A Meditation Proven to Invoke the Relaxation Response

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Whole Life Yoga

In last week’s blog, I shared some of the benefits of a consistent mediation practice and briefly discussed Herbert Benson’s early research.  This week, I’d like to prove how simple an effective meditation technique can be.

The meditation below was used in Benson’s research.  I’ve stolen it from his book The Relaxation Response.

  1. Pick a focus word, short phrase, or prayer rooted in your belief system.
  2. Sit quietly in a comfortable position.
  3. Close your eyes.
  4. Relax your muscles.
  5. Breathe slowly. Say the focus word as you exhale.
  6. Assume a passive attitude. When other thoughts intrude, just say “Oh well” and return to your repetition.
  7. Continue for 10-20 minutes.
  8. Open your eyes and sit for another minute.
  9. Practice once or twice daily.

If it seems like I’ve been writing about meditation a lot lately, I have.  But only because I strongly believe meditation has the power to transform your life and the lives of those around you.

Enjoy, and practice!

Namaste

Tracy Weber

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and join my author mailing list for updates on MURDER STRIKES A POSE, available early 2014 from Midnight Ink!

Posted in Meditation, Therapeutic Yoga, Yoga Books, Yoga Research | Leave a comment

The Relaxation Response

Posted on June 10, 2013 by Whole Life Yoga

What if there was an exercise that you could do for as little as ten minutes a day, three times a week that was proven to:

  • Decrease blood pressure
  • Reduce or prevent migraines
  • Combat heart disease
  • Reduce cholesterol
  • Decrease premenstrual symptoms
  • Decrease alcohol consumption
  • Decrease pain
  • Boost immune system functioning
  • Improve sleep
  • Decrease adrenaline production, thereby lowering the “fight or flight” response
  • Decrease anxiety and stress
  • Boost creativity
  • Improve relationships
  • Provide an overall feeling of health and well being
  • Increase your ability to recover from sudden stressors
  • And much, much more

Would you do it?

Better yet, what if you could do this exercise virtually anywhere—at home, riding the bus, even sitting at your desk at work?  And what if you never even had to break a sweat?

That exercise not only exists, it’s been used for thousands of years.

I’m talking, of course, about meditation.

Meditation has been studied extensively in the West, much more so than yoga’s other tools.  Herbert Benson, a researcher at Harvard Medical School, was one of meditation’s research pioneers in the 1970s.

Studying something as New Age as meditation wasn’t exactly kosher forty years ago, so Dr. Benson worked under the cover of darkness. He snuck experienced meditators into his research facility late at night, measured physiological markers, and mapped brain wave patterns.  The results were impressive. Meditators showed measurable changes in brain wave activity that allowed them to manage the stresses of life much more effectively than non-meditators.  Benson called meditation’s health and emotional benefits “The Relaxation Response.”

Many other researchers—including Joan Borysenko, Jon Kabat Zinn, and Dean Ornish—have replicated and expanded on these results. Their work has shown that a variety of meditation methods are equally powerful, and that effective meditation doesn’t require hours of time, a Zen-like yoga space or Tibetan master teacher.  To meditate, you simply have to sit quietly for ten minutes a day, three times a week and focus on a word, phrase, idea, or image.

Start with this simple breath focused meditation or go online and Google the word “meditation.” You’ll find literally thousands of sites with hundreds of techniques, one of which is bound to appeal to you.  Of course we also offer a Meditation 101 class at Whole Life Yoga, and my Yoga for Anxiety class teaches meditation techniques that have been proven to reduce anxiety.

Give it a try.  I think you’ll be surprised at the results!

Namaste

Tracy Weber

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and join my author mailing list for updates on MURDER STRIKES A POSE, available early 2014 from Midnight Ink!

Posted in Meditation, Therapeutic Yoga, Yoga Research | 3 Comments

The Yoga of Landing Book Deal

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Whole Life Yoga

An author recently asked me to share my secret. How, she asked, did I find a publisher for my first novel, MURDER STRIKES A POSE, only four months after completing it? Since I’m a yoga teacher who writes yoga-related mysteries, she assumed I had used some voodoo-like yoga practice to manifest success.

I’m afraid I disappointed her.

Yoga does help my writing. Practicing asana allows me to type for hours in spite of back and shoulder injuries. Meditation clarifies my mind and unleashes my creativity.  Yoga philosophy encourages me to persevere, regardless of the outcome. But nothing in yoga is magic, and my road to publication was far from quick. Getting my three-book deal involved a multi-year journey of doubt, procrastination, perseverance—and a lot of help from my friends.

