A yogini's advice: "Be inspired."

I am so happy to share this interview with Karen Harmelin Tropea, one of the most important yoga teachers in my life.

During my second year of medical school, Karen started up a morning Mysore program in Philadelphia. Almost every day before heading to class or the hospital, I would go there to practice yoga. It has been incredible to watch this community grow over the years and I can’t imagine my life in Philadelphia without it... it has been a constant and supportive space during so many of my ups and downs of medical school.

Karen is an amazing woman, yoga teacher, and role model. She has taught me tons about yoga, she has given me a lot of life advice, she has challenged me when I’ve needed challenging, and she has calmed me when I’ve needed calming. I decided to ask Karen some questions I’ve been curious about and I hope you enjoy her answers as much as I did.

Karen is also beautifully pregnant with her second child… so stay tuned for more from her about yoga and pregnancy!

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Why do you practice Ashtanga yoga? 

I practice Ashtanga yoga because it is the most grounding practice for me. I am a physical person, I have always needed to be very active and have never done well in life (all aspects) without physical exercise. So Ashtanga was a good practice for this outlet at first. I connected to its very challenging physical practice, but soon discovered that the method was a gateway to the deepest center of who I am… my courage, my fears. It helped me meditate and it allowed me to be diligent and grounded. All forms of yoga can help individuals find out about themselves and go deeper within. Ashtanga just happens to do this for me.

How has your practice changed over the past 10 years and how do you see it changing over the next 10 years?

My practice has changed in so many ways. I think a regular yoga practice will naturally evolve anyway, but my physical practice has gone through ups and downs, strides and setbacks. Pranayama has gotten stronger and more focused and I am sure it will (along with bandhas) continue this path in the next 10 years. A steady growth and deep awareness have progressed within my pranayama and bandhas. These aspects of practice become solid with understanding and diligence.

The physical practice changes as one ages, gets injured, has babies etc. I definitely had a much more physically oriented practice when I was 27. Over the past few years having had a back injury and now two pregnancies, I have backed off the physical part and have focused more on the continuity of breath and connection to myself that comes with a more matured practice. I have learned that there is a lot more to a dedicated practice than just being able to get into postures or complete a series. It is most important to practice. Through backing off I found that breath and bandhas make the practice more efficient and actually allow a student to achieve more, physically. I have become more patient.

Over the next 10 years? I have no idea. I think women experience a resurgence of energy and physical ability in their 40’s. I have seen it in many of my students. I am excited by the changes my body will undergo in the next 10 years! Other limbs (of the eight) are a constant work in progress. 

How do you balance your yoga practice with all of the demands from the rest of your life? 

How does anyone balance a practice with life? I just have to make the time. If I have a busy day I practice for just a small amount of time, and try to dedicate another day in the week to a longer more focused practice. My husband and I both practice, so we trade off days or time in the shala.

I can honestly say that I took for granted the days when I attended a regular morning Mysore and was able to stay for 1.5-2 hours 6 days per week. I am sure there will be a time in my life when that happens again. Right now I would rather spend time with our son. Kids are little for such a small amount of time. I try to use the other limbs in raising and birthing my kids. It has been an amazing way to see how Ashtanga yoga has shaped my life.

Who have been your greatest yoga teachers and why?

I have had only a few teachers in my life. I have taken many classes and tried many practices, but only a few people who I consider to have been teachers for me. Richard Freeman was my first real teacher. I learned to practice daily from him. I learned a vast foundation while I was in Boulder, but I think I was too young to really get what I was experiencing there. Eric Powell was and still is a teacher for me. He impacted my physical practice and made my physical understanding of the practice real. He continues to do this for me. David Keil has taught me so much about being a teacher. David Garrigues has helped me to learn that there are times to push yourself and there are times to respect your body as well as what is happening in your life. Great yoga teachers will guide a student and give them a clear understanding of what they are learning. A great teacher also allows the student to make mistakes and helps them to learn from those mistakes through experience.

Tell us about your diet.

I eat a lot of greens. I LOVE kale and swiss chard and spinach. I pretty much like all vegetables. I prefer macrobiotic meals and vegan slow cooked food over quick foods (like snack bars) and junk. I eat junk once in a while, but it never sits well in me. I never eat fast food. I am a grazer. I eat raw nuts and dried fruit for snacks. When I am super active I can eat a lot. I love the farmers market and I buy most of my family’s food there. Eat local!

