Stressful karma

Fri, Oct 9, 2009
Subject: Friday

'''''''''''''''''''''''''```````(O)'''''''---~~

```````(O)''''--~YOGA'''''''...~*Friends

Here I am, eating organic foods prepared from scratch, getting plenty of exercise with a regular meditation routine, and yet there is hypertension that keeps my blood pressure at the borderline of concern. What is that? It is so interesting the way somehow, someway, stress accumulates in minds and bodies, even still there from early on in our lives. My own growing up had its share of stress. Maybe it originates from back then. It takes a long while to grow out of that experience.

Fundamentally, karma is the process of action and reaction. It is widely understood that "as you sow, so shall you reap". Karma is not fate which implies a lack of free will. Karma involves the activity of physical action and mental intention to create its own reaction. Skilled response yields good karma, poor judgement results in worse karma. Yoga offers us means for controlled thoughts and responsive physical bodies.

Class happens at 7pm Friday.*****) '''''''........~oo*******) '''''''........~**

Mind embodiment

````````(O)'''''''---~~YOGA
*****) '''''''........~oo**Friends
|||``.` ```)~~~>>

Modern western living normally considers mind and body to be separate
entities. As in "My body wants one thing but my mind is telling me another",

in the way we separate types of occupation into white collar and blue collar,

and further relegate body and mind to separate worlds of academic pursuit or

the wide world of sports. It begs the strangeness of why we play action games

on our Ipods. Gone are times when hunting and farming, adventure or
community required a life interested in utilizing both at once.

This dualistic view makes it difficult to recognize the interwoven relationship

between thinking and doing, connecting understanding and being.

Hatha yoga is the physical and mental education which teaches how to inhabit

our bodies and grasp the shadow of consciousness. Our practice lets our body's

experience help define our understanding. Hope to see you in Friday class, 7pm.

(Large concepts still workout abs, hamstrings, strengthen joint function,

relieve stress, increase metabolism and balance weight.)

Namaste, :)ohn

Part 2

There is interest in starting a friendly running group to participate in a local
5K race (3 miles). Date depends on how long we want to get ready (2 months?)
It all starts with stepping a short distance. Let me know if you are interested.

Annual field trip to Chuang Yen Monastery

Invitation for April 26 (Sunday morning)
ANNUAL FIELD TRIP TO CHUANG YEN MONASTERY.
Meet between 7:30 and 8 am at the Lutheran Church in Mount Kisco
(across from Northern Westchester Hospital) for caravan / car pool
or meet at the monastery (www.baus.org) in Carmel before 9 am.
Join morning meditation (sitting and walking). Enjoy dharma talk,
beautiful grounds and vegetarian lunch ($5).
Call John (589-0964) for more info. Donation is appreciated.

Yoga on Main
John Kortmulder, Teacher
Classes at Lutheran Church
15 South Bedford Road / Main St
Mount Kisco, NY 10549
www.yogaonmain.net
914-589-0964


A useful sentiment on breath to preface the field trip announcement -

The face of breath
Our faces tell ourselves how we feel- in a good mood, down in the dumps,
confident, interested, bored or fearful. Hazard a guess about who we are.
Can we see shyness or smug attitude or kindness coming from a similar
place behind our gaze? We even say 'expression' to describe our facial
muscles pulled this way and that.
Can't we think of respiratory muscles contracted in the same way?
In what ways are our breathing patterns affected, as plain as the nose on
our face? How is breath deep or shallow, either self aware, often proud, or
self deprecating. The costal lift can set us on a self confident pedestal. Or
creeping into unfulfilled thoracic expansions, short intrinsic back muscles
may become too tight to extend the spine. Shoulders could be flexed inward.
Breath shows up our fears and comforts by the tensions in respiratory muscle
and body tissue. We release these tensions, undo habitual appearance and
change our mood the same as if softening a grimace by twinkling the eyes.
Our expression is a connection between our mind and body. Yoga is mind
and body connected through our breath. Yoga looks in the mirror.

We begin class practice on Fridays, 7pm, for our spring excursion to
participate in Chuang Yen Monastery's Sunday morning sitting meditation
hour. Join in to have our breath smiling by the last Sunday in April.

Namaste )ohn

Reason #83 for winter yoga

------/||Yoga Fridays`2009`.` ```)~~

Yoga friends,

It's still winter.
Instead of reaching out, yoga practice hunkers down,
bending and folding inward, slow, close to the ground.
Classes are small and poses fit
tight, breathing becomes intimate.
There will be class on Friday, 7pm.

What is our karma for being present when
being present detaches us from our karma?
(from Swami Bhenenjerri in Koan of Koans)

When are we the event, not the involvement?
From standing, sitting or laying down,
in the joined focus of mind and body-
our physical and mental frame of reference begins
from a point of contact with a mat or the floor,
information that tells us what and where
in a most fundamental possible way.

Watching within our body, inside our mind, we recognize
our presence in this moment and move in a positive way,
co-ordinated, purposeful and not distracted.

