There is a space

"Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom." 

~Victor Frankl

From an excellent post at Zen Habits... check it out!

Being ANTI-cancer

I recently came across this article by Dr. David Servan-Schreiber. I remember seeing his book in Barnes and Noble a couple years ago. I picked it up and read the whole thing sitting in the café - I could not put it down.

He is both a doctor and scientist (PhD in Neuroscience). At age 31, he discovered he had a brain tumor, which was picked up by chance when one of his patients didn’t show up and he ended up getting into the scanner instead.

After his diagnosis, he began furiously studying cancer. He wanted to learn as much as possible, especially why we get cancer and what we can do to prevent it.

The first thing I learned is that we all carry cancer cells in us. But I also learned we all have natural defenses that generally prevent these cells from turning into an aggressive disease. These include our immune system, the part of our biology that controls and reduces inflammation, and the foods that reduce the growth of new blood vessels needed by developing tumors.

In the West, one out of three people will develop cancer. But two-thirds will not. For these people, their natural defenses will have kept cancer at bay. I understood it would be essential for me to learn how to strengthen these defenses. 

Servan-Schrieber talks about the circumstances under which cancer grows:

1. A weakened immune system that cannot identify and control the growth of cancerous cells.
2. Chronic inflammation that supports cell growth and expansion.
3. Tumors develop their own blood vessels that allows them to grow to much larger sizes. 

He says, 

When we strengthen our immune system, reduce inflammation and reduce the growth of new blood vessels, we help create an anticancer ‘terrain.’

Here's how we can actively create anticancer terrain:

1. Eliminate sugar. According to Servan-Schreiber, this is the #1 cancer promoter in the US. Sugar feeds cancer cells and promotes low-grade chronic inflammation. 
2. Add cancer-fighting foods. Most simply, this means a colorful diet full of whole grains, fresh fruits, and vegetables.
3. Exercise. Simply walking daily for 30 minutes can reduce your cancer risk and cancer recurrence.
4. Reduce stress. Stress increases susceptibility to disease, so find ways to reduce stress in your life (yoga, meditate, time for friends).
5. Reduce pollutants. Do what you can to minimize exposure to chemicals and pesticides.

3 reasons to kick my coffee habit

I’ve been doing a lot of my food shopping at Essene lately (my favorite new store). Last night they had a free public lecture about nutrition. Throughout the talk, the speaker kept saying don’t drink coffee, coffee is toxic, coffee is poison...

Finally someone put up their hand and asked “But why is coffee so bad???” My thoughts exactly!

He then gave 3 reasons:

1. Coffee is highly processed (But what exactly does that mean, and why is that bad?)
2. Coffee contains unregulated chemicals and pesticides (Unless you buy organic, which I don't right now)
3. Coffee stimulates the adrenal glands, putting the body under stress and causing the release of stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol (This is why I drink it!)

Part of me intuitively agreed with him on these, but this still did not stop me from making a cup first thing this morning (though it did stop me from making a second cup!)

6 reasons why we need our injuries

My wrist is injured. This means I can’t do my normal yoga practice (can't do regular sun salutations or vinyasas, can’t work on jumbpacks, handstands, or backbends). It’s frustrating.

But in many ways, this injury is good for me. Here are 6 reasons why we sometimes need our injuries:

1. The physical practice does not matter. It's so easy to forget that yoga is not the physical practice. We get attached to the idea of being able to do certain postures, but that is not the point (click here for a perspective on the whole point). It's not about the end goal but about the process.
2. Healthy humbling. Everything is not within our control. Yes, we can plan for the future and take steps to reach certain goals, but we cannot plan everything. We get injured, accidents happen, and things change.
3. Work on things that have been neglected. Injury allows us to refocus on parts of the practice we may have been neglecting: the breath, standing poses, upward facing dog (holding for a few slow breaths rather than rushing out of it), shoulder stand (staying in it for a long time). 
4. Slow down. A daily yoga practice can be intense and our bodies may get over-worked. Injury may be a signal that our bodies need some rest and TLC.
5. Reflection. Times when we don't feel our best are good opportunities to take a step back and evaluate our overall health and happiness. What habits have I been cultivating? Am I eating well? Am I stressed? Am I sleeping enough? Am I spending my time well? Am I spending enough time with important people in my life?
6. Reminder that life is not linear. Things go in cycles. There are going to be ups and downs of my yoga practice just as there are ups and downs of everything else in life (jobs, relationships, moods, weather). Everything has an opposite (think about yin and yang).

