The Yoga Central Blog

Here’s some good news.

Jerry, a student of mine from St. Louis sent me this email today. He said:

THANK YOU for the realignment tip on knees! I have been having a persistent pain on the inside of my right knee for about two weeks. I did the SITA exercise and WALLA! It worked! No more knee pain. Awesome!

Thanks again,

Jerry

Jerry’s talking about the technique I mentioned in yesterday’s Daily Yoga Tip.

Jerry, it’s great to hear from you. I’m glad this worked for you.

I’m passing this message from Jerry on to the rest of you Daily Yoga Tip readers because if you’ve got knee joint pain I want you to do what Jerry did. He suspended doubt just long enough to find out for himself if the suggested action really works.

Don’t just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry


www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit word for “knee” is janu. I know of one pose that has the word root janu in its name. It’s called janusirsasana, which is literally translated as “knee head pose.” I wrote about janusirsasana back in April. You can read my Daily Yoga Tip about janusirsasana at


http://experienceyoga.blogspot.com/2005/04/janu-flexion.html.

p.p.s., The Sanskrit word for “pain” (or pressure) is pida. It’s used in at least two poses. One is karnapidasana, which means “ear pain pose”. The other is bhujapidasana, which means “arm or shoulder pain pose.”

If you Google these pose names and take a look at them, it’ll help you remember these word roots. It’ll help you even more if you do the poses!

p.p.p.s., If janu is “knee” and pida is “pain,” you might call any position you’re in that makes your knee hurt janupidasana!

Making up imaginary poses based on Sanskrit word roots you know from poses you already do is one of the funnest ways I know of to make the Sanskrit names of yoga poses unforgettable.

I’ll teach you many more when you join Sallie and me for the Experience Sanskrit workshop. We’ll be in Downingtown, PA on February 4th. You can register now at


http://store.yahoo.com/yhst-13837176072520/exsawodopafe.html.

We’re coming to Annapolis, MD on Saturday, March 4th. Register for that workshop at


http://store.yahoo.com/yhst-13837176072520/exsawoanmdma.html.

Come back to Golden Heart Yoga on Sunday March 5th and join us for a two-hour asana workshop.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This morning I taught a fun yoga class at Show Me Yoga Center for all comers, many of whom I’d never met before. It was great! What a wonderful way to start this day dedicated to gratitude for our many blessings.

After class I overheard one student talking to her friend about knee pain. When I offered to help her, she declined. She said her knee was hurting even before she came to class. “It’ll go away,” she said.

Honestly, I didn’t know what made her knee hurt. But I did know what we’d done in class and what might have aggravated her knee pain.

If you had knee pain, what might cause you to refuse an offer of help that might make the pain go away?

Maybe she was afraid I was going to ask her to do something she didn’t want to do. Maybe she thought she was taking up too much of my time and her problem wasn’t worth the trouble. Maybe she didn’t like me and she wanted to get away from me as fast as she possibly could! I don’t know.

Here’s what happened next. I backed up, gave her some space and sat down on the ground. I invited her to sit down in front of me. I taught her how to quickly re-set her knee so that the bones in her lower leg line up better with the bone in her upper leg.

You can learn how to do this in a Daily Yoga Tip I wrote back in May at


http://experienceyoga.blogspot.com/2005/05/get-on-track-to-eliminate-knee-pain.html.

Once she stood up, she was surprised to realize the pain had diminished.

I’m guessing she didn’t accept my first offer of help because she didn’t
believe I could help her.

It’s completely justifiable, too. Because Americans are so totally immersed in advertising, it’s nearly impossible to not be let down. We’ve all experienced buyer’s remorse. Most of the claims we hear just don’t come true. We’re skeptical.

So when someone you don’t really know offers you help, you’re justified in doubting.

Patanjali says that doubt is one of the predictable obstacles that will show up on your yoga journey. He says in Book I of the YogaSutras:

30. The obstacles that distract thought are disease, apathy, doubt,

carelessness, indolence, dissipation, false vision, failure to attain a firm

basis in yoga, and restlessness.

Doubt keeps us from action. Doubt keeps us from trying. Doubt shuts off the possibility of a better future before it even starts.

