Sleep Hygiene or tips for a good night sleep:

A good night sleep is the secret to a happy productive next day. It is the time our body takes to restore and rejuvenate. Our night depends on the day we had, and the next day depends on how well our previous night was.

Here are some tips:

• · Go to sleep when you feel sleepy
• · If you do not fall asleep within 30 min, get up, do something that will induce sleep and then return to bed.
• · Create a routine: Go to bed and wake up at the same time
• · Go to bed before 10:30 p.m. According to Ayurveda after 10pm we begin a new cycle of energy. This is an energetic cycle, where we sometimes feel that we get a second wind.
• · Exercising is healthy, and useful for a good night sleep, but timing is key. Finish your exercise at least 4 hours before bedtime. Mornings and early afternoons are best.
• · Make your bedroom a sanctuary. Keep it clean and inviting. Soft light, quiet and relaxing.
• · Use your bed for sleeping only. Read, work, watch TV and fold laundry elsewhere. This way your body will recognize that being in bed means sleep. Sex is the only exception.
• · Avoid Caffeine, nicotine and alcohol 5 hours before bedtime.
• · Drink during the day, so you do need to drink much at night, and do not need to get up for the toilet in your sleep time.
• · Take a hot bath an hour before bed. The drop in body temperature is what makes you feel sleepy.
• · Develop bedtime routines. Listen to quiet music, sit silently, read something calming, or massage your body with oil.
• · Eat dinner at least 2-3 hours before bed. If you are hungry later, have a light snack, unsweetened cereal with a bit of organic milk, or a bit of warm milk with a touch of honey.
• · Do not turn on lights during the night, even if you have to go to the bathroom. Light exposure during the night impairs melatonin production, which is crucial for good night sleep.
• · See the sun as soon as it’s up, to set your biological clock.
• · Take Melatonin for a few weeks, and then let it go. (2-3mg 30-45 min before bedtime
• · Magnesium (500mg 30-45 min before bedtime)

Sleep well, wake up smiling. Have a blissful life!

Organic

Eating Organic for a better you and a better world

Eating organic simply means eating the way nature intended food to be. It is the way the world ate for centuries. The more recent style of production is referred to as "conventional," though organic production has been the convention for a much greater period of time. There was never a need to label food as organic until we stated producing toxic food.

It would make more sense to label food as toxic, including a list of pesticides and other chemicals used to grow the food, rather than need to label normal food as "organic."

When buying organic you make sure that your food does not have enormous amounts of pesticides, has no hormones or antibiotics and is respectful for the earth and environment.

Organic is better for you because you receive:

• Better tasting food. Better nourishment for the soil, goes into the plant and ends on our plate, revealing better flavor.

• Much higher nutrition levels (up to 19 times than non-organic).

• Healthier food. Save yourself from all the possible sicknesses and problems that chemicals, hormones and antibiotics might cause. A 1987 National Academy of Sciences report estimated that pesticides might cause an extra 4 million cancer cases among Americans. In addition to cancer, pesticides are implicated in birth defects, nerve damage and genetic mutations. The EPA considers 60 percent of all herbicides, 90 percent of all fungicides and 30 percent of all insecticides carcinogenic.

• Look for the “9”. The product number on the sticker on the produce has to begin with a 9 if it is organic.

Organic farms are better for the planet:

• Non-organic food farms suffer from the worst soil erosion in history.

• Protect water quality. Ground water is contaminated with pesticides (some cancer causing) in 38 states, the main source of drinking water for more than half of the country’s population.

• Modern farming uses more petroleum than any other single industry, consuming 12 percent of the country’s totally energy supply. Organic farming is still based on hard human work, from weeding to green manure and cover crops, instead of synthetic fertilizers.

• Most organic farms today are still small and family owned.

• Support a healthy economy. Even though organic might seem more expensive, in reality, it costs more to produce non-organic food (when you include pesticide regulation and testing, hazardous waste disposal and cleanup, and environmental damage including estimated $74 billion annually in federal subsidies).

