Yoga is a life of self-discipline based on the tenets of “simple living and high thinking”. The body is seen as a temple or vehicle for the soul, and has specific requirements which must be fulfilled for it to function smoothly. Just like an automobile requires five main things for its functioning, so do we. These five vital things are a lubricating system, a battery, a cooling system, the correct fuel, and a responsible driver behind the wheel. This body-vehicle of ours also needs:

1) Proper Exercise

This acts as a lubricating routine to the joints, glands, organs, muscles, ligaments, tendons and other part structures by increasing circulation and flexibility.

2) Proper Breathing

This aids the body in connecting to its battery, the solar plexus, where tremendous potential energy is stored. When tapped through specific Yogic breathing techniques (pranayama), this energy is released for physical and mental rejuvenation.

3) Proper Relaxation

This cools down our system, like a car’s radiator. When the body and mind are continually overworked, their efficiency is diminished. Relaxation is natures way of cooling & recharging the body.

4) Proper Diet

This provides us the correct fuel for the body. Optimum utilization of food, air, water and sunlight is essential!

5) Positive Thinking and Meditation

This is the alert and aware driver behind the car.

Let’s focus on more a more expanded view of Proper Diet. What and how we take in nourishment is not only what we put in our mouths but what all of our senses are having to digest and assimilate. I have categorized seven main ways in which we can nourish ourselves thought the day. I hope you find this fun and an interesting approach to your well-being.

1) Food: of course the most obvious is the foods we put in our mouth. Our taste sense. Organic, locally grown, whole foods, eaten in season and cooked with love are the most optimal.

2) Nurturing touch: Hugs and massages are better than dessert!

3) What we see: watching violence and negativity on the screen or in real life effects our state of mental and emotional health.

4) What we smell: one example of this is Aromatherapy, a whole science devoted to using the medicinal properties of the plants aromatic oils. Smell has a very basic and primal effect on the brain. Most of us have experienced this when we have smelled something and automatically had memories of the past. Or do a smell comparison and notice the visceral effects in the body/mind, smell an essential oil of Lavender and Eucalyptus. Which one is more energizing, which would you want to be placed on your pillow before bed?

5) What we hear: listening to relaxing music or positive affirmations can elevate our soul, make us feel happy and aid to our state of physical health. Listening to negative music or words can bring us into that state of anger and thinking.

6) The company we keep: this is something most of us don’t think about, but the friends and people at work that we spend time with have an affect on us. If we allow ourselves to be around negative people we can pick up their bad habits and energy. This is one reason people flock to spiritual people and places. We feel more happy and elevated around people who are focused on a higher purpose.

7) The words we say: this is the most important food for the Body, Mind & Spirit, and the hardest of all to control. If you’re in a bad mood and say something mean to someone, notice how you feel afterwards; fatigue, regretful and not very elevated. Then see how you feel when you compliment someone on something. Instantly you feel happy, elevated and positive.

If you are seeking better health or state of mind, I encourage you to look at these seven ways to nourish your being. Where are you able to better nurture yourself?

In a mindfulness practice we become intimately acquainted with the mind’s tendency to gravitate toward comparisons between now and what should be or could be. As we begin paying attention to this tendency, we also begin to notice what is actually taking place right now, in the present moment. In the shower, we notice the warm water soothing a tight shoulder instead of planning the work day. Pretty soon, we also become aware of how many other things we miss when we’re distracted away from the present. Lost in replays and ruminations about the past or preoccupied with plans, worries, or fixes about the next important this or that, we miss our exit on the freeway or can’t remember where we put our keys. More importantly, we are likely missing dozens of simple joyful experiences that are there for us, free of charge, everyday.

Of course, living joyfully everyday requires discipline. Like learning any new skill, mindfulness takes time, patience, and lots of practice. Rest assured, the rewards far outweigh the difficulties of practice. Over 30 years of empirically validated research demonstrate the effectiveness of mindfulness practices to improve sleep, relationships at work and home, physical health, mental clarity, and emotional balance.* The discipline of a regular mindfulness practice works by training the busy mind to slow down enough to really pay attention to what’s going on inside our hearts, minds, and bodies. With this awareness we are better able to effectively nurture ourselves emotionally and physically. When we tune into our physical senses, our emotions, and our thoughts, in the present moment, without judgment of what we should or shouldn’t be feeling/thinking we awaken to the truth of the now. Our responses to life’s ups and downs are no longer dictated by emotions and thoughts about what happened before and what might or might not happen in the future. We face whatever life offers with a centered, grounded presence and a calm and clear mind. Our responses are authentic reflections of who we are.

