Monsters

Last week I was talking about “monsters”.  Those tricks of the mind that fool us into thinking our thoughts are real and that we are better off staying safe and not venturing out into the scary unknown. But when we face our monsters and take them on, then true transformation can happen. 

I had been sharing from Eckhart Tolle’s book A New Earth and wondering aloud what would be the next book I would read.   One of my students recommended Tea and Cake with Demons by Adreanna Limbach.  It fits so nicely in with the theme of monsters.  In the introduction Ms. Limbach shares the classic story of the Buddha and the demon Mara: 

There is a widely circulated Buddhist story about the time that a demon came to town and everyone lost their minds. This wasn’t any garden-variety demon, mind you, and yes, there are garden-variety demons. A touch of awkwardness, restlessness, longing—anything that nibbles at our peace of mind can be considered a demon; albeit some are harmless and benign. These are the basic sorts of demons that we meet any old Monday afternoon when we’re pinged with the impulse to be somewhere else or somebody else or to just go grab a snack out of boredom. This particular demon story, however, is about Mara, who in Buddhist cosmology is the most malignant demon of all. You might recognize Mara if you saw him, but if he’s a pervasive force in your life, then in the same way that we can develop an acclimated blindness to what is overly familiar, you might not see him at all. Mara is the specter of delusion whom we chauffeur through our life; the interior voice that robs us of our faith, trust, and confidence, of our belief that we are fundamentally whole. In Buddhist mythology, Mara is self-doubt personified; a force that’s depicted as convincing, relentless, and strategic, and in this story he’s coming for the Buddha.

Buddha’s attendants caught wind that Mara had materialized, and they went running to alert Buddha that his nemesis was near. In my own paraphrased version, I imagine a cohort of visibly shaken monks clad in saffron robes banging on the Buddha’s door. “Buddha! Buddha! Mara is here! Mara is here!” When the Buddha opened the door to his distressed attendants, they understandably launched into strategy. “What should we do? Should we run? Let’s pack up our begging bowls and get out of town. We have enough advance warning that we can probably outrun him!” Another monk chimed in, “We’ll never be able to run fast enough. Let’s hide! I know of a place that is secure and hidden. Mara will never find us there. Quick!” Yet another chimed in, “Maybe we should plan an ambush! Let’s arm ourselves with shields and spears and face Mara on the offensive!”

This part of the story I relate to deeply. It’s as though these monks are diplomats of my own mind. More than a decade of meditation practice has afforded me many hours of watching my relationship to discomfort. The moment I feel it, I’m on the express track to strategizing my way out of it. This reaction applies to even the most mundane experiences. The absence of air-conditioning in August. An awkward conversation. A mosquito in my vicinity. Never mind how I might react if Mara, the Lord of Delusion, rolled into town with my name in his mouth. Just like the monks, without skipping a beat, my mind launches into How do I fix this right now? I don’t want to spend time with my discomfort. I certainly don’t want to feel it. I just want it to be different. Better . . . with the least amount of effort, if possible.

There is something universal being spoken to in this story of Mara, which is, of course, the enduring beauty of mythology. Each of these monks represents our habitual ways of reacting when we come into contact with our demons. We want to run from them, or hide, or fight. What the Buddha does instead is so counterintuitive that it offers us a wholly alternative plan of action for when we encounter our demons. In the presence of his attendants trying to strategize the problem of Mara away, he holds his seat and gives simple instructions: “Go fetch Mara and escort him to my door. Set the table with my finest china. And invite him in for tea, not as my enemy, but as my esteemed guest.”

Emotions on the Mat

I was listening to this radio program about how some people get emotional at the gym during a workout.  While it was interesting, it didn’t have any real answers except to say that it happens.  I’ve not had much experience with emotions at the gym, but I have experienced and seen a lot of emotions on the yoga mat.

After my father died, I couldn’t lie down for Savasana without crying.  I wasn’t aware that I had even been thinking of him at the time, but suddenly I would be flooded with tears.  It didn’t happen if I did Savasana lying on my belly or if I just sat in meditation while everyone else was lyingd own.

The article talks about how your brain receives information through your senses and it has to figure out what those sensations were caused by. 

“We all have these four most basic types of sensations. They’re called affect, Barrett said. “Things like feeling worked up, feeling calm, feeling pleasant, feeling unpleasant,” she said.

Affect is basically always there while you’re conscious.