I never intended to become an author. I admired the self-discipline of my writer friends, but investing years of time and energy into a project that was likely to fail seemed, well, crazy.

Enter Kate Davidson, my protagonist.

Kate is a lot like me: well-meaning and kind, but also opinionated and stubborn. She popped into my head one day, firmly took root, and insisted that I tell her story.

I tried for over three years.

The measly 900 words I typed during those frustrating thirty-six months were so bad that I finally deleted them, certain that I was a writing failure. If it weren’t for the constant encouragement of my students and friends, I certainly would have given up. I told everyone I knew about the story, secretly hoping they’d hate the idea. At least then I’d have an excuse to stop obsessing about it.

Finally, someone suggested that I attend a local writer’s conference. While there, I took seminars on writing and networked with other neophyte authors.  I emerged from that experience with enthusiasm, energy, and a wealth of new knowledge. Just three weeks later, I did what I hadn’t been able to do in three years: I finished the first draft of my novel, MURDER STRIKES A POSE.

The next thirty-some-odd drafts took significantly longer. ;-)

By the time I finished the manuscript just before last Thanksgiving, I had several agents interested in reading it.  Four months later, I signed with my publisher, Midnight Ink.

The moral of my story?

Don’t give up on your dreams. Persevere, even when you think it’s pointless. Never underestimate the power of positive feedback.  Hang out with others who share your passions.

Above all else, tell people about your story.  They might just convince you to write it!

Namaste

Tracy Weber

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and join my author mailing list for updates on MURDER STRIKES A POSE, available January 8, 2014 from Midnight Ink!

Posted in writing | 7 Comments

Karma Yoga—the Yoga of Service—and a Special Class on Sunday, June 2nd

Posted on May 27, 2013 by Whole Life Yoga

Westerners often mistakenly believe that yoga means performing asanas, or yoga postures. Although yogis gain many emotional and physical benefits by practicing asana, it is only one small part of yoga. Hatha Yoga—the type of yoga most often practiced in the West—actually contains five practices: asana, pranayama (breath exercises), chant (use of sound), meditation, and ritual.

But Hatha Yoga isn’t the full extent of yoga, either. Even though many of Hatha Yoga’s practices are physical, its goal is to clarify the mind. Other types of yoga have different goals: exploring truth, practicing spiritual devotion, providing service, even experiencing sensory pleasure.

This weekend, I invite you to explore Karma Yoga: the yoga of service.

The word karma means action; yoga means union. So the phrase “karma yoga” literally translates as “union through action.” The internet defines Karma Yoga as service without consideration of personal gains, likes, or dislikes. I define it as compassion in action without attachment. In other words, Karma yogis take action in order to decrease suffering in another—without being hung up on the results.

At Whole Life Yoga we typically practice Hatha Yoga, but this Sunday’s special afternoon class—a by-donation fundraising class for City of Hope—will be all about karma. City of Hope provides research, care, and alternative therapies for people fighting cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and other life-threatening illnesses.

City of Hope is a very special organization.  I think their website says it best:

We are proud of our numerous institutional distinctions…as we remain true to our overriding mission to heal the whole person. That means nurturing the emotional, spiritual, social, as well as physical well-being of those in our care.

For many people, City of Hope is where hope begins.

Please join Rene de Los Santos in this special class on Sunday, June 3, from 12:30 to 2:00. The class is appropriate for all levels, and 100% of the proceeds will go directly to City of Hope.

If you can’t attend, you can still help. Simply drop a donation by the studio at any class before Sunday at 2:00 PM. Make checks payable to “Yoga for Hope,” and place cash in an envelope marked “Donation: Yoga for Hope.”

You can also donate online at this link.

Thank you for helping bring hope to those who desperately need it.

Namaste

Tracy Weber

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and join my author mailing list for updates on MURDER STRIKES A POSE, available January 8, 2014 from Midnight Ink!

Posted in Asana, Yoga Philosophy | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Nine Tips for a Successful Home Yoga Practice

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Whole Life Yoga

Let’s face it. We all live busy lives. Most of us can barely carve out one hour once a week for yoga class, let alone several. Unfortunately, yoga practiced that infrequently is unlikely to yield long-term benefits. The solution? Supplement your studio practice with yoga at home. Below are some hints to get you started.

