Sitting on the New Jersey Transit train on the way back to the city after a glorious Bar Mitzvah in New Jersey this past weekend…

I overheard a Jersey couple, regaled in New York Giants apparel, obviously on their way to a Super Bowl party. They started discussing yoga.

“This article talks about how yoger is dangerous…” said the husband…citing an article he was reading in that day’s Daily News.

You do in fact hear some of the thicker East Coast accents pronounce it “yoger” not “yoga.”

“It’s not dangerous…all my friends swear by it, everyone’s doing yoga,” said his wife, in a thick Jersey accent.

“Read the article honey, it says right here, yoger is dangerous,” the husband shouted back, pointing to the article.

“That’s so stupid honey. Shirley Lombardo lost 30 pounds doing the hot yoga and Mike Golarelli is pimping a rock hard body from all the yoga he’s doing.”

“Mike Golarelli? Are you serious? That guy just came outta the closet a week ago, he left his wife and 2 kids to be with his boyfriend. That’s what yoga did to that sunuvabitch….made him gay!”

The wife thought for a moment before responding, “Y’know what honey? You’re right. I think almost every guy I know who does yoga is gay. But it ain’t dangerous.”

I turned around and mentioned to the couple, “I teach yoga” hoping they would tone down their buzz-crushing negativity.

The guy said, “Who’s talkin to you?”

“Y’know you should try yoga you’d really love it.

“Fuck you!”

Lesson 1: Don’t engage low vibration people unless you are planning to give them an energetic lift.

Now I was mad…and glued to their conversation like a crappy show on Bravo.

The wife stuck to the conversation, “Gay or no gay, yoga is cool. Jonny Guiseppi said he went to India to do yoga and his teacher levitated.”

“That’s a bunch of horseshit. Nobody levitates.”

“Jonny Guiseppi is a believable guy. He’s an attorney ain’t he? He swore he sore the guy lift in the air.”

“Jonny Guiseppi is a liah honey.”

“Call him…”

“Fine I’ll call him right now!”

The husband dialed a number on his cell phone.

“Yo Jonny…how ya doin? listen…my wife here is tellin me you been doing the yoger…yeah?…yeah?…yeah?…well listen, she told me you sore a guy levitate?…yeah?…yeah?…yeah? Listen Jonny, that’s the biggest bunch of horseshit I ever heard stop lyin to me!…I’m not mad…I’m just sayin the yoger is making you crazy and next you’re gonna be gay and you and Mike Golarelli can go stretch each other in Key West you sunuvabitch fuck you nobody levitates!”

Lesson 2: High vibration people are all-powerful and levitation is chump change in their arsenal of wizardry.

As I got off the train, I mentioned to the couple that their beloved New York Giants practice yoga.

The man looked confused and all he could muster was another F-Bomb and something about Richard Simmons asshole.

As we got off the train, I told my wife how she just missed the most interesting conversation, to which she replied that I make up too much stuff in my head.

Lesson 3: I could have spent my train ride thinking about something awesome like The Gravity Cowboy or someone talented like Yogi John Salisbury or someone coming from a very deep and poignant place like yogini Melissa Smith. But instead, I got dragged into this conversation. Gaining control of where we invest our attention is the first step toward lifting our vibration.

******

We all know low vibration people. They bring us down, they crush our spirit, they darken the mood. And in some way, most of us, especially me, are entangled in low vibration emotions like fear, jealousy, and anxiety.

The yogis teach that so much change comes by internal tweaks rather than external journeys, accomplishments, and goals.

As one yogi said, “Much can be accomplished in the mind’s thought free stillness and immobility.”

It’s key that we understand the vibration we are putting out there.

In David Hawkins classic book Power vs Force, he shares the following vibrational scale.

How can you rise on this scale?

Take responsibility for your vibration. Here are 3 steps.

Thoughts are Missiles

Angry thoughts are like consciousness missiles that are as damaging on a vibratory level as 12 F-bombs and a mention of Richard Simmons asshole. Be aware of the power of thought and use it to your advantage by thinking beautiful loving happy thoughts. As French writer Montaigne said, “The pleasantest things in the world are pleasant thoughts: and the great art of life is to have as many of them as possible.”

