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My Yoga Blog
I feel so cold

I feel so cold. I'm sipping energy tea in the hope it will warm me. My hands embrace the warm cup. They are cold, too. I want to move my fingers even though I have not much to write. The finger ballet on my warm keyboard shall warm, too.

This bear made its rounds. He looked heavy. This was good for this monster these low temperatures. Yep, if I were an ice bear, tralali, tralala.......It makes me smile to go through my pictures from the zoo visit yesterday.


Today I meditated again for 10 min in the late afternoon. I was very calm. Sitting in padmasana for 10 min is no issue at all anymore. Also in the end I didn't feel my legs. The sitting position is very good because I feel I sit stable. My back is upright in that queen asana. To enjoy 10 min of silence every day is a wonderful habit.

Tomorrow morning primary, home practice: the vinyasa and back bending is my focus. I must manage it to come up from urdhva dhanurasana. On my own. One must burn by oneself. From the inside.


2/22/2012 12:10:00 PM
Yogini's Quest
Investigation of Desire
Being trapped
2/21/2012 7:03:05 PM
CRON yogitect
yoga financial health architecture

the first book to upload to my new Kindle was Grimmly's Vinyasa Yoga Home Practice. the second William Bernstein's The Four Pillars of Investing, Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio. you could say i'm investing in yoga, financial health and architecture.
2/21/2012 5:17:00 PM
Ashtanga Jump Back
'... Sanskrit chants I learnt from Sri Krishnamacharya and more' Ramaswami's chanting available on Sangeetha
Ramaswami linked to this music site on FB last week

'Between 1980 and 1995 I recorded for a recording company “Sangeetha” many Sanskrit chants I learnt from Sri Krishnamacharya and more. During my recent visit to Chennai I talked to H M Krishna a partner of the firm and he said that they were about to make available online about 18 of my titles—hope it works out.

A list of my programs is available, in the following site. Open the site and type Srivatsa Ramaswami in the search window for the complete list. You may click on individual titles for more info on each program. The total chant time of all the program may be about 30 hrs. I hope they will be able to organize the on line downloading soon'.
www.sangeethamusic.com/
This is what you should see.

It's a wonderful site and there is the option of listening to a short sample of most of the recordings but where to start.

Ramaswami just passed on some suggestions

'If you like vedic chanting then Suryanamaskara, Taittiriya Upanishad, Mahanarayana Upanishad and vedic chanting contained in adityahridayam and indrakshi cds will be nice to hear. I would also prefer listening to Rudram chamakam from the cd that came originally with "CBVK" book. Then one may want to study the meaning and commentaries, especially the upanishads apart from making an attempt to chant oneself. More religiously oriented people in India like to listen to Vishnu sahasranama, Lalita sahasranama. Others whose ishta devata (favorite deity) may choose the other sahsranamas like Ganesa, Siva, Durga, Gayatri, Anjaneya etc.,and if you have the patience the ten hour long Sundara Kanda from th Ramayana. Since many have their own meter and rhythm some like to chant or listen to these non vedic or laukika chants'.

Ramaswami's first recording concerned the Yoga sutras

I was rereading Ramaswami's Yoga for the Three Stages of Life this afternoon. In the first chapter, where he writes about his yoga studies and in particular his relationship with Krishnamacharya, there are a couple of paragraphs about the period in which he made many of these recordings.

' I was able to record almost all the Vedic chanting I had learned from my guru (Sri Krishnamacharya) including the surynamaskara (together) with Varunapuja, which ran for ninety minutes and was one of the earliest, and the Aditya hrdayam from the Ramayana and the Svadhyaya prakarana.' p17


This one from the Ramayana 
Theres a nice webpage below which has the ADITYA HRUDAYAM ('Hymn to the Sun', which Sage Agsthya’s dictates to Lord Rama in the battle field) in full with translation so you can chant along. http://www.mypurohith.com/rituals/aditya_hrudayam1.asp

Here for example is the section on the audio sample.

1. Tato yuddha pari srantam Samare Cintaya Sthitami
    Ravanam Cagrato drustva yuddhaya Samupasthitam ||

          Tato yuddha parisrantam = At that battle ground; Samare cintaya sthitam = with great worry engulfing in the battle; Ravanam cagrato drustva = Gazing at Ravana with Single minded attention; yuddhaya Samupasthitam = Having prepared to fight.

          Seeing Sri Rama Standing absorbed in thought at the battle field, exhausted by the fight and facing Ravana who was duly prepared for the war.

2. Daivataisca Samagamya drastu = mabhyagatoranam |
    Upagamyabra Vidrama magastyo bhagavanrsih ||

          Daiva taisca Samagamya = Came along with the Devas to witness the war; Drastu mabhyagatoranam = Seen Rama depressed; upagamyabra-vidrama = Met him alone; Agasthyo Bhagavan = The Cosmic Rsi Agasthya.

          The all knowing cosmic Sage Agastya who had come with Gods to witness the battle, approaching Sri Rama Singly spoke to him thus.

