Scott Page's Yoga Blog

This is not “Vinyasa-shopping”

Mondays at the yoga room have had very few people attending lately, so I am going to change the time and the format of the class. I am going to start the class an hour later at 5:30pm and am going to call it “Vinyasa-shopping”. It is not shopping for a vinyasa class and it is not going to the mall to buy yoga clothes or accessories. Vinyasa-shopping (my term. No one steal it.) is going to consist of a 45min. Vinyasa class to warm up followed by 30min. of work shopping various poses or working on stretching or strengthening certain body parts. The work shopping will be by request or consensus. The vinyasa will not. It will be the usual challenging astanga based vinyasa that will give us a good warm up. I will see if there is any interest in this concept. I will know by your participation, or lack of it. I will give this a few months, and then evaluate its’ merits. Flexibility in all things is the key to staying in the flow…….

Astanga Vinyasa Mysore practice is due to start this upcoming Monday, March 11^th. It is going to be held every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 5:30am – 7:30am at Urban Fit which is on Pierce St. in downtown Phoenix between 3^rd and 5^th St. It is a 30 min drive from my house (130^th and Shea) to Urban Fit. From Life Power (where a Mysore style practice was previously held) it would be about a 20 min drive down Shea to the 51 to the 10 to 7^th to Pierce. There are no showers there, but the space is bright and clean and warm, and good for our needs. I will have free monthly parking passes for the garage adjacent to the studio, otherwise there is street parking and the parking meters are not in effect until after the practice is over so it is free as well.

Classes are open to everyone from beginners to advanced practitioners. The Mysore style of practice is progressive and everyone works at their own pace, and level. You arrive and leave whenever you need to. I will be there to give guidance, teach poses, and give verbal and physical adjustments. When you are stuck on a pose you will wait to be assisted with it. If you still cannot complete it, you will go to finishing poses.

The fee options for these classes are as follows:

Monthly —- $75.   ($6.25/ class)

Monthly — Student and Seniors w/ ID —  $60.  ($5./ class)

Weekly —– $30.  ($10./ class)

Drop-Ins —–$12./ class

Scott will only accept CASH. That is green paper with the pictures of DEAD PRESIDENTS on it. No checks, or checks made out to cash. CASH.  (receipts upon request)

For Couples rates, financial hardship, or other $$$ issues, contact Scott directly.

namaste

I am constantly amazed and amused at life as I become aware of the glimpses of what is truly happening “behind the scenes”. The drama of life seems to unfold so effortlessly, as if we are watching it before us played out on a large screen. If we stop for a moment, separate ourselves from the drama, and be observant, we can appreciate the intricacies and simplicity of it all.

“There are No Coincidences. Everything happens for a reason.”

I find that I regularly come into contact with people who bring me the messages that I need to hear, when I am ready to hear them. Many times they have to be presented to me many times before I have the desired realization. These messages frequently come from the most unexpected places. Sometimes from younger people with “Old Souls”, sometimes from old people with “Older Souls”. Sometimes information comes to me intuitively during solitude or meditation,  sometimes it is sparked through interpersonal relations, sometimes through reading or media or scripture, and sometimes just being in the presence of someone.  I find it on you tube, in music I hear on the radio, on a blog post, on a business card on a bulletin board or book shelf, it is all around me if I have eyes to see it. It amuses me, because many people are unaware that they are the messengers. There are a few however who are keenly aware of their mission and the effect of their lives on everyone around them. I am inspired by them, and I am grateful for them. For my small part, I try to be very in tune with my message and how it resonates with everyone that I have contact with. I feel it is my mission to have a positive effect on those whose lives I contact. That is why I teach yoga. I must confess that in reflection, I often feel that I fail as much as I succeed. It is a journey though, and I am human and learning as I go. What I think I am learning most is to be more trusting, to take the “me” out of the way, and to let go a little more. The journey continues.

