Where The Lotus Grows

We are very excited to share our recent conversation with Dr. Steffany Moonaz, author of Yoga Therapy for Arthritis, a whole person approach to movement and lifestyle. In addition to promoting her book (available for pre-order now  at yogaforarthritis.com and on amazon), Steffany discusses her own #gettingdirtyandgrowingstrong story  about the auto accident and subsequent after effects, (including a TBI) that continue to shape her life and work. 

Steffany Moonaz, PhD, C-IAYT is a yoga researcher and yoga therapist serving as the Director of Clinical and Academic Research at the Maryland University of Integrative Health. Based on her years of practice and research, she founded Yoga for Arthritis, an organization that trains yoga professionals to work safely and effectively with arthritic populations.

As always, we love to hear from you #couragitarians!

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Have you struggled with the phrase “Patience is a virtue”?

Is Patience an innate quality? Why is it important? Is it a skill that can be learned?

-Patience is the opposite of annoyance, complaint, loss of temper, irritation, willingness to suppress restlessness.

-Patience is an important tool in overcoming frustration and allows us to suspend judgement long enough to make informed decisions, thus paving the path to a happy and peaceful life.

Have you ever worked for a patient leader and one with a short fuse. Patience is a virtue you work on but as such it is not just a skill that can be learned. You can however learn what triggers your impatience and mange this reaction so you have an option to respond and to honor your intention.

-Patience is a state of being that occurs between experience and reaction. It is learning tools that help you deal with delays and obstacles.

-Practicing patience with yourself! What does it mean to be patient with myself? What benefits would I experience by being patient with myself? What can I do to become more patient with myself?

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Let's look at the idea that you can manifest your dreams through intentions and positive thinking.

- A technique most recently brought to pop culture by Rhonda Byrne's The Secret, although Abraham and Esther Hicks teach similar techniques with the Law of Attraction. (Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich) 

-Other common phrases are “Act as if”, “Raise your vibration”, “Embrace quantum physics” 

-Optimism and clear goals can go a long way for achieving your wildest dreams, the piece that perhaps maybe missing is action.

-Stepping out of your comfort zone and doing what it takes to achieve the goal.

-Jim Carrey, JK Rowling, Oprah are all examples of people who have worked hard to "manifest" their dreams.

-It is important to project, accept, not think from a place of scarcity or lack, but to also take proactive steps toward your goals. 

-A conscious movement despite failures/ setbacks is what drives success, not magical thinking.

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Tension is misinterpreted movement.

A narrow definition of tension is a place in the body that feels tight, hard, hurts is knotted or cramped. Think of it as being an emotional root causes not being addressed and the portion of the body where movement should be however there isn’t proper circulation getting there and it is becoming stagnate and tension is occurring.

Tension can become a habit. You may also pick tension up from your environment absorbing other people’s tension, we are tired, stressed out, etc. It is important to insure your own relaxation is deep enough so that nothing in your environment disturbs it. Shoulders are where we carry the weight of the world, our relatives, the work we are doing.The shoulders get tense and rigid when you are not expressing your real needs, when you are doing something you would rather not be doing, when you feel you have too much to do, when you feel scared or reaching out and wanting to pull back into the safety of doing nothing. 

In this episode the ladies discuss the anatomy and physiology of the shoulder, the tension we often hold there and ways to find relief from shoulder pain. 

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Seva is most often defined as selfless service.

When we engage in selfless service we may experience reduction of emotional disturbance, greater longevity, stress reduction, improved morale, increased self-confidence and self-esteem, better health and pain reduction and a greater sense of overall happiness.

Kim and Tonya discuss ways in which we can be of service to others when time, money or other resources are limited and encourage listeners to think outside of the box when it comes to being of service to fellow man.  

Coincidentally, this episode is released the day before Thanksgiving.  Serving and gratitude go hand in hand. We wish all of you a happy Thanksgiving and hope you know how truly appreciative we are of your listener-ship.

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