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Swiss psychologist Carl Jung observed that, "There is no coming
to consciousness without pain." Jung's insight may initially
offend or cause us woe, but it accurately reflects a truth
stated in every spiritual tradition. In this world, the seed
must be split in order for the plant to sprout, and the
decomposing hull of the seed inevitably fertilizes new growth.
To understand why pain and stress are such powerful catalysts in
our evolutionary journey toward Self-realization, remember the
Law of Karma: every thought, word and deed is followed by a
consequence, and each consequence leads either toward unbounded
happiness and freedom or toward dis-ease and pain. As spiritual
aspirants, we learn to act skillfully in the world so that pain
and stress can be ended and the true purpose of life fulfilled.
In my own personal experience, the practice of Yoga Science has
proven to be the key to this essential process.
Pain is an important messenger. Unfortunately, it is often
misperceived as an enemy to be eliminated rather than as an ally
to be consulted. Instead of welcoming and learning from the
lessons of pain, our culture has developed a wide variety of
avoidance techniques including reliance on drugs, surgery and
even consumerism. But pain presents invaluable guidance. As the
Greek playwright Aeschylus (525-456 B.C.) so profoundly and
dramatically declared, "Pain, which cannot forget, falls drop by
drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will,
comes wisdom through the awful grace of God."
Pain, from the yogic perspective, is the shadow of the
outstretched hand of the Supreme Reality. Pain is like the
warning signs posted along the highway: "Falling Rock Zone,
Slow--Curve, Wrong Way--Do Not Enter." Pain provides
essential direction to assure you a safe journey. Acting as your
personal Global Positioning System (GPS), pain advises you when
a mid-course correction is necessary. Pain lets you know when
there's friction in your life between self-willed attachment to
ego or sense gratifications (preya) and the Perfection of
Divine grace, trying to lead you toward unbounded happiness (shreya).
Even in seemingly inconsequential experiences, this yogic way of
seeing and acting in the world is available to us. In 1969, for
example, when Neil Armstrong was hurtling toward the surface of
the moon in the tiny lunar module, on-board computers were
continuously reading bits of flight information and transmitting
the data back to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
Almost instantaneously, the powerful computers at the command
center analyzed the data and radioed instructions back to
astronaut Armstrong. "Fire your first retro rocket .2 seconds.
Fire your second retro rocket .75 seconds, and fire your third
retro rocket one complete second--and not 1/1000th of a second
more or less." Why all the precision? Perhaps astronaut
Armstrong's eyes, ego and personal imagination could have
provided him a more visually stimulating pathway to the moon's
surface, but as a professional, Neil Armstrong knew that his
journey to the moon would be far less dangerous if he relied
exclusively on the computer-driven directions provided by the
Houston Space Center. Choosing this wise perspective, Armstrong
was able to make a comfortable and enjoyable soft landing.
Yoga Science advises you to heed the whispers of stress and pain
at low decibel levels in your own life. If you don't, the
decibel levels will only get louder and louder and louder--until
your dis-ease turns into a full-fledged, painful disease.
Pleasure can never have the same instructive effect as pain. An
experience based solely on pleasure just keeps you headed in
the same external direction: away from the advice of your
intuitive, discriminative GPS called buddhi (or
conscience), and toward the next relationship you mistakenly
believe will bring you happiness or eliminate your dis-ease.
Pain, on the other hand, emphatically redirects your attention
toward your own inner wisdom so you can begin to consider a
change in your life--a change that can eliminate the cause of
the pain, not just ease its symptoms. Yoga means swimming
against the tide of our culture and the habits of a lifetime to
rely on the power of the love and eternal wisdom that already
reside within you.
Because the overriding philosophy of our culture is based on
commerce, messages selling the preya bombard us
continually. Although no human being has ever been able to enjoy
the short-term pleasure of the preya without eventually
experiencing its unpleasantness, the messages from television,
movies, radio, newspapers and magazines all suggest that the
pleasant and the good are synonymous.
When advertising copywriters try to convince you to go for what
appears as pleasant, their advertisements often resemble the
sign that flashes in big, red neon letters over the entrance to
the local bar and grill: Free Beer! Free Beer! Free Beer! But
just as you walk into that bar to claim your free beer, you spot
a small, handwritten sign hanging beneath the neon. It simply
says: "Tomorrow." There is no free beer today. That's the real
message. No matter what day you arrive for free beer, it's
always going to be served "tomorrow."
It's really quite amazing. The human spirit is so fundamentally
optimistic that we continually pick ourselves up, dust ourselves
off and reach for the next brass ring. But is that next brass
ring you strive for the preya or the shreya?
That's basically the only question you have to answer, and the
buddhi, your personal Global Positioning System, will always
guide you to the right choice.
