Deanna Black, MT, RYT

August 3, 2007

Volume 1, Issue 4

Namaskaram~

There was a full moon this week. Could you tell? What is it about the full moon that makes us a little crazy? Emotional? Passionate? Are we in control of our emotions, or do we blame it on the planetary alignment?
 

enjoy!

Feature Article
Anger Management

Both on the news and on the front page of the Plain Dealer were reports of the increase in violence recently. Violence that proved fatal. A pregnant woman killed and the father of her baby is arrested for her murder. The off-duty fireman who shoots his neighbors because he's fed up with them shooting off fireworks. The off-duty policeman going through a divorce shoots at his wife then takes his own life. Kids on the playground where wrestling was the norm for fighting; now it is kicking in the gut and punching in the face. The grade school student who is separated from his classmates, placed in a room by himself till he calms down and turns every chair, desk and table upside down and throws all the supplies off the shelves onto the floor.

Why are we so angry?

What is it that one becomes so angry, so sad and or so upset that they pull out a gun and start firing? Are we back to the days of Gunsmoke?

One of the local news stations has been discussing “Take Back Our Streets." What do we need to do to feel safe? The talk of more cops, more security, but does this really get to the source? What is the source? What is going on behind closed doors?

I was raised that you were not allowed to raise your voice. Which basically meant I ran crying, screaming to my room and beat my pillow. I stayed in my room till I “cooled off." I rarely heard my parents yell—let alone my grandparents—but the very few times I did, I was scared. I was not about to misbehave. How do we teach discipline without the kid turning around and suing the parents for abuse? As a kid I was spanked. When, in 1st grade my friend and I got caught “smoking,” my mom put me over her lap, bare bottom and smack! I was lucky; my friend got the belt across her bottom. When I was older and I was in that stage where I knew more than my parents, the punishment for mouthing off was mouth washed out with soap. The words that got us in trouble were “crap” and “shut up.” The first time I heard my father say “shit” I was in high school and I didn’t know whether to giggle, “You said a bad word!” or be scared. (Now there’s a way to provoke a person who is angry…start giggling or laughing.)

The times on "I Love Lucy" in which Ricky would be spewing off in Spanish and either Lucy would be crying or trying to hide a laugh. What is so sexy and or entertaining about listening to someone let it out in a foreign language? Maybe since I don't understand a word that was being screamed, I don’t take it personally. That may be the key. Is it personal?

In yoga we practice ahimsa—do no harm. Do no harm to yourself or others. Letting it out vocally using words no one understands allows a release of anger as long as those around do not feel attacked. “Sticks and stones may hurt my bones but words will never hurt me” is actually NOT true. Words do hurt. If others do feel attacked, anger continues to fuel anger. Anger is initiated by a situation, a behavior. You can be angry with someone’s attitude or behavior but still love the person.

 

"'Hate the sin and not the sinner' is a precept which, though easy enough to understand, is rarely practiced, and that is why the poison of hatred spreads in the world."

                                                                                 ~~Gandhi
 

Functional Energy...Make your activities of daily living easier
Core Strength

The body area that typically reacts to anger is the stomach. How healthy is your stomach and the organs around it? How flexible are the muscles surrounding your waistline? It would be interesting to see if the people who tend to hold in their anger are more susceptible to ulcers where anger is literally burning through their tissues.

Exercises to do right now while you are reading this:

Sit at the edge of your seat. Now how many rolls do you feel? I am serious, even skinny people have rolls when they are slouching. Now sit as tall as you can. Hang on to the edge of your chair.

Lean back until you feel your abdominals engage. Pause then sit back up.
If you lean back and only feel it in your back then you went too far.

Options: Lower and lift your knees towards your chest.
Hold your arms overhead.
Twist side to side.

(Thanks to Marty Thompson for demonstrating!)

 

Are you looking for something from a past issue of Energy Lounge? Meant to share something with a friend, but deleted your copy? You can get archived issues here.
 

Energy in Motion
Lunar Rhythms: Zumba and Yoga
Tuesday, August 28, 2007, 8-9:30 p.m. @ Karma Yoga
Celebrate the full moon with this specialty class combining Latin/Colombian rhythms with yoga.

