Sarah Powers was in town this past weekend. A friend told me she really loved Sarah's yin yoga classes. I'm not a big fan of yin yoga, not because I'm all about getting a work out, but because I'm paranoid about yin practice making my hyperflexiblity worse (risking injury). I am always worried about going into a stretch pose without also having my muscles engaged to protect my ligaments from being stretched as well. Bones shrink as we age, but ligaments, once stretched, do not shorten again. In the back of my mind, I'm always wondering if I should be practicing Tai Chi rather than yoga.....
Anyways, at first I didn't think her style of teaching would suit me. However, after hearing a podcast on her website, I immediately changed my mind and decided I really wanted to meet her in person, even if only for a day. Her Buddhist teaching really spoke to me over the Internet. So I signed up for her workshop. My friend warned me that Powers speaks really slowly (ie. could put you to sleep). I actually found her pace just right. Compared to Michael Stone, she could pass as a speed talker (still slower than average people, but shorter pauses between her sentences :-) I know you're supposed to follow one teacher, but I found the two teachers complement each other very well in helping me understand the core teachings of Vipassana philosophies. Both of them are long term meditation practitioners, so Powers also gives off this uber-serene/contented vibe, and looks straight into your eyes while giving a public talk. She mentioned that people are normally energetically on the defensive side, to protect themselves from possible (psychological) harm from others, especially strangers. Meditation works to open up that block, making long term practitioners more emotionally/energetically open to people.
Forgive me for being vain, but she must be at lest 45 years old, maybe 50 (she said she's been in the same relationship for about 30 years) but she looks maybe 32 years old. Whatever she's eating/smoking/practicing, I'll have some of the same please :)
One of the things she talked was how humans minds naturally react to the external world:
1. We receive an external stimulus: a sight, a smell, a sound, someone says something bad to us, we step on a nail, etc.
2. When the stimulus is detected, our minds very quickly evaluate it and put a label on it: pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral
3. We generate a reaction for this stimulus. If it's pleasant, then we are attracted to it. If it's unpleasant, then we're repulsed by it. If it's neutral, it's non-threatening but also non-interesting. The tendency is to ignore it.
4. Actions arise as a result of our emotional reaction to it.
For certain stimuli that we've encountered before, these four steps become automatic. An action happens (eg. we blurt out something hurtful when someone close to us pushes our buttons) before we even have a chance to think about it.
Powers said (and this was the most illuminating point for me) that pleasant stimuli don't necessarily mean happy pretty rainbows and puppies. Depending on an individual's upbringing, perhaps one has been raised in a way such that openly expressing happiness is threatening, so one is repulsed by that. Being cynical and depressed may feel safer. Perhaps in someone else's childhood, being judgmental, prejudiced, and competitive had always been encouraged, so that's what he/she is drawn to. Repulsion, disgust, and/or fear occurs when he or she encounters compassion, openness, and love.
So Powers refers to yoga and spiritual studies kind of a "re-parenting" process, which I thought is very interesting. I can't help but wonder what I'd be like today if I had come across this kind of teachings/philosophies, say, 10 or 15 years ago?
Luckily it's still possible to change our habits and patterns of thinking/reaction even in adulthood. As we learn to meditate, beginner meditators can delay the fourth step, meaning that instead of automatically acting out, we can pause, examine our emotional responses to the stimulus, and perhaps make our action not so habitual. This alone is difficult enough and achieving it, even if only occasionally, will make great improvements to our lives. More advanced meditators can influence the third step, meaning they get to a point where they no longer automatically generate intense emotions for the external stimuli. I'm not completely sure about this point. I thought it would be an ultimate achievement to catch an emotion as it just begins to blossom? I guess people naturally try to fake this by suppressing an emotion that comes up when we encounter something dramatic, but suppressing is not quite the same as not having that reaction/emotion at all in the first place. The repressed negative feelings are actually what form the granthis (knots) in the subtle body in the first place.