3. Rama Rama Mahabaho srunu guhyam Sanatanam |
    Yena Sarva Nareehnvatsa Samare Vijayisyasi ||

          Rama Rama Mahabaho = Addressing the elegant armed Rama; Srunu guhyam Sanatanam = Hear the most secret and ancient; Samare Vijaisyasi = Will win in the war.

          ‘O’ Rama, ‘O’ Mighty elegant armed Rama, listen to the eternal secret by which, ‘O’ my child, you shall conquer all your enemier on the battle field.

4. Aditya Hrudayam punyam Sarva satru Vinasanam |
    Jayavaham Japet Nityam Akshyayyam paramam sivam ||

          Aditya hrudayam punyam = The meditation of Sun in the heart highly beneficial; Sarva Satruvinasanam = Destroyer of all enemies, Jayavaham = Ensures Victory at all times; Japetnnityam = To the one who to be meditated always; Akshayam paramam sivam = The indestructible and bestows permanent happiness.

          It is Aditya hrudayam which is holy, destroyer of all enemies, bestower of victory, eternal and supremely blessed, and must be recited always.

LINK
This one has better sound quality and reminds me more of listening to Ramaswami chant to us on his TT course while we rested in Savasana ( I have a ten minute recording of of one of those savasana sessions that I listen to in savasana every morning).

Link
'The Mahanarayana Upanishad, the last chapter of Yajur veda, containing the mantras recited daily, like sandhya, pranayama and so on..' p17

Link
'I have also completed the recordings of the Sundara kandam , the fifth chapter of the Valmiki ramayana. This work which contains about three thousand verses (including the coronation of Rama in Yuddha Kandam ).'

'Svadhyaya, or chanting, is an important aspect of kriyayoga and astanga yoga of patanjali. In the course of my training (over 30 years), my guru spent perhaps as much time on chanting and theoretical studies (svadhyaya) as on the physical aspect of yoga' p18.

2/21/2012 10:12:00 AM
Peace Love Yoga
Ashtanga Yoga Retreat in Salento, Italy!


I'll be hosting an Ashtanga yoga retreat in Salento, Italy this coming September 8th - 15th! More information to come! Join us! 


2/20/2012 3:30:00 AM
No Sleep To Mysore
MONDAY MUSIC Happy Shiva Ratri!
"Om Namah Shivay" by Uma Mohan from Sacred Chants of Shiva








Celebrate Shivaratri this very night, from 9:30 onwards. More info here.

Om Namah Shivay!
2/20/2012 2:00:00 AM
99 To 1
across the universe
dearest friend, in loving kindness and with due respect to our friendship... after long and careful deliberation, i have determined that i am best served, by immediately revoking any access you have to intimate spaces within my being. this includes access which i myself have granted, and all forms and means of access initiated by you by friends, family or any prayers or magic. having taken this decision and these measures pains me on some level, though i have given you many fair chances to adjust, and i now see that you do not respect the boarders and limitations, choices, and changes i have set, the universe has now bestowed unto me control of the situation. you have put me in a situation where there is no choice left but to communicate directly with you on a tough level... you are currently interfering in my love and growth. you are negatively impacting critical balances i have been putting into place. your actions and selfishness have caused me tremendous pain. your efforts and means to persist to forge a self-serving connection with me, now have no place and fall on barren and infertile land. the desperation you have demonstrated to persist and be present in my life, and to force through any reasonable distance i have established is as ugly, as it is shameful. please know that a very real and deep disassociation to you is now in effect, that you are no longer are permitted to enter into my life and it's workings. i have removed any capacity you have to be present within me. your diamond mind may indeed turn immediately to wondering how long this will be the case. the answer in the form of a time-frame, is of course unknown, but i can tell that you now have no access to me, and it shall be in effect until such time as you at least become genuinely accepting of my decision. there shall be no negotiating this situation, or circumventing it on any level, or in any realm, it is under my direction exclusively. it is now in effect and ever shall be until at least such a time, as you cease to experience a need to force yourself into my existence. the conditions which shall satisfy any change to this configuration are; you developing a capacity to demonstrate a truly reliable and fair friendship. that i am the only one who may take initiative to check to see if you have made the required changes and adjustments. may i respectfully suggest an approach you may consider taking to initiate healing yourself from the current situation, and also to give you a reasonable idea of how much work i require you to do for me to consider entering back into a friendship with you? cease all consultations with the occult in any way. do what it takes to get back in touch with a therapist. work with them for a year on stablizing yourself, then work with her for another year permitting them to coach and shape you into a person who is able to start a developing balanced relationships with others. showing the therapist this correspondance and asking to use it as a guide to your welbeing, and also to guide you to do what is necessary to make the changes i am insisting on. i alone shall be the one who determines if we shall ever have the capacity to enter back into that sacred realm of honourable and decent friendship. with love and light...
2/19/2012 8:41:31 PM
Daily Cup of Yoga
Daily Yoga Practice — Sometimes Less Is More…
With life constantly on the move and not enough hours in the day, it can be tough to fit in an hour or more of yoga on a consistent basis. Unfortunately, a lot of us talk ourselves out of unrolling the mat if we don’t think we have time for a “long” yoga session. Twenty [...]
2/19/2012 6:12:15 PM
Globie
Plans come together
It’s been a busy week, a second interview on Monday, then a compulsory “Back 2 work” presentation on Tuesday, after that waste of time and signing on I practised in the afternoon and yet again on a Tuesday I managed to stand up off the floor after playing on the blocks, I dont know what [...]
2/19/2012 9:55:26 AM
Ashtanga Yogini
Pool Day in Mysore!
Kaiden and Emerson playing in the pool at Silent Shores Resort in Mysore.

