I will be teaching Thanksgiving Day and Friday, the day after, at Bay Club, Redwood Shores
(formerly Pacific Athletic Club).
So I joked with the students about the theme.
Usually the Bhavana(development/cultivation) of gratitude comes to mind since …
it’s after all a day dedicated to giving thanks.
Actually, it’s a day that I regularly teach anyway, not especially because it’s a holiday so I can just do the usual class OR ?
While the student’s reminder got me to thinking about the theme of giving THANKS and the whole idea of “gratitude” to whoever showing up,
I think I will go along with the joke. It’s a good one.:
We are grateful for the abundance and the choices of foods most us are blessed with.
We are so lucky that we have the choice – even within Vegetarians, there are so many choices:
– Ovo vegetarianism includes eggs but not dairy products.
– Lacto vegetarianism includes dairy products but not eggs.
– Ovo-lacto vegetarianism (or lacto-ovo vegetarianism) includes animal/dairy products such as eggs, milk, and honey.
– Veganism excludes all animal flesh and products, such as milk, honey, and eggs, as well as items refined or manufactured through any such product, such as bone-char refined white sugar or animal-tested baking soda.
– Raw veganism includes only fresh and uncooked fruit, nuts, seeds, and vegetables. Vegetables can only be cooked up to a certain temperature.
– Fruitarianism permits only fruit, nuts, seeds, and other plant matter that can be gathered without harming the plant.
– Sattvic diet (also known as yogic diet), a plant based diet which may also include dairy (not eggs) and honey, but excludes anything from the onion or leek family, red lentils, durian fruit, mushrooms, blue cheeses, fermented foods or sauces, alcoholic drinks and often also excludes coffee, black or green tea, chocolate, nutmeg or any other type of stimulant such as excess sharp spices.
– Buddhist vegetarianism. Different Buddhist traditions have differing teachings on diet, which may also vary for ordained monks and nuns compared to others. Many interpret the precept ‘not to kill’ to require abstinence from meat, but not all. In Taiwan, vegetarianism excludes not only all animal products but also vegetables in the allium family (which have the characteristic aroma of onion and garlic): onion, garlic, scallions, leeks, chives, or shallots.
– Jain vegetarianism includes dairy but excludes eggs and honey, as well as root vegetables.
– Macrobiotic diets consist mostly of whole grains and beans.
(cited from wikipedia)
Then there are meat-eaters but not red meat; or only meat they hunted; AND TURKEY EATERS! Or some of us may just categorize food choice in terms of Italian or non-Italian,LOL.
SO the fact that we are afforded the smorgasbord of choices to begin with …THAT is abundance – we are SO fortunate to be blessed with.
***
Yet, it is ironic that while we enjoy the abundance of foods,
many of us do not enjoy
abundance of energy.
Why do we feel so depleted?
How is it possible that we can get up in the morning and we already feel… tired?
We need some Ojas !
(Taking it further – how is it possible that there be still people going hungry in this world – can we fix that? With some Ojas, we can.)
In fact, overeating or eating what does not really agree with your constitution, means that the body does not absorb those foods efficiently.
The foods we eat are calories, yes, but not necessarily “nourishing”. Why are all this good food we consume not necessarily nourishing us?
This is because all people have issues with Digestion. That’s a blanket statement so maybe you are an exception. Then you are one of the few lucky ones.
In the modern world of 24/7 availability of fast foods, it is not uncommon for many people to suffer from some kinds of gastronomic disorder such as poor digestion or bowel problems.
Additionally, stress and fatigue tends to wreak havoc on your nervous system and your gut responds to all such stimuli in less than ideal ways.
Yet we tend to ignore the signals and keep eating …
We know that in order for the body to be healthy, the whole digestive, absorption and eliminating function of the body has to be regular.
Only when the foods we consume are turned into body’s nourishment, only then, we know we can be at our optimal health.
It is also interesting to note that, in Chinese/Japanese Medicine, digestion and skin problems are closely related. Healthy skin also means strong digestion.
My interest in therapeutic applications of yoga practice led me to study this so why not share – what I do for myself with others.
For our Thanksgiving Day practice, we will focus on internal organs and meridians that dictate our digestion.
We will improve our metabolism, digestion, absorption and elimination function.
We will focus on meridian channels that affects our digestion so that we can truly be at our best when we face that Thanksgiving table.
Without having to deprive ourselves, we will prepare our body to eat in moderation while still getting the full satisfaction.
See you on Thanksgiving Day at 9:30 am !
In gratitude:)
By the way, it will be a Yin yoga class Thanksgiving Day and lovely Myra will be teaching Vinyasa Flow at 8:00 am so if you can afford the time, it will be practically a semi-retreat of a morning. Amenities are already provided.
On Black Friday, the day after, I will be teaching Fusion Yoga at 9:00am at Bay Club again.
What’s Fusion Yoga you ask? Not quite the sweaty power yoga you think you need to burn off calories from the prior night’s excesses – rather, 50% Yin of stretching and loading fascia and connective tissues & 50% Yang that’s flowy vinyasa to get the heart rate up and body heated; it’s a blended integrated yoga, Hot & Cool, a hybrid of styles is how I might explain it.
Beginners are welcome – it’s open to all levels.
“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities,
but in the expert’s there are few.”
― Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice
