Author: Tunnel Vision 8
Listen to Your Back Pain
For the past ten months, I was just like many of the clients that I see; I suffered from back pain. As a massage therapist, I was helping others with their back pain and trying to help myself at the same time. Several times, I thought it was the physical work as a therapist that was causing my pain.
Dr. Ben Benjamin, author of “Listen to your Pain,” says, “Pain is a signal that something is wrong. If it is mild and disappears quickly, it’s probably nothing to worry about. However, if the pain is severe, or persists over a week, your body is trying to tell you something. Take it seriously!” If you catch the injury early, it makes it easier to heal. However, if you wait and not listen to the body’s early warning signs, you may have pain for months or years. In cases of continuing severe pain, always see a doctor.
I have a new sense of compassion for my clients because I was one of them. I received massage therapy two to three times a month. My back pain would get better and then come back. I decided to explore different ways to relieve my back pain.
During my journey to healing my back, I found that pain can originate from the energy body (chakras) and emotions (psychogenic pain). According to Benjamin, muscle tension is often “triggered by increased life pressures which add to an overload of emotional stress to the nervous system.” When the emotions are unbalanced, the chakras are unbalanced too.
Looking back ten months ago, I can see that the stress of my father’s Alzheimer’s Disease has taken a toll on me. After seven ER visits and hospitalization for my dad, my chakras were off balance for sure. And then add the stress of my mother falling apart at the seams. I thought I was strong enough to handle it all, but my body shouted a different tale.
I decided to balance my heart chakra. Every morning after I woke up, I placed my hands on my heart chakra. I felt the universal energy vibrating to heal my heart, to heal my back pain. Love and compassion softened my body and mind.
For the last month, I have had no back pain. I used an integrative approach to my back pain. In the future, integrative therapies will be utilized for all human dysfunction. Humans will learn to be resourceful. There is not just one therapy that will work for all conditions. We will have a toolbox of treatments.
Here is a list of treatments/modifications that I used to heal my back pain:
Massage: Massage makes me feel great! After each massage, I feel a full integration of my whole body. Massage relieves stress and revitalizes every cell in the body.
Yoga: Yoga stretches and lengthens the muscles in the body. The most helpful yoga poses for back pain are:
Supine Twist:
Uttanasana (foreword fold):
Salamba Sarvangasansa (shoulder stand – get assistance from an experienced yoga teacher):
Halasana (plough pose – get assistance from an experienced yoga teacher):
Janu Sirsasana (foreword fold with one leg straight, and one leg bent):
Adho Mukha Svanasana (downward facing dog):
Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (bridge pose with a bench):
More treatments/modifications:
Posture: I watched how I sat and stood. I made sure that I did not bend my back, and I lifted heavy items with my legs.
Exercise: Exercise strengthens muscles. Exercise can be great for back pain as long as it’s low impact (like walking, biking, and swimming).
Acupuncture/Acupressure: I received acupuncture and gave myself acupressure. Acupuncture stimulates the meridians in the body, and this facilitates healing. Acupuncture and acupressure are energy based systems.
Reiki: I gave myself Reiki treatments each morning. The gentle universal energy healed my emotional body.
Sleep position: Sleeping on my stomach (prone position), puts stress on my back. I changed to sleeping on my sides and on my back.
Best wishes.
Namaste, world.
The Wild Dogs of India
Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened. – Anatole France
When I was in India in 2015, my love for animals sang loudly. I arrived in India around one in the morning. Smog and wild dogs welcomed my colleagues and me. My professor could tell that I wanted to pet the dogs, but she gave me a strict warning not to touch any dogs while in India.
I saw a lot of dogs and puppies in India. Many were thin and starving. Several litters of puppies walked around with abandon. My heart went out to each dog. I wish I could do more to help them.
I wanted to touch them, hold them, and care for them. They reminded me of my dog back at home. I love all animals fiercely, especially dogs.
Each dog was in survival mode. They looked through garbage and begged for food from people on the streets. I realize now that India can barely take care of its people much less the animals.
I took a lot of pictures when I was in India. However, I only took three pictures of dogs (two of them are included with this article). I could not capture their desolate state. I did not want to relive their suffering. Many times I just had to look away when I saw a sick or injured dog. I felt powerless and looking away is all I could do.
My heart sings for the wild dogs of India. I wish the people of India would sing to their dogs like they sing for their cows. Cows are sacred; dogs are not. Cows are sacred because they give milk, till the fields, and cow dung is a source of fuel and fertilizer. Dogs only give love and companionship. They have a way of opening one’s heart. The wild dogs of India suffer because the people of India suffer. Once there is more stability in India, the people will recognize the love and beauty of their dogs.
