Yogis Set Intentions For Lasting Change (Part 2)

Early this week, a dear old friend was in town and we got a chance to meet. We're both in our early 40s and discussed the humility of realizing how little we have directed in our lives.

Though no one controls outcomes, there are aspects of our life experience we can command. We can hone our approach, manage expectations, set intentions.

Back in January, nilambu notes set forth the yogic approach to setting intentions. Rather than make resolutions and focus on the results (the scale, your marital status, achieving lotus pose), yogis set intentions and concentrate on the steps that make up the process of change.

While we can't control results, we can direct our approach and our behavior.

This nilambu notes outlines how to do that, how to integrate your intentions into lasting change and new habits.

So what do you do?
There is another term in yoga – samskara. Samskara is an ingrained pattern or “grooves” of thought OR behavior. These ruts are changed by creating new ones.

And that’s where the three niyamas - burning enthusiasm, self-study and devotion to a higher power - come in. (See the last nilambu notes).

And they do so in four distinct steps, that you cycle through over and over: S.A.S.A. which stands for see, accept, set, act.

SEE You need to see clearly what is – what are your ruts, samskaras? What are your ingrained patterns of thought or habit?

An accurate perception of your limits, your unhelpful habits, your distractions is the entry point to change (and you’ll re-evaluate your perception along the way).

Nothing will change if you don’t see clearly. At this stage, others can help provide loving perspective. Turn a flashlight on in your life. See what is really going on in those dark corners so you can dust them up.

How do we do this? Using burning enthusiasm (tapas), we study ourselves (svadhyaya). That may mean keeping a food diary or examining your schedule to see where you allot your time. This self study reveals your patterns, your values and can help you see clearly what is. You do this again and again as you evaluate and reassess, and nimbly readjust your behavior. Self-study can help you see unconscious habits that could sabotage your intentions.

ACCEPT With devotion to a higher power (ishvara pranidhana), we humbly accept what is, what we don't control.

So, for example, we admit we don’t really as eat as well as we think, we have a serious illness with no cure, we are beyond our breaking point with stress, the mother/father of our children doesn’t want to be married any more. Further, we accept what we cannot change the outcome.

Some realities are mutable; some are not. When we accept the things we can not change, that yielding can allow us to relax. It can lift a tremendous burden. We can stop fighting.

A yoga teacher of mine told me you can have pain without suffering. What she meant was that we can't always control the pain, physical or emotional, but we don't have to suffer if we are able to adapt our response to the pain.

Admittedly, sometimes that may be easier to do than others. But by yielding to what is, to what we can't control, that acceptance can alter the experience. And in doing so, you may actually change the dynamic of your situation, your nervous system will ease and may even improve your vitality and ability to deal with illness, or divorce or grief.

So this is the interesting thing: sometimes things, situations, reality will change as a result of accepting what is. That shift in perception, that letting go, can confer a freedom that will in fact improve whatever situation was resisted, struggled with or burdensome.

SET You set an intention. Make a promise to yourself and remind yourself over and over of that intention. Plan, with specificity, a course of action that will support your intentions. You can do that for each intention and one intention may have several supportive steps.

Some examples are:

• Practice yoga 20 minutes every day.
• Keep a food diary
• Wind down your day by 10 pm by creating a night time ritual.
• Eat without the television on.
• Meditate 5 minutes.
• Speak to your partner lovingly, and if necessary with a therapist to navigate communication and prevent harm.
• Hug your spouse and hold them for a full minute every day.

Try to visualize and imagine yourself doing what you promised yourself. Schedule activities into your routine. Put up reminders around your home or in your car.

Not giving up helps too, which brings us to action....

ACT You act. You take a step. A small step, again and again.

Don’t visualize the goal; visualize the step, the action.

Don’t give up. Keep getting up. If you get knocked down, get up and get up and get up. Another said you might have to keep at it "a billion times." No matter how weary you are, keep going, keep trying.

Burning enthusiasm (tapas) works at this stage as well. Sometimes you can only get up with discipline or with burning enthusiasm for the intention because the short term result seems so undesirable.

This stage is crucial; no question it can be easier to stay on the floor and not get up. It is easy to stay in the old patterns and habits and ruts (samskara).

If your actions are not in line with your intention, with out judgment or self-laceration, see that clearly through your self-study and adjust your course. Be willing to adjust your course. And don't give up.

To sum up:
See (clearly) – using self study and discipline
Accept (reality) – using humility
Set (intentions, sankalpas) – using much specificity, planning, visualization, and imagery
Act (over and over) - using discipline and that burning enthusiasm

S.A.S.A. You go through this cycle over and over – See, accept, set, act.

Finally, be gentle with yourself. And you’ll be able to create new habits (samskaras), new grooves for your life, better actions and possibly a new outcome.

Oh yes, and according to a British study, yogis (men) do better if they are specific while yoginis (women) more often succeed if they share their intentions. So be specific and share! (depending on your gender)

And The New York Times earlier this month published a piece on changing your habits that echoes many of these themes. One of those quoted noted, "you cannot have innovation unless you are willing and able to move through the unknown and go from curiosity to wonder.”

nilmabu Guided Meditation

This month, nilambu yoga introduces guided meditation. 

Guided meditations can be helpful during the particularly stressful times in life. Intense emotions or stress make the "monkey mind" particularly rambunctious.  “Monkey mind” is Anne LaMotte’s wonderful phrase for unsettled thoughts.  A quiet, seated meditation can become challenging.  So listening to another's voice can enable you to approach the practice in a new way. 

Contrasts in your meditation practice can deepen your experience.  A walking meditation practice provides new experiences that can then alter your quiet seat.  In the same manner, a guided meditation can support and renew your quiet meditation practice.  

Here's how to listen:  Click here and wait.  Depending on your default settings, you computer will open either Quicktime or Realplayer.  You can listen right there at your desk.  The meditation is 9 minutes and 31 seconds.  

Here’s how to download:  To download the .mp3 file for your Ipod or other mp3 player, simply right click here.  If you are in Microsoft Explorer, select "Save Target As...".  If you are in Mozilla Firefox, select "Save Link As..."  

So give it a try.   I hope you enjoy.  And if you have a moment, please provide some feedback to aide and guide nilambu yoga in future recordings. 