Namaste

Today in Yoga classes I have been talking about the way in which the stratification of society along numerous lines including racial, religious, and socio-economic, and others, leads to friction due to the number of daily interactions with other individuals of differing views. Many of these interactions tend to be passive-aggressive or outright aggressive. These competitive or adversarial encounters, causes us to feel stress, anxiety, and fear. These feelings, while cognitive in nature, manifest in our physical bodies. There are releases of adrenaline and cortisol that prepare the body for “Fight or Flight”.  Many people spent too much time in this physically stressed state. This leads the body to dis – ease. To counter the stressors of everyday life, many people turn to abuses of alcohol, drugs, food, and more to manage the pressure that stress brings. Others use distractions such as movies, television, social media, video games and the like to distract themselves from the stress and anxiety they are feeling. In the extreme, stress is causing people who are normally peaceful, to pick up guns and shoot other people. These are all dysfunctional ways of managing stress. The people who are involved in these shooting typically do not seem to have a history of mental illness.  Social stressors push them “over the edge”.  It appears that many of them feel bullied. They are either bullied in their school by a fellow student, at work by a fellow employee, by a large corporate entity, or by a lawyer at mediation.  As there is increased stress in our society, I fear that we will see many more of these extreme actions in the future. Something has to change. More people have to learn to effectively and holistically reduce stress.

Yoga in the physical and meditative practices is one of the most effective ways to manage not only the physical manifestations of stress, but to work with the underlying mental images causing anxiety and stress. Many yoga practitioners are not aware of this stress reducing benefit of a regular yoga practice. They just have the experience of relaxation. It is this feeling of release and relaxation that brings them back to the practice consistently. Yoga as a stress reducing practice is very well documented in thousands of studies. Here is a link to one from the mayo clinic:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/yoga/CM00004

Here is a link to some more information on stress.

http://www.fi.edu/learn/brain/stress.html

Here is an exerpt from a study on stress and anxiety:

“We are living in an era of growing complexities and pressure where human constitution and capacities are being taxed severely. The stresses relating to job have become predominant feature of modern life, exerting far reaching effects on focal employee’s behavior and adjustments as well as off-the-job. Job stress is generally defined din times of relationship between person and environment. McGrath (1976) has noted that a stress involves in interaction of person and environment. To define stress he said “……….. there is a potential for stress when an environmental situation is perceived as presenting demand which threatens to meeting it, under conditions where he expects a substantial differential in the rewards and costs from meeting the demand of not meeting it.” Psychologist and management scientists have different views about potential Psychological and situational conditions or job factors which cause job stress. Stress is the excitement, feeling of anxiety, and/or physical tension that occurs when the demands placed on an individual are thought to exceed his ability to cope. Stress can be divided into two types, acute stress and chronic stress. Acute stress is short-termed and it is the reaction to an immediate threat, commonly known as the ‘fight or flight’ responses. Common acute stressors are: noise, crowding, isolation, hunger, danger, infection or remembering a dangerous event.  Under most circumstances once the acute threat has passed, the bodily reaction returns to the normal, but when stressful situations come frequently, it, then become chronic which is long term in nature. Common chronic stressors are: ongoing highly pressured work, long-term relationship problems, loneliness and persistent financial worries.

Occupational Stress :

According to Dorsey (1994) and Karasek and Theorell(1990) for many people, a great deal of stressful events come from the workplace. Murphy(1995) found in a national survey of 600 workers, 46 percent of the subjects believed that their jobs were very stressful and more than a quarter of them said that the job was the greatest cause of stress in their lives. A 25-year report, published recently in the British Medical Journal, showed that stress at work more than doubles the risk of death from heart disease. Occupational stress is experienced when the demands of the work environment exceed the employees’ ability to cope with ( or control) them. Stress is not a disease, but if it is intense and goes on for some time, it can lead to mental and physical ill health. Being under pressure one can improve performance and give satisfaction when challenging objectives are achieved. It motivates individuals to learn new skills and master our jobs. When a challenge is met, we feel relaxed and satisfied. But when the challenge has turned into job demands that cannot be met, relaxation has turned to exhaustion, and a sense of satisfaction has turned into feelings of stress. In short, demand and pressures become too much, they lead to stress. Mental Health : Health is an indispensable quality in human being. It has been described as soil from which the finest flowers grow. Health indicates psychosomatic well-being. To Bhatia (1982 ) “health is a state of being hale, sound or whole in body and mind ”.