She actually taught a lot more, but the main point is that meditation helps our minds get more focused, wakes us up from our habitual thinking/acting patterns, and aids us in gaining broader perspectives to life. So now I can't wait to do a Vipassana retreat. I'm currently on a wait list. If I don't get in, I'll have to do this a lot later, but otherwise, I'm set to go on one at the beginning of 2012. I must be one of the very few beings in the world looking forward to sitting around doing nothing except trying not to think for 10 days :) Just wait until I start to majorly regret my decision 2 hours into the sitting meditation :)
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Yoga Conference part II - geeking out with yoga anatomy and physiology
After a day of nerve calming, blood pressure soothing pranayama practice with Michael Stone, I dreaded about the second day. I could have signed up for vinyasa krama, Buddhism discussion, and exercises for anxiety - all calming style classes that my body and mind earnestly craved. Instead, my inner nerd acted out about 3 months ago and signed up for the most geeky and technical classes: the science of stretching, how to heal hips and knees with yoga, more explanations about bandhas, and more anatomy and movement analysis about yoga asanas. People can be compulsive shoppers, gamblers, alcohol and drug addicts. I apparently am a pathological compulsive knowledge-acquirer. Here are some notes on what I learned:
The science of stretching (with Blake Martin, PhD in kinesiology/neuroscience):
- Blake does not like the word "flexibility". In standard fitness programs, flexibility is measured by the sit and reach test. But what the heck does this test measure? One could have one or some or all of the following: tight hip flexors, tight hamstrings, stiff upper back, stiff lower back, a gut which prevents forward folds when not sucked in, etc. If one has much longer legs in proportion to one's torso and arm lengths, their sit-and-reach score would be a lot worse than someone of the same height with much shorter legs and comparatively longer arms. If one folds forward from their upper back or waist rather than from the pelvis, one cannot reach as far as one can than if one lifts up from the pelvis and reach forward, folding at the pelvis level instead. If one practices forward folds a lot, one can do well on this test, but the test does not say anything about the person's shoulder flexibility or back bending abilities. He suggests replacing the word "flexibility" with the term "range of motion", which is a lot more descriptive and more specific with respect to each joint.
- When one starts a stretching program (eg. yoga), changes happen first at the neuro level before the muscular level - i.e subject will improve in a particular pose, but when measured, the muscle fiber lengths haven't changed yet. One's flexibility is partly mental, partly physical. I'm not sure if this simply means that mental blocks release faster than muscles, or if the mental block must be released before the muscles/connective tissues will start to undergo measurable changes. I know for a fact that very often (not always, but often), when people claim they can't do a pose, it's a mental issue rather than an actual physical limitation, even though people come up with a ton of excuses, including the claim that they have physical limitation issues. On the other hand, sometimes the structure of bones do set the limit for range of motion for certain people. Man, it would suck to have bones that bang into each other for some movements that other people can do with no problems.
- Many of the bendy yoga poses push the body's ranges of motion past what's functional for every day activities or even most conventional sports. When we work on "advanced yoga poses" (eg. leg behind the head poses; standing on the head for long periods of time with no arm support), we should be aware that we're no longer practicing for practical health reasons, but rather for other reasons such as spiritual yearning, egotistical reasons, wannabe contortionists, or we want to become yoga teachers :) I know I try out the crazy poses because my ego wants to see how far my body can be pushed without seriously hurting myself.
Demystifying the Bandhas (with Leslie Kaminoff)
Leslie Kaminoff is a wonderful story teller and his knowledge of the human body is absolutely incredible. I really enjoyed the history lesson he gave us on how Krishnamacharya became a yoga teacher, when he could have become a religious leader in Southern India instead and lived a cushy life. He reinforced what Michael Stone said about the fact that the usage of bandhas really belongs to pranayama breathing techniques rather than as part of the asanas - something that needs to be actively "engaged" while doing jump backs and jump throughs, and kind of blamed Ashtangis for confusing everyone in the West about the topic. I don't know... as I watched the video of Krishnamacharya's demo that he showed during the workshop, it's very obvious that Krishnamacharya's bandhas were very engaged. I guess instead of saying he was actively engaging his bandhas, what was really happening was that he was doing proper pranayama such that the bandhas were engaged as a result. So, since proper breathing techniques are a lot harder to master than asanas, should we actively engage the muscles of the pelvic floor and the deep core muscles when we practice yoga, while our breathing techniques are still crappy at the beginner stage, or should we just not bother? Perhaps teachers should just tell students to use their core muscles to hold up their bodies while doing asanas, instead of using the word "bandhas" at all? I do understand why he's not happy about how bandhas are misinterpreted by a lot of the yoga teachers. I think bandhas are introduced so early in Ashtanga classes because if a student stays with the system for long enough, he or she will eventually get into pranayama studies and get proficient at breathing properly while doing the Ashtanga series. Problem is most students do not stick with one practice. Many people switch styles (to, say Power yoga) when they get bored or hit a wall, but the teaching of bandhas stay with them, so they pass it on in their free style power yoga classes.
I guess the take home message is that bandhas and core muscle engagement are two separate issues. Until we have mastered our breathing techniques, don't worry about "squeezing the anus" at all times in yoga classes. I'm getting less confused about the bandhas issue now. If you are still confused, you should keep seeking out reputable yoga teachers to study with. If you practice yoga from a DVD or at the local gym, and have no plans to be obsessive compulsive about yoga like me and spend your mortgage savings on yoga workshops, then, forget about the bandhas. They are not necessary for your yoga practice.
