Tag Archive for: Axis

Beyond Asana: My Experience

I looked forward to getting up every morning and performing my routine, especially singing the Gayatri Mantra. Some days I would sing it three times and other days I did not want to stop and sang it at least ten times one morning. The Mantra made the space my own and the action of singing relieved some of the pressure I had felt in the past about sitting alone with my thoughts. My first week I successfully sat in silence and for a maximum of 20 minutes, and as the weeks progressed I was able sit for 40 minutes, some days going over time. My first week I felt I had more energy, relied less on caffeine, and was overall clear minded and content.

My second week of this experiment, I began to experience very vivid dreams of events that had happened to me in the past. These were event I did not remember or perhaps chose not to remember, but knew they had happened. I, myself was not the main character in the dream, but rather watched the same event I had as experienced happen to another person. I was an outsider looking in on my own life’s history. I did not feel nearly as happy or clear minded my second week as I had my first and debated stopping my pranayama practice because I did not want to be burdened by these dreams every night. I did not realize how much I lived my life day to day, and chose to ignore how past experiences shaped me. It was not a pleasant experience to look at a direct reflection of myself, but realized it was something I had avoided and needed to finally face. My second week could be described as an inward discovery of myself, where my life’s path had led me and where I wanted it to lead me.

By the third week of my experiment, my practice started to come full circle and felt calm, happy as I did the first week. Diving deeper into my subconscious was difficult at times, but in the end I had gained perspective on my life. In my dreams I had experienced events as an outside party, allowing me to suspend judgments about myself and move forward rather than feel stuck by one event in my life. The intention I began during my third week was asking for more patience and understanding of myself therefore allowing for a greater amount of self-love.

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Beyond Asana: My Outcome

This experiment helped me deepen my own personal sadhana practice and I become comfortable with meditating alone. Of course there were days when I struggled to relax or questioned if I was doing it “the right way”, but I just reminded myself of an Iyengar quote I had heard “Breath is the king of mind.” That quote took the strain and pressure off focusing my mind and allowed me to just sit in silence and focus on my breath, and things fell into place from there.

Starting a pranayama practice separately from my asana practice helped me grow and strengthen a piece of my practice that was once weak and deficient.  I gained the peace and clarity I had hoped, while discovering pieces of myself I had left unexplored. This experiment helped me to see my life’s path more clearly and strengthened my emotional immunity. I feel I have more love, patience and understanding for others because I have more love, patience and understanding of myself.

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Wanted: Sleep

Insomnia can wreak havoc on your life. And that’s just what this Axis Yoga Teacher Training student was starting to experience. The Axis YTT program provided the platform for this student to experiment with Ayurvedic treatment of insomnia. Ayurveda, the sister-science to Yoga, has helped many students deal with their own health conditions. Experimenting with the Ayurvedic principles they learn in class allows students to have a greater understanding of the benefits of this ancient system of medicine. Here we see yet another story of success.

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Wanted: Sleep – Vata Imbalance

In the most recent past I was experiencing vata imbalances. As a result, I wasn’t sleeping as well as I should have been; close to 3 hours a night at the most. According to the Ayurvedic Home Remedies by Vasant Lad, vata induced insomnia is caused by stressors and sometimes depression. Furthermore, my insomnia was becoming a problem. I was falling behind in my classes and not healing from strep a few weeks prior. Thus, I decided that my Ayurveda experiment was going to be designed to overcome my sleeping issues.

To begin, I basically followed a regiment recommended by Lad. This includes dietary remedies, oil massages, and meditation practices.

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Wanted: Sleep – Dietary Remedies

It was suggested in the Ayurvedic Home Remedies book to drink warm milk before bed. Considering that I prefer not to drink dairy milk, I substituted with almond milk. I thought this was also a good idea since the book also suggested that one add blanched or crushed almond to their warm milk as well. Moreover, I would also stir in nutmeg and cardamom. I enjoyed this nighttime concoction because I wasn’t drinking tea before bed and consuming.

One remedy I did begin with, but did not continue, was garlic milk. To put it simply, it was gross and I didn’t want to drink it.

Another dietary element I added to my daily routine was cherry juice. The book however, stated to eat a dozen or so cherries a day, yet it was not cherry season. Needless to say, I bought pure cherry juice from the store. I figured it would have near the same vitamins that help decrease fatigue and insomnia. I drank about a cup a day.

