Main Line Sutras

Q & A, Healing Sciatica

2011-05-28T20:36:00.000-07:00

Someone asked how they could use yoga to help with some sciatica that they started experiencing during their pregnancy.
Having never met them, this is what I felt like i could safely offer.

most generally, sciatica is caused by the irritation, compression, and/or inflammation of the sciatic nerve.

see, the sciatic nerve comes down the vertebrae and weaves through the pelvis, it passes under a part of the pelvis called the sciatic notch (bone). then it travels down through the glut and the hamstring.

often, what can happen, is through alignment, tension, injury, etc, is that the notch rubs against, or crushes the nerve. this is irritating. also, if there is a possibility that the nerve can get squeezed by the glute and the hamstring pushing, or being stuck together.

the best thing to do it to create space in the jammed areas, and be really mindful of your not making it worse by doing poses that jam up the area.

some poses that might be useful:
*pigeon pose while lying on the back, you can do it the normal way, if your hips are really open
*pascimottanasana with the knees deeply bent and the spine straight, to peel open the tissues in the back of the legs and butt. deeply bent knees, really really
*try putting two straps around your hips, pull one to the left, and pull one to the right. this can help open the pelvis nicely. you can keep them on while you do your practice, and it might support you nicely
*twisting triangle
*easy locust pose that will strengthen the low back muscles

avoid
*deep forward folding with legs straight
*deep backbends that jam the sacrum

hope it helps.

Aquiring a Taste for Your Life

2011-05-15T08:35:00.000-07:00

Your life might be an aquired taste. Do you remember the first time you had a glass of wine, how awful it was? Do you remember the dawning of awareness, as you realized the depth, the complexity, the beauty? Have you ever listened, as a vintner discussed what goes into every bottle, the effects of the soil and the atmosphere and the wood of the casks? Or as a connesiour encourages you to absorb every last bit of flavor? Have you seen their faces light up as they describe what they love about wine?
This is your life. Your life is an acquired taste! You have created your life. You have done the best you could, given your particular environment, genetics, and karma. You have crafted something, that just might be wonderful. Sit back, light a candle, and taste it. Savor it's complexity. Consider the possibility that nothing in your life needs to change except the way you taste it. Extract every nuance. Give yourself a chance to sift through what you may have initially written off as unpleasant. Allow the flavors to open and reveal themselves to you. Let the bitterness, the grit, the swarm of seemingly conflicting impressions melt into a harmonious blend of experience. Marvel at the richness and the beauty.
In my favorite Bukowski poem, 'The Laughing Heart', he agrees,

'Your life is your life, know it while you have it. You are marvelous, the gods wait to delight in you.'

Join them, all the gods, masters and holy ones. Join the winos, and the beats. Delight in your life.

My response to Yogi Ram's Denouncement of Shiva Rea.

2011-03-24T12:53:00.000-07:00

Here is the Original Article In The Telegraph

So Shiva Rea wears stretchy pants and sports bras. And she teaches wild, undulating vinyasas. She brings in live drum orchestras. She quotes ancient tantric texts, and mixes it with her own brand of inspirational cheerleading. The few times I’ve worked with her, I had an excellent time. Really enjoyed myself, and also I felt like I grew, spiritually. I felt my prana flowing, my body opening, my mind clearing. All good in the hood, as far as I’m concerned.
I was really surprised to hear Yogi Ram’s quote, "Wearing skimpy clothes, glamorizing or doing unusual things definitely affects the dignity of Yoga. The government needs to step in and retain the essence and authenticity of the traditional Indian art." Shocked really, and saddened. Saddened, because I naively believed that the yoga culture that I had opted into was beyond the repressive and misogynistic attitudes that I had come to associate with western traditions. I’ve seen these things pop up a few times before, but this time, I’m really rubbed the wrong way. Because Shiva clearly hasn’t done anything wrong. I’ve seen an article or two that has come to her defense, but that isn’t even necessary.
It seems more useful to address the obvious underlying issue in Yogi Ram’s attitude. Yogi Ram seems to have a problem with women. He seeks to deny them of their power, their sexual and sensual agency, their place in the holy mandiram. He seeks to shame them, to vilify their bodies, and to repress their femininity. How else would you explain his words?
Yoga is a tradition passed down by a lineage of naked men who cover themselves in the ashes of dead people, hang out in graveyards, drink out of skulls, and smoke massive amounts of weed. The Lord of the yogis is a naked man. You would think that ashes and loincloths would fall under the heading of skimpy clothes. Unusual behavior? Take your pick.
But they are men. Men are allowed to do what they want. Men can choose what to do with their own bodies, can go naked if they want, can hang heavy weights from their members if they want. Not women, though. Women need to be kept under control, protected and locked away, like any other piece of property. We see this often in western culture, but not so much in our yoga, because we have naturally been attracted to the highest elements, of love, acceptance and freedom. We have been spared much of the dogma and backwoods rhetoric. But here it is, yogic subjugation of the female, plain as day.
If another man sees OUR woman, while she is dressed in revealing clothing, he might feel lust, he might try to take her away from us. He might even use force. He might rape our woman, perhaps contaminating our bloodline. And, (and this one is maybe even more dangerous to a fearful male ego) if we see a woman that isn’t ours, wearing stretchy pants, we might feel our primal, instinctual urges, we might be motivated to use force, and forsake our spiritual motivations, and act bestial. Even if we don’t act bestial (pashukarma), we would have to admit that we live in a body that has bestial tendencies. Animalistic thoughts arise, its part of the hardware. But what to do? Best to deal with them honestly, use a yoga and meditation practice to liberate the energy from the thought forms, and move into a loving, accepting place. You don’t blame hot dancing women in stretchy pants though, just cause you can’t hold your bandhas. It’s a shallow expression of a victim mentality, and that, if anything, is what would affect the dignity of yoga.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/8368854/Yoga-row-between-Indian-purists-and-Western-free-form.html

Broaden Your Foot

2011-02-02T17:24:00.001-08:00

spread your toes as wide as you can.
now take your attention from you toes, back a little, into the ball of your foot.
spread the ball of your foot as wide as you can, from the center of the ball of the foot, out to the big toes edge, and the little toe edge.
now relax the toes a little, and just let them gently extend forward.
Focus on opening and spreading the ball of the foot.
snuggle the ball of the foot into the ground, and lift from the center of the arch.
this will send more weight to the outer edge of the foot. this is good, press into the outer edge of your foot, but don't loose your connection to the ball of the big toe.
visualize a line that runs across the center of the foot (left-right)
the front of the line reaches forward, the back of the line reaches back.
Draw your knee back a little to press weight into your heel, and lift the calf muscle upward at the same time.
let the heel flower out from the center to the edges.

compostie paintings, composite goddesses

2010-07-23T08:38:00.000-07:00

I like these 'composite paintings' from 18th century india. It reminds me of a composite Durga that my friend Dave game me once. Durga was created from the power and the energy of all the Gods. All of the shakti combined made her powerful enough to destroy the evil buffalo demon, Mahiasura. It would be interesting to know if there is any relationship between the Hindu Myth, and these Mughal Paintings.
I found this painting, and many more, on "Journey Round My School"

Also, for your enjoyment, here is a traditional version of "The Mahiasura Mardini Stotram" a song the celebrates Durga as the Fierce Warrior who defeats the Buffalo Demon. Those of you who go to Amma's programs will probably recognize it, it is a favorite.

Fertility Awareness Method of birth control

2010-06-17T20:32:00.000-07:00

someone showed me this really interesting PDF about 'the fertility awareness method of birth control. i gave it a google, and this is what came back:

Fertility Awareness Method (FAM) is a collection of practices that help a woman know which days of the month she is most likely to get pregnant. A woman can learn when ovulation is coming by observing her own body and and charting physical changes. She can then use this information to avoid or encourage pregnancy. The most effective way to discover YOUR fertile time is to practice all of the techniques described here.

Fertility Awareness increases a woman’s understanding of her body and her menstrual cycle.

from FABC

Here is ths Downloadable PDF, a really neat document.

Pralad Jani Passes the test!

2010-06-15T09:39:00.000-07:00

After 15 days of investigation, India’s Defense Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences concluded its study of 82-year-old yogi Prahlad Jani on Thursday, May 6.

Jani, who claims to have lived without food or water since his childhood, was under the close watch of three video cameras 24 hours a day. Researchers conducted various medical tests on him. The research team, consisting of 35 scientists, could not find any evidence that Jani ate or drank anything during the 15 days.

From the Epoch Times

First Article is here

Lemon Pickles

2010-05-12T21:46:00.000-07:00

Last week was a crafty week, i decided to make both lemon pickle and saurkraut. Saurkraut I've made before and find totally delicious, but I haven't made lemon pickle before. Arsha Vidya makes a slammin version, but it never occured to me that I could make it myself. However,I found a recipe online and decided to try it out. Funny thing is, is that now that this recipe is on my mind, lemon pickle is popping up everywhere! I just found a second method, which looks great as well.

Although it certainly needs a little more time, i tasted it yesterday, and it is coming along really nicely. here are the two sites: (you'll love the website names)

Salt and Fat
Evil Mad Scientist

Karma, Shakti, Mantra

2010-05-02T08:21:00.000-07:00

I've wanted to learn this Ganesha Mantra from the Rig Veda for several years now, it has always struck me as being a chant that really conveys and connects with Ganesha Shakti. For some reason, it has always escaped me. I would try to learn it, and try as I might, it would slip through the cracks of my mind. I would put it on the back burner, and when I would later come back to it, I would experience the same frustration. For some reason, earlier this week, it clicked for me. I don't know why, and I don't know how, but I suppose that isn't for me to know. It might have been the time spent with the book 'Loving Ganesha' (link below), but I can't say for sure. I'm going to chalk it up to karma, and shakti. Like our Old Friend Krshna says in the Bhagavad Gita, 'No effort on the path is wasted'. So keep on practicing.

I hope you enjoy the above video, its not exactly the melody or tempo that I use, but it sure is pretty.

Gananam tva ganapating havamahe
[traditionally chanted ganapati gm]
kavinkavinam upamashravastamam,
jyeshtharajam brahmanam brahmanaspata
a nah shrinvan nutibhih sida sadanam

Mantra Text from the Himalayan Academy

Also, This book is a fabulous resource

Breatharian Sustained by The Goddess

2010-05-01T07:11:00.000-07:00

Mr Jani, who claims to have left home aged seven and lived as a wandering sadhu or holy man in Rajasthan, is regarded as a 'breatharian' who can live on a 'spiritual life-force' alone. He believes he is sustained by a goddess who pours an 'elixir' through a hole in his palate. His claims have been supported by an Indian doctor who specializes in studies of people who claim supernatural abilities, but he has also been dismissed by others as a "village fraud."