So What About this Eat, Pray, Love?

A year ago, within the span of about 2 weeks, five friends told me about this book. I was even going to go to a book talk, without having read the book, but a snow stormed ended that plan! Just as well. I wasn't quite ready last January. I read it in August in 24 hours. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert is her true account of a spiritual pilgrimage over a year. She spent 4 months regaining her health and vitality by living in Italy - surrounded by beauty, learning a beautiful language and eating sensual food. Over the next four months, she explored her spirituality at an ashram in India. Finally, she headed to Bali because she deemed it a place of beauty and spirituality combined. And while in Bali she found love with a Brazilian.

And I had mixed feelings and views about the book. (Okay, besides jealousy). The story obviously engaged me. But I felt it did so because it was a fairy tale. My yoga teacher's response to that was: "You know, fairy tales do come true." And yes, I do believe that - but I felt that too much went too right for her. She wrote a note of intent - a message asking for her husband to sign the divorce papers. And lo and behold, minutes later her lawyer called with the news. She prayed for her nephew who was having trouble sleeping and she called home after and her sister was astounded to report the nephew was better. Liz meditated and felt the kundalini rising. (Kundalini means "coiled energy," and rarely during meditation that energy is released in a feeling that, apparently, moves up the spine. The result is a sense of deep connection with all living beings. For more information, click here.) And in Italy she ate pasta every day and gelato every day, sometimes twice a day, gained 20 pounds and wasn't overweight! See, a fairy tale!

Okay, so what's wrong with that? I agree that books should entertain. Ideally, they do so while they educate. And she did the best description I've ever read of the process of developing a meditation practice - the frustrations, the goal, the process and how to set your intention. And I felt her self-deprecation and voice offered an accessible tone. These types of stories can be so preachy and condescending. She avoids those pitfalls. Reading about her, you cared about her and wanted to find out what happened.

But, I worried that she set up expectations that could create yearning, a sense of deprivation by comparison and/or inspire people to follow her path exactly. Now, in interviews since the popularity of this book took off, Gilbert made clear that her path was her path and that one doesn't need to go to Italy, India and Bali to turn around their lives and find happiness. (She addresses this question specifically on her web site.) For one thing, most people can't. They don't have a book advance to make it possible. They have children who can't be abandoned for a year. I've heard her concede this in subsequent interviews. Also, I was relieved when a friend, Richard, whom she met in India, appeared with her on Oprah - he described his own experience with meditation which was very different. And to me more typical and more real. And he noted that not all people have or need to have, as Liz did, the kundalini rise.

Secondly and more importantly, I felt that the doubts of veracity would undermine the helpful messages embedded. Perhaps readers would say, no way because the story was too good to be true and likewise dismiss many of the very helpful lessons. And her lessons are worthwhile.

Well, in the week before Christmas, NPR finally got the memo that people were interested in this book. I love NPR but sometimes they just miss the ball and seem to be of the view that if something is popular (on Oprah!) that their listeners would not be interested. Talk of the Nation's Neal Conan interviewed Ms. Gilbert. The discussion was a good one - mostly because of the callers' questions. One caller, who said maybe she was a skeptic by nature, observed it was such neat package. Too tidy. "You go from divorce to marriage. You go from looking for God, to finding God. How much is genuine and how much is wanting to sell a good book?" (It's about 23 minutes into the interview).

I thought, yeah - I wanted to know that too and could add to the aspects that made me suspicious. Gilbert admited that she felt an obligation to her reader not to make them go through every moment of "my 4 years of despair with me". (Because readers need to be entertained, engaged?...) She took a 5 year period of her life that was a "disaster zone," and condensed it. The book was the way I wrote myself out of it. "I didn't know how it was going to turn out." She admitred a lot of what happened isn't even in the book.

The book is very good and worth the read. But I think it would have been even better if she had included a few more of the times that her prayers weren't answered quickly so tidily. I acknowledge that she was balancing interests - engaging her reader and being honest with them. I just wish she'd tipped the scale a little bit more toward reality once her journey started. That would have made her example all the more potent and stimulating.

To buy the book, click here. To check out Elizabeth Gilbert's web site, including her thoughts on writing and photos of some of the real people she met on her journey, click here. And the Oprah site has an Eat, Love, Pray section.

Clear Your Mailboxes of 41 Pounds!

I've found some great tools online to help you reduce the onslaught of paper and phone calls coming into your house. It could not be simpler.

Step one: Register for the "Do Not Call List" This literally takes less than a minute. You enter your phone number and provide an email address. The government sends you an email. You open the email. Click on the link. And confirm. Now the telemarketers can't call you. Note that non-profits are exempt. And originally we would have to re-register every 5 years, but the program has proved so popular that Congress is considering eliminating that requirement. Go to this link: DoNotCall.gov. (Government can do good).

Step two: Reduce those catalogues. A great new web site called Catalogue Choice can help you do that. First you register - name, email address, real address. They send you an email and you confirm. Then whenever you get a catalogue in the mail that you don't ever look at - you simple go to the web site, type in the number from the mailing code. And Catalogue Choice will do the rest and get you off the mailing list.

They have many common catalogues listed. But if the one you've gotten in the mail is not listed, there's a mechanism for Catalogue Choice to help with that as well. And if you don't have the mailing label, and only have your address, they can still help. Check it out: catalogchoice.org.

Step three: New American Dream is a web site with the mission to help us "live consciously," "buy wisely" and "make a difference." They offer many mechanisms to help us achieve these goals. (Last month, nilambu notes featured their Simplify the Holidays brochure). You do need to register, but then you get access to all of their services; much is still accessible regardless. And don't worry, they won't use your email to clutter up your mailbox. I have gotten some emails from them, but it's not a deluge.

And they have a special section to help you contact all the folks necessary to rid you of useless mail. You simply type your address in, and the site does the rest. Click here to get started and generate the letters. You just print them out, sign them, and mail them away. Begin now!

One other option - which I've not tried - is a service offered by 41pounds.org. So called because, on average, each American gets 41 pounds of junk mail a year. 41 pounds! So, for $41.00 they will remove you from mailing lists and catalogues. If anyone tries it out, please report your experience back to me.