Love is The Bomb

There is no greater gift you can give to the world than to be a more loving person. Yes donating time and money and resources is important. But there’s nothing like love. Those people behind me on the train need more love. Your hyperactive crazy son needs more love. The anxiety-ridden spouse needs more love. Who doesn’t need more love? And who better than you to give it NOW. As Yehuda Berg said, “Love is a weapon of Light, and it has the power to eradicate all forms of darkness.”

Know The One

We all need a set point, a source of renewal, a go-to person whose vibration enables us to tune and calibrate. Who is that person for you? High vibration people come in all shapes and sizes. Don’t think too hard. Sometimes it’s the most random person who touches your soul in just the right way. And if you don’t know who the “go-to person” is in your life it’s really simple to find them. Just put it out there. When you go to sleep tonight and rest your head on the pillow, say a little prayer to meet a person who makes you laugh, who reminds you how awesome you are, and who helps you remember life is a journey to enjoy not a job to endure.

LET’S GIVE SOME LOVE TO YOGA DAN

One of the brightest young lights in the yoga world is Daniel Gottlieb. Those who know and love his classes call him Yoga Dan. One of the most wonderful qualities of being in the yoga community is that when someone needs love, yogis tend to draw from a very deep well. DAN NEEDS LOVE RIGHT NOW. Yoga Dan was diagnosed with Wilson’s Disease, very rare and very dangerous. Like so many Americans, Dan didn’t have health insurance and you can imagine the medical bills stacking up. If you want to do something awesome and super loving, read a fellow yogis letter about Dan and how you might help a yogi out.

CAN I LIFT YOUR VIBRATION?

If the above resonated and you are ready for a lift, join me in the most sacred Mayan year (2012) as we venture to the heart of Mayan country, Tulum. I’m leading a retreat to a gorgeous tropical spot Amansala. Taking place May 2-6, you will practice morning flow yoga with inspiring and fun stories, then swim in the Azure blue Caribbean Sea, nap in a hammock, venture to the Mayan ruins, read a novel (who the heck has time to do that anymore?), and practice deeply relaxing yoga as the sun drenched days fade into tropically starry nights. Just say YES! Visit here

LOVE THE SCHTICK?

If you enjoy my blogs and Moments of the Day, I invite you to join me and take the journey deeper. Due to popular request and one particularly vehement email, I’m leaving my Livin the Moment 2012 program open for registration. You can start now and we’ll go in depth on the journey with more insight, laughter, and good times on the irreverent path to enlightenment. No I’m not saying I’m enlightened. Not even close. But everything about Livin the Moment 2012 is from the deepest place in my heart and I would love to share with you. Visit here and jump onboard TODAY.

BEER AND CHOCOLATE?!

I’ve been doing it for so long that it’s now a CLASSIC. My Yoga & Chocolate experience returns to New York City on V-Day, February 14 at 6:00pm at Exhale’s Midtown location. After a relaxing yoga class inspiring the purest form of love…self-love…we’ll indulge in the newest flavors from my brilliant chocolatier friend Katrina Markoff…including the Smoke N Stout chocolate bar which includes Rogue’s Chocolate Stout beer, Alderwood Smoked Salt, burnt sugar caramel, and 70% dark chocolate. Visit here to reserve a spot and do something super unique and awesome on Valentine’s Day

AWESOME BLOGS I LOVE

Positively Present…super positive and uplifiting

Grace Yoga and Pilates…Melissa Smith (mentioned above) has a very sweet and special angle on life, yoga and love

Ashley Turner brings a unique twist with Yoga, Spirituality and Psychology

YOGA JOURNAL CONFERENCE NYC

Check out the info for this awesome event! I’ll be teaching a new workshop at YJNY… Yoga & Steve Jobs: Unlocking the Collective Consciousness. Visit here

UPCOMING TOUR DATES

February 12: Princeton, NJ (Romy Yoga)
February 14: New York City (Exhale)
February 24-25: Iowa City (Hot House Yoga)
March 2: Scotch Plains, NJ (Yoga & Healing Center)

The following is a letter from Angie Hall about our awesome friend and yoga teacher Daniel Gottlieb who needs some love:

My mother used to say to me, “Angie, never judge anyone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.” I am humbled as I have just returned after walking one small mile in the endless journey my dear friend Daniel now faces as he fights to regenerate his liver from years of an improper diet which has manifested a full blown case of Wilson’s disease (WD).

