Blog – Page 13 – Yoga 4 Healthful Living

Yoga and Grief, Part Three

Elizabeth Advice, Health, Knowledge August 26, 2013February 5, 2021energy, grief, healing, mind and body

Yoga and Grief Yoga is about being present for our experience, whatever it might be – a yoga pose, a conversation with a friend, an emotion. This is not easy. Our minds tend to wander. We often judge our own behaviors and vulnerabilities and seek to escape from our discomfort.

When we are sitting with someone we love who is dying, our emotional discomfort is at its height, and our minds may increase that suffering. “How long will this go on?” “What will happen to the family?” “Why is God letting this happen?”

And, the mind may journey to the past. “Why didn’t I spend more time with him or her?” “How could I have spoken so harshly?” “I would do so many things differently if I had a second chance.”

These projections and ruminations increase our suffering and keep us from experiencing the painful emotions that are a direct part of the loss. Our inability to stay present steals the time we can be with our loved one as we are more in our heads than in the reality of the present.

Being present with the reality of our grief is key to accepting loss. To do this we need to experience a tender, gentle attitude toward ourselves, without criticism.
This allows us to move toward acceptance and healing.

In yoga we are asked to observe the “effects” of our practice. Are there any areas of tension or openness? Is my breath long or short? Is my mind active with thoughts or quiet?

We are training to free ourselves from the judging mind. Without the judging mind, we don’t have to feel bad about what we notice. We don’t have to compare ourselves to others. This freedom can allow us to see and accept our vulnerabilities. It allows us to have compassion for ourselves.

When we begin to be present with our pain, treating ourselves with compassion for our suffering as we would treat a child in pain, we can begin to accept our loss.

Bringing compassion to the brokenness we feel in our grief can help us connect with the love we have for the one we have lost. We can come to recognize the love that bound us that still lives on within us. When we reach this place, we have moved to a deeper healing and sense of peace, and a profound honoring of the one no longer with us.

A five week “Yoga for Life, support for those who are grieving” begins Thursday, September 5^th. For more information, you can read a description of the class. If you or someone you know is grieving and would like to explore the healing potential of yoga, please contact me by noon, Tuesday, September 2^nd at eterryyoga@gmail.com or call 717-645-0067.

Yoga and Grief, Part Two

Elizabeth Advice, Health, Knowledge August 19, 2013February 5, 2021energy, grief, healing, mind and body

Yoga and Grief We know intellectually that all of us at sometime in our lives suffer loss and the trauma that ensues. When this happens, our entire being experiences grief. Our mind and heart, as well as the cells and systems of our body respond to loss. Physical symptoms may include headaches, insomnia, digestive problems, a feeling of heaviness, fatigue, and depletion. Mentally we may have difficulty thinking clearly, making decisions, and remembering things. Emotionally, we may feel anguished, anxious, depressed, powerless, or angry. Spiritually, we may sense a loss of meaning or purpose in our lives.

So how can yoga help us to heal?

Yoga sees healing as “a change in mind, in perception, in attitude” so that “mental, emotional, and physical suffering are alleviated,” and the person’s quality of life improves.¹ One reason yoga is effective in healing is because of its holistic vision of the human system. Everything is interconnected.

Try this experiment. Stand with your hands resting on your heart; slowly open your arms out to the side as you breathe in; slowly bring your hands back to the heart as you breathe out. Do this 4 or 5 times. Then mentally focus on the word “peace” as you breathe in and open your arms; focus on the words “in my body,” as you breathe out and bring your hands back to the heart. Next, mentally focus on the word “peace” as you breathe in and open your arms; focus on the words “in my mind” as you breathe out and bring your hands back to the heart. Finally, focus on “peace” as you breathe in and open the arms; focus on “in my heart,” as you breathe out and bring the hands back to the heart. Repeat this series with your mental focus on the words two more times.

Now sit down in a chair and take a minute or two to notice – without making any judgments – how you feel. Does your body feel more relaxed? Is your breath slower? Is your mind quieter? Do you notice any sense of peace emotionally, even a twinge?

Another way in which yoga encourages healing is in the practice of observation and acceptance. Yoga develops our awareness by requiring us to observe the effects of what we do in our practice, just as you did in the exercise above. Our observation is without judgment. It is a training in learning about ourselves, and accepting where we are at a particular moment in time. This practice of non-judgmental observation and acceptance prepares us to deal with change, and our struggle to accept our loss.

The vision yoga gives us of our human system and the practices it gives us to touch all dimensions of our being with awareness and acceptance empower us to begin our journey from suffering to healing.

If you or someone you know is grieving the loss of a loved one and would like to explore the healing potential of yoga, please contact me. A five week “Yoga for Life, support for those who are grieving” session begins Thursday, September 5^th.

