Category: Beautiful Places

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Beautiful People Beautiful Places

Impermanence

“It is a strange and wonderful fact to be here, walking around in a body, to have a whole world within you and a world at your fingertips outside you.

It is an immense privilege, and it is incredible that humans manage to forget the miracle of being here.

Rilke said, ‘Being here is so much,’ and it is uncanny how social reality can deaden and numb us so that the mystical wonder of our lives goes totally unnoticed.

We are here. We are wildly and dangerously free.” 

– John O’Donohue

Last day at Niroga Institute and being very sentimental about it – even in a state of denial thinking – oh, I will be back – really felt the sense of my back being nudged out the door – hahaha –  GO ON & MAKE SOMETHING OUT OF ALL THAT WE’VE GIVEN YOU (YOGIC TOOLS).  NOW IT’S TIME FOR ACTION. That’s the sense I felt from the Executive Director.  Sweet warm hugs of good bye from the program manager and training manager – Rosalind and Heidi but BK?  No such sentimentality – It’s more – go on – go on – get out there and make a difference if you are really my student – a wise Karma Yogi that he is.

They have a clear vision, a purpose, an intention to what they will be exclusively doing  expressed in their mission statement.  I too will be formulating it, so that my actions are in bettter alignment with my higher Self and each action to be infused with my humble intention.  It’s all possible. In our juggling act among conflicting forces, we can still find that clarity, balance and peace.  In addition to the studies of physiology, anatomy and kinesiology – more dynamic movement based mindfulness practices, Niroga has taught me that while there are many who are hurting, suffering, is a choice.  While there are sometimes no cures, healing is a birthright, available to all.

In gratitude to the teachers and cohorts who I learned so much from.

Quoted by Rosalind Lwin, Health Program Manager @Niroga Institute, this, a quote from a poet I have always loved – what a coincidence or is it?

“Your identity is not equivalent to your biography.

There is a place in you where you have never been wounded,

Where there’s a seamlessness in you, and where there is a 

confidence and tranquility.”  – John O’Donehue

Thank you for building my confidence and for teaching me the tools to find tranquility amidst the distractions and disturbances. There’s that “seamless” grace and strength in all of us if we take a glimpse inward.  By honing our yoga skills through regular practice, we can better tap into that … source… source of joy, source of fearlessness, source of vitality.

To share the above is what gives me … joy:)  Will just have to go back to that “beginner’s mind”, each day, renewed.

 

 

 

 

Categories
Beautiful Places Beautiful Things

Strength Based Natural Alignment Trumpets over

mindless flow for the sake of movement alone ?  I know I did it too – those 108 sun salutations jumping through rapidly, wear yourself out, probably doing 50% all rather sloppy,  just to get through, hurting my body (Chaturanga Dandasana (chah-tuur-ANGH-uh dahn-DAHS-uh-nuh)= shoulder girdle at risk) instead of healing it, strengthening it – but elated in the sense of “accomplishment” – the endorphin rush ! Some workouts resembles this – just get through it – burn calories – pump it – the rush – collapse.  Is that sustainable and … kind to our body?  In fact some naming of the workouts gives you the sense of false power and a rush – “Shreds!” “Rip!” “Burn!” “HIIT” “Beast” “Combat” “Box”- it’s very masculine sounding and great in motivating the … sloths … sure empowering but … what an agitation to our nervous system and strain to our cardiovascular health if pushed beyond one’s edge.  Sculpting is different – it’s good.

But what would a Mindful Flow look like?  Originally “sun salutation” really was a body prayer, a ritual and a sacred worship… prayer towards the divine within, towards the Higher Self, consciousness using one’s entire body to express that devotion. I experienced a touch of it for the first time when I had the privilege to take Gary Kraftsow’s workshop at Yoga Journal conference some time ago and then … now again wholeheartedly at another master teacher’s workshop couple of years ago where each asana in a vinyasa was accompanied by a chant from the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali – an amazing experience.

***

So why am I at the yoga wall ?  Instead of flowing and jumping through one pose to the next in a vinyasa or finding stillness in each delicious yin poses?  So that my yoga poses can get “adjusted” and refined,  thanks to yoga wall training by Jason Cull – IAYT, ERT, who trained with PT turned Yoga Teacher – which is what I’m doing too so felt at ease right away taking this workshop.  Do no harm is yoga therapist’s overarching intention so with that, of course, you feel at ease faced with rather intimidating wall full of straps and metal panels and what have you.

Here – Keeping the hips leveled, shin sliding up the wall but with thigh leveled parallel to the floor with the straps for the arms to sustain the back bend, the balance and elevated arms …Pulling on the straps actually mimics an effect of a pull up where we are working our upper arms muscles/biceps/triceps and lats … you can keep the arms at shoulders height or hands at waist with straps under arms …all depending on how your shoulders feel, listening to our body to redefine our own range of motion.

Reviewing our pattern of movements can give us some clues as to our needs as we deepen our practice – yes, some of us may want to burn calories with cardio and strengthen our muscles, the core, bringing weight management to the forefront – then ? and then what?

We may have the daily commute sitting, then sitting in front of a computer (that’s why a lot of high tech companies have standing ergonomically designed desks for their employees), then back again into the car or some transit where we sit … then instead of exercising, we may sit again to eat at the table then slouch on a couch – the western style you know where also is about … sitting on a donuts shaped ring of a chair not on the floor or in malasana (squat) to take care of business.  SO cumulative sitting exacerbates the physiological load on our back. By strengthening and lengthening our back and strengthening and then releasing the core muscles with the pull-up and a back bend, we can prevent future back pain – yes? Yes. YES. a resounding yes !

