Category: Beautiful Rituals

Categories
Beautiful Rituals

Tea Ceremony

Tea ceremony two weekends ago at Hakone Gardens in Saratoga – one of the reasons for me being late to my Sunday class….(but I brought the authentic ZEN spirit along:)
Prom_IMG_7376Okashi-sweets served at a tea ceremony at Hakone Gardens
Prom_IMG_7381 The tea ceremony is very ritualized with the use of all instruments in a very methodical measured motions. It gets mesmerizing if you follow the ceremonial preparation and serving of that bowl of special tea brewed for each guest…
Prom_IMG_7386
Whipped with bamboo wisk … while it looks creamy, it’s just matcha/green tea powder and hot water… that’s it… but so sublime:)
tea-bowl-with-tea (1)
At a ceremony, usually the bowl of tea is served with a dainty cake that depicts the beauty of nature, cherry blossom motif if spring, chestnuts or maple tree leaves if autumn…these cakes are hard to come by in America because it takes a lot of skill to make them and … they do not ship well as usually it must be eaten within that day…
cakesjap
Prom_IMG_7402This is what it looked like – Nooo, just kidding you. (I could not take a photo in such solemn serene space with this dainty and very polite teacher staring at you.) This is latte; not matcha tea prepared before you with utmost care and grace by the teacher. But similar in that it’s a bit frothy, whipped up with a bamboo wisk rather than espresso machine coffee, it’s green tea … served in a beautiful tea bowl. Love the manners we must follow. Manners and protocol … that’s Japanese… some may say restrictive but…it’s very orderly and MEDITATIVE and thus, comforting. (BUT sitting zen style for 30 minutes can cut off all circulations as I crawled out of the tatami mat tea house… my legs were numb… masters sits for hours and hours …including my grandparents – my grandfather would be singing Shigin and my grandmother would be just fine sitting sipping tea … sitting ‘zen’ she weaved into the everyday – nothing special.)

Categories
Beautiful Rituals Healthy Activities Healthy Living Yoga

A gift for EVERYONE… this practice.

girlmoon

Okay … I’m late.
lateclock
Very late…
latebunnyalice
The weekend was so compressed, I really needed to take my own class tonight (the shuttle does not come; long lines everywhere; unplanned hike in the hills of Saratoga on an empty stomach; mad rush to get to a place …) drama, drama, drama … Luckily, as an eternal student of yoga, I have a toolbox to not let the drama hijack my intentions. In a way, because of that need to take my own class I felt, ironically, I was so much more able to empathize with the students who showed up. I really saw them with tender eyes …we were on the same boat, floating down the same river, on the same journey.
warpedclock
I had meant to read a passage on the New Moon vis-a-vis “us” but … time went by so fast (no worries – sharing at the end of this post), I cannot understand why there’s not enough time to do all intended as I have so much more to offer but then, that’s what it’s about. To know that there is actually more than enough time to do all – there is enough time. We have to stop replaying this feeling of “not enough” nagging at us. We create the scarcity sometimes – There’s not enough money; there’s not enough to share; there’s not enough energy; and, the most common, there’s not enough time … on and on with feelings of deprivation to the point of believing even this – I am not enough. That fear begins to take over sometimes – fear that perhaps it’s not the time or the money but maybe … I am not enough? Really? Make a shift in that mindset of scarcity … There’s enough. There is ENOUGH. In fact, we have so much, that’s more than enough. We have plenty. We are swimming in abundance – There is “abundance” if you tap into it. Time really is a weird concept – and we have enough. we are enough. You are enough. I am enough.

hourglass

I like to approach a group class for all-levels as just that – for everyone … For special needs, I rather customize and gear the class to serve that particular group’s specific needs but of course all are welcome. In a general group class (unlike say, specifically directed to students suffering from cancer or autoimmune disease such as MS or chronic fatigue … then, the practice lead would be more keenly nuanced and delicate), I have to assume that each student is listening to their own body and I too am there to help modify and bring comfort. If Yin yoga is about training and dealing with discomforts to have breakthroughs; Restorative yoga is about … Bliss – How can I find Bliss – in a yoga pose, really letting go. It’s also part a meditation practice if you so choose it to be.

In a general group class, then, Restorative Yoga class as the name “restorative” suggests, is for (1) the healthy and the vibrant to use the practice as preventative measure to maintain that health and ideally, have even more of a surge to attain “optimal” health; (2) and on the opposite end of the spectrum, for the suffering, to find healing and restoration… a renewal through acceptance and receptivity for better things to come; (3) and everyone in-between to find their balance and the inborn natural vibe … that harmonious rhythm, the riff you strum within. In other words, as Judith illuminates:

Restorative Yoga is for Everyone !