¹ Desikachar, Kausthub. “The Yoga of Healing: Exploring Yoga’s Holistic Model for Health and Well-being.” International Journal of Yoga Therapy. No. 15 (2005) 17.

Yoga and Grief, Part One

Elizabeth Advice, Health, Knowledge August 12, 2013February 5, 2021energy, grief, healing, mind and body

Yoga and Grief Grief is a response to change. And, all changes, whether positive or negative, involve loss, explained Jennilu King. As a grief counselor, Jennilu helps others deal with loss and has her own insights and wisdom on the subject.

“Grief is the heart’s natural healing process,” she told me as we sat at Panera recently talking over breakfast and coffee. “It needs space, time, care, and attention in the same way as when you have open heart surgery. After surgery you come home with support in place, information about diet, and therapy appointments. You rest. All of this is part of the recuperation process that is about healing from physical trauma. Our heart needs these same things to heal from loss.”

Unfortunately, our culture doesn’t give people space and time to heal from loss. Not meaning harm, a concerned friend or relative may tell someone experiencing loss, “you need to get on with YOUR life,” as if there is only a designated time to grieve and then it is time to move on.

Those who are grieving, however, need to take time to nurture, nourish, and accept themselves and their lives. Yoga creates this time and space.

Yoga is about healing from suffering. The purpose of yoga, according to the yoga master TKV Desikachar, is “to reduce disturbance and return an individual to his or her inherent peace and power.” For those suffering loss, the physical postures of yoga help ease the physical effects of grief and improve energy. Breathing techniques support the connection between body and mind and help create a sense of calm. Sound and meditation support focus, healing, and the movement to a space of peace.

In the context of the yoga class to support those who are grieving, the tools of yoga offer techniques to help participants cope with grief, find compassion for the journey they are on, and honor their loss. All of the practices help to create space and balance in the body, breath, mind, and emotions.

Yoga for Life

Yoga 4 Healthy Living Informational, Regular Classes August 5, 2013February 5, 2021grief, healing, stress, trauma

Support for those who are grieving

Yoga for Life The experience of loss is always about change – struggling with and finally accepting change on many levels. Yoga, as a discipline and a philosophy, is also about acceptance of what is – of who we are, of the situation we are in, and of the circumstances that brought us to this point. Through the physical and mental practice that is yoga we can learn to apply principles of acceptance to all areas of life.

This five session series of gentle yoga will provide a safe space in which participants can begin to make peace with both the pain and the changes that loss contains. All levels of physical ability will be welcome in the group.

Thursdays, September 5-October 3, 2013, 2:00-3:30 pm
TMC: wellness through movement
2134 N. 2nd St.
Harrisburg, PA 17110

Facilitated by:
Jennilu King, Grief Counselor
Elizabeth Terry, Yoga Teacher

Cost: $35 for the course.
Participants will need to have a yoga mat.
Contact Elizabeth Terry at 717-645-0067 or e-mail eterryyoga@gmail.com for more information or to register.

“Making peace with change is at the heart of every journey…”
– Paula D’Arcy

Moving Toward Truth

Elizabeth Knowledge, Yoga Terms July 29, 2013February 5, 2021brahmacharya, Desikachar, knowledge, mind and body, yamas, yoga sutra

Brahmacharya is the 4th of the five yamas or attitudes and behaviors the Yoga Sutra recommends for our dealings with others.

In The Heart of Yoga, Desikachar explains “brahmacharya is composed of the root car, which means ‘to move,’ and the word brahma, which means ‘truth’ in terms of the one essential truth.” While brahmacharya is sometimes used to refer to abstinence in sexual relationships, it is really about following those behaviors and creating those relationships that “foster our understanding of the highest truths.” Likewise, Pat Shapiro, in her book Yoga for Midlife and Beyond, tells us that “responsible behavior in moving toward the truth” best describes the practice of brahmacharya. It is really about “moving toward and understanding what’s essential in life.”

Another part of brahmacharya is moderation. Desikachar speaks of moderation as producing “the highest individual vitality. We can all relate to how excessive behavior – whether it’s about sex, emotions, food, work, sport, spending, and so on, is injurious. I keeps us focused on external behaviors which eventually drain our energy and may have us engage in behaviors harmful to others, thus failing to practice the most important Yama – ahimsa or non-violence.

Excessive behaviors keep us from focusing internally. Without this internal focus, we are at a loss to connect with our own truth.
For me, the practice of brahmacharya is a practice of simplicity – living moderately and with care. Like the stones along the edge of a trail, it helps me to find my path.

To practice brahmacharya, you might reflect on and/or journal on the following questions;

Are there behaviors in your life that feel excessive and drain your energy?
Are there behaviors or relationships that feel out of line with your own truths or diminish your sense of peace?
Would you feel greater comfort moving toward what you perceive as most essential in your life?