Guidelines for a Successful Home Yoga Practice

  • Short and simple beats long and complex every time. Why wait until you have a spare hour? Three twenty-minute practices each week will yield significantly better results than a single sixty minute one.
  • Yoga is more than asana. Only have five minutes?  Try a simple breath or meditation session. The mental and emotional benefits from ten minutes of deep breathing can be profound.
  • Make your practice place special. Most people don’t have a yoga room in their home, but you can turn any room into a sacred practice space. Dim the lights; light a few candles; ring a pair of Tibetan chimes. Create a ritual that signals the transition from daily life to practice.
  • Celebrate success. Give yourself a mental high-five each time you practice, whether it’s for sixty seconds or sixty minutes. If you chastise yourself for not practicing, you never will. Instead, celebrate each and every time your feet land on your mat.
  • Integrate or distract kids and pets. Pets love interrupting yoga practice, so give them something else to do instead. Feed Fluffy some tuna; give Fido a chew toy; pop a Looney Tunes DVD in the player for the kids. And if you can’t distract them, have them join you. Yoga with the kids might become your favorite part of the day.
  • The best time to practice is when you’ll actually do it. Be honest with yourself. If you’re more likely to win Lotto than get up fifteen minutes early, don’t plan to practice at 5:00 AM.  Morning, lunch time, evening, before bed….Any time is yoga time.
  • When you get discouraged—keep going!   There will be days that you don’t want to practice. Days that you don’t have time to practice. Practice anyway. Remind yourself what you love about yoga. If that doesn’t work, take the advice of dog trainers everywhere and treat yourself for practicing. I understand chocolate is particularly effective. ;-)
  • Schedule practice time on your calendar—in ink! If you practice whenever you can squeeze it in, you’ll never unroll your mat. Choose a consistent time, write it down, and set up a reminder system.  Make your practice a priority.
  • Above all else, enjoy yourself!  Yoga is truly a gift.  Treasure it!

What has worked for you? Please let me know by leaving a comment.

Namaste

Tracy Weber

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and join my author mailing list for updates on MURDER STRIKES A POSE, available January 8, 2014 from Midnight Ink!

Posted in Asana, Breath, Meditation | 4 Comments

A Meditation to Create Tranquility and Joy

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Whole Life Yoga

This meditation practice is one of my favorites for clearing out emotional “gunk” and creating a state of inner peace, tranquility, joy and healing. Even better, it can be done anytime, anywhere. I hope you like it!

  1. Sit comfortably, with your spine in neutral and the crown of your head floating up to the ceiling.  Sitting either in a chair or on the floor is fine, as long as you are physically comfortable.
  2. Begin focusing your mind by paying attention to the sensation of the breath just inside your nostrils.
  3. When you feel ready, think of a quality you’d like to increase in your life.  Imagine that quality is a bright white light entering your body through your heart center and spreading throughout your entire body—from the top of your head to the tips of your fingers and toes.  This light can represent any positive quality you wish it to—love, joy, health, healing, or anything else. Imagine every cell of your body illuminated by this light, and feel the quality it carries flow into every cell.
  4. Imagine that this quality is replacing everything that clutters your life—anger, impatience, stress, desire, greed. As the light grows brighter in your mind, visualize its pure radiance washing all negative qualities away.
  5. If your attention wanders (and it will!) just notice it, and invite your attention back to the sensation of the breath at the tip of your nose.  Then begin to focus on the white, healing light once again.
  6. Continue this meditation for 10 minutes or longer if you’d like.

Let me know how it goes!

Namaste

Tracy Weber

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and join my author mailing list for updates on MURDER STRIKES A POSE, available early 2014 from Midnight Ink!

Posted in Meditation, Therapeutic Yoga | Leave a comment

Breathing in Asana: The Anatomical Breath

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Whole Life Yoga

Some yoga teachers describe breathing as filling a bucket of water, asking students to breathe from the bottom up, as if they were breathing into their bellies.  This would make sense if air were a liquid; it’s not. 

Air is a gas, and the lungs act more like balloons than buckets, inflating from the top down and creating specific effects on the spine. In Viniyoga, we breathe in a way that magnifies those effects. This breath is called anatomical breathing. How you breathe in asana may seem insignificant, but the results are powerful. Anatomical breathing provides the core stability required to do asana safely and effectively.

The Natural Breath

The natural inhale is a process of muscle contraction. 

  • The intercostal muscles (the muscles between the ribs) contract, causing the ribs to lift and the rib cage to widen.
  • The diaphragm (a dome-shaped muscle at the bottom of the rib cage) contracts and flattens, pressing the internal organs into the belly. This causes the belly to expand.
  • The collar bones and rib cage elevate, the spine extends, and the thoracic curve flattens.
  • Space inside the chest increases, creating a vacuum.  Air flows into the lungs.

