Tending Your Garden

I am planning a trip to the farmers market over the weekend.  According to the Ohio Farm Bureau, August is a great month for the fruit and vegetable harvest in Ohio!  Because I grew up in an agricultural county with a County Extension Agent Dad, I know a little about what goes into an abundant harvest.  It is HARD work!  Tending a garden is much like how we should take care of our own health: body, mind, and spirit.  There really are no shortcuts, it is about consistency and perseverance.

One such shortcut “attempt” is a chemical weed killer. This summer I put my proverbial foot down on the use of toxic chemicals to control the weeds in my flower beds and yard.  In past summers, my husband used Roundup to make our suburban house have acceptable curb appeal.  But it seemed that each year he needed to use more of the stuff to get rid of weeds in the same areas. I do admit there is some satisfaction of the nice clean edge of landscaping once those pesky weeds wither and die.  Granted, in previous summers I had trouble getting out there to pull the weeds because of lack of time or fear of straining my back while doing it.  This year was different! I read Mark Hyman’s book, “Food: What the Heck Do I Eat” and he explains the potential danger of glyphosate in our food supply, the chemical found in Roundup.  Why take a chance?  I’m motivated to keep toxicity out of my yard, I’ve dispelled the fear that I will get hurt, and I had a little time.  So I decided to try and stay ahead of the weeds before he could get out there with the sprayer.

What I noticed about the areas treated by Roundup in past summers, was the disorganized opportunistic mess of weeds that took over and spread to areas where beautiful green grass and flowers tried to exist.  The seemingly more potent weeds sneak in and spread.  As I was pulling these weeds, I thought about how this process in much like treating and experiencing Chronic Pain.

Taking opioids for chronic pain seemingly helps at first and provides satisfaction, much like looking at the bare ground where weeds once existed. But the pain returns and over time you may need more and more medication to decrease the pain.  This is explained in recent research that showed using opioids for chronic pain actually increased the sensitivity to pain resulting in the need for higher doses of medication.  I hope you get the irony here: the pain reliever ends up actually creating the need for more of the pain reliever!

Another parallel exists in the spread of weeds and pain.  Chronic persistent pain spreads beyond the original source of insult or injury due to changes in the brain called smudging.  Smudging is where the brain loses its ability to clearly define an area of pain.  For example, the original pain was in the neck, but after many years, you now have shoulder pain, elbow pain and wrist pain.  This spread of pain doesn’t indicate that you have injury in those areas of the body, but you have changes in your brain.  I always love listening to David Butler explain pain (probably because of the accent) and in this video he describes the complicated concept of smudging.  Thank goodness we have treatment tools available to affect the plastic nature of our brains so that we can reverse smudging.  Treatments like Graded Motor Imagery and practicing Left/Right discrimination are much like using the gardening edger along my flower beds and sidewalks.

Though pulling each weed out by the root is time consuming hard work, it is much more effective in the long term for week elimination.  And if you don’t mind the look or taste of these weeds, according to Bruce Ackley’s (another Extension Agent) book, some are also edible and provide essential nutrients.  Just like weeding by hand, the process of managing your pain with mind-body techniques; movement, activity and exercise; and maybe even counseling to address the emotional component can be HARD work.  Through the process you might also discover that the pain you experience has an important message. Working to relieve pain through hard work might lead to a discovery about your Self.  So like the weed that can also provide nourishment, your pain just might end up helping you understand your spirit or purpose.

I know, I know that’s deep stuff.  But the biggest most problematic weeds in MY garden have the deepest roots! 

Let me know if you need help tending your garden.

Namaste,

Engaged and Empowered Warriors

The Warriors poses in yoga, Virabhadrasana 1, 2 and 3 as named in sanskrit come from a Hindu Myth about Daksha (son of Lord Brahman), his daughter Sati, and his son-in-law Lord Shiva.  Feel free to read the story, but I have trouble pulling any meaning from this story to use in my yoga practice.  In the story, the poses invoke the warrior going to battle:  In Warrior I, the Virabhadra arrives at the sacrificial ceremony of Daksha with two swords in his hands. In Warrior II Virabhadra sights his target, Daksha. And in Warrior III, he finds his opponent and decapitates him with his sword. Yikes!  Violent images in this story.

So how do can we celebrate the image of warriors in our yoga practice and also embrace the yama of ahisma or non-violence?

While we typically associate a warrior battling everything in its path, the warriors of yoga (as are all the poses in yoga) are meant to turn you inward.  This internal battle is primarily against the Ego in order to bring out the true Self.  The Ego is drawn to material things and needs external validation and praise.  Many times our Ego is how we present ourselves to the outside world: judgmental, harsh with our words, jealous, attached to our appearance, worried, resentful etc.  But this is not the best representation of who we are.  This outside portrayal of our Ego is not who God (or the Divine, or the Universe or whatever powerful force you ascribe to) intended us to be.  I believe that the Holy Spirit lives within us and is actually our true Self.  That is, our unique God-Given qualities and talents to give and receive love.