Ben Franklin, a yogi?

At the age of 20 (in 1726), Ben Franklin developed these thirteen virtues. He wanted to cultivate his character, and he practiced these for the rest of his life:

1. Temperance. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.
2. Silence. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.
3. Order. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.
4. Resolution. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.
5. Frugality. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.
6. Industry. Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.
7. Sincerity. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.
8. Justice. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.
9. Moderation. Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.
10. Cleanliness. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes, or habitation.
11. Tranquility. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.
12. Chastity. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation.
13. Humility. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.

He sounds like a yogi! I think Ben would have loved our little mysore community here in Philadelphia.

Coloring the day

Hard mysore practice today… a cold room and a body recovering from a fun weekend away with amazing girlfriends (celebrating our darling Greta’s upcoming marriage!!!!)

On days like today, I am reminded that everything is connected. The way I treat my body during the day/over the weekend impacts how I feel in morning practice. And the way I feel during practice colors the rest of the day… my concentration, energy, productivity, creativity, and courage.

I’m feeling the heaviness of a long week ahead, so I’m trying to concentrate on the things I can actually control. I’ve noticed that the following habits (mostly related to what I put into my body) correlate with a better morning practice... and thus more fulfilled days: 

• Sleeping at least 7 hours (of good, deep, dream-filled sleep)
• Not eating after ~7pm 
• Drinking herbal tea before bed (keeps me hydrated)
• Eating whole foods (grains, salads, avocados, beans, beets, tomatoes, fruit)
• Eating little to no sugar
• Minimizing salt 
• Minimizing dairy
• Having an early morning pre-practice coffee with cinnamon… to wake up and warm up (and no, I’m not giving this up anytime soon!)

What am I missing? Anyone have any other good habits that help their yoga practice? I need all the help I can get!

Simplify simplify simplify

I love this sign that hangs over a desk in the hospital...

But why is this so hard to practice in real life?

I've been trying to simplify my yoga practice by moving away from using props (blocks, blankets, etc). Some days props are nice, but most days I want to just be me and my mat (even if that means messier poses or imperfect alignment).

Part of me also thinks that an uncluttered mat helps me keep an uncluttered mind (sort of like how I can't concentrate when sitting at a cluttered desk!)

Lessons from Gandhi

“You may have occasion to possess or use material things, but the secret of life lies in never missing them.” ~Gandhi 

Really loved this Zen Habits blog post about lessons we can learn from Gandhi... I think these are also practiced through yoga.

They include the following:

1. Accumulate little (Gandhi had fewer than 10 possessions when he died)
2. Eat simple food (Gandhi ate vegetarian and local food out of a small wooden bowl)
3. Dress simply (for comfort and purpose, not to impress) 
4. Lead a simple, stress-free life (Gandhi meditated daily and kept his life simple while being a powerful world leader) 
5. Let your life be your message (Gandhi spread his message by the way he lived his day-to-day life)

Sin tax or bucks for broccoli

Interesting (and short ~3 minute) NPR news segment on structuring incentives to get people to eat better.

They talk about two methods to encourage healthier eating:

1.  Pay people to eat healthy food (“bucks for broccoli”)
2. Charge more for unhealthy food (“sin tax” on junk food)

Experiments have shown that with method #1, people buy more junk food (using money saved from the cheap healthy food). But when the junk food itself is more expensive (as in method #2), people actually buy less of it.

Why? Because people are more responsive to price increases than price decreases. It seems that charging more for junk food (i.e. tax on soda) will be more effective than subsidizing healthy food.

But then this article came out in the Wall Street Journal this week, reporting that there is no change in soda consumption in states with a soda tax compared to states without a soda tax. This could be explained by the fact that the soda tax was small and hidden... it might be a different story if the tax is large and noticeable.

