Moon day

In the Ashtanga yoga tradition, the only days off from practice are Saturdays, ladies holiday (for women), and days of the new and full moon. Today is a new moon and I am loving the time for sleep, coffee, and reading.

I never used to think about the moon. When working in consulting (9-6 office job), the majority of my days were spent under a roof except for the 15 seconds walking to and from my car. Because of Ashtanga, I now keep track of what the moon is up to (just put moon calendar up on blog on the right).

Two questions I’ve been wondering about:

1. What is the reason for resting on moon days? I’ve never been able to find a good answer.
2. Traditionally, are we supposed to fast on moon days? I’ve heard this but am not sure if anyone actually does it.

Books and ideas

Food and medicine are not two different things: they are the front and back of one body. Chemically grown vegetables may be eaten for food, but they cannot be used as medicine.” ~Masanobu Fukuoka

I spent a lovely chunk of the day in the windy park with fun, thoughtful yogis talking about this amazing little book:

The One Straw Revolution, by Masanobu Fukuoka.

Some passages to remember... 

“Do nothing” stance to farming 

He talks about a “do nothing” stance to farming, teaching that the best methods for food cultivation are those aligned with nature -- minimal soil disruption (no tilling or weeding) and no application of chemicals (be they fertilizers or pesticides).

(This really resonates with me for thinking about medicine… what are we farming in our bodies? What are the best methods for health cultivation? Seems to be those that are aligned with our natural bodies - minimal disruption of bodily processes and no application of chemicals.)

Pursuing a subject in its wholeness

He condemned the “piecemealing” of knowledge by specialization; he believed that a subject should be pursued in its wholeness.

“An object seen in isolation from the whole is not the real thing. Specialists in various fields gather together and observe a stalk of rice. The insect disease specialist sees only insect damage, the specialist in plant nutrition considers only the plant’s vigor. This is unavoidable as things are now.”

(This is why I like Family Medicine -- a pursuit of medicine in its wholeness) 

Seeking the essential nature of man

“Various religious groups have come to take up natural farming. In seeking the essential nature of man, no matter how you go about it, you must begin with the consideration of health. The path which leads to right awareness involves living each day straightforwardly and growing and eating wholesome, natural food. It follows that natural farming has been for many people the best place to begin.”

(Yes! Just like how the practice of yoga leads people towards these ideas of eating whole, local, natural foods) 

Human tampering

“Human beings with their tampering do something wrong, leave the damage unrepaired, and when the adverse results accumulate, work with all their might to correct them. When the corrective actions appear to be successful, they come to view these measures as splendid accomplishments. People do this over and over again. It is as if a fool were to stomp on and break the tiles of his roof. Then when it starts to rain and the ceiling begins to rot away, he hastily climbs up to mend the damage, rejoicing in the end that he has accomplished a miraculous solution.

It is the same with the scientist. He pores over books night and day, straining his eyes and becoming nearsighted, and if you wonder what on earth he has been working on all that time – it is to become the inventor of eyeglasses to correct nearsightedness.”

(Sounds similar to the huge cost of medicating people for problems we create through our poor lifestyle choices -- including the food we eat and the way we treat our bodies)

The four principles of natural farming 

1. No cultivation: no plowing or turning of the soil... the earth cultivates itself naturally by penetrating plant roots, microorganism activity, animals, etc.
2. No chemical fertilizer or prepared compost: this interference drains soil of nutrients… if left to itself the soil maintains its fertility naturally.
3. No weeding by tillage or herbicides: weeds are important in building soil fertility.
4. No dependence on chemicals: weak plants, disease, and insect imbalance develop as a result of unnatural processes. 

(I think these principles could similarly be applied to medicine and health of the human body) 

Naturally grown fruits and vegetables
“No matter how hard people try, they cannot improve upon naturally grown fruits and vegetables. Produce grown in an unnatural way satisfies people’s fleeting desires but weakens the human body and alters the body chemistry so that it is dependent upon such foods. When this happens, vitamin supplements and medicines become necessary. This situation only creates hardships for the farmer and suffering for the consumer.”

The Western Diet

“One might suppose that Western dietetics, with its elaborate theories and calculations, could leave no doubts about proper diet. The fact is, it creates far more problems than it resolves. One problem is that in Western nutritional science there is no effort to adjust the diet to the natural cycle. The diet that results serves to isolate human beings from nature. A fear of nature and a general sense of insecurity are often the unfortunate results.” 

