Tag-Archive for » yoga «

Traveling Slow. Traveling Deep.

28 Sep 2011 -

 

Going to School in India

There is plenty of time to reflect, consider and think in an ashram. Of course, in between all this contemplative time, there’s the other hours where the goal is not to think, but that is another subject altogether.

I’ve found myself pondering about travel. I realize (I am, after all, in Realization aka Room #16) that the times that have had the most lasting impact on me, are the places where I have gone slower and more deeply into the experience.

Having dealt with quite a few tourism PR people on various press trips, I know quite clearly what does NOT work; that is, the two-step march through sites and attractions and as many hotel properties as possible. Those trips are the certain death-knell for any creative story.

I really don’t understand the thinking  that says we need to tour past every national monument and touristic wonderment. It is the stuff of guidebooks, of which there are plenty. Surely they would want something different?

I know I do. I am always looking for the encounter, the zeitgeist, the locus of what makes that destination uniquely itself. But on those press-trips from hell, there is simply no there, there.

In contrast, our recent trip to Wales was exactly what I was hoping for.  Surely, it doesn’t get much slower than our hike along Offa’s Dyke Path trek…the memory of the experience feels deep and rich. And going slowly helped me feel like I entered into the landscape in a much more meaningful and satisfying way.

One of my favourite instructive travel moments was cycling in Ireland with Kevin and our good friends Ray & Judy Gerein. We had stopped at a little lay-by to gaze out over an eternal countryside; stone walls, sheep, rolling hills and the kind of green that screams life and photosynthesis and all things chlorophyll. We simply could not get enough of the pastoral, yet vibrant scene.

As we stood there, gobsmacked by our good fortune and whacks of cycling endorphins, a man wheeled up in a zippy car, slammed to a halt and said, “Anything to see here?” We looked at him, smiled and said, “No.”  He took off as fast as he had come.

He was so busy looking, he was destined never to see.

Here in the ashram, it can’t get much slower.  I already know that this will be one of those experiences that will keep adding layers to my life. With India being a country so richly steeped in gods and gurus, staying in an ashram feels like the iconic Indian experience. What better way to try to get a country’s pulse than to do the very thing it’s renowned for?

The beautiful thing about this kind of slow and deep travel, is that it translates very well to how to ‘travel’ in my home life as well. Our morning satsang discussions with Swamiji have reinforced some key concepts.

That is;  To be satisfied in the present moment is one of the fundamental ways to experience deep joy. By constantly thinking and planning for the future, I am creating a dissatisfaction with my present. This is not to say that I shouldn’t plan, but that the key to a more fulfilled life is to be grateful with what is happening now…whether ‘good’ or ‘bad’, it doesn’t matter. It is all instructive and necessary for my ongoing evolution. In other words…slow down and pay attention.

My job is to stay present and grateful. Sounds simple. Doesn’t mean it’s easy.

 

Category: Photos, Traveling  Tags: , ,  4 Comments

Embracing That Indian Sweat…

24 Sep 2011 -

 

Ashram Annies

Colleen Ann, Karen Ann, Susan Anne, Viola Ann

 

The word ‘rivulets’ has taken on a whole new meaning, now that I’ve associated it with the constant sweat that wends down my back, my arms, my stomach and my calves. I had no idea my thumbs could sweat, but even while I type this, the beads are formed on my fingers. Talk about sweating the writing…

The bonus is that the dry shin-skin on my legs (that heaven’s own amount of moisturizer couldn’t touch back home) has become supple and younger.  It seems a rather steep price to pay for youthful skin.

We are starting to get the groove of the ashram, though I’m sure our semi-hysterical moments aren’t quite what they had in mind during dinner. But what’s cool about this place is the very live-&-let-live atmosphere. You can show up to everything or come to none of the events at all. You are free to rest, relax or pursue your interests though we’ve discovered that the heat mostly inspires a lassitude of rather epic proportions.

So far we four ashramites have been very compliant. We are always on time for our 6 am meditation, 7 am yoga and are first in line to kick off our flip-flops in anticipation for the  very-welcome 8 am breakfast gong.  I haven’t cracked open my packets of instant coffee and am finding the breakfast chai, and the 3:30 pm chai break, enough caffeine to keep me going.

I don’t think any of us has ever had such sustained time of ‘nothingness’, and though a little discomfiting at first, I think we’re all starting to settle into this life. The yoga and heat is probably exactly what my body needed after the Offa’s Dyke trek and the foot massage in the healing clinic today was something sent directly from heaven. It would have been nice to have one of those sessions after each day on that trail.

I had some success with the cockroaches when the manager gave me a partial can of something equivalent to Agent Orange. I fumed up the room, left it for the day and that night I could turn on the light in the bathroom without the wall becoming a new type of buggy-nightmare wallpaper. The downside was the rather unnerving sensation of tingly lips and a rather odd cheek numbness, but extermination is not something to be trifled with.

