Building Inner Power by Tapping into the 3 Human Minds

at 

Acton Trussell Community Centre, Acton Hill Road, Acton Trussell, Stafford. Staffordshire. ST17 0RY

Saturday 7th July 2012

 Cost £45, or £38 with early bird discount

A powerful combination of yoga and psychotherapy to build emotional resilience and ‘inner power’. Gain a basic understanding of NLP Pychotherapy and apply it to your yoga practice to release negative emotions, build emotional and physiological coherence and tap into the vast healing power of the unconscious mind.

This workshop is about embodying the benefits of yoga practice with NLP, Ericksonian psychology and energy system work, to effect lasting changes in our nervous and body-mind systems.

Yoga works on much more than our physical, muscular system. When we work deeper into yoga we discover its power to affect our energetic system. These practices help us to find peace in chaos, strength in adversity and thrive in the face of stress.

Sue Tupling has been developing this theme over the last six years, focusing on yoga practices that work on the human energy system and include the latest thinking in neuroscience to build inner strength and resilience.

Your Course Tutor

Sue Tupling has been teaching practising yoga and meditation for over 20 years and teaching yoga for over 6 years. She is an accredited stress management practitioner (ISMA) and psychotherapist (in training). She runs her own business, Embodied Living, which offers psychotherapeutic programmes for health and wellbeing. Her unique approach to yoga is inspired by her own experience of the power of yoga to change her life in a deep and transforming way. Susan is skilled at leading Yin and Yang Yoga practices (as taught by her teacher, Simon Low). She is a Yoga Academy teacher (BWY Accredited School) and has trained with top international yoga teachers, including Simon Low, Tias Little, Julie Goodmasted. She is also a qualified teacher of Yoga Nidra (Satyananda School).

About Embodied Living Therapy

Embodied Living therapy uses neuro-linguistic psychotherapy as a main modality complemented with transformational coaching , hypnotherapy, cognitive behavioural therapy, yoga therapy, breath re-training, emotional freedom techniques and biofeedback work.  Neuro-linguistic psychotherapy (NLPt) goes much deeper than CBT and  neurolinguistic programming (NLP), in that it looks for  the way the client has ‘constructed’ their experience of the world and, by exploring ‘how’ people think, identifying successful outcomes and then then applying these successful actions or beliefs in ways which work.  The therapy can typically  be brief and short-term (6 to 10 hours), Sue aims to quickly get to the source of the problem.    The initial 60 minute Intake Session provides an initial assessment, giving an indication of the duration of the therapy, and is free of charge. The work can be carried out in the warm,comfortable therapy room at St Albans House or on client premises.

Joining Instructions

Full joining instructions and yoga questionnaire will be sent out to you prior to attending.

Please bring along your yoga mat, blocks, blanket and wear loose comfortable clothing. Refreshments will be provided.

Full cost, including a free Audio CD of the practices, is £45, or £38 early bird discount.

for any additional information please contact Sue on 01785 227183/07908 730726, email sue@myyoga.org.uk

Testimonials for Sue’s Workshops

“I found the mix of practice, reflection and  explanation very enjoyable providing a good mix of pace and activity. Calming,  relaxing and an opportunity for real and true reflection, seldom found in  everyday life.” SP, Business Coach

The  session you provided was really worthwhile and made us all think about being in  the right shape and state of mind to go about our days.  What really stuck  out to me was how professional and dedicated you are to your work and totally  believed in its power and that influenced us greatly.  We got much out of  the session as a team, a shared experience and some real fun.” Jon Hartland, Central Retail Director, J.  Sainsburys plc

For more info or to download the booking form click here: http://myyoga.org.uk/power.html

To ‘meditate’ is to concentrate the mind on a single point of focus. These ‘guided meditations’ use many forms: breath; energy; a symbol; a mantra. And these may be more, or less complex. Eventually when we a more adept at practice there is a change. But to feel this change, we have to make great effort (ie dedication to the practice, regular, consistent), we need a strong motivation and we need to be relaxed. From deep concentration of mind, from which springs meditation, the body and mind need to be deeply relaxed. This is why we learn yoga asana, yoga nidra and pranayama (breathing practices) prior to building our meditation practice – as these help us to relax body and mind ready for meditation.

