One of the joys of my life is the yoga community that surrounds me. People from every walk of life congregate at the yoga studios where I teach and practice. We differ widely in our professions and incomes, our belief systems and politics. Throughout each day, we play various roles in our lives, and sometimes they change by the hour.

When we practice yoga we have an opportunity to strip away the roles we play and unveil a much truer identity. It’s no coincidence that several poses are called warriors, because that’s an identity each of us is trying to realize in ourselves.

Virabhadrasana (Warrior Pose) is named after Virabhadra, Shiva’s fiercest warrior. I like to think that every time we assume a Virabhadrasana pose that we embody a little bit of that fierce warrior. We practice our breathe and our alignment, but we also practice how to stand strong and firm in our convictions. Warriors stand up for their beliefs, and fight and for them even to their own peril.

It is often correctly assumed that we practice yoga to become more tolerant. Letting go of distractions and the little annoyances of life is a daily part of our work. But fighting for something isn’t about tolerance, it’s about intolerance.

We should not tolerate a world where children go hungry, or where women live in fear of violence. We should not tolerate a nation where people have less rights because of who they chose to love. We should not tolerate leaders who betray the trust of those they have sworn to serve.

All these injustices exist, not only because the unenlightened perpetuate them, but also because the uninspired tolerate them. My hope is that the practice of yoga teaches us tolerance as well as intolerance, because many situations in this world are simply intolerable. And as ironic as it sounds, sometimes the most yogic thing we can do is pick a fight. After all, a warrior isn’t just a pose.

At just 19 years old, Janelle arrived in Denver from out of state with her young daughter and knowing no one, found a place to stay at a youth shelter in town.  She had fled an extremely physically and sexually abusive relationship and was also struggling with her own substance abuse problem.  Through the youth shelter she was now calling home, Janelle was connected to SafeHouse Denver where she started attending both one-on-one counseling with an Advocate and a young women’s support group at the Counseling and Advocacy Center.

Initially in group, Janelle had a hard time taking the counseling seriously and would joke around about her situation.  A few months in, however, she started having upsetting flashbacks of her relationship which prompted her to work hard in group.   Janelle’s Advocate helped her understand how trauma had affected her and continued to play a role in her day to day life. Together, they worked on creating new coping strategies to deal with her past and identified healthy people in her life she could turn to when she needed support.

Today, Janelle has been clean for over a year and just finished her first semester in college.  Committed to helping others overcome domestic violence, she has been involved in sharing her story with SafeHouse supporters and serves as a remarkable role model to her peers in our teen groups.

This story is just one example of the great work been done at Safehouse Denver. I’m proud to support this organization, and they would love your support as well.

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.  Show your support by participating in the following events:

Friday, October 2, 2009, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Atrium of the Webb Municipal Building
Domestic Violence Awareness Month Event sponsored by the Denver Domestic Violence Coordinating Council and the Lend-A-Hand to Stop Domestic Violence Committee.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009, 12:00 – 1:30 pm

Domestic Violence Awareness Month Rally, West Steps of the State Capitol
Organized by the Colorado Coalition Against Domestic Violence

Saturday, October 10, 2009, 6:00 – 10:00 pm

Monte Carlo Nights! Enjoy cocktails, fabulous live and silent auctions, a moving event program, dinner, dancing to the music of Soul School and exciting casino games.  All proceeds benefit SafeHouse Denver’s programs and services.

There are many other ways you can assist the effort to end domestic violence.  Begin by learning more about domestic violence and violence against women by visiting the websites below.  Then, follow some of the suggested ways to help provided by these organizations.  These may include volunteering in your local domestic violence shelter or contacting your members of Congress and local leaders urging them to support additional funding and progressive legislation to support domestic violence prevention, intervention, and enforcement efforts.

Other online resources:

http://www.NCADV.org/

http://www.EndAbuse.org/

http://www.Now.org/

http://www.NDVH.org/

Have you ever watched television and seen a commercial for a new prescription drug? These ads spend so much time warning you about the adverse side effects of the drug, that they can’t even tell you what the drug is for. The other night I’m watching TV and a one of these commercials comes on…

Has life robbed you of the joy of living? New prescription Blavatard can help you feel more like yourself again. Consult your doctor and ask if Blavatard is right for you.

