Range of Motion gives you POWER

WHY INCREASE YOUR RANGE OF MOTION IN SPORT?

Ever wonder why lots of yoga practitioners are really strong but they don’t actually look it?

Or may not be able to lift huge weight in comparison to someone who works out in a gym but can still exert a lot of power?

Or why lots of regular yoga practitioners can do beautiful planks of the type even hard core gym bods just can’t hold?

In yoga you get a greater Range of Motion (ROM) because of the practice of extending the muscles and lengthening them. It’s about physics and here’s the maths

The Output of Power = Range of Motion x Force

So for example a cricketer who may strength train in the gym but overlooks the rearward swing motion and flexibility in the shoulder will have a much less powerful stroke. They are also inefficient as they have to rotate the torso or body to compensate for the tightness in the shoulders which wastes energy of movement.

A footballer who trains for leg strength but neglects hip flexibility and ROM will not be able to put as much power behind his kick. And will be much less likely to get injured.

Every wall is a Door, just don’t spend time beating on it hoping it will transform

Ralph Waldo Emerson & Coco Chanel

We have all experienced this – you hit a wall, something that stops or slows you down.  An obstacle that gets in the way of your goals. It can be an illness, injury, another person’s behaviour, an accident, financial circumstances, a wall of silence, your own wall of denial or any number of things.

It’s frustrating and the temptation to just beat it down through sheer force of will (or physical strength) until you are black and blue is often a first reaction, I know it’s mine, or was.

The quicker you realise the other more productive options the less energy you waste on building up more frustration and possibly hurting yourself.

I’m more likely now to step back and try to understand it’s make up, analyse who, what, why, how this got there.  Understanding is the first key to any obstacle.

For example a recent hip injury has held me back and through help from others and delving into my own studies, I feel I have a better understanding of how it happened, what is happening, how best to treat it, and what I need to do to hopefully avoid it in future.

In the meantime I am developing another side of my yoga practice that I probably wouldn’t slow down enough for usually. I am also going to use this experience as part of my advanced studies with Yoga Sports Science.

Once you assess the obstacle you can make better decisions about your options… You could follow the perimeter until you come to an opening using the time to learn other things on the way.…Your could retrace your steps and find a new direction, to the same destination or to another. You can go back and gather the tools you need to dismantle it or to climb over it.

Or wait until you’re stronger, passing time by being creative!

Anything is better than fruitlessly beating your head against it.

Just how much time do people spend cleaning their body, hair, teeth, etc and for those of us into a healthier lifestyle time spent on a clean diet and lifestyle (exercise, sport, fitness, etc)?

What if you didn’t wash your body for a week? For most people this would be unbearable if not for themselves then for their colleagues, friends and family. YUCK

How good do you feel after a (in my case a lava bath) wash? Like they say cleanliness is next to godliness!

But what is amazing is not many people dedicate even a small amount of time each day to cleaning their minds and this accumulates just as much dirt and clutter as our bodies if not more!

A clean mind gives better focus, more energy, enthusiasm, happiness, is infinitely more creative and productive, and definitely allows for deeper better sleep.

DIRTY MINDS

Just like a filing cabinet (or messy desk or cluttered handbag or backpack) we accumulate thoughts, feelings and information on a daily basis.  If allowed it can really get to overload causing stress, irritability and sometimes physiological responses like illness or disease.  Even for the most peaceful, upbeat people, if you think about the amount of “stuff” that goes through your head not being addressed or cleared out regularly can become a veritable breeding ground for anger and other difficult emotions; a cess-pit.

Sport or healthy hobbies and activities, especially yoga can temporarily clear the mind as it is focussed on other things or even help with anger or irritability, also boosting feel good endorphins but that’s kind of like putting deodorant on an unwashed body, it’s a cover up if you haven’t had a good scrub.

Even meditation gives your mind a break but it doesn’t make decisions or wash away the things that have accumulated. 

The truth is resourceful people make decisions about what they focus on and this requires dedicated thought!

SPRING CLEANING

If your mind MOT is overdue, you’ll find there are lots of STICKY situations or thoughts or emotions that won’t go away.  A STICKY thing could be a long standing dispute with someone, something you’ve avoided (even like going to the doctor for a check up can cause worry if its not done) or just an thought that keeps going around and around in your head.

