Spring it!

Spring signifies the birth of a new year for many of us. As we unearth our selves from the snow and the layers of clothing, we start to think of newness….unlike in January, when we ring in the new year often in a blizzard, in March and April the days are longer, the sun is stronger, and we start to make new plans.  Hearing the birds chattering first thing in the morning as we get out of bed gives us new energy.  That’s the ideal – but for many of us it's not as easy to transition gracefully from one season to the next—especially from winter to spring. More often we find ourselves feeling heavy and sluggish, like Punxatawney Phil the Groundhog who gets poked with a stick under a myriad of lights to come out of his hole.

Ayurveda, yoga's sister science and the world's oldest surviving system of healing, shows us that the key to feeling in step with the seasons is to harmonize with nature.  Ayurveda characterizes our bodies as having types, or “doshas,” qualities or constitutions of our bodies that help us understand our physical temperaments. If you are interested in the doshas, contact me and I can give you more information.  Of the three doshas—vata, pitta, and kapha— it's kapha that endows us with its earthy-watery qualities. 

Staying healthy and vital in the spring means understanding the kapha dosha and bringing it into balance. When kapha is in balance, you feel strong, composed, and stable. You might even feel a little Spring Fever a comin’ on. That’s when we get that burst of energy, open the sun roof, blare a little Katrina and the Waves (“I’m walkin on sunshine….and don’t it feel good?!”), maybe buy a skimpy bathing suit …..  But when it's out of balance, you might feel sleepy, mentally dull, or depressed. You may also experience excess phlegm in the lungs or sinuses, nausea, unhealthy weight gain, water retention, or heaviness in your limbs.

It's especially important to balance Kapha in the spring, because kapha accumulates during winter and can create diseases by the time spring arrives. As the world becomes colder and wetter in winter, the body mirrors these kapha-like changes. Because you tend to eat, sleep, and stay inside more during winter, it can result in a "winter coat" of insulation. In spring, its important to shed this excess kapha or risk becoming vulnerable to seasonal allergies or head colds (Hell-ooo... as I write this I am sitting on the couch with a box of Kleenex, sneezing so hard I have to keep wiping off my screen….but that would make me a hypocrite now wouldn't it). You might also gain or retain weight or succumb to a general lethargy or emotional dullness.  Check, check, and check. Got em all.  So now what?

The Ayurvedic prescription for spring is to develop a rhythm and routine that helps to gradually lighten up physically, mentally, and emotionally without disturbing the stable virtues of kapha. The best approach to a healthy spring is not radical – just slow and gentle changes to the body to slough off the extra (and yes, this can include shaving off the excess leg hair that has given you that extra layer this winter)  and includes eating lighter foods (decreasing most meats, dairy, wheat and white flour, sugar and salt, and increasing seasonal fruits and veggies, like leafy greens, and adding legumes).  Set your alarm with the sunrise and begin your day by practicing yoga – some vigorous sun salutations, accompanied by pranayama (good strong deep belly breaths) in the morning are a great way to get everything moving and flowing.  And of course, attending a weekly yoga class is a great way to spring it!

Creating a Balance

I don't know about you guys, but it seems that I just can't do enough yoga lately.  The stress of the snow in the deep depths of winter has got be breathing my ocean breath constantly now. What with the freezing cold and piles of snow blocking my every turn, I am just one big bellows: "breathe! breathe!"  Being an ever so alert yogini, I have noticed that my neck and shoulders are stiff, my head hurts, and I can't shake off this feeling of stress.  Is it that I can't do everything I want to do or have I been trying to do more than that nasty mother nature is letting me?

David Sedaris, in his essay "On the Kookaburra," discusses the idea of the four burners. Think of your life as being like a stove top, says one of the people he encounters on a trip to Australia, where each burner represents a key component: family, friends, health, and work.

In her book enLIGHTened: How I Lost 40 Pounds with a Yoga Mat, Fresh Pineapples, and a Beagle Pointer, Jessica Berger Gross uses the 4 burner theory to explain our feelings of stress. Often we get stressed out because we feel inadequate - never doing enough. This theory popped into my head today after I was admonished for not doing something in a timely fashion, and I proceeded to beat myself up. "In order to be successful," she says, "you need to turn one of the burners off, and in order to be really successful, you can only have two burners on. Trying to do too much means you'll suffer in all areas."

