Vishnu Mudra, why it is used in Anuloma-Viloma or Nadi Shodhana

I facilitated a wonderful group at the Avon Library this week at the Breath Workshop.  One of the questions that came up, which has come up in past Breath Workshops, is why do we use Vishnu Mudra?  I have continued to search for the answer and I am excited to finally have an answer to share!  This comes from Indu Arora in her new, comprehensive book, "Mudra, the sacred secret."  Enjoy!

"In this mudra, the right hand is used, as it is associate with giving, while the left is associated with receiving...The Vishnu Mudra helps in balancing and filtering of the Matuta (air element) to form Prana, as it triggers the Phana marma points on either sides of the nostrils, due to the position of the thumb and fingers on the nostril...The energies of fire (thumb), earth (ring finger), and water (little finger) elements are allowed to flow freely, whereas the energies of air (index finger) and ether (middle finger) current are harnessed in the formation of this Mudra."  - Indu Arora, "Mudra, the sacred secret"

Vishnu Mudra
Art from https://yogafloga.com/pranayama-breath-control/

Non-Attachment in giving and receiving

The holiday season and end of the year is filled with giving in so many forms.  The Yama, Aparigraha or Non-Attachment, is a reminder to focus on our state of mind as we give.  So much of the holiday season is about the external: gifts, food, parties, and traditions.  These can start to take on the form of obligations, 'have tos,' and expectations, which end up creating a more heavy feeling rather than coming from a place of joy and gratitude.

Aparigraha or non-attachment applied to giving allows us to come back to focus on the intentions of giving, rather than the outcomes.  If you've been upset because you gave to someone and they didn't give back or when you gave there wasn't appreciation...you are attached to the outcome of your giving, which means there is an expectation of "if I give, this person will feel/act by doing _____."  When they don't, our reaction is anger and resentment. 

Instead, come back to why are you giving in the first place?  If it's because of a 'supposed to' or 'it's expected' or 'it's just what is done,' again, this is rooted more in an outcome and not really based out of a loving place.  Giving, when done from a place of love and joy, is more satisfying and meaningful than when done out of obligation. The other piece with coming back to the intention of your giving that is the action of giving can then being done without attachment to the outcome.  Have you ever given to someone who had no idea it was even you?  It can be an amazing feeling because it's more about the intention of bringing joy to another rather than wanting the gratitude of the person in return. Which is ultimately about ourselves, rather then the person we just gave to.

The other side of the coin is receiving.  Ooooooo, can this be a challenge!  Again, so many times when someone gives to us, there can be a feeling obligation or guilt...maybe a of feeling now I have to give to that person.  Again,this is an attachment to a belief that it's not okay to just receive.  This can come from a cultural belief of being independent.  When someone gives to us, there is connection, which we all need.  But, our belief system can get it mixed up with feeling dependent on that person.  The other thing about struggling to fully receive, is that this energy can rob the joy for the other person who is giving and it keeps us from showing full gratitude to the other person, just by enjoying what was given.  So many times we are all searching for ways to help others, especially in a world we feel so separate from each other at times.  The act of receiving, as well as giving, helps to foster connection. Being able to receive gracefully is just as important as giving.

In yoga, the practices of restorative yoga and yoga nidra are wonderful exercises in just taking time receive.  Giving yourself a gift of pampering, time to go inward, time to rest are also wonderful ways to practice giving and receiving to ourselves.

Breathing practices are another a way to practice giving and receiving.  When we inhale we receive, when we exhale we give.  The breath techniques of equal inhale and exhale with abdominal breathing or Coherent Breathing are examples of this.

My encouragement to all this holiday season is to pause, come back to your intentions of giving and be open to receiving with no energetic strings attached to the outcomes.  Just let your abundant joy and love shine through!

Finding peace in a fear based world

As November begins, it is the month in the USA that we celebrate giving thanks, being grateful for all that we have and the people who are in our lives.  It is more important than ever to keep this practice going all year long as our culture has moved more and more into being fear-based. When we focus of fear, we are only getting half the story, and I truly believe that going with fear keeps us from seeing reality for what it is.  Fear covers up the positives and the abundance in our lives.  Here are some specific practices to do throughout this month and through out the following year to cultivate more positivity, gratitude, and peace in each day.