The Article is Here

Really interesting ceremony at the border of India and Pakistan

2010-03-23T08:05:00.000-07:00

Apparently, one can't cross the border from India into Pakistan. The gate only opens for this ceremony.

The Accidental Private

2009-12-11T19:24:00.000-08:00

I am teaching a relatively new class at Yoga on Main, in Manayunk. Its Friday at noon. For the past several weeks, this calss has presented itself as private class. One student shows up, and we really have a delightful time working very deeply. Every week, I have been blessed with a very special student; an old friend, a fellow yoga teacher, a mother/daughter combo. It's been rewarding. So, I'd like to encourage you to stop by, and take your chances, perhaps it will just be us, and it can be all about you.

Alchemical Prayers

2009-12-07T11:09:00.001-08:00

As we know, the work of yoga is an alchemical work. We cultivate our Shakti in order to dissolve the gross substance of our mind and ego into the nectar of blissful consciousness. For the most part, I enjoy sticking close to the teachings of the eastern yogis, and meditate on their approach to this process, and contemplate their metaphors. Occasionally, I come a little closer to home, and explore what the western occultists, and Hermetic Alchemists have to say. Usually, I find some Jewels.
I would first like to introduce you to the term 'Hermetic', in case you are not familiar with it already. Hermetic refers to a school that traces its lineage to a great master, The Great Master, named Hermes Trismegistus. (Trismegistus = Thrice Blessed, or SHRI SHRI SHRI!) Hermes, as most of us know, was the Scribe of the Gods. He is considered to be the God of Language, Writing, Wisdom, and Alchemy. Many legends place him all over Greece, Egypt, and surrounding areas, and he is said to have instructed the Great Patriarch, Abraham. From then until now, countless practitioners have poured over his teachings and put them into practice in their lives. These mystics refer to themselves, and their lineage, as Hermetic.

Recently, it was my karma to come across a text, outlining the seven major hermetic principles. It is called "The Kybalion", and it is only 8 bucks, and if you like, you can order it here: The Kybalion. The first of these principles, is that there is a Universal 'ALL'. This all is considered to be Universal Living Mind. This All, of course, is in All, right? Universal Mind permeates all reality, and all the contents of reality, all the laws of reality, and every cell of our body. Here is a neat quote:

"While All is in THE ALL, it is equally true that THE ALL is in All. To one who truly understands this has come great knowledge."-The Kybalion

Although, i wouldn't say that this is an exact parallel of the Vedic ideas of Brahman (universal soul) and Atman (Individual soul), it calls them to mind. It brings forth the memory of our connection to something great, and that indeed, universes reside within us. To sit and feel both; that I exist within a great universal consciousness, and that a great universal consciousness is available within me, this creates a great sense of peace, happiness, and clarity. I recommend it, highly.

Digging around the internet produced a beautiful treasure, "The Secret Song of Hermes Trimegistus". This song, illustrates this idea, and also empowers us to feel our own divine qualities (Atman) while praising these divine qualities in THE ALL(Brahman). I'll post a short quote from it, but perhaps read the entire thing: here The Secret Song sit with it for a time, and let it reveal itself to you.

"O all ye Powers that are in me, praise the One, and All.

Sing together with my Will, all you Powers that are in me.

O Holy knowledge, being enlightened by thee, I magnify the intelligible Light, and rejoice in the joy of the Mind."

Please Enjoy Responsibly.

A good weekend for music

2009-12-01T12:13:00.000-08:00

It was an excellent weekend for music, of all kinds.

on Saturday night I went to see my ole Baba, Bhagavan Das, and chant the night away at Yoga on Main

Baba's main message, which I really appreciate, is the preciousness of human life. How easy to lose and how difficult to obtain. The importance of making the most of it, when you have it.
It was powerful times, as energy swirled, and subtle channels opened, and knots untied, and karmic residue came to the surface to find acceptance and release. Of course, as the fates would have it, Sally ended up two cushions away, and although there wasn't any eye contact or communication, the proximity added an extra electric charge to jolt my system. Challenging, but healing.
The next day, I came back to YOM to do Baba's Nada Yoga Workshop. Really it was a 3.5 hour Bhutta Shuddhi practice, chanting and purifying the chakras with mantras and visualization. I experienced some wonderful insights, and energetic openings. I wished it went on all day, and has inspired me to practice Bhutta Shuddi more on my own.

Sunday night, I was invited to see a guy named Grayson Capps.

His wife is producing David's new CD, and I got a text asking me would I let him crash the night at my place. I hauled myself down to olde city, and climbed the stairs to the tin angel, was really, really happy to watch and listen to this guy. Gritty Country Blues always moved me deep in my soul, and mad me proud to be an American. Grayson, indeed, made me proud to be an American. His songs told the story of an America untouched by time, pure and true, stories that sound like they were left to age in an old mason jar that still has a little moonshine in the bottom. And so many songs of heartbreak and loss, songs that made me feel less alone in my own secret pain. "There are some scars that just never heal," he told me after the show, "not much you can do except have a sense of humor about it." And speaking of which, this one is hilarious. He makes a good case.

And just because good things come in threes, I was gifted this really nice Jazz CD in the local book store today. Philadelphia is home to Hip Cinema's Nadine Patterson. Nadine is working on a film featuring a local Jazz musican, Warren Oree. The soundtrack is really enjoyable, and here is a clip and the description of the film.

Ancestral echoes of the Middle Passage reverberate through the upright bass handed down through three generations of the Montgomery family. Each generation deals with conflicts between dreams deferred, and the unfinished business of the past. Grandmom Mozelle was a pioneer in an all women’s band in the 1940’s, but she gave up her musical passion to raise her family in a segregated America. Her son Casey became a revolutionary of the 60’s and 70’s and used music to voice the ideals of the Black Power Movement. Upon his passing his daughter Zera finds herself ill at ease, struggling with her own issues of family, career and music, but also being pulled by something else. Where does this music come from? What is this music really about? Whose cries do we hear across time and space? Do we dare to listen? Do we dare to be healed?

So, that's the week in music, Enjoy!

a short story

2009-11-16T23:35:00.000-08:00

I entered a writing contest this evening. 100 words. the theme "found in space"
enjoy!

“Why isn’t the kettle boiling yet?” he thought, cold, thirsty. Walking into the next room, he saw his error; shiny fire hissed from an uncovered burner, the teapot sat, tepid, behind it. He laughed, moved the pyrex over the heat, and watched that pot until it boiled. Tea made, he ambled over to his cushion, sat down in front of candles and incense, closed his eyes. As he breathed, the walls of his cranium dissolved. The space inside his mind flowed out , and the universe poured in. In the middle of all of creation, he found himself.

Happy Halloween - Zen Pumpkin

2009-10-30T08:11:00.001-07:00

Actually painted by a child, not a grizzled old zen master

from here

Tantra Reading : The Radiance Sutras

2009-10-28T17:25:00.000-07:00

When I was at Bhakti Fest in Joshua Tree last month, i met a man named Lorin Roche. He was a scholar and meditation teacher, and had spent several years working on a beautiful, poetic, practical, and accessible version of The Vijnana Bhairava tantra. The vbt is a delightful text that outlines powerful meditation techniques that can be used both on and off the mat, and allow one to see the sacred in all phenomenon. I really enjoyed meeting him, and taking his workshop, and I really enjoy the text. In fact, I used a reading from it in the wedding I performed just recently.

Be Wildly devoted to someone, or something.
Cherish every perception.
At the same time, forget about control.
Allow the Beloved to be itself and to change.

Passion and compassion, holding and letting go,
This ache in your heart is holy.
Accept it as the rise of intimacy
With life's secret ways.

Devotion is the Divine Streaming through you
From that place in you before time.
Love's energy flows through your body,
Towards a body, and into eternity again.
Surrender to this current of devotion
And become one with the Body of Love.

So check him out, he has alot of fantastic readings on his website, which i have been enjoying very much
http://www.lorin roche.com

Timothy Leary's Tao Te Ching

2009-10-13T22:50:00.000-07:00

I am reading a fantastic book.

They recently republished Timothy Leary's version of the Tao Te Ching, "Psychedelic Prayers". (Psychedelic Prayers: And Other Meditations (Leary, Timothy)
) I had an old version once, but I gave it to Paulie Zink. I was without one for a while, because I didn't feel like spending $50 on a old tattered printing from the 60's. But It's back again, and I found one on ebay for 8 bucks. it has some extra stuff in the back that is wonderful too.
Tim wrote his version while in india, studying with a Buddhist Lama and a Vaishnava Monk. He had nine different english translations, and carefully crafted his version based on his readings and 'meditations' (wink, wink). He writes it as a guidebook for a psychedelic experience, and gives it a clear beginning, middle, and end. The result is an elegant and transformational text, one suitable for any voyager of consciousness. any one who "floats through the universe of the body, without getting lost". It works really well as a guide through yoga or meditation practice as well.

Here is a verse, it focuses on impermanence. I've been really into impermanence lately. Its a good thing to get a handle on. nothing fancy, its simplicity holds it beauty.

I - 5

All Things Pass

All things pass

A sunrise does not last all morning

All things pass

A cloudburst does not last all day

All things pass

Nor a sunset all night

All things pass

What always changes?

Earth...Sky...thunder...
Mountain...water...
wind...fire lake...

These change

And if these do not last

Do man's vision's last?
Do man's illusions?

During the session
Take things as they come

All things pass

****

and this one has been my favorite for a very, very long time.

VI - 17

Walk Carefully When You Are Among

"holy men" and
"righteous" deeds
Distract from the internal

"Learned men"
Distract from
Natural wisdom

Professional know-how
Addicts people to the contrived
And the external

Be respectful and compassionate
But walk carefully when you are among-
learned men
holy men
doctors
government officials
reporters
publishers
professors
religious leaders
psychologists
rich men
social scientists
women with beautiful faces
artists and writers
men who
charge fees
city men
movie makers
men who want to help you
men who want you to help them
Christians and Jews

For such as these
However well meaning
Place you on their chessboard
Addict you to their externals
Distract you from the
TAO within

The lesson of the TAO is more likely to be found among-
gardeners
hermits
mountain men
smiling eccentrics
men who build their own homes
children
parents who learn from their children
loafers
amateur musicians
serene Psychotics
animals
men who look at sunsets
men who walk in the woods
beautiful women
cooks
men who sit by the fire
wanderers
men who make bread
couples who have been in love for years
unemployed men
smiling men with bad reputations

Psychedelic Prayers: And Other Meditations (Leary, Timothy)

turn off your mind, relax and float down stream.....

