A week long Ashtanga yoga immersion course!
This course will cover: Asana, pranayama, meditation, chanting, chakras, philosophy, adjustments and veganism.Participants will do a daily Ashtanga Primary Series practice and a 15 minute meditation.7 days; 40 hours: required text: “Ashtanga Yoga: The Practice Manual”: by David Swenson
$800.00 Plus Tax ($62.80) registration fee due by June 3^rd 2012

For more details contact: kathleen@mayaoga.com 816-679-1053
The class schedule will be as follows.
Monday – Friday 9am – 11:30 and 1:30pm to 5:00pm
Saturday 10am to Noon and 1:30pm to 5:00pm Sunday 11:00am to 5:00pm

Teacher Training 2012 Flyer (Download Flyer)

Falling in Yoga:

A story of eczema, pain, healing, and health

By Erin Swanson

It was the first Tuesday in May. I didn’t have anything planned for that night after work, and anxiety set in. I prayed. I was mad at myself, too. Why did I always need something to do to feel okay?

I suddenly remembered yoga. I had tried out a few different studios around KC the summer previous, but there was only one I really liked.

So I looked up classes, and went to the 6 p.m. Intro to Ashtanga class at Maya Yoga that night. I walked out and immediately bought an unlimited monthly package. I couldn’t wait for the next class.

I’ve struggled with eczema all of my life. I remember praying at times in high school, especially the week of a school dance, that my skin would clear up in time for me to bare skin in my dress. I remember asking boyfriends and friends slap my hands away when I would begin to scratch.

Every doctor I always saw treated it topically with creams and steroids; my mom said it got worse when I had peanut butter, oranges, chocolate, and strawberries. And I had to watch other triggers like dish soap and animal dander.

It’s still somewhat of a mystery, but my skin really blew up my sophomore year of college. While my food likes expanded that year as I began to like salad an sandwiches for the first time, to name a few, some recent reflection has led me to see that it was that year I had a completely broken heart and began to put on a little weight. Inflamed, my body tried to protect me as I hurt, but tried to be strong and carefree.

The next year, 2007, was the worst year to date. I was in an unhealthy, manipulative relationship that crushed my confidence. Thankfully, God helped me make a clean break right as I went to Southeast Asia with an international disaster relief organization. But I can say without a doubt that this internship was the best and worst experience of my life for too many reasons to explain here. But a side effect of the bad was losing chunks of hair – alopecia areata – due to stress.

In fall 2008, I went to Vietnam with another nonprofit and lost my hair yet again. That winter I was bed-laden at times because my eczema was so bad, cracked and bleeding. It hurt to move my limbs. Nothing was helping. I was miserable and depressed.

One winter night in my despair, I cried and began to search online. For the first time in my life, at age 23, I found a woman who said she had healed naturally. No one had ever explained that eczema [and even the hair loss!] was an auto-immune problem. I felt hope about my skin for the first time in years.

I looked up a holistic doctor in Kansas City, and met with her. She was so kind, and the first doctor I’d ever met who took time to get to know my struggle, ask me questions, and put me at ease. I took a blood test to determine food allergies and gained insight I had never had. Gluten and dairy were on my radar as things I needed to avoid. I learned more of how I could address my eczema from the inside out, and why my body was attacking itself. It made so much sense, but is not something that mainstream medicine acknowledges.

During these few years, a voice in my head would nag me to work out. I was unhappy with not just my skin, but my body because of added weight. But I had hated hearing friends constantly complain about it, so I never verbalized it and basically ignored that I felt that way. I would try to run or lift weights, but didn’t enjoy it, and did it mostly out of obligation. I still hurt, felt, and looked swollen no matter what. And I didn’t realize what my body was trying to tell me in its inflamed state.

With the new diet based on my supposed allergies, I had good weeks and bad. It was a roller coaster. My skin got better I thought, but then worse. I half-assed it a lot, too, as it was hard for me to carry out in social situations. And I was probably in denial.

I went to see a regular dermatologist the summer of 2010 for a prick-allergy test on my skin, and found out I am deathly allergic to OATS. Ironically enough, this was a food I had grown to like in college and had been eating almost every day because it is “good for me.” My blood was also tested to see if there were any other problems, but I otherwise seemed to be in “perfect” health.

Since finding Maya Yoga this past May, my life has changed dramatically. I love the exercise I’m doing and never feel like it’s something I need to do, but WANT to do, looking forward to each class. In fact, I don’t care if I ever run or lift weights again! I can’t believe I used to think I didn’t have time for taking care of myself. Even though many nights a week are dedicated to yoga, it does not take my time away. Maya owners Kathleen and Wade have been incredible support, encouraging me in my practice, to fight my urges to scratch during class with breath, and what I can do to help outside of class [meditation, colonics, eating vegetarian/vegan, books and resources].

As a part of my recent healing process and journey, I have had four colonics and two Ionic Foot Detoxes since July, check out Get your colon rollin.  I have seen a counselor a few times to talk about stress and anxiety. Stress and anxiety play a big part in my eczema, and is honestly something I am still trying to understand. This summer, Kathleen also gave me a book on CD called “You Can Heal Your Life”, by Louise Hay. Listening to it, I realized for the first time how hard I was on myself in my internal dialogue every day, and that I’d never told myself I loved myself.

I have lost 20 pounds since May, have slimmed and toned, feel stronger and more connected to my body than I can ever remember.  I am definitely more flexible than I’ve ever been! I love being able to do a backbend, low push-ups [chaturanga] all through class, and touch my face to my knees in stretches. It wasn’t until recently looking into the mirror, and really admiring what I see, what I realized how unhappy I’ve been the past few years.

