Who blew out the Flame?

This is a blog I wrote for a www.florianvilla.com

If you are using term “burnout” then you are indicating that at one time, the flame was lit. The question is, who blew out the flame? If you sit with the question, the answer is not too hard to find–you did. It is a painful realization yet it is true one. This brings us to the three characteristics of truth: it stings, it cleanses, and it sets you free.

Teachers have come to me over the years to tell me that they feel burned out. In almost every instance I was able to notice a common theme. That common theme was a lack of daily practice which can lead to a busy and untamed mind. Our days are so fast and so scheduled in the 21st century. If we don’t pause daily and practice, our minds get out of control.

The founder of the Shambhala and famous Tibetan Lama Chogyam Trungpa said where there is speed you will normally find struggle. Our practice helps us to slow down, relinquish the word struggle and wake up to this moment. When the mind is not trained, the present moment becomes nothing more then the past replayed and/or we see ourselves reaching for some kind of future fulfillment. The mind is uneasy and is in a state of dis-ease. We lose our sense of vibrancy and our ability to recognize the brilliance around us.

We start to look outside of ourselves, thinking that we need another teacher training, a new workshop, or maybe even a different life. We look in the wrong direction. The solution is not outside of us– it’s inside. This is what we as teachers are fundamentally teaching yet we to fall prey to not taking our own advice. We don’t need to travel to the Himalayas. What we need is to amp up our practice right where we are. Get into class 5 or 7 days in a row. Pick up an old book that previously inspired you and journal. Write down why you teach and get in touch with your intention. This can help you re-light your flame.

Keeping your flame lit is your job as a teacher. When life gets challenging, our teaching and practice can go deeper. If we don’t practice we feel burned out. I learned this early in my career. The answers are really that simple when dealing with burn out. Sit with this message and again remember the three characteristics of truth: it stings, it cleanses, and then it sets you free. Does this message sting?

Paralysis by Analysis

This morning I had coffee with a long time friend of mine that I have lost touch with. His name is Joe. We caught up for a while on the present, then relived the past, and finished up our time together talking about the future. At one point in the conversation, Joe commented that many people get Paralysis by Analysis. I loved this catchy expression and thought I would write about it.

Many times in life we find ourselves analyzing a situation. The ability to look at a situation and break it down is an important process in the brain, and it's one that is required when aiming to live skillfully. What happens though when we find ourselves over-analyzing the past, reliving mistakes, and going beyond what is healthy? We get stuck living in the past. We walk around rigid and tense. By continually reliving this past event we experience paralysis by analysis.

Joe then asked me, "How do you let go? Sometimes my mind is just so crazy". I told him that telling most people to let go is like throwing a child in the pool and telling them to swim-- the child has never been taught to swim nor has the child practiced swimming. Cultivating a mind that can let go is a skilled practice and something that for many of us can only be cultivated through practice.

In my Hatha yoga practice and my running practice I use the principles taught in the Shamatha meditation practice. Shamatha means calm abiding. The practice is simple in explanation yet challenging in application. The idea is to cultivate a present state of mind by anchoring your attention on the steadiness of your eyes, respiration, and body. When thought arises and pulls you away from mental steadiness you simply notice that you have lost your attention. You return back to the eyes, respiration and body.

As you continually return to your present state of mind you begin unwinding the focus on analyzing and the habit you have ingrained within your brain. This is challenging work yet it does work, particularly when practiced on a daily basis. The process of letting go of thought and coming back to the present moment cultivates a mind that can let go. I personally find with this practice that it has before easier and easier to let go. In my next blog I will write about what we are experiencing as we let go.

Running Barefoot

So you read the New York Times best seller Born to Run and the barefoot philosophy makes sense. You go buy the Vibram Five Finger Shoes and kick off the $100 cushioned shoes. You go out for a run and start having visions of running in the Copper Canyons with the Tarahumara runners. You feel joyful and light and are quick to say this is paradigm shifting! Then all of a sudden POP the dream bubble explodes and you feel pain! You come to a screeching halt and in an instinct you become a non-believer. Days later your feet start feeling better and you tell you self--no way am I doing that again. The Vibram get tossed to the back of your closet and your throw back on the coffins, I mean cushioned shoes and go back to your old habits.

