Peace Studies Interview

A few months ago a friend of mine who teaches at the University (UM-Duluth) asked if I would agree to be interviewed by a couple of her students from her Peace Studies class, as they were really curious about yoga. I agreed, and here is what came out of the interview.

In honor of the new year, and to complement this post, I drew this peace zentangle.

Peace studies interview questions:

1. How did you initially get involved in peacework?

I have no formal training in peacework. However, I believe there are many similar beliefs in yoga as in peacework.

2. Who/what influenced you to start teaching yoga?

I started to practice yoga in the late 1990's to see if I could get out of pain. I had had many car accidents as a teenager and had chronic neck and back pain. I found a yoga program on TV and did the lessons every day for about 3 years before I finally worked up the courage to take a real-live class here in Duluth.

I loved the meditative aspect of yoga, the way my mind was becoming calmer and more peaceful. I took more and more classes, signing up for in-depth studies and philosophy classes. Finally, there were no more in-depth studies offered except for teacher training. I decided to take the leap and apply for the training even though it seemed terrifying. I think it was so scary because it was something that I really wanted to learn and do. But I was afraid that I would change so much as a person that perhaps the rest of my life would be left behind.

Thankfully, that is not what happened. What happened is that I found a greater acceptance of myself. I found peace in my mind and in my body. I found a practice that supported me where I was at. And a topic that I was passionate about sharing and good at teaching.

3. What styles of yoga do you teach? Explain what each of them entails.

I teach mostly relaxation and guided meditation. I can teach Hatha and flowing yoga (Vinyasa style) but what calls to me and what I teach best is Therapeutic yoga in these styles: Restorative Yoga, Yin Yoga, and iRest Yoga Nidra.

Restorative Yoga:

Restorative Yoga is a therapeutic style of yoga which utilizes multiple props to make it easier for the body to get into certain poses, and thus, surrender to the pose. Practicing poses using props provides a completely supportive environment for total relaxation. The more your body is supported in the poses the deeper the sense of relaxation. Relaxation is a state in which there is no movement, no effort, and the brain is quiet. Typically, Restorative poses are sustained for ten minutes or for as long as you are comfortable.

Yin Yoga

Yin Yoga uses traditional Hatha poses—mostly seated or reclining postures—which allow a deep stretch, combined with Restorative style poses, which use multiple props to support the body. Together, these allow a deep opening in the body. All poses are held longer than in a regular Hatha class: around 5 minutes per pose. Yin yoga poses apply moderate stress to the connective tissues of the body—the tendons, fascia, and ligaments—with the aim of increasing circulation in the joints and improving flexibility. The dynamic of the class is meditative, focusing on the breath and using the breath to find opening and ease in the body.

iRest Yoga Nidra

Yoga Nidra means “yogic sleep” and is one of the deepest states of awareness and relaxation we can experience while being awake. Class consists of a variety of relaxation techniques including guided meditation & imagery, breathwork, and sense withdrawal (bringing awareness deeper and deeper until only the sense of hearing is outwardly focused). In the state of deep relaxation, tension is released from the body on a physical level, and the mind completely switches off, allowing us to settle into pure awareness. The relaxation response brings your system into balance. When practiced regularly, you will reduce your everyday stress levels and boost your feelings of wellbeing. You will also build deeper awareness and bolster your health with deep relaxation.

4. What benefits do you think yoga has on the body and mind/ benefits in general?

Yoga benefits include maintaining or increasing range of motion, flexibility, and strength, building stronger inner core muscles, finding more peace of mind, finding your calm center, building awareness of self, increasing self-acceptance and self-love, letting go of negative thought patterns, recognizing your mistakes as “human” instead of “stupid,” recognizing your own “faults” and liking yourself anyway, letting go of trying to change people, decrease in stress and the “stress hormone” cortisol, increase in “bonding and love” hormones oxytocin and serotonin, better sleeping, heart health, and in general, regular yoga practice produces an overall feeling of better health and more contentment.

