1 1 2 >> LEX: Good afternoon, everybody, and 3 welcome to today's web cast on yoga and the Mind 4 Body Connection for persons with disabilities. 5 My name is Lex Frieden. I'm director of the 6 Independent Living Research Utilization program 7 and I'll be moderating today's presentation. 8 We've got a great guest today and that is Matthew 9 Sanford. I know many of you have heard about him 10 and that's the reason you're logged on today. 11 Matthew is the president of Mind Body Solutions. 12 This web cast is being sponsored by NRH 13 Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on 14 Spinal Cord Injury and it is also sponsored by 15 the National Institute on Disability and 16 Research. 17 Before we introduce 18 Matthew, I want to cover a 19 couple of housekeeping issues 20 for those of you who are 21 planning to participate today 22 in the program. You can 23 submit your questions by 24 clicking on the e-mail button 25 on the bottom right-hand 2 1 corner of your screen or you 2 can e-mail them directly to 3 us at webcast@ilru.org. I'm 4 sure you're going to have a 5 lot of questions and you can 6 call 713-520-0232. When the 7 recording comes on, press 8 zero for assistance and tell 9 somebody there the problem 10 you're having. 11 Now, it's a great pleasure 12 for me to introduce today's 13 speaker, Matthew Sanford of 14 Mind Body Solutions. 15 Matthew, as many of you know, 16 is a pioneer for adaptive 17 yoga for persons living with 18 disabilities. Matthew has 19 been teaching an adaptive 20 yoga class at the Courage 21 Center in Golden Valley, 22 Minnesota, and he's been 23 doing that since 1998. 24 He's received several 25 awards for his work including 3 1 a Volvo for Life National 2 Hero award this past March 3 and he just finished 4 publishing a book called 5 Waking: A Memoir of Trauma 6 and Transcendence where he 7 addresses the Mind Body 8 Connection. 9 Matthew has studied yoga 10 since 1991 and he is using 11 his experience to transform 12 current approaches in health 13 care and rehabilitation. 14 Matthew is with us here; and 15 Matthew, I just want to thank 16 you for being on the program 17 and welcome to our web cast 18 today. 19 >> MATTHEW: Thank you. It's an honor to be 20 here. 21 >> LEX: Matthew, one of your real 22 contributions in my estimation in addition to 23 bringing yoga to the masses of people with 24 disabilities who, like myself, probably haven't 25 even thought about yoga, is your commitment to 4 1 the belief that people with disabilities, with 2 fragile bodies or fragile minds can benefit from 3 it and grow between the relationship between your 4 mind and their body. And I wonder if you want to 5 comment on that a little bit. 6 >> MATTHEW: Yeah, one of the things I think 7 that people living with a disability have to 8 fully take in because I don't think our health 9 care system does is that there is no physical 10 disability or no just mental disability. 11 Everything is a Mind Body disability. Every 12 disability no matter what it affects the Mind 13 Body relationship. 14 And when you start 15 seeing -- instead of just 16 seeing your injury, for 17 example, my injury, I have a 18 spinal injury, I'm paralyzed 19 from the chest down as an 20 injury that has psychological 21 and emotional repercussions. 22 Sure, a car bumped over my 23 chest, that's what happened. 24 There's a physical injury and 25 of course there's 5 1 psychological and emotional 2 consequences from that. 3 But the real injury I live 4 with every day is a Mind Body 5 injury. It's hard because of 6 paralysis to live fully 7 through my body. A lot of my 8 message today is to recognize 9 your injury or your condition 10 whatever it may be as a Mind 11 Body injury or condition; and 12 when you do, then some sort 13 of Mind Body approach, some 14 sort of Mind Body practice 15 allows for not just physical 16 healing, psychological 17 healing, emotional healing 18 but most importantly, I want 19 to get across to people that 20 there's Mind Body healing 21 that's possible. 22 You can be present within 23 your whole body without being 24 able to flex muscles, without 25 being able, regardless of 6 1 your cognitive ability, 2 they're all things that can 3 happen within disability. 4 One of the reasons I do the 5 work I do is the 6 experience -- I'm looking to 7 transform the experience of 8 living with a disability. 9 I'm not looking -- yoga, 10 for example, is never going 11 to stop me -- it's not going 12 to cure my spinal cord. It's 13 not going to heal it. But 14 what yoga does is transform 15 my experience of living with 16 a disability -- it changes 17 how I move, how I transfer, 18 how I live in the world. 19 That's what I wanted to get 20 across today. 21 >> LEX: Matthew, in rehabilitation, we know 22 that people who have -- those of us who have had 23 a traumatic injury, we're told by doctors and 24 therapists that it's going to take a while to 25 adjust. That adjustment is a process of 7 1 integrating your mental and physical states. 2 That occurs naturally and in some cases, 3 integration doesn't occur. 4 A lot of people just learn 5 to ignore their bodies and 6 that's the way many people 7 adapt to physical 8 disabilities, at least, they 9 just ignore. 10 >> MATTHEW: I think we're actually guided to 11 do that by a well intending but wrong headed 12 medical model. When it comes to trauma in life, 13 I don't think we're very sophisticated in 14 realizing how loss and trauma can be transformed 15 beyond just psychological acceptance. 16 So, I do think that we are 17 given a message, a general 18 message by the rehabilitation 19 model to overcome your body 20 or whatever it is. That 21 doesn't work -- simply put, 22 this is the only body I have. 23 This is the only mind I get 24 to have. So, you can't 25 overcome that. When you try 8 1 to overcome that, when you 2 try to push through your 3 disability, you lose a lot of 4 what is vibrant about 5 living,. 6 >> LEX: Well, we have lost a lot of great 7 minds because people have worked so hard with 8 your mind -- and they died as a result of not 9 having the support of those body systems and the 10 functions that may not have been fully able, but 11 at least not able to support the mind. 12 >> MATTHEW: That's no different. This truth 13 is no different than it is for anybody, 14 regardless of your level of ability or disability 15 is that if you don't take care of your body, if 16 you don't stay connected to your body, bad things 17 are going to happen. What ended up happening 18 with me, for example, my margin for error, 19 because I've got kind of a complicated situation 20 living with paraplegia, if we ignore our bodies 21 the most, then my chances of getting sick or 22 having secondary conditions increase because 23 those are waiting if you don't take care of your 24 body. 25 But what I want to get 9 1 across is that taking care of 2 your body doesn't just mean 3 becoming a wheelchair athlete 4 or only doing a physical 5 activity. What I'm talking 6 about, what I'm advocating, 7 if you take in the idea that 8 your injury or your 9 disability is fundamentally 10 at its core a Mind Body 11 injury then the way that you 12 should move forward in the 13 world is by integrating your 14 Mind Body and trying to 15 restore whatever among the 16 presence is still there with 17 your Mind Body relationship. 18 My experience with yoga 19 ended up showing me that the 20 level of presence that's 21 possible even though I'm 22 paralyzed from the waist down 23 is drastically more than what 24 I was guided to believe was 25 possible. 