Kate Taylor's Yoga Site - Latest Blog Entries

Andrea Boyd Assist Workshop

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 07:58:00 -0500

Yesterday I had the opportunity to take a workshop on "assists" with Andrea Boyd, from Jivamukti in Charleston. I'll write more later on this but for now, here are some photos from the workshop which show some of what she taught us. Unfortunately my camera battery died before we got to some of the great asissts for the warrior poses and side angle pose! I'm excited about incorporating some the new ones I learned into my classes.

David Keil in Philadelphia

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:11:00 -0500

I still haven't taken the time to write anything up about our amazing visit to Yogaville, DC, or the Qigong conference, but hope to get to that soon. For now, though a few words about an amazing teacher.

While we were at the Qigong conference and trying to decide where to visit next, I revisited a listing for an Ashtanga workshop at Yoga Squared in Philadelphia, which was starting the day after we were scheduled to leave Maryland. When I had read about David Keil's workshop months earlier I had decided that taking 5 days out of our trip to stay in Philly was not a good idea. I was torn, though, because is an expert in anatomy and a certified Ashtanga teacher, so I knew I might be missing out on a chance to get some really detailed instruction on some of the poses that are the most challenging for me. Lucky for me, Brad thought it was a good idea and we decided to make an extended detour through the city of brotherly love.

The "workshop" was really five days of Mysore practice - which is basically what I had done in India - you show up at your allotted time and do your practice and the teacher adjusts/helps as needed. The difference between this experience and India was that I got to ask lots of questions and have a dialog with David about my struggle in some of the poses. In India, practice, self-observation, and a few adjustments from the teacher in your terminal pose are the mode of learning. While I learned a lot from that method, and my practice would not be the same without having that experience, I have been struggling of late with finding ease in some of the poses. And doing them 100's of times had not yet revealed the "secrets" of these poses to me.

While I can't say David revealed any "secrets," he did take the time to identify and explain the limitations in my hips and shoulders and show me how to work on opening them up in each of the poses so that the most challenging poses for me (like backbends) might one day come more easily. I also bought and watched his amazing Yoganatomy DVD. While I knew some of the information from my teacher training, it was a great refresher and went into more depth on some issues than I had learned before. I highly recommend it if you are interested in understanding how the human musculo-skeletal system works in relation to your yoga practice.

I can't say enoough good things about David as a teacher - he is extremely knowledgable, patient, good humored, and he knows how to push you to your limits and when to back off. He will be coming to Savannah in March and I am looking forward to learning even more from this gifted teacher.

Global Mala Yoga for Peace Planning

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 20:05:00 -0500

I haven’t been writing for a few days in part because of laziness but also because I have been spending my “computing time” each day working on something else really exciting. I am now coordinating the Savannah Area Teachers of Yoga Association (SATYA) and I am on the committee for this year’s Global Mala Yoga for Peace Event. In past years we have worked to raise awareness about peace by bringing folks together to practice a series of 108 sun salutations in Forsyth Park. This year we are planning an event that will include 108 minutes of yoga (not all sun salutations), as well as some chanting (kirtan). As part of this year’s event we are also making an effort to engage in Yoga Seva (selfless service) and are raising money for one local and one global charity.cambodian children's fund

We have selected Park Place Outreach in Savannah and the Cambodian Children’s Fund as the beneficiaries of our fund-raising efforts.

We are planning the event for Sunday, September 21^st in Johnson Square in downtown Savannah. We will begin the event with some led chanting. Following that, Mark White, owner of M Body Yoga in Jacksonville, will lead us in 108 minutes of invigorating Baptiste Power Yoga on the square. For more information or to register for the event, check out the SATYA website. If you would like to make a donation to either of the charities through SATYA, you can also do so through the SATYA website.

in the next day or so I'll gather my thoughts on our visit to Yogaville and the Qigong conference and get a new post up. In the meantime, new pics are being posted to the photos tab regularly.

Road Trip 2008 Underway

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 12:18:00 -0500

We finally kicked off our road trip on Monday afternoon, beginning what we hope will be several weeks of exploration from Savannah to North Dakota. We have two known destinations – Reiserstown, Maryland for a Qigong conference and then on to Towner, North Dakota, where we need to pick our pups up from “doggie summer camp.” I need to be back in Savannah by August 27^th so I can catch a plane out to Redlands for Labor Day weekend, but other than that, we don’t have many constraints.

