Thursday, February 28, 2013

Day 30: Feb 28th, 2013


The Ripple Effect. Last night, at our weekly 40 day meeting, some fellow 40-dayers spoke about how they have noticed that their 40 Day Journey is having a far reaching, ripple effect on friends and family. I have noticed this too and it is not something that I expected to happen. A few days ago, I had a long conversation about the benefits of meditation and yoga with my father and sister. My father, who has chronic back issues, even got down on the floor and started doing his back strengthening exercises. My sister went out the next day and bought a month long yoga pass. Yesterday, I had a long conversation with a coworker about doshas( I will explain what these are in a later blog). That same day, other co-workers began asking me about my vegan diet, not out of judgement, but out of pure curiosity. This morning, a high school friend who I had not spoken to in a few years messaged me to say that he had been reading this blog and that he too has been undergoing a profound spiritual journey lately. We spoke about the fact that while our high school prepared us to be able to easily handle the academic work load and the social dynamics of college, we graduated from high school with little or no spiritual awareness. We both feel extremely lucky that we have found, pretty much stumbled upon, the " tools" and people that have allowed us to " see the light." As overused as that phrase may be, it has true merit, especially when talking about a spiritual awakening. Over the past few weeks, I have had many conversations similar to the ones that I have written about above. The people around me are genuinely interested in what I am experiencing. More than anything, this deep curiosity shows me that the majority of people do not live a typical " mainstream" lifestyle because they necessarily want to, but because they do not know any other way. We are conditioned to live one way before we even have a chance to discover that there exist many alternative modes of living and states of being that far surpass the limited form of consciousness that has come to be the norm today. What is the best way to break away and free ourselves from the shackles of this limited form of consciousness? Among other things, it seems to me that the answer is doing yoga with others and discussing yoga with others. Through each other, we can come to better know ourselves, which allows us to better know each other. Yoga is a never-ending, rippling circle and its effects are felt on and off of the mat, in the grandest and in the most intimate details of our lives and ourselves.

During last night's 40 day meeting, Joan and David asked us to partner up for a listening exercise. For this listening exercise, we sat shoulder- to- shoulder to our partner, looking in opposite directions so that we could not see our partner's face. Joan explained that each partner would have a chance to speak for 4 minutes, uninterrupted, and she encouraged us to really, truly listen to what the other person was saying, exclaiming that in our everyday lives, we tend to half listen to what others are saying and to hear only the parts that we want to hear. Each partner had 4 minutes to speak about how the 40 day program has affected he or she thus far. I went first and I spoke about many things, such as the fact that I am beginning to think about pursuing yoga and holistic medicine as a career, that I have been sleeping better, that I am complaining less, and that I no longer have even the slightest desire to drink coffee. After I finished speaking, my partner said " I heard what you said " and  then she had 1 minute to summarize and repeat back what I had said. If I felt that my partner had misunderstood  something  that I had said, I could clarify by saying " you said this, but I really meant something else." When we felt that our partner had heard us completely and accurately, we said " thank you, I feel heard." Then my partner had her chance to speak for 4 minutes and I now became the listener. Although this exercise seems like something children would do in elementary school, it was incredibly liberating and helpful. This exercise showed me that the majority of our everyday conversations are often done half heartedly and in haste. Regardless of what I said to my partner, it felt good to be truly heard, to know that my partner was devoting her attention solely to the words that were coming out of my mouth. It felt equally as enlightening to listen attentively to my partner's words. I now realize that I have become far too good at pretending to listen to someone and that I often devote half of my attention to the person and the other half to my phone, computer, or future plans.There really is a difference between being listened to and being heard. 

After completing this exercise, we went around the room and shared some of the things that we had spoken about. One 40 Dayer raised her hand simply to say " thank you all for voicing your thoughts, your worries, and your feelings. We all walk around this world as if nothing is wrong with us, yet each and everyone of us has some type of struggle, some type of inner battle.  It makes me happy to know that other people can outwardly acknowledge that this everyday battle does exist."  She is completely right. In our society, voicing our fears, our failures, and our doubts is often seen as a sign of weakness. Yet, only by openly confronting our fears and doubts and discussing them with others will we overcome these darker sides of ourselves. I have said this many times before and I will say it again- more than anything, this 40 day program is showing me the true power that lies in community. Without a sense of community, we have nothing.

For awhile now, I have been wanting to try to write a poem. My fear of not sounding eloquent enough has always held me back. I guess it is about time to let that fear go, so here is a poem, in its first and only draft. It's " raw," may not have much flow to it, and doesn't even have a title, but it's a start!



Wherever we are, 
we always wish for something different.

In the winter, we wish for a strawberry,
picked fresh from the vine.
And in the summer,
 we wish to feel the cooling sensation of a snowflake on our nose.

When we are short, we wish to be tall.
 And when we are young, we wish to be old.

When we are alone, we wish to be with another.
And when we are in a bustling crowd, we wish for solitude.

Today, we long for the simpler days of the past,
for the days when the Navajos ran free, ran far, ran with the animals.
Perhaps the Navajos longed for better times too,
they most likely did.

When we see a bird, we dream that we too
could glide on the wind with ease and grace.
Maybe the bird sees us and dreams that he too
could walk on two legs.

The sun may even wish to be the moon,
the moon the sun.