United Nation's International Day of Peace
Friday, September 21, 2007
Visualize, Meditate, Pray for World Peace for 1 minute and 8 seconds at 1:08 PM

Global Mala Project
Saturday, September 22, 2007, Noon @ Edgewater Park in Cleveland
Join in the largest unified worldwide yoga event dedicated to positive change in the history of the planet. Yoga centers and like minded organizations will experience the power of collective consciousness by creating a Peace Wave around the world.
Get more information here.

Current Class Schedule
Mondays
6 a.m., Yoga Flow at 121 Fitness Center
1:15 p.m., Yoga Flow at Key Health & Fitness Center

Tuesdays
9:30 a.m., Synergy at 121 Fitness Center
6:45 p.m., Yoga Flow at Karma

Wednesdays
6 a.m., Yoga Flow at 121 Fitness Center

Thursdays
9:30 a.m., Synergy at 121 Fitness Center
6:00 p.m., Synergy at Studio 11, Tremont

Fridays
12:15 p.m., Yoga Flow at Karma

Sundays
10 a.m. Yoga Flow at Karma

In addition to group classes, I also offer private and small-group lessons and massage therapy at your home or in studio. Learn more here. 

Energy at Rest
Recognizing Our Own Anger

What sets you off? What gets under your skin? How often do you get angry? Do you feel you are in control of it? Are you the type to yell, scream, kick, punch, run, stomp...or do you close up, isolate yourself, and separate yourself from everyone and everything?

The next time you feel yourself about to boil over, pause and breathe. Maybe even close your eyes to remove the visual that instigated the rising fire. (Unless of course if you are driving or operating electrical equipment! KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN!!) Thomas Jefferson said, "When angry, count to ten before you speak. If very angry, count to one hundred." And Mark Twain, "When angry count four; when very angry, swear." Either way, pause and breathe.

Now every situation is personal, but can you release your anger without doing harm. As much as you may want to haul out and slug a co-worker/boss/family member, learn from Miss Congeniality’s Sandra Bullock who came home from a miserable day of work and took it out on the heavy bag she had hanging from the ceiling. Watch out, though, that punching bag may just swing back and knock you off your feet.

Situation: Traffic Jam
Do:  Scream a nonverbal, non-directed Charlie Brown AAGHHHHH!!!!!!
Don’t: Blare the horn and/or hit the accelerator, grip the steering wheel so hard that your blood pressure rises out of control.

Situation: Boss/Spouse is in your face
Do: Maintain eye contact, listen and breathe. Does he/she have a point or did you just become the “punching bag” when they needed to let it out? How often does this occur? Does each of you understand the expectations? Now respond. Whether this takes a couple minutes or a day, respond in a timely manner.
Don’t: Hit, kick, punch, shoot, pinch, stomp or anything of violent nature; that includes punching a wall. It’s difficult to write a resignation letter with a broken hand. And don’t do nothing. Confront (I know, a word most of us don’t like) the situation vs. holding it in and coming back later after the situation has already repeated itself a few times or they have already forgotten about it and look at you like “You’re still upset about that thing last month?” There is something to be said about the Latin culture and their ability to get angry, let it out right there and then and then let it go. Versus holding it in, blood pressure rising, stomach grinding, teeth clenching, to the point where days later something minute sets us off and we go postal.

Situation: Your pet destroyed your favorite…
Do: Yell and scream. The wondrous thing about pets is that they do love us unconditionally. We can yell and scream all we want and they will still cozy up next to you an hour later. We can learn something from them! Now ask yourself what caused your pets behavior? Did they think they had a new toy? Were they trying to get your attention:  “HMMM my litter box is full. This laundry basket with clothes will do.” Do you need to keep your pet from certain parts of your home?
Don’t: Take it out physically on your pet. Now I am not the type to call myself “Mommy” to my pets but just because they are animals does not mean they do not have feelings or feel pain any less than we do. Many vegetarians do not eat meat because they believe the fear and pain the animal suffered before slaughter is still held in that piece of meat.
 

He who angers you, controls you.

~~Elizabeth Kenny

 ©2007 Deanna Black. All Rights Reserved.