Mind Body Mandala

Getting Back in the Saddle

Emily Seymour — Wed, 08 May 2013 19:44:17 +0000

“Om on the Range” painting by Steve Wilder

So I just took a month off from writing blog posts. It wasn’t intentional, but perhaps it was a much needed break. Writing these posts has become one of the ways that I practice teaching, and every teacher needs to take a sabbatical from time to time. At least that’s one way of looking at it. Another is to simply recognize that my lifestyle is not consistent from week to week. And a third perspective would be to admit that I got kind of burnt out and didn’t want to spend two hours writing one of these things.

Yoga teaches us the value of doing something regularly. But really, any kind of practice, whether it’s Yoga, meditation, writing, running, reading, singing, playing an instrument, rock climbing, cycling, figure skating, etc. etc. all require consistency in order to make progress. Otherwise you’re just digging shallow holes. But once you start doing something on a regular basis and then STOP doing it – well, that’s when things start to get interesting. You might experience:

Feelings of guilt
Denial and/or Avoidance
A tendency to make excuses
Interest in other activities
Feelings of lethargy
Frustration
Feelings of inadequacy

Some of the problem stems from procrastination. It happens, trust me – I know ALL about procrastination. And sometimes life takes us in directions that move us unexpectedly away from our goals, so there’s just no use in fighting the tide. That interim period is in some ways a test of our resolve. During this time you might find yourself asking – is what I’m doing really working? Do I miss it? Is my life easier or more challenging without it? What am I actually getting out of this?

These are just some of the mental stumbling blocks that might appear while you’re taking time off. But if you are trying to get back into the veritable saddle of your practice, I can offer one tip that I’ve found to be useful. It comes from Western exercise, and I think it’s applicable to any kind of practice regimen.

A good personal trainer will advise you about the necessity of taking a week off after a few weeks of solid training. Yes, your body will detrain during that time period but when you start exercising again your body will regain its strength in less time than if you’d never exercised at all. That resting period will actually allow you to overcome plateaus and will make your body stronger over time.

When it comes to a personal practice, the amount of time you take off is really not the issue. It doesn’t matter if you take a week, month, year or a decade off, because somewhere in your psyche you planted lasting seeds of experience. And as with getting back on a bicycle, the hardest part isn’t the actual riding – it’s the work involved with facing whatever story lines your ego uses to hold you back.

How do you get back on track with your personal practice? Feel free to leave any tips or suggestions in the box below.

If you enjoyed this post you might also like: Getting Back on the Horse (or Pigeon).

Mental Gymnastics – Flexible Aging

Emily Seymour — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 15:11:25 +0000

”A Yogi measures the span of his life not by the number of years but by the number of his breaths.” – Sri Swami Sivananda

One of the commonly asked questions that people will ask me is how old I am. Honestly, I tend to forget (and it’s not from senility haha). But there have been times where I’ve had to get out a calculator in order to determine my age. It’s just not something that I think about that much. And for good reasons.

It’s partly because I’m a non-conformist and it’s also because I find that age association tends to be more constrictive than empowering. Think about it – you’re always either too young or too old for something. And when someone learns your age their perspective shifts and their ingrained cultural perceptions begin to shape their idea of who you are. Over time this can have an effect on us but only if we allow it to. Time is flexible to our perception of it [Read: Mind Your Perceptions].

Between us, you are not your age.

Most of the time people are surprised when I tell them how old I am (the same age as Jesus when he died). It’s partly because I don’t fit into the cultural box that people tend to associate with my age group. Which is totally fine, because I try to maintain mental flexibility around my age. There’s a saying in Yoga about how that which we focus our attention on tends to grow in size. Mindfulness meditation practice is one way we can learn to navigate the potential pitfalls of our thoughts.

I’ll let you in on a couple of secrets, one of which is that your perception of yourself is one of the most powerful tools that you have in your belt. One of the ways that this comes through is how we talk about ourselves. Some examples of disempowering language patterns are:

“I’m getting too old”
“I’m broke”
“That (behavior) is just who I am”

Another potential pitfall that’s commonly used in speech is in associating with our physical illnesses (example: “my arthritis”).

