05/16/10 by Vibhuti Jaya | chronicle | No Comments »
Herstory – Part 1
The year was 1996, a dark period of inertia"the tendency to resist motion, exertion or change". My days were laced with conflict, grief and depression"a psycho-emotional condition marked especially by sadness, inactivity, difficulty in thinking and concentration, a significant increase or decrease in appetite and time spent sleeping, feelings of dejection and hopelessness, and sometimes suicidal tendencies". I looked down at the dial between my feet and the infernal numbers said two-six-zero (2-6-0). I am female, and only five (5) feet, two (2) inches tall, so as you might imagine, that wasn’t an ideal or healthy weight"a measure of the heaviness of a person" for my body. “It is really time to do something“, I thought to myself with an odd combination of panic, horror and resolve. Shortly after"following in time, later" that 
eye-opening encounter with the scale, I did actually do that something—and it changed my life forever.
Before"at an earlier time, previously" I go on to the rest of the story, I want to go on record saying that I am eternally grateful for the place where I work. If it were not for the sheer serendipity of being in the right place at the right time, the amazing things that followed might never have happened. My place of employment provided me with access to a tiny gym, where I began my daily rendez-vous with the Stairmaster. Our institution’s leadership has forged a culture that promotes physical fitness as a means to achieve well-being. They believe that this is one of the keys to the attainment of overall wellness. Their holistic philosophy is that both the individual, and the collective benefit when self-care"any activity of an individual, family or community, with the intention of improving or restoring health, or treating or preventing disease" is made a priority. For this, we are very lucky. That kind of support was an incredible boon to me (and it still is today).
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04/28/10 by Vibhuti Jaya | blog | 2 Comments »
One of Sir Isaac Newton’s theories says something about a body in motion staying in motion, right? Well, there’s definitely something to the gathering of momentum"strength or force gained by motion". Momentum collects strength, and this power is what we are going to capitalize upon through TNT (our upcoming thick & thin"measuring little in cross section or diameter; not well fleshed" classes). Today, with holes still in my gums in place of the four (4) wisdom teeth that were extracted last Friday, I finally ventured forth to do the thing I affectionately call the “CampuStomp”. It’s a coupla’ mile (two, maybe?) circumnavigation of the campus, and it is nothing without the iPod and the sunglasses! It was an exhilaratingly beautiful day and I have to say that I loved every sweaty, wonderful minute of it. It was the kind of workout that makes me wonder why I shy from workouts the way that I still manage to do—even after"following in time, later" all this time—even after everything we’ve been through (“we” = my body and I).
So, as I mentally prepare for my new classes, and to be introduced to my new students, I ponder. I take a few extra days to let my mouth heal a little more before"at an earlier time, previously" the first post-surgical downward facing dog, and I wonder just exactly what is that “thing” that was different today than the rest of the days? What is the thing that made me move today, instead of sitting it out (again)? What was the animating factor that got me up (off the proverbial couch) and out to breathe, and move, and sweat, and to feel happy (instead of being unplugged from experience and exiled to my head)? What in me actually ignited the intention and “did the do” today?
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04/24/10 by Vibhuti Jaya | blog | No Comments »
Webster’s defines inertia"the tendency to resist motion, exertion or change" as “…indisposition to motion, exertion, or change”. It’s been my experience that motion (movement of the body) is incredibly powerful, exhilarating, and curative. I also know that sometimes it feels near-to-impossible to actually get moving.
Those of us who struggle with carrying extra pounds, eating as anesthesia"loss of sensation with or without loss of consciousness", or just simply feeling unhappy about what we see in the mirror can feel really stuck, really buried in our bodies. We are at times unmotivated to move, or unwilling to move even though we know it will make us feel fantastic if we do.
This is the inertia of which I speak. Sometimes I have the antidote"something that relieves, prevents, or counteracts".
One of the keys to igniting transformation"change in composition or structure; outward form or appearance; character or condition" is to acknowledge inertia and to listen in. Watch how the frozen self begins to thaw as you do your practice. But how do we get to the doing of the daily practice? Movement. Meditation. Yoga. What blocks our way? What stops us? -AND- What motivates us? What supports us to engage in self-care"any activity of an individual, family or community, with the intention of improving or restoring health, or treating or preventing disease"?
