When Nature is Kind

It was a natural action to sit in the shade on the beach yesterday, feel the warm breeze on our skin, the soft sand underfoot, be lost in the sound of the water, and watch as the waves came closer then move away. It was a feeling of abundance and harmony with Nature and like-minded individuals. Time was no more, even as the sun was going down.

We all knew we would get a good night’s sleep and there was spontaneous smiles at the thought. Nature was our friend.

I’d like to think we naturally gave back friendship with our appreciative hearts, off tune songs and chants, our Salute to the Sun yoga exercise, and tears of love. That in that public space where seven of us came together the harmony we created soothed Nature. Those who liked structure and those who preferred to go with the flow laughing together when the obvious differences surfaced.

Fierce Nature

The Mind thinks in opposites. So now I think of those who are experiencing the hardship of Nature’s fury: water in the wrong places or no water at all. Senses bombarded by unpleasant odors and heart wrenching scenes that seem to be everywhere.

My hope is that from time to time, their minds are able to serve them well. To recall a moment of beauty; to imagine a peaceful sunrise; or a drink of clean water. And that they are able to keep a song in their hearts.

Invitation

I invite you to make sense of your world with Ayurveda and understand your unique body mind.  Ayurveda has a wealth of knowledge that teaches the individual how to enhance the body’s healing process and restore balance. It points the individual to it’s sister science of Yoga to find the healer within through personalized yoga and meditation practices.

If you wait by focusing only on that one moment in time in the future, you miss out on our life. You basically choose to abandon participating in your life in the present moment. Your whole world becomes the impending results, and your imagination will probably be quite overactive.

Yoga tools are actually quite simple, and can help you live your life with more pleasant moments. You can exercise your right to choose how you will be present with your life in any given moment.

Here are some suggestions on ways to use yoga tools:

Body Awareness – Listen as calmly as you can to the messages of the body by feeling the sensations: tingling, temperature, pressure, discomfort, etc.

Breath Awareness – Focus on the movement of the breath from neck to abdomen. Or listen to the sound of the breath.

Breathing Pattern – Become aware of the pause at the end of the exhalation, and comfortably extend it by a seconds or two.

Self Study – Journal on an experience. Choose a positive or negative experience.

Relationships - Ask a trusted friend to spend some time with you, and share your feelings with honesty.

I hope you capture many peaceful and pleasant moments. Do let me know how you fare.

Heather Greaves, Student of Yoga – heather@yogatogo.com

Today’s yoga practice started with a warm shower to freshen the body (I hope to get back to cold ones when the temperature rises). A reading on personality types inspired me and freshened up the mind. This was followed by a practice on the mat that began with a centering chant.

The warm-up was core strengthening. I kept awareness of my breath in order to synchronize it with the movement, and this increased mental focus. The rhythmic chant playing in the background was an encouragement for me to keep up… and I needed that towards the end.

I rested after the warm up to allow my heart beat and breathing to slow down a bit. And I remained aware of what was happening in my body and the thoughts in my mind. Some body parts pulled my attention.

This is day 2 of the Kundalini Yoga Sat Kriya workout – a series that helps digestion and elimination, and any sexual ailments. It is very strengthening and builds endurance. I enjoyed the kriya workout and the short rest periods during the series. Day 2 was easier than Day 1. The longer relaxation at the end was soothing for my body and soul. I floated away with the healing chant that also doubled as a 10-minute timer.

I had time to include the special 1000-day meditation chant at the morning practice today. The practice ended with me heartily singing the Kundalini closing prayer:

May the long time sun
Shine upon you
All love surround you
And the pure light
Within you
Guide your way on

Yes, courage came with a good workout and a song in the heart. Let’s keep the faith.

Rather than a style of yoga, Integrative Yoga Therapy is a process. A graduate from the IYT yoga teacher training program will be able to select and arrange yoga techniques in a way that the yoga classes fulfill a particular aim.

For example, the teacher decides on “Breath, the Heart of the Class” as the theme of the class. Which inspirational poem, mudra, pranayama, relaxation, meditation and affirmation will be selected? And what order will they follow?

I practiced Ashtanga yoga as well as hatha yoga, can I study in this program?

Yes, you can.  The Integrative Yoga Therapy yoga teacher training program will prepare you to teach yoga for total wellness.  Students practicing all styles of yoga have completed this training successfully.

Can I teach regular yoga classes with this training?

Yes. In addition to offering yoga classes to the general public, graduates teach yoga-based wellness programs in hospitals, businesses, universities, clinics, and complimentary health care settings.

How much time is required for home study?

There are 3 parts to the home study: reading and answering at least 2 questions, journalism, and practice.

Reading - One chapter of the manual is covered each month. Chapters include The History of Yoga, Ayurveda and Yoga, Stress Management, and Meditation, Imagery, Relaxation and Yoga Nidra. How quickly you integrate the material and answer questions will depend on how familiar you are with the topic.