Love....

daniel

360 degree sarvangasana

2009-10-02T12:36:00.000-07:00

How cool is this shot of the sunset, a 360 degree Panorama from Yoga in Daily Life seminar in Umag, Croatia with Swami Maheshwarananda.

Umag Asanas At Sunset in Istria

more images here

Google Image Search

2009-09-30T21:52:00.000-07:00

sometimes when you search for "chakras" with google images, sometimes you get this.

from this website

Iyengar Yoga Joke

2009-09-30T19:01:00.000-07:00

Q. How many Iyengar yogis does it take to replace a light bulb?
A. Only one !

BUT, they will need:
a sticky mat
a backless chair
two blocks
five blankets
a bolster
six ropes
two belts
six assorted benches
a bandage
a slant board
two quarter rounds
three weights
one wooden horse
a certificate

Adorned By Moonlight: Prayer of the Great Bliss Queen

2009-09-29T21:49:00.000-07:00

subdue the vagaries of mind. excellent.

Question and Answer

2009-09-16T15:57:00.000-07:00

Question (from c):
Just wondering from other peoples experiences.... is it good/bad to use yoga as a vice?
I think its what I might have been doing last month (though there was also a 30 day challenge going on at the studio) and things were great! I was feeling so good.
but I'm taking some time away from the studio this month with work/school/moving and my life seems to be falling apart.

Short answer:
We call it a daily practice. It is no more a vice than brushing your teeth. Try not brushing your teeth for a month, and see what happens.

Longer Answer:

This is where the buddhists really seem to have some insight that isn't felt as fully in the yoga community.
For the buddhists, the purpose of practice is the relieve the individual, and all beings everywhere of the suffering caused by the neurotic, conditioned mind. That is pretty much the whole deal. there is no promise of a 'yoga butt', no promise of a stronger back, or more flexible hips. It focuses on the fact that we are tortured by our minds, all of us, and the only way out is through consistent practice. The mind can be your best friend or your worst enemy. If you don't take serious time to train it, it will probably be the latter.

Patanjali says something similar too, in Yoga Sutra 1.14

When yoga practice is done for a long time, without a break, and with sincere devotion, then the practice becomes a firmly rooted, stable and solid foundation.
(sah tu dirgha kala nairantaira satkara asevitah dridha bhumih)

If you can't go to class, i suggest taking 10 minutes and doing just a little bit on your own. nothing extreme, just a warm up, a sun salutation or two, just to keep it loose.

music video with scorpion pose!

2009-07-22T08:08:00.000-07:00

this truly bizarre music video by "The Avalances" features a girl doing scorpion pose. in the background, you can also see her in Urvha Dhanurasana. Enjoy!

Happy Independence Day!

2009-07-04T17:03:00.000-07:00

Spider-Ganesha

2009-06-08T17:59:00.000-07:00

link

june theme of the month, 14 hugs

2009-06-02T21:11:00.000-07:00

14 Hugs Every Day!

This month's theme is simple and pure! More Hugging!
In four parts:

1) When we were at our retreat in the Poconos, in April, there was a lovely Ayurvedic Phychologist, teaching another group of students. One of the teachings she was offering, was that 14 hugs per day was the recommended amount for best mental and emotional health. (I tried googling this to find a source, but to no avail!)

2) Amma is now in America, hugging up all of the Americans! Amma (pictured above) pours love into all who come to her, wrapping her arms around folks, and filling them up with kindness and understanding. This is something that we can all practice. Easy!

3) In "Peace is Every Step" Thich Naht Hahn says

"Hugging is a beautiful Western custom, and we from the East would like to contribute the practice of conscious breathing to it. When you hold a child in your arms, or hug your mother, or your husband, or your friend, if you breathe in and out three times, your happiness will be multiplied at least tenfold." (source)

4) Feel free to start by practicing with me!

picture courtesy gothamayurveda.com

Happy Birthday John Friend!

2009-05-31T20:08:00.000-07:00

I have been following John Friend on twitter (@anusarafriend). He's an interesting enough guy, has a sucessful yoga brand, (Anusara Yoga), and enjoys tantric teachings. I found out, on twitter, from @dailyd, that today is his 50th birthday. So, Happy Birthday, John Friend! I haven't studied with him, nor have I been particularly drawn to Anusara, but I totally love that he teaches yoga in an authentic way that really speaks to lots, and lots of people. I am happy to live in a world with him in it. I wish him a very long life.
Also, I discovered on twitter, that there is a slideshow honoring him. This is a sweet thing to do for someone on their birthday. It was put together by Bill Tipper, who is an extremely talented photographer, whose work I have only been introduced to today. His pictures are so lovely and evocative. His pictures of John are so sweet and intimate, that all of a sudden, I feel drawn to study with him.
This is why I like twitter. All in one quick swoop, I get introduced to so much greatness, truth, and beauty. You can follow me, btw, @sitaramdas.

You are brilliant. The earth is hiring

2009-05-26T10:23:00.000-07:00

julie forwarded this to me.

It is a commencement speech by a guy named Paul Hawken. He is a brilliant Enviornmentalist and Educator, as well as a Green Entrepreneur. I found it pretty inspiring. I really appreciate inspiration. If I don't do my yoga practice, or if I surround myself with the wrong sort of media and entertainment, I can start to get depressed. This is a powerful call to action, and it is uplifting as well. Here is a pretty good excerpt. If you'd like to read the rest of it, its here.

This planet came with a set of operating instructions, but we seem to have misplaced them. Important rules like don’t poison the water, soil, or air, and don’t let the earth get overcrowded, and don’t touch the thermostat have been broken. Buckminster Fuller said that spaceship earth was so ingeniously designed that no one has a clue that we are on one, flying through the universe at a million miles per hour, with no need for seatbelts, lots of room in coach, and really good food - but all that is changing.
There is invisible writing on the back of the diploma you will receive, and in case you didn’t bring lemon juice to decode it, I can tell you what it says: YOU ARE BRILLIANT, AND THE EARTH IS HIRING. The earth couldn’t afford to send any recruiters or limos to your school. It sent you rain, sunsets, ripe cherries, night blooming jasmine, and that unbelievably cute person you are dating. Take the hint. And here’s the deal: Forget that this task of planet-saving is not possible in the time required. Don’t be put off by people who know what is not possible. Do what needs to be done, and check to see if it was impossible only after you are done.

If you'd like to read the rest of it, its here

Toxic Soy?

2009-05-26T09:57:00.000-07:00

I received this from my friend Kate!
One of my pet peeves is toxic natural foods...

it reads---
Do you drink soy milk or eat tofu? You might be drinking toxic chemicals found in soybeans sourced from China (but called "natural" or "organic").

NaturalNews was a contributing source to the Cornucopia Institute's new soy product scorecard that reveals the astonishing lack of integrity by some of the most famous soy product companies in the world. At the same time, this report also tells you which soy companies have integrity! Read it yourself to learn about the winners and losers in the soy industry:
http://www.naturalnews.com/026294.html

More on Soy and Hexane contamination:
To explain this issue in more detail, I've released a new YouTube video on Hexane contamination. Watch it here:

Britian's Got Mantram

2009-05-24T20:49:00.000-07:00

Here's a dance troupe from "Britian's Got Talent" that opens their act with "Asatoma Sat Gamaya".
Of course, this is traditionally a closing mantra, but, bygones...
We like when Vedic Culture shows up on 'the tele'.

Dr. Kailash's and his Amazing Ektar

2009-05-24T04:29:00.000-07:00

Recieved this video from Kailash today. Its a nice montage, with a couple of different devotional chants, and lots of pictures. He says, "The increasing length of my locks serves as an index of the passage of time. :)"
Kailash may be coming to chant at Main Line Yoga sometime in the future. We tried to find a date that worked this spring, but it didn't quite work. Be on the lookout for him in the future.

Visit Kailash's Website

Kali Ma's Dharma Talks

2009-05-23T19:01:00.000-07:00

I like to listen to dharma talks as I drive to my morning yoga class. I have a ravenous appetite for downloadable dharma talks. I like my dharma talks high in quality, quantity, variety, and frequency. I find them nourishing, on a soul level, and interesting and centering for my mind.

I recently found some talks by a woman named Kali Ma. Great name. I think Andy Warhol was right when he said that Everyone is Kali Ma for fifteen minutes.

I found her website a bit confusing to navigate, but from what I could gather, she is a sincere tantric practitioner, with a grounded education in traditional Buddhist Tantric Yogas. I am always happy to see someone striving towards the authentic.

Her Dharma Talks are very nice, too. I have listened to "success and failure" and part of "the tyranny of specialness". She has a nice way of drawing the listener in, and uses excellent historical examples to illustrate her point. There are some occasional moments when her personality gets in the way of the true teaching, and slows down the flow of the wisom, but this is minor, and forgiveable. I can imagine that she will become quite a formidable teacher as she continues down her path.

You can download them here!

Annapurna's Art

2009-05-20T09:31:00.000-07:00

Several of the images on the Main Line Yoga Website have been lovingly painted by the sweetest devotee, named Annapurna. I first met her at Joel's Bikram Studio on Walnut Street. She was feeding us all the most delicious milk sweets, and telling us lovely things about Lord Krishna. I discovered that she had painted the works than hung on the walls of the school. When it was time for me to put together a website for Main Line Yoga, it was only natural that I went to her to help me decorate it. I am so glad that I did.

She has been featured in the Online Multimedia Art Journal "Public Republic". It is delightful, and inspires much devotion. The article features the painting above, and many others. ENJOY IT HERE!

Thoughts on Sri K Pattabhi Jois

2009-05-20T08:47:00.000-07:00

My month has been full of celebrations. There have been several Birthday parties, many of them milestones. Rhoni Groff and Steve Clofine turned 60, Dharma Mittra turned 70. I'm not sure how old Bhagavan Das is, I wasn't at his official party, but we did chant for him at David Newman's Kirtan at The Chopra Center. All of these people are spiritual significant, all of them lineage holders in their own right, all of them giants. It felt good to be able to honor their lives.

And then came the news about Pattabhi Jois. He was ninety four, and died at 2:30 pm, India time. It was heavy news. I don't teach Pattabhi's Ashtanga Vinyasa, though I do practice the primary series, at least parts of it, quite often. Ashtanga was the first vinyasa class I had ever taken, it had all been Kundalini, beginners Iyengar, and 'ecclectic' (hippie) yoga up until then. I didn't even really know that the teacher was teaching a sequence. I just thought that they figured all those jump throughs would be fun for everybody. They sure were fun for me, and my 20 year old body. I didn't figure it out until later.