Since we ended up leaving 4 days later than planned, we decided to bee-line it up to the Durham/Chapel Hill area the first day. About 150 miles into the trip, we heard a thunk and the car lost all its get-up-and-go. After experimenting with the acceleration a bit, Brad decided that the Turbo on our beloved Volvo had given out. Our trusty iPhone allowed me to Google for Volvo dealers in the area and we figured out there was one in Chapel Hill. Bingo. We crossed our fingers and kept on driving, arriving in time for dinner, but having missed my first planned yoga class at Ride the Breath.

We had a great meal at The Lantern in downtown Chapel Hill, and then headed over to our “Hotwired” hotel room for some sleep. We decided that getting the car fixed was our first priority so I decided to do my practice in our hotel room and then head up to the dealer by 8:00 am. We drove up the highway a few times looking for the dealer and kept wondering why we couldn’t find it. Then I noticed what looked like a lot “formerly known as” the Crown Volvo dealership – and indeed it was – the dealership had closed less than a month earlier.

We ended up driving over to Cary and dropped the car off at the dealer there and walked over to a place the service manager recommended for breakfast. After about an hour the car was fixed (under warranty!) and we were back on the road, with Turbo. Next destination: Satchidananda Ashram in Buckingham, VA, a.k.a. Yogaville.

Yoga Retreat at the Hostel in the Forest

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 07:48:00 -0500

Got back last night from the yoga retreat I led at the Hostel in the Forest. This amazing place consists of hand-built tree houses and dome structures on ~120 acres of forest near the town of Brunswick on the Georgia coast.
After dinner and a campfire talk on Friday night, we started the day on Saturday with a yoga practice in the big glass house. This is probably the most beautiful space in which I have ever practiced yoga. It's a ~600 square foot hexagonal structure, with sliding glass doors all the way around. Practicing in the glass house is like practicing on the forest floor (but with a roof over your head and screens to keep away (most of) the critters).

I taught a vinyasa (flow) yoga class to a group of about 17 the first morning. The playlist for the music can be found here. (I am excited that I just figured out how to post my playlists to iTunes and publish them on my site - more to come soon!)

After class, Tom, the hostel owner, invited us back to see his private tree house. He planted a living roof on top of his house about three years ago and has a one-of-a-kind fern covered roof. He also showed us his state-of-the-art composting toilet. The toilets at the hostel are incredible - they are all of the composting sort, and the hostel may be the longest running composting toilet operation in the world. Photos of his living roof, outhouse and the rest of the weekend are on my photos page.

The afternoon was spent doing some karma yoga - giving back to the hostel by working on a number of projects. Part of the group helped Murray restack and protect the wood for a new dome structure that will be built later in the fall. Another group worked with Peaches to clean up the hostel's nature trails, clearing overgrown brush and removing fallen trees. Another group worked with Molly to clear and sweep out the labyrinth, which we planned to use later in the evening.

A fourth group helped Carlyn weed her beautiful vegetable garden. I signed up for that group, thinking it would be a a meditative exercise in pulling a few weeds from the vegetable beds. In the forest, though, and especially in a 100% organic garden, weeds get BIG! The five us on that crew pulled out a few gigantic piles of grass and other miscellaneous invasive plants and only made a tiny dent in the work. Without the help of any motorized tools, the work is incredibly intense, but satisfying. Kudos to Carlyn for her patience and hard work, which brings food to the guests of the hostel on a daily basis.

After the work was done, a dip in the lake was in order. Did I mention that it was about 95 degrees and sweltering? The hostel swimming hole is crystal clear and was the perfect temperature to cool off without getting a chill. There is a platform in the middle where swimmers (in various levels of dress) lay in the sun and hang out.

After my swim and a refreshing shower, a few of us worked together to fill up paper bags with sand and candles for a candle-lit walk in the labyrinth. By the time we had finished we had placed about 500 candles along the borders of the path through the labyrinth. After dinner, another crew headed over to the labyrinth to light the candles. About 15 minutes into the lighting, the sound of thunder began to reverberate through the trees. Luckily the rain held off long enough for some of us to get a short walk in, but before long it was pouring rain.
I decided that I should take this as a lesson in non-attachment instead of getting upset that we had worked for hours and only had 15 minutes to enjoy the fruits of our labor. Brad and I were lucky enough to be staying in the tree house overlooking the labyrinth, so we hunkered down and watched the candles flicker in the rain before we fell into a deep sleep. In the morning, believe it or not, there was one candle still flickering.