There are a lot of things we could be
and a lot of things that we are not.
Yet, without you, there is no me.
We all must learn to Just Be.

http://gayaecoarchi.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/namaste.jpg

Friday, February 22, 2013

Day 24: Feb 22nd, 2013

A little over halfway through! My body, mind, and soul are transforming and growing in ways that I did not foresee. This is not a bad thing. I almost feel like I am living an entirely new life, or maybe it is just that I am seeing the outside world in a new way. Many of our 40 day meetings and our yoga classes focus on how one should live in and perceive his or her surrounding world, with all of its people, all of its trees and waterfalls, all of its beauty, all of its greed, all of its happiness, all of its suffering. While it may be ideal to practice yoga all day long, everyday, the truth of the matter is that we all must interact with society in some way or another.  In this past Wednesday's 40 Day meeting, David and Joan spoke a little bit about the 8 limbs of yoga, originally found in Patanjali's Yoga Sutra,written in 200 A.D!!!! Joan spoke about that fact that the ancient civilizations mapped out and transcribed the practice of yoga so well that we can still follow it today. What is even more amazing is that although recorded centuries and centuries ago, the foundational principles and teachings of yoga are still so powerfully relevant today. Maybe more than ever before, we need yoga! What would happen to our society if the 8 limbs of yoga became a central, mandatory text in all schools. The 8 limbs of yoga detail how we should live on a  daily basis so as to live in balance, in peace, in good health, and in connection with the greater whole. Most importantly, the 8 limbs of yoga seek to teach us how to train the restlessness of our mind so that we can let go of our ego, in all senses of the word. The 8 limbs of yoga are:

  1. Yama :  Universal morality
  2. Niyama :  Personal observances
  3. Asanas :  Body postures
  4. Pranayama :  Breathing exercises, and control of prana
  5. Pratyahara :  Control of the senses
  6. Dharana :  Concentration and cultivating inner perceptual awareness
  7. Dhyana :  Devotion, Meditation on the Divine
  8. Samadhi :  Union with the Divine

David specifically spoke about the 5th limb, Pratyahara, or control of the senses.   In Sanskrit, Ahara means nourishment and Pratyahara translates to something like" to withdraw the senses from any attachment to external factors." Due to the number of distractions in our lives, we are constantly stimulated. We seek and give in to stimulations from we check our face books, when we eat too much junk food, when we drink coffee, when we judge someone based on what car they drive. ( I do these things too). We come to live off of these stimulations and forget how to live without them. These stimulations become who we are, in a way that prevents us from ever really knowing what our inner selves really want and need. Our senses connect us to these stimulations, and therefore, by controlling the senses, we become less tempted by external factors and more attentive to our inner sources, where we will undoubtedly find a call to be kind, to ourselves and to others. David described it as " not letting the glitz of the outside world dazzle you, and to train ourselves into being a different way in the  world" Pratyahara is not advising that we shut off our senses completely, as this is not physically possible. Rather, we must become more mindful of how our senses are serving us. Do I really need a cup of coffee in the morning? Which foods nourish my body and mind? Am I judging someone based on what they are wearing? Are my relationships with others giving me joy or stress? What makes me feel stressed and angry? What makes me feel genuinely happy and at peace? 


Yoga is not about gaining a new self, it is about gaining a new and stronger sense of self! When you actually pay attention to the " voice inside," you will be surprised by how easily it begins to guide you gracefully and mindfully throughout everyday life and how it begins to change your relationship to external factors. This is what I am experiencing right now and  I am seeing the world around me in a whole new way. Regardless of what I thought I knew before, I am now beginning to see what is truly important in life and what truly has no significance. In our meeting, Joan quoted Baron Baptiste, who writes that " As we remove the rocks that block our wisdom and light, we find that we are able to set more and more time aside for the things that restore us : time spent in nature,solitude, meditation,  intimacy, having heart-to-heart conversations that heal. These moments spend in restoring ourselves are the sign post of our progress in health." My inner voice is beginning to tell me that these activities that restore us are the only things that truly matter.  I encourage you all to take time to pay gratitude and to heal yourself today.

An easy way to pay gratitude to yourself everyday is to nourish yourself with delicious, yet nutritious foods that heal and strengthen your body. Our bodies truly are our temples and we get out what we put in. This week, all 40 dayers are doing a 3 day fruit cleanse, only eating raw fruit for 3 days.A fruit cleanse or fast allows the body to clear out all of its toxins, gives the organs an opportunity to rest and reset, and helps to break old eating habits. My fruit cleanse ended today and this is what my diet consisted of for the past 3 days: 2 avocados, an orange, an apple, 3 bananas, a pineapple, a melon, a pomegranate, a plum, a pear, a kiwi, a mango, and 6 white turkish figs.Many people believe that one will constantly feel hungry, light-headed, and dizzy while fasting or cleansing, but I did not find this to be the case at all. I did have a slight headache today ( which was cured not by advil, but by yoga!), but this is common. The body is going through a waste removal process and therefore, it is common for some people to get a headache or to feel slight flu- like symptoms during a cleanse. Therefore, it is recommended that one allow a lot of time for rest during a cleanse. A fast is not only a fast from food, but is also a fast from other external factors, such as television, talking, working too much. The fruit cleanse was not as difficult as it thought I would be. The fascinating part is that I did not have cravings for junk food, but rather for a large salad and grains- It is interesting to see what the body craves when we only eat the basics. I do not feel extremely different, but I have a feeling that the day after the cleanse ends, tomorrow, is the day that I will feel its true effects.  Either way,  a salad or a bowl of warm oatmeal with raisins have never been more appealing.  Regular fasts are part of many cultures and religions, and I think that I will start doing a cleanse every month. It is said that the best time to do is a cleanse is when the seasons are changing, so if you are considering doing one yourself, spring arrives in about a month. One thing I can suggest is that if you are a coffee drinker, cut out the coffee before hand. Going cold turkey on the coffee and doing a fruit cleanse at the same time can be quite difficult.

