A Testimony of Yoga

My evening class is very unique, unlike my other classes the people in my evening class start coming in about ten minutes early. They get set up while they are chattering, they laugh, visit, and kid each other, enjoying one anothers company. I call them to their mats on the hour, as they place their hands on their heart, I hear everyone take a deep breath and exhale slowly, probably the first time they have enjoyed such a relaxing exhale all day. The talking continues here and there for a minute or so, and then, I hear them turn their breath inward. As I lead them through the Sun Salutations the room becomes silent, except for the music and our breathing. We flow through pose after pose as I call them out. It's exciting to synchronize our movements,  the room is filled with energy, and we in turn feel energized,  there's something magical about connecting with other people to practice, We start to sweat and our breathing becomes deeper. My instruction gives their busy minds something to focus on, keeping them in the present moment. For people with anxiety, this is a particular blessing.

My instructions also force them to tune in to the subtle shifts occurring in their body. As they become more aware of these changes, they begin to notice subtle alterations in their mind and in their mood, too. They feel in a tangible way how the body and mind are connected.

Yoga helps you be more in touch with your thoughts and feelings as they arise in the moment, which is half the battle of resolving them. In other words, when you're able to identify that something is wrong, you can address that particular issue in the moment, rather than ignoring it and unleashing it later in some painful way.

I asked my classes to write a testimonial of yoga that I might share in my blog. Natalie has been in class for 8 years and Becky has been in class for 2 years. They are very dear to me as are all my students, I want to thank them all for giving me the privilege of teaching them the amazing art of yoga.

Dear Nancy,

I was thinking today if you really want to know what yoga can do for your mind and body stop doing it for 6 months. I feel like my body has aged 5 years since I stopped. My joints hurt, I'm having issues with my hands after I have worked all day, it's harder to ward of stress because I'm not breathing fully, I have no really calming down time to myself therefore I get over stimulated very easy. I had no idea yoga impacted my life in so many was until I didn't have it. I owe you 100 thank you's for being my teacher.

Love, Natalie

Nancy,

I keep thinking about this, and it's a bit ironic that I have such a strong belief in the good yoga can do for a person but can't seem to get my body there this month….I started yoga almost 2 years ago after the suggestion from a friend who has similar athletic aspirations but lives in a different part of the country and has found that it has helped her. After years of hard physical work and play, I found myself middle aged and with bone and muscle issues,hence I started yoga. Now I can honestly say,  many of the symptoms I would normally have called a doctor for work themselves out. Not always quickly but with time and sometimes a little extra work. I know if I had had this training 20 or 30 years ago I would not be as weak or possibly have required the surgeries I have had. However I am certainly glad to know what I do and have the strength and knowledge I have gained through "yoga" class. It is never too late to start.

Thank you, Nancy

Yoga takes care of you if you stick with it. You start to sense what's right and what's wrong, and you follow a path of moral living and meditation because it feels right. The answers are in the practice, and the practice never judges you."

Nancy Adams Certified Thai Yoga Therapist

Certified Yoga Instructor

and Ayurveda Consultant

These are my own thoughts. I sometimes take writings from others to support my own ideas.

Wake up! Elevate your Consciousness

I was talking with my oldest daughter, Judy, one day. I said “why does life have to be so hard?” she said “because Adam and Eve partook of the fruit”. I started to laugh, then I realized she is right! I have students ask me all the time, why does my body hurt all the time, even after yoga? It is true if you don’t have the bad times you can’t appreciate the good times. I ask them, you have days where they feel really good, right? then they realize they do have days where they do feel really good. We don’t notice those days so much. We only notice the days that make us uncomfortable.

It always comes back to the stress, if we could manage our stress we would always feel good, or rather,  if we could manage our thoughts we would not have stress, then we would feel good always, it’s our thoughts that cause the stress, and  it’s the stress that makes our body’s hurt, and eventually sick. Physician and Yoga Journal medical editor Timothy McCall says that “stress may fuel chronic illnesses, such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. If you are continually stressed, you leave the door open to a variety of health conditions." Yoga is an effective stress reducer.

The Law of Cause and Effect says: for every effect in our life there is a specific cause. Thoughts are causes, and conditions are effects. Our thoughts are always the primary causes of the conditions or effects in our lives. What is it that causes our thoughts? it’s our feelings! So, how do we fix it? First you have to get in touch with your internal dialogue. What you are saying to yourself, and what you are feeling inside. Our feelings and our thoughts are what determined where we are today. If what is happening to us now, both physically and emotionally, is undesirable, our feelings and our thoughts are what need fixing.

