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Monday, December 31, 2007 by Kelly Golden
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Yoga for Veterans
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The practice of Hatha yoga is widely known to have the benefits of initiating great mental and physical change. Yoga can bring a sense of calm and peace to our hectic lives and help to heal our bodies, and for those who suffer from extreme trauma as a result of combat, this practice can assist in dealing with the memories and effects of war.
Recent images of the war in Iraq are awaking traumatic memories in Veterans of all ages across the country. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a condition characterized by severe and recurrent emotional reactions to extreme psychological trauma, and close to one in every three soldiers returning home from Iraq are being diagnosed with some form of it. Fortunately, some groups of these Veterans are finding solace in the practice of Hatha Yoga. |
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Sunday, December 30, 2007 by Kelly Golden
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Yoga in Schools
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A few years ago, I spent my Tuesday afternoons schlepping to an elementary school with my bag full of yoga mats. I would enter the school cafeteria/gymnasium/auditorium full of chattering children and wait while the group dispersed, leaving only ten or twelve of the Kindergarten through fifth graders. These children were selected by three of the school staff members as those who “needed” stress relief the most. The kids were a mixed bag, boys and girls from five to ten of all colors and backgrounds. , I cannot begin to imagine what life was like for most of the children that gathered with me on those Tuesday afternoons, but for the 45 minutes they spent with me on those afternoons, they were joyous, playful, and insightful. And they loved yoga. |
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Thursday, December 06, 2007 by Kelly Golden
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The Yoga of Laughing
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I don’t know about you, but the holidays are often stressful times around my house. With family spread out over three states, and two little girls with lists as long as they are tall, the holiday season is more like work than enjoyment. So as I was pursuing the news headlines, I was intrigued by a style of yoga that is unfamiliar to me, and one that claims to reduce stress, increase your immunity, and make you feel good. I had to find out more. |
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Wednesday, November 28, 2007 by Kelly Golden
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Diwali and the Light of Diversity
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I attended my first Diwali experience in the town in which I live a few weeks ago. It was an ornate, yet relaxed celebration that brought together many of the local Indian families as well as an overflow of non-Indians to celebrate the Hindu New Year. Known as the “festival of lights,” Diwali is a celebration honoring the victory of good over evil, or light over darkness. Though one of the largest Hindu festivals, Diwali isn’t exclusive to Hinduism. Sikh, Jain, and Buddhist religions also recognize the festival in varied ways. |
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Friday, November 23, 2007 by Kelly Golden
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Yoga: Good for Your Heart
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Practitioners of Hatha yoga have long praised the ability of the practice to calm the mind and heal the body. The great teacher BKS Iyengar came to his teacher TKV Krishnamacharya to heal his ill health. Now, scientists at Emory University in Atlanta, GA have supported this observation with new evidence that the physical practice of yoga asana can greatly benefit heart failure patients. |
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Wednesday, November 21, 2007 by Timothy Burgin
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Transcendental Meditation in Our Schools?
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Transcendental Meditation (TM) first made headlines in the 1960’s when the Indian Guru Maharishi Mahesh taught the Beatles the technique. Now half a century later, it’s back in the news and still sporting some celebrity appeal. This time the headliners are 60’s pop star Donovan and filmmaker David Lynch. The two are touring Europe promoting the use of TM in schools and planning to open TM universities across Europe. While the idea of school children using a meditation technique to reduce stress and improve learning sounds wonderful, the TM technique is probably not the best approach to achieve these goals. |
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Friday, November 09, 2007 by Kelly Golden
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How High Can Yoga Fly?
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Ok, I know there are some pretty radical claims when it comes to yoga, take Book Three of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra’s for example. He speaks of the siddhis (states) that you can reach once you’ve obtained samyama (the convergence of concentration, focus, & transcendence) like becoming invisible, being as strong as an elephant, and levitation, but can these claims really be true? Really?? So my friend Timothy sends me this link, Man Levitates in front of White House, and suggests that I check it out. |
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Monday, November 05, 2007 by Kelly Golden
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Addiction and the Path of Yoga
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I’ve often asked myself what makes someone an addict. In my life, I have encountered, at close range, situations and experiences that are the direct result of addiction. Most often, I have chosen to deal with these times from a western analytical perspective trying to understand the familial history, the life circumstances, past traumas, and the need for escape, then finally falling back on reactions that seem only to perpetuate the problems. Driven by fear, anger, and avoidance, addicts are people with an extreme imbalance. We may have many labels for the cause, but what all addicts are seeking is the same as so many of us on the yogic path: Balance and a sense of harmony with life. |
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Monday, October 29, 2007 by Kelly Golden
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The Great Debate: Yoga and Religion
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In the past few months, headlines have surfaced in the UK regarding a ban on yoga for Children in the church. Now, having grown up in the mountains of Tennessee, this was not at all an uncommon occurrence. In the buckle of the Bible belt, the suggestion of bringing yoga classes into a church was likened to the proposal of teaching the main concepts of black magic. Because of yoga’s close association with Hinduism, many Christian groups believe it is dogmatic and corrupt. I was raised in a small Methodist Church in upper East Tennessee. I have only returned there a handful of times as an adult, and have come to expect the raised eyebrows and stern looks of judgment when asked “so what are you doing now?” It would possibly be more acceptable for me to respond “money laundering” instead of “yoga teacher.” At least the former sounds clean. |
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Friday, October 19, 2007 by Kelly Golden
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When Yoga Hurts
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Yoga is really popular, wouldn’t you agree? As with most things, along with soaring popularity comes a fair amount of skepticism and critique. A recent article in Time Magazine very briefly explored the casualties of the current yoga surge. According to the article, entitled “When Yoga Hurts,”13000 of the current 14 million practitioners are winding up with injuries directly linked to Hatha Yoga. By my calculations this is less than one percent (0.09285% to be exact), and I can’t speak for everyone, but to me this seems to be a vote in favor of the practice, its practitioners, and its teachers. Imagine if any other physical activity maintained such a low occurrence of injury. |
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Tuesday, October 09, 2007 by Kelly Golden
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Global Mala Recap
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 I am not often speechless. There are very few times in my life where in retrospect I am unable to weave words that adequately describe an experience into an entertaining and often humorous description of an event. Seriously, I even tend to do this with very somber and serious things like funerals and yoga classes. There are the rare few events, usually the latter of the two, that so move me and lift the veil of separateness that I am left with a palpable sense that something tremendous has just occurred and there is no language to clothe it. |
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