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The Inner Voice
A weekly newsletter from Debbie Jensen-Grubb, RYT500
June 17, 2013 - Issue 39
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Quick Links
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This weeks reading can be seen here at The Daily OM.
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To access past issues click here:
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| The Daily Yoga Poses Poster | |
FREE Download as a Thank you for receiving my newsletter! Right click on the image
and save a copy to your files. Now open the file and print.
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| Greetings! |
Have you ever noticed how old age is 
relevant to how old you are? I once heard the saying 'Old age is always 15 years older than you are'. Now as I age I can see how true that is, it keeps moving ahead of me!
I love getting older though. As I age I don't worry so much about what other people think. I am more comfortable in my own skin, and enjoy my own company. It's not that I don't have regrets for some of my choices in life, or things that I said or did, that is a part of learning the art of living. It is just that those concerns don't upset me like they used to and I can maintain the happiness in my heart and in my life.
I think it is also because I don't feel old. I attribute yoga for this wonder. The slow and mindful stretching and moving in various positions has opened up my joints, lengthened tight muscles, and unblocked my breathing. Most importantly it has kept my spine healthy and mobile, even with my scoliosis. That is the key to keeping that youthful sensation, flexibility in the vertebral column.
Notice for a moment how you are sitting now. Is your head forward, your shoulders hunched, your buttocks clenched? Now relax your shoulders, move your head back and give a slight nod or two to release your neck muscles, and relax the buttocks dropping into your seat or feet. Just by moving your head back you have begun a backbend. Breathe slow and deep.
These simple actions are just the beginning of creating change in your spine and reviving that lively childlike spirit that lives in the twinkle of your eye, just beneath the surface waiting for you to come alive!
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| Rib-Tickler of the Week - hee hee |
I couldn't decide between these two:
#1:
A man visits his aunt in a nursing home. It turns out that she's taking a nap, so he sits by her bed, flips through a few magazines and munches on some peanuts in a bowl. Eventually the aunt wakes up, and her nephew notices he's finished the entire bowl of nuts.
'I'm sorry, auntie, I've eaten
all of your peanuts!' he says.
'That's okay, dear,' replies the aunt.
'I don't really like them that much,
not after I've sucked all of the chocolate off.'
#2:
Eighty-year-old Bessie bursts into the recreation
room of the men's retirement home. She holds her clenched fist in the air and says,
'Anyone who can guess what's in my hand can make wild passionate love to me all night!'
An elderly gentleman at the rear calls out,
'An elephant?'
Bessie thinks for a moment then replies,
'Close enough!'
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Gentle Backbends
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 Backbends can be scary, mainly because we are not used to moving the spine in that direction. Slow, easy, and mindful movements is the ticket to effecting change in your spine.
By contracting the muscles of our back we must stretch the muscles of the front body. This opens our chest, tones the core, and stretches the whole frontline of the body.
What is significant about backbends, and perhaps most frightening, is that in some ways you must surrender into the energetic flow of your body and breath. If you try to maintain complete control you end up tightening into a painful expression of the pose.
We all hold blocks in our bodies from life experiences, both energetic and physical. Backbends offer us a way to release these blocks if we are willing to receive something new to challenge that which is old. And doesn't that exactly describe what youthfulness does?
So let us begin by clicking on the picture above, with gentle practice and diligence we can begin to once more get in touch with that child within. |
| Mantra | |
A mantra is a sound or phrase that aids in the concentration of meditation. It is a Sanskrit term and literally means 'instrument of thought'. Here you will find a suggested mantra to use during the week (from Louise Hay's 'Heal Your Body'). Just repeat it whenever you need a lift.
I willingly let go and let laughter fill my life. |
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Nutrition Prescription - Laughing
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 There is a saying from Steven Wright that goes "How young can you die of old age?".
Well, it certainly got me to pondering. To me the question is not so much about the body dying as much as it refers to the Spirit. When anyone loses that youthful, imaginative, and fun outlook on life, loses touch with the playful child within, then they begin to die inside. From there they begin to die on the outside too.
So what is the solution if you feel beaten down by life and have lost touch with the delight of living? Well, you begin right now. Start by just lifting the corners of your mouth, even if you don't feel like it. When you lift the corners of your mouth, you also begin to lift the corners of your heart. It becomes a visceral thing. Your body begins to feel lighter, your eyes begin to twinkle, your breath deepens, and your mood lifts. Soon your whole body and psyche get in on the trip.
