my history,

When Raja Yoga Gets confused with Rajasic Yoga

In the past week, I’ve offered to a few people my hopes that their New Year is off to a great start.  The majority of responses haven’t been stellar. In fact, yesterday, when asked how his year’s been so far, a colleague responded with hesitation, “Well, umm, its been interesting.” I laughed, and admitted the same.

Perhaps its partially the collective energy being put into the infamous emergence of 2012, but this turning over of years has certainly brought up opportunities for self-examination and exploration.  Along with this can be discomfort, or a feeling of not being in balance.

From an Ayurvedic perspective, its also helpful to remember how our external environment influences our physical and mental state.  For most of the west coast, a lack of rain and snowfall has created an unusually dry winter, evermore increasing Vata in our constitutions. Increased Vata can mean restless sleep, poor elimination, and an overactive mind which gives way to fears, anxieties and worry.

During this time of year, we must remember to nurture and care for ourselves in healthy and whole ways, checking in with what our body needs for grounding and ease in life.  I hope you’ll enjoy the healthy concoction inspired by my Italian grandmother’s comfort cooking, blended with Ayurvedic wisdom or that you’ll consider joining one of the many opportunities for growth and supportive community offered on the site.

Happy New Year,
Gianna

Recipe Feature of the Month:

              

The last time I caught a nasty bug was 2 years ago, just after the New Year.  My sick-time became a gift as sleepless hours were spent gleaning new information and inspiration that would shape the year ahead.

This time around, I realized that the ‘illness’ I was experiencing was simply an elimination of toxins from my body and a clearing of all those things I am choosing to leave behind as we transition into the New Year.   These last few days, I have been getting to examine what things in life I choose not to take into 2012 and what more intelligent aspects I intend to nurture in the year ahead.

In years past, goal setting in the new year meant specific goals based on timely benchmarks for achievement.  Now I notice my goals are more simple, one-word intentions that I can feel in my body, things like clarity, ease, confidence, and spaciousness.

Of course, it doesn’t need to take feeling under the weather to prompt a little bit of internal reflection on the year past and the direction for the year ahead.  Perhaps your new years eve celebration might even include some quite time for going inward and anchoring your new direction for 2012.

2 tbsp Coriander Powder

2 tbsp Cumin Seeds

2 tbsp Fennel Seeds

1 tbsp Turmeric

Chopped Mint, Cilantro or Parsley

Combine together and use in rice and lentil dishes for added flavor and medicinal benefits.

If cooking with ghee, melt ghee first, then add spice blend, and then your grain or legume.  Mix together, add water and cook!

“Conflict of any kind -physically, psychologically, intellectually-is a waste of energy… it is extraordinarily difficult to understand and to be free of this because most of us are brought up to struggle, to make effort. When we are at school, that is the first thing that we are taught, to make an effort. And that struggle, that effort is carried throughout life…”

- J. Krishnamurti, The Book of Life

Ever wonder why life feels difficult?  Full of anxiety, stress, obstacles?  The teaching of ‘letting go’ and ‘surrender’ to what will be has been a big theme around the past week with clients and friends.  Is it possible that we’re all waking up to the idea that what we’re taught about success as children, the merits of struggle, competition, and aggression, only lead to heart attacks and cancer?  What if the path to success could be without conflict?

How do we define success? When I worked in the business world,  success meant a promotion, a pay raise, or a nicer title on the nameplate.  Now, success for me means living life according to that which is authentic and in alignment with my soul’s truth.  When I’m in that place, everything is in flow.  And when we banish conflict and replace it with ease, health flourishes.

When I reflect on how I got from there to here, from the business world to the wellness world, I realize that the most important things I do today were never what I envisioned or even knew was possible at the time.  The ‘hard work’ that I did (and still do) was clearing and navigating the inner landscape of my mind and my being.  But I never struggled, pushed or forced my way into becoming who I am today, doing what I do.

Instead, I simply learned to start saying ‘no’ to all the things that didn’t serve me in my life.  And as those things fell away, something new would magically present itself.  All of the right teachers, situations and opportunities just fell into my lap.  Why?  Because I finally became open and clear about what ‘felt right’ and what didn’t.

It is only when we are in that place of innocence and openness, that magic can enter, allowing our inner guidance to take us on a unbelievable journey in the direction of our soul’s unique destination.

This article in this post is written by Kaya Mindlin, CSYT and Premal Patel, MD and reprinted with permission from Banyan Botanicals (www.banyanbotanicals.com).

 

“In vasanta (spring), persons should spend midday happily in the company of friends, engaged in pleasant games, pastimes and story telling.”

~Ashtanga Hrdayam (ancient Ayurvedic text) 3.25

In the Spring, nature’s buds and branches reach toward the warmth of the sun. We human beings also emerge from the quiet of winter, and reach out to loved ones, craving the warmth of community.