1. The practice of gratitude.  This is such an important practice.  Every time I do it, I feel lighter and more connected to humanity, trust and faith.  There are a number of ways to practice this.  The important part is that finding ways of coming back to gratitude throughout your day which then starts to cultivate more of a gratitude lifestyle. 

First, is keeping a gratitude journal.  There's something about writing down these positive statements.  Maybe doing three a day in the format of "I'm grateful for _______ because ______.  If writing is not your thing, taking a moment at the end of each day to think about three things you're grateful for or even doing this with a family member out loud.

Second, you can connect coming back to what you're grateful anytime you feel sad, angry, or jealous.  Reminding yourself that there may be these emotions and there can still be gratitude. IT may even help you respond to the situation you are in with more intention and kindness.

Third, writing notes to a different person once a week to communicate why you are grateful for them. Spread the love!

Here are a couple of other resources to help with the gratitude practice: "The Gratitude Diaries: How a Year Looking on the Bright Side Can Transform Your Life," by Janice Kaplan; "The Little Book of Gratitude: Create a life of happiness and wellbeing by giving thanks," by Robert A. Emmons PhD.

2. Focusing on Abundance!  We tend to focus on lack...what we don't have, why we aren't good enough, comparing ourselves to others and thinking how much better they are than ourselves.  This only brings in self-judgment and criticism, which fosters negativity.  

When you find yourself doing this, STOP!  Then change your awareness to all the abundance in your life, everything you do have and what is going well.  We all have wonderful things in our life, even just as simple of having a roof over our head and food to eat.  Challenge yourself to come up with 10 things.

Another way of doing this is focusing on what is pleasant now.  Look around the room you are in and notice what parts of the room or items in the room that are pleasant.  Focus on why they are pleasant to you. Shift your awareness and find another item.  You can do this at anytime, anywhere.  When we focus on pleasantness, we are activating the reward part of our brain, which can release oxytocin, a relaxing chemical.  Try it and notice what happens.

3. Seek out positive things.  Traditional 24 hour news stations are filled with negativity and what they report on is not the only things happening in our world.  Seek out positive news and stories to connect with the amazing loving kindness that humanity is capable of.  Upworthy.com is a great place to start.

Seek out inspirational people and quotes.  Put inspirational quotes up around your home so you see them every day as reminders.

Listen to inspiring music or podcasts.  Fill your ears with positive thoughts and ideas.

REMEMBER: You have a choice on what you surround yourself with and where you put your focus and awareness.  Make a conscious choice, rather than letting the external world choose for you.  Yes, there is suffering and tragedy.  There is ALSO loving kindness, joy, and human beings doing wonderful things to lift us up. 

I'll leave you with this Cherokee Indian legend to ponder:

 An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.

“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.” He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.” 

The practice of Aparigraha or non-attachment

"Anger is like a holding a hot coal, the only one that gets burned is you."

This quote speaks to Aparigraha, one of the Yamas from Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, an ethical principle of yoga.  Aparigraha means non-attachment or non-holding.  Our attachment or holding onto physical things, emotions, beliefs and thoughts cause us suffering.  Like this quote says, we can hold on to the anger and resentment from a situation, but once the situation has ended, it is the anger we refuse to let go  that causes us to continue on in misery.

I also like to use the analogy of trying to hold onto a wet bar of soap as well.  When we are fighting against reality and trying to make it what we want, it's like trying to squeeze a wet bar of soap...it will keep flying out of out control because we never had control of it in the first place.  When we are focused on clinging to something, whether it be a relationship, wanting an certain outcome, or an idea, the usually desperate clinging creates more stress than if we would find a way to let go and allow things to work out as they need to.

Where I live, there has been a wildfire that has been burning close by.  The smell of smoke and at times the clouds of smoke and raining ash are a reminder of what the fire is burning up in its path.  One of my friends has been close to those who are involved in fighting the fire. She said a couple of things that resonated with me and bring me back to Aparigraha.  

