It is spring 2009. Last fall, shortly after the first wave of financial crisis hit the news, I started writing a five-part article series on yoga and the economy and the economy of yoga. In articles one through four, we looked at yoga's history as a system of wellness for the everyday householder especially applicable in today's tough economic times. We looked at how yoga for physical exercise is economical on more than the financial level. We looked at how yoga for the emotions and mind can be inexpensive and deeply de-stressing, one of our greatest health-preventative measures available. And finally, in this last article, we will look at the personal and economical benefits of a yogic diet.
As I pointed out in the first article, even if you are exercising regularly these days but are experiencing more stress than before the economy plummeted, you are at risk of downturn in your health, or your personal economy-of-one.
It is precisely because this deep recession hits us on so many levels that we need to attend to the big three in wellness--exercise, mind work, and diet--in order to get and keep our personal economies-of-one strong. So let's look at the yogic diet, to see what it offers.
A yogic diet is a very healthy diet. Though it is oft disputed in the yoga community just what a yogic diet is (e.g., vegetarian vs. omnivorous), there is no universal hard and fast rule. I believe this: Pick a well-balanced diet that does your body and soul good. Let your stomach and your consciousness be your guide. Keep an open mind and listen to your body. Always be willing to change your diet when necessary.
That being set, I'd like to recommend what I consider to be the most yogic of all diets. It also happens to be very inexpensive, perfect for people on a tight budget. It is called a living foods diet . This diet consists of eating as much as you want of raw, uncooked, unprocessed, and enzyme-active foods. It is yogic because one eats conscientiously using simple food preparation, one eats highly nutritious foods, and one eats low on the food chain (good for the environment and animal rights observers.)
A living food contains its own digestive enzymes, which help your body efficiently digest what you've eaten. If you eat a food without its digestive enzymes, your body has to create enzymes necessary for digestion, so the chemistry-based philosophy behind a living food diet, then, is that you eat the food as nature created it. When you do, your body is receiving the most nutrition from the food in the most efficient way. The body is
working at its metabolic optimum when living foods are on the menu.
So what is a living food? A food that has not been cooked, or heated to about 118 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, is considered living. Raw fruits and vegetables, fresh-squeezed (as opposed to pasteurized-bottled, canned, frozen) juices, cold-pressed (as opposed to heat-processed) oils, soaked nuts, and the sprouts of beans, seeds, and grains are considered living foods. In contrast, any food cooked to about 118 degrees and higher loses its digestive enzymes; the heat denatures them. Much of our diet, obviously, is digestive-enzyme free.
A living foods diet is my favorite way to eat, and research into living foods (often referred to as raw foods, though some experts draw a line of distinction) will open a new door for you on how to think about, prepare, and eat food. There are many living and raw foods websites, blogs, and 'un-cook' books available to help you find your way. Living foodists eat salads, soups, sandwiches, faux meats, living foods pastas, breads, milks, dehydrated foods (cooked so slowly the enzymes stay active), cheeses, dips, sauces, cookies, smoothies, and drinks. It is far from a limited diet.
When I eat at least 50% living foods in a given day, I have more energy, and I feel more balanced and happy. In fact, I feel that when I eat living foods, my food is my medicine.
Sprouting foods is one living foods preparation technique that provides foods rich in enzyme-powered carbohydrates, protein, and fats. Sprouting entails soaking foods such as beans, legumes, seeds, nuts, and grains and then watering/draining them until they produce small tails. Foods treated in this manner grow tails because soaking and then watering them releases the food's enzyme inhibitors. Sprouting 'activates' the nut, bean, etc., in other words, or takes it from a dormant state to a living state.
What's more, sprouting provides high-level nutrition for only pennies. A pound of lentils (less than $2) will when sprouted yield thousands of grams of full-powered, easy-to-digest protein. (When sprouted, a seed gains up to fifteen times its weight.) A pound of cooked meat, in contrast, provides no more than a couple hundred grams of protein that is hard on the body because the digestive enzymes in the meat are denatured in the cooking process, undertaken in order that the meat can be eaten at all. A pound of sprouted food will create many highly nutritious and inexpensive meals.
Eating a yogic diet is just one way to health and pocketbook happiness. When combined with the other yogic practices discussed in this series, one will be on one's way to great health at low cost: the perfect economic hard times antidote.
Namaste.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Yoga and the Economy, Part IV: The Economy of Yoga (Mind Work and Breath Control)
So far on our exploration of yoga and the economy/the economy of yoga, we have looked at how yoga, the most economical of wellness systems ever created, can help humans through economic hard times. I noted that when our economy is as weak as this one, it is likely our individual economies lose strength. We need to attend to exercise, mind work, and diet in order to get and keep our personal economies-of-one strong.
In the last article, I offered physical and breathing exercises that, if you are short on time or money, can put you on the path to strength, flexibility, and balance. Today, we'll look at a second part of the yoga wellness package: mind-work and breath awareness.