As always, thank you for reading! Namaste!


This is Brooklyn the Boxer- now thats a downward dog if i've ever seen one! She eats her bones like this and hangs out in downward doggie for hours!






Friday, February 15, 2013

Day 17: Feb 15th, 2013


Hola amigos and yogis alike. As I sit here eating a homemade, no-bake, vegan, chocolatey- peanut butter oatmeal cookie ( yes, vegan desserts do exist and they are just as delicious) and listening to the Al Green radio station on Spotify, I feel myself beaming with elation and vitality. Although Storm Nemo threw off my center of balance and caused a slight speed bump in my 40 day journey, this past week at the yoga studio not only got me back on track, but felt like a major breakthrough in regards to my personal revolution. In my yoga classes ( I took 8 in 5 days!) I reached many new points of flexibility, strength, and balance. In Kristi's Thursday afternoon Heated Vinyasa Flow, I came close to doing Pigeon Pose in its fullest expression. For those of you who are not familiar with Pigeon Pose, here is a picture: 

http://yoga.about.com/od/yogaposes/ig/Yoga-Backbends-Photo-Gallery/Full-Pigeon.htm

My head is not close to touching my feet, but I was not able to grab onto my toes from that arm angle three weeks ago. I have always been decently flexible, demonstrated by the fact that I was a hockey goaltender for 15 years, but I now realize that flexibility not only depends on the looseness of ligaments and the openness of joints, but also on strength, specifically core and back strength. I can only imagine how much yoga would have helped my goaltending abilities… only if i had known! Each day I realize more and more that the benefits of yoga are extremely vast and far-reaching. Regular yoga  can help lower depression and anxiety, it can rehabilitate serious injuries, especially back injuries, it can help us sleep better and more deeply, it can help us maintain a healthy body weight and toned physique, which boosts confidence, and it increases our mindfulness. Tonight, in her 5:45 TGIF Prana Flow class, Amanda spoke about another aspect of yoga that I had been thinking about all week: the power of yoga to unite. Amanda explained that in Sanskrit, yoga means To Unite. Through yoga, we unite our mind, body, and spirit, which allows us to let go of our ego, or our selfishness. When we attend a yoga class, we unite with others as we all simultaneously let go of our individual selfs, gaining more selflessness. At All That Matters, this act of uniting with others extends well beyond the yoga classroom. Each day at the studio, I find myself having a long conversation with someone new, be it a fellow 40-dayer, a teacher, an employee, a new face in a yoga class. Due to its nature, yoga tends to attract friendly, peaceful, and kind people and this is surely the case at All That Matters.  All members of the ATM community have been so welcoming and friendly that it truly has touched my heart. As I sit in the weekly 40 day meetings, I feel like I am part of something meaningful, something revolutionary, something important, something that touches on and reveals what is truly essential in life: a sense of community! Society needs more community centers like All That Matters, centers where individuals can come together to get to know their neighbors. Today's society strongly encourages and even rewards independence to the point that we all sometimes forget the importance of fellowship. I lived on the same street for 15 years and barely knew my neighbors:there is clearly something wrong with that picture. In the end, all we really have are the close relationships that  we form throughout life. Go out and get your neighbor today!

While yoga enlightens the body, it also enlightens the mind. Many of the teachers at All That Matters often read poems or excerpts from books throughout or at the end of class. I can think of nothing better than laying in savassana while being read to( talk about being a child again!). I especially like the poem below, entitled Oxygen by Mary Oliver, which was read by Jessie, who teaches Purna Yoga. For me, this poem captures everything that I have been feeling over the past few weeks. It made my heart smile and I hope it makes yours smile too. If any of you have any poems or poets that are near and dear to your heart, please send them my way! These days, I find myself having a strong desire to read more poetry.

Oxygen

Everything needs it: bone, muscles, and even,
while it calls the earth its home, the soul.
So the merciful, noisy machine

stands in our house working away in its
lung-like voice.  I hear it as I kneel
before the fire, stirring with a

stick of iron, letting the logs
lie more loosely.  You, in the upstairs room,
are in your usual position, leaning on your

right shoulder which aches
all day.  You are breathing
patiently; it is a

beautiful sound.  It is
your life, which is so close
to my own that I would not know

where to drop the knife of
separation.  And what does this have to do
with love, except

everything?  Now the fire rises
and offers a dozen, singing, deep-red
roses of flame.  Then it settles

to quietude, or maybe gratitude, as it feeds
as we all do, as we must, upon the invisible gift:
our purest, sweet necessity: the air.

