This has definitely been a bittersweet journey. I am so relieved to have figured out why my head was hurting almost all the time. Concurrently, it has been frustrating and sad. It is frustrating on several levels. There is almost no on-the-go, easy food that is gluten-free and vegetarian (I am a lacto-ovo vegetarian). I […]
As part of Axis Yoga’s teacher training program, students are taught basic ayurvedic principals as they apply to their lifestyle, diet and yoga practice. As a component of this exercise students also take on a personal experiment to begin to implement these teachings. One of Axis Yoga’s guiding principals is that students need to embody […]
It just so happened that fall started settling in about the time that our Ayurveda unit fired up in YTT. As the wind came up and the temperatures went down, I noticed my low back tightening up more than usual. I’ve been experiencing chronic low pain from 2 torn discs and a genetic disorder of […]
Here are the items (mostly from Dr. Lad’s book) that I incorporated into my experiment, along with a few notes on the experience: – Herbal Remedies – Valerian (muscle relaxant) – took in the form of a capsule each evening for one week before bed; slept noticeably better and woke feeling more rested, although I was […]
In hindsight, beginning to do all these things at once makes it difficult to break down exactly what’s helping and how much, but with only a few weeks to conduct the experiment and with the hope of relieving pain, I was willing to forego some of the scientific approach for the trade-off of feeling better. […]
As part of Denver’s Axis Yoga teacher training program, students choose a yama (yogic principle) to apply to their daily lives. They are asked to design experiments that challenge them while deepening their understanding of the yama’s application. This student chose to experiment with Brahmacharya to re-direct his sexual energy into his spiritual practice. He finds that […]
In researching this yama I looked at readings from several books and wrote down the following quotes which spoke to me: A person who is a Brahmacharya lives in Brahmin (god) and sees Brahmin in everyone. Continence is chastity* in word, thought, and deed…Sex is inseparable from attachment, and attachment is an obstacle to spiritual […]
If Bramhamacharya is about re-focusing sexual energy, then if I focus that energy on spiritual practice, I will become more aware of my interconnectedness with others on an energetic level and that will reduce my focus on the more primal physical or ego-based connections (ie the source of my non-virtuous words, thoughts, & deeds). The […]
Before beginning this experiment I had already begun examining my attitudes towards sex and relationships. I had found that I was constantly looking for a partner, and primarily evaluating people I met on that basis, which I found to be self-centered and disrespectful. I also had found that being in a relationship consumed my time […]
CHOICE: The earliest observation I made in this process was about choice. Having set the above intentions, I became aware of every opportunity that arose to break those intentions and having to make a conscious choice about my behavior. Some obstacles I ran into: Limiting how much I talk about sex or other people in […]