I led a slower paced, more meditative yoga class on Sunday morning. We finished up with a sitting meditation, which Becca Sweeney led us through. Becca started out by describing why she sees meditation and asana (poses) as "twins." History tells us that the poses we do in yoga were developed in ancient times as a way to train the body for long periods of sitting. Likewise, the breath and movement in an asana class, prepare the mind for the stillness required for meditation. So...meditation originally led to the development of asana and asana made meditation easier. This reminds us that the real reason for the asana practice if to prepare us for meditation.

The weekend was exactly what I was hoping for and I am talking to Murray about planning another retreat for the fall. When we get the details worked out I'll post some info on my site.

Finally, I'd like to send special kudos to the hostel staff - thanks to Murray and Poppy for helping to organize the retreat and take care of all of the reservations and logistics; thanks to Southwood, Peaches, Fresh Ginger and the other kitchen angels for the delicious meals; thanks to Carlyn for the wonderful produce that went into the meals, and thanks to Molly for leading the way in our labyrinth cleanup. A special thanks to Tom for sharing his retreat in the forest with the rest of us. The folks who live and work at the hostel keep this beautiful place going so that people like me can come get away from our 21st century lives and reconnect with what is really important.

Yoga DJ Party in JAX

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 13:30:00 -0500

Yesterday I went down to Jacksonville, Florida with my friend Mindy to attend a free Yoga DJ Party hosted by M Body Yoga and Lululemon. Mindy has been raving about Baptiste Yoga and I thought I'd check it out.

The event was held at the gigantic, super swanky Saint Johns Town Center mall. We don't have malls like it in Savannah, so I was suffering from a bit of consumer shock and awe when we arrived. We didn't have time to shop but I did note a few key stores that I like (Anthropologie, West Elm, Arden B., etc) and made a mental note to come back one day with more free time. No, I am not yet free from aparigraha (coveting), though my urge to shop was lower after we practiced.....

The plaza where the event was going to be held was already taped with mat-size spaces when we arrived. After we checked in and placed our mats in the spot we thought most likely to have some shade, we headed over to Lululemon to quickly check out the latest yoga gear.

There was a live DJ spinning tunes throughout the two hour practice and Mark White,

the owner of M Body and a senior Baptiste instructor, led 100 of us through a vigorous vinayasa yoga class that nodded to the Ashtanga series but included a lot of playful poses and booty-shaking. With the sun beating down and the concrete heating us from the ground up, I wasn't sure I would be able to keep up the pace for the entire two hours, but Mark and the DJ kept our energy up and made what might have seemed like torture to the spectators, a whole lot of fun.

When the practice was over, we did savasana under the clear blue sky and I couldn't healp but open my eyes and drink in the beauty. I had that post-yoga euphoria going strong. I think I dig Baptiste Yoga and will be looking into it a little more.....

Yoga is not a cult, is it?

Tue, 27 May 2008 11:10:00 -0500

I received my Silver Age Yoga certification to teach senior citizens about a month ago and have been teaching a free class each week at the Savannah Senior Citizens, Inc. I have about 8 students signed up and we have a great time each Tuesday, breathing and stretching.

So far we have done most classes sitting or standing with the chair, but we are starting to move to the mat and I hope to have all of the students getting up and down from their yoga mats - without using the chair for assistance - by the time the eight week session is over.

I get some good questions from the students, but the best so far has been " Yoga is not a cult is it?" One of the ladies told her daughter that she was taking yoga at SCI and apparently she was not very supportive. She infomred her mother that Yoga is a cult and that she would rather she did not attend the classes.

I explained that yoga is neither a cult nor a religion and was glad I had some copies of Yoga Journal's FAQ to hand out so that they could learn a little more about this ancient tradition and teach the younger generation more about it!

