1. Swelling on cheek, OK to allow pressure on it?”
2. Universe is telling me to slow down, I’m new to Avita, will this have an impact?”
3. Nurturing a groin pull – go to place of “what can I do better”?”
4. What would you say is an active or passive position?”
5. Cramps, you say work with it – how?
6. Arthritis in knees – both from use.
“I just love this practice because it gives me the opportunity to honor what my body is telling me.” R.R.
[toggle title=”Maren … Why are cramps so good for you to try to work through?”]Jeff … Peacefully doing the cramp dance, leads to re-organization of the nervous system. They’re a sign of the body going into new territory.[/toggle]
[toggle title=”Joe… Sometimes when he has legs against the wall, especially when spreading them apart, he gets uncontrollable shakes in his hips and legs. Is it good to work through them just as with cramps?”]Jeff… Flexible people like Joe can often go deep in a shape but shouldn’t, always. If he is able to pull back and work in that shaking space, then re-organizing the nervous system is again going on and in six months maybe he won’t shake!
[/toggle]
[toggle title=”Lisa … When we do legs up the wall and then you cue us to pull knee into hip, you don’t always say “keep your heel in line with the knee”, but I try to do that all the time, is this right?”]Jeff… I don’t want to make it a rule, there are no rules in Avita! But if Lisa feels that doing that alignment helps work the hip, then that is the target of the shape.[/toggle]
[toggle title=”Julia… I work with brains, and they like ‘regulation’, deregulation is an unhealthy state. So what do you mean when you describe the body as being ‘disorganized’?”]Jeff… Athletic, flexible people like dancers and gymnasts and yogis have disorganized bodies that need new integration which Avita, by working with the joints and unifying the mind and body, can help alleviate or rectify.[/toggle]
[toggle title=”Maren… She has the tendency to flex her feet when in legs up the wall because it activates her knees and helps in keeping her legs straight. Is this correct?”]Jeff … We don’t always cue those things to allow YOU into the practice. If it’s a habit you learned from vinyasa or ashtanga then it works for you as a reference. What would you want to be, more supple or more flexible? I like supple better it suggests a freedom to do all the everyday things we need to do, not going overboard to try to be as flexible as possible.[/toggle]
[toggle title=”Mark… What is the situation with COVID, will we still be able to go into the studio?”]Jeff … There is a new level of lockdown coming on Friday but it looks like we will still be able to have the studio open.[/toggle]
On our Avita Community Chat last night, a practitioner made a statement that we can all relate to in one form or another. The statement was essentially, “I want my knee to be pain free.” Don’t we all have bodily desires? Don’t we all have a goal for a body part to be better? Do we not all have a desire for some kind of outer change, whether in body or life? Of course!
It’s normal to have physical desires and goals. It’s also perfectly normal to pursue them.
However (you knew this was coming) I would like to offer a caveat that will put it all in perspective and create the backdrop for the best outcome: Allow your worldly/bodily goals to be second to one prevailing desire/goal for peace in mind—the last place we think to look for it. Close your eyes for a moment and offer yourself this one prayer. Go ahead, if even for an instant, set the goal. Don’t worry, you don’t need to throw your worldly goals away, but put them all in a second group called “fuzzy goals.”
With so many uncertainties in our world, there’s no better time to practice. Whether it’s isolation, masks, election outcomes, bodily aches and pains or uncertainty about the future, we each have a litany of worldly preferences—some people with similar goals and preferences but no two alike. It’s a great opportunity to use them all to practice and join with the two things we all have in common, the struggle as sentient beings, and the peace we share in spirit.
Here’s how we practice: When you feel things working against you, you can say to yourself, “Ah, yes, I would like ____________ to happen but peace is my goal.” Or, “I see this thing happening in the news and if only it were_______________, then I’d be happy. Oh yeah, peace is my goal.” Nothing is lost. There’s but a gentle shift to a different inner voice.
Here’s the most important part of all! Once the goal for peace is set (remember, you did that a moment ago) its outcome is certain because a peaceful Self is your reality.
That’s number one. Number two, don’t demand inner peace (of self or others) and don’t beat yourself up for not having it! There’s no surer way to delay your inevitable gains than proclaiming your “failure.” Instead gently observe the notion that something can seemingly take your peace away. It goes like this, “Oh, I know my goal is peace, but this _________ is taking my peace away….isn’t that interesting.” We begin by not critiquing the judge! This tiny gap in time, this moment of reprieve is enough to open the mind and your world up to vast, endless and helpful possibilities…all of which will align for the most favorable outcome. It’s called getting out of our own way and it will take a little trust, at first.
One of my favorite movies that exemplifies this so well is The Legend of Bagger Vance with Will Smith, Charlize Theron and Matt Damon. In the end we don’t know if Bagger Vance was a real person or a symbol of Ranulph Junuh’s peaceful mind. I vote for the latter. We all have a wise, healed and whole “Bagger Vance” within, waiting to be known. And if we listen for It (by dimming the chatter of the unhealed, demanding mind) it will guide us closer and closer to Itself and all the things that use to trouble us slip away and life begins to fall into place. You’ll first be OK with the knee pain and then you’ll gently find the way to mend it. If you watch the movie, notice how Bagger Vance has not a judgmental bone in his body, how peaceful he is, how easy the words come, how patient and loving he is…and he’s always there. Watch how Matt Damon’s character tries outwit him and fights for his own limitations. Eventually resistance is laid aside and peace comes.
This is our yoga and the essence of the Avita Practice. It’s why it works. It’s mind over matter time and time again as we work on the matter! We don’t stop working on the body, we just get our priorities straight. If you take the time to read the Yoga Sutras, this is what they point to. It’s not easy but it is simple. Instead of putting the body first, we learn to put it second and get to know the one thing that is constant, eternal and available to all: Lasting Peace. That is out of this world!
Q: I feel like I have no movement in mid-back, does visualizing have any impact on this?
Q: Neck turns, I wonder if I’m turning my head correctly, where does my ear go?, how should I turn on a large bolster?
Q: My partner and I both fall asleep during the practice, what are we missing? Is this OK to do?!
Q: I feel such a strong difference between my right and left shoulders when doing hands under head — it seems like there’s and extra 4″ of skin there!
Q: I have been choosing REPLAYS (in Union.fit) to do my focused ‘problem’ areas. I have always thought there was a specific sequencing when I used to come into the studio. Is this OK that I may not be following a progression?
Q: I have had numerous replacement surgeries, all on one side, is it typical to take some time to full relief not just after my practice?
Q: Compression challenges, loose VS. stiff constitutions.
Q: Ujjayi breathing – do we do that in the Avita Yoga practice? Buteyko Breathing method is preferred and proven.
Q: Hands under the bolster is not easy for me, is there a way to work into it? What’s the placement of my hands?
Q: Sometimes I find my legs or body shaking in certain holds, am I pushing too hard?
Q: Sometimes I have to stop when I’m walking because I feel like my knee will give out, can Avita help? What’s happening with my knee?
Goals, try not to make your goals unwavering, you are setting yourself up for failure. Rather think of it as a strong preference.
Have your goal as peace and allow everything else to adjust to your goal of peace.