The first was how amazed some of the firefighters were that a small town near where the fire started didn't burn down.  A big part of this was just luck of what the fire ended up doing.  She shared that the fire has had "a mind of its own" and doing many things that aren't always typical of a fire.  I can only imagine that these firefighters really understood that despite their efforts,the outcome was more about nature does what nature does and we don't have much control over it.

The second thing she shared was feeling sad about the loss of some of her favorite mountain biking trails because of the fire's path.  Yes, this is a loss of fun times and memories, at least until the area recovers.  The reality is that we live in the west and fire danger is high...increasingly higher each year.  There will be wildfires.  We won't know where they might start, but they will happen.  There are areas and towns that have been accepting this fact and have done some amazing fire mitigation to clear areas of dead wood that is fueling these massive wildfires.  There was a great example of how this acceptance and hard work help save homes and businesses this spring in Breckenridge, Colorado.  By accepting what is, we can make choices that are going to be more helpful to our well being.  If we don't and fight reality, we are turned away from where we actually do have control with our intentions and actions. 

And the loss of the mountain bike trails is actually very normal.  The two guarantees in life is that things change and our bodies will die at some point.  Loss is a part of life and it opens up to new beginnings.  Remembering this can be helpful in moving through grief, no matter what the loss is.  

Here are a couple of ways to practice Aparigraha:

1. Breathing, especially focusing on a longer exhale. The inhale is always followed by the exhale.  If we cling to the inhale, we will die.  The exhale is a practice of letting go and a longer exhale allows a more full letting go happen.  Notice how you feel after a few of these longer exhale breaths.

2.  Look at the material items in your house.  Are there some things that you are clinging to?  Items you no longer use but can't seem to let them go?  In Marie Kondo's book "The Magic of Tidying Up," she reminds us that by clinging to our stuff, we don't allow those items to fulfill their purpose.  If you have boxes filled with unused items, these items are trapped and unable to fulfill their destiny.  By allowing them to move on to the next person who can use them, they can fulfill their purpose.  Most of us know how fulfilling it is to be in our purpose and what it feels like to feel purposeless.

3. Be with yourself in a difficult situation or take a Time In.  Take time to observe how your are feeling and what thoughts arise.  This allows the process of choice to arise.  Do you choose to hold onto those reactions or let go of them and move to a response that may feel more helpful and come from a more compassionate place.  An example of doing this is on the Samya Yoga Healing YouTube Channel.

And be compassionate with yourself...we all can use practice with Aparigraha!  We are all clinging to something.  If we weren't clinging, we'd be fully in a peaceful state of mind...I know I'm not there yet.

Real detachment is not in letting go of activity but letting go of the attachment. - Prasad Rangekar

And don't forget to smile!

Man, do we adults take life soooo seriously!  The to do lists, performing well at work, trying to be the "best" at whatever we are doing, making a mistake is the end of the world, worrying about what other think of us.  Argh!  That just makes me heavy and depressed just writing it down.

Yoga is about becoming aware of patterns in the body, mind and spirit that are no longer serving us and moving more towards the truth that we are all love, freedom and bliss.  Yet, when in a yoga class or home practice, the tendency is to take things a little too seriously.  You fall out of a pose, so what?  Will the world stop turning?  No!  Have fun with it!  Laugh, smile, do weird things with your body...do a pose "wrong."  I make sure when I'm teaching and having students go into Utkatasana, chair pose, to remind them to turn the sides of their mouths up and smile because we are having fun! (Usually they are moving from a very serious look on their faces).

If you have a child, work with children, or have a grandchild, then you are blessed with the reminder to play and have fun, that the world is a place for us to explore and learn about, and that being silly and laughing makes the heart and mind lighter.  When we remember to enjoy what we are doing and that we are blessed for what we have, the world is more expansive, endless, and possibilities are limitless.  When we have our blinders on and go through the day to day drudgery, it feels heavy, obligatory, and we are just going through to motions.

Even those of us who are blessed to live in the mountains can forget the beauty of them if the workout becomes more important.  "I have to get  X miles in today.  I have to get X time.  I need to do better, go faster..." 

Things to do this month to connect with playing:

1. If you have a child on hand, just play with them.  Allow them to guide you into their world and let loose.  Let go of the to do lists and just have fun with them.