• Some food is GMO (Genetically modified), i.e. a lab-invented food. Most common GMO food is soy, corn and canola. This food has fewer nutrients, less flavor and is heavily sprayed. A food that is only good to the pocket of its inventors. Buying organic ensures you dot not get GMO food. Anecdote: I went to a big chain supermarket to buy tomatoes. They did not have organic, so I asked the kind employee if he knows how good these tomatoes are. Many times a farm is in process of becoming organic, or does not spray, but is too small to pay for the organic certification. He highly recommended the tomatoes. He said they are great and can last for at least 2 weeks. Hmmm, I thought, how can that be? Ah, he said. They are made with pig genes in them so they can withstand heavy spraying and will not perish easily. So for all of you that eat Kosher or Halal, watch out! You might be a eating a sinful tomato!


For more information visit:
www.ccof.org
www.organic.org
http://www.organicconsumers.org/

Backbends – Open Heart

No better time than Thanks Giving to practice back bends. The practice of back bending is very powerful and can lead to more than a beautiful arc in the spine.

When back bends are practiced appropriately we begin our movement with the breath. As we inhale we find greater length in the spine and as we exhale we dive deeper into the pose, beginning the opening with the chest and upper body. This is why so often they are referred to as heart openers. As we go deeper into the pose, we keep the sensation of lengthening and expanding while inhaling and softening and deepening while exhaling. This allows the chest to expand fully and not collapse into the lower back, thus creating more space around the heart and lungs, allowing circulation to flow more freely in that area.

Backbends open the Anahata (heart) chakra, allowing us to experience openness with emotions and relationships. With an open heart, a sense of a wide and vast chest and great lungs we can live life fuller, with less fear and more love and compassion.

Back bends are stimulating and mostly invigorating. They help build energy and strength, especially in the wrists, arms, legs, buttocks and spine while stretching the chest, shoulders, abdomen, hips, and thighs. They relieve stress and fatigue, stimulate the abdominal organs and awaken the Kundalini, increasing the flow of our life force. The nervous system is stimulated, creating heat and increasing metabolism. It helps open the lymph nodes by stretching areas where they are located (chest, armpits and groins).

There are three types of backbends:

•Traction –When the Asana moves with gravity. Muscles in the front of the body keep the body from falling. (Ustrasana or drop backs))
•Leverage – using active strength of arm, legs or a prop (wall) to leverage the asana and stretch the front of the body. (Dhanurasana)
•Contraction – Back muscles (spinal erector muscles) contract to overcome gravity. (Salabasana)

It is helpful to learn to practice these with a good teacher. As to learn how to warm up correctly and what needs to be stretched before we practice different backbends. Some preparation may include shoulder openers, hip openers or even stretching of the quads. Practicing softer backbends, before the deeper ones, a balance of work on those that require wrist strength (Urdhva Dhanurasana) and those that help build it without straining. (Dhanurasana).

When doing traction backbends it is important to keep the hips forward as much as possible. When coming out of traction poses the head is last one to come up.
Just as important is what follows the back bends. Better not to rush into forward bends, but practice some twists and hip openers first. Starting with gentle ones before going deeper into a full Paschimotanasana.

Many more details can be written about alignment and sequencing of backbends. I look to emphasize the heart opening of back bends here, the great possibility they offer to be able to receive fully and give fully.

Namaste and Happy Giving.

Is yoga about the perfect pose?

Just in case you thought that you need to look like the Yoga Journal cover, watch this video of a behind the scenes Yoga Journal Photo shoot.

http://www.yogajournal.com/video/11

It is important to remember that yoga, as we know it today, with such emphasis on Asana, on poses, is relatively a new phenomenon.

Yoga Asana as it has been practiced for thousands of years is mostly about taking a seat in lotus position to meditate. In the early 1900s more elaborate poses have developed, and thanks to Krishnamacharya, many of these poses have started to become more popular, through him, and then some of his students like BKS Iyengar, Pattabhi Jois and his son Desikachar.

Even these poses from India have gone through further transformation, as teachers in the west brought in their skills, from dance, gymnastics, martial arts or other personal preferences.

All this is wonderful as nothing is static, surely not yoga. The teachings are alive and keep transforming. However, looking at the original goal of yoga, of union of mind body and soul, or finding freedom, developing ease in posture, and ceasing the fluctuations of the mind, it is important that we observe what and how we practice.

