Prana Pages

At a bootcamp once, Baron had us revolving from one side twisting triangle to the other, from facing the front of the room to facing the back, over and over again, on one breath each for a good fifteen minutes.  It must have been over a hundred rotations from right side to left side twisting triangle.  Talk about a dizzying experience!  I learned quickly to take my block with me and transfer it over my head.

While we were twisting and turning (some of us slipping and sliding away), Baron and his crew of assistants gave personal adjustments to every single student in the room.  Some of us were told to get out of our egos and use a block.  Others were literally anchored into the ground  as assistants stood on toes and pulled back hips.  Still others were twisted until our spines and shoulders popped and cracked.  All the while, I was singing Twist and Shout inside my head.

The next day, a very brave and vocal student raised her hand and asked Baron proudly, “Baron?  What’s with the diarrhea?”  The whole class giggled as Baron explained that the previous day’s practice had worked its magic.

There’s nothing like a long hold of twisting triangle to shut up the itty bitty shitty committee of my brain that rambles about everything and nothing and get me thinking only about what is happening at the precise moment in my body.  In fact, twisting triangle has a lot to say, sometimes long after the practice is over, constantly returning me to the full presence of being in my body and out of my head.

Twisting Triangle is deceptively difficult, thus offering a true experience in challenge.  In fact, it is probably the most complicated of poses used in the average yoga class, even more challenging than headstand.  Early in my practice, I thought this pose was rather simple.  I could easily reach my lower hand to the floor, turn my shoulders, and reach my upper hand to the sky —as long as I didn’t think about what my legs and hips and spine were doing.  Then, a master teacher adjusted me once from the hips, and I found my upper hand pointing almost parallel to the floor, but I felt something really new and different in my middle spine.  “Oh, that’s what a twist means!”

There’s a whole lot of physical alignments to think about while working twisting triangle, and it seems that with every adjustment I make, something else pops out of alignment.  It’s a constant tug of war, between the hips and the shoulders, the head and the low back, the front leg and the back leg, the upper arm and the lower arm.  If I square the pelvis, I lose some of the twist.  If I twist too far, I lose pelvic alignment.  If I reach my head forward, weight pushes off my back leg.  The whole pose is an exercise of never ever quite getting it just right…eventually it teaches the age old yogic lesson of the prize existing within the process.

Alignment

• evenly distribute weight between both feet to establish solid grounding from the past (back leg), stepping into the future (front leg), establishing immediate presence in the now
• square pelvis to front of the room, thus stretching deeply into the hamstrings and releasing anxieties about support, foundation, stability, and structure
• push the pelvis toward the back of the room, affirming that all past experiences can serve as reference into future endeavors
• rotate torso from lower belly, to mid-waist, to rib cage, and finally to shoulders and neck, thus tapping into the un-investigated flexibility of the spine and finding new hiding places for old feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt (twisting will push these negative emotions out - breath will allow for escape of these old pains)
• keep shoulders and neck along the same plane as the hips & pelvis (USE A BLOCK) to prevent curvature of the spine - lengthening of the spine appeals to opening the cavities between the vertebrae, allowing for more hiding places to be revealed
• open arms to full reception and expression of compassion and energy - this requires maintaining the ability to see both hands!  Once you lose vision of one or both hands, you are cranking unnecessarily on the shoulder joint, blocking flow of love and compassion to yourself and others
• pull shoulders down and together, away from the ears to extend the vertebrae at the neck and to open the collar bone - this will help facilitate deeper breathing (which is always a little more challenged in twists) - and open up the flow of life force prana through the whole pose, bringing sukha surrender and relaxation to challenging efforting pose
• rotate the neck to look to the ceiling, leading with the third eye.
• Let the rotation of the pose come from the center core, the chest, and the forehead, thus being guided by your instinct, heart, and intuition

Benefits

• challenges the ego/pride in the apparent “impossibility” of the pose
• teaches the lesson of finding the prize in the process
• shows the importance of full grounding and support as a pre-requisite for opening and expression
• lengthens the spine - helps you to “grow up” and “grow long”
• strengthens the legs - establishes stability in intention
• opens the heart - facilitates compassion and forgiveness
• cleanses the digestive system - rinses out deep old regrets, shames, and resentments
• detoxifies the vital organs - promoting full function of all faculties
• supports the value of modification for individual quirks, supports independence and individuality

