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Anything Cute Beautiful People Beautiful Places Healthy Living Yoga

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Gratitude for a heart-warming vignette on Thanksgiving Day, teaching at Bay Club. For the class I was teaching came the cutest 8 year old who accompanied her daddy to his yoga class. She was SO adorable and a true yogini at such young age (Her dad reassures me that she can take the class because she does martial arts:) My heart melted when in sleeping pigeon, she held her daddy’s hand. Second time around on the other side, it’s noticeable that as good as she is, she’s still a child. Tremendously hard to hold a pose, probably an eternity for her – so got her to change into doing mermaid pose. She became a beautiful mermaid! Loved seeing the bond between this father and daughter.

Then today, a mom who was in yesterday’s class brought her twin girls – Witnessing the mother and daughters practice yoga together was just SO …sweet. I guess she realized upon seeing the 8 year old the day before, she could bring her middle school aged girls. Of course I said. If they want to do it, not because you are making them do it – if they want to be there, then, sure. Beautiful mom who looked kind of like Shiva Rea – yes, that golden Statute of Liberty look:) A little different from yesterday’s class, but she did not mind the little variation; then a lovely gracious lady from Bay Club, Marin. Don’t think I can travel to Marin County to teach over there – a bit far- but thank you for asking anyway. Very flattered and hope you can come back.

There were couples, friends, and solo practitioners, regulars and totally new faces. Sharing the practice for the Special Holiday and Black Friday – not knowing what to expect was good for me. I learned so much about what works and what doesn’t from these students. Thanksgiving morning and today, when I got on the freeway and the streets seemed deserted, I assumed I would walk into a small cozy class of handful. Shocked to find how wrong I was – had no idea the Club would be packed. Members taking care of their health when so much media coverage appears to be about over-eating (gluttony)and watching TV (foggy and dazed mind), or fighting the crowd at a shopping center (materialism), I was impressed by the show of family love and level of commitment for self-care by the members. Just surprised to see so many people there but with that bright resort-like atmosphere and amenities, why not spend the day? It’s a beautiful mini urban retreat.

As I walked out of the Club, I quietly thanked all my past and present teachers, my loved ones who supported me and allowed me to take hours and hours of training and workshops so that I may serve people with care and competence. Shanti, shanti, shanti.

Anyone practicing yoga anywhere – We are giving ourselves the most precious gift money cannot buy – that of our health. In yoga, unlike other exercises, it’s not just the body, the superficial and core muscles, facias, tendons and connective tissues and joints,you are tending to but so much more; it’s about stretching our MIND & body so that we can be more “flexible” and breathe with ease, freed from pain and aches. Have you ever met people who are not flexible (body & mind), not at ease – rather stiff, uptight … with furrows between their eye brows and noticeable TIGHT jaws… it does not matter that their waistline is super trim, or that they are size 2. Their movement has lost its fluidity and grace … because their whole body is hardened along with their heart and their arteries – ridden with tensions in all aspects of their lives… BUT we have a choice. One does not have to live that way.

Beautiful intentions set this week – beautiful American holiday when young and old gather together … witnessed so much show of love everywhere.

aromayoga

Categories
Anything Cute Beautiful Rituals

Caroling season will start soon. Locally there are some exceptional choirs. There’s nothing like LIVE HUMAN VOICE. The human sound is like no other.

Boys voices change. So this voice, NOW is a very moment to moment fleeting sound. In other words, the impermanence of it all …If you gather all these boys from this video today, they can no longer re-create the same sound – that’s gone, along with the voices that matured. Here’s an example of angelic voices and … then their voices change and evolve. I will have some examples of the latter, i.e., the matured voices and respective varied genre – so many genres of music I also came to appreciate. It’s all good and it’s all… magical:) There are some music that cannot be placed in any one category… so lovely.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NYTnuAfFp8

Categories
Yoga

Madonna pretzel… No hip replacement surgery for her?

madonnayoga

Especially stressed and exhausted after checking off one item after another on that TO-DO List, tonight’s class was super hard. Yet it was not a torture chamber as Bikram would refer to his own class. Rather, it was progression of poses I could not “perform” thus frustrating but because I still love the teacher, I stuck it out. There was one young lady who looked like a off-the-cover image of a yogini – model thin and beautiful with cool, hip tattoos. But she walked out half-way into the class. Maybe she felt too humiliated…or… ill. It’s not a reflection on the teacher – he’s wonderful. It just was not the class she wanted, and I could see that it may be frustrating or exhilarating – depending on what you are looking for. We all have those evenings… The class is quite acrobatic and very challenging – as the instructor himself said, geared for the Type A’s. Am I a Type A? Maybe a little strain of it but … NOT. Why am I here then, instead of say, fun fun la la la Zumba class?