I also like to cook. My husband and I make sure to eat as a family at home most nights. We typically eat very little meat. If we do eat it, it is local, grass fed beef or fish. We do not eat poultry and will never eat veal or pork. I was vegetarian and vegan for over 14 years and experimented with a raw diet and macrobiotics. I started eating fish in my late 20's and after becoming pregnant with my first child, began to eat meat once in a while. I truly believe all bodies go through change every few years. It is super important to listen to what your body is telling you. What may work for you one year may not work for you another. Lifestyle changes, activity levels, etc all impact your daily needs. But in general, the body requires a variety foods at different stages of life. I have found that eating a variety of foods based around whole grains, leafy greens, nuts and fruit, and healthy fats has been most beneficial for me in my 30's and while having babies. I am sure my 40's will require much of the same with some added new twist!

Who has been the most influential person on your health habits?

My parents. They have given me the tools to be healthy and I have also picked up on their bad habits and have tried to steer clear of them. I have influenced my own health habits. I read a lot about current issues and I have experimented on myself. I know what works for me. Yoga is a huge part of being able to stay in touch with your body. Ashtanga Yoga can help you recognize what is “off” on a daily basis. There isn’t one right formula for health.

What is your biggest fear?

I fear what all parents fear. It is unspeakable. I can honestly say that throughout my life I have not had too many real fears… Nothing at least that would preclude me from doing or trying things. I wouldn’t say I was fearless, but I have never really experienced a deep fear until I had a child. If I ever had an anxiety or nervousness I was always able to move through it and process it. I guess I got lucky because somehow I managed to transcend this emotion. If you asked my parents I am sure they would have a lot to say on this about me. I just realized I have one more fear... having a child who doesn’t experience fear ;)

If you could tell a room of 10,000 young women one piece of life advice, what would it be?

Be inspired. Life is so unbelievably short. Seize opportunity. Sometimes the best and most important things in life happen because you were just having fun.

What do you wish you could go back in time and tell your 25-year old self? 

I would say, “See last answer” but I know I did that at 25. I would tell my 25-year old self to ask: “What do YOU want out of life? Sit and think about it, don’t rush into anything just because you think it’s a good idea or it’s what you should do. Its ok to take the time to figure out what will make you happy. Approach every major life decision this way. I tend to leap and deal with things later. I would tell myself to skip instead… at least once in a while ;) 

Let's stop apologizing, ladies.

In the yoga studio, in the hospital, in the lab, in relationships…. I always seem to be apologizing for something!

I see my girlfriends doing it too. Why are we apologizing so much?! I loved reading this paper that just came out (thank you for sending, Lizzie!) that provides some evidence and explanation for this “sorry” gender imbalance.

Here is what they found:

• Women apologize more often than men, but importantly, women report committing more offenses than men
• Men rate offenses as less severe (and less often deserving of an apology)
• Once men and women identified a behavior as offensive, they were equally likely to apologize (it’s just that men see fewer things as offensive) 

The bottom line: 

Women have a lower threshold for what constitutes offensive behavior

I want to work on cutting down on my “Sorry’s.” 

Here’s how:

1. Count my apologies. How many times do I actually apologize in a day? Yesterday I counted 4 before 10am… that seems like too much (especially since none of them really deserved an apology).
2. Categorize my apologies. This will help me understand what I’m actually apologizing for all day long. Every time I say “sorry,” label it in one of these categories (as described in the article) 
• Relational (e.g., insulting someone) 
• Failed obligation (e.g., failing to complete chores) 
• Inconvenience (e.g., calling a wrong number) 
• Physical or material (e.g., bumping into someone, damaging someone’s belongings)
3. Raise my sorry threshold. Pause before saying “sorry” – does this warrant an apology? Try to adopt more of a male mentality about this.

Sunday yoga and the science of love

I can’t think of a better way to start a Sunday than with mysore practice with yogi friends followed by a group coffee date at La Colombe… perfect!

I love seeing our little yoga family growing here: new students, new friends, and new babies! Two of our beautiful ladies are now pregnant, and it’s such a treat to get to practice with them every morning (and have one of them be our amazing teacher)!

This is one reason we chose our latest book club book to be The Scientification of Love, by Michel Odent.

It’s about the science behind love (i.e. falling love, life partnership, pregnancy, giving birth, raising a child). The author, Michel Odent, is a French obstetrician whose research focuses on the primal period (the time of life between birth and 1 year of age), and he correlates events during this time period with health and behaviors later in life.