Your discriminating, purified buddhi is always working,
but its voice is often overwhelmed by the noise of the senses,
the memories of the past, imaginations of the future, the
self-serving advice of the ego and the culture. This can mean
that the conscience ends up bound and gagged in the closet,
attic or basement of your mind--while the ego and senses party
on. Most of the time when you have an overwhelming desire to
pursue the pleasure of preya, you'd prefer not to listen
to your discrimination.
Have you ever visited a favorite restaurant to take advantage of
an all-you-can-eat special? You're encouraged to consume two or
three meals for the price of one. As one national restaurant
chain's advertising slogan directed, "Go overboard!" But the
motivation behind this suggestion is hardly a lasting benefit.
Quite the contrary.
After you consume the huge meal and experience the pain of
indigestion, bloating, heartburn and acid reflux, you're
probably eager to buy another product--that little white antacid
pill that effectively shoots the messenger of pain. Sure, the
damage to the body will continue, but Madison Avenue gurus
cheerfully promise that within sixty seconds or so, you won't
feel discomfort. And, should you experience a twinge of guilt
for not having followed the advice of your conscience,
advertising executives have yet another ingenious antidote. The
manufacturers use calcium in their antacid recipe, and you are
carefully reminded that, "everyone needs calcium." This perverse
logic would suggest that overeating can lead to strong bones.
But with your innate powers of discrimination, you know
differently.
The Old Testament clearly warns that there is a price to be paid
whenever we consciously or unconsciously serve desires that
conflict with the Divine wisdom of our true Self: "Take heed
to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside
and serve other gods and worship them. Then the anger of the
Lord will be kindled against you; He will shut up the heaven,
there will be no rain, the land will not yield her fruit, and
you shall perish quickly from the good land which God had given
you."
In current terms, who are these "other gods" spoken of in the
Bible? In the twenty-first century, Americans don't pray to a
golden calf. We are not idol worshippers. Or are we?
Human beings today may be far too sophisticated to succumb to
pagan idolatry, but we easily fall prey to the seductive gods of
fear, anger and desire that conflict with our intuitive inner
wisdom. These mental forces motivate us to direct our
attention--our love--away from the compassionate advice of the
Supreme Reality. Remember, two objects cannot occupy the same
space at the same time. When we take actions that conflict with
the inner wisdom of the buddhi, we are certain to
experience physical, mental and emotional dis-ease or pain. In
other words, what Deuteronomy calls "the anger of the Lord" is
simply the karmic consequence of cutting ourselves off from the
flow of grace.
We have deep emotional attachments to the many gods that
separate us from the One Absolute Reality. Trapped in the matrix
of separateness, we have a misplaced faith that temporal
relationships and material objects have the power to bring us
happiness and eliminate our pain. Today, shopping centers have
become our culture's most hallowed cathedrals and we allow
consumerism to erode our power to discriminate between what is
needed and what is merely wanted.
Yoga Science teaches that there is nothing intrinsically wrong
with consumption and enjoying sensory pleasures, but objects
serve us well only when we use them with discrimination. The
mantra, "namaha Shivaya" means "nothing is mine;
everything is Thine." Everything is here for me to use and to
enjoy, but not to possess, nor to be possessed by. When the
allure of the pleasant or unpleasant beckons in the form of a
desire for a thing or a judgment about ourselves or
another--Yoga Science suggests that before we mindlessly serve a
particular attachment we ask these questions: "Will I truly
benefit from what's pleasant? Do I truly benefit by avoiding the
unpleasant, or, am I merely habituated to wanting what my senses
and ego promise me?" Then, let the buddhi guide your
choice.
A student of St. Teresa once asked her, "Do you love the Lord
our God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your might
as taught in the Bible?" St. Teresa answered humbly, "Yes, I
do." Then the student asked, "And don't you hate the devil?" St.
Teresa replied simply, "I don't have time."
Nisargadatta Maharaja, a twentieth century sage from Bombay,
reminds us that, "Evil [for instance, extreme pain] is the
shadow of inattention. When we forget our real nature, we become
fearful, angry and selfish. Yet in the light of Self-awareness,
evil withers and falls away."
Stress and pain are superb teachers. They always offer us
crucial information to contemplate so we can make the changes
necessary to experience true happiness and fulfillment. Rather
than shooting the messenger of pain, Yoga Science is simply
asking us to examine the communication and benefit from it.
Pleasure doesn't benefit us in the same way because the
fulfillment of every desire for pleasure only brings another
desire, not freedom nor understanding. Desires are infinite in
their expression.
But old habits are strong. To appreciate the difficulty in
starting a new habit, try this experiment right now. Fold your
arms comfortably in front of your chest. After five or ten
seconds in this position, fold your arms the other way.
You probably noticed that the first time you folded your arms it
was natural and easy--because you did it on the basis of habit.
