Living Yoga

I took this information from an article on organicconsumers.org.  Sometimes I need to be refreshed on why I want to avoid certain ingredients in foods.  I hope this provides a refreshed incentive to eat a little closer to nature! :)  Namaste!

Dr Mercola's Comments

In case you forgot, or never knew in the first place, the number one source of calories in the US is high fructose corn syrup.  Let me say that in different words so you more fully appreciate the impact of this fact.  Remember that fat has 250% more calories than sugar, but even with this major disadvantage, the food that most people get MOST of their calories from is sugar from corn, primarily in the form of soft drinks.

Even though I have known this for years, it is still shocking to me every time I reflect on the enormity of this truth.  But, like W. Clement Stone, I believe that there is a nugget of good in this horrible fact. The good is that stopping this pernicious habit is one of the easiest things to do. Since this is such a pervasive problem in the US, we could make radically outrageous improvements in our health as a culture if we just simply stopped everyone from drinking soda.

I am HIGHLY confident that the health improvement would be FAR more profound than if everyone stopped smoking because elevated insulin levels are the foundation of nearly every chronic disease known to man, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, aging, arthritis, osteoporosis, you name it, and you will find elevated insulin levels as a primary factor.

This evidence of an increase in triglyceride levels and LDL (bad) cholesterol levels is just the latest among countless findings pointing to the dangers of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS).

Part of what makes HFCS such an unhealthy product is that it is metabolized to fat in your body far more rapidly than any other sugar, and, because most fructose is consumed in liquid form, its negative metabolic effects are significantly magnified.

HFCS has also been linked to:

    * Diabetes
    * Obesity
    * Metabolic Syndrome

The delusion that fructose is an acceptable form of sugar is quite prevalent in many nutritional circles. In fact, nearly all simple sugars are metabolized quickly and disrupt insulin levels, which contributes to most chronic illness. Eating small amounts of whole fruit will not provide tremendous amounts of fructose and should not be a problem for most people, unless diabetes or obesity is an issue but fruit juices, sodas and other beverages sweetened with fructose should be avoided.

To add insult to injury, the corn that the high fructose corn syrup is metabolized from nearly all comes from genetically modified corn which is fraught with its own well documented side effects and health concerns.

High fructose corn syrup is is not something that should be in your diet at all. But HFCS is the primary caloric sweetener in U.S. soft drinks. Researchers estimate that most Americans eat 132 calories of HFCS per day, while the top 20 percent of sweetener consumers eat over 300. And some, they say, eat as much as 700 calories per day of HFCS.
Sodas, of course, are not the only source of HFCS (though they represent one of the main ones). This dangerous sweetener is also in many processed foods and fruit juices, so to avoid it you need to focus your diet on whole foods and, if you do purchase packaged foods, become an avid label reader.

There is a new book that I'm adding to my recommended reading list . . . Yoga As Medicine.  Below is a very interesting chart from the beginning of the book showing different ailments and the percentage of people who were helped in those ailments from a yoga practice.

Medical Condition                                    #of people reporting            %helped by yoga
Alcoholism                                               26                                       100
Anxiety                                                   838                                      94
Arthritis and Rheumatic Disorders              589                                      90
Asthma or Bronchitis                                226                                      88
Back Disorders                                        1,142                                    98
Cancer                                                    29                                        90
Diabetes                                                  10                                        80
Duodenal Ulcers                                        40                                       90
Heart Disease                                          50                                        94
Hemorrhoids                                            391                                      88
High Blood Pressure                                  150                                      84
Insomnia                                                  542                                      82
Menopausal Disorders                               247                                      83
Menstrual Problems                                   317                                      68
Migraine                                                   464                                      80
Neurological and Neuromuscular Disease     112                                     96
Obesity                                                     240                                     74
Premenstrual Syndrome                             848                                     77
Smoking                                                    219                                     74


If you have any ailment that effects your physical abilities be sure to let your yoga teacher know so that you can work together to make your practice as beneficial as it can be.  Not every class, or every pose is right for every body and this is the best way to insure that you get yoga that is right for you.

"Do not contract your brain when you stretch your body."
                                                 -B.K.S. Iyengar

I read this quote last night and it struck me as really funny and of course really wise.  Yoga has this tremendous power to teach your mind HOW to disengage, HOW to "not contract," HOW to let go, and just be open and aware.  It happens in a sort of amazing, thoughtless, spontaneous way.  One day you find yourself moving through your asanas with your breath not thinking, next thing you know, you catch yourself periodically through out your day not thinking, just aware and relaxed. 

Yoga teaches you how to meditate so that if and when you decide to take a seat with yourself for five minutes or half an hour, you have more of an ability to quiet the fluctuations of your mind and just be.  Let your asana practice teach you how to relax your mind and just experience where you are.  "Do not contract your brain when you stretch your body."

Know the blessings of happiness through your trust and faith in God.

- John Morton
(From: You Are the Blessings, p. 62)

We practice upward facing dog in nearly every asana practice.  This pose can be so beneficial when done with respect and awareness to how your body feels.  As long as you only lift as high as your wrists and your lower back enjoy it, you will reap these benefits.  Up-dog is an energizing backbend and so fights fatigue and mild depression.  This pose also strengthens your spine, arms and wrists,improves posture, and opens up the front side of your body stretching your abdomen, chest, lungs and shoulders.  It is especially therapeutic when attention is paid to pulling shoulders open, shoulder blades down and breathing deeply into your heart center. 

This pose can be done with the thighs on or off the floor.