A Yogic Movie Review

In my last Daily Yoga Tip I promised you a "Yogic Movie Review."

Get ready. Here it comes.

Earlier this week I saw Kevin Costner and Jennifer Anniston in their new movie, Rumor Has It.

If you're looking for a straight movie review, I like Mark Ruffalo as an actor and Shirley MacLaine is very funny. That's all I have to say about that.

Yoga themes showed up several times in this movie.

First, when Jennifer Anniston's character, Sarah Huttinger, woke up from an alcohol-induced blackout at Beau Burrough's (played by Costner) oceanside estate, she found him out on the patio overlooking the surf in sirsasana, head stand. He said, "five minutes with your feet over your head, followed by a three mile run and a swim in the ocean, is the best remedy for a hangover. It beats coffee and aspirin." Jennifer went for the coffee and aspirin.

Are inverted poses a hangover cure? I don't know. I've never done any of the things Beau recommends, with a hangover. So you'll get no Daily Yoga Tip from me on that one...other than do what's necessary to avoid a hangover in the first place. Take it easy with the adult beverages.

Next, Sarah and Beau spotted a party-goer whose strapless dress was a bit tight around the top. The dress made two rolls of fat on the woman's back bunch up to form a vertical crease along her spine. Sarah pointed this out to Beau and called her "the woman with the back cleavage."

This got my attention right away, because I often refer in yoga class to a hollow trough between the shoulder blades as a "shoulder blade cleavage." It's a desireable thing. You can make one for yourself by simply drawing your upper arm bones toward your back body.

My "shoulder blade cleavage" is a bit different from her "back cleavage." I don't have any fashion recommendations for an evening gown that makes your back skin wrinkle up in funny rolls. But I do recommend proper arm action for good posture and optimal alignment of the shoulder girdle.

I wrote about this a while back in an Daily Yoga Tip called "Relief for the Rotator Cuff." You can read it here.

Lastly, Sarah's newlywed sister has an anxiety attack on the airplane while on her way to her honeymoon vacation. She told Sarah she was 35,000 feet in the air on her way to Belize when she stopped breathing. Hmmmmm. Not good.

They had to land the plane and give her sedatives.

So here's a good tip you can take from Rumor Has It: breathe.

The benefits of conscious breathing and a regular pranayama practice are many. You might even want to make the study of pranayama one of your New Year's Resolutions.

It doesn't have to be rocket science either. Five minutes each day of ujjayi breath will amaze you.

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., I've never been to Belize. But I have been to Yelapa. It blew me away. The beauty and simplicity of this place, and the hospitality of the people are amazing. I knew before I left that I would return. And there's really nothing like spending a week Mexico with 20 yogis who intend to have fun. Will you join us in February?

Sallie and I are taking a group back to Hotel LaGunita February 18-25. We still have space available. Find details at http://experienceyoga.org/vacations.asp.

p.p.s., While I was looking around for a picture of sirsasana, I found this fabulous photo of BKS Iyengar in niralamba sirsasana. Enjoy!

Niralamba means "without support." You can see in the piture that his arms aren't supporting him at all like they would in salambha sirsasana. Salambha means "with support."

These are the kind of connections we make at the Experience Sanskrit workshop.

Our next workshop is just 14 days away, January 14th in Kansas City. Register here.

Tuition is only $50 for this fun four-hour workshop that makes the Sanskrit names of yoga poses unforgettable. You get a 100-page course guide to use and take home with you when you participate in the Experience Sanskrit workshop.

We're flying out to Ft. Worth, TX to do the Experience Sanskrit workshop on January 28. Don't wait. Register now. Procrastinator rates will soon go into effect. That means the price goes up!

p.p.p.s., We still have the fun Experience Sanskrit yoga pose name refrigerator magnets. So if you've got some spending money left over from the Holidays, go to our store and pick one up for $5. You can use it in conjunction with our on-line virtual refrigerator magnet, that shows you how to arrange the word roots into yoga pose names. Shipping is $2 for any order of 10 or fewer magnets. It's free for orders of 11 or more. Order here.

p.p.p.p.s., Be sure to check my Daily Yoga Tip tomorrow. It's a New Year and we'll be offering our CHITTA HAPPENS shirt, starting tomorrow, for the first time to the general public. Up until now you've only been able to get one of these shirts at the Experience Sanskrit workshop.

The garment is made by American Apparel. It's imprinted with Patanjali's second sutra in both Devangari script and English: yogas chitta vrtti nirodhah.

I'll put it an order button up on our online store sometime tonight after midnight.

p.p.p.p.p.s., Happy New Year!

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
905 Eastland Plaza Suite B, #106
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

Aparigraha, A True Story

I love Christmas. There's so much excitement, wonder and anticipation, mostly when you're around young children. It's infectious.

But then there's the ugly side. People driven by greed and status do some pretty horrible things this time of year when it comes to spending money, going into debt, and aquiring material goods at any cost.

That's why I so enjoyed a story I read today about a San Jose, CA woman, Thea Sawyer.

She bought candy at a See's store at the mall. Later, she opened her bag and discovered that the woman who helped her at the store counter accidentally dropped the ring off her finger into the shopping bag! The ring was valued at nearly $3,000.

Wanda Estrada was thrilled to get her ring back. It had been given to her by her late sister.

The people at Helzberg Diamonds were thrilled, too. They were so impressed by Ms. Sawyer's honesty and integrity, they presented her with a diamond ring worth $2,500!

What did Thea do? She said she enjoyed being rich for a day, but she intended to auction the ring off on eBay to raise money for charity!

Here's what Ms. Sawyer told reporters:

"I believe that you don't take more than your share and this is more than my share.''

Amazing. Did I mention Thea Sawyer is yoga teacher?

Not only does she walk the walk, but she talks the talk. When asked, she can say why she does what she does.

What she's talking about is a quality that Patanjali says we should cultivate. It's one of the five yamas. It's called aparigraha, and it means avoiding the accumlation of material objects out of covetousness and greed.

This story is so appropriate for this Experience Yoga Daily Yoga Tip because it shows so clearly, in a way you can experience, the happiness and joy produced when she practiced yoga. She practiced aparigraha. She refused to chase after and struggle to hold on to more than she needed. It's beautiful.

If you'd like to read her story it's here.
There's a fun video clip here.

I hope you've had an abundant 2005. May your 2006 be filled with joy and contentment.

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., Check back here tomorrow. I'm writing a "yogic movie review" of a show I saw last night. I think you'll like it.

p.p.s., I got an iPod Nano for Christmas from my mother- and father-in-law. Woo hoo! I love it. Thanks!

p.p.p.s., We still have space available in our Experience Paradise yoga vacation to Yelapa. It's incredibly beautiful and affordable. You'll never be the same. Find out more at
http://experienceyoga.org/vacations.asp.

p.p.p.p.s., We still have the fun Experience Sanskrit yoga pose name refrigerator magnets. So if you've got some spending money left over from the Holidays, go to our store and pick one up for $5. You can use it in conjunction with our on-line virtual refrigerator magnet, that shows you how to arrange the word roots into yoga pose names. Shipping is $2 for any order of 10 or fewer magnets. It's free for orders of 11 or more. Order here.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Christmas Greeting

Merry Chirstmas everyone!

I hope each of you has a wonderful Holiday!

Thank you for sticking with me this year. I have so enjoyed your comments, questions and concern during the past months.

Shanti. Shanti. Shanti.

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., Many of you have not met me. That's me up there in the Santa suit in a rather informal version of upavistha konasana, the seated angle pose. Upavistha is translated "seated" and kona is angle. My friend Lauren says she remembers that kona means "angle" by thinking of the word "corner," which sounds like kona.

That's called association...when you associate something you want to remember with something you alredy know. That's what we do at the Experience Sanskrit workshop. The really strong associations are based on vivid experiences you have. We'll create lots of unforgettable experiences when we get together next for the Experience Sanskrit workshop in Kansas City.

It's coming up SOON, January 14, 2006, at Sunshine Yoga at Chiro Center, in Kansas City, MO. Enroll today here.
Don't wait. Tuition goes up to $65 on January 7.

The Experience Sanskrit workshop comes to Fort Worth on January 28th, Downingtown, PA on February 4th, Annapolis, MD on March 4th, and St. Charles, MO on March 18th. Find out more about these workshops at www.ExperienceYoga.org.

p.p.s., Click here if you want to see a bigger version of the my greeting card above.

p.p.p.s., Shanti is peace. May you sleep in heavenly peace.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Light Arms, Like a Snow Man

Once again there was snow on the ground when I got up today. It was just dust. Not enough to make a difference. And certainly not enough to make a snowman.