(So true... we may talk about eating nutritiously but we rarely talk about eating with the natural cycle... this is one reason I am so drawn to the idea of eating locally)

Sickness

“Sickness comes when people draw apart from nature. The severity of the disease is directly proportional to the degree of separation. If a sick person returns to a healthy environment often the disease will disappear. When alienation from nature becomes extreme, the number of sick people increases. Then the desire to return to nature becomes stronger. But in seeking to return to nature, there is no clear understanding of what nature is, and so the attempt proves futile.”

“Doctors take care of sick people; healthy people are cared for by nature. Instead of getting sick and then becoming absorbed in a natural diet to get well, one should live in a natural environment so that sickness does not appear.”

Death
“When rice is planted in the spring, the seed sends out living shoots, and now, as we are reaping, it appears to die. The fact that this ritual is repeated year after year means that life continues in this field and the yearly death is itself yearly birth. You could say that the rice we are cutting now lives continuously…

The same thing that happens to rice and barley goes on continuously within the human body. Day by day hair and nails grow, tens of thousands of cells die, tens of thousands more are born; the blood in the body a month ago is not the same blood today. When you think that your own characteristics will be propagated in the bodies of your children and grandchildren, you could say that you are dying and being reborn each day, and yet will live on for many generations after death.”

Perspective

I’ve been buried in research... recruitment, enrollment, and running to and from the lab. Today was a much-needed day off to regain some perspective.

Looking at this picture helps too (that little white dot is our earth!):

Photo credit here 

“There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” 

~Albert Einstein 

Moral inferiority

"The fact that man knows right from wrong proves his intellectual superiority to other creatures; but the fact that he can do wrong proves his moral inferiority to any creature that cannot." 

~Mark Twain 

Photo credit Aaron Paul

Making a trip to the zoo has been on the "things to do in Philadelphia bucket list" and we finally went yesterday. It was amazing to see these animals... but I'm still not sure how I feel about zoos. Especially after seeing the gorillas. Gorillas should not live in cages.

Farming & Medicine

The first seeds are planted for our garden (beets, mixed greens, and cilantro) and I’ve been reading The One-Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka. This book is opening my mind to the world of farming. Most surprising though, is how this little book about farming is also about my world of medicine.

An excerpt from my reading today that parallels many of my thoughts on modern medicine and medical research:

Before researchers become researchers they should become philosophers. They should consider what the human goal is, what it is that humanity should create. Doctors should first determine at the fundamental level what it is that human beings depend on for life.

In applying my theories to farming, I have been experimenting in growing my crops in various ways, always with the idea of developing a method close to nature. I have done this by whittling away unnecessary agricultural practice.

Modern scientific agriculture, on the other hand, has no such vision. Research wanders about aimlessly, each researcher seeing just one part of the infinite array of natural factors which affect harvest yields. Furthermore, these natural factors change from place to place and from year to year…

Modern research divides nature into tiny pieces and conducts tests that conform neither with natural law nor with practical experiences. The results are arranged for the convenience of research, not according to the needs of the farmer. To think that these conclusions can be put to use with invariable success in the farmer’s field is a big mistake…

Even if you can explain how metabolism affects the productivity of the top leaf when the average temperature is eighty-four degrees (Fahrenheit), there are places where the temperature is not eight-four degrees. And if the temperature is eighty-four degrees in Ehime this year, next year it may only be seventy-five degrees. To say that simply stepping up metabolism will increase starch formation and produce a large harvest is a mistake. The geography and topography of the land, the condition of the soil, its structure, texture, and drainage, exposure to sunlight, insect relationships, the variety of seed used, the method of cultivation – truly an infinite variety of factors – must all be considered. A scientific testing method which takes all relevant factors into account is an impossibility.

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

Animals and ahimsa

My dad wrote this op-ed piece on CNN.com in response to the tragic death of the orca whale trainer this past week.

I especially like the quote by the late Jacques Cousteau:

"There is about as much educational benefit to be gained in studying dolphins in captivity as there would be studying mankind by only observing prisoners held in solitary confinement."

I watched The Cove last night, which I think everyone should see. There is an unbelievable amount of horror and violence occurring, which we unknowingly support by our consumption of seafood and our marvel of beautiful animals at zoos and aquariums.

I couldn’t agree more when my dad writes:

“The best, most compassionate way for us protect, learn about and appreciate the beauty of wild animals is to watch them from a distance, but never, ever touch. We need to leave them alone -- in the wild -- and stop interfering in their lives.”

This all comes back again to the fundamental yogic principle of ahimsa, or non-violence.