Class once a week is a guide. Help with a home practice
or class twice per week is a remedy for serenity.
A flexible body is the garden for a pliant mind.
Plans to add more classes begin
with a Friday approach to health.

Be resolute and enjoy mindful practice.

Obamaste, :)ohn

````````(O)'''''''---~~oo*******)'''''''........

New Year Resolution

|-------/|||||Yoga Fridays`December, 2008`.` ```

Thoughts for entering the new year-
I talk with folks about what yoga is and does for us.
Many people say, "I want to lose weight, be more flexible, relieve stress."
For that I have open yoga class at Yoga On Main at the Lutheran Church.
Class once a week guides towards those goals. A home practice or class
at least twice per week will achieve further results. If you plan to make
a commitment for a good approach for your health, there is no physical
injury nor handicap which can't be reckoned with. No matter how stressed
we are, there is a way leading to serenity. Many concerns can be addressed.
This is my resolution for myself and for my yoga students.

Today, Friday, 12/19 there is no class due to snow storm.
Following Friday class is canceled due to holiday, when I will be in VA.
Our next class will be the 1st Friday in the New Year. Wait a minute, that's
January 2nd. Please tell me if you can't make it. Send a New Year's wish.
Else, I hope you will be resolute and ready for mindful practice.

Namaste, :)ohn

````````(O)'''''''-gaze inward --~~oo*******)'''''''........

