Three Keys to alleviate low back pain

I was not prepared to take low back pain as the theme of my class. As always, when you hear your friends, their issues with low back (mostly through Facebook), and follow their discussion, I thought I would jump in. 25% adult Americans suffer from low back pain attributed to unused or misused muscles.  Numerous studies demonstrated the assuaging role of yoga on the back. Yoga being a combination of physical exercise with cognitive acuity, aligned postures, self-awareness, and relaxation, it makes sense to accept those conclusions. There are three keys for a strong back and ease lower back pain: stability of spine, strong core muscles and relaxation.

Stability of spine: first key for a strong back.

The instability of the spine is the core to many back issues.  Yoga’s ability to recreate, strengthen and maintain spinal curves (cervical, thoracic, lumbar and sacral) enhance the stability of the back. Man is the only biped animal with such high center of gravity. However, the intelligent design endowed us with right curvatures to distribute body weight evenly by the concerted action of muscles. The weakness of these muscles (agonist and antagonist) creating these curves may be the beginning of back discomfort. Flexion and extension of the spine, alternatively working with the curves and against the curves, is an easiest way to recreate and maintain those curves. The simple sun salutation A is a classic example of such a therapeutic sequence. There are many other duo poses too- cat/cow; star pose/wide-stance forward bend; apanasana/dwipada pidasana; navasana/chatur pada pidasana…These therapeutic combinations have one commonality: they create the abdominal space by relaxing diaphragm. This is essential for proper alignment of the lumbar spine- a valuable key to ease the pressure in the low back.

Strong core muscles: the second key.

A strong core requires the vigor of internal organs (which control metabolism, digestion and elimination); calorie expenditure by the muscles in the midsection; and, of course, the strength of oblique and rectus abdominal muscles.  There is no exercise modality which could meet these demands to develop a flat and strong ab than yoga. The internal energy generated by the rocking motion in dhanurasana massages and sensitize the internal organs to burn fat accumulated between the muscle fibers of rectus abdominus (6 pack muscle). Deep diaphragmatic breathing massages internal organs and increase volume of oxygen intake. Once the efficiency of breathing is increased, additional oxygen molecules will seek the target for its action- or, in lay man’s term- burn calories. What would be the efficiency of the yoga poses if you could combine deep breathing and the abdominal twisting of some popular yoga poses like chair, moon and side angle. Imagine the number of modifications in yoga poses; properly aligned (yoga pose) modifications need to be construed as the gift from yoga to break insanity.

Relaxation: the third key.

Your ability relax in Savasana, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) techniques, or mindful yoga sequences are valuable tools in your fight against lower back pain. In addition to the usual vinyas, I am planning to focus on breath awareness, diaphragmatic space, therapeutic-duo postures, MBSR and Chakra meditation.  Hope to see you in one of my classes.

Jay

Mindfulness and Kindness

I have written and talked about mindfulness, extensively, in the past. Today I had a different experience on the subject when I read a quote from mindfulness researcher Lisa Flook of University of Wisconsin: “This is the way of nurturing the seeds of kindness in children.” And, I am sure, it could inculcate that tender emotions in grown ups too.

20% of children in the US have anxiety, a predictor of depression. ADHD show no signs of waning, rather, it has gone from 7% in 2003 to 11% in 2011. 18% of the adult population suffer from anxiety disorders costing us 42 billion dollars every year. These numbers may seem like Goliaths, but, we have been given small stone- mindfulness. Let’s use it. New evidences emerge from the studies on mindfulness on how it reduce anxiety, depression and ADHD. Studies with children (as low as age 4) have shown how these techniques improve the attention and test scores. Mindfulness improved their attitude and awareness; and reduced bullying among children. Deep breathing in mindfulness triggers parasympathetic nervous system stimulating “rest and digest” and “feed and breed” mechanisms. This is opposite to the “fight or flight” stimulation triggered by sympathetic nervous system and shallow breathing.

What is our role in reducing the anxiety and stress in our children? Studies show a high level of stress hormone, cortisol, in children whose teachers reported “burnt out” Stress is contagious; if we are able to deal with our stress better, we trickle its benefits to our children.

Yoga, meditation, pranayama (breathing) techniques, corpse pose (savasana- easiest pose to perform but hardest pose to master), Mindful Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and prayer could all lead you mindfulness. Be mindful; teach children to learn mindfully; train them to be kind to themselves and others; and allow them to discover the genius in them.

