Reflections on Teaching Yoga in a Chronic Pain Program

Artwork from:
http://criticalscience.com/chronic-pain-
psychosocial-interventions.html

This population is really limited... Some of them are addicted to prescription narcotics... Some of them have mental health challenges... They could be in a pain flare.

Do you think you can help?

The questions made me pause. Could I help? As I had been taught to do in yoga, I took a deep breath and checked in. I knew I wanted to help, but did I feel like I could be of service? The answer that came back was yes, so I laid out ideas and plans, and my interviewers glanced at each other and smiled at my enthusiasm. I was in a room filled with medical professionals who were redesigning their pain management program and wanted yoga, among other healing modalities, on the menu. I mentioned my own experiences with chronic pain, dating back to when I was a pre-teen, and how yoga had helped me. I was so full of idealism in that interview, and I was totally underprepared for what I was about to undertake. I’m grateful for that idealism, because I might have been scared off if not for it.

On my first day, there were 8-10 people in the room, and their pain was as diverse as them. Some could sit in chairs, and some could only sit for a few minutes; some preferred being on the ground, and some turned green at the thought of getting to the floor and back up again. We had chairs, a few padded mats, a few bolsters and some foam blocks. I had planned a yin yoga sequence, but realized quickly that this was not going to work. I started to worry,

what could I ask these people to do that wouldn’t hurt them?

I went through my yogic toolkit, and realized that all of these people could help themselves through pranayama. Good thing yoga isn’t solely about the body!

What they each had in common was that their nervous systems were stuck in a fight-or-flight mode because of their pain. As Dr. Palermo wrote in her post, pain triggers the stress response, and continual pain leaves the switch to the stress response fixed in the “on” position. My tool for the nervous system is always the breath. They might not all be able to get to the floor, or stand, or sit up, but they could all breathe. So, we started there.

Slowly, I eked out a sequence that supported most, if not all, of them. Together we found options for anyone who experienced pain or struggled to breathe during any part of the practice. I used Kelly McGonical’s book, Yoga for Chronic Pain Relief, as a guide, and I asked them to befriend their bodies and establish a relationship that wasn’t based on fear and pain. We joke about being less of a dictator and more of a coach of our bodies. Over and over, we emphasized – together – that the shape of the pose wasn’t the priority; the attitude, breathing, and observing were what really mattered.

When they weren’t doing yoga with me, they were practicing qi gong, walking or chair dancing, learning about their brains, their emotions, their diet and their habits. The team consists of psychologists, physicians, a pharmacist, a nurse, a Traditional Chinese Medical practitioner, a physical therapist, a Feldenkrais teacher and myself… a very well-rounded and holistic combination of providers.

Over the last year I’ve notices some patterns arise in the hundreds of patients that have come through the program. In the first few weeks, the patients are very fixated on their bodies and their sensations. The questions they ask me are indicative of this perspective: Am I doing this right? Is there a yoga pose for this body part / pain situation?

But at some point, the patients realize that 

it’s not about their body or their pain, but their relationship to both. 

For most people, that realization happens during the third week of the program, but some figure it out right away, while others report back months later that they now understand.

Pain and stress are on one side of a coin, with relaxation and service on the other, and emotions running along the edge of it. The tools that we offer them are mindfulness, compassion, presence, perspective and community; we use these tools to flip that coin from one side to the other. Some of the tools are packaged as yoga, and some are not, but the foundation is all the same.

Announcements:

• Sunday, June 23rd: Lorien will be offering restorative yoga demonstrations as part of Kaiser's Seeds of Hope Cancer Survivor Day. See Events page for info.

Lorien's Healing Yoga for Wellness DVD is out! How to get your very own copy:

• Order from Amazon for $27.95, plus tax and shipping 
• Stop in to Breathe Los Gatos and get it today for $30, plus tax
• Buy it directly from Lorien for $27.19 (tax included, no shipping, you must pick it up in class)
• Coming soon to eBay, Kaiser Santa Clara, local yoga studios and many more...

Fascia, Our Body’s Infrastructure

As a yoga teacher, I get asked many questions about pain. A common one is:

Why does an injury in one part of my body present pain in an entirely different part?

Logic would dictate that the area where you feel pain is the site of the injury or issue, but that doesn't always occur. 

If you’ve never experienced sensation that originates far from where it presents, then try this: open your mouth and place your right hand on your lower jaw bone; slide your jaw into your hand, but resist against it with your hand… and notice where you feel the sensation. Yes, there’s some feeling around the connection of your hand and jaw, but mostly you’ll feel this along the left side – the side where your hand isn’t. Why is that?