Blavatard may cause stomach irritation, intestinal blockage, and rectal bleeding. Additional symptoms may include, arrhythmia, diphtheria, gonorrhea, diarrhea, bloating, floating, gun toting, and a gross tongue coating.

During tests, others reported occurrences of mild to moderate liver failure, dizziness, hot flashes, and a desire to flash people who are hot.

Patients with a history of breathing in and out should consider the use of Blavatard a serious health risk.

Blavatard should not be taken if you are a woman who is nursing or pregnant. Come to think of it, Blavatard shouldn’t be taken by woman who are not pregnant either. Blavatard should not be taken by men who have ever impregnanted a woman or would one day like to.

Other symptoms may include vital organs spontaneously bursting into flames.

If symptoms persist, discontinue use of Blavatard. Contact your local mortuary and casually ask how busy they are. Then call your family and tell them you love them one more time.

Try prescription Blavatard. Because life is too long.

Okay, so maybe I embellished a little bit, but I don’t think I’m too wide of the mark. When I see commercials like these, it makes me that much more determined to take better care of myself.

Despite all the evidence to the contrary, I believe that the world is getting better. It’s just experiencing a lot of growing pains. And for this pain, I would humbly suggest yoga.

Yoga is available without a prescription, and has no adverse side effects. It is an unparalleled system for cultivating health and wellness. If everyone did yoga, we wouldn’t ever hear of commercials like Blavatard.

Don’t listen to commercials. (Other than for entertainment purposes) Listen to your body. Your body is wiser than Pfizer, stronger than Bayer, and twice as intelligent as Johnson & Johnson could ever hope to be.

In their 2009 season opener, the Denver Broncos needed a miracle. With 28 seconds left in the game, victory was an impossible 87 yards away. That was of course until receiver Brandon Stokley caught a tipped ball and scored a touchdown in the most exciting play of the season. Was it luck?

I’m gonna be the minority here and say no. You see, although Stokley was not the intended target for that pass, he did know that the ball was coming into his area of the field. He was alert with eyes open. As a football player, Stokley practices executing his job to the very best of his ability. But beyond knowing how to run his route, Brandon’s skills also involve adaptivity, improvisation, and awareness.

If you missed the connection to yoga, read the previous sentence again.

In my mind, Brandon Stokley doesn’t just practice running a route, or catching the ball that is thrown to him. He is practicing yoga. He is alert to multiple possibilities and he trusts in his training. Yesterday in a football game, he taught us a few lessons we all need to learn.

In life, the game winning ball is getting tipped up more often that we probably realize, so keep your eyes open.

If you catch the ball, don’t hesitate. Run like hell.

And most importantly, if there is still time on the clock, there is still hope.

What’s up warriors?  Although I know of no better method for proactively cultivating health and vitality than yoga, it alone is not the answer. How we nourish our bodies on the mat through movement and exploration is a companion, not a counter-balance, to how we nourish (or not) ourselves through diet.

It’s easy to think that because we spent 60 or even 90 minutes on the mat that we can “get away” with dietary indiscretions, and let’s face it, we probably can. But as yogis dedicated to deepening our awareness and understanding of self, we mustn’t overlook the fact that everything we put in our bodies today determines the body we will have tomorrow.

It’s that body that lies at the heart of America’s great debate on healthcare. Since true heath care reform begins with self care, I hope you will all take a few moments to read this thought provoking article from The New York Times.

Big Food Vs. Big Insurance

The other day I was in the produce section of the grocery story scrutinizing apples. I picked them up one by one, rotating them in my hand, checking for scuffs and bruises. I figured I needed three, so I picked exactly that amount, each one measuring up to rigorous standards. However, even after I had three, I still kept looking for better ones. I eventually swapped two of them out and finally satisfied with my selections, headed over to the bananas.

Bananas are tough. Not only do you have to contend with size, shape and the right degree of ripeness, but the amount of bananas in the bunch. Rarely does all this criteria agree, and I confess that I am one of those people that create banana “broken homes” by tearing off a couple from the bunch I want.

