Vanity in Lefkada

My wife and I recently spent our honeymoon on Lefkada, a beautiful island in the Ionian chain off the west coast of Greece. Our good friend Kim Bennett runs a holiday company out there (specialising in holidays for solo travellers with optional meditation and mindfulness classes; www.serenityretreat.co.uk). She always takes the hot mid-season months off, so offered for us to come and stay for a couple of weeks in one of her apartments. The location was absolutely stunning, right on the beachside, and the weather was hot and sunny every day! Thank you so much Kim for inviting us!

Now I'm not used to walking around in just a pair of shorts or going out to lie on the beach in the sun. With so much of my body exposed (not all of it mind...) and much of our time spent on the beach, I felt the arising of feelings of vanity much more than usual, especially around the idea of getting a tan.

Why do we want a tan? 

In the old days only people who worked outside in the sun (like farmers or labourers) would have tanned skin, so wealthy people would want to avoid getting a tan in order to show they're rich enough not to have to be outside. This is what led Queen Elizabeth I to whiten her skin. More recently, as more people worked indoors and rich people were able to take holidays to sunny places, having a tan became a sign of affluence – of having enough money to be able to lie around doing nothing on a beach far away.

These days, the likes of EasyJet and Ryanair have made going to spend time on a faraway beach much more accessible, so is having a tan still a sign of richness? Probably yes. In equal measure, people (at least Northern Europeans) generally look more healthy with a bit of colour in their skin, so with getting a tan there's perhaps a sense of wanting to look healthy and well. It's also an obvious outward sign for others to show we've been on a sunny holiday. 

Lying in the sun

Our apartment in Lefkada was right in front of its own little beach, and Kim had very kindly left out two sun loungers and a parasol for us to use. Usually, she commented, after a couple of days her guests are "velcroed to the beach"! So what is it that velcroes us?

Lying there in the sun reminded me of our lizard ancestry – basking in the heat and soaking up the warmth. I'm not a particularly cold blooded person, but I came to really enjoy basking until I began to sweat. So when my intention was to soak up the warmth like a lizard, that was one thing, but when my intention shifted towards "I want a tan" that was another. Wanting a tan is pure vanity, wanting to bask in the warmth was simple in-the-moment pleasure.

There were times when I'd come out of the water and want to dry off and warm back up – then I'd lie in the sun. But what about the other times? Why was I not satisfied with lying in the shade under the parasol, letting my body tan as it needed from just living outside more? Because some part of me wanted to get a tan – wanted to look a certain way. 

I occasionally found myself moving different parts of my body into the sun with the intention of evening up my tan – like a rotisserie oven...! Again the intention is the key – moving because one part is hot is sensible, but moving to even up the tan is vanity. 

Vanity ultimately arises because you see yourself as having a separate self that wants to impress and be "better", nicer looking or more handsome than others. It's delusive behaviour.

Body dissatisfaction

I also noticed increased feelings of dissatisfaction with my body shape. Walking around our holiday apartment with far fewer clothes than I'd normally wear at home, I'd catch myself in the mirror or look down at my uncovered chest and notice yet again the overly forward tilt in my hips, the lifted left shoulder, the uneven tan on my arms, or that wonk in my spine.

These feelings also crept into my daily yoga practice. I've found myself focusing (more than usual) on stretching out my hip flexors and lower back to help straighten my posture, or stretching to the left side to counter my wonky spine.

My yoga was not yoga any more, just like my lounging on the beach was not lounging on the beach anymore. Both became anxiety-filled activities centred around wanting to be something I was not. 

Of course that's an exaggeration! It was a wonderful honeymoon full of amazing experiences and lovely people (including my wonderful wife). Nevertheless there were moments when that anxiety-filled self-interest arose. 

What do you do in that situation? I tried my best to acknowledge it, allow it, and see the patterns of how and when it arose. I didn't manage it every time, but that was my intention. Once it's acknowledged and seen it no longer has any power over you.

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I am a member of the Zenways sangha led by Zen master Daizan Skinner Roshi, and I teach meditation, mindfulness and yoga at the ZenYoga studio in Camberwell, London. See my website for further details.

