Not Tonight, I Have a Headache: Yoga for the Head

    Until this last week I would have said I don't get headaches very often, but I was wrong. It is one of the curious things about long term pain.  So often we forget it is there, just like the static on a stereo system or the twinge in your knee.  If you can't fix it, ignore it.  Over the past week, I have been using the poses described below and the relief is amazing.
    Recently, I attended the closing classes of Shine Yoga Studio (here's a post on what a gift the studio has been to me for many years).   Not only are classes with the traveling teachers like Sianna Sherman  fun and interesting, but they tend to use poses that we may have let drop from our daily practice.  She used several facial expressions in various ways throughout the classes.  What I have discovered in my home practice is they are wonderful in releasing facial tension, relaxing the head and shoulders, and, best of all, relieving stress headaches!

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        The class was about opening to change in our lives, becoming a bit like this guy here on the left.  He is Hanuman, the Hindu monkey god.  Hanumanasana (the asana or pose of Hanuman) is the splits, one very open position that I love watching other people do.  One thing you will immediately notice is his very puffy cheeks (here is the story of how it came to pass). Sianna mentioned making his face is a great way to open up the muscles in your face, but we didn't do it in class. So here is what I came up with at home....
            - sit quietly, becoming more aware of your cheeks and jaw
            -  inhale, filling your cheeks up with air
            - swish the air around in your cheeks, pressing the ball of air into anyplace that feels tight
                                                        - remember to go into the lower jaw, the hinge of the jaw and the area between your nose and mouth
                                                         - exhale, noticing how the cheeks and jaw feels

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      Our other facial expression was from the god, Kali.  She is often pictured with her tongue sticking out.  Unfortunately, the only pictures I could find had her mouth closed and that is not the posture we are looking for.  This lovely cat, on the other hand, has the mouth just right. Kali face (as I call the expression in my mind) is much more active than Hanuman's.  To find the Kali face....
            - inhale with the face relaxed
            - exhale - open eyes wide
                         - open mouth wide
                         - stick your tongue way out
                         - make an audible Hah! with the breath
            - repeat
     I noticed that this expression really digs in and releases the tongue and jaw muscles.  Hanuman's face releases the cheeks and lips.  Once I let go of the tension in the lower half of my face, my head begins to feel better.  The more I relax it, the feeling begins to spread to the base of the skull and down the neck and throat.
      The funny thing is how making these faces also makes you laugh.  You feel ridiculous and that can be lots of fun.  I'm sure the laughter helps in stress relief as well.  Play around with them and let me know what you think.  Blessings and laughter. Pam

Power vs. Force

    Last night, much as I hate to admit it, I was on YouTube watching cat videos.  If my day has not had quite enough laughter, this is the sure cure.  My first cat, Farley, was the wedding gift that kept on giving.  She's the orange one on the right.  The gray and black kitten is Charlie. (Yes, the names are almost to precious for words, I was young).  Back to the cat videos. Among the cute kittens and the explanations of Schrodinger's cat (a physics mind experiment that I liked until I realized they kill the cat), there was a perfect demonstration of the difference between being powerful and being forceful.
      I was given the book Power vs Force, by a friend in 2005 and been fascinated ever since.  The book describes the different levels of emotion and thought moving from completely powerless (shame) through forceful (fear, desire, anger and pride) to the power that does not need to force it's views on others (love, joy, peace and enlightenment).  I use this awareness in daily life to change the things I'm going to do anyway (the dishes and making dinner) into acts of love and happiness.  If you are walking fast to do errands, why not do it with a smile on your face?

    What is so interesting about this movie is the calm cat.  The deer is stomping and doing other threat displays.  The cat just watches, only moving when necessary to stand it's ground.  The perfect demonstration of how to stand up to bullies.
     The cat is intrinsically powerful mentally, though clearly outclassed physically.  It is such a great thing to remember in daily life.  The person who is well off is not the one with the most money, she is the one with the most peace. One of my favorite quotes from the book...

Facts are accumulated by effort, but the truth reveals itself effortlessly...This book will have been successful if by the end of it you exclaim, "I always knew that!"