Try this short meditation inspired by Vijnana Bhairava Tantra, and Swami Anandananda’s teaching. On space. It is 16min long.

Click here for meditation podcast.

click here for direct download of the mp3.

I estimate that 1 in every 20 people who come to me are suffering from panic attacks. I have suffered from them myself. It limits lives, even ruins lives if left to run without help for long enough, becoming a panic disorder.

The symptoms include: feeling of faintness (or actually fainting), lightheadedness, chest pains, rapid breathing, rapid heartbeat, numbness, sweating, tingling feeling on the fingers, nausea, hot flashes, trembling or shaking, abdominal pains, feeling that you are about to have a heart attack or die.  People can feel like they are about to vomit, or have diarrhoea. Symptoms vary from person to person, but they are very frightening.

Who gets panic attacks?

Panic attacks can happen to anyone, many of us may have had one or two in our lives, and overcome them. When panic attacks become a problem, it is usually in people with less self acceptance/ self like, they tend to dissaprove or dislike themselves. Maybe an underlying, limiting belief about self such as “I’m worthless” keeps them unconsciously wishing to punish themselves or self sabotage any attempts at changing it.

What are panic attacks?

They are not phobias, as phobias are a fear of something specific and identifiable outside of yourself, removal of which stops the symptoms of fear. But if you fear fainting in a public space or making a public spectacle of yourself in certain situations then your fear is a fear of panicking and is internally generated, caused by your own thoughts: “What if I faint? I’ll make such a fool of myself. What will others think of me?”

Panic attacks become inconsistent, their occurance depending on a number of different circumstances, unpredictable and we don’t know why it happens or how you learned it. They always start with some event in childhood where we lost control of our bodies, usually due to illness, and fainted, were sick or had diarrhoea. This leaves us with a very negative emotional experience linked to a time and place, and it is this memory of time and place linked with emotion, that becomes an unconscious pattern outside of our conscious control. And explains why they can be so scary.

What can be done?

Many people believe that, because they have had panic attacks for a while and have not been able to do anything about it, they are stuck with them and can’t change. But, whilst the change may not be immediate, and the person needs to put some effort in to change, panic attacks can be treated and life can return to normal. In Embodied Living therapy here are some of the processes that I look at to help people:

• education about the process of panic attacking
• assess hyperventilation/breathing and retrain breathing
• teach relaxation skills
• teach thinking skills and identify the trigger thought and learn to change/stop it
• identify the ‘dandelion root’ of limiting belief or event from early life and re-solution that
• develop witness mind to teach person to dissasociate and keep out of the panic
• install resources to help with managing emotional state and control the sympathetic nervous system: anchoring, resourceful self, cognitive distraction, SWISH, timeline intervention and memory resolution,
• tasking and practicing controlled exposure with resources
• building identity – ideal self – to build a more resourceful, resilient self

this can have a huge impact on eradicating the panic attacks and helping people achieve their fully potential

A short 9 min talk on the nature of suffering and different views on depression’s and anxiety upside/gifts; importance of self acceptance and aligning parts of ourselves (2 parts of ourselves, one denied), understanding our strengths; developing resources (practices) that keep us centred and connected to our centre, hearing our authentic voice

The Number of Calories burned in a hour of yoga compared to other activities

yoga burns more calories than dancing!

source: www.dietandfitnesstoday.com/

These figures are for a woman of 163 lbs average and man of 190 lbs are the number of calories burned per hour.  An average yoga class, one that has some strong flow (yang) work in it burns upwards of 392 calories in an hour for women and 457+ for men! This means yoga burns more calories than modern dance, golf, and moderate walking. This is good news because not only does it mean yoga burns fat, it has many other health benefits too. So yoga can’t be compared to other forms of ‘exercise’ because it is much more than just exercise.

Yoga and Weight Loss

I guess we have all seen the ashtanga yoga addict – emaciated and skeleton-like in the search for body (or spirit) beautiful. This stick like image of a yoga practitioner is enough to put anyone off the practice. But there are many people who regularly practice yoga who are doing it to help with weight management, yet who have a healthier relationship with their bodies. Whilst Yoga can help us burn calories (proof above!) what it really works on is our attitude to food. It teaches us about nourishment. Between those who starve themselves for fasting or ridiculous diets, and those who gorge, yoga encourages in us a ‘middle way’.

