Led by Melissa Goodwin

Melissa fell in love with yoga at the age of 10, when she and her mother attended a community yoga class. She is grateful to have found her long-time teachers, Tias and Surya Little, when she moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2007, and earned both her 200-hour and 500-hour teaching certifications through their Prajna Yoga program. Melissa also earned her Restorative Yoga Teacher Certification through Judith Hanson Lasater’s program in 2009. She taught for five years in Santa Fe before moving to Florida in 2013, where she joined the teaching staff at The Yoga Sanctuary. Always a student, Melissa is currently exploring how various yoga practices can assist in healing brain trauma and nervous system dysfunction. You can follow Melissa’s work at writeryogini.blogspot.com.

This meditation explores the concept of pratyahara through the teaching of the Bhagavad Gita.

Shining by the light of the senses

Yet freed from all the senses

Unattached, yet maintaining all,

Free from qualities yet experiencing qualities

Outside and inside beings,

Those that are moving and those that are still,

Because of its subtlety,

This is not to be comprehended.

It is far away and also near.

~ Bhagavad Gita, chapter 13, verses 14 & 15

Kimberley leading her very first group yoga class.

As a group, dispatchers sit. A lot. Upwards of 12 hours for some. Some dispatch centers have consoles that allow you to stand but we are still relatively inactive for long periods-of-time.

Many speak of pain in their bodies; lower back, upper back from hunching over a keyboard, buttocks, etc, which is caused by being idle as well is relatively staying in one spot. Personally, I have felt the discomfort of the sciatic nerve causing an ache to roll down my leg in waves. Trying to ease the pain, I would do all kinds of stretching exercises but could never quite get it to go away. Until I started doing yoga, consistently.

In addition to the daily physical discomfort, the dispatching profession simultaneously exacts a mental toll. Sometimes we are not aware how this may manifest in us. The first time I decided to try an evening class after my 12-hour shift I laid down on the mat, in a constructive rest pose, and allowed myself to relax and just breathe. I let go of the busy shift I had just completed. It was a wild feeling. Had I opened my eyes and looked at myself, I believe I would have literally seen waves of “tension” rolling off my body.

Being mindful of our own bodies can go a long way to help identify and relieve any pain or stress we may face as dispatchers. A beautiful thing about yoga, you can do it right at your console.

A healthy spine can move in seven different directions. In yoga, we work to keep the spine healthy. The following is a common pose used in yoga that moves the spine in two directions.

Chair yoga for the back – Cat/Cow stretches: Sitting at the edge of your seat, spine and side body straight, your hands lightly resting on your legs. Give yourself a moment to just breath. Whatever breathe your body comfortably takes. With an out breath round your back, tilting your pelvis backwards, pulling your belly button to your spine and hunching your shoulders. With an in breathe arch your back, tilting your pelvis forward, allowing your belly to release, broadening your chest and pulling your shoulders backwards. Repeat this action several times.

The human body can survive 8-12 weeks without food, 3-6 days without water, but only 3-6 minutes without air. Simply put, to breathe is to live. In yoga there is an entire branch (or limb) dedicated to just breathing. For a person under stress, like a public safety worker, good breathing techniques can calm you down, raise your energy or keep you balanced.

Practice a breathing technique; Belly breathing: Sit up tall in your chair. Place one hand on your low belly. Inhale slowly through your nose, breathing into your belly instead of your chest, slowly expanding your belly against your hand. Exhale slowly through your nose and feel your belly deflate away from your hand. Continue this a few times, working to make each inhale and exhale slower and deeper. As you continue to inflate and deflate your belly bring a count to your breaths. Perhaps you can only get to the count of three. Maybe you will be able to make it to five. Whatever breath you are able to take let it be comfortable. Keep it balanced. What you breathe in, breath that count out. See if you can pause at the top of your breath and then at the bottom.

Finally, something as simple as a one-minute meditation can help a dispatcher come out of a ”head space” that only brings stress.

One-minute meditation; Look up from your console. Look at something that pleases you. Give yourself one minute to contemplate that image. Does it bring peace? What about it pleases you?

As dispatchers, we’ve been trained to help people during some of their worst moments. Rarely do we get closure about the calls we take. We must be mindful about our own mental and physical health while attending to the public. Yoga can be a powerful tool towards this end for all public safety personnel.