To answer that, think of Spider-Man’s costume, a tight second skin with a web design all over it. When he moves, the lines of the webs shift and move with him. Now, picture that web design under your skin, not on top of it. Each line of the webs are connected to each other, so when one spot tightens, tangles or is knotted (as in scar tissue), the rest of the web is affected - and the web is extremely sensitive. 

That web is called fascia, which is a type of connective tissue. These tissues range from light, easily affected “fuzz” to ropey, dense fibers. The following video shows some of the fascia in the forearm.

As the video shows, this web of fascia provides a container for nerves, blood and lymph vessels. When the fascial web contracts, we experience constriction on the nerves, in the blood vessels and the lymphatic system. Too much of this contraction may affect our systems in the following way:

• pain response and coordination
• circulation
• immune system

How do we loosen, untangle or release the adhesions in the fascial body? Massage is one method. Passive resistance through gentle yoga poses can also help, as well as tools that reduce overall stress, such as mindfulness and breathing exercises.

The next time you feel a pain response, ask yourself,

Where does this really come from?

You may be surprised by the answer, or you may not if your "Spidey-sense" is alert!

Announcements:

• Hear Lorien's interview on the Transformational Power of Yoga Telesummit.
• Next Kaiser Restorative Yoga for Cancer Survivorship 6-week series begins June 12 (ends July 24, no class July 3). Call 408-366-4284 to register.
• Tuesday, June 4th: Lorien will be offering gentle yoga demonstrations as part of Stanford's Cancer Survivor Celebration week. See Events page for info.
• Sunday, June 23rd: Lorien will be offering restorative yoga demonstrations as part of Kaiser's Seeds of Hope Cancer Survivor Day. See Events page for info.
• Stay tuned: Lorien's Healing Yoga for Wellness DVD will be out in June...

What Yoga is...

I have practiced yoga for 14 years. Early on, I was introduced to shalabhasana, or the locust pose, as a means to help my back. In every attempt to practice this pose, my legs were heavily earthbound, no matter how much flexibility I gained in my back or strength in my legs. After a while, I began to tell myself stories about this pose:

My arms are too short.
I'm not strong enough.
This pose is not for me.

I began to modify the pose whenever a teacher would offer it in class. I avoided teaching the full pose. I identified with what my mind told me, and embraced the justifications for rejecting the pose.

Last week, I stepped into a yoga class that changed so much for me. The teacher was visiting from India, and he and his wife taught several classes at the studio where I teach. I had heard great things, but had little expectations as I began this journey with him. He asked us to use our breath in a very different way, and then to explain why it was challenging to us. We all had stories about why we couldn't do what he was asking us to do; he neatly and succinctly exposed these stories as false - like removing training wheels, then pushed us to try more.

And then came shalabhasana.

He asked me why I wasn't lifting my legs. I gave him my stories, and he - kindly - refused to believe them. He then explained how I needed an experience to prove it to myself, and that I would then be able to practice the pose forever after that. By adding a small prop, I was able to lift my legs skyward with minimal effort. And so I tried it again. And again, but without the prop. My legs joyfully rose. I tried it the next day, and had the same experience, as well as the days after. So, what happened?


Did he magically transform my arm length, my strength or change the pose so that it was "for me" now?


No. He reminded me what yoga is. From Yoga Sutra 1.2 (Gary Kissiah's The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali),

"Yoga citta vrtti nirodhah: Yoga is the cessation of the misidentification with the modifications of the mind."

My mind had modified reality to fit a concept of my ego: this pose is not for me. I misidentified with this story; I believed it... for a long time, too. By pushing us with our breath, and then giving me an experience that I was convinced I couldn't have, I realized how much I was believing that wasn't necessarily true.

This all happened just 2 days before my Kickstarter campaign was scheduled to end, when I wasn't sure that I could raise the $18K to make the video project a reality. After the class, though, 

I started to doubt my doubts. 

Maybe they, like my thoughts about locust pose, were wrong.

It turns out I was right about being wrong. We reached our Kickstarter goal, raising over $18K, thanks to all of you!!! Since then I've now been wondering, 

What else have I been modifying and misidentifying? 

What have you?

Announcements:

• Hear Lorien's interview on the Transformational Power of Yoga Telesummit.
• Next Kaiser Restorative Yoga for Cancer Survivorship 6-week series begins June 12 (ends July 24, no class July 3). Call 408-366-4284 to register.
• Tuesday, June 4th: Lorien will be offering gentle yoga demonstrations as part of Stanford's Cancer Survivor Celebration week. See Events page for info.
• Sunday, June 23rd: Lorien will be offering restorative yoga demonstrations as part of Kaiser's Seeds of Hope Cancer Survivor Day. See Events page for info.
• Stay tuned: Lorien's Healing Yoga for Wellness DVD will be out in June...