If you don't have a child on hand, go to your nearest playground and go play!  Swing, climb, jump!

2. Slow down for a moment.  Go to your yard or a park and lay down.  First on your back and gaze up at the sky and let your imagination go.  Then on your stomach and notice the small word living in the grass below.

3. Sign up for a fun run and dress up crazy.  Do anything and dress up crazy!  Like mini-golf, a bike ride, a hike..

4. Do something new.  Something that looks fun, that you've never tried and go for it.

5. Get into your creative juices.  Crafting, being artistic, a new instrument, and get messy with it.  Make up your own song!

Remember, yoga goes beyond getting on a mat for a period of time.  It is about transforming what we think is real or right and allowing ourselves to explore and experience.  Play, fun and enjoyment are essential elements
.

"Don't take your practice seriously, take it sincerely."  - Prasad Rangnekar

Moving from Reacting towards Responding to the external world

Moving from a reactive mind state to a responsive mind state has been one of the most powerful shifts in my life.

When living mainly in a reactive mind state, my tendency was to hold things in that bothered me in order to avoid conflict. Holding emotions in would build and eventually I would blow up over something small and a lot of times not at the person I was really struggling with.  Then I'd feel horrible, vow never to do it again, and hold things in again.  This reactive state would then manifest

in feeling depressed, irritable, and wanting someone else to give me what I needed...only I had no clue what that was.  My other behavior from this reactive mind state was constantly moving to find the "right place" where I'd feel at peace and content.  Since leaving college, I moved 17 times, though the last three were about settling in and growing some roots, thanks to my yoga practice.

It wasn't until I moved half way across the world to India, that it finally hit me, "Wait a minute...maybe I'm the problem here!"  As soon as I started to realize this, my teacher, Prasad Rangnekar, asked if I'd like to do a yoga teacher training and self-development course.  It was the later part of the course title that made me confidently state, "Yes!" 

The tradition of yoga is a path of self-realization and body movement is only a small part (and not a part of some yoga lineages) of the lifestyle practices.  The commitment to these practices and the realization that I'm the only one that can create peace and contentment for myself has moved me towards a more RESPONSIVE mind state.

It starts with AWARENESS.  Anyone who's worked with me knows this is something I keep coming back to again and again.  We can not change what we are not aware of...period.  The practice of awareness is vital for being responsive to the external world.  It's a practice of getting curious about your own reactions (behavior, emotions, thoughts/beliefs) in order to understand, learn and consciously choose your response...or maybe to not respond. 

I'll give a recent experience I had with my brother. (If you're reading this, "Hi, Ryan)!"  He recently graduated with a PhD in Nursing after years of hard work and juggling life that deeply respect him for.  I was unable to go to his graduation. I was texting him to be reminded of the date of his graduation and he asked me if I was coming.  I let him know I was not.  Then, he wrote, "I was just thinking you would since I made sure I was at all of yours." 

Guilt ripped through my body (oh, the patterns of siblings).  I sat and breathed.  In the past I would have responded with all my reasons.  Some would have been blaming and sarcastic to protect the guilt.  I kept breathing.  I shared my reaction with my partner. Then sent a reply of a thumbs up sign and put out some humor to him.  Even as I write this I can feel some of the tightness in my throat and chest, so I'm taking some deep breaths and reminding myself I'm still okay.

Responding takes not only awareness, but also pausing to take time and take care of ourselves.  It may take awhile to respond and that's okay.  With practice, it becomes easier, the little things roll off, the big things become more manageable.  What's important is being willing to meet initial reactions with curiosity and self-compassion, to learn and consciously decide 'what will I do next?'  Since it's about taking responsibility for our own stuff, reactions, like taking something personally, saying things you'll regret later, and blaming, start to be things of the past.  Drama fades away.  There's so much more time to just to enjoy life!

A Practice of Awareness: Take some time to sit and notice different sensations in your body.  Start with your feet and feel them connecting with the floor.  Notice the parts of the body connected to the chair.  Notice the tops of your thighs, the palms of your hands, the inside of your elbows, the shoulders, the crown of the head.  No judgment, just curiosity and exploration as there is no right or wrong.  Breathe into the abdomen and notice how that feels in the body. Do this for 5 breaths. Practice this throughout your day and notice what happens to your awareness of yourself.