Even if you are exercising regularly these days but are experiencing more stress than before the economy plummeted, you are at risk of personal economy-of-one downturn. As we know, exercise takes us a long way on the path to physical and mental health, and when done with breath awareness, can take us even further.
But what if yogic exercise with breath awareness is not quite enough for you these days? What if, like a good friend of mine, you are not sleeping well? What if you are feeling depressed or anxious or worried, and what if even one hour of sun salutations a day is not completely helping you handle your reactions to the world, or what if you do not practice yoga at all but have an exercise regime and still find yourself suffering emotionally or mentally from this recession? What if you do not care for exercise of the body but want to start doing something to help you?
Yoga offers a solution for all.
Exercising the mind is as important, if not more important, as exercising the body. It is crucial that we exercise our minds the way we tune our cars at the mechanic's, or tune our bodies in yoga asana class. A strong mind, simply put, helps us create and maintain healthy emotional and psychological perspectives. Our ancients knew all about this and created within the system of yoga thousands of years ago two (out of eight) entire limbs of study dedicated solely to mind work.
There are many, many mind-training exercises and systems in yoga. An internet search or a search on You Tube using keywords such as 'pranayama', 'meditation,' Yoga Nidra' or 'dhyana' will fill your toolbag with tools for calming and strengthening the mind to function at its optimum. Today, I will instruct you on two of my favorite tools: Alternate Nostril Breathing and Yoga Nidra.
1) Alternate Nostril Breathing (or Anuloma Viloma or Nadi Shodhana) is a deeply relaxing breathing exercise involving a mudra (hand position). It brings a balance of prana to the body, balances the right and left sides of the body, calms the mind, and prepares us for meditation or quiet sitting. It is a fantastic breathing exercise to help you relax, sleep better, and feel overall relief from emotions that do not serve you. Practice regularly. You will notice the difference in your life.
Sit in a comfortable position on the floor, against a wall, or in a chair. Place the right hand in Vishnu mudra and rest that elbow in the palm of the left hand, arms and shoulders relaxed and to the sides. To create Vishnu mudra, tuck the second and third fingers in the palm and leave the thumb, ring finger, and baby finger extended and relaxed.
Raise your right hand to the face and turn it to face you. Close off the right nostril with your thumb and inhale through the left nostril, engaging long deep breathing (see article three in this series for detailed instructions). At the top of the inhale, close your left nostril with the ring finger. Now you have both nostrils closed. After about six seconds, exhale through the right nostril. That is one round. Do a round to the other side: inhale right nostril (left nostril is still closed off), hold the breath, and exhale left nostril, closing off left. You can do as many rounds as you wish. Make your inhales, exhales, and holds as deep and even as possible without any strain at all in the body.
2) Let us now look at Yoga Nidra. Yoga Nidra, an ancient meditation practice, helps restore physical, emotional, and mental health by way of deep, guided relaxation. It is one of the least explored yet most beneficial of meditation practices and is available to everyone regardless of physical ability or age.
In Yoga Nidra, ('yoga' in Sanskrit means 'unity' and 'nidra' means 'sleep'), the body and mind are neither fully awake nor in a sleep state but, rather, are calm, still, and quietly aware.
Yoga Nidra has many benefits. It reduces stress, improves sleep, boosts the immune system, lowers blood pressure, brings balance and harmony to the hemispheres of the brain and nervous system, promotes higher consciousness and inner peace, and helps us drop our unwanted behaviors and habits.
Physical relaxation, breathing awareness, affirmations, and visualizations are the basic techniques employed in a Yoga Nidra practice. Yoga Nidra sessions range from about 5 to 45 minutes in length. The longer the session, the more work the mind does, but even a five minute session has been proven to be of great benefit to practitioners.
Yoga Nidra is a meditation you listen to. If you cannot find a Yoga Nidra teacher in your area, purchase a CD or download and listen regularly. (My 71 minute Yoga Nidra CD, containing four Yoga Nidra sequences, is available at my website listed at the end of this article.)
In the final article of this series, I will focus on the third part of the 'big three' in a yoga wellness package geared toward a troubled economy. I will talk about most yogic, healthy, and economic diet on the planet and how it can help you, others, and the planet's health: raw foods.
For my Yoga Nidra CD, go to http://www.pinklotusyoga.com
In the last article, I offered physical and breathing exercises that, if you are short on time or money, can put you on the path to strength, flexibility, and balance. Today, we'll look at a second part of the yoga wellness package: mind-work and breath awareness.
Even if you are exercising regularly these days but are experiencing more stress than before the economy plummeted, you are at risk of personal economy-of-one downturn. As we know, exercise takes us a long way on the path to physical and mental health, and when done with breath awareness, can take us even further.
