Ron Paul & Ahimsa

Ron Paul apparently understands Ahimsa (non-violence):

"One rule you have to follow: and that is, in order to make the world a better place, you have to reject the notion that you use violence and force to do it. You have to do it through persuasion. If we want to change the world, if we want to change the Middle East, if we want to change Africa, you do it by spreading ideas and through persuasion. But the most important thing we do is do our job here, set an example, so others would want to emulate us, and that should be our [goal.]" --Ron Paul

What is our yoga practice supposed to do for us?

This post was inspired by a lovely conversation I had with two students after class tonight, Katherine and Mark (thank you).

In yoga, we want to take the body and the mind into the opposite place of where we normally take it on a day-to-day unconscious, unmindful basis. We want to break habits and patterns to free up space for potential, for change, for growth. All of life is growth. Don't kid yourself, that is the point.

So, during our practice, we want to try to move slower if we normally move too fast. We want to be more patient if we are normally impatient. We want to be compassionate where we are lacking; we want to soften where we are hard and stiff; we want to strengthen where we are weak and unstable. We want to find a healthy balance where we are working and we are challenged but we are not torturing or overexerting ourselves.

To understand this best, it is useful to understand the yogic idea of the three gunas, or modes of life: rajas, tamas, and sattva. Rajas represents activity and work; tamas is rest and lethargy; and sattva is purity, joy, bliss meditation. We ought to be balancing these modes throughout life, but most of us are dominant in one or the other at certain points. Many of us give little or no time to sattva, to quiet, blissful meditative time spent celebrating life; we move straight from rajas to tamas, often staying geared up in rajas when we are meant to be letting loose in tamas or letting tamas drag its heaviness into our appropriate rajas time. Meaning, we wake up in the morning and instead of taking time in sattva to be grateful for another day and to sit and pray or meditate or sing or do something we genuinely enjoy, we go straight to work, rushing from here to there, getting this and getting that done. Many of us will stay in that mindset even after leaving work, and then we cannot wind down in tamas time and sleep well. Others of us will at times wake up and never actually "wake up," staying in tamas and letting depression, laziness, and lethargy dwell in our bodies all day.

This is relevant because in order to practice yoga in a way that is healthy and beneficial and enjoyable for us, we have to realize what mode we are most dominant in. Physically, most bodies come to yoga for the first time in a tamasic state; few of us will be in a rajasic place. We want to arrive in sattva. However, we must first move to rajas in order to come back to sattva. We have to first wake the body up if it's been tired and unmotivated all this time in tamas; we cannot stay in the hyper, overactive place of rajas though because it is exhausting and can lead to restlessness and injury. So your yoga will feel very difficult at first and you will have to challenge yourself a lot and work what may feel like "too hard" for some time before you can find the peace, quiet, and stillness in your yoga practice.

Yoga Mats & Towels

I've told a number of people I would post something about my thoughts, opinions, and experiences with yoga mats, yoga bags, yoga clothes, mat washes, etc. Here is the first of these posts... on the endless search for the perfect yoga mat.

It's either too slippery or too sticky, too firm or too mushy, too heavy or too flimsy, too smelly or too detrimental to the environment and the quest for the dream yoga mat is about finding a space that is completely your own, somewhere you can work and rest, and find your balance.

Here is a list of mats that I have tried:

Your average sticky mat: bought at Marshall's or Target or somewhere like that for $15-20; could also easily be found on eBay or Amazon. This mat will come in an array of colors and patterns and is generally made of PVC (which is not eco-friendly, it is not biodegradable and will sit in a landfill for years to come). It is common for this mat to initially be somewhat slippery (though not all are) if you are practicing a vigorous sweaty type of yoga; however, after cleaning the mat with a small amount of dish-soap, it should break down the chemical coating that results from the manufacturing process. The cushioning and support is somewhat limited, so if you have sensitive joints you'll want something thicker. They are very light and easy to transport. These mats might be sufficient if you are just getting started or not practicing yoga very often. However, the sticky mat is sure to break down and you will begin to find little pieces of the mat flake off.

Jade Yoga Mat: Found at the Jade Yoga website, or eBay or Amazon, and possibly some yoga studios such as Peconic River Yoga. Jade makes a number of different types of mats, but there are two different thicknesses that I can speak about ("Harmony"= 3/16" for about $70.00 and "Travel"=1/8" for about $45.00). I know a number of people who swear by the Harmony (thicker) mat for its incredible non-slip surface and cushioning. I tried the thinner "travel mat" because it is lighter and I move locations a lot and don't require a lot of cushioning. Like with the heavier mat, there were no problems slipping at all on this one either. They are made of natural rubber so they are eco-friendly. They are also of an "open-cell" construction, which means it is generally more porous than a "closed-cell" mat (take a good look at this mat compared to the average sticky mat, you'll see what I mean). This I think is what makes the traction so great. However, open-cell means is is going to hold onto a lot more. It will absorb moisture and bacteria more easily so it will be important to keep very clean and what ultimately put me off about this mat is that I found that it also attracted dust and lint and would cling onto any minor debris and sand that it was laid down on.

