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Love you, boobies

I have been practising Manual Lymphatic Drainage since 2003.  This technique, for those who may not know, is widely applied in breast cancer rehabilitation.  following surgery and radiation, many women develop either/and:  swelling in the affected area (lymphoedema), fibrosis, adhesions and excessive scar tissue formation, muscle atrophy and loss of sensation.  The Complete Decongestion Therapy (MLD/CDT) can help with all these areas.
In the course of my years of practice, I have become somewhat of an expert in breast health.  It helped that I nursed a lovely baby for 21 months.  This gave me a real, deep appreciation of the miracle that a woman’s breasts truly are.
But, sadly, most of the discourse I have about breasts is tinged with sadness. Mutilation, dissection, removal, anger, fear, pleading.  It all comes out on the massage couch.  I am both proud and humbled by my work.
Lately, I have once again been contemplating the issue of going braless.  I like the work of Kara Maria Ananda.  I wish I could be as perky as her when it comes to hanging low.  But, I admit that I find it hard.  Although I know that :

1.  Bras – especially underwire – impair lymph drainage.
2. Bras don’t prevent breast droop (ask your grandma – did she wear one?  And where are hers hangin’)
3.  Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women (1 in 4..1 in 4…)

I somehow still find it challenging to walk down the street with my ladies a-swinging.  But that is NOT because of me.  It is down the those who observe me doing so, and feel free to comment/whistle/whoop upon it.  Yep, I am a slim blonde living in one of the last European bastions of male chauvinism.  I love ya, Spain, but you guys have got to refine how you show your appreciation of the female form.  Yes?
As usual, I find the observation of my own mental patterns to be the most interesting part.  Why have I sexualised my own breasts, for example?  Why do I judge their shape, form and movement in a negative light?  Why do I even dedicate time to this matter?  Evidently, the dominant culture in which I live has magnified the importance of a simple piece of anatomy, scaling it beyond its natural size. (Kind of like a EEE implant, no?)
Still, the physical sensation of going braless is incomparable.  When you remove that tight band from your chest, you literally breathe better.  When you bound down the stairs and feel your breasts moving with you instead of being restrained within a semicircle of aluminium wire and wondrous stretchy fabric, you feel your breasts come alive.  And yes, you posture improves when you go without your over the shoulder boulder holder.  So many positives..but yet the fear remains.  Will I provoke unwanted reactions?  Will I droop more?  Can I really get away with that top?
All I know is that I am in the process of learning  – or unlearning – many things.  And thus, I carry on experimenting and comparing and trying.  For now, I hang free.
OM.  The Guru is in you.
green green globe

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Why me? Why not?

When cancer strikes – or strikes again – a most frequent question is “why me?”.  Almost universally, we believe that we live our lives well enough to stave off the tumours and lesions and lumps.  Perhaps a death-wish 60-a-day smoker might be secretly pleased when the CAT scans show a mass, but most of us just say “why me?”.
My mother had a book lying around the house called “When Bad Things Happen to Good People.”  I never read it.  But, I understood it to be an analysis of tragedy from a Jewish perspective.  I saw it mostly when she was dying of brain cancer, but I am sure that she bought it after her bitter divorce.  You know, why me?
A client of mine who has been fighting cancer in one form or another for thirteen years gave me a very good answer to this question.  I asked her if she asks why me and she said

“No, I usually say:  why not?”

Indeed.
Being face to face with the precarity of life, I ponder our relationship to the physical body.  When we ask why me?, we are not only asking whether our past actions have brought this suffering to bear upon us.  We are also asking why our life is to be snuffed out.
Did anyone give you a guarantee when you were born?  Did anyone promise you that you would live 80 healthy years then die peacefully in your sleep?  No?  I thought not.
But, there is a pervasive belief in our Christian societies that suffering and death are a punishment, yet another, for our sins.  I am not a Christian scholar, but was raised Christian and was quite insistent in my beliefs for some years.  Like many, I got angry at God.  Cruel and callous, presiding over all this suffering, how could this entity be the bringer of peace and the ultimate judge of humanity?  I stopped believing in the doctrine I had been taught.  I began to search.
My search eventually led me to yoga.  Via yoga, I have been able to re-evaluate the core values I was taught in childhood.  I do believe that the Kingdom of God is Within You.    I believe that yoga gives us the tools to find the Kingdom of God Within Us.  I believe that Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras are like a spiritual how-to, laid out by a spiritual scientist, telling us to try it ourselves and live the results.
There is a strong thread of anarchy running through all this thought.  I have been an anarchist since I first learnt the word.  But, anarchy as a political system has to per forza de prefaced by the Human Revolution, in which each member of the collective (society) prepares mind and body for the honourable social responsibility that anarchy supposes.  We forgo policing and state-based control when we become fully functional and responsible.  Until then, we outsource our moral compass, putting it in the hands of politicians who, by their very nature, are both corrupt and power-hungry.
So, why me?  Well, why not?  The greatest obstacle to joy and peace is ignorance. Ignorance of our true nature.  Patanjali posits that there is an eternal soul within the human being.  The soul, Purusha, uses the physical apparatus of the human body in order to observe the world and continue learning.  Suffering arises when the Ego identifies with the physical body, imagining it to BE the soul.  But the body is not the soul.  It is the vehicle.  We must care for it because a long life allows us more time for learning. But, we must not identify with it.  When we are ignorant of our true nature, we are in a state called avidya.  Avidya leads to suffering, dukha.  Suffering leads to wrong action, trying to alleviate or escape suffering.  This wrong action is called karma.  The Law of Karma is avidya->dukha->karma.  Ignorance leads to suffering leads to wrong action which then reinforces our ignorance.  So repeats the cycle, the much quoted but little understood karma….
Why me?  Why not?  This body is only a temporary home.  It is not your last stop.  You will inhabit many more.  if it is riddled with cancer and pain, don’t ask why me.  Ask, why not.  Perhaps your mission in this incarnation is complete?  Perhaps your suffering is the teacher you need at this time.  Perhaps you will never know why and you must learn to be content in not knowing.
Why me? Why not.
persianflower
 