Watch til the end :)

2/19/2012 1:58:00 AM
Journeys
It's been so long!!
Don't know why - combination of reasons I guess! Nothing much to say - v busy at work - then fighting off some kind of virus ... But finally I'm back here! And one of the things that has happened in the past month or so is I've finally got a new pussycat - from the RSCPA shelter.
Sansa

Very pretty - she has some oriental in her as you can tell by her big ears and sweet-shaped face ... I've named her Sansa - after one of the two young Stark sisters in the wonderful SF epic by George RR Martin - A Song of Ice and Fire. I've been listening to these books on audible.co.uk audio for months now! I'm up to - I think it's the 5th book - Part 2 of a Storm of Swords. So addictive ... :)

Anyway, Sansa is not really my favourite character - that would be Arya, her younger tomboy sister. But really - I don't want a tomboy cat at all! Sansa is the sweet pretty one who believes in chivalry and knights and fairytales! So I'm channelling that sort of behaviour towards my new little friend - without a huge amount of success I have to admit so far! I had really wanted to get a cat this time, not a kitten.  But after I'd kind of fallen in love with this young cat, it turned out she was only 6 months old and has quite a lot of kitten still in her! As evidenced by her insistence on wanting to play at biting my toes at 4am, races from one end of the house to the other at breakneck (mine as well as hers!) speed, etc etc!! The RSPCA people said they didn't think she'd grow much bigger as she's already had kittens (?!!) - but that's good coz I like small cats. And hopefully the kitten stage will pass soon (she says wistfully!)

Anyway - what else?! A friend who I often practice yoga with on Sunday mornings invited me to a DVD screening of 'Yogawomen' at a yoga shala in Ipswich where I live last Saturday evening. We had quite a fun evening, but really it was too American for me. Lots of how wonderful women were (I know that already!!) and not enough yoga practice!

I've been sick for the last week or so - just feeling exhausted. Too tired to go to my Saturday afternoon class so that is really something! I managed to drag myself into work every day, and I did manage to do 30 minutes of yoga most lunchtimes. And now today (Friday) - the end of the week when I'd expect to be tired - I woke up feeling refreshed and full of energy!! Halleluyah!!!

Here's another picture of young Sansa ...
Sansa

2/16/2012 4:18:00 PM
Blog Dot Luke Dot Org
Volume Interview
Last year, I sat down with the folks from Volume magazine for what turned into a three hour interview. The interview hit the stands today along with these pictures that make me look much better than I do in real life. Run out and buy the magazine, or if you’re overseas, you can read it [...]
2/15/2012 8:52:57 AM
Living Breathing Yoga
New Moon in Aquarius, January 23


Hello Ashtanga Yoga Community! 
This is the First NEW MOON DAY of 2012!  
And what a Beautiful Day it is here in Victoria BC! 

So... where do we find this New Moon today?  
It shows up in the sign of Aquarius -  deeming 2012 as the Year of TRUTH!

The New Moon is the time of the month when we do not see the moon in the sky.  
It is traditionally a day of rest from our physical Asana Practice, and is a wonderful time for introspection and personal reflection (pratyahara) and meditation (dhyana).

The energies during the time of the new moon are best utilized for NEW BEGINNINGS.
There is a much higher chance of anything planted or started during this time to come to fruition, and this gives us a great opportunity to plant new seeds and watch what grows in every area of our lives! 

The New Moon this month is in the sign of Aquarius, the sign of SPIRITUAL REBIRTH.  
It is ruled by the planet Uranus - the “Awakener”- the ruler of TRUTH.  

Aquarius is most associated with our Dawning Age of Freedom, Abundance, Truth, Enlightenment and Peace. 

Uranus is the God of chaos, who shatters old forms to make way for new ones...
Thus, this New Moon offers a huge potential for bringing with it a wave of breakdowns and breakthroughs... so get ready!

Today is a great day to ask yourself: What is you truth and Are you ALIGNING yourself with it?

Maybe you will have the opportunity find some quiet time to reflect on what opportunities are available to you right now?

One of my favorite questions has always been... "What would you dare to dream and do if you knew you could not fail?"
  
So, why not take some time today to get quiet, and set some intentions for the Year to Come... 
Plant some seeds, Awaken some dreams, Listen to your Inner Truth, and begin to move in a Conscious way along your Chosen Path!

This New Moon Energy is here to help you today - so get to it!  
What are you waiting for?-!! 

