A Rabbit Trail of Music, Hatha Yoga and the Right and Left Sides of the Brain and Body and my Damascus Road Experience that Somehow Came Out of This Study

In Music:


ideas from http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2001/03.22/04-music.html


Right Side of the Brain - recognizes pitch as well as certain parts of melody, harmony, timbre (or quality of a musical tone) and rhythm


Left Side of the Brain - processes fast changes in repetition and energy, both in music and words


Both Sides of the Brain - complete the understanding of rhythm


Frontal Part of the Brain - where working memories are contained, assists with knowledge of memory and rhythm


Much work is being done to see the connections between the auditory cortex and the parts of the brain that handle emotions brought about by music


Even without physically moving, like when tapping out beats in your head, the motor system in your brain is turned on


Hatha Yoga comes from two Sanskrit words:


ideas from Poser, My Life In Twenty-Three Yoga Poses by Claire Dederer:


"Ha" shouts to the right side of the body, to the robust sun, to power


"Tha" beckons the left side of the body, the soft moon, docility  


"Yoga" means to yoke - thus in yoga, we meld the energies of hatha


A therapist once told me that I need to not give away my power. When she told me this, it struck a deep chord in me. The power of being a woman is found in the intertwining of both robustness and softness. As women who love Jesus, we are called to present the relationship of Jesus and His church. As His friends, we yearn to make him happy, not the kind of submission to a demanding lord that I was taught in my younger years. No! My husband says, Jesus is a Gentle Man...he beckons us to a life of abundance as we seek Him and His will, because His will is always that which is in our best interest. I have been given a gift beyond anything I remotely deserve in my husband who is a seal to me of Jesus forgiveness and faithfulness to never stop trying to regain me on His side! I was talking to my husband this evening about how, since around 2008, I had started giving tiny glimpses to Jesus again, after a continual, complete and blasphemous rejection of Him.

To side step for a second, my abhorrence to Christ came not as much out of rebellion to the sweet Savior I understand today, but in steps away from the Lord of Wrath that I was taught in church. But, instead of tossing out only the tainted bath water, I tossed out the baby, yes ALL of Jesus along with it. For years I have blamed much of this on the church, my parents, etc. but have finally come to the reality that yes, while these people may have precipitated my rejection, I am responsible to seek truth on my own and find a way out of the confusion. It is my responsibility in the end. But I must follow this with - Jesus NEVER left me even when I violently pushed Him aside. He, over and over, wooed me back to Him and kept me safe from all the dangers I put myself in!

But back to 2008, I came back to Christ, gungho at times, only to reject Him thoroughly again, until January 19th of this year, 2011, when I had what my husband calls a Damascus Road experience. I was in my classroom with my one year olds listening to the hymn, "O, Sacred Head now wounded with grief and shame weighed down; now scornfully surrounded with thorns Thy only crown. How art Thou pale with anguish, with sore abuse and scorn; how dost Thy visage languish which once was bright as morn. What Thou, my Lord hast suffered was all for sinners shame; mine, mine was the transgression, but Thine the deadly pain. Lo, here I fall my Savior, tis I deserve Thy place; look on me with Thy favor; vouch safe to me Thy grace. What language shall I borrow to thank Thee dearest Friend, for this Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end? Oh, make me Thine forever and should I fainting be, Lord let me never, never outlive my love to Thee!" In my heart, hearing the music and lyrics to this song, I bowed and claimed my allegiance to Jesus as my Savior and Lord for eternity! And not because the doubts were gone; no, I still wonder about truth, but this kind of a Friend is too incredibly good to pass up...He has Pity Without End...and now I want so badly to make Him happy...I almost wrote, to make up for my direct hand in His torture and blood bath death, but I could never do anything that could make up for that...that is why He died so I didn't have to try only to fail over and over again. His bloody, unrecognizable form was for my peace and freedom!

