Categories
Beautiful Places Beautiful Rituals Healthy Living Yoga

I & The Village by Marc Chagall

IMG_7310
IMG_7305

Just wanted to thank you for caring for yourself enough by choosing to show up to my class this year – I know that sometimes you don’t always get that Ahhhhh-moment throughout due to my penchant for trying out new music or changing or not changing something, or maybe not enough props or volume not being quite right or being too cold or hot (let me know) … any hosts of reasons BUT please know that consistent practice in a group setting complements all other styles of yoga and exercise to enhance our mind-body wellness. With that faith, allowing me to be your guide this year – it’s been an honor. Any loyal student who has come to my class more than just few times – thank you for going with the flow of perfect imperfections – a true teachings of Zen, I say with sense of humor intact – Arigato:)

Oh, by the way,I want to appeal to you that my classes are weekly “regular” classes; NOT a workshop. Thus, please do not compare my classes to a special 2-3 hours long workshops. Still hoping it serves as a mini-retreat and a respite. While some things are permanent and stays the same, more “regular” students may prefer an occasional change in the playlist offering or the sequence reflecting the season or the natural cycles. Otherwise, let’s be honest, it can get boring or stale and more unconscious auto-pilot. True, in Bikram or in Ashtanga, there’s no sounds/music and it’s the same blueprint repeatedly – but YOU are different each time you are on the mat – you are the unique one, noticing your own differences relative to the sameness of the practice – So if you come once then come again, the first class may seem a little different the second time or it may be virtually identical – so kindly keep those things in mind. Again – It’s not a workshop and … I am trying to work with the Feng Shui of the particular place (including the speaker system).
Irritations may come up; annoyance and anxieties may come up:

breath in – ” …you…”:
Breath out – “…decide… ”

to have an

Open-mind,
Open-heart,
Open – expansive – spacious … serenity does not come because there’s no noise – because it’s so quiet. Inner calm is not derived because there’s no distractions or disturbances. In fact, there may be toxins brewing and chaos erupting in the most silent monastic retreat – if your innermost is not at peace. On the contrary, a real sense of serenity and peace may overtake you even if you were in the noisiest, loudest, even a scariest place – You are empowered to change your internal landscape – that’s the practice. That’s the intention.

Categories
Anything Cute Beautiful Rituals

Life is an adventure,

it’s not a package tour.


– Eckhart Tolle

Never one for packaged tours – always liked to look at maps, study it (because I’m hopelessly challenged with directions – GPS was invented for people like me!), research, plan and only then, navigate… despite the “plans”, sometimes still getting lost on the way. Encountering the unexpected, good and bad.
**********************************************************************************************************

butterflygirl

“Butterfly Dream” by Nardack, Anime illustrator

Starting out the week with reminders from Eckhart Tolle:

“What a caterpillar calls the end of the world we call a butterfly.”

Regular Sunday ritual of cocooning highly recommended for butterflies to emerge:) Allowing things to gestate within you, restored, rejuvenated … beautiful.
Last Full Moon of the year 2014… solo moon salutation to feel the universe within. It’s “an intoxicating swoon”.

fullmoonblog

Categories
Anything Cute Beautiful People Beautiful Places

Dogs = Quality of Life @ Google:)

Yoshka’s
sm_IMG_9916_02

sm_IMG_9917

sm_IMG_9936_01

A Cafe at Googleplex named after their excecutive, Urs Hölzle’s dog, “Yoshka”, Google’s “first dog”. I thought it was “Yoshika” which would be a Japanese name and thus a Japanese restaurant – how wrong I was! Not much better than the Q&A session that followed:

Q. So who founded Google?

Many hands shoot up in enthusiasm. Bright eyed, they begged to be called on since, of course, they’ve got the right answer.

A. Steve Jobs!

Shouted a 12 year old with exuberant confidence of a …twelve-year old.

Q. Another try? Anyone?

Now Fewer hands go up.

A. Bill Gates !

NO ~ C’mon ! A crowd of middle school students bursts into laughter …some rolling on the lawn picnic style as we watch google employees on bicycles and pedal motored cycles with several aboard where apparently they hold staff meetings (as they pedal:)… it does resemble campuses of higher learning as the founders envisioned their corporate headquarter to look and feel like. Indeed, its a “campus”!

Q. Anyone?

Still fewer hands go up…

Okay so, Larry Page and Sergey Brin are the founders of Google. Urs Holzle was their 8th employee. Fascinating history of a very young company that changed the world. Interesting how we use google everyday but little do we know about this company. At least I didn’t until this visit.

sm_IMG_9937

sm_IMG_9854

An escalator where a rainbow colored staircase keeps moving with names and words… representing the MOST SEARCHED words and names on google the last month…
sm_IMG_9856_01

sm_IMG_9875

sm_IMG_9947_01

Embarrassed to admit I was most impressed with the fact that they have 35 cafes on their “campus” to service the 35,000 Silicon Valley employees out of 50,000 worldwide employees. Woof, woof !