Day: October 24, 2016

Categories
Yoga

Maybe she does suffer after all

with that disorder … insomnia. Can relate as it must be like a more permanent jet lag you can’t find relief from – and jet lags, I have suffered quite a bit.

“In the night, I am kept awake by the endless chatter of my inner self. I hear it speak softly of old hurts and fondly of past loves, while its demands and anxieties resound throughout me in multitudes. I could be calm and composed all day long, but the moment it is dark, my mind riots.”

― Beau Taplin

How do you turn “off” your mind? I have a cure. I have a non-medicative but meditative approach of a prescription. Good Night.

Categories
Healthy Activities Healthy Living

Your body is a TEMPLE?

not a ruin, lol. If not so bad, an analogy may call for a renovation?

Thank goodness for the Mindful Biology video created by Will Meechum, MD as part of our curriculum so rich, it’s like med-school for the dummies? Am I calling yogis dummies – NOOOO – of course not. No, just insanely curious yogis … we really have to know how the body works. While watching hours of these can really give you the stiffness we try so hard to banish through the practice of yoga and exercise, it’s utterly fascinating to know how we work and how we break down, then recover and heal. The access to the particular videos are currently restricted and available only to the students of Yoga Therapy Teacher Training with Niroga, maybe Will will make it available to the public one of these days – public as in anyone interested in the workings of our body beyond the basics but without the grotesque exposures to actual cadavers (my worst nightmare, lol). Great illustrations that deals more with “function”. One can see how much labor has gone into creating these videos for us so we feel grateful for all Will has done – while he keeps saying, you don’t have to know it to such detail, it is kind that he does not dumb down the information – and leaves it up to us to decide what we can retain and what we have to discard, just keeping the bare minimum to make us competent. His work is, at times, even more detailed than we need to know probably for regular yoga therapist or instructor sessions but … SO fascinating. Amazed how little I knew about my own body, mind and how that affects our spiritual well being.

This resonates more with me … by Beau Taplin:

“Listen to me, your body is not a temple. Temples can be destroyed and desecrated. Your body is a forest—thick canopies of maple trees and sweet scented wildflowers sprouting in the underwood. You will grow back, over and over, no matter how badly you are devastated.”

Yes, it’s more a forest … it’s an interplay of life, death and rebirth within our senses, an organic amalgam. Breathe it all in and revitalize at the cellular level. Invite in the freshness; sayonara to staleness, the toxins.

IMG_0340_smallIMG_0343_smallIMG_8196_smallIMG_2546_01_small
sm_IMG_6510Feels good for your back … the tree trunk the best prop.sm_IMG_6584 What is this pose called? Standing silly on a mossy slippery wet stone in midst of rushing water just to prove I have balance & focus – pose. A tree.sm_IMG_6551
We worship this life force and give our thanks for the light that shines upon us. Namaste.
IMG_8195_smallLastly, but not least, thank you Shinobeau-san for organizing this tour to a tucked away monastery in the forest. Right here in California.

Categories
Healthy Living

Strengthening the Immune System

IMG_3124Feels good as you get into trikonasana, you hear the babbling brook water flowing down this creek – fresh forest air saturating every cell in my revived body … ahhhh, so yummy. Block prop? Why, every creation of nature offered to serve as our props – all the support you need, you find right here amongst the trees, at the base of majestic mountain. Interesting thing about this Trikonasana – with the guidance of great teacher, Judith, I now can go all the way with my hands beyond the ankle to the floor (SAFELY), my torso, more parallel to the ground – we change milometers at a time; not over night so patience, patience as we practice, practice.

A yoga sequence around this theme is the protocol homework based on the weekend intensive. How to strengthen our immune system this season. Of course, Rest comes to mind but what’s beyond dealing with the rest-deficit? What’s beyond resting and restoring? Yes, need for strengthening. That’s the aim in this particular sequence… given what we learned the past weekend – information overload –
Was wracking my brains out to come up with but how timely. Ironic and yest not so ironic – more yes, timely – I came down with a minor cold so …(too much driving -sitting – drove 7 hours within 2 days) my immune system must be compromised, lol.
Coming up with Asana sequence, Pranayama identification; and centering practice to share with peers.
Then next month is my turn yet again to share my CASE STUDY. (stress? good kind of stress, yes…) Sharing and learning so I can share more with others later on.

Speaking of timely – it is timely as Autumn sequence is all about respiratory system and gut-health. There are so many people I know who outwardly look “great” but inwardly feeling not so great and why? Whether if your BMI is perfect or your weight is perfect and you wear size 4 … are we really really healthy, mind, body and spirit? That’s my purpose – to know how to get that. The state of homeostasis with natural means (which by the way is called “alternative” medicine – alternative? Really???)
IMG_9996_smallOMMMMM