Monthly Archives: March 2014

Airports, Conventions, and Karma: a Horror Story.

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“Above all, be kind.  You have the power to bring someone hope, if only for a moment.”—David Wagner

As some of you know, I recently had a Stephen King-like horror experience traveling to a mystery convention in California. It started with a series of airline errors that left me stranded at the Los Angeles airport and ended with my ticket back home to Seattle accidentally being deleted by the same airline. In between, my luggage was lost, I was unable to sleep due to recurring travel-related nightmares, and I had a still-confusing incident with a fellow writer who I can only describe as the adult version of the “mean girls” I dealt with in high school.

But that’s not what this blog is about. This blog is about karma. I don’t claim to understand all of the yoga teachings, but I do have a concept of karma. Karma indicates that actions have consequences, not just to others, but to ourselves. Simply put, the law of karma promises that the actions we take in this life will have repercussions in the next.

Who knows if it’s true? As much as I’d love to have a future-life “do-over” to correct my mistakes, I can only say one thing for certain: the kindness of several people stood out this past weekend, and I appreciate them: a baggage claim clerk who went out of his way to explain what had happened to me in LA; a young person who helped an elderly gentleman place his luggage into the overhead compartment on the plane back to Seattle; a TSA employee who treated a Middle Eastern man with kindness and respect when his ID didn’t match his travel documents.

None of this seems major, but it was all yogic, and it was huge to the people it helped. Being kind doesn’t take much.  A smile, a “please sit down and join us,” a “I don’t know what happened, but I’ll try to help.”  The kindness you show others may have repercussions that are more powerful than you will ever realize.

Five authors made my awful weekend a little brighter, simply by making me feel welcome when others did not. There are a gazillion talented writers out there.  Great human beings are harder to come by. I’m already a fan of these authors, and you can bet I’ll be buying more of their books. Please join me.

Has someone made your day a little brighter?  If so, please share the story in a comment!

Tracy

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and check out Tracy Weber’s author page for information about the Downward Dog Mysteries series.  MURDER STRIKES A POSE is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Whole Life Yoga, and bookstores everywhere!

The Last Breath

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This week’s blog entry was written by guest author Sarah Smith. Sarah is a graduate of Whole Life Yoga’s 200 hour yoga teacher training program and a student in our advanced training. She can be contacted at sarahesmith10@yahoo.com

As we all know, the breath is the most important and powerful part of yoga.  There are times when a breath can give us a spiritual experience, such as the first breath of a newborn, the breath that brings someone back to life from a traumatic situation, or even a powerful yoga class.  And then there is the last breath…

On Dec. 15th during our 5 hr. Sunday clinic I heard the thought that my mother is passing away.  Those words kept repeating all through the day and into the next day.

In the past year, my 92 yr. old mother had been experiencing a lot of dizziness, sleeping more and eating less.  We could see that she was disconnecting from life a bit.  In the last few months she was falling more, but never injuring herself.  My 98 yr. old dad was becoming afraid to leave her alone.  My sister Joan lives nearby in So. Cal.

On Friday, Dec. 13th, Mom fell, injuring her arm and head.  The paramedics were called, bandaged her arm and found her head to be fine.  After this incident,  Joan wanted her to move into the downstairs den to make it easier on my dad to take care of her.  Mom can be very resistant to change.  Joan tried bringing visiting nurses in, but Mom cancelled them after one visit.  She was upset that the paramedics had come.

Trying to get her to move downstairs, Joan’s husband Michael had a loving, honest talk with Mom the next day.  Michael has been care taking his mom for 10 yrs. now.  He explained the toll this is taking on Dad.  Mom has never wanted to be a burden on anyone. After this talk she refused to eat or drink water.

On Monday, Dec. 16th, with the help of hospice Mom was moved into a hospital bed in the dining room.  Joan called me that afternoon and I arrived the next morning along with my sister Beth, who lives in Issaquah.  Driving to the airport I told my husband that I felt  she was leaving on Thursday or Friday.

Mom didn’t want to be confined to the bed and was very agitated.  She would try to get up. Hospice showed us how to administer morphine to keep her relaxed.  When the morphine would wear off, she would become agitated.  At those times I gave her another dose and would stroke her forehead, telling her I loved her and that she couldn’t get up, her body was too weak to safely hold her.