This brings up some questions… should we pay people for their healthy habits and charge people for their unhealthy ones? Pay people to exercise? Subsidize yoga? Fine people for smoking? Charge people for unhealthy food choices? Apparently GE charges their employees who smoke an extra $625/year!

Horse chow & food for thought

“Here are some factors for health and a long life which we have put into practice: positive, optimistic thinking; a good conscience; outdoor exercise and deep breathing; no smoking; no alcohol or drugs, including coffee and tea; a simple diet – vegetarian, sugar-free, salt-free, low in calories and fat and 55% raw. These will vitalize the life span. Avoid medicines, doctors, hospitals.”

~The Nearings, from Loving and Leaving the Good Life

In honor of our book club meeting today, we tried out the Nearing's horse chow (which they ate every morning). Simply mix together:

• 4 cups oats
• 1 juice of a lemon
• 1 cup raisins
• dash of sea salt
• olive oil to moisten

Horse chow. It grows on you :)

Some more food for thought from this book…  

Have less, be more philosophy:
“It’s what you are, not what you have on that is important in life… I regard being and doing as the essential ingredients of life; merely living and having can be an obstruction and burden. It’s not what we have but what we do with what we have that constitutes the real value of life.”  

Television:
“One of the horrors of civilization. Direct experience is what we need; that’s what we’re here to get: experiential education, not through television, where we’re physically separated from doing. It separates the individual from reality; encourages passivity; implants deleterious images directly into the unconscious; dulls awareness; gives the illusion of experience; has a hypnotic addictive quality which is totally dangerous and obnoxious.”  

Fasting:
“One day a week, usually Sunday, we gave our digestive system (and whoever cooked) a rest, by eliminating our already light breakfast and lunch and fasting during the day. Having no scheduled activity except perhaps a walk or a swim, or putting up a bit of stone wall, we took the day easy. These fasting days were ended in the evening by the fire with a supper of popcorn, carrot juice or cider.”

Scott’s reaction to a doctor who told him to take vitamin B12 and get routine medical tests:
“If I did this I would be trying to prolong my life under medical supervision for the rest of my life. Thank you, but I would rather die much earlier than follow such a course… My formula is to stay well and live as long as I can, in moderate health and vigor. If I cannot stay well by a normal diet and temperate living, the sooner I did, the better for me and the society of which I am a member.”

Why be vegetarian:
“For every possible reason, but primarily ethical. George Bernard Shaw always answered the same question by another: ‘How can you justify the disgusting habit of consuming animal carcasses?’ We know of no valid reason for eating flesh. The rotting carcasses are full of diseases and poisons. Raw fruits and vegetables and nuts are vital and clean if organically grown. A vegetarian diet is simpler, more economical, and kinder.”

Lessons from da Vinci

“Iron rusts from disuse; water loses its purity from stagnation ... even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind.”
~Leonardo da Vinci

Some of my favorite factoids about this man:

• A vegetarian
• Bought caged birds just to release them
• Did daily aerobics and stretching exercises (yoga?!)
• Kept journals of lists, ideas, drawings

Here is Wikihow’s (love this!) summary of the steps to think more like Leonardo da Vinci:

1. Be curious: ask questions, cultivate an open mind
2. Test knowledge: experience, question, learn from mistakes
3. Refine senses: enhance sight, draw, practice mindfulness
4. Embrace uncertainty and mystery: practice the Socratic method – ask questions rather than give answers
5. Balance art and science, combine logic and imagination
6. Cultivate fitness and poise: physical fitness, body awareness, ambidexterity*
7. Recognize interconnection of all things: “systems thinking”

*Ambidexterity! This is one I can start practicing… left hand for teeth brushing, unlocking my bike, eating, etc.

Nature does not hurry

Rainy Saturday: a trip to the farmers market, hours spent reading a book, and a (much needed) day of rest from practice. After a week of constant rushing and busyness, I long for days like this. But then why do I find myself missing the hurry and structure of to-do lists?!