10 1 That's part of the message 2 of waking. I'm so happy -- 3 it's been out for two years 4 but it just a came out in 5 paperback last week so it's 6 more affordable. That's the 7 message that I want to get 8 out is that there's so much 9 more possible than what we've 10 been guided to believe. 11 >> LEX: Matthew, in the vernacular of some 12 clinicians, and I'm thinking in terms of 13 wholistic medicine, and some of us have been 14 attracted to that concept over the years -- 15 providers, clinicians would say, listen to your 16 body, listen to your body. But you're saying 17 more than that, aren't you? 18 >> MATTHEW: Listening to your body is 19 definitely one of the first steps. It's not just 20 my disability because I've been watching and 21 studying the last ten years as I've taught this 22 class to people with a wide range of 23 disabilities. There's a possibility of inner 24 awareness throughout your entire body regardless 25 of what your disability is. 11 1 That's something that you 2 want to hone because when you 3 do -- so, it's more than just 4 listening. It's literally 5 knowing and believing and 6 exploring an inward awareness 7 in your body that's going to 8 make your life easier and 9 lighter. 10 >> LEX: You've got to help me with this 11 because it begins to sound a little mystical. 12 >> MATTHEW: That is part of the message. 13 This is never going to make me walk again. This 14 isn't going to reverse a condition. This is what 15 is actually in the Mind Body relationship. 16 People are listening, sit back in your chair, 17 slouch and lean back, like you're going to watch 18 TV in a chair and not pay attention; or if you 19 try to sit up straight, and whether you can or 20 not physically, imagine pushing down through your 21 feet and pushing up. So, stretch up to the top 22 of your head and take a couple of breaths. The 23 quality of presence that you experience right 24 then between slouching and sitting back and 25 sitting up straight and being a little bit more 12 1 conscious in your breathing. 2 >> LEX: Okay. Coach me through that one more 3 time. 4 >> MATTHEW: So, you're sitting back. So, you 5 hang out, watch TV. Now, I want -- if it's 6 possible for whoever is listening, now try to sit 7 up straight off the back of your chair. As you 8 come forward, imagine pushing down through your 9 feet a little bit and try to imagine your sit 10 bones, your bones in your rear-end on your 11 cushion and try to push up through the top of 12 your head. 13 And as you do that, try to 14 take a couple of breaths. 15 Notice you feel more awake as 16 to when you sit back. You 17 are more likely to engage in 18 the world, that feeling. 19 That's what I mean by 20 presence within the body. 21 Now go back to slouching 22 again. It's easier. You 23 don't don't have to worry 24 about gravity as much, but 25 your body is slightly -- 13 1 >> LEX: Now, in my experience just now trying 2 that, I agree with everything you said, but I 3 must say it's hard for me to imagine sitting up 4 like that with my feet pushing down and my head 5 pushing up. I feel more awake, breathing 6 regularly is good, but I don't know how long I 7 could do that. 8 >> MATTHEW: The point is not that you have to 9 sit like that all the time. The point isn't that 10 you always sit back leaning in your chair. A 11 Mind Body practice starts just a few minutes a 12 day. 13 I slouch -- this is not 14 like you have to sit up 15 straight all the time. This 16 is not a one size fits all. 17 The difference between 18 sitting back what you feel 19 and sitting up what you feel, 20 that's living your body in 21 more spaces, right? Feeling 22 different positions that make 23 you feel different things 24 within your body. 25 So, there are really 14 1 important reasons why you 2 should sit back in your 3 chair -- for balance, for 4 reaching for things. My 5 point is that just notice 6 when you sit up straight -- 7 this is not how you should 8 sit all the time -- but when 9 you do, you experience 10 different things within your 11 body. And that's true 12 whether you live with a 13 spinal cord injury or not. 14 That's true. There's a 15 connection here. 16 What we experience with a 17 presence in the body -- when 18 I say presence, all I mean is 19 where your mind intersects 20 your body in your inward 21 experience. That's presence. 22 >> LEX: From a practical standpoint -- by the 23 way, it would be easy for me to turn this into a 24 coaching or mentoring session and have all of us 25 here more or less mesmerized by your teaching, 15 1 but as a practical matter, what about people with 2 disabilities who literally can't sit up straight 3 or in a wheelchair, quadriplegic, how do you get 4 into that -- 5 >> MATTHEW: A couple of things, anyone who is 6 living is breathing, right? It's studying your 7 breath and learning -- not increasing the 8 quantity of your breath but increasing the 9 quality of your breath. 10 Try to breathe more 11 through your nose than your 12 mouth. Those are the 13 beginnings of a Mind Body -- 14 in any yoga, breathing is 15 first and foremost. Now, 16 sitting, just being in your 17 chair -- I've got to imagine 18 that everyone in the audience 19 gets in bed and sleeps, too, 20 either flat or on your side. 21 There's different positions. 22 Yoga is not about different 23 poses, per se, it's about 24 maximizing your consciousness 25 as you live and move in your 16 1 body. 2 So, it can be practiced 3 flat on your back; it can be 4 practiced while you do 5 anything you're doing. Just 6 try to bring more 7 consciousness than less into 8 whatever you do. 9 So, depending on what your 10 level of disability or what 11 your situation is, that is 12 where you start. 13 >> LEX: That to me is an important point 14 because when I think about yoga, I think about 15 somebody on television at 6:00 a.m. who's 16 wrapping their legs around the back of their 17 neck, doing a pose, things I couldn't imagine 18 doing even before I broke my neck. 19 >> MATTHEW: That's a sensational presentation 20 of yoga. Yoga is the integration of Mind Body 21 and whatever we call spirit. That's what it is. 22 It can happen -- one of the beautiful things 23 about yoga -- and it's not just yoga. I don't 24 want you to think that the only way to achieve 25 this is through yoga because it can be any kind 17 1 of Mind Body practice. The principles of yoga, 2 we're talking about yoga in particular -- they 3 don't discriminate. They work for any Mind Body 4 spirit relationship. That's what they do. 5 Anyone can -- I'm getting back to the 6 quadriplegic -- when you're laying in bed, try 7 stretching through your feet, try feeling your 8 collarbone and breathing. Try to integrate your 9 breath with some kind of awareness. That's yoga. 10 That's the beginning of yoga. 11 Getting back to your 12 original question. So, maybe 13 you can't do it on your own 14 but maybe you have a PCA that 15 comes in and helps you some. 16 Maybe you do a range. Sit up 17 a little bit and practice 18 breathing when you're not in 19 your chair. Then, for five 20 minutes a day, with a folded 21 blanket or pillow, for five 22 minutes a day, and practice 23 lifting your chest. 24 That's what's hard about 25 this. I can talk about a 18 1 particular condition but not 2 everything applies for a 3 particular condition. For 4 example, lifting your chest, 5 that's in almost every single 6 yoga pose and it's something 7 you can do regardless of the 8 rest of the pose and it's one 9 of the core foundational 10 pieces. 