My evaluation of avocados was still more critical. Before I even attempted to pick one up, my eyes looked down on the pile with contempt. “Are any of you worthy of my stomach?” my eyes seemed to say. Each avocado looked back at me like the last two kids in gym class waiting to get picked for a game. After a lot of digging, I found one deep in the pile that I thought would make a valuable contribution to Team Guacamole and I moved on.

So it went over the next fifteen minutes or so. Melon, asparagus, lettuce, and berries. Thumped, squeezed, smelled, poked, prodded, and glared at. I was so critical, I even made the onions cry.

It’s a safe bet that everyone reading this is the same way. I don’t know of anyone that grabs the first apple they lay their hands on and puts it in their basket.

So consider this. Why are we so careful about choosing the produce we will put in our bodies, and pay so little attention to the thoughts we put in our head?

We all have moments when we say things to ourselves like, “I’m so stupid” or “I don’t deserve it.” What a rotten thought. Why would anyone put that in their “basket?” Shouldn’t we be at least as skeptical of our thoughts as we are of an apple? When thoughts like this occur, we need to put them back and keep looking for thoughts that are fresh, nourishing and pleasing to the senses. Remember, it’s much more than produce that produces health and well being.

Choose your thoughts carefully and leave the rotten ones behind. Better yet, drop them on the floor and squish them. How do you like them apples?

Scott Anderson is a Denver Colorado based yoga instructor and the creator of Warrior Academy Yoga. Scott’s unique system of strategically sequenced vinyasa represents a leap forward in the evolution of power yoga. To learn more, visit www.warrioracademy.com.

Starting in September of every year off the coast of a tiny Japanese fishing village, over 20,000 dolphin are herded with nets into a secluded cove. There a brutal process begins where representatives of aquatic theme parks around the world pay up to $150,000 dollars each for the finest specimens. The rest are slaughtered for their meat. The Cove is the story of this annual horrible crime.

If you haven’t seen this important film, I hope you will look for it next time you seek out an engaging film. This important documentary stands head and shoulders above most advocacy films as a suspenseful, unflinching look at man’s immoral rape and plunder of the natural world. Certain to be an Oscar nominee, if not winner, The Cove is receiving acclaim everywhere it plays for the brave voice it gives to the senseless slaughter of the Japanese dolphin.

History has shown that atrocities are usually committed away from prying eyes, and that certainly WAS the case with “the cove” until now. Now the world’s eyes are opened to this international scandal and guess what has happened?

I’ll let you read the words of warrior Richard O’Barry…

“Today is September 1st, the first day of the dolphin slaughter season in Japan. But when I arrived today by bus from Kansai Airport with media representatives from all over the world, the notorious Cove from the movie was empty. There were no dolphin killers in sight…

I vowed to be back in Taiji when the dolphin killing began. I’ve often been here alone, or accompanied by a few environmentalists. Sometimes, I was able to talk a major media organization into sending someone.

But the people of Japan never learned about the dolphin slaughter, because none of the media in Japan (with the exception of the excellent Japan Times) have ever sent reporters to the killing Cove. Until today!

Yes, today was a good day for dolphins. Tomorrow, I will take journalists with me around town to show them Taiji. Tomorrow, too, I predict will be a good day for dolphins. Every day that we are here and the fishermen KNOW we are here, will likely mean no boats going out to round up dolphins for the killing Cove.

And because of “The Cove” movie, the dolphin killers must now fear hidden cameras and microphones, even when they THINK we are not here.

And soon the world spotlight from “The Cove” will shine a very bright light on Taiji.”

The Cove represents something of far greater value than an important film. It represents the power of awareness. The majority of the people in this world want to fight for what is right. They only need to be told what is going wrong.

I encourage you to spread the news. See the film and tell your friends about it. Keep your eyes open, and take action. Learn more:

http://www.savejapandolphins.org/blog.html

http://www.opsociety.org/about-ops.htm

http://www.diagnosismercury.org/

I happened to be in a store downtown the other day, and mistaken for an employee, a man asked me “Do you validate?”

“No,” I replied. “I think you should determine your worth as a human being independent of my opinion of you.”

