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‘Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured’

B.K.S. Iyengar

This is a very famous quote from BKS Iyengar. He has written many books on yoga practice and philosophy including Light on Yoga. While much of modern yoga has arisen from the teachings of Krishnamacharya, Iyengar brought yoga to the West, along with it  a passion for  physical strength and flexibility. He also popularised the concept of the Indian Mystic.

But what of his quote?

Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured – yoga as a discipline, can help you heal aspects of your health through bodily function and posture. So for instance a really sore shoulder and tight neck muscles may take the joy out of life. Through yoga, this discomfort and pain will receed with time and you will no experience the drain on your energy.

So what happens when that shoulder won’t heal, and remains sore? What happens if you are very ill?

Yoga teaches us to endure what cannot be cured – Iyengar tells us that yoga helps us to cope with what we cannot change. He is not saying yoga is going to make every pain and illness go away. He is not saying yoga will cure cancer. What he does say is that yoga can help us cope in times of trouble. It can settle the mind, keep the body moving and reduce discomfort. It helps us to endure when a cure does not appear to be an option.

So how do we know the difference?

I think the truth is that often we don’t know the difference, we don’t have a crystal ball and most of us cant predict the future. So how do we know it’s the right thing for you, at this very moment?

How do you feel? Do you move a bit and feel worse? Do you do your yoga or your class and feel better?… and what is better?

Sometimes better is steadier, stronger, more grounded, humbled and serious… sometimes better is lighter, bouncier, free and full of laughter. Both are better, but they are different in many ways. They are the same in that after yoga you may feel that you are living more deeply, more fully. You will feel joy, you will feel sadness, and you will feel more fully alive. That is good yoga.

Labeling your emotions can help you feel better.

When you feel a surge of emotion say to yourself ‘this is anger’, ‘this is anxiety’, ‘this is grief’.

Labeling your emotions will help you feel less overwhelmed by them. Bhuddism teaches that we manage our emotions better when we label experiences. Science is catching up.

Researchers at UCLA used specialist MRI techniques to see how the brain changed when people labelled their emotions.

They saw more activity in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that processes emotion and inhibits behavior, and less activity in the amygdala, which is linked to emotional reactions. The amygdala becomes very active when we feel stressed, by labeling emotions the amygdala stayed calmer.

This also happens in traditional meditation. With a mediation practice emotions will feel they roll of your shoulders a little more easily.

Sounds simple… and it is simple. The next time you’re feeling overwrought naming your emotions can help you feel calmer. Those who label emotions feel less fearful, sad, pained or stressed.

‘this is curiosity’ ‘this is ready to give it a try’

Image courtesy of ‘Ambro’ freedigitaimages.net

Life is full of celebrations, usually times when we get together with a group of people, share food and chat. Celebrations can also be reminders to give thanks.

Great teachers from Aesop to Oprah have taught how cultivating an “attitude of gratitude” can lead to a sense of well-being and fulfillment. In the yoga tradition, gratitude is related to contentment and counted as one the five observances or niyamas outlined in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras.

Lack of contentment gives rise to desires or cravings, and which, in turn, lead to envy or frustration over unmet expectations. These are all symptoms of what meditators call “monkey mind,” uncontrolled, incessant—and usually unhelpful—thoughts. Whatever we focus on has a tendency to magnify and define us, like a negative whirlpool that drags us ever deeper.

It is easy to end up negatively ruminating, and sometimes hard to make steps in a more helpful direction. Here is one easy way to turn the tide:

Focus on what we are grateful for, it’s that simple. This will start to calm your mind

“Yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind waves’

Patanjali

Image courtesy of [Porbital] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I read a good article on the ‘Oprah’ website. It gave a good introduction to fascia and its affects on our bodies. Fascia is a connective tissue that runs around each and every muscle we have. Through time fascia becomes less flexible and helps firm up postural habits. To release muscles you need to stretch off, to release fascia you have to stretch off a bit longer and in a slightly different way. To stretch your calf muscle you can lift your toes, to stretch the fascia there you need to make a more concerted effort in terms of positioning and timing. In class we are often stretching fascia as this has great benefits to living in our bodies more comfortably.

Here’s the introduction of the fascia article to tempt you to delve a little deeper.

You’re Achy, You’re Sore, and You Have No Idea Why

It feels like muscle pain, but unlike a tight hamstring that makes you yelp when you stand up, your ache isn’t triggered by a particular movement, and you can feel it in different places at various times. The culprit could be your fascia, says Mary Ann Wilmarth, DPT, chief of physical therapy at Harvard University Health Services. This sheet of tissue, made up of densely packed protein fibers, weaves throughout the entire body, and it binds and supports your muscles, bones and even your organs…….

Read: Feeling Achy? The Body Part You Don’t Know You Have

Image courtesy of [imagerymajestic] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net