My mind raced as he shared the news with me that he had been diagnosed with Wilson’s disease. What was he to expect in his days ahead? How would he be treated? Where would he be treated? But the biggest question in my mind was what exactly is this disease?

WHAT WAS HE TO EXPECT IN HIS DAYS AHEAD?

Cases of Wilson’s disease are extremely rare. Due to this, there are limited medical resources such as clinical trials, doctors and dieticians devoting their expertise to it. This fact scared me. My fears were further ignited when I made a phone call to the only Wilson’s disease non-profit organization earlier this week. It left me utterly disgusted that they only have enough funding to donate $1,000 per family, per lifetime in cases like Daniel’s. This amount of money would cover just 10 days of the medication he has been prescribed and this is after specialists get to a place where they have enough information to prescribe. The initial steps of puzzling together a treatment entail weekly visits to the lab for blood work, ER visits, an MRI, and a biopsy of the liver, all of which need to take place immediately as the first six months of therapy are crucial. All of these things are very costly even with insurance, but devastating without. I knew in my heart that this harsh reality was a call to action.

As a sit at my friend’s beside the reality that he faces is overwhelming. With pleading eyes, I turn to his mother for some explanation. She begins to weep, gesturing for me to step outside of his room. She doesn’t want to upset him by being fragile. Recollecting ourselves, we sit in the den and Daniel’s mother, Arlene tells me how this is “normal” for this stage of his treatment, and everything is going according to plan. The medication he is taking is slowing eradicating the copper from his body. The swelling that I see around his face, stomach, ankles, and feet are all signs that it is working; the body flushes the copper out through fluid.

HOW WILL HE BE TREATED?

Careful monitoring of his vital signs, his weight, his water intake and especially his diet are all part of the job Arlene finds herself doing alone. She tells me he has been steadily gaining ½ a pound each day for the past week. If he has a rapid spike of 5 pounds in a single day, he will need to be rushed to the Emergency Room where he will be hooked up to tubes draining the excess fluid. She tells me how Danny doesn’t like his new role of patient; being under the magnifying glass and often times will protest the validity of the system he finds himself a part of. Arlene explained, “This is the strict regimen that has been clinically tested, it will work if we follow it completely.” As she says this to me, I see in these moments talking with her where he got his insurmountable and unparalleled strength. I am caught by the determination I see in her eyes. If the eyes are the windows to the soul, then I can see where this great soul, Mahatma was born from. He has her eyes.

Daniel was diagnosed with Wilson’s disease when the results of his blood work yielded an abnormal amount of copper in his system. Normally copper levels are around 40. When he was tested in California, his numbers were upwards of 400. By the time he returned back home to Michigan, his Copper Toxicity had almost reached 900. It was determined at that time that he has extreme Cirrhosis of the liver and would need to begin taking medication to help flush the copper out of his system or he could face death. Weekly blood tests will continue to provide the medical community with clues as to whether his treatment is working. The blood that is taken each week is then analyzed to determine a MELD score (Model for End-Stage Liver Disease). The MELD score, as an objective scale of disease severity in patients with Cirrhosis, shows promise as being a useful preoperative predictor of surgical mortality risk. An average person’s MELD score reading is around 4, whereas a person who is diagnosed as “terminal” or needing liver transplantation would have a MELD score in the 20s, when Daniel began treatment, his MELD score was at an 18. As of yesterday, it was down to a 15! This is a good sign that his treatment is working.

