Many Moons

So drawn to the moonstone. It must be apt especially now. It is a stone of new beginnings. Here's to many blessed and magical moons for you, many nights of lucid dreaming, days of calm and joyful changes. A new year awaits. *** The Moonstone also connects to feminine power, promoting intuition and tapping into our natural wisdom. I kept coming back for this bracelet. Crystal calls...

Happy Christmas!

May we find peace, love, laughter, and joy this season and always.

Finishing Sequence

This is the last Thursday evening (half primary class) for 2011. We are all now at the finishing sequence.

To the beautiful souls with whom I share this path, I thank you deeply.

Before we come to rest and reflect
(because even the year gets to take a Savasana), we collectively remember to keep our chins up and our hearts lifted.
Stand tall and firmly rooted
Stay soft and open, keep expanding
in each moment.
Be strong with grace
From a place unbound
By the body.

Practice with joy, peace and love.

'Tis the season. 'Tis always the season.

Some of my beautiful loves in Halasana...

Lunar Eclipse

Barely a sliver,
I crave no backdrop.
She hides away again.
She sinks
In the depths of space
Like old dreams
Or lost hopes
In moments of bated breath
Only to emerge

Breaking

Into a luminous smile.
Barely a sliver enlightened 
And growing,
As if no hope has left.
As if our our dreams 
Could never drown 
Or die halfway,
Before we sleep.
Or before we wake.

9.48 pm Dec 10, 2011 on a Lunar Eclipse

The Mirror of Yoga


The Mirror of Yoga is a feast for the hearts of sincere students of yoga. Richard Freeman's depth of knowledge and love for yoga overflows on each page. His writing reflects his work on The Yoga Matrix. The clear, soft-spoken tone full of fragments of wisdom seep quietly, part by part, that reading and re-reading (or listening) to his words become almost necessary.

The book is divided into nine parts. The first three parts talk about yoga tradition, the integration of body and mind, and the process of Hatha yoga through āsana and prānāyāma. The next chapters talk about Yoga philosophy with focus on the presentation of Sānkhya philosophy and the buddhi, the Bhagavad Gītā, Tantra and the Yoga Sūtra. The last chapter contains beautiful reminders on how to apply yoga and gently confront our own limited preconceptions to truly deepen our practice.

It might be helpful to already have a flavor of yoga philosophy prior to reading the book. Or not. Richard Freeman explains these in the most accessible way, as a student and a teacher who understands from long years of experience and study. His message is strong and vibrant, straightforward, wise, humbling, and inspiring. There is a definite softness that lends itself from a place of respect and maturity.

What might be a prerequisite for this book, though, is to have a sincere intention to practice yoga and to have an open heart for what yoga is, certainly beyond the physical aspect. This is not a book about anatomical alignment for each pose. There are no secret techniques and adjustments. We are encouraged to use our awareness and intelligence through our breath and bodies. The beauty of the book lies in explaining the subtleties and inner work that yoga ultimately entails.

The book title is apt. It is able to reflect yoga from various angles and is able to gently urge us to look deeper into our understanding of yoga, our own practice, at our relationships and ourselves.
This is a wonderfully written book from a much loved teacher.


***
Just some quotes from the first few chapters...

Your perception of the simplest sensation or the most ordinary everyday experience can take you to unlimited depth, and this is truly where the heart of yoga is revealed.

Yoga reveals itself when we allow our senses, our intelligence, and our bodies to unfold free of a self-image or any sort of goal or motivation.

Within the yoga tradition the body is identified as our means of practice, our instrument of perception, and our medium for perceiving reality; we know the world through our bodies

...a true yoga posture occurs when meditation flows ceaselessly and spontaneously, implying that yoga asanas encourage integration of body and mind. An asana practice does not torture the body physically, nor does it cause distraction of the mind; instead, asana invites more and more refinement when approached internally. A mindful, concentrated quality of attention is used to create a dynamic, aligned fom, and the same focus of mind is used to observe the subtleties that arise throughout the body.

We find that when we do yoga asana and pranayama, this balance naturally occurs, and at the end of a good practice there is a sense of internal balance.

When you practice non-exotic yoga, everyday yoga - looking deeply at the ordinary experience, becoming more honest and more kind - there is a great sense of relief.

...yoga can be summed up as one simple practice: that of observing what is actually happening in the present moment.

We are compelled by whatever reason to come to the mat and begin a practice. Exactly what has brought us to yoga, precisely what our intentions are in terms of the practice, and what we actually do once we are on the mat are variables that are completely different person to person and often day to day for any one of us.