We all know how long it takes to clean something if you leave it for ages so be prepared to possibly uncover some nasty stuff (eg like “How Clean is your House”). It might be better to have a BIG spring clean using some of the following techniques and then embark on a daily mind washing routine.

This doesn’t have to be a big drama, but it does require rolling up your sleeves and getting stuck in and probably getting some help from an NLP coach.  It’s like someone who does a detox diet, what comes out at first? Lots of rubbish but then the person feels lighter, more healthy and most importantly has improved their long term health.

If you don’t want to “delve” then the daily routines are still effective but you are going to be surface polishing rather than deep cleansing!

Emotional connections may be harder to sort out but the key is to get to the underlying problem  (root cause) and find anything practical you can do to resolve it.  If it’s about a feeling then allow expression of the feeling but if there is nothing you can do to resolve or make it better then you have to allow it to go.  Things like NLP and reframes and Time Line Therapy™ are extremely effective at seeing situations in a different light which then allows the emotion to be transformed, often from one of helplessness or sadness to one of strength and resourcefulness.  I’m trained in both and don’t be put off by the therapy tag, they are really very simple but incredibly effective processes.

Guided visualisations are also a very useful way of both going through a mind cleaning exercise and allowing new perspectives into a situation that has become reoccurring or stale.

DAILY MIND WASH

Why not practise this in the shower when you’re cleaning your body?

You could adopt the MIND TRAY method.

This is not about creating a to-do list of practical things that we all have to get done, organise and complete.  It’s about sifting through things causing us irritation, anger, or bother or any other emotion or thought that is occupying too much time.

Quickly sift through the key thoughts or feelings, possibly giving them a label so you have a list of items. eg Worry about work, fight with friend, need more money, etc

Then put them in one of the following virtual mind trays.  Don’t spend ages deciding where to put them, use your first reaction, your instinct, it’s usually right!

IN TRAY –  new stuff that’s come in yet to be processed, needs more thinking time

OUT TRAY –  Stuff that has no resolution or stuff that is resolved, over and needs getting rid of.

PENDING – re-occurring situations or things that need further info to be dealt with or need better timing. This is not a JUNK BOX for stuff you don’t want to deal with!! DECIDE that you’ve made a decision to put it in pending and leave it there until the next “wash”. Put it on the back burner so to speak.

ACTION – as in today, over and done (and OUT)

For example say you had an ongoing dispute or misunderstanding with a colleague but it really wasn’t the best timing to deal with it.  So you put it into PENDING

Doing this is threefold:

1) less worry as you have made a decision to deal with it and it will be dealt with.

2) putting it on the back burner can actually allow the situation to be seen with a fresh look or attitude which can transform your behaviour and possible the outcome.

3) by clearing the decks your mind will help you find the best course of action.

FRESH AND PRODUCTIVE

So if you have done a spring clean and follow this method the only things you have to deal with that day is your REAL to do list,  eg the things that are going to make you productive. Also the new stuff which needs processing and allowed time to breathe and sift through.

Nothing so complicated as human behaviour and of course nothing is as simple as it looks, but I have used these methods and taught them to many people with good results.

With the recent storm in the media about the various “dangers” of yoga to the body, one thing caught my eye more than anything else, retinal tears were mentioned.

This is not the first time I have heard of retinal tears or detached retinas linked to yoga inversions.  As I have a personal occurrence of this (twice) I thought my experience would be valuable to teachers and students alike.

What is it?

First a very amateurish explanation of a retinal tear – I am not after all an eye surgeon but having discussed this with three top ones I think I can explain it in laymans terms.

In it’s simplest form the eye is a round ball with jelly (called the vitreous) inside.  The retina is a light-sensitive tissue lining the inner surface of the eye.  The optics of the eye create an image of the visual world on the retina, which serves much the same function as the film in a camera.

In your sight everything is upside down so the TOP part of the back of eye represents your LOWER field of vision and vice versa. (this is important to understand)

People who are myopic (short sighted) with a HIGH NEGATIVE (-) numbered eyesight prescription have an increasing egg shaped eyeball which is less stable. The jelly can pull away from the sides of the wall (through head traumas, age, or other things) of the inner eyeball and sometimes tear pieces of the retina with it.

