The Significance of Fields in the Body-Mind by Tim Hall

From what I understand, every physical “thing” has an electromagnetic energy field, or simply, a magnetic field. NASA has great pictorial representations of the Earth’s magnetic field. A quick Google search will result in many images that show Earth’s more realistic shape. It is not as symmetrical as usually depicted in artistic renditions. Interestingly, the fluctuations in the Earth’s magnetic field have been found to have a direct relationship to occurrences of heart attack. We know that the Earth’s field has a strong direct effect on all living beings that operate according to normal cycles of waking and sleeping, or what is called the circadian rhythm.¹

According to research, the human heart produces the largest magnetic energy field in a person.² It is about 100 times stronger than the brain. The term “heart rate variability” refers to the variation in your heartbeats within a specific timeframe. Your heart rate can be measured to reveal your emotional states. Basically, the heart reflects psychological states, which also changes the measurements of the heart’s magnetic field. The correlation between your heart rate and the heart's field has a clear mathematical pattern. The pulsing waves of energy generated by your field are complex and interact greatly with the physical body and the environment, including other people. The more “coherent” your heart rate is—coherency referring an ordered and harmonious state in your mind, body and emotions—the stronger your heart's magnetic energy field is. Coherency can also refer to a state of like-mindedness, common agreement, intelligent design, and so forth, within a thing, or externally between things. States of loving, emotional connectedness improve and maintain coherency.²

It is well-established that groups of people can become entrained with each other and achieve coherent heart rate variability synchronization. It commonly occurs between mothers and babies, and during sleep between loving couples in a stable relationship. It probably occurs during every conversation and social interaction but to a lesser degree. Heart rate variability has been shown to be highly reactive to psychological states and to the environment, which includes the quality of thoughts and the emotions of other people. Researchers suggest that the heart’s magnetic field is the principle non-physical mechanism of communication between people whose heart rate variability is in sync.² It has also been repeatedly demonstrated that techniques which are practiced in order to increase variability in general (whether in sync with anyone else or not), lead to a wide range of beneficial health and performance outcomes.²

From what I understand, the heart’s magnetic field, and literally any “field” is itself entirely non-physical. I have never come across any source adequately proposing a particle theory to explain the actions of pulsing magnetic energy waves. There are theories about electron spin, charge separation, and that all fields are tied to or surrounding something physical, but the ‘field” itself appears to be non-physical and non-local. Fields can be measured but they do not have discrete boundaries and thus appear to be all connected. In other words, there is only one field. The field also apparently communicates information with direct and measurable effects between things. With no known physical mediator, field communication has been proposed to occur via longitudinal scalar waves that act at such high speeds that communication is virtually instantaneous regardless of the measurable distance between the two objects. Cellular communication also occurs between DNA by longitudinal waves. The pulsing double helix structure of the DNA allows for a magnetic field to produce information packets that communicate nearly instantaneously.³

My conclusion thus far is that the mind’s thoughts and emotions operate in and through the magnetic field waves and act instantaneously at any distance. Waves which are communicating information are received and integrated (or filtered out) based on the degree of harmonic rapport and coherency. When any of us can gain a psychological state of an increasingly loving, cooperative, and thoughtful nature that improves coherency in heart rate variability, it leads to improved health, general well-being, and relationship bonding. It also acts in a protective way by naturally filtering out undesirable thought waves. The non-physical mind that operates in the energy field is distinct from the physical body that is composed of discrete particles—but they exist together in a dynamic and integrated state. Relative to a clinician’s point of view, developing empathy and establishing rapport with clients will strengthen bonds and contribute to improved clinical health outcomes, improving the client’s motivation and adherence to the therapeutic program being implemented.

“This re-enforces the BodyTalk Direct approach of repairing cells by repairing the DNA”
~ John V.


References
¹Jaruševičius, G., Rugelis, T., McCraty, R., Landauskas, M., Berškienė, K., & Vainoras, A. (2018). Correlation between Changes in Local Earth’s Magnetic Field and Cases of Acute Myocardial Infarction. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(3).
²McCraty, R. (2017). New Frontiers in Heart Rate Variability and Social Coherence Research: Techniques, Technologies, and Implications for Improving Group Dynamics and Outcomes. Frontiers in Public Health, 5, 267.
³Meyl, K. (2012). DNA and Cell Resonance: Magnetic Waves Enable Cell Communication. DNA & Cell Biology, 31(4), 422–426.

The Hoarder by Esther Veltheim

"We are our own dragons as well as our own heroes, and we have to rescue ourselves from ourselves.”

– Tom Robbins

When left to its own devices, the head brain becomes a compulsive hoarder. It accumulates and stockpiles learned information and stories, squirreling them away as if readying itself for a famine. The greater the head brain's hoard of learned information and stories, the more adept it is at steamrolling intuition and guarding against the heart. Like any addictive behavior, the head brain's compulsion to learn and cling escalates until pathology successfully masquerades as a necessity: hoarding becomes essential to living. That we call the age we live in "the information age" might be more telling than we realize.

Like any addiction, hoarding information and knee-jerk answering weaken the head brain. Its ability to discriminate and draw on its discretionary dimension suffer dramatically. Habitually satisfying its urges with a knowledge fix allows the head brain to close down to the unknown. Conversely, when the Three Brain Complex is dynamic, the gut brain informs and the heart brain anchors. Simply put, the Hoarder head brain is our struggle with our self.

When the head brain dominates, we look to external sources to inform us. And we look to external sources to anchor us. While we are in this dissociative state, the external is mistaken for our source of survival and also our greatest threat. Accumulating learned information to ensure answers are always at the ready is how the over-compensating head brain keeps us feeling safe. The head brain's primary conviction is that learned information is our greatest strength. Ultimately, it doesn't matter what that information is as long as it keeps us armed with answers.There is nothing wrong with the head brain. It is just doing its job relative to what needs to be done in the moment.