* * *
Post Script

As I will not be able to attend Richard Freeman's sessions in Yoga Thailand this month, this book is the next best thing. The language is deeply familiar and the text is close to my heart. My dear teachers speak of, teach, and nurture these pieces of wisdom with the same care, fervor, and attention. I try as well to share them in my own capacity.

I continue to savor the words. The past days since the full moon have given me thoughts about this (still relatively) new phase in life, dedicated to Yoga. The days have been busier with my own practice, studying, preparing for classes and teaching, preparing for journeys and projects, attempts at writing. Of course, nurturing relationships does not stop.

On and off the mat, the practice has been quietly intense as I struggle with my routine or, sometimes, the lack of it. There is no 13-hour work day to excuse myself. I breathe this in everyday now, happily, thankfully, and very, very carefully.

There is so much to learn and re-learn, to do and undo. Everyday seems like an unraveling of sorts. It's nothing short of miraculous, really.

Reflect on Light

It's the first day of December. We are at the tail end of a year that began with so many promises, so much hope (if not a glimmer), as years before. As years to come.

As I wait here, I reflect on Light in its many forms. There are those lovely sights, sounds, smells, and words that bring sparks of inspiration. There are friends, family, strangers and prayers - the torch bearers of our darkest moments. There are those that shine as steadfast as the sun, as fleeting as moon phases or as brief as shooting stars.

There is also that small candle with its unwavering flame, shining brightly up to its last moment.

At the beginning of the last month of this year, I am remembering all the bright beings whose light shines on me, varying in rainbow colors - warm, glowing, even burning.

And what a blessing that we shine, maybe without knowing, for each other.
So no one is ever alone in the darkness
and no one really loses their way.

Bahay Kalipay

We left on the night of a new moon and the lunar eclipse, a day after Thanksgiving, at the initial days of Mercury retrograde. The trip was safe and, thankfully, uneventful. This was after our breakfast of cookies and coffee. The next 3 and a half days will be filled with raw food, reflections and "spartan amenities" away from Manila.

This was an easy trip to plan - budget fare and spur of the moment for Anna's 30th birthday. Anna is a freshly made friend from Govinda's retreat some months back - French speaking, Vipassana sitting, pencil sketching, print making, and immersing in Yoga.  By now, her Saturn would have returned and she will be coming home into the paved path of the 30s. The 20s (for many) was a bumpy ride.

This is Anna.

At the airport, I met Anna's friend, Anais, a tall, lovely, curly-haired French lady. I love her name because of the writer, and the sound. This will be a challenge to my crumbling kindergarten French from 8 years ago. Nevertheless, on y va! 

When we landed in Puerto Princesa, we were picked up by Bahay Kalipay's green mobile. The lady of the home - Daniw, her son - Sinag, and two residents - Tza and Becky, were there in the jeepney. We were going to Maia Eco village, the community they were building. It was a long drive on a very bumpy road and I felt as if the jeepney was slowly losing its precious parts to the gravel. We got there and met Jhoana briefly (another resident healer), drank coconuts and saw the houses under construction.

Daniw and Sinag

The Green Mobile

Maia scenes

Next stop was Nagtambon beach. It was lovely, rather quiet - a short strip of a beach. It would be perfect for skimming and, I think, maybe even surfing. There were some good waves but they broke too close to the shore. No one else was there except us. It would be good to come back for a private geteaway. At the cottage, we ate jackfruit, saba and dehydrated bananas in grated coconuts and fruit bits. We also brought our own buko and we had a bolo with us. We spent the remainder of the afternoon there because the green jeepney did get some injuries along the dirt road and we had to wait for the blue one. I liked the peace and breaks of very open talks. Oh, what peace. The place could not be reached by the ubiquitous mobile networks.

Scenes from Nagtabon

Sketches of Lovely Tza

Becky and Tza in B & W

It was a long, bumpy road from there to Bahay Kalipay. We passed for Jhoana and Olivier and I held my bandhas in place until we hit the paved streets. The next time my students ask where their bandhas are and how do they engage them, I'll tell them to take a jeepney downhill on a dirt road. Voila! Bandhas engaged! 


On the road

It was dark by the time we got to Bahay Kalipay, we had a delicious meal of raw food goodness (I failed to take photos of all of them and get their names but they were all flavorful and sumptuous. I will have to write another post when I get the recipes from Daniw).

Receiving Area at night

We went to our room - Dahon.

It was a simple, small, open room, wooden with 3 beds and mosquito nets, and one Asahi fan. The air was cool and we were exhausted. The toilet and shower are shared but we were the only 3 guests and we could use the men's room. Archimedes does not live there. Flushing is manual and you have a handy tabo and big pail to "fill...while you're at it" :) This was about basic living with (mostly) organic products and our own roll of tissue. So we cleaned up and got ready for bed.

