Pose of the Month - Head Stand

It is important to be somewhat proficient in some basic yoga poses before attempting to learn Head Stand. These poses should include:

• Triangle
• Side Angle
• Warrior I, II & III
• Down Dog
• Wide Leg Forward Bend
• Pyramid
• Half Moon
• Tree
• Boat
• Cow Face
• Bridge
• Shoulder Stand

In addition, there is a fair amount of core strength. Can you hold Boat Pose, Plank, Side Plank and Reverse Plank for 30 seconds to a minute in each one? Being able to do these poses is no guarantee that you can do Head Stand, but they will help you find and keep your core engaged while you are upside down. It is important to hold the body firmly and to be able to maintain vertical extension even while standing on your head.

Preparation

Before you think about doing Head Stand, you should prepare your body for an inversion by doing poses that get your head lower than your heart. This is to make sure that there is not a sudden and dramatic change in your blood pressure. Here is a simple sequence to do this: Child’s Pose, Down Dog, Standing Forward Bend and then Head Stand, unless you need some shoulder stretches in addition. Cow Face Pose is a great pose to open the shoulders in preparation for Head Stand, even if you only do the arms.

Space

Make sure you have a wall that you can kick up against. And if you are newer and feeling a little precarious, a corner in a room is a very secure way for new students to experience this pose.

Mat

It’s nice to have a cushion for your head when you do headstand. I usually take a thin mat and fold it in half and then in half again. This is about the right size for your arms and head in this pose. If your mat is too thick, you can use it flat or maybe just in half. You want padding, but you do not want your surface to be too squishy as this makes it harder to balance. Also, if you have long sleeves, roll them up.  You want to make sure that your elbows don't slide out while you are in the pose; skin to sticky mat is best.

The foundation in any yoga pose is that part that touches the floor.

The Head

Knowing what part of the head is on the floor is important for the integrity of our neck in particular and your spine in general. The spot is right at the top of the crown of your head. It’s right where you would try to balance a book. A way to find it is to place the heel of your hand at the bridge of your nose, keep it there and stretch your fingers up and over the top of your head. Right where the tip of your middle finger touches your head, that’s the spot.

Arms

From a kneeling position, place your forearms on the floor so that your elbows are directly under your shoulders. There are ways to measure this, but it is important to learn to look, see and feel it for yourself. Stretch the forearms forward and clasp the hands, interlacing the fingers. Remember to keep your elbows under your shoulders and don’t let them wing out. This will cause you to put too much strain on your neck. Sometimes it may be necessary to belt the elbow if they keep winging out. Make sure that you alternate which way the fingers are interlaced each time you do Head Stand.

The part of your forearms that should be on the floor are the long bones that go from your elbows to the pinky finger sides of the wrist. The wrist bones should be stacked vertically. Look to see that the bump on your wrist at the thumb side of your hand is directly above the bump that is on the pinky finger side of the hand. Most students squeeze their hands so tightly together that the fingers turn white. Try to keep your hands relaxed. Instead of gripping the fingers, try to press down evenly along the entire length of your forearms from the elbow tip to the wrist. This will help you balance and take pressure off of your neck by putting it into your arms.

Stages

The first stage is called Dolphin. This is “Head Stand” with your forearms and head on the ground as if you were going into the full pose; your hips are in the air but your feet stay on the ground. Keep walking your feet in close to your head as you press your forearms into the ground. As you walk your feet in keep lifting your hips higher and higher. This can be done in the middle of the room.

The second stage can be done against a wall. Be close enough to the wall that your knuckles are touching the wall. If you are feeling particularly insecure about this, find a corner to practice in. Do everything from the previous stage, but keep walking your feet in toward your face. Keep the hips lifting until you feel your feet start to get lighter and lighter. Try to push with your feet until you can bend your knees and draw them into your chest and allow your feet to come off of the floor. Imagine you are trying to balance on your head in “Child’s Pose”. This requires core strength to hold you up.