When we become consumed by a repetitious cycle of negative or anxious thinking it’s a bit like standing under a powerful waterfall. We are overwhelmed by the immediate intensity of our thoughts, emotions and the associated physical sensations in the body. Flooded by these feelings and thoughts, we can easily lose our perspective. Options for effective responses are eclipsed by blind automatic reactions to fix, escape, or avoid our discomfort. Mindfulness is like stepping behind the waterfall. From this vantage point we gain some maneuvering room. We can observe all the power and energy surging around us, without actually being in it. With a little distance, clarity and perspective reemerge and we discover we have more choices about what to do with our situation. The challenges are exactly the same, but we are able to step back from raw emotional reaction. We’re in a better position to choose our response to life’s difficulties.

At first, mindfulness can feel like swimming upstream. It’s very easy and natural to operate from our default, automatic reactions and, in some cases, there are very good biological reasons for doing so. With acceptance and compassion we soon begin to sort out the helpful from the non-helpful modes of operation. The work of paying attention helps us discover what exactly brings us happiness and joy in life, and what truly stands in our way. Thich Nhat Hanh invites us to mindfully investigate the many ways we water the seeds of our own sorrow. This exploration clears the path to living joyfully each day.

www.umassmed.edu/mbsr

Yoga, chiropractic and massage have much to offer postural and structural body issues. Acupuncture can aid greatly in inflammation and pain relief. A tailored Yoga therapy plan can help you understand the cause of your pain or injury and help you learn how to align yourself to heal faster and prevent future injuries. But it is also essential to take care of yourself at home to support all that great work your health care providers are offering you.

Here are some of the many self care suggestions  I have given my Yoga students and clients over the years.

• RICE- rest, ice, compression & elevation. This is very important within the first 48 hours of injury, strain or when swelling is still present. For most injuries and strains bed rest after 3-5 days is not so helpful. Generally, depending on the issue, we want to start to move the body slowly without pain to pump the blood, swelling and lymph fluids through the body.
• After that you can try Epson salts baths(great after a deep workout)- the salt supplies magnesium to the tissues through the skin. Magnesium is a great muscle relaxant.
• Alternate hot and cold packs after the 1st 48hrs. This reduces pain and increases circulation and removal of wastes in the tissues. 10 min hot 10 min cold for 1 hour. Rest an hour then repeat.
• Self massage with a good quality sesame oil(sesame oil contains many minerals and is very calming to the central nervous system). Add some anti-inflammatory essential oils to the sesame oil to revitalize tired sore muscles. Here are many popular choices: Peppermint, lavender, ginger, black pepper, clary sage, birch, rosemary, wintergreen. 5 drops of essential oil per ounce of massage oil/lotion or 3-5 drops per bathtub.
• Tiger balm is a warming liniment and can bring quick numbing and relaxing results. Great before bed to reduce pain and help sleep.
• Arnica Gel topical- this is a homeopathic remedy that works great for pain, injuries, accidents and falls that are very recent. Great for swelling and to help with bruising. You can also take the homeopathic version of this orally in tiny pellets that are placed under the tongue. Orally it is great for shock and trauma immediately after the incident.
• Other great oral homeopathy:

Potencies 6c for acute conditions & 30c for chronic conditions.

Most dosages are 3 pellets 3x a day. You can increase the frequency that you take them if the situation is severe but don’t increase the amounts of the pellets at one time.

Choose the remedy that sounds closest to your symptom.

Rhus Toxicodendron- if relief from pain is obtained from heat  or if pain goes away after movement this is a good remedy.

Bryonia- this remedy is good for pain that is aggravated by all kinds of motion. Or pain that feels better after cold is applied.

Kalmia latifolia- if the pain darts quickly from one area to another and the pain is characterized by coldness and numbness.

Bellis Perennis- for deep muscle injuiries and injuries to the joints.

Ruta Graveolens- is indicated for bursitis and deep bone bruises and injuries close to the bone such as shin splints.

Hypericum Perfoliatum- used for radiating nerve pain.

Magnesium Phosphorica 6x or 30x – if you have severe cramps, spasms of pain that is releieved by warmth, or rubbing. Worse when cold or upon movement and at night. Can take 4  every hour if the pain is severe.

