America....the beautiful

America....the beautiful. Richest country. Home of the free.(Or so we are told.....). The media tells us these things, and we gobble them up. But it is not the case if you look at what is going on right under our very noses. Yes America is beautiful....purple mountains majestic. Yes, perhaps much wealthier in the pocket than many countries where the income may be just $2 a month. Free....not for all. There are those in this country that are forgotten, whether they live in the inner city slums, are homeless and sleep under the Ben Franklin Bridge, the Native American reservations of Dakota, or the rural areas on the Appalachian Trail. They are trapped in a cycle of poverty to which we close our eyes. As a culture, we tend to not see what is going on with our brothers and sisters right next to us, we are too wrapped  in the "ooh and ahh" it's all good, just keep enjoying your creature comforts mentality the media paints for us to stay asleep and  not see the bigger picture.
I recently went to Lee County Kentucky, one of the poorest counties in the entire United States to begin to set up a yoga outreach program for Go Give Yoga.   If you have never seen the Appalachias, I suggest you do. I drove, so I was able to see the mountains, valleys, and blue mist that rises up first hand. From Western Maryland on it is truly breathtaking. Some mountains are almost 3000 feet above sea level. Amazing rock formations, animals grazing on steep hills, ever twisting roads before me. Arriving as the sun was setting, one of the first things I noticed was an area of deforestation down the hill that the road cut through and smoke rising up from it. There is strip mining for coal going on, and it is setting the people up there not for the better. Mountain top removal is wreaking havoc on the natural environment. They have one of the nations highest rates of  cancer here. Runoff from the mining operations leaches into the ground  water. I was told not to drink the water, use bottle or filtered by my gracious hostess at the Cumberland Mountain Outreach. ( wait a minute, isn't this the good ole USA?) Water, water everywhere, not a drop to spare. If you do not have access to the luxury of bottled water, what do you do? Consume what may be poisoned and worry about the consequences long term later? Safe drinking water is a basic human right that we ALL take for granted. The country there between Lee and  neighboring Wolfe County is beautiful to be sure, the people gracious.   There is wildlife- bear, bobcat, copperhead, coyote.  There are also trailers, many falling in on themselves. As we drove around I questioned why there were graves on peoples property; you see  small group gravesites, well tended and loved,  frequently. Folks here are permitted to bury their loved ones this way according to local custom, and their family ties are strong.  My hostess at the Outreach took me on a tour of the high school, the drug court, and the main street. We went to the local Kiwanis club and  I spoke about the benefits of anxiety reduction and self regulation that yoga can bring to children.  There are under 2000 people living in the county seat of Beattyville, and there are not many jobs or industry. The main employers are the prison, jail, or the school.  Not a lot of choices for your future. Many, if not most are on food stamps. Lee is a dry county, which is a blessing,  as crystal methamphetamine and pain pill addiction is rampant. Drug court does a brisk business.  In the forests, marijuana is a planted cash crop. I was informed that choppers and Humvees regularly come to eradicate the harvest. Yet in the beauty of these wild forests travelers come to rock climb the spectacular gorges.  Children go home on Friday from school, where they are fed on subsidy and then  many don't eat all weekend because their parent sold their food stamps for drugs. The children at the high school appeared overweight, and lethargic; and I am sure it is not  because of affluence, but lack of a healthy diet and lifestyle, and perhaps lack of hope.
While I was there ,I met another yoga teacher, one who has a vision for this beautiful area and its people. To empower them, not maintain them. To pool community and work together for the greater good of all residents of this hidden gem. To encourage healthy lives and health care, to bring yoga into these counties to help people connect to their bodies. To be proud of their Appalachian roots, to create their own jobs,  and find a better way for themselves. She has asked for my help, and I am glad to offer any I can to the people here. Thank you for having me.
At the Outreach, there is a small store, called "Second Hand Rose", run by Miss Rose herself, a lovely elderly woman, who just adores babies. The store  donates clothing to the children for school, 3 outfits each,  and run fill a "bag for a buck" sales. At Miss Roses 'they make these very special braids of strings of different fabrics. They symbolize, "as one thread we are weak, as a group we are strong." It is something we all need to take heed to. United we must  stand.
Please visit....
 www. gogiveyoga.org  to find out more, or make a donation to the project in Appalachia.
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Thank you!

