Imbalance is disruptive

I haven't posted for a long time as I have been focusing on my yoga teaching and trying to develop that thread of my life.  I have been struck time and again in the last few months by how disruptive an out of balance condition is to so many people's lives.  My daughter went off to college this fall and hearing her describe some of her fellow students and how messed up their lives are just horrifies me.  Are we developing our childrens' lives with a solid foundation of balance upon which they can build a life of fullfillment and wellbeing?  Or have we acquiesced to our children's cravings and allowed them to move towards imbalance?  I suspect that there is so much ignorance about this subject that our young people are in trouble.  I pray that we can wake up to this opportunity before it is too late.

I went to a yoga workshop this past week called Yoga for Stress and I was pretty disappointed in what was offered just from the standpoint of scale.  The tools that were offered just did not seem adequate for the levels of anxiety, panic attacks, depression and more severe conditions that we are seeing.

Pink ribbons are everywhere to help raise funds for cancer research but as I look at it, it just doesn't make sense to throw money at a problem with the basic assumption that it doesn't matter how I pollute my body with inappropriate substances for years and years, and then expect you to be able to fix it when it breaks down into cancer.  

Let's see if we can bring the body to a basic stability and balance and then see if we still have these problems.  Let's start with a pristine and valued body rather than one treated like a trash can.  Let's hold the human system sacred and use some common sense about what is appropriate to place inside.  Can we bring the intelligence that resides in us to move from compulsion to consciousness in our activity so that we can control our lives and take responsibility for our future?

The very future of our human race depends on this.

Thanks for reading,

Steve

Robin Williams sorrow

I have been debating with myself whether I should comment about Robin Williams passing and I finally decided to make a few observations.  The issue of balancing Yin and Yang in our bodies and in our lives is not well known and yet it affects us every moment of our lives.  Ideally we are born balanced, fed and maintained in a balanced way throughout our lives and we live a joy filled and productive life.

Unfortunately, in our ignorance, more often we are born imbalanced, raised by ignorant parents, just trying to get along, without instructions.  We often never find balance in our lives and we pay a tremendous price for it.  Robin Williams was a victim of this ignorance from day one.  We feel the cost today of losing him too soon.  If I could adopt this beautiful man as the poster child for balance, I would, knowing that we might be able to save a few others that are struggling on the edge of death.

The mobility of humans across the planet in the last 200 years has led to the uprooting of so many cultures and the transplanting of so many.  This has obliterated the cultural knowledge that was the root of balance in so many societies.  Traditional ways vanished along with the understanding of their purpose and long term value replaced by an opportunistic consumerism that exploits us at every turn.

I am hopeful though that we will be able to increase our awareness and take a stand for balance not only in our bodies but in the world.  It would be so much nicer if Robin were here to make it funny.

Thanks for reading

Can we change our own genetics?

Here is an interesting article which supports the idea that even our genetics can be altered by our body chemistry.  This raises all kinds of questions about how out of balance conditions affect the conception process.  Can we alter our genes by creating a toxic environment within our bodies.

Check this article out and let me know what you think.

Can we change our genes?

Thanks for reading.

Whole grain - triggering the transition to balance

I have counseled many people in how to bring balance to their lives and many of them have had difficulty in achieving this balanced state.  In looking at what might be challenging them the most, it seems that they are not able to consume enough whole grain to trigger the transition process.

The body that is unbalanced tends to be holding large amounts of excess from consuming extreme yin and yang substances.  When you decide to move toward balance, the easiest way is to start consuming whole grain.  You substitute less refined foods for refined foods.  It may be necessary to flavor whole grains by combining them with other foods, sauces, soups, etc.

The Indian people have many ways of combining rice, for instance, with beans and lentils and vegetables to make tasty dishes.  All recipies that call for white rice will work with whole grain brown rice just as well.

I have found that whole grain brown rice combines well with just about anything.  I have even mixed it with ice cream for kids who might not be used to the taste.  I also will often put a cup of cooked whole grain millet or rice in a smoothy with fruit and vegetables.  This makes the smoothy very rich and smooth.  Yummy.

Another way I incorporate whole grain is to sneak it in to items like whole grain pancakes where I will add some cooked brown rice or some uncooked rolled oats to the whole wheat batter.  You can also make pie crusts and other products using rolled oats and millet that has been made into flour in the blender.

Foods in the center of the yin yang spectrum will not produce the "kick" that your tastebuds have become used to from unbalancing foods.  MSG in many forms and high sodium content produce processed foods that give you a kick that is addicting.  I can remember even putting brown rice on pizza when I was first starting out.  It tasted great and I knew that I was getting my whole grain.

After some time the grain began to balance me and I started to be able to taste more subtle flavors in vegetables, fruits and other foods.

So, it is important to be creative when adding whole grains to your diet.  I don't think you can successfully balance without them.  And remember, variety is yin.  So make sure you eat a variety of whole grains including thick rolled oats, millet, brown rice, barley, buckwheat, corn, amaranth, and quinoa.  If you are going gluten free, there are still lots of choices so don't let that deter you.