Cat/Cow/Child's Poses

I have found that as I do my back bends: upward dog, pigeon, half frog, bow, camel, that I feel the need to come back to cat/cow/child poses at points. The arching and curving of my spine in cat/cow is a wave of release to my spine, especially after arching a lot in back bends, the cat curvature is a welcome feeling to my spine. I attended a yoga class once with a lady who learned the Scaravelli method and she said something about the curving of the spine is a way to lengthen it, which sounds weird as we are always told to straighten the back and not hunch. But I am not meaning a hunch but like what is accomplished in cat pose. This kind of curvature makes sense to this lengthening idea as the vertebrates are spacing themselves away from each other with the curve. And when going into child's pose after back bends, I like to stretch my arms in front instead of have them at my sides. I intend to study this further, but in the mean time, I know how good cat/cow/child poses feels after back bends.

Yoga Poses: Cat Pose and Cow Pose
Cat Pose: marjarasana
Marjari= cat
Cow Pose: bitilasana
The Cat-Cow pose combination is a tremendously popular and beneficial exercise used in yoga, Pilates, and other forms of physical exercise. This simple pose combination helps to stretch the back and relieve pain, strengthen the core muscles of the abdomen and the back, increase coordination, and energize the body.


Cat Cow pose benefits:

• Stabilizes the sacrum to release lower back pain
• Supports back by engaging abs
• Stretches the low, mid and upper back, the front torso, the hips and the neck
• Loosens spine
• Stretches hips
• Massages and stimulates kidneys and adrenal glands, and tones the uterus
• Creates emotional balance
• Relieves stress and calms the mind

Continue reading on Examiner.com: Yoga pose of the week: Cat Cow Pose - Minneapolis yoga | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/yoga-in-minneapolis/yoga-pose-of-the-week-cat-cow-pose#ixzz1F5jOwYKi

A Resource for Yoga with Children:

http://yogainmyschool.com/

The intent of Yoga In My School is:

1. to empower parents and teachers to access the benefits of yoga by providing a website which collects everything related to yoga for kids and teens
2. to make yoga more accessible and answer your yoga questions
3. to provide information about yoga – what it is, what it can do for you, how to do it
4. to show how to make yoga a part of your children‘s/student‘s lives, and
5. to introduce yoga to kids and teens, allowing them to have fun, explore, create, and benefit in tremendous ways from this ancient and fulfilling practise.

"Laundry" -- Funny Cat Commercial from Temptations Treats

Yoga for a Tired Body

I summoned energy today and it came to me! After getting up at a very early hour this morning and writing like crazy, by ten I was ready for a nap. I tried to sleep but couldn't so I got up and wrote more and ate peach yogurt and a banana, then tried to nap again. I was almost asleep when my alarm went off reminding me to wake up my daughter. I tried to go to sleep again and I don't think I ever fell asleep. So I finally sat up, stretched out my legs in front of me and did forward bends for a little while. I immediately felt energy and release, so I got my yoga mat and did a whole sequence which completely rejuvenated me.

I used to think that if I was as tired as I was that rest was the only option, but now I know that even though I feel worn out, I can stretch and an amazing flow of energy wells up in me...and starting out by stretching in bed gave me the impetus to continue a full sequence on my mat...oh yes, and a cool shower afterwards tops it off!

Egg Salad, Chicken Salad, Green Salad

EGG SALAD:

Hard boil eggs in a rolling boil for 20 minutes

Place eggs in ice cold water; this makes them easy to peal

Peal and Chop Eggs and add lots of mayonnaise, a little mustard, dill relish, grated cheese, smoked paprika and dill weed.

Use as dip with Cheddar/Sour Cream Potato Chips

CHICKEN SALAD:

Four Large Cans of Chicken, drained

Lots of mayonnaise, chopped purple onions, chopped celery, dill relish, garlic salt, and kickin chicken seasoning (or some kind of seasoning for chicken)

Use as dip with Sour Cream and Onion potato chips

GREEN SALAD:

Lettuce, Tomatoes, Purple Onions, Avocados and favorite dressing

Imperfection; Haphazardness ~ oh, the Glory!!!

Quote from Poser, My Life In Twenty-Three Yoga Poses by Claire Dederer:

"Yoga seemed like just exactly what I wanted; something to calm me down. It also seemed like just exactly what I didn't want; a place where everyone could see what a mess I was, could see my tremor and my anxiety and my worry. There was something about holding still, about inhabiting a pose, that was scary."