Jay

Super Brain Yoga

Once I wrote:

…watched a movie that won 2015 Oscar for best actress- Still Alice. Julianne Moore, as Dr. Alice Howard, honorably recreated the character Alice based on a bestselling novel by Lisa Genova. The movie takes twists and turns when Alice’s initial diagnosis changed from mild cognitive impairment to an early onset of familial Alzheimer’s disease. The family tried to cope with the memory disruptions in a brilliant linguistic Professor at Columbia. The highlight was its ending which made warmth to an otherwise an unhappy plot. In the last scene, after reading Angels in America to her mom, Alice’s daughter asked what that meant to her. Alice, who could barely think, contemplate, or hardly speak utter this beautiful word: Love. Yes, it is all about love. The love and the compassion you show to the inflicted; the service you render to the patient and the peace that evolve from that relationship. It’s Alzheimer’s: a disease that eludes our efforts to stop, prevent or slow….

Today, I followed a discussion on Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in Facebook. The agony, frustration, faith, commitment emanated from that conversation were profound. My thoughts and prayers go to all those children, parents and their siblings facing those disorders. I wanted to be part of the solution they seek. My own research gave me several leads on what, as a life style coach and fitness instructor, I may able to contribute. I have talked to several people exposed to Autism, Asperger’s or Williams syndrome; I have seen the trauma in population suffering from Alzheimer’s. We may not be able to find solutions for all these soon, but we may be able to equip the patients and their loved ones to navigate through these squalls through practices we know are beneficial. We could, surely, equip them to stand right in the middle of those difficulties to face them.

I have taken “Super Brain Yoga” as the theme of my yoga classes for the whole month of October. I want to dedicate my teaching moments to all those families who are seeking some answers. My goal is to teach participants (in turn, I expect them to talk and teach others) on relaxation, breathing techniques, relevance of balancing and inversions, and “Super Brain yoga” sequences.

Hope to see you in one of my classes.

Thy,

Jay

Genes are not our destiny.

Genes are not our destiny. This modern rhetoric console millions living with the fear of genetic inheritance of maladies from Alzheimer’s to cancer. Paradigm shifting results emerge from scientific studies too:  Mediterranean food extends life span; identical twins do not have same genetically controlled diseases; and you’re not the one you’re born to be. These all have one common theme: our culture and practices override everything. “Fixed gene” model is changing to a more fluid expression of genes. Random mutations may change to mindful or “self-directed biological transformation” Inheritance of a gene for depression does not mean we are destined to it. It depends on how we process trauma and how we face them when incidents recur. It is about teaching your brain (specifically, amygdala) to process flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety (I plan to write on this later).

Fitness instructors and life style councilors often stumble upon these fossilized statements: “I was born like this”; “this is what I am”. I find it hard to accept these avowals. Who are you? Burgeoning evidences from epigenetic (over genetics) studies show what you do with your life (what you eat, what you do, etc.) determine how would you look, present and perform; life practices control your nature and “culture trumps everything.”

I have followed the fads, fashion, rhetoric and science of health and wellness and the biochemical explanations on alleviating various conditions.  It has always been to challenge the symptoms, naturally. Why did those symptoms occur in the first place?  It was an unexplored territory for me and I steered away from it till now. It appears that the food we eat, the exercise we do and our life practices act as switches and dials for the 25,000 some human genes that control our destiny.

If food controls our life, do every food control every aspects of our life? I have followed the rainbow foods and other food for healing initiatives that have become Good Life Style Practices (including those from two of my good friends- Christy Kabbani of World Fusion Cuisine and Vade Sankar of BeCafe in Downers Grove.) It is a good practice to fill your plate with various colors from fruits and vegetables. I have aligned, in the past, all colors as bridging the gap to support antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer and immune support systems. These colors seems to go beyond these common nutraceutical buzz words. They seem to control your intuition, ability to express your emotions, compassion, gut feeling, addiction, sensuality, relationship and balance. Seems familiar? Yes, these foods sensitize your chakras- the energy centers in your body. Yoga philosophy reiterate how the practice of yoga strongly connected to what we take in. It also depends on how we take them in. Our food need to be polychromatic. It’s time for us to embrace the ancient wisdom in culinary art; it is time for us to adopt the time tested life style practices from our traditions.

We are what we do with our life; it’s not a legacy; it’s not the lineage.

Love,

Jay

Love, Compassion and Service- the limit of science.

I was talking to one of my friends recently. Having several acquaintances grappling with cancer, she questioned, “Why we do not have a cure for cancer? Science has advanced so far, still…we are far from a remedy.” Cancer is elusive; and, indeed, has defied most human efforts. Or… don’t we have resilience to challenge this “emperor of all maladies”? Or, do we lack the commitment, compassion and mindset for a solution?

Recent reports question our convictions to ease human agonies. FDA approved 45 new drugs in 2015 with 14 for treating various cancers. Most of these drugs come with six-figure list annual price for treatment. One of the drugs (Kanuma from Alexion Pharmaceuticals) was brought to the market by FDA’s blessings at an accelerated pace. This drug was given orphan, breakthrough and priority review statuses. Still, the tag price for the annual supply is a whopping $310,000- really?? Where’s the love, compassion and service embodied in science? Why do we want to accelerate drug discovery in the first place if we cannot access or afford its benefits?