After learning to balance in the previous version, you can start taking one leg up at a time. Once you get used to being upside down, be aware of what you are doing with your legs. Practice all of the same actions you do in Tadasana: Hug your legs toward the midline; roll the thighs in, back and apart; Sit bones reaching towards the heels, pubic bone lifting towards the head; inner ankles together, heels slightly apart; knees lifted, feet “flointed” (feet pointed, toes flexed back).

Once you become comfortable in Head Stand at the wall, then you can begin to move away from the wall. The first stage is one knee length away from the wall. This way you are far enough away from the wall to try to balance, but close enough so that you can bend a knee and touch the wall safely with your foot.

If you can balance a knee length away from the wall, the next step is in the middle of the room. Unfortunately, it starts to get unsafe to simply keep inching away from the wall. If you are farther than your knee length and you start to go over backwards, you can crash your knees into the wall and hurt yourself. Not fun!

The first couple of times you practice in the middle of the room, if you don’t have a spotter, just try coming up into the Child’s Pose variation. Again, this is a great core strengthening position! Once you feel confident you can try reaching one leg up at a time.

Everybody falls out of Head Stand occasionally. It is helpful to have a contingency plan if this happens. It can be scary but it’s often not as bad as you feared. If your feet fall towards your face, this is not falling out. It’s when your feet go over backwards. If you have the presence of mind, tuck your chin, release your interlaced fingers and just try to roll out of it. (Again, if you are too close to a wall, this could be painful.) Tucking your chin will keep you from falling flat on your back. Often it is the sensation of your interlaced fingers getting squeezed hard that is the most painful thing about falling out of Head Stand. Some people try to minimize the damage of falling out of Head Stand by practicing on a carpet. But, just like having a too thick mat, the squishier the foundation is, the harder it is to balance.

Remember to rest in Child’s Pose for a period of time proportional to the amount of time you spent in Head Stand before coming up. Head Stand should usually be counter posed by Shoulder Stand although it doesn’t have to immediately follow Head Stand, it just needs to be done before that practice session is over.

Interesting Questions

In class, we have been working on opening the shoulders in preparation for Shoulder Stand.   One of the postures we have been doing is clasping the hands behind the back and lifting them up while keeping the heads of the arm bones back and the thoracic spine moving deeply into the body.

One of the questions that came up was  whether you should work on getting the heels of the hands together in this position.  The answer is that “it depends”. (My favorite response!) This question also tells me what my students are considering the important part of the pose.  Remember that we always want to move from the big joints first; the hips and shoulders.  If we don’t, then we place too much leverage and pressure on the spine.  In this example, it’s not what the hands are doing that is important.  It’s what the shoulders are doing.

Take a look at these two photos of me with my hands clasped behind my back:

In the first one, the heads of my arm bones are wrapping forward, my chest is sunken in and my upper back is hunched.

In the second one, the heads of my arm bones are staying back, my thoracic spine is moving into my body opening my chest.

In this pose, the important action is that of opening the chest and stretching the Anterior Deltoid, the front of the shoulder, Pectoralis Minor, the front of the chest, and the Biceps.  It is much better for the student with tightness or restriction in the shoulders to take the hands further apart by maybe holding onto a belt so that they can get the chest open and the heads of the arm bones back.  Only after that is achieved can the student begin to work their hands closer and closer together until the palms finally touch.

This is Purna, That is Purna.

ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पुर्णमुदच्यते
पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ॥
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥

Om poornamadah poornamidam Poornaat poornamudachyate Poornasya poornamaadaya Poornamevaa vashishyate.
Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih

(Listen to the Ravi Shankar version here.)

Meaning:
Om, That (Outer World) is Purna (Full with Divine Consciousness); This (Inner World) is also Purna (Full with Divine Consciousness); From Purna comes Purna (From the Fullness of Divine Consciousness the World is manifested) ,
Taking Purna from Purna, Purna Indeed Remains (Because Divine Consciousness is Non-Dual and Infinite).
Om Peace, Peace, Peace.

We are made from Divine Consciousness. We are made from the same stuff as the stars and planets. In yogic tantric literature, the Divine so wanted to experience itself in every possible incarnation that it manifested as you and me and everything else in our material world. This descent of how the “One” becomes the many is described as the 36 Tattvas. These describe the principles of existence and of consciousness becomes matter. Basically, it describes how we came to be.