However, when you tried to fold your arms another way, it was
probably more difficult. It may have taxed your brain to imagine
how you were going to position your arms. Habits are difficult
to break, but change can be a creative force that leads you
beyond your present limitations.
I knew a man who suffered many years with lower back pain.
Because the easy-gentle yoga exercises I teach had helped
eliminate my own back pain, I offered to teach these stretches
to my acquaintance. "If easy-gentle yoga has helped me so much,"
I said to him, "the program might just help you, too." Despite
the sincere offer, he declined. "If I didn't have the pain in my
back," he quipped, "how would I know who I am?" The man's
humorous, but very telling response, reflects a sentiment that
many individuals rarely verbalize but privately harbor, either
consciously or unconsciously. It reminds me of the riveting
insight of 19th century Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy, "If you
did not desire your present position, you would not be doing
everything possible to maintain it."
Even though it's easier and more comfortable to do things by
habit, many of our unexamined habits are actually the cause of
our stress and pain. Habits, however, are not necessarily bad,
and our ability to form them and to act on them consistently is
very valuable. The same mechanism that formed your "bad" habit
can be employed to form new, healthy habits. If you have a thorn
in your foot, the traditional yoga story teaches, you may need
to use another thorn to remove it. Then, both thorns can be
thrown away. Just like habits that bring pain, healthy habits
that are endorsed by our own inner intuitive wisdom can serve us
as effective tools for realizing unbounded happiness.
Very simply, the choice is yours. Consciously or unconsciously,
you're always making decisions and taking actions that lead you
either toward fulfillment or toward further stress and pain.
When you learn to incorporate the practical wisdom of Yoga
Science into your daily life, you will discover an essential and
beneficial truth. Stress and pain only enter your life on a
mission of mercy. They come to provide you the perfect
opportunities to set aside the debilitating limitations of your
unnecessary fears, anger and egoic desires so that you can
fulfill the purpose of your life--without further pain, misery
or bondage.
Leonard is a philosopher, educator, author and founder of the
American Meditation Institute.
"Stress and pain are shadows
of the outstretched hand of the Divine Reality
asking you to make a change that will help you
fulfill the purpose of your life."
Leonard Perlmutter
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The Yoga Nidra practice of Shitali Karana is a powerful way to
reduce the residue of emotional stress and the symptoms of physical
pain. It strengthens the immune and autonomic nervous systems and
facilitates the body and mind's access to the vital life force known
as prana. By stimulating the flow of prana, this practice enhances
concentration, sharpens memory, sustains high energy levels
throughout the day and optimizes the performance of internal glands
and organs.
Shitali Karana is practiced in the conscious state
of wakefulness. The recommended time to practice is early in the
morning--before your hatha and meditation program, or in the evening
after sunset. The practice should be done in the dark, without any
strain, stimulation or distracting noise from the outside. (Cotton
balls may be used in the ears). The practice can be done either
lying on the floor or in bed. If you choose to do this practice
while lying in bed, be certain the covers are loose and not
restricting any part of the body--especially the feet and toes.
Preparation:
Lie down on your back in shavasana (the corpse posture as
seen in the photograph). Place a small pillow under the neck for
support. The body should be straight from head to toe, legs
approximately twelve inches apart, arms approximately eight inches
away from the body with the palms turned upward and fingers slightly
curled. Establish the finger lock (joining thumb and index finger).
Preliminary Relaxation:
Adjust the head, neck, spine, legs, arms and hands to a comfortable
position with your head, neck and trunk aligned. Now consciously
relax the body. Establish complete stillness and awareness of the
entire body.
Sankalpa (Resolve):
Bring your attention to the cave of the heart and acknowledge the
Eternal Witness. Pledge to yourself that you will now give your full
and complete attention to the entire Yoga Nidra practice. I
want to do it. I can do it. I have to do it. I am going to do it . .
. no matter what charm, attraction or temptation appears in my
awareness; no matter what thought, image or sound comes into my
awareness.
Mechanics of the Practice
During this practice, visualize and feel the breath as it travels
through the entire body from location to location. As you inhale
and follow the breath through the body, listen to the mantra SO. As
you exhale and follow the breath through the body, listen to the
mantra HUM. When you first begin to practice Shitali Karana,
inhale and exhale twice between the two destination points on the
body. As your concentration deepens, slowly increase to five the
number of times you inhale and exhale between the two destination
points on the body.
1. Exhale from the crown of the head (just beyond the top of the
head) down to the toes. Inhale from the toes to the crown of the
head.
2. Exhale from the crown of the head to your ankles. Inhale from the
ankles to the crown of the head (sahasrara chakra).
3. Exhale from the crown of the head to your knees. Inhale from the
knees to the crown of the head.
4. Exhale from the crown of the head to your perineum (muladhara
chakra). Inhale from the perineum to the crown of the head.
5. Exhale from the crown of the head to the top of the pubic bone at
the bladder region, (svadishtana chakra). Inhale from the top
of the pubic bone to the crown of the head.