He looked at me blankly. You would think I had thrown a pie in his face. Lines slowly formed across his forehead and behind them I thought I could see the wheels in his head slowly grinding to a halt. I smiled and winked good naturedly, but that didn’t seem to help.

I found someone to help him with his parking, but not his sense of humor. My misfired pun sure got me to thinking about how often we do seek validation. Sometimes it’s as obvious as asking the question “How do I look?” or “What do you think of this?” More often though, seeking validation is an unconscious act stemming from our desire to be approved of.

We all want to know that we measure up in the eyes of friends, lovers, co-workers and parents. Whether we admit it or not, we all want someone’s approval at one time or another. Interestingly, as our nation’s children start heading back to school we are volleying advice at them that we should all hear ourselves saying.

“Don’t worry about what the other kids think about you.”

“Just be yourself.”

“You are perfect just the way you are.”

How have we said that so many times and not heard it? Why does the message of self assurance echo flatly down the corridors of our psyche and never reach our hearts? Lack of practice would be my guess.

Practice is something we as yogis are no strangers to. And just as yoga is much more than doing a pose, believing in ourselves takes more that a simple affirmation. It takes continual work and self reflection to see ourselves in the correct light. It is not the light found in the eyes of those looking back at us that will fulfill us. The light we are seeking is a divine light that shines from within. Ever present and burning bright.

I guarantee you will LOVE the following short film:

Yesterday as I grabbed my toothpaste to brush my teeth I noticed for the first time that there were directions.

“Squeeze paste onto bristles and brush thoroughly.”

I couldn’t help but wonder how I have managed to brush my teeth all these years without checking the directions. I think I should get an I.Q. test since I’m likely at the very high end of human cognitive function.

The fact that there are directions for such a task does not concern me. What concerns me is the fact that there is a high enough percentage of people who need this direction to necessitate putting it on the tube in the first place.

I began looking at all the products in my house. What else have I managed to figure out all by myself?

“Shake well. Turn bottle over to dispense. Defrost before eating. Contents will be hot after heating.”

I’m not making this up people. It gets worse…

On my iron: “Do not iron clothes on body.”
On my jar of peanuts: “Warning: contains nuts.”
On my box of sleep aid pills: “May cause drowsiness.”

I think these directions and warnings indicate that we are either smart in very dumb ways, or dumb in very smart ways. And either way, it’s a wash. (Lather vigorously)

The truth of the matter is, we probably don’t need half the products in our home, and we rarely need directions for the things we do use. What we need are directions to the things that are vital to our life and happiness. We need directions for the thing that matters most.

LOVE
Directions for use: Apply a generous amount to necessary areas. Reapply often. For external AND internal use. Results will vary. Do NOT discontinue use. Keep within the reach of children.

On August 28th 2009, the world lost the creative vision of Adam Goldstein.

Better known as DJ-AM, Adam was a pioneer and innovator in DJ culture. He recorded with Madonna, Will Smith, and countless others, and most recently had been performing with Travis Barker as the percussion-DJ powerhouse TRV$DJAM. Although toxicology reports are not available as I write this, it appears as though Adam succumbed in his war against addiction after nearly ten years of sobriety. I’m saddened by this news, as I am saddened by the death of all those creative souls who bring joy and inspiration to others. Sadder still, Adam survived a plane crash last December. One would think that would be more than enough to inspire a fierce appreciation of life. That just goes to show the power of addiction.

We are all addicted to something. It may be something benign like a TV show, or it could even be an addiction to something good for you, like yoga. But usually the word implies a desperate need to mask or medicate oneself from a pain too difficult to deal with or even acknowledge. But addiction doesn’t just rob us of the people infected by it, it robs us of the people affected by it. It clouds and diminishes the lives of everyone near it, and meanwhile too many others look the other way.

Below is a dance I saw on TV recently. I’ve seen it many times, and unashamed to say never once without crying. It’s a moving, haunting, soul stirring interpretation of addiction. I hope it moves you too. More, I hope it moves you to share anything you like about addiction. Your story. Someone else’s. And if a world free of drug addiction is something you fight for, tell us about that.