How we view our life experiences can also be limiting. While growing up in a small rural town in Maine, I was advised to avoid considering high school as the peak experience of my life. And any time that we get fixed on thinking about some aspect of the past as the being the “best” we create further mental resistance to anything new or different. Excessive reminiscing about the past can have a very debilitating effect on the yogic practitioner.

The other anti-aging secret that I’ll share is the value of having a regular practice of backbends. Your true physiological age can be measured by the flexibility of your spine. And psychologically, backbends help us to access the “backpack” of our past which is held in the back body. Releasing and opening the body through back bending helps us shift our past memories towards the front body and sense of the future. This process brings us more readily into the experience of the present moment.

A fellow yogini who has a youthful and powerful presence once told me that age “is all spirit.” How old is your spirit?

Home Rituals – Pad Thai

Emily Seymour — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 00:59:13 +0000

So this week I thought I’d share a recipe that is dear to my heart (and stomach). This is a dynamite recipe and it’s one that I’ve been making for over a decade. I’ve served this dish to my family on numerous occasions, mainly because it gets a lot of encores. I’ll just warn you that it’s easy to eat a LOT of it, so be prepared! And if you don’t like tofu you can leave it out. This recipe calls for a lot of ingredients – some of which are a little harder to find – such as tamarind paste which is sold at Asian grocery stores (or you can order it online). I’ll just say that it is worth the added effort, because the tamarind paste adds a flavor that makes all the difference.

Pad Thai

8 oz Thai rice noodles
1/4 cup tamarind paste
1/4 cup warm water
3 Tbsp fish sauce
2 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp brown sugar
4 oz cooked boneless chicken breast, sliced
4 oz fried tofu, cubed
6 Tbsp roasted unsalted peanuts, processed into a coarse meal
1/2 cup oil for frying
1 tsp diced garlic
1 tsp diced ginger
1 small hot chili pepper, diced (optional)
8 large shrimps
2 eggs
1 cup bean sprouts
4 green onions, cut into 1″ pieces
Thin strips of red pepper
Lime wedges

Cook noodles according to package directions. Rinse with cold water and drain.
Combine tamarind paste with 1/4 cup warm water in a small bowl and let soak for at least 15 minutes. Mash the tamarind paste and force liquid through a strainer.
Mix tamarind liquid with fish sauce, sugar and lime juice in a small bowl.
Heat oil in a large wok or frying pan until it is just about to smoke.
Add garlic, ginger and chili (if using) and stir-fry for 30 seconds.
Add chicken and stir fry for 1 minute.
Add tofu and shrimps and stir fry for 1 minute.
Create a space in the center of the pan. Break eggs into center of pan, letting them fry for 1-2 minutes without breaking them up.
Add drained noodles and give them a quick fold, stir frying from the bottom up.
Add reserved tamarind juice mixture and fry for 1-2 minutes. Noodles will have softened to al-dente.
Add about 2/3 of the ground peanuts and stir. Add 2/3 or the bean sprouts and all of the green onion. Stir fry for 30 seconds and take off heat.
Transfer noodles to a serving dish, sprinkle with remaining peanuts, bean sprouts, and red pepper slices. Serve with lime wedges.

If you liked this article you might also enjoy Home Rituals – Chocolate Chip Cookies

Taoist Travel Tips II

Emily Seymour — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 01:46:24 +0000

I’m at the end of a full-tilt kind of a day. I’ve been traveling and it’s been one of those days when it seems like there’s no time to eat and lollygaggers are EVERYWHERE that I’m trying to walk. Sounds, smells and sensations appear to be more amplified which can wear a person out. And it just wasn’t possible to do my home practice today.

It would be super easy to get frustrated and stressed out, but that would only add to the challenge. So I try to look at days like today as if they’re a game. I’ve discovered some ways to streamline the process which helps to make things more enjoyable. Here’s some tricks of the nomadic yogini trade…

So if you’re in a situation where you can’t do your physical practice – say you’re on an airplane or a train or riding in a car. You could always meditate. One technique involves visualizing yourself doing your physical practice (not as easy as it sounds – because the mind tends to wander a LOT). So if that isn’t easy, then you might try listening to a recording of a guided meditation. If you need something a little more tangible, you could use a mala and practice 108 mantra meditations in silence.