Unfortunately this is going to be the reality for most people who give this barefoot running thing a shot. The reason why is very simple. Your foot has been supported for years and anything supported becomes weak. Your feet have had a vacation for a VERY long time. They have been atrophying (weakening) ever since you put shoes on at a young age and started running. Since that day the cushioned shoes allowed you to change the evolutionary way your body was designed to run and the rest of the 206 bones and 640 muscles of the body have followed suit. If you are going to bring your dogs out of retirement and kick the coffins off your feet you need a plan. I began running 6 weeks ago in the Vibram and I would like to share with you some insights from my experience.

Step One--Get the shoes and start wearing them all the time--do some walks in them and start getting in touch with using the balls (fronts) of the feet.

Step Two- If you live in the greater Wilmington area contact Tracy Peal and get a lesson on the Pose Running technique. If you don't live in the Wilmington area go to the Pose Technique website and find a certified coach in your area. http://www.posetech.com/services/TracyStevenPeal.html.

Step Three--Begin running preferably on grass. Start off SLOWLY and work the Pose Technique. If you feel any pain stop and walk and then begin again SLOWLY working the technique. Anytime pain arises stop and walk. The pain is an indicator something is wrong. I have stopped and walked often and each time I begin running again and work the technique the pain goes away.

Summary:

The first week I began Vibram running I ran one mile and then worked up to two miles by the end of the first week. I stayed at two miles at a 9-10 minute pace for the first five weeks. The fifth week I worked up to a three miler. By the end of this week I ran 5 miles and felt great! I have to stop during most runs and walk due to pain in the plantar fascia (bottom of the foot) yet once I walked fifty feet it disperses. I am a supinator in my ankles which means I tend to run on the our edges of my feet. Over the years this has tightened the the medial arch (inside) of my feet. The barefoot running is unlocking the inner arches of my feet and as they unlock the plantar fascia is being stretched and is unlocking. The pain when I am running is an indicator that I have done enough unlocking and need a break. The walking allows some rest and then once I start running again my plantar fascia is willing to endure some more letting go.

As the Inner arches unlock I can feel my shins, thighs and hips begin unlocking--it is truly an amazing process. I have to really pay attention when running which has quieted down the voice I hear when I run. The voice sounds like this, "this sucks, this sucks, this sucks" I am enjoying running more and more and realizing that I was truly born to run. I would love to hear some feedback from others going through this process.

September 22nd 6-8pm

Chris Mac Dougall author of Born to Run and Pose Coach Tracy Peal will be doing a book signing and clinic at www.Trailcreekoutfitters.com

Born To Run

A few months ago, I read a book entitled "Born to Run" by Christopher Mac Dougall. Chris is a former war correspondent and contributing editor for Men's Health. He set out to discover why 8 out of 10 runners are injured each year--he counts himself as one of those 8. His journey takes him from his doctor's offices in Philadelphia to the biomechanics lab of the University of Delaware. He winds up at Harvard's anthropology department and heads out to the West Coast to learn more at Stanford. His journey ends in the Copper Canyons of Mexico for the grand finale of the book and the greatest race the world will never see. I listened to the book and was literally in tears towards the end. Christopher beautifully weaves scientific research into a fun and entertaining story that is not just for runners. It is a story about the human spirit with a triumphant ending and a powerful message.

I picked up this New York Times Best Seller after three people told me about the book in one week. These people told me that Christopher was bringing some of the same information to his readers that I had taught within my movement principles workshop. This book gave me permission to act on what I knew to be true. A little over nine years ago I kicked off the shoes and started a yoga practice. I always thought about running barefoot yet listened to the popular myth that I need shoes to handle compressional forces. Chris's book taught me that I truly did not need them. I started running barefoot (with Fibrum Five Finger Shoes) four weeks ago and it has truly been a paradigm shifting experience for me. In my next blog I will post a recommendation on where to buy the shoes and how to begin the journey of running with the earth instead of on it.

It's just my little toe

My wife and I were at a party this weekend. As I was talking with another guest at the party, I could not help but notice that she was favoring one foot. I asked her what was wrong. She said, "Oh it's nothing--I just broke my little toe." My wife turned to me right away and said, "Shut up--don't say a word." Sara knows the way I think and she is very educated on movement principles herself. She really knows her stuff and understands the independent nature of the human body and mind. I said nothing and just let it go.