Last year I took my Thai mat to Judy’s house to work on some of her friends for a weekend. She made appointments for 8-10 of her friends that had been asking for me to come to Idaho and give them Thai therapy. Judy had a neighbor that she hadn’t invited because this neighbor is one of those people who has one health problem after another, maybe you know the type, these people can be found in the doctor’s office every other week, looking unsuccessfully for the answers to their problems, they then keep the aches and pains alive and well by talking about them to whomever they converse with. This neighbor saw on facebook that I was coming to town and called Judy to get in on the action. I did give this woman a Thai therapy and for the 2 hour session she didn’t stop talking about all her problems. What she doesn’t understand is that the more she talks about her aches and pains, the more energy she gives them and the more she reinforces her illness.

Too many of us have not been taught, or we have forgotten how to be aware of what is going on inside our mind and body. We are so used to turning our pain and hurt over to something (drugs) or someone else to fix that we have turned off our ability to be aware--to be sensitive or mindful. We have every ability to heal ourselves everything we are today is the sum total result of all the thinking that we have done to this moment. What are your thought? What are your feelings? If the negative conditions in your life are ongoing and the patterns are repeated over and over again, this is telling you--screaming at you--that you are definitely out of harmony with natural Laws...God’s laws…the laws of the Universe. It’s time to wake up! Elevate your consciousness and locate the cause of your effects.

Nancy Adams Certified Thai Yoga Therapist

Certified Yoga Instructor

and Ayurveda Consultant

These are my own thoughts. I sometimes take writings from others to support my own ideas.        

Be The Seer

In Sutra 1.3 (Yoga scriptures)Patanjali says that as a result of yoga or sustained, focused attention, the Self or Seer is established in its own form. By focusing the mind through yoga, you gain clearer perception and learn to distinguish the mind, body, and emotions from your true Self. You come to know that Self and act from that place of the Self, Thus reducing your experience of suffering.

It’s the Seer who helps you when you want to stretch deeper in a pose. The Seer does not look at the other students in the class, he stays within himself guiding the pose. Within the mind exists not only the the Seer but also the clamoring ego, the ego looks at the other students  in class and wants to do everything they are doing, so you get into reclining hero, not knowing if you have the ability, you lay all the way back. It doesn’t take long for your nervous system to literally kick you out of the pose and send you fleeing from your emotions. The Seer would have taken it a little at a time, paying attention to every little movement, taking it to the edge for a good 30 second stretch. When you are working from the ego you deny yourself the pleasure of a stretch at all.  The Seer can watch the ego mind-controlling, freaking out, calming down. If you can stop, take a breath, and step away from your panic, you can be the Seer.

You can use this same principle in everything in your life. The next time you get into an arguement, stop, take a deep breath, step away from your anger, and be the Seer. The next time you are in pain, whether it is emotional or physical, stop, take a deep breath, step away from your pain, and be the Seer. Whenever there is pain, there is fear, but if you can quiet the distractions of the mind and connect to that still, deep place within, that resource of wisdom and inner knowing, you have reached the real goal of yoga: to distinguish between the mind and the Seer, to connect with and act from that place of the Self, and, as a result, to suffer less.  

My goal is to help empower my students with tools and practices they can do anywhere, in any circumstances. As you go through this process, you begin to know the difference between your fluctuating and impermanent mind, body and emotions, and something else deep within you, the steady, quiet, knowing place of your true Self. From this place of connection, you can observe your emotions and reactions and recognize them as separate from your true nature, valid and painful though they may be.  

In this lifetime you can attain the highest rung of life, a state that is free from pain and misery. Don’t postpone this as you postpone the other joys of your life. Enlightenment, that state of freedom from pain and misery, is your birthright. It is not something acquired or new--it is already there.

Nancy Adams Certified Thai Yoga Therapist

Certified Yoga Instructor

and Ayurveda Consultant

These are my own thoughts. I sometimes take writings from others to support my own ideas.

Meditation is very therapeutic

Meditation can give you that which nothing else can give you. It introduces you to yourself. From childhood onward, we are taught to examine and understand things in the external world, but nobody teaches us to look within and understand the mind. Unless you learn to know yourself and achieve inner balance, no matter how much you know about the outer world, you will fall short of your goals.

Meditation teaches you to attend to what is taking place within without reacting. I teach my clients that when they are in meditation if something comes up, to be like a fly on the wall, examine the thought but not to react to it. Just remain aware of the process,  attend to the thoughts as they arise, notice them, be open to them without reacting and they will pass. When you go through this process you really begin to know who you are.

Meditation teaches you how to deal with things that come up in your daily life. We can spend all day in a mental turmoil. Our mood depends on what comes before us and as a result, our life is like a roller coaster ride. We react before we have fully experienced what we are reacting to. We immediately interpret what we see or hear according to our expectations, fears, prejudices, or resistances.