Life Is the Practice

Some of you, my readers, from my posts can tell I work with children as well as adults. I taught and directed a private non profit preschool for many years until the universe changed my seat assignment. Now I still get to work with them in a different capacity, by bringing  them freedom to be themselves through yoga and art. Children are amazing beings. They are loving, forgiving, open hearted and resilient. They bounce and push boundaries. Full of curiosity.  They see each moment as  being open to possibility with no regrets. Guess what? You and I  were  children once!  We all wanted to seize the day in our own way. Didn't care what we looked like to the rest of the world ( even though your mother probably was not too thrilled when you wore two different socks and your shirt backward to school!) it helped us grow. Every minute was an opportunity for fun. But  as we move into adulthood, we sometimes put that child that resides within all of us deep down, hidden from the world. We stop being spontaneous and don't move ahead, losing sight of that sense of abundant joy  and build walls around our heart and minds.  Conform to the norm. We stop being present in our lives.  Ask yourself when the last time you behaved without caring what others thought? Without fear? Jump in any puddles lately, or did something just because you felt like it? It is fear that brings us here. Fear weighs the soul down like quicksand, you get stuck. If you struggle, you sink deeper. The truth is, it is healthy to face your fears, look at them and see what it really is that frightens you about taking chances. And then do something about it-do something that scares you as an adult, but as a child you wouldn't have thought twice about. Make it a personal practice every day to  do just one thing that challenges you. See how it liberates you and how you feel more buoyant. Be that person that sings in the rain-people may whisper and look at you like you are batty, but that's because they wish they were doing it too! In yogic tradition, the teachings tell us to step away from the ego, which causes projection, it tells us stories about the past and creates scenarios for the future. The way to avoid this is to be present, that the only moment that is real is now. Live like there is no yesterday, no tomorrow, and only today-LIFE is the practice, all you have to do is commit to being part of it.
Yesterday is a dream, tomorrow is a gift yet unopened, all that exists is this moment, breathe into your existence.


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Namaste!

What's Your Brand?

The "market" it seems, lately is being flooded with yoga. Everywhere you see a photo of a brightly clad hip looking yogi/yogini with their wheat grass smoothie, their favorite style of mat, or their coconut water in hand. Commercialism, much?  Groupons  and Living Social deals pop up all the time for classes-Bikram, Hot, Vinyasa, Inyengar, Svaaroopa, Laughter, Ashtanga,  Acro, ( don't be upset if I forgot one,  I am sure I am leaving someone out)...the branding goes on and on.  Yoga has become a product, for sale. Teachers see adds on "how to grow your yoga business". "How to market your brand" So sorry, but I want to throw  up.  Yes, we live in the modern world, and yea, the times they are a'changin', that brings with it good and bad.The reality is that "Yoga" ( the meaning of the word is union, or to yoke together) comes down from a thousands of year old tradition. It was taught guru to disciple, one on one.  There is a rich heritage of texts describing the process of yoking the mind, body and spirit. If you start to delve into the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, which only contains two passages on physical posture, the  eight limbs, or Ashtanga are as follows...
                1. & 2.Yamas, Niyamas which are observances and disciplines of conduct.
                 3. Asana; the physical postures
                 4. Pranayama; breath techniques that enchance the life force or Prana
                 5. Pratyhara; the withdrawing of the senses-looking within
                  6. Dharana; pinpointed focus
                  7. Dhyana; meditation
                  8. Samadhi; absorption, knowing one's true nature
(When was the last time that you were offered any of these in a class, my friends? )
If you look further you and examine the Bhagavad Gita, will find the real brands of yoga, the originals, not cheap imitation knock offs of, as Osho puts it,  this science of the soul....
                1. Jnana Yoga; the Yoga of knowledge
                 2. Raja Yoga; the all encompassing royal path
                  3. Bhakti Yoga; the Yoga of Devotion
                  4. Karma Yoga; the Yoga of selfless service
I don't know about you, but when there are too many choices I get overwhelmed. I may pick something in haste because it looked appealing and the price was right. Only to be disappointed that it wasn't what it appeared. It lacked substance, Yoga is a rich tradition, and it is being reduced to " Indian army calastentics" ( to quote one of my dear teachers tongue in cheek!) to make money and because people are seeking something. Yoga is meant to help find the answer to "who am I" to bring a deeper connection to your self. And maybe when you do that, you just mind find a connection to the human condition.
I love  all four paths of yoga; I am amazed at the knowledge and wisdom of the ancient sages. Add the psycho physiological reaction that comes from asana, where maybe you just find that "space" between and connect to the practice and learn how to breath and find out where you got lost on the way. Chanting, and realizing that there is something more out there is heart opening, it connects you. Helping others, without thought to yourself will change your life. This IS yoga.
I teach adults, pregnant mommas, and children. I practice all four kinds of yoga. I chant mantra, practice asana and love it. I devour the writings.  I love sharing this knowledge with my students, and watching them grow. There is nothing better when you witness that "aha" moment when a student really finds a posture. My brand is not a about the latest flavor, I don't wear Lululemon or drink Vitacoco. To each his or her own- if that's your thing, no offense. Personally I don't want 40 students in a class, it can be detracting to a more personal experience.  And I don't walk into a class and throw a handstand to show my physical prowess to my students ~( yes friends, people teach this way.)...about how to have an ego-the very thing yoga teaches us to step away from!
  I teach from the deep and beautiful tradition of this multi layered science , and have seen and believe in the healing and heart opening that comes through practicing true yoga.
Right now, I am setting my feet onto the path of Karma yoga. I bring yoga to patients at intensive outpatient rehab in North Philly, they have started bringing  me in twice weekly because we are getting positive results, I have traveled to Haiti to bring yoga to children there, and  am once again going to do out reach in a very poor and needy region, the Cumberland Mountains in Appalachia to bring yoga to those who need it. I have heard once again a range of comments...."awesome" to  "why are you doing that-you don't get paid?" ...yadda, yadda. And yes I teach classes at studios, and privates and do get paid in dollars , one has to pay the bills. But yoga teaches us that we can be in the world but not of it. We don't have to suck up to the big cash Sacred Cow. The reality is I do get paid in many ways- for the classes I teach,  in the smiles of my students, the heart felt appreciation of sharing this gift together, the peace that comes from letting go of all the b.........t. ( Fill in the blank, please) This, folks is my "brand" of yoga. Not flashy nor neon colored, but substantial.  Authentic. Trademarked.  Do you prefer the real brand or a cheap fashion knock off?