The past few months I have began to lose hair again due to eczema on my scalp, and jumped into action to see the holistic doctor again. I have an action plan with her, and am already feeling better. While my skin is doing better than it has these past few years, my eczema is still bad and it hurts to move, especially in this cold [and even to have the motivation to just walk in the door of Maya some days].

I have come SO FAR. I have no doubt that God has led me every step of this journey, even though at times I don’t understand and feel so down. I’ve learned, and am learning more each day, how to listen to my body, to really love myself, and to take care of myself. God has also used my pain and revelations the past few years to help countless others along the way. All of these things, I can honestly say I wouldn’t trade. His timing and purpose is perfect.

Though I have good days and bad, I am confident that I will continue to heal, and that one day soon I will be completely eczema free. I have to take the little victories and revelations to heart, and let myself be who I am, where I am. “Harmony and peace, joy and Love surround and indwell me. I am safe and secure.” “I am free to be me.” “I love and accept myself exactly as I am.”

I am so very grateful for the huge role that Maya Yoga, Wade and Kathleen, and new friends there, have played in my life, struggle, and physical, mental and emotional healing these past six months, and will continue to play as I press on!

Listen, God, I’m calling at the top of my lungs:
“Be good to me! Answer me!”
When my heart whispered, “Seek God,”
my whole being replied,
“I’m seeking him!”
Don’t hide from me now!

You’ve always been right there for me;
don’t turn your back on me now.
Don’t throw me out, don’t abandon me;
you’ve always kept the door open.
My father and mother walked out and left me,
but God took me in.

I’m sure now I’ll see God’s goodness
in the exuberant earth.
Stay with God!
Take heart. Don’t quit.
I’ll say it again:
Stay with God.

An Emotional and Spiritual Approach to Weight Loss

“Diets don’t work, but diets from negative thinking do work.”  -Louise Hay

“Love yourself first and the rest of your life will fall into place.”  Lucile Ball

I worked in the weight management and fitness industry for 6 years as an Exercise Physiologist and a Personal Trainer, prior to becoming a yoga studio owner and teacher. Surprisingly, I have seen more people lose weight practicing yoga than I did when I was working in the fitness field.  Over the years I have often asked myself the question, “Why does yoga help people lose weight more than any other form of exercise I have witnessed?” After teaching yoga for fifteen years now I finally feel I know some of the answers.

Weight loss is traditionally approached as a physical “issue” and tends to be addressed by only focusing on physical means, diet and exercise education, without attention to the individual’s emotional and spiritual needs. Diet and exercise are valuable information of course, but they do not get to the ROOT issue of why a person is overeating. I believe weight loss is an emotional and spiritual issue and needs to be approached with emotional and spiritual means. Otherwise, it is like putting a square key (diet and exercise education) into a round hole (emotional and spiritual void), so the two just don’t fit together, at least not for long term weight loss.

Yoga is an exercise that stimulates and fulfills people mentally, emotionally and spiritually, as well as physically. When individuals are feeling fulfilled on ALL these levels, it increases their sense of self worth, so  they have less need to overeat or abuse their bodies as they might have in the past. Weight loss begins to occur naturally due to an increase in self-esteem and self love that is cultivated on the yoga mat and especially during the silence in savasana and meditation.

The definition of yoga, according to Patanjali’s yoga sutras states: “Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind.”  Yoga uses postures (asanas), ujjayi breath (pranayama), and a gazing point (dristi) to train the mind to be still, so union (yoga) can occur between the mind, body and spirit and the union between you and your God.  Notice how Patanjali doesn’t say, “He who does a handstand best wins!”   Yoga is really more of a mental discipline first, because it is all about quieting the MIND so that you can learn to concentrate in the present moment, on and off your mat. The Course in Miracles states, “We have undisciplined lives because we have undisciplined minds.”  Yoga and meditation train your mind how to concentrate so you can bring discipline into your mind and into all areas of your life, especially your health.  I believe weight loss begins by ceasing the chatter in the mind as well, especially the negative self talk that was developed as a self loathing habit over the years, usually stemming in early child hood.

Be very aware that your thought patterns (consciousness) aren’t just in your mind, they are permeating every cell in your body.  However, YOU have the power to change them through continuous effort and awareness to create new, positive, self affirming thought patterns, it just takes repeated practice, like yoga.  Think of your mind as a cassette player and eject the old negative self talk tape and replace it with a new positive one with positive thoughts about yourself and your life.  In Louise Hay’s simple, yet brilliant book, “You Can Heal Your Life”, she suggests saying, “I love and accept myself exactly as I AM,” 100 times a day, especially while looking at yourself in the mirror with your finger on your throat chakra, which is the seed for transformation.  In addition she suggests affirming, “I AM the perfect weight,” for weight loss.  The words, “I AM”, represent the divine within you, your Higher Self, so be very aware that you are not using these words in a negative context such as, “I AM fat”, “I Am stupid”, and “I AM  lazy.”  Be careful not defame your “I AM”, because your body and life are listening, so chose your thoughts and words wisely.  Your body follows your mind, not the other way around, so keep loving yourself lean to achieve your goal weight.  I can’t even begin to tell you the power of saying affirmations, they truly can produce miracles in your life, sometimes even instantaneously!  Say them in the shower, while your getting ready for work, while walking outside in nature, in your car or right before you fall asleep.

In addition to your affirmations, your yoga practice can help you control the thoughts in your mind. Through the powerful sound of deep ujjayi breath and the yoga postures, the mind is quieted, basically distracted from its’ routine pattern of thinking. The breathing and the postures help to produce deep states of concentration and relaxation, so the mind is trained to stay present in the moment, instead of dwelling in the past or fearing about the future.  What makes yoga a spiritual practice is the breathing, otherwise it would just be exercise. The breath is the bridge or link between the body, mind, Spirit union.