Food as life essence

The refinement of awareness that yoga brings with it, encourages us to be more aware of our prana, our vital lifeforce. And food is the main way that we take in this life essence into our body. Our body is an important vessel for our self and mind, and the healthier the body the more likely we are to be healthy in mind and free of disease. So the quality of the prana that we ingest, through our intake of food, is vital for our health and wellbeing (and our spiritual progress). As we develop this refined awareness we naturally have a sense of what food is good for us, and what food our body needs.

Hunger versus Appetite

I think yoga teaches us the massive difference between hunger and appetite: kind of like needs and wants. Hunger is when we need food – and many of us in the West have probably not been truly hungry ever. And appetite is when we would like to eat, to satiate a craving or a rumbling of the stomach or through habit. Hunger is a natural demand of the body for energy, and appetite is what we have educated our senses to prefer. Appetite is chocolate, sugar, cakes, lots of meat etc. Hunger is simple, natural, plain food: perhaps porridge and sprouts etc (not together though … eeeuuuww!).

Hunger is taking the time to enjoy every mouthful. We learn to appreciate food, truly. The atoms of the matter of food are masticated by the mouth, very slowly releasing all the taste, energy and atoms from the food so that slowly that quality of energy is absorbed into our cells. This liberated energy, through slow eating, chewing every bit, gives vital energy to our very cells. So when you chew for a long time, let the food almost melt away in your mouth because you have masticated for so long that you don’t even need to try to swallow: that is really eating. Massage and caress your food with your mouth in a sensual dance.

Meat or not?

Contrary to popular belief, Yoga does not say ‘thou mustn’t eat meat’.  You can eat what you like. This is so true, because you find that, increasingly, what you ‘like’ is what is good and healthy for you anyway (certainly once you have purged yourself of your excessive appetites for chocolate etc!). But most people who practice yoga regularly come to find that meat is not his or her ‘proper’ diet, that humans just weren’t designed to eat a lot of meat (it was always such a scarcity). Yet forced restraint (I will not eat meat) does no good.

In general, what you also notice is that you eat less. This is mainly because yoga practice makes us the most energy efficient engine there is out there (better than a Toyota Prius!!). We are able to get the maximum nourishment from the minimum intake of food. So our plate size gets smaller, our stomach shrinks back to its normal size and we are now (through refined awareness) able to feel those pressure receptors in our stomach that are telling us that our stomach is full. And that is all we need. We eat what we need.

Here are a few top tips for what and how to eat to maintain healthy weight through yoga:

Top Tips for Yogic Weight Loss

1. Eat a wide variety of things: yoga is the middle way, everything in moderation
2. Follow your instinct: your body inherently knows what it needs (and this is unique to your ‘type’)
3. Avoid ‘rich’ food (you will increasingly know what they are!)
4. Don’t eat too much fat
5. Don’t eat too much meat
6. Tend toward simple, plain food
7. Beware of the frying pan
8. Get slow: masticate (chew) your food thoroughly and slowly until there is no taste left and it melts away in your mouth

I hope that has been of help for those of you interested in weight management, or with a New Years Resolution?  Now what’s for tea ……

The source of all life

Whether it is yoga, aikido, martial arts, acupuncture, all these eastern philosophies recognise the human energy system. this energy – also known as Chi or prana – is our vital essence, our lifeforce: the source of all life. In a sense in have this subtle energy zinging throughout our bodies (and it is more electrical than anything else) we have the universe within us – for this is the energy that gave birth to the universe, universal energy). Without prana there is no life, prana can be felt in the body as different degrees of vibrations, warmth, power, pulsation, strength. We deplete this lifeforce when we get ill, through stress and tension (holding tension in the body creates blockages that prevent the free flow of this ‘subtle energy’) and through poor diet and lifestyle.