Meditation gives you freedom from fear. Linda a woman in her late 60’s came to me last year, she had had knee surgery 5 years before and had became so scared to move she just sat in her recliner chair, and was still sitting there when she called me. I did Thai therapy one day a week for 6 weeks and got her ready for yoga class. She was doing really good, had done yoga for 3 months and was really excited she was strong enough to get up off the floor on her own, then she missed two weeks, when she came back to class her knees hurt and she had a hard time in class, she was scared to move. After class I brought to her attention that the two weeks she took off set her back, but the good news was she has been better and we will just get her there again. She called later and said she wasn’t coming to class anymore I said if you stop coming to class you will go back to the way you were before, she said she was almost there. Linda wouldn’t do her meditation at home so when fear arose she didn’t know how to handle it. It was fear that put her in her chair and it was fear that sent her back.You can  be your own physician if you learn to examine your emotions through meditation.

Meditation has taught me to fully attend to what is taking place, to attend to my initial reaction without reacting to my reaction: “Oh, look how threatened I feel by that.” we have many fears in our mind and heart that hold us back. All our life we labor under the pressure of these fears. They remain because we have never examined them. They need to be examined, so that we can be fearless. I teach my clients to be open to experiencing their reaction that way it will move through them and allow other spontaneous responses to also come forward, so they can choose the one that is most helpful in that particular situation.

Meditation is very therapeutic, the peace that it brings releases energy. Worry and preoccupation dissipate your strength. Meditation frees the energy that has been bound in your mental discord so that you can apply yourself one pointedly to whatever you decide to do. It also leads to inner balance and stability, it exposes your inner complexes, you immaturities, your unproductive reflexes and habits. Instead of living in these complexes and habits and acting them out, they are brought to your awareness and you can give them your full attention. Only then will they clear.

Nancy Adams Certified Thai Yoga Therapist

and Ayurveda Consultant

These are my own thoughts. I sometimes take writings from others to support my own ideas.

Trust your inner voice and follow the light within

I came across an new mantra a few weeks ago that I can not get out of my head. Narasimha Tava Dasohum. It means to honor the protector of our spiritual path. It’s that energy that protects us from negative influences, from doubts, from judgements that we fear from the outside or that we create within, and it helps us tune in to our inner voice, trust our inner voice, and follow the light within that we all carry and that we are all  aware of. There is a voice within us that gives us the strength to rise above these negative voices, that we all carry in some form or another and that we receive from the outside world. Narasimha is our protector.

A few weeks ago Gary got a head cold, we were watching TV together one evening and I sneezed, Gary turned to me and said “are you getting sick”? my first thought was, maybe I am getting sick. I have a friend, Mishelle, that says “cancel that”whenever someone says something she doesn’t want to  internalize. To myself I said “cancel that” and to Gary I said “no I am not getting sick I am too healthy to get sick” turning a negative into a positive.

It’s not the germs from people around us that make us sick, it is our thoughts.We all have every illness in the universe in us, colds, flu, cancer, arthritis, We are the ones that decide whether or not to let the illness manifest itself.  Like when the grandkids come over with runny noses and you say, GREAT!, now I’m going to get sick, and you do. Instead, say to yourself “cancel that” and dive right in for kisses.

Sometimes we are each others negative influences. I have mentioned before that Gary and I have a house in Provo we are flipping. One day we were over at the house when my brother stopped by. He looked around the house and said “Man this is a lot of work. And you guys are no spring chickens”. “CANCEL THAT!”, Gary and I hadn't  even thought that we were too old for the project, and we are really enjoying the work and the transformation of the house. We could have gone home feeling like 90 year olds if we had internalized his words.

We should be careful we are not the ones putting negative thoughts out for others to internalize in a  negative manner. After a yoga class a few students were sitting in the tea room when I overheard one of my students ask another “ do you have fibromyalgia yet”? YET?!!! meaning what? “CANCEL THAT!”

We all have a protector, this silent ever-present witness is your true self. This goes right along with the Law of Pure Potentiality. “Your true Self, your soul, is completely free of the things your mind is telling you. Your true self is immune to criticism, fears no challenge, and feels neither beneath nor above anyone”. Gary and I remind each other to stay positive and not to listen to the negative thinking of others, or even ourselves.  

Whenever anyone asks you if you are feeling poorly,  “cancel that”, and say I feel great! I am strong! I am healthy! I am awesome!!!! This is what your protector would have you know.

Nancy Adams Certified Thai Yoga Therapist

and Ayurveda Consultant

These are my own thoughts. I sometimes take writings from others to support my own ideas.

The ayurveda way of mindful eating

Last year I read a book called “Intuitive eating” by Evelyn Tribole, and Elyse Resch. I loved the book, it was so ayurveda, I wonder if the authors knew how ayurveda it is. They talked about listening to your body while you eat, making sure the food is still tasting good while you eat because if it’s not, it is probably a sign that you are full. Also eat what you crave because your body knows what you need, and to check in with your self every once in awhile to see if you are satisfied, not full, just satisfied. They went on to say that we americans are so obsessed with dieting and its emphasis in rules and regulations that we have stopped listening to our bodies.