If you can keep doubt away, you can practice yoga long enough to find out for yourself the many benefits that are available to you…including, at times, relief from knee pain. You won’t have to worry about trusting someone who wants to mislead you.

It’s Thanksgiving Day. I’m thankful today for my teachers. I’m grateful that they selflessly shared yoga with me. And I’m grateful that I was able to stick around in the yoga rooms long enough to come to BELIEVE for myself. That belief keeps me practicing and sharing yoga with others today.

I’m also thankful to you. Thanks for reading this Daily Yoga Tip. You inspire me.

Don’t just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry


www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., Pennsylvanians, it’s official! We’re coming to Twisted Guru Yoga Studio in Downingtown, PA on February 4, 2006 at 9:00 am. Enroll today in the Experience Sanskrit workshop at


http://store.yahoo.com/yhst-13837176072520/exsawodopafe.html. It’s only $50. For you procrastinators, the fee goes up to $65 in January.

Experience Sanskrit is a fun, four-hour workshop designed to make the Sanskrit names of yoga poses unforgettable. Learn more at http://experienceyoga.org/ or http://www.twistedguru.com/purchase_online.html.

p.p.s. Why do people get a passport, get on a plane, fly to Mexico, and take a water taxi to Yelapa? They do it because they believe they’ll have a fantastic, affordable vacation and incredible yoga experience in a place of unmatched beauty. Join us February 18-25, 2006 on the Experience Paradise yoga vacation. Your room, meals and yoga are $900 per person, double occupancy for the whole week. See http://experienceyoga.org/vacations.asp for details.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Most of you probably heard of “the 12 steps” of Alcoholics Anoymous long before you heard of “the 8 limbs” of Patanjali’s YogaSutras. Regardless of which came first for you, both remain powerful systems for spiritual development and transformation.

Instead of talking about yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, or any of the remaining four limbs, today I’ll refer briefly to one of the 12 steps. Step number 10 goes something like this…

When we were wrong, we promptly admitted it.

So I’ll admit it. I was wrong. Madame Maxime did not require the girls of Beauxbatons Academy to drink only single-malt whiskey!

(For those of you who don’t understand this obscure reference, you’ll have to go back and read my Daily Yoga Tip from yesterday.)

I was riding home tonight from a grade school basketball game with my Dad, brothers, and nieces, when my nieces Erin and Emily informed me that it was the winged horses that were allowed to drink only single-malt whiskey.

You see, the students of Beauxbatons arrived at Hogwarts in a carriage “the size of a large house” pulled by winged palominos “each the size of an elephant.” And they required very careful attention.

“My steeds require…forceful ‘andling,” said Madame Maxime. “Zey are very strong….” “Will you please inform zis ‘Agrid zat ze ‘orses drink only single-malt whiskey?”

My apologies go out to Harry Potter fans and anyone else I zinged with my rant about zero tolerance policies.

You might like a different Daily Yoga Tip about Harry Potter a tiny bit better.

You can find it at:


http://experienceyoga.blogspot.com/2005/07/magic-of-yoga-are-you-muggle.html

Enjoy it while I eat my humble pie (and think of pumpkin pie)!

Don’t just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry


www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., Did I say pie? Pie! That reminds me of the Pie Ladies of Yelapa! I’m not kidding. See what others say at http://p073.ezboard.com/ftodopuertovallartafrm44.showMessage?topicID=69.topic

Pie Lady of Yelapa

Sallie Keeney and I will be hosting a group of yogis at Hotel Lagunita in Yelapa Mexico, February 18-25, 2006. Yoga, vacationing, foreign travel and incredible natural beauty are a combination that are unmatched. Find out more at http://experienceyoga.org/vacations.asp.

p.p.s., Our list is getting longer. In addition to our Experience Sanskrit workshop in Annapolis, MD (March 4), we’re about to announce dates in Downingtown, PA (February 4), Kansas City, MO, and Fort Worth, TX. Keep checking right here for more details. If you want to know more about the Experience Sanskrit workshop, see http://experienceyoga.org/workshops.asp.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.