So later, I found vinyasa classes, and ashtanga classes, and my practice started to get really inspired. I learned about Krishnamacharaya, Jois, Iyengar, and Desikachar, and how most all the yoga that I was doing, no matter how it was evolved or modified, could be traced back to them.

We sometimes take it for granted that we practice yoga, or even that we practice a certain type of yoga. We might think, "of course I practice yoga, what else wouls I do?" , or even, "of course I teach yoga...". We forget that we stand on the shoulders of giants. If we have these opportunities, this outrageous abundance of teachings available to us, this increasingly enlightened sub-culture, it is because those before us have done great work.

Sri K Pattabhi Jois is one of these giants. His steadfast devotion to his practice and his teaching sets the bar for us all. His easy willingness to give of himself inspires us all to be generous. His social works shows us that yoga doesn't exist in a vacuum, or hidden away in a cave.

Just like Guruji, we all have a responsibility to flow yoga into the future, to make sure that those who seek its refuge are not left wanting.

So, I could go on like for a while, but i think I will leave you with just two more things.

First, a quote I saw on twitter from a teacher named Darren Rhodes.
He Says: " Just as the moon lifts the tides of the Oceans, Pattabhi Jois raised the tides of Yoga for one and all: he is a Moon among men"

Second, a slideshow I found while googling around, quite moving, with a nice George Harrison Soundtrack. Here!!

Free music Sampler

2009-05-08T14:54:00.000-07:00

I'm going to go ahead and recommend that you all download Nutone Music's Spring Music Sampler. Its on Amazon, and It's Free. Play it in Yoga Class and buy the full albums.

Here!

Mandalas, Monkeys, and Lessons in Impermanance

2009-04-19T15:39:00.000-07:00

this picture from moolf

If you are familiar with sand mandalas, you know one of their most important attributes is their impermanence. The monks carefully, painstakingly create the mandala, and then, swoosh, they brush the mandala away. Many people who watch the process feel a great sense of poignancy or loss. Hopefully, at least some gain some insight into anicca, the truth that all things that begin, must end. We are encouraged to realize that our fortunes, our relationships, and our very lives, are no more solid than the colorful pile of dust that remains at the end of the ritual.

I found an unlikely mandala on the internet today, a mandala just as temporary, and no less beautiful as the Tibetan Sand Mandalas. There is a festival at the Buddhist Temples in Lop Buri, Thailand, last Sunday in November. The townspeople offer huge buffets to the plethora of monkeys that roam the temple ground. It is said that offering the food to the monkeys offers great good fortune, perhaps because the monkeys are in some way holy. their behavior during the festival is so similar to that of the Artist Monks. There is another theory that perhaps it is good fortune to feed the monkeys because they are the center of the tourist trade and economy of the area. So, they say thank you to the monkeys, and create another tourist attraction, and perhaps some good karma as well. Everybody's happy.

this picture from moolf

Many of these buffets are huge, round, patterened pallets of food. Clearly, they share many qualities and principles with mandalas. They are sacred circles and temporary dwellings of the most sacred residents of Lop Buri. And they are impermanant. The monkeys literaly live and eat atop these magnificent structures, as they take them apart, bite by bite. Judging by the pictures and videos, it is a fantastic celebration, and a ritual with a clear, inherent ending. When the food is gone, the party is over.

Meet Lokah, Samastah, Sukhino, & Bhavantu!

2009-04-17T07:42:00.000-07:00

These pictures just might inspire you to carry Durga on your back, too!
Here are a bunch of pictures of some really cool big cats, with some really cool Sanskrit names. Sukhino looks like a Sukhino, and Ganga looks like a Ganga!

You can see more pictures at The Guardian, and the Tigers are from T.I.G.E.R.S.

A Poem For The Athiests

2009-04-14T12:28:00.000-07:00

I found this on "The Sun Magazine"

It is called "Ode to The God of the Atheists" by Ellen Bass.
It is lovely, and reads like a Hafiz poem. It is devotional and heartfelt, and beautifully whispers a kind of faith that I, personally find hard to argue with. I particularly like the continued naming of The God of Atheists as "This God", as if to say, there may be others, other Gods for the religeous or the spiritual, but we are not talking about those here. We are talking about 'This God', and this is how 'This God' behaves. I can get behind it, when it's put like that.

The god of atheists won’t burn you at the stake
or pry off your fingernails. Nor will it make you
bow or beg, rake your skin with thorns,
or buy gold leaf and stained-glass windows.
It won’t insist you fast or twist
the shape of your sexual hunger.
There are no wars fought for it, no women stoned for it.
You don’t have to veil your face for it
or bloody your knees.
You don’t have to sing.

The plums that bloom extravagantly,
the dolphins that stitch sky to sea,
each pebble and fern, pond and fish
are yours whether or not you believe.

When fog is ripped away
just as a rust red thumb slides across the moon,
the god of atheists isn’t rewarding you
for waking up in the middle of the night
and shivering barefoot in the field.

This god is not moved by the musk
of incense or bowls of oranges,
the mask brushed with cochineal,
polished rib of the lion.
Eat the macerated leaves
of the sacred plant. Dance
till the stars blur to a spangly river.
Rain, if it comes, will come.
This god loves the virus as much as the child.

Ketjak - Ramayana Monkey chanting

2009-04-14T06:08:00.000-07:00

Balinese Monkey Chanting is something that someone told me about once. I think they even offered me a small demonstration (to the best of their ability). I loved the idea, and it stayed in the back of my mind for a couple of years. Last night, the monkey reared its head, and I found myself compelled to start googling for everything I could find; video (below), audio (courtesy ubuweb ethnopoetics), and workshops (apparently your best bet outside Bali is Seattle or burning man). Unfortunately, noone on the internet seems to know all that much about Ketjak, and everyone seems to be quoting the same sources, and it is hard to get to the original knowledge. Any way, here is what I could gather.
I was suprised to find that the monkey chant was a product of the 20th century, I expected it to be much older. Apparently it has roots in a much older Balinese Exorcism Ritual, but the monkey chant proper is from the 1930s. Which brings me to my next misconceptions. I believed that monkey chanting was a somewhat random affair, perhaps with a conductor to guide the experience of shrieking and howling, but still very open to inprovisation and play. What I learned is that Ketjak is a scripted piece. It is a reinactment/retelling of the Ramayana focusing on the battle between the monkeys and the demons, and perhaps, told from their perspective. As the chorus chants, they sway and wave their hands, sometimes chanting together, sometimes dividing in two groups and chanting at each other. Occasionally a figure such as Ravana will pop up, and he will be chanted at (exorcized?)
As a practice it seems that it must provide an extremely invigorating, and trance inducing experience. It is said that it takes participants white alot of time to 'come down' from monkey chanting. The ritual choreography also creates an interesting experience of group mind, perhaps the same kind of group mind that Hanuman's Monkey Army experienced when they went to war in Lanka. I am always amazed at the practices that evolve out of devotion and a longing to understand and feel close to their chosen dieties. Ketjak appears to be a powerful tool for creating a certain bhava, or divine mood; a mood that allows one to feel the epic of the Ramayana play out inside the body. We are so lucky that human creativity is able to meet the challanges put forth by the very human need for divine connection, be it with yoga asana, kirtan, vedic chant, or ketjak.

video is from the movie Baraka, which is excellent.

March Theme: Bring Prana to your Psyche

2009-03-05T10:06:00.000-08:00

I have been contemplating change recently. The ability for people to change and grow and evolve, and the likelihood that people will actually change. What I keep coming back to, is, most people don't change. The find a rut that is comfortable enough, and they stay there. If this isn't entirely true for you (as it is for at the majority of the population) then I would suggest that it is probably true for you in at least one small aspect of your life. I know that I have places where I don't grow.

I have also been contemplating the requirements for growth, should one have the interest (wouldn't you rather watch tv), and the ability (you might lack the discipline and commitment) to change their life into something more wonderful. There are those of us out there who do change and grow. Some of us to creep, turtle speed towards our potential. It occurs to me that it takes constant work. I personally, have to do a metric ton of work to experience a tiny bit of lasting and significant change. I am incorrigible. It may take you slightly less work to grow a little bit more. Lets hope so. To perform this work, of course takes energy. Lots of energy. For the most part, people have enough energy to get to work, eat some food, and maybe have a hobby and some friends. They simply don't have the energy required to do transformative work. To bring awareness to the unconscious and to overcome deeply ingrained patterns without avoidance or violence is intensive labor. Gratefully, we practice yoga. Yoga provides us with a chance to source greater amounts of prana, so that it is useable by our psyches in service to greater self awareness and skillful action. Our poses can help, our pranayama can certainly help. Our meditation can really assist once we have cultivated our prana. Our meditation practice can shed light on our habits, provide insight into the best use of our prana that is possible. If we are unwise, we will practice and practice, and then use all of our newfound strength to continue chasing our tails. It is my sincerest hope that this is not our fate.
With this intention, I would like to offer you a subtle practice, one to bring your consciousness to your behavior.

Practice:
Pick a habituated statement that you make several times a day, something that you ay on auto pilot: "oh, I'm pretty good, thanks", "Have a great day", "You would say that", "that's a laugh". It doesn't matter what it is, it just has to be a robotized, automatic programmed response that saves you the burden of being conscious and creative. Got one? good!
Now: Stop saying it. Be aware of what is coming out of your mouth. Become creative, attentive, and present.
Also: Enjoy noticing how many times you forget and say it anyway. Practice forgiving yourself without giving up.

Good Luck!

photo credit: Samonberry

Watch "Sita Sings the Blues" Online

2009-02-27T07:48:00.000-08:00

A woman named Nina Paley created a wonderful animated Ramayana, that is delightfully Sita-centric. Apparently, she found great solace in this tale, (the greatest breakup story ever told) after her husband went to India for 6 months for work, and ended up breaking up with her over email. It features many different styles of animation, and is quite a visual feast. It also has a stunning soundtrack, one that was in the center of a bit of controversy. The movie is set to the olde timey 1920 jazz tunes of Annette Hanshaw. There was some question around copyright issues, and intellectual property rights, and there was the possibility that the film would never be seen. You can follow the entire struggle here on Nina's Blog. Much of this has been worked out, mostly due to the generosity of sponsors. It will be shown on PBS in NCY on March 7th, and it is also available to be seen on the internet in its entirety here! I am writing this as I watch, and I am thoroughly enjoying.

via boing boing

The Mystic Perfume of the Goddess Savitri

2009-01-31T14:24:00.000-08:00

the Mountain Temple of the Goddess Savitri

When I buy 'things', I like them to be really great, quality 'things'. I like to know that some care went into its creation, and that the people involved in the production of the 'thing' are quality people. I like when the 'thing' has a story behind, perhaps even a legend. I am a sucker for a legend.
I got an email today from the folks over at Floracopia. It was an email with a story. They liked their story so much that they told it twice. Once in audio form, and once written in David's blog. (David is the Floracopia guy).
The story is about their perfume, Savitri. To make a long story short -

According to the perfumers of Kannauj, India's ancient perfumery center, the combination of rose and vetiver is one of the finest of all fragrance blends. "Savitri" rose perfume is blended using two unique oils: the rosa bourbonica, also known as the "Edward rose," and ruh khus, a thick hydro-distilled extract of dried wild vetiver roots.