Got My Back? Pledge Matching Begins Today!

I am so excited to announce that I now have a backer who is willing to match new pledges for my Kickstarter campaign!

Between now and May 2, every Kickstarter pledge made will be matched, up to $8,000.

So, please help me get the remaining pledges needed for this project! If you've already backed me, but want to increase your pledge, that will count towards the matching. If you haven't backed me yet, please consider doing so. These videos will help so many people. If you cannot back me, please let people know about the campaign so that others can.

Send this email to anyone who:

• loves yoga
• has chronic pain
• has physical limitations
• is healing from injury or illness
• has chronic stress
• has difficulty getting to a yoga class
• is taking care of someone with any of the above situations

I can't wait to get this funded so I can share these videos with people in hospitals, clinics, support groups, as well as anyone going through challenging times.

Here is the link to the Kickstarter page, where people will need to register and pledge: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yogabylorien/healing-yoga-for-wellness-video.

No money will be exchanged unless I receive my goal of $18,700 by May 2. Please help me get there!

Yoga & Filmmaking, How "Healing Yoga for Wellness" Began

In February of 2010, I began working with a 9-year old girl who had recently recovered from surgery to remove a brain tumor... only she hadn't really recovered. She was have lasting effects from the surgery, so her family contacted me. Through support from friends, family and even strangers who heard about her situation, I was funded to work with her and her parents. When I was with her, we worked on breathing, swallowing and balancing. When I was with her parents, we worked on stress management. Getting the opportunity to meet and "play" with her and her parents changed my life in many ways. As I got to know them,

I learned that her father makes films for a living.

Around the same time, I met a fellow yoga teacher named Cindy Campbell, who runs a non profit organization called Human Connexus; I was deeply inspired by how her organization supports people who are facing medical emergencies by offering financial aid, so they can focus on what really matters. I told her I wanted to help. I offered yoga to her clients, but we quickly realized that these people are spending long hours in the hospital with their loved ones, and cannot plan to be at a yoga session. Help would need to be on their terms.

The idea of a video was born, as a tool for the caregivers to remain healthy during stressful time.

I immediately thought of my client and contacted him to see if he was interested. He was, and had many questions and ideas about it. I was impressed with his enthusiasm and we began making plans right away:

• Calling on my students to play the roles in the video was the easiest part; they were eager and supportive and very willing. (I'm sure that's not always the case with "talent" on screen.)
• I contacted people who I knew made beautiful music and asked if they would consider donating their talent to this project, and I was so moved when they said yes.
• I asked the owners of Breathe Los Gatos if they would donate their space, because I knew it would look lovely when filmed.
• I contacted several yoga clothing companies to see if they would consider costuming us. be present, a company based in Colorado, replied almost immediately with a yes. I was thrilled!

We rehearsed, filmed, edited, recorded voice over, collaborated on music, and - finally, made our video. It took 2 years from its inception to produce, but I feel it is a product I can be proud of. The funding I am asking for is mainly to pay the filmmaker, plus the cost of pressing the DVDs, packaging and shipping them out. Along with so many others, my hours dedicated to this project are voluntary.

At its roots is the idea of serving others, on their terms. 

When these videos are made, I will continue that idea. I will donate several copies to cancer centers and hospitals. Human Connexus will received a collection of the videos to distribute to their recipients, and a portion of every sale will go back to their organization.

Please help me get these videos made. The following link takes you to my Kickstarter page, where you can pledge any amount between $10-$1000 to help get this project funded and going. Share this post, or the link (or both), with anyone you know to help spread the word. Namaste.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yogabylorien/healing-yoga-for-wellness-video

Healing Yoga for Wellness DVD Project: Not the Virus I Was Looking For...

"I need a virus," I said, glibly. I was speaking about my Kickstarter campaign to raise $18,700 by May 2, referring to the concept of going viral, a method for spreading the word about my project to more and more people. I need lots of people to donate small amounts in order to reach my goal.

Well, I got my virus, but it wasn't the one I wanted.

Instead, I came down with a cold. You really need to be careful what you ask for.

I rarely get sick, but when I do, it's usually fast and furious. This was no exception. People were raving about the nice warm weather, but I was shivering. It hurt to blink my eyes and I kept leaning towards my left, if I tried to stand up. There were a few of my yoga classes that I couldn't find a sub for, so I taught them, keeping my distance from the students, and my hands and energy to myself (the opposite of my normal intention). I told my kids they would have to find their own rides, that the Mom Taxi was out of service. I huddled under a blanket and a 50-lb. dog and did nothing.

