchers affiliated with the IAYT are validating interventions using yoga therapy for a variety of conditions and publishing these in a peer reviewed journal. Through these efforts Yoga Therapy is entering the mainstream of treatment alternatives.
What Does a Yoga Therapist Do?
As a Yoga Therapist I work in concert with my client: first understanding his or her view of the presenting difficulty, getting to know who the person is, and performing a complete assessment. We agree on the goals for our work together – relieving the discomfort that can be relieved and managing any remaining discomfort. Most importantly, the goal of Yoga Therapy is to treat the whole person, not just the condition, so it may be in addition to, not necessarily a replacement for conventional types of treatment. We explore the pathway of Yoga Therapy together using the simple but effective tools of yoga which may include: asana (gentle movement), pranayama (breath work), meditation and relaxation, personal ritual, and lifestyle modification. These practices are adapted to meet the person’s needs.
Having worked with individuals with a variety of issues, no matter the presenting issue, each individual is unique and the resolution to their difficulty is also unique.
Transformation through Yoga Therapy
Jane was referred to me by a physical therapist. Although Jane had gone for bi-weekly P.T. appointments, the chronic tightness and pain in her upper back, shoulders, neck and jaw would return the next day. She also suffered from an emotional condition that created much tension through habitual thought patterns. After our first appointment, where we explored some very gentle modified motions on the mat, together with a pranayama practice, I knew it would be a challenge to help Jane quiet her mind and discover that place within herself that was peaceful and stable. Until we could quiet her mind and teach her self relaxation, her body would remain tight and constricted. In addition, her anger over the chronic discomfort she experienced would create an unrelenting cycle of suffering. Drawing on the Pancha Maya Model, which views the human being as five sheaths: body, breath, mind, wisdom and bliss, I worked with her to make changes in her breathing and how she moved. Through this practice we could effect changes in her body, her thought patterns and other parts of her being – bringing her peace and a degree of control over her situation. Using the simplest of joint freeing motions for the upper body, with the body moving slowly and the breath guiding each motion like a moving meditation, Jane was able to focus.
I saw her regularly and after two months of practice Jane came for her last appointment. She let me know that she was able to prevent a panic attack at school by using her pranayama practice. She said that she loved her practice because she could use it anywhere to quiet her mind and relax, while easing tightness. We went through her practice together. After centering with a pranayama/ breath work practice, she moved with my instruction. She moved slowly, her breath was steady and her eyes closed. Her eyes remained closed for a time after the twenty-minute practice. Then she opened them with a relaxed and gentle smile. She said she felt solid and calm inside like she never had before. “Really, I have never felt like this in my life, I feel like a completely different person!” I replied that I was glad to meet this “new person” who has, in reality, been there all along.
Feb
25
Yoga Heals Us- It’s all in the breath
There are many forms of Yoga practiced in the West today, however many are another form of exercise and miss the true intention that the ancient sages intended yoga to be. One of my teachers, Gary Kraftsow, stated that for people in the mid-day stage of life, 25-70 years of age, breath practice or “pranayama” is the most important practice for us. The word “Pranayama” means: Prana “life force energy” yama “ to extend”. To extend our life force energy.
A breath centric orientation to yoga practice is a way to introduce people to a true experience of yoga. By starting with the breath and intimately linking that to movement of the spine and the entire body, an individual can directly experience the mind/body connection. In classes that I teach and with private clients, we begin with the breath and gentle movement so that folks can connect with themselves in a way that feels gentle and healing. Many times I work with individuals with physical limitations and chronically uncomfortable conditions. By teaching and educating on breathing, the individual learns a way to access areas that are held in chronic tightness, while naturally decreasing discomfort.
A breath practice has many benefits including; influencing the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system to balance the body, managing stress, stimulating the immune response, increasing vitality, and promoting good sleep, while strengthening the respiratory system. In other words a very simple practice can truly change our health and the long-term outlook for our lives.
What follows is a basic relaxing breathing practice. Begin with several free flowing breaths in and out. For three breaths, inhale to a count of 5 and exhale to a count of 5. For three breaths, inhale to a count of 5, exhale to a count of 5, and after your exhale hold the breath out for a 3 count. For three breaths, inhale to a count of 5 and slow your exhale to a count of 8. For three breaths, inhale to a count of 5 and exhale to a count of 5. Take several more free flowing breaths while you close your eyes and appreciate your practice, feeling tensions melt away, muscle tightness ease and your heart rate slow. Relax.
Jan
02
New Year’s Resolutions, Neuroscience and Yoga
What do New Years resolutions, modern neuroscience and Yoga have in common? Quite a lot actually. This is the time of year when many of us make our list of changes or resolutions that we hope to adopt for the New Year.Often the list includes things that will make us feel better, such as exercise routines, diets, better sleep habits, less alcohol, more green tea, etc.
All of this is indicative of the realization that we are not feeling or performing at our best, and we wish to do something to change our state of being and our state of health.
As past experience has proven to most of us, New Years resolutions do not usually make it past January. This is usually because we have tried to change too many things at one time and we do not stick to the behavior we wish to adapt, or change, for long enough. Research has shown that it takes a minimum of 30 days and optimally 66 days to change a habit. Once the habit is firmly rooted in our behavior pattern, it will effortlessly become part of our routine. For the very best success in making a change it is advisable to pick just one cornerstone behavior, that will in turn effect other parts of one’s life in positive ways.