The natural exhale, on the other hand, is a process of relaxation.

  • The intercostal muscles relax, allowing the chest to lower and narrow.
  • The diaphragm relaxes to its original dome-shaped position.
  • The lower back curve naturally flattens.
  • Space inside the chest decreases. Pressure inside the chest becomes higher than the pressure outside it. Air is pushed out of the lungs. 

So what does this have to do with asana?  

In asana, we utilize the natural breath and magnify its effects on the spine. Our goal on inhale is to increase the spaces between the vertebrae. On exhale we contract the abdominal muscles, thereby flattening the lumbar curve and stabilizing the low back and pelvis.

Using Anatomical Breathing in Asana:

On inhale: 

  • Imagine a downward flow of breath starting at your collar bones and moving down to your belly.
  • Consciously extend your entire spine as you feel your rib cage expand.
  • In the last 1/3 of your breath, allow your belly to soften.

On exhale: 

  • Maintain length in the spine.
  • Progressively contract the abdominal muscles, first from the pubic bone to the navel, then from the navel to the bottom ribs.
  • Keep the belly pulled in during the first half of the following inhale.

By breathing this way, we magnify the benefits of breath while minimizing the risks of movement.  Over time, our spines get longer; our bellies grow stronger; our backs and pelvises become more stable. 

Give it a shot. You might be surprised how sore your belly is the next day.  And the next time your yoga teacher tells you to pull in your belly as you exhale, you’ll know why!

Namaste

Tracy Weber

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle!

Posted in Asana, Breath, Viniyoga | Leave a comment

Touch Me or Touch Me Not?

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Whole Life Yoga

This week’s blog entry was written by guest author Brandy Reinke. Brandy is a graduate of Whole Life Yoga’s teacher training program. She can be contacted at brandy.reinke@gmail.com.

I love when I lay my fingers just under the arc of my ribs on my inhale my fingers expand so far apart. That’s what I watch in the mirrors at my current yoga studio. It is what I feel. It is hypnotic: my ribs expanding, collapsing, expanding, collapsing-wider with my breath, wider with my life.

In the mirror, I see this sweet-faced girl walk up to stand behind me. She’s helping the instructor in my evening class. I see before I feel the sweet-faced girl’s hands start to slide over my ribs while I am in a standing twist. I feel both her hands rub back and forth and back and forth from the top of my right ribs, over my diaphragm, to my bottom left ribs. I am disarmed. Up and down, hand over hand. Immediately, all I can think is: who was the last person to touch my ribs with any focused intensity? An odd thought.  She says “is this okay?” and I nod just as she hooks her fingers just under my right ribs and pulls back, gently, gently, to open my side more deeply into the twist.

At least I would guess that is what she would say she is doing, trying to get me deeper into my posture. But she is also dominating me. She has just taken my pose from me and made it something she is shaping, into her practice. Always with the best of intentions I’m sure, but my yoga practice just bounced out of my body and into hers.

I experience her hands on me with the viewpoint of a student and a teacher. She has helped me answer my own question if I as a teacher should touch my students or not. My answer is not ‘no’ even though I learned in my teacher training to be very wary of touch.  No touch is always a fair response. Touch is the most magnificent of the senses and the most dangerous. As teachers, as students, we must take care.

But what I find is that this isn’t actually a yes or no question.  Because in this circumstance when as a teacher we want to put our hands on someone, we are both teachers and students.  The question really is a compromise where we must take care to equally include our will with our student’s.

My sweet-faced teacher may know about the proper technique/form over what my body is showing. In putting her hands on me, I understand she is trying to get me the full benefit of the posture. But I am also the teacher in my body for her, showing her what I am and am not able to tolerate and she must understand that. Her job is to guide me, but my job is to accept her guidance.

I believe the question shouldn’t be ‘is this okay?’ I believe we should teach and be taught.  The question should be ‘can you go farther?’ If my sweet-faced teacher had asked me that, perhaps of my own volition I would’ve broken through my own barriers and moved my ribs back on my own. Perhaps she said ‘can I show you?’ and then placed her hands on me, which would truly be the essence of teaching: to show me how to get there myself.

Both options seem better than a passive yes or no, where I am tacitly asked to usurp my practice to what she thinks my practice should be, and where she then is forced to bear the responsibility of my practice herself.  As teachers and students we need to compromise with touch to enhance the experience so we both grow from it equally.