Modifications

• bend the front knee the release into the hamstrings and square the pelvis
• lessen the twist to keep stability in squared pelvis
• keep a block under the front hand to avoid over-curvature of the spine
• look down to release tension on the neck
• bring hands to hips to promote stability and release shoulder tension
• bring feet closer together to build more stability and balance
• keep upper hand on low back to guide pelvis to more square

The first time I “flipped my dog” was at Baptiste Teacher Training Bootcamp Level 2 in 2006.  I had no idea what Baron meant when he said to drop my upper leg to the floor.  I couldn’t see where it was supposed to go.  I couldn’t control what happened to my hands, and they were my BASE!  And then, one of the many loving assistants decided to “help” me flip my dog right into wheel pose…what the heck was that, cuz it didn’t feel like love at the time!  I fell flat on my back, the assistant laughed, and said “falling is learning.”  I wanted to slap her because I didn’t feel like laughing, and I certainly didn’t feel like I was learning anything.

“If you wobble, smile.  If you fall, laugh,” is a quote from my favorite podcast instructor, Phil Urso.  I hear his voice in my head now everytime I flip my dog.  I may not always turn completely into wheel, and it’s taken a long time to find a place of control in that place between down dog and flip dog. Transition is not easy. Change takes time. And, the process is often messy.  The challenge lies in the ability to find calm in the “in-betweens,” to breathe through the awkwardness, laugh at the fallings, and learn from the failures.

This morning, I crashed out of Peacock Feather Pose.  It was the first time I tried the pose in the middle of the room without the security blanket wall behind my feet.  Ironically, I didn’t go to the wall because I wanted to see if I could manage the pose without it.  Instead, I didn’t go to the wall because I was just too lazy to move my mat!  So, I set up my base, took a deep breath, and kicked my legs up.  For just a moment, I hovered in stillness, until I realized what I was doing, and I laughed BEFORE I came crashing to the floor.  My neck cracked.  My shoulders cracked.  My back cracked.  My hips cracked.  I think I even popped my knees!  When I crawled back to child’s pose and took a deep breath I realized that instead of feeling defeated and weak, I actually felt like I had experienced a 30 minute chiropractic appointment in a matter of seconds.

As I look outside at the first snow dustings of the season and contemplate the changes that have occurred this year, I am in awe. I have fallen a lot in the last year, sometimes with the assistance of some external force, other times at the cause of my own hand. And sometimes I take a little while to laugh, dust myself off, and get back up. The truth is, when I think about change, real change, I always grimace at the thought of the pain that comes with it.  Transition is scary.  And change hurts!  I remember vividly how my back felt the day after my down-dog/flip-dog/wheel crash.  But, as I realize how much I have changed since December 2007, somehow the pain is all worth it.

The bare trees of winter outside mimic to me how I wish I could embrace change.  Every year, they shed their leaves, bare their souls in the dead of winter, expose themselves in the coldest of elements.  When other creatures I crawling into dens to hibernate through the dead season, the trees take off their masks.  I can learn from both the trees and the hibernating creatures each winter. I realize that I can crawl inside myself and from that place, bare the marrow of my bones to the world. Once I find what is inside, no matter how uncomfortable it is to shed the masks, no matter how long it takes to remove the layers, becoming vulnerable and exposed, is promising and profound.

Post Thanksgiving and throughout the holiday season , we are often reminded of the activities in our abdomen, the vital digestive organs.  The excess intake of complex carbohydrates such as dressing, mashed potatoes and yams coupled with the extra sugars of pumpkin pie, marshmallows, holiday cookies, and cranberry sauce, and (for some of us) alcohol, puts our tummies into overload. No wonder we get tired.

The truth is, the holiday season is often labeled as the most stressful time of year, so it is no wonder that we turn to foods that have a calming and relaxing effect on our systems.  Fats, carbohydrates, alcohol, and the ever famous L-tryptophan in turkey are all agents that promote the synthesis of seratonin and or other factors leading to relaxation, sleepiness, or lethargy.

On an energetic level, the activity (or inactivity) of our tummies can be a great indication of what is going on in our lives, and is one of the easiest “diagnosis” tools in my work of body wisdom healing.  The digestive tract is located in the core of the third (manipura) chakra, the center of identity, power, will, and individuality.  Thus, issues surrounding the digestive tract always relate back to our sense of self, our personal power, and our individual identity.  When our tummies ache, we are facing issues of shame, not feeling good enough, powerlessness, and identity.