~ Mary Oliver ~

http://www.panhala.net/archive/oxygen.html

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Day 7: Tuesday, Feb 5th


The focus of today's post will be FOOD! As I mentioned in my first post, I have been vegan for about 6 months. Becoming a vegan was a slow and gradual process. I grew up as a burger-loving, steak- munching carnivore. Bored one night during my junior year of college, I found the documentary Food Inc. on Netflix and decided to watch it. Food Inc. examines the system of factory farming and agribusiness that has come to be the dominant form of farming in this country.  Before watching Food Inc, I had not given much thought to how my food was being raised, but the documentary made me realize that factory farmers have little-to-no regard for the wellbeing of their animals, their employees, nor for the safety of  the consumers of their products, WE THE PEOPLE! Their main concern is profit, and profit alone. After watching the documentary, I got my hands on all of the literature and film that I could regarding the state of food and farming in this country. I read Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma, Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation, Sir Walter Howard's Agricultural Testament and Upton SInclair's Jungle, which although written in 1906, remains extremely relevant today. For a few weeks, I refrained from eating meat, but despite everything I had read, I went back to being a carnivore, mostly because I went abroad to Argentina, which has some of the best and most delicious beef in the world. The superior quality of Argentinian meat, when compared to the meat produced in the USA, is due to the fact that while our cows eat corn and are kept indoors for the majority of their lives, Argentinian cows still graze outdoors and eat grass. Cows are unique animals because they are ruminants, which means they have 4 separate compartments in their stomachs, one being the rumen, which is able to break down tough plant fibers, such as grass. Therefore, unlike humans, cows are not only able to eat grass, but are designed to eat and survive solely off of  grass. Cow's stomachs are not built or meant to digest corn, yet we have completely replaced their grass fed diet with a corn fed diet, which causes cows to develop many sicknesses, which consequently forces farmers to heavily inject cows with antibiotics, hormones, and steroids. These sicknesses and injected hormones are then transferred to humans when we eat steaks and burgers. Although research is still being conducted on the matter,  it is beginning to become evident that many of our modern day health issues and sicknesses can be attributed to the overabundance of hormones and antibiotics in our food. 

Even though I knew these facts, I still continued to eat meat until the end of the my senior year. Then I saw Forks Over Knives, which explores and demonstrates  the health, societal, and environmental benefits that come from eating a whole grain, plant based diet, free of all animal by-products, including dairy, fish, and eggs, and most processed food.  The argument they make and the evidence they provide is overwhelmingly convincing and almost impossible to ignore. For example, the documentary follows various( some near-death) patients with severe,  life- threatening health issues, such as diabetes and cancer, who have all been virtually cured of their sicknesses and diseases by switching to a whole foods, plant based diet. One patient in particular is a middle aged man with diabetes who, at the start of the documentary, takes numerous pills and injects himself with insulin each morning because his doctors told him that was the only way he could continue to live. The man complains that he feels exhausted, unhappy, and lifeless on a day-to-day basis .The man than becomes a patient of Dr. Matthew Lederman and Dr. Alona Pulde, doctors who believe in using diet and exercise to treat and reverse diseases instead of pills and injections. They tell the man to immediately stop taking all of his pills and to instead commit himself to exercising everyday and to eating a diet full of vegetables, beans, fruits, and whole grains.By the end of the documentary, the man has lost a considerable amount of weight, has significantly lowered his blood pressure and cholesterol, no longer needs to take a single one of his pills, and most importantly, has a newfound energy towards life. Essentially, he completely reversed his diabetes and turned his life threatening disease into an almost nonexistent factor in his life. While Food Inc. and my earlier readings had opened my eyes to the moral benefits of a vegetarian or vegan diet, Forks Over Knives demonstrated the incredible health benefits that come from these diets. With the combination of these two forces,  I could no longer ignore everything I knew and decided to cut out all meat from my diet. However, for a few months, I continued to eat eggs, cheese, and other dairy products, such as ice cream, milk, and yogurt. I kept saying to myself that I couldn't imagine living without cheese, eggs, and ICE CREAM, three long time staples in my diet. 

However, one day, my friend Ron and I decided to take the final step and to eliminate all animal by -products from our diets. It is often easier to commit to a healthy diet or exercise regimen when you have a friend along for the ride who you count on and who counts on you for support. Ron and I both worked at a restaurant,which meant we were constantly confronted with the temptation to break our commitment to our diets. We both stayed strong, yet I was still convinced that the cravings for cheese, fish, and ice cream would only increase as  time went by. However, at about the three-week mark, I realized that the opposite phenomenon was occurring; my cravings for dairy and processed foods decreased more and more each day , while my cravings for vegetables, fruits, beans, and whole grains,like quinoa and bulgur, only continued to increase. It is hard to describe, but vegetables and fruits began to taste more delicious, sweet, and satisfying than they ever had before, as if my taste buds were undergoing a type of metamorphosis and rebirth. A sweet potato now tasted as decadently sweet as a piece of cake, an avocado as creamy as a milkshake, kale and sprouts made my tastebuds explode with happiness. I begin to feel more naturally energetic and could now bounce out of bed at an early hour without any sluggishness or grogginess.  Also, The 4' o'clock slump in energy that used to hit me like a bag of bricks no longer existed. It was clear to me that my body was thriving off of my new diet, thanking me for finally putting in the type of fuel that it truly needs. At the start of the diet, I thought that I might eventually return to eating meat and dairy, but now, after experiencing the amazing benefits of a plant-based diet first hand, there is no going back for me,