11 For example, have you ever 12 seen depressed people? They 13 don't walk around with their 14 chest lifted. They walk 15 around somewhat slumped over 16 and looking down. Even when 17 you're laying in bed, you can 18 put a pillow behind your back 19 a little bit and try to open 20 your chest and breathe. 21 That's the beginning of yoga. 22 It starts so much more basic 23 and simple -- simply than 24 what people imagine or what 25 they've seen portrayed as 19 1 yoga. 2 And I say something that I 3 believe with every fiber of 4 my being -- when you do the 5 little actions and not the 6 big wrap your leg around your 7 head type stuff, I believe 8 you're doing more yoga. 9 Imagine a wheel. There's 10 the hub of the wheel and the 11 outside of the wheel. If you 12 can make a little change near 13 the hub of the wheel, it 14 translates into a big 15 movement at the outside of 16 the wheel. When you're 17 learning things like core 18 lifting your chest -- you 19 imagine pushing through your 20 heels, then you breathe. 21 That's the core of yoga. 22 >> LEX: Do you actually suggest pressing on 23 your forehead? 24 >> MATTHEW: Pressing on my forehead? That 25 actually helps. That cools down the brain. I 20 1 don't mean cool like temperature-wise. When you 2 press on your forehead, you tend to close your 3 eyes. But go with that, if people are listening, 4 press on your forehead and see if you can't feel 5 how the back of your eyes can soften a little bit 6 when you have pressure on your forehead. And try 7 to lift your sternum and your chest a little bit 8 and breathe. That's yoga. 9 >> LEX: Matthew, you practice yoga yourself, 10 the discipline, how many hours a day do you 11 spend? 12 >> MATTHEW: That varies over the years. 13 Right now I'm so busy trying to get this message 14 out to people. I've practiced four hours a day. 15 You have to remember, I'm intense. I'm the one 16 working to get the message back to people. I've 17 made mistakes that I shared in Waking that I 18 don't want people to repeat, there are things 19 like that. 20 But I practice probably a 21 half hour to an hour a day. 22 I'm very busy and when I have 23 more time, it's so easy, 24 there's nothing I like more 25 than spending a couple or 21 1 three hours. I have an 2 8-year-old son and I'm 3 married, so, life is busy. 4 But the way to begin a 5 yoga practice is three 6 minutes a day. When you've 7 got time, it grows slowly and 8 the more organic and natural, 9 your practice can grow. It 10 will grow wherever it needs 11 to grow. I do more when I'm 12 not so busy doing the work I 13 need to do. I know I'm doing 14 less of my practice now. 15 >> LEX: Matthew, is there a role for 16 clinicians in Mind Body relationships? Surely 17 there is. 18 >> MATTHEW: Is there a what? 19 >> LEX: A role for clinicians, should 20 somebody consult with a physician? 21 >> MATTHEW: You never want to do something -- 22 doctors, for example, physicians, I think of 23 them, they don't know everything but they're 24 really powerful instruments that you should 25 reason and listen to. Make sure you check with a 22 1 doctor. Make sure you find out what 2 restrictions. Don't do something directly 3 against what a doctor says ever. 4 There's enough yoga; 5 there's enough different 6 poses, there's a way to do it 7 that regardless of the 8 physical things that they 9 limit, there's so much to it. 10 You don't have to do those 11 few things. There's many 12 other things to do. So, 13 clearly, err on the side 14 of -- it's about working your 15 Mind Body relationship in an 16 effort to increase 17 consciousness. That's 18 different and that doesn't 19 require any one pose, right? 20 So, in terms of doctors 21 and also physical therapists 22 and that, if you've got 23 really bad osteoporosis 24 because you've been sitting 25 in a chair a long time, 23 1 you've got to go really, 2 really slow. 3 The rules -- let the 4 doctors and the medical model 5 do what they're really good 6 at. They're really good at a 7 certain kind of practice of 8 medicine. They're not great 9 at healing. They're okay and 10 they're good at fixing. But 11 err on the side of doing what 12 they want to do to protect 13 you. Do that, and that's 14 where it starts. 15 >> LEX: Matthew, what can people expect -- 16 you've said this to a certain degree, but what 17 can they expect in terms of improvements in their 18 lives -- 19 >> MATTHEW: I think they're all across the 20 board. Like for any student, whether you live 21 with a disability or not, the benefits that you 22 gain are going to be directly proportional to 23 what you put into it. What's a little bit more 24 challenging for people with disabilities is you 25 don't get to follow what everyone else does. You 24 1 have to figure more of it out and there are not a 2 lot of resources out there there, which we can 3 talk about later. But there will be quality 4 changes in your breath, the ability to move 5 inward -- living with a disability, we all know, 6 it can be so frustrating sometimes, my gosh, it's 7 not like all of a sudden having a Mind Body 8 practice will make the world not frustrating, but 9 it will be better. 10 You also will gain in your 11 sense of vibrancy and it's 12 not just because you're 13 exerting; it's deeper than 14 that. It's more systemic. 15 Your energy level will 16 improve. Hopefully, your 17 sleep will improve. As 18 you -- you know, it's 19 interesting, as a reaction to 20 pain, its a natural reaction 21 to leave your body, to pull 22 away from what hurts. 23 So, people who are living 24 with chronic pain, if you can 25 enter your body, you will 25 1 have changes in your ability 2 to manage pain and chronic 3 pain and when you can use 4 your breath in helping you 5 deal with pain, that will 6 help a lot; and then 7 ultimately, your ability to 8 move into the world. 9 The same gains apply to 10 someone who doesn't have a 11 disability from it -- 12 increases in strength, 13 balance and flexibility, 14 those ultimately are 15 available to us, too. 16 They may look a little 17 different; they may come a 18 little slower, but the one 19 thing about yoga, it waits 20 for you. You don't have to 21 be in a rush. One of the 22 things I want to emphasize 23 and I want to emphasize later 24 is that most of all, you 25 don't want to be violent with 26 1 your body. You want to find 2 a Mind Body practice and 3 practice in a way that's 4 respectful of the body. 5 One of the big moments for 6 me in Waking in my book was 7 my body never wanted to have 8 its back broken. It didn't 9 want paraplegia. It's my 10 body, as you're dealing with 11 hardship, it was the body 12 that's stayed faithful to 13 living, that kept pumping 14 blood to my heart, that kept 15 breathing, that kept me 16 alive. 17 It was my mind that 18 struggled with living fully. 19 So, don't use yoga as another 20 thing to inflict upon your 21 body. You're going to find 22 yoga a remarkable teacher, 23 and treat it as such. That's 24 part of my message is that 25 your body is trying as hard 27 1 as it can to move towards 2 living. 3 >> LEX: Matthew, what would you say about two 4 people who have cognitive impairments, mental 5 retardation, people with chronic difficulty 6 making decisions, other impairments. 7 >> MATTHEW: One of the things just in general 8 as a general rule, minds and bodies work better 9 when they work together, very simple basic truth. 10 You will find that your ability -- your mental 11 awareness sharpens and gets more clear as it's 12 more prevalent in your body, as it integrates 13 with your body. 14 Now, this is just a 15 general truth. I do toxin 16 corporations, too. I have a 17 program called bringing your 18 body to work because we often 19 disengage from our bodies. 20 Your body is part of a 21 thought process. 