Yesterday’s Red Bean (azuki) soup was actually a dessert dish at Shinobeau’s No-Salt Detox Cooking Class (tastes sweet but no sugar – can be served hot or chilled) … I am on my Day 2 as I decided to stay on this detox menu until Wednesday evening when we can look up at full moon…I like to experiment using my own body as a guinea pig.. (for the advancement of science – LOL). I suspect all yoginis have such tendencies. We want to be in touch with our mind and body.
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Today was a treat for me as I finally had an opportunity to experience Reiki session under the expert hands of my dear friend Sachiko. Sachiko is originally from Osaka-Kyoto area… and carries herself with a certain other-worldly air befitting someone from that ancient capital region. A beautiful soul who also volunteers at Stanford Hospital’s Cancer Center despite her busy schedule juggling her family life with that of her passion for Reiki and all things spiritual. Maybe due to this process of growth and evolution, I actually believe that we meet another human being, even in passing, for a reason. I had not been to her home for over 5 years (Last time was Bio-Foods Macrobiotics luncheon she hosted for late-Ayako-sensei) but to reconnect again at her place was special – there’s always different colored vibrations you feel at people’s homes – I felt tranquility and nature at her space filled with light and shades – both Yang and Yin…. I am sure we have both taken many a different paths during the past couple of years, some easy, some not… but to have our paths cross again, is as though… it was already meant to be. We spoke the same language as I so understood and empathized with her.
Many of us have become so accustomed to the notion of what’s really good for us – we tend to think harder the better, don’t we? Rather, shall I say, we have been brainwashed to think, the harder, and tougher, the more challenging, the better – the stronger, louder and sweatier the better… So there’s the prevalent and common mantra among us, “No Pain, No Gain” or “Tougher the Better” or better yet… ”When the going gets tough, the tough get going”…yes, inspirational but does it always have to be that way? Hard? Always?
All those sayings to make you strong and tough and powerful? invincible? and … healthy? For example, the harder the hug, the stronger the squeeze, it that better? Is stronger the pressure as in massages – the more kneading, pressing and squeezing the better for bodywork? Whether it be shiatsu or Swedish massage…and while those methods have their benefits…you have to ask… harder the better? Really? The truth is… that’s not necessarily the case, not always. There’s a refreshing change to the delicate tenderness we don’t give ourselves permission to feel – There’s so much strength in tenderness, softness and gentleness… Sometimes, feather is stronger than steel; mouse stronger than a lion…
Thank you Sachiko-san! The multiplier effect on my vinyasa flow practice is already felt:) AND restorative should feel so lovely tonight as our body carries an imprint – has a memory of anything pleasurable from days past…enabling us to live in the present. Arigato to this sweet angel on earth:) What sets her apart is probably a word so appreciated in Japanese culture, that of 思いやり…”Omoiyari”… Translated to mean something like kindness with empathy… Consideration and thoughtfulness. It’s a practice she cultivates with ease.