Also remember that you are working for the long term.  It may take three months or so before you notice substantial changes in the way that you feel.

Thanks for reading.

Steve

The healing benefits of dirt

Just wanted to link out to this article about healthy rich soil and its connection to healthy rich humans.

http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/how-to-eat-like-our-lives-depend-on-it/how-dirt-heals-us?utm_source=FB&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=20140217

Please enjoy and spend time with the earth.  It will ground you and help to bring you into balance.

Thanks for reading.

Holiday Treats

Last weekend I was asked to participate in a bakesale to help raise funds for a project that my yoga group is working on.  We want to bring a yantra to Dayton to support the community in a big way.  I thought about it and decided to make fudge.  Of course, I am not satisfied with making your Grandmother's fudge.  I wanted to make a fudge that was more nutritious with less sugar and no animal products.

Now as we approach the winter solstice, it is less and less appropriate to consume foods containing sugar as it is extremely unbalancing to the system during the winter.  So when we look at sweet foods, what can we use that is more appropriate for winter than cane sugar?  The answer, which I am sure you have all figured out before reading this sentence, is to use the sugar that is produced as far north as possible in the temperate zone.  So which sweetener is made in the northern regions of the temperate zone.  Maple syrup is the most common.  I have also seen a syrup made from apple cider which is delicious.  Rice syrup is another example of a sugar that is from a more northern region.  These sweeteners are much less unbalancing than those from tropical climates.

So I set out to find a recipe for fudge that would be more healthy.  I tried making fudge from mung beans flavored with chocolate, maple syrup and coconut oil for stability.  This tasted good but the consistency was not right.  It felt like hard boiled egg whites in your mouth.  Next I added half millet and half mung bean.  This was an improvement but still not the right consistency.  Then I was looking on facebook at my feed and there was a fudge recipe that used almond butter, cocoa, coconut butter and dates.  This proved to be really good and the texture was right.  I took that recipe to the bake sale and we sold out of the fudge.

But I am still not satisfied.  I am still thinking of what else I can do to make a healthy fudge.

Then I went to the grocery and in the health food section there was almond meal.  I looked at that and thought it would make a good base for a fudge recipe.  Right next to the almond meal was flaxseed meal.  Hmmm.  I had some flaxseed at home already and I really liked it on cereal. . . .  So I came home and threw a cup of flaxseed into the coffee grinder making flaxseed meal.  I combined this meal with one cup of cocoa and 1/4 cup of coconut oil melted over low heat and mixed with 6 tablespoons of maple syrup and a little vanilla extract.  I mixed this well and pressed it into a springform pan.  Placed it in the refrigerator for about 2 hours and then cut it into squares.  Now early reviews are good but I can and will eat about anything that has healthy ingredients.  The proof will be when my daughter comes over and maybe my son but at this point I think it is at least worth sharing with you because it just might fit into your holiday plans.

Have a spendid holiday season.

Love, Steve

Spirituality yin to Survival yang

In the US and increasingly around the world we have not understood what our role is in a world that is needing our physical labor less and less to produce a level of comfort that is unprecedented.  Survival used to take a lot of work, especially in colder climates and in the farming life.  As mechanization has increased we have become more and more sedentary with more discretionary time.  But now that our survival has been well organized and taken care of in many ways, we do not seem to be able to move on to explore what else life has to offer.  Our accomplishments have made us physically comfortable but uncomfortable within ourselves.  We have not achieved a comfort that is based on balance so that we feel at ease, content.  We are easily upset by inconsequential incidents in our lives that should not phase us.  Many are on a hair trigger and will go off at the least provocation.  Is this success?  Where do we go from here.  Do we just go on consuming more and more and use up all the resources our planet has to offer?

Instead of being satisfied with our prodigious achievements, we want more and more and more.  It is not sustainable and it is a glorification of a survival process that should be simply a given which allows us to pursue higher dimensions of consciousness.  We have become so unbalanced that turning inward does not look attractive to us because our mind is a scary process of runaway thoughts and emotions that does not seem to be able to be calm.

This excessive survival process is a result of the excess yang building up in our bodies.  It is expressed by excess action, the need to do:  work, exercise, consume, build, "improve", raise the bar, increase the standard of living.  This is compulsive in nature and threatens our very mother earth.

Spiritual process is the yin side of this equation and right now it needs to be brought into balance.  Turning inward is the only way to explore higher dimensions of life, that which is beyond the physical.  As we turn inward, we find that our lives are capable of being filled with bliss and that we are fantastical creatures of unlimited capacity to expand our consciousness.  Bringing balance to the physical allows us to access our spiritual possibilities and to grow on a path towards our ultimate enlightenment.

This does not require more stuff, just more attention.

Blessings and thanks for reading.