I really enjoyed the audio version, and the process of creating this perfume sounded so cool and magical. Also, I need a present for Valentine's Day, and this just happens to be on sale until February 2nd. I am a sucker for a good story.

I am buying it here

Picture of Indian Pigments

2009-01-25T13:23:00.000-08:00

This is pretty

The Passing of Dr. Girish

2009-01-25T12:56:00.000-08:00

December 3, 1954 – January 19, 2009

I don't know if any of you ever met Dr. Girish from Gongol Tree, India. I did once, over at the Groff's house. He talked about palmistry, and the stars, and God, and led a few very spirited chants. I showed him the wart that had been on my left hand for six years. He explained it in two sentences, and it was gone by the end of the month. A very dear man. I am saddened that I will never have his darshan again.

I'll close with a quote...

If you understand, things are just as they are.

If you don’t understand, things are just as they are.

Dr. Girish C. Jagirdar

The Ganja of Love

2009-01-21T08:40:00.000-08:00

Ganja has been considered a sacred herb by mystics cross-culturally since time immemorial.
Even mystics who don't smoke (myself included) recognize its many virtues. And mystics with an eye towards our national politics, law enforcement, and economy are often greatly saddened by its status of illegal narcotic. There were 872,000 arrests made for marijuana in 2007, 90% of them for simple possesion. Most of the people arrested are under 30. It is estimated that our government spends between 7.7 and 10.5 billion per year.
Through the legalization of the holy ganja of love, we could not only save that money, we could also save a good portion of our young people the pain and stigma of having to go through our legal and prison system. Revenues from taxing the production and sale of jah herb could range anywhere from 6.1 to 31 billion dollars.
On top of all this, there is the wonderful fact that weed can be grown in an enviornmentally sustainable fashion.
President Obama made a promise to "eliminate spending for programs that don’t work." We think that this is a big one.

I got most of this information from "culture11.com" via "The Atlantic"

Dates in Ghee

2009-01-16T08:10:00.000-08:00

Not everyone likes dates soaked in ghee, but the people who do, REALLY LIKE dates soaked in ghee. I happen to think they are fantastic. It is so simple and wonderful, it could only come from the wisdom of ayurveda. Joseph at Joyful Belly Ayurveda sent them to us last week. You can order them from him, (he also make some fantastic agni-stoking, pippali cookies) and they are also simple to make at home. Simply pour warm ghee over dates, and voila!
There are many benefits to eating these delicious treats. They have a sweet flavor, which is great for cravings, and excellent for vata. They are also full of ojas, making them a fantastic aphrodisiac, and tonic rejuvenative (rasayana). Big Yum!

A big Pile of Books from the Ramakrishna Mission

2009-01-14T20:29:00.000-08:00

I suppose I've been a little extra book crazy lately, perhaps its a winter thing. However, I can't help but be reminded of my old friend, Nat. He's probably in Belize right now, or perhaps he's finally made it to Antarctica. Nat was a small fellow, much smaller than average. I think it made clothes shopping difficult. When Nat would have a particularly good day at the thrift shops, he would say, "Somebody died in my size!", and smile real big. It was a bit morbid, and was probably true on at least one occasion. He thought it was hilarious. And it must have stuck with me, because when I walked into the "Last Word Bookstore" (40th and Walnut) today and looked at the 'Hinduism' section, my first thought was, "My God, a Ramakrishna devotee died." There were so many books from the Ramakrishna Mission, that they wouldn't even all fit on the shelves. They overflowed onto the floor. Not the best book Karma, I know, but I wasn't going to get in a fight with the bookstore guy about it. Enough Ramakrishna and Vivekenanda to keep you busy for a long, long time. Of course, there was some other good stuff, some Ramana Maharshi thrown in for good measure, and a few hardbacks from india written by obscure swamis. You could tell it all came from the same guy. I wonder what happened to him. Did he die? Did he become a Christian? Did he move to India? I hope he moved to India.
I was proud of myself, I didn't buy even one. I spent this week's book allowance on those that bag of tantra from craig's list, and it is keeping me plenty busy.
I just thought I should put it out there, in case anyone else in in the market for "The Complete Works of Swami Vivekenanda"($35), or in case anyone feels like making me a present. Hah!
Keep your lamps trimmed and burning...

New Aquisition at the BDLATS

2009-01-12T18:23:00.000-08:00

I really enjoy books. I've always accumulated them quite easily, read them voraciously, and collected them doggedly. My library reached a new level several years ago when Bhagavan Das asked me to look after a few boxes of his books. There was some good stuff in there, stuff I may not have come across otherwise, and other things that I was familiar with, but just hadn't got around to accumulating just yet. It was a quantum leap, quite satisfying. I decided to name my library, "The Bhagavan Das Library for Advanced Tantric Studies". I thought it was official and important enough, and got back to the business of reading and collecting.
The BDLATS had another good day, about a year ago, when our dear friend Paul JJ Alix asked us to care for a portion of his collection for a spell. The excitement was lessened only slightly by the arrival of 11 boxes send C.O.D. I realized that this was the way to go. I stopped borrowing books, insisting that now, I only housed collections.
Well, we had a good day today, at the library. Nothing as fantastic as the collections we obtained from Baba or Paul, but still a solid haul. A Craigs List find. Fifteen books for $40. Mostly Chogyam Trungpa. One book by Musician John Cage. I didn't bother haggling, and I almost always haggle. For the sport of it.
It was an easy transaction, the gentleman dropped them off at the yoga school, and said he was happy they were going to a good home. I gave him his money, and thanked him.
I have a few of them already, if can guess which ones, I'll give you one of them as a present. I'll give you a hint, there are three. (No shipping, you have to come and get it)
Here is the inventory:
Dharma Art (Dharma Ocean Series)
The Lion's Roar: An Introduction to Tantra (Dharma Ocean Series)
The Heart of the Buddha (Dharma Ocean Series, 1)
The Tibetan Book of the Dead: The Great Liberation through Hearing in the Bardo (Shambhala Library)
Orderly Chaos: The Mandala Principle (Dharma Ocean Series)
Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism
Secret of the Vajra World: The Tantric Buddhism of Tibet
Dakini's Warm Breath: The Feminine Principle in Tibetan Buddhism
Kundalini: Yoga For The West
Healing with Form, Energy, and Light: The Five Elements in Tibetan Shamanism, Tantra, and Dzogchen
The Masks of God, Vol. 2: Oriental Mythology
The Masks of God, Vol. 3: Occidental Mythology
Silence: Lectures and Writings
Trancending Madness
The Bliss of Inner Fire: Heart Practice of the Six Yogas of Naropa

The rules:
1) The list of books is on my blog, mainlinesutras.com
2) You may enter once, by email, and guess the three duplicate books.
3) Place your first choice book first
4) The person who guesses the three (or the most) correctly, first gets their first choice book.
5) It will trickle down from there.
6) You must come get your book in person.

Sock Monkey Goddess

2009-01-07T08:17:00.000-08:00

Sarasvati is the Goddess of the arts, literature, and music. It is by Her grace that we have speech, language, alphabets, musical scales, and recipies for delicious foods. Through her amourous shapeshifting adventures with her husband Brahma, the earth was populated with all of the earth's creatures. No doubt, it was through her inspiration that this project, Sara-Sock-Svati, was concieved and excecuted. Apparently, every year, this couple, jek and jeff, give each other themed sock-monkeys.
from Craftzine
see also Sock Monkey Buddha

January Theme Of The Month

2009-01-04T20:33:00.000-08:00

Bringing the shadow to light

Machig Labdron was a Tibetan Yogini very well versed in the Prajñā Pāramitā Sutra. So well versed, in fact, she was often hired by wealthy families to read it in their homes, in an attempt to gain spiritual merit.
In her late teens/early twenties, Machig was undergoing an initiation in the company of her sangha. She went in to deep meditation, and quickly reached a high state of samadhi. Then, much to the surprise of everyone present, she began to levitate. Not only did she lift right off of the floor, but she floated right through the solid clay walls of the building, ending up in full lotus in the branches of a tree growing in the middle of a lake.
This lake was inhabited by a fierce Naga. Nagas are Snake-like water spirits with a reputation for being capricious and terrifying. Its not that they are evil, per-se, its just that their morals and sensibilities are very different than ours. Humans are often so fearful of nagas that they refer to them as 'demons'. This particular naga was so temperamental that people were afraid to even look in the direction of his lake.
Obviously, He was outraged by Machig's presence, and her indifferent attitude. So outraged was he, that he contacted all of his naga friends, the meanest ones that would pick up the the phone, and invited them over over to accost this young, bliss permeated practitioner.
The pack of appeared, fearsome and ferocious in front of the tree. They were shocked to find that she did not flee. Instead of seeing demons approaching her, she recognized them all as fragmented parts of her own clear mind. She saw own her fears, obsessions, and confusions marching in, begging for love and healing. Out of boundless compassion, she transformed herself into golden nectar, and offered herself as food to the nagas. This action astounded and pacified the nagas, who transformed into her allies and protectors.
Just like Machig Labdron, we too can reorient our perspective to realize that the true threat to our happiness is not 'other', but a part of our selves. Sometimes called a shadow, because these unloved pieces of ourselves seem to trail behind us, draggin us down, sapping our energy, and occasionally obscuring our vision in a way that causes us to act foolishly.
And just lke Machig, we can find allies in our shadow if only we have the courage and compassion to nourish them light of our spirit, and allow then to take their rightful place in our heart.

An excellent practice to get you started is located here, on Tsultrim Allione's website.

I've also been reading Robert Bly's A Little Book on the Human Shadow, which has some excellent insight from a Jungian/Western Poetic perspective.

Happy New Year!

Recording with Yo-Yo Ma

2009-01-02T07:23:00.000-08:00

Most likely, you all know who Yo-Yo Ma is. Randy Sutin, however, is probably more of a mystery. Randy is a really sweet guy that I practice yoga with occasionally; we had a fun weekend together down in Yogaville last spring. He is also a jazz musician and elementary school music teacher. Well, He has entered a contest, in which the winner gets to record with Yo-Yo Ma. I like Yo-Yo Ma, and I think it would be cool if Randy got to work with him. You can vote for him here.

