The Autistic Yogi Reflects on Dealing with Stress

Stress and attempting to learn better how to manage it so it doesn't become chronic and a health risk.

1. Simplify & Prioritize. Be real. Take stock of my to-do list and see what is absolutely necessary and prioritize it. What can be removed? Try to half the to do list to get over extremely stressful moments.  Be flexible and allow for removal of to-do list components, write it in pencil and not pen. Do the most urgent things first (urgent being its a matter of life and death, something you have signed up for is not that urgent). Categorize your list to help simplify and feel like there are not so many obstacles to tackling a huge list. Sometimes we have to lower our standards, perfectionism doesn't exist because no one is perfect at anything. The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.
2. Community. Collaboration and cooperation. Safety network. Asking for help. Don't try and tackle everything as a lone wolf, appropriately allow people to ease your stress and burden, none of us are comic book super heroes. We all have our limitations and we should know our own and allow others to have theirs.  People, especially those that support us with their love have a tendency to want to help as long as they are not shouldering your burden alone. Remember to share laughter with these people as it can and will alleviate some of the affects of chronic stress and help us to get out of its terrible aftermath.  Avoid overtly negative people. Choosing your friends wisely can be difficult but necessary. Negative outlooks are a choice, we have to make the choice to not dwell on things, and we have to make the choice of whom we surround ourselves with. Taking a course in effective communication or conflict resolution can be very helpful.
3. Physical exercise & Rest. Appropriate amounts of exercise truly stimulate our beings and we should take this seriously. We are designed to move and to do in our being state. Our brain and nervous system rely on it. Find an activity that is physical that is enjoyable and within your means so that the joy component of it stays true. Be sure to also rest! Not just getting a good dose of sleep, but practice taking breaks at intervals from any task that you are consumed in doing. This will allow our nervous system to calm down and refocus. Be sure to get a full nights rest, if your sleep is being disrupted learn some techniques that help you to disengage from the stimulus that disrupts you. Know what truly recharges you and make those as your interval recharge moments.
4. Boundaries. Establish locations to do your activities so that you can focus and do your designated activity. Remember to prioritize your list and do what are the most pertinent things, having boundaries is going to allow you to focus your attention on what is at hand. Learn to say no. If you have a tendency to try and please everyone, this will be an invaluable skill to get. Don't let your list get out of hand because you want to help and consider everyone that comes across your path.
5. Diet. - Be sure that you aren't always reaching for all the calorie rich foods filled with sugars and empty calories that only give a moment recharge but a deep crash afterwards. Practice a wholesome diet lifestyle. Make sure your getting a full profile of micro and macro nutrients.  If your always on the go, consider products like soylent or spacenutrients and the other products that are like that. Exercise the liquid diets with caution as it's something relatively new to the diet field, but in many cases it is healthier than what people are reaching for that are hectic and busy.

The Autistic Yogi Reflects on the 3rd Session of Teaching Wrestlers

The 3rd session felt wonderful to participate in.
It's amazing seeing how fit these youth are and to see other coaches in action. I get to learn as much as I get to teach.
One of the things I am really struck by is watching those individuals that seam to accelerate above the others and it seams to come down to inquiry and deliberately practicing what was taught and especially what was inquired about.  Seeing individuals genuinely interested in their development is motivating.
I am also inspired by the aspiration to surpass weakness. A youth who is brought to tears because of heightened emotions or baring through intense physical exertion is awe inspiring and concerning at the same time.   On the one hand I see good role models in this group that encourage and push these athletes to be the best, but on the other hand I have to wonder what compels each individual youth to surpass beyond the pains that are inherent in such an extreme practice as wrestling?
It's amazing to see progress in some of these youth over the last few weeks. Getting to stay afterwards and watch them practice has been an exemplary moment to see how each of them grows and I have certainly noticed the progress in a few of them.
The second practice I was in the top athletes were away on a competition out of town and the coach that stayed used one of the boys to demo all the techniques and corrections of form, stance, and throws, this was amazingly helpful for this youth as I noticed a remarkable increase in his talent over the past week and I am going to assume that it was because of the demand of practicing with someone so talented as the coach.
As to talent... I believe it's what we each put into it.. Sure you can have some aspects genetically that give you an edge but ultimately I think it's what each individual puts into it.. THis is the case for the body and the mind in my books.

The Autistic Yogi Reflects on Speech Tempo & Other Speech Factors

Sometimes I prefer a yoga class where the teacher speaks very little and sometimes I like a long narrative. More so the former versus the latter. And how quickly or how slowly the narrative is delivered will affect me as well.
Generally quicker speaking comes across as anxiety or an attempt at putting in too many cues at once and can be overloading, especially to the newer student that is really trying to pay attention to the teacher.

What are the different things that affect our communication?