Self-inquiry questions all learned information, stories and our assumptions about them. This means that self-inquiry puts the head brain's addiction to hoarding and its entire stash of knowledge and stories under threat. A simple explanation of self-inquiry is the process of questioning all our assumptions. A simple place to begin self-inquiry might be to ask  “What do I know for sure?” This is a self-reflective question. It turns our focus inwards which immediately shifts the habit of looking for answers "out there." And whenever this shift in orientation happens, the mind temporarily calms. Over time, the practice of self-inquiry or self-reflection disrupts apathetic head brain habits. This is because self-reflection naturally engages the Three Brain Complex in a far more dynamic way.

If any of the preceding speaks to you, please join our Q&A and share your questions or your presence with us. Although I am calling this class a Q&A, my focus is not simply to answer your questions. My role is, primarily, to serve as a catalyst for the deepening of our own questioning process.

“There has to be another way!”

Questioning and the Spiritual Process by Esther Veltheim

"Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer."  

–Rainer Maria Rilke

Spiritual process. Ask twenty different people what these two little words signify for them and you will probably receive twenty different responses. But, chances are quite a few of these explanations will contain the term becoming enlightened.

Spiritual process. Becoming enlightened. Being a spiritual person. Most anyone involved in alternative healing or any kind of yoga will have come across such terminology or even regularly use these terms themselves.

The subject of spirituality can be highly seductive, daunting and confusing. After all, the language we have for the spiritual life is laden with connotations, and conflicting-seeming schools of thought abound.

One thing is pretty certain. If your goal is to become enlightened, the belief you lack something will dog you. The opposite may also be the case. If your goal is to become enlightened it is possible you are resigned to the idea there is something you need to be getting rid of before that can happen. Maybe the ego, the me, your thoughts. Maybe all of that.

And then there are all the spiritual pathways one can take. And then there are all the different explanations about them.

And then there is what you feel inside. Maybe a deep frustration; a yearning; a sense of "This can't be it!?"; "There has to be more!"; "What is life all about!?" ...

A long preamble and maybe you are all ready to stop reading. But, if you relate to anything here, you are not alone. Spirituality is a subject that has baffled, intrigued, seduced, challenged, and driven people to the edge of madness, probably ever since it first came about. It is for this reason that we wanted to devote our first open Q&A to this subject. More importantly, it is because spirituality is such a confounding subject, that we want our Q&A's focus to be on the questions themselves.

There are so many wonderful teachings and teachers in the world who inspire and catalyze us on our spiritual journeys. In terms of the myriad, John's Soul's Journey course addressed some of the various schools of thought. He also imparted practical applications for BodyTalk and the Life Sciences that you can use to support yourself and your clients on this journey.

The much beloved and renowned mythologist and master story teller, Joseph Campbell, called our spiritual journey the Hero's Journey. And, surely, no better word can apply than hero to describe any of us journeying through this human life. Nothing is certain, nothing is predictable, nothing is sure. Even if we do not think of ourselves on a spiritual journey, just being human means we are engaged in a heroic journey.

For John and me, that is what the spiritual life signifies; the adventure of exploring what it is to be human and live this human life as fully as possible.

As you might know, there are four main paths of Yoga--Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja Yoga and Jnana Yoga. These are spiritual pathways used by those undertaking the spiritual journey. Each one is differently suited to a particular temperament and approach to life.

Of the four pathways, Jnana--the path of knowledge--is considered the most simple and the most direct method of cutting through our misconceptions about self. As the word simple is the antithesis of easy, this pathway is traditionally the one less traveled.

Why jnana yoga is considered difficult and not suited to everyone is because it requires a sharp intellect; one that has the capacity to cut through self-misconceptions. To this end, jnana yoga might well be called the yoga of questioning. It is not that those involved in the other yogas do not pose questions, on the contrary. But the practitioner of jnana explores the questions themselves in a way that other pathways do not. It is the path of discrimination; seeking to differentiate as clearly as possible the real from the unreal.

How might this apply to you or even interest you?

Living in the Information Age as we are, never have human beings been exposed to such a flood of information. Any of us with a computer or smart phone or TV is open to being bombarded with information on an almost constant basis. Much of this information seems compelling, seductive even. Images, words, sounds, teachings, advertising ... and the list goes on and on and on.

The benefits are many, but the dangers are equally numerous. The human system's ability to adapt to this new way of living is being tested in every moment. Much of the time we are even unaware of the multitude of stressful electrical intrusions our systems are absorbing.

As is so often the case when our systems are stressed, we do what is easiest for us. We want immediate relief, and concern for the long-term consequences falls by the wayside. One of the most common coping methods we have in the Information Age is ASSUMING. With so much information coming at us it is just easier to take most of it in and save ourselves time.

In other words, never has there been a time when human beings are more in need of honing the ability to question. Never has there been a time when our life as human beings has been more in need of examining. Not because dark and difficult ages have not existed before. On the contrary, all the preceding ages also required tremendous human adaptation; the types of human adaptations that have brought us into this age, facing floods and floods of information.

Surely, there has never been a time more pressing than this to learn the art of discrimination. And to this end, we need to learn the art of questioning. As small children, direct, simple, logical questions came easily to us. This means that it is in our nature to question directly, simply and logically. Somewhere along the way, we just became out of touch with this brilliant ability. Between childhood and adulthood, intellect became an almost dirty word to many of us. We forget that clear thinking and clear questioning was once something we were really good at. It came naturally. This means it is an inborn gift none of us are deprived of. We simply need to avail ourselves of it.

The Prevalence of Complex PTSD by Esther Veltheim

"Post Truamatic Stress, from a neurological standpoint, is not a dis-order. It is a re-ordering of your neural networks and pathways and your sensory pathways, so that you can survive in a really dangerous situation."

– Janet Seahorn, PhD, author of Tears of a Warrior

When many of us think of PTSD, we often imagine a single, severely traumatic event (war, accident, rape etc.). This event can still have several incidences, but they tend to be put under the one umbrella even though we may need to address the specific components. However, as practitioners, we will more often need to address Complex PTSD also known as C-PTSD. This particular stress disorder generally results from prolonged and repetitive trauma. It frequently involves abuse or abandonment by a family member or caregiver in a situation where the power dynamic is skewed.