But what if yogic exercise with breath awareness is not quite enough for you these days? What if, like a good friend of mine, you are not sleeping well? What if you are feeling depressed or anxious or worried, and what if even one hour of sun salutations a day is not completely helping you handle your reactions to the world, or what if you do not practice yoga at all but have an exercise regime and still find yourself suffering emotionally or mentally from this recession? What if you do not care for exercise of the body but want to start doing something to help you?
Yoga offers a solution for all.
Exercising the mind is as important, if not more important, as exercising the body. It is crucial that we exercise our minds the way we tune our cars at the mechanic's, or tune our bodies in yoga asana class. A strong mind, simply put, helps us create and maintain healthy emotional and psychological perspectives. Our ancients knew all about this and created within the system of yoga thousands of years ago two (out of eight) entire limbs of study dedicated solely to mind work.
There are many, many mind-training exercises and systems in yoga. An internet search or a search on You Tube using keywords such as 'pranayama', 'meditation,' Yoga Nidra' or 'dhyana' will fill your toolbag with tools for calming and strengthening the mind to function at its optimum. Today, I will instruct you on two of my favorite tools: Alternate Nostril Breathing and Yoga Nidra.
1) Alternate Nostril Breathing (or Anuloma Viloma or Nadi Shodhana) is a deeply relaxing breathing exercise involving a mudra (hand position). It brings a balance of prana to the body, balances the right and left sides of the body, calms the mind, and prepares us for meditation or quiet sitting. It is a fantastic breathing exercise to help you relax, sleep better, and feel overall relief from emotions that do not serve you. Practice regularly. You will notice the difference in your life.
Sit in a comfortable position on the floor, against a wall, or in a chair. Place the right hand in Vishnu mudra and rest that elbow in the palm of the left hand, arms and shoulders relaxed and to the sides. To create Vishnu mudra, tuck the second and third fingers in the palm and leave the thumb, ring finger, and baby finger extended and relaxed.
Raise your right hand to the face and turn it to face you. Close off the right nostril with your thumb and inhale through the left nostril, engaging long deep breathing (see article three in this series for detailed instructions). At the top of the inhale, close your left nostril with the ring finger. Now you have both nostrils closed. After about six seconds, exhale through the right nostril. That is one round. Do a round to the other side: inhale right nostril (left nostril is still closed off), hold the breath, and exhale left nostril, closing off left. You can do as many rounds as you wish. Make your inhales, exhales, and holds as deep and even as possible without any strain at all in the body.
2) Let us now look at Yoga Nidra. Yoga Nidra, an ancient meditation practice, helps restore physical, emotional, and mental health by way of deep, guided relaxation. It is one of the least explored yet most beneficial of meditation practices and is available to everyone regardless of physical ability or age.
In Yoga Nidra, ('yoga' in Sanskrit means 'unity' and 'nidra' means 'sleep'), the body and mind are neither fully awake nor in a sleep state but, rather, are calm, still, and quietly aware.
Yoga Nidra has many benefits. It reduces stress, improves sleep, boosts the immune system, lowers blood pressure, brings balance and harmony to the hemispheres of the brain and nervous system, promotes higher consciousness and inner peace, and helps us drop our unwanted behaviors and habits.
Physical relaxation, breathing awareness, affirmations, and visualizations are the basic techniques employed in a Yoga Nidra practice. Yoga Nidra sessions range from about 5 to 45 minutes in length. The longer the session, the more work the mind does, but even a five minute session has been proven to be of great benefit to practitioners.
Yoga Nidra is a meditation you listen to. If you cannot find a Yoga Nidra teacher in your area, purchase a CD or download and listen regularly. (My 71 minute Yoga Nidra CD, containing four Yoga Nidra sequences, is available at my website listed at the end of this article.)
In the final article of this series, I will focus on the third part of the 'big three' in a yoga wellness package geared toward a troubled economy. I will talk about most yogic, healthy, and economic diet on the planet and how it can help you, others, and the planet's health: raw foods.
For my Yoga Nidra CD, go to http://www.pinklotusyoga.com
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Yoga and the Economy, Part III - The Economy of Yoga (Exercise With Breath Awareness)
In Part II of this series, I argued that yoga is the perfect antidote for economic hard times. As modern yoga masters Iyengar and Bhajan state, yoga was created over 5,000 years ago to help the everyday individual "satisfy all human needs" in the face of "hardship and suffering" and the challenges of "making a living, raising a family, and finding meaning and purpose." Yoga is perfect for tough times since it is tough: tried, true, deep, modifiable, and life-transforming.
In this article, we will look at breathing exercise (pranayama) and physical exercise (asana), two of yoga's eight major areas of wellness, so you can create and develop a yoga practice during days when time and money might be scarcities. We'll start with breathing and move onto the physical exercises.
1) Breathing Exercise (pranayama):
Save yourself energy and make yourself feel stronger and more relaxed by practicing yoga breathing.