I’ve tried wrapping my mind around Cirrhosis. Isn’t that what happens when people drink too much? Daniel NEVER drinks, he teaches yoga for a living. He is a self-professed raw vegan, a holistic ambassador who takes wheat grass shots like a fiend. Have you seen all 6’7” of him balanced upon his forearms in Pincha Mayurasana (Feathered Peacock Pose)? He can hold that pose longer than I ever knew humanly possible. These characteristics do not describe a man with decaying internal organs. How can this be? He did everything right. Right? Well, as time would tell, all of the foods Daniel has been consuming each day for the past decade such as kale, beans, nuts, soy and the one ingredient loved the most by raw vegans the world over, chocolate were high in copper. The culmination of his daily intake of these ingredients all led to the harshest reality to face: his raw vegan lifestyle was killing him. Not only are these foods are all high in copper, but omitting certain protein intensive foods, such as meat and dairy aggravated his liver as he was adding excessive amounts of copper into his body while depleting his body of the necessary zinc and protein essential to the clearing of copper. Copper cannot be released from the body without protein and zinc. Daniel’s case of WD could have remained asymptomatic and undetected for the rest of his life had he been on a diet suited for him.

WHERE WOULD HE BE TREATED?

Time was of the essence, so after a call home to his parents, his mother Arlene insisted upon his immediate return back to Detroit where she knew Doctors at University of Michigan specializing in Wilson’s disease. Her older brother, Daniel’s uncle, also has Wilson’s disease and would have died had he not been given an emergency liver transplant twenty years ago. The staff at the University of Michigan would best know how to help Danny.

But the biggest question in my mind WAS WHAT EXACTLY IS THIS DISEASE? Admittedly, I Wikipedia’d the disease. Here is what is said:

Wilson’s disease or hepatolenticular degeneration is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder in which copper accumulates in tissues; this manifests as neurological or psychiatric symptoms and liver disease. It is treated with medicationthat reduces copper absorption or removes the excess copper from the body, but occasionally aliver transplant is required.

The condition is due to mutations in the Wilson disease protein (ATP7B) gene. A single abnormal copy of the gene is present in 1 in 100 people, who do not develop any symptoms (they arecarriers). If a child inherits the gene from both parents, the child may develop Wilson’s disease. Symptoms usually appear between the ages of 6 and 20 years, but cases in much older people have been described. Wilson’s disease occurs in 1 to 4 per 100,000 people. Wilson’s disease is named after Samuel Alexander Kinnier Wilson(1878–1937), the British neurologist who first described the condition in 1912.

-Wikipedia, December 19, 2011.

That’s the clinical explanation. I would later discover that the reality of Wilson’s disease is that its effects vary significantly from patient to patient, ranging from asymptomatic, to chronic liver disease, and even to neurologic or psychiatric signs. Symptoms typically start in the first decades of life, and the majority of cases occur between five and 35 years, but there are also exceptions. Time is of the essence with catching this early on. Daniel admits that were signs earlier; he was becoming fatigued while he was traveling and teaching in northern California and his ankles had Edema, or swelling, that never seemed to go down. He told me that he did notice water retention in his abdomen that has been steadily growing for months and his face seemed jaundiced at times. “I was stubborn and determined to prove that a raw vegan lifestyle with daily yoga practice was enough,” he told me. It could have been dormant, but all the foods he was eating exacerbated his liver and now he needs to fight for his life to get back to normal levels.

HOW CAN WE HELP YOGA DAN

I am writing because I know Daniel’s friends and the yoga community can help. For the next six months all expenses incurred must be paid out-of-pocket before medical benefits are in place. Due to a “pre-existing condition” of a rare disease, the system requires that amount of time to review his case. The Gottliebs share with me how inflated the bills are for uninsured persons. My mind reels as I begin to extrapolate, Danny has to have lab work done every week. His father shakes his head and says to me, “You know what Angie? I am a parent. I’ll take care of him until I die… This is my son.” I am humbled into silence, it should come as no surprise to me that someone with the heart of a lion like Daniel’s should be the outcome of the two people sitting across the table from me at breakfast this morning.

Please help to show your support to Daniel and his family in his time of personal health crisis. I have a Post Office box that all checks and other donations can be mailed to at:

Daniel Gottlieb
C/O Angie Nutter
P.O. Box 142
Canton Center, CT 06020

I will keep careful record of who has given what for Daniel (it helps I’m married to a Financial Planner). Additionally, his parents and I are working at putting a living trust in place through Bank of America. The first three months that this Trust is open, anyone can make a deposit directly to the trust at any B of A branch. We are waiting for attorneys to review this case and will notify anyone interested as soon as this has been established.