One final resource - Martha Stewart lists 100 ways and reasons to "Get Rid of It." So if you want to get rid of that mattress or old lap top or suitcases or eyeglasses or pretty much anything else, check out this list of resources to help you figure out what to do with all your needless stuff.

Yogis Set Intentions for Lasting Change (Part 1)

So, where are you headed? Do you feel frozen? In a rut?

Well, yogis and yoginis don’t make resolutions at the start of the New Year. Instead, we set intentions. Using three yogic principles (from the niyamas), we work to change our ingrained habits to get ourselves out of our muddy ruts.

Samskara the yoga term for those ruts. Specifically Samskara is defined as an ingrained pattern or “grooves” of thought OR behavior. A thought pattern can be just as destructive as actions.

These ruts are changed by creating new ones.

How can yoga help in this quest?
That’s where the three niyamas come in. Yoga philosophy is set forth in some ancient texts. In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali set forth 8 limbs of yoga or aspects of yoga. The yoga poses (asanas) is just one, the third. The first and second aspects or limbs are the yamas and niyamas. Together they form the "ten commandments" of yoga, but commandment is too strong a word. Simply, they are yogic principles for living.

Three of the niyamas are particularly useful as they help us set intentions. They are:

• tapas – translated as discipline or (as I prefer) burning enthusiasm.
• svadhyaya – translated as self-study. This niyamas requires us to be engaged learners and endlessly search for knowledge. We are to study our strengths and weaknesses and redirect unhelpful behavior.
• ishvara pranidhana which is often translated as devotion to God. But with that implies a humility and asks us to give up the illusion of being in control and accepting reality.

(For an overview of all the limbs of yoga and the yamas and niyamas, click here.)

So how do does all that relate to making lasting change in your life this year?
Foremost, change your approach. Don't make resolutions. Set intentions. Sankalpa is the yogic tool of intention. Setting your mind on an intention can increase the chance it will occur.

And here's the twist - there is an essential distinction between what you intend to do and what you want to happen as a result.

Statements like these focuse on desired outcomes:

• ‘I intend to lose 25 pounds’ or
• ‘I’m going to beat this cancer/fibromyalgia/rheumatoid arthritis,’ or
• “I’m going to get married/have a child/get a divorce” or
• ‘I want to do Lotus pose by the end of the year,’

But these are not intentions (even though they use words like "want" or "intend" ). They are desires for the future.

And as soon as these ideas become resolutions, they become attachments. They are what you hope will happen in the future. The catch is Yoga recognizes is that you can’t control results. Yoga says you can’t control outcomes.

Therefore, yoga suggests we avoid attachments to desires for the future. We can’t control falling in love. We can’t always control the course of a disease. There is much in our lives we can't control.

We can only control what we do. And what we do may affect the future, may increase odds of recovery, may put us in the right place at the right time, may open our hips, may improve the quality of our life. May. Not guaranteed.

You’ve got to act – for that possibility to be fulfilled. And hope for the best for the outcome.

So what does an intention sound like? Intentions would sound like this:

• I will rebuild my body. (Not I will lose 25 pounds)
• I intend to reduce mental distractions. (Not I want a peaceful life)
• I want to open my heart to love. (Not I want to find a lover)
• I intend to practice yoga.. (Not I want to do a certain pose).

Part two will appear in the next nilambu notes and will more concretely outline what to do and how to implement and integrate this yogic approach into your life.

In the meantime, start delineating your intentions with care. Examine whether you're attached to a particular or specific result. If so, try to recalibrate your thinking toward steps or actions that you can control instead.

Unclutter Your Mind

Celeste West urged us to "Unstiffen your supple body. Unclutter your quiet mind. Unfreeze your fiery heart." I love that. And hope that for all of you in 2008.

Namaste - Cassandra

6 Ways Yoga Can Relieve Seasonal Stress

Stop and breathe. Simply taking a moment to consciously breathe can alter your nervous system. Try to breath into your belly which will help to release the diaphragm.  You can do this any time any where any time during the holiday season when you are feeling tense or anxious.   (The hard part is often remembering to do it!).  Here are six common breathing mistakes and how to spot habits that aren't maximizing the benefits of the 'life force' - oxygen in the body.  

Enter the yoga pose called "Instant Maui"  This marvelous creation is Judith Lasater's - the preeminent restorative yoga teacher in the US.   You lie on the floor on your back and place your calves on the seat of a chair.  You may need to raise the level of the chair if your calves are not parallel to the floor.  You can do this with blankets or towels.   The thighs should be perpendicular to the floor so that you have 90% angles at your hips and knees.  You can place a blanket or soft pillow under your head and, if you have one, a sandbag over your shins.  And a blanket over all of you. The restorative pose got its moniker because it "instantly transports you to Maui."   Well, it does feel pretty good.   

Listen to music.   I'd avoid the carols that pervade the stores and go for something different, different melodies that will catch your attention. Classical or opera can alter your brain waves (See Oliver Saks terrific new book, Musicophilia :Tales of Music and the Brain). Really listen to the music and don't just play music as background noise.   Be mindful and try to limit the multitasking.  See if you notice your breath altering to match the rhythm of the music. (This is why you might want to try calmer music).  

Put your legs up the wall.  This yoga pose, also known as Vaparita Karani, is terrific to do after shopping.  The action of inverting the legs improves the circulation.  Don't worry if you're hamstrings are too tight that you can't get your butt to the wall.  Just move your butt away from the wall.   Also, if you don't have a yoga bolster, you can use stacked towels or even have the whole torso flat on the floor and still benefit from the pose.  Yoga Journal offers a picture and complete instructions.  

Enjoy a guided meditation.  At busy times like these, meditation can be challenging as lists of things to do dance as rambunctiously as sugar-plums in a child's head on the night before Christmas.  One solution is to try a guided meditation which can help you keep your focus.  Here's awhole page of free guided meditation that range from five mintues to an hour and guided by Tara Brach of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington. 

Place a roll under your upper back. This is a modification of savasana or corpse pose, which you can read about here.   The roll (which can be a blanket or a towel) goes under your back at the base of your scapula.    The purpose is to counteract the forward curvature of the upper back and to open the front torso for the breath to move freely in and out of the body. The diameter of the roll depends on what you can tolerate.  If the pain of unfolding your back muscles is too intense, try a smaller roll. 