Disturbance of mind

Prana and the pranic body is the link between the physical body and the mind – hence any disturbance in the mind will affect our lifeforce and also any physical ailment in the body will deplete our lifeforce. If we can learn techniques to manage our subtle energy we will remain strong and balanced (in mind and body) and be able to ward off any mental or physical illness and increase our inner power and strength.

Given that our brain is 2% of our body mass and yet consumes 20% or more of our calorific intake (your brain eats a kit kat and 2 packets of crisps a day!), it isn’t hard to see how worry and anxiety drains prana.  A busy, worrying mind uses up loads of energy and this totally depletes our subtle energy.  If we think of this pranic energy as a bank account – we were born with a certain balance and it is our responsibility to build on this energy throughout our lives so that we grow more vital as we age.

Mental tension and disturbance, through worrying and anxiety, uses up a lot of this energy and ultimately leads to illness and disease. In virtually all the Eastern philoshophies all illness and disease is a result of disturbance, blockage and stagnation of this vital energy (and this explains why my friend Howard has cured himself of the apparently ‘irreversible’ disease of Parkinsons).

What and where is prana?

Prana is the subtle energy that runs through the energy ‘meridians’ or channels of the body – the nadis. This electrical energy is intimately linked to the nervous system and the balance of sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the nervous system. Hence mental and emotional balance (balance of these two branches) nurtures and strengthens prana. Whilst prana is not breath: breath is the biggest tool we have to manipulate prana. Hence the huge importance of breath and breathing exercises (pranayama) in yoga – these practices build our energy and vitality.

Prana exists in 5 different sections which all move constantly and in different directions (the vayus). A healthy section of prana feels tingly, full of life, vital and pulsating. Numbness, heaviness, cold, all indicate that prana is stagnant or blocked.  Blockage and stagnation destory our prana – and this gives us some sense of the importance of asana in yoga – asanas remove all blockages (eventually), whether mental, emotional or physical so that our vital lifeforce can flow freely and keep us health and vital.

Prana and Consciousness

Prana is also linked to levels of consciousness. Most religions, faiths and philosophies agree that the purpose of human life is to expand our level of consciousness and to realise our true potential of self. Higher levels of prana help to elevate us to higher levels of consciousness and likewise (in my experience anyway) higher levels of consciousness help us to experiece the higher levels of prana. Fleeting experiences of higher these higher levels: where consciousness becomes consumed in shimmering ethereal particles of ‘light’ moving in all directions simultaneously where the physical material body has dissolved and we, our consciousness, has no boundary, is limitless.

How can we nurture prana?

We can learn how to generate prana, nurture it, build up a huge store of it. But first we must learn to become aware of it – this requires a refinement of awareness (so come along to my yoga classes!).  Then there are three main ways of generating prana:

1. Choose your environment carefully – it is said that living high on a mountain exposes us to more pure prana. We breathe in prana – taking the univeral lifeforce into our own body. So the quality of the air we breathe, and more importantly the level of prana in that air is important. Hence why mental illness and depression is higher in inner cities.
2. Ingest the highest quality fuel – if we think of our bodies as a prana energy generation station, we ingest the fuel for the generation of our prana in 3 ways: what we breathe, what we eat and what we drink. So it is important to consider the quality of the prana in what we eat or drink. Natural foods that are closer to the source and have been through fewer refinements or processing have inherently higher levels of prana. Hence fresh vegetables, fruit and a more natural diet. Remember, our ancient ancestors were not meat eaters – but meat was a rare treat, certainly not an everyday event.
3. And finally, and this is key, we need the proper rest and relaxation. Deep restorative rest and practices that reduce the domination of the sympathetic nervous system and restore vagal tone are essential. And this is not just about lying down and ‘doing relaxation’. but about learning a way of living that is expansive and spacious as we go about our everyday existence.

For more information check out the Embodied living website or attend one of our courses or classes.

To elaborate; i watched people today. Coming and going, sitting and queueing. And as I watched them I thought about the gunas (see yesterday’s post) and started to notice which guna was predominant in each person. In the West certainly, we have a culture that encourages, rewards, and shapes us for doing. In my one to one work whether yoga or psychotherapy, I see this. People often have a posture that mirrors a forward moving. go getting, achieving culture: sway back, knees hyperextended, a tense lateral myofascial line that throws the pelvis out of alignment and head hanging forward off the neck.

