Categories
Healthy Activities

Buddha Day & Full Moon

Doesn’t this Persian rice dish look like a full moon – it’s made by my chef extraordinaire friend whose name means “BRIGHT” in Persian.  How does this rice get this golden moon like hue?  It’s the Saffron she winks:) Ketogenic diet attempt becomes futile… but what’s better – to say no to a dish a friend made with great care and infused with love to lose few pounds that yo-yo’s up and down anyway; OR to enjoy a well balanced whole foods, nourish body and soul – and be filled with sense of gratitude.  Then comes renewed resolve and a boost of motivation to exercise more:)  Rather than to be repressed, suppressed, dogmatic, rigid, and closed resembling hyper-vigilance and discipline; we are receptive, open, kind and flexible to go with the flow.  This is a person speaking who has lost 40 lbs in my past peak adult weight to the past lowest to the current 123 … so “not dieting” really works.

Sunday … it’s time for reflective meditative practice.

Some words of wisdom to share on a rainy evening where the full moon hides behind the rain clouds…

As rain falls equally on the just and the unjust, do not burden your heart with judgments but rain your kindness equally on all.
– Buddha

 

Meditate

Live Purely

Be Quiet

Do your work with mastery

Like the moon, come out from behind the clouds

Shine !

– Buddha

Do you see the subtle change in before and after images? Straining vs. Opening; pushing vs. giving-in; torquing vs aligning; lengthening vs. crunching; sagging vs. lifting;  At the hands of a great teacher, Judith, we become balanced and open.

Use of sandbags in standing poses … We cannot sit and meditate if you are physically tight and hardened; energetically stagnant.  Improving the inner flow through series of asanas … standing, sitting, supine to finally be able to … sit quietly without twitching, wiggling, heaving heavy breath … to come to that lightness of being.

It’s a process. A Practice.

Categories
Beautiful People

Inspiring Women

Washington DC is a special place … as I mentioned in the earlier post, I was wowed by RBG’s documentary.  She’s x-times cancer survivor 84 years old.  The film showed her exercise routine (plank everyone, plank:) reflecting her determination and tenacity.  I also notice the sheer number of steps you have to take just walking around this place. The steps to the Supreme Court are … supremely steep.  Here it’s easy to clear that quota of 10,000 steps a day + yoga @home practice:)

From the National Portrait Gallery

At the Capital building – glancing over to see this … and being in awe.

Feeling the vibe of … some very powerful women here.

Categories
Healthy Living Yoga

Pop Spirituality I love

Maybe few weeks ago, I received a feed from Deepak Chopra that really resonated with me. He’s been introduced by Oprah enough and with all those best seller self-help books – which I have not read any of.  But I love this – loosely quoting him:

If you want to experience peak state,  transcendence, that “flow”, the lightness of being, there are 3 steps:

 

  1. Start by NOT identifying with your personal history;

  2. Eliminate the need for approval and self-importance;

  3. Be aware in the present moment

To not dwell on the past and not letting the past determine who you are today is the first step – to let go of the past, the “sanskaras” – the groove and patterns and habits that imprints but does not serve you today; Then to be more grounded and centered in self-acceptance and love that you no longer seek outside validation.  To no longer be insecure and weak; and then finally, to be fully engaged and conscious in the here and now.

Actually he summarized the main tenet of yogic philosophy very simply – a bit more is missing but for now, give this a try.  It sounds easy and yet so hard to do … but whenever I do, I am able to slip into that state of yoga, that ultimate effortless being who is free and … light.

Hoping to create that safe space and hold that space so we can all regain that lightness and ease of being.