First, exercise without breath control is not worth doing. It is a waste of energy to huff and puff through a workout, but we often do because we are encouraged to push, compete, and strain while we engage in athletic-based movement (e.g., running, basketball). What's worse, many of us are 'top' or chest breathers, utilizing only one-third of our lungs' capacity, and since typical athlete-focus exercise systems do not teach us to feed our moving muscles and joints with great amounts of oxygen, many traditional exercise systems do little for our health and in fact over time often wear the body down.
When practiced with mindful breathing, on the other hand, yoga gives back as much energy as it uses, and this is one of yoga's greatest noted benefits. As yoga master Bikram Choudhury states, "Yoga is a gas station." You do not burn up energy when you practice, but rather gain it. Yoga makes you incredibly fuel-efficient, which is of course highly economical.
The best news is that pranayama costs nothing. It only takes time and repetition. To get the most out of your poses, and your life, practice long, deep breathing (yoga breathing) often. Inhale and exhale exclusively through the nose, filling and emptying the lungs with a relaxed chest and back and an active, soft belly. I provide a link at the end of this article to a video demonstrating this ancient, healing breathing technique that is the backbone, if you will, of yoga. Eventually, you will be a deep breather automatically, even when your heart rate is very high from physical exercise.
2) Physical Exercise (asana):
Whether you are short on money or time (or both) these days, here are some ways to get the most out of yogic physical exercise. We'll first look at yoga for those short on money and then to yoga for those short on time.
A. If you are short on money:
I do not wish to put any yoga studio out of business, but the good news in hard economic times is that yoga need not be expensive, and classes are not the only place where you can learn and practice. I practiced yoga in my home on and off for three years before taking a class, my only investment a $15.00 mat. Develop or deepen a regular home yoga practice. There are many tools to help you.
The greatest tool is the library. I first learned yoga by borrowing yoga books and videos/DVDs from my local library, and you can do the same, even if you are an advanced practitioner. Make it part of your practice to track borrowed materials' due dates to avoid overdue fines.
Other tools for learning yoga poses are Yoga Journal's website and free downloads of many high-quality yoga class video podcasts featuring many great teachers. Research your virtual teachers and try many out, and trust that you know enough yoga, and that they are knowledgeable enough, to provide you with a good home yoga practice. When practiced mindfully, yoga can be a beautiful, solo endeavor.
If you are a beginner, avoid power, vinyasa, or Ashtanga yoga videos/DVDs unless they are beginning level. These styles move very quickly or are rigorous, and not every beginner enjoys that or benefits from that speed and effort. If you already know yoga, though, these styles can create a vigorous home practice that when practiced regularly can easily eliminate the need for a fitness center membership.
If you want to attend an inexpensive yoga class, start with your local YMCA. I teach at mine, and my students pay just $4.00 per class; there is no studio in my city that comes close to meeting that deal. Your local recreation department is also a good place to look for inexpensive yoga. My city's program offers yoga for about $6 per class.
Search online using your town/city/neighborhood and 'yoga' as keywords. You will find many experienced, registered yoga instructors not affiliated with a yoga studio who often offer 'donation' (pay what you can) classes. Talk to teachers in advance about their donation classes to determine if they would agree to receive smaller donations from you for awhile.
Got a special skill or talent? Talk with independent yoga instructors about trading your talent and time for free yoga instruction.
Finally, find out if there is Yoga Alliance-recognized teacher training in your area. If there is, talk to the trainers about classes their trainees might teach, which might be offered at a reduced rate.
B. If you are short on time:
Yoga is perfect for those with little time on their hands. A few minutes of deep breathing and classic poses can alter your look, your outlook, and your health.
If you have very little time to exercise, try this 15-minute sequence (13 minutes of poses plus 2 minutes for between-pose preparation and breaks). Use yoga breathing and take breaks when necessary.
-Mountain: 1 minute
-Downward Facing Dog: 1 minute
-Triangle: 1 minute each side
-Downward Facing Dog: 1 minute
-Tree: 30 seconds each side
-Upward Boat: 30 seconds
-Cobra: 30 seconds
-Seated Forward Bend: 1 minute
-Shoulder Pose: 1 minute
-Reclined Twist: 1 minute each side
-Relaxation: 3 minutes (use natural breathing here)
Are you strapped for time and need/want fast results from yoga? Try hot yoga. By adding heat to your practice room with an energy-efficient space heater, or by wearing stretchy, water-wicking layers to keep your body's heat close to you, your muscles and joints get stronger and more flexible faster: heat boosts results. If you have cash to spare, take a hot classical yoga class (minimum temperature should be 90 degrees).
Engaging a Yoga Alliance-registered instructor for a private one-hour session can help you make the most of your exercise time. Many yoga instructors teach privately. Ask your instructor to consult with you before your session about your physical exercise goals so that your hour instruction is tailored just for you. Ask your instructor to provide you with thorough notes and handouts to help you practice on your own. A private yoga session averages about $70/hour here in the Midwest.