January Class Schedule Being Formulated

Well, it was just terrific to see some of the regulars in the free holiday classes this month. And I'm looking forward to returning to a regular schedule in January.

When you're making your list and checking it twice, give some thought to when you'd like to come to yoga. The schedule is being formulated so email me and let me know when you'd like to come and I'll schedule a class. Please send first and second choices. And if you've got a friend or two, and you've got a time you'd like to come, I'll do my best to accommodate.

Classes will begin the week of January 21st, 2008. Here is nilambu's proposed schedule of classes. Do not hesitate to contact me with feedback or suggestions or requests.  I will adjust if at all possible. Flexibility and responsiveness is an advantage of a small studio!  

A Healthy Chocolate Mousse!

When I was a little girl, I liked chocolate mousse so much that once a New York City restaurant owner presented me with the entire serving bowl.  I thought I had died and gone to heaven!

Rebecca Mohning MS, RD, LD of Expert Nutrition offers a healthy spin on that classic holiday treat - using natural sweeteners.  I've been working with Rebecca to help me manage my medical condition, and I can recommend her services and her chocolate mousse.  

Chocolate Tofu Mousse
Ingredients:
    1 package of silken tofu (16oz)
    10 oz chocolate chips (semi-sweet)
    3 tablespoons maple syrup or aguave nectar
    3-4 TB soy milk or to appropriate consistency
    optional: graham cracker crust

Directions:
Blend tofu in food processor (or blender) just until smooth.  Melt chips over double boiler.  Add maple syrup to melted chocolate and combine.  Put chocolate & syrup blend into processor and mix with tofu until creamy.  Optional: put into a graham cracker crust.  Chill.  Top with fruit.

Serves: 6

Enjoy!

Simplify Your Holidays with New Dreams

In nilambu's holiday yoga classes this month, we focused our thoughts on the third yama of Patanjali which is asteya. Most often translated as "not stealing," the principle encompasses more. Misappropriation, waste, hoarding are other aspects of asteya. And not only of things, but time, emotional resources, energy.

This desire usually arises out of a sense of deprivation. Donna Farhi suggests we "relate to others from the vantage point of abundance rather than neediness." There are many ways to do this - ask someone if they have time to talk before you launch into a tirade, offer the gift of your time and energy or be full of thought when selecting your gifts to signify your love - so that they signify love and are not simply an obligation.

For more ideas, I suggest a great web site, New American Dream. This month they feature a 24 page guide on how to simplify your holidays and make them more meaningful.   The suggestions are very

helpful and it's not too late to implement some!   All you have to do is register and it's free!  

What Stress Does Inside & How to Keep Your Cool

Talk of the Nation featured a terrific 24 minute discussion on holiday stress.  "Health experts discuss the effects that stress can have on your health, and offer some suggestions for keeping your cool during this frantically festive season."  

Doctors from the Mayo Clinic and from NIH give the best explanation I've ever heard that accounts for what happens in the body physically when we are under stress.   And they reveal the latest scientific data on how to help temper the adverse effects.   The Mayo doctor even has a "Stress Blog" !!  And get this, the first caller to the program was a yoga teacher who offers a yogic breathing technique!  

Among the suggestion are expected ones – exercise (even just 20 minutes).  But others are a bit unusual like how to trick your brain into thinking you’re more in control they you are.

Find out what the doctors thought…..You can listen to the NPR segment here.  And check out the Mayo Stress Blog here.  Too busy to listen to a 24 minute radio segment right now?  Well, Beliefnet.com also has a 10 minute mindfulness guided meditation you can do right at your desk!

nilambu Yoga Suggests Books and Treats for Holiday Gifts

In nilambu's product gallery, I recommend and annotate the best yoga books available. You can choose from the rich history and literature of yoga, beautiful yoga books for your (or another's) coffee table, yoga living, healing and meditation and last but NOT LEAST - technique.

Check it out for some gift ideas or subscribe a friend to the e-newsletter above or forward this nilambu notes to a friend as a not-so-subtle hint!

Explore the nilambu product gallery...

Give the Gift of Yoga

This year, give the gift of yoga to someone you love. Sometimes, a free lesson is all one needs to get started and hooked. Do you know someone who might benefit from yoga?

And flexibility is NOT a prerequisite!  I often hear that one "can't" do yoga because he is not flexible. (It's mostly guys I hear this from.)   In fact, some who are flexible need yoga to build strength; others who are strong need yoga to promote flexibility. It's all about balance. And well, most people can benefit from the awareness that yoga brings. Special holiday rates for gift certificates or first time customers are now available...And current clients can give a gift to themselves too!

Just check out the rates and contact me to order.  Note that these gift certificates will NOT expire (unless I move, which is not foreseen), and will be scheduled at a mutually convenient time as soon as requested. You can also sign up a friend for nilambu notes, this e-newsletter, by filling out the box above. 

Ginger Clove Tea Can Warm You and Your Home

This tea is a favorite of mine, and more days than not, I've got it brewing on the stove. The first few sips can be strong.  The ginger is an anti-inflammatory and can sooth stomach ails too.  The recipe is an adaptation from the Ginger Tea I drank at my first yoga retreat at Parrot Cay.  And I drank it constantly.  For more on the benefits of ginger, click here. And my home always smells wonderful, too.  

Here’s how I make it –

Ingredients:
A large piece of ginger root (a little larger than the size of your hand)
5 or 6 whole cloves
A gallon of water
2 limes
Honey (optional)

Instructions:
First, wash the ginger root.   Don’t peel it.  It's difficult to do and not really necessary.   I dice up the ginger into about half inch pieces (about the size of a pinky nail) and put them in a pot with the water and the cloves.  Sometimes as I'm dicing the ginger I find some more dirt in the , and I just rinse the piece off again. Then simmer and reduce the liquid until the brew is a nice caramel color.   After you make it a few times, you’ll figure out what shade provides the strength of flavor you prefer.   Adjust the amount of liquid or ginger accordingly.  Sometimes I add more water when I’ve left it too long on the stove and start the reduction again (but by then my home smells wonderful).   