I believe that these warrior poses are to symbolize the  “Fight for True Self”.  Each day to live as God intended us to live, from grace and purity.  The sword is used to kill untruths about ourselves: the harm that the Ego does with thoughts, beliefs, and actions.

Warrior 1:  Look to the Divine for guidance.  Once you have established the pose, look up, and progress to a backbend where the 3rd chakra (energetic area for individual will located at the solar plexus) is lifted up so that the Divine will then becomes our own will.  “Thy Will be Done” as I say in the Lord’s prayer.  Opening in the 3rd chakra builds self-confidence and courage. 

Warrior 2: Battle pose.  Fight for your Self.  Fight off negative emotions and thoughts about yourself.  Fight to be heard as your Self and not as your Ego.

Warrior 3: Freedom.  Pose of flight.  Soaring above with ease.  Living in the flow of Self unrestricted by the bad behavior of the Ego.

Many of my students struggle with the challenge of the Warrior poses. So too is the struggle with life.

Namaste,

What's in a Posture?

I had a discussion with my students the other day about posture. This group of women are all in their 50s and 60s, and each of them (like me) remember a grandmother or other adult admonishing them for a bad posture. We talked a little about why the emphasis on a good posture. Our conversation led me to look at little into the history of posture.  I found this statement from an interesting website, ThePowerofPosture.net:

"In 18th century middle-class society, proper posture was an essential ingredient in formal situations. The body positioning of strangers was shrewdly evaluated as a measurement of upbringing, physical attractiveness, trustworthiness, self-control, and dignity. Respectable people regarded erect posture as the very thing that set us apart from the animals. Likewise, collapsed posture was seen as a manifestation of immorality and stupidity, a symptom of poor character that lead to things like masturbation and other failures of self-control."

With those strong statement you can see quite a history to posture!  I wonder how close do you hold the belief that our posture tells us something about the essence of the person?  In my training as a physical therapist, my beliefs about posture and whether posture is an "impairment" have changed over the years.  In my early career, I was trained to believe that we could "train" and ultimately "change" someone's posture.  But with practice, I began to doubt whether real change in someone's posture could be sustained.  I also began to wonder how much a person's posture really "resulted" in the pain that someone had.  So over my years, I have come to a much broader perspective regarding the role that posture plays in our lives, Body, Mind and Spirit.  

Body:

I now believe that what we really need to do is MOVE in and out of postures.  It seems that no matter what posture we assume: sitting, standing, slumped or erect; if we sustain that posture for LONG periods of time there will be trouble.  Joan Vernikos, in her book Sitting Kills, Moving Heals, states that it is not how much we sit during the day (8 hours +), but how long we sustain that posture without moving.  She advocates integrating movement, mostly small and easy ones, throughout the day to combat the negative effects of sustained sitting.

Mental:

I have seen how changing a person's posture can change their attitude.  I recently represented my home yoga studio at a corporate health fair.  Of course I couldn't just stand there and give out brochures and yoga schedules.  I brought a tool, a dowel rod, to help people feel something new in their bodies.  Feel free to try this activity:

 First, sit and breath in your usual posture.  Take several breaths with your eyes closed and notice sensations of your body but also your mental attitude in the moment.

Next, place the dowel rod along your spine and make sure it hits 3 places: sacrum (just above the cleft of your buttocks), mid-back where it curves backward and on your head (keep the chin level).  Now take several breaths again. Again, notice the sensations in your body and in your mind.

Do you notice a difference in your mind and body between these two positions?

The majority of people at the health fair said yes, they could feel a difference in their body. The improved posture brought awareness to the breath filling lower into the body, chest or belly.  But what was also amazing was the look on their faces transform.  Mostly by raising the eyebrows and the corners of the mouth, that's right, into a SMILE.  

Spirit:

Why is it so hard to maintain a "good" posture?  Many Physical Therapists and others "Body Workers" focus so much on our posture are the source of all problems.  I believe that if it truly was a problem of the body, then it would be an easy fix.  We blame our jobs, our computers and our hand held devices on a curved spine.  But I have come to view this curved spine as a protective position.  We wear this curved spine like a Turtle Shell of protection.  Some people even have their shoulders drawn up around their ears.  So I have wondered, what are we trying to protect?  Our heart as the source of love?  Our throats as the center of expression?  My study of the chakra system; our energetic system where the body, mind and spirit overlap; has led me to these observations.  Maybe our efforts should be focused on how to allow our spirit to shine and our True Self to emerge.