But I did see a snowman on the TV today. He was constructed in the classic form, small snowball stacked on medium ball on top of big snowball. He had coal for eyes and sticks, horizontal, sprouting out from each side.

It made me think of my yoga students in warrior 2 pose (virabhadrasana 2). Even though the snowman can stand steady out in the cold with his arms stretched out endlessly, most people can't keep their arms out very long.

Even while you sit at your computer, try this. Stretch your arms out to the sides so they're horizontal. Now wait. See how much time goes by before you want to take them down. Not long, eh?

I use a simple secret to make my arms feel light. I'll teach it to you.

With your arms outstretched, tuck your shoulder blade tips. That's it. You move your shoulder blades as if you were going to tuck them into your back pants pockets.

Your upper chest (on the front side of your body) naturally lifts a bit when you do this. The arms get lighter.

Using this action, you'll be able to hold your arms out steady and straight, just like a fine snowman.

By the way, this action of the shoulder blades tucking down while the upper chest lifts (and the skin on the tops of the shoulders flows backwards, too) is one of the "loops" that have been made popular by Anusara yoga. This action is the shoulder loop.

John Friend describes the shoulder loop like this in his YJ article called Go with the Flow: Alignment in Anusara:

SHOULDER LOOP One of the seven energy loops within the body. This loop originates in the upper palate and flows backward to the base of the skull and down the back of the body to the bottom of the shoulder blades. When you engage Shoulder Loop, the head moves back slightly and the shoulder blades move down the back. At the bottom of the shoulder blades, the loop begins arcing forward and upward as it draws the bottom tips of the shoulder blades in and upward, toward the heart. The loop continues forward and up to the palate again as it lifts the chest and opens the throat.

You can find this quote at
http://yogajournal.com/practice/1330_2.cfm.

Did you catch that? The precise action of the shoulder blades not only supports the arms, but it supports and lifts the heart, too. Here's wishing you a healthy, supported and open heart during the Christmas holiday and throughout the year to come.

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., I spent last evening in our town's brand new performing arts center. I watched a fantastic performance of the ballet The Nutcracker. My daughter was an angel and a baker. I really enjoyed it. I wrote a Daily Yoga Tip back on the Fourth of July about shoulders and ballet. You can read it here.

p.p.s., Virabhadrasana is one of three poses dedicated to Virabhadra. The mighty warrior Virabhadra sprung up from the ground when Siva, in his anger, through a clump of his matted hair on the ground. Why was he angry? You'll have to find out at the Experience Sanskrit workshop coming up SOON January 14, 2006 at Sunshine Yoga at Chiro Center, in Kansas City, MO. Enroll today here.
Don't wait. Tuition goes up to $65 on January 7.

The Experience Sanskrit workshop comes to Fort Worth on January 28th, Downingtown, PA on February 4th, Annapolis, MD on March 4th, and St. Charles, MO on March 18th. Find out more about these workshops at www.ExperienceYoga.org.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Adjust Your Mirrors, and Your Spine

I came out of yoga class tonight, sat in my pickup truck and looked at my rear-view mirror.

Guess what I saw? I sure didn't see the road or any cars behind me. I saw only the inside of the bed of my truck!

I got up a 5 o'clock this morning and drove to St. Louis. I worked from my company's St. Louis office for most of the day and then drove back in time to teach two classes tonight. That's more than 5 hours on the road.

You probably know that driving is stressful. I've been told that driving while talking on the cell phone is even more stressful. Well, I'd been doing both.

My response to the stressors of the day was a slow and powerful, insidious grip. Grip compresses. Literally. My spine literally compressed. I got shorter.

How do I know? After I got stretched out from yoga, I had to adjust my rear view mirror so I could see over the tailgate of my truck. I was taller!

So practice yoga regularly to reverse or minimize the effects of stress on your body, even the ones of which you're not aware.

What a surprise! I didn't even know I had shortened my spine...and probably my lifespan.

If you're planning a long car trip over the Holidays, be sure to also plan regular breaks to get out and stretch. Once you arrive at your destination, do yoga. I recommend some inversions so you'll feel refreshed, too (assuming you already practice inversions).

Oh, and watch for signs of stress. The Holidays can really get to you.

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., I know people who get busy during the Holidays and quit coming to yoga classes. They quit practicing, too. I also know people who believe they wouldn't survive the Holidays without extra yoga classes and extra home practice. Don't give up on yoga, just when you need it most.

p.p.s., Lying down for 20 minutes in the afternoon also makes you taller! The intervetebral discs get a chance to rest and restore when you recline.

If you're afraid that a 20 minute nap will leave you groggy and sluggish for the rest of the day, don't nap. How about 20 minutes of savasana, the corpse pose! You'll be calm, alert, and as productive as you want to be for the remains of the day.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Imagine

This past Wednesday, I went to bed in a hotel room in Springfield, Missouri.

When I got up the next day, snow had fallen!

It's funny how in an instant you can be carried back in time to your childhood. When I was a kid the first snow of the year was exciting. It meant we might get to stay home from school. And playing in the snow was a blast.

Looking out from my hotel room at the white blanket covering the city got me excited once again...even though I knew I wouldn't be playing that day.

Later I went to church. It was a Holy Day. At the end of the mass, the priest acknowled two members of the parish, both of them adult men. He called them by name and announced that today was the first time they had ever seen snow!

Imagine that!

The whole crowd burst into applause. We were all, young and old, excited for them.

No one asked if they'd shoveled, or got stuck, or if they were too cold. Nobody asked about the pains of dealing with snow. But they both smiled wide and admitted, when asked, that they had played in the snow.

I stood there for awhile and tried to imagine the extraordinary series of events that must have taken place for these two men to start their lives in some place far away with different names, a different language, different climate, and a completely different lifestyle, yet end up here in the middle of the United States as adults, only to lie down on their backs on a cold December morning to make snow angels!

It boggled my mind. But it also gave me hope. The odds that they could have made such a transition must surely have been slim. But they did it.

Before you get down on your mat today to practice, I'd like you to imagine. Open your heart and your thoughts to the possibility of an extraordinary series of events. Add a little excitement, too. The kind of excitement you feel on the first snow day of the year--looking forward to fun.

I'm not sure why you do yoga. But sometimes I can go a long time without getting from yoga what I want. So it's easy to get callous and disinterested.

I can get down on my mat and have a very "adult" view of it. Like looking out the window at snow and thinking my car might not start, or traffic will be a hassle, or I might be late for work, or I just won't warm up today, or yuk, I've got to shovel.

It works better when I get down on my mat and think that today I might have a blast. I might have a great breakthrough. I might end up so far away from where I started that I can't begin to imagine it. But I'm open to it. I'm open to the flow of Grace in my life and on my mat.

Enjoy.

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
http://www.experienceyoga.org/

p.s., Many of you know that Thursday was the 25th anniversary of the death of John Lennon. In his memory, I leave you with a lyric I really like:

Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world.
You may say Im a dreamer,
but I'm not the only one,
I hope some day you'll join us,
And the world will live as one.

p.s.s., Imagine it's President's Day 2006. You've just finished a two-hour morning yoga class. You feel great. You step out of the thatch-roof yoga room, slip on your sandals and walk across the beach to the palapa for a breakfast of freshly squeezed orange juice, home-made yogurt and granola, fresh pineapple and mangos that have never been on a shelf in a grocery store or shipping container. You're beginning another fabulous day in Yelapa, Mexico, enjoying new friends, and drinking in the surf with your eyes.

I'll be there on President's Day. And the whole week, too. You can come with us. I guarantee there will be no snow in Yelapa that week.

Don't miss our unbelievably beautiful Experience Paradise yoga vacation in Yelapa, Mexico, Feb 18-25, 2006. You'll never forget this fabulous vacation and yoga experience. Find out more at http://experienceyoga.org/vacations.asp.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

More On Jala Neti

The comments keep coming in about the yogic practice of using the neti pot to rinse your sinuses.

Thank you to all of you who have emailed me with your comments, experiences, and testimonials.

My friend Diana reminded me of two important benefits of jala neti. She said she and her husband never get sinus headaches anymore, now that they neti regularly. And if you (or the person you sleep near) uses a neti pot before bed, snoring is reduced or eliminated.