Also, here is a video of Randy's School Kids performing David's "Love, Peace, and Freedom".

Defending the Dharma

2008-12-28T15:49:00.000-08:00

While I was googling around today, i found this great blog written by a 'joyfully earnest catholic'.
In this one post, he writes a fascinating article about how to convert Buddhists To Christianity.
It is fascinating for two reasons. The first being that the author seems to be respectful, sincere, and kind. He is not overtly or intentionally rude or condescending. It is also really interesting because of this person's misunderstanding of the subtleties of Buddhist Dharma.
In the article, he asks 4 questions that he seems to believe easily prove the superiority of Christianity. I am going to take a few minutes to answer them, as an excercise in understanding, and I will post them later. I would like to encourage you to do the same. Perhaps I'll even email them to this guy, I'm not sure yet.

a. Dear Buddhist, do you really want to spend so much time trying to be rid of desires when you could just change your desires to be holy, through Christ?
b. Dear Buddhist, HOW exactly are you going to be rid of the desire not to have desire in the real world?
c. Dear Buddhist, HOW exactly are your going to live this way in the real world? Christianity offers real peace in the midst of strife, while Buddhism seems to offer the surreal atmosphere of a Zen garden. Is this peace or or stagnation? In the midst of the world’s given disorder and the people in it, is the Buddhist “peace” really possible? Christianity instead offers real and ongoing reconciliation, a peace given and not strived for.

...A gentle clencher: Dear Buddhist, you follow a wise man who never claimed to be God, and yet offers a life system. The Christian follows a man who claimed to be God and offered a life system and eternal salvation as God. If Jesus is who He says He is, He is certainly more likely, as God, to be right.

Theology of The Body website

Monk's Advice

2008-12-28T15:43:00.000-08:00

The great thing about great truth, is that it tracends all genres, all areas of life. What is true in yoga, is true in art, music, cooking, love, and life. So it comes as no suprise to me that the words of Thelonius Monk speak volumes in its crazy, jazzy wisdom. (crazy, man, crazy)

Peace, Love, Chant- David Newman

2008-12-26T19:35:00.000-08:00

The first time I heard "The Prophet/Hare Krishna" from David Newman's "Love, Peace, Chant", it moved me to tears. And it still happens from time to time. I just feel the love deep in my heart, and I'm powerless. Its a truly beautiful experience, and its a truly beautiful album. It is a gift spiritually, to be able to spend time meditating with such a gem, turning a potentially aggravating rush hour drive into a chance for dive into the heart of the spirit.
I also use these chants frequently when I teach yoga class. The flow of the album works perfectly within the format of a class, and sometimes I pick and choose a few songs to mix into a playlist and that is delightful too.
In closing, I feel that David's mixture of traditional Sanskrit Devotional Chants and inspiring English lyrics really helps bridge the gap between east and west, between ancient and modern, between the head and the heart.

The Prophet

Ukulele Art by Amy Crehore

2008-12-24T08:16:00.000-08:00

I found a ukulele in the thrift shop in P'aia a couple of weeks ago. Well, actually, Carl found it, and told me where it was, but that is another story (like, who is Carl?)
I've really been enjoying it, been playing it more than my guitar. I really enjoy playing for my students in yoga class, and i adore the portability aspect.
I'm also kind of into this artist i discovered on 'boing boing', Amy Crehore. There is a print called 'The Creature" in the back of the yoga studio that she painted. It is a gentle fantasy set in an apparent island paradise, tucked away in a valley. Two beautiful, brown skinned women sit at the edge of a clear blue pool. Both nude except for hibiscis flowers in their hair, one holds a monkey in her lab while the other plays a ukulele! Oh, and the uke player has a tail. I imagine that she is the creaure, as the other two characters eye her curiously as she strums away on her little instrument. A remarkable depiction of magic and wonder, which also happen to be two of my favorite things.
Cool thing is, I liked her art even before I started playing uke, I don't think it even registered in my mind that it was an ukelele in the print until i started writting this post. Trippy.
Amy is having a show in Los Angeles in February/March, called "Dreamgirls and Ukes". Above are some of the sketches for her show. If you happen to be in LA, and make it to the show, send me a postcard, would you?

Best New Logo!!!

2008-12-23T14:51:00.000-08:00

One of our students is involved in the Non-Profit breastcancer.org.

According to their website:
"Breastcancer.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing the most reliable, complete, and up-to-date information about breast cancer.Our mission is to help women and their loved ones make sense of the complex medical and personal information about breast cancer, so they can make the best decisions for their lives"

So, I was very excited to see, while I was surfing around, that they had won "Best New Logo" on the design website, "Under Consideration".

I offer hearty congratulations to my student, all the folks at breastcancer.org, and honor that they are doing well, and doing good.

I support organic farming, and local eating

2008-12-20T22:43:00.000-08:00

I'm sure this comes as no shock to you, but I am a big fan of organic gardening, permaculture, buying local, and the slow food movement.

So, It is probably also no shock to hear that I was very disappointed to hear that President-Elect Obama is planning on appointing Tom Vilsack Secretary of Agriculture. Tom is buddies with the GMO giant Monsanto, and is really excited about genetically modified corn, cloned dairy cows and really innefficient and socially harmful biofuels. The Biotech Giants love him so much, they have named him 'BIO' Governor of the Year. Hooray!

Now, I don't sign alot of petitions, and I almost never sign online petitions, but I am moved, because I really, really, really, like clean, healthy food. I encourage you to do the same.

The Organic Consumers Association is calling on organic consumers and all concerned citizens to join our call to action and block Vilsack's confirmation as the next Secretary of Agriculture. Please help us reach our goal of 100,000 petition signatures against Vilsack' nomination. Sign today! Your email will be sent to your Senators and the President-Elect's office.

Sign Here! (or at least educate yourself)

Red Oxx Bags

2008-12-18T21:51:00.000-08:00

This is the bag that we lived out of while we were in Hawaii for ten days. We managed to fit all our clothes in it, and some snorkling gear (2 pairs of flippers!!), and some other smaller backpacks. It was a little heavy, but could be worn as a back pack easily enough. It has handles and straps everywhere, so it was super easy to pick up, and toss around. Since there are no wheels, it can have a soft body with no exoskelton, which means more room for stuff, and also, its easier to stuff in the overhead on the plane. I watched a poor guy with a fancy hardshell case try to muscle his bag in, and it was no use, the flight attendant, had to check it. This Red Oxx was bigger than his, and I squished it in without a problem.
When you get the bag there is printing on the box it comes in, it is almost a dare: "Put this bag in your will. It is guarenteed forever." I like when a company shows a commitment to quality like that.
Also, it seems that they have their zipper pulls (called monkey fists) made in a village called Panahachel, Guatemala, where they pay their workers a living wage, and help to improve the town's infrastructure and living conditions. Good stuff.

I've had alot of bags, but this may be my last...

Red Oxx

Whale Trance CD

2008-12-15T13:58:00.000-08:00

I met these folks, Sam and Amber, on our whale watch with The Church of the Cetacean Nation. They were really sweet and positive beings, and it was good to share a boat with them for the day. They have created a cd of recorded whale sounds with didgeridoo and percussion. I got to hear some of it, and I really like it, it has a deep and soulful sound, and a very high vibration. I will probably be using it in some of of my bodywork sessions. Here is a song, and a link to their site.

Whale Trance Site

Whale Trance Song

Sarah Power's New Book, 'Insight Yoga'

2008-12-06T01:16:00.000-08:00

I haven't read it yet, because it just came out, but I am very excited to curl up with some tea and delve into Sarah's written word. I having spent many hours at Sarah's feet. I find myself consistently astonished and amazed me by Her lucidity. Her ability to describe the spectrum of human experience and the profound importance of simple spiritual practice inspire me greatly. When sitting with her, however, I am able to hear everything she says only once, she invairably goes on to another idea soon enough. It may be one of her ways of teaching impermanance. Im my stubbornness, and my desire to stay with the truths she shares a little bit longer, I have no doubt that I will cling to my copy of 'Insight Yoga', and read it again and again and again. I feel very comfortable recommending that you do the same.

Gamble Everyhing For Love

2008-11-29T19:06:00.000-08:00

I've had a Rumi poem, bouncing around in my head for the past couple of days. A poem that I like, and that I haven't thought about in quite some time.
Just a few days ago, I did something brave and bold, and it felt like a gamble, though it felt like a good one. I liked the odds. And know here it is, this poem, this poem is in my head.

Gamble everything for love.

If you are a true human being.

If not, leave this gathering.

Half-heartedness doesn't reach into majesty.

You set out to find God, but then you keep

stopping for long periods at mean-spirited roadhouses.

Don't wait any longer. Dive in the ocean, leave and let the

sea be you. Silent, absent, walking an empty road, all praise.

I realize that I spend a good deal of my time going with the flow. I have a pretty good flow, yet it is a rare day that my life is filled with any sort of bold daring, or risk. The possible execption is in an asana practice, and even that has been pretty even lately. I am glad to be in a place of mystery right now, my life sent whirling in a direction unknown, set in motion by gambling everything for love.

One of my favorite Hafiz Poems

2008-11-18T15:33:00.000-08:00

here it is, written on a beautiful mural

a picture I found using multicolr

2008-10-28T13:11:00.000-07:00

its a fun game, you see.
you go to the multicolr website, and then you click on colors that you like, and a whole bunch of images from the web (specifically flickr) pop up, and they all have those colors in them.
I found this one here.

Vata Season is here!

2008-10-26T13:44:00.000-07:00

If you sometimes behave like this guy, you may have a tendency towards vata dosha. In the winter, vata starts to accumulate, and you may start to experience deep coldness, some anxiety, speediness, and wobbliness, and lots of other qualities which may or may not be pleasant.
If you have high vata, and are also a super genius, it looks like this:

it is from ted

random picture of amazing building

2008-10-06T12:30:00.000-07:00

found here!

Cast all your votes for dancing! Poem

2008-10-02T13:55:00.000-07:00

I forgot to add the poem!!

from this website

Cast All Your Votes For Dancing

I know the voice of depression
Still calls to you.

I know those habits that can ruin your life
Still send their invitations.

But you are with the Friend now
And look so much stronger.

You can stay that way
And even bloom!

Keep squeezing drops of the Sun
From your prayers and work and music
And from your companions' beautiful laughter.

Keep squeezing drops of the Sun
From the sacred hands and glance of your Beloved
And, my dear,
From the most insignificant movements
Of your own holy body.

Learn to recognize the counterfeit coins
That may buy you just a moment of pleasure,
But then drag you for days
Like a broken man
Behind a farting camel.