I like this quote by Lao Tzu and want to remind myself of it more often: “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”

Guest Blogger, Rob Shulman: Eating local and in-season

One habit I wanted to develop in 2010 was to eat more local and in-season food, but I have found this especially challenging during the winter here. I met Rob through the Philadelphia ashtanga yoga community. I love how he writes about the beauty and benefits of eating this way (especially in the winter), and how it goes hand in hand with our practice of yoga.

Guest blogger, Rob Shulman:  

Eating local and in-season

I have followed the local and in-season concept since the '90s during my first vegan/veggie sojourn (this time I have returned to that diet as a result of my yoga practice and it feels so much better).

My body loves welcoming each new item according to the season and I enjoy knowing I can connect that food with a local farmer. Eating locally forces you to become resourceful to find new ways to enjoy the veggies and fruits you may slowly tire of over the winter. I love all the squashes and apples our region in particular offers, and find new ways every day to enjoy them in my kitchen. I may start canning, which only adds to the arsenal of good food to extend through the Winter, a time that seems to be the most trying for people to maintain the local food strategy. Winter is indeed a time of dormancy, but also can be a time for creative exploration.

Eating local and in-season has another wonderful benefit. Just like our bodies become more accustomed to the cycle of the moon and nature because of our beautiful yoga practice (i.e., how we rest on moon days), our digestive system and thus mind become that much more active and open by eating locally. Our body really awakens with the arrival of Spring and its fresh greens and then rejoices with the arrival of Summer with its broad selection of fruits. And when our body has had its fill of Summer fun, it welcomes the cooler climate and comforting foods that arrive in the Fall (my favorite season).

I think eating in this way also makes you appreciate the wonderful gift of living in the Northeast, with its four true seasons. And it is certainly complementary to our yoga practice and all that it encourages us to achieve.

~Rob Schulman

Fiber in food and in life: Lessons from the Nearings

“Live hard not soft; eat hard not soft; seek fiber in foods and in life.”

~Scott and Helen Nearing

Scott and Helen Nearing – an inspiring couple!

In the early 1930’s during the Great Depression, the Nearings moved from New York City to rural Vermont in order to practice a new and sustainable way of living.

They read widely. They were experimenters. They valued self-discipline, exercise, a good diet, frugality, environmental consciousness, civic contribution, and social justice.

They learned to grow their own food (challenging in New England winters). They did not want to be dependent on money, thus learned how to provide most of their food needs (they had a year-round solar greenhouse). They tapped maple trees for sugar. They gardened organically. They built their own stone houses and buildings.

They thought cooking should be simple, that it should take less time to prepare than to eat. They made daily “horse chow” for breakfast (raw oats, raisins, lemon juice, and some vegetable oil), and salad and potatoes for lunch and dinner. They did juice fasts every Sunday.

They believed in dividing each day into three parts:
Bread labor: To meet basic needs of food, shelter, clothing, etc.
Civic work: To do something of value for the community.
Professional pursuits/recreation: To learn, read, write, pursue interests.

"Find some form of work - creative energy - into which you can concentrate your being; into which you can go with your whole heart."

~Scott Nearing

Substituting coffee, thinking macrobiotic

As I was moving towards the end of my practice today, my teacher came over to adjust me. Please don’t ask me about my coffee detox, please don’t ask me about my coffee detox.

“So how’s the coffee thing going?” he asked as he pushed on my back.

I can’t lie to him!

“Ummm….well…. Ok I cheated. But just a little! It was a really small cup! Green tea was making me sick!”

He smiled, “That’s ok!”

He’s so nice. Then he said, “I forgot, I didn’t tell you what to replace it with. You need to have good substitutes.”

He said to get Dandyblend or Roma (made from malted barley and chicory) at Essene Market where I happened to be heading right after practice to meet my wonderful new friend, Teresa. Teresa has battled breast cancer for over 10 years, both with conventional treatment and many additional holistic therapies.

Several people I greatly admire are on the macrobiotic diet, including both David (my yoga teacher) and Teresa. I keep going back to the idea. If anything, I think this will be a slow and progressive process. I’ll start by making some small additions to my diet: miso soup, vegetables with sesame oil, and steel cut oats.

