Cheryl Thomas, RYT
www.cherylthomas.com yoga@cherylthomas.com 415-308-3377 |
 Addiction
Blessings I have many and I'm grateful for all of them. I had the privilege, unlike 1 in 4 children, to not be born into poverty. I was born white, middle-class, with access to a decent public school system, and was served 3 daily meals based on the old-time food pyramid. I had loving parents, good friends and frilly dresses and patent leather shoes. I've had the requisite amount of challenges and failures and gains and losses. I have health insurance. I'm fortunate.
But, what am I really thankful for? I'm without the addiction gene. I'm pretty sure I'm right. I have no lasting affinity for cigarettes or alcohol. Although I do like a big bag of Cheetos on road trips, although I don't consider this an addiction. A finely crafted cocktail or two is just fine.
There is no single gene for "addiction" but current research shows that 50% of "addiction tendencies" are attributable to genes. The other half is due to environment, personal experiences or low "coping skills". Children of addicts are 8 times more likely to develop an addiction.
Turns out there is an opioid addiction epidemic.This is not your flop house, dirty needle drug addled addict. These drugs are doled out by well-meaning doctors. Opioids, which include Vicodin, OxyContin and Demerol and benzodiazepine like Xanax, Valium and Ativan are pharmaceutical painkillers and tranquilizers and are responsible for 60% of drug poisoning deaths. These drugs are routinely prescribed for pain. Why? They're effective, albeit highly addictive.
Unfortunately, many/most doctors don't have proper training to understand opioid addiction and prescribe too much. Doctors also don't have or take the time to find out a person's susceptibility to narcotics. About 70 percent of all the overdose deaths occur within 48 hours after the first prescription or after the first refill," says Dr. Thomas McLellan, who served as the Deputy Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. It's not uncommon that you're prescribed an entire bottle of painkillers for a routine surgery or procedure or even dental work. How often have you kept the bottle, just in case you need some later?
Here's a small conundrum. A drop in opioid use spurs a rise in heroin use. According to The Health and Science section of the Washington Post, "H eroin use is up. . .a 15 percent drop in pharmaceutical opioid overdoses was accompanied by a 41 percent increase in heroin overdoses". Prescription opioid use as a risk factor for heroin use. This article from the National Institute on Drug Abuse explores this relationship.
Regardless of the source, addiction is nasty, and I don't think it's possible for a "normal" person (normies) to understand the pull of drugs. The comedian, Russell Brand, wrote a very fine and frank article about his association with heroin. Here's a bit:
"I look to drugs and booze to fill up a hole in me; unchecked, the call of the wild is too strong. I still survey streets for signs of the subterranean escapes that used to provide my sanctuary. I still eye the shuffling subclass of junkies and dealers, invisibly gliding between doorways through the gutters. I see that dereliction can survive in opulence; the abundantly wealthy with destitution in their stare."
Addiction is a complex and complicated disease and this article only sophomorically addresses the topic. But I'm eternally grateful times 10 or 20 or 1000 for living a life without the 100 pound monkey on my back called addiction.
References (in no particular order)
http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2013/mar/09/russell-brand-life-without-drugs
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/philip-seymour-hoffman-heroin-death-points-to-broader-opioid-drug-epidemic/2014/02/07/42dbbc5a-8e61-11e3-b46a-5a3d0d2130da_story.html
Want to read some of my past articles?. They're archived right here. Enjoy.
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 Hump Day Hour Yoga: Starting next Wednesday I'm offering a one hour class on Wednesdays at Yoga Studio Ganesha from 5:30 - 6:30. Hooray for those of you who work and need to get your yoga on then head home for dinner. Qs? cheryl@cherylthomas.com.
I'll be teaching Ann Austin's Monday class on 3/7. It's just as fun as Fun Friday, just on Monday! Join us.
Join Anne O'Brien at Post Wellness in Petaluma on March 12 from 12:30 - 3:30 for The Breadth of Seated Sitting Poses. Explore a variety of seated poses from vigorous & bendy to easeful & relaxing.
Plan on practicing with Katina Knapp on Easter Sunday at Yoga on Center, that 3/27, from 9:00 - 10:30. It's all-level vinyasa.
