Too much information

As the long-distance cleanser, I have the distinct advantage of being able to announce, "I have serious stomach issues" with impunity (i.e., without having to ever look you all in the eye at 6:00 am and be paranoid that everyone is judging me based on my stomach "issues.") I say this tongue in cheek (at least in part). I, like many, am totally out of touch with food, my body, and the way they work together. I, like many people, desired a quick and easy solution to this problem. I visited a doctor here in NYC to figure out what on earth to do and she suggested I go on a very basic, simple, restricted diet, starting with egg whites, lettuce, wheat bread and a food journal. I did what any other rational person in that situation would do - I smiled politely and made an appointment to see a different doctor.

In the meantime, I randomly ended up getting this thai massage by a woman who, while she was massaging my stomach, frowned and told me that my belly is "no good." She informed me that my intestines and stomach were all gunky and that it had just as much to do with what I eat as it has to do with my mental state. She suggested I not drink any cold products, do yoga, and in essence, "get it together." She then proceeded to finish the massage by kneeling on my back and kicking me, leaving me with both bruises and a reason to totally discount everything she had said about my mind-belly disconnect.

I finally got to see Dr. #2, who graciously prescribed Zelnorm, which served as a quick enough fix to my issue...until I went for a refill last week and was informed that it was taken off the market "due to increased stroke and heart attack risks." Nice.

This cleanse could not come at a more opportune time for me. I have known for a while now that I have a problem listening to what my body (vs. my mind) is telling me (e.g., mind: i LOVE lime tostitos! Eat the whole bag!! body: ouch. ouch. ouch. ouch.). Dr. #1, who suggested the diet, suggested that I start basic. As she explained it, it all sounded rather complex and time consuming and really, I had no idea how to go about it, so I put the whole idea on the shelf. Luckily I can start this process with the tools provided by the cleanse. I'm a girl who likes the rules. I'm thrilled to have my little packet of rules and recipes and other suggested readings and am looking forward to seeing what works (and what doesn't work) with my lazy excuse for a digestive system and how to incorporate these discoveries into a sustainable diet.

Tapering To Cleanse Week

In addition to reducing your intake of sugar, caffeine and alcohol during the pre-cleanse week, a smart idea would be to also acclimate your body to the diet it's going to enjoy during the cleanse week itself. I highly recommend you do the cleanse backwards, starting today. For instance, begin with Phase 3 today and move to Phase 2 by the end of the week. Some of you may even like to get to Phase 1 before the "official" Phase 1 start date of Monday, May 7.

Please don't assume that you can ignore the tapering process and just start with Phase 1 on Monday. Not only is this not healthy for you, it's just repeating a process of procrastination or maybe even obstinacy (that inner rebel) that you're already skilled at. Isn't it time to try something new? Isn't it time to see if there's another way of doing things?

Enjoy!

Slippery Slope

The Pre-cleanse week has already been quite humorous for me. My intention was to begin the pre-cleanse "austerities" immediately following our meeting on Friday night. But MAN I was really hungry and really tired because I hadn't eaten since 11:30am and hadn't stopped for a second, bounced right into class at 5:30 and then the meeting. Whew! So I felt justified in pushing off my start time for Saturday.

Then Saturday I taught my class, taught Sarah's class and then deep-cleaned the studio, having only eaten a Bobo bar. So by 3pm, MAN I was really hungry and really tired and had worked hard. So I felt justified in pushing off my start time for Saturday night and dove directly into a Veg Burrito at Chipotle, complete with sour cream and cheese. And then late Saturday night I made aloo mutter (Indian potatoes and peas), very cleansy, we're on track now! But, then I decided it would be best to finish off all the bread products in the house NOW (including the frozen Paratha) so I'm not tempted next week. As if frozen paratha wouldn't keep in the freezer until after the cleanse...

Sundays we have a breakfast ritual of egg sandwiches. This includes bread, butter, cheese and eggs. I'm *pretty* sure not a single ingredient in this meal is on the lengthy list of approved foods I gave you. But when I made them, I decided they would be like the Last Supper, a final send off before we REALLY started pre-cleansing. Now we're getting serious...

I'm sensing a trend...don't eat frequently enough, make up total bull to rationalize and continue naming meals the ceremonial ending of our current habits. This could go on forever! This is a classic example of the Higher Self (Big I) witnessing the little self (little i) up to her usual antics. Insightful AND humorous! The Cleanse provides just the accountability i need to wake up!

I'm going to the grocery store now to REALLY get serious. I mean it this time! :)

Happy noticing,
G

How Do I Want To Be Remembered?

In preparation for my parents 50th wedding anniversary, we have been going through thousands of slides (literally - thousands) that my Grandpa Chadwick took to find the right ones to use for the slide show, etc. During each new carousel, I would find myself saying things like:

Look! There is one more picture of a president's birthplace.
One more national Park.
Oh no, Grandpa got out of the car again in the middle of the highway to take that one.
Grandpa was such a history nut, wasn't he?
Check it out - another picture of Grandma in her wheelchair.
I wonder how many times Grandpa took that chair in and out of the car for Grandma?
What a shutter bug! Now I know where I get it.
Grandpa loved to travel but he never went to Europe or anything - where did I get that gene?
Ian! Stella! Look - there is your Great Grandpa Chadwick! He was a very nice man that loved all of us so much that everytime he saw us, he would take our picture!

