Categories
Beautiful People Yoga

All week in San Francisco assisting Judith Lasater’s Restorative Yoga Teacher Training at Yoga Tree – what an honor being in her presence. This particular studio is right smack in the middle of Castro so will post the LOVE LOVE LOVE in the air. I can feel it!
The studio is packed with nearly 100? students and assistants … I thought it might be too much of a de-va-ju returning to this training week at the same place but not at all. ( I was there maybe 4 years ago? then to a different location for the advance course – so stepping into the studio brought back flash backs) It’s so FRESH each time as there’s even new and improved version to doing, teaching, learning. She’s an amazing teacher and I am honored to be in a team of beautiful ladies to assist:) Hope to share so this lovely practice spreads and more people will be … renewed to their true shining blissful self.

Next week – Tokyo…
last weekend, Lake Tahoe…
a “Wanderlust”? Actually, it’s more about just seeing people you want to see and yes, it can be a duty but no matter, it’s joy. Lucky to be able to see loved ones.
This week, I feel a bit of a vertigo … my inner ears are adjusting … from altitude of 8600 ft. to now … sea level.

Nothing like 20 minutes in THAT pose to get you balanced inside out. OM:)

Categories
Healthy Living

Not Lost in Translation

ahh, realized it’s a nice translation, that is:

Samskaras = Neuroplasticity

Translation takes place so that Eastern ideas are better understood by Westerners … there’s a buy-in only when explained in medical or scientific terms by someone with initials behind their names …and that’s alright. (which reminded me of the post “Never Give Up” – click here and watch the inspiring video:)

littleprnice From “Little Prince”:) where a wise guru wearing a traditional ethnic tunic is not taken seriously but when he wears Western formal wear, he’s taken seriously by the educated in the West… luckily the time has changed and today, the seekers in the West will gladly dress in the tunics find these gurus if they don’t come to us. Or maybe the guru will show up wearing a t-shirt on Uber? We lay out our own unique path to get to the same destination and that destination is not what it’s about but what’s along the path we get to experience:) Yoga practice allows for that experiences to integrate into your being so you can really feel them, appreciate them, appreciate … life given – oxox

IMG_7906_smallFrom recent Ayurvedic Health course by Jyoti Jain from Art of Living Foundation… A bit of a review from the 200 hrs. TT but something I needed to do as I hope to “cook” these wonderful dishes she shared with us.

Categories
Yoga

Unlearn “Pain”

IMG_8125_small a prayer wheel in California? Love it. (more on this location at a later date…)

***
The following is an excerpt from an article shared by one of my lovely students … thank you, thank you… seemingly like “nothing” from a dynamic movement oriented practice perspective, there’s a lot going on under the surface as in the surface of a lake … what’s under water is … anyone’s guess. Sometimes, less is more:

Why does past pain make you more sensitive to future pain? You can thank one of the great wonders of our nervous system: its ability to learn in response to experience. This ability is called neuroplasticity. Through the repeated experience of pain, the nervous system gets better at detecting threat and producing the protective pain response. So unfortunately, in the case of chronic pain, learning from experience and getting “better” at pain paradoxically means more pain, not less.

Both modern science and yoga share this idea: present pain and suffering have their roots in past pain, trauma, stress, loss, and illness. Modern science uses words like neuroplasticity to describe the process of learning from past experiences; yoga uses the word samskara. Samskaras are the memories of the body and mind that influence how we experience the present moment. Samskaras keep you stuck, feeling the same emotions, thinking the same thoughts, and even experiencing the same pain.

Samskaras do not always lead to suffering—they also lead to positive change. Just as trauma, illness, pain, and stress leave traces on the body and mind, so do positive experiences. What you practice, you become.

Learning is lifelong, and none of the changes you’ve learned have to be permanent. Neuroplasticity can be harnessed for healing. Your mind and body have learned how to “do” chronic pain, and your job is to teach it something new.

– Kelly McGonigal, PhD, excerpt from an article in Yoga International
“Restorative Yoga for Chronic Pain” dtd 6/10/2013

YES.
“What you practice, you become.”