You are with the Friend now.
Learn what actions of yours delight Him,
What actions of yours bring freedom
And Love.

Whenever you say God's name, dear pilgrim,
My ears wish my head was missing
So they could finally kiss each other
And applaud all your nourishing wisdom!

O keep squeezing drops of the Sun
From your prayers and work and music
And from your companions' beautiful laughter

And from the most insignificant movements
Of your own holy body.

Now, sweet one,
Be wise.
Cast all your votes for Dancing!

~ Hafiz ~

October theme of the month

2008-10-02T09:34:00.000-07:00

We are all connected to a source of infinite life and love and joy. We all have the capacity to express infinite love as well. The only thing is, is that we have limited opportunity to express and share and transform and heal. The moments that we share with each other, the moments between our birth and our death, are, for better or for worse, finite. Our Task, then, requires consistency, and stamina, and fortitude; The Task of squeezing an infinite amount of love into a finite experience.
The Mystic Sufi Poet, Hafiz, wrote once, "Cast All Your Votes For Dancing". He reminds us that each moment of our life is an election, and opportunity to dance, and to share our dance with all of the beings who touch our lives. He reminds us that we have a conscience, and a voice, and a deep truth. We realize that we can vote our conscience, we can cast our ballot and stand up for love and honor and goodness in even the smallest choices that we have to make.
We can never know the future, only Jah can tell. We don't know how The Election will turn out, when all of the votes are counted. At the end of the day, what matters is that we know that we cast all of our votes for dancing.

Your practice this month: DANCE!!! (kind of a no-brainer, huh?) Take some time to groove when you are on your yoga mat, do it while noone is looking, or, for crying out loud, do it while everyone is looking. I for one, am planning on going down to the city this friday after kids yoga teacher training with Ashley and Sally, and shaking it up a bit. Anyone who is willing to dance with all the heart and soul they got is welcome to join.

Just found out that Mary Dunn died

2008-09-25T11:45:00.000-07:00

Well, I never studied with Mary Dunn, but I always saw her name around, and I was always pretty sure that she did good work. I'm bummed to hear that she died, and I'm sure that she will be missed by alot of people. She was 66, and died of cancer, it happens to the best of us. I have heard that when yogis die, usually they are full of life and vigor right up until the very end, and often have a quick and painless drop off into the infinite. I hope this was true in her case.

I did read (skim) her blog, marydunn.blogspot.com, it is brief, and has a few notes by mary and her family. It has a very tender feel to it.
It notes that there will be a merorial service for mary on September 27, at 2pm, at the New York Iyengar Institute.

There is an article in the New York Times here

Some pretty cool pictures of India

2008-09-22T18:39:00.000-07:00

lots more pictures here

Inspirational Atheletes (Yogis?)

2008-09-11T05:56:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across these pictures of nude atheletes, and there seem to be a few in asana.

In one way or another, we all struggle with our bodies, our yoga requires it.

The question is, are we bigger than our struggle, or is our struggle bigger than us?

more pictures are here

Deepak Chopra weighs in on the election

2008-09-09T21:52:00.000-07:00

Deepak deconstructs the political candidates, and tells us what our choice of leadership tells us about our own internal psychology. It is pretty interesting, as he describes the part of us that wants to grow and be responsible, and take our place in the world, and the part of us that just doesn't

"Sometimes politics has the uncanny effect of mirroring the national psyche even when nobody intended to do that. This is perfectly illustrated by the rousing effect that Gov. Sarah Palin had on the Republican convention in Minneapolis this week. On the surface, she outdoes former Vice President Dan Quayle as an unlikely choice, given her negligent parochial expertise in the complex affairs of governing. Her state of Alaska has less than 700,000 residents, which reduces the job of governor to the scale of running one-tenth of New York City. By comparison, Rudy Giuliani is a towering international figure. Palin’s pluck has been admired, and her forthrightness, but her real appeal goes deeper."

DUN! DUN! DUN!

read it here

"The best solution would be for us all to become vegetarians".

2008-09-07T06:03:00.000-07:00

"The best solution would be for us all to become vegetarians".
So suggested the head of the UN climate agency, Yvo de Boer, who is attending UN-led climate talks in Germany this week. He was responding to criticism that measures to tackle climate change are partly to blame for the rise in food and energy costs. Carbon-cutting biofuels, for example, use food crops to make alternatives to gasoline.
Meanwhile, Patrick Wall, chairman of the European Food Safety Authority, has questioned whether it is "morally or ethically correct" to be feeding grain to animals while people starve. Speaking to the Times, he argued that it's time to end the EU ban on the use of animal remains to feed pigs and chickens. Lifting the ban would allow grain to be diverted to millions of starving people.
And the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation, hosting a much publicised summit in Rome this week, has warned of global catastrophe unless food reaches parts of the world where it is needed most.
So, does the global food crisis demand a radical rethink of how we distribute food? Should we worry less about feeding our animals and prioritise getting grain to people suffering food shortages - even if that affects the availability of meat?

the article, with some cool video here!

Pictures of the Milky Way

2008-09-05T07:48:00.000-07:00

Pretty neat, huh?

i found this picture here

No time to think? Mental Leisure and Sanctuary

2008-09-01T22:18:00.000-07:00

I really like this video. Dr. Levy teaches graduate level courses with Titles like "Information and Contemplation". He stresses the importance of having quiet time to think. He discusses the different types of thinking and the need for leisure and mental sanctuary. It reminds me of something I read in a Robert Anton Wilson book once. Something to the effect of 'employ the machine, so the human has more free time'. Levy seems to be on the same page, but his discussion is a little more serious, and a little more comprehensive.

Really cool sculpture of Tagore

2008-08-22T11:49:00.000-07:00

Tagore, the famous and beloved Indian Poet, Scholar, Activist, and Nobel Prize Winner is depicted here quite creatively. I don't know where this sculpture is located, I found the pictures here

a figure 8 on 8/08/08!

2008-08-22T11:46:00.000-07:00

On the eighth day of the eighth month of the eighth year of the twenty first century the number eight appears in one of the fields of Wiltshire.

The number eight is a very meaningful number to the Chinese as it is also to many religions of the world.

The sheer scale of this formation is a marvel to behold. Many people were walking among its many circles in awe and wonder

there are many more crop circle pictures, as well as an interpretation here

Ayurvedic Spices Being Used to Fight Cancer

2008-08-18T08:09:00.000-07:00

Seeking to improve on nature, scientists used a spice-based compound as a starting point and developed synthetic molecules that, in lab settings, are able to kill cancer cells and stop the cells from spreading.
The researchers are combining organic chemistry, computer-aided design and molecular biology techniques in developing and testing pharmaceutical compounds that can fight breast and prostate cancer cells. The synthetic molecules are derived from curcumin, a naturally occurring compound found in the spice turmeric.
Link Here

China's Tai Chi prisoners

2008-08-15T10:35:00.000-07:00

It takes alot of work to put on a spectacle like the Tai Chi Demonstration at the Olympics. Approximately 11 months of 16 hour days. 2500 people working 16 hour days for 11 months. It would be expensive too, you've got to think. However, the Chinese found ways to cut costs. They decided to forgo decent housing, nutrition, free time, or monetary compensation.
Read more about that here

Rocker enlists the help of Kali, Shiva, and Ganesha to save Natalie Portman from the evil king

2008-08-02T14:37:00.000-07:00

Great Video by Devendra Banhart

reader's comments are the best part of awful article about Amma

2008-07-25T07:52:00.000-07:00

I was directed to this article about Amma in Newsweek yesterday. It is short, and offensive, and mostly pointless. The comments to the article are the most interesting part.

there are such gems as:

Posted By: Thewhitesmiter @ 07/23/2008 11:40:54 PM

Comment: I just visited one of her sites and noticed that's she fat. I've never seen a fat saint before. Isn't it a sin to eat too much or do Hindus believe that's okay because they have a god with an elephant 's head?

and also

Posted By: ppreeti @ 07/23/2008 5:45:09 PM

Comment: Very poorly written article. With not so very good English and no hify understanding, I think i can come up with better article, an article useful to the readers. Please do some check before releasing such articles. Such a huge and amazing event and this all this article writer could come up with.

perhaps you would like to post a comment of your own!
newsweek article

Buddhist Monk Suspended between life and death

2008-07-19T20:17:00.000-07:00

from Al Jazeera

Interesting Links from The NYC Amma Program Guide

2008-07-16T15:33:00.000-07:00

I just got back from spending along weekend with Amma in both NYC and DC. Good Times.
Web surfing with the Amma program guide is always real interesting. A whole bunch of like minded people who are into supporting the summer tour advertise in the guide, and the projects that they are a part of are usually pretty cool. Below are some of the sites I particularly liked.

Healing Practitioners, part I
Alexia Neonakis, Vedic Astrology and Ayurveda, I like to support anyone who studied with Dr. Lad.
Sam Geppi, Vedic Astrologer. I used to listen to Sam's Podcast every day.
Shyam, the cosmic healer. This guy has a fun website.
Robin Lee, she seems to be an intuitive nutritional counselour. sounds cool.

thats all for now, maybe more tomorrow...

Rare Vishnu Statue found in Bangladesh Pond

2008-07-12T14:52:00.000-07:00

"While re-digging his pond recently, Mongal Member at Sultanpur of Brahmanbaria Sadar upazila found a 10th century statue of Lord Vishnu five metres below the ground.

The night after the discovery, the so-called Magnet Party (smuggling group) of the locality offered Mongal Tk 10 lakh for the statue. He refused the offer. He feared about the safety of the artefact and contacted the local police station to handover custody of the statue.

Meanwhile, local journalist and cultural activists contacted Asiatic Society of Bangladesh (ASB) and urged them to help preserve the statue properly. Editor of Smatat Barta, a local daily of Brahmanbaria, Manjurul Alam said, "We thought it is our responsibility to protect our heritage from the clutches of smugglers.""

from "The Daily Star"

Enlighten Up!, the movie

2008-07-08T14:43:00.000-07:00

Here is a cute little movie about a nice jewish boy from nyc who travels around the world (mostly NY and India) practicing asana. The movie's producer was hoping to capture some sort of miraculous transformation and spiritual growth on film, taking a beginner from the ground level, all the way up to Enlightenment. Although it is unclear from the website wether or not she achieves this goal, she manages to collect interviews with many inspirational and famous yogis and yoginis. Dharma Mittra, Mr. Iyengar, Pattabhi Jois, and Alan Finger, to name a few.
Enlighten Up! Website

Tripsichore

2008-07-07T19:43:00.000-07:00

From Tripsichore's Performance at Studio 34. Photo by Joe Longo.