I am obsessed with the scales! and have been most of my life. My parents were always trying to lose weight, I had siblings that were overweight, and you know how teenage life was, all the skinny little girls going around saying “oh I am sooo fat.” My brain says “eat less, weigh less” so every day I would weigh myself and hang on that I hadn’t gained any weight. I know its not right, I just couldn’t bring myself to stop.

Last September right after I read the book we went on a week long vacation to Yellowstone, yes I get really crazy when I can’t take my scales with me, I decided to take the opportunity to put the book to the test. Every meal we ate, before I began to eat,  I would remind myself  that I was only going to eat what I craved, eat until I was satisfied and to check in during the meal to make sure the food was still tasting good. I felt good the whole trip, I never felt like I ate too much, like sometimes you do when on a vacation. I felt freed from thinking about food all day. And when I got home I had not gain any weight. That didn’t stop me from going right back to my old habit of weighing every day.

Over the last few months I keep thinking I should put the scales away. Even though I am in denial that I am on a diet, what do you call watching everything you eat, every minute of the day? Dieting had made me so preoccupied with food that sometimes I wouldn’t even eat. Dieting has definitely made food an enemy. Dieting makes me feel guilty (even when I’m not officially on a diet).. Dieting has slowed down my metabolism.

This last month when we went to Glacier National Park, again I could not take my scales with me, another opportunity to intuitive eat. I decided before we even left that if I hadn’t gained any weight when we got home I would put my scales away and only weigh on Sundays.  Intuitive eating is mindful eating which is very yoga, and yoga is a mind, body connection. I loved being free from the scales. I ate just what I wanted and payed attention to my body, when the food didn’t  taste as good as it did in the beginning of the meal I knew I was finished and being satisfied, I stopped eating. Easy!

I bring the scales out on Sunday only, just to satisfy myself that all is well. The rest of the week I am free from the worry of food. I choose to eat foods that are both pleasing to me and nourish my body, by using all my senses to explore, savor, and taste, the ayurveda way of mindful eating.  

Nancy Adams Certified Thai Yoga Therapist

and Ayurveda Consultant

             These are my own thoughts. I sometimes take writings from others to support my own ideas.

Ride life’s emotional currents with faith and equanimity

I have people call about yoga all the time who want to know if it will make them stronger. Or, just recently, one of my students was attending another exercise class when everyone noticed how strong she was, she said she does yoga. That brought a student from that class to my studio seeking stronger abs. There is no doubt that when you are physically strong, you are better able to handle the demands of your day with grace and ease. But my job is to teach my students that practicing yoga can build inner strength-the kind you need to ride life’s emotional currents with faith and equanimity-even as it tones their body.

Gary and I have been getting a rental of ours ready to sell. A couple of Saturdays ago we were scraping and painting the trim, when it came time to paint the highest part, that part that is at the very peak of the roof, Gary tried to hang over from the roof thinking it would be easier than standing that high on a ladder. He realized right away that was way too scary. Our 15 foot ladder wouldn’t reach either, so we put it in the back of the truck to give it a boost, does this give you an idea of how high the roof is? Gary’s nervous system was already on edge from hanging over the roof, so I opted to go up, not because I was less scared, but because I trusted Gary holding the ladder for me more than I trusted myself holding the ladder for him. And like in a yoga pose if there is fear, you will fail. I knew that whoever went up had to ride that current of equanimity, I was terrified, but I was sure I could do it. My instruction to Gary was DO NOT TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF THE LADDER!! (That is the pitta in me)

There was a moment when the ladder started to shake, I thought Gary was being funny, I yelled at him to “STOP IT!” (that is also the pitta in me) right away I knew he wouldn’t do that, knowing how afraid I was. At that moment I realized I had lost my equanimity. I brought my awareness back to the present moment and calmed my mind and breath. It was my rapid breathing from fear that caused the ladder to shake. Once I calmed my breathing the shaking stopped.

A few days later my knee started to hurt, when your knee hurts, it means you can’t move forward emotionally. You're darn right I couldn’t move forward (up the ladder). I say it all the time. Every pain and illness we have starts with a trauma (yes I was traumatized) and the emotional stress brings on the physical pain.  

One way to build inner strength is by practicing yoga regularly, whether you're feeling inspired or not. That simple act develops your capacity for commitment and for not letting the rest of life get between you and what you know to be essential to your well-being. By being true to yourself in your yoga practice, you enhance your ability to be true to yourself in other situations as well.

Yoga is what grounds me, it is what gives me that inner strength that I need to ride life’s emotional currents with faith and equanimity.

Nancy Adams Certified Thai Yoga Therapist

and Ayurveda Consultant

These are my own thoughts. I sometimes take writings from others to support my own ideas.