Another trick is to wash your feet when you arrive at your destination. There’s something significant about the act of washing off the dust of the road and then putting on a clean pair of socks (a trick my Mom taught me). This one simple thing can make a HUGE difference. Physically it has a relaxing effect on your whole body, but it also has an energetic effect as well – essentially it helps to clear out whatever you might have picked up along the way. I first learned about this idea of washing your feet for energetic purposes from watching a group of Native American children prepare for a dance performance. It was part of their training to wash their feet before going on stage.

Last but not least, it’s always good to keep a sense of humor in these situations. Even if it means that you’re the only one laughing at your jokes – just keep going with it. There is so much prana in laughter, and it will fill your sails when the going gets tough.

These are just some of my tricks and I’m pretty sure that you have some up your sleeves as well. How do you streamline your full-tilt kind of days? Feel free to leave a comment in the box below.

If you enjoyed reading this article, you might also like Taoist Travel Tips

Slow Yoga – Downshifting

Emily Seymour — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 01:36:52 +0000

So this week I received an email from a man who recently became a yoga instructor. He was very curious about Slow Yoga and Downshifting. Here’s a little of what I wrote to him:

Thank you for your interest in Slow Yoga! This project was born one year ago and I continue to be amazed by the positive responses that people have had to it. Slow Yoga is clearly something that many people are actively seeking out which has been very encouraging!

Just to give you a little background, my inspiration for Slow Yoga was a result of learning about the Slow Movement as well as from teaching Yoga in New York City. When I first started developing the idea I wrote an article called “Starting a Slow Yoga Movement” which you are welcome to read. While researching the principles of the Slow Movement I noticed how they correlated with the values of contemplative Yoga education. I found one example of this within the principle of Downshifting:

“Basically downshifters seek a life filled with more passion and purpose, meaning, fulfillment and happiness. A life to look back on with no regrets. Downshifters want to slow down at work in order to ‘upshift’ in others areas of their lives. For most people the change to a slow life through downshifting comes after a long quest for true happiness and fulfillment.

I view downshifting as being one of the natural side effects of a dedicated Yoga practice. By raising our awareness and sensitizing ourselves through the yogic process we naturally begin to align with that which supports our evolution. But oftentimes the pace of modern life does not correspond with these advanced processes (which is part of the challenge for the modern day yogi). One way of handling such obstacles is to reconfigure our lifestyle so as to accommodate our development. One such example of this would be to devise a work schedule that would allow enough time and energy for a personal practice.

I am in the process of developing a Slow Yoga Home Training Program and I estimate that it will be completed by the end of this year. If you would like to receive updates about this project you are welcome to sign up for my newsletter – the sign up box is on the home page of my website.

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Mind Your Perceptions

Emily Seymour — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 02:25:23 +0000

This week I thought I’d get a little heady and talk about our perception of time. I’ve been discussing this with some of my friends who have various meditation backgrounds and I thought I’d open up the conversation to see who else might jump on board.

So what is our perception of time? On a very basic level we can all relate to the experience of having time drag by. And we know what it’s like to lose track of time or to feel time deprived. Usually there’s some kind of emotion or mental state associated with time. If we’re having an “amazing time” we’re not likely to be as aware of time as when we’re bored. And certainly, unpleasant emotions like anxiety and depression can make our experience of time feel very constrictive. And stress can be a response to how we perceive time (example: being stuck in traffic on the way to a job interview).

Our thoughts can also play a role in our perception of time. We probably know someone who’s always describing themselves as being busy. Sometimes they project this image of themselves from a place of ego and sometimes it’s because they feel trapped by their lifestyles. But whenever we practice repetition of any kind we create mental “grooves” which can become unconscious patterns. And the language we use to describe ourselves has a very powerful effect on our perception of who we think we are.

So just as an experiment, simply notice what happens when you consider the following questions:

What would you do if you had all the time in the world?
What do you see yourself doing in five years?
Is time an illusion?

Another question for you, and this one may mean going a little ways down the rabbit hole, but do you think we have the ability to manipulate time? Part of meditation training involves learning how to untether ourselves from unconscious patterns. And if we can learn how to consciously engage with the patterns that lead to a particular experience of time, would it be possible to recreate our relationship to time? One of the siddhis or accomplishments of a truly advanced yogi is the ability to accurately predict the moment of one’s death. Do you think this might be a result of manipulating time or from truly understanding the nature of time?