  

To serve, I either use a French Press to filter out the ginger pieces and cloves, or I scoop out the liquid, avoiding the ginger, directly into a mug.   I add the juice of one half lime per mug.   You can add honey to taste.  I used to add the honey, but I don’t any longer.  Agave syrup or maple syrup is fine to use as a sweetener if you prefer as well. 

And voila!  A winter drink that’s healthy and yummy.      

Free Holiday Yoga Classes  

This month, nilambu yoga is offering free classes in gratitude to my clients for their patience during this time of mourning and recovery. In the spirit of the season, I'll be offering classes to alleviate the noise and stress of these dark winter weeks. Such quietness is hard to achieve amid contemporary commercial clutter.   Traditionally, these weeks before the holidays are a time of watchful preparation, calm and quiet as well as a time of heightened awareness that dovetails well with yoga's year-round goals.  

The following classes will be offered.  Each will have a physical focus and a philosophical focus and, of course, all will start with

• a guided meditation to transition away from our busy lives and into our class (see below)
• sun salutations as we should worship what little we have this time of year!; and
• standing postures to provide a foundation and prepare the body for twisting, balancing, sitting or backbending.  

I will teach as few as one person or as many as four. Current clientele will be given priority.  Email me to reserve your place.  I look forward to seeing you.     

Monday December 3rd Twist             Not Grasping (5th yama) 
5:30 - 6:45 pm
7:00 - 8:15 pm  

Tuesday December 4th Balance         Compassion (1st yama) 5:15 - 6:30 pm

Thursday, December 6th Balance         Compassion (1st yama)
1:30 - 2:45 pm

Monday, December 10th Seated           Not Stealing (3rd yama) - also known as not consuming too much. 
5:30 - 6:45 pm
7:00 - 8:15 pm  

Tuesday, December 11th Backbending   Purity (1st niyama) 1:30 - 2:45 pm
5:15 - 6:30 pm

Happiness Buddhist Spiritual Leader to Speak at French Embassy

Many of you may recall my review of Ricard's book, Happiness in the last issue of nilambu notes last year. And now he is going to be leading a whole day seminar at the French Embassy, right in my neighborhood!

The day begins with a 30 minute social gathering, and builds from there. Discussion highlights the different paths to happiness, how to increase happiness and illumination about Tibet, a country that measures Gross National Happiness rather than Gross National Product. Should be an interesting day.

To see the full day schedule and register...

Foremost Christian Meditation Guide Comes to DC

If you've never heard Thomas Keating speak or read any of his writings, you are deprived. He is irreverent, real and entertaining, and lucky us, he is speaking on Thursday evening, March 15 somewhere in DC (tbd) sponsored by the Smithsonian Associates program.

Fr. Keating founded Contemplative Outreach and is very knowledgeable about the tradition of meditation and contemplation in the Christian faith. With his ministry and writing, he is really the proponent of the renewal of modern Christian meditation and will show you how the practice of meditation can enliven Christian spirituality.

For more info and to register....

Women Convene at Cathedral to Implement Love

Sacred Circles, a "celebration of woman's spirituality" only comes around every two years. I attended for the first time in 2005 and wow, what an awesome experience. This year's theme is "Implement Love." No words can capture the joy and wonder of worship in the National Cathedral with those who gather for this event. And the individual break-out sessions address a wide variety of interests and needs.

Last time, I did yoga to the prayer of St. Francis of Assis, applauded Marianne Williamson as she acknowledged the distress of war and division, and expressed my admiration personally to Sharon Salzberg, one of my favorite mediation teachers and Buddhist writers.

This year Sharon Salzberg is back and other highlights include

• Artist Karnamrita will chant devotional Vedic verses
• Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, a South African, will describe the process of reconciliation to help us bridge our own divides
• Carol Gallagher, a Cherokee Episcopal bishop, will highlight our connectedness to the living earth
• Roberta Bondi will illuminate Julian of Norwich's teachings on love

To find out more and to register...

Abhyanga, Self Oil Massage, Nourishes Skin & Body

A regular practice of giving yourself a full body oil massage is an essential part of yogic health. Ayurvedic medicine complements and completes yoga and is the traditional healing system of India. As old as yoga (5000 years old!), Ayurveda uses the same Sanskrit language as yoga.

Snehana is the Sanskrit term for massaging herbal oils into the skin. The root of this word highlights a vital aspect of this practice. Sneha means love, and the literal translation ofsnehana is to love your own body. So as you do this, you really need to feel affection for your own skin and what's underneath.

Abhyanga is a broader term and refers to any massage treatment that uses oil, and here I will be describing how to administer a self oil massage. Abhyanga is also a Sanskrit word and with ang meaning "movement" and the prefix abhi meaning "into" or "toward", Abhyanga literally translates as moving into the body. Moving what into the body? Energy, love, prana.

One of my clients suggested I was highlighting this because of Valentine's Day. The connection is apt. If you have someone in your life, this practice is wonderful to do with a partner. Whether with a partner or alone, practicing love toward your body with the practice of abhyanga is a perfect way to celebrate St. Valentine's Day.

To find out more about why to do this and how to...

Revised Schedule & Music Now Available

Are your days flying by but you've not yet made time for yoga? nilambu classes began this week with a return to the basics - a review of that self-administered foot massage to wake up the feet for standing postures. We then did the standing postures with an emphasis on extending the spine. Finally, we started our nilambu philosophical focus with a spotlight on compassion. A new schedule is shaking out so be sure to check the schedule on the nilambu web site for updates.

Please come by a try a class! Or if you're too shy, try a private. The first try out is free. Yoga is for everyone and more than physical postures (called asana in Sanskrit). An asana is not a posture which you assume mechanically. It involves thought, at the end of which a balanced is achieved between movement and resistance. - BKS Iyengar.

Finally, with the start of the new year, I've assembled some unique nilambu playlists. Yes, music is an integral part of nilambu classes. Using music in yoga classes is a source of debate. I use it in class because I've experienced music's power with movement and how sound can work on a subtle level on the brain and even change the breath. My perspective on this debate is shaped by my experience growing up in ballet classes, no doubt. And my yoga practice deepened when after 4 years I discovered yoga could be done to music. Sound gave me a whole new dimension to "meditation in movement."

But that said, I also very much appreciate the value of silence. So nilambu classes offer a bit of silence too. There's just not enough of the absence of sound in our lives and silence can be immeasurably useful in order to bring awareness to our experiences and to our body.

