Yoga Cures: Simple Routines to Conquer Over 50 Common Ailments and Live Pain-Free (4 page)

effectively? Get down on yourself when things don’t work out? Show off when things are going well?

When we practice yoga we are giving ourselves the space to observe all this without judgment, to gain

perspective, and cultivate positive, lasting change.

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When we practice observing without judgment, we are giving ourselves the space and time to remove

ourselves from the stresses of getting emotionally involved in the moment and simultaneously softening

the desire to react solely on impulse. This will decrease stress and unwind tension at its source.

Increased stress and anxiety can raise blood pressure, affect the immune system, and over time can

promote sickness and disease. Good thing those long, deep breaths are available to rush in and save the

day!

BALANCING ACT: BEING HERE, NOW

When you are balancing perfectly in a tree pose, everything is easy; your breath is deep and relaxed,

and your muscles are working for you just as you’d like. It’s pure and simple. Efficient. When you are

having a great day, the same things occur. Your breathing is relaxed, your body is working

harmoniously with your mind; everything just feels easier because you are in a state of balance.

Why is balance important? From a life lesson standpoint, it’s about learning to enjoy yourself

without getting the ego involved. Say you’re doing a headstand. The moment you think to yourself,

“Wow, I’m doing this pose!” is usually the moment you’ll topple out of it. You take yourself out of the

moment and knock yourself off balance when you judge and think about what you are doing, rather

than experiencing and enjoying what you are doing.

That’s what yoga teaches. How to be fully present now, no matter the circumstance. We focus on

breathing because each inhale creates more space in our bodies. We focus on movement, as each

movement reminds us that every moment invites a new opportunity for change. Each exhale allows us

to let go of the moment that has just passed. Our attention to each breath keeps us in the now.

Learning to savor the moment keeps us from living in constant worry and fear and tension over

things that haven’t happened yet and may never come to pass. Practicing yoga helps us to undo these

bad mental habits and stress triggers that we often unknowingly pick up along the way.

But you might be asking, “What if the now is crappy? How can living in the moment help that?”

When your life is not in balance and you’re struggling to achieve stability, practicing observation

without judgment gets really interesting … and very useful. How? Because you can learn to distance

yourself from the roller-coaster ride of your emotions and circumstances but still enjoy the ride of life.

Outside means of escape like alcohol, drug use, and even overeating are a means of pushing

uncertainty away and covering it up temporarily. And they may feel comforting for a moment, but I

don’t need to tell you that eventually they will cause more trouble than they ever solve. There is a big

lesson in experiencing uncertainty and calamity with a sober focus. The most chaotic moments are the

ones from which we can learn the most. Let’s go back to tree pose. When your tree pose is going crazy

and you’re falling, and your leg is burning, and it feels impossible to maintain any sort of stability,

practice observing what’s happening instead of getting wrapped up in the circumstance. If you can learn

to be easy with your breath in these moments, your body and mind will follow.

All the body’s systems and processes—your nerves, your emotions—take instruction from what is

going on with your breath. When your breathing is easy and deep, your body works efficiently and your

mind settles. That doesn’t mean that your balance (in tree pose or anywhere else) will be perfect and

your life will be seamless, but you’ll be better equipped to deal with the wobbles and earthquakes that

get thrown into the mix.

You can fall out of a tree pose with ease, or with frustration and a sense of defeat. Just like you can

take a spill in your life and decide to dust yourself off—with a chuckle or an annoyed grunt—and get

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back up, or you can stay down, lie there, and give up. It’s entirely up to you. It’s your life … and your

practice. And as I said before, what you practice on the mat is what you end up doing in your life.

Any of the yoga poses could be substituted in this analogy. How you practice is much more

meaningful than what yoga moves you can or cannot do. A successful tree pose probably won’t change

your life. Learning how to keep your breath easy, long, and deep no matter what the circumstance? It

absolutely will.

ZENSPIRATION

Try it now. Stop whatever you are doing just for a moment. Close your eyes and draw your attention inward. Begin
to observe without getting involved. Watch sensations as they come and go. Do this for one minute, three times a
day. You’ll enjoy a calm sense of ease.

FIND YOUR MEANING

I’m going to challenge you over and over to imagine yoga as moving beyond the poses and even the

breath. I’d like to persuade you to expand your idea of what yoga can do for you beyond deep breaths,

down dogs, and feeling great, although yoga is also about all of the above. What if you could be

practicing and enjoying all the benefits of yoga and meditation at every moment during your entire life?