How about that for a great tip?

I told you all recently that I never use tap water in my neti pot because the chlorine is a major irritant. A reader named Don wrote that he zaps his tap water in the microwave oven. That drives off the chlorine. When it cools down to body temperature, he's ready to go.

When I travel and don't have filtered water, I use the in-room coffee maker in the hotel the same way. I heat up tap water (no filter, no coffee grounds) in the coffee maker. Then there's no chorine irritation at all.

Beth, an Integrative Nurse Practitioner, wrote me to say that she recommends jala neti to her patients. She said it really helps. She asked me to pass on to you a recommendation to thoroughly rinse out your neti pot when you're done. You don't want to recontaminate your sinuses with the stuff you washed out the previous go-around. Great advice.

If you're new to my Daily Yoga Tip and you don't have any idea what I'm talking about, go back and read my last two Daily Yoga Tips at
http://experienceyoga.blogspot.com/2005/12/no-tap-water-no-iodized-salt.html and
http://experienceyoga.blogspot.com/2005/12/jala-neti-keeps-you-clean-and-ready-to.html

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., I promised you a while back that I'd write about the phrase "neti, neti." These words are an attempt to show that any expression or conception of the Divine is inadequate. They can't capture the essence of God. So, no matter what you think of or see or imagine or compare to, God is "not that." "Not that" is the literal English translation of neti. Here's what one author says about neti, neti:

The most outrageous fantasies pale beside Him. In truth I don't know what He is. No one can fathom Him. No words successfully describe Him. Words by their nature limit. He in every aspect is limitless. Yet I feel an urgency to share Him with those open to God, to tell those who have been seeking God, searching for reality, peace, liberation, Truth in its highest form, of his presence in mortal form and of His message of Truth, Simplicity and Love and the constant remembrance of God's name.

p.p.s., I still have refrigerator magnets in stock. I mentioned them in my last DailyYoga Tip. Email me at info@experienceyoga.org with your mailing address and your phone number. I'll call you. We'll get these out to you in time for Christmas gift giving. Also, I've been on the road the last three days, first Springfield, MO then Kansas City. So those of you whom I haven't called yet, don't worry. I'll call you Saturday!

p.p.p.s. Our orange I DO YOGA silicone wristbands make great stocking stuffers for your yoga friends, too. Order them at http://store.yahoo.com/yhst-13837176072520/idoyogaband.html

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

No Tap Water, No Iodized Salt

Hi everyone.

I got a great response from yesterday's Daily Yoga Tip. It was so fantastic to hear from so many of you.

If you haven't read about jala neti, please go back and read yesterday's tip at
http://experienceyoga.blogspot.com/2005/12/jala-neti-keeps-you-clean-and-ready-to.html.

I thought of two more things after I read all of your emails yesterday:

1) I never use tap water. The chlorine kills me. Either filter your water or let it sit out for several days so the chlorine levels drop.

2) I don't use table salt, either. I use kosher salt from the grocery store. It's not iodized.

Keep rinising out those sinus passages; you'll be glad you did.

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., Many of you have asked me about the Experience Sanskrit refrigerator magnets you see at www.ExperienceYoga.org. We usually make these magnets available only at the Experience Sanskrit workshop.

I have a couple dozen left. If you'd like to order one to give as a stocking stuffer for the Holidays, email me today. They're selling for just $5.00. And if you buy 11, shipping is free. We'll get them to you in time for Christmas.

When you email me, send your mailing address, name and phone number. I'll call you and get your credit card number, since I haven't even had time to set this item up for sale on our online store.

And remember, you can always go the virtual refrigerator magnet at www.ExperienceYoga.org to see all of the possible combinations you can make for the Sanskrit names of yoga poses.

p.p.s., Don't miss the Experience Sanskrit workshops we have scheduled now for Kansas City, MO; Fort Worth, TX; Downingtown, PA; Annapolis, MD; and St. Charles, MO. We'll be releasing information this week about a new April date for the Experience Sanskrit workshop in Kingston, NJ.

Watch the FREE Daily Yoga Tip for more news about these events. Until then, you can find out more about the Experience Sanskrit workshop, the workshop that makes the Sanskrit names of yoga poses fun and unforgettable, at: http://experienceyoga.org/.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Jala Neti Keeps You Clean and Ready to Go

I've been using a neti pot for many months now. Every day, or almost every day, I put a pinch of salt in my neti pot, add warm filtered water and then rinse my sinuses out by pouring the warm water into one nostril. With my head tipped to the side, the water washes out my upper respiratory system, drains out through the other nostril, and runs down into the sink. Then I'm ready for the day.

This practice is called jala neti. The results are fantastic.

Now that it's cold here, the heat is on and the air in my house is dry. It irritates my nasal passages. Thankfully, when I use my neti pot, irritants get washed out regularly and my sinuses are properly humidified. It feels great.

A big thing I'm noticing is that daily use of the neti pot keeps my upper respiratory system tuned up and ready to go so it can do its job efficiently and quickly.

Last week I was in Springfield, MO on business. Before I left for home on Friday, I stopped in at an office in which contractors were finishing off some drywall work. After I'd been in the office for about two hours, I started sneezing. I literally could not stop. So I left.

As soon as I got in the car the sneezing stopped and I started to feel better. But the two-and-a-half hour car ride home made it easy for me to see what was happening next. My sinuses started to develop mucus. By the time I got home, well, lets just say I was uncomfortable. I was clogged and gooey and needed relief.

I got out my neti pot and ran some warm water through a couple of times. Out with the bad.

I immediately felt better.

Jala neti is an old yoga practice. If you do it regularly, it keeps the upper respiratory system clean and ready to respond so that you stay healthy.

Think about what happened to me. My nose and sinuses did what they could do to keep the drywall dust out of my lungs. But when they were overwhelmed, the productive sneezes began to kick the dust out. Then throughout the duration of my car ride home, my lungs and sinuses produced mucus that trapped the dust so that the cilia lining my respiratory system could carry it out to my nose. I helped it along with a flush of warm saline water from my neti pot and the whole thing was over.

I recommend it. Daily use of your neti pot will help you avoid trouble during the cold and flu season. And if you have allergies, the nasal wash helps rinse away the allergens and irritants that cause those unbearable allergic reactions.

One really great benefit is you don't have to use drugs. I know a woman who goes into depression when she takes her sinus and allergy drugs. But she does it because, for her, suffering with the other symptoms is worse!

Try it this season, and then continue. It takes some persistence to get accustomed to it. But you'll notice the difference if you do it daily as a part of your routine. Some of you will notice a real sting, especially if your sinuses are dirty. But flushing them out and keeping them flushed out will keep the sting away.

Don't hesistate to contact me with questions you have about this great practice.

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., Neti is Sanskrit for "not that." I'm not sure how a pot got the name of "not that." But I'll write a little bit tomorrow about why the phrase "neti, neti" is so well known among yogis.

p.p.s., If you're curious, you can read a write-up I did describing our Experience Neti Flow workshop. It's here.

p.p.p.s., We have Experience Sanskrit workshop dates set now for Kansas City, MO; Fort Worth, TX; Downingtown, PA; Annapolis, MD; and St. Charles, MO. We'll be releasing information this week about a new April date for the Experience Sanskrit workshop in Kingston, New Jersey, near Princeton.

Watch the FREE Daily Yoga Tip for more news about these events. Until then, you can find out more about the Experience Sanskrit workshop, the workshop that makes the Sanskrit names of yoga poses fun and unforgettable, at: http://experienceyoga.org/.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
1305 Elmerine Ave
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

He Believed and His Knee Pain Went Away

Here's some good news.

Jerry, a student of mine from St. Louis sent me this email today. He said:

THANK YOU for the realignment tip on knees! I have been having a persistent pain on the inside of my right knee for about two weeks. I did the SITA exercise and WALLA! It worked! No more knee pain. Awesome!
Thanks again,
Jerry

Jerry's talking about the technique I mentioned in yesterday's Daily Yoga Tip.

Jerry, it's great to hear from you. I'm glad this worked for you.

I'm passing this message from Jerry on to the rest of you Daily Yoga Tip readers because if you've got knee joint pain I want you to do what Jerry did. He suspended doubt just long enough to find out for himself if the suggested action really works.