It’s a fascinating book. Here are some highlights:

1. In some animals, pain during birth correlates with love for the newborn. Research in animals has shown that when painkillers/anesthesia are given during birth, some mothers will actually reject their newborns (they do not seem to recognize it as their own). For example, ewes given epidurals will not take care of their lambs!
2. Oxytocin is the “hormone of love.” You may have heard about this hormone because it’s released during breastfeeding (builds the mother-child bond). In addition, both men and women release it during sexual activity/orgasm. Well, we also release it when we share a meal with someone! (One question that came up: do our oxytocin levels rise when we practice yoga together  each morning?)
3. Love-sickness is a real thing. Anyone who has ever been in love knows this feeling: the physical illness you get when you lose or are separated from your loved one (knot in the stomach, loss of appetite, etc). This is an actual chemical withdrawal of neurotransmitters (i.e. phenylethylamine - PEA), and you are craving them. 
4. Falling in love has chemical similarities to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). You know the feeling: you meet someone, you get crushy, you fall in love, and you develop OCD tendencies with this person (similarly with a new baby). When people fall in love they actually have lower levels of serotonin in the brain, just like people with clinically diagnosed OCD. 

Being an imperfectionist

This is one of my favorite lines from the Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 3, verse 35) and it’s been on my mind lately:

“Better is one’s own law though imperfectly carried out than the law of another carried out perfectly.”

5 things I’m imperfectly carrying out right now:

1. Career choice: Do I chase the conventional markers of success (high paying specialty) or pursue my interests and passions (which may be less prestigious)?
2. Relationship timeline: Do I attempt to fit into the traditional timeline of dating, engagement, marriage, babies by mid-30’s (aaah!) or let go of that and follow the timeline that works for my life?
3. Yoga practice: Do I stick to the strict ashtanga practice every or sometimes skip around, add, and experiment?
4. Food: Do I follow a specific dietary set of rules (vegetarian, vegan, macrobiotic, raw, yogic, etc) or follow my own system that works for me (and which might be subject to change)?
5. Meditation practice: Do I sit in lotus position for a specified amount of time or do I allow for different approaches (such as getting up and going for a mindful run)?

I think I like being an imperfectionist.

Learning to say no

I’ve been overcommitting to too many projects at work… my mentor’s advice:

“You have to learn to say no… if you are too cheap you’ll run around doing everyone else’s work for them. People will actually value you more if you are not always available to them.”

I think he’s right about that!

I’m not very good at saying no… is this a woman thing?

Gems from Geeta

Today I went back to Geeta Iyengar’s book, Yoga: A Gem For Women.

Geeta was a very sick child. After almost dying from a kidney infection, her father (BKS Iyengar) told her: “From tomorrow onwards no more medicines. Either you practice Yoga or get prepared to die.” So, she began practicing yoga.

Here are some gems from her book...

On woman today:

“She now has to do the double work of having to meet financial pressures and maintaining harmony in the family. It is necessary for her to keep perfect health and harmony to withstand the stresses and strains of life. Yoga is capable of giving this needed relief if she devotes a little of her time daily to its practice.”

On motherhood:

“Motherhood is woman’s ordained duty. This is not merely a physical state, but a divine state. In giving birth new responsibilities begin for her and she has to prove herself. Motherhood adorns her with the sacred qualities of love, sacrifice, faith, tolerance, goodwill, and hard work. This is her highest religion – her svadharma. These qualities are ingrained deep into her nature… For all this, woman has to pay a high price physically and psychologically in her role of mother, wife, sister, and friend. Stabilization of the physical and mental states is achieved by asanas and pranayama. Her salvation lies in practicing them.”

On health:

“Without health there is no strength. Strength is preserved only when health is maintained. Health of the body means both physical and mental well-being. It is a sign of a peaceful state of the body and the mind when one is able to follow ethical codes, maintain moral standards, and fulfill social obligations… as the Upanisad says: “The Self is not realized by a weakling.”

Triple negative

This was an inspiring TODAY show segment (~5 min) about Jennifer Griffin, a 40 year-old reporter and mother of three who was diagnosed with Stage 3 “triple negative" breast cancer 5 months ago.

This designation of triple negative is relatively new and means the tumor is negative for both estrogen and progesterone receptors (ER/PR) and the HER2 protein. It is an aggressive form of breast cancer, occurs in about 15% of breast cancers, and is not susceptible to hormonal treatments (but is susceptible to chemotherapy).

Triple negative breast cancers tend to occur in younger women. In Jennifer’s case, it was 8cm - about the size of a lemon - and had been masked by pregnancy and breast-feeding.
 