The vedic tradition out of which Ayurveda originated, held high the concept of community. The Sanskrit word kula (pronounced koo-la) is a single word rich in meanings including:

• clan
• family
• tribe
• community
• intentional group

Ayurveda clearly describes the benefits of social interaction and the risks associated with social isolation. Being in healthy relationship with others keeps us “in check” and we are less likely to develop unhealthy habits. Have you ever noticed it’s easier to develop bad habits than good ones – the more so when we are alone? Those around us encourage and bring out the best in us.

“The ‘I’ in illness is isolation, and the crucial letters in wellness are ‘we’.” ~ Author unknown

From the Ayurvedic perspective, loneliness is considered both a symptom and a cause of vata imbalance. As such, loneliness can intertwine with other vata imbalances including insomnia, addiction, anxiety, digestive sensitivities and excess thinking.  Thus, social interaction is in fact considered a remedy for vata imbalance, and is particularly emphasized in ancient texts as a valuable component of a springtime healing regimen.

In the modern western world, we prize individuality – perhaps to our own demise – with many people spending much of life in isolation. Scientists are now looking into the impact of human relationships (and the lack there of) on health. A recent study published in the journal for the National Academy of Sciences , used brain imaging to reveal that the same region of the human brain that reacts in physical pain also responds to social loss or rejection. In other words, the brain’s experience of social loss mimics it’s experience of pain – as the article states, “rejection hurts”.

“Loneliness is the most terrible poverty…Love begins at home” ~ Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Ongoing studies and commentaries re-validate the ancient value of social interaction, loving relationships and community. In his book Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection, neuroscientist John Cacioppo shows a direct relationship between social isolation and our state of health including high blood pressure, diabetes, weight gain, hormone imbalance, weak immune response, and poor cardiovascular function.  Other experts in the Ayurvedic and Allopathic fields agree that loneliness is one of the biggest underlying causes of disease. Dr. David Frawley says that feelings of loneliness may be a manifestation of a sense of unrest and disharmony with nature that leads to physiological weakness. Dr. Dean Ornish says that social isolation increases a tendency to make lifestyle choices that negatively impact health. In a study of 300,000 people, Dr. Julianne Holt-Lunstad showed that a lack of social network can be just as bad for your health than alcoholism or cigarette addiction and worse for health than obesity.  Holt-Lunstad goes on to say that lack of social relationships should be part of a short list of factors that lead to early mortality. It may very well be that feeling lack of support and missing the joy of friendship induces stress, which can cause physiological changes in the body.

“Where there is love, there is life” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

We’ve all heard the expression, “It takes a village to raise a child”, but when do we stop needing the village? Those around us provide opportunities to give and receive love, nurturing and support. Furthermore, our kula – or tribe of loved ones – serves as a mirror, helping us to see our own blind spots and become better people.

With a support network, you are more likely to engage in healthy, beneficial activities and habits. Community reminds you of and keeps you accountable to your morals and goals. Community alleviates stress and gives you the strength and courage to face your monsters. And community provides you with an outlet to sort through the whirlwind of thoughts that otherwise weigh you down. These relationships have the potential to support your pursuit of joy and health.

“A healthy social life is found only, when in the mirror of each soul the whole community finds its reflection, and when in the whole community, the virtue of each one is living.” ~ Rudolf Steiner

So, as the ancients prescribed: in spring, as all of nature brims with renewed life, reach out and embrace a deeper blooming into your relationships by cultivating your community of support – your kula – and spend some time “in the company of friends”.

You may have more than one kula or tribe. They include your siblings and parents, extended family, spouse and children, friends, colleagues, classmates, and so on. If you are used to going solo, or tend to take your kula for granted, here are a few ideas to get the ball rolling:

• Pick up the phone and call a dear one
• Plan a gathering in a park or at your home
• Schedule and commit to a weekly “family night” or “date night”
• Cook a meal for some friends or family members
• Plan a group hike or picnic or volleyball game
• Start a book club or a board game club.
• Have a “bring a friend” open house gathering where you invite 5 people, and each of those people brings a person… you’ll expand your community in no time!

Carefully pick over rice and dal to remove any stones, rinsing both in water. If you don’t have split yellow mung dal, whole green mung been soaked overnight will also work.  Begin to heat your water.

Sauté the seeds in the ghee until they pop. Then add the other spices. Add the mung dal and salt. Sauté for 1 or 2 minutes. Add boiling water, bring to boil, then simmer for 30 minutes or until the dal is about 2/3 cooked.

Now prepare any vegetables that suit your constitution (see below). Cut them into smallish pieces. Add rice and these vegetables. Stir to mix, adding extra water if required.

Bring back to the boil, then simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is fully cooked. Aim to have minimal water remaining, leaving the lid on the pot to allow any excess to slowly be absorbed.

4-6 Servings

Kitchari means mixture, usually of two grains. This is one kitchari recipe that is particularly nourishing and easy to digest.

