My Mother's Day

Years a go, when I was in the worst state of my panic regarding my heart palpitations, I feared even taking a walk down the street. Since then, I've come far. I've tried P90X, dance aerobics, swimming, biking, and jogging. All of them have been good for me, but I haven't really loved it. Until recently, when my friend Laura got me to try Hot Yoga. I've done a gentle restorative yoga for years, but it has always been in a comfortable air-conditioned setting. I resisted and resisted her invitations to try Bikram yoga. I mean if I really want to work out in 90-100 degrees, all I need to do is step outdoors. Plus, I've always had this secret fear that the extra heat and humidity would put me in some risk for a cardiac event. But despite having lost all the weight I needed to lose postpartum, my tummy is looking a bit stretched out and sad. So I finally decided to try a Hot yoga class in hopes of helping firm and tuck those areas that need it. With trepidation, I tried my first Earth class. 90 degree heat, 60 minutes later, and half a cup sweat and tears, I made it through my first class. The result? It was positively reinvigorating. Since then I've gone back several times. When I thought about what I wanted my mother's day to look like, I told my husband that I was going to skip church and try another yoga class. Seriously it was the best present I could have gotten. An hour of me time doing the thing that makes me feel great. I love my girls, but ironically, on mother's day of all days, I love when I'm away from them. To make it even sweeter, I came home to an empty house, took a shower without hearing any cries or whines, checked my mailbox and discovered the newest "O" magazine. Hey, I've been lonely without my Oprah on network t.v. Here's to "O", Hot yoga, a glass of wine, and no kids! Happy Mother's Day to all my mommy readers.

p.s. My husband just got home and surprised me with a Dyson vacuum cleaner!! Should I be offended? Nah, it's a Dyson! Awesome!

Yoga is Not a Religion

Just thought I would address this issue and nip it in the bud since I talk a lot about meditation/yoga helping ease the symptoms of anxiety and heart palpitations.

A friend recently sent me a link to an ABC news article about a Southern Baptist leader who is calling for Christians to avoid yoga saying that "the meditative discipline is not a Christian pathway to God." And then I got on facebook today and my teenage sister-in-law had written this on her status update: "Some ppl think yoga will send you to hell but I think it brings you to a heavenly bod!"

Oh Lord, give me strength. Here's the article:

Southern Baptist Leader on Yoga: Not Christianity

Besides the utter ignorance of this Baptist leader, I believe this particular individual is spreading fear to many people who might benefit from yoga both physically and spiritually. We all know the benefits of yoga physically (flexibility, strength, posture, heart health), but it can also have great spiritual benefits. But let's be clear spirituality is different than religion. Spirituality has to do with one's inner life, the ever-evolving understanding of one's self and one's place in the cosmos—what Viktor Frankl called humankind's "search for meaning." Religion, on the other hand, can be seen as spirituality's external counterpart, the organizational structure we give to our individual and collective spiritual processes: the rituals, doctrines, prayers, chants, and ceremonies, and the congregations that come together to share them. Yoga was rejected by Hinduism because yoga would not insist that God exists. It didn't say there was no God but just wouldn't insist there was. Yoga is not a religion, but the science of religions. Yoga demands discrimination rather than faith. Where most religions teach us 'what to do', Yoga teaches us 'how to be'.

And what do some of the great yogis think?

Swami Sivananda Saraswati: "Yoga is not a religion, but an aid to the practice of the basic spiritual truths in all religions. Yoga is for all, and is universal."

Georg Feuerstein: [To practice yoga] "You need not believe in anything other than the possibility that you can transform yourself." "...some Yoga practitioners are more religious than others. But Yoga itself is simply a tool for exploring the depth of our human nature, of plumbing the mysteries of the body and the mind.

Shri Ram Sharanam Ashram: “Yoga is not a religion. it is not necessary for you to believe in a certain god or to chant certain hymns. it is spiritual and ancient science, which leads to health in the body, peace in the mind, happiness in the heart and liberation of the soul.”