 


1/23/2012 12:46:00 PM
Ashtanga Journal
Made of Stone

Yesterday was a lousy day but then I got my visa which is a very good thing.  Everything is in the perspective.  I was stuck in my mind with something else…  which paralyzed me half of the day and it tired me, drained me immensely.  When I look at it from outside, I knew then and now that it was me who could not control my mind going all over the place and making me anxious… I could see it but I could not stop this from happening.  I know now most of the reasons why I am this or that way, but still it happens…   seeing is part of the transformation they say…  I don’t know if I believe in that anymore… 

Still this morning I felt very very much emotionally drained…  very tired…. And I keep thinking all these people I know who are much cooler, much relaxed then I am…  I envy them… and think maybe I belong alone...

Anyways, this morning dad called to let me know my mom’s brother passed away.  He was sick in the hospital at the end of last year, in emergency care.  He got better, went home. When I first visited him in the hospital, he was not conscious much and when I was by his bed side, hardly recognizing him, I could not help it, I fainted right in front him…  I felt so embarrassed…  The third time I was there, he was not in emergency care.  He was sitting up and talking  so much, talking about spices to flavor his food, about fancy pens to write with, to draw with…  He loved to draw… when I was a kid he would draw a bear to the edge of the notebook and then he would trace the same lines at the back of the paper to draw an uncle… that was his joke because he had a fat belly like a bears and in Turkish bear is “Ayi”  and unce is “Dayi”  so very similar…  now he is gone and I remember this story, his blue eyes and him in the hospital.  I was suppose to call him this week to say hi… and I did postpone it thinking I will, there is time… but in reality there is no time sometimes… we postpone things thinking there is time, but maybe there is only now to do what we want to do… what we have in mind…  to say someone you love them, to make the decisions you want to make, to realize your purpose in life… and I was thinking this morning during my practice… what is it we are here for?  And yes sometimes I think I am one of those lame people whose yoga practice defines who they are… and I was thinking that no matter how much focus on the practice, the purpose of being here on this earth is not to be a great yoga instructors, to be little imitations of R. Freeman, M. Ezraty, Sharath R…  being on this earth is about love, loving someone and giving them and receiving from them… loving your partner fully and opening your heart to them.  Loving your friends and opening up to them, giving love and receiving love… being happy for another… There is lots of barriers we put in front of this… it is us, it is the things we bring from our past, and sometimes it is from our back ground, we have no clue what they are but they are there, from our ancestors…  which might sound weird but they say yes we carry some of that energy as well…  so as I am reading the books I have about meditation, I feel very much guilty, it seems like I have a pretty sticky ego… Now I came to the conclusion that I just need to do my meditation and stop reading the books…  I do what I can do and maybe a little bit more, and see if I can first cultivate more love towards my being…
the song by Stone Roses "Made of Stone"
1/21/2012 3:36:00 AM
Visions of Cody
Bearded Dragon Facts
12/30/2011 9:26:00 PM
Of Yoga And Hummus
Guess why I smile a lot? Because its worth it!
11/16/2011 3:44:00 PM
Tree Dweller Jess
Far out..
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
11/12/2011 10:55:00 PM
Chai And Yoga
Anjum Anand’s Sweet and Sour Dal
I just got British TV chef Anjum Anand’s book Anjum’s New Indian, which is a great read for both inspiration and recipes. I love browsing beautiful cookbooks, bookmarking dishes I want to make in the future. (I may never get around to it, but that doesn’t seem to take away from the enjoyment.) Anjum has an interesting recipe for [...]
10/27/2011 12:42:18 PM
movement
the spiderman will have you for his dinner tonight..
I am completely addicted to this song by The Cure-


And in other news, I taught an Ashtanga class (to my friends) on Saturday morning.It was short and it felt wonderful :-D

10/16/2011 2:02:00 PM
Mysore Musings
Mysore Musings


I'll be the first to admit it.  I was staring at the main shala homepage waiting to see a note that said "no fearing, you come".  It didn't say that, so I closed the tab.

Five minutes later I went back.  No message, so I closed the tab.

Five minutes later I went back.  No message, so I closed the tab.

Five minutes later I went back.  No message, so I closed the tab.

To be fair, this usually begins months apart.  Months become weeks, weeks become days.  And of course, minutes become minutes.  It is that one year itch mark.  Very itchy.

I just did it again.

It is good to be stronger than the itch.  Hold out long enough to see that one can carry on without outside forces — even if for just a minute.

*thumbs twiddling*
10/15/2011 8:56:00 AM
driste
here we go again…
Checking in quickly here… I’ve been writing a bit elsewhere, but I miss this space and I realized how helpful it is to have the journal of my previous pregnancy experiences to look back on as I don’t remember much when I try to think back on my own. So here we go again… 19 [...]
10/13/2011 10:18:10 AM
Malaysian In Mysore
My Teacher In Mysore
Hope you'll enjoy this video as much as I did. :)

9/19/2011 2:45:00 AM
Rew's Blog
Motivation
Recently, my motivation has been severely lacking. And by recently, I mean the last 6 months. I manage to get my work done but not much else. Every Monday morning I reaffirm my commitment to a 6-day practice, then come Wednesday I'm so overwhelmed (and if I'm being totally honest, making a myriad excuses that run on a loop) and end up working right through practice. And then the guilt comes. And it's a never-ending cycle.