What an ultimate prop this is if used correctly with the intention to adjust, lengthen and strengthen:)  Great Wall of yoga at Yoga Health Center !  Likened to the Iyengar studio’s ropes on the wall where students find “freedom” in their body with the use of this support, that makes yoga even more accessible all people with different conditions.

I was reminded of that principal of stability vs. mobility, what Judith H. Lasater Phd PT often mentions in her wonderful backcare immersion course.  Can you see how that relates to use of straps as we make progression into movements to free up space within?

Natural Flow returns when the body’s joints, muscles, connective tissues all work in tandem… in harmony for those signature supple fluid graceful movements.  Inching my way up and down and all around, sometimes defying gravity, sometimes giving into gravity – thanks to adept support and guidance from Jason Cull and cohort yoga teachers.

In every practice, I hope to calibrate the Yang & Yin balance to find more Ease & Stability.  In staging our own practice in this production called Life, variety of props lend the support we can use to grow our practice to the next level.  First comes the surrendering of our ego and attachments to bring some props to serve us – to find more freedom in mobility founded on stability … support.  Then, we can finally stay and hang out – over time, that time will come – as our body remembers this form, you will find yourself holding Natarajasana, Lord of Dancer’s pose – free stand in perfect balance !

Categories
Beautiful Places Healthy Living

Harnessing Energy

Not just any energy but a positive energy like a PAWSITIVE energy with a little help from a furry friend! (Spotted a car generated by a new kind of energy at a parking lot.) 

Whenever you feel depleted:

1. Get in touch with nature and get out of your house, office … get out of your head.  Need not be out in the wilderness camping on a mountain top (though that would be nice!).  If you can’t get to a beach, forest, that mountain top, try walking barefoot maybe just back yard lawns, parks … find a sanctuary of a garden –  if that’s all we can get to – that will do to soak up the sun, the fresh breeze, the rustles of the leaves in trees, smell the fresh air and take in the sweetness of flowers blooming …  real or imagined.

2. Exercise – swim, jog, run, walk – skip – on the beach counts !

3. Okay – to be realistic – not all of us can get to the oceans and mountains on regular basis – find a closest yoga studio and try a class that appeals to you.  Try a power class – Try regenerative therapeutic yoga. Customize. Gentle yoga not a push yourself self flagellating workout kind of yoga where you get agitated over a pose you can’t seem to nail – the class you select can be based on your TYPE (Ayurvedic “DOSHA” type) or the condition and mood of the day.  Many “offset” the heated practice with a cooling practice to calibrate a balance.

4. Note:  gentle does not equal easy but still all levels and challenging  – it means gentle enough to not cause injuries to one’s body; not punishing but Nourishing Regenerative kind of practice. What does that look like -if that means sweaty hot super intense workout that allows you to relax by passing out – then –  that works for you.  Just be open to all possibilities and know there are many paths to get there.  You just haven’t tried them. See about blending different practices for a “program” you can stick to. It’s about regular practice not just for instant short term endorphin release but sometimes could do harm in the long run. Finding what’s LASTING … sustainable. Addictive in a good way:)

4. Meditation to be included in #3 & #4 above. In fact, Yoga, meant to be “forceful” union of mind and body was devised/designed to curb and down-regulate the hyperactivity (or slothness, lol) of young men, so that they can move mindfully, then, settle down to meditate for spiritual enlightenment … and for practical day to day – to keep their body fit, mind clear and focused and spirits UP. If you are interested in Origins or History of yoga, check out Richard Rosen and Mark Singleton.  Fascinating reads.  For more a daily or approachable reads, if you are a woman, those juggling several roles, highly recommend “Living Your Yoga” by Judith H. Lasater:) More scholarly reads –  by  Georg Feuerstein … readable like Srivatsa Ramaswami … Basically what’s applicable TODAY to optimize our health today… Gary Kraftsow’s books on therapeutics and  … there’s so much.

5. Make the time for above which magically creates more time you thought you didn’t have. Really.  Time expands when you rest and relax more because … you are less tired, and therefore have MORE ENERGY; more focus and so things get done more efficiently. Less wasted energy; more abundance.

6.  Challenge yourself to do or learn something new and stimulating.

7.  If there is that “time” – volunteer to help someone, some group, some organization to make a little, at a micro-minuscule-tiny level a difference.  That can start from those closest to you – a family member and then … beyond. Do a nice deed for another human being without seeking any recognition or return.  How does that feel to have no agenda – to be just kind – how does that feel? You are not trying to get something out of another, you are not networking, marketing, trying to impress, trying to gain an advantage … What would that look like?  What if you just wanted to make another person feel better?

Seems easy but sometimes not – it’s not the I am better than you attitude as honestly that’s so easy to detect.  It’s hard to serve with humility.  I volunteered the other day and I said after the experience – I can never be Mother Teresa – yep, that’s why there’s only one Mother Teresa – but we can do just a tiny little bit, just one-trillionth – and that’s still more than nothing – right?

8.  Lastly and so obvious, almost forgot to mention … BREATHE.

This might of interest Click Here for Yale’s most popular class.  Being happy … joyous creates the ultimate ENERGY & VITALITY:)  Our furry friends do this so well:)