Give yourself the gift of mindfulness. Let it be steady. Let it be easeful.

*This article was originally written for NENA (National Emergency Number Association).

The Gayatri Mantra in repeating Devangari script

Om Bhur Bhuvah Svah

Tat savitur varenyam

Bhargo devasya dhimahi

Dhiyo yo nah prachodayat

Translation:  With loving reverence we bow to the inner Light, the supreme wisdom in all the world.  May this Divine Light guide and illuminate our intelligence.

The Gayatri mantra, the most ancient of the mantras found in the Rig Veda, is considered to be the mother of the Vedas.  The sound “gai” in Sanskrit means sing and “trai” means protect.  Gayatri therefore translates to “she who protects the singer.” The practice of the Gayatri mantra allowed the Rishis, or seers, to receive the revelation of all other mantras.  The first line is comprised of what is known as the Great Utterances.  Bhur indicates earth or matter, Bhuvah indicates sky or energy, and Svah indicates heaven or mind.

The practice of the Gayatri mantra helps us become strong by overcoming our own inner weaknesses. It stills mental chatter and clears away karmic impurities.  It purifies the ego and sharpens the intellect.  Connecting us to the teacher within, we receive inner guidance and inspiration.  As the inner being which flows directly from Source is illuminated, the deep unconscious is purified.  Gradually and with sustained effort and patience, the effect pervades all aspects of our personality.

Gayatri is the mantra for the common man.  Exact pronunciation is less important than intention.  The sages tell us that the practice of the Gayatri mantra allows for immense and everlasting transformation.   No one among us will not benefit.

Maha Mritynjaya in repeating Devangari script

Om Triyambakam yajamahe

Sugandhim pushti vardhanam

Urvarukamiva bandhanan

Mrityor mukshiya mamritat

Translation:   I meditate on, and surrender myself to, the Divine Being who embodies the power of will, the power of knowledge and the power of action.  I pray to the Divine Being who manifests in the form of fragrance in the flower of life and is the eternal nourisher of the plant of life.  Like a skillful gardener, may the Lord of Life disentangle me from the binding forces of my physical, psychological, and spiritual hurdles.  May the Lord of Immortality residing within free me from death, decay and sickness and unite me with immortality.

The Maha Mrityunjaya mantra is the nourishing, healing, and life restoring mantra deriving from the Rig Veda and is considered the heart of the Vedas.  In Sanskrit, “Maha” means great, “Mrityun” means death, and “Jaya” means victory.  Of course, every living thing eventually dies.  Through the practice of reciting this mantra we obtain victory over the fear of death.  We realize that the deathless Divine Being is who we really are.

The practice of the Maha Mrityunjaya mantra sends forth vibrations from body to mind to soul.  It awakens the internal healing forces and Nature’s healing forces together so that we may receive the full nourishment of any discipline undertaken for well-being.  Strengthening the powers of will, knowledge and action, it unblocks the flow of courage and determination.  The scriptures guarantee that, through sincere practice, we clear away obstacles and attain freedom from weaknesses (the fear of death being the greatest) by making the strong part of ourselves even stronger.

This is the mantra of choice or those who struggle with grief, hopelessness, burn-out or illness.  It is most suited for those who need to access their own healing force for spiritual unfoldment.  Japa, the silent repetition of a mantra, is most effective with the use of a mala.  The Rudrasksha mala, made from 108 seeds of an Indian tree, is most traditional.  The practice of the Maha Mrityunjaya mantra can be done for ourselves or for someone else, but the time to learn this mantra is before it is needed.  Then we must execute the practice.

People often wonder what the difference between yoga and meditation is, believing that they are two separate practices. In truth, yoga has a long tradition that is thousands of years old and, originally, its main purpose in practice was to hone and develop meditative techniques. There was no separating the two. The breathing practices used in yoga and later, the physical postures, were tools to strengthen the body so that it would be more comfortable sitting in meditation for extended periods of time. Mediation was, and truly still is, just one aspect of a full yoga practice.

