Happiness

I was quite taken by the Julie & Julia project and this got me thinking about what I might be able to undertake. If I was going to take on a little project of my own it would have to be something personally meaningful, possibly boasting my happiness factor up a notch or two. It would also have to fit into my already overloaded. over obligated, over scheduled life. As I have mentioned before my goal within my yoga practice is spending more time on the mat at home and becoming less dependant on outside classes. With this in mind I have chosen my project for the year. The Namaste Experience is a ten month project compromised of doing and reviewing 75 yoga DVD's, cooking one meal a week from Cooking the Whole Foods Way by Christina Pirello and juice fasting one day a week. In the end I'll compare the beginning of September 2007 with the end of June 2008 and we'll see how much bliss I've attained! First DVD is Yoga Shakti with Shiva Rea, first recipe ( the easiest one I could find in the cookbook) first fast, pure hell I'm sure.

Wish me luck!

Friday's Feast

Appetizer
Who is the easiest person for you to talk to?
My best friend, my sister and my dog about anything. My girlfriends about all things in life. The man is very easy to talk with on many subjects, and of course its very easy to talk to my kids, it goes something like this, " What the... put that down before you poke somebody's eye out!" or "OOOHHH my little sweety nutter butter peanut butter cup, that's very good!"

Soup
If you could live in any ancient city during the height of the quality of its society and culture, which one would you choose?
Atlantis, if it existed it must have been something to live there.

Salad
What is the most exciting event you’ve ever witnessed?
although indescribable to the emotional extent of its effect,and I hope never to witness anything like it again, 9-11-2001.

Main Course
If you were a celebrity, what would you do for a publicity stunt?
I really don't have it in me to make a scene out of myself, but I thought Richard Greer introducing the Dali lama in Central Park was a fantastic stunt. ( If you can call that a stunt)

Dessert
What do you consider the ideal age to have a first child?
I consider the ideal time to bring a child into your life is when you have created the emotional, physical and financial space to share a life with someone who will be totally dependant on you. This is individual for everyone. This can happen at anytime, or not at all.

Entangled in Thought

Cisco is feeling a bit jumbled and tied down emotionally. I know my dog he's defiantly a little off today. I won't get into the details as he hates it when I make his business public. Were going to do a little yoga together in hopes he'll unwind. He'll do a few stretches, sacrum rocks back and fourth and some gentle lateral movement in supine with the legs in flextion (good for the hips) . The rest of the time he will lay there watching me completely uninterested and bored. Some just aren't into it, what can I say. Then we will try for another walk and see how it goes.

Happy downward facing dogs all!

Swami Sri Kripalvananda

My beloved child, break your heart no longer.

Each time you judge yourself, you break your own

heart.

You stop feeding on the love which is the

wellspring of your vitality.

The time has come. Your time.

To live

To celebrate

And to see the goodness that you are.

You, my child, are Divine.

You are pure.

You are sublimely free.

You are God in disguise.

And you are always perfectly safe.

Do not fight the dark.

Just turn on the light.

Let go and breath into the Goodness that you are.

Bapuj

Digging Max

At Seventy Five, All The Way Live! Max is the highest The outest the Largest, the greatest The fastest, the hippest, The all the way past which There cannot be
When we say MAX, that’s what We mean, hip alwaysClean. That’s our word For Artist, Djali, Nzuri Ngoma, Senor Congero, Leader, Mwalimu, Scientist of Sound, Sonic Designer, Trappist Definer, Composer, Revolutionary Democrat, Bird’s Black InjunEngine, Brownie’s Other Half, Abbey’s Djeli-
But ask anybody conscious, who Max Roach be. Miles certainly knew And Coltrane too. All the cats who know the science of Drum, know where our Last dispensation come from. That’s why we call him, MAX, the ultimate, The Furthest Star. The eternalinternal, the visible invisible, the message From afar.
All Hail, MAX, from On to Dignatariato Serious and even beyond! He is the mighty SCARAB, Roach the SCARAB, immortal asour music, world without end. Great artist Universal Teacher, and for any Digger One of our deepest friends! Hey MAX! MAX! MAX!
AMIRI BARAKA

Max, I heard the news today. We love you, God Bless You Man,
and thank you..............

Mantra Girl

Mantra Girl has a DVD which is an introduction to Kundalini yoga and chanting. I thought, "Yeah this seams really good. A gentle yoga session with lots of chanting and breath, perfect for a vacation at the beach." Well true to word Mantra girl did a lot of breath work. She had us doing breath of fire through at least half the session. The rest of the time was spent with repetitions of asanas I have never done before. I'm not implying there not yoga poses I've just never encountered the majority of what she had us doing in any of my classes, but then again Kundalini is new to me. I found a nice quote from Mantra Girl describing the basis of this yoga, " Kundalini Yoga is different than other forms of yoga in that it uses the chakra system of the body. Other yoga styles often focus only on stretching. Kundalini uses chanting meditation and long deep breathing to awaken the energy of the body. The goal Kamler says, “Is to move the energy from lower more primal points of the energy body to the higher chakra points which awakens the consciousness." Ok so there you go.... A lot of what was presented were exercises to clear out the aura and create a healthier field of attraction. I have never done any work to clean out this area and perhaps that 's why I had such a hard time with this yoga session. Although I'm fairly active and physical it was difficult keeping up and I found I needed to stop and rest at times. Mantra Girl does not give verbal words of encouragement to keep you going but she does emit a peacefulness and with the music and chanting you really don't want her speaking anyway. She has a beautiful voice, I can't wait to use her work in my own classes. This DVD is not a one shot deal I think you have to do it several times to get something out of it. I'm going to do a trial run for the next week and will report back with my findings.

peace out!!!!

