Back in the Saddle

Ever meandered off track?  I do that pretty often.  That's actually pretty common for us creative unicorn types - peculiar people whose creativity and colorful minds are constantly curious.

It feels good to get back to you, Scribes!  In fact, I am feeling a bit "Enlightened."  Are you ready for a quick review of Jessica Berger Gross' book, Enlightened (Skyhorse Publishing, 2009)?  For those of us who seek to deepen a yoga practice, yearn for more calm serenity, or are developing mindfulness in our days, this brief and cheerful book might just be a refreshing start.

The book's full title gives a hint of how light this reading is, even with its explanation of Sanskrit:  Enlightened:  How I Lost Forty Pounds with a Yoga Mat, Fresh Pineapples, and a Beagle-Pointer.  The book is peppered with illustrations by Bobby Clennell; and that helps those new to the practice understand visually many of the asanas (postures) discussed.  In the back of the book, readers find a restaurant guide (which is hopefully still accurate nearly ten years later) and a reading list of recommended books.  Since Gross suggests a style of eating that may or may not be openly embraced by her audience, these resources provide a useful bit of guidance for newcomers.  Like many of the books you'll see me review, this one also has a few recipes.

The introduction and first two chapters offer a candid backdrop from which we view the following text.  Leaving behind a violent home and upbringing, overweight to the point she was unable to move her body into several of the asanas she attempted, and ready for change, Gross had a paradigm shift and transformation that relocated and revised her life.

Her chapter titles give an urban feel to ancient terms, simplifying these sacred instructions:

• Truthfulness (satya)
• Moderation (brahmacharya)
• Discipline and Zeal (tapas)
• Purity, Cleanliness (sauca)
• Nonviolence (ahimsa)
• Self-Study and Introspection (svadhyaya)
• Touching Enlightenment (santosa, samadhi)

The tenets, known as the Yoga Sutras are brief in their original form, she explains, but certainly are not short on meaning and depth in application.

Satya, for example, deals with truthfulness including not only what you communicate, but also what/how much you consume and why.  It's not only about being honest with others in the community, but also with oneself.  If there is a dysfunctional attitude or behavior in our lives and we don't acknowledge it, there is no remedy for it.  Deceit destroys the demonstration of our best intentions.  Anyone else feel their "toes get stepped on" just then?

Here's a bit of truth offered in a handy box by this author:  a list of the "Top Six Signs You Are Eating Too Much" (page 49).

1. Fat clothes = favorites now, especially those that stretch.
2. Portions in even the most abundant amounts don't keep you from "cleaning your plate."
3. Your attempts to "outrun your fork" have been mocked by the speed of the scale's progress upward.
4. Dinner partners tend to be those with whom you can "loosen the belt" and eat copious amounts without fear of judgment.
5. You're taking in muffins (essentially cake) and giant bagels, telling yourself they're a healthy-enough alternative for breakfast tide-over.
6. The scale's menacing movement higher is evidence to you that it must be defective, so you rid yourself of it and other measuring tools completely.

Note:  While these may not feel helpful, there's a mini-tutorial on carving a pineapple tucked into these pages you might just find simplifies things. 

Next, she discusses brahmacarya - moderation, self-restraint, self-control, and the "half-empty stomach."  Actually, the Sanskrit term mitahara is the one which applies to dietary moderation.  Contentedness with less than "full strength" or "maximum" can help us minimize what we are wasting while meeting our essential needs.  Gross quotes Ram Dass' work on the topic, in this bullet-style explanation of how one's stomach should be after a meal:

• 1/2 full with food
• 1/4 full with water
• 1/4 empty with room for air

So, how are we supposed to get there - especially those of us reared in Western culture less than a century after the Depression and Dustbowl, mass market food, and television commercials have indoctrinated and informed our choices and levels of consumption?  For this, I found on page 74, a Recipe for a Moderate Meal, which instructs readers:

• Ensure hunger and thirst signals are not confused by remaining hydrated.
• Engage the senses, slowly and deliberately savoring each aroma, color, texture, temperature, taste, crunch, and the like, so that signals of satiety can be registered by your brain.
• Rather than distracting yourself when the subtle "voice" within tells you that your body has met its needs - the "stop" signal, listen and heed the wisdom of your body.  
• Get closure on the meal with one final bite, knowing there will be resources later if you find that you need more food.  Rarely does an urge to eat beyond this closing bite equate to an emergency.