“Emotions are the brain’s attempt to make sense of what the bodily sensations mean in a particular circumstance, in a particular situation, based on past experience, based on memory,”Barrett said.”

I underlined the part about how your brain processes what bodily sensations to mean based on past experiences.  While the article doesn’t state this, (you can read the whole article here.) what that means is that our “issues are in our tissues”  (I like to quote this, but I didn’t make it up, it comes from Candace Pert, a molecular biologist who wrote a book called the Molecules of Emotion.)

Another way to say this is that if something happened to you that caused your body to react in a certain way, then every time your body feels a similar experience, it will cause your brain to respond in the sam way it did to the first occurrence. In yoga we call this a samskara.

I’ve noticed that this can happen a lot in yoga.  Because we stretch and contract our bodies every which way on our mats, it’s inevitable that we will stretch a particular part of the body that may have previously contracted in response to a certain situation. 

For example, we call back bending postures “heart openers”.  For a lot of people, emotional pain causes them want to protect their hearts from future occurrences. The typical response is to contract the muscles on the front body by rounding the shoulders forward and drawing more into themselves in to not be hurt by the outside world, again.  Performing postures that challenge that physical pattern can recall the original emotion associated with the response.  Sometimes you can feel this emotion coming u and you can stop it. Especially if you feel self-conscious getting emotional in a public setting.  But sometimes the emotion is surprising and strong and you can’t help it. 

I think what was happening for me was that I was closest to my dad.  He was the one that always made me feel safe and held.  When I would lie down in Savasana, I felt like my safety net was missing.  He was no longer there to catch me when I fell.  This went on for about a year, until I finally felt strong enough without him.  And then my crying jags on the mat stopped. 

There is always a box of tissues in a yoga studio.  My training as a yoga teacher has been to allow people their emotional space if I notice someone crying quietly on their mat.  Reaching out to them during the episode can bring it to a halt and processing their emotions can be very therapeutic.  However, I do like to reach out to that student afterwards, to check in and see if they are ok.  You always have to exercise your own judgment.  Maybe that student needs your help right then.  I try to let their behavior dictate how I respond.  Some people will quickly exit the room, sending a clear signal that they want to keep their emotions private.  But some people have lingered on their mat as everyone else is leaving.  I have read that as an invitation for me to check in and offer a hug or a shoulder to cry on. 

In my example, I didn't really want anyone to interfere with my emotions at that time. There was something sad and delicious about those moments, almost as if I could feel his presence. That would immediately evaporate as soon as someone asked me what was wrong. I wanted those few extra moments alone with him, even if they were sad.

Processing our emotions as we open our physical bodies and challenge our patterns and habits is part of the transformative process of yoga. 

Have you ever had an emotional experience on your yoga mat?  What is your take on it? I'd be curious to know. If it happened during one of my classes, would you want me to comfort you? Or, to leave you alone?

Poses that you need to know how to do in order to do Wheel

The first pose that indicates a readiness for Wheel isCaturanga Dandasana, or low push up. This pose requires arms strength and it activates the muscles in theback which have to contract to lift your body up into Wheel. It is important totone the muscles that lift the body into Wheel, otherwise the flexibility willinvite weakness and pain for which beginners “have to pay heavily”, accordingto Geeta Iyengar. 

Then the back bends, in order of learning:

Prone Position:

Back arches are introduced in the prone position first:  Up Dog, Bow and Locust.  These poses are done from the more externalspinal muscles.  If the back hurts inthese positions, it indicates a defect in either the spine or spinal musclesand it is necessary to correct these problems before moving on, or the problemscan cause pain especially as the poses progress.

Upward Facing Dog

There are two ways to position the feet in both Caturangaand Up Dog.  One is to be on the balls ofthe toes and one is to be on the tops of the feet. The first way tones the legmuscles and the second way tones the spinal muscles.  This is important because back bends are donefrom leg strength.  If the leg musclesare not strong enough to hold, that translates into pain in the spine,particularly the lower back.    Therefore, one should tone the legs and thenlearn to adjust the spine by making the leg muscles strong.

Bow

In this pose, the body rests only on the abdominal area.  Keep a firm grip on the ankles and useresistance between the legs and arms to raise the legs and chest further.  Try to raise the knees and shoulders the sameamount.  Often it is easier to raise oneor the other more.

Locust

In Locust, learn to work on the thighs and chestsimultaneously to keep them above ground and, as in bow,  give them an equal amount of lift.