In another report American Science Congress found nothing wrong in modifying the DNA of the human egg prior to in-vitro fertilization. Whatever proponents argue, it is unethical; it is against nature and bound to carry unintended consequences to human race. If implemented, we are not far from “multi-mom”, “super” and “Tailor-made” babies. This, at least, is not one of the areas scientists should invest their time, resources and talents. Re-route the energy to cut the cost of those “lifesaving” and “breakthrough” drugs so that we could afford them.

Federal government today lifted the moratorium on the ban funding some controversial experiments that challenge our ethical convictions. The new policy allow scientists access federal funding to develop animal embryos with human stem cells. Where are we going? Animals with human brain? Animal-human hybrid? Sheep, pigs and cows with human heart?  The public has 30 days to comment on the proposed policy at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/rfi/rfi.cfm?ID=57

If the science is not doing any justice to humanity and nature, it ceases to be science. The limit of science should be love, compassion and service. I have stumbled upon one of the limbs of ashtange yoga – Dharana. The best cognizant visual for dharana is the “freedom of movement” of a cow tied to its neck and a peg. The resistance of the peg reminds the cow the realm and they know it and will never try to get out of the area. (This is hard to imagine in this part of the world, where cows have acres of land to graze. I am talking about the villages in developing countries with limited land to live. An invisible fence may be more relevant here. )

I wish scientists set a similar boundary; a boundary of service from love and compassion- a dharana on our existence. Then, everything will fall in place.

Love to hear from you.

Jay

Yoga to balance Doshas

Yoga to balance Doshas

In one of my yoga classes recently I mentioned doshas- the Ayurveda path to define characters, imbalances and diseases. Doshas are the physiological constitution of an individual controlled by the contribution of universal elements- earth, water, fire, air and ether- and their related properties; it is the blue prints for health and fulfillment. The three doshas – Vata, Pita and Kapha- are basic body characteristics and the tendency of these body types to have specific strengths and weaknesses. Normally one dosha predominates in a person and this preponderance of one over others in our nature (prakruthi) establishes our natural body type and determines our strengths and weaknesses. However, there may be influences from other doshas. Each of us is born with a genetically determined prakruti which is controlled by the contributions at the time of the birth. The acquired deviation from the prakruthi by life styles is called vikruthi. If the proportion of doshas in ones current state is close to birth constitution, then health will be vibrant. A divergence between these states, however, indicates a state of imbalance. Each dosha has several differentiating qualities or “gunas”; and each has a specific location (seat), as well as a corresponding chakras Vata means “wind”. Pitta means “bile”. Kapha means “mucous or phlegm”. When any one of these becomes excessive in any particular area, it is then considered to be in a state of imbalance. Once established at birth, our body types do not change. The slings and arrows of life do not often permit us to remain in that state and we frequently find ourselves out-of-balance.

I continued the practice on that day with focus on the role of yoga to balance doshas and how specific yoga poses optimize them. At the end of the class a participant came to me and said, “I liked the whole class and the sequence. But, I do not still have any clue on what dosha and their controls on my life” As a yoga instructor, I am sure, you have been in this situation.

I changed my style. I stick with, “there are two kinds of personalities, one find it very hard to relax and others find hard to act on anything” (and, of course, there is one in between) It would be safe for us to deliver sequences to address both these identities in a class, and the third will be addressed consequentially. “Swadhyaya”- teach thyself- is very relevant in yoga. Recognize who you are; your strengths, weaknesses and imperfections; and tailor yoga to fit you. In yoga, one size won’t fit all. Everybody don’t need to strive for a perfect headstand or savasana. Shift the focus on poses to fit your nature, and nurture that balance yoga warrants.

I am going to talk only about the vata dosha here. The contributions for this dosha comes from air and space. It provides the motion necessary for the physical, mental, and emotional processes. It is called “a dosha that moves”. Individuals with predominance of this dosha tend to be fast in their action and thinking but lack the stamina for prolonged activity. Individuals with a vata dominant body type tend to be thin and active. Restlessness, hyperactivity, curiosity, and creativity mark the vata-dominant personality, as do rapid, chaotic speech and frequent changes of mind. Vata is the leader of other doshas and is located in the colon. Vata corresponds with the throat chakra. Vata’s most important function is to control the central nervous system. Vata people tend to have restless minds with weak memories. They are likely to be artistic and creative with a good imagination, they will sometimes overindulge in pleasures. They are often fearful, worry too much and become anxious. They like to question things, spend a lot of time theorizing and then tend to over analyze situation. Vata people often become dissatisfied with friendships and are unable to sustain them. When out of balance, vatas feel over-amped and ungrounded, and may suffer from mental and physical restlessness, insomnia, or anxiety. Vata energy can be very uneven, marked by spurts of frenetic activity followed by exhaustion. This dosha can get aggravated by dry, cold, and windy weather; over stimulating environments; travel; lack of routine; and a lot of change. One can ground (earth) and soothe (water) excess vata by bringing the mother principle into your life—learning how to calm and nurture yourself; lowing and quieting down; keeping warm and moist; and establishing self-care boundaries and a supportive routine.