Jennifer emphasizes the important of exercise throughout her treatment. “You need to exercise every day.” She looks amazing, and as they say in the segment, “she’s in the best shape of her life.”

When she shaved her head before losing her hair to chemo, Jennifer said, “When I first looked at myself in the mirror, I felt very strong… like I was a warrior.”

I also liked how she said she never goes out without her “body armor” – which includes her wig and her lipstick – to make sure she doesn’t feel like a sick person.

Injuries and women

Lately, I’ve been practicing next to a significant number of injured women… and seemingly uninjured men. This gender discrepancy could be for many obvious reasons -- maybe there are simply more women practicing yoga (making the odds higher), maybe the injured women have been practicing for a longer time-period (thus more prone to overuse injuries), maybe women are naturally more flexible (and thus push themselves too far), or perhaps some men are injured but are masking their injuries.

After some research, I found that female rowers are injured more frequently than their male counterparts. This study looked at 398 rowers (42% female, 58% male) competing in the Junior World Rowing Championships in 2007, finding overall 73.8% reported overuse injuries, and 26.2% reported injury from a single traumatic event. Females had more injuries than males (110.2 vs 90.5 injuries per 100 rowers). (I'm still wondering if there was a gender difference in traumatic versus overuse injuries).

This is leaving me wondering -- is there something that makes women more prone to injuries from intense physical practices such as Ashtanga or rowing?

I’ve been thinking about the hormone progesterone. During pregnancy, the high levels of progesterone help the woman’s body gain flexibility in preparation for labor and delivery. Progesterone levels also rise in the last two weeks of the menstrual cycle (the “luteal” phase). Could this make women more “open” during this part of the menstrual cycle, and thus more susceptible to injury? (It could be coincidence, but this was the time when I pulled my serratus anterior back in December).

I was glad to see that this question has begun to be studied. Though a very small sample size (n=8), this study showed no difference in flexibility over the menstrual cycle. They divided the cycle phases into menstrual (estradiol and progesterone levels low), ovulatory (estradiol high and progesterone low), and luteal (progesterone elevated), and measured maximal isometric voluntary contraction, muscle activation level, and tendon properties (using ultrasound). They found no significant changes during the three phases.

I would love to see a prospective study of hundreds of Ashtanga practitioners (or a similar daily physical practice), that tracks type of injury along with menstrual cycle phase/progesterone level. In the meantime, I’ll continue with self-observation on this question.

Evidence-based food

This flyer popped out when I opened my miso:

Wow, good marketing! Curious, I searched for the study they cite.

They collected survey data on soy consumption (miso soup, soyfoods, and estimated isoflavones) of 21,853 Japanese females between 40-59 years of age, and followed them prospectively for nine years while tracking breast cancer diagnoses.

They found that consumption of miso soup and isoflavones (but not soyfoods) was inversely associated with the risk of breast cancer (comparing the lowest quartile of isoflavone intake to the highest quartile, the adjusted relative risk for breast cancer in the highest quartile was 0.46, with the 95% Confidence Interval=0.25-0.84). The association was even stronger when considering only post-menopausal women.

I will make sure to start having more miso. Maybe other companies should learn from their marketing strategies?

There is so much emphasis on evidence-based medicine, but what about evidence-based food? After all, food can be thought of as a kind of medicine we take every single day.

Evidence-based food. I like the sound of that.

Time for yoga, technology for balance

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.”

~ Albert Einstein

Rather than simplifying our lives, sometimes technology seems to do the opposite…. new gadgets, hours in front the computer screen, google-reader feed and emails flooding in my inbox, and now the latest “google buzz” business.

Do these make me more productive, or are they scattering my energy and focus?

In my constant shuffle through information (and emotional) overload, I realize that certain aspects of technology have become daily necessities for my overall wellbeing.

Two examples I immediately think of are e-stickies and e-journaling. E-stickies on my laptop provide daily reminders of short-term projects, long-term goals, daily habits to cultivate, values to live by. The e-journal is my password-protected space where I safely de-clutter my mind… sometimes going months without it, but sometimes opening it multiple times a day.

Hiliary Critchley is an amazing woman, with whom I have had many coffee-date discussions about these issues… questioning ourselves: Is this what I really want to be doing in my life? Where do I go from here? How do I fit everything in? We both came to the practice of yoga, in part because it helps us with these questions.

Below, Hiliary talks about finding balance... and how technology helps, rather than hinders this process.

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Guest Blogger, Hiliary Critchley:

Time for yoga, technology for balance

The simple purpose that yoga plays in my life is the maintenance of balance.