Check out the Samya Yoga Healing YouTube page that has a number of different breathing videos and guided meditation.  Start with Three Part Breath!

Remember that moving from a reactive mind state to a responsive mind state is a practice and takes time.  The more you practice, the more amazed you will be at the changes in yourself...I know I was and still am!

www.samyayogahealing.com

3 tips I've been reminded of for taking better care of myself

Taking time for myself - whether to doing something I enjoy, sitting and enjoying a cup of tea and looking out the window, taking time to make a delicious meal, or making time to go to appointments for my physical health - has become more and more of a priority for me.  As I've mentioned in a previous blog post, I've struggled with some significant hearing and balance loss, as well as tinnitus for 8 months now.  I've seen it as my body signaling to me, "Twyla, you've got to stop pushing yourself, taking so much on, and thinking too much!"  It's been my body's way of shouting loud and clear to "STOP!"

One lesson I've been learning and becoming more confident in has been trusting myself.  Listening to my inner knowing of how to take care of myself and stop doing things that are "supposed to help" but really aren't helping me.  I've noticed that fear of disappointing others, even my doctors, has kept me fro
m doing what I feel is right for me at times.  As I'm writing this, I'm getting ready to be compassionately honest with one of my doctors and working on not being responsible for their reaction to what I've discovered I need.  I'm a natural caretaker, as I'm sure many of you can relate, and the "shadow side" of it seems to be one of my biggest limitations at times.  I've found the "shadow side" of care taking overly focuses on others, thus getting further and further at what I need most...to come back to myself and go inward, be still.  It's a balance I've been working on most of my life and slowly, slowly, I've been able to spend more of my time focusing on the "light side" of care taking as I turn it towards myself.

3 tips I've come to accept and practice more and more the past eight months are:

1.  SLOW DOWN, slow down, slow down!  I can not emphasize this enough and remind myself daily of it.  This means not over booking my day, taking time between appointments for myself, doing activities that are slower as well as active exercise - like sitting and enjoying the sun, going for a relaxing stroll, playing my ukulele or other creative outlets, reading a book, a regular breathing and meditation practice, and just noticing details, especially when I'm in nature.  We should be spending 7 minutes in our parasympathetic nervous system (part of our nervous system the helps us feel calm and relaxed) to every minute we spend in our sympathetic nervous system (part of our nervous system that helps our get up and go energy).  From what I've observed, most of us are completely flipped.  Slowing down helps us mentally to be more present and calm to meet daily challenges and it helps our body functioning, allowing our body to restore and heal as it needs to.

2. LISTEN TO YOUR "GUT."  Take time to listen what your body and heart are saying that you need.  It's so easy to put the activities of self-care off 'until tomorrow' so we can push through other things...only tomorrow doesn't seem to come.  If a "professional" or "authority" wants you to do something that doesn't feel right, remind yourself you are truly your best expert, as long as you are taking time to self-understand.  This takes being able to slow down enough to start becoming aware of your mind and body reactions to things, as well as taking responsibility that it's up to you to create the change you want.  Sometimes it's helpful to have someone you trust as a sounding board who can reflect patterns that they might see when we don't or are in denial about.  Meditation and self-inquiry have been to two most helpful tools in this for me.

3. SELF-COMPASSION.  Being kind to myself when I'm having days that are more "rough" emotionally or when my body is feeling depleted.  Again, slowing down to be aware where my mind and body are at...knowing when "pushing through" is going to be detrimental to my well being.  Reminding myself that I'm human, I make mistakes and that the body changing and aging is NORMAL.  Treat myself like I do my good friends.  And as my teacher, Prasad Rangekar says, "If it's stressful, don't do it."  Practice that for a bit and see what happens.

Taking good care of our selves is as necessary as brushing our teeth, showering, cleaning the house, eating and staying hydrated.  Commit to one kind act towards yourself each day for the next week and notice how it impacts your well being. Be your own best friend.