The science of stretching (with Blake Martin, PhD in kinesiology/neuroscience):
- Blake does not like the word "flexibility". In standard fitness programs, flexibility is measured by the sit and reach test. But what the heck does this test measure? One could have one or some or all of the following: tight hip flexors, tight hamstrings, stiff upper back, stiff lower back, a gut which prevents forward folds when not sucked in, etc. If one has much longer legs in proportion to one's torso and arm lengths, their sit-and-reach score would be a lot worse than someone of the same height with much shorter legs and comparatively longer arms. If one folds forward from their upper back or waist rather than from the pelvis, one cannot reach as far as one can than if one lifts up from the pelvis and reach forward, folding at the pelvis level instead. If one practices forward folds a lot, one can do well on this test, but the test does not say anything about the person's shoulder flexibility or back bending abilities. He suggests replacing the word "flexibility" with the term "range of motion", which is a lot more descriptive and more specific with respect to each joint.
- When one starts a stretching program (eg. yoga), changes happen first at the neuro level before the muscular level - i.e subject will improve in a particular pose, but when measured, the muscle fiber lengths haven't changed yet. One's flexibility is partly mental, partly physical. I'm not sure if this simply means that mental blocks release faster than muscles, or if the mental block must be released before the muscles/connective tissues will start to undergo measurable changes. I know for a fact that very often (not always, but often), when people claim they can't do a pose, it's a mental issue rather than an actual physical limitation, even though people come up with a ton of excuses, including the claim that they have physical limitation issues. On the other hand, sometimes the structure of bones do set the limit for range of motion for certain people. Man, it would suck to have bones that bang into each other for some movements that other people can do with no problems.
- Many of the bendy yoga poses push the body's ranges of motion past what's functional for every day activities or even most conventional sports. When we work on "advanced yoga poses" (eg. leg behind the head poses; standing on the head for long periods of time with no arm support), we should be aware that we're no longer practicing for practical health reasons, but rather for other reasons such as spiritual yearning, egotistical reasons, wannabe contortionists, or we want to become yoga teachers :) I know I try out the crazy poses because my ego wants to see how far my body can be pushed without seriously hurting myself.
Demystifying the Bandhas (with Leslie Kaminoff)
Leslie Kaminoff is a wonderful story teller and his knowledge of the human body is absolutely incredible. I really enjoyed the history lesson he gave us on how Krishnamacharya became a yoga teacher, when he could have become a religious leader in Southern India instead and lived a cushy life. He reinforced what Michael Stone said about the fact that the usage of bandhas really belongs to pranayama breathing techniques rather than as part of the asanas - something that needs to be actively "engaged" while doing jump backs and jump throughs, and kind of blamed Ashtangis for confusing everyone in the West about the topic. I don't know... as I watched the video of Krishnamacharya's demo that he showed during the workshop, it's very obvious that Krishnamacharya's bandhas were very engaged. I guess instead of saying he was actively engaging his bandhas, what was really happening was that he was doing proper pranayama such that the bandhas were engaged as a result. So, since proper breathing techniques are a lot harder to master than asanas, should we actively engage the muscles of the pelvic floor and the deep core muscles when we practice yoga, while our breathing techniques are still crappy at the beginner stage, or should we just not bother? Perhaps teachers should just tell students to use their core muscles to hold up their bodies while doing asanas, instead of using the word "bandhas" at all? I do understand why he's not happy about how bandhas are misinterpreted by a lot of the yoga teachers. I think bandhas are introduced so early in Ashtanga classes because if a student stays with the system for long enough, he or she will eventually get into pranayama studies and get proficient at breathing properly while doing the Ashtanga series. Problem is most students do not stick with one practice. Many people switch styles (to, say Power yoga) when they get bored or hit a wall, but the teaching of bandhas stay with them, so they pass it on in their free style power yoga classes.
I guess the take home message is that bandhas and core muscle engagement are two separate issues. Until we have mastered our breathing techniques, don't worry about "squeezing the anus" at all times in yoga classes. I'm getting less confused about the bandhas issue now. If you are still confused, you should keep seeking out reputable yoga teachers to study with. If you practice yoga from a DVD or at the local gym, and have no plans to be obsessive compulsive about yoga like me and spend your mortgage savings on yoga workshops, then, forget about the bandhas. They are not necessary for your yoga practice.
