Our Own Evolution

In class this past week, a student told me how much she was going to miss seeing Oprah on daytime TV. She said how Oprah has inspired her over the past many years to "become a better person". That conversation connects perfectly to my thought for this week, that of our own evolution.



I have often told people that I have two selves: the evolved self and the unevolved self. The unevolved self is the one that I've always known and if someone has "done me wrong", the unevolved self is the one that wants to seek revenge. She's the one who wants to plot ways in which to teach the other person a lesson and that I couldn't possibly be the one who is wrong. You know her, the defensive perfectionist.



Fortunately, through many years of seeking, I have also come to know my evolved self. She's the one who puts both feet on her yoga mat, sits her backside down on the meditation cushion, pauses before words leave her mouth and is willing to admit she's wrong and say she's sorry.



The evolved person is the one I seek to be all of the time and when I slip back into the alter ego of the unevolved self, it simply doesn't feel that good. The great thing about personal growth is that it has become easier to recognize when that's happening and even better when it's just about to happen and I interrupt the fire breathing dragon from bursting forth.



Part of our yoga practice is learning to be with what is present. Sometimes the unevolved alter ego speaks so loudly that we think we have no choice but to let her take over. That's where breathing really works its magic. If we have awareness, we can choose to deepen our breath, reason with the inner demon and release an exhale that doesn't contain actions or words that don't serve our higher self. It's creating space between the stimulus and the response. It's hard. It takes practice. Daily.



I'm thinking I'm not alone on this one...come practice slaying your inner dragon with me by coming to class, reading this blog or simply by taking a deep breath.

Building A Foundation

This past week, the theme I was teaching in classes was regarding a surprising, yet beneficial, effect of doing yoga-that of building a strong foundation. I'm not only referring to a strong physical foundation that sets us up for more stable poses, but the more esoteric foundation upon which we live our lives.



I didn't realize this benefit when I first stepped onto the yoga mat. I was curious about what yoga was all about and remember that every pose sounded the same...blahblah-asana. Over time as my practice has unfolded, I have repeatedly experienced how the practice of yoga has kept me emotionally afloat. In the past, if I had an overstuffed schedule or an unexpected event occur I would physically (and emotionally) fall apart. As the foundation of my practice grew, so did my resilience to the unexpected. Instead of floundering and losing a sense of myself and that which centers me, I was kept afloat. Perhaps staggering and stumbling through it, but not crumbling...a big difference.



Recently, a dedicated yoga student of mine was facing major surgery. She has been doing yoga for at least four years and has attended three retreats. In addition to her practice, she used another tool of guided visualization, a CD created by my brother Ken and I, aimed specifically at preparing ourselves before undergoing any procedure or surgery. The day of her surgery, she was delayed approximately two hours and sent me an email to say...

"We're out on a lovely, shaded patio. I am about to tune back in to my Optimal Healing CD. Jayne, Thank You. It will be my prescribed therapy for anyone about to have or having had a surgical procedure. Calming, reassuring words, with just plain beautiful music."


This is the foundation I'm talking about. When we attend a yoga class it's as though we're sitting in a purposeful, comfortable and controlled lab. We begin to practice not only poses, but how to be centered in times that challenge us. When a pose gets challenging on the mat, what do you do? Leave? No...you find your breath, release as much tension as possible and hang in there. It's a relevant metaphor for life.



We practice yoga for so many reasons. One which is powerfully subtle, is that a consistent practice will build a foundation for our daily lives...all elements of it.



So why not try this week to lay another brick, another level, another floorboard...hop on a mat and get going!

Heart to Heart

Have you ever had the experience where you are greeted by someone who gives you a hug and you're not sure if they meant it? You know, the one where they avoid eye contact, turn their head away, throw just one arm around you and keep at least six inches between the two of you? It's the hug that is the complete opposite to how a child who has missed you comes charging up to you, leaping into your arms and throwing themselves into a full on wrap around type of hug.



My thought for this week is around connection. The simple act of honoring the person standing opposite you. Now hugs aren't always appropriate and sometimes we simply don't wish to receive one. But I'm betting most of the time it's not the hug but the feeling of vulnerability that can often accompany physical contact.



A moment is felt when someone truly embraces us. For me, it's a feeling of being loved; of being supported; of surrender. It's allowing myself to let go into another persons arms without the need to control or judge the moment. It's when we soften our defenses and allow another person to communicate to us without words.