Yoga in the Forest

Mon, 19 May 2008 15:32:00 -0500

Just got back from a weekend of yoga and relaxation at the Hostel in the Forest , which is about 80 miles south of Savannah. The hostel is in a secluded area close to Brunswick, GA and Jekyll Island. We just went up for one night, so we stuck to the grounds and had a great time. Lodging is either in really cool rustic tree houses or a bigger bunk house (which is wehere I stayed because I made my reservations at the last minute). They have a beautiful clear swimming hole with a big floating platform in the middle. The food was great and we met some really wonderful folks from all over the U.S. and around the world.

In addition to all of the amazing things to do, they have an octagonal glass house which is perfect for practicing yoga. Kate, Stephanie and I practiced in it on Saturday afternoon and then on Sunday morning I led a class for a bunch of the guests and staff. Since getting back to the SAV I have been starting to talk to them about hosting some yoga retreats there sometime this summer.

Yoga for Seniors

Thu, 01 May 2008 06:18:00 -0500

I have been talking about trying to set up a prgram for teaching yoga to seniors for some time. Serendipitously (is that a word?) Kelley Boyd told us a few weeks ago that Savannah's Senior Citizens, Inc. was looking for someone to start teaching at the senior center.

I have since signed up to get certified by Silverage Yoga. This organization offers a supplementary certifcation course for RYT certified teachers. The program focuses on senior health issues and a safe asana practice that can be done in chairs and/or on the floor. I am almost through with the online certification and working on a sequence based largely on chair poses with some floor work. I'll have to wait and see what the students' abilities are before I know whether getting up and down off the floor is going to work with this group.

My hope is that the students will rediscover their flexibility, balance, and strength and manage stress.

Tim Miller in Charleston

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 07:47:00 -0500

It's been a while since I've written.. so the short summary is this - my practice has been pretty bad lately. My sacroliliac (SI) joint has been really bothering me and I have had a hard time with forward bending for about a month. About 2 weeks ago I finally I went to see a chiropractor. He took some Xrays and gave me two sessions of electro-stim and some really strong adjustments, and I feel like new! He found a couple of things out of whack that I could see on the Xrays and confirmed that I have a pretty minmal curve in my lumbar spine (kyphosis). My L5 /S1 joint is pretty compressed right now too and he recommended that I use a roll under my lower back when I sleep. This along with about 5 days off from my practice and my back feels great!

Yesterday I had the opportunity to take a workshop from Tim Miller in Charleston at Cathy Morse's new studio called The Practice Space . Tim was one of guruji's first western students and has been practicing for over 30 years. When I was in Mysore, Tim showed up at the very end of my stay. One morning, as I was getting near the end of my practice, I looked up to see who had put their mat down beside me, and lo and behold, it was Tim Miller. I had taken a pranayama workshop from him in Estes Park so I knew who he was, but I was pretty surpised to see him practicing right next to me in Mysore!

The workshop began with a short discussion by Tim followed by a Mysore style practice. My back felt pretty good yesterday, so I did not need to hold back in any of my poses and had the opportunity to get some good advice and adjustments from Tim. I told him about not being able to feel grounded in Marichyasana C and D and he suggested that I put a folded prop underneath my sitbones to create an anterior tilt in my pelvis. Even though I know this is what we typically do for correcting a posterior tilt I have been tentative about using propos in my Ashtanga practice and had never tried this in this pose. It did the trick and I was able to keep the length in my spine and avoid bowing out my lower back, which is what happens most of the time when I bind in the pose. Yay!

I am hoping this adjustment will help ease the sacroiliac pain that I have been having. He also told me that in general SI pain is from deep forward bending without a lot of support i.e. back strength...and his suggestion, much to my dismay, was to do lots of backbends. Great. This is what Lisa has been trying to get me to do for months but I have such an aversion to them that I usually do just through and rush through them as quickly as I can. I guess this will be my work for the next few months.

The good news is that Tim gave me a new poseI He helped me bind pretty tightly in Supta Kurmasana and when I asked if I should keep going he said he didn't see why not. I have been doing Garba Pindasana in Lisa's led classes so I was able to get into it without much trouble and then Tim helpded me balance into Kukutasana. I have been working on Supta Kurmasana since getting back from India, and perhaps holding back too much about moving forward, but I guess at this point I have no excuse. The poses which come next in the primary series are all pretty accessible, so I think my next big challenge will be standing backbends. I think my goal will be to get them by the end of the summer.