Discipline and zeal, tapas, helps us see purification and surrender - even through and in and during pain - as something to be endured with gratitude for the catalyst it is.  This is also ongoing, rather than an event that brings a solitary rite of passage.  It is to be tolerated and celebrated as part of a life destined to manifest greatness.  Discipline at the table, especially with friends and family, can be daunting; but finding support from like-minded folks - known in Sanskrit as satsang - helps because of the solidarity and mutual edification that comes when kindred spirits align.

Something that requires discipline, or at least a bit of dedication to routine and order is purity and cleanliness, known as sauca.  This term refers to cleanliness not only outside, but also inside the body as we choose items out of better understanding of what is beneficial rather than out of carnal appetite or convenience.  Conscious or mindful consumption of food or beverages introduces into the process a sense of the sacred as we partake with a grateful spirit and witness with attention how both our psychological and physiological aspects respond to the nutrients themselves.

A popular topic in recent years, fasting is addressed here as a means of cleansing the body of what no longer serves it.  In the process of fasting (abstinence from food which can take many forms and be motivated by endless reasons), emotions and thoughts that might otherwise be drown in the cacophony of potential distractions - often food - are able to rise to the surface so they might gain resolution.  This is a principle that (like the others) is applicable to food, but not exclusively.  Unplugging from digital media offers undeniable health benefits - physically, mentally, socially, spiritually, to name a few ways.  In fact, the simple act of a curfew each evening helps the brain, eyes, and body recover and reconnect with circadian rhythms essential to good sleep, digestion, and mental health.

This gentle act of nurturing that natural inclination to rest at the set of sun and rise early too brings us to ahimsa, the principle of nonviolence.  This is where the book may bring a few lifted eyebrows, because Gross highlights the cruelty inherent in a flesh-as-food stance.  Don't let this sway you just yet, though, because the author eats mostly plant based, but also eats fish.  She does not insist readers rid their menus of all meat, but rather suggests that awareness and gentleness, in the spirit of ahimsa, be applied.  Vegetarians and Vegans are not necessarily healthier humans, especially when their intake includes processed food-like products.  We are all bioindividual and thus have different culinary and cultural circumstances that naturally come into play here.

Yes, we are each unique creatures - which is where meditation, self-study, and introspection can be applied.  Known as svadhyaya, the practices involved here can solidify change as we "do the inner work."  We learn our "buttons," our strengths and our weaknesses, are better able to observe our perspective and perhaps even modify them as we grow in wisdom and understanding.  We question our habits - called samskaras by yogis - examining their usefulness, validity, and product in our lives.

Intimidated by the thought and image of meditation your mind just conjured?  A great bit of advice here is to start small.  Just focus on controlling and becoming aware of your inhalation and exhalation of breath.  What coolness does the air bring into your nostrils, and how is that different on its way out of the body?  Can you direct the air you breathe in a bit deeper/lower into your body?  Can you pause at either end before the next inhale or exhale?  Try just two minutes (120 seconds), get quiet and comfortable, and simply breathe.  Relax your jaw and shoulders as you begin; and perhaps even count as you inhale, pause, and exhale, seeking to make your exhale longer than your inhale.

The book's title is Enlightenment, but what does that really mean?  Contentment, santosa, and bliss, samadhi comprise the final chapter before the resources begin.  Enjoyment of "enough," and intentional attunement to the present moment with gratitude, kindness, and humility all factor into these concepts.  Enlightenment alludes most of us, as we live in a world of incessant noise; but moments of this consciousness can't help but manifest if we simply give our minds and bodies a chance to think and act in ways that nod to the principles discussed in this book.  We may find that our hearts and our heaviness become lighter along the way.

Please let me know what you think of this little journey through the book.  If you'd like to find it, I've provided the ISBN number:  978-1-60239-5

At the moment, I have no affiliation with book-sellers, although I'd be open to it.  This is simply my own take - with a few additional bits of wisdom I've accumulated along the way - on the book described here.  It's not intended to be medical advice either.  I'm simply a Veteran-writer-yogini whose digital path has obviously converged with your own.

You are so very worthy of the energy, expense, and effort it takes to write your own Wellness Script!
Truly,
Johnna Troglin, MA HSER/MFT
www.ScriptedWellness.comenLIGHTened: How I Lost 40 Pounds with a Yoga Mat, Fresh Pineapples, and a Beagle Pointer by Jessica Berger Gross (April 3 2009) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DIKRO9Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Uc0bBbCWKKC1C