Namaste, world.
Doorway Meditation
Doorway Meditation, by Penney Peirce
The next time you approach a doorway, use it as an opportunity to set your intention. Every door is a passage between experiences, between dimensions of awareness. As you enter the arch of a doorway, pause a moment. Enter the feminine mind and the warrior’s attention. Let yourself feel the subtle difference between the space you are leaving and the space you are about to enter. Is there a difference in height? Spaciousness? Color? Temperature? Comfort? What was your consciousness like while you were in the space you are now leaving? Feel into the new space. Prepare to enter the new state of awareness, to welcome whatever it holds for you. When the moment is right, step through.
Love and Trust
“Keep running love and trust through your body. Soon even your cells will believe this is their true nature.”
– Penney Peirce
Prince: My Close Encounter
Almost every Minnesotan has a Prince story. Some people saw him at a gas station, or they saw him sitting with a lady friend at the Arboretum. One woman knew his hair stylist, and several other people saw him ride his bike around Paisley Park just days before he died. We all want to be part of Prince, and we are proud that he was a Minnesotan.
I am Minnesotan too, and I have a Prince story. Back in 1986, I had the opportunity to see Prince at Paisley Park Studios. I was 15 years old and a fashion model. My agency called me up to ask if I wanted to go to Paisley Park to be part of an audience. Prince filmed the video “Sign O’ the Times” in Paris, but the audience shots didn’t turn out. It was back in the 80’s when we had videotapes. Prince wanted to recreate the lost footage.
I went to Paisley Park to be part of an audience of about a hundred people. Some people were actors, and some were models. Most of us were hired to be there. I received a check from my modeling agency for $80.00.
I spent the whole day at Paisley Park, and I was allowed to bring one friend. We arrived in the morning, and we didn’t leave until about 11:00 PM. The first thing I remember is the waiting and waiting. All hundred of us shuffled into one large garage in the back of Paisley Park. We sat around waiting for our big moment to see Prince and to be part of a live concert.
Lunchtime rolled around, and all of us were starving. Prince’s staff said that they were having technical difficulties, so we had to wait. Prince had a generous spirit, so he hired a McDonalds food truck to come to Paisley Park to hand out burgers, fries, and drinks.
All of us waited until it was dusk. Finally, we were allowed to go into Paisley Park Studios. We had to stand in a line before we entered the stage production area. As we waited in line, Prince walked by us. My friend, Jennifer, and I were surprised how small he was. Prince was a tiny man but so sexy!
Once we entered the stage area, we were told where to stand. Unfortunately, my friend and I stood near the back. If we were to do it all over again, we would have moved up to the front. The stage was a typical stage that you would see at a concert. Prince had his band there too.
The concert was awesome! I was in awe and mesmerized by Prince. He put on a regular show playing all his famous songs. As a crowd, we jumped up and down and did everything the staff asked us to do.
Back in 1986 was my close encounter with Prince. He is and always will be talented and sexy. We will miss Prince. May his music remind us to live our dreams.
Namaste, world.
Quotes by Pujya Swamiji
“Make every day a holy day; start every day with prayer. Fill every day with prayer. End every day with prayer.”
“Do divine! Be divine! It is not enough just to be divine; one must also do divine.”
“Travel light on your journey in life. Your desires and expectations are heavy baggage, which slow you down and thwart your progress. Let them go.”
“Live in PEACE, not in pieces. If you are in peace, you will exude peace, manifest peace, and spread peace. If you’re in pieces, you will manifest pieces and spread pieces.”
“The ‘I’ is the cause of all our problems. It is a wall, a barrier between us and others. Learn to bend the ‘I’ and make it a bridge.”
“WE MUST LEARN to give, give, and give like the sun, and like Mother Ganga, with no hesitation, no expectation, no vacation, and no discrimination.”
“The best way to honor God in our lives is through serving humanity.”
“Meditation is the best medication for all agitations.”
“If we want to be torchbearers of peace, we must first become rivers of love, dousing all flames of discord in the waters of our own compassion and serenity.”
“We must learn to be noiseless amid the noise.”
“Life is about the journey, not the destination. Live in heaven now. Don’t wait for it to come later. Live in moksha (liberation) now. Don’t wait for death.”
“Forgive, forget, and move forward. This is the only way. It is not enough to forgive and forget. One must also move on.”
“One of the keys to a spiritual path is to annihilate the ego, to become humble, to surrender oneself to God.”
“If we set the divine example, others will follow.”