After a lunch break Tim gave a talk on the Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. He started with book 1, reciting the sutras and asking the students to repeat the Sanskrit. Over the course of the next three hours he worked through about 10 sutras in Book 1, skipped Book 2 and then hit a few highlights - or "greatest hits" as he called them - from books 3 and 4. The talk was interesting, though I did recognize some of the stories from the Pranayama talk he gave in Estes Park at the YJ conference last September. After attending the workshop I feel like my practice has been re-invigorated and I am inspired to get back into my habit of reading the Sutras on a daily basis.

Yoga on the Road

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 06:05:00 -0600

I will be taking my yoga on the road this weekend and am pretty excited about my upcoming classes. On Friday I head to Charleston for the grand opening of the new South Carolina Jivamukti Yoga Center. I will get a chance to study with yoga masters David Life and Sharon Gannon. It should be a great way to re-invigorate my practice, which has been getting a little stale during the past week.

On Saturday night I fly up to DC to visit with friends for a couple of days. While I am there I plan to practice at Ashtanga Yoga DC. My good friend June from Mysore practices and teaches there, as does Keith Moore, who was also in Mysore while I was there. It should be fun to catch up with them and get a chance to practice Mysore style with a larger group than we have here in Savannah.

I am off to practice with Lisa and Dare now...more about my trip in the coming days.

Ashtanga in Savannah

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 05:08:00 -0600

I realized this morning that not only have I not been blogging but that I have not talked much about the Savannah Ashtanga "scene." We have a small but growing community of Ashtanga practitioners in Savannah. I know of about five dedicated students who attend classes regularly and get together outside of formal classes to practice Mysore style. One of the ahstangis has set up a new website to get the word out about Ashtanga in Savannah. Kudos to Dare for doing this!

Lisa Seago currently leads the Ashtanga classes at SYC each week and provides a much needed leadership in evolving our individual practices. She teaches a popular all-level evening class to a large group of students. She has also been teaching at 6:30 am on Tuesdays and Fridays. Unfortunately, attendance is low in the morning classes, so we may not have access to this opportunity unless we can get more folks interested. Those of us who do attend in the morning owe thanks to Lisa for showing up and leading us through the primary series even when there are only 1 or 2 of us there! This is truly seva (selfless service) since she does not charge other teachers (i.e. me) and gets paid a small amount per head, for the other students who do show up.

The good news is that the "regulars" are talking about ways to build up awareness and get some more Mysore classes going around town. Stay tuned for more info as these thoughts and discussions evolve.

Free Online Spiritual Diary

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 20:19:00 -0600

I've been back for a month now and things are starting to get into a nice groove. I have been pleasantly surprised to find that sticking with my home practice has been easier than I thought it would be. I have found a small group of ashtangis here in Savannah with whom I practice a few days a week, which is definitely making it easier to stay on top of it. They are more advanced students than I am so it is great to have people from whom I can learn new poses. My approach right now it to stick to my own practice, stopping at Supta Kurmasana when I am on my own, but to go ahead and try to do all of the poses when I go to Lisa's led classes on Tuesdays and Fridays. Its been fun working on the poses after Kurmasana, but I like to really focus on improving the poses I have been given when I am on my own. Lord knows there is plenty of room to grow even in those poses.

A friend recently sent me a link to a new tool that he has developed to help students log their practice - he calls it a spiritual diary. Swami Atma comes from the Sivananda tradition, and is the founder of he Advaita Yoga Ashrama (AYA). Believe it or not I met him at a software conference in Berlin! He has a great website, which he hosts with my husband's web hosting company, Rails Machine.

I gave it a test drive a couple of days ago and it is pretty handy. It allows you to create an on-line list of your practices and log the time you spend on them each day. It also has a journaling capability which allows you to include some notes. I have created a list of practices which include my home practice, attendance at classes or workshops, meditation, and reading of sacred texts. Every day I can enter the amount of time I spend on each and get a running average over time. When I was doing my teacher training a few years ago this would have been very handy, since I had to log this info every day and turn it in for review at the end of the training. If you are interested in this free tool, you can find it here.