Some Like It Hot

    For years I have successfully avoided hot yoga.  It is "in," which always seems vaguely suspicious to me. (Yes, I am working on my prosperity issues.)  A friend wanted to introduce me to the new yoga studio in the area, Full Body Yoga.  This was the only class we were both free for (yes, 8:30 at night for hot yoga seems a bit crazy, but there it is.)  After attending class last night, now I must admit I have been missing something.
   In order to do this new experience justice, I've really had to examine the experience with a more scientific approach.  It didn't feel good or bad, it was completely different.  Here are a few of my observations:

• It is hot!  Yes, no surprise given the name, but walking in from the cool autumn air was a welcome shock.  I think the studio was about 95 degrees.  I found the heat to be wonderful in unlimbering my very tight shoulders and hips.  (In the spirit of full disclosure, I must admit that I have always had a penchant for heat.  I never knew why, but I always seem to be out working in the yard on some of the hottest days in the summer.)
• It is different.- And thats not such a bad thing.  Not only was the flow very different, along with the asana (poses) so was the approach to yoga overall. I tend to practice alignment based yoga (like anusara and Iyengar) and have recently been experimenting in my home practice with vinyasa (flow) that activates different muscles to culminate in more open poses.  This was from a completely different thought process, the heat warms you up to enable poses with less preparation.  For example:
• Each of the poses had long holds even at the beginning of class.  Usually in any class I have this feeling of "I'm not going to make it," particularly as my shoulders and arms warm up.  Those first downward dogs can be torturous.  With all of the heat my muscles were ready to go straight to work. 
• The poses were different from what I usually work.  It was great.  We did crow, standing splits, horse, and this very funny, fun pose I have no name for (think of moving forward to lunge, but rather than putting your foot on the floor, place your knee on the outside of your elbow and upper arm like an arm balance- eka pada something or another).
• There is not the loads of description that I am used to.  The teacher was great, but it was a much more internal practice with holds long enough to make adjustments, rather than "spiral energy from the wings of your kidneys up your pinkey finger."
• Energy really runs strong.-  In a class this warm with this many difficult poses, the energy is really moving in your body.  Given my twin passions of reiki and yoga, I am very aware of my body and the energy inside it.  After this class, I felt a little like I had stuck my finger in an electric socket (in a good way).  Unfortunately, it meant that I didn't sleep well for a few days.  So I played around with a few solutions.  The most successful were a few poses that supported the forehead.

http://heartofthebearyoga.com/2011/08/26/the-ubiquitous-iyengar-yoga-block/

   This picture shows a full downward dog with a block.  At home, I have found that I ground more deeply by doing the pose onto my kitchen counter with my head supported by the counter.  Last summer we put in granite counters and I love them for more than just cooking.  I did a little research and here is a bit of an explanation...

Properties: The elemental powers of water and earth, ocean tumbled granite is a unique stone combining the elements of the sea with the deep rooted foundations of the earth! These stones are often full of shiny, light reflecting druses. This stone is a great balancer of water and earth (emotions and practicality). Earth helps water to keep its deep emotions in check. This incredible stone works on both the Base/Root and Sacral/Spleen Chakra as it grounds unstable or unsure emotions. Therefore, granite is wonderful for allowing for increased protection and abundance. This stone works well on skepticism. It allows for diplomacy, discretion, cooperativeness and negativity. Granite is a wonderful relationship balancer. Ocean tumbled granite in particular helps us to see and understand the big picture. So it shows us to look past the little puddles in our lives and focus on an ocean of opportunity and advancement!-
http://www.spiritjourneys.com/mineral-properties3.php#15

      Well, I don't know about all of that, but it sure is a great way to cool down crazy energy (and while we are at it I can use some more abundance!)
        So, I can highly recommend our local hot yoga class with a few reservations.  I truly loved it, but hydrate before you go and take care of your body after.  Bring warm clothes to wear out of the studio to cool down slowly and do a few grounding asanas before you try to sleep.

The End of an Era

    Tomorrow is the last day of business for Shine Yoga Center.  This has been the "date day" destination for my mother and I for years.  Once a week we meet for class, then go to my mom's house for eggs for lunch.  It seems like such a small thing, but what a powerful effect.
    We all were asked to write a special memory of Shine in a beautiful yoga book of poses.  The first few times it was mentioned, I thought I had nothing to offer.  I have learned a lot, that (hopefully) I've passed down to my students, but nothing that might mean anything to someone who only knows me as a student in a class where movement, not talking is the focus.

