My New Year's Dream Becoming a Reality

For those of you who follow my blog, you know that I am passionate about all things yoga. About 10 years ago, I decided to try yoga to combat my chronic pain (since I was 12). I was desperate, depressed, and needed to try anything that would offer some relief.

A friend and co-worker of mine gifted me with a year subscription to Yoga Journal. That's all it took, and I started my yoga journey. For about five years or so, my dream has been to complete my 200-hour yoga teacher training program so that I can work with people who have dealt or are dealing with chronic pain. Chronic pain affects more than just our body. It affects our minds, our spirits, our connection with people and the world.

I have 11 more years before I retire from teaching. I would love to have a new career when that happens; but, I continually put off going through a program because the cost is exorbitant. So I've decided to stop the excuses and try a different route. I've set up a GoFundMe page to help defer the cost of the program. So far I have received five donations in three days! Please visit my page, and if this campaign resonates with you, I would so appreciate your help.

I hope each and every one of you are feeling blessed in your neck-of-the-woods.
Namaste

Yoga is for Everyone. Even You!

Last March, HealthLine.com's  journalist, Leslie Vandever,  wrote this article It Doesn't Hurt: Natural Ways to Treat Pain as a guest contributor to my blog. This year, Ms. Vandever has contributed another guest-blog post about Yoga.  I am honored to host HealthLine.com and Ms. Vandever. I do hope you enjoy! Namaste.

Yoga is for Everyone. Even You!

By Leslie Vandever

What image does the word “yoga” conjure in your mind?

If you imagine a slender, attractive young woman bending her lithe, flexible, perfect body into pretzel-like positions with an expression of blank tranquility on her face and a Mona Lisa smile on her lips, you’re not alone.

Most people associate yoga with people who are young and in peak physical condition. They don’t have flab, weak muscles, love handles, or double chins. They don’t suffer from a chronic illness or have chronic pain. Their bellies are pancake flat and their legs are long and steely. They have perfect behinds and prefer bean sprouts and chickpeas to cheeseburgers and french fries.

But this image of the average yoga practitioner is wrong. You don’t need to be young, healthy, strong, thin and ultra-flexible to practice yoga. All you need is your body—in whatever shape and condition it happens to be in at the moment—and a desire to learn, along with an open mind.

Don’t forget that most yogis and yoginis (male and female practitioners) don’t start out strong, lithe, and fit. Just like you, they came to yoga with a not-perfect body. They, like you, approached it with a sense of curiosity—and a rather serious doubt that they would ever be able to bend like that, because at the time, they couldn’t. But with patience and calm perseverance, their bodies learned, adapted, and changed, growing strong and fit. Yoga is a mind/body practice, one that changes with the individual.

Created in India more than 5,000 years ago, yoga is a meditative movement practice that branched into many styles over time. The most common style in the U.S. is hatha yoga. It combines breathing techniques, physical postures (or “asanas”), and meditation, aiming for physical strength and stamina, mental peace and balance, and good overall health.

Yoga incorporates a philosophy, taken from Buddhist and Hindu teachings, that promotes spiritual growth and mastery over the body and mind. It is not a religion and it doesn’t challenge your beliefs or require you to change them.

The practice of yoga will help you become more flexible. It will stretch and strengthen your muscles and increase the range of movement in your limbs. It will teach you to breathe so that every breathe counts, and improve your balance. You’ll increase your endurance and stamina, as well. And if you have pain, a chronic illness, or you’re overweight, with modifications yoga can still fit your needs. It may even reduce your heart rate and blood pressure. It may lessen anxiety and depression. It can improve overall physical fitness, relieve stress, and enhance your quality of life. Yoga can fit almost any physical limitation, and it can help relieve pain and improve physical function.

Almost anyone can do yoga. Fat, thin, young, old, middle-aged, male, or female, it can work for you.

Leslie Vandever is a professional journalist and freelance writer with more than 25 years of experience. She lives in the foothills of Northern California.

References:

·         Haaz, S. and Bartlett, S. J. Yoga for Arthritis: A Scoping Review. (2010, Dec. 3) Rheumatic Disease Clinics. Retrieved on March 11, 2015 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3026480/

·         Yoga for Health. (2013, June) National Institutes of Health. Retrieved on March 11, 2015 from https://nccih.nih.gov/health/yoga/introduction.htm

·         Yoga 101; The Beginner’s Guide to Practice, Meditation, and the Sutras. ( 2014, Oct. 7) Yoga Journal. Retrieved on March 11, 2015 from http://www.yogajournal.com/article/beginners/yoga-questions-answered/

Four Months Gluten Free!