The rooms are not soundproof and we woke up rather sleep deprived the next day. Anna and I practiced at the space on the second floor. I'm not sure how much jumping back the space could withstand but that was my favorite place in the house, wood flooring (reminded me of True Yoga in Boracay) and there were hammocks and dreamcatchers around.

My mom would like this. I had been thinking a lot about her lately. I imagine she could live here but she's busy doing the tour of the Philippines, money-free and guilt-free. I hope she is happy...

Anyway, I enjoyed my Pranayama and Asana practice. By the time I was done, breakfast was ready. I think that was the morning they served lemon and mango muesli - rolled raw oats with mangoes and lemon slices. Instead of cow's or soy milk, it was coconut milk. I enjoyed it. I still, however, felt the residue of the new moon/lunar eclipse immensely, this shifting unsettling feeling plus the lack of sleep.

Our next activity was a session with Jhoana and Olivier on Inner Dance. We lay on the mats for the session. No, what we feared did not happen. Our inner primordial dance was not the awkward chicken dance. We were gently and quietly (no music for this round) moved and settled into the space. My hands and arms did not move on their own but I was pacified and freed from new moon thoughts.

At some point during the session, I thought I could hear someone crying faintly from downstairs. I found out later on that it was Becky losing her mobile phone which she left on the dining table. It contained all the entries for a book she was writing (and her contacts and the sweet messages of her son). She told me she just left it on the table with her medicines and they all just disappeared when she came back. I could hear the shattered heart pieces in her voice. I hope it reappears.

In the afternoon, we had a long inner word journey with Juanita. Although none of us were trying to think too much of our questions at this point (Anna and I were living with the current questions and answers quite amicably for now and Anais wanted to go to the beach), those seeking out their answers from deep within may want to brave the exercise.

That night, we had either a rat or a squirrel scurrying about (I think just above me) and the next day we were visited by a tuko (ghecko). Yes, my love story with the tuko is still ongoing. There must be a sign here somewhere. I had to convince Anna that the tuko was not in her bag. It sounded closer to Anais'. That was mildly comforting. We wanted to be away from Manila and so there we were, so close to nature. No problem, we were the ones invading these lovely creatures' space anyhow.

The following day, I had Pranayama and a short asana practice. My Abhyanga with Tza was just beautiful. Tza is beautiful, with her youthful smile and sun-loved skin. In nothing but a loincloth, I was bathed and nourished in oil from head to toe for an hour and a half. I was glistening and ready for a hot bath after. My first since I got there. I could have done Abhyanga everyday...

On our second dose of Inner Dance (combined with some passive stretching from Olivier), I felt an extra second or two of potentially sustained movements. Ambient renditions of classical music were playing. Although it was not like the videos we've seen on Inner Dance, the session was deeply relaxing and we lay adhered to the mat moments after it was over.

Anais was leaving that day and so we spent the entire afternoon just lounging on the 2nd floor space, eating bananas and having our green smoothies. After Anais left, Anna and I just talked on, preparing her list for her 30th birthday. We moved back to our room and kept talking and talking. Amidst the sounds of the dog scratching on the door downstairs, we finally slept although we woke up for a while to the sound of the creature who peed at the foot of Anna's bed.

In the morning, Anna did her Vipassana. I practiced Pranayama. There were flowers on the breakfast table for the birthday girl - Million Dollar Vines, I think they were called. It was our last installment of fantastic raw food. Flowers not included.

Ikaw Cag Ako 

Imas Vegetarian Restaurant

We got ready to leave our little family for three and a half days. I could say it was family. Daniw looks so much like my cousin (and Sophie Marceau). Becky looks like my dad's eldest sister. Tza doesn't look like anyone I'm related to but looks to me like one of the best looking Filipina supermodels. I wouldn't mind being related to her. Anyway, our little family took us to Ikaw Cag Ako for souvenirs and to Imas for delicious (cooked, this time) veggie burritos before we went to the airport to head back home with thoughts of Daniw's delicious raw food, with the possibility of bringing a small group some time in the future, with keeping in touch should they come to Manila, and with more talk on the plane on my shared plans of love and light.

Last Look at Bahay Kalipay 

So Bon Anniversaire, Anna. And to my mom, tomorrow.
Merci Beaucoup, Anais, for teaching me to say Regardez la Mustique. 
At Salamat, Bahay Kalipay, I am sending more love and light to you.

And to all, may all the homes of your heart be happy always.

Now, I am happy to be in mine.

* * *
More info on Bahay Kalipay: http://bahaykalipay.com/

More photos here