Existing or Being?

In therapy, or yoga, people often simply don’t know how to ‘just be’. And their reactions to feeling stressed or overwhelmed is to do more, to keep themselves busy. Almost like if they stopped they wouldn’t exist any more. Of course when they have come to therapy, their body and/or their mind have already begun to ‘break down’ in some way (of course breakdown only leads to breakthrough!). So as I noticed the older lady behind me, who’s impatience I could feel even before she began trying to push in front of me. Or the stressed looks on shoppers faces busily scanning catalogues, or the harassed mum who quickly gulped down her drink coffee and was out before I had taken a bite of cake. I could see ‘doing’ was written on the somatic structure of peoples’ faces, posture, body.

There were perhaps about 2 people who seemed to be ‘being’. A contented looking young guy with a bright, clear face, sitting back in his chair smiling at the lady with him. Their non hurried demeanour draw my attention, their energy drew me in.

And I wondered, ‘why am i sitting here in Costa, when i could be home doing things?’ And realised that margin/space is so important to me – I can just ‘be’ in that space. And I realised that I have more margin and earn less money now (than ever before) because of this. But for me this margin IS life, and health and happiness. I have enough. And, best of all, I have space to ‘be’.

Of the gunas (see below post) Sattvic is light, space, lucidity, harmony. You can’t buy it or earn it by doing more or trying harder. You have to learn to be and let go of some doing and having. Perhaps this is the hardest lesson of all.

The breath is the link between the body and mind. Through the breath you can get a window onto the autonomic nervous system (that which we are usually told is beyond our conscious control) and the unconscious mind. There is a way to breathe – known as coherent breathing – where we can become more of ourself, synchronise heart rate and even blood flow, with respiration. This process happens when we are breathing slowly and deeply – ie at a rate of 5 breaths/minute. The average person breaths at 15  breaths/min (some are at 30 or more!!). This rate of 5 breaths/min brings about emotional and physiological coherence.

When we don’t breathe coherently, and for many of us unproductive breathing is a lifetime habit, the sympathetic nervous system becomes dominant (we’re in the realm of fearing, fleeing or fighting). And the parasympathetic nervous system, the relaxation responsive system that we all have inherent access to, becomes dysfunctional and is no longer able to counteract the stressed nervous system and rescue us from a pretty negative and unpleasant way of being in the world.

The Diaphragm

Coherent breathing involves the diaphragm – the primary muscle of respiration. The diaphragm is a strong sheet of muscle that sits in the torso separating the abdominal organs from the thoracic cage. It is a very important organ. It can move in a range of 10 cm. Yet many people don’t use it – its range may be 1 cm or less. When the diaphragm is used to at least 60% of its capacity in breathing it works on the enteric nervous system (the ENS, the gut) to entrain this body-brain (the ENS has 100,000 neurons, as much as the spinal column!!). It also massages deeply into the gut to keep the myofascial connective structure free of blockages and the body fluids healthy.

Embrace the Passive

Whilst exhalation is an active process, the exhalation is passive, simply a relaxation (letting go) of the diaphragm. Coherent breathing requires that we let go of the diaphragm, relax it deeply, allow its range of movement to increase (for this is all to do with the exhalation). But letting go is hard to do!  We need to learn to relax the diaphragm, so that it relaxes fully upwards and activates a deep relaxation response as we breathe out (the heart rate slows down too). This alone takes us into deeper relaxation, at a cellular level, across many systems of our body and counteracts the effects of stress on our lives.

Effect on the Heart
The diaphragm is connected to the heart via the central tendon and connective tissue. Its action massages the heart – the other body-brain. As much as 65% of heart cells are neural cells, identical to those found in the brain, your heart has thoughts and a ‘mind’! In addition, the heart is a powerful EMF energy generator (the electromagnetic energy that a coherent heart kicks out can be measured up to 15 feet outside of the body!!), and can affect the energy of brainwaves (a process called entrainment) and also of other people.

In addition, the diaphragm is connected to the vagus nerve, part of the PNS, and its action serves to increase the functionality of the PNS, when we breathe diaphragmatically we engage the parasympathetic nervous system.

