Until the onset of electricity 100 years ago, human beings went to bed after sun down and arose at sunrise. We slept 10-12 hours a day, ate foods from the earth, walked everywhere or rode a horse. There were no tv's, ipods or emails. Life was more organic and slower, allowing us to spend more time being and inhabiting the fullness of our name as human beings. It is important to realize this is our evolutionary genetics and the way we have been living for thousands upon thousands of years. Fast forward to the 21st century, our worlds have become lightening fast. Both parents work to maintain the American lifestyle. Processed food and caffeinated beverages have become a staple in the American diet. The normal chores that are required in order to operate a household, and a family, become something that happens at night, shortening our sleep and increasing our overall workload. Things move at lightening speed with cell phones, emails and modern day efficiencies of travel. All of this can leave us under slept, over processed and in many ways out of touch. We take on the name "Human Doing" and throw our evolutionary clocks out of whack!
These are facts in the 21st century. American life is not going to slow down. If we allow ourselves to speed up with it we will find ourselves in the middle of a speeding tornado, missing our life and potentially falling prey to the three D's: dissatisfaction, depression and disease. The famous Tibetan Lama Chogyam Trungpa would often say, "where there is speed many times you find struggle". In my own life I now notice when I am moving too fast, I have developed the practice of pausing. Many times I discover a feeling of unease and struggle when I pause. A decade ago, I began the practice of Hatha Yoga to help me deal with the speed of life. Hatha Yoga is the exercise system that involves movement and breathing exercises that help bring the nervous system into a greater state of balance. Eventually, I created a style and approach to Hatha Yoga, Empowered Yoga. Our methodology is a three step process that begins with stabilizing your attention on your body and breathing. From the process of stabilizing yourself, you can't help but notice the second step which is resting in a feeling of calmness and clarity. As your practice becomes more consistent, the third step happens which is the arising of wisdom. You begin making better choices that help you become more skillful in working with the speed of the 21st century. Empowered Yoga has made a big difference in my life!
Recently, I was turned onto a product called Suntheanine. Within Suntheanine is a natural occurring amino acid called L-theanine, found mostly in teas. Clinical research suggests that 50mg - 200 mg Suntheanine naturally stimulates activity in the brain known as alpha waves, which are associated with a relaxed but alert mental state. Within 15 minutes of ingesting Suntheanine my wife and I noticed that we both felt calmer. We were doing chores around the house and we both felt more focused. Since then, we have been incorporating Suntheanine into our nutritional habits and have noticed less feelings of speediness and a greater sense of clarity. This product is like yoga in a bottle! The world needs yoga and if someone can get that yoga attitude in a bottle then maybe they will find their way into Empowered Yoga.