Back in the Saddle

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 15:27:00 -0600

I have decided that I need to get back on my proverbial horse and start writing again. I have been home for over a month now and while my practice has been pretty good since I left Mysore, I have not been able to bring myself to sit down and write my blog. Not sure what is so different here but I have decided that I need to get over it.

This past weekend, Andrea Boyd came down from her studio in Charleston to teach a Jivamukti workshop at the Savannah Yoga Center. The workshop started with Andrea gathering the students around to chant some of the sutras and talk about "What is Yoga". So...what is Yoga, you may wonder? She talked about the varied definitions from "union" to "yoking", but her real message was that it is about "connection". Connection with each other and everything else on the planet. Connection of breath and movement. Connection with the true Self. At one point during the class she had the tightly packed in students reach their arms out to the side. Since there were so many of us, we were mat to mat and had no choice but to touch each other and connect as we stretched forward into one of the poses.

After the discussion she played the harmonium and led us in chanting a few sutras (yes, the same yoga sutras that I had been writing about in India). The way it works is that she explains what a single sutra means and then she leads the group in a call and response repetition of the sanskrit for a few rounds. She also led us in my favorite mantra - Lokha Samastah Sukhino Bhanvantu. I get really bummed out when a group does not chant with the teacher so I was happy to hear everybody really getting into it. I think the harmonium helps too. If you don't know what a harmonium is, here is a picture of Jennifer playing hers in India:

After the chanting we began the asana practice - which was also great! The sequence was very similar to Ashtanga in places but added a few creative touches and harder balancing poses than do in the primary series. Jivamukti also incorporates music into the asana pactice so that was fun and really got the class moving.

I loved the whole experience and find that the Jivamukti approach is a nice balance to the austerity of my regular Ashtanga practice. Sometimes it's nice to talk about the sutras and chant! I'm hoping to be able to go up to Charleston on occasion to give my practice a little boost when I get into a rut.

On My Way Home

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 16:41:00 -0600

I'm sitting in the Houston airport on a layover waiting for the last leg of my trip home. I have been traveling for about 30 hours now and have one more flight left, leaving in about 4 hours.

I just posted a bunch of photos from the last few days in Mysore and Bangalore but have not been able to bring myself to write up any final thoughts yet. More to come soon.

Busy Kate R.I.P.

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 04:44:00 -0600

Today was the last day of practice at the Shala, which will be closed from now until January. After class, folks started saying their goodbyes and then headed off to further adventures or home to friends and family.

Jennifer, Leena, and Mauricio all left today. While I feel sad that my time with them is over for now, I am certain I will see them again and am so thankful for getting to know them as well as the others with whom I have spent so much time during the past month.

The experience of living in Mysore, practicing at the shala and sharing my days with other yogis has been cathartic for me. While I cannot point to any single event that changed me the most, the sum of events and their impact will stay with me always.

One of the things that strikes me most about being here has been the experience of living in the moment and just "being present." The laid back, unplanned days I spent hanging around with friends and deciding what to do on a whim were more than just idle time. The days I spent "doing nothing" taught me the importance of slowing down and enjoying the company of the people around me. Those who know me well will remember "busy Kate" who ate at her desk and rushed from meeting to meeting. My friend Steve would sometimes start conversations by asking me to which Kate he was speaking - if I was in" Busy Kate" mode he would know that I had no time or patience for chit-chat. Even my Mom was afraid to call me during business hours because I gave off the vibe that I was too busy to talk to her. Pretty sad.

I hope that I have permanently put Busy Kate to rest. While I realize I cannot spend my whole life just pracicing yoga and lazing on pillows and talking about life, I do hope that I can find a way to make my friends and family, as well as my practice, a real priority.

Happy Birthday June

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 20:26:00 -0600

On Sunday, Leena, Jennifer and I hosted a birthday party for June. We wanted to make sure it was really special because this was a big milestone birthday for June. Leena and Tina helped us plan it, making sure it would be an Indian style affair.

Here's a pic of June. Can you guess how old she is? Now add 10 years to your guess.

One the food side we kept it light, since most folks were coming directly from Mr. Joseph’s Christmas party at the Southern Star. Tina made Pau Bhaji, and Carrot Halva. Anu made samosas with mint chutney and her vegan chocolate banana cake. Joey also brought over a banana cake.