Every time you INHALE with awareness, you are drawing in higher states of consciousness thru the prana (universal life force), helping you to cultivate your Higher Self into being more prevalent in your life. Your Higher Self is the part of you that wants the very best for you and knows without a shadow of a doubt that you are divine, perfect, whole and complete, just as you are in this moment. This is yoga’s greatest gift, divine love, which is non-judgmental and unconditional. Yoga helps to teach you to love and knows yourself as God loves and knows you.  In turn, when you EXHALE with awareness, you are being liberated from tension in the the body and fear based (ego) thoughts patterns,  past experiences and behaviors that are no longer serving your highest good, such as addictions.

So the metaphor for yogic breathing can be summed up as follows:  Inhale – drawing in new life force, healthy habits, new life experiences, new career opportunities, new relationships, improved self-esteem, a deeper connection to Spirit and the courage to live out your heart’s desires.  Exhale- releasing and WILLING to let go of the following:  fear, negative self talk, draining relationship, careers without passion and purpose, stress, unhealthy habits and addictions such as, overeating, not eating enough, drinking alcohol, obsessive exercise, compulsive shopping, smoking and drugs, just to name a few.  There is a saying in yoga that states:”Your bad habits will lose you.” I have experienced this personally and have witnessed it in many of my students as well. More divine love equals less bad habits!

Every time you walk out of a yoga class you are a different person than you were before you started the class, because a shift of consciousness has occurred in the mind, and the body has been inspired with prana, changing you on a cellular level as well.  In just 1-2 hours, a powerful rebirthing of sorts has taken place on your mat, leaving you feeling joyful, calm, content, connected with God and more clear about your purpose on the planet.

If you are new to yoga, think of yourself as a chrysalis in a cocoon going thru the powerful process of metamorphosis, waiting to emerge and embrace the person you born to be.  Yoga can help you facilitate this transformative process by helping you to shed the layers of your being and your life that are no longer serving your highest good.

Anais Nin said it best:  ”And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk to bloom.”

I wish you much success in your new lifestyle changes and remember, You DESERVE the BEST!

Kathleen Kastner
Exercise Physiologist M.S.
Owner of Maya Yoga
Kansas City, Missouri

The question is not, “Can animals reason?” nor, “Can they talk?” but rather, “Can they suffer?”  ~Jeremy Bentham ( British social reformer)

“Our lives begin to end the day we remain silent about the things that matter.”  -Dr Martin Luther King

AHIMSA Towards Yourself, Animals and the Environment

By Kathleen Kastner Mortenson

Ahimsa (non-harming) is one of the first limbs (The Yamas) of the Ashtanga yoga eight -limbed path. Ahimsa can be practiced in many ways on and off the mat, beginning with the way you treat yourself. How can you be kinder to yourself during yoga when you can’t do a pose or are having a low energy practice? Every yoga practice can be very different, depending on our energy level, emotional state, what we are eating and drinking, hours of sleep and stress levels, so it’s a good reminder to keep all these things in balance on a daily basis and to not take one of them for granted. Wade’s former teacher, Larry Schultz use to say, “Honor your body, but don’t be lazy!” I love this quote, because we can over do and under do our practice, so it’s good to always do your best and let go of the rest, because as Asthanga Yoga Guru, Pattabhi Jois use to say, “Practice and all is coming!”

Ahimsa towards your health: By eating a plant based vegan diet filled with vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts and legumes we can greatly improve our health and be internally lighter for our yoga practice. A vegan diet is full of fiber, digests easily and will not clog your arteries and compact your colon and intestines with plaque and cholesterol. It’s great for weight loss, lowering cholesterol, blood pressure and preventing cancer and heart disease. Eliminating or reducing alcohol and caffeine in your diet, can help improve liver and kidney function, as well as heighten your true mental/emotional state, instead of depending on chemicals to “boost” your mood. With the reduction of these chemicals (drugs) in our minds, we can also deepen our connection with our loved ones and God.

Ahimsa in our lives: How can you be kinder to yourself when life throws you a curve ball off the mat, such as losing a job or home, gaining weight, illness, acne, financial debt, death of a family member or the end of a relationship? Ahimsa to me, also means giving ourselves a break and cutting ourselves some serious slack, when life is less than we expected for ourselves. This can be a test of faith, so remember to focus on faith and not fear, when these unexpected events occur and to trust that God always has a plan for our lives, so keep praying and asking for guidance and remember, “This too shall pass.” Your yoga and meditation practice can give you the discipline to take care of yourself, no matter your life circumstances, so continue to make it a priority and put God first in your life.

Ahimsa towards the animals: Shockingly 10 BILLION farm animals are slaughtered in the U.S each year, which is heart breaking. From my experience with trying to educate and convert my meat eating Kansas raised family, I have learned that trying to change someone’s eating habits can be like taking away a Linus blanket, not pretty, with a few temper tantrums thrown in, UGH! However, when faced with the question of whether or not to eat meat, if we could all just remember it’s not about satisfying our taste buds, it’s about saving a life and having reverence for all God’s creatures, not just people, cats and dogs. Bottom line, it’s not about us, it’s about them, the 10 billion cows, pigs, chickens and turkeys, who are innocently slaughtered, many times tortured, for human appetite and capital gain. They deserve more and we have the power to give them more by easing their suffering and making more conscious choices about the foods we choose to buy and ingest. There are literally thousands of delicious, healthy food choices that don’t include meat, fish, dairy and eggs. It can take a little more work on our part initially, but it’s worth the effort, knowing an animal’s life was spared, due to our decision to eat a vegan diet. (The Engine 2 Diet www.engine2diet.com, and Skinny Bitch in the Kitch, are two easy and delicious vegan cookbooks to help you get started on the vegan path.)

