Forbes Magazine Gives Yoga a Thumb Up

by Baxter

View From Above by Melina Meza

I love it when capitalist magazines find something good to say about yoga, even if it is how it is making someone lots of money. But in this case, Forbes says yoga might save the US trillions of dollars in lost productivity for our economy. How so, you ask? Why, for a start, by reducing the dropout rate from high schools in this country, rates that shockingly range from 30% in most places to over 50% in our urban “war zones.” (I call them war zones because of the continual violent backdrop that these children are subjected to day in and day out; where just walking to and from school, let alone being in school, is a constant cause for anxiety and worry about getting hurt or killed.)

What was a delight to see is one of the featured yoga experts quoted frequently in the article, BK Bose, in whose Niroga Institute in Berkeley, CA, I have had the great pleasure of teaching for the past several years. Bose, who started his career as a software engineer in the high tech industry in Silicon Valley, has more recently focused his work on bringing yoga to under-served communities, and training teachers to work with these special populations. These include classes at the Alameda County Juvenile Hall, low-income public schools and low-income senior centers, to name just a few. His work, as with most small operations around the country, is done as a non-profit venture. Even on its smaller scale, the results of the yoga classes are significant.

And after all, if we can influence the health of our youngest at an early age, that should lead to a longer, healthier life as they age (and, of course, many of our readers have school-aged children). The key underlying factor that Bose identifies as the culprit in so many of the challenges our young face is chronic stress. We have written on many occasions about the ways in which yoga can help us deal with stress. But what about in our kids, and in the growing number of kids that have to deal with gangs, substance abuse, and crime in their neighborhoods? This adds a whole new twist on doing straight up mindfulness techniques. These techniques can work quite well for children who don’t have the kinds of violent communities that Bose’s programs work with, as you will see below.

For me, as I read the article, I found one concept that comes from mind-body research defined in a new way that I could relate to from my own yoga teaching.  I often refer to the mind’s background chatter as “monkey mind” or “restless mind,” and the tendency is for this kind of thinking to have a background feeling of anxiety or stress associated with it. The following paragraph from the Forbes article talks about what mindfulness practices do to the brain, including the new phraseology “default mode network (DMN)” which I find confirming of my own observations:  

“In 2011, a Harvard study showed that mindfulness is linked to increased gray matter density in certain cortical areas, including the prefrontal cortex and regions involved in self-referential thoughts and emotion regulation. There seems to be a strong connection between mindfulness and the brain machinery involved in self-regulation. Other work has shown mindfulness to be linked to relative de-activation of the default mode network (DMN), the brain system that’s active during mind-wandering and self-referential “worry” thoughts, which are generally stressful in nature.”

Mindfulness practices, then, help us change the way we are thinking, or at least the way we are focusing our minds, which changes our stress response. For a young person, this might equate to changed behavior, in which he or she has more control over emotional reactions that might lead to trouble. Bose, however, notes that in his students who live in violent communities and are more often directly or indirectly victims of trauma, mindfulness is not going to work.  As the article points out:

“This is all well and good, Bose adds, but there’s an obvious caveat. When they’re in the midst of stress and trauma, few kids have the ability to sit still enough to take part in a sitting practice. “If you’re not ready to sit in classroom,” says Bose, “you’re not ready to do sitting meditation. If you have drugs and gangs and violence all around you, you simply can’t sit still. Teachers tell us that they often yell at kids 100 times a day to sit and pay attention. It doesn’t work. And to ask them to do this in the context of meditation can have a worse-than-neutral effect – it could be disastrous.”

He says that you have to go beyond mind-body research to trauma research, which tells us that physical activity can help the brain deal with stress and trauma.

“Trauma research tell us that we hold trauma in our bodies… Neuroscience says mindfulness; trauma research says movement. All of the sudden you’ve got moving meditation or mindfulness in motion. Mindfulness alone isn’t going to cut it for these kids.”

Even for adults who carry a lot of anxious energy stored up in their bodies, we here at Yoga for Healthy Aging have advocated for the necessity of movement practices, sometimes more vigorous yoga styles, as an initial stage in leading to deeper relaxation and stress reduction in your daily practice. Turns out to be true for kids with trauma, too.

The take-away from this Forbes exposure of yoga to a larger audience in the US and for us yogis here as well is that it may prove invaluable to teach young and old alike to do yoga, combining active asana and quieter mindfulness practices for maximum benefit. And that it would be a good idea to change policy on a national level to fund such ventures, so everyone at least has access to trying yoga, to see if it works for them. What an interesting, and possibly wonderful, world that could be! 

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Best Practices To Apply When Signing Up For A Dance Class

By James Campbell

Proper fitness and exercise is crucial when trying to maintain a good and healthy lifestyle. Apart from having a well balanced diet, you should also think about exercising by way of dancing. Not only is this super fun, but it lets you use you body is a very active yet precise way. So get on board this fantastic bandwagon by taking note of the important details featured below for more info.

You must first determine what type of dancing style you are most keen on performing on a regular basis. Be decisive about this because there are so many styles to pick from such as Calgary ballet classes and hip hop to classical ballroom and Brazilian capoeira. When in doubt, select a style that you feel you could do with considerable practice and effort.

Your next step after deciding a particular dance style is to locate a nearby place that offers lessons on what you like to do. The internet is a great resource for finding such locations since listings are always being advertised online, especially on social media. Note down all the crucial details whenever you managed to find a class that is within your area.

Make it a point to visit your chosen dance studio so you could get the opportunity to talk with the manager or the head choreographer leading the classes. Talk to them about schedules and how much the lessons are worth so you may adequately prepare yourself when you are ready to commit. Do not be afraid to ask them questions regarding your concerns so they may address them for you.

Invest in good quality clothing and accessories that are designed to withstand vigorous movement and allow for maximum physical flexibility. Choose tops that allow your skin to breathe so you will not sweat that much, while you should also select shorts or pants that are loose enough to give your legs room to move around. And do not forget to get a decent pair of shoes for such an occasion.

Prior to showing up on your very first day in class, make sure that you have not eaten anything too heavy because to do so would spell disaster on your part. Dancing with a full tummy is never a good idea, so make it a point to come properly energized without the unwanted fullness. Good choices to eat before dancing would include a light salad of greens, some fruit, or a protein bar.

Being on time or even arriving before the scheduled assembly time is ideal because you will have a chance to warm up before the session begins. When there are no other students yet, you may also find the time to meditate a little bit and focus on the task ahead. And appearing bright and early puts you in a good position with the instructor as this lets them know you are being serious.

Lastly, always pay attention when class is in session because you have to be alert in order to pick up the choreography. But as a beginner, you are not expected to get it right on the first try. But even then, you should still make an effort to show you are dedicated to perfecting the moves and learning quickly from your mistakes.

Learning to dance may seem difficult, but this is a process that you will come to learn with ease. By following the guidelines mentioned here, you are surely poised for success. Always be confident that you shall execute the movements with poise and grace.

About the Author:

When you are looking for the facts about Calgary ballet classes, pay a visit to our web pages online here today. More details can be seen at http://northcalgarydance.com now.