It took 2 days and countless holistic treatments, including acupuncture, to feel human again. I'm amazed at how quickly a virus comes and goes. In the middle, it's easy to think that it will be this way forever, and you learn that breathing is not to be taken for granted and skin really is the largest, most sensitive organ.

I kept imagining that I was watching a great football game, with my immune system as one team and the virus as the other. I felt when yards were taken and given, and I tried my best to cheer on my home team, supporting them with all that I knew how to do.

And then it left. Our bodies are incredible at finding equilibrium.

Now that I feel better, I'm attacking this Kickstarter project with the same enthusiasm. And I'm rephrasing my request:

"I need word about my project to spread like a virus."

You gotta be specific when asking the universe for help!

Here is the link to the Kickstarter project; please help me spread word about it:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yogabylorien/healing-yoga-for-wellness-video

Indra's Net & Lorien's Kickstarter Campaign

Far away in the heavenly abode of the great god Indra, there is a wonderful net which has been hung by some cunning artificer in such a manner that it stretches out infinitely in all directions. In accordance with the extravagant tastes of deities, the artificer has hung a single glittering jewel in each "eye" of the net, and since the net itself is infinite in dimension, the jewels are infinite in number. There hang the jewels, glittering like stars in the first magnitude, a wonderful sight to behold. If we now arbitrarily select one of these jewels for inspection and look closely at it, we will discover that in its polished surface there are reflected all the other jewels in the net, infinite in number. Not only that, but each of the jewels reflected in this one jewel is also reflecting all the other jewels, so that there is an infinite reflecting process occurring. ~Francis Harold Cook

The Buddhists use the symbol of the net of Indra as a representation of our interdependence.  Each jewel in the net contains within it the reflection of all the other jewels, and each reflection is dependent on the other jewels. It’s the same with people:

We are all dependent on each other and our actions ripple through everyone to eventually reflect back at us. Today I’m asking you to help me make some ripples that will, in the next few weeks, return with abundance.

As some of you may already know, I launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund a yoga video project of mine. Kickstarter is a website that allows people with ideas but not enough funds (like me) get the visibility they need to raise enough money to bring their idea to market. People pledge to pay a certain amount of money and, if the total amount is raised, the project is backed and the pledgers contribute. In my case,

I need to raise $18,700 in pledges by May 2.

Certain pledge amounts come with certain rewards (just like on PBS). If I don’t complete my goal, none of the money pledged to my project will be available. But that’s not what I want to reflect, and I need your help to make sure that I do meet my goal. As of writing this, 23 backers have pledged $1,268! I’m extremely grateful to all of you who have backed me. I’m asking that you now help me spread the news about this project far and wide by emailing, posting on Facebook or tweeting on Twitter about my project, found at 

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yogabylorien/healing-yoga-for-wellness-video. 

In other words, help me build a net like Indra’s, reflecting support at each eye of the net. With your help, I know word of this project will ripple through our independent webs and eventually connect into the dependent web that really exists. Thank you!

Update:

To share this post quickly, scroll to the top of the page and click the drop-down menu titled "More", then select your method of sharing (email, Twitter, Facebook, etc.). Thanks again!

The Abundance of Spring

Lorien in 1980

When I was growing up, our home had many small farm animals, even though we weren't on a farm. We had cats and chickens and rabbits and some geese, for a while. We also used most of our backyard to grow fruit and vegetables. What was great about all of this is I was a witness to nature's rhythms. Each spring I watched the green shoots poking through the ground and the tiny balls of fur that would later become cats or rabbits. Each summer and fall I watched the leaves dry out, and the food that we couldn't use returned to the earth. 

Spring has always been my favorite season, with its showy promise of things to come and its wild abundance. This spring is no exception to me. There are so many things happening that I am tempted to become overwhelmed. Then I remember the cool, introverted times of winter and I am grateful for all this opportunity! I hope you find your abundance this spring, too.

Announcements

Please see the Events page for more information about these upcoming special programs:

• NEW: Kickstarter campaign launching this week!!! I have a project to be launched on www.kickstarter.com and would love you to be a part of it. I'll be sending an email out soon, so look for the details in your inbox shortly.
• Saturday, April 6 - Sunday April 7: Yin Yoga 14-Hour Immersion; this is open to everyone interested in yin yoga, and there is space still available.
• Saturday, April 6 - Sunday April 7 AND Saturday, April 13 - Sunday April 14: Yin Yoga Teacher Training
• Sunday, April 28: Yin Yoga 1-Day Workshop