Locust and Bow act to strengthen the back and exteriorspinal muscles.

Camel

This is the first pose where you are lowering yourselftowards the floor rather than lifting up away from it.  In the beginning the knees and feet are hipwidth apart.  As you progress in thisposture, it is harder and more advanced to have the knees and feettogether. 

Up Dog and Camel are preparatory poses for the more advancedback bends such as Wheel.  IN performingthese postures, the student is asked to reflect on the curvature of the spineand the evenness of the spinal muscles. Does the spine bend more easily in one area than another?  The work here is to create an evenness in thespine and muscles.  

Often, while doing backward extensions, students experiencebreathlessness, hyperventilation, nausea, and headache in addition tobackache.  They feel nausea and dizzinessas if they are having an attack of vertigo. It is mainly because of the stiffness of the spinal muscles andsluggishness of the liver.  These twoasanas prepare the student, not only at the physical level but also at themental level, for removing such obstacles.  

Wheel

Once you are proficient in Up Dog, Bow, Locust and Camel then Wheel will come easily.

Stretches to open your upper back for Wheel

Here are two great stretches to open up your upper back toprepare to do Wheel:

For this first one you can start in Hero, Crossed Leg Pose or simply stretch your legs straight.  Using 2 blocks, make sure one block is under your upper back, between your shoulder blades.  The other block is under your head. You can start with both blocks on the high side, if possible.  Hold for 1 minute with the arms overhead holding opposite elbows. If you place the block under your head strategically, you will be able to rest your forearms on the block.

Then lower the head block to the medium height.  Switch the way you are holding your arms and, if your legs are crossed, change the cross of your legs.  You only need a small portion of the block for your head to rest on. Let your forearms rest on the block, too. Hold for 1 minute.

Then change the block to its lowest side, if you can.  Again change the arm cross and the leg cross.  If the head does not touch the block, then either put something on the block to make up the difference or stay at the height of the block where the head is still supported.  Hold for 1 minute.

Finally, I went to no block and head on the floor.  Go only as low as you can keep the headsupported on something.  Hold for 1minute.  When finished, come out slowlyand come onto all fours and do a couple of cat and cow stretches. 

For the second one, place two blocks in front of a chair so that you can sit on the blocks and lay your upper back over the chair. Make sure that your head and shoulders are resting on the chair.  Lift your buttocks up so that you are in a straight line from your knees to your head.  Thread your hands through the back of the chair and either hold your arms straight and squeeze a block between your hands or bend your elbows and grab the back rung of the chair.  Keeping your shoulders and head on the chair, begin to lower your buttocks toward the blocks without tilting your chin up. You end up using the front edge of the chair seat to leverage your upper back open.   Hold for about 10 seconds and try to find 2 other spots on your back to leverage over the front edge of the chair.  When finished, release your hands, slide your buttocks carefully down to the blocks and sit up. 

The Science of Yoga: The Risks and the Rewards by William J. Broad

This book came out in 2012.  I had read the New York Times review of the book and never wanted to read any more.  I think I was afraid that, by listing all of the risks, the book would ruin all the things I loved about yoga.  But I have to remind myself that the book also lists the rewards, too.

When my friend and mentor, Mel Robin, was downsizing and moving out of his house, he invited me to come over and take some of his vast book collection.  The Science of Yoga was one of the books I took.  It sat on my shelf for a while until I recently decided to pick it up.  In the prologue of the book, it mentioned MelRobin.  Well, that piqued my interest! I also saw that the author used Mel’s extensive work on the science of yoga as are source for his book.  It was this connection that caused me to commit to calling Mel up to make a lunch date.  And that is when I discovered that he had just passed away.

What we in the west have come to practice and know as yoga is very different from its ancient roots.  Read along with me to discover those ancient roots (some of which may surprise you!) and see what science can tell us about this ancient and ever evolving practice.

Urdhva Dhanurasana

Urdhva means upwardfacing and Dhanurasana means bow.  That would make this pose Upward Facing Bow Pose.  However, it is more commonly called Wheel (even though the Sanskrit word for wheel is Chakra – go figure).  Regardless of what we call this pose, it is a big back bend. 

To prepare for Urdhva Dhanurasana we need to open our shoulders, upper back, front of the hips and front of the thighs.  If these parts of the body aren’t open enough, we might feel pain in our low backs, wrists or neck.  The hips and shoulders are the most moveable parts of the body.  But, if they don't have their optimum range of movement, then the wrists, elbows, neck, knees, ankles and low back can take the strain because they are often asked to move more than they should.