6. Exhale from the crown of the head to the solar plexus just above
the navel (manipura chakra). Inhale from the solar plexus to
the crown of the head.
7. Exhale from the crown of the head to your heart center (anahata
chakra). Inhale from the heart chakra to the crown of the
head.
8. Exhale from the crown of the head to your throat center (vishuddha
chakra). Inhale from the throat center to the crown of the head.
9. Exhale from the crown of the head to bridge between the nostrils,
where the nose meets the upper lip. Inhale from the bridge between
the two nostrils to the crown of the head.
10. Inhale from the bridge between the nostrils to the space between
the eyebrows (ajna chakra). Exhale from the space between the
eyebrows to the bridge between the nostrils.
11. Inhale from the bridge between the two nostrils to the center of
the forehead (guru chakra). Exhale from the center of the forehead
to the bridge between the nostrils.
12. Inhale from the bridge between the nostrils to the crown of the
head (sahasrara chakra). Exhale from the crown of the head to the
bridge between the nostrils.
13. Exhale from the the crown of the head to the throat center (vishuddha
chakra), then inhale and exhale between the throat center and
the crown of the head. Continue to use the So-Hum mantra.
14. Exhale and inhale between the crown of the head and the heart
center with the So-Hum mantra.
15. Exhale and inhale between the crown of the head and the solar
plexus with the So-Hum mantra.
16. Exhale and inhale between the crown of the head and the bladder
region at the top of the pubic bone with the So-Hum mantra.
17. Exhale and inhale between the crown of the head and the perineum
with the So-Hum mantra.
18. Exhale and inhale between the crown of the head and the knees
with the So-Hum mantra.
19. Exhale and inhale between the crown of the head and the ankles
with the So-Hum mantra.
20. Exhale and inhale between the crown of the head and the toes
with the So-Hum mantra.
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Glenn's arthritis was a serious obstacle blocking progress on his
spiritual path. The severe joint pain made doing all but the
gentlest yoga postures nearly impossible. Worse, sitting in
meditation for any length of time felt like torture. Often Glenn
found himself meditating on the pain in his knees rather than on his
mantra.
Recently one of India's greatest meditation masters visited
California. Glenn wisely took the opportunity to ask for her help.
"Mother, my arthritis is making it extremely difficult for me to do
my spiritual practices. My doctor says there's no stronger
medication he can prescribe to help. What should I do?"
As Glenn told me a few days later, he had heard many stories about
this saint's miraculous powers, and was hoping she would simply say
a healing mantra that would make his symptoms magically disappear.
That didn't happen, but what she did say instead made him rethink
his entire approach to life. "Continue doing your practices," she
advised. "Have courage."
At first her words struck him like a slap in the face. His physical
discomfort was a real problem-it required a practical solution, not
a casual dismissal. And what did she mean by "Have courage"? Was she
implying he was a wimp?
But even as he sat with his legs painfully folded on the floor in
front of this great saint, Glenn began to absorb what she was
saying. There is no practical solution, no magic mantra, to the
universal problem of aging, sickness and death. He was experiencing
the physical degeneration typical of his advancing years, but the
wisdom that should accompany the increasing discomfort had eluded
him. He saw pain as something that had to be removed, not as
something that life was requiring him to face courageously.
Glenn suddenly understood that he had been using his arthritis as an
excuse not to do his spiritual work when in fact it should have been
spurring him to persevere. Meditation is the royal path to the
innermost spirit, the portal to the soul. Practiced diligently and
devotedly, it takes mortal beings to the part of themselves that is
immortal--never touched by illness or decay. At a time in his life
when meditation was more difficult to do, it had never been more
important.
As we talked, Glenn mentioned that when he was a boy he had been
fascinated with his Celtic ancestors. They lived tough lives and
often died young, but they were honest and fair. "The Celts had a
sacred code of conduct based on three fundamental rules. 'Honor the
gods. Do no evil. Be brave.'
"In my life I've always been deeply religious. I've always honored
God. And I've tried my best to live ethically, even when being
dishonest would have gotten me ahead. But I've never really been
brave. I always fantasized about being a great Celtic hero like King
Arthur. But there are no dragons to slay anymore, and no evil son I
have to face in battle.
"I wanted to find a wizard who could prescribe a magic pill that
would make the dragon of arthritis fly away; I wanted a white witch
who would wave a magic wand and make me healthy again. It never
occurred to me that even an ordinary guy like me is on a hero's
journey. I have to be brave facing my own dragons, even if they
don't have wings or breathe fire. Arthur would never have been a
hero if he hadn't faced his own son Mordred in a heartbreaking
battle. It's facing our pain that gives us victory in life, not
retreating from it."