As for decorations, we started by stringing up some brightly colored saris to create some ambiance. We put out lots of indian candles and Mahdevi created two beautiful Rangoli.

We also hired Manju and Kirin, the two little boys who sell flower garlands. They decorated the entryway and presented each guest with a garland as they came in.

On the diversions side - Dominique read Tarot.

Leena arranged for Subha to come over and do mehndi for all of the women.

After we cut the cake we presented June with her gift – we got her the beautiful sari that she had tried on at CIE.

Considering that we had over 20 people show up to wish June well, and folks lingered until after 9:00 pm on a “school night” I think we can declare it a success! More pics here.

What's My Dharma?

Sun, 09 Dec 2007 22:23:00 -0600

On Saturday, my friend Mauricio and I headed back up to the Ashram in B.R. Hills .

We arrived at the Vishwa Shanthi Niketana at about 9:30 am and were greeted by Swami Pranavanada. He asked us if we would like some chai and thus began our odyssey of sitting with the swami and eating. We were there less than 24 hours, but managed to sit for five eating events plus a mid-afternoon offering of coconut water.

All of our meals were taken sitting on a mat outside of Swamiji’s bungalow. The banana leaves you see in the photo are our plates. Our right hand was our fork, knife and spoon.

While we ate or sipped our chai, he would sit in his chair and act as our intermediary with the cook, who did not speak any English. He was incredibly generous with the delicious food and we both struggled to be gracious even though we were still full from the previous meal almost every time we sat down for the next one. While we ate, he would chat with us and answer any questions we asked. While he does not maintain complete silence as Nirmalananda did, he is a man of few words.

Here is a brief sampling of the foods we ate in our 24 hours at the ashram: chai, almonds, dates, Indian snack mix, papaya, rice with sambar and vegetables, carrot and coconut chutney, mango pickle, coconut water, pistachios, more chai, more snack mix, ladu, dates, noodle bhat, apples, more chai, more papaya, upmaa, figs, apricots, and more dates.

When we weren’t eating, we were free to do whatever we wanted. My preferred activities were reading and doing nothing. The night before we left I woke up, as usual, at 3:00 am, unable to sleep any longer. I read the sutras for a while and then picked up the copy of the Bhagavad Gita that we are using in my chanting class. I have read the Gita before, a couple of times, but thought I’d read parts of it again. As I started to read it, I realized that this is the book I should have been reading since I arrived.

The story of Arjuna’s struggle with his “professional” duty as a warrior and his personal desire to follow a spiritual path has many parallels to my current predicament. I cogitate a lot about whether planning and managing projects is my dharma (innate duty) and I just need to accept it, or whether I have another métier that just needs to be uncovered.

The 18^th chapter of the Gita talks about Svadharma (one’s natural duty) and Paradharma (the duty of another). The message is that it is better to follow one’s own natural duty that the duty prescribed for others. Chaper 18, verse 48 says this:

O son of Kunti! Do not abandon the duty that is natural to you, even if some imperfections are incidental to it. For there is no undertaking without some imperfections, even as there is no fire without the covering of smoke.

The tough part is knowing what one’s Svadharma is. While I enjoy teaching yoga, and have tried to dream up a million ways to make a living at it, I feel this may be Paradharma for me. On the other hand, there are many aspects of consulting and project management that come naturally to me, though. Sitting on the rocks at the ashram, for the first time in many months, I started to feel a need to accept and appreciate these unique gifts. At the same time I am drawn to trying to apply these skills to a projects that speak to my heart. Rather than abandon all of the years of study and experience, I have started to think about ways to leverage this to “do good.”

The swami reminded us as we talked to him that we cannot change the world, but we can change ourselves. My intention is to find a new path of Karma Yoga that takes advantage of these innate talents rather than trying to push them away. I also intend to bring everything I am learning on my mat with me in whatever comes next for me professionally.

Karma and Banking

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 17:12:00 -0600

Back to the yoga sutras...today's discussion: Karma

2.12 Klesamulahkarmasayo Drstadrsta Janma Vedaniyah

Klesa = obstacles
Mullah = root
Karmasayo = the reservoir of karmas
Drsta = seen or present
Adrista = unseen or future
Janma = births
Vedaniyah = experienced

IOW – The reservoir of karma has its root in these obstacles and karma results in experiences in the current and future births.