Signs of retinal detachment can vary from flashing lights, flickering or a distinctive “shadow” in the eye.  It can tear slowly but requires quick action to save loss of vision. With today’s technology it can be fixed (several options depending on severity etc) If it is not rectified loss of sight will occur.

What Happened

My original retinal detachment in my belief was acerbated by a headstand workshop.  In any teacher training prolonged inversions are a precaution or even a prohibition for people who have had this condition Having not had a detachment before and not knowing all the above stuff I didn’t think about my risks.

I will point out CLEARLY that I have a HUGE predisposition to this happening, here is why:

• My nearsightedness was over -13 in one eye (VERY shortsighted) giving me an egg shaped eyeball, less stable with loads of room for stuff to bump about in
• I had lens replacement surgery for vision as my eyes eventually rejected contact lenses which I had worn since I was 8 years old. This gives a higher risk for retinal detachment as its invasive.
• I’d had vitreal detachment that didn’t tear the retina years before (where jelly pulls away from the inner eye)
• I also did huge amounts of “headbanging” (eg to rock music) in my 20s and 30s eg shaking the jelly around as well as my booty!

So why do I think the headstand workshop acerbated this if there were so many other factors?

The symptoms were starting on the way home…slowly. It took me a week to see that it was happening and only then because I am very aware.  They fixed it with a scleral “buckle” (external band aid if you will).

The tear was against gravity, the shadow in my eye was in the top of the field of vision, meaning the bottom part of my retina had been torn. So the jelly had pulled upwards (when I was upside down) This is my theory.

I have asked 3 top surgeons and they disagree but I just have a strong feeling about it.  My strong feeling got me to the hospital quickly before the symptoms were really noticeable.

I had another tear next to the same site recently which required invasive surgery.  The explanation was that the original buckle failed or became weak.  Since the original tear I do not do prolonged inversions.

So what do I think now?

It would be very short sighted of me to blame headstands or indeed dismiss a possible link altogether. But I have no firm conclusion, just an experience to share.

Who knows, I’m not the only one to link this to prolonged yoga inversions. All I like to do is share the information and I DO think that teachers should be aware that people with very high myopia should be very careful with prolonged inversions.

No ones gonna manifest it for you

All the social media channels are full of “manifestation” type quotes and stories. Meditate on this, make it happen.  Create your future through your vision, etc and other such bollocks because these statements are rarely followed up with what all the other elements of manifesting something are and I see some serious delusions around about what it really is.

I TOTALLY believe in the power of intention but it consists of more than a mere magic wand and a few fancy words.  First of all it entails getting off your ass.

I have “manifested” many great things in my life and sometimes when they arrive it really really seems as if it were “fate” or “magic” but when I analyse it there are 4 typical ingredients  – OK “spells” for the wishful thinking.

THE FOUR SPELLS

1) VISION: Aim much higher than you think you can go but GET REAL

I really wanted to join the RAF to fly when I was younger but my eyesight precluded this totally, in this prohibitive situation you either “downgrade” or you move on to another challenge or dream.  I was not willing to accept a downgrade in this case and there are probably thousands of very safe and relieved people that Deirdra is not allowed to fly a plane.

Creating a vision is not day dreaming, it is consciously mapping out your dream or goal in whatever way works for you (NLP goal setting is a great tool)  Your flash of inspiration may come through a daydream but that is all it will ever be if you don’t formulate it. You must also have passion about what you are doing, it will carry you through when things get tough.

2) HARD WORK: 1% Inspiration, 99% Perspiration

Be committed, Be prepared to face rejection…many times.

3) VOICE: You don’t have a glass head. You need visibility.

At the right time of course!  Unless it needs to be patented or kept top secret for some reason, if you don’t share it then how the heck will you a) get feedback  (don’t let this deter you by the way but it is great to get input and opinion) and b) get visibility, if it’s a good concept then someone will listen and you NEVER know who is listening…  Half the great things that have happened to me are through other people telling people things I have told them.

