BARBARA BORIS Yoga

Very interesting article. Very technical/medical … read on…
The barometric pressure of Hurricane Sandy is the lowest of a storm in our area since 1938!

Does Low Atmospheric Pressure Alone Trigger Migraine?

By Hayrunnisa Bolay, M.D., PhD^*and Alan Rapoport, M.D.^+±
*Professor of Neurology, Gazi University, Department of Neurology & Neuropsychiatry Centre, Ankara, Turkey
⁺Clinical Professor of Neurology, The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California, USA
^±Founder and Director-Emeritus, The New England Center for Headache, Stamford, Connecticut, USA

Though Messlinger and colleagues concluded that “distinct neurons in the trigeminal nucleus caudalis, particularly with preferential afferent input from the eye, respond to lowering of atmospheric pressure” their finding of a lack of activation in the trigeminal neurons with receptive fields from dura mater, or from both dura mater and cornea, indicate that lowering of barometric pressure does not mediate headache. Their results may be influenced by the short exposure time of 8 minutes, since migraine headache generally begins many hours after exposure to any triggering agent. Some studies have reported that a lowering of the ambient atmospheric pressure for 80 minutes aggravated pain behavior within inner ear dependent mechanisms in rats with neuropathic pain

Martha Stewart doing Iyengar Yoga in Grand Central Station in NYC last week. Great article! Thank you Wall Street Journal. Even Martha has been told to make her feet parallel at some time. There are videos. Take a look. Here’s the link:

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2012/10/19/for-one-day-new-york-was-martha-stewarts-yoga-mat/?mod=google_news_blog

I bet even Martha has been told to make her feet parallel at some point in her yoga practice. A big shout out to James Murphy of The Iyengar Institute of New York for leading the class.

Nice feet Martha!

Dharma is from the Sanskrit root dhr, meaning to uphold, support, sustain. As B.K.S. Iyengar writes in Light on Pranayama, it is “the code of conduct that sustains the soul and produces virtue.” At Estes Park [Yoga Conference] in 2005, Mr. Iyengar said, “That which has fallen, that which is falling, that which may fall, dharma holds it up.” In the body, the spine is like the dharma––it is that which keeps us from falling, that which holds us up.

From an article by Iyengar Institute of New York’s own Genny Kapuler, “The Spine: Form & Function” on the IYNAUS website:

http://iynaus.org/research/spine-form-function

“I sometimes tell my students that the practice they doing yoga class is not strictly speaking, yoga practice. The reason for this is that in class, although you are undoubtedly ‘doing’ and hopefully learning, you are listening to the teacher. The directing intelligence comes from the teacher and you follow the teacher to the best of your ability.

“At home, on the other hand, it is your own intelligence that is the master, and the progress that you make is yours and will be maintained. In addition, the will that you employ is yours. It is not derived from the power, the charisma, the strength or the fierceness of the teacher. It comes from you, and its effect profound.”

– B.K.S. Iyengar

Chronic Anxiety Sequence (Patricia Walden)
Print out and write your notes on how you practiced this tonight,
your results and insights.

Reflect on where you are in the moment, on all five koshas: physical, pranic, mental/emotional, root intelligence and bliss. Reflect on where you want to be after your yoga practice. Practice in such a way to achieve that goal. Not from an ego state or any mental ideations of what is “right.” Reflect at the end of practice if you achieved that goal, and what you would do differently next time. Keep notes. This is another aspect of Svadhyaya: self-study.

Beautiful Soul.
OM

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/20/arts/television/tom-davis-saturday-night-live-comedy-writer-dies-at-59.html?smid=pl-share

And a piece that Tom wrote about his “de-animation” for a Hudson, New York art gallery, Incident Report.

Tom Davis, Christ Weeping Into The Taconic

The Dark Side of Death
By Tom Davis

The good news: my chemotherapy is working and I’m still buying green bananas.

The bad news: two years ago, before we knew it as MDD (Michael Douglas Disease), I was diagnosed with tonsorial squamous cell carcinoma, a/k/a head and neck cancer.   After surgery, I elected to go with radiation therapy sans complementary chemo, which was probably a big mistake. The malignancy unexpectedly spread to the bones of my pelvis and lower spine, where it has been munching away without thought of its host’s well-being. It’s now described as “exotic and aggressive,” but it’s getting its cancerous ass kicked by taxotere, a drug that imitates the chemistry of the European Yew tree. Made in China, of course. I’ll be using it, or a related drug “for the rest of my life,” which could be as long as two more high-quality-of-life years. I’d be thrilled with that.