Yoga conference part I - an unconventional path to healing
For a couple of weeks, I put myself in Personal Hell, chaining myself to a computer, sometimes getting a couple hours of productive work done; sometimes an entire day went by and I realized I've checked Facebook 50 times, checked my emails 100 times, read 30 yoga blogs/articles, with no new paragraphs added to my thesis. When it got near the deadline it all came down to "what's the minimum amount of work I absolutely need to do so I would not completely despise this piece of crap that I am putting my name down as an author?" Finally, got the piece of writing completed and handed in on Thursday evening (thank goodness for emails these days), and on Friday, headed to Happiness Land a.k.a. "Yoga Conference".
I must have done some incredible deeds in my previous reincarnation to have earned the Universe so conveniently arrange a yoga conference in my town right after my thesis deadline. First up, a day with Michael Stone. The moment I walked into the conference room, I saw him sitting so peacefully in front of the room, legs crossed, eyes closed, while unenlightened students like me rushed in, clumsily and noisily set their stuff down, realized they have forgotten some stuff, ran out of the room and back in again, slamming the door way too loudly both times, rolled out the mat so that it slapped the ground with a thump, disturbing all the other students trying to meditate, and finally settled in after ensuring everyone else's meditation attempts have been disrupted. The whole time, Michael did not even move an eyebrow hair. This made me feel like I was in good hands (while at the same time feeling like the biggest asshole in the room).
The workshop was about pranyama, but really the main message of the day was that bandhas are not something we engage and hold; they naturally happen if and when we breath properly. Mula bandha happens at the end of an exhale; uddiyana bandha can be felt as the diaphragm moves to let air in at an inhale or pushes air out in an exhale. So he tried to get us to feel our bandhas in sun salutations by inhaling our arms up, hold the breath, lift out of our spine, dive down 1/4 of the way, then exhale all the way to forward fold. I suppose uddiyana bandha happens at that 1/4 point. Then inhale half way lift, exhale fold, step back to chaturanga, inhale up dog, exhale down dog, yadda yadda, hold the down dog for 5 breaths, and then fully exhale all the air out before stepping the feet up to meet the hands.
Sounds like something Ashtangis can easily achieve right? Except I couldn't do it at all. I felt like I was going to suffocate if I tried to hold my breath for more than a few seconds at the end of the first inhale, and I couldn't fully exhale all the air out in down dog before breathing in again. Second exercise: supposedly it's easier to feel the bandhas when upside down. We're told to simply watch our belly go up and down evenly as we breath in and out while in halasana (different instruction than what my teacher normally teaches: to hold our belly so it doesn't pump up and down in this pose). So I tried to do it, and watched my navel with horror that I couldn't get my belly movement to coordinate with my breath. My ab muscles seem like nervous wrecks, sharply contracting and clumsily releasing, totally doing their own thing independently of my breath. Basically the entire morning served as to tell me that my nervous system was f*ed up. My breaths felt shaky the whole time; my muscles held tension that I couldn't consciously release; every breath retention generated anxiety.
Despite all this, I instinctually felt like I couldn't be in a more appropriate setting to heal myself. In the afternoon, Michael spent some time talking about how the world is out of balance, how we need to wake up from our self-obsession mode, heal ourselves, and serve our family and friends who need a clear mind to help them out. It was a pretty generic type of talk that he always gives if you listen to his pod casts and interviews online, but having the opportunity to listening to him speak in person felt so healing. As if he could read my mind, he said, "sometimes we need to hear reminders like this every day". We did a couple more exercises, again serving the purpose to frustrate me with my inability to coordinate muscle contraction/movement with breath, but I think that with practice, I would be able to do these exercises in the future with better results. At this point I already felt a lot better than in the morning, with less jitter and less unease within me. He ended the workshop by leading us through a very simple inhale and exhale exercise, where the inhales eventually got much longer than the exhales. By the time he stopped counting. the shakes in my breaths were gone; the breaths and the heartbeats felt smooth and rhythmic, and the nervous system had completely calmed down. A most appropriate therapeutic session was complete. I sort of wanted to kick myself for not signing up for his other sessions the next couple of days but because I was in such a calm state, I wasn't in the mood to be so hard on myself as I normally would. A definite sign the yoga was working!
I must have done some incredible deeds in my previous reincarnation to have earned the Universe so conveniently arrange a yoga conference in my town right after my thesis deadline. First up, a day with Michael Stone. The moment I walked into the conference room, I saw him sitting so peacefully in front of the room, legs crossed, eyes closed, while unenlightened students like me rushed in, clumsily and noisily set their stuff down, realized they have forgotten some stuff, ran out of the room and back in again, slamming the door way too loudly both times, rolled out the mat so that it slapped the ground with a thump, disturbing all the other students trying to meditate, and finally settled in after ensuring everyone else's meditation attempts have been disrupted. The whole time, Michael did not even move an eyebrow hair. This made me feel like I was in good hands (while at the same time feeling like the biggest asshole in the room).