The study of laughter and its effects on the physiology and psychology of a person is known as gelotology (from the Greek, gelos meaning laughter). (Was your first thought that it was the study of jello?) These researchers have found that not only does laughter help in the moment but it also has longterm positive effects too. They found that the whole brain gets involved to produce laughter.
As I was reading how the body reacts to laughter, I found it a little alarming! The
Encyclopedia Britannica describes laughter as "rhythmic, vocalized, expiratory and involuntary actions" - its almost like we are having a seizure! (Childish Snicker!)
Why we laugh has also come under scrutiny. Many researchers believe that the purpose of laughter is related to making and strengthening human connections. "Laughter occurs when people are comfortable with one another, when they feel open and free. And the more laughter [there is], the more bonding [occurs] within the group," says cultural anthropologist Mahadev Apte. Staying social is one of the best ways to staying young.
Age seems to be a significant factor in what we find funny. To infants and children who are discovering their world, a lot of what goes on seems ridiculous and surprising, which strikes them as funny. Lots of adolescents and teens laugh at jokes that focus on sex, food, authority figures and -- in typical rebellious style -- any subject that adults consider off-limits. The adult sense of humor is usually characterized as more subtle, more tolerant and less judgmental about the differences in people. Probably because we have experienced many of the things that we can now laugh about.
A sense of humor is one of the most important things you can have in your arsenal for fighting off your inner curmudgeon. Having yourself a good laugh is the best way to keep the doldrums away. All it takes is the knowledge that everything, absolutely everything, is ridiculous on some level - find it, recognize it and laugh about it. Share it with your friends and give them a laugh too! We can all use uplifting every single day.
Sure there are times to be serious - but for most waking moments find the humor that is present in it. The old expression 'laugh and the world laughs with you' is one of the great truths in staying young of mind, heart, and soul.
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Ponderings - Young at Heart
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 "Youth is a gift of nature, but age is a work of art."
~ Stanislaw Lec
Age is a state of mind, so states the article that gives some advice from an octogenarian. He explains how he had multiple chronic illnesses and what he did to overcome them and feel more youthful. The main thing that helped him was to get out and about and interact with others. We have a tendency to close ourselves off at times in our lives, especially if we are dealing with pain, by just getting going and moving you will begin to feel better. Did you know that dancing is the number one way to prevent Alzheimer's, along with doing crossword puzzles as number two?
Keeping yourself in a youthful and active state is not as hard as you might think. Join groups, go to events, watch a movie at the theater instead of at home, take a walk or take a class to learn something new. It is all about joining in the world around you and contributing your part. You don't even have to be any good at it, just do it (as Nike says).
Of course, yoga is one of the best ways to stay fit and young. Yoga helps to stall the aging process in many ways. By detoxifying the body through proper breathing, sweating, and gently squeezing and massaging the liver, kidneys, and abdominal glands yoga eliminates impurities and toxins that build up in our bodies from our environment, medications, processed foods, and allergens.
One of the main culprits to premature aging is stress. After practicing yoga the amino acid gamma aminobutyric (GABA) (a neurotransmitter that inhibits excitatory responses) increases in the brain bringing a calming effect on the whole nervous system. It also stimulates the brain and boosts learning and healing abilities, all of which help with staying spry.
An added bonus is with the heightened parasympathetic affect, you get less wrinkles and your skin appears younger! It is amazing that a regular yoga practice can shift and heal these disease processes.
The awareness you gain when doing yoga is another benefit. You begin to notice how you stand, how you breathe, and how you feel. All of which helps to put you in touch with the present moment. When this happens you become more aware of the life and people that surround you, and can find the joy (or humor) in it.
Of course we can't forget Savasana! Research has stated that the 5-10 minutes of relaxation received after a yoga session by lying in corpse pose is equivalent to 2 hours of sleep! Just that little bit of time allows the body to heal and rejuvenate itself and brings calmness to the senses.
When you emerge from Yoga, you feel a lightness of being, a wholeness that you do not otherwise feel, and you get to feel this way as much as you like (WooHoo!) when you choose to make yoga part of every day of the rest of your marvelous life.
 | JimmyDurante
Young at Heart |
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It's people with old attitudes who are the worst enemies of the young at heart. We still see the world through young eyes - it is the bones and sinew that doesn't come to the party. Stay active mentally, socially, and physically. Laugh...at yourself and at life's situations, and keep your faith in life's goodness. As the song says "Don't worry, be happy" by keeping a positive attitude and loving heart, you will be sure to stay young until the day that you die!
Thank you!
Hugs and Namaste,
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Please join me in my next workshop...
Yoga Nidra
July 21, 2013
1:00 - 2:30 p.m.
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