The point of balance in an increasingly complex and technical world is to, according to the Wikipedia definition, “maintain the center of gravity of a body within the base of support with minimal postural sway.”

For me, this balance takes many forms:

• Balance in food consumption: A workout routine allows me to more easily walk by those aromas emanating from the closest restaurant. To remember that food is meant to nourish and sustain the body, which brings associated pleasure, but that food can also lead to negative health outcomes if over-indulged in.
• Balance in emotional state: The highs and lows are more easily taken in stride when viewed from a larger perspective. Yoga reminds me of my small place in the world and in history.
• Balance between work and personal life: My life is a mix of both. Each segment of my life should take only a certain percentage of my time and energy. 
• Balance in relationships with others and with myself: If one over-gives to others, yoga is a great way to reconnect with your own true desires. Sometimes these are hidden not within the complexities of the mind, but within the body.

Like most people, my challenge is to maintain a regular practice of healthy, balanced living.

Although there are plenty of arguments about technology disrupting natural human and community rhythms, there are just as many arguments posturing the opposite. While technology can drain my time and energy, it also enables me to squeeze in a yoga practice, to make productive use of time while waiting for people, and to make more time for my significant other, my friends, and myself.

Here are some ways we can use technology to help stay balanced:

• Reconnecting with friends: Social media (Facebook, Twitter) has made this exponentially easier than it was five years ago.
• Cooking: Look up a quick and healthy recipe on epicurious or food.com. 
• Maintaining daily health habits: Use free applications on the iphone like “Lose It” to look up the nutritional value of a meal about to be consumed, or “Yoga Trainer Lite” and “Yoga at Home” to get ideas for a home yoga practice when unable to make it to a class. 
• Traveling: When out of town, quick searches to find yoga and healthy food in a new city.
• Creativity: Blogging, writing, tweets, facebook updates... all opportunities for creativity, getting a message out there, or expressing an emotion when something out of the ordinary happens. 
• Laughter: Watching shows like the Daily Show or Colbert Report on hulu.com when you have a free 20 minutes. 
• Health monitoring: Using tools such as google’s personal health records to keep track of your cholesterol, BMI, vaccinations, etc. These are the wave of the future.

As I continue to work on balancing my time, rather than get distracted by technology, I try to use these tools to help me keep up a regular practice of yoga and health maintenance. In the end, it is that which helps me balance all other aspects of my life.

A gem for women

I can’t wait to get my hands on Geeta Iyengar's book: Yoga, a gem for women.

Thanks to Caitlin for telling me about the book and for sharing this quote by BKS Iyengar (Geeta's father), in the forward:

"The general notion is that Yoga is not intended for women. It is fallacious and it underrates the moral, intellectual, and spiritual legacies to which women are entitled as much as men… Multitudes of women are seen nowadays who equal and excel men in every faculty. More women can now come forward and strive to attain new heights to enrich Yoga, which is one of our ancient heritages."  

~BKS Iyengar

A man's practice?

My older sister, Kim, first got me into Ashtanga about six years ago. When she got married, she stopped practicing except for the occasional post-run yoga poses in the living room. She recently had a baby and is now starting to get back into yoga (partly motivated by wanting to strengthen her "core” after pregnancy/labor).

Over Christmas, she asked me if I thought Ashtanga was more of “a man’s practice.” The feminist inside of me reacted immediately (almost in anger!). These were her points and my responses:

Kim: Ashtanga emphasizes being lean and light, but women are curvy and it’s harder to be lean. 

Me: It’s healthy for everyone regardless of gender to be lean and light. I think it’s possible for women to be lean, light, AND curvy. 

Kim: Postures seem to squish women’s body parts (i.e. breast and belly). 

Me: What's wrong with that? I don't think that is harmful (and may even be beneficial – many postures are meant to put pressure on/massage various body parts and organs). 

Kim: You aren’t supposed to practice when menstruating. Does this go back to an idea that having your period is dirty? 

Me: This is a time of rest for the woman's body (if I don’t rest during this time I definitely feel a difference in my practice). I think this is a sign of respect for the woman and her ability to have children, rather than because she is “dirty.” Also, there's an *unproven* idea that inversions may lead to endometriosis from backwards menstrual flow. 

Kim: The practice seems out of sync with women’s life cycle of having babies – you can’t do twists, etc, when you are pregnant or recently had a baby. 

Me: The entirety of a woman's life is not about having babies! Women practice Ashtanga right up until they give birth. You can continue to practice throughout the whole of pregnancy (with modifications, of course). 