The Original Eco Yoga Mat: I ordered this off of the Barefoot Yoga Company website for about $78.00. This is a thick and dense mat at 4 mm in thickness and 4.5-6 pounds in weight. The mat is constructed of natural rubber and jute fiber (a grass, like hemp). It is eco-friendly and biodegradable. The jute gives it awesome slip-free traction, and although I've heard some people say the fiber can be a bit abrasive on bare skin, I never had problems with this. The natural rubber has a very strong rubber smell, which might bother some people, but didn't bother me much, it's quite "earthy." I liked this mat a lot. The only trouble I had with this mat is that it shed a lot. Little pieces of natural rubber continuously flaked off and ended up on my clothing.

Manduka Yoga Mats: Found at the Manduka website, eBay, Amazon, or some yoga studios such as Mindful Turtle. As with the Jade Yoga mats, Manduka makes a number of different model mats. I will focus on the Black Mat Pro (about $85.00-94.00), the Pro Lite (about $65.00-72.00) and the eKo SuperLite (about $36.00-39.00). Black Mat Pro and Pro Lite: a truly sophisticated mat model that has a lifetime guarantee stamped on it. So where it lacks in biodegradability, it makes up for in sustainability. This mat is incredibly durable. Its thickness does not interfere with balancing, though, not one of those thick mushy mats that will suck your foot in like quicksand and make it more difficult to balance. If anything, this mat helps balancing with its density. Both the Black Mat Pro and the Pro Lite will be slippery when you first get them. You have to wash with dish soap or some other household cleaner, you can even scrub with a sea-salt or baking soda scrub (I will post my mat cleaner recipe) to rough it up a bit. After you break the mat in, it will not be slippery anymore. I also used the Manduka eQua towel over the mat when it was in its slippery period, which allowed me to use the mat and break it in without slipping around (more on this later). The differences between the Black Mat Pro and the Pro Lite are the colors options; weight; thickness; and width. The Black Mat generally comes in black (as you would expect), but occasionally Manduka will release a special edition (cranberry or sapphire or something like that). It is 7.0 pounds, an enormous 1/4" thick, and the standard 71" long, but 26" wide. The Pro Lite -- which comes in every color of the rainbow -- is 4.0 pounds, 3/16" thick, 71" long and the standard 24" wide.
eKo Mats (SuperLite): I have not tried the eKo Mat or the eKo Lite, but I have tried the eKo SuperLite (travel mat). This series of mats do not come with the same lifetime guarantee. While these are eco-friendly in that they are biodegradable, I have heard that the eKo Lite is not very durable and really isn't appropriate for every-day use. I'd say don't waste your money on this; if you want an every-day mat go with the Pro Lite. If you just must have something that is biodegradable, better off with Jade Travel. However, people seem to be pretty satisfied with the Manduka eKo Mat, which is comparable to the Jade Harmony in thickness and performance. I haven't tested this one out. I bought the eKo SuperLite for travel. I like to travel light and unless I am going somewhere specifically for a yoga retreat, I bring the SuperLite. It is flimsy and there is no support, but it gets the job done. It would not be appropriate for every-day use, but it is good if you want something to throw over a studio mat for sanitary purposes or something to lay down in a hotel room. It folds up to fit in your suitcase quite nicely.

With all of this being said, when it comes to slipping, shedding, breaking in, and cleanliness purposes, the yoga towels really are a nice addition. If you practice a more vigorous style of yoga or "hot yoga," a regular towel might do, but the yoga towels like the eQua towel made by Manduka, Thirsty yoga towel made by Gaiam, Skidless Yogi Toes towel, or the prAna yoga towel are moisture-wicking and/or extra absorbent, making them more effective as you sweat on them. They come in a full-length mat size and also in a hand-towel size as well. I have used Manduka's, and it helped enormously during the break-in period of my mat when it was still slippery. Now I lend it to people when I see them slipping, and everybody raves about how helpful it is.

There are dozens of other mats out there that I don't know enough about to speak for, but hopefully this can give you some things to think about, to look out for, and feel more prepared as you make an investment in a yoga mat. The mats made by prAna look interesting and promising, (E.C.O. Yoga Mat, Revolution Sticky Mat, Natural Yoga Mat, Nomad Travel Mat) as do many of the Hugger Mugger mats. Gaiam makes a ton of mats that come with whimsical and beautiful designs which seem to please enough people because I see them around a lot, but I am not ultimately sure about the functionality, permanence, or durability of these.

