Jan 2012 -

Blame Casting or Taking Responsibility?
Injury & Yoga

Oct 2011 -

Why Sadhana - Practicing yoga before dawn?

April 2011 -

Yoga - Following the life of a true yogi?

Breathe? Experience of a yogi

Jan 2011 -

Massage, aromatherapy and yoga: The power of Touch!

July 2010 -

Women's Health : Bringing Ancient Wisdom to Modern Living

Oct 2010 -

Chiropractic : The Good, the Great and the Fantastic

nakeweed really helps with joint pain, as my friend discovered!  You, too, have plants growing wildly around your home that can treat your ailments.

The plants that capture your attention the most are usually the ones you need most of all.  My first experience with this phenomenon happened shortly after I became interested in medicinal herbs.
I started noticing on many of my hikes on the mountain the beautiful osha plant. Osha is a very powerful plant. It is known by many herbalists as bear medicine and is aptly named as bears take their cubs to the patches of osha to dig the root and eat it when they become sick. It has always been a sacred herb to many Native American tribes, with claims that wearing osha wards off rattlesnakes. The herb is known to treat viral infections such as cold, flu, bronchitis, and is especially effective if it is taken at the first signs of the infection. 
That summer I caught a nasty cold, and I had a few roots of the osha plant I had harvested. I chewed on the root all morning, made an osha te

a, and the cold was gone faster than I could have ever predicted. Osha is a great herb to have on hand during cold and flu season.

Such plants as mullein and wild oregano grow in the Sandia Mountains and are also very effective healing plants during this cold and flu season. Mullein is a great soother for coughs and is also very good for asthma.  Wild oregano is fabulously effective for treating sore throats. These plants can be taken in tea, tincture, or capsule form. You can purchase these herbs in places like the Herb Store in Albuquerque or the Village Apothecary in Cedar Crest.  If you are very adventurous, you can harvest them yourself this summer and begin your own apothecary at home! Always have an experienced herbalist help you initially in identifying the plants as there are some plants that are very toxic to humans.
Spring will be here shortly, and the plants will pop forth, ready to help you nurture your body, mind and soul. Try connecting with them on a deeper level this year and I can assure you that the gifts and blessings they’ll bring you will be bountiful, bright, and beautiful!

Nancy Dunlavy first learned about medicinal herbs through Beverly McFarland’s summer apprenticeship program in the East Mountains.  She became a certified herbalist through Rosemary Gladstar’s intensive herbal program.

She recently began Sandia Mountain Herbals, a small business which offers workshops for children and adults about medicinal herbs, and creates herbals products in small batches from ethically wildcrafted plants as organic and pure and close to home as can be. For workshop information or to know more, call or e-mail her at nancydunlavy@yahoo.com or 505-353-1535.

Nancy currently offers a small range of products such as:

• Salves to heal hands and feet,
• Oils for sore or injured muscle & bone,High mineral herbal teas to replenish the mineral content in your body
• Anxiety free & relaxation teas,
• Daily detox Liver Tonic tea,
• Brain booster to sharpen your memory and enhance oxygen in the brain.

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Blame Casting or Taking Responsibility?

I remembered when I started to learn inversions; I was in an intermediate yoga class (but was a beginner/intermediate) and we were shown how to move from an upward bow pose near the wall, walking our feet against the wall and flipping ourselves around and off the wall to find ourselves in a forward fold. This was pretty fancy and advanced and I was excited to do it.

We went into the pose and attempted to move through but when I found myself upside down I got scared and I let go of everything! I crashed into the wall and on my back making a huge bang, and really hearting myself in the process.

The whole class stopped and looked at me with very worried faces. I had to assure everyone that I was fine, but I was shaken up, a little scared.

After this accident I never took a class with this teacher again. I couldn’t trust her enough that she would create a safe place in class to help her students.

I found out later that I had a hairline fracture on a couple of ribs, which took months to heal. As a result I had to slow down my yoga practice for a while (but never stopped) and became very cautious of how I practiced yoga altogether to help the healing process. Of course inversions were a no no until I had regained my confidence, healed emotionally & physically.

Blame casting or taking responsibility?

For a while I was upset at the teacher for not being more attentive and hands on with students or knowing who would need more assistance than others with more advance poses.