It is one thing to learn about us all “being one”. It is quite another thing to experience it. We all have moments in our lives where we feel that we are connected; that we have the insight into a deeper part of ourselves and we perceive that oneness. More often, though, we feel separate and different. This experience of differentiation comes from a power called Maya, or illusion. Maya has three ways in which it operates; the three Malas. They are:

1. Anava Mala
Creating feelings of unworthiness, the source of incompleteness we experience. It gives rise to feelings of insecurity and sadness. Connected to the heart.

2. Mayiya Mala
Perception of difference, separateness between us and the world. Creates comparison to others. It gives rise to feelings of jealousy and anger. Connected to the mind.

3. Karma Mala
The capacity for limited activity, the feeling of inability to act, not doing enough. It gives rise to feelings of worry and fear. Connected to the body.

These Malas are part of our existence, part of the fabric of who we are. As such, there is no need to get upset about it or even trying to “rid” ourselves from these perceptions. Yoga can teach us to become observant when these Malas come up. We cultivate the power of discernment to help us see that even though we feel a certain way, it is not who we are. With this increased awareness, we work with the Malas and not against them and we will be able to see ourselves as we truly are: Pure Consciousness.

This mantra is meant to help us connect to that sense of “Oneness”.

Here is another beautiful recording of the mantra for your listening pleasure!

This reading from Louise Hay seems to go perfectly with this mantra:

In the infinity of life where I am, all is perfect,
whole and complete and yet life is ever changing.
 There is no beginning and no end,
only a constant cycling and recycling
of substance and experiences.
Life is never stuck or static or stale,
for each moment is  ever new and fresh.
I am one with the very Power that created me and this Power
has given me the power to create my own circumstances.
I rejoice in the knowledge that I have the power
of my own mind to use in any way I choose.
Every moment of life is a new beginning point
as we move from the old.  This moment is a new point
of beginning for me right here and right now.
All is well with my world.

from You can Heal Your Life by Louise L. Hay.  You can download a pdf version of the book here.

Chanting AUM

AUM: The Best Praise or Prayer

The Latin word Omne and the Sanskrit word Aum are both derived from the same root meaning all and both words convey the concept of omniscience, omnipresence and omnipotence. Another word for Aum is pranava , which is derived from the root nu meaning to praise, to which is added the prefix pra, denoting superiority. The word, therefore, means the best praise or the best prayer.

The symbol Aum is comprised of three syllables, namely the letters A, U, M and when written has a crescent and dot on its top. A few instances of the various interpretations given to it may be mentioned here to convey its meaning.

The letter A represents the deepest sound in the body that can be made. It is a sound that comes from the throat. The U represents the sound in the middle of the palate. The M represents the sound at the furthest extent that the human voice can create, at the end of the lips. Thus A, U, M represents the sounds of creation represented by the power of speech. As it says in Genesis: In the beginning was the Word and the Word was God. Aum represents the power to create through speech.

The letter A symbolizes the conscious or waking state, the letter U the dream state, and the letter M the dreamless sleep state of the mind and spirit. The entire symbol, together with the crescent and the dot, stands for the fourth state, which combines all of these states and transcends them. This is the state of Samadhi (a state in which the aspirant is one with the object of his meditation, the Supreme Spirit pervading the universe, where there is a feeling of unutterable joy and peace).

The letters A, U, M symbolize respectively speech, the mind and the breath of life, while the entire symbol stands for the living spirit, which is but a portion of the divine spirit.

The three letters also represent the dimensions of length, breadth and depth, while the entire symbol represents Divinity, which is beyond the limitation of shape and form.

The three letters A, U and M, symbolize the absence of desire, fear and anger, while the whole symbol stands for the perfect man, one whose wisdom is perfectly established in the divine.

They represent the three genders, masculine, feminine and neuter, while the entire symbol represents all creation together with the Creator.
They stand for the three gunas or qualities of sattva, rajas and tamas, while the whole symbol represents a gunatita, one who has transcended and gone beyond the pull of the gunas.