Preservation of 'The Peerless Caves'

2008-07-07T12:03:00.000-07:00

The Caves of Dunhuang are some really spectacular caves in Western China. They are so spectacular, that they are called 'Peerless'. Unfortuanately, due to harsh winds, time, and lots of tourists, the caves are rapidly deteriorating. What will become of them?
New York Times Article (with slideshow)
Friends of Dunhuang (preservation efforts)

Telluride Yoga Festival, July 11 to 13

2008-07-07T11:32:00.000-07:00

From the "so much good stuff happens all on the same weekend" files:
The Telluride Yoga Festival has a delightful array of yoga teachers in a gorgeous setting. I am particularly fond of Robert Svoboda, Simon Park, Chandra Easton, and Scott Blossom, having had the good fortune to work with them in the past.

we especially like that the organizers of the conference seem to be very community and enviornmentally minded. 25% of their take will be going to the 'Sheep Mountain Alliance', a "grassroots citizen organization dedicated to the preservation of the natural environment in the Telluride Region and Southwest Colorado. To this end, Sheep Mountain Alliance will protect the health of regional ecosystems, wildlife habitats and watersheds, and will promote a sense of community, quality of life and a diverse and sustainable local economy."

They are also partnering with the 'New Community Coallition' , which 'was formed in 2007 to implement sustainability efforts in San Miguel county.' Together they will be working to promote a zero waste festival. Participants at the festival will recieve a reusable bag (we have quite a collection of these, don't we?), and filtered water will be freely available in all yoga rooms throughout the festival. You are encouraged to bring your water bottle.

Yoga Class with Michael Franti in August

2008-07-06T22:27:00.000-07:00

If I lived in San Francisco, and I wasn't scheduled to teach my own class on August 3rd, I would probably want to take this yoga class at Yoga Tree Castro, with live music by Michael Franti. Of course, it's also a benefit for a good cause.

"Please join Michael Franti and Les Levanthal for an afternoon of YOGA and
MUSIC to benefit and support the �911 Power to the Peaceful Festival and
Organization.

Join Les for an awakening of the heart and spirit! Begin to celebrate the
joy and passion in your practice through opening and listening to what's
inside. By breathing deeper into poses, start shifting compassion from your
mat into the rest of your life. Blend pranayama, asanas, music and sweat to
build strength and flexibility while letting go of struggle.

Together, Michael and Les will lead you through a journey of music,
mindfulness and inspiration!"

register here

Yoga event stretches across US-Mexico border fence

2008-07-06T21:21:00.000-07:00

This seems really newsworthy. I love the idea of yoga practice as a tool for transcending boundaries. Here it happened literally. I found the below article here.

ap photo

The Associated Press

TIJUANA, Mexico The rusty fence may divide the beaches of U.S. and Mexico, but it can't break up a yoga class.

A few dozen yoga aficionados rolled out their mats Sunday on both sides of the wall between Tijuana, Mexico, and San Diego. The international group stretched and meditated together before exchanging hugs through the fence bars.

The session was organized by the Border Meetup Group, which promotes cross-border understanding by staging social events on the divided beach.

Coordinator Dan Watman said the group aims "to make friends across cultural, political, societal, even emotional barriers."

The Tijuana beach is a popular destination for families who come to chat through the fence with loved ones on the other side.

Amma Tours the East Coast

2008-07-06T21:00:00.000-07:00

Amma, Mata Amritanandanamayi Ma, will be finishing up her North American Tour this month. She was in Chicago over the weekend, and will be in DC and NYC this coming week and weekend. She has worked and lectured to Millions of people worldwide, and nearly all of them speak of her amazing and transformative presence. It is even more impressive considering her grueling schedule:

"It is hard to comprehend the source of Amma’s inexhaustible energy that flows from moment to moment, day after day, in the form of a loving, motherly hug. Often she sits for more than 18-20 hours straight without even a moments break. Over the past 35 years Amma has hugged more than 25 million people around the globe. When asked if she ever feels tired of listening to the same problems of people, and hugging over and over again, Amma answered with a smile, “ Where there is love, there is no effort.”
From her website

Pankaj, Ajay, and Russill

2008-07-06T20:09:00.000-07:00

Pankaj and Ajay Sharma of the Light of Love Spiritual Foundation (Downingtown) are featured in this video with world renown author and performer Russill Paul. The three of them will be leading a sound healing workshop during the Halloween weekend. All I know is, is that when the veils between the worlds are thin, I want to be chanting!

I met the Walrus

2008-07-06T20:03:00.000-07:00

In 1969, a 14-year-old Beatle fanatic named Jerry Levitan, armed with a reel-to-reel tape deck, snuck into John Lennon's hotel room in Toronto and convinced John to do an interview about peace. 38 years later, Jerry has produced a film about it. Using the original interview recording as the soundtrack, director Josh Raskin has woven a visual narrative which tenderly romances Lennon's every word in a cascading flood of multipronged animation. Raskin marries the terrifyingly genius pen work of James Braithwaite with masterful digital illustration by Alex Kurina, resulting in a spell-binding vessel for Lennon's boundless wit, and timeless message.

July's Theme of the Month

2008-07-02T23:15:00.000-07:00

I spent last weekend in Marin County, visiting some friends who I haven’t seen in a while. They are having a baby soon, and I thought It would be a nice time to visit, during the calm before the storm. While I was there, we went to a vegan restaurant called “Cafe Gratitude”. This place was fabulous from top to bottom. The decor was bright and cheerful, with murals of dancing children, affirmations, and penetrating questions “Can you surrender to how beautiful you are?”.
The food was fabulous, I had the “I am Celebrating” ( Raw Chile Relleno with cashew cheese) and the “I am Thriving” (Lentil Soup), and my friend had “I am Plenty Great” (Granola and fruit with cocnut Yogurt) and “I am Wonderful” (watermelon smoothie). Now, I can’t seem to get the hang of ordering at Starbucks, I’m only able to order smalls, mediums, and larges, but at this place, ordering by affirmation seemed totally natural and really, really fun.

The spirit of fun, and adventure was present not only in the design, and the menu (that’s the easy part) it was also alive in the staff. These beautiful people played their part so well, engaging us with joy and humor. They had a question of the week, “what are you proud of?”, and and were thrilled by our answers. That was the tip of the iceberg. I was so blown away, I asked to see the employee training manual (i love training manuals).

They claimed not to have one, and said that simply they just ‘play the game’ and that they have different themes, and different weekly questions, and other practices that keep them really dedicated to showingup for each customer. They also handed me a book, written by the owners, called Sacred Commerce: Business as a Path of Awakening.
I read it the entire way home, and I think it’s brilliant. I was very inspired by it.

It is time that the studio had a theme of the month. I would like us to have a clear focus, i would like us to travel on a shared journey. Imagine having a monthly topic that you could work with, struggle with, and with which you ultimately find clarity, certainty, and peace. Imagine being surrounded by a community that is meditating on the very same thing. Even though our yoga practice is ultimately an inner, personal journey, it will be beautiful to have a central group theme that we can share about, riff off of, and explore together.
I will attempt to make sure that each monthly theme is universal enough so that they will work for everybody, and also that they relate pretty clearly to traditional yoga teachings. I will also offer the theme from two different angles. The first Angle will be broad, sweeping, grandiose, and abstract. It will speak to universal truth, love, and beingness. Some people really relate to this sort of Angle very well. The second Angle will be specific, concrete, and quantitative. It will offer a practice (either on or off mat) that is measurable. One will be able to look back over their day and ask themselves “Did I smile at everyone I met today” (or whatever). There will be another population that this Angle will speak to more. More angles may emerge, but this is good for now.

This Month’s theme will be “Being Open To All That Comes”. We (if you will join me) will practice equanimity, and remaining heart centered in the face of all of the many events and phenomena that arise in the course of our day. We will consider the possibility that all things that arise have the possibility of guiding us towards a more full spiritual experience. We will be more aware of the places where we shut down and check out in the face of our experience. Where are we avoidant? Where do we shut down and simply endure a moment that we have decided is not good enough? Where do we play the martyr, or the victim? Can we be open to the idea that the hand of God is in everything, at all times? Can we surrender to the idea that our life provides us with what we need to go the the next level? And, what feelings come up when we tackle these ideas? This is the grandiose Angle. If you are curious about some traditional precedent for this theme, I would like to point you towards the
Bhagavad Gita.

“When a Man has mastered himself
he is perfectly at ease in cold,
in heat, in pleasure or pain,
in honor or disgrace.”
This is what I hold for you! Perfect Ease!

Our Practical Angle: NO COMPLAINING! We are going to take the month off of complaining. This makes sense right? if we are complaining, certainly we couldn’t be continually opening to the beauty and grace of each moment. This is a chance for us to become more impeccable with our speech, and our intentions. By observing our words, and our patterns of speech, we can start to find ways to create more upliftment, openness, and spacious love on a practical level. This is something that you can inventory, at the end of the day, and get honest with yourself about how you did. This has been a fun practice for Sally and I, catching each other when we slip up. We would be happy to keep an eye out for you too!
Good Luck with all this, and good Sadhana!

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Some notes about Betheyla

2007-12-23T22:04:00.000-08:00

It is a quiet night, a few days after Winter Solstice, and a few days before Christmas. Writing a few notes about my dearly departed Ayurvedic Yoga Teacher, Betheyla, seems to be as good a way as any to begin the foray into Blogging. She died before dawn on the Ninth of December, so, where most of the major hubub around her passing has died down, we are still well within the TBOTD's 49 days. Still a good time to be feeling her out, reminding her to move on, etc.

Since she knew that she was dying, she spent a good deal of time with the TBOTD, which I suppose is what any of us would do, and she picked out some passages that she liked. I tried chanting it in Tibetan, but my Tibetan is not so good, so I scanned it a couple of times, and called it good. What to do, what to do...

Well, I suppose that that the Gods decided to take pity on me, because out of nowhere, my ole pal Pema Tendar decided to call, and announced that he was coming down to visit me for a day or two, as soon as I came to pick him up in Newark. Pema's Tibetan is excellent, and he is a Ningma Monk from The Zangdokpalri Monastery, so chanting Bardo Prayers is part of his holy work. I rushed off to collect him, with the hopes of having him teach me the chant, or in the event that it really was to much for me, to get a recording of it for listening and meditating and sharing with all of the other friends whose Tibetan is just as bad as mine. Well, Pema Tendar came through, he was happy to record the prayer, and even pulled out some other texts so that he could add some invocations and dedications. He asked me what her name was, so I believe he personalized it. He really did it up nice. I imagine that Betheyla is really happy with the result, which is good, because you've got to figure that she engineered the whole thing from behind the curtain.

Pema's Bardo Prayer For Betheyla