Unfortunately, violent and mentally or emotionally abusive relationships are just as prevalent as they have ever been, but they are often kept very hushed and can even go unrecognized by the victims. The following experiences and situations can easily leave a person with C-PTSD symptoms:

• Physically and mentally abusive relationships from childhood
• Mentally or emotionally abusive marriages/partnerships (E.g. repeated infidelity)
• Being bullied at school (leading to child suicide and more gun use in schools)
• Cyber-bullying
• Being bullied or abused by parents (alcoholic parents, drug abuse, or parents with mental disorders); being bullied by other children (siblings, school mates)
• Being gaslighted by a partner or parent
• Sexual abuse--incest, rape, etc.
• Environmental--living in a hostile environment (E.g. where there are gangs, etc.)

The profound damage gaslighting causes is only beginning to be acknowledged. If you are unfamiliar with the term gaslighting, it involves psychological manipulation that causes the victim to doubt their own memory, their own perception and their own sanity.

Gaslighting is experienced more among women, but is certainly not limited to them. Although gaslighting is sometimes accompanied by physical abuse, the abuser usually confines their attacks to the psychological realm. They lie pathologically and consistently, in the process deeply convincing themselves that their own distorted reality is truth, the only truth. That truth is lies and lies are the truth is the state of mind the gaslighter projects upon their prey and all those who surround them.

The depths of self-doubt and helplessness catalyzed by gaslighting can feel psychologically paralyzing. The most basic acts of self-preservation are being eroded and the idea of escaping the abuse can appear increasingly impossible.

One of the goals of gaslighting is to draw the other so strongly into their web of lies as to totally convince them "you are the crazy one!"  Another is to ensure the projection takes hold. To this end, they isolate their prey by convincing all who will listen that she or he is "mentally unstable," "mentally fragile," "has lost all grasp on reality" or is "crazy." The more devastating and persistent the attacks are, the stronger the gaslighter's own psychological wall becomes. To others they can appear powerful and charismatic. To their prey, what was once something endearing and charming is now seen for the façade it is; a wall that feels increasingly isolating. The perpetrator wants their prey to live out for them everything they are unwilling to face within themselves.

Because there is no physical damage as evidence and proof that these abusive attacks have taken place, the effects of gaslighting can be far more long lasting and pervasive than those of overt physical abuse. Consequently, many victims and survivors remain oblivious to the fact that what they are experiencing is Complex PTSD.

To read this brief description of gaslighting is, possibly, to realize that it is a term that not only describes the dynamic within a personal relationship. On the world stages, authoritarians are master gaslighters. From not only a psychological but also a philosophical standpoint, the concept of gaslighting has much to teach us about human nature and its transformation. Wherever there is gaslighting, our Savior/Martyr (or Disabler/Enabler) archetypes are invoking a spell. Because these two archetypes are universal and not individual, whether we are overtly affected by gaslighting or not, there is much we can learn from studying its dynamic. Because gaslighting is, essentially, abuse administered through distortion of the truth, it is very possible more of us are inured to gaslighting than we realize. This makes it equally possible that by shedding a steady light on gaslighting and acknowledging its prevalence, we can break its spell.

Health is Overrated

by Tim Hall

You may have seen this Sept 4^th, 2013 TED talk by psychologist Dr. Kelly McGonigal who basically says that it is not stress that kills you, it is the belief that stress can kill you that kills you.  Check out the video on YouTube.

It may kill you to believe this, but consider that it is not disease and problems that makes you unhealthy, but the belief that they can make you unhealthy that is what is making you unhealthy.  Disease, problems, symptoms or relationship struggles are all various forms of conflict.  Does conflict conflict with health?  Or is there healthy conflict? 

I’m sure there is a study about this somewhere but if not, maybe you can still agree with me on the premise:  Take 10 couples all of whom have regular arguments of some kind to some degree about something.  Ask them independently if arguing is a sign of a weak, failing and hateful partnership or if it is a sign of a strong, open and respectful partnership.  Say that 5 couples said ‘weak’, and 5 couples said ‘strong’.  If we were to check in with these argumentative couples ten years later, which set would you guess is more likely to still be together? 

Now, if you are thinking that the five so-called strong couples were probably miserable for those ten years, this may reveal some of your own bias about that same question.  If ‘arguments’ isn’t the topic, it could as well be drinking habits, religious opinions, exercise and diet differences, sexual interests, scheduling difficulties, child rearing, snoring, romantic gestures and the list goes on and on.  Somewhere there will be conflict. 

If conflict and health are found to be friends, then could we lump in misery too?  Is misery an element of health?  It would seem not, right?  Then is misery an element of conflict?  While that may at least seem more likely, let’s dig a little deeper. 

Consider the couples; if arguing is one of their conflicts and they engage with that behavior fully, they are both at least on the same page and arguing together (please note that I am not promoting or condemning arguing).  If arguing is their conflict and one or both of the couples resist the behavior in themselves and/or their partner, it is easy to see how that resistance to what is actually occurring could manifest as blame, abuse, manipulation, defensiveness, turmoil, or in one word: misery. 

Having no resistance to arguments does not imply a resignation nor does it mean you have to enjoy it.  We all have our likes and dislikes.  Being content can include being content with acknowledging that some things are just not for us and that we’d prefer to improve the situation. 

Resisting a disease-conflict can be miserable too.  Not resisting it in no way means you have to keep living with it, or embrace it or even like it.  We can probably all agree that misery is an impediment to well-being of any kind.  If so, then we could also agree that in the absence of misery (and therefor the absence of resistance to the conflict), that that situation would be to our benefit? 

Have you noticed that the times you are miserable are the times when you can’t seem to get ahead, or make any progress or have a harmonious relationship?  When the conflict itself is being fought against so hard, it is nearly impossible to see a resolution.  Do we believe that conflicts make us miserable?  Or do we believe that conflict is a process of achieving a higher consciousness and an improved state of well-being? 