Steve

Temperate zone transition

If you live above the 30th parallel in the northern hemisphere, we are beginning the southern run of the sun.  This means that the days grow shorter and the sun beams become less intense.  We transition from a yang dominated environment to a yin dominated environment.  Thus we must adjust our diet accordingly if we wish to stay balanced.  We need to restrict our use of tropical fruits and vegetables and depend more on the vegetables that can winter over in storage.  These are the squashes, pumpkins, root vegetables, and ground vegetables.  Now is the time to pickle those cucumbers and cabbages so that you have sauerkraut all winter long.  If you eat fruit in the winter, we recommend that you eat fruit that grows in your area, smaller, more compact fruit like blueberries and raspberries, cranberries, etc.

In winter we eat more of these foods lightly cooked, especially fruit.  Since the winter is a yin dominated environment, we limit our intake of extreme yin foods such as ice cream, alcohol, iced drinks, and refined sugar in general, substituting northern sugars like maple syrup and rice syrup.  One can also use apple butter as a sweetener in many recipes.

In addition, we eat less of the yin grains and beans (larger, more expanded like corn and large beans) and transition to small compact beans like adzuki beans and black beans, and grains like oats and millet and in northern regions, short grain brown rice.  These grains and beans are very warming in the winter and help to keep us balanced.

Too much liquid can also be unbalancing in the winter and although we eat more sodium in the winter, it is best to watch the sodium level so as not to over react.  An umeboshi plum taken in warm water once per week can keep you energized and your vitality strong.

Given these strategies, you should be able to balance the yin dominated winter and emerge in spring without the need to discharge through the winter season.

Have a beautiful transition.

Thanks for reading.

Yoga teacher

At the end of last year I completed six months of intense preparation and practice of hata yoga at the Isha Yoga Center in South India.  Since that time I have been establishing a teaching practice and have had the honour to teach many friends and fellow meditators new practices from hata yoga.  Many of these practices have a profound balancing effect on the human system and bring stability to the body and stillness to the mind.

In my travels this past year I have encountered many people who dispite practicing extensive yoga, are still struggling with issues of imbalance on a daily basis.  They have blood sugar issues or have difficulty sleeping.  They carry too much weight or they suffer from anxiety.  They are stressed or angry often.  Many of these issues can be significantly helped by proper yoga.  But proper yoga with the support of a lifestyle that brings balance is much more effective at bringing about transformation.  

So I remain committed to contribute in both ways to the evolving balance of my community by continuing to share the technology of balance both thru diet and lifestyle and through the practice of yoga.  I deliver yoga through my company Spiritual Yoga of Southwest Ohio.  Our website is spiritualyoga-swohio.org. Please contact us if we can be of service to you.

Thanks for reading

Blessings

Satisfaction

When the year 2000 came along, the radio stations had some lists of the most popular songs of the 20th century.  In the rock and roll category the song that was the most popular song of the 20th century was "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones.  This was a metaphor for my generation.  In many ways my generation was first to experience certain phenomenon.  We were the first to experience TV.  Frozen food, processed food, fast food, super markets, prosperity at unprecidented levels, comfort at unprecidented levels.  Many of these phenomena created a severe imbalance between yin and yang in the general population.  In general, when we came out of high school, we were predominantly excess yang.

I deduce this because of the result that it produced, a rise in the use of drugs and alcohol.  These extreme yin substances were in high demand because of the imbalance that was the result of what we did as children.  In many ways, prosperity leads to excess and when the system is in excess, it does not feel satisfied.  So this dissatisfaction was a critical factor for my generation.

Many of my generation have never found the kind of profound sense of satisfaction that is the result of becomming balanced.

When I was 40, I was a wreck.  I had screwed up my career and my marriage.  I was overweight (185) and I was aggressive, boorish, sluggish, and depressed.  I knew I had to make a change.  I heard about a diet that was supposed to bring balance to the system and I was curious so I got a book about it and read it.  It said that to bring balance you need to eat foods from the middle of the spectrum of foods yin to yang.  It said that for where I lived, medium grain whole grain brown rice was in the middle as well as other whole grains.  It said to combine these grains with vegetables and fruits that were locally grown and in season, chew everything well and enjoy.  I decided to try it.

I had a box of brown rice in the cupboard and I got it out and cooked it.  I added a cup of cooked brown rice to my meal twice each day and did not worry about giving up anything.  After two months, I had lost 25 pounds, my desire for meat had reduced by 90% and my desire for sweets had reduced by 50%.  The most impressive effect, however, was a feeling I had never felt before, which I can only describe as satisfaction.  Suddenly the world looked very different.  A whole array of opportunities opened before me.  People at work noticed the change.  They said I was more peaceful, more approachable.  I was less angry, less moody, more even.  I had more control.

Since then, I have continued to evolve in many ways, but the feeling of satisfaction has never left me and has become the basis to explore higher dimensions of life.

Find satisfaction in your own life.  You will be glad you did.

Thanks for reading.  Blessings.