Karma Yoga A Perfect New Years Resolution

by Ram

The Way Up by Marie Lossky
(@Marie.Lossky on Instagram)

Karma Yoga can be loosely interpreted as a selfless voluntary service that is rendered without any personal expectation. An individual rendering selfless service puts the well-being of others as a top priority ahead of his/her personal gain or achievement, and gets rid of all egoistic tendencies while offering such a service. To be a karma yogi you need to cultivate two qualities: 1) providing the service without any expectation of reward, award, name, or fame and 2) having a loving attitude toward the selfless service. 

Selfless service requires you to perform any service. At the same time you need to cultivate a loving attitude towards the selfless task without developing any stress from it, no matter what the outcome is. If you render selfless service with these qualities, you experience true happiness and satisfaction. Seek the true karma yogis and you will commonly hear them saying that the more they serve selflessly, the more true happiness they receive. Here is how Krishna puts it in Chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita: 

“Set thy heart upon thy work, but never on its reward, Work not for a reward; but never cease to do thy work. Do thy work in the peace of Yoga and free from selfish desires, be not moved in success or failure”—translated by Juan Mascaro

This approach—performing a task without any expectation, letting go of all results, whether good or bad, and focusing on the selfless action alone—is the essence of selfless service/karma yoga. In the light of non-attachment, the selfless doer attains freedom from emotional disturbances including but not limited to desires, ambitions, fear, worry, anxiety, judgment, and rage, and this is what leads to true happiness. BKS Iyengar alludes to selfless service when he extols the benefits of karuna (compassion). Karuna or true compassion is when you couple the compassion with a selfless action that relieves the misery or suffering. A true karma yogi is one who without any expectation or reward uses all the available resources to mitigate pain, misery and suffering, provides courage and strength to the weak and, provides shelter to all. In doing so, the doer of selfless service overcomes all mental afflictions (vrittis).

It is no surprise that the authors of a recent study Is volunteering a public health intervention? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the health and survival of volunteers that compiled empirical evidence on the benefits of selfless service concluded that rendering selfless service is very good for both body and spirit (physical and mental/emotional). And it also adds years to life. The study found that selfless service—like serving food in a soup kitchen or reading to the blind—reduces early mortality rates by almost 22%, compared to those people who did not volunteer in such activities. The study, which reviewed 40 other studies on selfless service and its effects, also revealed that volunteers benefit not just from reduced rates of depression but they also experience an increased sense of life satisfaction and wellbeing—doing a selfless service made them feel good, provided them true happiness, and also led to improvements in overall health. 

However, the authors also add not to expect these benefits just by offering few pennies to the charity box. True selfless service and its benefits come from going that extra mile—sacrificing time and effort to engage in an actual service. In the study, benefits were seen only among those participants that volunteered at least an hour of work once a month or those that offered their services more frequently. It is easy to understand why selfless service provides true happiness, leads to improvements in health, and extends health span (see Volunteer Work and Hedonic, Eudemonic, and Social Well-Being ). Studies have shown that doing a selfless act leads to numerous changes in the body and mind including:

• Stress reduction—when you are helping others, your body releases an important hormone called oxytocin which assists in buffering out stressful thoughts.
• Merely thinking of a selfless service releases certain “feel-good” chemicals namely dopamine that boosts the morale of the individual.
• Self-confidence—self-esteem builds and confidence levels grows when you are passionate about helping others in need.
• Helping others has shown to reverse high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes, and dementia by modulating the blood flow. 

 To promote these advantages, the United Nations as well as many European governments are encouraging more citizens to volunteer and render selfless service. We can do our bit as well. How about committing to selfless acts on a regular basis to achieve a longer health span and bring greater fulfillment to our life? A perfect and selfless resolution for Y2017!

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Happy Anniversary! Five Years of Yoga for Healthy Aging

by Nina

It was our five-year anniversary yesterday! Celebrate with us this year by enjoying a virtual cake and ice cream by my daughter Rosie Gibson and by listening again to "Float," one of my favorite songs by Flogging Molly (I love the video, too). I still think that the chorus for this song, “Ah but don't, don't sink the boat/That you built, you built to keep afloat,” works perfectly as a theme for this blog. That, and the ending to the song:

A ripe old age,
A ripe old age,
A ripe old age,
Just doing the best I can! 