• Herbal muscle relaxants:

There is nothing more precious than our human life. Having been born as a human being we have immense freedom to accomplish almost anything we want. We can become a successful buisness woman, a great scientist or artist. We can travel the world or even go to the moon,or we can settle for a simple family life. With so much freedom, we need to ask ourselves, what is the most meaningful way to use our life? What will make us truly happy? What will benefit others the most? And when this life is over, what will help us then?

If we ask ourselves these questions sincerly and deeply we shall discover that the way to make our lives truly meaningful is to dedicate it to spiritual development. In essense this means to eliminate our negative and deluded states of mind, and to cultivate positive peaceful states. By making this our priority, the negative minds that are the source of all our problems, such as anger, jealousy, attachment, pride and ignorance, will gradually decrease; and our positive qualities, such as love, compassion and wisdom, will increase. As a result we shall enjoy a happy, peaceful life, free from anxiety and problems, and we shall naturally benefit others. Spiritual practice is what gives maning to our lives, and by applying our practice at the time of death we can die joyfully and experience pure lasting happiness in all our future lives.

Meditation is a mind that concentrates on a virtuous object.

Whenever we meditate we are performing an action that will cuase us to experience inner peace in the future. The purpose of meditation is to make our minds calm and peaceful. if our mind is peaceful we will be free from worries and mental discomfort, and we shall experience true happiness; but if our mind is not peaceful we will find it difficult to be happy. If we train in meditation our mind will gradually become more and more peaceful. Eventually we shall stay happy the majority of the time, even in the most difficult circumstances.

M. Zorn

Hardship and suffering are things we all experience at some time in our lives. It can take the form of emotional or physical illness, financial difficulties, dissatisfaction with your job or relationships, or a multiplicity of other forms. In truth, these hardships are situational and transient. I had a realization once when I was on a train in India, and it went like this…”Outside of the mind, there are no problems.” Things happen as they should and it is only our mind in conjunction with the ego that label events as either good or bad, or right or wrong. When you find yourself in the state that is beyond the chatter of mental activity, there is no judgment, no activity, only Being. Then you are able to see the situation dispassionately. Remember, any situation that brings about the sense of hardship or suffering within you has a beginning, and ultimately, will have an end. The questions that you should ask yourself when faced with hardship is,” In the big picture, what really matters? What is truly mine? Where can I root my awareness so that it becomes unshakeable in the midst of these series of events that I call my life?”

Well, in the big picture, what does really matter and what is truly yours? A simple exercise to help you answer these questions is to look at your open empty hand and repeat the following statement, “This is what my hand looked like when I came into this world, and this is what it will look like when I leave.” This is a truthful statement that can really help put things in perspective when you are feeling overwhelmed or worried about something that is transient. This realization will give your mind and ego something to ponder other than its own self-importance.

Where do you “root” your awareness so that it has the ability to become steadfast in the most trying times? The obvious answer is pretty clear. Jesus points this out when he mentions building your house on rock versus sand. The house represents your sense of Self and wellbeing. The rock represents the Eternal or Absolute or Love, which is your highest self. The sand represents transient things of this world (money, relationships, possessions) and things that are created by the ego.

We experience hardship when we place our faith, sense of wellbeing, expectations, aspirations, security, self-worth, and/or attachments in things prior to placing them in our Highest Self first and foremost. This is what hardship teaches us; you can be fully engaged in the world, raise a family, make money, have friends, tell jokes, dream, follow your heart, etc. but if you mistakenly place anything before your own Spirit, it won’t be long before difficulties find you and disturb your sense of peace. If there is “no false idol” before the living spirit that resides within you, no matter what happens in the outside world, your inner peace will not be touched.

The truth is that Love is the only thing worth living for because it is the essence of what you are and the flowerbed of all human good in the world. It also happens to be eternal and it came with you into the world and will go with you when the body falls away. Whether you realize it or not, you are searching for Love right now, and it is patiently waiting for you. I often tell people that there is no good reason not to be loving. It is Love that catches you when you feel like everything is falling apart, or you finally hit rock bottom and surrender. It is Love that is learned through hardship and suffering. It is Love that will allow you to soften and become wise through life.

So, with so much to gain and so little to lose, take a moment each day to grow your experience of love, in your own way. If hardship comes your way, try to see it as Love’s way of helping to guide you home.

Written By Mathew Zorn, N.D.

Homeopathic doctor located in Portland, Oregon

503.449.4179

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Be well and keep shining your light,

Melonie