In the next article, we will explore more limbs of yoga that greatly benefit us, specifically in the emotional and mental realms. After all, in addition to being short on time and money during a serious recession, we humans can also find ourselves short on confidence, patience, and even sleep. Yoga can be your recession remedy in these regards, too.
Watch how to perform yoga's long deep breathing technique: www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiHmvzFdzT4
In this article, we will look at breathing exercise (pranayama) and physical exercise (asana), two of yoga's eight major areas of wellness, so you can create and develop a yoga practice during days when time and money might be scarcities. We'll start with breathing and move onto the physical exercises.
1) Breathing Exercise (pranayama):
Save yourself energy and make yourself feel stronger and more relaxed by practicing yoga breathing.
First, exercise without breath control is not worth doing. It is a waste of energy to huff and puff through a workout, but we often do because we are encouraged to push, compete, and strain while we engage in athletic-based movement (e.g., running, basketball). What's worse, many of us are 'top' or chest breathers, utilizing only one-third of our lungs' capacity, and since typical athlete-focus exercise systems do not teach us to feed our moving muscles and joints with great amounts of oxygen, many traditional exercise systems do little for our health and in fact over time often wear the body down.
When practiced with mindful breathing, on the other hand, yoga gives back as much energy as it uses, and this is one of yoga's greatest noted benefits. As yoga master Bikram Choudhury states, "Yoga is a gas station." You do not burn up energy when you practice, but rather gain it. Yoga makes you incredibly fuel-efficient, which is of course highly economical.
The best news is that pranayama costs nothing. It only takes time and repetition. To get the most out of your poses, and your life, practice long, deep breathing (yoga breathing) often. Inhale and exhale exclusively through the nose, filling and emptying the lungs with a relaxed chest and back and an active, soft belly. I provide a link at the end of this article to a video demonstrating this ancient, healing breathing technique that is the backbone, if you will, of yoga. Eventually, you will be a deep breather automatically, even when your heart rate is very high from physical exercise.
2) Physical Exercise (asana):
Whether you are short on money or time (or both) these days, here are some ways to get the most out of yogic physical exercise. We'll first look at yoga for those short on money and then to yoga for those short on time.
A. If you are short on money:
I do not wish to put any yoga studio out of business, but the good news in hard economic times is that yoga need not be expensive, and classes are not the only place where you can learn and practice. I practiced yoga in my home on and off for three years before taking a class, my only investment a $15.00 mat. Develop or deepen a regular home yoga practice. There are many tools to help you.
The greatest tool is the library. I first learned yoga by borrowing yoga books and videos/DVDs from my local library, and you can do the same, even if you are an advanced practitioner. Make it part of your practice to track borrowed materials' due dates to avoid overdue fines.
Other tools for learning yoga poses are Yoga Journal's website and free downloads of many high-quality yoga class video podcasts featuring many great teachers. Research your virtual teachers and try many out, and trust that you know enough yoga, and that they are knowledgeable enough, to provide you with a good home yoga practice. When practiced mindfully, yoga can be a beautiful, solo endeavor.
If you are a beginner, avoid power, vinyasa, or Ashtanga yoga videos/DVDs unless they are beginning level. These styles move very quickly or are rigorous, and not every beginner enjoys that or benefits from that speed and effort. If you already know yoga, though, these styles can create a vigorous home practice that when practiced regularly can easily eliminate the need for a fitness center membership.
If you want to attend an inexpensive yoga class, start with your local YMCA. I teach at mine, and my students pay just $4.00 per class; there is no studio in my city that comes close to meeting that deal. Your local recreation department is also a good place to look for inexpensive yoga. My city's program offers yoga for about $6 per class.
Search online using your town/city/neighborhood and 'yoga' as keywords. You will find many experienced, registered yoga instructors not affiliated with a yoga studio who often offer 'donation' (pay what you can) classes. Talk to teachers in advance about their donation classes to determine if they would agree to receive smaller donations from you for awhile.
Got a special skill or talent? Talk with independent yoga instructors about trading your talent and time for free yoga instruction.
Finally, find out if there is Yoga Alliance-recognized teacher training in your area. If there is, talk to the trainers about classes their trainees might teach, which might be offered at a reduced rate.
B. If you are short on time:
Yoga is perfect for those with little time on their hands. A few minutes of deep breathing and classic poses can alter your look, your outlook, and your health.
If you have very little time to exercise, try this 15-minute sequence (13 minutes of poses plus 2 minutes for between-pose preparation and breaks). Use yoga breathing and take breaks when necessary.