*******************************
– New Moon tonight so plant your “seeds” of intentions … wherever you direct your desires to, wherever you direct your energy to, the seeds will germinate and flower… yes, they blossom…
There are different kinds of lunar salutations (just as there are different variety of sun salutations) and the one practiced tonight is not actually the one that I practice at home – that’s a secret – haha – no I will share one of these days – but more resembles this one so thought to do together. It’s the more familiar if you are used to doing sun salutations during the day… Here’s my coverage of it from a previous post… Click Here.

It’s best not to exercise 2-4 hours prior to bedtime especially on a New & Full Moon evenings not that yoga is supposed to be just an exercise. So don’t let Chandra Namaskar to be energizing … instead, let it be soothing and dreamy …kind of like you are one with the air, the ether …wafting like the scent that surrounds you. Delicious deep sleep is the most anti-aging, anti-inflammatory elixir that can remedy so much… I bid “Good night” & wish all sentient beings “Sweet Dreams”… Here I share an affirmation good for the whole week post-new moon as we are still in that phase. Namaste.

new moonaffirm

Categories
Beautiful Rituals

Yoginis at “Matangi” Yantra Drawing

Vignette from last month … A workshop drawing the symbol “Matangi”, creating your own portal of creative Shakti, taught by Chanti Tacoronte-Perez.

Matangi is considered to be the Tantric form of Sarasvati, the goddess of music and learning. Like Sarasvati, Matangi governs speech, music, knowledge and the arts. Her worship is prescribed to acquire supernatural powers, especially gaining control over enemies, attracting people to oneself, acquiring mastery over the arts and gaining supreme knowledge. (Don’t we all need her help? lol)

Yes, Matangi is Wisdom Goddess of creativity and speech. Matangi’s power is to access our authentic voice and to speak from the “deepest expression of our hearts” (Frawley).
Chanti shows the way through the process that “creativity is a balancing act of complete surrender coupled with discipline. Matangi being an “outcast” is free to play in the waters of the unconscious, where the bounty of creativity can be accessed.” Her workshop allows us “to identify our own creative power or explore the possibility of introducing creativity to our practice and life.” (excerpt from her workshop flyer:)

We began (really with hot cup of chai …then) with meditation and contemplation of Matangi and our own creative shakti. In constructing the Matangi yantra, we slow down our minds, shift the mood and perspectives where you can see your inner-Self a little better. Taking time out – Chanting and focusing … in meditation and contemplation of “Matangi and our own creative Shakti(power/energy)”.
Yoginis in a beautiful private yoga room.
SO peaceful.

sm_IMG_6818

sm_IMG_6823

sm_IMG_6812A lovely yogina brought over a plate of homemade raw cacao/dark chocolate covered coconut balls to share …sweetened only with maple syrup, she says. Thank you for where to find the recipe – found it!

sm_IMG_6822

sm_IMG_6828

sm_IMG_6830

sm_IMG_6834

sm_IMG_6833Look, I picked out this card out of this stack of cards!

sm_IMG_6835Buddha card … You draw to yourself what you find inspirational in his teachings.

yantraLines not straight and not as symmetrical as I’d like it to be but … for first timer, it’s okay? It’s the process that was most special …Used the wrong paint brush – next time, shall use a thinner brush for more control… Drishti focal point to the center of the geometrical shapes until you start seeing … the vision.

Thank you Friend for hosting Chanti’s Yantra session. Love Chanti – she’s so down to earth and so skilled – Usually, anyone sharing the same set of teachers is a kindred soul. Kind of felt this sisterhood and feeling of serenity sweeping over the room as we used the ruler, compass, pencil and erasers like kids back in school … all yoginis, all certified yoga instructors maybe?, drawing and sipping chai. Felt soooo much at home:)

Here’s Chanti’s homepage www.yantrawisdom.com.

She’s in Hawaii most of the time so for the yoga classes … when you are in the islands – Aloha:)

About Chanti:

Chanti’s passion is to inspire everyone to find their creative Self though movement, effortlessness and sadhana. She has been studying and teaching yoga in the Tantric Hatha Linage since 2005 initiated by her teacher Yogarupa Rod Stryker, founder of ParaYoga. Chanti has studied the art of Restorative Yoga & the practical applications of yoga therapy with Judith Lasater and she travels to India yearly, where she studies Sacred Art with Mavis Gewant and Pieter Weltevrede. Currently Chanti is attending Pacifica Graduate Institute pursuing her masters in Humanities with and emphasis on Depth Psychology deepening her exploration of healing through creative practice.

A soothing art therapy for the yogini needing an escape, some self-care. To me any place of yoga practice is a … sanctuary. Dear Yogini Friend, thank you again and again for holding the space, to me a sanctuary, so lovely.