Today, yoga is often seen as a low impact, safe, and effective way to bring movement into our bodies. Meditation is seen as a way to quiet our busy minds. We learn more about the benefits of yoga and meditation every day. Just this month NPR reported on a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine that showed how yoga can significantly reduce back pain. Time, NBC News, and Science Daily all reported on a recent study showing how yoga and other MBIs (Mind-Body Interventions) “can suppress the expression of genes and genetic pathways that promote inflammation” and “reverse the molecular signature of the effects of chronic stress.” The Journal of Alternative and Complimentary Medicine also published a study whose findings report a significant decline in depressive symptoms in the study’s participants.

Having the research to back up the benefits of yoga and meditation is encouraging. Yet the important thing to keep in mind is that they go hand in hand. As a yoga teacher, I often say in class, “What makes the shape that your body is in right now yoga?” You might find yourself sitting on the floor with a blanket under your hips or in a chair doing a simple spinal twist and hear the teacher’s voice ask this very question. The answer is simple. You are doing yoga because you are focusing and paying attention. In yoga, we are always working toward being in a kind of meditative state, that is we are directing our attention in a specific way to a specific point of focus. This point of focus may be our breath or sensations that are arising in our body or even a visual point of focus—which is especially helpful when practicing balancing poses.

What happens then when our attention is drawn away, when we get distracted? Are we still practicing yoga? Of course! As mentioned earlier, meditation is just one aspect of a full yoga practice. In the yoga world, we call this one of the “eight limbs” of yoga. Yoga poses are another limb, so is working with our breath, and quieting our senses. The limb or stage that comes just before meditation is developing concentration. The longer we are able to focus our attention the closer we come to meditation. We might start with just a few seconds, then work slowly to a few minutes. Our yoga posture practice soon becomes a moving meditation. There is no rush, and there is no end goal. This process is a journey, with many benefits along the way: pain and stress relief, flexibility and stability, a slower heart rate, and decrease in blood pressure to mention just a few.

If you are considering beginning a yoga and meditation practice, be sure to talk to a qualified teacher. Let them know what your concerns and expectations are, and ask for guidance as to what level of class you might start with. Yoga is a practice for everybody. And with the correct guidance you’ll not only keep your body safe, you’ll also find that as you learn to pay attention while on the yoga mat, you’ll begin to pay more attention while off the yoga mat.

Originally published in The Charlotte Sun: Feeling Fit, 2017.

by Melissa Goodwin

Students often ask, “What is the difference between meditation and restorative yoga?” This is a great question, because we tend to think of both in terms of the same set of desired results: reduced stress, a quieter mind, an improved sense of well-being. But while both practices can lead to those outcomes, the paths to attaining them are quite different.

In the Buddhist tradition, the practice of metta, or loving kindness, plays an important role. The ability to view other people and beings with benevolence is a strong value of this belief system. But in a world with so much violence, so many differing opinions, so many people who behave in ways that are not aligned with our own beliefs, how is it possible to truly view others—all others—with loving kindness?

The answer is, simply put, with practice. Just as we come to the yoga mat on a regular basis so that we can more easily come back to a peaceful, centered state of mind, so too can we cultivate loving kindness with regular practice. The metta practice is a practical, systematic way to increase your ability to perceive all beings as worthy of loving kindness. Its brilliance lies in its simplicity. You can get started today, in fact.

Find a comfortable place to sit. You could sit on a cushion or chair—whatever is comfortable and that allows you to sit erect without leaning against a support. Close your eyes and bring your attention to your breath for a moment to help you get centered. Begin by sending loving kindness to yourself. Feel accepted and loved—as though you are enough. Once you connect deeply to that feeling, move on to someone you love dearly. Feel your love and acceptance for that person. Once you feel it deeply, then move on to your family. Then extended family. Then your close friends. Then all your friends. Then acquaintances. Then your neighborhood, your town, your state, country, continent, and eventually, the entire world. Envision people all throughout the world—every one of them in need of love and kindness. Feel it deeply.

The metta meditation is a powerful practice that will help you to feel more connected to the people you know and love, and also to those people you don’t yet know, those you will never know, and even those you don’t want to know. With regular practice, your perspective will shift in a positive way. You may view problems in a new light (possibly as not problems as all). You will find a deeper understanding for the people you encounter in life. And you will likely feel a deep, true sense of peace in your heart. This simple practice is transformative.