The workshop was about pranyama, but really the main message of the day was that bandhas are not something we engage and hold; they naturally happen if and when we breath properly. Mula bandha happens at the end of an exhale; uddiyana bandha can be felt as the diaphragm moves to let air in at an inhale or pushes air out in an exhale. So he tried to get us to feel our bandhas in sun salutations by inhaling our arms up, hold the breath, lift out of our spine, dive down 1/4 of the way, then exhale all the way to forward fold. I suppose uddiyana bandha happens at that 1/4 point. Then inhale half way lift, exhale fold, step back to chaturanga, inhale up dog, exhale down dog, yadda yadda, hold the down dog for 5 breaths, and then fully exhale all the air out before stepping the feet up to meet the hands.
Sounds like something Ashtangis can easily achieve right? Except I couldn't do it at all. I felt like I was going to suffocate if I tried to hold my breath for more than a few seconds at the end of the first inhale, and I couldn't fully exhale all the air out in down dog before breathing in again. Second exercise: supposedly it's easier to feel the bandhas when upside down. We're told to simply watch our belly go up and down evenly as we breath in and out while in halasana (different instruction than what my teacher normally teaches: to hold our belly so it doesn't pump up and down in this pose). So I tried to do it, and watched my navel with horror that I couldn't get my belly movement to coordinate with my breath. My ab muscles seem like nervous wrecks, sharply contracting and clumsily releasing, totally doing their own thing independently of my breath. Basically the entire morning served as to tell me that my nervous system was f*ed up. My breaths felt shaky the whole time; my muscles held tension that I couldn't consciously release; every breath retention generated anxiety.
Despite all this, I instinctually felt like I couldn't be in a more appropriate setting to heal myself. In the afternoon, Michael spent some time talking about how the world is out of balance, how we need to wake up from our self-obsession mode, heal ourselves, and serve our family and friends who need a clear mind to help them out. It was a pretty generic type of talk that he always gives if you listen to his pod casts and interviews online, but having the opportunity to listening to him speak in person felt so healing. As if he could read my mind, he said, "sometimes we need to hear reminders like this every day". We did a couple more exercises, again serving the purpose to frustrate me with my inability to coordinate muscle contraction/movement with breath, but I think that with practice, I would be able to do these exercises in the future with better results. At this point I already felt a lot better than in the morning, with less jitter and less unease within me. He ended the workshop by leading us through a very simple inhale and exhale exercise, where the inhales eventually got much longer than the exhales. By the time he stopped counting. the shakes in my breaths were gone; the breaths and the heartbeats felt smooth and rhythmic, and the nervous system had completely calmed down. A most appropriate therapeutic session was complete. I sort of wanted to kick myself for not signing up for his other sessions the next couple of days but because I was in such a calm state, I wasn't in the mood to be so hard on myself as I normally would. A definite sign the yoga was working!
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Thank goodness for yin and restorative yoga
Been working long hours on my thesis lately. A fellow graduate says it best: it's like giving birth to an ugly baby... The labour is long and hard but you get no satisfaction in the end. I am still not done yet but I hate this piece of work no matter how many more edits I make to it. Working on something I dislike drains so much energy I couldn't even bring myself to do any Ashtanga lately. I am just too exhausted these days. So I do yin and restorative, trying to bring myself some peace and prevent total burn out. They are not black magic; I don't feel 100% restored after the class, but I do feel the grip of mental stress loosens up a little after class. For this I am thankful.
I am a little puzzled as to why people who tell me they are stressed out frantically refuse my offer to take them to a restorative yoga class. Perhaps the world is too full of false advertisements that they are skeptical about the word "restorative". Maybe they think that I "restore" by holding a headstand for 60 minutes. Maybe when I tell them the class description says that this class is suitable for cancer patients and people recovering from injury, they think I mean "cancer patients and injured people who must be former Olympians". Maybe I am just the world's most unconvincing and untrustworthy person.
Come to think of it, with so much mental resistance, perhaps it would be possible to go to a restorative class determined not to relax, and then complain that this class doesn't work. I should just let it be then, and keep working on my own relaxation skills, which apparently suck a lot more than my muscle engagement skills. I was recently been told by my dentist that I must be grinding my teeth at night because my fillings look worn out. He also says I suck at relaxing my jaw. Damn it, can't believe I got called out by a dentist. All these yoga and nothing to show for it but fancy asanas (/sarcasm).