The preamble of the World Health Organization’s charter defined health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (Monopolis et al. 1977).

Thus, health is a broader concept including physical, social, and mental health. Mental health has been reported as an important  factor influencing individual’s various behaviours, activities, happiness, and performance.

The Concept of Anxiety :

Anxiety is a multisystem response to a perceived threat or danger. It reflects a combination of biochemical changes in the body, the patient’s personal history and memory, and the social situation. As far as we know, anxiety is a uniquely human experience. Other animals clearly know fear, but human anxiety involves an ability, to use memory and imagination to move backward and forward in time, that animals do not appear to have. The anxiety that occurs in post-traumatic syndromes indicates that human memory is a much more complicated mental function than animal memory. Moreover, a large portion of human anxiety is produced by anticipation of future events. Without a sense of personal continuity over time, people would not have the “raw materials” of anxiety.”

“ A study of Job-stress, Job-involvement, Anxiety level and mental Health Among Maharashtra Police Constables ”. (A special reference to Aurangabad and Jalna District.)       By: Dr. B. N. Barve.

If you would have told me in the beginning of 2012 that I was going to be hiking in the Grand Canyon this year, I would say that it was unlikely. If you would have told me that I would hike in the Canyon twice this year, I would say that you were crazy. Yet there we were in the heat of June hiking the 15 miles total down to Phantom Ranch and back on the South Kaibab Trail. There I was again on the second Saturday in October standing at the North Kaibab trailhead in the cool crisp predawn light on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, flanked by two comrades and preparing to traverse the 26 miles to the south rim of the canyon. We never know what life is going to bring us. It is wondrous journey.  Unlike the training for the June hike which was done with the group that we were hiking with, I did all the training for the Rim to Rim hike solo. I found the hiking alone very meditative and grounding. It was just as grueling though, and the weeks before the canyon hike took me to Tom’s Thumb, Mount Wrightson, Thompson Peak, Phoenix Mountain Preserve, Sunrise, and more. I put in long hours and many miles in preparation. It all led me to that morning at the North Kaibab trailhead. I am not really sure how we arrived at the decision to hike Rim to Rim. I think it went like this, but I could be mistaken. Memory is like that, inaccurate. Scott C. from my Lifetime class saw my post on hiking the Canyon in June and mentioned that we should go for a hike together sometime. Somewhere, Thompson Peak came up as a hike. Later in another class, Mike B. overheard us talking hiking and suggested Mt. Humphries, the tallest peak in AZ. He was now “in” as well. I am not quite sure how we got from Mt. Humphries to Rim to Rim on the Grand Canyon, but before I knew it we were going from south to north rim. I mentioned that I would need time to train, so we set an arbitrary time sometime in October. I informed my hiking friends that I was not a fast hiker. They said that they were ok with that. A little about my hiking companions. Scott C. is a triathelete and in excellent cardio and physical condition. Mike B. is an avid hiker and extreme sportsman also in top condition. I am a yoga guy who hikes… Anyway, we set the date to hike at Saturday, October 13^th. This is the last weekend that services are open on the north rim of the Canyon. Scott and Mike set out about dealing with all the logistics that are required to facilitate a hike like this. There were cabins and rooms to be booked, dinner reservations to be made. Etc. A large obstacle was how to get back to our vehicle on the other rim of the canyon after we crossed it. Scott suggested that we just turn around and go back hiking rim to rim to rim. Mike seemed ok with this, but I had serious concerns about my feet being ok for a hike of over 50 miles. I frequently get heel blisters on long hikes, and nothing would be more painful than hiking 26 miles back on blistered feet. Mike presented a solution. He said that his girlfriend Lori (sp) would hike the other way across the canyon, and then there would be cars on each side. I was so impressed. I went home and asked my wife Michelle where I could find a girlfriend who would just up and hike across the Grand Canyon on short notice. Not a good idea. She reminded me that she was with me when we hiked to Phantom Ranch and back in the June heat. I have to learn to check my internal dialogue more often. As it turns out, Lori and here friend Cecilia who accompanied her are avid, and very experienced hikers. With all the logistics in place, and training done, we three, Scott, Mike and I set out on Friday afternoon, October 12^th. I got teachers to cover my Saturday and Sunday classes,