The three letters correspond to the three tenses – past, present and future – while the entire symbol stands for the Creator, who transcends the limitations of time.

They also stand for the teaching imparted by the mother, father and Guru respectively. The entire symbol represents Brahma Vidya, the knowledge of the Self, the teaching of which is imperishable.

The three letters depict the three stages of yoga discipline: asana, pranayama and pratyhara, The entre symbol represents Samadhi the goal for which the three stages are the steps.

They represent the triad of Divinity, namely Brahma the creator, Vishnu the maintainer and Shiva the destroyer of the universe. The whole symbol is said to represent Brahman from which the universe emanates, has its growth and fruition and into which it emerges in the end. It does not grow or change. Many change and pass, but Brahman is the One that remains unchanged.

The letters A, U, M also stand for the mantra “Tat Twam Asi” (That Thou Art), the realization of man’s divinity within himself. The entire symbol stands for this realization, which liberates the human spirit from the confines of his body, mind, intellect and ego.

After realizing the importance of AUM, the yogi focuses his attention on his beloved Deity adding AUM to the name of the Lord. The word Aum being too vast and abstract, he unifies his senses, will, intellect, mind and reason by focusing on the name of the Lord and adding the word AUm with one-pointed devotion and so experiences the feeling and meaning of the mantra.

The yogi recalls the verses of the Mandukopanisad: Taking as a bow the great weapon of the Upanisad, one should put upon it an arrow sharpened by meditation. Stretching it with a though directed to the essence of That, penetrate the Imperishable as the mark, my friend. The mystic symbol AUM is the bow. The arrow is the self. Brahman is the target. By the undistracted man is It penetrated. One should come to be in It, as the arrow in the mark.

Most of this is taken from Light on Yoga by B.K.S. Iyengar

Doing it Right

Doing It RIght

In the book, “How Yoga Works,” Miss Friday is working with her student, the Captain.  The Captain comes to yoga as a lot of us do, to help us get out of pain; in this case back pain. He has been working with his teacher for a little while and he is pleased with the progress he is making.  But, as he practices Miss Friday sees that he is cheating in Pascimottanasana (Seated Forward Bend).  He is feeling a little pride in his practice because he can already touch his head to his knees in this seated forward bend.  But Miss Friday stops him.  He doesn’t understand why she stops him. But she tells him that he is cheating because he is bending his knees and rounding his spine in order to get his head to touch his head to his knees. (a common cheat)  She warns him that his both his back and legs are supposed to be straight.  She describes the correct bio-mechanics of hinging from the hips and not folding at the waist.  She tells him that they are doing the practice to make his back healthy again, not to make sure that he can touch his head to his knees.

Y.S. I.14  Your practice must be done correctly, for then a firm foundation is laid.

Miss Friday tells the Captain: “You see, the point is not what the pose looks like in the end.  It’s the process of the pose as it goes on; it’s what it does inside of you, how it works to begin to straighten and open your channels.   These are the channels of how energy flows in the body.  (More about that in another post!) Miss Friday goes on to say:  “But if you don’t do the pose right, if you cheat, if you try to trick the pose and get around it just so you look good, then the pose doesn’t work on you the way it is supposed to.”

She asks him to do the pose, again, without bending his knees, which he does.  It’s a beautiful pose, his back is straight, his legs are straight and he is hinging at the hips.  But the Captain is unhappy because his head is about 2 feet from his knees!

We are often like the Captain, impatient in our progress and mistaking what it not important for what is important.  Often a student sees someone do a very advanced Pascimottanasana and sees that their head is touching their legs, so they think that is important, but what they don’t see is the straightness of the legs and the long, almost straight line of the back.  It can take a long time to get to that stage of practice with a lot of hard work and true understanding of what is going on in the body.