Brene Brown, in her latest book Braving the Wilderness, talks about for wholehearted living you need to have a Strong Back (COURAGE), a Soft Front (LOVE AND ACCEPTANCE, even for yourself), and a Wild Heart (LIVE YOUR TRUEST SELF).

I think that advice just may be the solution to the postural dilemma.

Namaste,

Stephanie

My Health, My Rules!

This title was inspired by my 9 year old daughter.  She has a sign on her door that says:

“My Room, My Rules!”

And I try to I respect her (within reason of course)!  I acknowledge that she needs her space to be alone.  She needs a place where she can just be herself. She can go inside, literally inside her room, but also inside her mind to figure out who she is and who she wants to be. 

When you go inside, you can feel what is right. You find what is right for you. Whether you are making a big decision, like taking a new job or small, like deciding what to have for dinner.

This internal knowing translates to your health. When you really listen, you know what makes you feel good. You can slowly transition that sense of feeling good to consistently making the right decisions for your health.

People ask me all the time about what works for pain management.  Should I get a massage?  Is Physical Therapy the right answer?  What do you think about a chiropractor, physician, dietitian, health coach?  And the list goes on.  It is really hard for me to tell you what will help, mostly because I’m not you.

Pain is a very personal experience.  It is influenced by our belief system taught to us first by our parents and influenced by family, friends and trusted health are providers.  In a sense, if you believe a treatment will help, then it just might.  Pain is also influenced by our emotions.  Being in pain triggers an emotional response: fear, sadness, grief, anger, etc. When you have had pain for a while, those emotional reactions can then trigger pain.

What I do know is that we all need to move, but the type of movement and how much is, again dependent on your experiences.  If you were hurt in a yoga class.  The yoga is probably NOT for you.  If you enjoy walking and getting into nature, then that is a great way to begin movement.  But using some yoga principles can help with whatever movement that you do.

1.  In your activity you need to balance EFFORT with EASE.  You need strength and stability in your movements, but you should also have some joy and pleasant sensations.  Pushing and straining until exhaustion is NOT a good strategy.  You should enjoy activity so that you can return to it again and again. So the EFFORT or intensity of activity needs to be relevant to your needs.  You can't look at what someone else is doing and try to match or compete.  Again, it is a personal experience.

2. Another principle in yoga is AHISMA or nonviolence.  This follow perfectly after the principle of EFFORT  and EASE because is you push, strain and complete to exhaustion, you will probably end up getting hurt.  Or putting yourself back into the pain cycle.  You want to feel as if the movement or activity you do is NOURISHING.  That is, you want to feel as though you are giving your body something that it needs.

3.  TAPPAS is self-discipline.  Whatever movement, activity, or exercise you choose, needs to be performed with consistency.  When you find that balance of effort and ease, and find joy and nourishment in the movement, then you WANT to move and exercise.  

Take some time to really listen to your body and what it wants and needs.  The listening starts with a practice of Mindfulness or Awareness.  When you learn to really listen, you can create your own movement practice.  You can choose whatever activity or exercise to regularly engage, because it's your body and you get to make the rules.

Namaste,

Stephanie

Failure is NOT an Option

Also not options:  mistakes, coincidences, and wrong decisions.  Any other belief is a dream in the existence of perfection or YOUR idea of perfection.   Here are the 3 reasons why I no longer believe in failure:

1. I am not in control
2. I've learned and grown so much during the difficult times
3. Listening to my ego gets me into trouble

I now see my perceived missteps as OPPORTUNITY.  I still grumble a little at first.  It is natural to perceive the "failure", that is, to see the negative in each situation.  The bigger the "mistake", the longer it may take to change your perception of what is happening.  But then I take a deep breath and ask, "what I am supposed to recognize or learn in this moment".

"Everything that arises in our lives is an opportunity to learn."

-Saki Santorelli, Stress Reduction Clinic, U Mass

Trial and error have prevailed over the last several months as I took on development of an online course.  First, I purchased an online course myself to learn all the steps in the process.  But like many new adventures, I didn't understand the details.  So I had to learn a whole new language in technology and marketing.  Two areas where physical therapists and yogis don't spend much time during their education!  And because my course includes lecture and yoga videos, I had to learn how to record with new software and good lighting and audio.  Then I had to learn the process of video editing.  Believe me, I almost gave up!  I had to walk away a few times and gather new energy to return to a task that was sometimes VERY frustrating.  It seemed that I would "waste" whole days in the process of trial and error.  But I persevered.