One of the most exciting and rewarding aspects of my new diet has been experimenting and exploring  new recipes and new ways to cook with vegetables, grains, beans, and meat substitutes, such as tofu, tempeh, and seitan. While many believe that vegans only eat bland,tasteless food meant for horses and rabbits,this is by no means the case. By using spices, sauces, and unique cooking methods, whole, plant- based foods can be prepared in a variety of delicious, satisfying ways. Each day in the kitchen is a new adventure for me and I was especially excited to try the recipe below for a Winter Soup with quinoa, winter vegetables, and beans. This recipe was given to me by my good friend Alex Epstein, who had found it through his girlfriend Sonya, who had originally discovered it on the blog Ohsheglows.com( blogs are a great way to find new recipes and unlike cookbooks, they are completely free!). This vegetable- broth based soup contains all of my favorite foods, kale, sweet potato, black beans, quinoa, and not only is it tasty, but also extremely nutritious. The cumin, chili powder, jalapeños, and coriander give this soup the most perfect balance of sweetness, spiciness, and wholesome goodness! Before serving, top the soup with copious amounts of sprouts, avocado, cherry tomatoes, and tortilla chips. Your taste buds will immediately thank you. From the first bite, I fell in love with this soup and I knew I would be making it over and over. It is perfect for cold winter days and is extremely easy to make. 

Here is the link for the recipe- you can thank me later.


Here is a picture of how my soup turned out:




Through this post, I am not trying to advocate that everyone must switch to a vegan diet. Rather, I am telling you how being a vegan has changed my life in the hopes that you may be inspired to eat more vegetables and fruits. If you have thought about becoming a vegan or a vegetarian, maybe give it a try for 10 days and see how you feel. You may hate it or you may love it!

http://tomgrimshaw.com/tomsblog/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/HippocratesQuote.jpg

Day 6: Monday, Feb 4th


Firstly, thank you to all those who have read my blog! Your feedback and the meditation session have provided me with an immense amount of inspiration and energy as I continue on my 40-Day journey! My journey is moving forward with great success as I am building good eating habits and strong foundations for my yoga and meditation practices.

Mondays are usually the hardest day of the week for most of us as it is sometimes difficult to transition from weekend-mode to work-mode. Luckily, Coral's Monday Night Heated Prana Flow Class is the perfect cure for the Monday blues.  In Sanskrit, the word Prana stands for many things, such as life source, vital life, and breath, and as the name suggests, Prana Flow yoga focuses on moving and flowing with and on the breath.  Heated Prana Flow is a very active and energetic style of yoga that has won over many yogis at All That Matters, evidenced by the fact that the class is always filled to capacity. It is a well known fact throughout the studio that you should always get there extra early for Coral's Monday night class. Still, there are always a few stragglers who walk in at 5:45 to find a small room where everyone is already mat-to-mat. Yet, just when it looks like there is not a single inch of floor space left, we always somehow manage to make room for everyone. In this class, the saying " invading my space" reaches a whole new meaning. While in most situations and circumstances this invasion of privacy would be viewed as a nuisance or disturbance, it is instead welcomed in a yoga class, which is exactly what makes yoga so great. Yoga is both an extremely personal and communal experience at the same time. Through breath and movement, yoga allows us to connect and give gratitude to our inner, spiritual selves that often go neglected in a society where we are constantly focused on and obligated to other people and to our to-do lists. By performing yoga with others, we feel a deep sense of community centered around the fact that we have all come to class in search of a greater spirituality and strength. It is incredibly beautiful and moving to chant OMMMM in unison with a group of strangers. 

One of the greatest examples of community that I have ever experienced occurred in Coral's class on the Monday following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Coral entered the room and told us that tonight's class would be used to honor each of the 26 souls lost in the shooting, explaining that while grieving is a hard and difficult process, it is necessary and easier to handle when done with others. To honor those who died in the shooting, we performed a sun salutation for each innocent soul lost that day. A sun salutation consists of a series of postures that are meant to give gratitude and open our hearts to the sun, the source of life that all of us depend on in so many ways. At the start of each of the 26 salutations,  we began on our feet with our hands at our heart and Coral would say the name and age of each victim lost, such as " Noah, age 7, left side".  We would then bend forward, touch the floor, bring the left knee to the floor, lift our bodies and arms into a lung, bring both legs back into downward dog, lower into plank, then into upward dog, lift back into downward dog, bring the right knee to the floor, lift our bodies into a lung, bring the right foot to meet the left at the top of the mat, lift our bodies and arms up to standing position once again, and then lower our hands to meet our heart, just as we had begun the posture. Coral would then say" Noah, age 7, right side," and we would perform the sun salutation again on the right side. In total, we performed the sun salutation 54 times, which was not easy and took endurance and perseverance. However, instead of slowing down or quitting, every person in the room performed each and every sun salutation with energy, passion, devotion, and purpose, which was what each lost soul deserved. Each time that Coral said the name and young age of each victim, a wave of emotions shook throughout my body. As I performed each sun salutation, I could feel the emotion move throughout my body with each movement and each breath, as if my feelings of  grief and sadness were being transformed into feelings of love and compassion that were being sent to the victims of the shooting. I could hear the intense breathing of the people to the left, right, front, and back of me, which only inspired me to perform each salutation with more passion and vigor. It took the entire hour and a half class to complete the 54 sun salutations and by the end, we were all drenched in sweat to the point that it looked like we had all jumped into the ocean for a swim. 