One of the things I love about the study of yoga and the stories and mythologies that it uses to teach us is that we are meant to see ourselves in every character of the story.  Can you see yourself as the Captain?  Can you see yourself as Miss Friday?  Sometimes it is hard for us to recognize ourselves as the Captain, especially if we don’t like what we see.  But, we are also meant to see ourselves from a different perspective.  That way we can see if we are cheating ourselves and examine why.  Pride?  Envy?  Impatience?  While Impatience is not one of the Seven Deadly Sins from Christianity, or the Six Enemies of the Heart from the Yoga Sutras, as are pride and envy, it still has a way of blocking the channels and stopping progress on the path.

In the Iyengar style of yoga that I study and teach, the focus is on doing the poses correctly, to open the channels of energy in the body to create an optimum flow of healing energy.  It's a method that has worked for me.

The Trouble Tree

The Trouble Tree - author unknown

The carpenter I hired to help me restore an old farmhouse had just finished a rough first day on the job. A flat tire made him lose an hour of work, his electric saw quit, and now his ancient pickup truck refused to start. While I drove him home, he sat in stony silence.

On arriving, he invited me in to meet his family. As we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands. When opening the door he underwent an amazing transformation. His tanned face was wreathed in smiles and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss.

Afterward he walked me to the car. We passed the tree and my curiosity got the better of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier.

"Oh, that's my trouble tree," he replied." I know I can't help having troubles on the job, but one thing's for sure, troubles don't belong in the house with my wife and the children. So I just hang them on the tree every night when I come home. Then in the morning I pick them up again."

He paused. "Funny thing is," he smiled, "when I come out in the morning to pick 'em up, there ain't nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before."

The story of The Trouble Tree reminds me of a sermon I remember from my childhood. The pastor of a parish in a small town was frustrated with his parishioners always complaining about their problems. He didn’t know how to help them. But, one day he had an idea. He asked everyone to write their problems out on a card and tie them to a tree. After everyone did this, he invited the townspeople to walk around the tree and pick any card off the tree that they wanted to. The idea was that they could trade their problems in for somebody else’s. I remember getting excited about this as a kid. I fantasized about trading in my imperfect world for the world of my dreams. I was dumbstruck when the priest said that after everyone walked around the tree and looked at everyone else’s problems, they realized that their lives were not so bad after all. Everyone had problems. This simple act made people remember to count their blessings and to be more compassionate with their neighbors, where before, they may have been envious of them.
This was a great lesson for a young girl and perhaps the beginnings of my life as seeker. What is your earliest memory of a great lesson you learned that has helped shape your life and who you have become?

Love yourself. Be compassionate with yourself on your journey. And always remember to be grateful that you have a journey to be travelling on.

The Queen of Asanas

Sarvangasana or Shoulder Stand

Shoulder Stand is a posture that is not often taught in yoga classes. To do it properly and safely requires the use of props for most people. The way that I prop for Shoulder Stand follows a traditional Iyengar set-up; 2 to 3 blankets, a belt, a block and a mat for each person. A lot of studios simply do not have enough props. But, in addition, students have to be taught how to use the props and how to set them up precisely for maximum benefit. Unfortunately, I have been in many yoga studios where it is clear that students as well as teachers do not know how to properly fold a blanket or even buckle a belt. Also, many yogis often see props as a sign of inadequacy and their use as beneath them. I see props as an enhancement to my yoga practice, an assist when needed and as tools to teach the body optimum alignment.

Unfortunately, Shoulder Stand has a reputation for being a dangerous pose for people’s necks. If you ask someone to stand up straight and bend their head forward, you will see that no one’s neck can bend at 90 degrees. The normal range of neck flexion is 60 degrees. In order to do Shoulder Stand safely, the shoulders and upper arms must be lifted off of the floor sufficiently to allow the neck to bend at its’ comfortable limit. Doing Shoulder Stand without props can put undue force on someone’s cervical vertebrae and this could be injurious to the neck.