Brandy

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle!

Posted in Asana, Guest Writers, Teacher Training Graduate Stories, Teaching Yoga | 1 Comment

Zen on the Go

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Whole Life Yoga

This week’s blog entry was written by guest author Wesley Vonn. He can be contacted at wesvonn@gmail.com.

Traveling can bring stress to your mind and body that can hinder your happiness and affect the overall quality of your trip. Even if you are traveling for pleasure, cramped plane rides, different mattresses, or stressful situations can put a knot in your back or give you headaches. Incorporating some yoga into your travel plans can greatly improve your experience, letting you relax and enjoy yourself.

With more and more people understanding the benefits of yoga, there is plenty of opportunity to find a great place to do yoga while you travel. Of course, a series of sun salutations in your hotel room can work just fine, but maybe take the opportunity to check out a new class while you are away. Maybe you always do Bikram, but have never given Vinyasa a try. Find a studio nearby or even check with your hotel to see if they offer any classes.

Some airports and hotels now even dedicated yoga rooms. According to Jane Levere “Hotels are providing yoga equipment and videos in guest rooms, as well as classes, often for no charge, while airports are offering yoga studios to passengers in transit.” Stepping into one of these zen rooms before or after your flight can ease your tension and nerves about flying or help you reground yourself and refocus. If your hotel does not offer these classes, then you could just perform your own yoga in the comfort of your hotel room. When I took a trip to Las Vegas I did my research before booking a hotel. I landed on a bunch of great reviews for the Mandarin Hotel. Those reviews showed me that they have an excellent spa and yoga studio, which I took full advantage of. Moral of the story is that if you do a little do-diligence before your trip you can take full advantage of the amenities that you want.

If you aren’t lucky enough to stumble into a hotel with yoga capabilities, try to find the time to incorporate some of your daily yoga into your routine. Travel easily throws of our body’s natural rhythm and doing some simple practices in the morning can help you get back on track. The wonderful thing about yoga is you don’t need to pack any extra shoes or equipment to get in a session. All you need is yourself and you can find a way to do your routine.

So, next time you are feeling irritable on a trip or find your body feeling stiff and out of whack, think about doing some simple yoga poses or stopping into a new class at your hotel. Take control of your mind and your body, wherever you may be.

Wes

Posted in Asana, Guest Writers | 1 Comment

The Evolution of a Yogi

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Whole Life Yoga

I recently spent several hours digging through the mountains of paper stacked all over my house, desperately looking for some notes I’d taken while researching my next novel. I finally found them, tossed mindlessly in my yoga teacher training binder.

Disgusted with my lack of organization—it was, after all, the second time I’d lost those notes—I set aside writing for awhile, determined to tackle the disaster that was my home.

My husband came home from work, unaware of the project I’d undertaken. He looked at my clean desktop and the corresponding bags of to-be-recycled paper lining the hallway. Curious but wary, he cautiously approached as I sorted papers into ”recycle,” “re-file,” and “God only knows what this is” piles.

“Who is this woman?” he asked.

Who indeed.

Buried in the back of my file cabinet, I found an essay I wrote when applying for my first yoga teacher training.  I remember writing that essay as if it were yesterday. I sat in Maui’s warm sun, scribbling furiously in my journal, trying to explain why I loved yoga and how I wanted to share it.

But as I re-read the words, I barely recognized the person who wrote that essay.  Her goals seem so different than what I’ve achieved in the last twelve years.

In some ways, her aspirations seem nobler than what I’ve accomplished.

  • To establish a nonprofit yoga center
  • To primarily use yoga to help female survivors of violence become whole again.

On the other hand, I’ve achieved some of her goals.

  • To grow emotionally and spiritually through the practice of yoga
  • To use yoga to help others overcome emotional and physical ailments.

And she didn’t even mention some of my most impactful work.

  • To train other yoga teachers, so the benefits of Viniyoga can be spread beyond my personal teaching
  • To keep the yoga studio open, in hard times as well as good
  • To reach out to people I may never even meet, through writing.

Part of me laughs at the naiveté of the woman who wrote that essay; another part of me misses her. But even as I write these words, she continues evolving.   Yoga has that effect on people.

Who is this woman? I still don’t know.  But using the tools of yoga and writing, I’ll keep finding out.  I hope you join me.

Namaste

Tracy Weber

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and join my author mailing list for updates on my hopefully soon-to-be-published yoga mystery!

Posted in Teacher Training, Teaching Yoga, Viniyoga, writing | 6 Comments