22 So, on some level when 23 you're dealing with that -- 24 not necessarily cognitive 25 deficit, but some of the 28 1 other issues that can come 2 with mental illness or mental 3 difficulties, embodiment just 4 generally helps. If you 5 notice, often people with 6 cognitive deficit also have 7 coordination issues, too. 8 They typically go hand in 9 hand. That's -- people have 10 a mind; they have a body. 11 Often some of the same 12 practices are -- of being 13 more prevalent in the body -- 14 it's not going to make them 15 suddenly not have a cognitive 16 deficit, but it's going to 17 realize the potential of the 18 Mind Body relationship. 19 We're intended to live in 20 both our minds and our 21 bodies. That's just the 22 truth. I've also found 23 really great -- I've worked 24 with people, their ability to 25 manage stress increases, 29 1 their way to have their body. 2 People with cognitive 3 disabilities get the same 4 benefit, especially people 5 with brain injuries, all 6 those things. 7 You have a mind; you have 8 a body. It's best to try to 9 link them together. That's 10 why the role of clinicians 11 and people that work with 12 Mind Body oneness and health 13 practitioners, they're good 14 to seek out. They'll help 15 you realize how to live 16 vibrantly in the Mind Body 17 relationship you have. 18 >> LEX: Can you talk to us about your work in 19 the Courage Center. 20 >> MATT: I've been teaching this adaptive 21 class for the last ten years. It's become 22 apparent that not just everyone needs to do 23 yoga -- I would never steer anyone away from 24 yoga; I think it's great. But it's deeper and 25 more basic than that. You need to develop some 30 1 sort of Mind Body practice. I started to think 2 about, what if my practicing a connection more to 3 my body was something that I was guided to do by 4 the rehabilitation process, that I was actually 5 directly, not just in my case -- how to transfer, 6 put my shoes on and move in and out of a car, 7 what have those skills, which I need to learn, 8 but also the level of connection between my Mind 9 Body relationship because that increases your 10 ability to do things. 11 So, we are in the process 12 of trying to develop a model, 13 a Mind Body approach to 14 rehabilitation at the Courage 15 Center. We're studying 16 outcomes. We're showing 17 where the anecdotal evidence 18 is coming -- we're showing 19 that because we live with a 20 Mind Body disability, the 21 approach is going to improve 22 our life. 23 What we're trying to do -- 24 the Courage Center is in 25 Golden Valley, Minnesota. My 31 1 goal is working to make the 2 Courage Center the Mind Body 3 rehabilitation center in the 4 world, at least one of them. 5 It's really exciting work. 6 It's coming from -- 7 ultimately, I want to lead 8 the rehabilitation process 9 more through my body. 10 Because if that's the 11 case, if I leave more 12 connected, I'm going to take 13 care of myself better, I'm 14 going to end up back in the 15 hospital less often, which is 16 a big issue. That's the 17 motto we're trying to create 18 and develop and test. 19 >> LEX: One of your goals is to extrend that 20 which you learn and practice in a studio with a 21 small group of people to the larger population. 22 One way you've done that is through the book. 23 >> MATTHEW: The book, one of my goals is to 24 inspire. I wrote the book, I'm on this program 25 because I want people to at least plant the seed 32 1 in their head that there's a different way to 2 live with that Mind Body relationship. It's not 3 miraculous, but it's a better way of life. 4 The book is to inspire, to 5 make you know that something 6 else is possible. 7 So, basically, our second 8 goal is to inform. So, we're 9 doing that on a couple of 10 levels. We're developing a 11 different type of Mind Body 12 practice curriculum that will 13 be delivered to the Courage 14 Center but also other places. 15 The Volvo for Life award 16 that you mentioned that I 17 won, our nonprofit won a 18 hundred thousand dollars 19 because of that. We're 20 trying to upgrade our 21 website, but also we're about 22 to have a booklet on 23 developing inner awareness, 24 that will be out in the next 25 few months. There is a short 33 1 DVD that actually is 2 available on You Tube. 3 Google Matthew Sanford on 4 You Tube. That will be 5 packaged with your product in 6 the booklet with the 7 visualization exercise. That 8 should be available through 9 our website. 10 We're in the process of 11 developing it. So, that's on 12 one level for people with 13 disabilities. 14 Simultaneously, we're 15 trying to inform the 16 caregivers because at the end 17 of the day -- there are a 18 couple of crucial things that 19 happened to me where I was 20 guided by well intending 21 people, doctors and nurses to 22 basically give up on my Mind 23 Body relationship below my 24 injury, to try to make my 25 mind stronger. 34 1 So, that made me stop 2 listening to my body and 3 overcome it until I found 4 yoga. 5 So, we're trying to train 6 the trainers, so to speak, to 7 teach Mind Body awareness 8 while people are going 9 through rehabilitation. 10 That's what we're trying to 11 do at the Courage Center. 12 We're trying to create a 13 replica that people can use 14 to help connect to their 15 bodies. That's another of 16 our attempts to inform, to 17 create the curriculum and 18 training to be able to help 19 me, the patient, go through 20 the rehabilitation process 21 and come out of it more 22 connected to my body. 23 Those are the basic ways 24 we're trying to do it -- 25 Waking has got -- I think the 35 1 book Waking is telling the 2 story, the inspiring part, 3 and then the telling part is 4 beyond Waking for attempting, 5 institutional change, Mind 6 Body process at an 7 institutional level and 8 developing curriculum of Mind 9 Body possibilities for people 10 directly. 11 >> LEX: And by the way, Waking is available 12 in bookstores but it's also available at your 13 website, right? 14 >> MATTHEW: You click on MatthewSanford.com 15 and it will go to Amazon directly. So, we have 16 the book to make money, the more the message is 17 out there. It's a cycling thing where the more 18 the book can be successful in the world, the more 19 I can continue this message and get it to other 20 people. 21 >> LEX: We'd like to invite our participants 22 in the web cast now to offer any kinds of 23 questions or to make any observations that they 24 may have. I'm sure some of them have already 25 dialed in and done that. 36 1 So, I'd like to ask Lori 2 to put one or two of the 3 issues that people are 4 raising out there in web cast 5 land. 6 >> LORI: Thank you Lex and Matthew. One of 7 the questions we have is directed to you, 8 Matthew. In your class, do you often have 9 persons come with PCA's? Are PCA's a distraction 10 or is this something you have found you can move 11 past in yoga? 12 >> MATTHEW: So, the question is are PCA's a 13 distraction? 14 >> LORI: Yes. 15 >> MATTHEW: Imagine, you're talking about the 16 adaptive yoga class, we don't stay in the 17 wheelchair. As much as possible, we have mats 18 that stay on the floor. We want to get out of 19 the wheelchair. It's to experience different 20 contexts with which to experience your body 21 beyond just the shower, bed and the toilet. 22 So, the PCA is often 23 instrumental in helping with 24 that process. We also have 25 assistants in the class. 