"...Wrestling the stroller through the door, I was hit with the ecclesiastically grubby smell of incense. Everything in the store was dusty and slightly off plumb. The magazine racks tilted; the books were piled haphazardly; the posters of chakras and mushrooms and stars were at various subtle angles."

So I must admit that I got carried away with looking at pictures of chakras, mushrooms and stars to add decor to my blog and to our room. I am so going to print out what I found and color them with crayons and hang them in a glorious haphazardness around my room. Many times through Claire's book she struggles with this perfectionism that she is compelled to have as wife, mother, daughter, yogi. It seriously takes her to the end of the book to come to terms with the delight of an imperfect life. I keep wondering, in my stupid pride, when is she gonna get it? But it is me who still hasn't gotten it. Yes, in the beginning, we were made to be perfect, but in our gift of free will, we left this idea behind and if I could just learn to embrace this fallacy that in a sense is sad, but in another sense is so full of grace and forgiveness that I really don't think I would want it any other way. The angels never sinned and only learn from us what it is to love soooo much because we were loved by Jesus even when we hated Him; just like the prostitute who washed Jesus feet with her tears and her hair ~ that kind of helpless adoration would be lost on me if I had not screwed up so badly in my life.

My husband gave me a gentle command yesterday, a command that I really liked but that bugs me with guilt. He told me that right now I am not allowed to even think about getting a paying job...but focus on being a wife, being domestic and writing. I have a hard time letting go of bringing in money, even though, hopefully in my writing, I will eventually gain monetarily. But it is hard for me, especially since he works such long and hard hours. But I am going to try and let go of my guilt and just follow his sweet leadership and work very hard at what he has asked me to do. It is the perfectionism of this, however, that I have to let go of too because I feel that if everything in the home is not perfect, if I don't accomplish my soul's writing quota, then the guilt comes and I get depressed. Let Go Bonnie!!! Go with the flow, with the grace; let others see your humanness...the beautiful imperfection and relax!!! This is the mandate to myself that just poured out on this page...maybe it is from my friend, Jesus...

If I can just learn to inhabit what I do, like when I hold and release into a pose and my focus is there completely, in the feeling, riding the wave of all the energy and chemicals releasing in my body...inhabiting all that that moment offers me...

The Endlessness of Guilt and Relief to Peace and Fear Nots

Quote from Poser, My Life In Twenty-Three Yoga Poses by Claire Dederer:

"Now that I've been doing yoga for ten years, I'm tempted to say something wise, such as: I was ready to wean and my body made the decision for me. But back then I didn't believe in that kind of crap. Instead, I paddled around in a complicated gumbo of guilt and relief."

How I can relate to this gumbo! It's been about guilt since my teens and I tried to throw all guilt away in my mid twenties until my early thirties which only led to much regret. It was balance that I was missing. I went from the extreme of legalistic Christianity where everything is tainted with evil to this kind of anti-morality which I thought was freedom, but only left me very hurt and raw for true love. It's not about the guilt of sin or the relief of unbridled freedom...these are both in equal measures, bondage...at least that is how it has been for me.

Jesus talks a lot about peace and not being afraid. This kind of peace that He gives hangs on trust in His deep magic as C.S. Lewis calls it which is culminated in a love so unconditional that He died for the souls of every person despite their acceptance or disregard for Him and in that love there are no harsh commands and iron rod lordship, but only the gentle knocking on the heart to be friends with Him ~ friends who love to make each other happy!

Running Commentary

Is it bad to have a two sense about everything? Sometimes I feel like part of my empathy is letting other people know how I have dealt with a similar situation to what they are in. But when I do this, sometimes it appears that I am just trying to bring the conversation back around to me instead of focusing on them and what they are dealing with. Whatever may be the case, I know when something I read or hear or learn touches me, it helps for me to personalize it. So as I read and mark up books with underlinings and notes in the margin, I want to share the author's wisdom and shall I say, my take on it...certainly I will not say my wisdom, but maybe if I can share how their knowledge works and shapes me, it will spur on my readers to find meaning for their lives as they learn about and from others. It will be my running commentary and I would find so much delight with comments from others and their take on the topic...