Pandit Usharbudh Arya: “Yoga is not a religion or a church. It requires no belief in a doctrine, no credo. All yoga philosophy is concerned with the experience of meditation and nothing else. It does not require anyone to adhere to a belief system.”

Osho: “First, yoga is not a religion—remember that. Yoga is not Hindu, it is not Mohammedan. Yoga is a pure science just like mathematics, physics or chemistry. Physics is not Christian, physics is not Buddhist. If Christians have discovered the laws of physics, then too physics is not Christian. It is just accidental that Christians have come to discover the laws of physics. But physics remains just a science. Yoga is a science—it is just an accident that Hindus discovered it. It is not Hindu. It is a pure mathematics of the inner being. So a Mohammedan can be a yogi, a Christian can be a yogi, a Jaina, a Buddhist can be a yogi.”

When I practice yoga, I contemplate the mysteriousness of the Holy Spirit and my eye is towards Jesus in heaven. My meditations are no different than King David's prayers. Yoga renews my spirituality, but it certainly is not my religion.

When you are experiencing heart palpitations

In a previous post, I discussed all the things I do to be healthy and prevent heart palpitations. But sometimes no matter how well I try to take care of myself, I'll still get those pesky misbeats. This has been an important realization as I used to get very depressed when I thought I was doing everything right and still got them. Now I just know that no matter how well I think I'm doing taking care of myself, life will inevitably get in the way and shake things up. Unexpected events, changes, chasing a toddler, fluctuating hormones, getting cut off on the road, etc. These are things that we have no control over and normal if we are to live full lives. Some stress is good. If we didn't have any, we'd be dead. But what do you do when you are stressed out and feeling the effects of heart palpitations? Here's what has worked for me:

--a glass of water
--splashing my face with cool water
--getting on the floor on my yoga mat and doing some gentle stretches (cat stretch, sun salutation, rock the baby pose)
--deep breathing (you can add meditative music, but sometimes I find it distracting)
--reaching deep inside myself and trusting my heart/body/soul
--reciting the mantra "This too shall pass."

But sometimes just trying to calm down, actually makes me panic more. Sometimes if the above doesn't work, the alternative is to get up and move. Go on a walk. Even if you're experiencing heart palpitations at 2 a.m., get up and start walking circles around your dining room table. Keep breathing slowly. In through your nose, out through your mouth. Or change up the scenery and go outside. You can enlist the help of a friend or spouse, but I've noticed that I really am the only person to help me through a bad episode. And when you have a history of being the one helping you through your panic, you don't have to rely on anyone else in the future.

[Disclaimer: If you have never experienced heart palpitations or have an underlying heart condition, please inform your doctor if you start experiencing them. I've had mine diagnosed as benign PVCs via EKG; thus there is no need for me to go to the hospital when they start bothering me. Of course, if my symptoms ever change or I start to feel lightheaded, I would immediately consult my cardiologist. But I've done the hospital thing in the middle of the night, and all they've ever done is hook me up, say yep you're experiencing palpitations, and send me on my way with a prescription for beta blockers (which I have never filled but that's another topic). So now I know when I start feeling them again, that it's best for me to stay home and work through them on my own.]

Heart Healthy

What do I do to prevent PVCs?

This is my current preventative regime. But basically it's striving for a healthy lifestyle.

Walking/Jogging (30 min.) at least 3 times a week
Eliminate all caffeine (no cokes, no coffee)
Yoga
Deep breathing
Reduce white sugars and carbs
Progressive muscle relaxation
Paraliminals: Self-Improvement Audio programs
P90X: a fitness regime consisting of weights, lunges, core work
6 small meals a day and always pairing a carb with a protein unit
Plenty of water
8-10 hours of sleep
Naps
Down time
Play time
Neck adjustments/massage by a chiropractor
Plenty of fruit and vegetables
Occasional mental health therapy sessions
Limit alcohol consumption (but occasional Mexican martini)
Medication: 15mg. of Lexapro