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Yoga tips for cycle tourers

Two good friends of ours have just left on a trip to Japan. Bizarrely enough, my girlfriend and I are also going to Japan this week too (for a Zen retreat). We'll be flying there, but our friends, Claire and André, will be taking a slightly longer route... They are cycling!

They asked me a while back to write a guest blog article with some yoga tips for their ride. Here's what I sent them. You can follow their journey via their blog here and see my guest article here (http://www.puncturesandpanniers.com/2014/06/25/tip-yoga-cycle-tourers/).


If you're a regular cyclist you'll probably have noticed your leg muscles are bigger than before you were cycling! The primary muscles needed for cycling are the quads and hamstrings (front and back of the thighs), plus a bit from the calf muscles. The question is for Claire and André: do you think your thighs and calves will be bigger or smaller by the end of your trip?

So the main danger with long-distance cycling is these muscles getting over-developed, pulling the rest of the body out of alignment. This has a number of effects. If the oversized flexor muscles in the thigh start to pull the knee joint into inward rotation, this torques the leg bones, putting pressure on the knee, then the foot and the hips (see image to the left). If the hamstrings (back of the thigh) and psoas muscle get too tight, they can pull the hips out of alignment. You can spot people with this issue when they start walking with their bum sticking out too much!

A cyclist's spine is constantly flexed forward over the handlebars, and the head often tilted up to look forward (hopefully!). If a good posture isn't maintained, it can result in muscle pain and strain in the back and shoulders. So as you're cycling, it's important to make sure your spine is in as neutral position as you can get it, and your shoulders are as relaxed as possible. (See here for a great article on cycling posture.)

Another danger is iliotibial band friction syndrome, apparently one of the most common causes of knee pain in cyclists (runners, hikers, etc.). The iliotibial (IT) band is a very important band of fascia that runs from the outside of the pelvis, down the outside of the thigh, to just below the knee, and provides crucial stability for the knee joint. Pain and swelling in the knee area can happen if it starts to rub against a projection at the end of your femur as it moves during moving and cycling.

So what can Claire and André do to help prevent all this happening on their long trip?

I would suggest starting with 5mins in what's called the "constructive rest position" – see image below. This helps the lower back and psoas muscle relax and is very restful for the body.

Constructive rest position

Then spend some time stretching the quads and hamstrings.
A good one for the quads is to sit with your legs bent underneath you (sitting on your heels). Lean back on your hands, fingers facing forwards, then begin tucking your tail bone underneath (hips forwards) until you begin to feel the front of the thighs stretching.
For the hamstrings, a simple forward fold with your knees bent and feet separated can work well, or try this one (see image below). Feet both face forwards, hold your elbows behind your back then fold forwards keeping that front knee slightly soft (i.e. not locking). Make sure to do both sides.

Take some time in down dog to strengthen, stretch, and open the shoulders. Make sure to keep your knees bent (even if it's just slightly). You can also vary it by treading back into your heels to stretch out the calves and achilles heels.

Downward facing dog

A great one for opening into the thighs and giving that IT band some attention is what's known as the "threading the needle" pose. Lying back, cross one ankle over the other knee then draw that knee up towards the chest. You can hold the thigh, just behind the knee, or the front of the knee on your
shin. So called because you thread one arm through the gap between your legs! Do on both sides.

Eye of the needle pose

One to finish would be revolved belly pose. This one helps to release tension in the spine, hips, shoulders, and – critically for cyclists – the pecs across the chest. Pulling up hills with the arms can strain the pecs more than you might think! Lying on your back with your arms out to either side and knees bent. Let your knees fall to one side, down to the floor, keeping your knees and ankles together. If the shoulder lifts, let it, then work on softening it towards the floor. You can add a twist in the neck by rolling the head looking in the opposite direction from your knees. Do both sides.

Finally, I'd recommend doing all these exercises with as much awareness and presence as you can. Treat this time doing your yoga as time for yourself, time to relax, to connect with how you're feeling, and an opportunity to breathe out any stresses from the day.