Student Interview With Tish Kimbrough

What brought you to the Bindu?
I have studied with Kelley in many places – first, I think, in the basement of the Davidson sports center!  The benefits of this practice have always kept me coming, and the Bindu is such a wonderful space.  I can’t imagine NOT coming.

What keeps you coming?
I keep coming because I can tell a difference in my body and in my life.  I am stronger in body and spirit and have made great friends.  And of course there’s lunch…for several years we have had a group to lunch immediately after our Tuesday and Thursday class.  We would love for anyone to join us.  We mostly do soups and salads and gripe about our teacher!

What do you get out of your practice?
What I get from my practice is difficult to put into words, but I’ll try!  I have had 2 bad accidents in my life – l in 1992 and l in 2007.  I dealt with the 2nd – mentally, physically & emotionally – so much better than the lst, and I know that my yoga practice was in large part responsible.  It has made me not only physically stronger but gives me a confidence that I know I did not have before.

What’s a challenging pose that you are growing to love?
My most recent challenging pose (and there are many!)  – backbends.  I am amazed that I am able to do a backbend unassisted, though of course with all sorts of props.  My older son is horrified – he thinks it’s not safe for “a woman my age” to be doing this. . .

What does Open to Grace mean to you?
I think Open to Grace means a willingness to try new things with joy instead of dread and to approach our practice with a ”how wonderful” attitude. It’s difficult to put into words what my yoga practice has really meant to me. Surely it has made me stronger and more self-confident, but also has changed my life in so many other ways, giving me more joy in the journey and a closer connection to the divine in all of us.

Ice vs. heat – What to Use to Heal Quickly

By: Marty Kestin, Ensoma Bodyworks

Ice vs. heat:   Knowing which to use with an acute injury maybe the difference between a fast and easy or a slow and painful return to full activity.

When you pull a back or leg muscle in yoga class or doing yard work you are micro – tearing muscle fibers. As a result the area becomes inflamed.  You should always ice inflammation.  How do you know if there is still inflammation two or three days after the injury?  There are 5 cardinal signs:

1. Swelling – fluid rushes to the injury.
2. Pain – from chemicals released by the body.
3. Heat – Increased blood flow to area.
4. Redness – enlarged blood vessels.
5. Loss of function – from  pain and swelling.

Ice any acute injury for 48-72 hours for 10-15 minutes. Envelope the entire area plus a little more with ice – do not just put an ice pack on most of the injury.  Why? Secondary cell death. The body has cells, like little Pac men, that clean and eat up the torn tissue and a little healthy tissue around the injury site – just like a surgeon who removes a tumor then also the healthy tissue around the tumor to ensure all the cancer is removed.  Ice 3 times a day like this for 2-3 days and you will be amazed at how much faster your recovery is.

So when do I use  heat?
About 2-3 days after a mild to moderate muscle pull.   Can you ice and heat an injury together?  Yes.  Just be sure there is no swelling as heat will perpetuate it.  I.E. If, on the 2nd or 3rd day after I strain my back, I wake up and my back is achy but not painful to the touch or swollen I will use heat. That night I will ice to reduce swelling that accumulated from the day’s activities. In short ice any acute injury for 2-3 days then it becomes a continuum of heat or ice until the injury  is healed.

mkestin@ensomabodyworks.com • 704.335.8115 • www.EnsomaBodyWorks.com

Student Interview With Esty Kurti

What brought you to the Bindu?
At 5’8” and 175 lbs, I am a BIG girl. I was never athletic and my talents were concentrated on sitting down and doing art projects. While I was growing up and while raising kids, I tried to lose weight and in the process got into walking and  jogging. Soon my knees started to hurt and I had constant back problems. Fast forward to 1993. I moved to NC and met Lucy Ravich who was an avid Yogi. We became friends and finally in 2002 she convinced me to take my first Yoga class with Kelley. At the time, my schedule allowed me to practice only once a week on Sundays and so for years it was Yoga once a week for me with different local teachers. It was Lucy again who said that it was time to go to the next level and that I should try the Bindu and Kelley’s class.

What keeps you coming?
I love Yoga and the benefits I get from practicing. Since I joined the Bindu, I feel that I am being challenged every class and that I am getting stronger by the week. My body is moving in ways that I did not know it could. I feel that I walk straighter and I am thinking about the Yoga principles such as; keep the side body long, pull your shoulders back, soften the upper palate. I also find that the classes are fun, because you never know what Kelley will ask us to do next, and although the basic principals are the same, we practice them in so many different ways.