I am a little puzzled as to why people who tell me they are stressed out frantically refuse my offer to take them to a restorative yoga class. Perhaps the world is too full of false advertisements that they are skeptical about the word "restorative". Maybe they think that I "restore" by holding a headstand for 60 minutes. Maybe when I tell them the class description says that this class is suitable for cancer patients and people recovering from injury, they think I mean "cancer patients and injured people who must be former Olympians". Maybe I am just the world's most unconvincing and untrustworthy person.
Come to think of it, with so much mental resistance, perhaps it would be possible to go to a restorative class determined not to relax, and then complain that this class doesn't work. I should just let it be then, and keep working on my own relaxation skills, which apparently suck a lot more than my muscle engagement skills. I was recently been told by my dentist that I must be grinding my teeth at night because my fillings look worn out. He also says I suck at relaxing my jaw. Damn it, can't believe I got called out by a dentist. All these yoga and nothing to show for it but fancy asanas (/sarcasm).
Thursday, September 8, 2011
The science of happiness
Did you know Stanford has a Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education and that Berkeley hosts research for The Science of a Meaningful Life? I have been going through YouTube videos of Fred Luskin who teaches forgiveness - how to forgive, why practice forgiveness, and scientific findings of physiological health benefits of practicing forgiveness. Kelly McGonigal uses psychology and neuroscience research results to explain and support the importance of meditation and compassion. Sonja Lyubomirsky does research on happiness, and finds that genetics accounts for 50% of your level of happiness (ie. The personality you were born with); life circumstances accounts for about 10%, but 40% are within our power of control (ie. We can change the level of our happiness by changing our thinking patterns and our actions. Barbara Frederickson does research on positivity. She finds that in order to be genuinely positive (rather than faking it), we need a ratio of 3:1 for overall positive to negative thinking at all times. This is because the human tendency is to focus on the negative thoughts, so we need 3 times as much positivity to counter the negative thinking. This is not to say that we should try to eliminate negative thinking all together (is that even possible?) She finds most people's habitual ratios are at 2:1 or lower, which means we all need to work a little harder to generate a tiny bit more of positive emotions in order to stay positive overall.
Now, it may be weird to be conducting research on "the science of happiness", when the ancient spiritual texts and sutras have already laid it out for us, explaining humanity, the sources of human suffering, and how to deal with it. I agree that spiritual texts give a more comprehensive picture of the whole human condition, why we are the way we are etc. By definition of the way science is conducted (control all variables and change just one variable to see what happens), we will never get the full picture of any subject with science. However, what science does provide is a snapshot of what's going on in the modern times -- the fact that at a 2:1 positive to negative thinking rate, most people have a tendency to be a little negative even though they swear they have been attempting some positive thinking. Genetics studies tell me that my pessimistic personality has determined that I will never win the "happiest person on earth contest" no matter how hard I work on it, BUT if I try really hard, I can improve my current level of happiness by 40% regardless of my life circumstances. This is encouraging to know.
The purpose of most organized religions is to teach the simple ideas of compassion, gratitude, acceptance, positive thinking, non-harming, forgiveness, etc. The 2 main tools used by Christianity to get people to practice these ideas -- the Bible (words of God), and the act of praying -- seem to be sufficient for a small handful of Christians only. A large number of religious people accept that God would like them to practice these concepts in their daily lives, but without providing more tools, they fail at achieving true forgiveness and true compassion sometimes, which make them feel bad, so they pray for God to forgive their "sins" and give them more strength, which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't, so some people chronically experience shamefulness. Amazingly they keep clinging on the faith, insisting that the system is complete as-is. It's okay to keep their faith, but with a couple more tools at hand, such as practicing loving kindness meditation and some yoga, it'll be easier to open the heart.
I find the series of "forgiveness" talks by Fred Luskin particularly helpful, because I am so good at holding grudges. The explanation that all the suffering that we experience are not unique to an individual, but are all common to mankind, is very clarifying. It is also useful to realize that practicing forgiveness helps improve our own physiological health. Holding grudges punishes no one but our own body and mind. To forgive does not mean to never get worked up about others who have done us wrong, but to realize that my sufferings are not uniquely my experience but is part of humanity. No one is obliged to treat me exactly the way I would like them to treat me, not even my family, my best friend, my partner, my boss, or my server. Forgiveness means being at peace with the fact that life circumstances do not always work out the way we'd like them to. With gratitude, forgiveness and compassion in hand, life will be a happier one.
By the way, I think the way Luskin speaks would make him a very popular reverend/minister. However, he identifies himself as a secular educator, which goes to show that it is not necessary to say "these are the words from God" to effectively teach morality.