We can also practice ahimsa towards the animals by getting our pets from animal shelters and rescue groups, instead of buying them from breeders. When people buy their pets from breeders, it means an animal sitting in a shelter somewhere waiting for its’ Forever Home, has a greater chance of being put to sleep.

Animal Testing is unfortunately still occurring with many of the leading drug store products, such as Cover Girl, Dove, Aveeno, Johnson and Johnson, Neutrogena, L’Oreal, Coppertone, Max Factor, Mabelline, Pantene, Redken and Girgio Armani. By not buying these products and putting your money and consumer support towards companies who do not test on animals, you are also helping to ease the suffering of the animal kingdom. Here is a list of companies who DO and DO NOT animal test: http://www.beautyfool.net/which-beauty-brands-companies-do-not-test-on-animals/.

Ahimsa towards the environment: According to the U.S Department of Agriculture, animal agriculture is contributing to more green house gases than cars, trains, planes, and ships combined! It is one of the major causes of the world’s environmental problem such as global warming, air pollution and water and soil contamination. Therefore, eating a vegan diet is also helping to save the environment, in addition to the animals and your health, it’s an ahimsa diet where everyone wins! Recycling, reusing, composting, walking, bicycling, carpooling and carrying your own water bottle are other great ways to practice ahimsa towards the environment and honoring Mother Earth.

Ahimsa in Social Justice: Gandi and Dr. Martin Luther King practiced ahimsa in their homelands by using peaceful means to produce peaceful ends, instead of justifying using violent means to produce a peaceful end. Their means and ends were congruent. These great social reformers lead by example, by walking their talk, without caving into the social pressure of anger and violence.

The people in our lives who are angry, inpatient and upset with us, can many times be our greatest teachers, by giving us an opportunity to practice ahimsa, by being more patient and compassionate towards them. (Maybe God put them in our path to teach us a lesson, not just to piss us off?) These people, many times strangers, are also usually the ones who are needing the most love and attention and their negative behavior towards us, is really on a deeper level, a cry out for more love, not more conflict. Therefore, we always have a choice in life when faced with conflict. If we truly want to experience and witness more peace on the planet, please remember, “PEACE BEGINS WITH ME, “and practice kindness and compassion towards yourself, other people, animals and the planet.

As Gandi so brilliantly said, “”We must BE the change we want to see in the world.”

I have always been an active person. As far back as I can remember, I
ran around the neighborhood, climbed trees, biked, hiked…anything to
use all the energy I had. Sports in grade school turned into cross
country in high school, which pushed me to being a gym rat in college,
which then formed my love to run 5 and 10k’s every other weekend. As
far as diets go, I ate for fuel and leanness. I ate what I perceived
as a healthy diet. I was a well-oiled machine, consuming the same
meals day-in, day-out for years: cereal in the morning, peanut butter
and banana on whole wheat bread for lunch, and salad and lean meats
for dinner along with a few whey protein shakes (with milk) throughout
the day. I was getting my nutrients and burning calories. I considered
myself to be healthy. I could push through hard workouts and extreme
temp road races, so I must have been completely healthy, right?

Wrong. While I had my body going in the direction I wanted, my heart
was going the opposite way. The past four years of physicals had
revealed my heart health (lipids, cholesterol) to be heading down a
dark path. I was in the 200’s in my 20s; could that be right? Each
year told the same story, and it was getting worse. While the 210
cholesterol count stayed the same, my LDL (bad cholesterol) was rising
and my HDL (good cholesterol) was way below normal…half of what is
recommended. I wasn’t completely surprised; both my dad and
grandfather have high cholesterol.  I assumed I was genetically
destined to have high cholesterol too and that I was doing the best I
could. My physician pushed harder each year to take the pharmaceutical
approach, but I turned them down each time. I hate the idea of taking
pills. I always told them the same thing about how I felt human body
is amazing and already has all the tools needed to last a lifetime.

After 5 years of the same downward trend, my heart found a way to save
itself. It found what it needed. No, it wasn’t Lipitor, but my loving
wife Rachel. She took quick notice of what was going on and put her
foot down. She wasn’t going to spend the rest of her life with me if
that was only going to be for 20 years. There are just too many
stories out there about the guy in great shape who drops dead from a
heart attack one week after running a marathon. Rachel wasn’t going
to let that happen, so she started researching alternative approaches
for solving my problem. By this time, we had been taking Intro to
Ashtanga classes every Sunday at Maya Yoga.  We’d heard a little
about Wade and Kathleen being vegan, but in all honesty, we hadn’t
thought much of it.  Then fate stepped in.  While traveling, Rachel
read an article about Whole Food’s CEO transitioning from omnivore to
organic to vegetarian to eventually vegan.  In the interview, he
referenced the Engine 2 Diet and the impact his diet made on his
health.  Intrigued, Rachel started doing more research.  She read The
Engine 2 Diet, The China Study, and Crazy Sexy Diet. All pointed to
the same thing: go whole food and plant-based and get healty now!