Perhaps now we can see the value of misery.  Misery is our signpost that says, ‘You’re going in the wrong direction!’  The more miserable we become, the less we are able to continue in that wrong direction.  Life is so complex that reasons and intellect cannot have the full picture.  And not everyone is intuitive enough to always have deep insight into what is best for the situation but we all know what misery is.  Thanks to misery, we can learn by our experience.  As this happens, the whisper of intuition becomes more familiar, “You sure you want to go that way?  You’ve been down that road before.  I know it is scary to take this new unknown path, but at least listen and know that the way you are facing now is the path of misery.”  You know that whisper.  I sure do.  Ask this yourself question, Am I sick and tired of being sick and tired? 

PaRama friends, meet me in Scottsdale AZ Memorial Day weekend and we’ll all have lots of conflict, er, wait, I mean, we’ll all Find Health together!

Tim Hall

The Earth is Flat - Tim Hall

Greek philosophers began to teach that the world was round a few centuries B.C., but many people still held to the idea of a flat Earth even as late as the 1800s (in fact, some findings suggest that the Earth is a rounded tetrahedron rather than a sphere). Space and time are still considered independent constants by most people and it may take centuries for the majority to understand their inter-relatability. Similarly, many people treat the body separate to the mind and the vast majority completely dismiss the state of absolute consciousness even though it is essential to well-being and fundamental to health and success.

In some ways, modern society's view of health care is as cutting edge as the Earth is flat.

Over a hundred years ago Albert Einstein's peer Hermann Minkowski coined the term "Spacetime" and had this to say, "The views of space and time which I wish to lay before you have sprung from the soil of experimental physics, and therein lies their strength. They are radical. Henceforth space by itself, and time by itself, are doomed to fade away into mere shadows, and only a kind of union of the two will preserve an independent reality."

When space and time are taken separately they are like shadows of Spacetime. They seem to have a life of their own but they are dependent on the fundamental and integrated Spacetime continuum. The theory of relativity gave rise to this subsequent understanding that space and time are a continuum where neither aspect can be distinguished from the other except by arbitrary division. This understanding (whether ultimately right or wrong) completely changed the world of physics and has led to the rapid development of modern advanced technology.

If a person were to measure their physical fitness one day and then again a week later, it would do little good to be well rested and in a good mood the first day, and then to be sick, tired and hungry a week later. When taking a measurement or making diagnosis, the part under consideration is evaluated against a more fundamental constant to provide the proper context, give meaning and set a solid platform upon which to make a real shift.

Our state of health could be measured in either just mental, emotional or physical terms, but this is like using old school physics to build a quantum computer. Space and time are a continuum just as we say that the mind and body are a connection. We can arbitrarily separate the mind and body as we can space and time, but when that occurs, the reference point is lost and we are dealing with mere shadows of our real self.

When the mind-body connection is understood as is the space-time continuum, it can radically shift awareness of how to address health as how that occurred with technology. We all experience our mind and body changing as we do space and time, but we also always experience ourselves right here right now as a constant. This constant experience tends to go unnoticed similar to how a fish swimming in the water doesn't know that it is wet.

By getting in touch with this state of our consciousness that is absolute, it sets that foundation from which to properly measure and evaluate life & death, health & disease, solitude & relationships, mind & body and so forth. This state of well-being is unaffected by whatever happens be it good or bad. In the absence of bad, we might believe it would have to be good but good doesn't affect it either. Similarly, our location of being 'here' is unaffected by wherever we go. Also, no matter what we ponder, remember or predict, we can only do all of that in this present moment. Our here and now and wellness is more fundamental to our time, place and circumstance.

Rather than only having wellness when things are going good, wellness can be our position that is never lost under any condition. It tempers the extremes by always being what it is which assuages fears of being lost, imbalanced, confused, fighting ourselves and being compared and judged by others. If time, space, the mind and body are shadows, then this is the light that casts those shadows.

This shift from darkness to light is as radical of a shift as it is from believing the world must be flat. This is not just about an improvement in health; it is about imperturbable Well-Being in a state of Absolute Bliss Consciousness.

For more information continue surfing the web and reading blogs. For the experience, get on the pathless path and find a BodyTalk practitioner to facilitate the way.

Tim Hall 
http://www.thehallwayabc.com

The Mind by Esther Veltheim

"Thoughts are the tension."
~ Ramesh S. Balsekar

“Thoughts are the tension.” The first time I read Ramesh’s words they struck me like a sledge-hammer. Immediately I knew he was right. It isn’t that I had not experienced stressful thoughts before. But, I had never before recognized that ALL tension is the result of thoughts.

Meditation had always been something I did in spurts. I would suddenly be filled with Bhakti and for weeks would devote myself to ritual and meditation. Then I would go a month or so with nothing. Although meditation served to calm my mind and bring a deep sense of wellbeing, I didn’t relate to meditation as a daily practice. When I tried to implement that it felt contrived.

When I read Ramesh’s words there rose up in me an urgency to understand why thoughts persist and to understand the nature of mind; my mind in particular. In and of itself this exploration became my meditation, engaging my focus almost every waking moment.

In this process I invented various exercises for myself. Probably they are not unique to me, but there is one I would like to share with you here, just in case you have never tried it for yourself.

The following exercise will be somewhat demanding. It will require tremendous attention and alertness towards your thoughts, words and actions….and a strong dose of self-honesty.

EXERCISE:

This exercise requires a pen and pocket notepad. Preferably avoid using a mechanical device for this.

The duration of this exercise is an entire day, beginning when you wake up to when you go to bed. Using a symbol of your choosing, note down every single time you make an assumption.

At the end of the day tally your symbols and, in your notepad, write down your experience of the day. Next morning, read through your account and see if there is anything you can add.

Note: Beware of assuming an outcome! You might be surprised.

The Injury-Free Yoga Practice, by Dr. Steven Weiss

“In the unspoken language of the human body, anatomy is the vocabulary, alignment is the grammar. And yoga becomes poetry.”

Book Recommendation by Esther Veltheim


As a BodyTalker, whether you practice yoga or not, you are going to love this book. The Injury-Free Yoga Practice is a book about alignment, anatomy and how not to get hurt doing yoga. And yet, as you can tell from the above quote, Dr. Weiss writes from a very unique perspective. His reverence for the work, combined with his deep knowledge of both yoga and chiropractic, translates into an exploration of the body that is nothing short of inspirational….and very practical.

