I attended Steve Salkin's workshop on shoulders this past Sunday at Big Island Yoga Center and really enjoyed it. We went through a long list of stretches and techniques to address the muscles in and around the shoulder girdle. If you'd like to receive notice of his next class in Kona, sign up for notices through the BIYC website.
One of the things that has always caught my eye there, is the collection of books on yoga that are for sale. It has to be the best on the island. They have always maintained a wide selection, even better than what Borders used to carry.
A good time to go take a look would either be a few minutes before or after a class. Check their schedule and maybe you'll find a class or two. There's even a free class the first Sunday of every month.
Expert: a man who makes three correct guesses consecutively.
-Laurence J. Peter
In their book Style Statement, authors Carrie McCarthy and Danielle LaPorte suggest that you write and commit to 3 Simple Things a Week. Every weekend, write down three simple things you will do to energize your personal style:
1. EDIT. Let go of one thing- anything. A material item, a habit or a limiting belief.
2. ADD, or create one thing in your life. An object, activity, thought, whatever excites you.
3. APPRECIATE. Again, anything. A material object or a person, be extra kind.
Whenever I think about doing this, it's hard not to think about the material or physical items that I'd like to release or obtain. I can see them, bump into them (guess I didn't see them) or hear about them. But it should apply to any aspect of life, so what if I came up with 3 Simple Things for my yoga practice?
Here's what I've chosen for this week:
EDIT. I'm going to release a limiting belief: "I'll never be able to accomplish all of the poses in Light on Yoga." It was the first yoga book I bought when I began taking classes nearly 21 years ago and of course I couldn't do any of the 200 poses. These days, I can get into a number of poses, reasonably well enough to teach yoga, but unless I let go of the belief that's limiting me, there won't be much progression.
ADD. I think I'll add Light On Yoga back to my reading list (I go back and forth between 5-6 books at a time) and read it again. It's bound to have a different effect on me at this point in my yoga practice and it'll only improve my teaching.
APPRECIATE. I'd like to thank my Body, for keeping up with my heart's wishes. It steps on to my mat begrudgingly at times, but at the end of every practice it lets out a contented sigh. It continues to adjust and improve as my heart has learned to also be as generous and trusting. We've become a good team after twenty-one years.
How about you? Are there 3 Simple Things you could do this week to draw you forward in your own unique style? I'd love to hear from you.
In order for the character of a human being
to reveal truly exceptional qualities, we must have the good fortune to
observe its action over a long period of years. If this action is
devoid of all selfishness, if the idea that directs it is one of
unqualified generosity, if it is absolutely certain that it has not
sought recompense anywhere, and if moreover it has left visible marks on
the world, then we are unquestionably dealing with an unforgettable
character.
-from The Man Who Planted Trees, by
Jean Giorno
Alice Waters claims that reading The Man Who Planted Trees changed her life. Since I
hold Waters synonymous with organic
food, farmers' markets and eating local, I had to find out more
about the book by Jean Giono that was first published in 1953. It's a
very short, yet powerful story (nine pages in PDF format here) and for years, people believed
that Elzeard Bouffier was a real person who single-handedly cultivated
an entire forest in France.
In 1957, Jean Giono felt that an
explanation was needed and wrote a letter to an official of a township
in France:
Sorry to disappoint you, but Elzéard
Bouffier is a fictional person. The
goal was to make trees likeable, or more specifically, make planting
trees likeable.
He went on to say that the story had
been translated into several different languages and distributed
freely. The book was a success, made Giono no money, yet he regarded it
to be his greatest achievement. In 1987, the story was retold in a
thirty minute movie that won an Oscar for Best
Animated Short Film.
What fascinates me about Giono, his
character Bouffier and Alice Waters, is passion. I admire their
one-pointed attention. They are seized by a desire, find a way to
express it and do it consistently. Their visible marks on the world may not even be attributed to
them but somewhere along the way they inspire one other person,
followed by another then followed by exponential patterns of growth.
Wangari Maathai is a Kenyan woman who founded the Green Belt Movement that has been responsible for
planting over 30 million trees since 1977. She won the Nobel Peace Prize
in 2004. Alice Waters and her Chez Panisse Foundation started The Edible Schoolyard, a one-acre garden along with
a kitchen classroom at a school in Berkeley, California in 1995. Today
there are Edible Schoolyard affiliates and sister programs all over the
country. All of these people have made visible
marks by planting one seed at a time.
Mother Teresa
said, "If you can't feed a hundred people, then just feed one." Imagine
if every human being discovered and took hold of their passion and if the idea that directs it is one of
unqualified generosity, what a difference that would make in the
world. Imagine only a hundred, or even...just one. One person with
passion and persistence, like the man who planted trees.
There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in.-Deepak Chopra
Michael Gelb wrote an interesting piece about memory and how to powerfully make it work for you in creating and sustaining relationships. All you need to know are how five basic principles of memory function:
Primacy. Our brains remember what happens first.
Repetition. We remember what's been said or done, over and over.
Outstanding. Novel experiences standout from the routine.
Personal Association. Be fully present and really listen, at least once a day.
Recency. We tend to remember what happened most recently.
Gelb's article goes on to offer ways to incorporate these 5 principles in relationships, particularly with a partner. As I began to search for an appropriate photo that illustrated memory, I thought about the story of Hansel and Gretel and the way that Hansel dropped bread crumbs behind him to remember the way home. It's somehow always served as an illustration of how my memory works.