This is a new, not-so-cool side of me. I've always been the hyper focused, super driven, crazy motivated person. Now, not so much. I can't even get myself to practice 3 days a week, let alone 6. But yet my physical and mental health *require* a daily yoga practice.

Arg.
9/15/2011 4:48:00 AM
Mama Yogini
Never a dull moment
9/9/2011 6:02:00 AM
Cherry Blossom
Yoga and pregnancy
It’s been 16 months since my daughter was born.  It’s really amazing to witness and experience all the changes that happen to a body during pregnancy and childbirth.  My practice has really been a way for me to understand these … Continue reading
8/18/2011 4:59:29 AM
Woke Up This Morning
Dignity and Grace

Sounds like a Mills and Boons book title, dunnit?

A friend said this to me last night over a quiet drink. Apparently in my day I might've resorted to violence, though I've already stated here that I'm a pacifist I could see where she was coming from. But now in my later years I'm handling things somewhat differently.

I'd like to think that this is down to the years of astanga that I've now got under my belt. It'd be easy to pin the change in my attitude on the main driving force in me over the last, almost, decade now. Maybe teacher training, and the emotionally draining experience of the massage course I bombed from this year, are all adding up to make a Gee 2.0.

Heck, I'm even making ammends with the girl from a couple of years back who walked out on me pretty much after I kissed her (hey, I'm really not that bad a kisser before you think it!).

And stranger still, the very first girl that I wanted to have sex with, who would've plucked my cherry so to speak had she chosen to say yes (she didn't) got in touch with me after nearly 27 years. I haven't seen or heard of her since I left to go to university when I was 18. She looks exactly the same and even with the passing of the years and the addition of a wee bouncy barrell of joy to her family I can't help but think 'What if?'.

There's even the chance I may be going back to teach in the little hall where it all pretty much started, getting back to what I like doing best, helping students out, hopefully the right way.

Some things chance, some things stay the same.

Citta vritti right enough.

Personally I just think it's because I'm knackered. It's been too much and I'm done in.

Resistance is going, mind is being still. Letting go there is.

Funny day to miss SKPJ. :<

8/17/2011 2:03:08 PM
Colorado Ashtanga
This Blog No Longer Being Updated
Hello ashtangis! I appreciate your interest in Colorado Ashtanga and want to let you know that this blog is no longer being updated with current information.  I am leaving the posts up as a reference, but for current information you should go to http://ashtanga.com. Thanks!
5/9/2011 11:11:55 AM
Aum Buddhipriya
Lost love
I can't believe that it's been so long since I posted. Well, on second thought I can. Shortly after that last post my whole world went to crap - my husband left me, the only other man I loved told me that he couldn't speak to me for x period of time (it's a long time) I'm 38 and pretty much feel as though I will never fall in love ever again. I've tried, don't get me wrong, but my soul is so hurt and damaged and I still have such mixed feelings about my soon to be ex-husband that I don't really know what to do. I waver between anger and wanting to be friends and meanwhile I'm stuck in the relationship status of "separated" not exactly a beckoning call for worthy suitors. So many of my friends say that I need to be alone for a while. I wonder if they've ever been as truly alone as I am right now, or if they've felt as truly alone as I feel right now.

Ironically I found someone who said that I could call anytime - and then their phone got shut off or they changed the number or something. Odd. I sort of see someone who doesn't want to talk to me more than about once a week, which if that's his deal, I'm down with that, but I have to find someone else for emotional support. Or maybe that's just my ego.

All of this is coming up because I officiated my brother's wedding last night and it reminded me of how happy I was on my wedding day and how bright the future looked and how much I loved my husband. And how did it end up like this. Because I was emotionally involved with another person? Because my husband didn't have the guts to say something before we were, for him, beyond the point of no return.

Tonight, it's the opposite of that sunny early autumn day - it's rainy and lonely and dark and as much as I didn't see it back then, at least I am aware that I don't know what the future holds.
4/24/2011 6:40:00 PM
Only Ashtangi In The Village
Studio is open
Well my little studio is up and running, hooray :-) which means I am exhausted, happy but exhausted, oh and certainly broke too!
The past few months have been mainly Power yoga focused which has tightened my shoulders up a bit, I am playing around a lot with arm balances... LOVE THEM, but not so great for shoulders.

Today I practiced Primary, it was pleasant actually, it felt quite soft, I still can't jump through, but then I haven't been trying to. All my binds are still there in the Marichis and interestingly could touch fingers in Supta K which I never previously. But then I have gotten quite skinny of late, doesnt that just suck, that more progress is made through being busy and losing weight and not even practicing an asana then when I was trying every day to get my fingers together!
3/13/2011 10:43:00 AM
Alfia
TIA, migraine, David Swenson and David Keil.
A week before Christmas I woke up in the morning and decided not to go to Mysore. I do not remember what was the exact cause, but this unfortunately happens to me rather often lately, so I don't think it was anything extraordinary . I prepared my food for the day, woke up Victor and took a shower. In the shower I was kind of daydreaming - something about my family back in Kazakhstan, my brother and my late mother. I got out of the shower and realized that I couldn't snap out of my day-dreaming mode. It felt like my day dream had ended, but I was not back in my mind for some reason. Victor was asking me some questions, and I answered them(all of which I do not quite remember now), and even though I did know the answers to his questions, I just sounded my normal ignorant self. So I started thinking "what am I supposed to do now? Uhm, I guess go to work. What am I supposed to do there?" That was a more difficult and distressing question to which I did now know answer. I tried to ask Victor, but he felt justifiably puzzled. I tried to assess my overall state and realized that my left side of the face had a kind of tingly-numb feeling. "Sh*t, I am having a stroke!" That was my first thought. The second - "Here goes my yoga practice". Both made me very sad, but for some reason I did not feel fear or anxiety. The memory loss and disorientation lasted about five minutes, and after that I informed my boss that I was not coming today and rushed Victor to get a taxi and go to ER.