Just some food for thought… Feel free to leave a comment in the box below.

Self Teacher Study – Duolingo

Emily Seymour — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 01:29:51 +0000

So this week I learned about something that I think is really cool. I found out about it from one of my friends and of course now I’m telling my friends and family about it. I’ll be really upfront with you that I have an ulterior motive in sharing this, which is that I hope some of you will join me in trying this out. It’s called Duolingo. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about it:

Duolingo is a free language-learning website and crowdsourced text translation platform. The service is designed so that, as users progress through the lessons, they simultaneously help to translate websites and other documents. As of December 2012, the site offers Spanish, French, German, Portuguese and Italian courses for English speakers, as well as English for Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian speakers. They plan to offer Chinese.”

Right now I’m using it to learn Spanish and I really like it so far. It’s very user friendly, the layout is clean and the teaching method is very well designed. It’s something you can practice as much or as little as you want and at any time that’s convenient. It’s also like a game, but unlike online games (which I don’t play) you’re actually learning something that you can use in daily life. You can even study more than one language at a time.

I’ve just started so I’m making it a part of my daily practice because I want to create a solid foundation to work off of. I’ll admit that this kind of brain gym can be a little addicting. But that’s also an indicator that it works.

You can check it out at Duolingo.com. If you’re interested you could create an account through Facebook or with your email address. If you want to connect with me on there you can find me through Facebook or by searching for Emily Seymour.

Buenos noches bella!

If you enjoyed this article you might also like Self Teacher Study – Find Your Yoga

Self Teacher Study – Find Your Yoga

Emily Seymour — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 02:22:20 +0000

So I thought I’d share the story of when I first started practicing yoga. I’ll be honest with you that I didn’t like it AT ALL and left that first class thinking that yoga just wasn’t for me. I was twenty three and this was back before yoga became popular. I was living in Maine at the time and one day I was walking through town where I saw a sign advertising free yoga. I’m not one to pass up a free class so I decided to give it a try.

All I remember was the class involved chanting the whole time and they didn’t provide any printed lyrics to read from. So I sat there breathing incense smoke and feeling totally awkward until it was time to leave. Now I know that I’d stumbled on a Kirtan, but without any introduction to the “why’s” that were involved it was a pretty rough way to start out.

A few years went by before I tried taking another class and this time it was with a different teacher at another studio. The format was much closer to something I could wrap my mind around. It reminded me of a gentle dance class and the meditation portion was simply wonderful. The teacher was a sweetheart who would always hug her students and the things she taught made a lasting impression on me.

After a few classes I was hooked and it became my mid-week ritual. I remember stopping by the town bar before class and trying to rally my friends to go with me (yeah, no luck there). People were too tired or just not interested but I kept going by myself every week.

I recently met a woman who told me point blank that she doesn’t like yoga. She’d only been to one class and said that was enough for her. She coaches a high school girls basketball team and claims that she’s too competitive for yoga. She also admitted that she didn’t like being singled out by the teacher who was giving corrections during class.

I totally understood where she’s coming from but I hope she can find her way to another class someday. She could probably benefit from one that was geared towards athletes, but the bottom line is that she’s the only one who is going to change her mind. Still, this is a common issue that happens with group yoga classes today, where first timers decide to try a class with no idea of what to expect and get burned out from the experience.

If you’re new to yoga I want to encourage you to try a few different styles. You might find this flow chart handy as it could give you an idea of what kind of yoga class would best suit you. (If you can’t read it clearly here you can also view it on my Facebook page.)

What was your first yoga class like? Was it enjoyable or was there something about it that didn’t suit you? Feel free to leave a comment in the box below:

Safety Tips – Effective Exercise Combinations

Emily Seymour — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 16:37:47 +0000

So let’s get physical and talk about combining asana with Western exercise. One question that people tend to ask me is I lift weights or do cardio in addition to my home practice. I’ll get into that as well how to avoid some common mistakes that I’ve seen people make in gym settings. I’ll also share a basic rule of thumb that everyone should know about exercise science.

I’ll start by pointing out that I’m only talking about the physical practice of asana that is most commonly taught in America, not the 5,000+ year old tradition of Yoga. Asana classes are the most recent evolution of the aerobics fad of the 1980′s and most YMCA’s, gyms and health club facilities now offer a variety of them. However, these businesses rarely educate their clientele on how to safely incorporate asana classes into their work out regimens.