When I came across this book cover, all of Gelb's five principles made sense again, but in a different context. My mom read to us from a Little Golden Book just like that one. It's one of the first stories I remember (primacy) and we asked to hear it over and over again (repetition).
What made it outstanding is that my mom changed her voice for each character and my favorite was her rendition of the wicked old witch, scary and so real. What also made it special was that my brother and I (the other two came much later) got to spend time sitting still and quiet, not vying for attention but somehow sharing it (personal association).
The only principle that differs here is the last, recency. Memories of a time when I wasn't able to read go back a long, long time. Then again, I recently spent a few days together with my entire family and I feel as though I dropped a few more breadcrumbs along the way. Today, the Little Golden Book has been replaced by photos, videos and text messages but my mom is still there, changing her voice for each character. I was never afraid of the wicked witch because ingrained in my memory was the fact that Hansel and Gretel lived happily ever after.
Take the time to read Gelb's "The Things We Remember" and start making good memories of your own and for those around you. :D
In the early 80's when I was pregnant, my role models were the women I saw in Ina May Gaskin's book about midwifery at The Farm, a now world famous commune in Summertown, Tennessee. In those days, home births and breastfeeding were considered to be the radical options chosen by hippies living in tents and buses, so breast pumps and cover-ups weren't even a consideration during the two and half years I spent breastfeeding my son.
That could be the reason why many of the tips and insights mentioned in Andi Silverman's beginner's guide to breastfeeding, "Mama Knows Breast", were an education for me. Especially, Chapter 5: Breast feeding Etiquette. Silverman offers suggestions on "how to handle the need to feed" in airplanes, bookstores, buses, cars, movies, museums, the doctor's office and more, even the bathtub! When did breastfeeding in public fall from social grace?
These days, many of the women who come through my Prenatal Yoga classes, opt for home births and nearly all of them expect to breastfeed their babies so breast pumps and cover-ups have become the norm. I'm going to recommend this book because it's comprehensive and up-to-date:
Chapter 1: The Pros & Cons of Breastfeeding
Chapter 2: Operating Instructions
Chapter 3: Answering Your Questions
Chapter 4: Tricks of the Trade
Chapter 5: Breastfeeding Etiquette
Chapter 6: How Your Spouse Can Help
Chapter 7: Sex and Relaxation
Chapter 8: Weaning Your Baby...and Yourself
Lists of reference books and websites are also provided along with comments by lots of other new mothers. The book is small enough to hold in one hand, as the cover picture shows, and the pages sturdy enough to withstand the clutching reflex of any hungry baby.
What I particularly like is her optimistic and easy-going attitude: try it and see what works best for you. It goes along with my major emphasis in Prenatal Yoga,"Relax and accept all advice graciously. Then do what feels right for you. We've been doing all of this for thousands of years!"
What I would have liked better is for the type to have been a little darker. But if it came down to light hearted versus dark ink, I'd choose the former.
We've received a new supply of the Mother Sequence books by Jehangir Palkhivala and they're available at the studio for $10 each. Also just in is a very limited supply of Samundari City, a children's book written by Jehangir's wife, Rashmi. The Palkhivalas reside in Mumbai, renamed Bombay by the Portuguese and changed back to Mumbai in 1995 (I learned that from the book) and Rashmi relays the city's history through the character of Samundari, a wave in the Arabian Sea.
Informative as it is entertaining, this book of over 150 pages is delightfully illustrated by Prakash Kurup. I think I'll use it as my guide/travel book when I make the trek to Mumbai...one day soon.
Is the glass half full, or half empty? It depends on whether you're pouring, or drinking. -Bill Cosby
"Being grateful for the wonderful things in your life literally helps you have a brain to be grateful for", says Daniel Amen, M.D., a clinical neuroscientist, psychiatrist and brain-imaging expert, in his book Making A Good Brain Great. Amen utilizes SPECT images of brains to evaluate its outside surfaces and underactive areas. He says that the basic principles to keep in mind are:
The brain is involved in everything you do. How you think, how you feel, how you act, and how well you get along with other people has to do with the moment-by- moment functioning of your brain.
When your brain works right, you tend to be effective, thoughtful, creative and energetic.
When the brain is troubled, you may have problems with depression, anxiety, work performance, impulsivity, memory and relationships.
Your brain dysfunction, even when subtle, may be getting in your way of success.
Your brain has only so much reserve. A lifetime of abuse or neglect (smoking, too much caffeine or alcohol, drug abuse, brain injuries, excessive stress) all add up and take years of healthy mental functioning away from you.
With the right plan, you can reverse damage and optimize your own brain and subsequently improve your life.
You (and your brain) can be better than you are, even if you are already in good shape!
I love it when high-tech meets high-touch. Dr. Amen theorizes that low cerebellar activity is associated with decreased motor and thought coordination and that negative thought patterns change the brain in a negative way. He also says that it is critical to visualize what you want and then match your behavior over time to get it! Stimulate your brain and it works better.
Dr. Amen's book thoroughly goes through the different areas of your brain and the effects of low activity in each. He tells you how to identify and then reduce the risks of the diseases of brain aging such as dementia and Alzheimer's. I suggest you get a copy of his book if you're interested in being "all here" for the rest of your life.
The bottom line though for any life enhancing exercise, diet or magic potion, in my opinion, is this: if it is practiced in fear, anger, or force, it's useless. Maybe even harmful. See your glass as being half full and think of everything that you are truly grateful for. SPECT images prove that healthy, active brains belong to those who hold such thoughts. Prayers go up, blessings come down.
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