Having a Moat and Quotes (with commentary) from the Yoga I Embrace

In Poser, My Life In Twenty-Three Yoga Poses, after Claire has lived so close to extended family that she felt she was losing connection with her own little family at home, after she and her little family have moved away and learned freedom from intertwining with each other and nature and learned the lack of having to always be good, and, when they finally decide to move back closer to extended family because that is home to them, one important decision is to live separated by a moat, so that they are not too close but only a boat ride away. I really like this moat thing and feel that I must apply it in my self and in my home for my own sanity. Not running away from others but none the less having a watery space that allows me to be alone with my little family and at the right times, crossing the mote and being with others. It's one of those balance things I am learning...


Quotes from Poser, My Life In Twenty-Three Yoga Poses by Claire Dederer:

"Their yoga seemed to be about not trying, about finding the most efficient, least effortful way possible to do a pose. They did not link poses very often, It was like they were scientists, and the studio was their lab, and the poses were their experiments: What happens to the outer hip of the standing in bird of paradise? What about the vertebrae C3 and C4 in bridge?

They had weird ways of isolating and relaxing secret muscles, muscles heretofore undiscovered by people who dwelt beyond the strip mall [the studio location]. You would lie supine at the wall, gently twist your legs overhead in some surprising configuration, and grow slowly bored, wondering when the action was going to start. Then you would try to move, and discover that you had somehow Rolfed yourself. Surprise!

They were big on the thoracic spine. This is the fancy term for the middle of your back, which they felt didn't get enough attention. They seemed almost to have taken a political stance on this. They felt the thoracic spine had unfairly been exiled, and needed to be repatriated into the rest of the body. They were, in fact, obsessed with skeletons. They wanted us to forget our muscles and remember and trust our bones. "Do this pose with your skeleton!" was their refrain. "Let the muscles go and trust the structure." The idea was to stop gripping yourself into place with your muscles; instead, find a skeletal alignment that was sustainable, that didn't need muscular support to be held for some time."

***************

As Claire does wheel (backbend) with the skeleton approach..."And there, for a split second, I had it. My muscles released. In fact, they did not release themselves. I released them. I let go. It was scary. But for a second I trusted that everything was fine. The structure was sound. It would be OK. And it was heavenly, like my muscles were syrup pouring over a rock."

The bones...I have learned from my husband the importance of bones being in their place so that they work optimally for you. When he pops my back or my toes, the feeling of release is awesome! I love Claire's description of muscles pouring over the bones like syrup. And I am wanting to take my yoga sequence, the one where I focus primarily on the mind and on the spine, and practice over and over, like a scientist, becoming intimate with each pose and the position of my bones, experimenting with my body in these poses. I think, I will add one pose to my basic set each week or two...like right now I really want to practice tree since I am so shaky when it comes to balancing poses. My daughter goes to the local community college and I would like to try and take a yoga class from there and an anatomy and physiology class as well. I really like that I have personalized a sequence that targets the points in my body most in need of release. I am going to try and help my daughter find one for her...she has a lot of back pain and my gut response to this is twists...I am going to research yogajournal.com for knowledge about this. 

Asanas

Points to Consider in Vanda Scaravelli’s System of Practicing Yoga Postures (Asanas):