Later on I realized it was my own fault and here’s why:

• I was new to this class, didn’t know the teacher well to trust the experience
• I was way to “young” as a student to do what was asked of me without being assisted.
• I didn’t pay attention and acknowledge my subtle reluctance and fear to really do this pose.
• I let my ego and desire take charge instead, to lead the way to fulfill something that was way over my current ability.
• Nobody forced me to do it, only my own vanity insisted I would look good and could say I did this!
• My mind feared the outcome and my body wasn’t ready for the challenge

And yes perhaps the teacher should have been more involved and more attentive but she couldn’t see my own fear.

As a result this was a big blow in humility and taught me to be more responsible for myself while practicing with a teacher I didn’t know very well and whom didn’t know me very well.

Calling upon the teacher within you

I often see students in class overdoing their poses probably thinking they are doing better than others but hurting themselves in the process. Not right away but overtime.

Students come with limitations whether it is in there shoulders, hamstring, lower back, or other, the result is the same.
If they do not listen to what modification is given to them they will end up hurting themselves in the long run. That’s why I am so big on correcting students during class.
But there is a limit to how much can be corrected if the individual is not receptive or not ready yet to hear.

It becomes part of a student’s responsibility to listen carefully to verbal alignment redirection and apply them.

As we practice yoga we need to call upon the teacher within ourselves and be sensitive to what is being passed on.
There are usually multiple signs given to us before we get an injury.
Often, we haven’t paid attention and we are too mechanical in our approach to hear anything subtle coming from within.
It is part of the yoga journey and the most exiting part too, to discover a whole array of insights about ourselves, full of life underneath the muck and the complaints of our own mind. But who knew?

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Is yoga to blame for our injuries?

Most of us come with certain physical restrictions, that’s one of the reasons we find ourselves at the doorstep of a yoga studio to heal these issues that no other physical activity could help and sometimes even made things worse,

In some cases students have been practicing yoga for so long they are not able to see what they are doing wrong or even willing to change their ways when being corrected.

If we force ourselves into poses without allowing the body and breath to get us there when ready, we risk to injure ourselves and that’s true for any physical activity or discipline. We usually can overstretch ligaments and muscles or compensate to achieve something that is not yet ours.

Then who is to blame?

One day the body snaps at the weakest point, maybe injuring a rotator cuff, disk in the lower back, a hip, a wrist, a knee joint.

Feeling upset and dissatisfied we look to blame someone!

So we accuse the very practice that can heal our body and the teacher at hand, instead of reviewing our own attitude towards it.

What is your attitude while practicing yoga?

The only reason we may injure ourselves while practicing yoga is because of our inability to process what’s being told us, our subtle stubbornness on thinking we know, and our own vanity insisting on wanting to continue doing poses forcefully even forgoing our breath, which is the #1 element to help soften the body while practicing yoga and the only thing that will carry you through difficult poses, we choose our own ego believing that we are capable to do any poses no matter what!

Disappointed and angry, some will give up yoga completely and go through physical therapy believing that yoga is dangerous for them.

Others will be wiser and re-assess their approach to yoga, listening in class more attentively and reviewing their alignment with each poses, bringing humility into their own attitude.

And the wisest of all will call upon their teacher in a series of private sessions so they can be shown what the dilemma is with yoga posture and their body as well as in their day to day life with daily routine activity that will heightened their chance for injury or chronic pains.

I never ever gave up yoga when hurt. “Au contraire”, I learned to modify and use the practice to heal my injuries. It is the only truly healing physical practice known to mankind that will give you a second chance but only if you are willing to take the blinders off.

Overtime we understand that yoga is a discipline that requires years of attention and repetition in practice and has yet to be mastered even after one or two decades of practice.

Are you willing to go the extra length?

Yoga is a self empowering practice. It is there to help you grow and stand on your own two feet spiritually.

Your teacher is only a vehicle to guide you through it and help you discover a whole world within you, giving you tools to mature your own physical posture into perfection (if that’s even possible).

When you step onto your yoga mat you learn to respect yourself, honor your physical needs on that day, attune yourself with the subtle part of you, and listen to the messages passed on inside yourself while practicing.

You are not the doer, the Divine within you Is, and if you will let it, It will guide you safely.

Yet you are the creator of your own world and all that comes to you whether good or bad is here to teach you something, once you get it you move on to the next lesson. We call that Karma or the law of cause and effect.

So blaming another for your own ill thought-out actions is not being willing to be taught. In result you stay the same and will experience the same things again and again until you are willing to see and understand the message.

Which would you prefer?

Growing from your own experiences and being willing to be wrong,
Or thinking you are right, yet never really changing and feeling miserable as a result?

The choice is ours, I know what I choose.


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Why Sadhana - practicing Yoga before dawn?

Following the life of a true yogi?