To convince me to try a plant-based diet, she decided to go with
Engine 2, created by Rip Esselstyn.  The book speaks directly to how a
plant-based diet can lower cholesterol dramatically. Rip was a
professional triathlete turned fireman who noticed the unhealthy
eating habits of the firemen in his unit. Some had cholesterol levels
in excess of 300. His approach consisted of a 4 week “weaning” of
dairy, meat and excess oils. Week 1 was dairy free, week 2 eliminated
meat, and week 3 cut oils, leaving week 4 completely free from animal
products and oils. The approach worked for firemen in Texas with
cholesterol levels of 300+, dropping into the 150s in 4 weeks.

I can remember the conversation…

“We’re going vegan aren’t we?!” I protested. “What about my
Friday barbecue with the guys?”

“It’s only 4 weeks, Chip. You think you can make it?” Rachel said.

She knew exactly how to push my buttons. I am a challenge based
person. All she needed to do was to set the goal and give me a little
push. She was even going to do it with me and be my cheerleader along
the way. Awesome! I could do 4 weeks, no sweat. I’ll be honest, I was
skeptical to see what would happen, but I was definitely up for the
challenge. I figured my cholesterol was genetic and if exercise,
eating whole grains and taking fish oils couldn’t change it, what
good would anything else do? Little did I know, the challenge would
stick. Four weeks later, my cholesterol dropped for the first time in,
well, as long as I had been keeping track. I went from 205 to 153. My
LDL dropped dramatically and my HDL was on the rise. Amazing! Not only
were my numbers turning around, but I was FEELING healthier.

Armed with concrete results, I convinced my boss to try this radical
idea as well. His cholesterol was much higher than mine, and he was
literally on the verge of picking up his first prescription of
Lipitor. It took some coaching, but in 4 weeks he was able to drop
from 268 to 173. His blood pressure was through the roof and is
beginning to drop due to the cholesterol changes. Seeing his results
further solidified my new belief that a plant based diet can truly
transform your health.

Those four weeks have now stretched into seven months. While we have
splurged once or twice, and have slowly added healthier oils, this
experiment has turned into a commitment to a plant based lifestyle.
This former once per week barbeque man now looks forward to his weekly
lunch at Eden Alley with his wife. If I can make the transition, so
can you.

I had developed depression and anxiety from the considerable life
changes that occurred within a short period of time. Within a 2 month
span I finished school, started my first job in my new career as an
optometrist, got married, and moved away from my hometown Houston,
Texas to Kansas City. I missed my family, friends, and the familiarity
of my past life in Houston. The depression developed into anxiety that
made me question my marriage and the choice I made to move to Kansas
City for my new husband. The depression and anxiety naturally made my
behavior teeter between being angry and sad that affected my daily
activities. I wanted to stop having these destructive feelings and
this is how I found yoga.

I had heard that yoga was good for relaxation and hoped it might help
improve my outlook. Within a few short months of practicing ashtanga
my feelings of depression and anxiety started to diminish. I currently
practice ashtanga about 3 days a week and look forward to this time
for myself. The focus on controlled breathing gradually abolishes all
the insignificant and trivial thoughts that I accumulate between
practices. I find that my brain feels most calm and clear when I am in
poses that are inverted such as Sirsasana (head-standing). My practice
has allowed me to be more accepting and more patient in all situations.

Below are some further salient unexpected benefits that my ashtanga
practice has given me with short explanations:

For about 2 years before I found ashtanga I had chronic ankle pain
from long years of ballet practice. My podiatrist told me to stop
ballet and that I shouldn’t be dancing so much because it was only an
avocation, not my occupation. Of course I choose to ignore him and I
still continued dancing. About after a year and a half of practicing
ashtanga I noticed a marked decrease in the amount of ankle pain I was
experiencing even though I was still dancing. Now I pretty much have
no ankle pain and attribute this freedom to my yoga practice.

My husband now practices ashtanga and we have both noticed changes in
his ability to cope with anger and frustration in his daily life.

In addition, we have found ourselves eating less meat since we have
been practicing yoga. We are now mostly vegetarian and our cravings
for junk food has also dramatically decreased.

Yoga has given me so much in so little time and I am very thankful I
found yoga. I believe everyone can receive benefits from this practice.

I am sure each person who has ever practiced yoga can tell a story how “yoga has resulted in a positive change in their life.”  Since beginning a regular, consistent yoga practice 2 months ago I have seen transformation changes to my health and happiness, I wanted to share.

I have always considered myself to be a very lucky guy.  I have a good life with a great family, with great opportunities/ experiences that have made me into the person I am.   Some of these opportunities / experiences include:

·      Attending College and earning a bachelor and masters’ degree

·      Great opportunities within “corporate America” that have allowed me build a great skill set and have always have a good job

·      Surviving Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (a cancer of the lymphatic system) during my late teenage years

·      Having a great network of friends who continually have a positive impact on my life

In January 2010 life was still positive and moving along well.   Despite the economic challenges our society was facing, I was fortunate to have a good job and continue living as I had for most of my adult life.   However, as the year progressed I noticed changes in myself that had been building for some time that I wasn’t necessarily thrilled about.

·      I had taken on increased responsibilities at work that resulted in an increased workload.

·      I have never followed a diet per se, but noticed my metabolism was slowing down. I noticed my jeans weren’t fitting as well as they once had.

·      During my annual physical my doctor increased the dosage of a medication I take to supplement thyroid production (a result of having radiation therapy to treat my cancer this can impact the thyroid gland)

·      My acid reflux was getting worse as time went on and I was forced to take an expensive “non-preferred” medication as described by my insurance company that costs $100 per month

·      And while my doctor didn’t really say “anything” on this topic I could tell my blood pressure had increased and was on the verge of being high, my cholesterol was close to being designated “high.”  Having a history of heart disease in my family, this was a little concerning.