Beautiful Moment of the Day

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(Un)Beautiful Moment of the Day

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Who: Pam Yandell

Where and When: Last week in Washington state

What about this photo makes it special? “This is my niece’s golden retriever Cooper. Coop is a beautiful, majestic dog so I laughed instantly when I saw the utter JOY of him playing in the snow….a lesson for us all.”

To get The Moment of the Day and receive more beauty, laughter and deliciousness in your life, enter your email below!

Hi:

It goes without saying…Bernie Madoff is the most infamous white collar criminal of our time…having stolen $18 billion from investors.

Living as a yogi in a very different world, I never thought I’d have any sort of contact or personal experience with The Madoffs. It just seemed like another world to me.

And then…

This week I went to a networking group in New York City. As it goes with networking groups, everyone in the room gets 45 seconds to introduce themselves.

There were lawyers, a dentist, a diet coach, an acupuncturist…

…and then, a guy across from me stood up and said to the fifty plus people in attendance, “I’m Andrew Madoff” and went on to explain his business and the service provided.

I stared at him, so confused.

THE DEMISE

The son of Bernie Madoff, Andrew Madoff was recently the subject of a 60 Minutes story in which he wholeheartedly denied knowing anything about his father’s illegal activities.

If that is true, then here’s a guy unjustly incinerated in the fiery tail of a karmic meteor from hell.

Not to say you should feel badly for him, but it’s interesting to observe.

-Even just a few years ago, Andrew idolized his father, a mega-successful business man who is now considered among the dregs of the earth.

-In 2010, Andrew’s brother Mark Madoff committed suicide.

-And until recently, Andrew was estranged from his once beloved mother.

What could be worse to a once proud son than enduring his family’s complete and public demise?

THE COLD SHOULDER

Very few people, if anyone in the room, spoke with Andrew. I felt like it was 8th grade again and the unpopular kid was left to stew in his awkwardness.

I know some of you must be thinking that he deserves this fate.

But what if Andrew Madoff really didn’t know about his father’s wrongdoing?

And what if he truly is a innocent and shattered soul, struggling to find his way in life?

Does he deserve this treatment?

THE DANGEROUS HERD

We should all be very weary of what Nietzsche defined as HERD BEHAVIOR or HERD MORALITY….

…whereby Nietzsche perceived humans as herd animals, lacking any individual will and living by group instincts.

Of course the most famous and sad example of HERD BEHAVIOR is during World War 2 when millions and millions of innocent German citizens were herded into the Nazi party and the belief that it was “the right thing” to kill Jews, Soviets, Gypsies, and homosexuals in concentration camps.

IF YOU (OR I) WERE NAZIS…

If you were an Aryan German citizen during World War 2, just living your life and trying to do the best for your family…

…and you were told that ethnic cleansing was the official policy of your government at a time when your soldiers were dying on two fronts…

…there is a chance you, and I, like millions of “innocent” German citizens, might have simply accepted that this was necessary action.

As Hermann Goering, founder of the German Gestapo said, “Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.

THE WHITE ROSE

There was in fact a group of 3 German students distributing leaflets during the time of the Nazis. (See pic to the right of White Rose leaders Hans Scholl, his sister Sophie Scholl, and Christoph Probst)

The leaflets were entitled “The White Rose” and contained an anonymous essay speaking out against the Nazi Party and inciting Germans to rise up and do the right thing.

All 3 students in the picture were rounded up and executed. Their story has been the subject of various books and movies.

RISE UP

In some way in each of our lives, we can spend more time away from the herd…

…and ask “how can we be the white rose?”

Whether it’s coming out in support of the dire needs of an overworked immigrant in your office building…

…or standing up to the excessive demands of email and how it’s eroding your quality of life…

or daring to befriend an embattled, and unpopular soul.

Life is really short and the herd will you carry you even faster toward the end of days.

What better time than right now to turn around and walk in another direction, sing a different song, be the white rose in the muddy river.

As @RevRunWisdom said (in the language of Twitter), “Don’t worry about ppl laughing at u becuz ur different, laugh at them becuz they’re the same.”

Namaste,

David Romanelli
www.livinthemoment.com

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