Journaling – What prepares you to be an effective yoga teacher is your own personal experience and journey of transformation as a student of yoga. As you explore the topic for the month, you capture and share whatever you are comfortable sharing of that experience. Sharing may include creative drawings.

Practice – The foundation of yoga is practice, practice, practice. For this time is required. The yoga techniques are learned systematically and by actually doing them. Developing a daily practice brings many benefits. As you begin to appreciate the value of this, creating practice time becomes part of your flow. In addition, practice teaching to family and friends starts you on your teaching path.

How much time are you willing to devote to get the most of your teacher training? Some find 4 hours a week adequate.

I have just discovered yoga and got so much benefit  that I want to share it with others. Am I qualified to take the training?

You must know the basics of yoga before you can train to be a teacher.  While in training, you will learn the names of the poses and how to perform the pose correctly. Sometimes students feel they can never teach like their teacher, and are intimidated by this. This program assists teachers in developing their own unique vision and mission, along with the maturity and insight to clarify this vision.

Take the support of family and friends as you can dedicate the time necessary to complete the program thoroughly.

Decide how you want to experiment with an emotion. You may wish to go deep and explore, or you may prefer to simply witness. There are 3 principles to consider when witnessing. Let’s use one principle working with a Standing Pose.

Standing poses are great to work with. They bring a quality of strength and confidence as you make effort to sustain the pose. At the same time  you remain calm and relaxed as you pay attention to your breath. The two qualities of effort and surrender create a balance in yoga poses and in life. In yoga for beginners it is an important point to grasp through experience.

Working with Emotions through Sensations

Enter the pose and find a way to hold the pose comfortably to allow sensations to emerge and expand. Avoid suppressing or sidestepping sensations. Remember to breathe consciously, and create space for the breath with micro movements.

Witness

After you have established the pose, totally focus on the physical sensations you feel.  Notice the size, shape, quality of the sensation. Perhaps you are able to see colors and images.  To witness is to observe without judging or analyzing.  If creating a sound helps with a release of emotions, by all means free yourself.

Healing Emotions

This process releases stuck energy of feelings and emotions. What do you notice when the energy is released?

I invite you to share your experience of healing emotions through any of the yoga poses you choose to explore in your laboratory.

Is your breathing shallow? To check, place one hand on the chest, and the other just above the navel. If the hand on the chest moves more, then shallow breathing is your normal breathing pattern.

Shallow breathing, also called paradoxical breathing, creates tension in the shoulders, neck and thoracic spine and increases heart rate, breathing rate, muscle tension and metabolism.

Yoga Breathing Exercise: To correct chest breathing, practice the following exercise 10 – 20 minutes daily for several weeks until breathing from the diaphragm becomes natural and easy.
•    Lie on your back with you knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
•    Place a hard cover book or 10-15 lb sandbag on your abdomen around the area of the navel.
•    As you inhale through the nose, lift the book. As you exhale through the nose, the book lowers.

2.  Rough Breathing

Your breath is jerky. Sit comfortably with the spine lengthened. Notice your incoming and outgoing breath. Is it smooth?

Yoga Breathing Exercise: Place one hand about 4 inches away from your body. Move one finger from navel to chin as you inhale, then back down as you exhale. Practice with awareness of the breath.

3. Mouth Breathing

Mouth breathing exacerbates high blood pressure, asthma, heart disease, dry cough and many other medical problems.

Yoga Breathing Exercise: Sit comfortably for 3-5 minutes and practice breathing through the nose. You can also press one nostril closed with a finger or thumb and breathe slowly through the other nostril. Then change sides.

Yoga breathing exercises must be practiced without force.

1. What is one thing that every yoga teacher trainee must do?

Be willing to reflect and examine oneself deeply.

2. What is one thing that every yoga teacher trainee must avoid?

Seeking perfection.

3. Is being a yoga teacher just trendy or is it here to stay?

I think becoming a yoga teacher is something that a person does for him/herself so it does not matter if it is a trend or not.

4. Can a yoga teacher still be successful if they are in a crowded niche?

Yes, I think each yoga teacher has his or her own style and there will be students who will be comfortable with that style.

5. What has the yoga teacher training done for you?

Yoga teacher training with Heather Greaves has influenced my life immensely, spiritually and emotionally. I am grateful for the opportunity to share my love for yoga with others. Teaching yoga has added a rich new dimension to my life.

Anju Joshi
Integrative Yoga Therapy
email: yogawithanju@cogeco.ca

We hope you enjoyed reading Anju’s experience. And if you’d like to learn more about our Integrative Yoga Therapy yoga teacher training program, check for information at www.yogatogo.com and send us an email.

