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Beautiful Rituals Yoga

Styles of Yoga… pick and choose…

Mix and Match … I know, I know, it’s not a wardrobe but the practice can be customized for your unique needs.  The Heart of Yoga – Developing a Personal Practice by T.K.V. Desikachar (son of Sri Krishnamachaya)… upon opening the book, this quote:  “I dedicate The Heart of Yoga to J. Krishnamurthi, who taught me how to be a good yoga student.”

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Restorative yoga is about being compassionate to yourself so that you can be compassionate towards others.  In treating yourself in loving manner and by defogging your inner lenses with tender sweep of loving soft silken breath, you wipe away layers of  – whatever that does not serve you –  accumulated over time …

During the practice, as you take the time to look into your inner landscape, you will learn to see yourself clearly as that shining bright self that you really are.  Your essence will reveal itself through this mindful practice.

I find it to be a practice to refresh and awaken the mind while allowing the body to rest in yoga poses designed to provide certain energetic effects.  All categories of asanas are practiced –  backbends, forward bends, side bends, twists and inversions  — in a completely receptive manner through the support of bolsters, blankets, straps, blocks … as the props allows the muscles (where most tensions are held) to fully release.  We are unaware sometimes of how much tension we hold within our muscles… that unease of tightness, soreness… even pain.  Sometimes it’s in a knot; tight and unforgiving… Full release comes only when you are guided to invite it  – I see my role as that “guide” on such a journey.  Each pose is held from 5-20 minutes giving the body ample time to unwind and move into the parasympathetic nervous system leading to an experience of healing rest.  Did you know that our body can be in the state of sympathetic nervous system in a matter of fraction of a second; while getting to the parasympathetic system will take well over 10 minutes (for some, more)?  Yes, from cavemen days, we were designed to respond instantly  in  “fight & flight”  to what our body perceives as threats for survival.  In stark contrast, our relaxation response takes a bit of coaxing as we are wired to reject feelings of vulnerability, equating that feeling to state of insecurity and thus, risks of danger.  It is, however, during relaxation that our body works at its peak efficiency to strengthen and heal from within…

So when we are by design tend to be more in the sympathetic mode, we have to make a concerted effort to tend to the parasympathetic nervous system or else, over time, it’s inevitable that our nervous system will become out of balance.  In mass, resulting in a whole healthcare crisis with ailments starting even as early as in our teen years dealing with chronic stress, hypertension, hypotension, heart problems, and respiratory issues where emotional toll may also play a role … all this modern day suffering we may not have had when we were too busy toiling away on the fields for our next meal and fighting off tigers and bears so that we can see our children grow and thrive.

How often do you give yourself the gift to be away from the normal activity and focus on integrating  the body and the mind ? By re-migrating the energies of the body — air/breath, fluids/blood, solids/internal organs — through specific pathways, restorative yoga creates a deep sense of relaxation and rejuvenation.  Well designed sequences of restorative poses are each designed for a specific energetic result and complements your active practices, so that you can exercise more effectively.  Indeed, among many benefits, you can treat it as a RESET button for your muscles (physical/mental and emotional), so that it can be again turned ON to take you through the day to day with more zest – Joie de Vivre! –  To reap the benefits, “You” just have to get out of the way as my teacher would say. You don’t have to hold onto things you don’t need.  It’s nice to have active daytime sweaty yoga practices; then at the end the day, ease into graceful flow or yin and restorative… Pick and choose to match your needs.  Then it becomes a ritual. It’s ALL GOOD!

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Beautiful People Beautiful Places Beautiful Rituals Healthy Food Healthy Living

Visited Rainbow Grocery after the Shojin cooking session in San Francisco.  Of course bought sesame seeds so that I can grind some sesame myself at home… have been using my Cuisinart to make Tahini sauce and pesto sauce but I am now ready to at times, embrace the inconvenience of slow foods as to quote from Kyoto Journal’s interview with the famed Chef Toshio Tanahashi to the question,

“Shojin cuisine does not strictly equate to vegetarianism. How are they different?”

Chef Tanahashi answeres:  “Shojin abides by Buddhism’s Five Prohibitions, the first of which is “don’t kill.” However, one of the most important teachings of Buddha is also to accept all suffering and pleasure with equanimity. The same is applied at the dinner table. Buddhists should receive all food that is offered, and not distinguish between meat and vegetables. So, Buddhists are in fact permitted to eat meat in certain cases. Out of choice, however, Shojin cuisine only uses vegetables. Shojin cooking may seem limiting, but actually it is very liberating. Convenience will destroy humanity. Inconvenience leads to freedom.”