• What emotion are you carrying as either the speaker or the listener and how does that affect your ability to navigate the narrative? Anxiety, fear, depression, happiness, excitement, normal state: How do these factors change your rate of speaking or listening?
• How quickly is the person speaking? It appears that on average we articulate 120-170 words a minute (depending on the many sources that quote this, it's safe to assume that 100 words a minute is very slow speaking and 200 words is very quick speaking).
• What biases does the person speaking have about the narrative content?  Just look through this list of cognitive biases and imagine how they can affect the tempo and narrative of your communication https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases
• Who are you around? And how do these people affect you? Does being around your mother make you speak slower or quicker or sharper or gentler? What about an abused person around their abuser or them speaking to the police or a crisis intervention worker versus their best friend? How does it change when your in a group of likeminded people? As an atheist I have a different sort of speech tempo when speaking with a known new age believer versus another atheist (although I consider myself a gentle atheist and one whom does not deny spiritual experiences, I just don't believe that a deity/God exists, but do believe time travel is completely feasible)
• Environment and reason for being in that environment will be factors that change the communication temp and narrative too. How much noise is in the environment? If you have been here before is their new stimulus that is unfamiliar?

There are a ton of factors that go into the way that we take in another's communication or that we communicate to others. I believe there is some truly good merit for yoga teachers and practitioners to learn a bit about the factors that will affect them and others.
Giving a class is not just as simple as putting together a script and taking people through that script. And being a student isn't just about going through the script that a teacher is guiding us through.

The Autistic Yogi Reflects on the 2nd Wrestling Practice

This practice I felt a little more uncertain in my delivery. I was far more excited in attending on this day but I felt off once I started to get into the delivery. It will certainly take time for me to get to that level of certainty in delivering a good yoga'esque practice for these athletes.

I had heard that some of the students would not come on the day I am teaching because they figure that yoga is gay... It's to bad that their limited perspectives act as a barrier for them to gain more insights. I find this sort of thought process to be common, where because of a single experience an individual judges the whole of a group, most likely its to look/seam cool?

I tend to work best when I have a lot of knowledge of a given subject and than can free flow through the thought and execution towards that given subject. With giving a program to wrestlers I can say that I have a bit of difficulty because my limited knowledge of the most constant movements and issues that are cropping up in this sport. Staying and watching the practices after my teachings I think will bare a lot of fruit so that I can really figure out programs to give to the group and hopefully see how I can get to the specifics of each individual wrestler and help them address their concerns with their personal range of motion.

From what I can tell in my limited exposure to wrestling the most likely injuries to come about rather than surface injuries ( scrapes, bruises, bloody noses, injured ears, cuts, etc) are going to be wrist, shoulder, and knee issues, ankle issues I am sure are something that crop up a lot too. Wrestling is definitely the most extreme form of partner stretching.

I will continue to seek out as much information as I can about what are the best methodologies of the greats and what other successes have other similiar sports had for specific range of motion practices.

Stretching is not about having the longest air deepest range of motion but rather how well the joint is able to move through its range of motion and return to its relaxed state.

The Autistic Yogi Reflects on Day 1 of Teaching the Wrestling Team

I got through day 1 of teaching yoga'esque movement to the local high school wrestling team.
Like usual I am always nervous before and during teaching to a new group, no matter how confident I end up feeling about my knowledge I am always nervous presenting to people.

 I always end up loving it though. Every time people show interest and then I observe them using things that I have taught.

This was and is such a great opportunity to teach a less conventional yoga type class and play on the periphery of yoga movements and incorporate some of my other practiced skill sets in. With years of observing my movement heroes, Simon Borg-Olivier, Scott Sonnon, Christopher Sommers and his students I am empowered to offer dynamic stretching with some considerations when we do long held stretches. And this wrestling team and the coaches seam desirous of the skills that I can offer. Maybe after just one day I speak to soon.

Forearm stretches
Joint Rotations
Wrist strength drills

Sun Salutations with a minor focus on the shoulder rhythm (trying to eliminate the cue of drop shoulders down and back or away from the ears, as I think this cue is more injurious than beneficial) I prefer to get them to lift the arms to get a side stretch and then protract the shoulder blades or press their shoulders towards the direction their armpit muscles point (Latissumus Dorsi and Pectoralis Major), this than facilitates a little better shoulder rhythm. (This is a combination of Simon Borg-Olivier and Leslie Kaminoff thoughts that inspired me to analyze scapular rhythm a little more.)

Sun Salutation B modified chair posture. I want to slowly get these athletes into knowing more about their hips and why they either can do a narrow squat or not, while getting into the anatomy of the hip bones may not be beneficial for the majority of them but allowing them to explore sensation and being able to differentiate why some of them can not hardly get low in a narrow squat because of either hip or ankle flexibility issues.

Knee Flexion ideas in seated postures and movements and to connect with keeping the hamstring activated in Flexion movements to help keep the knee better protected, especially in the demands that wrestling has on the knees, getting them mindful and cerebral of their knee activation is vital in my perception.

Mobility drills. I worked on analyzing shoulder rolls both forward and back and getting into some arm balances from spinal rolls.

It's going to be a journey and I will slowly try to get a more concise program down that benefits them and help these youth and coaches to attain their best. I can already see how some of the skills they practice are going to help my Acro and my yoga practice.  I can keep writing and writing but I will not try and write a whole chapter here and slowly get more knowledge down about my experiences.