Use your judgement, it may be you just talk to a few select people whose opinion your respect or it may be you have to talk to others to get technical input.  Do not overlook this spell though as most of the things I have actualised would have gone nowhere if it weren’t for this.

Also other people can inspire you and give you alternative views that you may not have considered. No matter how smart or creative you think you are sometimes it takes just that little tweak someone else gives you to make something successful.  Being arrogant or too proud to accept constructive criticism, guidance or help can cause your failure. If they “steal” your idea then too bad, pretty much nothings original anymore but what is unique is how YOU do it, YOUR idea or project will be infused with your personality.

4) CIRCUMSTANCE: Lady Luck!  You make your own luck.

There is no doubt this has played a huge role in actualising some of my plans but I’d also argue that some of this is dependent on the elements above being in place.

5) OK there is some FAIRY DUST

BE YOURSELF – don’t follow the crowd, develop your own style, do something unique but not just for the sake of it as this reeks of desperation, sometimes people think I am crazy, selfish or bats but I can get my foot in most doors if I really want to.  If it doesn’t work you’ll soon know about it and if it doesn’t work then do you really want to be in there in the first place?!

Years ago I was told by a top gaming company I must have one of the most creative unique CVs they had ever seen but that IS TOP SECRET I didn’t get the job because in reality I was too inexperienced for the role (see I aimed high but hadn’t done the hard work!) but I did get down to three people.

UPDATE: I recently wondered why something I wanted to actualise wasn’t getting off the ground and then I realised (duh) I had forgotten one of these elements (Voice), within a few days of correcting that I got a sponsor for my project!

Yoga is more than stretching for runners

I have had great success with alleviating the symptoms of Iliotibial Band Friction Syndrome (ITFS) with every client who has presented with it allowing them to continue and increase training intensity without further pain. They almost all also experience “freer” movement allowing better times and endurance. Not only that, anyone who has dropped the techniques we have worked on (I give them simple bite sized techniques to continue with) has found the symptoms re-occur.

The key reason yoga techniques work in this case is that generally speaking the runner has allowed a situation to occur where their muscles have tightened so much that the first step is re-educating the muscle (and their mindset towards training preparation).

Although not a replacement for a physiotherapists diagnosis my Yoga Sports Science™ methodology first does a biomechanical assessment on the athlete to see whether there are inherent intrinsic factors in the individual (pronation, leg length discrepancy, etc) and we then develop the techniques to support these also taking into account their training, whether they have an event coming up and many other factors.  Better still they experience lots of other benefits from the programme aside from allowing them to continue their passion.

What is it?

Iliotibial Band Friction Syndrome (ITFS) is classified as an overuse injury and is typically seen in runners and occurs as about 7-8% of all running injuries.  Overuse injuries often are only felt when the runner increases their mileage suddenly or significantly although the inherent basis for the injury may have already been in place.  Training errors are the most common cause of overuse injuries involving too quick an acceleration in the intensity, duration or frequency of the training programme.

Description

The iliotibial band is a strong, thick band of fibrous tissue (fascia) that runs along the outside of the leg. It starts at the hip, runs along the outer thigh and attaches on the outside edge of the tibia (shin bone) just below the knee joint and also into the side of the patella (knee cap). The band works with the quadriceps (large muscle on front of thigh) to provide stability to the outside of the knee joint during movement.  Originating at the Iliac crest it also attaches to the gluteal muscles at the back and the tensor fascia lata (TFL) muscle at the front. The IT Band has the tensile strength of soft steel and is therefore very difficult to mobilise.

Iliotibial Band Syndrome is a frustrating source of knee and hip pain for athletes, and is one of the most common causes of lateral knee pain in runners.

Causation and Injury

When the muscles the IT band are connected to contract it increases the band’s tension.  As the band is not attached to bone it has movement which may cause the friction. Often during training certain areas will be over- or under- worked which sets up an imbalance in the tensile forces on the IT band which may result in injury.  The injury can result in inflammation of the bursa between the ITB and lateral femoral epicondyle (a bony prominence of the thigh bone on the outside of the knee) causing bursitis (inflammation of the fluid-filled sac  – bursa – that lies between a tendon and skin, or between a tendon and bone) and/or inflammation of the IT band itself or irritation of the bone due to the constant friction.  The injury may also result in a hip bursitis at the top of the femur (trochanteric bursitis). Many runners do not use an adequate warm up or cool down routine or regular stretching schedule, further acerbating any tightness.