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit word for "knee" is janu. I know of one pose that has the word root janu in its name. It's called janusirsasana, which is literally translated as "knee head pose." I wrote about janusirsasana back in April. You can read my Daily Yoga Tip about janusirsasana at
http://experienceyoga.blogspot.com/2005/04/janu-flexion.html.

p.p.s., The Sanskrit word for "pain" (or pressure) is pida. It's used in at least two poses. One is karnapidasana, which means "ear pain pose". The other is bhujapidasana, which means "arm or shoulder pain pose."

If you Google these pose names and take a look at them, it'll help you remember these word roots. It'll help you even more if you do the poses!

p.p.p.s., If janu is "knee" and pida is "pain," you might call any position you're in that makes your knee hurt janupidasana!

Making up imaginary poses based on Sanskrit word roots you know from poses you already do is one of the funnest ways I know of to make the Sanskrit names of yoga poses unforgettable.

I'll teach you many more when you join Sallie and me for the Experience Sanskrit workshop. We'll be in Downingtown, PA on February 4th. You can register now at
http://store.yahoo.com/yhst-13837176072520/exsawodopafe.html.

We're coming to Annapolis, MD on Saturday, March 4th. Register for that workshop at
http://store.yahoo.com/yhst-13837176072520/exsawoanmdma.html.
Come back to Golden Heart Yoga on Sunday March 5th and join us for a two-hour asana workshop.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Thankful for Belief

Happy Thanksgiving!

This morning I taught a fun yoga class at Show Me Yoga Center for all comers, many of whom I'd never met before. It was great! What a wonderful way to start this day dedicated to gratitude for our many blessings.

After class I overheard one student talking to her friend about knee pain. When I offered to help her, she declined. She said her knee was hurting even before she came to class. "It'll go away," she said.

Honestly, I didn't know what made her knee hurt. But I did know what we'd done in class and what might have aggravated her knee pain.

If you had knee pain, what might cause you to refuse an offer of help that might make the pain go away?

Maybe she was afraid I was going to ask her to do something she didn't want to do. Maybe she thought she was taking up too much of my time and her problem wasn't worth the trouble. Maybe she didn't like me and she wanted to get away from me as fast as she possibly could! I don't know.

Here's what happened next. I backed up, gave her some space and sat down on the ground. I invited her to sit down in front of me. I taught her how to quickly re-set her knee so that the bones in her lower leg line up better with the bone in her upper leg.

You can learn how to do this in a Daily Yoga Tip I wrote back in May at
http://experienceyoga.blogspot.com/2005/05/get-on-track-to-eliminate-knee-pain.html.

Once she stood up, she was surprised to realize the pain had diminished.

I'm guessing she didn't accept my first offer of help because she didn't believe I could help her.

It's completely justifiable, too. Because Americans are so totally immersed in advertising, it's nearly impossible to not be let down. We've all experienced buyer's remorse. Most of the claims we hear just don't come true. We're skeptical.

So when someone you don't really know offers you help, you're justified in doubting.

Patanjali says that doubt is one of the predictable obstacles that will show up on your yoga journey. He says in Book I of the YogaSutras:

30. The obstacles that distract thought are disease, apathy, doubt,
carelessness, indolence, dissipation, false vision, failure to attain a firm
basis in yoga, and restlessness.

Doubt keeps us from action. Doubt keeps us from trying. Doubt shuts off the possibility of a better future before it even starts.

If you can keep doubt away, you can practice yoga long enough to find out for yourself the many benefits that are available to you...including, at times, relief from knee pain. You won't have to worry about trusting someone who wants to mislead you.

It's Thanksgiving Day. I'm thankful today for my teachers. I'm grateful that they selflessly shared yoga with me. And I'm grateful that I was able to stick around in the yoga rooms long enough to come to BELIEVE for myself. That belief keeps me practicing and sharing yoga with others today.

I'm also thankful to you. Thanks for reading this Daily Yoga Tip. You inspire me.

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., Pennsylvanians, it's official! We're coming to Twisted Guru Yoga Studio in Downingtown, PA on February 4, 2006 at 9:00 am. Enroll today in the Experience Sanskrit workshop at
http://store.yahoo.com/yhst-13837176072520/exsawodopafe.html. It's only $50. For you procrastinators, the fee goes up to $65 in January.

Experience Sanskrit is a fun, four-hour workshop designed to make the Sanskrit names of yoga poses unforgettable. Learn more at http://experienceyoga.org/ or http://www.twistedguru.com/purchase_online.html.

p.p.s. Why do people get a passport, get on a plane, fly to Mexico, and take a water taxi to Yelapa? They do it because they believe they'll have a fantastic, affordable vacation and incredible yoga experience in a place of unmatched beauty. Join us February 18-25, 2006 on the Experience Paradise yoga vacation. Your room, meals and yoga are $900 per person, double occupancy for the whole week. See http://experienceyoga.org/vacations.asp for details.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

With Apologies to Harry & Children Everywhere

Most of you probably heard of "the 12 steps" of Alcoholics Anoymous long before you heard of "the 8 limbs" of Patanjali's YogaSutras. Regardless of which came first for you, both remain powerful systems for spiritual development and transformation.

Instead of talking about yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, or any of the remaining four limbs, today I'll refer briefly to one of the 12 steps. Step number 10 goes something like this...

When we were wrong, we promptly admitted it.

So I'll admit it. I was wrong. Madame Maxime did not require the girls of Beauxbatons Academy to drink only single-malt whiskey!

(For those of you who don't understand this obscure reference, you'll have to go back and read my Daily Yoga Tip from yesterday.)

I was riding home tonight from a grade school basketball game with my Dad, brothers, and nieces, when my nieces Erin and Emily informed me that it was the winged horses that were allowed to drink only single-malt whiskey.

You see, the students of Beauxbatons arrived at Hogwarts in a carriage "the size of a large house" pulled by winged palominos "each the size of an elephant." And they required very careful attention.

"My steeds require...forceful 'andling," said Madame Maxime. "Zey are very strong...." "Will you please inform zis 'Agrid zat ze 'orses drink only single-malt whiskey?"

My apologies go out to Harry Potter fans and anyone else I zinged with my rant about zero tolerance policies.

You might like a different Daily Yoga Tip about Harry Potter a tiny bit better.

You can find it at:
http://experienceyoga.blogspot.com/2005/07/magic-of-yoga-are-you-muggle.html

Enjoy it while I eat my humble pie (and think of pumpkin pie)!

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., Did I say pie? Pie! That reminds me of the Pie Ladies of Yelapa! I'm not kidding. See what others say at http://p073.ezboard.com/ftodopuertovallartafrm44.showMessage?topicID=69.topic


Pie Lady of Yelapa

Sallie Keeney and I will be hosting a group of yogis at Hotel Lagunita in Yelapa Mexico, February 18-25, 2006. Yoga, vacationing, foreign travel and incredible natural beauty are a combination that are unmatched. Find out more at http://experienceyoga.org/vacations.asp.

p.p.s., Our list is getting longer. In addition to our Experience Sanskrit workshop in Annapolis, MD (March 4), we're about to announce dates in Downingtown, PA (February 4), Kansas City, MO, and Fort Worth, TX. Keep checking right here for more details. If you want to know more about the Experience Sanskrit workshop, see http://experienceyoga.org/workshops.asp.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Harry's Adventure of Self-Discovery

Wow. A week just flew by. And I've been thinking of you every day. But I haven't managed to get anything written...until now.

I spent much of Saturday evening in the theater with my wife and daughter. The theater was completely full as hundreds of viewers of all ages sat glued to the screen. Talk about focus and attention! It was amazing.

We were watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. It was quite enjoyable.

We like to check in with each other after any movie, play or other performance. Usually we're out in the car in the parking lot when someone blurts out, "What was your favorite part?"

Just so you won't feel left out, I'm going to tell you my favorite parts, in the order that I liked them. (All of you Harry Potter fanatics, please forgive my errors. I know I don't have it exactly right.):

1) The best part of the whole movie for me was the unusual blue hats worn by the girls from Beauxbatons Academy of the Magically Gifted. I have no way to describe them well. But they're blue and they're sort of shaped like a jaunty Hershey's kiss. I think I like them because they're completely unusual. I'm not very fashion focused. So these hats could be worn by everyone everywhere and I wouldn't know. But I liked 'em. (I suppose that says more about me than it does about the movie.)