Packed and ready

and following my 10:45am Lifetime class, we left on our adventure. We stopped for lunch, then to Scotts house to drop off our cars. We packed all our gear in Scotts’ Santa fe  and then northward we headed. It was not long before snacks started appearing from everywhere. Pretzels, nuts, bars, seaweed, yes seaweed, drinks, etc. mysteriously kept appearing. I was out of the loop on the snack thing and after remarking that I was “snackless”, it stuck, and for the rest of the trip up I was called “snackless”.

It was decided that we would hike the north rim to south rim because Lori was not getting off work until later and the north rim is about a 6 hr drive and the south rim a 4 hr. drive. She would get more sleep driving to the south rim. I was happy about this because the north rim is a more challenging hike up. It boasts an addition 1000 ft. vertical when compared to the south rim. I have been to the south rim of the canyon many times, but had never been to the north rim. The drive was long and Scott drove the whole thing. Appreciated that. As we neared the north rim and climbed in elevation the sun set. The

North Rim Cabins

temperature dropped dramatically as our elevation increased. We encountered snow flurries as we rose into the pines and aspens. It was dark and we proceeded cautiously through snow and fog. We arrived safely, parked the car, and getting out, it was cold. I dislike the cold. We checked into our cabin, cute but small, moved our gear to the cabin, and went to the Lodge where we had a dinner reservation. Dinner was tasty and satisfying. We headed to the cabin for sleep. We planned a predawn start to our hike. Excitement and anxiousness kept us from sleeping well, but we all arose, consumed some oatmeal and prepared for our hike. Mike and Scott were laughing at the amount of

The 3 amigos at the North Kaibab Trailhead. I obviously missed the memo about wearing Red.

clothing, power bars (12) and electrolyle Gu packs (10) that I was bringing. I lightened my load and the amount of clothing that I was wearing and they still referred to me as the “staypuff marshmallow” guy.  With our diversion to Ribbon Falls, we estimated that our distance of hike would be approximately 27miles. I am usually an average of 2 miles per hour hiker. I was anticipating 12 hours of hiking. Scott and Mike were anticipating an 8 hr hike. (RIGHHHHHT).  So, here we are back at the trailhead of the North Kaibab trail. We took a few pictures in the foggy predawn light, and at 6:20am, off we went down the trail with like 50 other people. The trail was very crowded. We had a very fast downhill pace going out, and passed quite a few of them. We lost Mike. He had forgotten his hiking poles at the trailhead and gone back for them. Scott and Mike hiked with poles. I don’t use them. We

Many hikers on this Trail cut into the rock.

kept going, knowing that Mike is a  ’hiking machine” and could have caught up with us anytime he wanted to. We made a few bathroom stop for Scott, and

Roaring Springs

then a longer stop at Roaring Springs to shed clothing and to eat. Mike left his sunglasses here. Gone. Never to be seen again. The three of us headed for Ribbon Falls, our next stop. Ribbon Falls was enough to make the whole trip worth while for me. It was amazing.  I think everyone should see it live and in person. Pictures do not do it justice. We spent about a half hour here doing yoga poses, taking pictures and making friends. Loved it.

Scott at Ribbon Falls

 

We headed back to the trail and towards Phantom Ranch. The trail follows Bright Angel Creek. The hike passes through some deep cuts in the canyon with towering walls and deep ravines. Photography was challenging due to the play of light and shadows on the canyon walls. We passed many riparian area and came upon some deer feeding.