37 1 Rather than thinking about 2 that as a distraction, that 3 allowed -- if you were a 4 quadriplegic, instead of 5 leaning back in your chair, 6 for a couple of minutes I 7 wanted you to sit up in the 8 chair and someone needed to 9 put a blanket in your chair 10 to do that, those are some of 11 the ways a wider range of 12 experience gets to occur 13 because you do have some 14 help. 15 I teach Iyengar yoga. We 16 use props all the time. This 17 is no different than what we 18 do all the time. There are 19 poses and positions that you 20 can get into with help. 21 That's just how it is. 22 That's a basic truth for 23 everyone doing yoga. 24 So, on that level, I would 25 say that that's just not 38 1 uncommon. And then to go on 2 with that is that what ends 3 up happening is that a Mind 4 Body practice shouldn't just 5 be practiced in the yoga 6 class. The benefits are to 7 increase exponentially as you 8 can bring parts of it home 9 and do it at home. 10 Often what's happening is 11 that the PCA or family member 12 that's with them becomes part 13 of the class, too, and that 14 allows it to continue outside 15 of the yoga class. It's hard 16 to practice a yoga practice, 17 a Mind Body practice on your 18 own without other people 19 sharing it with you. 20 So, having the Mind Body 21 be taught, also to include 22 the PCA's and family members, 23 there's a better chance to do 24 it at home and the benefits 25 start to increase. 39 1 So, although they might be 2 slightly a distraction in the 3 class, which I wouldn't ever 4 call them that, the benefits 5 far outweigh the detriment. 6 >> LEX: Matthew, for people who are not 7 living in Minnesota or near your studio who want 8 to begin to practice yoga, can they read your 9 book? Is there another book you would suggest? 10 >> LORI: Or a video. 11 >> LEX: Yeah, is there a video or do they 12 need to get a mentor? Do they need to have a 13 yogi who can help them? 14 >> MATTHEW: To my knowledge, which is 15 limited, I don't think there is a great one out 16 there. They are beginning to emerge. When I'm 17 at national conferences, I get them handed to me. 18 There isn't one I particularly endorse. What's 19 happening is there's beginning to be some DVD's 20 being made that people maybe value a yoga student 21 and the work is remarkable. You basically have 22 to find them. There are pockets of them. They 23 are not widely distributed. I don't know -- you 24 can get ideas for a yoga practice from a gentle 25 yoga book but I believe that is a misnomer 40 1 because I don't believe people with disabilities 2 are meant to practice only gentle yoga. 3 So, in terms of finding a 4 teacher, what you have to do 5 is you're not going to be 6 able to go and for good 7 reason -- you're not going to 8 be able to go into a yoga 9 studio teaching a traditional 10 class if you have a 11 wheelchair and you have a 12 pretty overt disability. 13 That's not going to be safe. 14 You don't want to try to keep 15 up with that. That's not 16 doing yoga anyway; that's 17 just trying to imitate the 18 shape of the different 19 physical postures. That's 20 not yoga. 21 Yoga is this internal 22 thing that we talked about 23 before. What I would do is 24 try to find a yoga teacher 25 and just talk to them. 41 1 That's what happened in 2 Waking. What Waking does -- 3 it starts in the hospital, 4 starts with rehabilitation 5 and lastly in the book is my 6 relationship with my yoga 7 teacher. In a way, that's a 8 template in a way you might 9 move forward. There's a 10 thing called yoga therapy, 11 which are certain -- you 12 might try to find a yoga 13 therapist and they might 14 teach you different things, 15 but what's happened in the 16 last couple of years, the 17 yoga teachers are willing to 18 open themselves to great 19 exploration. 20 When I started teaching 21 yoga, I thought I was 22 bringing yoga to people. I 23 have learned so much more 24 from having to teach yoga to 25 people with disabilities 42 1 than -- it's a privilege to 2 teach someone with a 3 disability. You have to go 4 up and find the right person 5 and have a conversation; and 6 watch our website and get 7 this inner awareness booklet 8 that's coming out and keep 9 googling because this is an 10 emerging market. 11 There's going to be other 12 things coming, too. We will 13 end up with a series of DVD's 14 at Mind Body Solutions. 15 >> LEX: Matthew, you've said too that the 16 Mind Body relationship that you're conditioning 17 through yoga exists outside yoga. 18 >> MATTHEW: Absolutely. 19 >> LEX: One of the messages that I'm hearing 20 you give is that people should be in touch. They 21 should have a goal of having their mind and body 22 in touch and working together and listening to -- 23 >> MATTHEW: And that starts by letting your 24 breath feel more sensual, being aware of your 25 breath. Just start feeling your body. Try to 43 1 imagine -- again, I'm going to use an example of 2 paralysis, but being more in your feet. Having 3 your mind be there instead of thinking that 4 that's just not there. Try to inhabit your body. 5 That's the beauty of yoga. 6 The yoga poses are just 7 particular movements and 8 actions that enhance the 9 sensation and experience of 10 living within your body. 11 They figured out certain 12 movements where yogis have 13 about the last 4,000 years 14 where the experience is 15 enhanced. It begins so 16 simply. It begins by even 17 eating more slowly. 18 I mean, that's the point 19 here is that a Mind Body 20 practice doesn't have to be 21 this thing that's out of your 22 reach. It starts right where 23 you are right now. I know 24 everyone at least in their 25 mind's eye whether they're 44 1 laying down or sitting up -- 2 if you're laying down try to 3 push out the bottom of your 4 feet -- if you're sitting, 5 stretch to the bones up on 6 top of your head, that's yoga 7 and that's how it starts. 8 Tai chi will be adaptable 9 for some people. Really 10 notice the way the breath 11 moves throughout your body. 12 When you start the process, 13 you'll be able to do more 14 than you think you can do. 15 >> LEX: Lori. 16 >> LORI: Matthew, this is a question related 17 to pain and someone is asking what can you 18 recommend for pain, anything like meditation, 19 guided imagery in yoga. 20 >> MATTHEW: Again, one of the things I can 21 really do, I don't know what their pain is -- 22 remember, I'm not a doctor and I can't practice 23 medicine. 24 So, it would be 25 irresponsible for me to say I 45 1 know exactly what the person 2 is saying. But what I can do 3 is give a different way of 4 approaching pain. It's not 5 guided -- anything that -- 6 let's imagine this for an 7 example for conceptual 8 reasons: Somebody's got 9 really bad rheumatoid 10 arthritis in their hands, 11 anything they pick up in the 12 world, anything they grab, 13 they are afraid. 