Often students ask why they should practice Shoulder Stand. It seems that they are asking why they should bother with all of the props. Shoulder Stand is considered the Queen of asanas and it has many benefits. It is an introspective posture, all you can see is yourself (you are not meant to turn your head); it is also cooling, nurturing and feminine in nature. If you read in Light on Yoga, Mr. Iyengar lists many benefits for Sarvangasana. He says:

“Sarvangasana is the mother of asanas. As a mother strives for harmony and happiness in the home, so this asana strives for the harmony and happiness of the human system. It is a panacea for most common ailments. There are several endocrine organs or ductless glands in the human system which bathe in blood, absorb the nutrients from the blood and secrete hormones for the proper functioning of a balanced and well developed body and brain. If the glands fail to function properly, the hormones are not produced as they should be and the body starts to deteriorate. Amazingly enough many of the asanas have a direct effect on the glands and help them to function properly. Sarvangasana does this for the thyroid and parathyroid glands which are situated in the neck region, since due to the firm chin lock their blood supply is increased. Further, since the body is inverted, the venous blood flows to the heart without any strain by force of gravity. Healthy blood is allowed to circulate around the neck and chest. As a result, persons suffering from breathlessness, palpitation, asthma, bronchitis and throat ailments get relief. As the head remains firm in this inverted position, and the supply of blood to it is regulated by the firm chin lock the nerves are soothed and headaches, even chronic ones, disappear. Continued practice of this asana eradicates common colds and other nasal disturbances. Due to the soothing effect of the pose on the nerves, those suffering from hypertension, irritation, shortness of temper, nervous breakdown and insomnia are relieved. The change in bodily gravity also effects the abdominal organs so that the bowels move freely and constipation vanishes. As a result the system is freed from toxins and one feels full of energy. The asana is recommended for urinary disorders and uterine displacement, menstrual trouble, hemorrhoids and hernia. It also helps relieve epilepsy, low vitality and anemia. It is no over statement to say that if one practices Sarvangasana they will feel new vigour and strength and will be happy and confident. New life will flow into the body, the mind will be at peace and the practitioner will feel the joy of life. After a long illness, the practice of this asana regularly, twice a day, brings back lost vitality.”

We will work on Shoulder Stand this month and then next month we will work on Head Stand.  Since these two poses are meant to be practiced together, as counter poses to each other, we will continue to include Shoulder Stand in our practice.  According to the Iyengar tradition, you can practice Shoulder Stand by itself, but if you practice Head Stand, you should finish your practice with Shoulder Stand.

The Twelve Days of Christmas in Yoga Poses

A Holiday Yoga Practice

Here are the poses for the Twelve Days of Christmas practice that I taught this week.  It’s a nice practice for home and it doesn’t have to take 90 minutes; you can tailor the practice to the time you have. (To make it shorter, skip the repetitions and hold for shorter times.)  I have done this practice several times recently.  It’s a nice well rounded sequence that includes balance poses, core engagement, twists, hip opening, hamstring stretches, back bends and prepares you nicely for the final postures of Dancer’s Pose and Split.

Do this practice if you have trouble getting to your yoga class over the Holidays.  Enjoy!  And let me know how it went in the comments below.

A Partridge in a Pear Tree:
Tree pose – hold for 1 minute on each side.  Try balancing while listening to Cheech and Chong’s Santa Claus and His Old Lady

2 Turtle Doves:
Warrior 2 – hold for 1 minute on each side.

3 French Hens:
Warrior 3 – hold for 5 breaths on each side.

4 Calling Birds:
Plank – hold for 1 minute.

5 Golden Rings:
Boat – 5 times, holding for 5 breaths each time.  Cross your legs and lift up after each one.

6 Geese a Laying:
Pigeon – hold for 2 minutes each side.

7 Swans a Swimming:
Bow – 3 times, 5 breaths each time.  Roll to the right and left for added benefit.

8 Maids a Milking:
Cow Face Pose – hold for 1 minute each side.

9 Drummers Drumming:
Revolved Side Angle Pose – 3 times, knee down with hands in prayer the first time, knee up hands in prayer the second time, full pose with arms (if possible) for the last one.

10 Pipers Piping:
Standing Split against the wall – 3 times.  Start in Down Dog with your heels 1 foot away from the wall.  Take your right leg up, right foot on the wall in Down Dog Split, hold for 5 breaths,  change legs.  Repeat 2 more time getting closer and closer to the wall each time, if you can.