As BodyTalkers, we all know how important alignment is, especially where our work is concerned. We know that poor alignment disrupts our body’s energy systems and, in so doing, compromises our overall health. We also know that the way our body aligns itself is a direct reflection of how we feel about our self and the world. When we are “out of alignment” or have poor alignment, our self-esteem and our world- view reflect this distortion. Strangely, even though we have these understandings, alignment is a subject we easily dismiss when pondering our health and wellbeing.

The Injury-Free Yoga Practice explores the fundamentals of alignment as a codified system that applies consistently in every yoga posture. Personally, I am discovering that application of the alignment principles, as Dr. Weiss presents them, is transforming my experience of my body both on and off my yoga mat.

And those of you working to fulfill your studies of anatomy and physiology, you will so appreciate the way these subjects are brought to life. Discussions on anatomy are presented, not as a secondary curiosity, but in a way that reveals how anatomy is the underlying rationale for every principle of alignment used in yoga practice….and in life. And the so-called “secret” tips to alignment that never seem to be shared fully are revealed in a way that makes them immediately applicable, not just to asana but to every move you make in life.

The Injury-Free Yoga Practice is born of Dr. Weiss’s many years living not just as a yoga teacher and diligent practitioner, but also as a holistic chiropractor and anatomy instructor. The book is, in part, a compilation of ideas developed by many great teachers of alignment-based yoga, including Anusara and Iyengar. But what seems to make this book such a unique and distinctive contribution to the growing body of knowledge about yoga is the place this book is written from. Writing from the perspective of years of observation and hands-on adjustment, Dr. Weiss shares great insight into the intricacies of human alignment.

Practicing yoga can be either therapeutic or the cause of trauma. The postures themselves are not inherently safe or dangerous. The outcome of yoga practice depends on one essential criterion: the successful application of alignment. Yoga has the potential to be one of the most sophisticated and empowering means of creating structural alignment in the body.

Clearly alignment should not be an afterthought. Nor should it be considered a facet of advanced asana practice only. Alignment is essential at all levels of practice and all areas of life. Healthy alignment ensures that asana and all our movements in life are performed safely and expertly.

As far as yoga is concerned, yoga postures need not be overly advanced to be beneficial. The most basic postures are generally the most therapeutic, since they are the easiest ones in which to establish precise alignment. What this means is that even for those of you who do not practice yoga, as long as you have a body this book can transform your experience of being in it. But chances are that by the time you have read this book you will want to take up yoga!

For those of you who are already practicing yoga, The Injury-Free Yoga Practice offers you the essential tools for creating a safe and advancing practice that will provide years of health and vitality. Click here to purchase the book.


Steven Weiss, MS, DC, RYT has over 30 years of experience as a holistic chiropractor, nutritionist and dedicated yoga student and teacher. For 17 years, Dr. Weiss served as the resident chiropractor and nutritionist at the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies in Rhinebeck, NY. He is a member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists. Besides teaching anatomy and alignment for yoga teaching training programs, Dr. Weiss is a post-graduate instructor with two chiropractic colleges, presenting programs for chiropractors that explore yoga-based biomechanics and therapeutics. His yoga training has been in various traditions with an extensive background in Anusara and Iyengar yoga, studying with teachers in India and throughout the United States.

Breast Health

I came across this article the other day and thought it would be rather fitting to post on my blog since in BodyTalk we have always supported the idea that the bra is harmful to breast health.

Do Women Need Bras? French Study Says Bras are a 'False Necessity'

The Huffington Post by Sara Gates. Click here for the article and video.

Women who go braless may actually have the right idea, new research suggests.

According to the results of a 15-year study in France published Wednesday, bras provide no benefits to women and may actually be harmful to breasts over time.

"Medically, physiologically, anatomically, the breast does not benefit from being deprived of gravity," Jean-Denis Rouillon, a professor at the University of Franche-Comté in Besançon, told France Info.

Conducting the study at the university's hospital, Rouillon measured and examined the breasts of more than 300 women, aged 18 and 35, taking note of how the additional support provided by bras affects the body over time. (It should be noted the study does not mention breast size.)

Overall, he found that women who did not use bras benefited in the long term, developing more muscle tissue to provide natural support. As France's The Local notes, Rouillon also noticed that nipples gained a higher lift, in relation to the shoulders, on women who went braless. When bras are worn, the restrictive material prevents such tissue from growing, which may actually accelerate sagging, the study concluded.

Capucine Vercellotti, a 28-year-old woman who participated in the research, found that she breathes easier without the constraints of a bra.

"At first, I was a little reluctant to the idea of running without a bra, but I got started and after five minutes, I had no trouble at all," Vercellotti said, according to the Agence France-Presse.

But don't throw away your bras just yet, ladies.

Despite the findings, Rouillon said it would be dangerous to advise all women to take off their bras based on the study's sample, which may not be representative of the population.

Speaking to France Info, Rouillon cautioned women who have worn bras for a long time -- several decades -- from following the recommendation since they would not benefit from taking off their bras now.

The Future of Health Care: Military and Special Forces' Use of Integrative Medicine

By Robert Piper

The future of health care in America and the world at large is integrative medicine. Things like mind-body practices, meditation, yoga, acupuncture, nutrition, and other complementary practices are here to stay. The Samueli Institute is one of several organizations looking to make integrative medicine available to society as a whole; they are tirelessly working to bring it to the men and women who serve in the U.S. military.

I spoke with Dr. Kevin Berry, the vice president for military medical research at Samueli Institute, on how the military is using integrative medicine. He severed in the military for 30 years.

Thanks for the service to our country.

It's been tremendous to be associated with the people I've been associated with. It's been about growth and seeing things that I would never have a chance to see. I think that's why after retiring I didn't want to get too far away from the military. I've been very fortunate to find the Samueli Institute.

I read on your site that over 50 percent of the military uses integrative medicine.