The trail remained crowded, and numerous runners passed us. Yes, there is a whole subculture of super fit humans who finds it necessary to run the Grand Canyon. There were plenty of “posers”, but there were also some “serious” athletes. We had 3 guys with nothing but running shorts, shirts and a water bottle each pass us running down the north rim. We passed them about 9 hrs later going the other way. They were running down the south rim as we were hiking up. (I didn’t see them even breathing hard.) AWESOME….

Mike and Scott

We encountered Lori and Cecilia on the trail as we caught up with Mike. They were in good spirits, and after a short chat, we headed our separate ways. We arrived at Phantom Ranch at noon. We had crossed the nineteen mile in a little under 6 hrs including the half hour we spent at the falls. A very respectable pace. It was crowded down at the ranch. We waited in a line of about 12 people for post cards and postage, ice and lemonade. We

Phantom Ranch

sat outside in the beautiful, sunny, 80 degree weather with our shoes and socks off, airing out our feet. I needed some mole skin on my right heel where I felt a “hot spot”, but other than that I felt great. We ate ( I had PB&J), drank our lemonade, and loaded up on electrolytes. We wrote our post cards, which are cool because they say on them: “Mailed By Mule At Phantom Ranch” “The Bottom Of The Grand Canyon”. We prepped for our hike up the south rim. It is about an 8 mile hike, but it is all uphill and there is no water source until the top. It was one o’clock when we topped off our Camelbaks with water and headed off. Uphill is my weakness in hiking, and although I kept up all the way down to Phantom Ranch, Mike quickly out hiked me. Scott stayed with me and we chatted philosophy and religion and  yoga and life. I am a slow methodical uphill hiker. After a while, Mike and Scott would hike ahead and then wait for me. Despite my pace, we made good time, and were out of the canyon on the south rim at 4:45pm. We had hiked it in under 11 hours, even with the stops at the falls and Phantom Ranch. I was pleased with our time.

We caught a tram to the parking lot where Cecelia’s car was parked and headed off to El Tovar where we were spending the night. We encountered Elk in front of El Tovar, and plenty of tourists taking pictures of them. We checked in, got a shower, phoned home to let them know we survived and headed to the bar to wait for the time of our dinner reservation. We reminisced over the hike, and enjoyed the camaraderie of friends that had accomplished something together. We slept pretty well that night and arose to a hearty, and expensive breakfast before heading back to the valley. We were considering meeting Lori and Cecelia in Flagstaff to switch cars and maybe do some post hiking yoga, but that did not “pan out”.  My body felt great the day after the hike, but my hips were really sore and tight. Weird, I

Mike on the move

know.  We hit a major traffic jam just outside of Black Canyon City, so decided to grab lunch at the Café there and watch a little football while the traffic cleared. We arrived back at Scott’s house and waited for the girls to get back with our gear. We chatted and watched some football and then the girls arrived. We chatted some more and then everyone was off on their way home. My family was happy to see me safely home and my daughter, Gillian made me a large vegan cookie that said: “Good Job Daddy”. Those are the little things that make it all worth while…….

Maybe next year we go rim to rim to rim… or Mount Everest… You never know what life will bring you…

Finally, I am grateful to my hiking partners Scott and Mike.  They worked hard to make this trip happen. I appreciate their humor and stories. I am thankful for their experience, guidance, and inspiration. Mostly, I am grateful for their compassion, patience, and friendship.

Santa Rita Mountains

This past weekend we spent in Tubac, AZ. Tubac is a small tourist town about an hour south of Tucson. We ended up there because one of my yoga students grew up there and has a house there that she rents out. When it is available, she generously offers it to friends. We have been to Tubac before and saw it as an opportunity to get away for the weekend. There is good hiking in the nearby Santa Rita Mountains. Off we went on Friday evening following my True Hot Yoga class. It was about a 3 hr. drive into the middle of nowhere. We settled into a cozy house with all the amenities, tv, dvd, wi-fi, etc. I arose early on Saturday to hike Mount Wrightson. It is the highest peak in the range and has a