2) I liked the fact that all the girls from the Beauxbatons only drank single malt Scotch. I think this is the rebel in me. I'm sort of sick of America's current educational fixation on the "zero tolerance policy." I'm proud of J.K. Rowling for spoofing the fact that kids don't need to be spoon fed everything.

3) I really liked it when the Headmistress of the Beauxbatons Academy plucked some sort of creeping critter from Hagrid's beard and without hesitating, like any good grooming primate, she popped it in her mouth and swallowed! Yummy.

By the way, her name is Olympe Maxime and she stood at least two heads taller than the giant Hagrid. Impressive!

4) We're getting closer to yoga now. I haven't forgotten that this is a Daily YOGA Tip.

I liked that Harry Potter prevailed in the Triwizard Tournament by not just looking out for himself.

In the second challenge of the Triwizard Tournament, Harry Potter used his skills not only to rescue his friend Ron from underwater doom, he also saved the little sister of his rival Fleur Delacour.

In the maze, the third challenge of the Tournament, the creeping vines were dragging down Harry's school mate Cedric, just when the winning trophy came into sight. Harry went back and freed his friend from the vines so that they could share the victory by touching the trophy at the same time.

When I saw this I was reminded of a passage from Deepak Chopra's book called The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga. Dr. Chopra indentifies The Law of Dharma (or Purpose in Life) as the last of the seven Laws of yoga. The Law of Dharma, he says, states that every sentient being has a purpose in life.

The Law of Dharma has three major components: 1) Your ultimate purpose is to come to know your higher Self, your True nature, 2) You should acknowledge and express your unique gifts and abilities (like Harry), and 3) You should serve others. Your unique abilities are given to you so that you can help others. He suggests you should always ask, "How can I serve?" and "How can I help?"

Lastly, Chopra provides a definition I really like. He says, "Yoga is action in accordance with dharma. Moving your body with awareness and impeccability is the essence of a life in harmony with the laws of nature."

I'm not a huge Harry fan. But I know enough about the stories to know that Harry's path through the years at Hogwart's Academy is simply one event after another in which Harry can discover and uncover his True Nature.

In your yoga practice today, do as Dr. Chopra suggests, "notice the postures that you enter into easily and use this information to become more intimate with your nature." "Celebrate your natural talents even as you strive to develop other ones in yoga and in your life." ( p. 72)

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
http://www.experienceyoga.org/

p.s., Mermaids play a very important role in the just-released Harry Potter movie. Did you know there's a pose commonly known as "the mermaid pose?"

I know it as Bharadvajasana. Unfortunately, when you translate the Sanskrit word roots that make up the name bharadvajasana it comes out to "the pose dedicated to the great sage Bharadvaja." Mmmmmmm. I don't know about you, but I don't see any mention of the word mermaid in that translation.

Therein lies one of the great problems with learning the Sanskrit names of yoga poses. Often the common name of a yoga pose has nothing at all to do with the Sanskrit name. I have a suggestion for how you can solve that problem. But you have to come to the Experience Sanskrit workshop to find out!

Our next Experience Sanskrit workshop is at Golden Heart Yoga in Annapolis, MD, March 4, 2006. It is filling up fast. Don't be left out. Register today at http://store.yahoo.com/yhst-13837176072520/exsawoanmdma.html.

If you don't know about the Experience Sanskrit workshop, it's a fun and unforgettable way to learn and remember the Sanakrit names of yoga poses. Find out more at http://experienceyoga.org/.

p.p.s., You don't have to go to seven years of school at Hogwart's Academy to experience an Adventure of Self-Discovery. But you can come with us, across the border, to the beatiful coastal village of Yelapa for a week of incredible beauty and Anusara-inspired yoga instruction that's just like the gems you get from these Daily Yoga Tips.

Please come with us. You'll be floored by the simplicity and beauty of Yelapa. You'll never forget the friendships you forge with your fellow yogis. The people of Yelapa will find their way into your heart. And a year later, you'll still be integrating the yoga principles and techniques we explore together in the yoga room.

Sallie and I just booked our flights today from St. Louis into Puerto Vallarta. Airline prices dipped just like gas prices! We got a great deal at $545. Join us today, won't you? February 18-25, 2006. Space is limited. Learn more at http://experienceyoga.org/vacations.asp . Or call me at 573 680-6737.

p.p.p.s., Find out more about Deepak Chopra's book The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga at
http://tinyurl.com/79vz4

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved. Mo Yoga LLC.

A Hard Landing

I was bouncing tonight at the beginning of a class I taught.

I was on one of those big Swiss balls, or stability balls.

Surprise! With a loud bang the ball popped. Down I went, landing on my tailbone.

I felt that horrible compression feeling in my low back as my vertebrae jammed together.

But I laid on my back for a while and let it release. I felt fine right away.

Why was I bounching, you ask? Good question.

Read my Daily Yoga Tip from back on April 27 to get the story on why you should be bouncing, too.

You can read it at http://experienceyoga.blogspot.com/2005/04/put-little-bounce-in-your-wellness.html .

By the way, this is a Daily Yoga Tip. And frankly, I don't consider bouncing on a big stability ball to be yoga. So be sure to read all the way down to the "p.s." on that bouncing tip to find out how you can achieve the same benefits by being upside-down in inverted yoga poses.

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., We just made an agreement today to come back to Texas to conduct the Experience Sanskrit workshop in Fort Worth on January 28, 2006. Keep reading these Daily Yoga Tips for the details. We should have the location and times out later this week.

And we're going to be in the Philadelphia, PA area on February 4, 2006. Keep checking in with me here at the Daily Yoga Tip and I'll give you all the details.

Until then, I wanted to let you know that the Experience Sanskrit workshop at Golden Heart Yoga in Annapolis, MD, March 4, 2006 is filling up fast. Don't be left out. Register today at http://store.yahoo.com/yhst-13837176072520/exsawoanmdma.html .

If you don't know about the Experience Sanskrit workshop, it's a fun and unforgettable way to learn and remember the Sanakrit names of yoga poses. Find out more at http://experienceyoga.org/.

Quick. Do a Google search on hanumansana and astavakrasana. Find picture of these two poses. Many of our participants in the Experience Sanskrit workshop are able to do these poses for the first time at the Experience Sanskrit workshop.

Why should you want to know this? Because I don't just teach people how to remember Sanskrit names of yoga poses. I teach them to do yoga! When we're in Annapolis, we're staying over for an extra day. I'll be teaching a two hour asana workshop on Sunday, March 5. Don't miss it. Register now at http://store.yahoo.com/yhst-13837176072520/exyoaswoanmd.html.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved. Mo Yoga LLC.

Yogic Eating; Half Full or Half Empty?

Imagine a photograph of you and your family, standing behind a table. In front of you is spread all of the food you collectivley eat in one week.

For at least 30 families, this picture isn't hard to imagine. Husband and wife, author and photographer, Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio traveled the world, 24 countries in all, to document just what families eat.

They compiled their findings along with the family food photos in a book, just released, called Hungry Planet: What the World Eats.

I listened to their interview a few days ago on NPR. You can hear it at
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5005952 .

They talked about vast differences between families of different parts of the world--differences in quantity, packaging, satisfaction, and more. They talked about their favorite meal, actic chard, which I still haven't figured out.

I liked most of all their tale about the eating habits of the people of Okinawa, where they have the highest percentage of centenarians in the world.

Okinawan men live to an average age of 78, women, 86.

Most of the elderly in that country live by the Confucian-inspierd adage "hara hachi bu," which means, "eat until your stomach is 80 percent full."

I've tried this over the last couple of days. It's hard. Not just because I like to eat. But because you REALLY must pay attention. You've got to tune in to even begin to estimate what 80 percent of "full" might be.

All this talk about food got me wondering what the ancient yogis had to say about filling up on food.

In the 5th chapter of the Gheranda Samhita, Gheranda tells Chanda "the skullbearer":

Should the yogi undertake the practice of Yoga without having a measured diet, he will get several diseases and his Yoga will in no way be successful. (16)
A measured diet is said to consist of food that is pure, sweet, rich, leaves half the stomach empty, and is eaten with love for the gods.(21)
One should fill half the stomach with food, a quarter with water, and leave the fourth quarter for the movement of air. (22)

Sounds like good advice to me.

Eat well, and it will sustain your practice.