After completing the salutations, we laid in savassana for 10 minutes and I immediately felt that my body and spirit had undergone an immense change. I felt lighter, almost weightless, as if something that had been weighing down on me had departed my body. This something was the intense feeling of helplessness and loneliness  that I had felt since I had heard the news about the shooting: Why do these vile and evil crimes have to occur, especially to innocent children? How can one person have that much hate for others? Is humankind only becoming more and more evil? How do we build a society centered around compassion and love?  By performing the sun salutations , I did not discover the answers or solutions to those questions, and I never will, but by sharing my grief with others and by feeling their grief, I was able to find comfort and hope in the fact that so many others were experiencing the same feelings of hopelessness and sadness that had been weighing me down.  While laying in savassana, compassion and hope for a better future could be felt in every inch of the room. This yoga class  was not only the most effective grieving process that I have ever experienced, but was  also one of the greatest testaments to the power and necessity of community that I have encountered in my 22 year life. While many of us think that the best way to grieve is in silence and solitude, maybe all we really need is to move our bodies in unison with others. The next time you are feeling sad or under the weather, do some downward dog! Peace and love to all! 

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/c104.0.403.403/p403x403/295427_421001421310359_513253429_n.jpg

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Day 4: Saturday, Feb 2nd


Today was a particularly eye opening ,constructive and moving day. I started the morning off with Elsie's 8:30 Basic Yoga class. I have never had Elsie as a teacher before, but I had heard many great things about her. I also figured that while doing hand stands, head stands, crow pose, and box stand is fun and challenging, sometimes, we must go back to basics. Basic yoga does not necessarily mean easier or simpler, and can sometimes be the most challenging type of yoga. Elsie had spots set up for us before we showed up,equipped with an extra mat for cushioning, a pillow, and a blanket. She greeted me at the door with an extremely soft, yet cheery voice and demeanor. I could tell immediately that she would be a great yoga teacher, and I was right! Elsie focuses on the fundamentals and explains the different postures and their purposes very well. Her voice and way of speaking have a soothing and calming nature to them that made the hour and  a half yoga class feel like 10 minutes. She treated us with an extra long savasana, which is the state of total relaxation that one enters by closing the eyes and lying on the back with the legs out and the arms to a 45 degree angle to the body. Because it is a pose of total relaxation, it is also one of the most challenging postures. Elsie gradually brought us into and out of savasana and I left the class feeling light and energetic, ready to take on the day.

After yoga, I got myself an organic banana and fresh brewed coffee at The Alternative Food Co-op, which is located just down the street from All That Matters. Later in the day, I ate the leftovers of quinoa salad with chopped nuts and sautéed vegetables that I had made the night before. Sadly, I ran out of siracha. I think I only had this bottle for 2 weeks. Next time I buy a bottle I am going to keep track of how many days it takes me to go through a bottle. Yes, I have an addiction and I am not ashamed. I plan my meals around one things: can or can't I eat siracha with whatever it is?

What I really want to focus on today is the meditation chapter. Today, All That Matters offered a free, guided meditation course with Dr. Alan Post from 4:00-5:30 PM. Dr. Alan Post, who is a chiropractor and a long time practitioner and teacher of meditation,uses a specific style of meditation called Jyoti meditation. Jyoti means light in Sanskirt, and I will explain why later on. Although I was not familiar with this type of meditation, I viewed it as an opportunity to learn more about meditation in general. I walked into a small room of about 15 people sitting on the floor. The woman who I sat down next to immediately introduced herself to me as Tracy. Dr. Post started the meeting by asking us all to introduce ourselves and to say why we came to meditate today. The types of people in the room and their reasons for being there differed greatly. One man stated he was there because he" has chronic back pain and hopes that meditation will help to ease the pain." A couple stated that " they were new to the area and under a lot of stress due to the move to Rhode Island from Pennsylvania." Three young girls shared that " their best friend had died in a tragic car accident a few months and were hoping that meditation would help them to grieve and cope with their sadness." I mentioned that "I was in the 40 day program and was there to find guidance in my meditation practice." An elder man looked up and me and joked that "  you are in the 40 day program, but I have been in the 40 year club. I have been practicing meditation for many years and seek to share what I know with others and to continue as a student of meditation." Dr. Post addressed the vastness of reasons for coming to meditate, saying that meditation has an immense array of healing powers that can benefit everyone. For example, many cancer patients turn to meditation as a way to ease the pain and sorrow. Meditation also increases productivity in our everyday tasks, our jobs, and our creative endeavors by increasing concentration and mindfulness, which then allows us to more deeply tap into our potential and talent. However, Dr. Post emphasized that the most impactful and important benefit of meditation is that it makes us kinder, calmer, and more loving individuals, which greatly benefits our relationships with ourselves and with our family members and friends. 