I've published my playlists on iTunes as an iMix, and the list is available now. (For some reason, clicking on the link below doesn't work with my default internet browser, Mozilla Firefox. But if I paste the link into Microsoft Explorer, itunes opens the imusic store no problem. Unusual instance of synergy between Microsoft and Apple.) Look for more in the future.

To check out nilambu music playlist...

If Yoga Means Union, How Does the Disassembly of Loss Recover Through Yoga?

If Yoga Means Union, How Does the Disassembly of Loss Recover Through Yoga? I forget this often, but my yoga began because of death. A man I'd been seeing introduced me to yoga, and he and his family had begun to do yoga to deal with their grief after the death of a brother and a sister. For more on how my path started, click here. And so my path has circled back and again I was curious what yoga resources I could find to help me and what yoga says about grief.

I could not find much. I found one article from the December 2005 Yoga Journal, The Longest Goodbye. This essay deals with thoughts and perspective. I was more interested in doing than thinking and so more curious about my physical practice and how to adapt the poses and sequence them. I even called the International Association of Yoga Therapist. And they sent me a bibliography that also seemed sparse in this respect.

One of my own teachers gave me guidance. When you experience a loss or multiple losses, your heart is tender. So intense back bending, which exposes the chest and the heart, is not recommended. Child's pose, supported forward bends, face down corpse pose - all support the broken heart. It felt right.

The effect of back bending on emotions is well documented in yoga. See Emotions in Motion. If any one has any information to share regarding yoga postures and grief, please pass along. Meanwhile, I will continue my research.

The French essayist Montaigne wrote, "We must learn to endure what we cannot avoid..."

Purposefully Going to a Good Space

If you read no further in this newsletter, at least click on the link below. Steadiness & Ease, from the latest issue Yoga & Joyful Living (formerly Yoga International), covers the breadth of yoga - including physical postures, promotion of vitality, nourishment and building relationships. The authors go back to the roots of Sanskrit woods (which I just love) to delve into the meaning and include some helpful sidebars. One author, Dr. Robert Svoboda, is one of two leading Ayurvedic doctors in the USA. A few ideas may strike some as fanciful: "Never cook when you are angry, depressed, or frightened for you will transfer that negative energy into the food you are preparing." (Actually, my meals have been looking pretty sad and pathetic lately). But most of the information, particularly the section, "On The Mat," is very good. Reading this piece is a great way to start your year. Read on...

A Mother's Nurturing and Teaching

May 2007 bring you happy tidings and much yoga! I've got some great links to share with you and news about nilambu classes starting in February. I hope that yoga, in the physical sense but also in the meaning of unity, will be a part of your new year and that doing so will bring you equanimity and relief.

Also, many of you are aware that my mother died six weeks ago. I am very grateful for the sympathy and support from so many of you. She foremost taught me the value of community, and I've realized in the past weeks I've reaped the benefits of her teachings and priorities in the meaningful ways my own hamlet has helped me. Thank you.

Nurturing and teaching were tasks my mother knew and did well, and the importance of that noble profession will be recognized in her memory. For any who would like to make a contribution in her name, Oak Knoll School set up a memorial fund. The monies will be used to recognize the special service of teachers there, as teachers are too often undervalued. My mother served on the board of trustees, my sisters and I all graduated from there and my nine nieces and nephews are or will be enrolled.

Nine years at Oak Knoll built my character and taught me so much. The school was founded by the Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus and is based on the principals of their founding mother, Cornelia Connelly. Click here for more information her (Her custody battle with her husband is a fascinating legal case across national borders and involving the church) and here for information on Oak Knoll, including the address.

How can doing yoga postures bring equanimity and relief? First, yoga is not just the physical practice. Second, how you practice is integral to the effects. Equanimity, effortlessness, ease and elegance. Relief, release, respite and reprieve. These things are my wish for you in 2007. Try some yoga, at nilambu or otherwise, and enjoy the effects.

Namaste - Cassandra

Classes Resume After Candlemas

Candlemas in the Christian tradition occurs on February 2nd.

Forty days after the birth of Jesus, Candlemas marks the end of Mary's purification. And the date also is about at the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. In medieval times and still today in some highly liturgical churches, the candles are blessed for the entire year too.

All this by way of saying that on February 2nd, I too will re-emerge ready to go and to support you in your practice.

nilambu classes will begin the following week, the week of February 5th. The schedule is still being formulated but will be adjusted to the time availability of my current clients.

If you are one, please email me and let me know if you're interested in the same time slot. I am flexible (in time and otherwise!). Also see the link below to see the class outline through the beginning of May, including a specially planned class for the week of February 14th.

And if you're not yet a client and would like to be, please don't hesitate to contact me and let me know - even if you're just sort of thinking about it. Class are small with only 4 spots. Finally, if anyone rounds up at least three yogis, I'd be happy to initiate a new additional class.

Fall Equinox

Over the weekend, one moment, our night equaled day. Early Saturday morning, on the 23rd, at 12:03 AM EDT, our orbit ushered in the new season.

Some view fall with dread as this time brings an end to summer adventures and sun. Yet, the coolness of the air brings a freshness and harbors a time of rest and rejuvenation.

As a perpetual student, I've always viewed this season with excitement because of the new beginnings - with empty notepads of blank pages and stiff books smelling of glue.

I encourage you to foster those activities that renew your focus and reconnect you to others.

Fall is a time of preparation and reordering. And, of course, I hope yoga - which means to unify - is a part of that renewal and reconnection.

Fall Schedule and Class Plans for Fall Classes

Yoga resumed with enthusiasm and laughter at nilambu last week. Clients found their base again with a foot massage to wake up the feet - the foundation of all standing poses. Each week, the physical postures (asanas) concentrate on one area of practice such as standing, balancing or twisting.

And new this fall, in honor of nilambu's mission to provide stretches for the mind, we also bring our attention to a philosophical principle of yoga such as truth, enthusiasm or contentment.

A few classes still have space available. If you're interested in getting started or restarted - please email me at cass@nilambu.com.

Also, if you have two or more friends and would like to set up your own class, I still have free time available to accomodate an additional class.