14 To pick up their water 15 glass is going to hurt. They 16 know it, they anticipate it. 17 They're tightening up in 18 their body; they're cringing 19 because their pain is the 20 focal point of where the pain 21 is going to be. One of the 22 things is to be able to stay 23 present more evenly through 24 your whole body as you're 25 experiencing the more 46 1 localized pain, to be able to 2 breathe while you're in pain. 3 Obviously, if it's wildly 4 acute pain, you justify to 5 try to survive that. I 6 imagine this is more about 7 chronic pain. What you're 8 going to find is that 9 paradoxically, the more 10 present you are in your body, 11 the more tolerant you're 12 going to be of pain. 13 One of the things pain 14 does is separate you from 15 your body. That's the 16 natural instinct. But 17 pulling away from your body 18 over time is a short-term 19 strategy. It doesn't work 20 long-term because the pain 21 gets more. The image I give 22 myself, because I have a lot 23 of chronic pain in my back, 24 instead of letting the pain 25 be -- I peripherate my 47 1 awareness. I literally do 2 guided imagery and 3 visualization but also 4 movement -- I try to surround 5 the pain and get my sense of 6 myself to be around the pain 7 instead of it being one of 8 the things that defines me. 9 So, I surround it, bring 10 it deep into my body so I can 11 let it go as opposed to 12 letting it -- because if you 13 live in a lot of chronic 14 pain, it's like the person 15 that's afraid to pick up -- 16 so the person with rheumatoid 17 arthritis is picking up a 18 glass, they need to press 19 their feet and breath. And 20 what happens as you do that, 21 the pain tends to not be as 22 great and you figure out 23 different ways to manage it. 24 >> LORI: A question about someone who has 25 visual impairment and they want to know if you've 48 1 had anybody with a visual impairment in any of 2 your classes. The person is interested but 3 skeptical because the imagery process may be hard 4 to get through. 5 >> MATTHEW: I was just interviewed for -- 6 it's called Access Press in the twin cities. 7 It's a newsletter that goes out to people with 8 disabilities and the guy Clarence who interviewed 9 me is blind. And we were talking and he had the 10 same question. I never thought yoga was possible 11 for me because I can't see the poses. I can't 12 see what I'm supposed to do. 13 And no doubt, that makes 14 it difficult. But what we 15 started to realize is instead 16 of having this thing about 17 just the terms of yoga, 18 through discussion with them 19 and conversation with them, I 20 started to say, don't think 21 about it so much as these 22 particular postures are the 23 ones you have to figure out 24 how to do, let's figure out 25 what a Mind Body practice 49 1 would be. 2 What I was able to get him 3 to see or feel was that when 4 someone that has a visual 5 impairment walks into a room 6 or rolls into a room or 7 whatever it is, they have to 8 extend their senses into the 9 world. They have to, like, 10 whether they have a cane that 11 shows them where things are, 12 where the wall is, they have 13 to use their hearing better; 14 they have to do all sorts of 15 things, use their sense of 16 smell, all these things that 17 are themselves already Mind 18 Body practices that in fact 19 you have living with a visual 20 impairment, you are already 21 so far along developing 22 consciousness that's like 23 yoga. 24 One of the things I was 25 able to convince Clarence 50 1 right away is don't think of 2 it -- you're already a yoga 3 student. You are, just by 4 living the life you have to 5 do, a yoga student. I would 6 say that to people that don't 7 live with any kind of 8 disability, you've already 9 figured out ways to transfer, 10 ways to deal with gravity, 11 ways to deal with balance 12 that are already Mind Body 13 practices. 14 So, what happened is as I 15 was talking to him, this guy 16 used to wrestle at a 17 collegiate level with his 18 blindness. And he said -- it 19 was funny. He said, I guess 20 you're right. I guess I do 21 have that sense. I could 22 often tell where a person was 23 going to try to do a 24 take-down on me without being 25 able to see him. 51 1 I said, yeah, because you 2 were using mental -- not just 3 through your body but through 4 your eyes. What happens is 5 you end up doing a lot of 6 adjustments. You end up -- 7 you don't just imitate what 8 you see visually. You have 9 to grow yoga from the inside 10 out. 11 So, a teacher can help 12 you, touch you and adjust you 13 to make you feel where your 14 body should be and then 15 what's great is that somebody 16 who has a visual impairment 17 has really learned to absorb 18 information and truth other 19 than visual. 20 When I come up with people 21 with visual impairment, they 22 get it faster. They get it. 23 I think the way you have to 24 teach is slightly different. 25 It's slightly more hands-on. 52 1 Believe me, it's more than 2 possible. You have to find a 3 teacher that's willing to 4 think and willing to do yoga 5 with you and not try to force 6 yoga upon you. That takes 7 developing a relationship 8 with somebody. 9 >> LEX: Lori? 10 >> LORI: Someone has written in, she started 11 taking yoga classes last November and it's 12 totally changed her life. 13 >> MATTHEW: That's exactly her -- like she 14 said it's changed her life quite a bit. Don't 15 just believe me. Believe this woman writing in, 16 too. It will change the quality of your life. 17 So, let's go on with the question. 18 >> LORI: Yoga has made me realize that I 19 never took the time to listen to myself and what 20 my body and breathing were telling me. I know 21 now that when you take a moment and realize what 22 your body can do, it becomes a whole new way of 23 enjoying what life has to offer. It's very hard 24 to explain unless you participate in it yourself. 25 It has helped me sleep better, breathe better and 53 1 with many other ailments that I have. 2 She worked with people 3 with disabilities and she 4 would like to for them to see 5 how yoga could help them and 6 she's wondering if you've 7 ever thought about developing 8 a CD for people with 9 disabilities -- I'm sorry, 10 DVD for people with 11 disabilities that is 12 captioned for people who have 13 hearing impairments. That's 14 one question and then she 15 wants to know if you know of 16 any resources in Connecticut. 17 >> MATTHEW: Resources in Connecticut? 18 >> LORI: Uh-huh. 19 >> MATTHEW: That is why I started a nonprofit 20 because that takes fundraising and we need to be 21 able to do this. So, we will be doing those 22 DVD's and we want to start in the next six months 23 where we have a strategic plan where we have 24 beginning plans on line, clips on line to be able 25 to see, audio to see our products go up on line. 54 1 So, there's that. When we 2 do make those DVD's, of 3 course we'll include every 4 type of disability, so, 5 hopefully we will have them 6 captioned. But this is an 7 emerging field and it's one 8 that's underserved. One of 9 the reasons why I did form a 10 nonprofit is that these 11 things need to be affordable 12 and they need to be shared. 13 So, that's part of why we 14 do the fundraising we do. 15 So, the answer is from a mind 16 perspective, from a body 17 perspective, this is part of 18 why we're doing the work we 19 do. In resources in 20 Connecticut, I know of things 21 in New York and different 22 yoga practitioners in New 23 York that might be able to 24 help. 25 But again it's so hard to 55 1 try to give an answer as a 2 one size fits all answer. 3 >> LEX: Matthew, do you have a blog on your 4 web site or any way that people can e-mail you 5 questions like this? 6 >> MATTHEW: Yes, you have to be patient with 7 us getting back because there are a lot of them 8 right now. If you go to info@MatthewSanford.com, 9 that gets to us. 10 >> LEX: The other thing we try to offer 11 people on our web cast is that if we don't get to 12 their questions today, and I know we didn't get 13 to all of them, we can post them on our web site 14 and Matthew, would that be something you would be 15 able to respond to? 16 >> MATTHEW: I would be willing to do that. 17 >> LORI: Another question, someone has 18 written in about a southwest yoga conference 19 that's going to be in Austin and they wanted to 20 know if you were going to be attending. 