5. How do you think yoga helps with peace in the community?

I used to wonder how yoga helped promote peace or women's rights or issues around poverty, education, discrimination, and so on. I wondered if practicing yoga was selfish because I was focusing my attention on myself and looking inward instead of being out there on the streets with a protest sign. But now I see a place for both of these things. And what I have really come to see is that through my yoga practice I have trained my mind to be less angry, less judgmental, less reactive. I still have compassion and strong beliefs, but I do not have the same amount of emotional attachment to an outcome. This gives me peace of mind and lessens the overall amount of anger and violence in the world. There is an idea in yoga that the more peace we have in ourselves, the more the ripples of peace will extend outward to our community.

6. What do you think it is about yoga that draws in and interests others?

I think people are attracted to yoga first for the idea that they could get in shape or start a healthy habit such as meditation. As people continue with yoga I think it is the richness of the history, the philosophical knowledge, the ethical guidelines, the community, and learning and accepting of the self that keeps them interested.

7. How has yoga changed your life since you first started?

On a physical level, I am stronger and more flexible. On an emotional level, I am much steadier – not nearly so many ups and downs. And on a life level, I am now a yoga teacher, involved in a yoga community, teaching students, and teaching others to be teachers too.

8. Other than yoga, what things can people do to create peace within the mind and body?

The most important thing to remember is to breathe. If we can breathe calm and steady we will be calm and steady. If we can train our minds to be kind and engaged in the present moment, we will find contentment. People find this kind of training through mindfulness based practices such as meditation, yoga, and prayer. We can also join peace communities such as Peace Choir or Peace Church.

9. What recommendations do you have, such as books, articles, film, or website, that would enhance our understanding of yoga?

To enhance understanding you must immerse yourself. Take classes in yoga postures, meditation, philosophy and ethics. Sign up for yoga newsletters such as the free mailing lists that Yoga Journal has: http://media.aimmedia.com/healthyliving/yogajournal/newslettersignup.html. I recommend the “Wisdom” newsletter.

10. Would we benefit from attending a group, participating in an activity, taking a tour, or observing any particular setting (experiential learning).

1) There is a Meditation 101 class starting at Yoga North on Wednesday Nov 18. It's a 5 week series.

2) There is a book of yoga ethics I strongly recommend. And it's best if you have a book group to discuss it with. I would read and discuss one chapter a month: The Yamas & Niyamas by Deborah Adele.

11. List your favorite quote:

"Go so deep into yourself you speak for everyone."

~ quote is from Ed Ochester who is quoting Galway Kinnell

This came up for me when my yoga teacher training (YTT) group was assigned to do an individual art project for our final project. I had lots of fear surrounding this assignment because I do not consider myself artistic/creative. I know I am good with words so I decided to write a spoken word poem for my art project. As I was writing I recognized that the rant running in my head about how awful it was to be assigned to create an art project was all about my own fears, feeling inadequate, and imagining that I was no good. I know that these feelings are universal. Then I came across this poem with the final line "go so deep into yourself you speak for everyone" and I knew I was on the right path.

I was able to present my art project and I could see that my poem did mean something to my fellow YTT's, that they understood my fears, that my pain and uncertainty was also their pain and uncertainty. These feelings of recognition made me realize that yes, I was able to go so deep into myself that what came out was universal. And perhaps this is what art is about. It is rendering something that speaks to people on a deeper level. In that sense, I was able to let go of my preconceived notion that I cannot "do" art and I was able to come to peace with my own fears.

How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body

I have been writing about how I came to have chronic SI joint pain - I believe it is because of yoga. Recently I received a newsletter from Susi Hately Aldous with a link to an article called How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body. This is some scary stuff. Young people causing brain damage and strokes from doing too much, too fast; dedicated yogis literally wearing out their joints; still more succumbing to "Yoga Foot Drop" - a problem with deadening the nerves that run down the back of the leg which then causes difficulty walking. Check the link to the article (above) and read what Susi has to say below.

Yoga is amazing. All of us yoga teachers have been awed by watching what can happen with yoga. And, when not done appropriately, major problems can occur. You would be shocked with how many emails I receive each week from yoga teachers - from the "rock star" yoga teachers, as well as from teachers who are "less known". They ask questions with a similar theme . . . "why is my back sore, I do yoga!" As I share the mechanics of what is happening, I also add...."it is because you do yoga that your back is sore".