One of my teachers, Nischala Joy Devi, describes hugs as being the "pure connection of one heart to another". When you face someone and connect your heart centers you acknowledge and honor each other in a place of acceptance...even if it's for only a brief moment. It's as though you are saying "I see and honor the light in you and can connect to you on a level that isn't merely superficial"- in other words Namasté.



Having lived in both Australia and the USA, people greet others socially in slightly different ways. Aussies will often give a social kiss on the cheek (right cheek to right cheek, no hug). Americans will do the handshake or the slap on the back hug (no kiss on the cheek). And sometimes, people mix things up a bit in both countries depending on how well people know each other. An Aussie mate might throw in a bear hug and an American a peck on the cheek...whatever method, what is most important is the connection.



This past week I had a student return to class following the death of her husband. I gave her a big hug and welcomed her back to the class. To this she replied, "Thanks for the hug, I needed that. I can never get too many hugs."



So if in doubt, hug it out. It might touch someone in a place longing to be recognized.

Hip Hip Hooray!

Often at the beginning of a yoga class I will ask students "What do you need from your practice today?" Sometimes this question is met with a small shrug of the shoulders or a comment of "whatever comes..." but often I hear students asking for poses that work on a cranky lower back or that open the hips.



My thought for this week is to chat about our hips. If you think about how our anatomy has evolved over thousands and thousands of years, we've become upright. Our hip and shoulder joints changed as we moved from four to two limbs. This transition alone meant that the front of our hip joints needed to open up and extend in order for our spine to find its way to be perpendicular to the earth. Thus, the distribution of our body weight put the weight bearing through our pelvis and legs.



Additonally, it is said that the hips and pelvis hold our emotional baggage. They become a dumping ground for unresolved issues...all the more reason to make peace with our hips.



It's no wonder that our hips can be a bit tricky-often tight and out of balance. The structure of our hip joint is a ball and socket being formed by the head of the femur into the concave space of our ilium. Our body's most powerful muscles are around the pelvis...the gluteals (our power house in the back), the quadriceps in the front thigh, hamstrings in the back thigh, our hip flexors lying deep within and our abbuctors and adductors that move the femur into and away from the mid-line.





With the low back settling itself via the sacrum right into the pelvic bowl, it's not surprising that they often have a cause/effect relationship. If our back is weak or tight, our hips suffer. If our hips lack strength or range of motion, our back compensates. You know the song...."the hip bones are connected to the back bone and the back bone's connected to the rib bone...". So, let's look at ways to keep our hips happy and living in harmony with its neighbors.



Avoid any sustained posture or positions. That includes sitting for hours on end without getting up or shifting in our chair, lying in bed (notice how we naturally toss and turn during sleep to interrupt the same held position) or standing for extended periods. If your job has you in one of these postures, learn ways in which to switch it up at least every 30 minutes.



Seated chair stretches are a worthwhile repertoire of movements. For example, place one ankle on the top of the other thigh, sit tall and let your knee open out wide. Lean forward with a long spine to enhance the stretch. Doing a seated cat/cow stretch (extending and flexing the spine) as well as simple seated twists help to interrupt sustained postures. Better still, get up and walk at any opportunity...to take a break, deliver a message, complete a task.



Yoga asana (postures) abound for opening the hips. To get a safe and full range of options, why not check out a class? I suggest during classes that in order to build a home practice to select just one pose per class and practice it for a week. You'll be amazed out how much you benefit and learn over a steady time frame.



And it might have you saying "hip, hip hooray" for your hips!

I Got Nothin'

As I sat down to write this weeks message I had nothing. I was blank. Then I thought to myself...wow...isn't that the point? I'm trying to find nothingness everyday when I meditate and here I am, in the middle of the day, looking for something and all I got was nothing. And of course, that has now led me towards the thought for this week which has nothing to do with nothingness, but with layers of transition.

What I mean by layers of transition is our ever evolving understanding of something in particular. As an example, when you begin yoga, you are presented with many new ideas: breath awareness; staying present; poses. It can all seem a bit big and overwhelming...nothing subtle about it. But as we journey along our practice things that are initially unfamiliar begin to become more known as we peel away the layers of their complexity. We gain a subtle awareness that was lying within all along and it is time and persistent consistency that allows us to see things in greater detail.

This can be applied to anything...playing tennis, initially we just try to meet ball and racquet and as we progress we look to less obvious changes such as grip, spin and placement. The same can be said for any physical endeavor, intellectual pursuit or spiritual connection.

As we commit to any practice we can find ourselves in a deeper place that initially seemed unfathomable. So why not try this week, look to the next layer of discovery in whatever you're committed to doing...work, pleasure, relationship, nature or yoga. Go ahead...peel away another layer!