I love doing fancy poses, inversions are empowering and arm balances are just great fun. Asana, and creative poses are fun and healthy as long as we take them for what they are.

Yoga is not a fashion show. We do not need to look like a cover model of Yoga Journal, nor do the models themselves look like that in everyday life.

The beauty of yoga Journal and the way it presents poses and yoga is a great inspiration. A way to see how a “perfect” pose would look like. Then, it is important for us to take that and find how it can be perfect for OUR body. For our body in that specific time and place, as every day we might be different.

Practice with acceptance, with inspiration to keep learning and developing, and with gratitude to wherever you are right now. That is the only place you can truly be.

Fresh and Healthy: How to choose the freshest fruit and veggies?

• Buy Local. The food did not need to be transported and so there is a better chance it was picked ripe, that it has less waxing and coatings, and less energy was wasted in bringing it to you. Check the sticker on the fruit to see where it's from.
• Buy organic, get it the real way, the way nature planned it. The sticker on the fruits and vegetables will have a number. If it starts with a 9, you’re good to go. 9 means organic.
• Buy in season. Some of the health boosters now in season are blueberries, cherries, garlic, asparagus and watermelon.
• Go to farmers market to get the produce directly from the source. To find out where there is a farmers market near you check Local Harvest.
• Check if it is ripe. Fruit that has been ripen on the tree tastes better and has more nutrients.

Some ways to check ripeness:

• Tap on your watermelon with your hand, a deep hollow sound gives an indication of ripeness and sweetness.
• Take a look: greens should look vibrant and alive, if they have started to yellow or wilt, move on.
• For other veggies, see that they are firm but not too hard, you want them to appear vibrant and appetizing. No signs of discoloration or mold.
• With Garlic you can check the bottom to see if it looks clean or if some black mold has started to grow, Onions should have no smell.

Bottom Line: if it looks great, looks fresh and appetizing and is organic you’re good. (Some non-organic produce looks good because of chemicals or genetically modified genes, but tastes like nothing and has little nutrients). Coming soon, an article about organic. Keep it real!

Have a good nothing!

“Have a good nothing” Debbie wished Gil, and I wished him the same. “Have a good nothing” he replied.

“Now that my diet is so much better and that I exercise more, sleep is my next issue. I tend to wake up at night and just go into thoughts, planning or thinking of clients and their needs.” Gil was telling me.

Meditation was the first option I offered. Meditation is simply training the mind. Sitting still, doing nothing, allowing the awareness to drop to the belly as we follow the breath, in and out, in and out…

Like our legs; when we go to sleep we want them to be still and rest, no need for them to move. The same goes for our eyes or ears, but what about the mind? Why is it so hard to just switch off the mind? A good night sleep is a night of rest, a night where all functions of the body except for the autonomous (like the heart or breath) are resting. That includes our digestion system and our mind.

Gil seemed to be ok with the idea of meditating and was willing to give it a try. “It will be hard to fit it in my schedule” was his first reply. Since his mind is a very strong one, and since he has the capability of taking decisions and following them through, he decided to convince his mind that there is no need for it to do anything during the night. It can all wait for the next day. Simply do nothing. Indeed, doing nothing is the hardest thing for most people in the west. Yet doing nothing is really the ultimate rest.

“ This is your vacation time”, Gil told his mind before he went to bed, “ A time to have a good nothing”.

Another option I offered a friend was to breath slowly and deeply, fully bringing the awareness to the breath. If needed, counting the breath, the slow rhythm and the calming effect of the breath work to allow surrender.

Last night, as Debbie woke up at 3:00am and was about to use the restroom as she normally does, she was more aware of her pattern, and realized she did not really need to go, and staying in bed was already better, as she did not fully awake from getting up and using the toilet. She lay in bed and as thoughts were coming in, she told her mind sharply “Don’t think!” She had the habit of planning her day at that time, but by the time morning rolled in she was too tired to start the day.

This time she managed to go back to sleep and wake up much happier. Sleeping, like Savasana in Yoga is a place to have a good nothing. A place to surrender and just allow deep relaxation.

So from now on, I wish you all “ have a good nothing!