Imagine having an extra split second to make decisions, more space inside your body and mind, and the

ability to feel energized, creative, strong, open, and inspired all day long.

The more often we check in, or tune in, the more we feel connected, the healthier our bodies and

minds get, and the more inspired and aware we become. It’s like juicing up a rechargeable lightbulb

with no limit to the brightness and quality of the bulb. You are the bulb. Your yoga is the current. Your

possibilities are endless.

When you are in the state of flow, you come into balance and experience happiness, health, and joy.

The practice of yoga is designed to keep you in the state of flow so you can experience health,

happiness, and joy during your entire life. The practice of yoga clears the clutter that collects on you

like dust during each day. The practice of yoga brings you back to remembering your true nature, back

to happiness, health, and joy. You didn’t arrive in this world full of worries. Yoga shows you how to

dissolve anything that is blocking you from living out your full potential.

Yoga is on your side big-time!

DISCOVERING YOUR YOGA

Yoga was discovered, not invented, the same as water and fire. You can’t experience water until you

drink a glass. Same with yoga. When you practice it, you get it. When you do yoga you feel incredibly

fantastic. When you do it consistently for a long time you feel invincible, like a superhero. Over the

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years, as with many traditions and systems that make people feel good (often religions), people have

built complicated layers on top of yoga, putting themselves in positions of power as gatekeepers to

secrets. This tends to corrupt people, as well as muddle the traditions themselves.

In many ancient traditions, yoga has been passed down from guru to disciple. The guru is someone

who has gained understanding and is living the experience of yoga. The student comes to the guru for

guidance. Any good guru will always point you back to yourself, point you inward.

Yoga is available to everyone. We all are our own masters. And we all have what we need to be

healthy and happy inside of us. We have to get plugged into that today—not by copying what an old

guru said we should do, but by doing yoga. Period. Proper guidance and teachers are helpful, but your

best teacher is yourself. All the answers are right there inside.

Your yoga practice should ground you and bring out the best in you. The practice of yoga isn’t meant

to take you out of or away from your life. You don’t have to live out some idea of yoga that might be

floating around from the past; you don’t have to live someone else’s yoga. You don’t have to change

your name to something Sanskrit, adopt a new identity, and isolate yourself in an ashram to live your

yoga. Your yoga practice is there to ground you and bring out the best in you for your entire life,

beginning exactly where you are now.

TIME TO MAKE THE YOGA

All of the yoga poses have been designed and refined to serve the needs of the body and mind. Yoga is

an ever-evolving practice that you can tailor to your own needs and requirements. We have different

needs than yogis thousands of years ago did. Ancient yogis never had to deal with carpal tunnel

syndrome, frazzled eyes from computer screens, and tight hips from sitting at desks all day. They

seemed to be on to something by practicing regular meditation and feeling at peace in the world.

Yoga works. It can cure us when we stay at ease in our bodies, and follow our breath. It doesn’t work

by pushing or forcing poses to happen. There are so many variations and options within the poses that

you can stay where you are and never worry about forcing your body to do something that doesn’t feel

right. When practicing yoga you will feel your muscles working and your mind focusing, but you

should be able to stay relaxed and at ease during the entire practice.

Practicing being at ease is much more useful than practicing frustration. When something frustrates or

presents itself as a major block, simply back off, wait for your breath to return to a long and deep

rhythm, then come back to what you are doing.

If a door is open, walk through. If it is closed, knock and wait a few breaths. If it stays closed, you

can return another day. When you practice with ease, eventually things aren’t as challenging because

you have changed your approach. If you muscle through a pose you might achieve the shape of the

pose, but in terms of your energy you’ll be a wound-up ball of stress with high blood pressure, a tense

mind that can’t focus, and a body so tight that it can’t move. It’s a mistake to believe that forcing is

better than easing your way into a pose … or into life for that matter. When you move with ease, you’ll

be at ease. You’ll get more done with less effort. You’ll get further faster. It’s a mirage to believe that

tension and agitated striving is the way.

What else do you need to know before you begin? You know to breathe, observe, ease into it … but

how? Where do you “put” your body during all this? That’s up next.

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THE LINE STARTS HERE: ESSENTIAL ALIGNMENT

There are a few simple alignment tips that can be useful in your practice. With them in mind, you can

experience yoga fully and have a good time without injury.

Always Favor Backing Off Rather Than Pushing

Though I just said it, it bears repeating: take it easy. You should always be able to carry on a casual

conversation during yoga. (Not that you should talk to your neighbors during yoga class, but the state

of your breath should be easy and not strained.) When you feel your breath getting forced and