The causes for a particular appearance of the injury can be multifactored.  The most common occurrence is a sudden increase in mileage/excessive mileage combined with an individual’s specific muscle imbalances or structural mis-alignments. Some individuals may be more prone to this injury due to anatomic or biomechanical reasons, eg leg length discrepancy, flat feet or old injuries. Some examples of causative factors are listed below.

Extrinsic Factors in ITF

1. Training errors: Excessive mileage, sudden increase in mileage or intensity of training, too much hill work in particular downhill running, running on cambered roads (causes a functional leg length discrepancy).

2. Technique: Over striding, too hard a heel strike or running flat-footed

3. Worn out running shoes

4. Failing to warm up or cool down properly

5. Failure to rest/recuperate and/or persistent high intensity training

6. Single severe training or competitive sessions eg marathon, this injury can be inherent in the event itself

Intrinsic Factors in ITF

1. Tightness in the iliotibial band.

2. Myofascial restrictions in the hip and thigh musculature, which will increase tension on the band.

3. Weakness in hip abductors is common in distance runners and can cause excessive internal rotation of the knee

4. Weakness or poor control of knee muscles, especially the quads.

5. Dominance of anterior hip muscles (TFL) over posterior hip muscles (gluteals)

6. Excessively flat feet or high arches; over-pronation in feet

7. Bow legs or knock-knees

8. Leg length inequality

9. Limited range of motion in the ankle

(Messier, 1995)

Symptoms

Pain from ITF is easily recognised as a sharp or burning pain on the outside of the knee when running. Often runners will not experience pain until they are 2-3 miles into their training.  Typically, an athlete is unable to continue their workout.

Early on, the symptoms will subside after training but will re-occur with the next session.  If there is no intervention then the pain may occur more quickly during training or even persist, and be noticeable particularly when walking up or down stairs (because of the angle of the knee flexion).   There may be tenderness on the outside of the knee when pressure is applied, especially when the knee is bent. There is usually not any noticeable swelling but the band may be thickened and if left untreated, the pain may radiate to the tibia, calf, and up the outside thigh. Pain at rest is usually more due to associated injuries such as a lateral femoral condyle bruise or cartilage injury.

Remembering that the IT band also connects with the hip (in many more places!) sometimes the presenting symptom is hip pain over the greater trochanter. There may also be an audible, repetitive popping noise in the knee or hip with activity.

Messier SP, Edwards DG, et al (1995) Etiology of illiotibial band friction syndrome in distance runners. Med Sci Exer 1995: 951-960.

Athletic Injury is Devasting

Yoga is not just about stretching and flexibility.  In fact all the people I’ve worked with who made gains in their flexibility allowing them better range of motion in their sport or life actually went away with other benefits they were not expecting!  These things they have actually appreciated more than the increase in flexibility; things such as better breath control, better endurance, better focus, better sleep patterns, learning how to relax, and many many more.

A key benefit of yoga applied properly into sports training is injury prevention. However it is often overlooked because IF the athlete is introduced to the techniques BEFORE they are seriously injured often they won’t experience injury to the same extent, if at all.  That is unless someone stops the techniques! I see this a lot in runners with overuse injuries when they think they are “fixed”, stop the techiques only to have the symptoms of overuse injury re-occur.

Yoga teaches you to connect with your body and be aware of it in no other way.  This is important in injury prevention; not ignoring the niggles until it is too late, respecting if you don’t put the work in you won’t get the best out (and I mean the work on your yoga techniques!) and that your body or mind is not a machine -  as a living dynamic organism it needs to recuperate and recharge, and often athletes are the very people who need to LEARN to do this properly.

There is nothing worse than an injured athlete especially if it is before an event.  Grumpy, in pain, feeling like their huge efforts may be thwarted…it is completely understandable.  If your sport is your life then is devastating to face this potential limitation. All too often they drive ahead and then come out with irreparable damage (I did this when I was younger and have a serious permanent weakness in my ankle from doing so) So better to prevent in the first place but, if not, then rehabilitating through yoga is also excellent.