I made a mental note that I needed to make some changes. And for the next few months I just kept thinking about working out and eating healthier, but didn’t take any action.

Fast forward to late fall 2011 and I noticed a small pain in my lower abdomen.   After a few days having this pain, I saw my doctor and while I was concerned about appendicitis, my doctor thought the more likely problem could be an ulcer.   It was at that point I new my lifestyle needed to change.  The “stress” of daily life was taking a toll on me, my diet was taking a toll on me, and I wasn’t taking care of “myself” and giving my body the “attention” it needed so I can continue enjoying this great life I have been given.

I had practiced Yoga at the gym I belonged to several years ago, and practiced once or twice per week with a great instructor.   Just being in her presence brought about a sense of “calmness” and I remember how much better I felt after practicing.    I remember one of my “yoga” friends with whom I attended class with mentioned I should connect with Kathleen and Wade at Maya Yoga, as they had a great Yoga program.   Walking out of the doctor’s office that day was all it took for me to make the decision it was time to focus back on myself a bit, and get back into a regular Yoga practice.

I remember going to Maya Yoga for the first time and was amazed with how friendly and personable Wade and Kathleen were    Their personality was very encouraging during the practice and later that night I remember thinking about how good I felt.  I also kept all of those little  ”comments” during the class in the back of my head with how important regular practice is, and how yoga has provides many benefits over just the “stretching” most people think of Yoga as.

The business guy in me wanted to make sure I took “full advantage” of the “New Student Special” so I attended as many of the introduction classes I could.   After about a week into attending, I knew this was something I would continue due to the fact I was feeling so much better.  Some of the benefits I have seen include:

1.  I feel great. My stress level has decreased, and when a stressful situation presents itself I think back to some of those moments during yoga practice, take a few deep breaths and the “stressful moment” seems to pass.   I am sleeping better and wake up feeling fully rested and relaxed on a consistent basis.  I attribute this to calming the “mind chatter” that had been present and allowing myself to relax.

2.  I don’t get “angry” like I used to.  While most people would say I am one that doesn’t get “mad” or “angry” there were little things in life that were getting to me.  People on the road who weren’t driving as efficiently as I would have liked them to, people holding up the line in the grocery store, etc.    Now I realize it really isn’t a big deal, and acknowledge it isn’t worth the energy getting “angry” and stressed out over.

3.  I am enjoying life more than ever.   I have been able to realize through yoga how special the gift of life is, and by taking better care of myself and managing stress better it just makes me enjoy every life experience “that much more.”

4.  My health has improved.   While I have been consistently doing yoga practice 4-5 times a week for the past 2 months, I also heeded Wade and Kathleen’s comments with how important it was to be aware of what we put into our bodies.  While I had been cutting down drastically on meat consumption, I noticed during the first few weeks of Yoga I wasn’t craving “steak dinners” and felt much better just having a salad or other vegetarian option.   I made a conscious effort to substantially limit the amount of meat, dairy, and egg products I was consuming and the changes I noticed were nothing short of amazing.

·       My acid reflux had decreased substantially.  I had been waking up at least once every night with the burning in the chest, but those “middle of the night” attacks have subsided to almost nothing.

·      I began to loose weight.  While I knew my waistline was a little bigger than in high school, I didn’t necessarily set out to “loose weight” by taking Yoga, but the pounds began to shed.   I became interested and started weighing myself a few times and week and after two months have lost over 20 pounds.  My pants fit better and I feel great. I can’t wait for my annual physical next month to see what kind of impact my diet and yoga have had to improve my cholesterol and blood pressure.

In conclusion, taking Yoga with Kathleen and Wade over the past 2 months it s truly changed my life.  I feel better, am a happier person, enjoying life to the fullest.  Kathleen, Wade, and their compliment of great instructors really make you feel welcome at Maya Yoga, and their gentile, positive encouragement really makes you feel better about yourself, your life, and the world we live in.  I would highly recommend Maya Yoga to anyone who wants to improve his or her quality of life and health.   I look forward to continuing my practice and seeing what other “transformations” I will see in the future.

How Cancer Made Me A Healthy Yogi

By Wade Mortenson

Wade Mortenson

I recently received an email from my friend Andy. He told me that he has just returned from spending a week caring for a friend in Springfield, Missouri. His friend had just undergone his second surgery to remove lung cancer and will soon begin intense treatment for the next six months. He was told that his life expectancy is about three years. Andy asked if I could share my experience with cancer and to help his friend explore some alternative forms of treatment. What started out as a reply to an email turned into this article.

The first step is to quit listening to anyone who puts a number on the years you have left in your body. One of the most important things anyone, who has been diagnosed with a life threatening disease, can do is to maintain a positive attitude! It never ceases to amaze me how crippling a person’s attitude can be to their health and well being! I have experienced financial stress developing into low back pain and I’ve watched grief over someone else’s illness turn into an allergy and asthma attack. My own experience of developing thyroid cancer is one of the most obvious examples of disease caused by not addressing the root issue.