Y'see the trouble is two fold. First, we have to remember that we are westerners pursuing an eastern philosophical movement program that has important tenets (yamas and niyamas) as the foundation. If we follow those tenets, we'll progress in our practice - in all its forms - physically, mentally, and spiritually. Second, we need to consider the term "Asana" which, when loosely translated means, "sitting comfortably and still". This means, that no matter the asana you are practicing, are you "sitting comfortably and still" or are you in "tension"?

Consider your practice - when you are in Warrior 1, Warrior 3, Triangle, Headstand, Downward Dog, or any other myriad of asanas, are you in tension? If you are. . . you aren't practicing yoga . . you are "doing fitness".

It sets up an interesting predicament, doesn't it? A predicament which has me understand and have compassion for why it is so difficult for yoga practitioners in the West "to get it".

1. As a culture, there is a preference for the "end", not the "journey" or the "process".
2. Many trainings are about "going deeper" since there is some apparent belief that "going deeper" is "better". (I recall a teacher who came to a training of mine who was utterly shocked that my training was the first she had been to that wasn't about depth of asana and she was so "wow'd" that she felt so good).
3. There is a focus on not paying attention to the pain, to move through it as opposed to listen to it.

I am all for a physical challenge, and for the mental and spiritual stretch required to see my "blind spots" so that those things that restrict or limit me can be resolved; just as I enjoy practicing with energy and prana and transcending the physical plane. But truth be told, the physical plane is where we live, and Newton's laws still reign true. Biomechanics and Kinesiology are facts of life on this earthly plane, and we need to honour their principles. If you don't honour them, you will suffer the consequences.

Does this mean that "some people should give up yoga all together" as written about in the article? Well, that assumes that yoga consists only the physical postures in their classic form. Perhaps in those times of injury, it is actually time to read up and embody the yamas and niyamas so the journey back to the mat, the journey back to living the life you want to live, through great yoga therapy and then modified asanas, is one of exploration, curiosity and awe.

If you think someone would benefit from this information, please pass it along.
Best,  Susi
www.functionalsynergy.com
Susi's Facebook Page

After reading the article and reading what Susi had to say I checked in with Kristin from Namaste from Duluth. We work together but teach different styles of yoga so I always like to get her opinion. Besides, her reasoning is generally well thought out and well articulated. Here's what she says:

NY Times article - interesting. Not surprising, but interesting. My thoughts: on one hand, the article is true. Yoga can cause injuries. Long term debilitating ones. Painful injuries that take forever to heal or never heal.

On the other hand, find me an activity that isn't riddled with injury:

• Soccer - long term head injuries, knee issues, sprains, etc
• Hockey - just read about the player(s) who've been paralyzed recently
• Running - knee, hip, ankles, lower back
• Swimming - probably the most gentle of all, yet aerobic, but hell, you could drown!
• Martial arts - you could list these better than I
• Road cycling - impotence, lower back, knees, shoulders, decreased bone density
• Baseball - rotator cuff, oblique sprains, blown out knees, broken bones
• Hiking - blown out knees, hip problems, spinal problems (from carrying a pack), etc.

The other thing I questioned in the article was somewhere it stated - in an informal study - that OMG! 42 people ended up in the emergency room in a given year for injuries sustained doing yoga. Really? 42? I can guarantee more runners end up in the emergency room than yogis. That would be ONE class in NYC - the rest of the nation is fine.

The business with strokes is a bit odd. Given the number of activities in which younger people are participating in (yoga, gymnastics, dance lines) that involve back bending, I would think you would have to be predisposed to stroke to begin with. That to me is two unusual and very extreme situations - not a trend.

So yes, yoga can cause injuries or even inflame existing injuries. I don't dispute that. And as in any activity, the responsibility is up to the individual to practice safely. Therein lies the problem IMO. Getting the practitioner to practice safely no matter the style of yoga they do.

I sent this off to my Saturday yoga peeps and one of them replied back that they'd rather risk injury and to have fun than remaining sedentary and afraid of moving.

~ Kristin, Namaste from Duluth

My teacher, Deborah Adele, has also weighed in on the topic in her blog post, "Sculpted or Free" which I have pasted in below:

A recent New York Times article discussing the harm yoga can cause, has created quite a stir. It has also created an opportunity for us yoga practitioners to re-look at our yoga practice, an opportunity that I am grateful for.

I find it so easy to seek change while unconsciously holding the very patterns I am seeking to change. It is so easy to “sculpt” myself into the person and the pose I am desiring. It is this sculpting that tempts injury and harm.