The beauty of using yoga in rehabilitation is that it can help restructure the training to accommodate the injury and teach understanding of what not to put under stress.  Great gains can be made in rehabilitation in areas where the athlete may not have considered before because they, or to be fair, their coach was obsessed with one direction, one training regime or one technique-set to exact.  Of course it is also key that the coach (yoga or otherwise) is not babying or overpushing the athlete in either direction.

I’d say any yoga is better than none but there are many injuries caused through yoga itself through poor teaching and not taking into account the individuals sporting requirements and stresses.  Make sure you are working with someone who understands your sport and preferably checks your individual body alignment.  And always get a formal diagnosis on the injury.

At Yoga Sports Science™ we use a methodology that has been developed over 8 years, this allows a format that works and also has given us data as evidence that it does.  It is really heartening to see others scientifically testing the benefits of yoga (such as the recent study on yoga helping lower back pain) in proper studies as well.  Part of the reason that I got involved with Yoga Sports Science is their methodical approach and their results and this has really been evidenced with the feedback I receive and the results my clients get.

See no Evil, Hear no Evil, Speak no Evil, Shall we?

I’ve always wondered whether the three monkeys were ultimately wise or complete ignoramuseseseses.

The original meaning is derived from a Koshin belief  -which is folklore based on Chinese Taoism.  This is that we have three worms inside us which record all the good and bad deeds we do and then report to the Heavenly God to be judged and punished or rewarded.  So keeping as much evil away from us assures a place in the heavens….

Putting that aside for the moment as the only internal worms I have encountered are either from a bottle of Tequilia (OK its a grub) or from eating salad in one of the third world countries I grew up in.

Similar teachings by Confucius were more along the lines of  “Do not do things that are contrary to conforming to conventionally accepted standards of behavior or morals”.  My question is although there are ranges of accepted standards our society has become so warped that understanding what is “conventional” and “accepted” is very questionable.

Others believe the message of the monkeys is that a person who is not exposed to evil (through sight or sound) will not reflect that evil in their own speech and actions. Yes…OK… and just how is that possible in our society unless you are blind, deaf and dumb?  Which in effect the monkeys are….but for anyone losing one of these senses they would not wish it on another so it is a crime to wish them away.

“See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” can be used as a total cop out for someone who doesn’t want to be involved in a situation or someone who deliberately ignores wrongdoing or suffering.  In Italy the similar phrase “Non vedo, non sento, non parlo” (I see nothing, I hear nothing, I say nothing), expresses Omerta, yep that’s the code of silence enforced by criminal organizations like the Mafia.

Or the phrase “numpty” eg not in my backyard, as I was introduced to this year, also comes to mind.

So are these dumb ass apes or does their wisdom really hold up?

I mean:

1)      See no Evil – Is this advocating turning a blind eye to all the atrocities that happen in our world? Yeah who wants to see the sickness but if you don’t it is totally a) dangerous and b) just plain ignorant

2)      Hear no Evil – (Ditto above as we are fed it visually and audibly) I say no to nasty gossip and crappy discussions which just deplete your positivity but again shall we just tune out?

3)      Speak no Evil –I don’t think you should speak badly about others but I’d argue that storing pent up anger and frustrations that all of us experience from time to time is way more damaging in the long run.

All great if you sit on a mountain top in isolation meditating and eating leaves.

The only bloody monkey I really agree with is the fourth one Shizaru, “Do no Evil” and that guy is usually left out!!

The monkeys are often depicted as Chimps, which in actual fact are apes. So perhaps MONKEYS are wise, its just the Human Apes that have devolved into the situation where “evil” has to be dealt with…that is if we are responsible.

Empathy has its time and place

I’m not one to generally lie around feeling too sorry for myself. Christ when I compare my lot with the vast majority of people I want to smack my little face if I ever dare whine about anything. Not only do I live in a relatively stable country (compared to other places I have lived which are politically volatile) and all my basic needs are exceeded by far, our generation has choices no one could ever imagine, 50, even 20 years ago.

But there is no doubt about it I have had a weird year.  Every single area of my life has done a 360 and I’m seeing my future in a completely different light, which is stressful, all change is stressful for people even if it is positive change.  It has certainly tested what I teach others – yoga, meditation, pranayama, stress management – to the absolute limit. (hmmm might there be a lesson in there?!)