We’ve had a very productive fifth year! We now have 1,2689 posts on the blog, covering a wide range of topics, including aging theories, asana practice and individual poses, pranayama and meditation, stress management, brain health, cardiovascular health,  medical conditions, ayurveda, yoga philosophy, and mindfulness. If you are interested in reading earlier posts, you should know there are three different ways you can search the blog for particular topics (or authors). See How to Search for details on how to do so in our new format.

We had changes in our staff, too. We added a new regular contributor, Beth Gibbs (see Beth Gibbs Joints Yoga for Healthy Aging for information about Beth). Love you, Beth! By the way, our blog strictly non-profit, so this means that Beth as well as our ongoing staff (Baxter, Ram, Shari, Jill, Bridget, and me, your Editor-in-Chief) are doing this work out of love. I’m so grateful to be working with such an extraordinary group of people! 

We started our Yoga for Healthy Aging Teacher Certification program in 2015 (see Yoga for Healthy Aging 2017 Winter Intensive for information about our next intensive/teacher training). And we now have certified YFHA teachers throughout the USA and Canada (see Certified Teachers). 

Finally, Baxter and I found a publisher for our book on Yoga for Healthy Aging: Shambhala Press. The book will be released in the fall of 2017. Many thanks to Senior Editor Dave O’Neal for "discovering" us when he attended our first intensive!

I'll end by saying that as always we're grateful for and appreciate all our readers, and we love hearing from you. 

“Tomorrow smells of less decay
The flowers quick just bloom and fray
Be thankful, that's all you can” —Flogging Molly

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Shave Off The Years With Botox

By Marlene Ataine

Botox continues to be the most popular cosmetic procedure in the world, due to it's safety record, ease of use, non-invasive nature, and the low price point. Botox is an injection that is used to treat wrinkles and common skin symptoms brought about by the aging process or sun damage. By relaxing the underlying muscles, these lines become less deep. When injected into a small facial muscle, it doesn't travel anywhere else in the body. It gradually wears off naturally over a 3-6 month period.

It's not surprising that Botox is so popular. With an exceptional safety record over the past twenty years, and a price point that is very comfortable and relatively cheap compared with alternatives. Botox has been purified under very strict controlled conditions. It is a bacterium called clostridium botulinum.

It's not just for woman any longer. There is the need and desire among men to look younger. As a result, they are turning to Botox in record numbers. Looking younger or the desire to look younger is no longer just the domain of women. The market for men is booming. Some industry reports have estimated that in the past six years alone, the number of men getting Botox injections has increase by 300 percent. It's a segment of about ten percent of all Botox injections, or around a half a million and counting.

A lot of reasons are cited to explain the large growing segment of the market that is now looking for youth enhancing procedures. One main reason is that a lot of men are being introduced to it by their wives, who are more aware and sensitive to the impact of frown lines or those deep forehead lines that can make them look much older. The social stigma of not appearing to care about how they look is no longer in fashion for men. Appearance matters and it is becoming evident in study after study.

Are there any people who should not receive Botox?

Botox should not be given to pregnant women, nursing mothers, or patients with neuromuscular diseases like myasthenia gravis, Lambert-Eaton syndrome, AML (Lou Gehrig's), or motor neuropathy should not use Botox. You should not use Botox if you are allergic to human albumin. It has not been tested during pregnancy or nursing and that is the reason for the recommendation to avoid Botox in these situations.

You will not be administered an anesthetic for this procedure, but before your treatment, your specialist may numb the injection site slightly. The procedure will likely take around ten minutes and you can return to daily activities shortly afterwards.

The price point for your Botox treatment is quite reasonable. In fact, this is one of the main reasons for the popularity of the treatment. A typical Botox session will usually cost between $300 and $400 per syringe. Botox patients can anticipate this price point every four to six months, if they are looking to maintain the results of their treatment.

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