Back in the 90′s I was a police officer in Anaheim, California. I had a number of experiences necessitating the development of mechanisms that would allow me to repress my emotions and still be able to fulfill my duties during my ten year career. Unfortunately it becomes difficult to shut these repressive mechanisms off. For example my father suffered from bipolar disorder all of his adult life. After numerous cycles of getting on medication, which helped him greatly, and then going off the medication he eventually hung himself on July, 1^st 2000. I was able to fly from California to Wisconsin, clean out his house, arrange and attend his funeral and be back to work on July 6^th all without shedding a single tear. It didn’t take long for my inability to express myself to literally come bubbling up to the surface. In July of the following year, I was scheduled to have a biopsy of a lump I found on the front of my throat. I put my faith in the hands of several doctors, the last of whom was a surgeon who was going to remove the lump, examine it and if it were cancerous, remove the rest of my thyroid gland. This would be followed up with radioactive iodine treatments and having to take at least one medication for the rest of my life. I had the procedure and the first thing I could remember after waking up from the anesthesia was the surgeon telling me “We got it all out. It wasn’t cancer, go home and heal up.” I felt a great sense of relief from a worry that I didn’t even realize I had. I suppose I should have known I was suppressing some fear because I didn’t do a bit of my own research as to what this lump might be. I simply took the doctors word that thyroid cancer in a 30 year old male who did not grow up near Chernobyl is not very likely. After being told I didn’t have cancer, I finally felt free to explore what that lump could have been. I got on the internet, read all about thyroid cancer, the latest course of treatment and all things thyroid. I had no idea what a vital gland it was to my body. I was surprised that I hadn’t done this research sooner and realized that I had been using one of the most dangerous mechanisms for dealing with stressful situations, denial! I had buried my head in the sand and let someone else do the thinking for me. I literally signed on the dotted line and said, “Go ahead take out the gland if you find a malignancy.”

About a week later, I went back to my surgeons office so he could give my wound a final check up. He sat down and said, “We need to talk.” Not the words you want to hear from your wife, your boss or your doctor. He began to explain that on the final pathology they found a few abnormal cells indicating I had a Papillary Carcinoma and we needed to schedule another surgery so we could take out the rest or my thyroid gland. I asked him why he didn’t see this abnormality when he examined the tumor, under a microscope, during the first surgery. He said, “ I realize it is difficult for a lay person to understand but this sort of thing happens all the time.” Now at that point in my life I was far from being a calm well balanced yogi and the only ego I can think of that might rival that of the size of a surgeon’s is that of a police officer. However there is a bit of shock that comes with being told you don’t have cancer one day and a week later, oops wait a minute, yes you do have cancer. That is probably the only thing that prevented me from pulling out my baton, beating him, and explaining that this “lay” person understands insulting my intelligence, isn’t the best way to smooth over the fact that he missed the cancer the first time around. Instead, I scheduled another surgery with his receptionist and drove home feeling a bit dazed and certainly confused.

After arriving home, I remembered reading something about a papillary carcinoma during the week I thought I was cancer free. I went back to my computer and read everything there was to read about it. I learned many technical terms and medical acronyms and scheduled another appointment with my less than compassionate surgeon. I showed him the research I had done (through traditional allopathic sources) stating that he was following an outdated protocol. With great pain he finally conceded that if there were ever a case for not removing the rest of a thyroid gland, mine was it. However, he still had to recommend that I have a second surgery to remove my entire thyroid gland. Thank God I was finally starting to get it! To him, covering his own behind was more important than my health. I got a second opinion from an endocrinologist who virtually quoted the research that I had done on the internet. I thought here we go, a man who knows his stuff. And then he ended it all with a word for word iteration of the surgeons last words “however I would still recommended that you have the rest of the gland removed.” I couldn’t believe it. I likened it to having cancer in one of my toes and having it removed. Since there was a 20% chance that cancer would develop in one of my other toes, they were telling me to have the rest of my toes removed so I would not have to risk having a problem with my toes again. Now that may be too “lay” an interpretation but it seems to me that these two doctors could use a little more common sense. I took what the two doctors had to say, mixed it with the research I had done and decided that having an 80% chance of never having the cancer return were pretty good odds. Shrugging my shoulders a bit and feeling like I was risking getting into trouble for defying an authority figure, I said no to the surgery. To my surprise, the endocrinologist didn’t even try to change my mind and offered to monitor my gland while I explored “alternative therapies” I believe we have been conditioned to think that the words of a doctor are somehow final. Couple that with the insurance and pharmaceutical industry’s influence over how medicine is practiced, and we forge that we are the final authority for our own health and well being. Saying no was the best thing I ever did! It started me on a path of promoting my overall health rather than just being another cancer survivor or worse yet a victim. Instead I am now a vibrant and healthy human being.

I began practicing yoga to reduce my stress levels. I read amazing books like, The Gerson Therapy, which outlined cases where people are sent home to die with stage 4 cancer and Through Dr. Max Gerson’s protocol of vegetable juicing, supplements, extracts and coffee enemas, shrank and subsequently destroyed their tumors.) The China Study that links cancer with the consumption of animal based proteins. The pH Miracle that speaks to all disease being due to an acidic condition in the body from a stressful life style and the excessive consumption of acid causing foods like coffee, alcohol, chocolate, sugar, meat, dairy and reverse osmosis filtered water, like most bottled water. I learned to cook for myself and shifted my perspective from feeding myself to nourishing myself! The American diet has swung way to far in the direction of just eating what tastes good, like sweet, salty or fatty foods. I also learned how the food choices I was making not only affected my body, but the lives of countless animals and the global environment. I took away the acidic environment in my body that disease thrives in and began adding huge quantities of fresh vegetables, juices and changing my omnivorous diet to a plant based vegan diet. My new diet is heavy on greens (juicing) and alkalizing foods. I drink alkaline water and continue to make choices in my life that allow me to stay balanced and stress free. Instead of looking for the next fast food drive through at two in the morning, I tend my own organic garden insuring that only the highest quality foods make it to my families table.