Gear prep

4000ft elevation gain from approx. three to over seven thousand feet. I evaluated the trails and chose one that was around 15 miles long. At my pace, that is about 7 hours of hiking.  Up at 6am, I was to the trailhead by 7:15am and after loading gear and water and stretching, I was on the trail by 7:40am. This was a training hike so I was carrying about a 70lb. Backpack. I was prepared for sun and heat but instead found the cool shade of pine trees. I love the smell of pine and the softness of pine needles on the trail under my feet. I started out slow. It takes me an hour or so to hit my stride. The views were beautiful as the

Creek

elevation increased. Then I missed a sharp switchback and ended up off the main trail. I knew something was wrong when I found myself on a small trail headed down a steep ravine along a creek. I went with it though. It was lush and green and moist. About an hour down this trail I came to a place where the trail crosses the creek and split in two opposing directions. At the trail crossing was a flat moist muddy area filled with beautiful butterflies drinking and resting on rocks. My arrival startled them.  I remained still and quiet. They went back to their routine, Drinking and flitting about. There were too many to count. Everything happens for a reason, and I believe that I was on this trail because I was meant to enjoy the beauty of the butterflies. I took some pictures (click to enlarge)  and marveled at their beauty for a few minutes before deciding a path to take.

Butterfly

I had a trail map, and was not lost. I was just a little mis- oriented. I chose the steep trail to the right. It was increasingly steep. It led me to Sylvester springs and the affirmation that I was definitely on the wrong trail.

A quick check of the trail map put me almost 2 miles off course. I backtracked (mostly uphill) to the place where I missed the switchback, and returned to the main trail. I decided to skip the extension trail that I was going to take to lengthen the trek, and headed directly to the peak. After a few miles, I arrived at Josephine saddle, it showed it as a mere 2.2 miles to the next saddle and then only .9 miles to the summit. No problem, I thought. I was in my stride now about 3 hours into my hike without any breaks (other than to watch butterflies, adjust gear, and take pictures). As the trail became steeper it began a series of switchbacks. They seemed to go on forever. There were one after another and another. As I was ascending, I passed numerous groups of hikers descending. As I climbed higher I kept thinking that this was the longest 2.2 miles ever…. Finally, I reached the next saddle. The sign said that it was .9 miles to the peak. One of the hikers meandering around the saddle asked if I was going to the peak. “I’ve come this far” I said. “I might as well go the rest of the way.” The trail wandered off to the right, and there were beautiful slopes covered in yellow flowers. The views were breathtaking. The clouds left large shadows on the grounds far below. I was really enjoying the gentle upgrade and flowers when I heard talking, looked up to my right and saw hikers high up on switchbacks. Great… more uphill. It was another set of steep switchbacks. Not only was the uphill steep, but parts of the trail had very tenuous footing. It was a long way down. Definitely not survivable. My shoulders were really starting to feel the weight of the pack that I was carrying at this point. I was about 5 hours into the hike. Finally, a half hour later, I reached the top. The extra effort was well worth it. Amazing views in every direction. There was no one up there. I had the whole place to myself. I removed my backpack, changed my shirt, took pictures, ate a few power bars, and a glyco pack, re-hydrated and rested. I was going to change socks, but my feet felt really great, no blisters or “hot spots”, so I did not want to tempt fate. I rested a half hour, appreciating the energy of this high place, and then began my descent.

I decided to take the most direct trail down. It was 1:30pm and I wanted to be off the trail by 4:30pm. The shortest route was about 6 miles. That is a little less than 3hrs at the pace that I hike. My descent was really quick and unremarkable. I arrived back at the trailhead at 3:40pm. My legs and shoulders were fatigued, but my feet felt great.  The hike lasted almost exactly 8 hours.  Based on my off trail diversion, I guess it was about a 16 and a half mile trek. This was definitely a challenging hike and a great “tune up” for the Grand Canyon “rim to rim” hike coming up in a few weeks.

My Uncle and Aunt from Tucson joined us Saturday afternoon, and Sunday was spent resting and walking around the galleries in the town. We left late Sunday afternoon, dined in Tucson and arrived back in Scottsdale early evening…. Next weeks tentative hike is Thompson Peak….