We've done surveys on that, and there are more than what we see in the general population. I think that may be under-reported -- probably on the civilian side also. I don't think that people think of [it], particularly these young kids that are into muscle-building. They're in GNC and they're buying this and that; that's also a part of this story.

We did a leadership needs assessment -- I'm not at liberty to say which base or which service. So I'll use it in more general terms. We're suspicious to say that it wouldn't matter if it was Army or Navy, or this base or that base. But after 10 years of war, we are seeing that these leaders, the colonels, and the lieutenants are maintaining their physical health, their ability to run and all that jazz, but we are seeing deterioration of emotional strength. We're seeing the concerns they have with the tolls on their family, and with it we are seeing this dichotomy on one side there going to it in big numbers, but there's another component that thinks if you go to mind-body or medical massage you are skipping out on being hard.

If you go over to Special Forces, in their contract world they put together a human performance and resilience contract. They haven't awarded it yet, but they are looking to put hard cash on the barrel head. To bring in a whole group of people that would be working with Special Forces and their family members to build resiliency, to include mind-body, nutrition, to help people work on the work/life balance.

You mentioned Special Forces. Are the Navy Seals using integrative medicine, as well?

Yeah, all the services. Special Forces have been doing that for probably a lot longer; I don't think they think of it as unusual any more. I think they've just included as just [a] thing that they do. Martial arts and tai chi are not that much different; it's a physical discipline that gets you back into the moment. There's pretty good evidence that sharp shooters will lower their heart rate and control their heart rate variability as they're contemplating a shot. I think that's probably true of Olympic shooters.

Can you talk about some the research that's been going on with PTSD?

Yeah, we talk about the right of boom and the left of boom. The boom can be any type of traumatic event; we think we need to be working on both sides. So the pre-exposure work that we've done, that looks to teach soldiers some mindfulness. One of them is called War-Ops Warrior Optimization. It's a proprietary for-profit firm that one of the army generals wanted for his units that were going out to Afghanistan and Iraq back in 2009. They asked us to evaluate if it makes any difference, and it was just four hours of mind-body activities. The trends are pretty strong that this makes a difference.

We were just talking here in the last day or two that the Marine Special Forces MARSOC is looking like they are going to purchase this training. They are going to take it a step further and try to reinforce it through leadership and leaders to remind people of it while they're deployed. It looks like we are proposing an evaluation of that. Another example of that would be looking at the Benson-Henry approach for a group of people who have been identified with PTSD.

Another approach is acupuncture for headaches. We have a study going on at Walter Reed and at Fort Belvoir in the Wounded Warrior community with those that are diagnosed with PTSD and chronic headaches. We're still collecting data on that one. That's just to give you an idea of what we're doing.

That brings up the question that all Special Forces, Olympic athletes, mixed martial artists in the UFC [...] use the breathing component to curb the stress response. Can you talk about breathing and the stress response?

That's one of the common things we see in many of these type of programs. Whether it's yoga nidra when you're working with a causality who's physically impaired and maybe recent from surgery. Becoming mindful, using breathing, and getting the mind to focus on breathing. Getting the chest expansion to trigger the parasympathetic nervous system, which can balance the overactive sympathetic system. That's just one example, simple, straightforward meditation, starts with breathing. Special Forces units might use tai chi for an example.

Well, thank you very much, it was great interviewing you.

Emma

By Esther Veltheim

The streetlights had just come on, illuminating the narrow cobbled stone streets below my clinic window. I loved this time of the evening in Spain, when throngs of people gathered in the plazas; walking; shopping; exchanging the news of the day; communing around coffee shop tables that spilled out onto the colorful sidewalks. The delicious aroma of hot chocolate with churros; the sweet, haunting sound of flamenco guitar; the music of fountain water spilling into its marble trough; lovers whispers; children laughing.

No matter how many times I stepped out into the streets of Granada in the evening after work, the magic of it always thrilled me. A sensual banquet of sights and sounds and smells! I always felt as if I was stepping into a mysterious other world.

On this particular evening it was almost seven and I was thankfully hanging my scrubs up and getting ready to head home. At that moment, looking somewhat sheepish, the head of the clinic walked in and asked if I would see "....just one more patient?" Before I had time to respond he, unceremoniously, ushered me into his office where I was met by a young mother and a beautiful little girl.

After brief introductions, my boss explained to me that Emma, the little girl, was scheduled to have rhinoplasty within a few days. Her nasal passages were so restricted that she had to breathe through her mouth; a common problem among children with Down's Syndrome. My boss had recommended to her mother that she come to see me and that perhaps I could do something to help. I looked at the sweet little girl with her shiny black braids and big beaming smile. Emma's nose looked to me like a tiny crushed flower in the middle of that sweet face. However, upon examination I did feel that my work might alleviate the problem somewhat.

At that time I was a practitioner of structural integration and my boss knew that there was a session specifically designed to help with such problems. I spoke a little with Emma about what we might try. She gave me an enthusiastic smile, spontaneously grasping my hand, nodding assent and seeming very eager to follow me, as if we were about to embark on a big adventure.

Once Emma was lying on the treatment table I explained some more of what I planned to do and that I would be really gentle. She nodded, closed her eyes and lay trustingly, letting me begin. After just a few minutes Emma's eyes flew open and she looked at me, as if seeing me for the very first time. With innocent curiosity she asked me,  (in Spanish) "Who are you?"..... "What are you doing?" I told her my name and once again explained what I was doing and why.  Emma smiled, uttered an enthusiastic "Hola!", closed her eyes and let me continue working. A few minutes later the same thing happened. "Who are you?"...... What are you doing?" Once again I introduced myself and was greeted with a delighted "Hola!" Then Emma closed her eyes and lay still.

During our session Emma repeated these two questions on four different occasions. Each time she opened her eyes it was as if she was seeing me for the very first time; her eyes filled with a curious fascination. Each time I explained what I was doing it was as if she heard it for the first time and she seemed totally satisfied with my response. And each "Hola!" seemed to be full of total delight at our meeting.