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., I've just done what I try never to do. I told you about something I've never experienced myself. I've never disciplined myself to eat routinely so that my stomach is never more than half full. So I don't know what results it produces. I don't know if it "works."

If you have or gain some experience eating this way, I'd like to hear about it. Please send me an email and tell me about your experience. Thank you. I'm at info@ExperienceYoga.org.

p.p.s., The excerpts above from the Ghearnda Samhita are taken from a translation by James Mallinson that I own and like. You can "Search Inside" it if you log on as an Amazon.com user
here.

p.p.p.s., Speaking of pure food...I can't say enough about how wonderful the food (and staff) are at the Hotel La-Gunita in Yelapa, Mexico. When we were there with our Experience Paradise Yoga Vacation group last January, everyone ranted about the food.

We had only fresh food for one whole week. It was extraordinary.

Every morning the bartender gave us pitchers full of freshly squeezed orange juice. He was standing there under the palapa cutting and squeezing oranges in the dark as we tip-toed across the beach to the yoga room for meditation and pranayama.

When we came out for breakfast we always had homemade yogurt, homemade granola, and freshly sliced mango and pineapple.

That's just breakfast. I haven't even spoken of pie yet.

And I haven't spoken about the yoga, either. You won't ever forget your yoga vacation in Yelapa. Register now at http://experienceyoga.org/vacations.asp.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Honoring the Warrior

Happy Veteran’s Day. I hope you've had a wonderful day.

Today, Americans honor those who’ve served in the military and kept our country secure.

Thank you, vets! I am grateful for your tremendous personal sacrifices.

Yoga honors a great hero of war by dedicating a pose to him. That great warrior is the mighty General of the Army of monkeys and bears who served Rama. His name is Hanuman.

Hanumanasana (pronounced hah-new-mahn-AH-sun) is the pose we typically call the splits. This pose, with one leg extended out in front, and the other stretched out behind, recalls the great leaps Hanuman made across the Straits to Ceylon. He was in search of his master’s wife, Sita.


hanumanasana

When he found her in her captor's compound, he lept again across the straits and gathered his army. They tossed rocks in the water and built a causeway across the straits by which they could cross over.

On the other side, they defeated the enemy and reunited Sita with Rama. Jai Hanuman!

But Sita's brother was pierced by an arrow in battle. His death was near. The herbalist could save him only with the juice from a plant found on the top of the Himalayan mountains.

So strong was Hanuman's dedication to Rama, he lept across the straits again. But once atop the mountain, he couldn't identify the medicinal herb. So he scooped the peak off the top of the mountain and lept back. The herbalist found what he needed and Sita's brother was saved.

This story of Hanuman is told in the Ramayana, one of the great epic tales of India.

Even though the story recounts Hanuman's incredible powers, he is remembered most for his unmatched devotion to Rama.


Hanuman

In addition to Hanuman's devotion to Rama, I want to focus on one other aspect of military life.

When I enetered the Air Force Academy as a cadet back in 1979, I did what every other American fighting man has done. I trained.

Every soldier begins his or her military life with Basic Training. During this period of intense instruction and practice, nearly everything about your life changes. The way you talk, the way you walk, the way you dress and the way you think are all changed by this carefully orchestrated series of events.

And soldiers continue to train.

When I left the Air Force, I was able to do things I never imagined I could do.

Some of you look at hanumanasana and say "never." "It can't be done."

But hanumanasana is like riding a bike. Or driving a car. Or swimming. If someone who knows how to do it teaches you to do it, and if you practice, you can do it too.

Only your disbelief keeps you from it.

Be like the great Hanuman and all veterans. Learn. Practice, And discipline yourself with great devotion.

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The story of Hanuman is one of the "stories behind the pose" that we encounter at the Experience Sanskrit workshop. When you learn the story, you never forget the pose or its Sanskrit name.

Many of our new friends in Texas were shocked to learn that, with a little instruction, they could do hanumanasana before the left for home from the Experience Sanskrit workshop!

Our next Experience Sanskrit workshop is March 4 at Golden Heart Yoga in Annapolis, Maryland. Register today at http://store.yahoo.com/yhst-13837176072520/exsawoanmdma.html .

p.p.s., I'm inspired by the Ramayana. But it's not the only thing that inspires me. The beauty of Yelapa and the generosity of the people there inspire me, too.

I received an email today from my friend Judith in Yelapa, Mexico. She has invited our Experience Paradise Yoga Vacation group to join with her for one of her children's yoga classes in the village. After the class, she wants us to stay for a fabulous meal of fish, cooked by her neighbor using a family recipe. My mouth is watering.

I can't wait to get back to Yelapa. I hope you'll consider coming with us February 18-25, 2006. Space is limited. Airline ticket prices are escalating. Learn more at http://experienceyoga.org/vacations.asp .

p.p.p.s., My favorite copy of the Ramayana is by Ranchor Prime. The illustrations in this book are fabulous. Click here.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

RICE or MICE

I spent a couple hours last night in the Emergency Room with my daughter.

She twisted her ankle at dance class. It was big and very painful.

All is well. Nothing's broken.

But on the way to the hospital we had quite a discussion about how RICE has been replaced with MICE.

Just in case you didn't know, I thought I'd pass this little nugget of wisdom on to you. Oh, and when you mention this to others, don't be surprised if they tell you I'm wrong.

RICE is an acronym for what you should do after a soft tissue injury. It stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. The R, for Rest, is most often translated as immobilization. That means you should splint or brace your injured body part so it doesn't move.

The remainder of the acronym is pretty self-explanitory. Chilling the sore spot with ice helps reduce swelling and decreases pain.

Wrapping your injury with an elastic bandage also helps you avoid swelling and pooling of body fluids around the injury. This type of compression also snugs the soft tissue up against bone, which aids in healing and pain reduction.

Elevation also helps avoid or eliminate swelling, which is painful and delays healing.

So what's wrong with RICE? Not too much. But MICE works better.

What should you do? MICE a soft tissue injury. Move it. Ice it. Compress it during the breaks between your "keep it moving" sessions, and Elevate it (preferably while stretching and moving the affected body parts).

Now you know the scheme. But first you need to make sure you don't have a catastrophic injury (fractured bone or muscle shred). Then get busy. You'll be back in play sooner that with RICE.

This is also one of those examples of how that which is true on a smaller scale is also true on a larger scale. The general idea is that movement is healing. Your body was meant to move. When you spend long stretches of time sitting at a desk or lying on the couch your health begins to diminish.

So move. And MICE when you need to.

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., This is my note of special thanks to Shanon Buffington and Lisa Marshall who took such great care of us this weekend while we were in Dallas. Their hospitality and kindness were amazing and appreciated! Sallie and I had a great time at the Surya Center for Yoga. It was so great to meet so many fabulous Texas yogis. We can't wait to go back. Plans are already in the works.

p.p.s., So many of you sent me warm birthday greetings. Thank you. I enjoyed every one of them. How inspiring!

p.p.p.s., If you'd like to read the amazing story of Tom Nohilly, who used MICE to recover quickly from a severe ankle sprain he got when he hit a barrier in the steeple chase prelims at the 1992 Olympic Trials, see pages xxi and xxii in The Wharton's Stretch Book here.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Thankful for Another Year

It's my birthday. I've had a great day.

One of the things I've done today is look back and take stock of the year that has passed since my last birthday.

In the past year I:

• taught in Mexico for the first time,
  
• bid farewell to my Mom as she made her journey to the next life,
• struggled with failing eyesight (I'm 45 years old),
• started praying and meditating consistently for the first time in my life,
  
• started teaching yoga at a new yoga center in Columbia,
• joined the choir at church,
• quit the job I've had for seven years, to start a new one,
• started writing a Daily Yoga Tip, and
  
• designed, imported from China, marketed, and sold products in the US and around the world.

I could not have predicted most of these things would happen. Some of them I've had a role in. Others, it seems, "just happened."

I am thankful for my life and the people near me. My family, my students, my firends and colleagues are, for the most part, loving and generous.

They're loyal, too. What I haven't listed above are my many failings, which they have graciously overlooked.

For all of this I am grateful.

Of course, this is a Daily Yoga Tip, so I must say something about yoga.

Practice contentment. Be satisfied. Try. Earnetly make efforts towards your goals, but then be accepting of the results that come your way. This is a profound spiritual practice taught by the sage Patanjali.