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Summer teaching schedule – horario estival

Dear readers,
Just a quick post to let you know that for the remainder of the summer, I shall only be offering one class per week. The class is in Benidorm, and is focussed on women living with the after-effects of breast cancer.
Un post rapidito para contaros que ya, hasta el fin del verano, tengo que un solo clase a la semana.  Está en Benidorm y es una clase dirigida a mujeres viviendo con los efectos de cáncer del mamá.
AUM.

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RR Protocol #2: Some hayfever care tips

I am plagued by hay fever.  It is the condition that most resists my efforts at ridding myself of inflammation and toxicity.  Here are some of the home remedies I use to keep it at bay.
1.  Cleanse the nose by performing neti with magnesium chloride salts dissolved in filtered water, once or twice per day.
2.  Afterwards, wash your hands, then soften some pure coconut oil on your ring fingers.  Dip one of the coco-fingers in tumeric powder, then rub the two fingers together to make a yellow paste.  Carefully anoint your inner nose with this paste, massaging the septum and rear wall of the nose.  Careful if any drips out!  Wipe clean immediately or you’ll have a yellow ‘stache!  The coconut oil lubricates the irritated tissue, giving it time to heal and protecting it from further attacks by contact with airborne allergens.  The tumeric is powerfully anti-inflammatory and helps the cascade of allergic reactions to subside.
3.  Avoid allergens:  careful what you eat.  If it makes the roof of your mouth tickle, it’s probably contributing to the allergic process.  Eliminate it until you’re feeling better.  Dairy is often the culprit here, but some people react to stone fruits (peach, apricot) or strawberries.
4.  Avoid allergens:  filter the air in your house and keeps windows and doors closed in the peak pollen hours (whenever it’s hottest and driest outside, basically.)  I invested in a wonderful machine called the Hyla.  It is a cleaning beast – it sucks the dust mites right out of your futon! – and with the vacuuming hose detached, it is a powerful air filter.  It claims to remove all airborne particles larger than 5 microns. I definitely appreciate its work.
5.  For swollen eyes, I again turn to Magnesium chloride.  A few drops on a cotton round, along with a few drops of lavender hydrolats (water) soothes puffy, itchy eyes.  I place one on each eye, then a pair of round sunglasses on top, to keep optimum contact with the eyelid and to retain moisture during the treatment.  Lie quietly with your legs up against a wall and relax for 20 minutes.  Very healing.  I use a fab sandalwood powder face mask, mixed with rose water, for really resistant puffiness.  I also keep cold Optrex eyedrops in the fridge, for emergencies.  Optrex uses soothing and astringent witch hazel extract.
Please note that this protocol is an original piece of work.  It works for me, but it might not be for you.  You alone are responsible for your own wellbeing.  Having said that, may your nose be drip-free and your eyes clear and bright!

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A toothcare protocol

I have been refining my toothcare protocol.  This is where I have arrived thus far:
1.  Floss every day.  Experiment with different brands and types of dental floss.  But, be consistent.  There is nothing that irritates me more (well, I might be exaggerating there) than “alternative” toothcare protocols that omit flossing.  It is perhaps even more important than brushing.  Bacteria looooove little tight, dark spaces.
2.  Brush with twice a day ToothSoap.  Go on, google it, read their spiel then come back.  This product works wonders.
3.  Add tumeric to your ToothSoap at least once a day.   This is my latest refinement.  Tumeric is a potent anti-inflammatory.  It helps heal wounds and disinfect.  It removes stains from tooth enamel. When I started using tumeric, my teeth ached right down to the roots.  That might not sound like much of a recommendation.  But I am a true believer in Naturophathy and I just knew that ache meant my teeth and mouth were cleaning themselves to the very core. Since then, there is a palpable and discernible change in the feeling of my gums.  They just feel tighter, smoother and less irritated.
4.  Rinse with a solution of Magnesium Chloride and water.  Take a 200mL glass bottle.  Add 2-3 tsp McgCl2 salts and fill with filtered water. After brushing, swish a little swill round the mouth for 30 seconds before swallowing.
5.  If you notice your mouth is dry – mine dries due to seasonal alleriges provoking mouth-breathing (yuck) – put some coconut oil (pure, food grade) in your mouth and swill around before swallowing.  DIY lubrication, and coconut oil is proven to fight tooth decay.
Happy smiling!