11 Ladies Dancing:
Dancer’s Pose – Use a belt to hold your foot with your arms over head.  Or, simply reach back and do Baby Dancer’s Pose.  5 breaths each side, or until you lose balance – whichever comes first.

12 Lords a Leaping:
Split – 3 times, 5 breaths each side.

I used to teach this sequence in typical "12 Days" fashion: pose 1, pose 2 - 1, pose 3 - 2 - 1, pose 4 - 3 - 2 - 1, ...  It was hard and sweaty and extremely repetitious.  Plus, form suffered!  So I changed it to do 12 poses inspired by the song without counting down each time.

Happy Holidays!

Book Review – Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins

Bood Review - Can’t Hurt Me by David Giggins

I have enjoyed listening to all 13 hours and 38 minutes of David Goggins’ story in his book Can’t Hurt Me.  It describes how he pulled himself out of what he calls the sewer and becomes a Navy Seal.  He describes what he did to acquire the mental toughness to overcome the abuse he suffered from his father, how he overcame poverty and racial prejudice to achieve the goals he set for himself.  How he did not accept the victim mentality and let his life be defined by others.  He refused to become a statistic.

David Goggins  states that most of us live very comfortable lives and operate at only about 40% of our capability.  He writes in detail about how he went from weighing 305 pounds working a dead end job setting rat traps and spraying for roaches at night in restaurants for an exterminating company to becoming one of the Navy’s most elite and fit fighters.  He also became an elite ultra marathon runner and is now working as a wildfire firefighter in Montana.

While Davis’ book is inspirational, he doesn’t want the reader to simply be inspired by him, he wants the reader to recognize that they are capable of so much more.  While his book is a memoir, it is also a self-help book.  In it he outlines 10 steps, or challenges, for the reader to take on.  One of the reasons I liked this book so much is that it really describes the yogic path.  I know that some folks think that the yogic path is supposed to be soft and gentle.  I have always felt that the path of yoga always asks us to do the harder thing and not to take the path of least resistance.

1. Get real with yourself: Name the enemy.

   1.  Satya, or truthfulness.  In this instance, with yourself.

2. Check in with your accountability mirror daily.

   1. This is the principle of svadhyaya, or self-study.  Are you really walking the talk?

3. Visualize success.

   1. You have to know what you want in order to work towards it.

4. Don’t skip out on the last rep when you are training. Finish when you are done, not when you are tired.

   1. This is the yogic practice of abhyasa which means consistent practice over a long period of time. whether you feel like it or not.

5. Apply progressive overload not just in your workouts, but in your life.

   1. Again, this is abhyasa.

6. Celebrate your success with work.

   1. Don't fall of the path to celebrate.  Celebrate by staying on the path.

7. Know why you are in the fight to stay in the fight.

   1. The power of setting an intention.

8. Use your past successes to create your own second winds.

   1. Again, this is part of svadhyaya, or self-study.

9. You will feel alone. You will feel insecure.  Get over it.

   1. Patthabi Jois used to say that yoga is 99% practice and 1% theory.  Mostly it just consists of you, your mat and your life off of the mat.

10. The harder you try the harder your life becomes – to your benefit.

    1. This is the principle of tapas, which means to burn with zeal.  Medical intuitive and spiritual teacher Caroline Myss says that life is easier with your head in the sand.  Walking the spiritual path, with your eyes open is so much harder and so much more rewarding.

Men’s Health magazine did a book review on Can’t Hurt Me and wrote in different detail about these 10 steps.  You can read the fleshed out descriptions here and also see some stunning before and after pictures of David Goggins.  They also used some great posts from his Instagram account.  Of course, you can find David Goggins yourself on Facebook or Instagram yourself.

https://www.menshealth.com/trending-news/a25429109/david-goggins-cant-hurt-me-book-review/

Note on adult language:  My mother couldn’t stand books or movies with curse words in them, maybe that is a different generation, but if that is you then don’t read this book.  Mr. Goggins curses like, well, a sailor and the text is filled with F bombs.  However, he writes the way that he speaks and he says that he is just keeping it real and raw, the way his life truly was.

