Pain is a great Philosopher

Do you have a condition that makes your Yoga practice/ exercise difficult for you?  A knee injury? Stiff back?  In the words of B.K.S Iyengar : "This is your problem child. Learn how to deal with it and nurture it, as you would a child that had problems and needed extra love and attention."

We all have some condition or injury that makes our practice/exercise a challenge sometimes. We even use it as an excuse to avoid doing our practice. I was diagnosed with scoliosis (lateral curvature of the spine) at the age of 15 and learning to deal with my condition was more of a mental struggle, not so much physical. Whatever your condition, don't be discouraged or disappointed in yourself. Sometimes both body and mind yield to willpower, other times they rebel. Do your practice every day and go beyond your limitations - within reason!

To do this you must learn the difference between right pain and wrong pain. Right pain is constructive, exhilarating and involves challenge. Wrong pain is sharp, sudden and causes excruciating pain, this is the body telling us we have gone too far beyond our present abilities.

Not doing your practice doesn't lessen the pain and suffering of your condition, the pain is still there. You are just not aware of it, as if your body is in a coma. When you experience pain you come in close contact with the part thats painful so that you can adjust it and lessen the pain. Eventually you'll find some comfort even in discomfort.  Pain is a great philosopher, because it constantly think of how to get rid of itself.  Pain is a great teacher, which educates us how to live with it and eventually say goodbye...

Btw, Since I started doing Yoga religiously 4 months ago, my scoliosis went from 38 degree curvature to 27.
Create love and affection for your body, for what it CAN do for you. Love the most smallest pore of your skin, the smallest cell of your body. 

"Do your practice and all is coming"  
- Sri K. Pattabhi Jois 

Meditation: Rooting your Mind in Silence.

Sit in a comfortable position, breathe in and out. Focus on the breath.. In the beginning you will notice how extraordinary difficult it is to return the mind to its original silence... you'll think of the past, the future, imagined events... Don't worry, you need not suppress the actions of your mind, acknowledge your thoughts and come back to your breathing. After some practice, you will begin to notice that the breath is arising out of a silent ground and dissolving back to the same silent ground.

Spend at least 5 minutes a day preferably before your yoga practice, to root your mind in silence.
For Scientific benefits of meditation:

An exploration on the health benefits of meditation | ADHD in Focus

blogs.psychcentral.com

The study of the healht benefits of meditation is fairly recent. However, meditation is slowly being inflitrated into mainstream health as a way to reduce stress, anxiety, depression, a

Viparita Karani

Feeling stressed, fatigued or jet-lagged? Headache, lower back pain? Try Viparita karani, one of my favorite poses. Also called "Leg up the wall pose" or "inverted action" Viparita=inverted , Karani= action. When you put you legs up the wall, with your pelvis elevated on a folded blanket, lymph and other fluids that can lead to swollen ankles, tired knees, and congested pelvis organs flow into the lower belly; this REFRESHES THE LEGS and the reproductive area. This pose also boosts your blood circulation toward the upper body and head, a pleasant REBALANCING after you have been standing or sitting behind a desk all day. We tend to be over active sometimes, with your jobs, running a business, being married... and while the benefits from all those efforts can be great, we forget that positive results can also come from simply DOING LESS. When you relax your feet up the wall, you are practicing the polar opposite of activity, which is receptivity.

Viparita Karani: Fold a blanket and place it under your lower back, 12 inches away from the wall (30 cm) legs up against the wall. Release the hips towards the floor, release shoulders away from the ears, soften throat, broaden the collarbones and ENJOY, this should feel very yummy.
Be sure not to place blanket under your sitting bones but under you lower back.
Alleviates headache, boosts energy, relieves lower back ache and soothes menstrual cramps.

Vata Season

Did you know that each Dosha has a season? FALL is the season of VATA. The leaves are drying, it's windy, the air is more crisp and you might find that your hands become dry. This is our body’s way of balancing us as nature evolves from the heat of summer to the cool of fall. Changes in the season are potential for our doshas to go out of balance. Vata gets out of balance with too much dry, rough, windy qualities in our bodies/environment. We can’t control nature, but we can maintain balance by changing our life-style to suit the changing seasons.


Here are some tips for balancing Vata into your FALL routine:

-Oil massage. In the morning before you shower, use some sesame oil or any thick oil and give yourself an oil massage. I personally use Vitamin E oil, as I have very dry skin. Let it sit for 10-20 minutes and shower it off.


-Steam bath or shower. Brings warmth and moisture to the body while . Warm bath to release tight muscles.


- Warm, moist foods. Stick to cooked/steamed vegetables (no raw) and root veggies (pumpkin, beets, carrot) rice, soups, and stews. Can be mildly spicy. Skip the salads, dry/stale sandwiches or snacks, cold foods.


-Warm drinks. Teas, warm apple cider, warm milk. Stay away from cold or icy drinks. Warm drinks is better for your digestion anyway ;)


-Stick to the routine. Create a routine and the most important thing is to stick to it! Religiously.


-Exercise. The best exercise for vata is yoga or walking. Minimize running or biking to once-twice a week as this increase the “cold and windy” qualities in us.

For more information on Dosha's and Ayurvedic science:http://www.centerforayurveda.com/What-Is.html

What is Ayurveda

www.centerforayurveda.com

Center for Ayurveda a full service Ayurvedic natural healing, holistic treatment center in Los Angeles, providing Ayurvedic- diagnostics, counseling and Natural treatments, Mela Butcher founder