Tony Briggs and Liz Levy will pair up and offer Anatomy & Yoga Therapeutics on Saturday, March 19th, 1:30 - 5:30. Learn about your Hips and Low Back! All at Westside Yoga.
Know about Yoga in Graton? It's hopping! Find 5 classes a week ranging from Gentle to Slow Flow to All Levels, featuring me, Corina Stoicescu and Denise Hammond. Time and places at YogaInGraton.com.
My weekly schedule is below (scroll down or click here!). Or, you can always go to my website and click on the always up-to-date calendar to find where I might be.
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Is Gentle the New Advanced Yoga?
Very interesting....... Thought you'd enjoy this article from YogaUonline.com. From the article:
"Now that yoga class attendees who were never really into the yoga have largely migrated to Crossfit, and the once freely-given pass on safety has expired, grassroots practitioners are reclaiming the terms of their trade. The old school of yoga is resurgent, offering an antidote to a cultural infatuation with youth and body image."
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 The Lower Back and SI Joint From YogaUonline, an informative article (with cool illustrations) on how to move safely for the lower back. Nice explanation of the sacroiliac (SI) joint, just in case you you're not quite sure what/where it is.
Here's some commentary about the SI joint in Janu Sirsasana.
1. Approach advanced asymmetrical poses with great care, especially the ones where one hip is in a fixed position and the spine is being strongly pulled the other way. Look at Janu Sirsasana, which is not necessarily an advanced posture but it typically aggravates "hot sacrums."
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Control on Screen Time 
Heh, Parents, check this out. The author, Rick Klau, was frustrated that his kids could easily hack into the "parental controls" which were in place to limit time on the computer or "devices". He's excited and wants to share that he found a reasonable solution. This software, called Circle, allows the child to choose their time on the computer and took the "cop" role from the parents. He says:
"Grades suffered as one kid would sneak a YouTube video (and another, and another) instead of finishing homework. Another child, given the choice between spending more time studying for an upcoming test and getting in just one more game of League of Legends or more time hacking around in Minecraft, would skip studying in favor of fun."
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Go Barefoot
I've written before about the benefits of walking barefoot. Here's Leslie Kaminoff's take on the topic. Love it. We tend to have weak feet, he says. Learn lots, lots from this video. You'll take taking off your shoes, I'm pretty sure!
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Schedule of Upcoming Classes
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Class Schedule - Week of March 6, 2016
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Monday (Ann Austin's class)
9:15 - 10:45
Yoga Studio Ganesha
Intermediate Yoga
Tuesday
5:00 - 6:00
Private, Healdsburg
Wednesday
Yoga Studio Ganesha, Sebastopol
Thursday
8:45 - 9:45
Graton Community Club
All Levels
2:00 - 3:00 Private, Healdsburg 5:00 - 6:00
Private, Healdsburg
Saturday
All Levels Flow
2:00 - 3:00 Private, Healdsburg
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Schedule Week of 3/6(clickable schedule below)
Monday
9:15 - 10:45
Intermediate
Ganesha, Sebastopol
5:00 - 6:00 Healdsburg, Private
Wednesday
5:30 - 6:30
Ganesha, Sebastopol
Hump Day Yoga
Thursday
8:45 - 9:45
All Levels, Graton
2:00 - 3:00 Healdsburg, Private
5:00 - 6:00
Healdsburg, Private
Saturday
All Levels Flow
2:00 - 3:00
Private, Healdsburg
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Graton Yogis Info:
Did you know your class pass (get these from your instructor) are accepted by all yoga teachers at Yoga in Graton?
We Gratonite Yogis have a place to call our own. It's www.
yogaingraton.com. There is information about current and new yoga classes offered in Graton.
Don't live in Graton? No problem. We want you to come anyway.
Quotes I Like
You cannot be lost if you don't care where you are.
Judith Lasater
When people ask me what equipment I use, I tell them my eyes.
Ansel Adams
"Not to have what we want is stressful; to have what we do not want is stressful."
Buddha
"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion."
Dalai Lama
"Everything will be alright in the end. And if it is not alright, it's not yet the end!" The Magnolia Hotel movie
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