Wag-a-Yoga: Healing & Revitalization with Kay T Ananda Yoga Therapy – Page 411 – Oneness Yoga & Healthy Lifestyle in Silicon Valley/Bay Area

Self-Care & Women’s Health (men too)

Post author By Kay T. Ananda
Post date September 26, 2016

Looking back on short weekday (lucky!) trip during “spring break” us adults get too sometimes …when you have a local contact, it’s not so far of a getaway – thank you Y-san!
Chai with view of Mt. Shasta right in front !
Never thought there would be Indian food in this little town … miss Vivify, the sushi restaurant though… the vegan macrobiotic bento was so… delicious. The co-owner of that lovely place, Vivify, A-san passed away with cancer some years ago but I am always reminded of her when I come to this town. If it were not for her radical change in diet (you are what you eat!) and lifestyle (relaxation!), she would not have lived as long as she lived. She used to open her seminars with the statement, had it not been for the positive changes based on self-study and explorations that included Japanese to Aryuvedic methods, she would not have been standing before us. It is said she prolonged her life by as much as 15+ years, improving her quality of life as she went about teaching macrobiotic cooking and educating others the importance of water and food we consume. She made a difference as with each contact she made, she touched that person’s heart. She was a gift and so were her teachings. We are all, and each a gift during this lifetime and we all leave behind our traces when there’s love in our hearts.

Reminds me of the time my mother had a hip replacement surgery – and the rehabilitation she underwent, now with bionic hips, she’s all good! Doing yoga? Sure. A lovely Japanese yoga teacher with sessions blessed by PT, so caring and well-informed – impressed.　Want to take her class? Sure, just go to Ginza, Tokyo. Not possible? Okay, just settle with me – it’s an integral part of my practice because it…works.
Advances in medicine is amazing for something acute and we are the beneficiaries to that great strides made in science and medicine; but something more chronic, we need a different approach. More on this … when I take a moment after I take care of others.

Precisely !

Sometimes we forget to take care of ourselves.
Us Bionic Super Women !!
Yoga practice reminds us of the value of self-care.
Refresh and Repeat, Repeat.

Beautiful People Beautiful Rituals

Om Mani Padme Hum

Post author By Kay T. Ananda
Post date September 18, 2016

* adding this as someone asked – good question. As I am no authority, Dalai Lama to the rescue… who by the way, reminds me of someone’s uncle.

Mantra … prayers … it’s all good because of good intentions in which the process quiets the mind. What does it mean though, all those mantras said to have this or that benefits? When you pray – does it not have a tendency to go into “Dear God, May I pass this test.” or “Dear God, I will be good but in exchange, can you make me win or this or that” “Dear God, please I want this I want that” etc. It’s a pure mirror of our desires, struggles and how we wish for stroke of good luck and miracles. Prayers reflect desires. Mantra is perhaps a little different. It seems more about purifying ourselves, to be less attached to desires and greed, to liberate from the shackles of endless desires to be less stuck with burdens of possessions that take hold on us. This is so cute … Love this.

September is a Childhood Cancer Awareness month.
Here’s a piece I wrote a while back – I am praying that the kids undergoing such a diagnosis survive though – That’s what I pray for – that each living person has the opportunity to come into his/her own and live out the given life to the fullest to the end …My thoughts are kind of like this having attended a funeral/memorial Sunday of my former boss. Youngest of 7 children (!), lost his father at age 14, still managed to graduate college and … he came to this country from Japan with just $7 he can call his own; he leaves this life with good fortune of being surrounded by his loving wife of 50 + years, 3 successful children; 6+ grandchildren – He lived a full life. In the end, it’s all about relationships, isn’t it? Relationship with Self to establish first and then relationships with all. It’s a bit early (I hope!) but makes you think about how you want your funeral & memorial to look like – do hope it will be a CELEBRATION of a life well lived!

As Judith recites –

May we live like the lotus
at home in muddy water.

& Oh, boy, is it muddy!

And some would say – No Mud, No Lotus.

Yoga

Post author By Kay T. Ananda
Post date September 16, 2016

Subbed for a lovely Yogini this Friday morning. The old me would not have liked subbing but today, I love subbing – it’s so freeing – yes, I am fearless lately. There’s so much you can do with 90 minutes (actually must have been a 70 min. class but the students wanted to hang out longer – so a bonus time:)

Had so much on my plate, kind of upset with myself for taking this on when there’s so many other things I am behind on – anxieties bringing on the stress – and then all that stress melts because yoga … works … you just forget about those other things – love teaching as I had a wonderful time especially because students said how much better they felt at the end … it was a mixed class of about 12 with one student doing yoga for the FIRST time ever in her life !!! Felt a bit of a responsibility that she’d be turned on by yoga and come back for the regular teacher. What an honor. So fun teaching someone who is totally fresh and open – Lovely energy. Thank you for the opportunity – I love babies !!! So innocent and curious … reminded:

“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities,
but in the expert’s there are few”

Thank you for the honor to be the very first yoga teacher for this lady – hope she feels better about her body – mind – life. As our teacher from my Yoga Therapist Teacher Training module says –