PTSD and Yoga Therapy

Elizabeth Current Events, Health July 22, 2013February 5, 2021healing, mind and body, stress, trauma

PTSD and Yoga Therapy In my Wednesday night Discovery Yoga class, one of my students told me about a program she had heard on NPR that talked about Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and the use of yoga as a therapy in treatment. It turns out that the program was Krista Tippett’s “On Being,” a wonderful show of interviews that can be heard locally on Sunday morning from 7-8 am.

Ms. Tippett was interviewing the psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk on her July 11, 2013 program. Dr. van der Kolk is a professor of psychiatry at Boston University Medical School and Medical Director in a community-based trauma center in Brookline, Massachusetts. He has spent much of his life researching traumatic stress and treating people suffering from PTSD.

In his work and research, Dr. van der Kolk found that people suffering from traumatic stress live with the “images or sounds or physical sensations” of the experience – they don’t go away. As a result, something changes in the brain so that the body in a traumatized state experiences the world as unsafe, frightening, even terrifying, even long after the original trauma.

The person with PTSD experiences these fearful emotions in his body. It is not surprising then to hear that such a person often lives out of touch with what is going on in his body; the strategy becomes a coping mechanism to deal with the emotions he feels. That was exactly what Dr. van der Kolk and his colleagues observed in people coming for treatment for PTSD – they were largely disconnected from their bodies.

Dr. van der Kolk began to see it was critical to help people reconnect to their bodies, “to help people … to feel safe feeling the sensations in their bodies.” That led to yoga programs for people suffering traumatic stress. He found that yoga, which seeks to connect mind and body, was “an important component of an overall healing program.” He went on to say that other activities, such as qigong or martial arts, might have a similar effect. What is needed is “something that engages your body in a very mindful and purposeful way – with a lot of attention to breathing in particular…” This kind of practice seemed to have the effect of resetting “some critical brain areas that get very disturbed by trauma.”

Any of you who do yoga have most likely observed the calming, balancing effect of a good practice. This research documents the profound and transformational effects possible with the kind of engagement yoga demands. For the Western mind in the 21st century, this kind of research adds credibility to the insights of the ancients who always saw yoga as a tool for healing suffering.

This is just a short summary of this interview. If you would like to know more, the full transcript of this interview and the podcast can be found at OnBeing.org.

Please leave any comments, insights, or thoughts you have on this subject.

Yoga and Religion

Elizabeth Current Events, Education July 15, 2013February 5, 2021philosophy, religion, yoga in the news

Young Person Yoga On July 2 a San Diego County Superior Court Judge, John Meyer, ruled that the teaching of yoga was not religious indoctrination as taught in the yoga programs in Encinitas, California schools. As a result, the Encinitas schools can continue to teach yoga to its students.

The ruling is the result of a lawsuit was filed on behalf of the parents of two children attending Encinitas schools. The suit maintained that the teaching of yoga in the Encinitas schools violated a provision of state law outlawing religious teachings in public schools.

The question of whether yoga teaches a particular religious agenda has been raised before, mainly by various Christian denominations objecting especially to chanting and meditation, which they perceive as advancing Hinduism.

In his book Religiousness in Yoga, TKV Desikachar takes up the question of yoga and religion.

Although yoga has its source in Indian thought, it neither dictates that a Hindu must practice it nor that a non-Hindu is prohibited from such practice. Yoga is universal in that it is the means to attain a desired new condition. If we want to be happier and we find the means to that happiness, that is yoga.

Yoga is one of six darsana or schools of thought offering ways of seeing and knowing our selves more deeply. It is rooted in the Vedas, an ancient record of Indian culture. The Yoga Sutra, as the most important work on yoga teachings, is about the mind and how we may come to a calmer, more focused mind. To do this we might have already a belief in a Higher Power, but it is not required. Or if we find as our mind becomes more peaceful that we want to use that peacefulness to draw closer to a Higher Power, we may choose to do that. However a person perceives that Higher Power is up to each individual.

The LA Times reported the Superintendent of Encinitas schools saw the yoga program as “worthwhile in teaching healthy exercise and eating habits,” and “he hopes that teaching yoga to students will decrease instances of fight and bullying.” For those of us who practice yoga, we can cheer on this program, knowing from our own experience the change that is possible.

Unfortunately, we probably have not heard the end of this case, as an appeal is likely. But it is worth leaving you to ponder Judge Meyer’s thoughts on yoga to ponder: “Yoga as it has developed in the last 20 years is rooted in American culture, not Indian culture…It is a distinctly American cultural phenomenon.”

If you have any thoughts on this case or Judge Meyer’s thoughts on yoga, please leave a comment.