For two nights I slept on the couch in the living room watching over her, keeping her relaxed with morphine every two hours.  She always woke up agitated and wanting to get up.  At 2 am on Thurs. I sensed Mom was awake and went in to check on her.  She asked me very calmly, what happened, did I fall?  Yes, you fell and you are in the process of passing away, I told her.  We are giving you your wish to stay in your beautiful house with only family around you.  She replied, you are so kind.

Around 1 pm on Thursday, Joan laid on the couch in the living room, Dad went into the den, Beth went upstairs.  I was also about to go lay down  when I had a feeling.  I grabbed my book and sat with Mom.  40 minutes. later I felt a shift in the room.  I set my book down and watched her.  After about 10 minutes her breathing changed.  It was shallower and there were longer spaces between breaths.  I went and told Joan, this is it.  We gathered around Mom.  At 2:10 pm Dad kissed Mom on her forehead and then she took her last breath.  She had a little smile on her face and she was glowing.  The room was vibrating with such joy and peace that we  just sat there taking it all in, whispering what we were feeling and witnessing.  I said that Mom is teaching us how to die.  Dad said that this is exactly how he wants to go and we promised him we would give him the same experience.

Sarah

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and check out Tracy Weber’s author page for information about the Downward Dog Mysteries series.  MURDER STRIKES A POSE is available now from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Whole Life Yoga, and other retailers!

“Dog Breath” or Kukkura Pranayama

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Today’s guest author  is yoga teacher Amber Polo who writes dog-shifter fantasy to relax readers. “Recovered” (The Shapeshifters’ Library Book 3) is her latest in the series. She’s also known for Relaxing the Writer, a book filled with suggestions to keep your writing and your life in a healthy balance and Relaxing the Writer Relaxation a CD (or MP3 download) a how-to-do in 20-minute relaxation.  She can be contacted at amber@amberpolo.com and http://amberpolo.com/.

As a yoga teacher who specializes in relaxation techniques I’ve taught Kapalabhati, Viloma, Ujjayi, and my favorite Alternate Nostril Breathing (which will help you survive many crises).

As a dog lover I know dogs are great relaxation aids and enrich body, mind, and spirit.

Walk a dog to get your body moving.

Sit and pet a dog to calm you.

Play with a dog to create joy

Here are instructions for a Dog Petting Breathing Technique – Kukkura Pranayama

  • Find a quiet comfortable spot
  • Place hand on dog’s head
  • Inhale
  • Begin to Exhale.
  • Slowly move your hand down the dog’s neck and back while silently counting to three
  • When you reach the end of the dog begin the inhale
  • Repeat

It may take a few breaths to settle the dog and to find your pace. Breathe in with the inhale and out with the exhale. Begin to lengthen both the exhale and the inhale to at least a count of three for each. Let your belly move with your breath. Close your eyes if you wish. Continue as long as necessary.

Your dog will enjoy these breathing practice timeouts as much as treats.

Notes:

Adapting for the size of the dog – Breathing with a Chihuahua will differ from breathing with a Great Dane. For tiny dogs the movement has to be very, very slow. Or alternatively experiment with more than one petting movement on the exhale. Exceptionally large dogs may take more than one breath to complete the journey.

No dog? Borrow one or use this practice with cats, horses, and other warm blooded pets (or a human friend.).

Enjoy and Keep Petting!

Amber Polo

Find RECOVERED on Amazon! 

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Research Proves It! Yoga Helps Lower Fatigue and Inflammation in Breast Cancer Survivors

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I doubt many of you know this, but before I opened Whole Life Yoga, I taught yoga classes to women in all stages of cancer recovery through Team Survivor Northwest.  Some of my classes were taught in English; others through a Spanish language interpreter.  Some of my students were currently undergoing treatment; others had been cancer-free for years. But in all cases I was impressed by the resiliency, joy, and courage I saw in my students.

I knew, deep down inside, that yoga helped my students. Now I have research to back me up. 

A recent study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology and led by Janice Kiecolt-Glaser—professer of psychiatry and psychology at Ohio State University—followed two hundred breast cancer survivors. Some of the women participated in ninety-minute Hatha yoga classes two times a week for twelve weeks.  The rest (the control group) were wait-listed for the same class.  All participants were new to yoga, and students were encouraged to practice with DVDs at home.