There word karma refers to two things – the actions you do and the result of the actions. The actions you do create a reservoir or “bank” of karma, while the results of your actions are like withdrawals from the bank. If you do a good deed, this positive karma goes into the bank and gets repaid with meritorious results. Likewise, your bad actions will result in some unpleasant payback at some point.

Satchidananda talks about three kinds of karma in his discussion –

prababda karma – the actions being debited in this birth
agami karma – the actions being deposited in this birth
sanjita karma – those in long term savings for use in future births

We are able to control the agami and sanjita in the current lifetime, but we just have to accept the prababda karma as it comes. This cycle of earning new karma and depositing it and spending it continues until we realize the Self, at which point we break free from it.

2.13 Sati Mule Tad Vipako Jatyayur Bhogah

Sati = With the existence of
Mule = the root
Tad = its
Vipako = fruits
Jati = birth of a species of life
Ayur = life span
Bhogah = experiences

IOW Karma will result in rebirth in different bodies, and/or different species.

Patanjali is telling us that based on our past karma, our next incarnation will take a different form, and may be that of an animal. Not to worry, though, because we are not our bodies. This is also a good reminder about kindness to all creatures. Someone joked yesterday that Ratty the dog who hangs out at the shala could be Krishnamacharya (Gurji’s teacher), and that he has come back to watch over the shala and observe the teachings and the students. If that’s true, it is a good thing I always stop to pet him!

2.14 Te Hlada Paritapa Phalah Punyapunya Hetutvat

Te = they
Hlada = pleasure
Paritapa = pain
Phalah = fruits
Punya = merit
Apunya = demerit
Hetutvat = cause

IOW = Karma will result in pleasure or pain depending on your meritorious or demeritoriuos actions.

I really like what Satchidananda says in his interpretation of this sutra, so I will quote him:

A happy or unhappy life is your own creation. Nobody else is responsible. If you remember this you won’t find fault with anybody.

Enough said.

Can a nose ring get you pregnant?

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 03:51:00 -0600

The Indian women are very fond of adornment. From their elegant Saris, to the forehead bindi, to their jewelry, the women usually look as if they are dressed up and ready to go to a party. Even the lady who does our laundry does it in a beautiful Sari (and seems to keep it dry throughout the whole process of banging my wet clothes on a stone).

One of the customs that I find quite beautiful is nose piercing. I did a little research on this tradition and found out that not only is it for adornment, but that ayurvedic tradition considers piercing the left nostril to be supportive of the female reproductive organs. Hmmm…maybe if I pierced my nose I would have a baby in tow next time I come to Mysore ??

I figured it was worth a try, and a good excuse for more jewelry. I asked around about who might be able to help me on my quest to enhance my fertility. Tina (the source of all knowledge about things in Mysore) suggested the hospital just down the street. She also told me that I would need to buy the nose stud, and should go the jewelry store across from the Ganesh Temple.

Last night I bought myself two small gold studs – one plain one and a fancy one with white “diamonds” for special occasions. After breakfast, my friend June accompanied me down to the Aadithya Aadhikari Hospital – they were flying an orange Om flag, so I took this as a good sign.

I stepped into the waiting room and spoke to a lady at the reception desk. Within minutes I was given a prescription and told to walk across the courtyard and get it filled: one sterile needle and one insulin syringe. Total cost: 8 rupees (about 20 cents.I walked back over to the main waiting room and was quickly ushered into treatment room where a woman doctor greeted me. I showed her my purchase, we talked briefly and she asked me to lie down on the steel table.

Before I knew it she had injected me with the insulin and was telling me to keep my eyes closed. My left nostril must have gotten completely numb, because I could feel her fiddling with my nose, but did not feel any pain and could not tell exactly what she was doing. Every now and then her assistant would swab me with some sort of antiseptic liquid and wipe my nose with some cotton. After about 5 minutes the whole procedure was done. She gave me a prescription for some antibiotics, and I paid my 100 rupees on the way out.

Total cost for the procedure and both prescriptions: 154 rupees. Look on Jennifer's face when I ran into her later: priceless.

Tomorrow I am gong back up to the ashram in the B.R. Hills to meditate and talk to the swami. I have been having a great time running around Mysore with my new friends, but I am looking forward to the quiet up there.