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Namaste!

You Are What You Eat.....

Recently, in India 23 impoverished children in a school lunch program died. They died from the very food that was served to them. Tragic, preventable, waste of young people that perhaps had the potential to change the world. But in some way, perhaps their passing still can. You see, the deaths of these children, and that of others, many indigenous farmers that have been sold into crop slavery through Monsanto and big agriculture and their poisons is a WAKE UP call to us all. In two instances a week apart, the first group of  23 died and 25 more  were sickened in Bihar, and 23 sickened in Goa at school lunch program. The suspect....Organophospate, an "agricultural" fertilizer. Guess what my friends? This commonly used compound is akin to sarin gas, a neurological toxin. Monsanto, has a favorite in their arsenal of biological warfare that they are waging on us- it  is their "herbicide" Roundup ( Glyphosphate); guess what gang......it is classified as  an organophosphate!. Hmmmm- the dots are connecting. Poor farmers are given GMO seeds, and the "fertilizer" to kill weeds so they can produce more. Soon they become dependent on this process, their own heirloom plants are eliminated. Working with these products poor indigenous farmers in many countries that produce common crops of such as soy and corn are poisoned and die. This toxin gets into the soil, water, and air. If animals eat these crops it becomes part of them. If we consume these plants, or animals, it becomes part of us. From the time something is put in the mouth, it takes forty days to work its way through the bodily systems and creates tissue, the food sheath, or physical body called the Annamaya Kosha.  The last tissue it reaches is the reproductive tissue "shukra", the sperm and eggs. So now it is shared with our progeny. We literally are made up of  what we eat. But, not only us, the plants, the animals, and that forgotten hard worker that we cannot live without... the honeybee. Bees are disappearing at alarming rates, colonies are dying off. These bees come in contact with the poison sprayed on their food source and guess what? You got it....no more bees. No more bees, no more us. We got a big problem here in River City my friends, you think? In the philosophies of Yoga, Saucha, or purity is an observation. Being pure in thoughts and deeds. Being pure with what we take into our bodies. Because again, repeat the mantra after me ....WE ARE WHAT WE EAT.  This effects not only the body, but the mind. If we take in poison, we become just that. The body accumulates toxins and their ill effects manifest as disease. The mind clouds. We decay. Sorry to be a downer, but is the inconvenient truth. I don't know about you, but I don't want to glow in the dark! We have a choice here, and we can call attention to what is going on around the globe. Europe doesn't tolerate GMO crops and the insidious industry that comes with them. We vote with our dollar my friends, cast yours. Be aware, support small farmers, get involved and educate yourself about where your food comes from . NO one is perfect, but do and try to be your best.   I want my food to be like me....real.

