Breathing

I bought Iyengar’s book “Light on Pranayama” and am taking advantage of my extra time to study pranayama -- breath control. This is the 4th limb of Ashtanga yoga.

And under my friend Xochitl’s influence, I am doing a three-day juice cleanse. Her family used to do this periodically growing up. She’s read a lot about it and thinks it might help heal my injured muscle.

So, I bought jugs of anti-oxidant filled juice (need to get a juicer!) and am starting to flood my body with it.

Inspired follies

"What is life but a series of inspired follies? The difficulty is to find them to do. Never lose a chance: it doesn't come every day."

~George Bernard Shaw

Last week I worked hard on two grant drafts -- one on the telomere study and one on the yoga clinical trial. I hope something will come out of them because so far it’s just been a lot of ideas, outlines, and drafts. 

I need to work on enjoying the process. 

And the same goes for yoga: it’s about the process. Fellow ashtangis have been surprised when I tell them this is my first injury that has really put me out of practice. It has happened to them, it’s part of the practice, and it’s a necessary lesson… to be humbled, to listen to my body, to protect it. 

Yoga where it’s needed

Check this out -- daily yogic breathing in high schools.

I’d love to see how an Ashtanga practice would help high school kids… anyone know any teachers out there who might be interested in trying this?

Nonacquisitiveness

Yoga Sutra II:30 --

Non-violence, truth, abstention from stealing, continence, and absence of greed for possessions beyond one’s need are the five pillars of yama. 

“In the effort of accumulating material possessions and wealth, in protecting the acquired, in their decline, in the latent impressions they leave on the mind, and in the unavoidable harm caused to other living beings – in all these there lies unhappiness. Thus the yogi practices nonacquisitiveness.” ~Vyasa commentary

“A mind with desires does not ignite and glow, nor does it generate light and warmth when touched with the fire of knowledge.” ~Iyengar

So… I’m working on nonacquisitiveness towards my practice. Today I spent most of my time inverted in shoulderstand and headstand, then sat in bada konasana against the wall and breathed… for a long, long time.

Pain empathy

This pain in my rib hurts with every breath I take. It is constantly on my mind, it makes me grumpy, it takes me out of my normal routine, and it occupies my mind making it difficult to be creative or thoughtful or compassionate. One positive outcome: it is helping me understand the experience of pain.

In Iyengar’s book Light on Yoga, he writes about the niyamas. Niyamas are the 2^nd limb of Ashtanga and make up the individual disciplines (Yamas, the 1^st limb, are universal ethical disciplines). One of niyamas is Santosa, meaning contentment. Iyengar says, “Santosa or contentment has to be cultivated. A mind that is not content cannot be cultivated.” And a mind distracted by pain cannot be content!

After some desperate googling I came across Epsom salts. A quick PubMed search came up with ZERO on Epsom salts for muscle pain, but I found a few answers on the Internet (though not sure of the science behind them). Epsom salts are made up of magnesium sulfate, which readily absorb through your skin helping bind “toxins” and reduce inflammation. I ran out to RiteAid and bought two big jugs, put 2 cups into hot water, and soaked for about 20 minutes. 

Ahimsa and my pulled muscle

Ahimsa is the first of the yamas (the 1st limb of Ashtanga’s 8 limbs). Ahimsa means non-violence. Non-violence towards other beings, and non-violence towards ourselves.

For me, ahimsa often means doing less. In my practice, it means taking some days off from the physical practice and taking some days for less asana and more breathing. In my life outside of practice, it means saying no to things and protecting my time. It applies to my internal thoughts, my actions, how I eat, the footprint I leave on the earth, etc.

And I can no longer ignore that it applies to my pulled serratus (maybe intercostal?) muscle. I think I overdid my jump-backs and now my right ribcage is terribly painful with almost every movement. Practicing through the pain has not been helping, so I have to rest.

Adam Kazan, Guest Blogger: "Everything terrible is something that needs our love." ~ Rilke

Guest Blogger, Adam Kazan

Ashtanga Alien Predator and What Is

Part 1 of 2

"Everything terrible is something that needs our love." - Rilke

What this blog is not about...Today during practice I thought of the BSG series and the Cylons and how that could be included below. During those thoughts I missed an asana and got very mucked up. Enough said about that.   

If you visit my home you may be fortunate and see the large action figures of Alien and Predator.

I suppose that most readers of this blog have not seen the movie Alien versus Predator  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0370263/, the one that takes place in like Antarctica. Perhaps you have seen an Alien movie or Predator. I saw the Alien versus Predator movie one week before going to a 10 day silent vipassana mediation retreat in Shelburne Falls, MA. The sits at the retreat were a hour long each. Old aches and pains visited and took a predominate seat in my body. That car accident a few years ago which strained my back. The right knee with its torn meniscus from a jujitsu sparing beatdown. Did these visit or were they always there lingering like a crocodile quietly waiting for its prey.

So sitting sitting trying trying to notice my breath coming in and out of my nose, what did I want? Not to ache and not to pain, no suffering Now!

So my lovely mind tried the not me thing, transferred the pains to images of Predator and Alien. Within the grey matter of my brain Predator and Alien fought deadly battles. Pushing the pain away and let them fight. It just kinda seemed to work for a couple of days, but alas the aches and pains were part of me and I could not get divorced from myself. Woe is me. I think a lot and thought of a solution. Aikido with bamboo swords! Like dancing. Both Alien and Predator were in those Japanese fencing uniforms. 

And I started to investigate my aches and pains. It is a very curious thing to spend time with pain. Arose not the spilling of concentrated acid (Alien's blood) or the cry of a battle won due to the severing of the other's limb, but a desire to be compassionate to myself. A warmth, a knowing of my suffering, an internal gentle hugging. I started then to be able to feel acceptance, tolerance, kindness for the frailties of the body and mind. With this knowing I also knew that others suffer within their own little and big science fiction movie hells (original series Star Trek -Mirror, Mirror, Star Trek: Next Generation - Chain of Command, The Matrix, Bridget Jones Diary, Lost in Space, Terminator ). By the end of the retreat the mental formations of Predator and Alien were sitting flanking me both crossedlegged and meditating. Once home, action figures graced the left and the right of my meditation mat. 

By now you must have already thought at least a couple of times...So what does this have to do with Ashtanga yoga practice? And so await the second installment....