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For Sentient Beings I

In other words, for seekers…
healingconcert

The Healing Concert with Special Guest Wah! at Yoga Flow…
Date: Saturday, 3/7/2015From: 8:00 pm – 10:00 pm

An evening immersion into deep relaxation using Wah!’s meditative music and calming laser lights. The Healing Concert is an invitation to access deep relaxation, natural healing and rejuvenation. This feature-length presentation uses loops, delays, keyboards, vocals and custom-made laser lights to deliver its message.

The slow-moving lights resemble patterns in Nature such as constellations in the sky and Northern Lights on the horizon. Everyone is gently guided into a state of relaxation, letting go layer by layer.

The Healing Concert is a multimedia musical and visual presentation that has the ability to transform audience member’s physical and mental state, to literally bring about a shift of consciousness. It’s a doorway to a different you. More than the music, it’s about the experience the music allows.

Cost: $35/advance and $40/day of and door

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First time I heard Wah’s track was at YogaWorks studio in LA during class.
Immediately I was like – what’s this? I want to know.
Had to go up to the instructor after class to ask who the artist was.

Wah… What? Wah, you know – WAH.
Me: Wa? What?
Instructor: No, you know, Wah.
Me: ?
Instructor: (spelled out now) W – A – H, Wha.
Me: okaaaay… of course, Wah… (thinking to myself, Wah? what on earth does that mean?)

Last time I heard her was when she was at Urban Flow – at Pandit Rajmani Tigunait’s lecture … just singing in the background …very unobtrusive – very subtle – Meditative. I love her voice. For those people who cannot easily relax, just cannot meditate, too wound up, too anxious, too nervous, too … shall I say, too stuck – this might help pave the way to cleanse out the internal obstructions.

Of course, for those lucky people where everything, at least outwardly, is oh, just soooo perfect and very content and happy – for those people too:) You will be happy at a cellular level – if you love nature and life and the vibrations human voice creates.

Working with some constraints, trying to deal with the limitations to create this kind of mood (but DIFFERENT) in some of my classes – why is it so difficult to … just chill. As Judith Lasater would say, to “Relax & Renew”?

It’s okay – you don’t have to feel terrible or guilty about it either – it’s not being lazy and idle to have time dedicated for yourself – doing absolutely NOTHING but breathe. Nothing and nobody to take care of … but Self. To me, it’s a gestation time – it’s also a time for self-healing and calibrating balance. Mindfully, with directed intention. You have another 22.5 hours in a day you can be intense to any degree you choose to be by way of work & through work, produce, accomplish, achieve, perform – answer to whatever is to your unique calling. But during your precious “me-time”, there’s nothing to correct or rectify.

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Beautiful Places Beautiful Things

Rose is a rose is a rose, II

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Various rose water bottles on display beside the olive oils at a shop in Tokyo.
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Meant the above for the Japanese blog… It reads “Rose water distilled by steam process; Like those aristocratic Europeans, add to wine for noble flavoring and sublime scent; add to milk, tea … and also add to your pastry baking.” It is a customary ingredient in Baklava as I learned from Middle Eastern cooking teacher. Here’s more ideas for you.
Aromatherapy related store called “Aroma Bloom” – love, love, love.
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Nice diffuser – still don’t think I will carry it back in a suitcase…but for only about $45 and made with wood… cannot be found in US I don’t think. Was torn but gave up.
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Can you guess the name of this rose ?
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So surprised …
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It’s called “Samurai”!
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Really? Had no idea there is a variety of rose named Samurai. Samurai translates to Warrior so seemingly so in-congruent … Apparently I have become Americanized – last time, names of red roses were I remember distinctively, “Darcy” and “All for Love” – then, this time, red rose is called Samurai? What happened? I did a double take but noone else seems to think it’s odd…Just me, the Americanized going ? Was reminded that Samurai wasn’t all about bloody battles or fighting … but their code was about honor, loyalty and respect for life because they knew it’s so fleeting:

In Japan, flowers and flower-giving are not exclusively for women. As you might have known, the samurai is an aesthete. He treasures flowers and take them as a part of life as a warrior. This concept is different radically from what Western people think about flowers.

– from Hanakotoba = Japanese Flowers & Their Meaning

There’s always a single stem flower in a vase, changed every couple of days with information on where the flower was grown and the name of that flower shown. Lovely touch that warms your heart and lifts the spirit.

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“Pink” Cymbidium
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“Lemon Heart” Cymbidium
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grown in Shiga-prefecture, this one is from Sugimoto Rose Garden…
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back to a single rose splashed in peachy creme color named “Juliet”…
Next post, will cover the benefits of rose water and rose oil as I was asked after class. To be honest, it’s probably not my favorite kind of flower … the thorns, the thorns…but cannot deny that the scents are sublime. AND there’s medicinal value to some so will share later on…

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Beautiful People

Girls Day…Today

Here’s what I wrote about it last year … Click here:)

Girls’ Day – also called “Dolls” Day as traditionally, dolls handed down from mothers to daughters for generations grace the central spot in the home almost like an alter.
So thought about Hinamatsuri celebration – will post unusual for Hinamatsuri but cute dolls and some traditional sweets in the Japanese blog:) Take a look if interested.

Why grown “girls” still love her…look up to she who still keeps reinventing
herself after 20 years at a place where teen idols don’t usually last longer than a blip in time…matured from “Sweet 19” but …a lovely lookback:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOwm5CUbvHw

Just reminded that there’s about team of 10-30+ creating that “image” – an illusion – it’s not real, all an illusion …but …everything is an illusion anyway – Sweet.
Teen idol then and now matured and still adored:

Girl’s Day – yes, but what does this have anything to do with Yoga?
To some, these videos may be an antithesis of a yoga practice as you are trying to GET AWAY from the fakeness and materialism? The imposed idea that we have to cake on layers of makeup, wear the latest in fashion and wear break-legs high heels that ruins your natural posture – to look on the outside – beautiful?
She is like a doll? (and it’s called Dolls Day too…) Actually, I heard she’s overcome a lot of hardship, but a wonderful single mom to a teen son AND does yoga before dance training – all this gossip while getting a hair cut from a fan/stylist in Shibuya couple of months ago but … maybe I misheard it ??? as I was groggy from a jet-lag (getting vertigo in Shibuya is not a good thing – too many people rushing around.)
So not sure if it’s really true or not; but seems possible as a warm up before dance practice? After all, she is the Madonna, Japanese version.

So girls – young and old and in-between, Y O G A … (Hi Anna:)

Can you celebrate it? Can we celebrate being a “girl” especially, today, and everyday?

* To be fair, May 5th is Boys’ Day:)