Finally, as always, privates and semi-privates are a great way to focus your practice or to address a special challenge. For more on that and on all of nilambu : a personal yoga studio's services, click here

On Happiness

Five years ago,on September 11, this month also became forever tinged with sadness. In response to that, I've been reading a book by Matthieu Ricard called Happiness. I'm not far along, but already I'm learning new ideas.

Many yogis are familiar with sukhasana. A cross-legged seated pose, many translate the posture as "easy pose," or sometimes as "pose of happiness." (Some with tight hamstrings find it anything but easy or happy!)

But sukha in Sanskrit means something more beautiful and more encompassing. According to Ricard, sukha is "a way of being that underlies and suffuses all emotional states...A happiness so deep that, as Georges Bernanos wrote, 'nothing can change it, like the vast reserve of calm water beneath a storm.' " Find Out More about Ricard's Happiness

If you wish to read something shorter on happiness, try the provoking article on happiness by another favorite author of mine, Sally Kempton - click here. Perhaps building on that definition of sukha, Kempton tells us how "yoga teaches us that happiness is always available to us, no matter what our circumstances." Find Out More about Ricard's Happiness

Practice Yoga on the Washington Mall!

This Saturday the 20th on the National Mall, the Library of Congress sponsors the National Book Festival. (For more information on the line up of literary events, click here.)

Ah, but this e-newsletter is on yoga, and so I must let you know that the following weekend, on Saturday October 7th, DC's own John Schumacher, one of the top Iyengar teachers in the US, will be teaching yoga on the Mall as part of a day long celebration of Eastern culture.

Show up at 8 am with your mat at the plaza in front of the Freer Gallery and be a part of history! All are welcome - absolute beginners to advanced. If rain falls, the event will be canceled. But let's pray for sunshine! And if you plan to go, let me know so we can meet up.

For more on all the events associated with celebrating 100 years of Asian art at the Smithsonian...

Yoga Opens Your Heart for Valentine's Day

Love your loved ones and keep them close. A good yoga practice opens your heart and increases awareness not just of your body but of your relationships. Yoga means unity - unity of your mind, body and spirit. But also unity of the heart - which includes mending all those holes and gaps with those for whom you care and who care for you.

The tender parts of our love and hearts can be delicate, raw and sensitive, and this can be scary. This time of year presents an opportunity to reach out to those you love. So send out a few Valentines. Mail, email or simply call those you love - a friend, a relative or a sweetheart, maybe even a sweetheart to be. Don't be afraid. Expect nothing in return. And share your love.

Class Schedule Modifications

Last week my mother was diagnosed with cancer, so I will be commuting out of DC from Friday to Tuesday to be with her. Her prognosis is not yet known, but we're all optimistic she'll pull through. Her cancer is not advanced, but her otherwise poor health presents some challenges in her treatment. Please keep her in your prayers.

This will affect nilambu's class schedule. Wednesday night classes will continue as scheduled and now will not shift on March 1st on the beginning of Lent to Mondays, as previously discussed. Thursday day and Thursday night classes remain unchanged.

Saturday class is temporarily suspended until further notice.

Click here for a summary of class offerings.

I am available for private sessions three days a week and would love to help you focus your practice according to your needs.

Or consider giving a loved one who lives in DC a very special Valentines Day gift of a private nilambu yoga session. I am offering a holiday rate of $60.00 (normally $80.00) until February 18th. Just email me to inquire.

On Balance

Yoga Journal features his terrific article on balance and balancing postures, called Plumb Perfect. I highly recommend the piece.

I met the author, Roger Cole, during my restorative training class. He is very knowledgeable and presents information clearly.

When we balance, we align our body's center of gravity with the earth's gravitational field. Quite literally, we place ourselves in physical equilibrium with a fundamental force of nature. But we can't achieve this harmony by remaining absolutely still. Instead, we must refresh our balance moment after moment. The sustained effort to center and recenter, when successful, brings not only our flesh and bones into balance but also our nerve impulses, thoughts, emotions, and very consciousness. Hence, we feel calm. Equilibrium brings equanimity.

I've heard balance described as a dance with gravity - a dance which requires responsiveness and sensitivity to your partner.

He breaks down the success of balancing into three components

1. Alignment
2. Strength
3. Attention

It's worth the time to read the full piece.

Name the Bones

Poor Bones - no name bones.

For now, we'll call her Nemo.

So, here's the official solicitation of nominations to name our helpful new class aid - the skeleton of human bones. Be creative. The name does not have to be a human name. Let's see if any one has any ideas. Anyone? Anyone?

Consider names from Western classical literature or mythology or from Eastern classical literature or mythology. Either male or female names can be submitted (I have no idea if the number of ribs indicates this thing is male or female). Or offer a word that is not usually a name. If I get enough good suggestions, I'll conduct further voting.

For now, we'll just refer to the bones as Nemo, Latin for "no name." Yes, Masterpiece Theatre's Bleak House has an incognito character named Nemo, but my cousins had a dog named Nemo, too. It'll do for now.

Thanks to Riki Alexander who facilitated this acquisition. You don't have to be a client to suggest a name. Email notes at the address below. Thanks!

Best Meditation Products: Dharma Crafts

Dharma Crafts offers meditation supplies and support. I love this catalog and the web site is terrific too - with all sorts of freebies - a page of "Buddhism Basics."

Right now, they are featuring gifts of "loving kindness" for Valentines Day.

I also recommend subscribing to their newsletter, In the Moment. You can do so by clicking here.

Finally, they have really terrific written pieces on Buddhist teaching, including how to meditate, all of which are helpful.

Yoga Day USA!

Here are 10 top reasons to try yoga. Yoga Day USA is January 28th, and all over the country people will celebrate yoga.

nilambu is offering 2 special classes that day at 10 am and at 1 pm. Those who register will be eligible in a raffle for a free private lesson! Special information on yoga and stress reduction will also be distributed. Register early as space is limited in the nilambu classes.

For those who don't live in the Washington DC area, you can find Yoga Day USA events in your area by clicking here .

Mariel Hemingway is the 2006 national spokesperson for Yoga Day USA and she says,

Yoga opens an awareness of your body and your mind that allows you to slow down and let go of stress. Give it a try. You'll be back again and again.

I hope you'll come by and give nilambu a try.