How exactly does meditation make us kinder individuals? First, it is necessary to understand the fundamental principles of meditation, specifically Jyoti meditation, which as I mentioned above, means inner light in Sanskrit. Dr. Post began explaining this style of meditation by speaking about near- death experiences. A near- death experience occurs when someone is pronounced dead,yet then miraculously comes back to life. While a near death-experience is hard to put into words, all of those who have experienced it, regardless of where they are from in the world,speak about it in the same way. They all describe an out- of-body experience in which they are "floating" above and looking down at their bodies and everyone who surrounds the body. They are aware that they are dying and can hear what is being said. At some point, they all saw a light before they came back to life. They all describe the experience as a review of their entire lives in a matter of seconds. They relived the special, good moments in their lives when they acted with kindness and compassion,as well as the less proud moments when they acted with anger and cruelty. While this experience and these visions may be labeled as delusions or hallucinations by some, there is one main point that proves that these were not delusions, but rather pieces of reality observed from an alternative state of consciousness. When those who have had the near-death experience recall or transcribe the details of their experience, such as what people said to each other or what someone did, these details can always be confirmed as true by the person in the room who performed the action. The uniformity and unanimity of near-death experiences across the globe and across time have led many to strongly believe that these near- death experiences hold a certain universal truth that is shared by all humankind. 

Jyoti meditation specifically focuses on the light that individuals having a near- death experience witness at some point. Within Jyoti, the light holds the source of the universal truth that unites  us all. In fact, light is a reoccurring theme in many religious and spiritual traditions. This is not a light that comes from the sun or an external object, but rather an inner light that exists and radiates within all of us.( I know that this may sound cheesy or uberspiritual, but stick with me here). This light represents a disconnect from our body and our mind, and a deep connection with our soul  or spirit

How do we find this inner light? Jyoti has clear rules and procedures to teach us all how " to see the light." Firstly, because meditation is a completely inner experience, we must be cut out from all connection with the outside world. We connect to the outside world mostly through our five senses and therefore, we must numb these senses as much as possible. While many meditation practices focus on the burning of candles or incense, the playing of music, or rigorous breathing exercises, props and special methods are discouraged in Jyoti meditation. Instead, one should sit silently in a comfortable position with their eyes closed. Jyoti meditation emphasizes no props or special equipment for a second, very practical reason; anyone, old or young, mobile or immobile, rich or poor, can do Jyoti meditation at anytime in anyplace. All one needs is his or her self and a quiet room. 

While sitting in a comfortable, relaxed position with the eyes closed, but not strained, one must focus on the third or single eye, which is right between and behind the eyebrows. The concept of the third eye does take  some imagination, but not too much. With this third eye, we must then focus and stare into the light that we see. This may not seem to make any sense at all, so lets do a very quick exercise. Shut your eyes and notice the spots of light and the slight flashes of colors, such as blue,red, or green,that seem to slightly vibrate, swirl, or bounce. This is the light that we must gaze into with our third eye, which is easier said than done. Our minds are amazing mechanisms that process many thoughts at a very quick rate, which is usually a good thing. However, during meditation, these thoughts distract us from our goal of seeing the light by causing us to think about work, money, commitments, and stress. To refocus on the light, Dr. Post encouraged us to pick a mantra to repeat over and over in our heads whenever these unwanted thoughts entered our mind. Usually a mantra is a name of God or a creator, which can be interpreted in many ways based on one's religious or spiritual beliefs. Some may say " Christ", others " nature or mother earth," while others may repeat a quality that they find to be of the utmost important, such as " courage, kindness, peace," or " love."

Using these methods, we then meditated for 20 minutes. The absolute silence of the room was powerful. I comfortably took a seat with my legs stretched out in front of me, shut my eyes, and tried to focus on the inner light. I immediately grasped the concept of the inner light and I could see the flashing colors and vibrations, but I was also immediately plagued with distracting thoughts. Each time that I would chant my mantra for a long period of time, I would find myself drifting away from the state of being awake. However, I was not sure if I was drifting into a state of meditation or into a state of dreaming, which would be followed by sleep. After the 20 minute meditation was finished, I recounted my experience for Dr. Post and asked him to differentiate between the state of sleep and the state of meditation. He explained that before we enter into both states, we feel a deep sense of relaxation, sometimes even to the point that our bodies become weightless or numb. When we move from this state of relaxation into a state of dreaming or sleep, our visions and our memory become hazy and scattered,  our relationship to our surroundings is not clear, and we rarely can remember these visions with any detail. However, when we move from a state of relaxation into a state of meditation, we become extremely alert, our visions are very clear, we remember them with detail, and we are acutely aware of our relation to the situation. 

I know that I did not reach a true state of meditation, but I saw glimpses of what this state may be like and what it may hold for me. More importantly, I witnessed the peaceful effects that meditation has on an individual and on a community. Dr. Post exclaimed that meditation is what will change the world because it facilitates peace and enlightenment. By seeing the inner light within each of us, we simultaneously realize that all others have the same light, which unites us all and encourages us to treat each other with love and compassion. As we all sat there meditating, an intense communal energy emulated throughout the room and although these people were all practically strangers to me, I felt deeply connected to every other person in the room. The mere fact that I sat among a group of like minded individuals who seek to explore meditation and to take a break from the chaos of the outside world gave me a new faith in mankind. That was a grandiose statement, but it is completely true. 