Cultivating Courage
I know something about battling physical pain myself. I was
diagnosed with cancer four years ago. The condition had been
misdiagnosed a year earlier, but I'd ignored the symptoms because my
doctor assured me they were nothing to worry about. When I finally
learned the awful truth, my neighbors instantly advised, "Sue your
doctor! He shouldn't be allowed to practice medicine!"
At that point my focus was on discovering whether the disease was
survivable, not on suing anyone. But I was struck that in our
culture many people's first response to bad news isn't "You're going
to have to be brave." Rather, it's to blame somebody else, to fill
yourself with anger and vengeance and bitter regret, lashing out at
someone you believe has caused your problem. There may be times when
a lawsuit is appropriate, but I recognized that my doctor had made
an honest-albeit catastrophic-mistake. I needed to reserve my energy
for dealing with my pain. I needed to focus inwardly to find courage
in the face of drastic medical treatment and the possibility of
imminent death.
In the West today we're sheltered not only from most dangers but
even from any possible inconvenience. I wonder how we will find the
courage to face the inevitable journey of death and the after-life
state when many of us find it difficult to deal with a lumpy hotel
bed or lost baggage. Like young children, we expect to be protected
from painful experiences. We want to be spared the crises every
generation on Earth before us has had to face, whether that's a
lethal disease or even stiffening joints.
How should we, as yoga students, deal with suffering we can't
escape? When we talk about qualities we need to cultivate on the
spiritual path we usually talk about self-discipline, patience,
faith and compassion. The critical virtue we often forget is
courage. When I first started practicing yoga its importance never
entered my mind. I had an image of holy men in India called sadhus
who travel effortlessly on a perpetual pilgrimage around the
subcontinent. Everywhere they go they receive free food and shelter.
They can even ride trains and buses free, out of the Hindus' immense
respect for their spiritual vocation. I envied the Indians because
people there can devote themselves completely to spiritual life and
the entire culture supports them.
When I finally visited India, I quickly discovered the reality. In
summer much of the country is enveloped in grueling heat; in winter,
especially in the North or in the mountains, temperatures often
plummet below freezing. The sadhus continue their practices under
the most strenuous conditions imaginable. No matter how cold or wet
it may be, they wear just one piece of cotton cloth. Free food is
available at many temples, but there's often only one meager meal a
day. It takes incredible courage to be a sadhu in India, living at
the mercy of the elements with little more than a walking stick in
their possession.
Why don't yoga texts emphasize courage? Actually they do, but they
analyze it in exclusively spiritual terms. In the Bhagavad Gita for
example, Krishna-one of India's greatest sages-advises the warrior
Arjuna that he must fight in an upcoming just war. Krishna counsels
him to fight without hatred, but with equanimity and calm surrender
to the will of God. Ironically, Arjuna is to enter the battlefield
not in a spirit of ego-centered conquest but God-centered
self-surrender. Courage in the Gita ultimately means trust, trust
that the eventual outcome, whatever it may be, lies in the hands of
a higher, wiser power. (Note that Krishna first makes every possible
attempt to prevent the war through diplomacy and compromise!)
For soldiers like Arjuna or wandering mendicants like the sadhus,
for arthritis sufferers like Glenn or cancer patients like myself,
in fact for all of us committed to expanding our awareness through
Yoga, courage means centering ourselves in spirit, not locking our
awareness in our body or focusing solely on external events. The
universe is not Disneyland; as the Buddha explained, life is full of
suffering. We need to find courage to accept the painful nature of
life, and the fearlessness to do what we can to alleviate suffering
wherever that is possible. Yoga helps us reach the tranquil haven at
the root of our being, and to tap the illuminating power that lies
there. This is the true source of fearlessness, the inner light that
guides us through the pain and uncertainty of life.
Being Brave
Glenn has resumed his regular yoga practice. He no longer attempts
advanced postures but sticks with the easier stretches and twists.
He takes it easy and is doing better physically; he tells me as long
as he doesn't overdo it, the stretches actually feel quite good.
Glenn's meditation practice has much improved in the past few
months. He sits upright in a chair now rather than folding his legs
in the meditation posture he used to assume. He is also spending
more time working on pratyahara, the fifth rung on the
eight-fold ladder of yoga. It comes after yoga's moral prescriptions
and proscriptions, after postures and breathing exercises, but
before concentration, meditation, and transcendent awareness. During
pratyahara yoga students systematically withdraw their awareness
from the body and breath, and stabilize their awareness in
consciousness itself. Pratyahara practice, as taught at his local
yoga center, helps Glenn extract his attention from his aches and
pains. The arthritic discomfort which was an obstacle to his
meditation is now a building block to higher awareness, and he's
much more accomplished at ignoring it.