When the session was over Emma sat up and was very happy to discover that she could take deep inhalations with her mouth closed. Her mother was overcome. I handed little Emma an apple and she gave me a big hug before jumping down from the treatment table and bidding me a happy "Adios!" Upon reaching the doorway she turned, looking at me quizzically, her head on one side and asked, "Who are you?" One last time I introduced myself to that dear little girl.

My heart was somehow heavy as I hung my scrubs up this time. I wandered out into the streets and wended my way up the windy cobbled stones towards my home. For once I walked oblivious to the sounds and smells and colors and throngs of people. When I arrived at my home I walked on by and continued up the hill until I reached my favorite marble bench. It was more like a low, wide, marble table. I always loved sitting there, right on top of the hill in the old town. It blessed me with one of my favorite views in the world.

Down in the valley, below the old town of Granada, the River Darro wends its way past little homesteads and farms and through wild countryside scattered with olive and almond trees. In the distance the Sierra Nevada mountains nestle into the horizon. And framed by the snow-capped mountains, high on the opposite hill from Granada's old town stands the majestic Alhambra fortress. Built in 889 and the fire of inspiration for many a Moorish poet, the Alhambra remains a most mystical place. How many hours I used to sit lost in reverie on my bench, imagining all the lives and stories that had unfolded through the centuries inside those fortress walls.

But on that night it was as if nothing existed around me. I lay face up on my bench, feeling dazed. All I could see in my mind's eye was Emma's innocent little face, again and again asking me, "Who are you?"...... "What are you doing?" My heart felt as if it was going to burst open. I really didn't know what was happening. I just knew that this sweet little girl had touched my life profoundly that night. It seemed to me that it was the very first time that I had ever really heard those two questions.

Twenty-five years later Emma's words still come to me often. Whenever they do I always feel them as if for the first time. "Who are you?"..... "What are you doing?" Time and again Emma's simple yet persistent questions evoke in me a pause, as I feel reflected in them the words of my beloved Rilke..... "Be a beginner, always a beginner!"

The Nut That Fell Too Far From The Tree

by Tim Hall

It was storming when this baby acorn fell from its home high upon the tree top. The wind carried it from its cluster of comfort to the cold wet ground far away from the trunk that so recently provided it with nourishment and growth. There were no adjacent nuts nor any wispering direction from the mother oak tree. What is this nut to do? 

All that it has known is to grow and add bulk to itself while refining the quality of the inner seed, though it knows not what the inner seed is for necessarily. It only has what little it knows, and it is now in the unknown. As the moisure sets in and the outer shell softens, the acorn learns its no longer growing, but should it just rot away? Isn't this unknown direction the path to certain death? 

The mysterious eye of a hurricane is the silent and unknowable inherent power source of the raging storm. The known is the violent storm and the unknown is the peaceful silence. To escape from a storm is one thing. To find the central still point of the storm and rest there in peace amidst the torent winds, is quite another indeed. In this sense, is the acorn giving up on life and yielding to the impending doom? Or is it thriving in the midst of decay? 

Even natural and spontaneous action is purposeful, defininte and requires certain circumstances and situations for its fulfillment. Yet, if some action is natural and spontaneous, how can any person aid that unfoldment, anymore than can an acorn help itself into being a tree? When we find ourselves trying to sprout, should we reverse direction and stop doing in the name of not forcing what is natural? Should the acorn stop what is coming natural to it, and is that even possible? How can anyone or anything yield to the activity that Is, while not forcing and also not rejecting? What to do? How does one walk the razor's edge without being sliced in two? 

What is to do, is to undo what doesn't need to be done. The inner seed is the heart of the acorn. The outer shell rots away for the sake of the seed. It doesn't look pretty but the shell has to go. It served it purpose and now its purpose is to let go of that purpose. 
There is a purpose to life and it is to live from within. Live like the inner seed who is in the process of taking root while the hard outer shell softens and becomes vulnerable to the nutrients of its new home, the rich soil. During a BodyTalk session, we go according to our nutrient rich soil called 'priority'. The inner dictates from the unknown, takes the reigns and we bounce to the beat of a different drummer. This does not have to be limited to a few minutes of practice every day. Be the seed. The outer storm is an expression of the inner eye of silence, and the mighty Oak is an expression of the seed. 

A consciousness-based session is based in one's own consciousness. It is from whereever we are right now that priority can take root and all we have to do is acknowledge that we are rotten on the outside and that is part of the ultimate goal. Let yourself go and be what you already are. If you are living like who you are not, it is like doing sessions according to your own agenda forgoing priority. Does that make any sense? Wouldn't it sting a little to do a session according only to what you already know? Then why live that way? Step into the unknown. Its the only thing that you've always truly known and could never not know, but its only known as the unknown when you knowingly step into it by unknowing what you think you know. This is the knowing that needs to be known - to unknow that you know. 

This is not to forget, dismiss, repress or be dull. It is not an excape from the storm, it is to unknown in the midst of the present knowledge. Everything has its place. 

The applied consciousness of finding health via BodyTalk and the Life Sciences is more than a practice. It is a lifestyle. Live the unknowable.

The Guessing Path

by Esther Veltheim

It took many years of people telling me "you must read Marion Woodman's Addiction to Perfection!" before I actually read the book. Like any addict I dismissed these well meaning friends and the notion that I could have any such addiction. After all, I was well aware of how totally imperfect I was!

It is not that I didn't buy Marion Woodman's book. I bought it several times in fact, but somehow always ended up giving it away before I read it. Some twenty years after I first heard of it I sat down and read it, but its messages stayed swirling around on the surface of my psyche and really couldn't penetrate. The addiction was so deep and so unconscious; a true addiction.

Only in very recent times has it hit me what everyone was seeing in me that I could not. The word perfection had thrown me because it described a goal I was in total denial of aiming for. But one morning, after a night of strange dreams, I woke up and was struck by the stream of thoughts that were coming to me. One after another I watched them, horrified to see the persistence of so many reprimands. They were not new to me.  On the contrary, I was used to the mind's barrage of reprimands. I had just never, consciously, experienced the fear that fuelled them. I had never, consciously, seen the simple message that every single reprimand held.... "You must do nothing wrong!"