Meditation had been part of my daily routine for many years. Yet angst and anxiety was my shadow companion. Sure, I was definitely peaceful. Yoga philosophy had answered many of life’s big questions for me. I could accept life’s dramas, and understand that we were all actors. The law of karma and reincarnation I got. This knowledge had brought a great deal of calm.

So how come I was still anxious? The fact that my breath was shallow would have contributed significantly to the angst. I remember once a massage therapist said to me something like, “Your breath is high up. Try to get it down here.” Her hand was resting on my belly and I couldn’t get my breath down there.

In my heart of hearts, I prayed for an answer to this anxiety, which would step out from the shadows every now and then. One day I suddenly realized my prayers had been answered. I couldn’t remember the last time I was anxious. What was it that had changed things for me?

I had begun to practice the basic pranayama breathing exercise – simple breath awareness; being aware of the breath. Breath awareness is vital in yoga therapy. My meditation practice changed and became this basic breath awareness; sitting and following the breath in and out. I don’t remember exactly how long each practice was. I know it was at least 10 minutes. And it was definitely in the morning. Meditation is also important in yoga therapy.

If you have used any no cost pranayama, breathing exercise, to cope with anxiety, or to reduce the number of times you take medication, I’d like to hear your story.  Comment below.

]]> http://www.yogatogo.com/2009/02/24/yoga-therapy-%e2%80%93-pranayama-breathing-exercise-for-angst-anxiety/feed/ 1 http://www.yogatogo.com/2009/02/14/yoga-teacher-training-an-interview-with-integrative-yoga-therapy-yoga-teacher-graduate-cheri-weaver/ http://www.yogatogo.com/2009/02/14/yoga-teacher-training-an-interview-with-integrative-yoga-therapy-yoga-teacher-graduate-cheri-weaver/#comments Sat, 14 Feb 2009 16:26:07 +0000 Heather Greaves http://www.yogatogo.com/?p=489 This is the 6th in a series of interviews with graduates from the Integrative Yoga Therapy teacher training program offered through Body Therapies Yoga Training.

1. What is one thing that every yoga teacher trainee must do?

Know that it is your journey and it can only be travelled by you.  You must be true to yourself and that means honouring both strengths and limitations.  Like all travels you will forget some of the experiences so keep a journal and remember that the destination is the ability to know your true self.

2. What is one thing that every yoga teacher trainee must avoid?

Do not compare yourself to the person beside you.  Yoga can never be a group sport nor a competition.  Yoga can only be about your own personal practice. Anything else and it is not yoga.

3. Is being a yoga teacher just trendy or is it here to stay?

Yoga has been practised for over 3000 years and it will continue to be practised but I believe the practise of yoga in North America will go through changes until it will find it’s own balance. Yoga is about finding a balance, individually and universally.

4.  Can a yoga teacher still be successful if they are in a crowded niche?

Absolutely.  It may seem crowded because of the attention it is gaining in every gym and health centre but that is only one very small representation of yoga.  Yoga is about adapting a practise to individual needs.  Yoga can be practised by everyone no matter their limitations.  The very young, the very old, the sick and the healthy, yoga can benefit all.

5. What has the yoga teacher training done for you?
Yoga teacher training has changed the way that I think about myself, about other people and about the journey that I am on.  It has taught me how I must continue to remove the obstacles that I have so carefully constructed around me, obstacles that have prevented me from living in the moment.

We hope you are enjoying reading the experiences of these lovely teachers. If you are,  let us know. And if you’d like to learn more about our Integrative Yoga Therapy yoga teacher training program, check for information send us an email or give us a call at 905-628-6463.

1.    The march rhythm of this meditation music gave me an instant boost. It put a smile on my face. I look forward to 999 more unique experiences of the march music.
2.    It’s amazing how the eyes can wonder off the words on the page. As I sat holding the sheet focusing on the words of the chant, I noticed that sometimes my eyes roamed away from the words. I look forward to fewer journeys via imagination.
3.    I instantly recognize the importance of focusing the eyes in order to stay in the present. I see how people with overactive minds would benefit from this daily meditation.
4.    The mental focus of being aware of the movement of the tongue and the sensation of the sound helped me to enunciate the chant better, and to stay in the present.
5.    After the 7 -minute mark, I pressed my hands on the heart hard and chanted the mantra 8 times. I could feel the sound vibrating in my chest, and I felt strong.
6.    For the next minute I whispered powerfully. Strange how I listened quite intensely with the whispering.
7.    Then the last 30 seconds I chanted the mantra twice without music, enjoying my own slightly varied version of the tune.

I invite you to join in on this 1000-day meditation practice at any time. This yoga exercise will march us courageously through these times to the Aquarian Age, November 11, 2011, and perhaps with excitement.  You can download the PDF file with your copy of the meditation instructions and the words of the chant itself.

meditation-1000-day-spiritual

You can also listen to the pronunciation of the chant and download the music free from www.kundaliniresearchinstitute.org