I persevered because I finally figured out how to present my Gift in a way that can reach more people.  My Gift is teaching, i.e. taking a complicated subject, breaking it down, and using language that makes sense.  This is a God Given Gift and when I opened to the possibility of sharing my expertise, I had to keep trying, even on the most frustrating days.  That's what I mean when I say, "I'm not in control".  When I tapped into this Divine force working within me, I had desire, motivation, determination and creativity.  With each "failure" I learned more about myself and what was possible.

So I've had to "get around" my ego in order to stay focused.  That first sense of frustration was my ego repeating what it hears on the street: "you can't do this" or "it's not perfect".  These thoughts are planted by a younger version of me, loved ones, or colleagues who didn't believe in this format for therapeutic yoga.  Or my ego could be boastful, "it will be so good you'll be famous!".  The ego doesn't live in reality but it does create a fantasy world.  Fantasizing with the ego was a distraction and it pulled my attention away from what was real.  If I tried to make a video "perfect" or thought about some glorified outcome, I got off track.  I had to pause (meditation helped) and keep my focus on bringing my Gift to light.

So now it is time to present the fruits of my labor: 

Yoga 4 a Better Back: Learning to Live More with Less Pain. 

If you are suffering with Back Pain and feel as though all of your previous attempts to "fix" it have been failures, you need a new approach.  You need to change your perception and see this struggle as an opportunity to learn.  My mission and the goal of this course is to: empower you to take control of your own health.  In it you will explore both the emotional and physical reasons for your pain.  Find out more about the online course here. You can also read my past blogs or try the sample class to see if I can guide you to see "success" instead of "failure".

Namaste,

Stephanie

Time for Love

This is really any time, but as we move into holidays we are starting to plan acts of love in the distance we travel, the meals we make, and the traditions we keep.  We can easily see these opportunities for love.

I know that the purpose of each human is to LOVE. I am also learning that humans are wired to notice the negative first as survival instinct (I recommend Buddha’s Brain, The Practice Neuroscience of Happiness, Love and Wisdom by Rick Hansen).  LOVE is something that we need to work at each and every day.  I know that this is an important pathway to HEALTH.

The other day while meditating this prayer emerged.  You can insert your personal interpretation of the Holy Spirit, that is, The Divine, God, Allah, etc. I would like for this to be a universal prayer.  For me, the Holy Spirit is the powerful force which guides nature.  The essence of which is LOVE.

May I be filled with the Holy Spirit to be Aware of Love.

May I be filled with the Holy Spirit to Accept Love.

May I be filled with the Holy Spirit to Embody Love.

May I be filled with the Holy Spirit to Radiate Love.

Aware, Accept, Embody and Radiate. Allow me the time to explain each.

Aware. You must consciously work at being aware of Love. The 24-hour news cycle makes this difficult and there are bad things happening in the world.  However, each day opportunities also arise to see love.  A practice of mindfulness helps to create this awareness in each moment. If you follow my blog, social media posts or come to my classes, you know that I encourage this practice. I believe that now more than ever mindfulness is necessary to be aware of love around you. (If you want to get started, I have resources on my website for free guided meditations)

Accept.  For me, this is difficult.  We have all experienced emotional trauma in our lives.   For some this trauma is apparent but for others it may have been repeated minor offenses, like a parent that used shame as discipline.  Mine was adoption.  For many years I didn’t realize it to be a trauma. But that experience, even as an infant, left me with a deep sense of thinking that I was unworthy of love.  In my meditation practice each day, I work to let go of that trauma and open to love. 

Embody. The traumas live in our body.  Those achy hips are when you didn’t feel safe. The achy back is the fear of not having enough money. The pain between your shoulders blades is a broken heart. The tension in your neck is every time to didn’t speak your mind.  When we hold those traumas in the body, it is difficult to fill with love.  However, with meditation and movement like yoga we can work to let go of the trauma and pain. 

Here’s an example of embodied love that you may also feel. Recently, my daughter loves to trade gentle kisses on the nose. At night, she gives me a kiss and then I give her a kiss.  And then she falls on to her bed with a big smile and giggles.  Does this evoke a memory? Do you feel it somewhere in your body? If so, you know what I’m talking about and you know that you want more of it.

Radiate. This is simple. When you are filled with love, you can’t help but radiate love. Even to the stranger at the store. Even when you hear the bad news. People have been telling me recently, “You look great! Did you do something different with your hair?”  Truth be told, I had a hard summer emotionally, I’ve put on 5 pounds. and my hair is noticeably grayer. Though all of this, I work to practice mindfulness.  I think what people are noticing is LOVE.

You’ll notice that I used the word “work” a few times.  That is what it takes.  Regular, consistent, work to take time for love.

Namaste,

Stephanie