We spent around 10 hours there. After all kinds of tests, including a CAT scan, MRI, MRA and multiple prodding and poking I was discharged with a diagnosis of TIA - transitory ischemic attack. It did not sound too serious, but after proper googling I found out that TIA is considered to be something like a "mini-stroke", caused by clotting and is a good indicator that a maxi-stroke is coming. Victor asked me then - OK, now what can you change in your lifestyle to make the possibility of a stroke smaller? You really should have kept a couple of vices for a case like that. There is just no way one can lead a healthier lifestyle than you do!

To make a long story short, my current diagnosis is a complex migraine ( which is indefinitely better than TIA). I had migraines my whole life and thought I got rid of them 6 years ago when I went cold turkey on all caffeinated drinks. But apparently migraines stayed, though a pain of a headache was gone. Otherwise it seems that I am ridiculously healthy. My neurologist was shaking her head and bitterly complaining how difficult it was to diagnose a person who did not have a single thing wrong in all the tests performed. So yay, I think. I still need to keep a diary for the neurologist and eventually have to take a some kind of anti-migraine medication, but this is nothing compared to the life of constant expectation of a stroke.

So here. I did not want to write anything before I would know for sure if things are OK or not. Now back to our camels, um, I mean yoga.

First of all David Swenson's workshop this weekend. It was awesome. In addition to being a yogi who can fly, the guy is also a comedian. He was really funny and I think he would make better money working as an entertainer. I did learn a lot, though. One of the things he said got stuck in my head firmly - do your practice at 80% capacity. If you do at a 100% all the time, you will be sore all the time and one day you will push ( or your teacher will) a little harder, go over your 100% and hurt yourself.

Now, after David Swenson's weekend, which left me sore all over (I guess even when you work at 80%, 6 hours of yoga a day is a bit too much), I am doing a week of Mysore with David Keil. First of all - there are too many Davids in my yoga life. Second - ouch! There is just no 80% in David Keil's vocabulary. The first two days went like a blur. Today, my feeling of joy of practice was tinged a little with self-pity when I started doing my urdhva dhanurasanas. Low back was sore since kapotasana, energy level was below zero and I was contemplating weather I could sound pitifully enough to get out without dropbacks. Then David said - Alfia, stop doing backbends, do eka pada shirsasana instead. Gulp. The most difficult part was to keep balance in a forward bend, but still the pose is doable. The exit was far from graceful, but oh well. Anyway, the point is that the bruised and fragile feeling in my lower back was gone! Apparently it just needed this stretch of having a leg behind the neck and all was cured. Wow. From now on, eka pada is my new favorite pose!

Unfortunately, when I am back at my regular Mysore studio, my last pose is still bakasana. I think I will get a split with David Keil faster than I will get eka pada with David Ingalls. That is OK, though. My practice is so long now that I am not really looking forward to making it even longer during my normal practice. Once in a while I will just practice at home, doing just the second series up to the last pose given by David Keil, and it will make me secretly happy
3/9/2011 7:40:00 AM
Yoga Maiden
Hello world!
Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!
2/3/2011 8:28:14 AM
On The Ashtanga Path
Morning or Evening?