"Of the five Niyamas (observances)... the Second is Santosha, contentment. Patanjali urges us to live life from a place of satisfaction and delight with whatever fate may bring, knowing that all is for the highest good. Santosha reminds us to live in gratitude for what we have rather than yearn for something else. Tapas, the third niyama, is austerity and self-discipline. Tapas literally means "heat." With burning desire, we are to do whatever it takes to endure "the heat" as we pursue our goals." (Johanna Mosca, PhD)

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., If you'd like to give me a gift for my birthday, please send me an email today. Let me know if you've benefited from from any of my Daily Yoga Tips you've read. I'd like to hear how you've been helped. Or, send me a question or topic you'd like to hear about. I love to hear from you.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Practice Your Promise

Listening to the radio this weekend I heard an excerpt from a fascinating project called StoryCorps. Their web page says, "StoryCorps is a national project to instruct and inspire people to record each others' stories in sound."

The story I heard was a conversation between a young woman, Cinema Wood, and her grandmother, Peggy Edwards. Cinema is about to marry and she was asking for advice.

You can hear the story at:
http://storycorps.net/audio/edwards.mp3 .

I liked what Ms. Edwards had to say about her long, strong marriage. She said, "Go slow. It's not a marathon. It's a stroll."

It's a subtle distinction. A marathon implies a race with its inherent urgency to get to the end. While a stroll suggests a comfortable pace at which you can enjoy what you're doing, so much so that you hope it never ends.

What a great way to view marriage. And what a great way to view your yoga practice, too!

Don't get in such a hurry to make progress. Slow down and pay attention along the way so you can enjoy your yoga practice.

The StoryCorps conversation also reminded me of something I wrote about my parents and their marriage back in 2003 when they were celebrating their 50th anniversary.

I'm republishing it here for you today. Enjoy.

"In just a few days my parents will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. It’s a major milestone. So I hope you’ll permit me this personal indulgence: “Congratulations, Mom & Dad!” I’m proud of them. And I’m amazed by what they’ve done together.

"Extraordinary accomplishments in any area of life are inspiring. Lasting accomplishments—deeds that can’t be done in one fell swoop, particularly encourage me.

"When I began studying yoga years ago I had many opportunities to meet extraordinary yogis. Sometimes what I saw bordered on shocking. What I believed was humanly possible shifted when I witnessed what these people could do. A whole new world of fitness, well-being, and skill opened up to me as I saw what they produced through decades of practice.

"I eventually came to expect a pattern that I’ve now seen many times. Almost every one of these notable teachers would get around to saying that what they do can’t be done without practice. “Practice is the best teacher,” they’d say. Then they’d quote the yoga authority Patanjali, who said, “Practice is firmly established when it is done with reverent devotion, uninterrupted, for a long time.” (YogaSutras 1.12)

"I’d leave these encounters inspired. I was re-armed with this handy-dandy easy-to-memorize guide that told me if I did my yoga for a long time, didn’t take any hiatus, and was fervent and focused, I could do what they did.

"My parents have proven to me the truth of Patanjali’s aphorism. Their marriage wouldn’t have produced what it has, without reverent devotion and unwavering persistence.

"Here’s another truth for me (and I’d bet it’s true for Mom, Dad, and those amazing yogis): some days I don’t feel devoted; I feel like taking a day (or a month) off; I can’t muster a molecule of persistence. On some of those days, rather than being inspired by the amazing feats of others, I’m humbled. I’m discouraged. Their greatness makes me feel weak or inadequate. I don’t want to think of the cool stuff they’ve done because it makes me feel like a gnat.

"Fifty years later, I realize now that my parents were no less married on their first day together than they are now. I can look at their decades together and be overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude. Or I can realize that one day, just like any other day, they got out of bed and did ordinary things like brush their teeth, comb their hair, and eat their meals. But in addition to those ordinary things, they got up in front of their families and friends and promised to live together and work together faithfully. They made a commitment to take care of each other even on dark days when the thought of anything longer than a day was unimaginable.

"When I look back over the years, I believe that it was the promise, the commitment, that really counted.

"Maybe you’ll join me today in making a commitment. Make a promise. It might even be a promise to try yoga or practice yoga regularly. Then see what that commitment brings. Maybe decades from now you’ll look back and be shocked and amazed by the fruits of your unwavering persistence and dedication."

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., Happy Halloween to all you spooks out there.

p.p.s., Hello to all you new Daily Yoga Tip readers in Maryland. The word about our Experience Sanskrit workshop in Annapolis (March 4, 2006) is getting around. We're looking forward to seeing you in the New Year.

For those of you who can't wait for the New Year, meet us this weekend in Dallas. We're offering the Experience Sanskrit workshop at the Surya Center for Yoga in Coppell Saturday at 1:30 pm. Find out more at http://www.suryacenteryoga.com/upcomingeventsworkshops.htm .

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Autumnal Expansion

It's so beautiful here today.

The temperature is perfect outside. The sun is shining. The sky is clear. Everywhere I look I see beautifully colored leaves. I smell the smoke of burning fireplaces all throughout our neighborhood. It's gorgeous.

We've started shifting to those warm, thick comfort foods, too. It seems I can't get enough soup, chewy bread, chili, and hot cocoa.

The windows in our bedroom are only slightly cracked. I love the cool fresh air for sleeping. Our beds are piled with thick blankets. I'll admit it, once the sun goes down, I'm ready to cocoon in the thick clothes and comforts of home.

But here's one thing I've noticed. When there's just the slightest breeze outside, my whole body starts to shrink, to compact itself, to grip and brace against the penetrating winds.

I came in from the car a couple nights ago with all of the muscles on the back of my neck gripping tightly. It hurt.

This contracture is a natural, protective reflex. It's a defense mechanism. You were born with it, for your protection.

But like any good thing, too much of a good thing can be BAD.

One of the things I love about Anusara yoga is that it recognizes the universal truth that everthing must be balanced. Each of the actions in the Five Universal Principles of Alignment is balanced by an opposite action.

In particuar, muscular engergy is balanced by organic expansion.

Muscular energy is the beneficial action of toning the muscles and drawing them from both the surface of the body towards the bones and from the distal limbs toward the trunk.

Organic expansion is both the widening and broadening of the trunk, along with the extension of the long bones out away from the center of the body.

If you overdo or underdo either one of these actions, you're imbalanced and you start to deviate from the optimal blueprint for your body. Pain, like that pain in my neck I mentioned earlier, usually gets your attention. And you start looking for a solution.

Might I suggest you start somewhere other than your medicine cabinet?

If you live where it's cold, start watching for the reflexive tightening and shrinking of your body. Then intentionally expand. Broaden your trunk. Lift your head. Straighten your limbs. And lengthen your long bones. Breathe. Take up more space!

But you might want to get warm first. Several rounds of sun salutations (surya namaskar) should do the trick!

Here's to a beautiful and balanced Autumn season for us all!

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., If you read this Daily Yoga Tip with any regularity, you probably recognize that I love playing with words, puns, double entendre, literary devices and homonyms. I think I get it from my Dad and his whole family. Give them a free moment and there's a crossword puzzle or something like it being attacked.

When I read today's Daily Yoga Tip, one word comes to mind: juxtapose.

BKS Iyengar has been attributed with saying, "Every pose should have some repose." It's brilliant. Every asana involves some work, some effort, but also ease, rest. It's almost a restating of Patanjali's "the posture of yoga is steady and easy."

Maybe someone will attribute this saying to me, "To pose is to juxtapose."

Juxtapose means to bring two things into close proximity for comparison, to see more clearly their differences, or perhaps that they are opposite.

To really practice a yoga pose you must integrate opposites into one body, one mind, one person.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Tree Pose Check-up

It's Saturday. If you're like me, you've already been out to the store for something you need around the house this weekend.

If you're back in a store later today, look carefully at how people stand while they're waiting in line.

A very common posture looks like this:

• most of the weight is shifted into one leg,
• the leg that is bearing the most weight is hyper-extended at the knee joint,
• the pelvis is shifted forward so the standing leg is not plumb, when viewed from the side, and
• the pelvis is tipped so it appears that the contents of the abdomen are spilling forward and out.

Understanding these four postural features is helpful in conducting the tree pose (vrksasana) check-up I am recommending today.

Why do people do this when they stand? I believe it's a combination of muscle weakness, the desire for convenient stability, and habit.