Does this sound foreign to you? Or is this something you have been applying in your life more and more each day?
Whether you practice yoga or not you can live the life of a Yogi in your everyday life within all your activities. None of it has to take place in a special place during a specific time or at the yoga studio during class.
Living the life of a yogi is an everyday affair that can enlarge itself by the day. It's all in your Attitude. Staying aware of your attitude each day is what matters.

What is your attitude in any given moment?
Whether you are taking a shower, watching a movie, at work, having dinner with friends, drinking a glass of wine on your porch watching the interesting formation of clouds in the evening, running to the woods for a great hike/bike ride, running after the kids or grand kids or whatever mundane activity you do each day.
As you live your life do you take the time to watch your own attitude? Is it an attitude of discontentment, of dislike towards something or other? An attitude of depression, or self pity?
Or do you nourish an attitude of hope, joy, contentment, balance and satisfaction, gratitude?

These thoughts and feelings can be so ingrained in us that they make of our state of consciousness and we don't even question them.

Take the time to watch your attitude toward anything and see in what Attitude you are living your life from. It will give you an idea of how robed you can be if you don't take the time to direct yourself towards the Attitude you want to nurture and promote in yourself.

This is part of the many aspects of yoga that can be learned in yoga class as you get more interested in the philosophy of yoga. It is true for anyone from any walks of life across the board.

All of us can practice a little self awareness from time to time in our day. It isn't hard, all we have to do is be willing to do it!
Naturally as we practice Asanas (yoga posture) we discover the profundity of these secrets, our mind starts to slow down to become focused on one thing, giving room for greater awareness about ourselves. This is guaranteed if you keep yourself awake during class, interested in what you do right now, and staying away from any mechanicall-ness.

I encourage each one of you this month to spend several time a day to participate in your own self discovery and watch your Attitude and what is happening inside your own head: Stop, Wait, Listen (without judgment) and change your attitude if you know it is less than you would like it to be. That's all. Try it it's fun and watch the changes within you happening fast.

Marie-Aude Preau
A Yogini in action!

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Breathe? - Experience of Yogi

My oceanic “Ujjayi” breath was probably sounding a bit more like the gasps of a beached mackerel just about now. How could I possibly manage 5 more breaths in this pose? In an act of utter faith, I expanded my diaphragm and smoothed the air hissing through slightly constricted windpipes, and at the same time tried to remember my teacher’s promise that through effort something would open—and it would become easier. In the past 12 months, I’ve been more challenged by a deceptively simple Yogic pose than I’d ever been in years of weight training. I’ve built aerobic endurance, and struggled with the true meaning of will-power while deeply stretching a ligament. Yet, in those same months, I’ve discovered the worn-out evenings that I’d become so accustomed to, were starting to re-animate with new found zeal.

I exhaled slowly. Sweat started breaking from fresh pores as I exerted body parts I never knew I had. I found myself reciting for the hundredth time, “This is for me.”

Just then Marie-Aude’s hands materialized from behind and started gently aligning my already maxed-out hip joints into proper form. Oops, she’s caught me. My poor hips had prematurely aged and stiffened at the desk of an American lifestyle. As she corrected my posture, a laser spot of heat developed deep within some bundle of forgotten sinew, and for the briefest instant, I had the notion of a path back to the suppleness I was born with.

“Two more breaths here,” I heard her voice from some distant mountain top.

Warning. Muscle failure! The trembling in my muscles blossomed in full. Maybe I could fake it. No chance. I fell like a rock from the posture, but with thick obstinance, I wobbled my leg back into the air and rejoined the class for the last breath.

Then—silky, delicious reprieve, Child’s Pose.   

Time for air.

Time for waves of breath to restore calm in a pounding heart. I found myself floating above the mat, a song without notes humming through my veins. I nearly stole into heaven itself. But then my mind pummeled me back to earth with a single thought, “You don’t suppose we’re doing wheel next?”

Not since the moving meditations taught by my ‘Gohn-Dagow’ Gung Foo master twenty years before, have I experienced such a connection between physical, mental and spiritual. He taught that working with one—affects all the others. I was finding that Vinyasa Yoga flow achieved the same. How I have missed the sensation of something deeper beginning to stir while practicing the simple act of flowing in the physical. Melting back into my mat, I made a promise; I’ll not lose this connection…ever again.

“Let go of whatever is going on in there.” Marie-Aude’s smooth voice slipped through the room, urging us. “Be fully present.”

Present?