-Mountain: 1 minute
-Downward Facing Dog: 1 minute
-Triangle: 1 minute each side
-Downward Facing Dog: 1 minute
-Tree: 30 seconds each side
-Upward Boat: 30 seconds
-Cobra: 30 seconds
-Seated Forward Bend: 1 minute
-Shoulder Pose: 1 minute
-Reclined Twist: 1 minute each side
-Relaxation: 3 minutes (use natural breathing here)
Are you strapped for time and need/want fast results from yoga? Try hot yoga. By adding heat to your practice room with an energy-efficient space heater, or by wearing stretchy, water-wicking layers to keep your body's heat close to you, your muscles and joints get stronger and more flexible faster: heat boosts results. If you have cash to spare, take a hot classical yoga class (minimum temperature should be 90 degrees).
Engaging a Yoga Alliance-registered instructor for a private one-hour session can help you make the most of your exercise time. Many yoga instructors teach privately. Ask your instructor to consult with you before your session about your physical exercise goals so that your hour instruction is tailored just for you. Ask your instructor to provide you with thorough notes and handouts to help you practice on your own. A private yoga session averages about $70/hour here in the Midwest.
In the next article, we will explore more limbs of yoga that greatly benefit us, specifically in the emotional and mental realms. After all, in addition to being short on time and money during a serious recession, we humans can also find ourselves short on confidence, patience, and even sleep. Yoga can be your recession remedy in these regards, too.
Watch how to perform yoga's long deep breathing technique: www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiHmvzFdzT4
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Yoga and the Economy, Part II - The Economy of Yoga
In Part I of this series, I stated that yoga, the most economical of wellness systems ever created, can help you through economic tough times. In this article, I will further this concept by looking to the words of two great yoga masters on the topic of yoga's intent and import, and then I will move to introduce three general yogic disciplines that strengthen our personal wellness economies in a time when the larger economy continues to falter.
In the world of yoga, there exists an important precept espoused by yogis of many backgrounds, and it is that yoga, the 5,000 plus-year-old practice of mind-body connection, was created not for wealthy or the privileged being but for the common householder, or everyday person. Right out of the gate, in other words, we see in yoga's roots and mission a link between itself and what is common.
A great modern yoga master, B.K.S. Iyengar, precisely defines the common, everyday life: "The life of a householder is difficult, and it always has been. Most of us encounter hardship and suffering, and many are plagued by physical and emotional pain, stress, sadness, loneliness, and anxiety. While we often think of these as the problems caused by the demands of modern life, human life has always had the same hardships and the same challenges-making a living, raising a family, and finding meaning and purpose."
Iyengar's words ring true in general, and in light of the current recession, his words might resonate quite deeply for some. They do for me. Further, as our global situation will likely worsen in 2009, common householders the world round could very well be living out the details of Iyengar's description. In what appears to be deepening global hard times for the billions of common householders walking this planet, I see, in fact, the possibility of an economic-induced, worldwide plague of suffering. It's no bad formula I am employ here, to say that when the economy is weak, the human condition has a bigger chance to be weak, too.
That sounds, admittedly, dire, and as though I am a pessimist. But I am not, so please read on.
Just as Iyengar and countless yogis throughout history pinpoint the cause and conditions of human suffering, so do they point to a solution. They, of course, point to the power of a yoga practice.
Another of yoga's great modern masters, Yogia Bhajan, writes about the power of his style of yoga on the everyday person: "It is [the] yoga which allows an ordinary person to live in this world, experience of the ecstasy of consciousness, then use this consciousness to serve humanity." Equally succinctly, Iyengar sheds light on yoga's benefits: "Yoga, as it was understood by its sages, is designed to satisfy all human needs in a comprehensive, seamless whole...Yoga allows you to rediscover a sense of wholeness in your life where you do not feel like you are constantly trying to fit the broken pieces together."
Iyengar and Bhajan remind us that yoga was created for and benefits the everyday person struggling to have a good life. Here are just a few reasons I believe why yoga helps in the struggle:
• Yoga has nearly illimitable breadth and depth. It consists of eight major limbs of practice and a history so deep and rich that it is not easy to discern one major branch or style from another. One can take a lifelong yoga adventure completely on one's terms. Once you find yoga, there is no need for anything else. (How economical is THAT?)
• Yoga brings documented fast results. Students report positive change after even one class.
• Yoga contains no repetitive, impacting body movements: repetitive movement (running, swimming) are good aerobic exercises but do not utilize the entire body as efficiently as yoga does. Impacting movement (e.g., running, step aerobics) is in fact bad for the body long-term.
• For people who are time-crunched, yoga is a perfect system since it is built on a sequence of poses and brief exercises, so it's easy and creative to build one's own sequence. Since five minutes of yoga a day can benefit us greatly, it is the ultimate time-smart wellness system.
In conclusion, there are so many yoga practices and exercises to help us everyday people 'fit the broken pieces' of our lives together that I conclude, quite easily, this: Yoga can help anyone through anything anytime.