So…. putting things into perspective has the – very relative –  hardship made me more understanding of others who are having a hard time, has it made me more understanding, tolerant, more grateful, more empathetic?

HAS IT FUQ!

I am generally a kind, open person anyway, now I have days where I’m just a cranky bitch who shouts at her kids, then feels guilty about it, reacts defensively and then suddenly recognises why people are getting defensive back, and has no time for everyone when they were used to me being on tap because at the moment due to circumstances I HAVE to focus on a few things that are going to make the major differences; mainly my work.  Even the little kindnesses and thoughtful things I always did for others that are an inherent part of my persona have all but evaporated.

What I’m saying is…it is SO easy and a total luxury when you can AFFORD emotionally, financially, spiritually, whateva – ally to be open, be kind, be generous – the true test is when you don’t have that time, that money, that trust or sympathy  – this is the time when your empathy is truly tested!  It is much harder to be open or supportive to others when you are vulnerable, when you have disappointed others, when you have been crushed, or when you are just sheer overwhelmed with “stuff”, and I mean stuff you can’t ignore.

That is why I am so grateful that I have my yoga, meditation and pranayama practise –regardless of circumstances around me or environment it grounds me, returns me to neutral, balances me and allows me to reconnect with the truly empathetic person I am which in return is enormously fulfilling and helps to feed my strength. And hopefully it will balance out the negative health effects of the stress.  This is why so many people turn to yoga in tough times (proof that classes are busier in a recession) to give them a “go to” for stress relief and to re-balance.

And fortunately I have a great sense of humour and find hilarity even in the most morose things.

So the equation must be Yoga + Laughter ….but hey sorry my cynical and cringeable side just can’t fathom Laughter Yoga.  The clip below takes the complete mickey out of it no end, Enjoy!  Thanks to @Sadhanoam.

The sheer devil in me just wants to wind a sports yoga class up and tell them “Today we are doing Laughter Yoga” JUST to see their faces!!!

Laughter Yoga Mick Take

Your choice

When I was younger I would not hesitate one iota of a second to give someone a piece of my mind should they push the wrong button. I’m actually not short tempered, nor intolerant or unkind but I wouldn’t tolerate someone being unjustifiably rude, inconsiderate or mean to people, this can run from the random “you just stepped on my foot, looked straight at me and ignored the fact” to the insanity of the unreasonable idiot who has been told hundreds of times their behaviour is not acceptable.

So…given my yoga training and more importantly that every interaction with others has an effect on yourself whether we acknowledge it or not, over the years I started to realise you always have a choice about what you want to give… PIECE or PEACE of mind.

I watched a little video (link below) and it really stuck with me even though it was pretty cheesy. It showed a guy going through his day being short tempered and impatient with all these people over relatively minor things until someone gave him these glasses. The glasses showed signs over peoples heads telling him what the major problem in their life was (Best friend just died, Just lost job, Recovering Alcoholic, etc) This guy seriously needed to learn some yogic breathing!

It is so true. You never know what is going on and why a person may be reacting in a seemingly rude or inconsiderate way.  I mean it is pretty damn hard to even focus if you just lost your job and you are the breadwinner even if you did just step on someones foot. Then again there may be nothing going on and they may just be rude!! I’d rather give someone the benefit of the doubt.

You NEVER know what a little kindness or appreciation can do for someone.  We tend to complain and are all too ready to say when something isn’t right – what about all the times it IS right, we often take all those for granted.  OK so your meal is a bit cold, what about all the times its served piping hot, quickly and with a smile? Do you really thank the probably harassed waitress (look at her face and thank her)who has most likely been abused a 100 times yet genuinely thanked only a few?

I actually love the thrill of  – only sincerely and privately mind you  – letting someones boss know they’ve done a great job ESPECIALLY when they have handled a genuine complaint I may have made.  How cool is it to know that someone who really deserves it may get recognised when they otherwise might not just because you bothered to take a few minutes out and tell someone what a great job they did?

Then you can walk away from those experiences with PEACE of mind.

Here is the video: Get Service