 Yogis often define success as fulfillment and inner peace, as much as accomplishment. What would you do? Which burners would you turn off to achieve success? Rather, is there a way to just readjust our stove tops? Is it better--more yogic--to keep all the burners on a moderate flame? If one part of your life is turned on high, won't the other areas suffer?
 
Which burners do you have on high?  Which are you willing to shut off or readjust? 

Good books

Barbara B asked me to post my favorite yoga books. What a great idea! Here they are.

Mindful Yoga, Mindful Life by Charlotte Bell.  This book does not include any yoga poses. Rather, it is a great testimony  one woman who brought the Yamas and Niyamas off the mat and into her life.

Meditations from the Mat by Rolf Gates.  Similar to Bell's book, Gates writes about his life as a hellion and the lessons he has learned from yoga.  No poses, just great lessons.

Yoga Teacher's Toolbox - Yoga Posture Cards by Joseph and Lillian LePage (Integrative Yoga Therapy). This is a 3-ring binder of sequences and individual poses, explaining the areas affected, including the chakras. VERY comprehensive book for those who want to learn the details of each pose.

Yoga as Medicine by Tim McCall:  Great book for anyone with chronic illness such as rheumatoid arthritis or IBS - how yoga can help, from a MD's perspective.  McCall, a physician, explains the science behind yoga, and how it has helped his personal practice and his patients. It includes some poses and sequences. 

The Yoga Bible by Christina Brown - All poses and sequences, offering modifications.

New Beginnings

"The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be only the beginning." Ivy Baker Priest, Former US Treasury Secretary

January 1st signifies the new year, and with the change of calendars it seems that we all jump on the "I am gonna do x,y,z THIS year." We start off cleaning out the cabinets, chucking the oreos, left over chips and dip, and promise ourselves that THIS year, we are going to eat "right," exercise, clean out the clutter, get rid of the "bad" habits.....on and on. What may make these resolutions so hard to keep is that we start off with extremes, e.g. going on severe fruit and vegetable detox diets, only making it hard to continue past a week once we start to STARVE.  Once we are starving, we "cheat," eat a box of oreos, call ourselves "bad," and then it's all over! We criticize ourselves for not being able to keep our resolutions, summarily decide that we are not "good enough," and so we give up.  And before you say "easy for you to say," I will declare that I am totally capable of eating everything in sight once a stressful situation arises. The whole school closure for a week sent me spiraling and I ate Will's gingerbread house like Godzilla stomping through town.

So this week, as the new session of classes begins anew, I would like propose that we take a different tack. Instead of declaring that we are going to "be good," eat "right," exercise "more," do all the things we "should" be doing, let's try this:

1) Stop. Take a moment. By this I mean temporarily stop the whirlwind of activities that come with the start of the new year.

2) Sit. Sit when you eat. Always. Sit and plan your day. I always advocate getting up 15 minutes early to do this.  Otherwise, sit and reflect for a few minutes a day. If sitting, reflecting, on the potty is all you can do then that's ok. But sit and reflect.  When you are tempted to do something impulsive, sit and reflect.

3) Breathe. While sitting, try a couple of deep breaths. This is a nice transition to number 4.

4) Listen. Listen to what your body is telling you. Acknowledge if you are hungry (likewise, acknowledge if you are full) and listen to what your body wants. Don't eat the oreos, you know they are going to make you feel gross. If you are eating them because you need an energy boost, try an apple and a slice of cheese and maybe some fresh air.

All of this seems really basic. I know you are saying "But I want to shed these 10 (20, 30..) pounds now! And I can only do it if I deprive myself and drink kale smoothies!"  Instead of treating this new year turnover as a clinical emergency, let's think of it as the rest of your life. You have time to do it right. Let's start with that. Build those 4 steps into your day.

Letting go

There is vitality,
a life force that is translated through you into action.
And because there is only one of you in all time,
this expression is unique,
and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost.
It is not your business to determine how good it is,
or how valuable it is,
or how it compares with others expressions.
It is your business to keep it yours,
to keep the channel open.
You do not even have to believe
in yourself
or your works.
You have to keep an open mind
and be aware directly to the urges that motivate you.

-  from The Life and Work of Martha Graham (1894 - 1991), born in Pennsylvania and lived in California, Dancer, Choreographer and devoted Teacher, a true pioneer to modern dance and liberator of life.