The last time I talked with Glenn he laughingly told me, "I'm a
meditation warrior now. I'm fighting to advance in my practice. In
this kind of fight, instead of getting tense and anxious, I relax
and let go. It's not that my arthritis has disappeared-it still
really hurts, actually. But I figure if my father had the courage to
go to France to fight the Nazis, and my mother had the courage to
survive the Depression, then I can find the courage to deal with my
arthritis and get on with my spiritual life."
I've taped a small sign with the saint's advice over my desk,
because her words apply to me too. "Continue doing your practices.
Have courage."
Linda Johnsen is a regular contributor to "Transformation" and
author of eight books on spirituality including "Lost Masters: The
Sages of Ancient Greece."
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Individual Counseling
Yoga Self-Therapy
Leonard Perlmutter
AMI Founder and Director
Member: International Association of Yoga Therapists
Yoga Self-Therapy is
based on the perennial psychology of yoga science. Each
individual counseling session will teach you how to free
yourself from habits and expectations that cause stress and
give rise to illness. By observing and training your internal
processes, you can become creative in all relationships while
establishing a state of personal contentment. By learning to
rely on your own Divine inner wisdom you become free to make
choices in life that continually improve your physical, mental
and emotional wellbeing.
AMI Home Center, 60 Garner Road, Averill Park
By appointment only.
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You live in a world filled with stress. You're never very far
from a ringing cell phone
or a worrisome situation. Traffic agitates you. And as if your
health, your job, the economy, your grades, and global terrorism
weren't enough, along comes this essay with one more thing that
can ratchet up the levels of stress in your life.
Stress, to put it bluntly, is bad for your health. In fact, it
can kill you. Medicine used to be skeptical that the mind could
have a direct effect on the body, but any doubt of that has
gone the way of the dinosaur. Many studies now reveal that
stress causes deterioration in everything from your gums to your
heart and can make you more susceptible to everything from the
common cold to cancer. The mind-body connection is real, and it
is powerful, and thanks to new research crossing the disciplines
of psychology, medicine, neuroscience, and genetics, the
mechanisms underlying the connection are rapidly becoming
understood.
Hans Selye provided the first clues linking stress and health in
the 1930s. Selye was the first scientist to apply the word
"stress" to the strains experienced by living organisms in their
struggles to adapt and cope with changing environments. One of
Selye's major discoveries was that the stress hormone cortisol
had a long-term effect on the health of rats. Cortisol has been
considered one of the main culprits in the stress-illness
connection, although it plays a necessary role in helping us
cope with threats.
When an animal perceives danger, a system called the
hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) kicks into gear. A
chain reaction of endocrine signals beginning in the
hypothalamus results in the release of various hormones from the
adrenal glands above each kidney. These include norepinephrine,
epinephrine ("adrenaline"), and cortisol. The hormones boost
heart rate, increase respiration, and increase the availability
of glucose (cellular fuel) in the blood, thereby enabling the
famous "fight or flight" reaction. Because these responses
require energy, cortisol simultaneously tells other costly
physical processes (including digestion, reproduction, physical
growth, and aspects of the immune system) to shut or slow down.
The HPA axis is a self-regulating (homeostatic) mechanism, a lot
like a thermostat. Stress hormones act back upon the
hypothalamus to inhibit production of more signaling chemicals,
thus causing less stress hormones to be released down the line.
When occasions to fight or flee are infrequent and perceived
threats pass quickly, the body's stress thermostat adjusts
accordingly: Cortisol levels return to baseline (in 40-60
minutes), the intestines resume digesting food, the sex organs
kick back into gear, and the immune system resumes fighting
infections. But problems occur when stresses don't subside, or
when the mind continually perceives stress even if it isn't
really there.
The idea that stress directly causes heart disease has been
around since the 1950s. Although once controversial (or thought
to be related to smoking or overeating), the direct
stress-cardiac link is now well-documented by many studies. For
instance, men who faced chronic stresses at work or at home ran
a 30 percent higher likelihood of dying over the course of a
nine-year study. In another study, individuals reporting
neglect, abuse, or other stressors in childhood were over three
times as likely as non-stressed individuals to develop heart
disease in adulthood.
Stress appears to be cumulative. Although when we think of
stressors we might think of big things like abuse, illness,
divorce, grieving, or getting fired, it is now known that the
little things - traffic, workplace politics, television, noisy
neighbors, a long line at the grocery store--can add up and have
a similar impact on our well-being and our health. People who
report more minor irritants in their lives also have more mental
and physical health problems than those who encounter fewer
hassles. Besides heart disease, post traumatic stress syndrom and
depression, chronic stress has been linked to ailments as
diverse as intestinal problems, gum disease, erectile
dysfunction, adult-onset diabetes, growth problems, and even
cancer. Chronic rises in stress hormones have been shown to
accelerate the growth of precancerous cells and tumors. They
also lower the body's resistance to HIV and cancer-causing
viruses like human papilloma virus (the precursor to cervical
cancer in women).