Now, it may be weird to be conducting research on "the science of happiness", when the ancient spiritual texts and sutras have already laid it out for us, explaining humanity, the sources of human suffering, and how to deal with it. I agree that spiritual texts give a more comprehensive picture of the whole human condition, why we are the way we are etc. By definition of the way science is conducted (control all variables and change just one variable to see what happens), we will never get the full picture of any subject with science. However, what science does provide is a snapshot of what's going on in the modern times -- the fact that at a 2:1 positive to negative thinking rate, most people have a tendency to be a little negative even though they swear they have been attempting some positive thinking. Genetics studies tell me that my pessimistic personality has determined that I will never win the "happiest person on earth contest" no matter how hard I work on it, BUT if I try really hard, I can improve my current level of happiness by 40% regardless of my life circumstances. This is encouraging to know.
The purpose of most organized religions is to teach the simple ideas of compassion, gratitude, acceptance, positive thinking, non-harming, forgiveness, etc. The 2 main tools used by Christianity to get people to practice these ideas -- the Bible (words of God), and the act of praying -- seem to be sufficient for a small handful of Christians only. A large number of religious people accept that God would like them to practice these concepts in their daily lives, but without providing more tools, they fail at achieving true forgiveness and true compassion sometimes, which make them feel bad, so they pray for God to forgive their "sins" and give them more strength, which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't, so some people chronically experience shamefulness. Amazingly they keep clinging on the faith, insisting that the system is complete as-is. It's okay to keep their faith, but with a couple more tools at hand, such as practicing loving kindness meditation and some yoga, it'll be easier to open the heart.
I find the series of "forgiveness" talks by Fred Luskin particularly helpful, because I am so good at holding grudges. The explanation that all the suffering that we experience are not unique to an individual, but are all common to mankind, is very clarifying. It is also useful to realize that practicing forgiveness helps improve our own physiological health. Holding grudges punishes no one but our own body and mind. To forgive does not mean to never get worked up about others who have done us wrong, but to realize that my sufferings are not uniquely my experience but is part of humanity. No one is obliged to treat me exactly the way I would like them to treat me, not even my family, my best friend, my partner, my boss, or my server. Forgiveness means being at peace with the fact that life circumstances do not always work out the way we'd like them to. With gratitude, forgiveness and compassion in hand, life will be a happier one.
By the way, I think the way Luskin speaks would make him a very popular reverend/minister. However, he identifies himself as a secular educator, which goes to show that it is not necessary to say "these are the words from God" to effectively teach morality.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Which poses do you find hardest to engage the bandhas?
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| Source: Yoga Journal |
So, cybershala, which poses do you feel the easiest to engage the bandhas and which poses are the hardest? For me the easiest pose to feel my bandhas is the 2nd last pose (not counting savasana) -- padmasana. I have heard that bandha engagement should be easy in urdhva padmasana because the organs get out of the way when upside down, but I find it the other way around.. they get in the way of my bandhas (interfering with the diaphram??) Or maybe I'm just not used to being up side down still.
Don't even ask me about mula bandha. When I worry about it I squeeze everything down there, including unnecessary butt muscles, leg muscles, hip flexor stuff, and a whole bunch of other stuff that I don't know controls what but pretty sure have nothing to do with the perineum.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Drop backs practice report
So I've started doing drop-backs. It's amazing how quickly I've progressed in them. Not saying they're now really nice or anything, but my urdhva dhanurasanas never felt great, so I wasn't expecting to to drop backs so soon. My low back always feels funky in the pose, and I hate it when the teacher says to straighten my legs and shift my chest towards my arms. If I don't do it he'll come and help me and I always feel like I'm about to faint or drown. My neck can never relax in the wheel pose; the neck muscles feel strained whether I try to look up or look down. They refuse to relax no matter how I move my head. Stuff along the spine feels loose, as if the spine will fall apart if I try too hard (but I try hard anyways). Nobel reassured me a little when he told me deep backbends have a spinal alignment effect to them. Not sure if it was Tim Miller or Matthew Sweeney who started the saying, "Backbends are like pancakes. The first two are rubbish." That re-assured me further.
That being said, assisted drop-backs feel a million times safer and easier (psychologically) than attempting drop backs on my own, so kudos to Grimmly and all the people who work on this on their own. I think I sort of tried once at home, and I ended up bending my knees so much I ended up just going into a table top pose instead of a real drop back. Coming back up was like a swim up where I flailed my arms wildly and sort of front crawled my way back to standing, again with super bent knees... I always imagined myself looking like the reverse of Neil doing backbend dodging bullets in the Matrix, except I'm sure it looks a lot dorkier and messier.