The past Ashtanga week was finished with a great group practice on Friday evening. There are some serious Ashtanga practicioners here in this area and sometimes we meet for practicing together. Such a practice took place on Friday evening, we were three women. My practice was so fantastic that I started asking myself if it had anything to do with practicing in the evening. Most of the times I practice in the morning immediately after getting up. I'm very used to the feeling of a morning practice. But practicing in the evening happens very rarely, so this is always a rather new experience. Of course in the evening we all are more flexible, this is a fact. But I don't think that this makes the big difference because I don't care so much if I'm flexible or not. Only the backbends make a real difference I think, they are so much more open in the evening that it's a pure joy.
Then I guess I feel lighter in the evenings. This may sound quite strange for most people, because how can one feel lighter at the end of a day full of food? The reason is I don't eat very much for lunch when I'm at work. Only some vegetables, potatoes and things like that. Usually I start getting hungry again at about 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. When the evening pratice starts at 7 p.m. I'm usually already starving. The consequence is that the body feels very very light. On the other hand we often have dinner very late, so in the morning after getting up I sometimes feel still full with yesterday's dinner, therefore rather no lightness in the morning. Perhaps I should change that and have dinner earlier.
The next issue is the calmness of the mind. Here also most people say that the mind is calmest in the morning immediately after getting up. Strangely I often make the opposite experience. It seems to me that it's easier to focus and concentrate in the evening.
And the most important point for me is the general flow of energy. During this Friday practice I had such a great flow, I could feel very intensely how the energy built up inside and how it flowed through the body, wonderful. At home I don't often feel the energy in this intensity.
Should I start thinking about practicing in the evenings? Hm. I don't know. Perhaps I should first try an evening practice alone at home. Because so far the evening practices were mostly in a group and in a different surrounding. Perhaps this is the main cause for the experienced differences and not the time of day. I'll check this out.
Today started the new Ashtanga week with a good practice, Primary plus Intermediate up to Ushtrasana. It was a little bit tedious and stiff but all in all an ok practice.
1/9/2011 7:09:00 AM
The Elephant's Belly
Missing
I wish I could hold you here (make you laugh and smile again), while the world does its crumbling while things don’t work the way we planned while life goes on missing you the missing you wears on hopes and fears continue in loneliness away brief passages Home when we can when life goes better [...]
12/5/2010 7:51:53 PM
Yoga Mama
Just a sea of people…
So Rowan ended up choosing Tokyo Disney, and in the beginning we were all for it. My mom lives near Orlando Disney and we go there every year. Rowan has a great time and it would be neat to see how they would make it different in Japan, right? Every Japanese person we told that [...]
12/1/2010 6:49:22 AM
Lymphoma Journey
Stem Cell collection update ... and blog hiatus
I have pretty much put this blog to sleep as far as posting goes. I may resurrect it in the future if necessary (though of course I hope never to have to!) But I'm hopeful that it will remain a useful resource for people recently diagnosed with Mantle Cell Lymphoma - just to show that  it can be dealt with; you can get through treatment, often without too many side effects; and that life does indeed go on and almost go back to normal once in remission! That's how it's been for me. Yes there are the odd health issues/things I have to deal with, but I love my life and feel very positive about it continuing a long and good time!

I'll mostly be posting little health updates into my journeys blog as part of everyday life. But I did just realise/remember that I had a Stem Cell collection back in May 2010 which I posted about there, and I don't think that can really be counted as a 'little health update'! It was quite an ordeal (in a minor kind of way!) ...  I'm not going to re-post all of that here, but instead link to the post so that people can read about it. So, here's the link: http://susiegb.blogspot.com/2010/05/health-not-yoga.html. (The 'ordeal' bit was more of a mis-management/understanding issue I hasten to add!)
9/12/2010 5:20:00 PM
Renegade Reality
Good Night Blog

This blogger site has served me well for over 5 years. I've transferred all the files over to http://detroitevolution.com, sealed up the doors and windows and, after a blatantly nostalgic walk-through, I'm closing this chapter.

There's a great deal documented here. I'm certainly not the same person I was when I returned to Detroit in 2000. This blog, when taken in conjunction with my old Live Journal and the Vitriol Archives (this Wayback Machine version is uber slow), make up the majority of my computer documentation. Up until 2000 I was still active with my hand-written journals.

I find the need to electronically trace and track old links and blogs in order to properly archive my work fascinating. Now that Aya Eden is here I'm a bit more mindful of keeping proper records. Loosing track of these chunks of documentation would stink.

This blog started as my personal and rather egotistical yoga journal and oddly enough turned into something called Detroit As A Portal for Global Transformation. That in and of itself makes me smile.

Thanks to those who have tuned this channel in over the past five years. Please keep up with the story at http://detroitevolution.com

In Health, Joy & Liberation,
~Gregg
8/13/2010 3:22:00 AM
Donutszenmom
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone Location:Test
8/11/2010 6:05:31 AM
Bhakti Collective
Radhanath Swami Celebrates the Life of Aindra Das With Tears of Gratitude.

I believe every stone, brick and pillar of Krishna Balaram Temple and every tree and particle of sacred dust in Raman Reti is permeated with the sound vibration of Aindra Prabhu’s devotion. If we open our hearts we will hear.

7/22/2010 3:14:09 AM
YogaVita
I’ve moved to Twitter.
Meet me at Two Wheels N Tofu!  Nanoblogging on yoga, cycling, nursing, food, Seattle, well-being and good living. http://twitter.com/twowheelsntofu
7/18/2010 1:04:10 PM
Yoga Chickie
From Booty to Boobies...a new Huffpo
Read it here....YC
6/8/2010 2:51:00 PM
Southern Yogi
Fresh Start
Hi Wordpress, where have you been my entire blogging life??

I decided to make a move over to wordpress from my Blogger Account! Many reasons; but the main reasons is the additional features Wordpress allows such as "pages" so I can provide future students with my schedule! Another reason is a fresh start. Next month I will be graduating from my training. I know this will not be the end of my yogic path and learning opportunities. I am considering signing up for my 500hour with Stephanie and there are many many workshops in the future!

But, I wanted a fresh start with a nice neat new blog!