My life has changed considerably since I developed that tumor, I recently turned 40 and have been cancer free for nearly ten years. In fact, according to the last ultrasound I had over five years ago, the part of the gland that had been surgically removed has grown back! I left the Police department in 2004. Now my wife and I own, operate and teach at Maya Yoga Studio in Kansas City Missouri. Looking back through the eyes of a yogi, I see how not expressing my grief from my father’s suicide turned into a tumor. I remember overhearing a relative insensitively commenting on how he could see the rope imprint on the front of my father’s neck at his funeral. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that just a year later I had a tumor on the front of my neck. I believe it has to do with the fact that the 5th^th chakra, the energetic center for self expression, resides in the throat. Perhaps if I had not choked back the tears that started to well up as I walked under the open rafters of the garage where my father had taken his own life just a few days earlier, I would not have had to learn such a hard lesson. Even as I write this, a few unshed tears find their way to the surface, but I know better now so I just let them flow.

So to my friend Andy; please extend this story of hope to your friend. Encourage him to look a little deeper and see if there is more that he can be doing to promote his perfect health rather than just allowing his body to be a battle ground for disease. I wish him luck and remind him that the information is out there. There are other possible outcomes and this does not have to be a three year death sentence with long rounds of allopathic torture while he waits.

In closing I want to say I do appreciate doctors and nurses and their innate desire to serve their fellow man and to follow their divine calling in life. Countless people have been healed and saved by medical professionals. Ultimately I am thankful for that surgeons mistake because It led to taking control over my own health. I have learned how to express and nourish myself, I still have my thyroid gland, I don’t take any medication and I have never felt better.

Wade Mortenson

Featured in EVOLVING Magazine Sept 2010 Issue:

She has been teaching ashtanga yoga for the last thirteen years and is also the owner of Maya Yoga, in Kansas City, MO: www.mayayoga.com

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” – Albert Einstein

Think about this quote for a second and ask yourself, does this quote apply to the way you treat your body?

I get several questions from people asking if they can replace lifitng weights with yoga.
Before I give my thoughts on the subject, I like to ask people two important questions:

1. Do you enjoy lifting weights?
2. Does weight lifting give your body the shape you desire?

If the answer is an enthusiastic “no,” to both questions, which is usually the case for many people at this point in their lives, then I love liberating people from pressing metal plates, by saying, “JUST DO YOGA!”

Before I was introduced to yoga, I lifted weights three times a week for fifteen years. My body was toned, but my muscles looked bulky, not lean, which had been my natural body type growing up. I was frustrated because it seemed the more I lifted weights, the bigger my muscles appeared, I just looked and felt thick, not good.

It didn’t help that I was also doing an hour of intense cardiovascular exercise every day, which sent my appetite through the roof, so my eating habits ended up countering all my hard work spent at the gym. Two hours at the gym, equaled three hours of eating the house down when I got home at night-ugh!

However, when I got the opportunity to open my first yoga studio in 1999, I decided to do a pilot study with myself: I quit lifting weights and just practiced ashtanga yoga, 6 days a week. I had been a personal trainer for the last six years, so it was a big deal for me to let go of something that had not only been a part of my personal life for so long, but had also been my professional life. I had been educating people on the benefits of lifting weights for years and now I was going to JUST do YOGA?! My personal trainer friends thought I was nuts! One guy said to me, “Shouldn’t you supplement your triceps with some tricep curls?” I said, I’m not sure, but I’m going to find out …

I want to make it clear, that I chose to do this study with myself, because I was very bored with lifting weights and loved my yoga practice way more than my gym routine. I did not switch to yoga, because I wanted to change the shape of my body. I switched to doing just yoga, because I wanted to do a practice that would fulfill me on all levels, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. If I was going to work out 1-2 hours a day, I wanted to do something I loved, and not something that my mind and society told me that I needed to do to stay in “shape.”

After one month of just doing ashtanga yoga daily, I felt stronger and leaner than I ever had in my life. I have never lifted a weight since that liberating day over tens years ago! Over the tens year of doing just yoga, I have become vegan, quit drinking alcohol and caffeine and have lost ten pounds.

Ashtanga, Vinyasa and Power Yoga are all forms of weight bearing exercise. There is nothing more weight bearing than being able to press your own body weight!

When I started yoga after lifting weights half of my life, I thought it was very interesting that I couldn’t do one chaturunga (tricep yoga push-up) to save my life! This really made me question my old workouts: “Why hadn’t the weights prepared me to press my entire body weight?” Well, if you think about it, most weight lifting exercises are isolated to individual muscle groups in the upper body, such as triceps, shoulders, lats, biceps, etc. They do not focus on pressing the body as a whole, which is the way yoga works the body.

When people tell me they are going to start lifting weights, in order to get stronger for yoga, I just tell them if they want to get stronger for yoga, DO YOGA! Every form of exercise is sport specific, meaning tennis prepares one for tennis, and not for golf. If you want to improve in a certain style of yoga, practice that particular style of yoga, because even yoga can be “sport specific.” My ashtanga practice doesn’t necessarily mean I’m going to be good at a Bikram yoga practice, make sense?

If you enjoy your weight lifting routine and it is still fulfilling and giving you the results you desire, keep it up. However for those of you who are ready to make the transition from weights to yoga, here are my suggestions:

Yoga Homework

1. For four weeks, do Ashtanga and Vinyasa yoga, 3-6 times a week, without lifting a single weight.
2. I encourage you to walk briskly 30 minutes outside on your days off from yoga, if you are wanting to lose weight.
3. REMEMBER: Food is everything, so be conscious of what you are eating, why you are eating and how much you are eating. Eating a vegan diet, no animal-products, meat dairy, eggs or fish, is VERY effective for weight loss.

VegSource Video

Kathleen Kastner
Exercise Physiologist M.S.
Maya Yoga
Kansas City, MO