What do you get out of your practice?
In addition to feeling really good physically (how many 60+ year olds can do all the things we do in class?), I use the breath work to calm down and even go to sleep. I can center and calm my thoughts in stressful situations. I can focus better.

What challenging pose are you growing to love?
Balancing poses are very challenging to me. I am starting to love them now that I understand the principal of pulling everything into the center and firing up my legs. I hope to be able to do Eagle with the same ease that I do a Downward Facing Dog.

Commitment – Why changing habits can be hard.

By: Marty Kestin, Ensoma Bodyworks

In my last blog, I talked about Grief and Chronic Pain and the four emotions one needs to go through in order to be happy and well -adjusted with a chronic illness or a life changing injury.

One of those energies is “bargaining.” It’s the one I see most with clients who continually struggle to change their habits in order to undo the bodily damage their current habits have created.

Some of us have committed to changing for the better but continually do something  counterproductive to the change we want. One reason why we fail is an underlying energetic block, deficiency or imbalance in the chakra system.  Yes me, Mr. Muscle and Dr. Trigger point sees the body as more than just soft tissue.

Anodea Judith, in her workbook “Eastern Body Western Mind,” beautifully lays out the Chakra system. She presents each chakra’s purpose, symptoms of deficiency, excess and blockages and offers healing exercises to bring balance to the entire chakra system. She clearly compares psychological problems with the correlating chakra issue.

I have used this book in my own life with success and I recommend Anodea’s teachings for clients who are having trouble with commitment. Those that do the chakra healing work slowly become more resilient in their commitments.

Anodea uses the example of a woman who desperately wants to lose weight but always fails in her commitments of new eating and exercising habits. Why? Unknowingly there is an unconscious emotion and specific chakra deficiency that sabotages her.

I think this explains why people “bargain” with lifestyle and habit changes.  Rationalizing why fast food is easier than prepping breakfast and not having enough time to get on the yoga mat 4 times a week may just be a chakra issue.

If you’re having trouble making some positive changes in your life, check out Anodea’s  website, explore the chakra system, buy a product and do some chakra work.  Self – defeating talk, negative patterns, lack of motivation and other roadblocks to success will begin to transform into positive self – talk with motivated, positive and constructive behavior.

Marty has been integrating chakra work into his bodywork practice successfully for the past 2 years.
mkestin@ensomabodyworks.com • 704.335.8115 • www.EnsomaBodyWorks.com

Acupuncture and Fertility

By: Abe Rummage, AcuCare Clinic, www.AcuCareClinic.com

I was at an acupuncture seminar recently and one of the attendees from the audience asked the acupuncture physician during one of his demonstrations: “I’ve always heard that acupuncture can be quite helpful with infertility and difficulty conceiving. Is this really true?” In typical old-style Chinese teaching fashion he replied, rather emphatically “Look how many people we got in China! What do you think?!”

If you are having difficulty conceiving, or know someone who is then read on. Acupuncture is a truly phenomenal medicine and for centuries has helped women have a healthy conception, pregnancy and delivery.

So then how does putting tiny needles in my skin help me conceive?
There are many reasons why a woman may be having difficulty getting pregnant. In general, however, in Chinese Medicine conception, pregnancy and delivery require and ample amount of energy (or Qi) and Blood and that they be in harmonious circulation for everything to work smoothly. Acupuncture, and sometimes, herbal supplement, can help ensure all these components are present and interacting as they should be.

Your body is a garden, metaphorically speaking.
Ancient Chinese acupuncturists often referred to a woman’s womb as a garden. “When planting a seed in your garden you first prepare the soil. You make sure there is plenty of rich soil to work with, you add fertilizer and water, you remove all weeds and rocks, you protect the area and churn the soil to make it soft and ready to receive roots. Then, when a seed is planted a strong and healthy plant will take root and grow. Preparing for a baby is just the same.” How elegant! I couldn’t have said it better myself. Acupuncture and herbs are the tools for preparing the internal environment to support a new life.

Whether you are having trouble conceiving, know someone who is or would just like to find out more about how acupuncture can help you find optimum health for pregnancy come by the Bindu any Thursday from 1:00 – 5:30 or give us a call at AcuCare Clinic 704-483-5441.

Abe Rummage, AcuCare Clinic, 704-483-5441, www.AcuCareClinic.com

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