Adding insult to injury, stress may even have a
self-perpetuating effect. Depression and heart disease, for
example, are not only the results of stress, but also causes of
additional stress. Consequently, the chronically stressed body
can appear less like a thermostat than like a wailing speaker
placed too close to a microphone--a feedback loop in which the
stress response goes out of control, hastening physical decline.
Stressed-Out Personalities
Not everyone responds the same way to stress. Personality traits
like negativity and pessimism are known to be risk factors for
stress-related disease, as are anger and hostility.
In the late 1950s, scientists identified a major link between
stress and health with their research on the "Type A"
personality: a person who is highly competitive, aggressive, and
impatient. This personality was found to be a strong predictor
of heart disease, and later research clarified the picture: The
salient factors in the relationship between the Type A
personality and health are mainly anger, hostility, and a
socially dominant personality style. When negative emotions like
anger are chronic, it is as if the body is in a constant state
of fight or flight.
There is now evidence that another trait associated with
success-striving in the modern world--persistence--may also lead
to health problems in some circumstances. When goals are not
readily attainable, the inability to detach from them may
produce frustration, exhaustion, rumination on failures, and
lack of sleep. These in turn activate harmful inflammatory
responses that can lead to illness and lowered immunity.
The bottom line: Woody Allen's neurotic character who grows a
tumor instead of releasing his anger isn't far from the truth.
By the same token, studies have shown that optimistic people
have lower incidence of heart disease, better prognosis after
heart surgery, and longer life. The positive effect of mental
attitude on immunity was demonstrated in a study by Sheldon
Cohen of the Carnegie Mellon University. In that study
individuals were exposed to a cold virus in a laboratory setting
and watched over six days. Those with a positive emotional style
were less likely to develop colds than were individuals with low
levels of positive affect. A positive mental attitude was also
found to be correlated with reduced symptom severity and reduced
pain.
A Cup Half Full
Nietzsche's harsh view of life, "whatever doesn't kill me makes
me stronger," just isn't true. Stressors that don't kill you in
the short run may shorten your life or drastically lessen its
quality.
But quit your moping and look on the bright side. The
confirmation that the mind directly affects the body can work as
much in our favor as it does to our detriment. As Carol Dweck of
Stanford University has argued, personality is mutable. If our
outlooks and beliefs about ourselves can be changed, so can our
vulnerability to life's slings and arrows.
The bottom line: Stress is not inevitable. You can take your
life and your mind in a less stressful direction. Relaxation
techniques, such as meditation and yoga, have been confirmed to
quell stress demons. Even if you are a determined workaholic or
a fearful, angry urban neurotic like Woody Allen, meditation
and its allied disciplines can definitely change you. These
time-honored practices are easily learned and readily available
to cope with stress in the short term and to alter habitual
perceptions of stressors in the long term.
Originally published in "Observer", by the Association for
Psychological Science 2008. Reprinted from www.ScienceDaily.com.
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The Heart and Science of Yoga:
A Blueprint for Peace, Happiness and Freedom from Fear
Review by Gregg St. Clair, Healing Springs Journal
We live in
glorious times don't we? We have information available to us
today that we never transferred to only an inner circle of top
students. This usually involved years of dedication proving
your desire to learn, followed by years of practice in the
more external realms of knowledge, and only then would a
master be willing to share the deepest levels of their art,
most highly guarded secrets. But today every esoteric subject
matter is available through books or just a quick click away
on the world wide web.
Everything has pluses and minuses and this is no exception.
Yes, it is all right there for us, but so is fast food. So how
do we discriminate what is valuable or not for our total well
being? Trial and error is, of course, an option, and something
most people have to go through on their path--be it with diet,
exercise or meditation. But when you find the right thing you
know it. This is how I felt when I read The Heart and
Science of Yoga: A Blueprint for Peace, Happiness and Freedom
from Fear by Leonard Perlmutter. I keep wanting to call it
the "Art" instead of the "Heart," probably from being
conditioned by other book titles, but "Heart" definitely works
better. Why? Because you can tell that that is where the book
comes from and that is where it is aimed.
The Heart and Science of Yoga is a manual showing how
ancient wisdom can help us with life today in an increasingly
chaotic world. No longer does one need to travel to India to
learn the deepest secrets of yoga for it is all contained in
this one book. Some might claim that there is too much
information (and at 538 pages they may be right), but not me.
It is written in a style so easy to read and so relevant to
spiritual development today that its information will be
beneficial, almost crucial, for everyone, not just yoga
practitioners.
Leonard Perlmutter has something rare among yoga practitioners
and meditation instructors today, not only a blessing from his
famous teacher Swami Rama, but a direct request to pass on the
knowledge he transferred to him and to become a full time
teacher. Leonard and his wife Jenness have founded and operate
the American Meditation Institute in Averill Park, New York--a
short drive from the capital city of Albany. A tranquil oasis,
the Perlmutters are dedicating their lives to creating
positive change in the world based on the teachings of yoga
with meditation as the key.