Let's start with stability first. If you stand with most of your weight in one leg and you sink your weight so you feel heavy, you'll notice you become more stable. You can stand this way for a long time because you're "hanging" in your joints. The joints lock out and you need little muscular effort to maintain the position.

It's convenient. It's stable. And it's a habit; you're accustomed to it. Bad news: it's also tough on your joints.

This body pattern is also static. It's not dynamic.

The energy of life flows. But hanging in your joint inhibits the flow of prana. Energy gets congested. Muscles weaken. Attentiveness is dulled.

Soon you don't even notice that you're spending much of your life with the front of your pelvis tipped down and your abdomen, lacking tone, protruding. It's the well-known and much despised "abdominal pooch."

Once you adopt this common stance in daily life, it's easy to habitually express it in tree pose...for the same reasons, convenient stability and weakness.

It's ironic then, that you can, and should, increase your stability by lifting up, by lengthening your spine and whole body up. When you do this, you:

• create space in the joints (prana flows),
• align the skeleton so that you become structurally stronger (hard work with the muscles is not needed),
• avoid undue wear and tear on your joints,
• don't need to shift large body segments around to counter-balance the "sag" in balancing poses, and most importantly
• are supported by gravity when aligned with its flow; you're buoyed up, rather than dragged down.

So don't surrender to gravity and sink into standing poses.

Now stand near a wall and come into tree pose. It's time for your tree pose check-up.

Reach out an touch the wall any time you need it. The adjustments I'm suggesting will probably throw you off balance at first.

First, check to see if your groins are hard. (See my previous Daily Yoga Tip.) It's more likely that your groin on the straight leg side will be hard and protruding. Hang onto the wall, you'll need to do enough of a forward bend (see the hips move back?) to soften the hard groins.

I'll caution you. If you've been "hanging" in tree pose for convenient stability, this forward bend to soften the groins will confuse your balance. So stick with it. Don't bail out early. Softening your hard groins will reveal your "hidden backbend."

Next, put a micro-bend in the knee of the straight leg. You'll notice right away that this requires you to use leg muscles. You proabaly won't like it. It reveals knee hyperextension. Hyperextension is easier, by far.

Lastly, without shifting your pelvis forward again, tuck your tailbone and draw the circumference around the navel back.

Then reach the arms over head and lengthen the side ribs, pulling the torso up out of the pelvis. You should feel light!

If you have difficulty with any of these instructions, that difficulty provides the revealing function of this tree pose check-up. That difficulty shows you where you've been "hanging out," surrendered to the pull of gravity, rather than "growing up" like a majestic tree, supported and buoyed by perfect alignment with the flow of the universe.

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., Vrksa means "tree" in Sanskrit. Therefore, vrksasana is tree pose. But what's adho mukha vrksasana? It literally means "downward facing tree pose." What's that, you ask? It's handstand or full arm balance.

This points to one of the problems with learning the Sanskrit names of yoga poses: we know poses by their common English names, which often have no correlation to the literal English translations of the Sanskrit word roots. We'll help you sort it all out at the Experience Sanskrit workshop coming up one week from today in Dallas.

You won't want to miss this fun, four-hour workshop at the Surya Center for Yoga. Register today at http://store.yahoo.com/yhst-13837176072520/exsawodatxno.html. The price has already gone up to $60. So get in now, before the workshop sells out. You get a 100-page companion course guide to use and take home with you.

Find out more at www.ExperienceYoga.org.

p.p.s., This is a very special greeting to my 10-year old daughter Richelle, who lost a tooth (a molar, in fact) on Thursday. In honor of this auspicious event I will give my Daily Yoga Tip readers a mantra to recite. This is a mantra that invokes and honors Lord Ganesha, the elephant-faced deity, who is always portrayed with one broken tusk. Ganesha is known as the remover of all obstacles.

The mantra goes like this:

Aum ekadantaya namah

Namah mean "I bow to you" or "greetings, salutations." Ekadantaya means "One who has one tusk."

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami says that "Ekadanta refers to one tusk in the elephant face, which means God broke the duality and made you to have a one-pointed mind." He also recommends that you repeat this mantra 108 times, with "sincere devotion," concentrating on the meaning, every day for 48 days. Be sure to do this practice, after you've bathed or washed your limbs, at the same place and time.

Remember, if you don't want to repeat this mantra, you can still remove the obstacles to achieving the state of yoga. Patanjali says "To overcome the obstacles and their accompaniments, the intense application of the will to some one truth (or principle) is required." (YogaSutras I:32) You can focus your meditation on any single truth.

p.p.p.s., We're also conducting the Experience Sanskrit workshop on March 4, 2006 at Golden Heart Yoga in Annapolis, Maryland. Find out more about Golden Heart Yoga at http://www.goldenheartyoga.com/. And we're staying an extra day for an asana workshop on Sunday. Make plans to attend now.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Hard Groins, Locked Pelvis, Hidden Backbend

The dictionary says that a groin is "a crease or hollow at the junction of the inner part of each thigh with the trunk."

I'm giving you this definition because "groin" is a generic term. It's not specific. Groins can be hard to find. And they're hard to teach about because...well because your groins are close to your private parts. And I can't just walk up to you and point at your groins or touch your groins without the possibility of ruining your yoga experience and my reputation.

Yet the groins hold to the key to a very simple but powerful yoga tip.

If you can figure out where your groins are, you can touch them. And you can be sure when you touch them that if your groins are hard and protruding, your pelvis is less functional than it would be if your groins were soft and hollow.

You can stop reading right there if you want to. It's a great tip in and of itself.

This trouble with hard protuding groins is never more obvious to me than at the start of wide-leg standing poses.

Take triangle pose (utthita trikonasana), for instance. To do triangle pose you first step your feet wide apart, then your turn your feet and legs. Since I usually start on the right side, I turn my left foot inward, then I rotate my right leg and foot outward so that my right knee and foot point to the right.

For most of us, we haven't yet begun the pose, but our fate is already sealed by a locked up pelvis.

You can find this out for yourself if you follow the instuctions I just gave you above. (Don't just read about it. Get up. Do it.) If you've got your feet turned so they point to the right, like I asked you to, you'll probably notice a few common body patterns:

1. Your shoulders, abdomen and pelvis are probably turned slightly (or not so slightly) to the right also. So instead of being squared up with the wall in front of you, you've rotated rightward.
2. Your right hip is lower than your left hip.
3. Your left groin is hard and protruding, while your right groin is soft and hollow.

When one or both groins are hard and protruding, you're not as free to move your pelvis as you would be if they were both soft and hollow. If your left groin were soft and hollow you could more easily shift your pelvis into a deeper triangle pose.

So how do you make your left groin soft and hollow? Bend forward. When you do a forward bend, notice that your torso moves forward and your pelvis moves backward. When your pelvis is back, your groins are soft and hollow and you can move it freely now into the pose.

Maybe the most important thing to notice here is that many of us, whether we're standing around or doing a yoga posture, are doing a "hidden" backbend. We're backbending, but we don't know it. When I look at most untrained yoga students from the side in nearly any standing pose, their legs are not vertical. Rather, their pelvises are positioned forward (over their toes, not their ankles) so their legs appear to be leaning forward. They look that way because they are learning forward.

If you begin your triangle pose with a hidden backbend and a hard groin, it's unlikely you'll get rid of it as you come down into the final position. So check it out. In your triangle pose, are your torso and head thrown back in a back bend? If they are, the opposite hip will be thrust forward and the groin will be hard.

So start checking yourself for hard protruding groins in standing poses. If you've got 'em, chances are good you're backbending and you don't know it. Forward bend enough to make the groins hollow and you're on your way.

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
http://www.experienceyoga.org/

p.s., I was teaching the Experience Sanskrit workshop a couple months ago in St. Louis when one of my students said she remembers that the Sanskrit word kona (as in trikonasana) means "angle" because she associates it with the word "corner." Brilliant. Get it? Kona sorta sound like "corner."

That's what the Experience Sanskrit workshop is all about...association. We give you vivid experiences that you can associate with yoga poses so that the Sanskrit names become unforgettable. Don't miss this great opportunity to join us for this fun, four-hour workshop.

Our next workshop date is in Dallas at the Surya Center for Yoga on November 5. It's coming soon. So register at http://store.yahoo.com/yhst-13837176072520/exsawodatxno.html. Do it before Saturday, when the price goes up to $60. You get a 100-page companion course guide to use and take home with you. Register today.

Find out more at http://www.experienceyoga.org/.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.