Beach Time

(fineartamerica.com)

The man and I are off this weekend. Back by Monday. I am packing my swimsuit and a couple of yoga DVDs. I'm savoring the last days of summer vacation right down to the last tasty bite! Good yoga class today. I really am fortunate to have some dynamic teachers. I'm excited to say I signed up for a Yin Yoga workshop with Paul Grilley. This will be a gentle and auspicious way to start the year. My instructors in my yoga teacher training were huge advocates of his work and its very exciting to be attending this workshop. I'm also excited about a DVD I will be checking out this weekend. Kundalini yoga with Mantra Girl. I am so impressed by her chanting that I ordered her CD and I am going to play her music in my classes! Well that's about it for now. I've got to pack, so see you soon!

Sunny, Sunny, Beachy, Sandy Happy,Happy Everyone!

Friday'a Feast

Appetizer
Say there’s a book written about your life. Who would you want to narrate the audio version?
Kate Winslet

Soup
Take the letters from your favorite kind of nut and write a sentence. (Example: Perhaps every avenue needs understanding today.)
Almond: Alice loves macaroni, only not daily.

Salad
If you could go back in time and spend one week in another decade, which decade would you choose?
Probably a week in the late 60's or early 70's or perhaps a week in Rome about 3000 years ago.

Main Course
Name a song that brings back memories for you.
She Sells Sanctuary by the Cult.

Dessert
Do you prefer to wash your hands in cold water or warm water?
Warm water.

Stability

Today in class, while in tree pose, my teacher, Coeli Marsh spoke of stability. She described a biosphere somewhere in the States that grew life inside a dome. Unfortunately none of the trees survived; reason, no wind. It turns out trees need wind to increase their strength and help them root. Without wind all the trees were weak,couldn't survive any movement or pollinate. This is an incredibly powerful metaphor for everyone. On one hand, life needs a little adversity and change to grow strong survive and have the courage to move forward with new things in our lives. On the other hand it's telling something even more powerful, you can't do this without roots. Roots in this case are emotional reserves, which allow us to make it through adversity. These kind of roots don't automatically develop inside of a person, there based in childhood and need to be cultivated. If there is little to no opportunity(in a loving manner) to learn how to be strong, you can achieve strength in adulthood, but not without a good deal of emotional pain and trauma. Sometimes its not about what one endures but the pain inflicted on others due to an ignorant soul and a selfish mind. So tree pose with a sway and down I fall and have to get up again, not so bad...... Growing my roots.

Back to Work

I'm back to work today. The summer is winding down and the year is gearing back up. This is is going to be one of the most challenging years I have had in a long time. Just thinking about it makes me wince a little. I am obligated to the hilt til next June and there's very little wiggle room anywhere. Perhaps my personal project should be surviving this year. The next two weeks are slow, with more weekend vacation time and last minute organizing which I can do it my own pace. After that, time will tell. Hold on Miss.S it's going to be a bumpy ride!

Yoga at Home

We are on vacation and I have a DVD player at my disposal so I brought a couple of yoga DVD's to assist me in building the home practice. I brought Vinyasa flow yoga with Sean Corn, one I have done a few times before. This is simple, clean and does the job in an hour and fifteen minutes. I also brought a new one along, Ashtanga Yoga: beginner's practice with Nicki Doane. This is 68 minutes which was plenty. Beginner Ashtanga is still Ashtanga. Lots of repetitions of downward facing dog, plank, upward facing dog back to down dog, over and over and over again! Nicki Doane is very encouraging and she kept a steady pace. I definitely broke a sweat with this one. This instructional piece goes through suryanamaskar A and B which is the first part of the first series of sun salutations in Ashtanga. The entire sessions is done standing. I will check out another of her DVD's, she has a couple. she's an interesting teacher living off the grid in Maui.

Friday's Feast

Appetizer
Describe your laundry routine. Do you have a certain day when you do it all, or do you just wash whatever you need for the next day?

I end up doing laundry once a week although this is not something I plan, when the basket is full the laundry gets washed.

Soup
In your opinion, what age will you be when you’ll consider yourself to truly be old?

I felt old at 19 and never really felt young again, so I don't really see much in young and old I just want to be healthy, I'll feel really old when health leaves my body.

Salad
What is one of your goals? Is it short-term, long-term, or both?

