I recently suffered my 2nd episode of vertigo - more specifically BPPV. Benign (not life-threatening), Paroxysmal (it comes in sudden, brief spells), Positional (it gets triggered by certain head positions or movements) Vertigo (a false sense of rotational movement). Several people have asked me about it - How do you treat it? Prevent it? And so, I thought I would write a blog post explaining my own experience with BPPV. First, let's look at the allopathic definition of What is BPPV? According to http://vestibular.org/understanding-vestibular-disorders/types-vestibular-disorders/benign-paroxysmal-positional-vertigo, "BPPV is a mechanical problem in the inner ear. It occurs when some of the
How can yoga therapy help folks with osteoarthritis of the hip or knee, or who have had hip and knee replacements? In this blog, I am going to focus specifically on osteoarthritis of the knee. I have worked with several clients now with different degrees of osteoarthritis in one or both knees from mild to pretty severe (doctor recommends knee replacement). I have also worked with clients who have had hip replacements - but that's a post for another day. Osteoarthritis is common, mostly in older adults, when cartilage cushioning the joints wears away, causing pain, swelling and stiffness. Risk factors include age, previous injury, family history and carrying excess weight on the joints. (It
There are many ways to meditate, guided by many different spiritual traditions. For me, the simplest is to focus on the breath. However, I have recently began experimenting with incorporating mantra into my meditation. I recently attended a celebration of yoga at the Sri Siva Vishnu Hindu temple in Lanham, MD. During the afternoon, Vasu Murthy led a heartfulness meditation. We sat in a comfortable meditation posture for 20 minutes. Mr. Murthy began by bringing our attention to our heart center, Anahata chakra and instructed us to simply repeat the words, "Divine Light Fills my Heart" or "My heart is filled by Divine Light" over and over (silently to ourselves) for 20 minutes. Noticing when