The book covers in detail the eight limbs of yoga is of course
more than different contortionist postures and includes a
blueprint for spiritual growth including, proper disciplines,
proper conduct, proper exercise, proper breathing, proper
control of the senses, proper concentration, proper meditation
and finally self realization. I particularly like how they use
quotations and references from all of the worlds religions,
including literature and even current sources (did you know
Elvis was a guru?), making the book very accessible if not
down right enjoyable to read.
With the invention of the airplane, the telephone and now the
world wide web, it has become obvious that it is one world and
we must act together if there is going to be hope for the
future. Unfortunately people become so caught up in their own
realities that they fail to see the bigger picture. But we are
spiritual beings, and as we busy ourselves with the illusions
of the world it separates us from our spirit, creating a
source of suffering that is only going to continue. I take
comfort in the fact that yoga has an 8000 year old history and
though I am a scientist, I don't need another double blind
study to know that it works. The key is, we have to practice
something to take control of our mind & lives, or they will
take control of us. If you are looking for a tried and true
system that has helped millions of people, then The Heart
and Science of Yoga is the perfect companion. I recommend
it for everybody.
http://www.amipublishers.org/movie/ |
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All events are held at the AMI Home Center in Averill Park unless
otherwise indicated.
Every Sunday Meditation & Satsang is FREE
Every Sunday 9:30-11:00 AM. Love donations accepted.
MARCH 2008
MARCH 3 - APR 7:
EASY
GENTLE YOGA
Monday Nights, Kathleen Fisk, 6:30 - 8:00PM (6 wks)
MARCH 3 - APR 7:
GITA Study,
Chapter 2
Monday Nights, 6:30 - 8:30 PM, "The Illumined Man" (6 weeks)
MARCH 4- APR 8:
AMI MEDITATION
Tues. Nights: The Heart and Science of Yoga
6:30 - 8:30 PM with AMI founder Leonard Perlmutter (6 weeks)
MARCH 14:
DINNER,
MOVIE & SATSANG
Fri. Night, "The Razor's Edge", 5:30 - 10 PM
MARCH 19 - APR 2:
THE
CHAKRAS
Wed. Night, 6:30 - 8:30 PM, (3 weeks)
with Leonard & Jenness Perlmutter
MARCH 20:
INTRODUCTORY LECTURE
AMI Meditation: The Heart and Science of Yoga
Thurs. Night, 6:30 - 7:30 PM, Mary Holloway & Doreen Howe
APRIL 2008
APRIL 2 - MAY 7:
EASY
GENTLE YOGA
Wednesday Mornings, Kathleen Fisk, 9:30 - 11:00 AM (6 weeks)
APRIL 9:
COMPLEMENTARY CANCER CARE
Wednesday Night, Leonard Perlmutter, 6:30 - 8:30 PM (1 night)
APRIL 14 - MAY 19:
EASY
GENTLE YOGA
Monday Nights, Kathleen Fisk, 6:30 - 8:00PM (6 weeks)
APRIL 14 - MAY 19:
GITA Study,
Chapter 3
Monday Nights, 6:30 - 8:30 PM, "Karma Yoga" (6 weeks)
APRIL 15 - MAY 20:
AMI MEDITATION
Tues. Nights: The Heart and Science of Yoga
6:30 - 8:30 PM with AMI founder Leonard Perlmutter (6 weeks)
APRIL 18:
DINNER,
MOVIE & SATSANG
Fri. Night, "Life is Beautiful", 5:30 - 10 PM
APRIL 24:
INTRODUCTORY
LECTURE
AMI Meditation: The Heart and Science of Yoga
Thurs. Night, 6:30 - 7:30 PM, Mary Holloway & Doreen Howe
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Tell
a Friend about AMI
If you know someone who might benefit from our American Meditation class, let them know
about the AMI program or call us with their name and address and we'll send them a
brochure with our current class schedule.
Karma Yoga --- the practice of selfless and skillful action
If, as part of your practice, you have a few extra hours during the week
and are interested in helping grow the American Meditation Institute, we need your
dedicated, volunteer energy. As a student of yoga science, you are already familiar with
the kinds of practical services the Institute provides. Each month we write, edit and
publish this newsletter, teach an average of thirty new meditation students and present
stress-reduction seminars to various businesses and organizations. We also invite visiting
speakers of interest to our area, organize seminars on yoga science and do continuing
personal counseling.
Our immediate needs include press relations, seminar management,
clerical assistance and general delivery work. Remember, whatever time or talents you
possess will be put to meaningful, productive use.
If you have the time, please call the Institute at (518) 674-8714.
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American Meditation Institute for Yoga Science & Philosophy. All
Rights Reserved |