The practitioners were diverse. Participants ranged in age from twenty-seven to seventy-six, were diagnosed with breast cancer staged 0 – 3A, and were two months to three years past their latest treatment.  The results were impressive:

  • Yoga practitioners had fifty-seven percent less fatigue than the non-yoga group.
  • Inflammation-related blood proteins were twenty percent lower in the yoga group than the non-yoga group.

The researchers were surprised, because similar results have not been seen with studies of other types of exercise.  They now believe that the breathing and meditation aspects of yoga are especially impactful, which is great news for Viniyoga practitioners.  Viniyoga focuses on the connection of body, breath and mind, making it especially breath and meditation-focused. 

The researchers believe that yoga might have similar benefits with other groups of people who suffer from fatigue and inflammation, including patients suffering from coronary heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, arthritis, and Alzheimer’s disease.

All of this just goes to show what I’ve known all along. Yoga works!

Namaste

Tracy Weber

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and check out Tracy Weber’s author page for information about the Downward Dog Mysteries series.  MURDER STRIKES A POSE is available now from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Whole Life Yoga, and other retailers!

Wanting it all, Getting away from it all … And finding my center: An indie-folk musician’s yoga journey

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This week’s blog entry was written by guest author Mary Bue. Mary is a graduate of Whole Life Yoga’s 200 hour yoga teacher training program. She can be contacted at marybue@gmail.com

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I’ve always wanted to be a rock star.  In high school I bought an electric guitar with a hot pink strap.  I’d sit in my bedroom writing songs dripping with adolescent poetry. In the midst of this rock star fantasy,  I found a short yoga practice in a teen magazine and started incorporating simple practices into my 15 year old life.  

Eventually I had my own gigs, recorded and took my music on the road (leading to four CDs and performing in 38 states) .  Yoga has been a parallel path.  It helped to soothe my nerves and assisted in “keeping it all together” in this one-woman-band enterprise.  

In Minneapolis years later,  I was working with a booking agent to plan my tours – a dream come true.  I’m not sure if it was Minnesota’s winter that made me lose my cool, a relationship ending or fear of putting my heart on the line – but on NYE of ’07,  I made the decision to leave it all behind.  Indie artist responsibility, insecurity of not being good/talented/cool enough, desire of getting what I hoped but not feeling like I deserved it – all inner signs pointed to running.  

Months later I moved to Seattle.  I met my teacher – Tracy Weber at Whole Life Yoga.  Music took the back burner while I delved into my 200 hour teacher training.  

As Viniyoga’s breath-centered asana began to penetrate my cells, it started to soothe my being.  Looking back, the move was stressful.  Things got worse before they got better as I moved deeper into the process of  “going internal.” I was healing myself.  I spent three years studying at Whole Life Yoga. 

Yet, I started to feel the siren’s call of music.  And what a better place to pursue it than the city where I got my start – Duluth, Minnesota.  Again, I chose to leave it all behind and follow my heart’s desire.  

This brings us to NOW.  Depths of winter.  Too often, it is 20 below zero. The mind starts rattling.  I want to get away from it all.  My home morning practice has become paramount to my sanity.  I start looking into 500 hour yoga teacher training programs,  feeling called to learn & evolve.  My teacher is already in the thick of her training. I research other programs and eventually settle on Gary Kraftsow’s in California.  In talks with the student advisor, she kindly offers the possibility of work study.  I am pumped; I am filling out applications;  I am … CRYING EVERY DAY.  

Finally, after weeks of turmoil,  I reach out to Dona (student advisor) and Tracy who had given her blessing for further study.  I say that I must devote myself to music and give it the focus it deserves.  In healing words, they offered me two great gifts:  Time and the root of yoga: Union. 

Tracy: “Mary, you have a very long life ahead of you and nothing is in your way from doing the training when the TIMING IS RIGHT.”  Dona: “You are STILL DOING YOGA as you share this gift from a place of great awareness.”  

With a blown mind,  I am off to practice the guitar … and simultaneously practice yoga.  

May you carry your yoga practice with you and find it – with great awareness – in all that you do.  

Mary

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and check out Tracy Weber’s author page for information about the Downward Dog Mysteries series.  MURDER STRIKES A POSE is available now from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Whole Life Yoga, and other retailers!