Two of the three arches in the foot connect to the little toe. These arches serve to handle compressional forces and absorb shock while standing, walking, running etc. Basically, if you are on your feet, the arches are meant to be working. When the little toe is not functioning, the arches of the feet are

not functioning, and the joints above the foot- such as the ankles, knees, hips, spinal column, etc-are each working even harder and are subject to more compression within each joint.

Most people I speak with don't seem to understand how the body is interdependent and how everything effects everything. I find that it is the tendency of every one's mind, and not just mine, to possess a narrow focus. We have trouble seeing how everything is connected and related.

I would certainly be unaware of this truth if not for the hundreds and thousands of moments of focused attention on my yoga mat. My practice has truly taught me that the smallest adjustment in my foot can adjust my neck or shoulder--it is truly amazing to experience this connection.

Life is very much the same--our thoughts, actions and inaction's within each and every moment will affect the people near us and the world beyond us. We are all living in this cause and effect relationship and there is nothing that is not felt... that is truly something that is worth contemplating.

Living the Ordinary Extraordinary

After last night's class, a student asked me a question that no one has ever asked me before. The student, who was new to Empowered Yoga but not new to spiritual practice, asked me if I had opened up my third eye.

The third eye is where the Hindus respectfully wear the red dot. The third eye is referred to as the Eye of Intuition and is one of the Seven Chakras within the human body. I responded "No, I have not." He looked at me with a puzzled expression on his face and asked, "Well then why do you practice?" I told him that I practice so that I can be a better husband, a better Dad and a nicer person within this world.

I have no aspirations for anything extraordinary--I aspire to live the ordinary life extraordinarily. He smiled, and said that he understood. During over conversation, he told me that he was off to India to study with a guru. It prompted me to share something with him: "I searched for years only to come full circle and realize that what I was looking for was right here. Maybe you will find what you are looking for in India, but maybe it is right here and you are unable to see it." After long pause, he spoke. "Maybe you are right", he said. I replied, "Maybe I am and maybe I am not-- but either way you will find out."

It reminds me of the last chapter in a modern day book that is bound to become a classic. The book is called "Light on Life", by 91-year-old Yoga Master BKS Iyengar. He tells the reader that he spent the majority of his life as a seeker and it is only now that he sees clearly. He urges the reader not to make the same mistake that he has made. Iyengar is asking us to stop looking outside of ourselves and start looking within. Stop thinking that some moment around the corner will complete us. Stop thinking that if our lives were different, they would somehow be complete. This kind of thinking postpones our happiness until the future. One day, we realize that we are old, and that we missed the whole point of life-- this moment is enough, be appreciative to be alive. Enjoy your life now.

It's Not Yoga

It always cracks me up when I hear people say, "That is not Yoga". It gets into the mental constructs that people build in their minds about what something is. This is the way our mind works.

For instance—when we meet someone, we ask questions. As we hear information about them, our minds begin developing a view or picture of the person. We can then make a judgment as to whether or not we like the person, whether the person is someone we want to be around, and if the person is worth our time. If you have never noticed this about your mind then pay attention the next time you meet someone new and watch the way your mind works and builds a construct.

Yoga is no different. If people come in and they have never done yoga then Empowered Yoga becomes their mental construct of what yoga is and should be. Yoga should be heated, have mirrors, and involve intention setting and chanting Om. This becomes their mental construct of yoga. It builds a student’s body and helps deepen Hatha Yoga (physical) practice, yet, many times it leaves a student rigid in belief and thus closes them to possibilities.

The idea behind repeating a sequence or committing to a style is to begin to develop a deeper understanding of reality and their relationship to it. The very nature of reality is fluid and ever changing. In our observation we can begin to realize that we suffer in life because of our rigid mental constructs and beliefs that do not allow us to see the beauty in something or see something that we have seen many times before in a whole new light.

When someone says to me, “That’s not yoga” I understand that they are stuck in a mental construct. In essence, they are admitting that they are not yoga and really don’t understand yoga. Yoga is everything. Yoga encompasses all. Yoga is Life!