There are side effects, the two weirdest being a “recall effect,” in which radiation sores reappear, and neuropathy in my fingernails, which are in the unpleasant process of falling off. Ow. I’ve lost hair from all over my body. With only a little bit of white fluff on my head, I visited my mother, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease in Minneapolis.

“Now I want you to take all your medicine and your hair will grow back,” she said cheerfully. “I think you look a little like that bird Woodstock in Peanuts.” I’ll take that; better than Uncle Fester.

My old comedy partner (Senator) Al Franken, volunteered to draw my hair back on with a magic (more…)

Cassia Berman,  April 5, 1949 – forever

I just got this awesome letter about Cassia’s death and I want to share it with all of you.
We are missing her light so much. OM.

Dear Ones,

As you may have already heard, on Friday, March 9, Devi’s day, our dear friend Cassia Berman left Earth (as she insisted we capitalize this planet to show our respect: “After all, the other planets are capitalized!”)

Like the many magical things in Cassia’s life, her death was incredible. Only three weeks ago she had been slammed with the the news that she had lung cancer!  Despite this diagnosis and a surgery to relieve water around the lungs and to secure a biopsy, she was in remarkably little pain. So, when the hospital nurses were pressing her to take heavy medication, she refused, saying: “I have a high tolerance for pain.” However, the nurses insisted she take something–even a Tylenol. Cassia then asked her friend, Geeta Agerwala: “I have never taken Tylenol. What will it do to me?” !!  Geeta very surprised, replied, “Nothing but make you feel better.” So Cassia decided to try some Western medicine! (more…)

Woodstock Karma Coalition Joint Yoga Studios
Holiday Party/Fundraiser
Saturday Dec. 17th. at 6:00 p.m.
at
Photosensualis
15 Rock City Road, Woodstock
845 679-6766

A local son of Woodstock has moved to Vietnam and is working to feed families there. Here is his story. Come to the Party this Saturday night and BUY A T-SHIRT! One t-shirt will feed a family for a month. Do it! We’ll see you there.
p.s. It’s a Vegetarian Pot Luck

p.p.s. Last year with our Yogis for Food T-Shirts we raised over $2000 for Queens Galley Food Kitchen in Kingston, NY. Let’s do it again for these Vietnamese kids.

Jesse Gold’s Story about forming “Prosperity Through Progress”:

I have been living in Vietnam for a little over a year. When I got here, I had every intention to volunteer my time to help others in need. But I got wrapped up in my job teaching English, meeting new friends, and my badminton and tennis groups. Needless to say, I was a bit selfish. When my girlfriend Nhung told me about a charity fund that helps impoverished Vietnamese villagers and orphaned children that live in a remote forest pagoda with Buddhist monks, I was moved to help, especially in light of our (more…)

from the Washington Post (!) written by his Jewish daughter (!). A fantastic memoir. So beautiful. Enjoy!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/interfaith-childhood-growing-up-the-jewish-daughter-of-a-hindu-guru/2011/12/13/gIQA316xtO_story.html

p.s. I was at the wedding. It was wonderful. Mazel tov! and Radhe Radhe!

Hello Woodstock Yogis:  I just got an email from a student in today’s class:

“Just wondering if you might say something in class about beginning on time. To me, for a class that begins at 10, I need to be set up and sitting on my mat by 10. It seems that folks are arriving later and later. Is this just our class, or is this the “Woodstock Time” culture? I can let go if you feel c’est la vie, but somehow I don’t think this gets past you. I am confident BKS would not let folks get away with this.“

Well…. OK STUDENTS! PLEASE COMMENT! I’ve been on about this in the past, I’ve locked the doors, pleaded, etc. It is so disrespectful to everyone involved. Please be in your seat 5 minutes before class starts. There will always be exceptions, but I’m there 30 minutes early, and you are coming 5 minutes late…. Isn’t this supposed to be a spiritual practice… not some exercise class you attend?

With that, it’s time to go over:
THE BASICS OF ATTENDING A YOGA CLASS AT MOUNTAIN VIEW STUDIO.

“Be A Yogi, Be On Time!”
It’s not about strictness, but about the ethical principles of yoga. YAMA & NIYAMA.
(See Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras for more on the Yama & Niyama.)