Finally, through coherent breathing we can entrain the ENS (the gut), the heart into coherence (high HRV), and the brainwaves into alpha or even theta.  This is the secret to deep relaxation and becoming ‘more’ of ourselves.

Yoga, especially when combined with psychotherapy, helps you develop a deeper connection to yourself and reconnect body and mind to release deep emotional and physical tensions. By combining Western talk psychotherapy (nlp psychotherapy, CBT therapy, self relations therapy) with Eastern tools of yoga, yoga therapy uses the wisdom of the body to heal the mind and the power of the mind to heal the body.

But we have to use a framework, a model to understand where the client is now and where he or she wants to be.

Framework – assessment

This may include an assessment of the gunas, the basic ‘texture’ of their personality, to determine whether someone is predominantly sattvi, rajasic or tamasic:

• Sattva (originally “being, existence, entity”) has been translated to mean balance, order, or purity. Indologist Georg Feuerstein translates sattva as “lucidity”.
• Rajas (originally “atmosphere, air, firmament”) is also translated to mean change, movement or dynamism.
• Tamas (originally “darkness”, “obscurity”) has been translated to mean “too inactive” or “inertia”, negative, lethargic, dull, or slow. Usually it is associated with darkness, delusion, or ignorance.

It will also include an intuitive assessment of the kleshas : which are the deep ‘afflictions’  (mental disturbances) that are driving a particular behaviour and causing this person’s suffering?

• AVIDYA, which means ignorance. Specifically, it means not seeing the truth (a-vidya). It is ignorance of the reality that transcends individual lifetimes and the physical universe. the other kleshas are related to avidya.
• Asmita (I-am-ness) is the identification of ourselves with our ego. We create a false self-image of ourselves that we believe is us, but it is actually not us (not our real self). This self-image can contain both external (I am poor) and internal (I am a bad person) false limiting beliefs about ourselves. We become trapped within these limiting beliefs.
• Raga (attachment) is the attraction for things that bring pleasure or satisfaction to oneself. Our desire for pleasurable experiences creates mindless actions and blind sighted vision. When we cannot obtain what we desire, we suffer. When we do obtain what we desire, our feelings of pleasure soon fade and we begin our search for pleasure again, becoming trapped in a endless cycle.
• Dvesha (repulsion) is the opposite of raga, is the the running away from unpleasant experiences (people, things), compulsive avoidance of suffering. If we cannot avoid the things we dislike, we suffer. Even thinking about unpleasant experiences produces suffering.
• Abhinivesha (will to live) is the deepest and most universal klesha, the most difficult to overcome, and remaining with us until our deaths. We know that one day we will indeed die, yet our fear of death is a deeply buried in our unconsciousness.

Where are we blocked?

I also consider what is going on energetically with someone. Where are we blocked? what are we neglecting or hiding from deep within ourselves? The chakras often hold the clue to this – a knot in the heart, or stomach. Someone can only connect to a neglected part of self (a buried trauma or emotion) if they have a strong enough ‘competent self’ to hold that neglected part. So chakra work can include strengthening of the inner self and building a connection to inner power. Then the work can begin on the darkness within – because in that darkness lies our real power. But it takes courage to connect to it and welcome it as part of ourself.

Yoga Therapy

Overtly a yoga therapy session consists of a tailored yoga programme, designed to work therapeutically to restore your health, combined with psychotherapy (and our talking therapy has a very ‘somatic’ focus).

Each one to one session is a workout for the body and the mind that translates to benefits that clear out trauma and mental tension and make you a more positive person. Yoga psychotherapy uniquely combines the power of the mind with the wisdom of the body. Many of the psychosomatic symptoms of common illness and disease are found in the body, but it is in these very symptoms that the power to heal body and mind lies.

That is why we (usually) start with the body in yoga therapy. Using the body we can access the autonomic nervous system and rebalance the ‘system’. Then we use talk therapy to tap into the power of the mind (most the unconscious mind!).

A typical session involves working one to one on the mat with the yoga therapist, involving breath work (breath retraining), and doing a series of specially designed, assisted, restorative postures and talk therapy and self hypnosis techniques.