I am wondering if there are some muscles best not stretched prior to practice and some best not stretched afterwards?

The Autistic Yogi Reflects on the Price of Practicing Yoga

The bottom line, practicing yoga in most studios is expensive!

When we are looking at $15-$20 for an hour to an hour and a half of practice we can see that Yoga as a practice caters to the well off and is not accessible by the majority of people.

A cursory look at others opinions seams to elucidate the expense to practicing in places with high overhead. I don't think its just a western issue of wanting to practice in beautiful place with wide open rooms that are well lit and warmed pleasantly that look great and have fully functioning bathrooms, etc, etc. Overhead is expensive and that is the bottom line and the more 'features' a studio wants to add than the more expense they have.  I suppose that they have a particular target market that is able to afford the, imho, exorbitant fee for yoga. Unlimited passes and punchcards seam to give some savings to the individuals but it still doesn't bring the price down to an affordable rate unless your in the middle to high working class.

Before I was a yoga teacher I had to make the choice to either practice yoga at the unlimited price or have money to buy new clothes or have entertainment for a month.. I couldn't do more than 1 of these otherwise I was literally accumulating debt.

A few questions I am trying to ponder;
Are karma classes and or energy exchanges the answer to this? 

Are studios who offer energy exchange coping out on hiring appropriate custodial staff?

When studios offer karma classes are they about competition with other studios doing the same or is it truly about giving back to the communities?

When studios offer yoga teacher training at the 200 or +300 hour levels do they believe in the essence of what the instructor is giving or are they just doing it to make ends meet and or attempting to make a profit from it?
Should yoga be accessible to everyone?

What things can change in the world of westernized yoga to allow studios to meet their bottom line and allow the underprivileged to have a practice?

The worker is worthy of his meat, but at what point is taking to much?

Do we sacrifice our morales in order to make ends meet?

How do we make sure that all Yoga Teachers and studios are insured so that if a full time yoga teacher needs time off they are compensated or if someone is injured under their instruction/in their venue that they are compensated? How is it made affordable?

There are so many factors in all of this, and so many questions that come up around the issue of the price of yoga.

Currently I am of the opinion that the majority of studios are overpriced and catering to the aesthetic desire of our people and that many teacher training's out there are putting out subpar teachers and are more concerned with getting numbers of people into the training rather than giving each individual teacher to be the attention needed to have the best chance of being a good teacher.
I am not in love with my ideas and willing to expand my thought process.

The Autistic Yogi Reflects on the Journey to Teach Stretching & Conditioning to High School Wrestlers

So I was hired twice a week to help a local high school wrestling team to address ROM (Range of Motion) issues, aka stretching.  So having never witnessed a practice I went to observe them practice and I can say that watching them has me excited to work with these athletes and to give them the form of yoga that I have been personally practicing which combines both dynamic and static stretching. And I am far more excited to learn more about giving movement to these athletes that serves their sport.
Some of the things that came to my mind while watching them:

1. Gospel cues/cookie cutter yoga postures just will not work for the intense demand these athletes need. 
2. This is partner stretching of the most extreme kind. Wrestling makes me think that both people are the stretch therapist attempting to gain the upper hand and be the master of the stretch of their opponent/client.
3. The goal is to make these athletes supple in their joints, to not sacrifice strength for flexibility and not sacrifice flexibility for strength.
4. The demand of wrestling is extreme and in many instances excessive, these athletes need the highest grade of coaches that can be obtained. 
5. The stresses on the joints of the athletes is extreme and there are tons of movements that they have to commonly do that would be contraindicated by most of the gospel cue yoga teachers out there (example, the demand that shoulder stand be practiced with a supporting prop under the shoulders to execute).
6. There must be an intelligent method of pre-workout stretches versus post-workout stretches that will facilitate better neural/muscular responses over the career and lifespan of the athlete.
7. Many injuries could be prevented with intelligent conditioning of the athletes. Finding the balance between self drills & skills and partner drills & skills will be the challenge. And will most likely be different for each athlete.
8. Assessments of each athlete should be done often so that I as a ROM movement coach can better serve each athlete. What things are working and what things are not working? 
9. I believe that I am studying the right materials to offer a well balanced ROM program to these athletes and I need to continue to find more great minds out there that have spent years tackling best practices and adopt philosophies and training methods as it becomes a skill that I am capable of offering athletes at appropriate times, and honor those whom have given me skills by crediting them where due. Simon Borg-Olivier, Scott Sonnon, Christopher Sommers
10. This is going to be an exciting journey in developing bonds with other coaches and with athletes. My hopes is to be able to intelligently modify my instructions to best serve the whole group and become a valued participant that is continually welcomed back each training season.

Time to get researching more about how to give an appropriate yoga'esque program to high school wrestlers and how to be an important faculty member of the coaching team.

If your a wrestling coach or athlete and have any input or resources that can help me to better serve the team I am part of please comment :)