YAMA

1. AHIMSA. NON-VIOLENCE. Coming late is a violent act, to yourself, to the other students in the class and to me the teacher. It is disruptive and disrespectful. Please be ready sitting meditating or quietly relaxing/ stretching on your mat 5-10 minutes before class. This allows you and the rest of the students to get into the mood for yoga class. You will be less rushed and calmer. This a good way to prepare for yoga.
2. SATYA. TRUTHFULNESS. I use Time-Warner Cable as my time piece and the main clock in the studio is atomic timed. Leave your house 5 minutes early so it’s not about a couple of minutes. Be truthful to yourself about how much time it takes for you to get out the door and get to class. You know how long it takes to get into town. Are you always 1 minute late when going to to see a film?
3. ASTEYA. NOT STEALING. Coming late is stealing the time and the quietness set up at the beginning of class from the other students. They came on time and are ready to go, the late student steals their time and space. You all know what it’s like to be sitting in meditation “OM-ing” and then hear the toilet flush. Am I to wait for everyone to pee, get their props, etc? They paid for class and came on time. You are stealing their yoga class from them and my attention from teaching.
4. BRAHMACHARYA. SEXUAL CONTINENCE. Well… unless you are having a *quickie* before class, I can’t figure out how to tie this one in to being on time. Any suggestions? Use your sexual continence to focus your energy to being on time for at least ONE THING today with out rushing.
5. APARIGRAHA. NON-HOARDING. Do you really need to get “one more thing done” before walking out the door? Aparigraha is similar to stealing, but much more subtle and pervasive. It’s about not believing that the time will be there when you return to do that errand, etc. Aparigraha also refers to “freedom from rigidity of thought” (BKS Iyengar). Do you have to arrive exactly the minute class is supposed to start? What’s that about?

NIYAMA (fill in the commentary yourself…)

1. SAUCHA. Cleanliness.
   
2. SANTOSHA. Contentment.
   
3. TAPAS. Self Discipline.
4. SVADHYAYA. Self Study.
5. ISVARA PRANIDHANA. Surrender to God.

AND NOW IF YOU HAPPEN TO ARRIVE LATE…

• If the door is LOCKED, please wait outside until I come to the lobby and unlock it. I will begin locking the door next week at the beginning of class after we go over this post in all classes.
• If the door is UNLOCKED, please wait very quietly in the lobby until I motion to you to come into the studio. This will be AFTER the OM, Invocation, and any introductory talk I might be giving.
• When you do come in, please put your mat down as efficiently and quietly as you can. Just put your mat down by the door or anywhere. Do not get any props. Sit down or join what we are doing in the class. You can get your props the next time there is movement in the room. You can move to another space later when we re-arrange the mats or at an appropriate time. If you are late, you can’t have your “favorite” spot in the room!
• If you must leave early, please tell me at the beginning of the class so I can make sure you get a savasana (final relaxation) and that the sequence ends for you in an appropriate manner. My classes are very planned to warm you up and cool you down on all levels. It’s not good just to walk out without savasana.
• If you must leave early, keep your clothes in the lobby, pick up your mat and quietly leave BEFORE the rest of the class takes savasana. Do not leave while they are in savasana. Put your props away before your own savasana or leave them in place. Next time pick up more props as a trade off.

Finally:

I will make every effort to END ON TIME IF YOU COME ON TIME!

ALTHOUGH THE KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN IS FINISHED YOU CAN STILL CONTRIBUTE DIRECTLY TO THIS PROJECT BY CONTACTING MARY AT mary.bosakowski@gmail.com

This is the final day if you want to contribute to this amazingly important film my best friend Mary Bosakowski is making:  AFTER THE WAR. Part social commentary, part spiritual odyssey, AFTER THE WAR is a portrait of a combat soldier, traumatized veteran, self-described street junkie, author and Zen Buddhist monk named Claude AnShin Thomas. AnShin works with Vets who have PTSD, or rather ALL Vets, or rather ALL of us, PTSD… it’s rampant… please give something, anything. Even $20 will help. The Kickstarter Fundraising Campaign ends at 5 pm on Monday.

By the way, even though she’s made her “nut” this film will need much more for a true professional trailer, and then ??? will it get picked up big time? This is for big time healing for many men and women. Please watch the trailer and contribute. Thanks.

Photo above is of Wiebke KenShin Andersen, Claude AnShin Thomas and Buddy the Dog © by Mary Cornelius.