• take your time and let go of ambition
• the posture will emerge as tensions and imbalances clear from the body
• there is no need to "muscle"
• find the roots of the posture in relation to the ground (feet, sitz bones, hands, knees, forearms, upper arms, shoulders, spine, pelvis, etc.—whichever part of the body connects with the earth)
• keep the body soft as you drop into your "anchoring"—the body part that touches the earth
• always give attention to alignment by beginning from the ground up
• during your inhalation be passive (remain still)—then move on the exhalation
• once stabilized and secure in your posture, watch for the exhalations to begin to trigger
ripples of release in the spine
• sense the dropping action of the sacrum, which precedes the multi-stage releasing of spinal curves, and which occurs at the end of each exhalation
• as the sacrum, lumbar and pelvis release, let the exhaled breath release you from the waist up
• the resulting wave will clear the upper spine and neck of tension and imbalance
• spontaneous, dynamic movement may surprise you! It brings life to the pose
• wait until you can do the pose well in this method before deepening it or practicing a more challenging variation
• once you are grounded, postures evolve through awareness of the rhythm of the breath and the lengthening of the spine
• “scooping” the pelvis while standing helps with discovering the sense of a wave of release
• long natural curves in the spine are desirable as balancers of front / back weight distribution
• flat-backed students benefit; as the deep pelvic tensions release, a curve grows
• know that while you are in transition from a more "muscle-dependent" style of practice, your muscular corset begins to change and you are temporarily more vulnerable to injury
• when you are ready, there is no fear, and the posture arrives easily
• have "infinite time-and no ambition"

"Do not kill the instinct of the body for the glory of the pose."

~ Vanda Scaravelli

from: http://www.namasteusa.us/asanas.htm

Just reading through Vanda's ideas reminds me so much of what I learned in voice. I am actually going to send this blog to my voice teacher, David, as the technique of being free and riding the wave of the body so links itself to the way I was taught to sing with freedom. It took me a loooooong time to finally be free enough in my body to simple speak connected words on pitch with emotion...although this sounds simple enough and it is, being so caught up in my own insecurities caused me to not just let go and be a bird singing free. Teaching children through music and ten years of reviewing David's simple, yet profound, technique over and over in my mind finally set me free! Now I love to sing and this yoga as Vanda said is the continuation of music...through the movement of the body!

Cozy, Simple Care Of Self

We hear so much about getting the right amount of vitamins, water, fruits and veggies, exercise, sleep, etc. I refuse to be a health nut, worrying about everything that goes inside me. But, on the other hand, it is a relief  to feel energized, at peace and healthy inside and out. So I have found a manageable, cost-efficient way to take care of my body. Yes, I do want to learn more, like how to eat more raw foods, like my brother and his fiance and my friend Natalie do, but I think the most important thing is to find what individually makes your body feel good. This is what works for me:


1) 64 to 96 oz of 1/2 strength diluted Gatorade a day (I buy the powder in bulk and put 1/2 a scoop to 32 oz of water. Drinking two of these a day is 200 calories and the recommended 8 glasses of water/day, three of these a day is only 300 calories and is over the amount of recommended water a day. I am one of those people who need some kind of flavor and slight sweetness in my water. I am trying really hard to get away from most artificial sugar, so diluted Gatorade works for me. Besides hydrating, Gatorade has electrolytes of sodium and potassium to help balance fluid in the body.


2) Vitamins: For Overall Wellness - Geritol Complete has every vitamin and mineral recommended for humans in each pill and 100% daily antioxidant formula; For Energy - Super B - Complex with at least 100% of B1,2,3,6,12 and Folic acid; For Sunshine Happiness in the Mind - Vitamin D3 2,000 I.U.; For Healthy Heart - Fish Oil with 720 milligrams of Omega 3 two times a day


3) Veggies and Fruits: I simply drink a 11.5 oz can of V-8 Spicy a day and drink 16 oz of V-8 Fusion. This regimen provides 4 fruits and veggies/ daily and is a simple way to get them.


4) Yogurt for snacks is a good source of calcium, protein and carbs with a banana which provides a 5th fruit/veggie and vitamin B6, vitamin C, potassium and fiber

5) Yoga: this is something that each person has to personalize for themselves. Yoga is supposed to stretch you and relax the mind and body. For me, the parts that most need relaxing in me are my mind and my spine. So my primary poses are forward bends, back bends and inversions. yogajournal.com is a good resource for finding an individualized sequence.


6) Sleep: this is simple; whenever I am sleepy, if I can, I lay down and sleep. If I can't I'll drink a little coffee. 


Being someone who has always had a hard time sleeping, I treasure it and think it is very important.

OUR WEDDING!!! December 19, 2010