03/26/08

When spring comes, I am drawn to the more physical practices of yoga. I have noticed that if I don't begin to move my body on a regular basis that as the days become longer, instead of feeling joy, I feel melancholy and out of
sorts. When these feelings of sadness begin to happen I now understand the root cause. Usually it just means that I need to honor my bodies need for shedding the sluggishness that winter can bring on.

Fortunately, the remedy is simple-move my body and eat foods that are in line with the springtime and are slightly cleansing. A gentle purification for the body and eventually the mind. To feel right in my world all I need to do is something physical that brings me joy and incorporate some of the fresh foods that my body naturally craves such as romaine lettuce, asparagus and all the wonderful spring greens that are beginning to show up in the produce aisle. How gentle is that? A simple yoga class and a healthy salad. It doesn't take much and my lifestyle becomes supportive to what I need.

I am a Kripalu Yoga Teacher and I love what the Kripalu tradition has to say about yoga as an exercise. Kripalu views yoga as a
transformative process that acts as an intensive housecleaning for the entire physical and mental systems. The practice of yoga is meant to purify. First a physical purification takes place as the body rids itself of the subtle impurities that stand in the way of vibrant health. Then yoga aims to remove the negative thought patterns that render the mind unsteady. Yoga helps us to feel absolutely right with our inner perceptions of who we are and let our best self shine forth.

If we feel sluggish or not right in our own bodies and minds, yoga is the perfect prescription to remedy this. A regular exercise and moderate eating program allows the body to begin to gradually eliminate its backlog of
impurities.

Swami Kripalu recommended making slow but steady lifestyle changes and deepening your yoga practice at a modest pace.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from Swami Kripalu on yoga, exercise, and food:

"The body plays a significant role in human life. Without a body, we would not be able to perform a single action. With a body that is fully fit and healthy, we can perform many actions effectively. If the body is not fit, the other approaches to growth can not help us all that much"

"Everyone knows that it is best to eat moderately. Most people, however, only understand this intellectually and eat indiscriminately. People also know that it is important to exercise regularly in order to digest their food properly. Yet people rarely exercise enough and their food does not digest properly. As a result, physical waste
products are not excreted completely and go on collecting in the body. In much the same way, negative ideas accumulate in the mind. Purifying the body and the mind is not as easy as one might think. It is necessary to be
very patient."

"Many people mistakenly believe that eating moderately means taking only a small, fixed quantity of food per day. When a person exercises a little, his appetite is naturally reduced, so he should eat less than usual. On days when he exercises a lot, his appetite is increased, so he should eat more than usual. Thus, a person must guage how much he needs to eat at each meal by how much he exercises. One's appetite also increases or decreases according to one's emotions, for the body and mind are so intricately related. In this way, each meal tests our powers of discrimination."

"Exercise is a temple that purifies the body and mind. "

"Find physical exercises that suit your body and temperament and practice them daily."

"Lovers of health and vitality focus on physical exercise and develop their body until it is fit and firm. But their exclusive focus on the body prevents them form developing their minds. Lovers of the mind and willpower focus on mental exercise and develop their minds. But their exclusive focus on the mind prevents them from developing physical strength. The yogi develops the body and mind in a balanced way."

"For those doing manual labor all day, exercise is not necessary as the body needs rest. For those doing mental work all day, physical exercise is a way to give the mind a rest."

and finally..............my favorite quote from Swami Kripalu:

"You may often feel you that are not progressing, but if you are practicing to the best of your capacity that is an illusion. There is always progress being made, but you may not recognize it. In these practices, you need an ocean of patience. It is impossible to practice the big ocean of yoga if you have only one drop of patience."

May we all know true patience with ourselves,

Jai,