I apologize for the lengthiness of this post, but today was a day that most likely will change my life forever, so naturally,  I had a lot to say about it. If anyone in Rhode Island would like to try Jyoti meditation, these free, guided meditation meetings occur the first Saturday of every month at All That Matters. I know that I will be there and I hope to see you too. Namaste!

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Welcome!


On January 30, 2013, I began what is called a 40 day Personal Revolution Program at All That Matters,a yoga and holistic health center in Wakefield, Rhode Island. I recently moved to Narragansett, Rhode Island in November of 2012 and was pleasantly surprised to encounter a wide abundance of down to earth, friendly, welcoming people ( then again, it is the ocean state) who make it a priority to support local, independent businesses-everything from restaurants, to art galleries, to clothing stores. I have quickly come to realize that people who are born and grow up in Rhode Island have an immense amount of pride and love for their state and often stay here for their entire lives to raise their own families. When I was abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina, I lived with a family( on the 20th floor of an apartment complex) and my host sister would always describe things and people as  having buena onda( good vibes) o mala onda( bad vibes)-Rhode Island definitely has the former.

Back to yoga. Basically that long spiel above was to say that All That Matters  encompasses all that makes Rhode Island great, and more. The studio offers 65 yoga classes every week, everything from gentle restorative yoga to vigorous( and sweaty) heated Prana Flow, as well as prenatal yoga, yoga for seniors, and yoga for children. For many years, I have always said that I wanted to seriously begin to practice yoga and to make it  a large part of my life. However, the college environment and mentality did not necessarily agree with this desire, for reasons we all know. Now I am a college graduate( a real person) with a good amount of free time on my hands. I originally purchased a 2 week explorer pass at All That Matters, which allowed me to take unlimited yoga for 14 days straight. After 1 class, I was hooked. I used the explorer pass to try out as many different classes and teachers as possible and I liked every single one in a different way. Each teacher has their own creative teaching style and their own little quirks, but all of them have one thing in common: they emulate joy and inspire joy. While they all know and deeply believe that yoga is a serious practice that takes devotion, strength, and discipline, they more importantly realize that the powers and benefits of yoga will only be truly felt if the practice is done with a joyful, childlike attitude. Then again, many of the poses are supposed to mimic natural positions that we often take as children, such as child's pose and  sleeping baby. And when was the last time you did handstands on a regular basis? Yoga classes at All That Matters are fun and full of laughter. This is not only due to the teachers, but also to my fellow yogis at the studio. When you decide to attend yoga classes, you become part of a family, which is the only way it can be because one key principle of yoga is that you must do it with absolutely no judgement of yourself or of others. We all sort of look silly while doing yoga and on some days, yoga may not come easy to us. There is no judging in a yoga class-just support and companionship, almost kinship. I feel blessed and relieved to have found such a great community of people at All That Matters.

Now about the 40 Day Program. This program, which is based off of Baron Baptiste's 40 Day Program, occurs a few times a year at All That Matters. Husband and wife duo David and Joan Dwyer, who own the yoga center, took Baptiste's program and put their own spin on it. The 3  mains goals of the 40 Day Program are the following: to move your body everyday through yoga, to eat a whole, plant based diet, and to meditate twice-a-day, everyday. It is believed that it only takes 40 days to reverse and erase old habits and to develop new ones.The program has been said to change people's lives, or rather, to reset or restart people's lives. I don't necessarily need to push the reset button, but I do have some goals that I know can be reached through this program. They are the following:

1.Strengthen my yoga practice
2. Learn to meditate 
3.Be able to successfully do a hand stand, a shoulder stand, box pose,  
                     crows pose, a full split.
4.Lose judgement
5. Get a beach bod
6.Clear, healthy skin
7.Cut out all processed food from diet
8.Read more poetry
9.Write more
10. Find true center
11.Explore yoga as a future academic endeavor/career
12.Be part of a community and meet new friends
13.Learn to be kind to those who need it most
14. Do lots and lots and lots and lots of yoga.

So those are a lot of goals, and at the end of the program, I will check back in to see how many of the 14 I  have successfully achieved. Out of the three aspects of the program, yoga, meditation, and diet, the meditation aspect holds the most uncertainty for me. It is not so much that I do not believe that I can learn how to meditate, but I have really never tried it and therefore, have no idea what it entails or what it feels like to meditate. In regard to the yoga aspect,I am obsessed with yoga so doing it everyday is by no means a nuisance or challenge for me, I may do it twice a day on certain days. And the diet aspect?I made the decision to go vegan about 6 months ago and therefore, have been eating a healthy diet full of vegetables, fruits, grains, and beans. I have felt great over the last 6 months and love being vegan  more and more everyday. I have a natural energy and a lightness, both in body and spirit, that I have never had before in my life.However, I am human and I still indulge in processed foods or eat far more than I need to from time to time. I would like to know what it actually feels like to not eat a single processed for 40 days. It won't always be easy and it will take a fair share of willpower, but what really is 40 days in my lifetime-just a speckle of dust.Throughout the next 40 days, I will write about  my yoga practice, my meditation practice, my diet, any physical and spiritual changes, and maybe just my random thoughts for the day. Thank you for joining me on this journey! O śānti śānti śānti.

* I have no affiliation with All That Matters and the opinions expressed in this blog are my own



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