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.