  I wanted to contribute, but was lost.  Finally I resorted to flipping through the book.  There were no partner poses (though I did love the two pages with the balasana (child's pose) facing one another.  It seemed to represent Mom and I, the eternal beginners).  Finally, at the end of the book, I found this pose, Garudasana in Sirsasana ( or, for the rest of us, headstand with eagle pose legs). Now, Mom and I both have a headstand, but neither one of us has eagle pose (my legs are too tight and she doesn't like balance poses).  But when I saw it, it fit.
   Here is this woman, looking at the world upside down (yes, already a good fit), but also with the legs wrapped closely together.  Since Mom and I have had the good fortune to spend so much time together, we fit together.
    We are not the same.  We are not two right legs, but each of us complements the other in unexpected ways.  Just like eagle pose legs, we are entwined but separate, reaching ever upward on our own path while guided and lifted by the other.
   What made the realization even more special was that this very thing is the reason for the owner to move on.  She has three young children and would like to give them the gift that she gave us, the gift of presence.  My blessing on this wonderful woman is that she find in her life what she gave me, children close and involved, but realizing their own life. What more could a mother wish for?
      My deepest gratitude to my teachers at Shine and hopes for a successful future as myyogaco.com.   See you next Friday Mom.

The Universe Speaks

   As I posted on Wednesday, two weeks ago one of my fundamental beliefs was really challenged. I believe that anything can be healed. After all, to be in the healing business, you need to believe that healing is possible.  How could I square the words of these two doctors (who told me I'm basically in a holding action with my body) with my healing business?  All I can say is, we ask, God speaks (or the Universe or whatever term works for you for a Higher Power).  This week I asked and He delivered!
     On Thursday I went to mass then had a singing lesson.  There I am, running on no sleep, tired and cranky but also present and accounted for.  In my experience, this is the best time to hear because all of your defenses are down.  Our first reading was from Ecclesiastes 1: 2-11.  This selection begins with "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.  What profit has man from all that he toils at under the sun?"  For the first time ever I understood.  The author is not saying that labor is not worthwhile, rather that all things pass away.  So, I have labored fruitlessly my whole life to heal my eyes, but the knowledge that I gathered gave my son back his perfect vision. (As I read this, it doesn't make much sense, but the truth I glimpsed in mass is hard to put into words).
     Also, all of this physical stuff is just the shell.  I want to take good care of my body, not as the end itself, but rather so that I can continue to help others and take care of my family.  There are also times to accept help, and I need help from my eye doctor and chiropractor and yoga teacher and husband and sons and.... (you get the idea).  Darn it.  I can't tell you how many times I have told others that their infirmities give others an opportunity to serve.  Guess the advice has come home to roost.
    At the singing lesson, God struck again.  These lessons are very hard for me.  Singing very loud, very high is like running around naked, every flaw shows (sorry for the picture that just conjured up...).  I so did not want to show up.  We warmed up, sang a few songs, worked on ways to sing differently.  Somehow, right in the middle, we got to talking.  I told my teacher how devastating the news had been.  We talked back and forth for a while and I could tell that she was searching for inspiration.  At the same time I was praying for God to speak to me through her because my mind was so crazy I couldn't be quiet and listen.
     All of the sudden, her face clears and she asks me "Does this close any doors?"  You know what, it doesn't.  Just because, barring a miracle, my eyes won't be perfect in this lifetime does not negate all of the learning and practice that has gone into trying to heal them.  One of the techniques I learned gave my son perfect vision.  All of the pain in my neck and back had created a great yoga practice and lots of techniques, to help both clients and friends.  Looks like these actually opened doors.    We always get help just sometimes it is hard to recognize.

Ask and You Shall Receive

    Often we wonder if anything we are doing is any use.  All this reiki, all these herbs and other remedies, exercise, prayer, meditation and I keep getting older and stiffer (or whatever lament runs through your mind).  I had an experience recently that lays all of those thoughts to rest.
    My client arrived, and as usual, we talked for a while, defining where she was and what she would like to get out of the session.  One of the things we talked about was her worries that anything she was doing was any good.  (If this sounds familiar, read on...)  It is a common frustration, see my post last Wednesday.  So I added a little twist to my ending prayer of the session, this time I asked for a visible sign, so that she could see progress.
     In my mind I was thinking, maybe someone will be nice in an unexpected way or some such thing.  What I got was a sign for the two of us.  When we were talking in the beginning of the session, I noticed one eye was drooping.  There are lots of causes, ranging from neurological disorders to medical issues to aging.  If you start looking at the actors on television (and with the size of our t.v.s today it is getting easier), you'll notice that it is quite common.
     The amazing thing was, when she got off my table, her eyes were perfectly symetrical.  Both wide open and clear.  It was remarkable.  She also looked 10 years younger.
     To be honest, I don't really think about prayers being answered very often.  I have a very good life, but am also used to disappointment.  It has never stopped me from praying.  Communing with God is one of the greatest pleasures in life.  Getting an answer like this puts a day as one for the record books.  My prayer for you is that you have the opportunity to see how your efforts affect your life as well.  Blessings.