It began to dawn on me that these pictures were a wonderful documentary of not only the things that Grandpa saw everytime he looked through the lens but also about him and the type of man that he was. All those pictures of historical locations were put into slide presentations for my younger cousins grade school classes and he received wonderful thank you letters from the kids (we still have some). He was a caring and attentive husband to his wife that was in a wheelchair from the time my dad was three. He was always taking our pictures and thank goodness he did because there are alot of Easter outfits and funky hairdos that would have been forgotten. Not to mention all the past boyfriends! :) Finally - all these pictures provide a very easy way for me to teach my children about this person that meant so much to me and is the subject of many a family story.

So - when my kids and grandkids are going through the 10s of thousands of pictures I have taken, how will they remember me? I better go look at some of those pictures to find out.

OMWork #1

I just sent an email to the group regarding your first OMWork assignment. Please email me directly if you did not receive that email or are confused about what to write! Please bring your OMWork to your first class of the immersion on Monday, May 7.

namaste!
G

Smoking cessation

I'm writing this blog in the hope of helping others who may have decided to quit smoking during the cleanse. Many of you don't know that I have been a smoker for 21 years. Just the thought of never smoking again sends me into a panic. My rational mind tells me that smoking is a terrible habit and will eventually kill me. My Father died at the age of 57. I know that smoking contributed to his death. My irrational mind says that I just cannot do without that daily dose of nicotine.
The hardest time for me is in the morning. I really look forward to smoking that first cigarette. During the cleanse I will allow myself that first cigarette. I will do my yoga practice in the morning and then go home and take a nice long bath. After my bath I plan on slapping on the nicotine patch. My goal is not to stop smoking all together during this week. I think it is more realistic to plan on decreasing my smoking. I can deal with that thought. I cannot deal with the thought of never being able to smoke again. My hope is that I will continue to decrease the amount I smoke until I no longer need to have that morning cigarette.
I hope this helps.
Julie

Kickoff Meeting Tonight at Kansas Siddhi Yoga West!

Good morning beloveds!

Tonight is our Spring 2007 Yoga Immersion & Cleanse Kickoff Meeting and we'll get the party started!

Our gathering will commence at 7pm immediately following the Yin/Yang Yoga class I teach at Kansas Siddhi Yoga West, located at 1717 Wyandotte Street.

For directions, please click here...

Tonight's gathering is very important in our process of becoming a kula, a group of like-minded individuals interested in supporting each other on this journey.

I am thrilled the day has finally come and can't wait to see you all tonight!

Namaste,
Gina

Cleanse Kula

Hi Everyone,

I'm Roberta, a first time Kansas Siddhi Yoga cleanse participant, at the downtown studio. I'm really looking forward to cleansing in community, an activity I usually do alone!

I am also using the cleanse as a topic for my States of Consciousness class paper, inside the Integral Theory Master's Program I am working on through John F. Kennedy University.

I will be including my own direct experience of states of consciousness and shifts in them in my paper, and would love to include your reflections as well. I'm interested in what you notice shifting in you, from physical to the subtle (emotional-sexual, mind-thought, dreams, connection to spirit, etc).

So on a strictly volunteer basis, if you would like to share any particular experience with me, please do through this blog, or personally. I'll hand out my email and phone at the meetup on Friday.

And for you - A video relevant to mind shifts for the cleanse from one of my teachers, and the leader of the Shambhala Buddhist Lineage - Sakyong Mipham.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDSAAlrqAHM

Warmly,

Roberta

Long Distance Kula

We have a long-distance member of our Cleanse Kula my friends!

CJ is a friend of Jeff's who used to work with him in Judge Whipple's chambers before she moved to New York to continue her practice of law there.

She was inspired by his previous cleanses and wanted to join us, even though she's not longer in Kansas City. From New York, her commitment is to practice yoga each morning from 6:15-8:15am and to participate in all the diet and other practices we'll be doing as well. She'll be on our blog site to connect with us and we'll also send her daily email reports, maybe even with an audio file of our morning session, so she can stay connected to the group.

Send your love and support CJ's way!

Hi! I'm so excited, 41 people! This is my first time so I'm glad to hear there are several first-timers.

I welcome all the support of everyone who has done the cleanse before.

Thanks in advance, I look forward to seeing everyone soon!

Huuuuuggggsssss,
Melinda

This is your Opportunity

CHANGE
It has the power to uplift, to heal, to stimulate, surprise, open new doors, bring fresh experience and create excitement in life. Certainly it is worth the risk.-Leo Buscaglia
become the changes you wish to see in the world!

WELCOME to the Spring Yoga Immersion & Cleanse!

The kula is ONE! We now have our group of fellow yoga adventurers - this season we are 41, yet 1! Welcome to you all! We have about an equal split of repeaters and new cleansers which will provide special support for the new and an opportunity to take the yoga of service to the next level for the veterans.