Finish my doctorate, it a loooooooong term goal.

Main Course
Name something unbelievable you’ve seen or read lately.

An entire forest on the cape came down so a housing development could go in. Another overpriced, only used in the summer, second home bullshit housing develoment so somebody can keep up with the Jones!


Dessert
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how happy are you today?

8.5

Vacation

The man and I are back in North America but still on vacation. A lot going on after this week so for now its rest, relax and renew.

Away a while longer............

Inspiration!

I have put my genius into my life,

whereas all I have

put into my work

is my talent.
unknown

Julie and Julia, my year of cooking dangerously by Julie Powell is an inspiration to anyone who ever had hopes of wish fulfillment, inexplicable happiness or just doing something that brings ongoing satisfaction. Today my teacher said, "spending time with your children, gardening, doing yoga, it doesn't matter... doing something that fills you fills others, so you should do it often." Julia Powell decided to rise to the challenge and every day for one year she cooked solely from Mastering the Fine Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. She wrote about glorious victories and agonizing defeats, first in a blog then a book. Somewhere in the middle of her dull low pay job, crappy loft in a nowhere residential New York City borough, dial up Internet and entirely too much smoking, drinking and butter she inspired me (and I suspect a legion of others) to go out there and grab all the joy possible. Julie Powell opened up her heart chalkra and enveloped life. Life threw her a couple of sucker punches but all in all Julie came out on top; happier, satisfied, with a more enriched life at day 365. She didn't have any expectations, just looking to find something wonderful to embrace. It worked, it was a great idea. She succeeded fabulously

I'm inspired to do the same. My life is a little busier than Julie's was, but all the same, I have some ideas. I'm not ready to share yet but soon perhaps.

Happy Hunting!

Big Blue Marble

Were back and I think this fellow expresses out general feelings toward our travels. Wow! I don't know where to begin...... Gaudi, tapas, beaches, Costa Brava, Montserrat, good walks through the city, breathtaking parks, hedge mazes, not too hot, never cold, really friendly people. I have much to say about our travels but it will have to wait. I have a class to teach this morning. A private with a shy little lady who wants to try this once. I'm giddy happy!

Will write more later............

Big Hugs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Friday's Feast

Appetizer

On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how polite are you?
Depends, I will be as polite to you, as you are to me. That's about civility. I have the ability to naturally be about a 7 and when I ramp up for occasions where proper etiquette is required an 8.5. I would be clueless what to do if I met the queen and that's a 10.

Soup

What was the last thing that made you laugh out loud?
I don't really remember but in the minds eye I can see myself on several occasions just cracking up with a couple of girlfriends.

Salad

Who is your favorite cartoon character?
I don't think I have one but as a kid I loved the Charlie Brown and Scooby Dooo cartoons.

Main Course

Tell about the funniest teacher you ever had.
I had a professor in B school. He loved a good joke. We would be in the middle of a presentation and a joke from the New Yorker would pop up on the screen which had little to do with his lecture. Logistics is a dry subject but he managed to make it fun.

Dessert

Complete this sentence: I strongly believe that ______________________.

education and health care should be universal and nobody should go hungry.

Were off to the beach so I don't think there will be any blogs for a while.
Be well everyone!

Joy

I honor the place in you in which the entire universe dwells. I honor the place in you which is of love, light, peace and joy. When you are in that place in you and I am in that place in me, We Are One.

Senior Snuggly is safely ensconced with the folks up north. Even though its been less than a day and I know he's able to unwind and release his inner dog, I miss him terrible.

Today I have to pack and run some of those mindless errands I talked about earlier. It won't be too bad, I have some nice thoughts to keep me company while I cross items off my list. Yesterday morning we decided to check out a nearby farm while Snuggles and Miss Cocktail ran and rolled and sniffed about. Once for sheep, It's now an organic farm and produces food solely for the community. The land was meticulously worked and the two folks we met could not have been nicer. Someone built a self sustaining house complete with solar panelled roofs, wood stove and an indoor outhouse. I was overcome by a wonderful feeling of peace, well being and satisfaction that seemed to emanate from the house and the land. Truly these folks were walking the walk. Later, My Father and I had a little visit down the road. I had not seen Ms. K in quite some time and when we rolled in some beauty looked up to see who we might be. As it turns out her family has expanded considerably. We have a gorgeous little number straight out of a Victoria's secrets catalog, Walter Matthew and Twinkle Berry the belly dancing phenomena. Well, OK.... Maybe that's not their names but for the moment.... All are rescue horses taken from homes adopted away from a variety of situations. They were truly happy, emanating such joy in a Free to be You and Me incredible summer day moment. Twinkle Berry trotted right up and basically said , "Go ahead! Go ahead say it girl! I know it... I am Bootyliscious! " These three resonated a higher level of joy from the heart chalkra, and when in the presence of any entity who's heart emits that level of joy, it lifts the spirits of everyone else too. So home I float with dreams of belly dancing horses and little dogs leaping through organic gardens.

Namaste!