Gut Instinct

Go on your gut feeling when setting goals - because more often than not it'll be right, researchers have revealed.- Mail Online, 30 August 2011

     From our first days in school we are taught to think and reason.  It seems the older I am, the less in touch with my gut instincts I become and I don't like it.  Over-analyzing leads to inaction and long term frustration.  But how to change this?  I've decided my yoga practice is a good place to begin.

       Over the past several weeks, I've been playing around with the idea of center of
gravity in yoga poses.  I've begun visualizing my center of gravity like a lightning bug, just a spark of light in the body ( please forgive the drawing, but just try finding a lovely picture of a body with a lightning bug in it on the internet.... more strange pictures to follow, no doubt. I'm sitting in a coffee shop* and only have my computer and the back of an envelope).  What has been interesting is that, as my awareness develops, that darn little lightning bug is often not where I wish it were.  Even as I sit here writing, I find myself leaning forward, hunching over the computer.  The center of gravity is forward, out of my body and has slowly migrated up to my head.  So I move back, sit upright, relax the shoulders and arms, and feel much better.  The lightning bug of my center of gravity moves back into my body and down into my gut.
        Our yoga class today played around with these ideas.  How to move from the center, rather than the extremities.  How to both be heavy and buoyant at the same time.  How to use gravity and centeredness to expand the heart.  Here is a short practice to begin to play with moving from the gut.

Begin with a few moments of seated meditation.

•  As you take a comfortable seat, give your legs a bit of an inner spiral by grabbing the right thigh with both hands.  Rotate the leg by pressing down with the left hand and lifting with the right.  Do the same with the left thigh.  Rotate by pressing down with the right hand and lifting with the left.  Notice how both sitting bones are more firmly connected to the floor and it feels like more area of the back of the thigh touches the floor.
• Let your awareness come to rest on your breath.  Allow the flow of the breath to bring you into the present time and place.
• Notice if you are leaning forward (into your future) or back (into your past).  Try to bring the body to upright (ish).
• Now, imagine that your center of gravity is in the low belly.  The hips move down into the earth and the body floats upward from it.

This seated practice can be done in the car, while you watch t.v. (in an upright, not reclined position), or while you work on the computer.  If you'd like to continue with the yoga practice...
Come to standing at the front part of your mat (or stand in the middle of your space.  Look down at your feet.

• Most of our feet are initially positioned like this.  Notice how the center line is straight, but the feet fan out away.  This is usually due to overly tight hip rotators.  Notice which one is out further from center.

• Begin to find balance by moving the toes in.  Ideally the feet  are parallel through the second toe.   This begins the inner spiral, just like we did in our seated breath awareness.

• To complete the alignment, move the heels out ever so slightly. As the heels move out, the muscles of the bottom are free to relax, the tailbone moves toward the floor and the lower back assumes it's natural curve.  Notice how the balls of both feet are now touching the floor. (amazing what a small thing can do!)

• Find the center of gravity in the low belly, just like we did while seated.  Allow the hips to be heavy and connected to the legs, feet and the earth.  Really pay attention to your heels, making them heavy, bearing more weight that the toes.  You may feel about to fall down.  This is work in the right direction.  Usually we carry our weight well in front of the body, taking it out of alignment.

Inhale, stretching the arms overhead. Exhale, release the arms back to your sides. Repeat, this time noticing where your center of gravity is.  Does it rise along with your arms? Do you go back to leaning forward?

This time, as you inhale and raise your arms, keep the mind focused on the low belly, keeping the center of gravity down as the arms rise.  Play around with this idea for several repetitions.

Now continue with your regular practice, several sun salutations, standing poses and twists, (whatever you are working at the moment) but just keep bringing your awareness back to your gut. Finish with a few minutes of savasana.  Set your intentions to make decisions from the gut and rest.


*If you are ever in need of coffee in Florence, KY, check out Velocity Bike and Bean on Burlington Pike.  It is right next to Healthy Alternatives and Rettay Chiropractic.