Yoga Philosophy of the Day Part 2

by Nina

Almost immediately after I published my post on Monday Yoga Philosophy of the Day, which was about cultivating equanimity in the face of difficulty and “enemies,” I was sorry I hadn’t mentioned the United States election (post posting remorse?). Because for many of us Americans, this election has been extremely divisive, with the feeling on both sides that those in the opposing camp were our “enemies.” I even know people who stopped speaking to those who disagreed with them over candidates and issues. And I confess that I, too, got swept up in some very negative feelings.

Now, this morning, after very intense night, the results are in and the battles are over, for now at least. However, I find that there is still a great deal of intense feeling remaining, on both sides. Gloating, anger, bitterness. Even Big Bird wasn't being as nice as usual. So maybe it’s not too late to add to what I wrote on Monday after all!

If we practice yoga the way the Bhagavad Gita defines it, we’ll need to step back from these negative feelings. As I quoted on Monday:

He looks impartially on all:

those who love him or hate him,

his kinsmen, his enemies, his friends

the good, and also the wicked.

This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t work for the political causes we believe in. As The Bhagavad Gita says:

He who performs his duty

with no concern for results

is the true man of yoga—not

he who refrains from action.

And, after all, it was Mohandas K. Gandhi, one of the great political activists of all time, who called The Bhagavad Gita his “mother” and believed in its message of “skill in action.”

The wise man lets go of all

results, whether good or bad,

and is focused on the action alone.

Yoga is skill in actions.

Now the challenge for all of us is to put this into practice. (See my original post Yoga Philosophy of the Day for information about what The Bhagavad Gita recommends as the way to achieve this.)

I was also thinking about how cultivating equanimity in the way The Bhagavad Gita recommends pertains to healthy aging. Of course, maintaining equanimity in the face of difficulty of all kinds helps make our lives better (and our bodies healthier). But also, as older people, most of us want to make a better world for those who come after us, whether that means for our own family members or for the next generation as a whole. And this will only be possible if we can all work together, friends and enemies alike.

Subscribe to YOGA FOR HEALTHY AGING by Email ° Follow Yoga for Healthy Aging on Facebook 

Yoga Sutra 1 2 Restricting the Whirls of Consciousness

by Nina

Spring Blossoms, Clouds by Nina Zolotow

My young cousin asked me last night about the history of the form of yoga that she’s been practicing lately. I told her that it was a very recent form of hatha yoga, but added that all the hatha yoga we’ve been doing in the United States was developed in the 20th century. We then talked about the part of yoga that was, indeed, very ancient, and I tossed out some of the definitions of yoga from the classic scriptures. One of them was this from the Yoga Sutras:

Yoga cittavritti nirodha
Yoga is the restriction of the whirls of consciousness.

I like this particular translation of sutra 1.2 because it translates the compound word “cittavritti” as “whirls of consciousness.” I not only find that very poetic, but also very accurate in terms of how the mind works. The word “vritti” has many definitions, including "waves" and "fluctuations," but whirls reminds me of the revolved yoga poses that also contain the word “vritti,” such as Paravritti Trikonasana and Paravritti Parsvakonasana. So for me, whirls evokes revolving, turning, and circling. And when we’re depressed or anxious or mentally stressed out, aren’t we tormented by the our whirls of consciousness, by negative thoughts and emotions that cycle over and over? What if I miss my deadline? What if the plane crashes? What if I can’t fall asleep tonight? Or, if only my lover hadn’t left me. If only I wasn’t so helpless/afraid/overwhelmed. If only my parents had loved me more.

In Andrew Solomon’s wonderful book on depression The Noonday Demon, he describes the difference between clinical depression and agitated (or anxiety based) depression, saying that clinical depression is an obsession with the past or, as I like to put it, all those “if only” thoughts. On the other hand, he says that agitated depression (or anxiety for that matter) is an obsession with the future, or as I put it, all those “what if” thoughts. Do either of those states of mind sound familiar? And if so, don’t you think it would wonderful to be able to “restrict” or “cease” or “quiet” those whirls of consciousness?

Yoga was initially developed (or perhaps “evolved” is a better word) for that purpose. Thousands of years of different kinds of yoga practice have resulted in a lot of different methods for “restricting the whirls of consciousness” or quieting the mind, including meditation, breath practices, and chanting, as well as asana practice.

And, for me, this concept is the basis for using yoga for your emotional wellbeing. When I teach workshops on this topic, I always talk about this translation of sutra 1.2. Because my general principle for using yoga for emotional wellbeing is simply this: Start by becoming aware of the vrittis, of the way your mind gets caught up in them. And then observe how different yoga practices affect them.

Subscribe to Yoga for Healthy Aging by Email ° Follow Yoga for Healthy Aging on Facebook ° Join this site with Google Friend Connect

AMD Update 2 Investigative Therapies Discussed at the 2008 AAO Meeting

In June of this year, Dave Harmon of Market Scope, reporting on the 2008 ARVO meeting, published a graphic describing AMD Cases in the U.S. by Type and Stage. I reproduced that table in this Journal.

Now, Harmon and his Market Scope team have reported on the latest information about retinal therapies from the 2008 American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) meeting held in Atlanta, in the December issue of Ophthalmic Market Perspectives.

In the Retina Subspecialty Meeting, held just prior to the main AAO meeting, Carmen Puliafito called treatment aimed at arresting the progression of geographic atrophy, “the new Holy Grail of macular degeneration therapy.” He reported on one of several new therapies for treating dry AMD.

Dru Thomas of Market Scope has put together the following two tables of new therapies for both dry and wet AMD. They are presented with permission of Market Scope. (For more information from the AAO meeting or for obtaining Ophthalmic Market Perspectives, please contact Market Scope directly.)

Video of the Week Dynamic Dropped Knee Lunge Version 2

In this version of Dynamic Dropped Knee Lunge, in addition to stretching the front of your back thigh, you also stretch the back of your front thigh (hamstring muscles). Those with lower back issues should do version 1, not this version.

Subscribe to Yoga for Healthy Aging by Email ° Follow Yoga for Healthy Aging on Facebook ° Join this site with Google Friend Connect