Apparently my back is pretty open, so I "don't need to" do hang backs. Actually I just plain can't do them. With the teacher's hands around my waist, for awhile it felt like he was the soul reason I wasn't crashing straight to the floor headfirst since I felt I had zero control over my upper body weight. Coming back up is so much fun with the help of a teacher. A little pull (or pressure into the spine at the low back junction) and I pop right up. But without the teacher I guess I didn't want to look like an idiot doing my front crawl thing in class. I also was really scared of falling back down and landing on my head because my arms wouldn't be ready to catch me or something silly like that.
There are two keys to coming up smoothly: 1. walk the hands as close towards the feet as possible, "past the point where you feel comfortable with placing your hands". 2. Rock back and forth and come up on an inhale while rocking forward towards the feet. So they actually both work, and I've been surprised that some days I can come up on my own. The trick is I have to catch the momentum. If I try to come up at the wrong time during the rock, then I fall back down. My hands did catch me and save me the fate of a head concussion, so my fear was unfounded. If my back feels funny, then I'm not able to walk my hands that close to my feet, and a wide wheel makes coming up impossible.
So now I'm at this inconsistent stage where sometimes I can come up magically on my own no problem, and other times I get stuck in my wheel and can't come up without assistance. Neither the forward bend squish nor the fold itself after the drop backs ever feels long enough, and I can feel my spine screaming "I'm here! Feel my presence!!" at me for the rest of the day. It's not pain.. it's just.. very energized, but not necessarily in a happy or unhappy way. Seriously, who needs a chiropractor if you can just do wheel pose and drop backs? I wonder what chiros think about setu bandhasana and headstands. Setu b. feels super intense right now, probably not from physical strain but from shock. I'm trusting the practice and hoping it'll strengthen my neck and make my neck strain go away. Also hoping matsyasana and uttana padasana will strengthen my mid and low back, because I do not feel peace and calm in these two poses.
Anyways, just a boring recording my practice report. I hope the poses I mention will get easier and my spine will thank me later on. Right now it's questioning what the heck I'm doing to it and the rational brain isn't really sure if what I'm practicing is exactly healthy for my body. I kind of have to have faith, keep at it for a few months and then see what happens.
That being said, assisted drop-backs feel a million times safer and easier (psychologically) than attempting drop backs on my own, so kudos to Grimmly and all the people who work on this on their own. I think I sort of tried once at home, and I ended up bending my knees so much I ended up just going into a table top pose instead of a real drop back. Coming back up was like a swim up where I flailed my arms wildly and sort of front crawled my way back to standing, again with super bent knees... I always imagined myself looking like the reverse of Neil doing backbend dodging bullets in the Matrix, except I'm sure it looks a lot dorkier and messier.
Apparently my back is pretty open, so I "don't need to" do hang backs. Actually I just plain can't do them. With the teacher's hands around my waist, for awhile it felt like he was the soul reason I wasn't crashing straight to the floor headfirst since I felt I had zero control over my upper body weight. Coming back up is so much fun with the help of a teacher. A little pull (or pressure into the spine at the low back junction) and I pop right up. But without the teacher I guess I didn't want to look like an idiot doing my front crawl thing in class. I also was really scared of falling back down and landing on my head because my arms wouldn't be ready to catch me or something silly like that.
There are two keys to coming up smoothly: 1. walk the hands as close towards the feet as possible, "past the point where you feel comfortable with placing your hands". 2. Rock back and forth and come up on an inhale while rocking forward towards the feet. So they actually both work, and I've been surprised that some days I can come up on my own. The trick is I have to catch the momentum. If I try to come up at the wrong time during the rock, then I fall back down. My hands did catch me and save me the fate of a head concussion, so my fear was unfounded. If my back feels funny, then I'm not able to walk my hands that close to my feet, and a wide wheel makes coming up impossible.
So now I'm at this inconsistent stage where sometimes I can come up magically on my own no problem, and other times I get stuck in my wheel and can't come up without assistance. Neither the forward bend squish nor the fold itself after the drop backs ever feels long enough, and I can feel my spine screaming "I'm here! Feel my presence!!" at me for the rest of the day. It's not pain.. it's just.. very energized, but not necessarily in a happy or unhappy way. Seriously, who needs a chiropractor if you can just do wheel pose and drop backs? I wonder what chiros think about setu bandhasana and headstands. Setu b. feels super intense right now, probably not from physical strain but from shock. I'm trusting the practice and hoping it'll strengthen my neck and make my neck strain go away. Also hoping matsyasana and uttana padasana will strengthen my mid and low back, because I do not feel peace and calm in these two poses.
Anyways, just a boring recording my practice report. I hope the poses I mention will get easier and my spine will thank me later on. Right now it's questioning what the heck I'm doing to it and the rational brain isn't really sure if what I'm practicing is exactly healthy for my body. I kind of have to have faith, keep at it for a few months and then see what happens.
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