Being Ethical

After a nice dinner of falafel with tahini, and a huge salad the conversation drifted to economy and the stock market. I shifted to reading my book about Mao. When I hear discussions about corporations, the stock market or global economies, I seem to get personally offended as the protector of the poor. I learned it is best for me to shy away. Yet when the talk drifted to ethics, I could not resist and returned to the table with an excuse of getting a cherry.

What makes a stockbroker ethical? How are work ethics kept by a professor that has received tenure? What about the guest at the hotel that does not pay bills, should he use unlimited water? He did pay a high price for the room…

Gil described the laws that are there to keep the brokers ethical, and said that the main thing is to always put the clients’ interests first. This is when I could not help myself and jumped in “so if my client’s interest is to make money, I can invest his money anywhere as long as I make money for him, even if I know that I’m investing in companies that are destroying the planet?”

“What is ethics?” Brian kept asking. “It is not something we can talk about. We cannot judge ethics by the action. People tried to define this for centuries and it is very hard to put in words.” “It is the intention that counts “Sonya added. “But how can we know what the true intention of the person is? “ Asked Brian.
Indeed the intention is crucial and that is why we have courts, to know the facts and as much as possible motives and thoughts beyond the actions.

Again an example of people acting in a way that seems unethical was brought up. Seems like each person around the table had an example that bothered them. Maybe this is why this keeps coming up around the world. Reading about Mao surely makes me wonder. How can someone so unethical manage to become such a figure in controlling so many others?

Self-responsibility I said. I believe that we all know what the right thing to do at every moment is. If we look inside we know what would be best for the person involved, for society, for the planet…it is not a calculated knowledge, rather more of an instinct. First, knowing that what I think, speak or do will not harm anyone or anything, and then seeing the best interest of the other.

This summery of mine was mostly accepted yet it received some criticism that it cannot be implemented.
How does one become self-responsible? What is the motivation behind being self-responsible? Why not take care only of myself?

When thinking of how I came to act the way I act I realized that it was through education and life experience (and inherent nature?). I feel calm and true to myself so long as I know I have truly done my best with out being selfish.

Some education was from school and parents, but what always stuck with me was the saying, “Do unto others as you would want done to you.” So if I am teaching a Yoga class and I have done my duties of teaching and adjusting, but have a few extra moments to help one more student, knowing that they would like to receive the extra help (even if they do not expect it), I will take the extra effort and be of service beyond what is required. Sometimes just lending an ear, or noticing who might appreciate a hand, and being there quietly, as service, as a friend.

Education includes also self-education, sitting in meditation and asking tough questions, such as “who am I?” or “why do I do what I do?” Education served as a means to introduce the importance of caring, the significance of nature and humans. Life experience, one of my biggest teachers, included travel, meeting people from other cultures, befriending “enemies” and the choice of friends I made. Seeing the humanness in everyone, understanding the vulnerability of others and knowing where true happiness comes from help carry out a life of awareness.

Gil was happy with the solution of education yet insisted that all other measures of law and enforcement are to still be around till most humans can really act that way. At least it serves as prevention for bad ethics.

So I urge each and every one of us to be SELF RESPONSIBLE, not to look at what others do or don’t, not to search for blame or excuses, not to compare, but to do our best to be the best we can for one another. This will ultimately be very self-rewarding.

As Socrates said: “The truly wise man will know what is right, do what is good and therefore be happy” (Sahakian, William S. & Sahakian, Mabel Lewis. Ideas of the Great Philosophers. pp 32-33)

Please leave your comments below, share your ideas for how we can become Self Responsible and how can we pass this on to others without force? Why do you care?

Foods that will make you happy

Love that happy feel, where the world looks pretty? Attitude is the first step, a sense of seeing the half glass full. Here are some foods that can help as well:

• Dark Chocolate or even better, raw cocoa nibs; Coco is rich in magnesium, which helps relax and enjoy a nice quiet mood.
• Sprouts – can give you some high. They are so alive and waiting to burst out into full form, that when you take in some of that crunch, you get the extra power of potential (rich in folic acid and soluble fiber)
• Dark leafy greens will boost your energy and immune system, giving you a sense of power and strength. Eat them as raw as possible. Consider Kale your new best friend (rich in folic acid and soluble fiber).
• Mung beans, sunflower seeds, asparagus, pineapple, and bananas can lift your spirits, as they are rich with tryptophan an amino acid converted by the body into the feel-good chemical serotonin.
• Brown rice is warming sweet and grounding. Chew well. (Rich in B vitamins.
• Wild salmon and sardines (rich in omega 3 fats and vitamin D)
• Ground flaxseeds (rich soluble fiber, omega 3 fats, and folic acid)
• Not a food but is natural and works too: St John's wort is the best natural antidepressant.