In my youth I’d been present. What has become of the present? Life’s contracts have slowly robbed me of my ‘now’ and replaced it with scheming futures, and endless loops of replaying of pasts. My mind has become addicted to thoughts which collide as they fight for attention in this—the all too small space—of a present moment.

But since discovering Marie-Aude’s yogic teaching, I’ve begun to remember, in thin slices, what it’s like to be here.

Here.

The scent of a spring day and nothing else. Something long asleep is awakening, and is calling my name.

Southwest Author – David Sleeter lives in Albuquerque’s East Mountains with his wife Joan, and writes under the pen name —Jay Archer David—  He explores, experiences, and creates in this land of enchantment where ancient Anasazi pueblos are layered with the children of Hispanic settlers, the old-West, and modern America. See his work at the book website: www.road-signs.org, and his author website; www.jayarcherdavid.com

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Massage, Aromatherapy, and Yoga: The Power of Touch!

When asked to write something for the newsletter, I first reflected on my new, very recent, experience of Yoga with Marie-Aude. I have found it to be a profound, yet subtle impact on not just my body, but also my inner world of emotions and nervous system. I find I walk away with a deeper awareness, and my whole system feels more alive and open.

     This is how I would also describe the effects of massage and the use of essential oils in my life. As a massage practitioner and Aromatherapist for 23 years, I see the remarkable parallels for healing that they have to the practice of Yoga in ones life.

     Massage is often precipitated by an injury, or stress that creates a condition causing pain or inflexibility in the body/mind. Through the use of physical and energetic touch, palpation of the muscle tissues, and stretches, massage helps reduce chronic pain lodged in the body.

    Never underestimate the power of touch! The effect is deeply relaxing to the nervous system, which then helps alleviate stress. Stress being one of the main causes for so many of our physical ailments. One feels the benefits of improved circulation, deeper breathing, better sleep, and overall sense of well being from just one massage session.

   As an Aromatherapist, and owner of a local aromatherapy company called SERES,  I use essential oils in the massage session. Essential oils are the volatile substance extracted from plants through distillation. Each plant has their own therapeutic properties. For example: Chamomile helps in insomnia, creating a calm effect on the nervous system, as well as aids in digestion, and Rosemary increases circulation for stagnant tired muscles, and helps open the respiratory system as an expectorant. A scent can also trigger a memory, or a sensation  by activating a response from the oldest part of our brain, the Limbic system. The combination of massage with aromatherapy offers much relief and healing to the physical body, and emotional stresses we deal with in our everyday lives.

    In some ways, massage is like a passive yoga; the therapist encourages breathing, along with offering stretches to increase flexibility to the joints and muscles, bringing increased awareness and space into the body.

The breathing aids in creating a meditative effect. The subtle energetic work also helps deepen and aid in relaxation. Massaging of the muscle tissue helps milk toxins through the bloodstream creating a detoxifying effect and bringing more oxygen to the muscles.

    It is a New Year, and oftentimes filled with optimism for a fresh beginning in how one cares for themselves. Massage along with your regular yoga class can bring energy, stamina, a stronger healthier body through relief from chronic tension and pain, and  help you move through your life with a deeper relaxed sense of  self . Blessings to you all for a Healthy New Year.

Kristi Seibold has been a massage therapist for 23 years and is teaching massage at the New Mexico Academy of Healing Arts in Santa Fe for 15 years. She currently offers massage, aromatherapy, and other forms of healing bodywork in Tijeras and Santa Fe. LMT#4216. For more info visit: www.seresessentialoils.com or call 505.204.0320

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Women's Health : Bringing Ancient Wisdom to Modern Living

By Dr. Sue Swanback DOM. Sue and her husband practice in Albuquerque at Future Medicine Now.  They believe that the primary mission of their practice is education. This is absolutely necessary because in this country there is no cultural belief in the efficacy of Oriental Medicine, even though it is first line health care for the majority of the world's population. Through website and personal interactions their goal is to teach the viewpoint of this medicine to empower others to manage their own health. Her upcoming class "Maximizing Health, Vitality, and Fertility with Natural Medicine" will be offered on July 17, 2010. Call 505.266.5681 for details or click this link: http://www.futuremedicinenow.com/pages/maximizingHealth.php

Very often a woman will take care of everyone around her while forgetting basic needs of her own.  While this service can be admirable, it ultimately is self-defeating, because only by taking care of oneself can one have the resources to assist others.

In addition to the stresses and strains of our particular lifestyle, there are many that go below the radar but affect us just the same.   

Xenoestrogens are chemically-created compounds found in pesticides, plastics, and coatings such as are used on clothing, furniture, and construction materials.  They have the potential to disrupt the delicate hormonal balance of the female endocrine system.  

