All is well with me in Albuquerque. I successfully made it through mid-term exams, I continue to relish every moment of my educational experience here, and I'm looking forward to a quick trip to Michigan to be with Amma over the Thanksgiving weekend. Life is good - real good!
According to Ayurveda, it takes approximately 35 days for the food and experiences we digest to run the full course from food to consciousness and understanding - it works its way through the digestive process, nourishes all the tissue systems in the body from the rasa (plasma and other "juices" that circulate through our bodies), the blood, all the way to the reproductive system, which gets nourished last, 7 layers in all before it is transformed into pure consciousness. We are, quite literally, what we eat. And we are what we experience, as every experience and emotion must be digested and processed as well. If the quality of the food and/or the experience is poor, or the digestion is compromised (the result of poor diet & lifestyle choices), the process doesn't go so smoothly, toxins are created in the body & mind, and the consciousness that results is clouded and confused. The implications of this are mind-boggling to me. Every action I take, everything I eat, every interaction I have with another person - it all counts. It will all manifest in one way or another. Makes you think twice before eating fast food or watching violent movies, or indulging in resentment or negative thoughts.
So, I've been here well over 35 days now and have been gradually making better and better diet and lifestyle choices, implementing what I'm learning, establishing a healthy daily routine - and I'm finally feeling very healthy and very peaceful after a rather bumpy ride in the first few weeks. Many of my classmates are experiencing the same thing.
My new, much more consistent yoga practice has become a very important part of my daily routine. Not surprising, really, but I have been very pleasantly surprised to learn and experience the power of pranayama - control of the breath. In almost every class, we do some type of breath work. I've learned that the breath is the most direct, most powerful pathway to the mind. It is, literally, the bridge between the manifest and the unmanifest. I've learned to access the "prana body" - to direct prana (life force, chi, sometimes misinterpreted as breath, but it's more than just breath) by placing my attention where I want prana to flow. Prana follows the attention. I finally have a glimpse of understanding what my energy worker friends are talking about. It is absolutely fascinating.
I also now understand why people who really understand this stuff discourage the novice from experimenting with advanced breath work techniques if they don't know what they are doing. One of our instructors gave us an example. A particular type of breath work has proven scientifically to be very beneficial in the treatment of clinical depression. The very same technique can wreak havoc on the mind of someone who is bipolar. The most direct pathway to the mind - not something you want to play around with.
My fascination with pranayama began in earnest last weekend at a yoga seminar called "Breath, Mind and Hormones". It was SO amazing! The two instructors - one of my main instructors from the Institute, and a certified Anusara Yoga instructor, are both very knowledgeable and have many years of experience with pranayama as well as Ayurveda, so I was in good hands. According to Dr. Welch, my institute instructor, pranayama is the number one most effective treatment for hormone imbalance. Before diet, before lifestyle, before herbs and most certainly before pharmaceutical drugs. And she had story after story after story to back up her claim (she's been in practice for over 20 years). My experiences in that seminar led me to the conclusion that pranayama could not only help me breeze through menopause, but also could help open up the stagnated prana in my head, neck, shoulders and ears that has been causing me so much pain - not to mention hearing loss - in recent years. So today I had a private session with my yoga instructor at the Institute, who helped me design an asana (yoga) and pranayama practice with that specific focus. "The only way this won't work," she told me, "is if you don't do it." I believe her, and I'll tell you what really gives me great hope. Dr. Welch told us recently that as important as it is for the patient to believe that a treatment will work, it is much MORE important that the practitioner believes it. I'll keep you posted on how this progresses.
It amuses me to consider the mixed audience reading this blog. While some of you are thinking, "What the HELL is she TALKING about??", others of you are thinking, "About time she started to figure this stuff out..." I am grateful for my wonderfully diverse circle of family and friends - and I love you all!
Namaste - and Happy Thanksgiving!!
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