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El método y la meta

Ayer, tuve el placer de dar una clase en una Jornada de Bienestar y Salud, en Dénia.  Habían unos 20 personas.  Entre ellos, algunos novatos, y algunos que ya practican hatha yoga.
Es curioso como los que ya practican yoga piden casi siempre clases y posturas avanzadas.  De un lado, lo puedo entender, este deseo de reproducir las posturas tipo espaghettis que nos venden en las revistas de yoga. En un momento dado, yo también tenía muchas ganas de hacer el Escorpión.  Incluso, me caí de cabeza intentando bajarme las piernas desde sirshasana (el escorpión no se toma desde sirshasana…pero como era bastante neofita y sin profe, bueno…)
Pero luego, encontré el Viniyoga y, estudiando con asiduidad, llegué a entender que las posturas no son el fin de la práctica del yoga.  El fin es tranquilizarnos la mente para encontrar la felicidad.
La posturas forman parte de método del yoga.  La paz mental es la meta. Importante no confundir el método por la meta.
En Yoga Sutras Libro II, el sábio Patanjali describe el camino del yoga.  Consiste en ocho partes, ó miembros.  Las primeras cinco – yama, niyama, âsana, pranayâma y pratyahara – son el método.  Es la receta para preparar la mente para la medtación.  El sabio cierre el segundo libro con pratyahara, el retiro de los sentidos.  Parafraseando, Patanjali dice:

Bueno, alumnos, ahora que, a través de nuestros buen comportamientos hacia los demás y hacía nosotros mismos (yama, niyama), a través de la práctica contínua y al largo plazo de las posturas y respiraciones (âsana, pranayama), habeis llegado al momento para sentaros, retirar vuestra atención del entorno (pratyahara) y contemplar.

Patanjali continua en Yoga Sutras Libro III describiendo el camino del yogi. Ahora, abordamos la contemplación meditativa.  Dharana, dhyana, samadhi….concentración, meditación, liberación.  Estos tres son la meta del yoga,  Tambíen forman parte del camino, pero son realmente los frutos de la práctica.  Repito:  importante no confundir le método por la meta.

¿Y, de estos que te demandan las posturas avanzadas? Bueno, en el contexto de una clase general y grupal, no las vamos a abordar.  Y punto.  Iguál en una clase avanzada ó MasterClass se podría trabajar equilibrios avanzados.  Con la preparación y actitud adecuadas son perfectamente asequibles.
Pero,¿como una profe puede satisfacer a la necesidad de esa gente de profundizar en su práctica?  Porque, en su esencia, cuando te piden posturas avanzadas, lo que realmente te estan pidiendo es profundizar en su práctica.  “He llegado a tal punto, me encuentro bien, por donde voy ahora?”  Puede ser impaciencia (ojo!).  Pero, puede ser la sed de él que busque pidiendo limosna.  “Por favor, enseñame el camino que me lleva desde la miseria hacía la paz”, te imploran.
El Viniyoga dispone de muchas herramientas para esa gente. Nosotros los viniyoguis abordamos la respiración con una lucidez y coherencia que no se encuentra en otros lineajes (admito que no conzco de primera mano el método Iyengar.  Lo aprecio como un método muy sano y coherente.  Igual allí también dan a la respiración la importancia que merezca…).  Las técnicas respiratorias son nuestras semillas.  Vamos plantando semillas en las cabezas de estos yoguis sedientos.  De que colores serán sus flores?
Como profes de Viniyoga, sabemos muy bien poner pautas respiratorias a posturas sencillas, dandolas el enfoque mental completo y absorbiente tán característico de una buena práctica de hatha yoga.  Pausas (krama), retenciones (kumbhaka), y ritmos.  Bandhas (cierres musculares), mudras (apretones), dristi (la mirada) y bhavana (enfoques mentales).  Todas estas cosas aportan una dmiensión energética a la práctica, saciando a la más hambriente mente.  Cuando las inquietudes mentales se suavizan, entonces, el alumno está prácticando yoga de verdad.  Hemos relizado la meta, empleando las herramientas del método.
Sencillo, ¿no?
The guru is in you.  Let us yog.