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Blessings!
P

Blinded By the Light

It's dark. So dark you can't see the hand in front of your face. Scary, right? Certainly. Objects in the distance are just blurry outlines. We are like this in life with many situations that we are too close to...we can't see. We  are in the dark.  Try it-take your hand and literally bring it so close to your face it touches your nose. Can't really distinguish what you see, correct? Now slowly bring the hand away from your face and it begins to come into sharper focus. You would think it the opposite, but truth of the object is not what you may perceive. In the tenants of hatha yoga, we call this viveka and vairagya-discrimination and detachment. You need to step away so you can see. It leads to vidya-true knowledge. It reminds me of a story....There where seven blind mice that lived quite happily by a pond. One day, the red mouse goes to the pond and bangs right into a something. Alarmed, she runs back to the rest and tells them there is a big stone something by their pond! The orange mouse proceeds to check it out and comes back and says it's a snake!  The yellow mouse, feistiest of the bunch,  explores and argues no, no, no! It is a spear! I'm right, I know it! Green mouse takes his turn and says it's a fan, I can feel the air moving, it is lovely. Blue mouse says you are all not telling the truth-it is a rope! Purple mouse explores and says you are all silly, it is just a mountain blocking our path to the pond. Listening to all the arguing, the wise white mouse now steps up and says   ENOUGH! I will get to the bottom of this, I will find the truth. She proceeds to the pond and explores the object in her way. She returns to the others and tells them how they were all right, but when you "see" the whole, the object is an elephant! The mice represent our journey through the chakras, the elephant the removal of obstacles that block us on the road to enlightenment, our path to seek realization.  We are very good at being blind mice. It takes standing back and really seeing the object, situation, person ( fill in your own blank if you are so inclined dear reader) to understand reality. In the darkness,  we need to be blinded by the light, open our eyes, and see truth.


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Perfect Timing

Today a judge in Encinitas California ruled that, despite objection from some parents in the school district, the practice of yoga for the districts children can continue. I am pleased and jumping with joy! Thank you your Honor, ten fold. You see,  I teach yoga to children, as well as adults, and they both benefit from the practice. The suit in Encinitas claims that yoga is a religious practice. A little background.....The word "yoga" means to yoke, or to unite. To bring together. In the practice of this ancient science, the mind, body, and spirit are united through movement, breath, and focus. This creates a psycho physiological response-it calms the mind, energizes the body, and connects to the spirit. So insidious, isn't it?  Really? Are they kidding? Who doesn't want to see a child with a calm, positive outlook and a healthy body. In these times, when specials are being taken out of schools, there is no outlet for these children. You see,  I taught in a classroom for many years, and over the almost twenty years in that setting I have seen children and their needs change radically.  These kids are stressed!  In the beginning of class, I start out with a sharing circle, based on the theme of the week , and  the things my students tell me about the things that push their buttons,  feelings they struggle with , and  the pressure they feel, is profound for those so young. They are plugged into the internet, I phones and video games, and their focus is taken away from the natural world-they are disconnected. They run from activity to activity, spend hours in school, hours doing homework, and after school and weekend  sports. There is competition. Their parents are under duress with work, the economy, and keeping food on the table. Many don't have time for themselves, much less their kids. Our children need down time, a time that brings them back in touch with peace. These kids need a safe, nurturing space where they can let go, be themselves, and for 30 or more minutes lose themselves, in this case, to the practice of yoga. The benefits of the practice are beginning to be recognized therapeutically. Different breath techniques are shown in studies to relieve anxiety. In ADHD, autism, and other ASD spectrum disorders, connection to the body and focus are some of the benefits. Special needs children improve cognition and motor function. The benefits  are myriad, and most of all, it feels good to kids! The deep self connection has put me in connection with myself, and my own inner muse,  I am in the process of "giving birth". You see, I am writing  a book on yoga for classrooms, so  I am thankful to this case for  bringing awareness to yoga, the benefits, the truth, and the joy that it can bring when mind, body and spirit connect through the practice of this ancient healing science. In our post modern society, the time could not be more perfect.

By Definition

We can find definition, or meaning, in so many places. Things, events, words, people, all have a meaning. To find meaning of a word, we used to look it up in the encyclopedia or dictionary. Now at the click of a finger you can find the meaning for anything, sometimes in several incarnations. So easy to define something ...or someone? How do you define yourself? Two sentences? Or a more complex definition that reveals the depth of the subject, you. Or is the definition of you more a Wikipedia version, created by other people? Because of our experiences as we move through life they can assist in molding our character, this can have good or bad connotations  for us. Sometimes as we encounter others, they throw words at us that stick, we internalize them and  allow them to hurt us. They become the enemy that resides with in because we have allowed them to enter our psyche and become how we see ourselves. The reality is that the only things that can hurt you are the things you allow. It is what we allow in our hearts and minds that defines us. The person that was does not have to be now, we can revise the edition of us. Take a piece of paper, fold it in half. On one side, write down the old definition of you, how you feel you are perceived through others eyes. And then on the opposite side, create the new and revised definition, how do you see yourself, release those words that have limited you  by definition. Write what it is that you want to allow into your mind and heart in a positive light. Read it out loud, several times and affirm who you are now, by your own definition.