So in search of that “freedom”, I might sometimes forego Cuisinart as I hear him saying “mottainai” – what a waste – in his opinion, we lose a little life, that is, small pleasures inbedded in our ordinary daily life.  What he illuminates by this comment is that there is this perfect opportunity to “experience” a precious moment, a ritual… yet, mindlessly,  you are bypassing that opportunity by the short-cut in using a modern appliance. Need not go to any temples, shrines or monasteries to find the Zen in the ordinary… in the kitchen, on the floor…To him, it’s a chance to strengthen your core with your abdominal breathing, a chance to meditate and be at present with the experience as aroma of sesame wafts through the air you breathe.  Indeed, I experienced Pranayama, Meditation and Aromatherapy all at once!  Who would have thought grinding sesame in the special mortar* and pestle** to be so Zen.  The labor of love then makes for  the gastronomic bliss…of tasting the painstakingly prepared foods for the divine.

*Mortar – It is a ceramic bowl with very narrow – 1-2mm grooves in them for grinding small seeds like sesame.

** Pestle – in this case was special wooden one made from Sansho wood. Sansho, Japanese pepper is from Japanese prickly ash, or Zanthoxylum piperitum tree… Chef Tanahashi explained that from Ancient times it was known that this wood has properties to kill poisons, and along with salt and vinegar, was used to prevent food poisoning, etc. back when refrigeration was unavailable.   So while grinding, very very fine wood oil will seep into the sesame to make the process even more beneficial.  Unlike the regular ones at home, this wooden pestle was quite big… very solid in your hands but light enough to allow continuous grinding in circular motions possible – it’s quite a trance!

Hope he will make these tools available in US as well… or we will be looking into finding a local tree that may serve as a good substitute.  Any ideas anyone? Oh, no, as tree huggers, perhaps we shouldn’t be chopping down trees?  Only if we could replace that tree with baby trees … Having said that there’s lots of fire wood on sale on our street as our neighbor just cut down a giant tree from their back yard… sigh… Mottainai?

In reality, his way of time consuming cooking may only possible in monk’s world or as for that matter a nun’s… but to bring it into today’s context with so much yearning for the mindful, meditative, peaceful way of life, we can at least have the tools to create that or teach our kids the beauty that lies in simple pleasures of the ordinary everyday.  Why do we always need to be entertained ?  It’s yoga in the true sense.

It’s a cliche nowadays but yoga is how you live off the mat… at present, listening to the inner wisdom so what’s truly within us can shine bright.  Such teaching resonates with the kind of teaching Judith Hanson Lasater, Ph.D. shares in her precious book filled with yogic wisdom:  Living Your Yoga – Finding the Spiritual in Everyday.

 

 

 

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Beautiful People Beautiful Rituals Healthy Food

Chef Toshio Tanahashi

is here from Kyoto to teach a class on 精進料理…SHOJIN cuisine.  Shojin cooking translates to “Devotional” cuisine which is at the foundation of Japanese cuisine.   Mr. Toshio Tanahashi, a well known star chef heralded from Kyoto will be giving private and public classes. His home page will profile this much celebrated chef who has devoted his life pursuing this art of Japanese cuisine – it’s not your typical idea of Japanese cooking – No, it’s not sushi, teriyaki and tempura…which in authentic Japanese cuisine would be considered more of convenience or fast foods.

Shojin cuisine is prepared at Zen temples and monastaries by and for the monks and consists of no meat, no fish, no dairy… not even honey – no living creature harmed in process of giving you the essential nourishment to live on … to thrive on …pure vegetarian cuisine but also unique and special from other vegetarian cuisine due to its little reliance on use of oil and little spices while still enjoying a burst of flavor.  What then does its flavoring depend on?  You will know when you eat it – amazing umamii – all natural source.  Beautiful presentation is so aesthetically pleasing to the eyes… little delicate plates and bowls hand made by ceramic artists, bowls and trays of lacquer… honoring the divine within us with the healthy foods we feed our body as offerings.  It would seem nearly impossible to adhere to such Shojin style cuisine but he will bring that world to the everyday households by teaching not monks but us ordinary folks.

What is Shojin cuisine?  This article may help you realize that it’s a whole art-form of food preparation by and for the Buddhist monks that’s been passed down for centuries. Buddhist monks are sworn to non-harm, non-violence which we who study yoga will relate very well to – it’s the whole concept of Ahimsa… that is the concept at the heart of Shojin cuisine.

Photos will follow … sure to be a “ichigo- ichie” experience…