“Prayer is calling back home. It brings us into divine connection.”
“If you cannot be huggy-huggy (full of love) here are Earth, do not expect that hugs will be waiting for you in heaven, learn to be huggy-huggy here on Earth first and then this Earth will become your heaven.”
Namaste, world.
Training for My Next Life
“To say that we must have but one life here with such possibilities put before us and impossible to develop is to make the universe and life a huge and cruel joke.” – Ven. K. Sri Dhammananda (Buddhist Monk)
I am training for my next life. Of course, someone might object that we have more than one lifetime. But I believe that each soul has had many lives. Furthermore, I understand my mortality, and I have a very short time, in this life, to develop wisdom. I am half way through my lifetime if I live to be in my eighties. The universe is opening my eyes and helping me live with intention and intuition.
I remember my good friend, Jumba. He died of pancreatic cancer a year and a half ago. Jumba taught Tai Chi at Triple Gem of the North (TGN) Mindfulness Center, and I currently teach yoga at the center. I attended his Tai Chi classes, and he attended my yoga classes. I was always impressed with his flexibility as he sat in full lotus pose.
Jumba was a joyful man. He was always happy and energetic. He was married and had four children. His illness appeared quickly, and he lived only four months after his diagnosis. While he was in the hospital, he told Bhante Sathi, the Sri Lankan monk at TGN Mindfulness Center, that he wanted to live in Sri Lanka as a monk in his next life.
Where do I want to live in my next life? Who do I want to be? Can I prepare for my next life while I live my current life? In his book, “What Buddhists Believe,” Ven. K. Sri Dhammananda maintains that, “In the process of self-transformation, a person will no longer aspire for a divine birth as his ultimate goal in life. He will then set his goal much higher, and model himself after the Buddha, who has reached the summit of human perfection and attained the ineffable state we call Enlightenment or Nibbana.”
A few weeks ago, when I was in Sedona, Arizona, I realized that I am not ready to leave this life. I still have a lot of spiritual work to do. This work is crucial, and I must not take my life for granted! I know that I am not ready for Enlightenment or Nibbana, but I am making spiritual progress.
According to Ven. K. Sri Dhammananda, “Man can be enlightened – a Buddha – if he wakes up, from the ‘dream’ that is created by his own ignorant mind, and becomes fully awakened. He must realize that what he is today is the result of an untold number of repetitions in thoughts and actions. He is not ready-made: he is continually in the process of becoming, always changing. And it is in this characteristic of change that his future lies, because it means that it is possible for him to mold his character and destiny through the choice of his actions, speech and thoughts. Indeed, he becomes the thoughts and actions that he chooses to perform. Man is the highest fruit on the tree of evolution. It is for man to realize his position in nature and to understand the true meaning of his life.”
I like the quote: “He must realize that what he is today is the result of untold number of repetitions in thoughts and actions.” We are responsible for what we think and what we do. These thoughts and actions shape who we are as human beings. We are a product of energy; mind and body.
Here are some self-transforming key points that I recommend, by Rick Hanson, Ph.D., “Buddha’s Brain: The practical neuroscience of happiness, love, and wisdom:”
- What happens in your mind changes your brain, both temporarily and in lasting ways; neurons that fire together wire together. And what happens in your brain changes your mind, since the brain and mind are a single, integrated system.
- Therefore, you can use your mind to change your brain to benefit your mind – and everyone else whose life your touch.
- People who have practiced deeply in the contemplative traditions are the “Olympic athletes” of the mind. Learning how they’ve trained their minds (and thus their brains) reveals powerful ways to have more happiness, love, and wisdom.
- The brain evolved to help you survive, but its three primary survival strategies also make you suffer.
- Virtue, mindfulness, and wisdom are the pillars of everyday well-being, personal growth, and spiritual practice; they draw on the three fundamental neural functions of regulation, learning, and selection.
- The path of awakening involves both transforming the mind/brain and uncovering the wonderful true nature that was there all along.
- Small positive actions every day will add up to large changes over time, as you gradually build new neural structures. To keep at it, you need to be on your own side.
- Wholesome changes in the brains of many people could tip the world in a better direction.
Namaste, world.
Those who really seek the path to Enlightenment
dictate terms to their mind. They then proceed with
strong determination. – Buddha
Light in Your Heart
If light is in your heart, you will find your way home. – Rumi
Don’t throw anyone out of your heart. – Sharon Salzberg
The Magic of “Om”
Om or Aum is a sacred sound and symbol. Om is the universal sound; the first sound of creation. In the yoga sutras by B.K.S Iyengar (1993), “Aum is called Pranava, which stands for the praise of the divine and fulfillment of divinity.” Iyengar continues to say, “Sound is vibration, which as modern science tells us, is the source of all creation. God is beyond vibration, but vibration, being the subtlest of His creation, is the nearest we can get to Him in the physical world. So we take it as His symbol.”
I have been using Om in my pranayama practice. Yogic breathing is called pranayama in Sanskrit. Brown et al., (2005) defines pranayama as “meaning both control of energy and expansion of energy” (p. 189). In other words, Brown says that the breath is energy, and we have control over it. Brown (2005) states, prana is defined as breath or life force. According to Iyengar (1996), “pranayama by nature has three components: inhalation, exhalation, and retention. They are carefully learned by elongating the breath and prolonging the time of retention according to the elasticity of the torso, the length and depth of breath and the precision of movements” (p. 33). Iyengar’s point is to learn to hold the breath for longer periods of time to increase the volume oxygen in the body.
Breath links the body and mind. Yogic breathing techniques can be used to balance the autonomic nervous system and have a positive effect on stress-related disorders. When individuals are under stress, they restrict their breathing and decrease the amount of oxygen coming into their bodies (Wilkinson, 2002). Yogic breathing techniques increase the volume of oxygen in the lungs and help the body to relax and the mind to focus.
When I chant Om, I repeat it three times with a long expiration. Chanting Om has complex effects on the brain; especially in the Wernicke’s area and the thalamus (Brown, 2005). According to Brown et al., (2005), “Even just mentally chanting Om showed decreased metabolism, decreased heart rate, and increased peripheral vascular resistance in seven experienced yogic meditators” (p. 195). Chanting Om also increases synchronicity of particular biorhythms in the brain (Zope, 2013). D’Antoni et al.(1995) state that “mantra production frequently employs the phonemes, m, and n, which are thought to evoke pleasant association and a feeling of release” (p. 309). The chant Om has the phoneme m in it.
Om is magical. I have experienced its effects on my mind and body. I am an emotional person and sometimes I have a difficult time controlling my emotions. According to The Art of Living Foundation (http://www.artofliving.org), “rather than allowing the emotions to alter the breath (and cause physiological changes which may prove unhealthy), one can skillfully use the breath to transform one’s emotional state.” When someone is angry, the breath is short and quick. And when someone is sad or upset, the breath is long and deep. Om can be used to control the breath and balance the emotions.
I had a little health scare this past month. I found a few pink, scaly spots on my face. I was worried that I might have skin cancer. So last week I went to the dermatologist. I made a plan that I would silently use the Om chant while I sat in the office, and during the consultation and treatment. I was surprised how chanting Om helped me to be calm and feel centered. I did not get upset, and my heart rhythm was strong.
I found out that I do not have skin cancer. I have Actinic Keratoses. It’s a common skin disorder from years of sun exposure. Actinic Keratoses is considered precancerous. If left untreated, Actinic Keratoses may turn into squamous cell carcinoma. I am treating my spots (with liquid nitrogen), so hopefully I will not get skin cancer.
I can count on the magic of Om to balance the biorhythms in my brain and in my heart. I have to admit; I was scared that I was going to die from skin cancer. Deep breathing and prayer helped me connect with God and the universe. Life can be scary, so we need to learn to breathe through it.
Namaste, world.
References
Brown, R.P., & Gerbarg, P.L., (2005). Sudarshan kriya yogic breathing in the treatment of stress, anxiety, and depression: Part I – Neurophysiologic model. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 11(1), 189-201.
Brown, R.P., & Gerbarg, P.L., (2005). Sudarshan kriya yogic breathing in the treatment of stress, anxiety, and depression: Part II – Clinical applications and guidelines. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 11(4), 711-717.
D’Antoni, M., Harvey, P., & Fried, M. (1995). Alternative medicine: Does it play a role in the management of voice disorders. Journal of Voice, 9(3), 308-311.
Iyengar, B.K.S. (1966). Light on yoga. New York, NY: Schocken Books, Inc.
Iyengar, B.K.S. (1993). Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Hammersmith, London: HarperCollins Publishers.
Wilkinson, L., Buboltz, W. C., & Young, T. (2002). Breathing techniques to promote client relaxation and tension reduction. Journal of Clinical Activities, Assignments & Handouts in Psychotherapy Practice, 2(1), 1-14.
Zope, S.A., & Zope, R.A., (2013). Sudarshan kriya yoga: Breathing for health. International Journal of Yoga, 6(1), 4-10.
Tunnel Vision 8 