Holding On…

When a digestive tract “gets stopped up” or goes into “constipation”, more often than not, this is an indication that one is holding onto something that needs to be released.  Chronic constipation issues are signs of deep resentments or old unresolved identity issues that, unless processed and released, can result in bowel obstructions leading to further complications.  Resentment, especially deep resentment or regret, builds gradually over time.  More often than not, these issues began in childhood when we were teased by the school yard bully or somehow “wronged” by the really mean teacher.  Holding these identities placed upon us by others, often causes us to spend a lifetime trying to compensate, working hard to be “good enough” or to live up to expectations that don’t match our genetic code.  Over time, we begin to resent the expectations put upon us by others, the personality traits that are not accepted, and we hold onto anger, sadness, frustration, and inadequacies.  Each of these gets lodged, literally, in our digestive tract as more and more “crap” that we can’t let go.  When you suffer constipation in your life, it is good to ask yourself what it is you are holding onto that no longer serves you?  What resentments have you built up over the years?  How can you forgive those who have wronged you (perhaps those from long ago)?  How can you drop the grudges?  Addressing these questions will help you to release the excess baggage in your life and you might find yourself a little lighter.

The “Runs”…

Conversely, when food “goes right through” and we suffer “diarrhea”, more often than not, this is an indication that we are rejecting nourishment as it is provided to us.  Again, after years of teasing and bullying since childhood, we have developed a learned behavior of “not deserving.”  In some senses, the body has lost the ability to distinguish the healthy input from the negative input, and so it rejects it all.  Eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating are all examples of the physical body manifesting ailments as an expression of the lack of self-love, powerlessness, and shame one feels inside.  When we suffer diarrhea, it is good to ask yourself what is it in life that could be good for you that you are rejecting?  What is it you really want but think you do not deserve?  How have you given you power away?  Answers to these questions can help you discover what simple changes to make in your life to start healing your power chakra.

Cravings

The foods we are craving are more often signs of feeling “something’s missing” in our lives.  Take a look at the types of foods you are craving to discern what voids in your life are not being fulfilled.  Please note, this refers to chronic cravings that occur consistently.  If you have a food craving and it goes away after one dose, then the craving was simply a physical need to be fulfilled rather than an emotional issue to be resolved.  This list can also be referenced in “reverse”.  Should you desire the effects on the right side of the list, provide yourself more of the foods associated on the left column.

• Sugars = sweetness, intimacy
• Carbohydrates = comforts,
• Salts = foundation & support
• Proteins = strength, stability
• Caffeine = passion, drive, motivation, will
• Stimulant Drugs = purpose, mission
• Depressant Drugs = grace, surrender, needing to let go of control
• Fruits & Juices = sweetness, abundance
• Root vegetables (carrots, potatoes, yams, etc.) = grounding, foundation, support
• Watery vegetables (peppers, tomatoes, etc.) = cleansing, purification, renewal
• Leafy vegetables (swiss chard, kale, spinach, etc) = cleansing, love, acceptance

Treatment

Treatments for digestive tract issues are as complicated as the functions of each vital organ.  While the obvious response is to address the dietary intake and supplement with exercise, the larger picture involves a complex process of identifying one’s personal power issues, addressing old resentments, releasing grudges, developing self-esteem, and building self-confidence.  No wonder weight loss, diet fads, and exercise programs are such daunting tasks for most of us.

The good news is that baby steps can produce drastic results.  It may have taken us since childhood to develop these issues, but they can be reversed in a fraction of the time it took them to develop.

On a cold winter’s day a nice way to warm up both inside and out is with a hot cup of tea.  This recipe is simple and pure, and offers all kinds of detoxifying benefits.  Great for fending off colds, soothing sore throats, calming tummy aches, and warming the heart.

If you need the benefits of ginger and don’t want to take the time to brew up a tea, try slicing a quarter size piece of peeled ginger and eating it raw.  Ayurvedic physicians often prescribe this.  A slice of ginger can soothe the tummy after a particularly strong or spicy meal, calm nausea, and ward of indigestion.

• 4 cups water
• two inches of peeled & sliced ginger root
• lemon or honey (optional)

Bring the water to a boil.  Add the ginger. Cover it and reduce to a simmer for 15-20 minutes. Strain the tea. Add honey and lemon to taste.

Note: Keep in mind to attain the full benefits of ginger, sweeteners are not recommended.