I never did gymnastics growing up; nor ballet. Okay, there were various phases of yoga and aerobics – but that’s the extent of it …someone without ballet and gymnastics background, AND I am teaching yoga? Yes, because you don’t have to equate “bird” of paradise with a straight leg – that’s a pose – to yoga. Any styles that bring about the unity of body and mind for feeling “bliss”(ultimately to spiritual enlightenment) is yoga. For some, that bliss is possible only though what some may consider contortionists’ practice. Because that takes 100% focus where you can really live in the moment, be at present – because, darn it; otherwise, you can’t do the pose. It’s all good. I am that token non-ballet, non-gymnastics background yogi – a proof that the beauty of yoga is that it’s for everyone. It’s a remedy for all – It’s not just for gymnasts and acrobats and … Avatars:) Mere regular folks, just plain normal mortals can get so much joy and healing benefits from this practice. It’s not just for yogis:) who may practice for hours a day to levitate whereas… we may have other demands such as work or family.

It’s for anyone seeking relief and joy. It can be a secret hide-away for meditation, a retreat, or that sacred place to tune up and tune in. Or that communal gathering place with friends and loved ones to collectively… Ahhh, sigh and be allowed to find that “peace” within. It can serve many purpose. In all that it can be, I am first to admit my inabilities and imperfections. I am also reminded though… another instructor used to say – oh, it’s okay, only about 1% of, actually, not even 1% of the world population is able to do what you are trying to do – ahhh, sooo. Thus, it’s okay if you can’t do it. This instructor too allowed me to realize it’s not what’s on the outside, fashion or the looks that yoga is getting more and more about these days; it’s not about that. It’s about what’s on the inside… THE CONTENT and the process. Process or … in my case, just … effort:) Striving is so Yang – so solar – so tension building Shakti.

Not ballet, not gymnastics, in high school, what then? A little singing … surprise – Glee Club at Cal and I was in HS Varsity Volleyball team – so what am I doing in a yoga studio? (people evolve…) shouldn’t I be at the beach, chasing the ball and diving into the sand in an effort to save? I was a setter and a pretty good digger – going for the ball, diving for it was fun (yes, with knee pads – so my knees are still intact). Setting for the spikers so they can spike it down the opponent’s court was… SMASH! fun. Yes, that setter’s role is indispensable but if you are after stardom and glory, perhaps, your ego would not find shadowy background role glamorous.

Funny,I still see my role that way – I am not the acrobatic gymnast who will WOW with a super-human pose fit to be on cover of a magazine – Still, I like to try it because it’s fun. It’s also fun to see this instructor do some amazing poses as it’s simply – inspiring. (although in areas of prezeling, I am not too bad – it’s whatever requiring upper body power, I need a lot more strength! ) You imagine a 20-30-year old buffed man, right? No, he’s probably a father of grown children maybe and he does not look artificially buffed but … Okay, so He looks like a very fit athletic intellectual but no one would guess he’s a yogi – breaks out into this super-human pose. Yet anybody, even Arnold or any yogi, half his age would be humbled by what this instructor can do. While it’s not the soothing, healing yoga that I normally gravitate to, I enjoy the ridiculous hardness of this class. Yes, it’s ridiculous. It’s so hard.

Humbled and reminded – So this former-volleyball player is then reminded that in life – and in the yoga I aspire to, I am more like that “setter”. I want to feel the energy fields. I want to feel the placement. I want you to feel the glory, the victory and the high. But…

Maybe I am a SETTER still – I set things up so that the spiker can shine. I am a setter. I provide that perfectly set ball up in mid-air, at the perfect timing and place so … the offense will take place and the spiker can ace it – so she can shine. It sort of resembles motherhood… or a true caring empathetic friendship. It’s pure joy to set things up so that things happen to talented deserving people. They are on stage under the spotlight, you saw to it in your modest ways from backstage. While hoping that fame and fortune do not get to their head, always a concern, wholeheartedly happy for the success of the “spiker” jumping high up and up, reaching to grasp that stardom.

In the meantime, still trying to get that foot behind my head, then fly into side crow? Oh, first should get the crow without flattening my nose on the mat when I take a fall. I rather see the humor in this class since it’s so not for me; but the instructor must see the humor in it too. It’s pure comedy for me as I steady myself. He’s wondering why in the world I’m in HIS class but … being a yogi, he just smiles and cracks jokes. Hope he’s not laughing at me; like to think he’s laughing with me. Somewhere, even he too must realize a pose called “Bird reaching for Rainbow” is ridiculous and…funny!!???? What? All BIRD theme this week? Of course. I love how he serves the bird this Turkey week. Ridiculously tough to levitate for this mere mortal but enjoying the process and the effort, millimeter at a time.

No wonder I need to re-train my nervous system so they are soothed and balanced – back to healing yoga and quiet meditation that does not require exertions, effort and striving – that produces more tensions and stress, the good kind of stress is good… but the bad kind can really be toxic… It’s a balancing act of yang and yin elements, in organic dozes, for that wholeness, the oneness.

Yoga Dogs Clendar