Warrior 2

The main thing that people should understand is the difference between contractive and expansive strength training.

Free weight training is designed to build strength by repeatedly contracting the muscle towards the central axis of the body. Asana poses such as Warrior 2 build strength by holding the posture and lengthening the muscles away from the central axis of the body. Contractive strengthening tends to shorten the muscle whereas expansive strengthening promotes a simultaneous balance of strength and flexibility.

So people who are accustomed to contractive strength training (such as bodybuilders) will have a tough time holding poses such as Warrior 2. I’ve experimented with combining free weights and asana but I don’t find them to be very complimentary. There are asana classes that incorporate free weights, but I have no experience with them as they never interested me.

Asana and Cardio: Any kind of joint impacting exercise should be done BEFORE practicing asana. Asana opens the joints and so it’s counterintuitive to the body to run on a treadmill after taking an asana class. While there are cardio machines like exercise bikes and ellipticals that don’t impact the joints, they do tighten the muscles. I do have a running practice and I’ll warm up for five minutes beforehand and then cool down with a twenty minute sequence of gentle poses.

This brings up another common mistake, which is when people will arrive at an asana class after it’s started or leave early (sometimes both). I’ve seen people arrive as much as a half an hour after the class has started, fully expecting to be able to join in. This is partly due to their lack of awareness, but also because many instructors don’t say anything to them. This is irresponsible of the instructor, but most businesses gauge the success of a class on attendance numbers. For your own safety you should plan to attend an asana class in it’s entirety. You wouldn’t jump on a treadmill and start it off at your peak speed, nor would you finish a weight lifting session without stretching.

(For more information about how to make your experience of asana classes more effective here is a free PDF on Yoga Guidelines )

Whether you’re a studio aficionado or a gym rat you may find yourself wanting to branch out from your normal routine. It can be confusing to your body to ask it to do something unfamiliar, and challenging to your ego to try something new. But that is all part of the experiment of having a body and seeing what it’s capable of.

What has been your experience with combining Western exercise with asana? Feel free to leave a comment in the box below.

Home Rituals – Cold Care

Emily Seymour — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 02:53:56 +0000

I’ve been fighting a head cold for the past few days but I still wanted to write a short article for this week. Sickness is one of the obstacles on the Yogic path (although being sick does have a remarkable way of keeping you in the present moment). Despite my best efforts to avoid getting sick this winter I encountered a series of challenges this week and would up pushing myself too hard (overexertion is another obstacle). It happens sometimes…

So I took a little survey of my awesome friends and gathered a small arsenal of cold fighting strategies. I explained that I don’t use over the counter medications (the only exception being Sambucus Elderberry syrup which is sold in conventional drug stores) and just asked what they thought would be the fastest way to get rid of a head cold. I received some great responses which I thought I’d share with you.

Trader Joe’s Lemon Ginger Echinacea Juice (as a preventative)
Eucalyptus and peppermint oil steam
Hydrate and avoid caffeine
Neti pot with saline wash
Gargle with warm salt water
Drink hot liquids (hot lemonade)
Raw honey
Lots of sleep
Spicy food – specifically a Korean dish called yook gay jang
Allercitin (a homeopathic remedy)
LOVE!

I learned some new things, including that there had been a Neti Pot Warning issued back in September. Basically it’s just a good idea to use filtered water and let the water come up to a solid boil before preparing the saline wash. And then obviously let it cool down enough before using. I just love how my ears “squeak” when I blow my nose after using a neti pot (it’s the little things that amuse me).

I also learned what it actually means to “starve” a cold from reading this article.

I’m on the look out for yook gay jang but right now I’ve got some chicken bones simmering in the crock pot. Crock pots are the best for making stock. I learned (by mistake) that one should never let chicken stock boil or else the stock gets cloudy. I’m going to let it simmer all night (I always let stock cook for at least eight hours) and make chicken soup tomorrow. Ever since I read this article I’ve had bone broth on my mind. Still haven’t tried making it with chicken feet but let’s just say I’m working up to it.

What’s your go-to home remedy for head colds? Feel free to leave a comment in the box below.