Our first collective gathering will be this Friday night, April 27th, at 7pm, right after the Yin/Yang class at the downtown Kansas Siddhi Yoga. Please use the map on the website if you need directions, or just ask!

Feel free to offer your blessings to our kula by adding a comment to this post...your voice and contribution are so important in this collective process.

Love and gratitude with a twist of joy,
Gina

This Weekend At KSY

Hi friends,

Here are some things happening this weekend at Kansas Siddhi Yoga:

FRIDAY, APRIL 20 - Last day to register for the Yoga Immersion & Cleanse! Register online or at either studio before or after class times.

SATURDAY, APRIL 21 - Earth Day Karma Yoga Sadhana - 9:00-10:30am. Gina's Solar class at KSY West (Downtown) will be "By Donation" and all proceeds will go to Trees For The Future in honor of our Great Mother Earth. Please bring something to contribute to our collection basket so we can plant some trees!

SATURDAY, APRIL 21 - Introduction to Yoga at KSY West (Downtown) - 1:00-3:00pm. Please pre-register for this workshop online. Great for all brand-new beginners!

SUNDAY, APRIL 22 - Restorative Yoga at KSY East (Blue Springs) - 6:30-8:00pm. If this emotionally charged week has left you feeling depleted and distressed, come nourish your spirit and heart by relaxing and releasing deeply. All levels welcome, including brand-new beginners and reluctant husbands.

Love and light,
Gina

Congrats!

Congratulations to Becky P for graduating this week as an esthetician! I’m looking forward to see where this new phase in your life takes you.
Love,
Allison

Grrrr Baby Grrr

In preparation for a yoga class I teach on Wednesday nights, I was reflecting on some words spoken by Wayne Dyer. In talking about taking care of our physical selves, he said simply, "First, be a good animal." I heard him make that comment years ago, and for some reason it struck me -- I recorded it in one of my journals as a reminder. And promptly forgot about it.

It surfaced again recently, and I've been mulling it over for the last several weeks. What really struck me on Wednesday was all the ways in which I deny that I am animal-like. Animals eat when they are hungry and stop when they are full. Animals (other than our companion animals and those we force-feed for big agriculture) have to forage for their food -- thus expending energy in order to take in energy. Animals move every day. My body, it seems to me, has very similar requirements, and yet I act as if my body is here exclusively to carry around my great big ol' head! That's right, I act as if all the important stuff is taking place between my ears. My body is here to cart my head to work every day, plop down in a chair when I'm not in the classroom and sit there quietly while my brain does its work in books and at the computer...Then, my body carts me (see, it's as if I am my head!) to yoga where I practice, often with the attitude that I MUST get in some asana on this day because I need the exercise. Then, my body carts my head home where my head cries out that it needs a rest from its stressful day -- so my food preparation is slight, meaning I eat something more processed than would be ideal for my physical self, sometimes in quantities that exceed my real needs...

What I began to wonder is what would happen if I stopped acting like my head was where all the important stuff was taking place. What would happen if, instead, I acted first like a good animal. What if when I planned my day, I understood that physical activity (yoga, a walk, a run, play in the park) feels good -- it isn't just something I HAVE to get in because I want to avoid disease or obesity. I'm designed to do more than sit in a chair all day! As I was talking to my yoga students about this on Wednesday night, they were all going, "That's me." They understood that what we've done with our physical selves is narrow down their role in our lives to 45 minutes a day of exercise in a gym and expected that would be enough to stave off dysfunction and disease, to experience the fullness of life. I think it's similar to expecting that if I take a pill containing antioxidants I'll get the same effect as if I eat the food that contains all the phytonutrients in a combination we can't duplicate in a lab...

I demonstrated for them what I often see (and sometimes catch myself doing) in asana practice -- I say move into downward facing dog (adho mukha svanasana), and immediately everyone pops up into the inverted V shape, sometimes with a groan not of pleasure but of effort. I say feel free to move around here and stretch the backs of your legs, feel the shoulders release, and some dutifully do exactly what I've said, no more, no less. Others stay ramrod still in the posture. We move through the vinyasa coming to bhujanghasana (cobra) and I cue the inhale into the heart-opener. I look out at bulging jugular veins, red faces, taut trapezius muscles and sternums hiding behind all the posterior effort. They laughed as I modeled. But they understood my point.

What if asana was play? What if our time on the mat was our time to be our animal selves? Yoga means union, so what if it became the vehicle through which we reunited with our physical selves? Not because we want Madonna's arms or Christy Turlington's buns, but because we know our physical selves are an important part of who we are and that we regularly neglect that part...

So, if you see me moving slowly on the mat, just know that I'm trying to feel every movement, breath, transition -- because it feels good.

Registration Deadline is April 20

Namaste Cleanse Kula!

For any of you who are planning to immerse and cleanse again, please note the registration deadline is Friday, April 20th!

I have posted all the registration information as well as the online registration on our website at:

http://www.moyoga.com/workshops_cleanse.html

You can also register in person at either studio!

Learn something from your last experience and start weaning off the coffee and sugar now!

Can't wait to see you!

Love,
Gina