The bad news is that the effect only lasted that one night. Alas, the killing fields returned and last night was another shoe-slapping extravaganza.

Luckily the bathroom floor-washing method is to throw a bucket of water on the tiles and then use the long handled super-squeegee to sluice it all into the drain in the corner. Luckily, the drain doesn’t fit and the buggy bodies can be pushed into the holes on the side. I’m sure it’s the very same holes that those bugs come up in the night, but so far, no matter what I place on top of that drain has proven to be a deterrent.

It has mostly been a humorous (not so funny at night, but much funnier in the morning) price to pay for all the other benefits we are finding.

I hadn’t counted on the Swami-factor. I came here mostly for the yoga, the meditation, the healthy vegetarian food, time to hang with my friends, a chance to catch up on some reading and writing, and the tropical locale. I figured I’d attend one Swami session and mark it down as an ‘experience’.

But the morning sessions with Swami Brandhev are proving to be my favourite part of the day (along with the morning meditation and yoga). He truly is a wise man and has given us many practical insights on how to live a more fully conscious life.

So. I’m becoming one with the whole sweaty thing…now if I could just accept those bugs.

 

Category: Photos, Traveling  Tags: , , ,  Leave a Comment

Yoga Grooves

21 Sep 2010 -

My meditation practise is mostly based on silence. In that ten-day silent retreat I took so many years ago, the emphasis was on stilling the mind by focusing strictly on breathing. No mantras. No icons. No props. It was pretty darned basic and therefore very portable and available to anyone in any circumstance.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes it’s hard to find some silence. When the hockey game is on downstairs or there are just bodies roaming around the house, it’s pretty hard to keep focused on inhalations and exhalations. Enter the meditation CD.

Putumayo makes great CDs already and this is one of their lablog that they sent me to review. The cover reads YOGA.  But since I don’t do that much yoga at home, preferring to go to my class instead, I decided to try it with my meditation practise.  Meditation is definitely in my at-home routine.

I found it to be just soothing enough to create relaxation without being like that bland stuff that some less-than-stellar spas still think is pretty cool. Instead, it’s got enough international edge to it to keep the mind engaged but mellow.  

In fact, it’s playing right now while I type. The words are foreign enough that I don’t get caught up in some distracting lyrics – always a bonus when writing – and the music not so smooth as to make my brain fall asleep.

And anything that hints at a little bit of India is always good for a smile.

Category: Music  Tags: , , , ,  2 Comments

Traveling at Home on the Sunshine Coast

27 May 2010 -

Funny thing about traveling. I often go to great effort, expense and use tons of time to search out new experiences in far-off lands - and yet – sometimes the best moments are the ones that happen in our own backyards…like last night.

A pod of Orcas decided to put on a show while sporting their crisp whale tuxedoes, all less than 200 meters from our deck. They made their bulk inconsequential as they slapped those big tails and dove and surfaced with dancer-like ease.  Kevin and I stood on the deck clapping and drinking wine and wondering how we could be so lucky.

And then this morning as Marney Coulter led our Yoga By The Sea class through a series of downward dogs and planks and other asanas, I thought about different retreats that I’ve found on the internet, that promise relaxation and strengthening at their special million-dollar retreats, and in between breathing out big, fat OHMs…I think…hmmmm…the pass I purchased for these classes and the five-minute drive from my house to this gorgeous space is a pretty sweet deal.

And so, today I watch the wind whip up frothy waves and I’m happy knowing that I have the space in my life to write.

And I roll and twist on my big bouncy exercise ball and reflect on how how traveling enriches my life…especially when I barely leave home to do it.

Category: Traveling, Video  Tags: , , , , , ,  4 Comments

Be it Resolved.

04 Jan 2010 -

OK. So the last post I did was all about NOT doing resolutions but I don’t think I can call these New Year’s resolutions, cuz most of what I’m talking about here are the same things I was working on last year. Perhaps I can just confirm these ongoing directions?  Who was I kidding that I could possibly not end up here. But maybe it’s more like those couples who do the whole marriage ceremony thing again after 30 years or something…Yeh, that’s it. These are simply confirmations of existing tenents. Wow. That sounds very formal.

Be it Resolved…

That I will exercise every day. Usually an hour walk at the beginning of the day – a really fast walk/hike with some killer hills.

That I will meditate for 30 minutes every day. This is to hopefully disengage the endless monkey mind chatter. Not sure if it’s actually working but studies have shown…

That I’ll clean up some portion of my world every day, whether it’s a drawer, a dusty bureau or something bigger.

That each day I’ll work on something creative, whether writing for this memoir-ish thing I’m working on or a collage or some art/functional project.

That each day I’ll read a wild and varied amount of books.

That I’ll make friend-time a priority; this includes my best friend, my husband Mr. R.

That I will incorporate a few downward dogs each morning and one full yoga session each week.

That I will practise gratitude in all things.

Amen.

Category: Collage, Writing  Tags: , , , , ,  2 Comments