In the next article, I will begin discussing three limbs of yoga that contain highly economical and effective exercises particularly geared for those who are struggling to start and maintain a solid practice during tough times. These disciplines are 1)exercise with breath awareness; 2) mind work; 3) and diet.
In the world of yoga, there exists an important precept espoused by yogis of many backgrounds, and it is that yoga, the 5,000 plus-year-old practice of mind-body connection, was created not for wealthy or the privileged being but for the common householder, or everyday person. Right out of the gate, in other words, we see in yoga's roots and mission a link between itself and what is common.
A great modern yoga master, B.K.S. Iyengar, precisely defines the common, everyday life: "The life of a householder is difficult, and it always has been. Most of us encounter hardship and suffering, and many are plagued by physical and emotional pain, stress, sadness, loneliness, and anxiety. While we often think of these as the problems caused by the demands of modern life, human life has always had the same hardships and the same challenges-making a living, raising a family, and finding meaning and purpose."
Iyengar's words ring true in general, and in light of the current recession, his words might resonate quite deeply for some. They do for me. Further, as our global situation will likely worsen in 2009, common householders the world round could very well be living out the details of Iyengar's description. In what appears to be deepening global hard times for the billions of common householders walking this planet, I see, in fact, the possibility of an economic-induced, worldwide plague of suffering. It's no bad formula I am employ here, to say that when the economy is weak, the human condition has a bigger chance to be weak, too.
That sounds, admittedly, dire, and as though I am a pessimist. But I am not, so please read on.
Just as Iyengar and countless yogis throughout history pinpoint the cause and conditions of human suffering, so do they point to a solution. They, of course, point to the power of a yoga practice.
Another of yoga's great modern masters, Yogia Bhajan, writes about the power of his style of yoga on the everyday person: "It is [the] yoga which allows an ordinary person to live in this world, experience of the ecstasy of consciousness, then use this consciousness to serve humanity." Equally succinctly, Iyengar sheds light on yoga's benefits: "Yoga, as it was understood by its sages, is designed to satisfy all human needs in a comprehensive, seamless whole...Yoga allows you to rediscover a sense of wholeness in your life where you do not feel like you are constantly trying to fit the broken pieces together."
Iyengar and Bhajan remind us that yoga was created for and benefits the everyday person struggling to have a good life. Here are just a few reasons I believe why yoga helps in the struggle:
• Yoga has nearly illimitable breadth and depth. It consists of eight major limbs of practice and a history so deep and rich that it is not easy to discern one major branch or style from another. One can take a lifelong yoga adventure completely on one's terms. Once you find yoga, there is no need for anything else. (How economical is THAT?)
• Yoga brings documented fast results. Students report positive change after even one class.
• Yoga contains no repetitive, impacting body movements: repetitive movement (running, swimming) are good aerobic exercises but do not utilize the entire body as efficiently as yoga does. Impacting movement (e.g., running, step aerobics) is in fact bad for the body long-term.
• For people who are time-crunched, yoga is a perfect system since it is built on a sequence of poses and brief exercises, so it's easy and creative to build one's own sequence. Since five minutes of yoga a day can benefit us greatly, it is the ultimate time-smart wellness system.
In conclusion, there are so many yoga practices and exercises to help us everyday people 'fit the broken pieces' of our lives together that I conclude, quite easily, this: Yoga can help anyone through anything anytime.
In the next article, I will begin discussing three limbs of yoga that contain highly economical and effective exercises particularly geared for those who are struggling to start and maintain a solid practice during tough times. These disciplines are 1)exercise with breath awareness; 2) mind work; 3) and diet.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Yoga and the Economy
Exactly a year ago, I began writing and posting at an online zine site a five-part series about yoga and the economy. These articles purported that yoga, the most economic of all wellness systems ever created, is a natural for helping individuals through rough economic times.
I am opening my specialty blog, Pink Lotus Notes, with a re-post of these articles because, sadly, their content still applies today. The deep recession is still not over. After reading a report on the growing poor class in the United States (not news, but a reminder of the current ills we face), I felt it was important to do my part to try and help, and help today comes in the form of encouragement. I hope you find these articles interesting and helpful and that you are inspired to practice yoga, now more than ever.
***
It is fall 2008. We have a new president-elect, the holiday season is in our presence, and snow is falling here on a beautifully thick gray day in Midwest America. Normally, based on these factors-being an especial lover of gray late-autumn days--I would say things are good.
But things are not good. We are riding a wave of a recession whose dark-lit story seems by experts' observations to be in its early chapters. We've all heard the fears, the fallout, the collapses, and the numbers, and we all expect to hear much more. Even if we generally dwell on the sunny side of the street, these are comparatively dark days.
Enter yoga and the economy. Yoga, the most economical of wellness systems ever created, can help humans through economic hard times. Now, more than ever when millions of people practice yoga worldwide, the power of steadfast yoga can help raise spirits and bring back a universal balance.