Caitlin and my miso soup attempt – pretty good!

My main concern with the macrobiotic diet is having to limit my fruit and avocado intake... my favorite foods. I asked both David and Teresa about this today. David said, “No, don't eat much fruit. Maybe in the summer.” And avocados? “Well you can’t be too strict! If you want avocado, not a problem.”

Teresa eats fruit… and lots of it. “I’ll eat a whole carton of blueberries!” she said smiling.

The minimalism of no addictions

I thought these “simplicity living tips” from the Becoming Minimalist blog were excellent.

In light of my coffee detox, this one is particularly relevant to me right now:

"Reject anything that is producing an addiction in you. Refuse to be a slave to anything: coffee, cigarettes, soda, television, chocolate, alcohol… "

Even though the denial of coffee over the past few mornings has left me tight, tired, and bored during practice, I’m sticking with morning tea for the time being.

I’m also continuing my sugar-weaning (those dark chocolate-covered almonds waiting for me in the kitchen make this nearly impossible).

Struggles with self-practice

No community practice this morning (too much snow). Why is self-practice so hard? There is something powerful about having people practicing around me, or knowing a teacher is watching me.  

This is something to think about when healthcare providers are encouraging patients to make lifestyle change and develop new health-habits. There is power and strength in community.

“There can be no vulnerability without risk; there can be no community without vulnerability; there can be no peace, and ultimately no life, without community.” ~M. Scott Peck

Coffee detox

I ran into my teacher as I was locking my bike for practice this morning. Riding up the elevator together, I decided to risk disapproval and ask him his view on pre-practice coffee (throwing in the Sharath coffee endorsement: “no coffee, no prana”). 

No…“not good,” he said.

Hmm, but I *love* my morning hour of coffee and reading!

He said, “just try it without.” Replace coffee with green tea. And not just for two days – it has to be for at least two weeks to really get it out of my system. 

“And anyway,” he said, “coffee tastes way better after practice.” I then cringed as I confessed to also having coffee after practice. He shook his head, “no, that’s too much!” Too much. 

So, tomorrow I will start a two-week pre-practice coffee detox.

Moon day, New Year’s Eve, and habits for 2010

It’s a beautiful and snowy moon day and New Year’s Eve.

I’m working on my 2010 new year’s resolutions and trying something new this year: writing down the habits I want to develop, habits I can practice every day so that I don’t have to think about them anymore.

So, the 6 habits I want to develop in 2010:
1) Buy local and in-season food.
2) Cook 2 new recipes a week and write them down.
3) Avoid sugar.
4) Minimize purchasing things – I want to de-clutter my life.
5) Write (blog, journal) every day.
6) Practice pranayama and take long savasana at the end of practice.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” ~Aristotle

Creating habits

While at the CDC, I went to a workshop on behavior change and I’ve been thinking about this for the yoga study. Are we really going to be able to get a group of busy women to start up a yoga practice? It will require creating new habits and new patterns of behavior, and I am wondering if and how that can be taught.

Below are a few of the social science theories discussed that I found useful for thinking about this:

The 11 variables that influence behavior

1. Intention to perform a specific behavior
2. Environmental factors
3. Necessary skills to perform the behavior
4. Beliefs about the behavior
5. Opinions about consequences or outcomes from the behavior
6. Peer pressure
7. Self-standards -- how someone wants to perceive themselves
8. Emotional reactions towards the behavior
9. Perceived self-efficacy -- self-confidence
10. Cultural believes
11. Contextual factors -- including the “social capital” present in communities such as strong churches, a network of moms, etc… any resources in the community that can be mobilized

Stages of Change

When making behavior change, people go through the following pattern of change:

Pre-contemplation --> Contemplation --> Preparation --> Action --> Maintenance

The “Chain of Causation” in public health

Large scale factors (historical, cultural, political, economic, etc) --> Behavioral Predictors --> Risk behaviors --> Proximate Determinants (pathogens, carcinogens, toxins, etc) --> Disease outcomes.

Medical school focuses us on the last two parts of that chain.

One thing missing from the 11 variables list is the power of good leadership.