Often students will ask me how they can stretch their wrists because that’s where they feel the most pain when they do Wheel. Often the site of the pain is not the cause of the pain and this is true with the wrists in Wheel.  If you are feeling pain in your wrists during Wheel, or other poses where the hands are part of the foundation, the reason for the pain is most likely because of restricted movement in your shoulders.

This month, we will explore opening your shoulders, and hips as we work on Wheel.  You’ll learn to recognize where you are stuck and where you should spend some time in your home practice to improve your ability to do Urdhva Dhanurasana.

Here are some exercises to do for your yoga homework to improve your Wheel.

Are your shoulders tight? Do your wrists hurt when you do Wheel?

Set up for Wheel with your head and forearms touching the wall.  When you come up into Wheel this way, it gives you a sense of direction. The idea is to move your chest towards the wall. If your chest is far from the wall, then your wrists will be bent at an acute angle. (Your wrists are not meant to be bent at an angle less than 90 degrees!) Have someone take a picture of you in Wheel and see how far your chest is away from the wall. When you look at a picture of yourself in Wheel, you should look more like an upside down "U", and less like an arc of a circle. If your chest is far from the wall and you look more like an arc of a circle, then you need to do some stretches to open up your shoulders.

To improve the flexibility in your shoulders do this stretch everyday:

Cow Face Arms. Extend your right arm straight up to the ceiling. Bend your elbow and pat yourself on your back with your right hand, dropping it down behind you from above. Take your left arm and swing it up behind your back, trying to reach your top hand with your bottom hand. If you cannot connect your fingers together, dangle a belt down from the top hand and grab it with the bottom hand. Do this three times on each side, holding for 10 to 20 seconds each time.

Cow Face Arms with a belt. If your shoulders aren't open enough for Wheel - you will probably need a belt to do this pose.

Are your hips tight? Can you keep your heels on the floor in Wheel?

To improve the flexibility in your hips do this stretcheveryday:

Thigh stretch at the wall.  Slide your left shin up the wall and bring your right foot forward into a lunge position.  Can you get your left knee to the wall with your hips level?  Make sure that your knee is behind your hip and straight down, not in front of your hip and slanting out to the side.  Do this every day, three times each side, holding for 20 to 30 seconds at most on each side. 

Pigeon Thigh Stretch at the Wall. If this is hard to do and be in good alignment, then your hip flexors are probably hard for you to keep your heels down in Wheel.

It would be nice to take a "before" picture at the beginning of the month and an "after" picture at the end to chart our progress. What do you think? Are you in?

This is not your mother's chair yoga

Visvamitrasana with a chair.

Sometimes I've had people walk out of class when I ask them to grab a chair as a prop. But this is not for the kind of chair yoga that most people think of. In the Iyengar style of yoga which I study and practice, a chair is used to help support the body as you open into greater ranges of strength and flexibility. Check out this way of entering into Visvamitrasana using a chair. Elevating the pose off of the ground by using a chair makes the pose that much easier and more accessible. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Three pre-requisites for Visvamitrasana and one modification.

There are three poses that are essential to be able to do well before you attempt Visvamitrasana.  The first one is Triangle with your hand on the floor, the second one is Side Angle Pose with your hand to the floor and the third is Side Plank.Triangle pose is the first pose that students learn that stretches the hamstrings.  At first it is hard to get the hand to the floor, but over time, as your flexibility improves, it may become possible.  However, don’t sacrifice the opening of the chest to get the hand to the floor.The second pose is Side Angle Pose.  While it is not necessary to be able to do Side Angle Pose with your hand on the floor, in order to do Visvamitrasana it is.The third pose that is important is a good strong Side Plank.  Work on your ability to hold Side Plank for a minute.  Make sure that the chest is open in Side Plank the same way it is in Triangle and Side Angle.If Visvamitrasana seems impossible, there is a “Half” version.   This is where you start from a kneeling position.  You can even place the raised foot on a wall for better stability.Here is a sequence for Visvamitrasana.  I will be using elements of this in class this month.

Reclined Hand to Big Toe Pose, leg straight up and out to the side

Seated Side Stretch

Triangle

Side Angle

Bound Side Angle Pose

Gate Pose

Revolved Seated Tree

Side Plank

Half Visvamitrasana

Full Visvamitrasana