I find it absolutely unbelievable that I've seen such benefit from becoming gluten free. The biggest plus, of course, is that my pain goes from non-existent to manageable. I have not had a huge flare up for over four weeks, even with gardening! That is just huge.

What it makes me wonder is how much of our diets affect who we are, how we feel, how we behave, and how we view the world around us. I have found that the world looks a bit brighter, even on bad days, than it did four months ago when I was in the throes of unmanageable pain. The medication that I take for managing my pain has decreased, and my hope is that the longer I'm on this diet, I will be able to cut it out of my life once and for all.

I look at the future with rose-colored glasses when I feel this good, which worries my hubby, since I crash when I have a flare-up. But I do believe with a positive attitude, my need for medication will be a thing of the past. (Jeff, if you're reading this: Don't worry, I'll take my medication so that I'm nice to be around!)

The only thing I miss on occasion is being able to go to a restaurant and order anything off the regular menu without a thought of what I'm putting in my body. I guess the up-side of this is that I am practicing being more mindful which of course brings me back to the present.

Note to everyone who is reading this: Please know I don't live this positively all the time , but it is my intention to catch myself when my mind goes in a bad neighborhood without backup, so I can calmly bring myself back to center and focus what is around me. I hope you all are taking the time to enjoy October and the beautiful leaves and their brilliance of colors. Namaste.

Youthful Yogini is Now 1 Year Old!

I just realized this morning as I was on hold with my vision care insurance company that it has been one year since I've started this blog, Youthful Yogini. This has given me a "hard" copy of my journey since last year.

It seems so often in life that we go by, day by day, on autopilot. Our morning rituals before heading out the door, working our allotted time, and then heading off for errands, or whatnot, before we go home and start the evening rituals. This blog, however, has enabled me to stop and examine certain situations and reflect on them. If I felt they had a good lesson, then I blogged about it. For example, my post on Weaving Imperfection into Life helped me to put the remodeling of my bathroom into perspective.

I also looked back and saw indications that I hadn't managed my pain before it got out of control. This prompted me to put together my Tips for Managing Chronic Pain. This continues to be my reminder that all is not out of control, and just by a little tweaking (or a lot, depending on the day), I can begin to get my pain under control. In that link you will find "recipes" to help make homemade hotpacks and coldpacks.

This blog has also opened up a new world to me: Indie Authors! My husband, Jeff Whelan, published his first book, a YA humorous science fiction novel, called Space Orville. Jeff started tweeting to promote his book, and in doing so, mentioned my blog to other indie authors. In the process I met some wonderful indie authors; one of whom, Martha Bourke, has become a good friend. I also had the pleasure to interview Kristie Haigwood whose story was a page turner as well.

I am amazed at how much I have learned throughout this year and how much I have enjoyed blogging. Initially I thought I would blog only about yoga, but as it turns out, we are more than just the sum of our parts. Wouldn't you agree?

Witnessing Change as it Happens

It has been two months since I attended my first Zumba class, and I have to say that I noticed today that I did not need to drink as much water during the class as I normally do--I had water left over! I also noticed that my steps to the dance moves became a bit more refined, my muscles a little stronger, and my confidence growing. Each class has been an exercise in pushing my limits. The first few classes I left huffing and puffing thinking, How is this body of 40+ years going to ever get this right? But amazingly (or maybe not so amazingly), I feel myself growing stronger, shining brighter than before.

A friend of mine who comes with me every week made a comment this morning. "How's your pain since you've been gluten free?" And you know what?! I hadn't thought about it all morning! That is a huge change that I missed because you see, my pain wasn't wrecking havoc on my nerves, joints, and muscles! So I didn't draw my attention to it.

Now as I sit here scanning my body, I notice where the pain normally hits, and the areas seem to be tamped down at the moment. Is it the gluten, is it the barometric pressure, is it that my husband, Jeff Whelan, got  wonderful reviews on Amazon for his book Space Orville? Honestly, I really don't care, but I'm glad that I have a good day that will turn into good days or weeks.

And today we will be celebrating our 16th anniversary with my parents. My beautiful boys are excited because Grammy and Papa are treating them to carnival rides all afternoon--as well as treating all of us to pizza afterwards. I am so glad...today is a GOOD day! Namaste.