First, know that you are an economy in and of yourself. When a nation's economy is strong, the force of humans contained within it functions at a generally higher, smoother state than in a weaker economy. Likewise, when you are healthy in diet, exercise, and mind work (e.g., mental-emotional wellness exercises), you can be said to be a strong economy of one. These three broad realms of yoga practice and principle-diet, exercise, and mind work-are also the foundation of basic human wellness.
It is when one of these personal Big Three falters for you that it is time to take stock, make a plan, and take action. Even if you are eating well and exercising regularly these days but have more stress than you had before the economy started plummeting, you are at risk of personal economy downturn.
Consider the impact our nation's economic crisis, which threatens basic survival, has made on personal wellness. Retirement fund loss, heavy unemployment, and high anxiety of high prices at the store and the pump have touched our lives directly or indirectly, but most likely both. If you are worried about your retirement from 401K fallout or know someone who is, or if you are angry that your brother lost his job at GM or lost a job yourself, or if you are anxious that good, healthy food is so much more expensive than it used to be or worried how your community's much less fortunate are going to get enough food in the coming four weeks, this message is for you: Turn to yoga.
Turn to yoga. Or, if you are already a regular practitioner, turn to yoga more: more often, more intensely.
Yoga means unity. Just like the air you breathe, what happens to you happens to me. Your unemployed friend is your concern. Conversely, your efforts to keep yourself healthy in this recession can become your friend's hope. By keeping yourself up in these hard times, you help keep up the lives of those around you. This is yogic fact, or at least yogic modus operandi.
So use yoga's Big Three to get strong and stay strong. Be the government of your own economy. And don't give up on governance. Keep injecting your economy of one with yoga just like a government would inject its economy with recovery plans. Tap into the infinite resources within you to create a brighter day for you, for others.
In my next article, I will discuss the economy of yoga: highly effective techniques that offer a high return on investment.
I am opening my specialty blog, Pink Lotus Notes, with a re-post of these articles because, sadly, their content still applies today. The deep recession is still not over. After reading a report on the growing poor class in the United States (not news, but a reminder of the current ills we face), I felt it was important to do my part to try and help, and help today comes in the form of encouragement. I hope you find these articles interesting and helpful and that you are inspired to practice yoga, now more than ever.
***
It is fall 2008. We have a new president-elect, the holiday season is in our presence, and snow is falling here on a beautifully thick gray day in Midwest America. Normally, based on these factors-being an especial lover of gray late-autumn days--I would say things are good.
But things are not good. We are riding a wave of a recession whose dark-lit story seems by experts' observations to be in its early chapters. We've all heard the fears, the fallout, the collapses, and the numbers, and we all expect to hear much more. Even if we generally dwell on the sunny side of the street, these are comparatively dark days.
Enter yoga and the economy. Yoga, the most economical of wellness systems ever created, can help humans through economic hard times. Now, more than ever when millions of people practice yoga worldwide, the power of steadfast yoga can help raise spirits and bring back a universal balance.
First, know that you are an economy in and of yourself. When a nation's economy is strong, the force of humans contained within it functions at a generally higher, smoother state than in a weaker economy. Likewise, when you are healthy in diet, exercise, and mind work (e.g., mental-emotional wellness exercises), you can be said to be a strong economy of one. These three broad realms of yoga practice and principle-diet, exercise, and mind work-are also the foundation of basic human wellness.
It is when one of these personal Big Three falters for you that it is time to take stock, make a plan, and take action. Even if you are eating well and exercising regularly these days but have more stress than you had before the economy started plummeting, you are at risk of personal economy downturn.
Consider the impact our nation's economic crisis, which threatens basic survival, has made on personal wellness. Retirement fund loss, heavy unemployment, and high anxiety of high prices at the store and the pump have touched our lives directly or indirectly, but most likely both. If you are worried about your retirement from 401K fallout or know someone who is, or if you are angry that your brother lost his job at GM or lost a job yourself, or if you are anxious that good, healthy food is so much more expensive than it used to be or worried how your community's much less fortunate are going to get enough food in the coming four weeks, this message is for you: Turn to yoga.
Turn to yoga. Or, if you are already a regular practitioner, turn to yoga more: more often, more intensely.
Yoga means unity. Just like the air you breathe, what happens to you happens to me. Your unemployed friend is your concern. Conversely, your efforts to keep yourself healthy in this recession can become your friend's hope. By keeping yourself up in these hard times, you help keep up the lives of those around you. This is yogic fact, or at least yogic modus operandi.
So use yoga's Big Three to get strong and stay strong. Be the government of your own economy. And don't give up on governance. Keep injecting your economy of one with yoga just like a government would inject its economy with recovery plans. Tap into the infinite resources within you to create a brighter day for you, for others.
In my next article, I will discuss the economy of yoga: highly effective techniques that offer a high return on investment.
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