Yoga adds stability to vata. Poses that work on the colon, intestines, pelvis, lumbar spine, and sacroiliac balance vata by bringing energy back down into the base of the torso. Spinal twists and inversions of all kinds soothe this dosha. Sitting and standing forward bends are choice poses; boat, plank, staff, and plow are also powerful vata-reducers to control anxiety and stress. To support grounding, work with standing poses such as mountain, triangle, warrior, and tree. To make a vinyasa more vata-pacifying, move deliberately and slowly, extending the length of time that you hold each pose. Also pay attention to the transitions between poses, performing them with conscious awareness rather than rushing on to the next pose.  Calming and grounding yoga sequences are ideal for them. Traditionally yoga poses that work on the lower abdominal areas are suggested to balance this dosha. Now I understand why yoga visionaries incorporated these yoga poses at the end of yoga practice. They calm you down into meditative and contemplative final stages of yoga practice. These poses increase the metabolism and digestion and increase the amount of tryptophan produced in the body. Tryptophan is the raw material for serotonin, which in turn acts as the building block for melatonin which calms one down. So, if anybody seeks yoga to calm them down and relax may be looking at these “vata salutations”

I have taken vata salutation as the theme for my classes for the next few weeks and will slowly incorporate sequences for Kapha (kapha salutations- fast vinyasa) and Pita doshas (pita salutations- intermediate vinyasa); I will refrain from explaining the details in the class to avoid the situation my friend had, as I mentioned in the beginning (that is why I post the details of themes of my classes here). Hope to see you in one of my classes.

Thy,

Jay

Yoga: Moving Meditation

I have written on the relevance of meditation (Dhyana) - the sixth limb of ashtanga yoga. Meditation is a stepping stone to Dharana (realization) and Samadhi. In transformative meditation, perception gives way to realization; its ability to disconnect the mind, the body and the spirit is an exercise to recognize them. Meditation is like dismantling a machinery, clean them and reassemble to enhance its function. Thirty minutes of asana practice, ten minutes pranayama and twenty minutes of meditation used to be the formula for holistic wellness. Things have changed now; asana practice dominate yoga practice; and meditation sidelined. Most yoga classes in the west end with savasana. We have now changed corpse pose, passively, to a time to rest. In a yoga class once I attended, after instructing the class to get into this last active pose, the teacher left the scene saying, “lie down as long as you want in this pose, get up and go.” Really?

It is not easy to get participants into the meditative stage after an intense vinyasa practice. At the same time, we need to consider the power of three limbs of ashtanga yoga – Asana, Paranayama and Prathyahara- as an opportunity to train the mind and body to get into the meditative stage. Yoga practice is a time to bring the mind back to your body; it could be a prelude to meditation; yoga could well be positioned as a moving meditation.

Meditation requires focus. How to get focus into the yoga practice? If we are able to “quantify “focus, like any other measurable, we will be able to optimize it. There are four ways to quantify focus in a yoga practice:

1. During inhalation: Imagine the air going through your pharynx, larynx, filling the lungs, pushing the diaphragm down, lifting the navel up and (imagine) air hitting the pelvic floor.

2. During the exhalation: Imagine to empty the abdomen as much as you can, imagine to squeeze the lungs by sternum, diaphragm and collar bone. Listen to the “Oceanic voice” of breath by squeezing the glottis. Listen to that majestic symphony!

3. Make the holding phase as long as possible: This is the time to engage the internal locks (bandhas) and sensitize chakras.

4. Measure your pose. Imagine the Body part, figure out the Energy flow, reinforce the Action and Direction, Elaborate the pose as instructed and seek the Dynamic stability. Make your poses BEADED

What are the other benefits of meditation?

1. Meditation improves immunity by protecting the body defense.

2. Twenty minutes of deep meditation is compared to two days of deep sleep.

3. Meditation helps to reduce stress and anxiety in general.

4.  Meditation Improves learning, memory and creativity; and enhances the ability for information processing, memory recall and decision making.

5. Low blood pressure and psychosocial stress factors associated with meditation reduces the risk of heart diseases.

Hope to work with you on this moving mediation- the theme of my class for next few weeks.

Jay