Options for vegetables:
Vegetables such as zucchini,
asparagus, sweet potato
For Vata or Kapha conditions:
add a pinch of ginger powder
For Pitta: leave out the mustard seeds
Caution: Kitchari mono-diet can lead to constipation if taken exclusively for several days, as it is low in fiber. To ensure proper elimination, the following may prove helpful if taken once a day, away from kitchari meals: psyllium husks or seeds with water OR oat bran OR prune juice.

Recipe derived from the Ayurvedic Institute of Dr. Vasant Lad.

http://www.ayurveda.com

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Want to learn more about kitchari and cleansing?
Listen in to BEYOND 50 RADIO INTERVIEW  on Ayurveda Spring Cleansing with Gianna & Richard Haynes recorded Feb 2011

Click here to listen to archived call (episode 217)

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Kapha-Balancing (without too much ghee)

Tired of the same healthy breakfast?  Try a new grain to wake up to the morning.

Introducing….Buckwheat!

1 part Buckwheat groats

3 parts water

A bit of ghee or butter

fresh berries or honey or stevia

cinnamon to taste

Boil the water, then add your buckwheat.  Let boil until water is absorbed.  Stir in ghee, sweetener and cinnamon to taste.  Enjoy!

Buckwheat is a deliciously nutty and overlooked grain available in your health food store’s bulk food section.

It is great for Kapha types or for those who suffer from excess mucus or congestion this time of year, it is an ideal alternative to heavy, sticky grains like oatmeal.

In honor of February and its many correlations to our beloved organ, the heart, enjoy these Yoga and Ayurveda anecdotes ponder this month!

Heart-Opening Yoga Poses: Are you hunched over your computer screen right now? Yoga poses can help to both physically and emotionally open the heart-space. Gentle back-bending poses such as cobra and upward dog or simply raising the arms, then taking the shoulders and elbows back behind you, can encourage more breath into heart and release tension or stored emotions in this space.

Open-Heart Surgery: Ayurvedically speaking, did you know that heart disease can be described by Vata, Pitta or Kapha symptoms? Heart conditions that are more nervous in nature tend to be Vata, and include symptoms like heart palpitations, numbness in chest area, dry cough, discoloration around the eyes, and fear and anxiety. Pitta-symptomatic heart disease includes burning in the chest, hypertension, heat throughout the body and is associated with angry outbursts and denial of one’s true heart. Kapha-type heart disease is more congestive in nature, due to overeating, excess mucus or fat, heaviness in the heart-space and an unwillingness to let things go.

Emotions of the Heart: Ayurveda’s holistic approach to health honors both the requirement to nourish the heart physically and emotionally. Stored emotions create blockages in the body. Deepening into the heart-space means cultivating awareness of any pain, heaviness, constriction, lightness or expansiveness we might feel around our physical heart when we interact with different situations or people. Think of someone you love deeply or something beautiful that brings you immense joy, and feel how this simple thought expands and lifts the heart.

Living from the Heart: What does is really mean to live from the Heart, and not from the MIND? Take a moment to imagine if your day’s work involved only FEELING, and no THINKING.  What would it change?

The Final Cure for Disease

Apart from that inner Self or higher nature all things are a deviation, disturbance, or disease.  Until we learn to rest in our true nature we are prone to all the processes of decay and degeneration inherent in the external world.  Hence the only final cure for disease is Self-knowledge.

– Dr. David Frawley, American Institute of Vedic Studies

Ever notice how when we do something that brings us joy, that is fun or creative, we just feel good – healthy, youthful and free?  This is our true nature.  On the contrary, stress, frustration and worry cause imbalance in our mind and health while promoting the process of dis-ease and aging.

Ayurvedic wisdom honors Self-knowledge as the final cure for all disease.  Notice this is “self” with a capital “S”, the Self that embodies not who we think we are, what we call ourselves, or we do for a living, but instead the highest aspect of our Self, our essence, our purpose for being.

As you read this, you might wonder whether you’re fully certain of how to describe or even understand what your ‘Self’ actually is.  In fact, it may not be something that can be articulated through words.  Perhaps life offers us the journey of simply discovering what it feels like to be who we are when we’re not person ‘x’ that does ‘x’ for a living and has ‘x’ things in our life.

Who we really are, our highest aspect of Being, our highest Self, is actually something far more unique, an essence that can maybe only be expressed in action, through art or music, in a smile or in our laughter.  Tapping back into that feeling of wholeness occurs when we are in a state of ease: playing, relaxing, in stillness, or being in nature.

When we venture far (or even a little ways) away from our connected essence, imbalance and eventually dis-ease come to our being.  When we stay close and connected to our truth, we live in a place of ease, happiness and peace.

At its core, when a client and I work together, this is our aim, to navigate the journey back to the true Self.   As a practitioner, my role is to hold space for this process and to provide my clients with the guidance, support, and specific tools that can assist them on their own unique path to self-healing, physically, mentally, and spiritually.