Methods and Attitudes for 2006

In January, the onslaught of advice on how to quit smoking, quit eating, quit this that or the other can be overwhelming.

So I have a few items to bring to your attention.

Phillip Moffitt highlights the distinction between goals and intentions in The Heart's Intention, a thought provoking and helpful essay. The subtitle is - Setting objectives is not the same as making goals. Confusing the two can lead to unnecessary suffering. And Moffitt offers practical wisdom.

At this time of the year, I look again at the yamas and niyamas - the first two limbs of yoga. These are guidelines of conduct that are as important to yoga as the poses (asanas). For specifics about the yamas and niyamas, click here.

The yamas set forth values on how one is to treat others and the niyamas outline how we our to treat ourselves.

In some parts of India, a new yogi would not be allowed to even roll out their mat to do the physical postures until these values were studied and embodied in every day conduct. For me, they provide a starting point as I set my intentions for the coming months.

Donna Farhi's discussion on how to apply the yamas and niyamas in contemporary life is the best I’ve encountered. This can be found in the introductory pages of her second yoga book, Yoga Mind, Body & Spirit: A Return to Wholeness.

Natural High: A Yoga Vacation

Where: Lake Atitlan Guatemala
Teacher: Robin Carnes, RYT
Dates: February 11-18, 2006
Cost: $1495 includes everything but airfare

You'll be spending 6 days and nights at Villa Sumaya Retreat Center, seductively located on the picturesque shores of Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. With an uninterupted vista punctuated by three perfect volcanoes, Villa Sumaya is the ultimate high for people who love to bask in the beauty of Mother Nature. This unpretentious, thatch roof complex, offers comfortable elegant rooms, spacious gardens, a gorgeous yoga studio, restaurant/bar, hot tub, sauna, wellness treatments and more. Each room has its own verandah overlooking the lake. To see more about the beautiful setting, click here.

Yoga classes will be offered in the early morning, mid morning and deep relaxation sessions held every afternoon. All classes are suitable for beginners.

Your last day and night will be in Antigua, Guatemala -- an ancient city overflowing with rich history and extraordinary beauty. Your accommodations in a classic, elegant hotel near the central square allow you easy walking access to explore this fascinating city.

Robin Carnes has been teaching yoga for 10 years and revels in the chance to bring great people to beautiful places for a retreat that will soothe your soul. Contact Robin directly for more details at rdcarnes@starpower.net and phone 301-587-1336. Or check out her web site, Pathways to Happiness.

Chronically Ill Patients Turn to Yoga

The New York Times printed an article December 15th, 2005 on yoga's affect on chronic illness by Carol Lee, Chronically Ill Patients Turn to Yoga for Relief.

The piece provides a very good overview of yoga's benefits for those with various illnesses such as AIDS or Chrohn's disease. Many patients find that the sessions, which make them feel more comfortable, also lessen some of their symptoms and the side effects of their medications.

The story opens with this:

JACK WATERS credits yoga with saving his life four years ago.

I do too. I've said many times over the last five years that yoga saved my life because I would have killed myself I was so alienated from my body, my life was a series of losses and doctors offered no relief or hope. I was lucky, very lucky. I'd already been doing yoga for five years when I became ill. I've written about yoga and my obstacle here.

Cynthia Mencher, a breast cancer survivor...69, joined a yoga class at the Integrative Medicine Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan while recovering from her illness. ''That gave me back a sense of reinhabiting my body.''

That re-inhabiting often serves as the best benefit. The mind goes away from a body that betrays.

Medical professionals have embraced meditative practices like yoga in managing illnesses. Studies have shown that yoga can, among other things, reduce fatigue in people with multiple sclerosis and lower anxiety in patients with cancer, heart disease or hypertension. In a recent preliminary study at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, people with chronic insomnia who practiced yoga daily said that they were sleeping significantly better and for longer periods.

It should be noted that the type of yoga practiced and discussed here is Iyengar yoga - a gold standard when it comes to yoga. B.K.S. Iyengar wrote Light on Yoga in 1966 which helped bring yoga to the West. He also developed the use of props to support the body in illness and focuses on alignment. Iyengar was very sick as a boy, so it's not surprising that his style of yoga is the most helpful - to any one, sick or well.

And one of the yoga studios featured is in Westfield, NJ, where I lived until I was 10 years old. Unity Yoga is said to be in Mountainside, but is really in Westfield.

Academic Studies on Yoga and Health

This entry highlights several studies being done on yoga and its effects on health. Medical studies and investigations on the physical benefits of yoga conducted by prominent institutions can be accessed through a government web site called pubmed.gov. Pubmed is a joint service of National Institutes of Health and the National Library of Medicine.

Many of these were brought to my attention by my friend and former therapist Professor Afton L. Hassett, Psy.D. of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. She pointed out that through emotional balance, stress reduction and the physical exercise of yoga, the disease process can also be modified.

1. A study on heart disease and integrative medicine (including yoga) can be found here, from Columbia University's Dept. of Surgery (and now of Oprah fame: Dr. Mehmet Oz)

Our evolution toward a more integrative approach toward healing will accelerate if we can alter the different perspectives that patients and physicians bring to their relationship. This article reviews lessons that have been acquired using alternative approaches to facilitate the recovery of patients undergoing invasive procedures. After identifying that most of our patients use alternative therapies but prefer not to discuss these therapies with their surgeons, we began to routinely refer our patients to a coordinator trained in this field. The resulting integrative medicine program offers massage, yoga, audiotapes, and additional customized treatments.

2. A study on cardiovascular disease and yoga specifically can be found here.

To conduct a systematic review of published literature regarding the effects of yoga, a promising mind-body therapy, on specific anthropometric and physiologic indices of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk and on related clinical endpoints.

3. A study, done in Germany, focused on Iyengar yoga and alleviating emotional distress.

Emotional distress is an increasing public health problem and Hatha yoga has been claimed to induce stress reduction and empowerment in practicing subjects. We aimed to evaluate potential effects of Iyengar Hatha yoga on perceived stress and associated psychological outcomes in mentally distressed women.

4. A study looked at biochemical indicators of risk for heart disease and diabetes.

The objective of the study was to study the short-term impact of a brief lifestyle intervention based on yoga on some of the biochemical indicators of risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus.