Practice, practice...

At the End of the Day (Jan 5, 2010)

At the end of the day, I breathe.



*A. took this while I was doing either Agni Sara or Kapalabhati.

Ha-tha (Jan 2, 2010)

From the moment I wanted to get a tattoo, which was eons ago and long before I fell in love with yoga, I wanted to get one with the sun and moon. I loved the celestial symbolism, the oneness of opposites. I loved how it is depicted in various orders of spirituality and mythology. I loved the stories of love depicted between the sun and the moon be it the gods and goddesses of wicca or ancient egypt. I loved the notion of balance in this bipolar universe. I still do.

I searched for so many celestial pieces of half sun and half moon drawings for inspiration. I combed through studio flash art. Many, many pieces later, I still did not have it. Amidst the lotus and mantras, I thought the celestial theme did not seem to fit anymore. Until the meaning unfolded once again and the sun and the moon rose once again in the expanse of my seeking soul.

After years of practicing hatha, I came to understand the meaning beyond "forcefulness". Neil would talk about ha-tha. Sun and Moon. Your movements have the unity of opposites. In every asana, find the ha and the tha. Then there's prana and apana.

From the wikipedia
The word Hatha is a compound of the words Ha and Tha meaning sun and moon ( हकारः कीर्तितः सूर्यष्ठकारश्चंद्र उच्यते | सूर्यचंद्रमसोर्योगाद्धठयोग निगद्यते || ), referring to Praana and Apaana, and also to the principal nadis (energy channels) of the subtle body that must be fully operational to attain a state of dhyana or samādhi. According to the Monier Moneir-Williams Sanskrit Dictionary, the word "hatha" means forceful. It is a strong practice done for purification.

Hatha Yoga, pronounced [ˈɦəʈʰə] in Hindi, is also known as hatha vidya or the "science of hatha" yoga. The word Hatha comes from combining the two Sanskrit terms "ha" meaning sun and "tha" meaning moon. The word "ha" refers to the solar nadi (pingala) in the subtle body and "tha" the lunar channel (ida). However, when the two components of the word are placed together, "hatha" means "forceful", implying that powerful work must be done to purify the body. Yoga means to yoke, or to join two things together, hence hatha yoga is meant to join together sun (masculine, active) energy with the moon (feminine, receptive) energy, thus producing balance and greater power in an individual.

So in looking for my ha-tha, my sun and moon, I finally found the pieces.

The image of sun and moon in drusta calligraphy is from the beautiful Tibetan calligraphy of Tashi Mannox: www.tashimannox.com and the Tibetan script tattoos from www.inkessential.com





http://inkessential.blogspot.com/2009/04/sun-and-moon.html


They are in Tibetan Drusha script.

My Om Mani Padme Hum is in Uchen Script.

Everything is in its place even in the small Universe of my skin.

Today's Best Buys: Tibetan Bowls and Books

I got my Tibetan Singing Bowls today. Four of them etched with Om Mani Padme Hum either on the side or inside. They are blackened, bronzed and beautiful. And they sing. The biggest one, 7.5 inches in diameter, chants like Tibetan monks in a hall. The smallest, 3.5 in diameter, sounds like an aria in an opera sitting on the palm of my hand.

They are temporarily tucked in a tacky magenta Japanese box that could have contained cheap lingerie and disguised in a brown starbucks paperbag. From where I sit, I see the strikers, freshly bleached wood and virginal, four of them in various phallic sizes are held tightly in bubble wrap. They will make the bowls vibrate later.

There’s an irony here.

But, anyway…

Beside me are three books by three of my favorite authors.

1) Sexing the Cherry by Jeanette Winterson. Now a Vintage Classic. I remember when the book was not considered classic. I remember The Passion.

2) I have the Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. I bought a mint condition pre-owned book of hers for P75 the other day (The Unknown Error of Our Lives). I remember The Mistress of Spices.

3) I also have Infinite Riches by Ben Okri. Last copy in the bookstore. It looks old. The story is. This is the third book of Azaro. I remember The Famished Road.

I remember these books because I loved them most (Okri in second year highschool, Winterson in my third year, Divakaruni, maybe seven years ago) – the first words taste like the first seconds of the first kiss. So I come back to these authors, again and again, every so often.

Except today, I just found them near me. Like the Tibetan Singing Bowls that I found serendipitously.

I always trust to find or to be found. I will find you if you do not find me first.

iYoga

We belong to our times. It is where we are. Even as we connect with ancient teachings and respect the age-old wisdom we may not have conceived today, we are here now, virtually connected now.

As a modern yogi, we guard against being "vata-deranged" (we try). At our fingertips, we have the information made visual and tactile and portable. Billions of servers containing information made available in mobile devices, billions of apps downloadable in seconds...

I have my own favorite yogic apps for the iPhone/iTouch, for instance. Here are my Top 7.

1 Patanjali Yog Sutra ($4.99) - the sutras in english and sanskrit (I also have Bon Giovanni's version in English). It's another way to start Ataha yoganushasanam
2 Bowls (Tibetan Singing Bowls)($1.99) - I mentioned this in my earlier post. 7 bowls, a bell, gong, chimes at your fingertips, the vibrations all beautifully rendered.
3 Pranayama ($2.99)- I use this for audio cues for inhaling, retaining and breathing. Settings can be easily configured (how many breaths, ratios, animation and ambient sounds...). I was initially just looking for the tick tock sounds but chanced upon this one. Pretty useful and non-intrusive.
4 Gita (FREE) - the whole Bhagavad Gita, chapter by chapter (in sanskrit and english) so we always have a copy.
5 Autobiography of a Yogi (FREE) - The entire book and all the photos for your reading and re-reading pleasure
6 iMantra Lite (FREE) - your virtual mala (choose how many beads you want and the types of mantras you want recited (buddhist, kundalini, hindu, hindu with kabir, universal, planetary) and there are mantras under each of these categories.
7 iEphemeris Lite (FREE) - to know your moon phases

I also have two Reiki Apps
1 iReiki ($1.99) - Explanation of Reiki, different treatments, Reiki hand positions...
2 21 Power Tools of Reiki ($2.99)- Tools for maximizing reiki (attitude, meditation, verbal, physical, intentions...)

More apps are created everyday and certainly there are apps for "coaching" yoga practices, good for free flowing hatha yogis.

We have so much. Sometimes, maybe too much. One word for us, though - aparigraha. Especially as we google or make our way through the app store. This is just for the small "i" afterall. :)


Photo Source: http://www.mohammedibraheem.co.uk/vis_comwebsite/Assets/ipodcult.jpg

Tibetan Singing Bowls

I am so excited. I will get my set of Tibetan Singing Bowls tomorrow. Four bowls in various sizes. It's for my yoga classes and my studio later on. I loved the vibrations of these bowls during my magical month in Yoga Thailand. They sang to every cell of my being. I will now have my own set to sing for others.

I looked for these in Lamai and Cha Weng but I think I may have been looking in the wrong places. Today, while I was looking for downloadable mp3 of Tibetan bowls, I chanced upon a supplier here in the Metro. I will get my bowls tomorrow.

Meanwhile, while I waited, I did have a wonderful application on my iPhone.



Swirl your finger slowly around the edges of the bowls to create and control beautiful meditative harmonic tones. Tap the bowls, gongs, bells, and tingsha cymbals to add depth and variety to your music.

Easily swipe between the 7 included bowls to explore their unique sounds and the effects on your body, mind and soul.





For the real thing, though, here's how
(http://www.silverskyimports.com/Shop/Control/fp/SFV/32655/view_page/How_to_Play_Tibetan_Singing_Bowl)

How to Play Bowls
1. Hold the bowl in the palm of either hand with a firm grip on the bottom of the bowl. Be careful not to touch the sides of the bowl as that is where the vibration comes from.

2. With the striker, rub the outside rim in a circular motion. Keep an even pressure. Sometimes it is easier to strike the bowl first to get the vibrations going.

3. Gently increase the speed as the bowl begins to vibrate, and as the sound grows. Sometimes this method can take practice.

Another method is "gonging" or "striking" the bowls. This is a simple method that involves striking the bowl with a wood or padded striker.

My Yoga Thailand Family