21 >> MATTHEW: I am teaching at that, by the 22 way. 23 >> LORI: That's the question. That's what 24 they wanted to know. 25 >> MATTHEW: I've just been invited to that. 56 1 >> LORI: It's October 23 through 26. Do you 2 post your schedule on your web site? 3 >> MATTHEW: Yes, I'm in a lot of different 4 places. I'm slowing down this summer because I'm 5 trying to work on another book, but I'm around. 6 That woman that wrote in, one of the things that 7 needs to occur is that people who have started on 8 this path, on exploring the Mind Body 9 relationship as it relates to disability, they 10 need to tell their stories, whether it's writing 11 a book, that's an extreme example of it, but -- 12 if people that have started this process find 13 their voice and don't -- just teach other people 14 yoga, that's how it starts. It's a lot of us 15 beginning to tell about our experiences. 16 >> LEX: Lori. 17 >> LORI: There's a question about the type of 18 yoga that you practice and how it differs from 19 regular yoga. Can you tell us a little bit about 20 that? 21 >> MATTHEW: I don't know what regular yoga 22 is. I think you mean Hatha yoga. So, let me 23 make a distinction. Hatha yoga is a generic term 24 which means postures. There are many different 25 types. There's one that's not Hatha, it's 57 1 Kundalini. In the realm of my experience, I have 2 studied Iyengar yoga. 3 Now, that's a different 4 style of yoga and I think in 5 some ways it has a lot of 6 advantages for people living 7 with a disability. But then 8 there's also the Vinyasa and 9 flow yoga, there's different 10 categories like that, Vinyasa 11 system that will help lend 12 itself a little bit better to 13 people with disabilities. 14 Why, for example, the pain in 15 your level of disability is 16 what it is; and Vinyasa flow 17 yoga does poses that flow 18 together, that go from one 19 pose to another and uses 20 movement and breath. 21 They're in these sequences 22 that are done over and over 23 again. That's hard because I 24 can't do all those poses. 25 The type of yoga that I 58 1 studied, Iyengar yoga, is 2 teaching the individual 3 poses. It teaches the 4 instruction in each and every 5 pose. It's safer, I think, 6 for a beginner, because it 7 emphasizes individual poses. 8 There are poses I can't do 9 but I can learn the whole of 10 yoga in a less number of 11 poses because it breaks down 12 the yoga into parts. It also 13 uses props. 14 For example, if you have 15 really tight hamstrings and 16 you have trouble sitting up, 17 on the floor, for example, 18 you sit on a blanket, it 19 allows you to sense, and not 20 just experience the tightness 21 in the hamstring. 22 So, it breaks the poses 23 apart into smaller parts. I 24 may not be able to do, for 25 example, in aversion, stand 59 1 on my head, but because it 2 breaks down the parts of the 3 pose to often a great degree, 4 I can break down the parts of 5 the pose and do that. I 6 teach, like at the southwest 7 yoga conference, I will be 8 teaching mostly students that 9 don't live with disabilities. 10 I can do standing poses, 11 for example, because I can 12 learn the parts of the yoga. 13 What Iyengar does is gives me 14 more to study with being less 15 dependent on particular 16 sequence of poses, if that 17 makes sense. 18 So, I think for those 19 reasons, it's a really good 20 yoga to practice. But then 21 there's something else I want 22 to say and that is that one 23 of the breakthroughs -- and 24 it's not that I created this 25 breakthrough, but one of the 60 1 things that my yoga practice 2 reveals and drives home and 3 this is for people with all 4 types of disabilities is that 5 alignment and precision. 6 So, Lex when I asked you 7 to lean back and sit up a 8 little bit straighter, it's 9 because you changed how 10 gravity was flowing through 11 your spine. Alignment and 12 precision integrate the 13 sensation and experience of 14 Mind Body. It integrates 15 mind and body on this subtler 16 level. That's huge. I teach 17 at yoga conferences and 18 national conferences, right, 19 because my practice of doing 20 yoga with my disability 21 reveals a truth that's in 22 everybody's practice is 23 that -- and Iyengar yoga is 24 famous and revolutionary in 25 how it puts so much attention 61 1 on alignment and precision. 2 So, for whoever is 3 listening, if you can take 4 your arm up over your head -- 5 if you can't, that's all 6 right. If you take your arm 7 up over your head and try to 8 straighten your arm but 9 balance your arm into your 10 shoulder blade. If you can't 11 take your arm over your head, 12 try to drop your shoulder 13 blade down towards your 14 tailbone as you try to at 15 least see your arm going up. 16 When you do stuff like that, 17 you'll end up feeling it more 18 down through your spine and 19 your legs. But alignment 20 precision can transcend 21 different types of 22 disability. Now, that's not 23 going to make me walk again. 24 So, a yoga that emphasizes 25 alignment and precision is 62 1 going to be the type of yoga 2 that someone with a 3 disability wants to do or 4 needs to do because they'll 5 start to get access to a 6 level of sensation that isn't 7 going to make them walk again 8 or cure whatever condition 9 they have, but it's going to 10 make them feel more in their 11 Mind Body position. 12 When you get more present 13 in your body, you get more 14 present in your 15 relationships, too. Things 16 change. You tend to be less 17 angry. 18 >> LEX: Well, I need to do that with Lori. 19 >> MATTHEW: You do tend to be less angry. 20 >> LORI: This is a question about equipment 21 and they want to know are there any types of mats 22 that you can buy if you have mobility issues that 23 you can do at home? 24 >> MATTHEW: You don't want to just -- it 25 depends, this is hard -- for me, I need to be on 63 1 a mat because I've been in a wheelchair for 29 2 years, I'm paralyzed. I've got to worry about 3 pressure on my sit bones. There are mats that 4 you can buy that vary in degree of hardness or 5 softness. You don't want to sit on a wood floor, 6 that's too hard. But you don't want to sit on a 7 squishy mat either because that's too soft. 8 You can find them in 9 stores where you explore 10 different types of mats, 11 aerobic mats, the kind when 12 you were a kid that they put 13 up against the basketball 14 hoops so you don't hurt 15 yourself, those are the types 16 of mats we use in yoga class. 17 You have to do a little 18 hunting and find them. 19 If that person writes to 20 MatthewSanford.com, we just 21 bought some mats for our 22 studio. I teach my adaptive 23 yoga at the studio. I teach 24 to -- that's to more 25 traditional students. If you 64 1 write to MatthewSanford.com, 2 we can pass on where we 3 bought our recent round of 4 mats. 5 >> LEX: That'd be great. We can post it on 6 our website. 7 >> LORI: This one has to do with if you know 8 of any audio CD's or any types of recordings that 9 would help someone with guided imagery so they 10 can at least start with that. 11 >> MATTHEW: I think there are a lot of them. 12 I think they should Google any meditation or 13 relaxation CD, and they're everywhere, that'll be 14 a start. I emphasize, if the images are to go to 15 a still pond, I believe they need to find one 16 that will help them develop inner awareness 17 within your body. 18 You want to be trying to 19 feel or imagine where your 20 feet are. Round, feel, 21 notice your breath. Notice 22 the front and back of your 23 body. Passing your jaw, the 24 inside of your mouth. Relax 25 the base of your tongue. 65 1 Breath. That's the beginning 2 of guided imagery. 3 >> LORI: I don't know about you, Lex, but I'm 4 more relaxed. 5 >> LEX: It works. It really works. 