…
O keep squeezing drops of the Sun
From your prayers and work and music
And from your companions’ beautiful laughter
And from the most insignificant movements
Of your own holy body.
Now, sweet one,
Be wise.
Cast all your votes for Dancing!
– Hafiz
Month: November 2017
Grateful to spend Thanksgiving with friends and family. Thank you to this generous soul, the “bright & luminous” One who should give us a cooking class and a lesson in sharing from the heart. The leftovers should serve as our lunch and dinners for couple of days… she laughed as she insisted we take more home.
My first Moscow Mule in copper mug + straw:) it has a … kick!
So we can kick up our heels and dance and let the world whirl and spin around us?!?
Music please:)
Then … there was the dessert table …
Counting our blessings, not calories* (really!) – Happy Thanksgiving !
* post- thanksgiving detox yoga to glide through the bustle and hustle of the holiday season. Many studies have shown, lowering the cortisol levels is as if not more effective than lowering the caloric intake for weight management – if applied consistently and regularly, customizing the style/school/type of yoga to fit the particular conditions and timeline/age/stage, yoga works even better. Ashtanga style of yoga was primarily designed to settle down the teenage boys through strong athletic physically demanding sequence enough so that they can get to a place of peace where meditation – the ultimate goal of yoga – is even possible. Without all the angst, the frustrations or chaos. Ashtanga style according to yoga scholars*, modeled after British gymnastics/calisthenics dished up as yoga – would that INTENTION – to whip the boys into shape and get them to a point of quiet – would that be appropriate for women in her 30’s, 40’s and 50’s and beyond? How about for men in their 30’s? maybe; 40’s? or 50’s and beyond? Something to think about, that … your own intention defines your practice.
* Read The Yoga Body, by Mark Singleton Fascinating book that makes one think about the cultural appropriation when it comes to yoga … what is authentic? What is real and true for that Self.
Teaching Sunday @ 4:15pm Yoga Health Center, post Thanksgiving Holiday, one of my favorite holidays. It’s a holiday about being present instead of worrying about giving the right present. Being present for someone is the right present – it’s the most special true gift. I know that many are thinking “cardio”, caloric burn but it’s the rising cortisol, your stress hormones and adrenal and psychic fatigue that also contribute to weight gains so with that in mind, let’s have a balanced practice. Whenever I have a “YANG” sweaty cardio practice of just walking briskly and/running or dancing, I offset with “YIN” the slower internally focused softer side of yoga… for heart health. Working hard and pumping and burning is good to a certain point … then, find radical relaxation to calm your mind and heart – a recharge, a rejuvenation – also beneficial. It’s a fine balancing act that changes over time.
“Yet almost all of these techniques ultimately derive from yoga. It’s a testimony to the power of these techniques that entire careers have been built around different aspects of yoga, sometimes even renamed after the person who rediscovered that practice.”
― Dean Ornish, Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease:
The Only System Scientifically Proven to Reverse Heart Disease Without Drugs or Surgery