Let me know how you enjoyed this book and what your best take away from it was by leaving a comment below.

Yoga Sutras 3.13 to 3.16 The Final Sutras on the Architecture of Change

Y.S. 3.13  Etena bhutendriyesu dharma laksana avastha parinamah vyakhyatah

Etena   By this
bhutendriyesu  the elements, body and sense organs
dharma propriety, law, duty, right, virtue, religion
laksana character, mark, sign, quality, description
avastha  condition, state, position
parinamah change, effect,transformation
vyakhyatah  visible, described, unfolded, enumerated

Through these three phases, cultured consciousness is transformed from its potential state (dharma) towards further refinement (laksana) and the zenith of refinement (avastha).  In this way, the transformation of elements, sense and mind takes place.

These three stages can be described using a clay pot as an analogy.  The dust that makes the clay is the potential state, the clay itself is the second stage of further refinement and the pot is the zenith of its refinement.  Everything has these same properties.  Can we learn to see these properties and know that everything is in one of these states and in the process of transitioning into the next state, as this process is cyclical.  

Y.S. 3.14  Santa udita avyapadesya dharma anupati dharmi

Santa  Appeased, allayed clamed, quietened, pacified
udita  rise, ascended, manifested
avyapadesya   not defined, latent, lying in potential form
dharma  propriety, usage, law, duty, religion, virtue
anupati  closely followed, common to
dharmi  virtuous, just, religious, characterized

The substrata is that which continues to exist and maintain its characteristic quality in all states whether manifest, latent or subdued.

Using the refinement of our yoga practice, we can train ourselves to perceive this.

Y.S. 3.15  Krama anyatvam parinama anyatve hetuh

Krama  Going, proceeding, advancing, regular course, method, order of sequence, succession
anyatvam  different, distinct
parinama   change, transformation, effect
anyatve  different, distinct, variant
hetuh  cause, reason

Successive sequential changes cause the distinctive changes in the consciousness.

Y.S. 3.16  Parinama matraya samyamat atita anagatajnanam

Parinama change, transformation, effect
traya  threefold
samyamat  integration, control
atita  past
anagata  future
jnanam  knowledge

By mastery of the three transformation of nature (dharma), quality (laksana) and condition (avastha), through samyama on the nirodha, samadhi and ekagrata states of consciousness, the yogi acquires knowledge of the past and future.

Know one thing and you can know everything.

Through the process of yoga and meditation we learn to still the mind and focus on one thing; this is called ekagrata, or one-pointed consciousness.  This is the direct opposite of multi-tasking which we are often engaged in.  Multi-tasking is not very productive and can often lead to mistakes or lapses of attention on one thing as attention is diverted to something else.  Yoga asks us to focus, laser-like on what we are doing.  The idea being that we can know everything by learning all we can about one thing.

It is similar to the analogy of digging one 100 foot deep hole rather than 100 one foot deep holes.  Sure, in the beginning you might want to look around for a bit to see which area you want to focus on but once you do, then dive in completely.  The analogy often given in the Yoga Sutras is that of being a potter and making clay pots.  If you put in the requisite 10,000 hours for mastery of your material, then you know the properties of the clay inside and out.  You are able to recognize the potential of the material to become a pot and to also recognize that eventually the pot will one day return to the dust from which the clay was made. This skill involves knowing the properties of the material and the effects of time and place on it.

The importance of these sutras can be demonstrated by the practice of asana, pranayama and meditation.  If we imagine the scattered dust cells of the body and scattered thoughts of the mind and we charge them so that they cohere like a lump of clay, we can feel their inner unity and transform body, breath and consciousness into the shapes of the various asanas as a potter turns a lump of clay into a pot.

In asana, if the energy of the body is harmonized into a single point while in a state of tension, we reach precision.  This single pointed attention indicates the point of balance and harmony at which we can unlock and liberate the knotty confusion of matter and emotion.  It also conveys the importance of finding the exact center of the meeting points of vertical extension and horizontal expansion in body, breath and consciousness.    This is yoga in action.