As I lay there that morning, these words reverberated inside my body and all I could do was sob like a little child. And that, really, was exactly who was sobbing, the tiny, stalwart girl in me who my entire life had been terrified of doing something wrong. That is not to say I had gone out of my way to be good. On the contrary, I spent the first half of my life priding myself on being a rebel. It was the safest form of strength the little girl could find. But on that morning, the adult me was finally getting in touch with how powerfully this little girl's fears were still coloring her life.

And as I lay there watching and feeling more deeply I saw what was once a fearful vulnerable little girl in me begin to transform. Her little face became serious, her fists clenched, her mind became determined. And I watched her as she took one determined step after another. Sad but determined, she began to tread the Guessing Path.....

"What is Mummy really feeling?" "Why does Daddy talk that way?" "What can I do to make everyone feel better?" "What can I do to stop him?" "What can I do to stop her?" "How can I help?" "What have I done wrong? What am I doing wrong?!" "What is wrong with me?!"

And with everything inside her telling her that, "Everything wrong is my fault!" each step down the Guessing Path became more determined. And with every step, the conviction deepened, that I was fundamentally incapable of doing anything really right, useful, helpful, worthwhile or good.

As I lay there that morning, I saw the Guessing Path and my journey along it stretching out the length of my life. Every single step of the way I knew with less and less doubt that "There is something wrong with me!"

"What am I doing wrong?" "What have I done wrong?" "Would it be wrong to do this, wrong to say that?" "Oh my goodness, I should never have done that!" "It's my fault!" "It's all my fault!"

The further I travelled along the Guessing Path the more my doubts about myself were silenced. The Guessing Path was working its magic and I knew with more and more certainty "There is something fundamentally, irreparably so wrong with me!"

Lying there, watching this journey was the first time the adult me truly felt compassion for that little girl. She was tiny, maybe four or five years old when she took that first step. Such a lively, natural, radiant little girl, finally too overwhelmed by feelings of responsibility for the pain she saw around her. She just knew it was all up to her. It was her responsibility to mend everything broken that she saw around her. She was to blame, after all!

Somehow, as I finally began to understand what the addiction to perfection meant and how it had come about in me, the reprimands began to die down. They are still not fully gone. When the playful, wonderfully spontaneous little girl inside me is dismissed in any way, the little girl who grew up reprimanding herself takes over. The adult becomes beset with doubts; guessing, guessing, guessing. But now I notice the addiction more quickly. Gradually, step-by-step I feel closer to that little girl who preceded the Guessing Path.

Perhaps, the adult me is finally turning her back on the goal of perfection, tracing her way back along the Guessing Path. How many more steps? Will I ever be able to jump off? Or, perhaps, it is simply that when there is no need to become anything at all anymore the Guessing Path will disappear. Who knows? I try not to guess.

Between and Rock and a Hard Place

By Esther Veltheim

Which way does a child turn? On the one hand the tiny infant is still close enough to the intuition and her guidance; close enough to sense that not everything mummy and daddy are saying and doing feels right or is correct.

On the other hand how can we doubt our world? We have to feel safe. Whatever it takes! ..... Even if it means turning away from self. If that is what will keep us safe that is what we will do. We are tiny, vulnerable, and we have to trust our world, become as close as possible to it; stay as close as possible to it.

On the one hand we doubt our world. On the other hand we have to trust it. Between a rock and a hard place......."If I doubt my world I will have nowhere to go, nowhere to be safe."

And life has begun. Whatever it takes! "I have to feel safe!" And self-doubt is the only option for the tiny child.

But living in self-doubt is so painful! And the tiny child continuously strengthens its belief in the world around it. And the pain begins to numb. And many times it does not feel right, but the world is becoming bigger and bigger and the tiny child has to believe, can't risk abandonment, can't risk feeling all these feelings.

And here we are; now a teenager, now an adult. We are not so close to the guidance of intuition, but she still tugs at our sleeve; still whispers in our ear. Do we trust her? Can we doubt her a little longer? That is so much easier.

And somehow, no matter where we look, the world does not fulfill us and we cannot fulfill ourselves. We want so badly now to know what this is all about.

"What is life all about?" "What is the point!?" But asking such questions means we have to turn away from our world, away from the familiar....turn back towards that place we had to abandon to stay safe.

Between a rock and a hard place....."can I feel safe anywhere?!" "What is this all about?!" "What have I done wrong?" "Who the hell am I?!" "What am I doing here???!"

But we can't bear it any more and the questions start coming. And people think we are crazy and we begin to doubt ourselves where, before, we had no doubts.....at least not as many. At least we could kid ourselves we were just fine thank you. "It was easier not to ask!" "Why did I begin trying to understand myself?" "I should have just left things as they were!"

But here I sit "between a rock and a hard place" ..... and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Something is happening. The questions. The questions are key. No time to focus on the doubts. This little child in me has so many questions. She is teaching me how to ask and what to ask. We sit here together and I make room for her......

Between a rock and a hard place.

From tiny child to adult, much of our lives we sleep between the rock and a hard place. We don't question. We don't even know the huge boulders are there; like huge blinkers, narrowing our vision, blinding us to our self, to everything; distorting our vision inside and out. We don't question anything. We know everything.....and what we don't know we are sure we can find answers for or prove.

Between a rock and a hard place.

This is where we begin our life, all of us. A choice that is no choice. But now we are grown. Maybe not "grown ups" but we are grown and we have a choice. Now we can question. Now we can doubt what we could not dare to doubt as tiny infants. Now we can question anything; everything!!....If we remember how.

Between a rock and a hard place, but at least now we have options, choices. And we can choose to lie down and sleep, "to sleep, perchance to dream." Or we can take life into our own hands, start taking responsibility for our experience....start doing.....

'WHATEVER IT TAKES!!!"

Perhaps this is a very good place to be. To begin from the beginning. Maybe there is nowhere to go, nothing to become, maybe I just need to actually be here .....maybe there is a way to be here that I have yet to discover.

Between a rock and a hard place.

Maybe there are possibilities here where I thought there were none.