Though my sister seemed to accept my answers as adequate, her question stuck with me and I sometimes wonder about this. The Ashtanga practice was developed by men, many of the advanced practitioners/teachers are men, and much of the physical practice does seem to come more easily to men.

But... that definitely does not mean women cannot or should not practice or teach it... though the practice may need to be modified sometimes (as Saraswati, Guruji’s daughter, discusses in this interview.)

One thing I love about Ashtanga is how it attracts strong, yet feminine, women. And maybe the intensity of the Ashtanga practice helps women to be intense in other aspects of their lives, be it a career, mothering, creativity, or other pursuits.

Guest blogger, Alicia Maxwell: My practice through cancer

My practice through cancer 

Alicia Maxwell

On January 16th, 2010 I will be celebrating my two-year anniversary of surviving breast cancer. I was diagnosed with Stage IIA breast cancer at the young age of thirty, finding the lump myself while showering. Needless to say I was shocked because of my age, no family history of the disease, and my overall healthy lifestyle. However, cancer does not discriminate. You cannot control cancer, but you can control how you react to it. My reaction to my diagnosis was to survive and not let this cancer thing get me down. I wanted to continue striving for the things I had planned and continue doing the things I loved. There would be no quitting anything while going through treatment, only modifications. 

My ashtanga practice played an integral role in my recovery, mentally and physically. At the time of my diagnosis, I was just a few poses away from finishing the primary series. I was looking forward to transitioning into second series and gaining a deeper understanding of my practice. As I got closer to treating my cancer, I knew that my practice would have to be modified significantly. My treatment plan included a lumpectomy followed by months of aggressive chemotherapy and radiation. 

The first practice after my diagnosis, I rolled out my mat and worked on quieting my mind. It was difficult. My surgery date was approaching and I needed to prepare for battle. My first vinyasa was the most difficult, thoughts flooded my mind and I was bombarded by every emotion imaginable. By the end of my practice I was calmer and more at peace with facing the challenges ahead. Surgery day came, the cancer was removed from my breast and lymph nodes. But it was just the beginning of my journey. 

The lumpectomy decreased my shoulder range of motion and I had paresthesias in my arm, and pain in my breast. I couldn’t do certain poses and my practice was modified significantly. I felt like it was my very first time on the mat. I was frustrated. As I sat in child’s pose, I let go of my frustrations and took this as an opportunity to find myself in each posture. My range of motion slowly started coming back, thank you sun salutations, and I was getting closer to starting chemo. 

My long silky black hair would be gone. The thought brought tears to my eyes. My hair always seemed to come undone during my practice, sweeping my face, and I would become distracted. Now, it had a completely different meaning. I would begin my practice with my hair long, feeling it brush across my shoulders and face. Midway through my practice I would place my hair in a bun, enjoying the texture of my hair. I just wanted to remember. 

I started chemo and my doctor said my hair would fall out in fourteen days. I noticed a few strands of hair in the shower and on the floor, but wasn’t ready to shave it off yet. On day thirteen, I looked down at my mat and the surrounding floor and my hair was everywhere. I came to terms with losing my hair during that practice. The next time I stepped on the mat I would be bald, but still me. Adorning a vintage scarf, I began my practice. The silkiness of the scarf now brushed my neck and shoulders. I took a depth breath and I was at peace. 

Chemo is tough and it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, but you get through it. I practiced as much as I could during treatment and it helped keep my body and mind strong. At times I could only do a few postures, leaving the remaining time to meditate and pray. It was obvious to my fellow yogis that I was sick. One day a gentlemen I had never spoken to before approached me after class. He said he dedicated his practice to me. It was such a kind and loving gift, I will never forget it. Just speaking of it now brings a smile to my face. 

My journey benefited from placing my bare feet on the mat and allowing my practice to just happen.

Ashtanga in Rwanda - Project Air

Check out this video about a medical NGO which started using yoga to help rape victims in Rwanda.

And this interview with Deirdre Summerbell who started it all.

Deirdre said yoga in Rwanda is a "conceptual void" so the women had no anticipatory skepticism. Deirdre started by doing some demonstrations and the women "were horrified!" But they threw themselves into it and loved it.

They teach Ashtanga yoga, taking the women through the fixed routine. It helps the women heal and reconnect with their bodies, as well as make them strong. She said "Yoga is slow medicine, but it is medicinal in character."

It's gone so well in Rwanda that they're now seeking funding to bring it to other places... (how about Penn!)

Project Air: http://www.project-air.org/