Non-organic meat and dairy products still contain the hormones that were fed to the animal to make it fatter and increase profits at the processing plant.  If the hormones made the animal fatter, why would it not make us fatter too?  Indeed, we see even young children suffering from obesity and coming into full-fledged premature puberty due to these influences.

Diet plays a large part in endocrine balance.  Refined sugars, starches, and caffeine intake are intricately linked to problems with the monthly cycle, as well as obesity, diabetes, autoimmune syndromes, and a host of other maladies.

Stress is also a major factor contributing to difficulties with the monthly cycle, conception, and maintaining a pregnancy.

With all these pressures it is no wonder that many women suffer through their cycles every month, go through incredibly expensive and painful procedures to get pregnant, worry about breast cancer, live with hot flashes and night sweats, and find themselves chronically exhausted on top of it all.  And we adjust and adjust and adjust until we think this is the normal way to live.

If there was a better way, would you try it?

Because there is.  It is called Oriental Medicine, and it has been evolving for thousands of years.  

The Chinese knew there was nothing more important to the health of a dynasty than the health of the women and the virility of the men.  This medicine evolved to help people live better, healthier, longer lives, and it has immense knowledge and understanding of woman's health issues and how to treat them.  

This is why when you go to see a Doctor of Oriental Medicine, she will ask you very detailed questions about your cycle and reproductive history, in addition to many other questions about all the systems in your body.  She will develop a detailed diagnosis and treatment plan, which may include the use of acupuncture and herbal medicine to help correct the imbalances caused by environmental and internal factors. 

For many women, it is quite possible to have a symptomless cycle, to get pregnant the old-fashioned natural way, and even to breeze through menopause.   

If this possibility interests you, why not give Oriental Medicine a try?

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Chiropractic : The Good, the Great and the Fantastic

By Dr. Nancy Tarlow, DC is a 1993 graduate of NY Chiropractic College. She has had successful practices in Northern Virginia and Asheville, NC. She currently practices in Santa Fe, NM.  To find out more, go to:

I’ve been a chiropractor now for over 17 years. What brought me to my first chiropractor at the age of 29, was a chronic and sometimes debilitating low back pain. Since my first car accident at the age of 11 years old, something was amiss, but didn’t realize until I was older, that it caused this chronic back problem. The pain just came on gradually, and despite many massages, rounds of physical therapy, competitive tennis play…the pain just got worse with each passing year.

My father was the one who pushed me into going to a chiropractor and I am grateful for that. Getting out of pain changed my life so much, that I decided to become a chiropractor. By the time I began school, not only was my back pain greatly reduced, my headaches were pretty much non-existent, greatly reduced menstrual cramps and my often severe allergies and regular sinus/bronchial infections were now gone!

Despite me not being a great undergrad student, I excelled in Chiropractic school. Finding one’s passion can change everything…including going through a rigorous program to become a Doctor of Chiropractic. As I look back on these years in practice, there are a few comments I’d like to share.

1. While there are some “techniques” I prefer over others, I’d much rather get any type of adjustment than no adjustment. Getting regular chiropractic care keeps me healthy (probably due to the white blood cells that are released), out of pain, and relieves stress that builds up in my body.
2. While Chiropractic care will get and keep me healthy most of the time, sometimes I need an extra umph that I get with homeopathy and supplements. While experiencing a gall bladder attack several years ago, I found the colonic therapy took care of my problem totally. Energy healing such as Reiki, helps to release additional stress that seems to surround me sometimes.
3. Yogaahhhhh. Well, what more is there to say than that expression of this wonderful practice? I became an avid yogi in early 2000 and found with a regular practice, my need for other types of bodywork decreased tremendously. I became a more grounded and happier person. Making decisions seemed easier. I found myself being able to go-with-the-flow much easier. The practice of yoga transformed my life.

Over the years my chiropractic practice changed a lot regarding the types of techniques I use. Recently, I discovered the Koren Specific Technique. While a chiropractor named Tedd Koren discovered this, it’s so unique that you can apply the principles to any area of your life. I use it to ask the body of the person I am working on the highest priorities of what is affecting their health. It might be structural, mental, emotional or spiritual stress, inadequate diet, chemical toxicity, a dental problems, etc. Once I have figured out the primary causes of dis-ease, or lack of health, I can then either give the person advice and/or adjust the body. Utilizing this method, I have seen profound changes with the people I work with. It’s rewarding to see people get better faster and also allows them to take responsibility for their own health.

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