Last years' holiday poems

```````)~~
.......
:: ::::


Dec., 2007

Winter's fulcrum applies the torque
that turns us inward; old warmth lingers
and is pulled from inside my overcoat.
Cold curls the arthritis in my fingers,
another solstice happens in New York.

Creaky rhymes scratch on a sharded frost,
those of us not grounded chance being lost
in the elemental.

And to all,
namaste,
:)ohn

December 2006

yogi's winter tao

Young winter's breath drawn from a tepid well
of daily schedules, is more hectic than years ago.
Bucket of breath dips into the globally warmed
pool of atmosphere and world conflicts.

Still a delicate crystaline outbreath spills
out into the still of a silent night, moist exhales
aspirate a twinkling in early morning's chills.

There is yet that tug which recognizes community.
"Good morning" 's seem especially neighborly,
my gaze turns kinder, consideration hangs in the air.
The harmony in my heart is seasoned by the breath,
invigorated and yielding to the relationship between
the soul we call ourselves and knowing that we all
are brothers and sisters breathing the same breath
for thousands of years.
More than other seasons, our energy turns inward,
nourishing our heart, external focus is plowed under.

A solar yang is birthed by the galactic yin.
Winter solstice aligns along axis with the North Star.
Cold germinates the seedless Southern Cross within.
Religious holidays coincide the nadir of sunlit days
as the celestial firmament gives testament to what falls
to earth. Our lengthened night breathes out and plays
across this northern region while far from New York,
the birth of a powerful love happens where hemisphere
inhales its antipodean season.

Planet's climate change will not forestall the heralded lights.
And so whether longer days will provide succor for others
or solace for myself is a question of balance, shifting night's
dark to light, warmth from cold. 'Tween fathers and mothers
wintering is what rekindles the fire in their hearts.

Namaste,
:)ohn


12/15/2005
HOLIDAY POTION

1) Mix clippings from the beard of Claus and
0.5 oz reindeer antler, ground to course powder.
Set mix aside.
2) Fill small cauldron with green glacier ice melted
by the morning sun of the winter solstice.
Set on stove.
Waft with incantations of whispering snow fairies.
Collect sufficient vibrations to ignite stove.
3) Add peeled chestnuts to boiling glacial water,
parboil for long enough to remember
your ancestors, then add to mix.
Remove to open fire; when roasted,
slice communion wafer thin.
Leave cauldron to simmer over same fire, letting
embers die slowly.
4) Gather two people, traditionally a man and woman,
arrange underneath boughs of holly
and sprigs of mistletoe.
Wait as long as it takes.
5) Crush holly berries and dice mistletoe berries,
stir slowly into the cauldron broth.
6) Chant "Om mani padme ho ho ho"
while decanting a bottle of rum into goblets
for everyone.
7) Nibble on chestnut slices, sip (West Indian) rum.
Carry the potion out to the street and while spilling
the stock onto the frozen ground, wish merry
good will to gentle men and neighbor ladies.

Happy holidays,
Love, )ohn

Edge of Asthma

(From “Edge of Asthma”, New Yogi Press)

For those of us with respiratory restrictions as well as for those without, this writing aims to help see more subtly into our breathing process. Serious illness or injury consistently reminds us not to take basic living functions for granted. Asthma, as a serious handicap, illustrates the most basic understanding of our existence- that we must breathe.

There once was a famous yogi claiming never to take a breath of which he was not aware. Breath awareness isn't necessarily peaceful. Breath confronted with asthma listens and watches and notices the degree of success or relative difficulty in breathing. Not being able to breathe allows little thought outside of the process involved in inhale and exhale. In this situation, we are minutely aware of hampered breath flow, of vague yet intense constriction in our chest, “watch here, alert moment, now, be careful”. Keeping our internal monitor always turned "ON" alert for danger signs will influence our anxiety and further inhibit easy breathing. People with asthma know a cautious present and live in an anxious moment.

We know of no unified explanation for what causes asthma. Asthma appears as a response to our body's difficulty in coping with a broad range of traumatic or otherwise debilitating situations. Sometimes these factors happen early in life. Premature childbirth or genetic predisposition may have inhibited the maturation of the respiratory system. For example, the lining of the lungs may not have developed adequate surfactant coating. Evidence of very early childhood stress, of babies experiencing prolonged or acute hyperactive distress, has been linked as a risk factor in the development of this illness.

Exposure to environmental stressors (fumes, airborne chemicals, smoke or other toxins, molds, etc) and allergens can also result in a hyper-reactive respiratory response. In industrial neighborhoods, even truck traffic and highway noise can cause nervous and neural imbalances which present challenges for normal relaxed breathing.

Nowadays, medical opinions recognize other complex interactive psychological factors as triggers contributing significantly to what creates an asthmatic environment. Our breath can be wrapped in worries that we may be harmed, fear of death, pain either immediate or traumas and abuse remembered from long ago. Chronic stress can have a debilitating affect on respiratory patterns.

Lack of breath is preceded by the inability to exhale. Without expiration there is no room for the oxygen-rich inhale. The depleted air remains in the lungs. What is causing this inability to exhale? Still a mystery, our breath holds the most sensitive and subtle imprints about our life experience. It’s said that the out breath is our last living act. Well then, don't exhale and we won’t let go. Being afraid may cause a tendency to tense up, curling our body inward, provoking a habit of intercostal muscle contraction in the short muscular attachments from spine to ribcage, and incomplete release along the edges of the diaphragm.

In meditation, not only can we observe a warming and cooling stream of breath, we can relax this connection and understand breath as that primal experience without which there is panic, within which is safety as life continues. It engenders a very basic gratitude.

How can we help relax the constriction of respiratory muscles, ease the inflammation of our bronchi, and lessen the congestion of mucus membrane? Breathing stretches gently allow injured or underused areas of our diaphragm and accessory breathing muscles to regain their functional range. These exercises can begin to inspire fascia throughout the torso, and develop those breathing spaces which have become underserved.

Using a physical awareness of our body as it operates the balance between inspiration and expiration, specific breath work can also reduce anxiety and response to fear or harmful emotions. It’s enlightening to see how our physical control over breath enables our influence over psychological behavior. Breathing stretches gently allow injured or underused areas of our diaphragm and accessory breathing muscles to regain their functional range.

People frequently breathe 12 to 20 times per minute, but actually once every 8 to 10 seconds, maybe 6 times per minute, is often a healthier rate. Exercises that change this habit are simple and direct; even so, many mechanical, chemical and energetic responses result in various parts of our body. Lengthened exhale, for several minutes, will increase the oxygen to our cells for maintaining skeletal muscle and promoting metabolic functions. Cell oxygenation encourages our capacity to sense and act; vital energy is restored. Our breath informs both body and mind.

We start by sitting and observe ourselves quietly. Let the breath happen by itself. Observe and focus where our breath may feel tight. By directing our attention, we can encourage a physical relaxing from inside of our ribcage. Watching this breath, we observe deeper into our physical selves. Notice the patterns which have settled themselves uncomfortably onto our respiratory template, and from there have attached to other muscles, traveling along the spine, across nerves, through connective tissue and into organs. Just paying attention will slow our breath and allow the breath to become deeper.

Our breath has a reciprocal relationship with the body's autonomic nervous system. Our nervous function affects our breathing patterns just as our breathing can help regulate both parasympathetic and sympathetic sides of the autonomic nervous systems. Acute respiratory problems have been related to a hyper-reactive autonomic nervous system. Controlled breathing sequences can bring balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.

Extend your exhale so that is longer than your inhale. Lengthening our exhale acts as the phrenic switch which turns on the parasympathetic nervous system and directs our “relaxation response”, while the sympathetic nervous system is able to release from external "fight or flight" stimuli. Both parasympathetic and sympathetic systems direct our involuntary body functions. After several minutes, our extended exhalation begins to influence the body’s environment, resetting triggers to our autonomic nervous responses.

Slowing down our out breath requires controlling the same nerve impulses and muscle constriction responsible for inhalation. I believe that asthmatic breathing fails to adequately release these same inspiratory phrenic nerves and muscles. This reaction may be found in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, in situations of abuse and extreme emotional circumstances. It is also why asthma accompanies these other injuries to our autonomic nervous system, which occasions a lack of control over our breathing ability.

Attention to our breath is the meditative work which slackens high strung tensions in our nervous system and ultimately brings about a greater fundamental awareness which creates and maintains the conditions for health and happiness. That is our goal.

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To find out more about exercise for respiratory challenges and stress disorders,

please contact John Kortmulder, Yoga On Main, (914) 589-0964, www.yogaonmain.net