And remember. Nothing beats a smile a day. Try a big smile every few hours as you eat some yummy food.

Karma, Don’t worry about it.

Karma is a Sanskrit word that means action, or deed. It is mostly used to describe the seed of the cycle of cause and effect. Originating in ancient India, and treated in Hindu, Jain, Sikh and Buddhist philosophies. In these systems the effects of all deeds are viewed as actively shaping past, present, and future experiences.
In the west we can think of it as “what goes around comes around.”

Who is it that keeps score of Karma, and how is the payback made?

• Some say it is God that decides, and that he/she is very fair, we get what we deserve. The Christian concept of reaping what you sow can be considered equivalent to Karma.
• Others say that there is the Law of Karma (maybe referring to nature?). Most laws of nature have scientific research that “guarantees” their results. So far no one has made karma scientific, and it seems that mostly people “hope” for the result that would come from their actions. (Look at many of the most remembered names in history- Alexander the great, Hitler, Napoleon…)
• I tend to look at karma as more of an individual functioning. Like the Isvara (the god within us), that mostly gives us immediate results. In most cases when I act according to what I consider good, I feel satisfied and happy. A sense of joy comes to me just by thinking of what I can share with others. When I am angry, acting out of control, when I am jealous or greedy, I mostly feel frustrated. When looking back, I find shame, a sense of guilt or dissatisfaction.

In order to realize karma, we need to all agree on what is Good or Bad. Or else, how would it be determined what I am getting in return?

Karma today is used so often, that at times I am horrified. A yoga student was injured quite seriously and was told by their teacher that it is a good thing since they are clearing their bad karma. A spiritual teacher told one of his students that they deserve their illness, since it is part of their cleansing. Signs at a yoga studio warn against stealing, since it is bad karma. Hmmm…

Karma, or the result of the action is not necessarily linked directly to the action itself but more so to the intention of the action. That is why thoughts and words are just like actions. One can hurt or help another just by a thought, a smile, or gossip.

When acting, thinking or wishing, we are living our karma. It should not even matter if karma really exists or not. The act of compassion of doing “ the right thing” is done because inherently, deep inside, beyond any mask of conditioning, we KNOW what is the right thing to do (or think) and we need to act out of that clear instinctive place. Not out of a momentary cloud of anger or emotion, but out of that clear reflection of what is, and how we can be of most support to any situation, being or thing.

Today Karma is used often as a motivation by reward / punishment approach, similarly to how other religions use heaven and hell. In a way it is looking to create good while using fear. Yet fear can easily fall under the category of bad energy, and as it is our intention that makes the difference, it is better to find a way to act from a place of positive energy; finding joy in solving a problem, in being of service for another, in sharing love beyond borders and normal standards.

The core of the spiritual practice is that subtle discernment of what is beneficial to self and others, and what is not; the action of compassion, sharing and accepting.

So how then, does one cultivate the ability to act from a sense of care, rightness, and ethics - without being motivated by reward or threat (of heaven or hell, good karma or bad, police, laws, shame, fear etc.)?

It is a natural thing for humans to seek joy, to want to be in the place where the unpleasant instances do not lead to suffering. When we act from a place of intuition, of compassion and generosity towards everything else (our bodies included), we then can be in a place of constant joy, where we let go of the roller coaster of happiness and sorrow, and can live in a state of bliss, even while sitting on the dentist’s chair.

It is helpful to notice when desire or craving (or promise of reward) drive my action, to recognize the desire to control karma as the root of suffering. Notice the motivation, do you, at the most subtle level, expect something in return?

In order to take decisions from a place of intuition and clarity, we need to be fully present to what is, to see reality without the filters of our minds, without projections.

Bottom line: Karma, don’t worry about it! Just do your best without calculations.

Inspired by a meeting with Mary at my Dharma Share, by Osho’s writings and living life.