Yoga can be a catalyst for change. My approach to teaching and practicing Yoga is very different than other types of exercise, such as running, fitness classes, pumping iron or using circuit equipment. General exercise benefits our cardiovascular systems and will make us stronger. Yoga will do this as well, while also activating the parasympathetic nervous system to bring the body back to equilibrium while decreasing cortisol, decreasing blood pressure, increasing musculoskeletal flexibility and joint range of motion, and improving sleep and immunity. In other words a breath-centric yoga practice is one of the best ways to counter our hectic, faster- is- better culture.
Yoga that is practiced and taught with “mindfulness”, while engaging in a deep pranayama (breath work practice) in order to prepare for meditative deep relaxation is one of the best ways I know of to make lasting changes in how we feel at a very deep level. This is where neuroscience comes in. Science originally thought that once our brains and behavior were formed that it was fixed and would never change. Modern neuroscience has shown that our brain is organized in neural pathways and that mental traffic likes to follow existing available routes, regardless of whether it is appropriate or beneficial. The more we use a route the more available it becomes. Neuroscientists estimate that it takes approximately thirty seconds to firmly root a new neural pathway and the more that pathway is used it becomes readily available and easily accessed.
Yoga, which actually means link or yoke in Sanskrit, is a means to link breath, motion and mind to engage us in a unified way. When we are truly engaged in this way we cannot worry about work or what we have to do at home. Our engagement is such that only that moment exists, and then the next and so on. I like to call this mindfulness because we are paying attention on purpose, without judging or reacting, simply being present to what is in this moment. Through engaging in a “mindful” practice of Yoga over an extended period of time we can change our mental patterns and our ways of being in the world, while decreasing our reactivity and reaping the many physical health benefits I have mentioned. Quite often this spills over into other parts of an individuals life with very positive results.
This could be the one important change or resolution you will choose to make for the coming New Year.
Feb
21
When Difficulties Hinder Our Path
Yesterday morning after the “Back class” I teach in Glenville, I chatted with a student as I was packing up my mat and gear. Our conversation centered on the fact that these past two months had been difficult for so many people in the classes I teach, as well as friends and family. The usual maladies of winter including colds, flu and sinus infections had caused many to miss work and self-care activities, such as yoga. And outside of class there had been accidents resulting in injuries, required surgeries and other health issues.
It seems that the old phrase that pain is a given, but suffering is optional would be something to ponder when the going gets really difficult. One of my favorite meditation teachers tells a story of Swami Satchidananda, the founder of Integral Yoga. To advertise his meditation classes he created a giant poster of himself with flowing white hair and beard, dressed in only a loincloth and standing on top of a surfboard. The caption underneath read, “ The waves will keep on coming, so it is important to learn how to surf.” How wonderful and also challenging to view a difficulty in our life as a wave that is steep and threatening right now, but also temporary, returning back into the ocean of our lives until the next wave comes.
Patanjali, the ancient author of the Yoga Sutras, counsels us to cultivate the opposite (pratipaksa bhavanam) by practicing to develop uplifting physical and mental habits in order to dispel negative emotions and tendencies. This is not a recommendation to ignore or deny what is occurring, but points to the wisdom of being able to see that even though life may be difficult right now in this moment, there are also other elements present that bring joy and happiness.
A favorite meditation practice that I personally rely on when the going gets tough is Loving Kindness Meditation, or Metta Practice in Pali, the language of the Buddha. It is a concentration practice and an opportunity to direct our thoughts in a specific way, which nurtures non-reactivity and self-acceptance. Modern neuroscience has proven what the ancient sages already knew. By directing our mind in certain positive way we could actually change our own mental habits and increase our level of happiness. Recent research has also shown that long time meditators also increase the volume of grey matter in their brain.
To begin a Loving Kindness Practice it is important to be undisturbed and comfortable for fifteen to twenty minutes. This can be done in a traditional meditation posture or by simply sitting in a chair with hands released softly in your lap and feet placed on the floor. There are specific phrases that are silently repeated, which offer goodness and love. You may use the phrases I offer here, or create ones that feel right for you.
We begin with the first direction, ourselves. This can often be difficult for people, but it is important to hold ourselves in the arms of loving-kindness before expanding it to others. If it is very hard I suggest that we picture ourselves as a five-year-old child or remember a time we were especially kind or generous to someone.
We offer the following phrases to our self in a silent whisper, taking a deep breath after each phrase to allow the words to settle in our consciousness.
May I be filled with loving-kindness.
May I look at myself with the eyes of understanding and love.
May I be as healthy as possible today.
May I know the full joy of being alive.
May my heart and mind awaken. May I be free.
It may take several repetitions of these phrases to become comfortable with offering this goodness to ourselves. When we feel centered in offering this to ourselves we then offer these phrases to a loved one or a person very special to us. Picturing this person in our minds eye and holding them in our heart we off these words.
May you be filled with loving-kindness.
May you look at yourself with the eyes of understanding and love.
May you be as healthy as possible today.
May you know the full joy of being alive.
May your heart and mind awaken. May you be free.
Again taking our time, and allowing these wishes of well being to flow outward.
I encourage those new to a meditation practice to begin with the first two directions of intention and practice over a period of time to feel grounded in this practice before continuing with the last three directions.
The third direction offers these phrases to a neutral person. The mailman you may not know or the lady in the shop where you by bread and milk.
The fourth direction includes offering the phrases to someone with whom you have had great difficulty. Someone who has hurt you in some way. Offering the phrases to that individual and forgiving them to the extent that you are capable, at this point in time. That is all.
The fifth direction opens our well wishing to everyone everywhere and all living beings on the earth. Plants, flowers, companion animals, people in foreign lands, and mother earth herself. Extending this sense of good will outward, touching everything we can imagine.
This simple meditation offers us a pathway to ride the waves of difficulty and nurture joy within us.