6 >> MATTHEW: What's crazy is in the yoga 7 sutras, yogis have figured out how to move 8 relationships in the Mind Body relationship in 9 many more ways than just physical action. That's 10 what's so hopeful in why yoga in its largest 11 sense, whether it's Hatha yoga, is such an 12 important technology for people living with 13 disability. 14 >> LEX: Matthew, we have just a short time 15 remaining before we lose our connection, our 16 audience, our technical support and we want to 17 give you some time to summarize in a sense why 18 you're committed to this, why you think it's 19 important and what overall you're trying to 20 accomplish through your leadership and your work 21 in this area. 22 >> MATTHEW: There's many levels to that 23 question, many answers to that question. On a 24 simple level and starting right with my own Mind 25 Body relationship, through yoga, I have realized 66 1 that there's a lighter energy and I don't want to 2 sound too weird, but a lighter level of 3 experience that exists in the spine, that exists 4 in how you move. It literally transforms the 5 experience of living with a disability. Because 6 think about it, living with a disability, 7 especially a physical disability, gravity is so 8 heavy. It's a constant, perpetual weight. 9 When you start to learn 10 and move your body in a way 11 that doesn't just push 12 against gravity, but 13 sometimes you lay back and 14 you spread your legs out and 15 you let gravity open your 16 chest a little bit and you 17 let gravity not just be a 18 foe, but also a teacher, 19 that's like stepping into a 20 new world. 21 The possibilities start to 22 transform and that's the 23 beginning. And practical 24 things do come from that. 25 So, I know that there's a way 67 1 to live in the Mind Body 2 relationship that can improve 3 the quality of your life. 4 So, on the simplest level, 5 I want to get that out there. 6 On another level, this isn't 7 just true -- it's not just to 8 lift your chest, but we 9 should learn all the things 10 we're already learning. 11 There's hope and potential. 12 One of the things that 13 happened with my medical 14 model is that they kept 15 showing all the things that 16 could go wrong with my body 17 that I needed to maintain and 18 take care of. They didn't 19 spend enough time showing me 20 what could go right, what was 21 still there. 22 They emphasized the loss 23 and how to overcome it, but 24 not the potential that still 25 existed within the life. 68 1 Because quite frankly, I'm 2 not just saying this to sound 3 overly positive, I think 4 people have an advantage 5 realizing the heart of yoga 6 exactly because they can't 7 control their bodies as well, 8 because they have to learn to 9 move without the same level 10 of control, because they have 11 to integrate what they can 12 feel and they can't feel. 13 I think that there is 14 reason to see your disability 15 here, not just as a detriment 16 that you have to overcome, 17 but exactly as part of your 18 teacher. I can tell you 19 right now, the most profound 20 teacher I have, and I have a 21 great teacher, Jo Zukovich, 22 she's coming to my studio 23 tomorrow. 24 I want to shift people's 25 view of how they shift the 69 1 perception of their 2 disability. I want to see it 3 as a teacher of transforming, 4 that they perceive this loss 5 as a hopeful potential. We 6 need to get a rehabilitation 7 system that opens that 8 potential while teaching the 9 other things that they need 10 to know. That's at the core 11 of why I'm doing it. But 12 also a message our culture so 13 desperately needs, all I'm 14 saying here today is not just 15 true for disability, it's 16 true for everybody. We have 17 to get away from thinking 18 that there is a group of 19 people that are disabled and 20 a group of people that are 21 not disabled. We're all 22 leaving our bodies. We're 23 all aging. And living with a 24 disability, I think, is 25 itself a spiritual practice. 70 1 It's relentless; it never 2 stops. You have to live with 3 it every day. The level of 4 follow through and patience 5 that someone with 6 disabilities have to realize 7 is that if we could bottle 8 that, we could transform the 9 planet in an instant. 10 So, I want people with 11 disabilities to realize that 12 they're a teacher, that they 13 have to realize things about 14 the Mind Body relationship 15 that this culture desperately 16 needs. We're hurrying up; 17 we're getting more and more 18 disconnected with our bodies. 19 So, when someone starts 20 the process of rechecking 21 their bodies, they can tell a 22 story that is profound. So, 23 I am also wanting people to 24 realize that disability is 25 all of our story and that 71 1 there isn't a big gulf 2 between me and our listeners 3 and the rest of the world. 4 And when that happens, when 5 you start to see connections 6 as opposed to disconnections, 7 the quality of life gets 8 better. You help people 9 around you, too, because the 10 more you give to the world, 11 the more you get back. This 12 is a basic truth we all know, 13 but we just forget to apply 14 it. 15 So, I think my work is 16 driven by a profound sense of 17 duty to give back, to find my 18 voice and share my experience 19 because the world needs it. 20 That's just true for 21 everybody. I guess that 22 would wrap it up a little 23 bit. 24 >> LEX: Well, we really do appreciate what 25 you've given us all here today. I think it's 72 1 inspiration, it's ideas; you've shared your 2 imagination with us. You've given us insights 3 into our own being and well-being and perhaps for 4 many of us a new way to look at ourselves and our 5 disability. 6 So, thank you very much 7 for that and thank you on 8 behalf of all the people who 9 participated in the web cast 10 today and those who will see 11 it on the archived web cast 12 later on because people who 13 weren't able to be here will 14 continue to log on. 15 I want to remind all of 16 you who are in the audience 17 today, any of you who have 18 missed a portion of this 19 broadcast, it would be on the 20 archives later on. 21 www.ilru.org and click on 22 this web cast to find Matthew 23 Sanford, once again, thank 24 you very much. 25 >> MATTHEW: MatthewSanford.com and the 73 1 nonprofit is MindBodySolutions.org. And watch 2 because there will be things and resources coming 3 out over the next year that will hopefully help 4 people on their journey to connect their Mind 5 Body. 6 >> LEX: And for those of you we didn't get to 7 today and I know there were many, we will go on 8 to the website and we will post those discussions 9 as soon as we can and please be patient because 10 Matthew is engaged. 11 I want to thank you 12 everyone who participated and 13 particularly we want to thank 14 our sponsors, the 15 Rehabilitation Research and 16 Training Center on Spinal 17 Cord Injury and NRH and we 18 want to say that the opinions 19 and views expressed today are 20 those of the presenters and 21 no endorsement of any of the 22 sponsoring agencies should be 23 inferred by them although I'm 24 sure the sponsoring agencies 25 would like to be associated 74 1 with them. 2 Finally, this web cast may 3 not be possible without our 4 web cast team, our people at 5 ILRU, Marisa, Lori, also at 6 Baylor College of Medicine, 7 Rob Dickehuth who has 8 developed this program and 9 assistance and support and 10 those who will use the 11 captions, I want to thank 12 Sherri Musslewhite who has 13 been with us today. So, on 14 behalf of all of us, on 15 behalf of Matthew, I want to 16 thank you for participating 17 in today's web cast and 18 please stay tuned for another 19 great web cast from ILRU 20 later on. Thank you. Bye. 21 22 23 24 25