The "Yogic Diet"

On two recent occasions now, I have been asked about my diet by a student. "What do you eat?" "Do you eat meat?" And the answer is, I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables; and yes, I eat some meat.

What I want to stress here is that I don't believe in forcing your body into a diet that doesn't work for it or doesn't make you feel right. A lot of people seem to think that all yogis are vegetarians; so when we embark upon this yogic path, we say, OK... so I have to stop eating meat, right? Yes and no. Stop eating meat if that's what your body is asking for, or if you feel strongly enough about the effect your diet and your habits have on the environment, the planet, and every living being as a whole.

I do not think it will necessarily work out if you force yourself to stop eating meat when your body is still really craving meat. Some discipline is good, and getting a little tough on yourself may be appropriate sometimes, so I'm not saying Never do that. What I am saying is that for me, the natural progression of slowly and gently eliminating things from my diet is what works. Because I do not crave any of these things that I have eliminated, so there was really no struggle involved. It is just very natural.

I suffered with some rather severe digestive issues a number of years ago, before my yoga practice became what I consider it to be now, and before I managed the stress in my life in a more effective way. I had, at different points, cut out many things from my diet including, fats like meat, dairy, oils, even nuts; gluten and all simple carbohydrates and refined sugars; and insoluble fibers, even some fruits and vegetables. If you do feel as badly as I did, trial-and-error is the only way to determine what it is that your body is having an adverse reaction to... until you can train yourself to become very attune to your body's messages and you will soon know exactly what is agreeable and what is disagreeable without much effort. However, this may come more easily to some than to others.

I eventually did channel and listen to my inner voice or intuition and it became very obvious what was aggravating my digestive system and sometimes even provoking headaches and other reactions.

At one point in my life (even during my time practicing yoga), I did feel I needed meat in my diet. I was anemic earlier on and felt that I needed the iron and protein that meat provided, so I ate meat. Gradually and without expectation, over the course of a year or two, I felt unpleasantly full and heavy and dragged down every time I consumed red meat. It was this coupled with an experience I had in December 2010 that prompted me to eliminate red meat (cow and pork) from my diet. I still have poultry and seafood, but not often.

In December, I visited a friend in Mexico and witnessed the slaughtering of a bull. It was as humane is I think it could be -- nothing like what we practice regularly here in the U.S. It, however, still disturbed me and I could see such life and consciousness in this bull's eyes (like a cat or dog might have... if you have pets, you know what I mean). It is a different kind of consciousness than I've observed in a chicken or in a fish. Not to say these creatures are not conscious beings, but the energy there is profoundly different from what I can see.

In addition to the fact that the consumption of heavy foods like meat products does not seem compatible with a consistent yoga practice, the other reasons vegetarianism is associated with yoga are because of the effort of mindfulness that comes with the yoga practice and observation of the gunas, or the modes of life, and the aim to live a more sattvic life.

When you set on a path to be more aware of your actions and decisions and how they affect the world and others, you will begin to consider not only what you do, say, think, feel, but also what you eat, what you buy, what you wear, what you make time for, etc. (more on all of this in another post though). Most relevantly to this subject matter is that it is quite natural to begin to feel for other creatures, including cows, pigs, and even the chicken, turkeys, and sea creatures. So, you may not want to eat them anymore. The other part about this that I think is relevant is that I believe in the transfer of energy. Meaning, if an animal was continually abused the way many of the animals that we consume are, there is a lot of negative, unhappy energy registered in that animal's body, in some way, whether you want to believe in that or not. That energy is what you are consuming. An unhappy, overworked, underappreciated being.

The other thing is that traditionally, there are certain foods that are considered sattvic, rajasic, and tamasic, as per the three gunas (which I wrote about before, and you can see it here). Meat products are considered rajasic, meaning they are stimulating, and can produce arousal and restlessness of mind, disturbing the equilibrium of the body; tamasic foods are static and are therefore harmful to the mind or the body producing laziness, fatigue, and depression; sattvic foods, however, are characterized by purity and goodness, yielding mental clarity and tranquility.

Most of my diet can fall under the sattvic diet these days; however, I want to emphasize again this wasn't necessarily something I consciously chose. I believe that when you are practicing the other aspects of yoga (asanas (poses), pranayama (breathing techniques), yamas and niyamas (codes of conduct), etc.), this will happen quite naturally. When the body becomes more pure, it will tolerate and impurity less and less. So, I stopped consuming most food products from the other categories (rajasic and tamasic) because they made me feel unhealthy. If you listen to that feeling, that higher knowledge that we are all equipped with, you will discover what foods and drinks are right for your body because the body knows... and THAT is the "yogic diet," the one that produces feelings of calm, peace, health, and harmony in your body, mind, and soul.