Lastly, I would not eat any food about four hours before bed. This way my digestive process would not keep me awake.

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Wanted: Sleep – Oil Massaging

When I first started doing oil massages I used sesame oil. However, after about three days I noticed that I began to break out. Then a previous student suggested that I try coconut oil. I would apply this in the morning and after I showered as well as at night before bed. Then again, when I applied oil before I bed, I massaged my scalp, temples and feet. This felt very relaxing and I did not continue to break out with the use of coconut oil.

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Wanted: Sleep – Meditation

As Lad suggested, I decided to practice a So-Hum meditation at night. In addition, I would focus on my third eye. It didn’t take long after beginning meditation for me to fall asleep. In fact, I find myself drifting off in class during this meditation practice.

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Wanted: Sleep – Success

It is difficult to pin point one specific remedy that worked the most. Unless I did them separately, I believe I would never truly know which practice was the most useful. Perhaps it was a combination of all of them. Therefore, I will continue them for the time being. Drinking warm milk before bed I believe is a great alternative for tea. It not only appeals to the warm side that vata enjoys; it calms my stomach as well. As for massaging with oil, it definitely relieves the tension on my muscles. Also, my skin looks and feels amazing. Lastly, mediation helps deepen my yoga practice as well as reaching a short-term goal. Concluding, the end result was accomplished and very successful. I am now able to sleep soundly for six to eight hours a night, while additionally discovering some other beneficial variables as well.

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Know the 3 D’s:

Diet, Daily Routine and Dharma. These 3 “D”s were what made all the difference for one Axis Yoga Teacher Training student. For the final experiment of the training this student aimed high, creating a plan to bringing forth the life that was meant to be. Read how this one experiment has created a life-long endeavor to live as one was put on this earth to live.

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Know the 3 D’s: Our Duty

“To keep the body in good health is a duty… otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.” – Buddha
This quote illuminates my intentions going into my personal experiment. Throughout the course of this training, I have realized that my emotions run unbridled throughout my being and my body is lethargic and at the whim of cravings I feel helpless to control. As a result, my mind is incredibly muddled, hazy, and teaming with anxiety and confusion. The focus of my personal experiment was upon integrating many of the aspects of yoga that have been highlighted in the training (Sadhana, Meditation, Asana, Ayurveda), to move far beyond simply doing the asanas to integrating yogic thinking into every aspect of life. Though this personal experiment spanned the length of 4 weeks, it has quickly turned into a life-long endeavor. I would like to share the design of my experiment and some of the preliminary results.

My experiment officially began on April 14, 2014. This was the first day that I started focusing on incorporating some of the Ayurvedic recommended practices into my daily routine. I also began to focus more on the spiritual aspect of my asana practice at the studio where I attend approximately 4 times per week. My diet was already very healthy, but I began to drink half-caffeinated coffee in a gradual process that I hoped would lead to removal of caffeine from my diet altogether. I also focused on completely eliminating processed foods from my diet. I also attempted to follow the food recommendations for my dosha (kapha) given in Vasant Lad’s book, Ayurvedic Home Remedies. This went on for 2 weeks.

On April 28th, I had an initial Ayurvedic consultation visit with Susan Bernhardt at Essence Ayurveda. This session truly inspired me to become more dedicated to Ayurvedic self-healing. At this consultation, I learned that gluten was likely causing many of the daily issues that I thought were just how life was going to be for me (constipation, gas, bloating, anxiety, depression, urinary tract infections, etc.).   Susan recommended that I do a gluten free experiment for 4-6 weeks to see if these symptoms lessened. She also recommended that I follow guidelines for the elimination of excess yeast in my digestive system. This yeast (candida) was likely causing my intense cravings for sugar. In the past these have been so bad that I feel completely helpless to ignore them. She recommended that I take Latero Flora probiotic in the morning before breakfast and a probiotic supplement or food with every meal. Susan created a customized herbal formula for me to take twice a day, apart from meals. She also made a Nasya oil that I put in my nose in the morning. This helps promote a sattvic mind and eases anxiety and depression. On April 30th, I picked up the the herbal formula, Nasya oil, and Latero Flora supplement from Susan and began my full routine on April 31st.

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