The purpose of yoga is to free our bodies and our minds. The only way this can happen is through our own surrender. To the degree that we surrender to the pose, is the degree to which the pose can begin to show us where our unsupportive habits lie. To the degree that we are willing to be the recipient of the pose rather than the designer, is the degree to which the real change we are seeking can happen. This is true on and off the mat.

It takes real courage, I think, to surrender to a pose rather than sculpt ourselves into it. But the results are very different; one leads to continuity and harm, the other to real freedom.

~ Deborah Adele, author of The Yamas & Niyamas: Exploring Yoga's Ethical Practice

I'm curious to hear what you think. Please do share and please be careful in your practice. Mindful, kind yoga is the way. ~Sara

Questions on Restorative Yoga Teaching Technique

I have received a number of emails asking questions about how I run my class and other technique related questions. I want to start sharing these emails so other folks can benefit from the conversations too. Below is an email from Melinda, wondering about how much talking do I do and what to do about students who fall asleep. I've expanded on my answer a little at the end of the post.

Hi Sara,

I just discovered your site and will be spending a great deal of time there I’m sure!  I teach a weekly yoga class, mostly Iyengar-style, although I have started adding in Yin yoga and occasionally some restorative poses.  I’d like to do an entire restorative class towards the end of my session (just before Christmas) but am unsure about all of the silence.  I’ve noticed that, although my students like a longer savasana (10-15 minutes), many of them doze off – which I believe is a comment on our culture more than anything else.  Anyway, I think 90 minutes of restorative postures would present a huge mental challenge – staying awake.  On the other hand, I think too much chatter (by me) would be disruptive.   How much instruction/information/teaching do you do once your students are in the pose?

Thank you, Melinda

Hi Melinda -

I’m glad you found my website. I’d like to post your question and my answer on my blog as a new post if you don’t mind. Lots of people have asked me this question so I think I should put a post up. I think we all have a hard time being quiet – even us, the teachers (especially us?). We want to keep explaining, help our students get everything just right. But really we need to let them settle into the quiet of the pose and experience the kind of relaxation that comes from “not doing.” If they fall asleep....well, I guess they are tired. Of course some people are the lucky kind who fall asleep the instant their head hits the pillow so for restorative, their challenge might be to keep more awareness of breath and try to keep their mind from turning off.

My class is 75 minutes. The first 15 I do welcome, announcements, short talk on  being comfortable and asking for help, demo the poses and then a tiny warm up and centering. The next hour we do 6 poses including Savasana. Each pose gets 10 minutes which includes set up, settling in and coming out.  I do talk some – I like to settle people in to each pose by talking them back into relaxation – but I try to be quiet for most of the pose. I give a reminder at the 1/2 way point to move the body or the head if they have become uncomfortable or if the person is in a twist or something that requires balance on both sides. I like to play an Om CD or Shamanic Dream with the heart beat rhythm. Sometimes I play the gong or the crystal bowl at the end for Savasana.

I’ll think about this some more and try to come up with a more coherent answer and put it up on my blog. I’ve got a busy week though so it might not be right away. Thanks for writing and best of luck on your class. I’m sure your students will love it.

Sara

I just taught two different restorative classes over the past week: one for teachers in training and one for my regular students. I tried to observe how much talking I did to the students in each of these classes so I'd have a more definite answer.

What I noticed was that with the teacher trainers I talked quite a bit more. I was thinking of their class more as a training session - which it was. I wanted to impart as much knowledge in the 4 hours I was with them as possible.

With my regular class I was pretty quiet this time. Just about everyone who attended has been to my class before so they know the ropes and don't need a lot of instruction. But I do still talk them down into each pose, settling them into relaxation. I tell them the 1/2 way point so they take the pose on both sides of their body.  And I talk them up each time by inviting them to take 5 smooth, deep breaths and then carefully exit the pose. I remind them to be mindful and quiet as they transition from pose to pose. And I remind them to ask me if they can't quite get comfortable.

That sounds like it wouldn't leave a lot of time for quiet but it does. I think quiet time in restorative is as important or even more important than instruction time.

Please feel free to email me with your questions or comments on your experience and I'd be happy to answer and share more here.

Happy Solstice!