I am excited; because the future is wide open and many things are starting to change around me. I hope to start teaching more classes around Newnan after my training is complete. I head up to Asheville this weekend for the 8th weekend/month of training. It is our last weekend of actual asana and practice.

This weekend will include:
  • Sutra Discussions

  • Gentle Yoga class

  • Master Flow Yoga class

  • Student Teachings

  • Meditation and Silence from Saturday evening until Sunday morning at 8:30 am

  • More Meditation

  • Pheonix Rising Yoga


In May we go back to take our final exam (totally paranoid about that) and for graduation.

Also remember to check out Asheville Yoga Blog! I will be submitting posts from time to time. I recenlty published a brief piece on Spring Cleaning your Yoga Mat!
4/20/2010 7:31:00 AM
Bit By Bit
Walt Whitman was a yoga teacher?!?
2/9/2010 7:17:00 AM
Yogi One Can I Be
2009 – the Year in Poses
I overstated the badness of 2009 yesterday. After all it was replete with opportunities for spiritual progress (or I’ve been reading too much Eckhart Tolle). As far as my physical practice is concerned, it was a year of extremes. I practiced 217 times last year. I know this because I have a log (more on [...]
1/12/2010 4:08:00 PM
Still The Turning
Happy 2010!
After a long vacation (1.5 weeks!), I am back at work at lab, back in the studio for both practice and teaching, and back at the computer to blog. I can't believe how fast it went, it seems like maybe it was a dream that I snapped awake from so quickly that it doesn't seem real, like it is fading in the distance. Ok, enough romanticizing about the holidays...

Monday was my first day back at both jobs. Finally had students in my Monday night class, after changing it to Hatha Level 1, from Ashtanga-Vinyasa Fusion. Monday nights at 7:30 pm is a little late I guess to market a hot, sweaty, full-o-cardio, kind of practice. Although I think the real kicker was that a very established teacher was doing a dynamic flow in the class before mine, and there had never been a class after. So we move on to Hatha 1 for now, which was really fun to teach.

My practice has felt like a calico cat lately, with patchwork contributions from everywhere. FitTV, Anusara, Ashtanga, Sivananda, Iyengar, etc. It has been really fun just finding my way. However, I do crave structure and progress, and answering to a regular teacher has always forced me to stick with it. Which is why I fell in love with Ashtanga in the first place. I've heard people say that if you are a Pitta, Type A personality, that you will naturally align with Ashtanga, but what you really need is a practice to balance out the Pitta, like a restorative type. I can't tell if me being ok with being away from a daily mysore, or even led, ashtanga practice is a function of me seeking what I am needing, or if it is a function of my personality changing. And I'm falling into a style of practice that matches my constitution, rather than complementing it...
1/6/2010 11:42:00 AM
Between Ease And Effort
Wow..I'm posting here...haha
Wow its been a long time since I last posted. And its been a while since a serious practice...BUT...

I did practice a little the past few weeks. About a quarter of what I used to do..but still..its something.

So lets see..my weight is fortunately back to pretty much normal;) YAY!
My practice however, is really way way off..but can be expected after months of layoff! Apparently I can still get my legs behind my head quite well..endurance is shot to pieces, can still jump through, can't jump back. Hamstrings very tight, but I guess nothing that can't be fixed with a few more practices. My backbends..now thats a completely different story, my psoas are unbelievably tight..which is something new to me, since backbending and front body openness has always been my forte..but thats taken a whole dimension backwards from not doing much yoga for months. Quads are super tight..can't really relate what I've done to get that...can't be the swimming I've been doing lately..?

Anyway..since I'm kinda back here..I'll update on my clawback journey into Ashtanga after the long layoff..it will be interesting to see how it will be this time around..;)
9/14/2009 8:34:00 AM
Eat, Pray, Love... the Kim Smith Version
My New Blog
I haven't updated this blog since leaving India. But now I have a new one! It's called, "A Yogic Life in the Modern World" and it's about my day to day adventures as I discover life in Australia, build a new business, date and, as ever, practice Ashtanga. So join me at www.kimseelingsmith.blogspot.com.
7/17/2009 8:26:00 PM
Finding Om
Prolific Progeny
Both of my children now have blogs.

www.genogirl.blogspot.com

and

www.genoboygrowson.blogspot.com

Spelling on the first is a bit better than on the second. Or should I say less creative

I am exhausted. That seems to be how I function these days. Not feeling terribly creative, either. That's all for now.
6/30/2009 7:55:00 PM
Gaia
It's so interesting how life just continuously becomes more and more challenging.. Or shall I say more and more challenges are put in front of us as life goes on.. Lately, I've been going through a ton of stress, and subsequent stress symptoms. As I am going through this process, I keep thinking about the fact that difficult things are always going to pass in front of me. I am challenged by responding to them in a calm and even matter, so I go into stress mode... I'm working on it and I'd have to say it's a lot better than it used to be. I've had times in my life where I couldn't handle the situation at all and have been in the emergency room with such intense stomach pains, I thought I was going to die... Today is one of those super stressful days for me two months of high stress is coming to fruition.. The event I have been totally stressing over is here and I really want it over with and I want you all to wish me luck... Sometimes it really sucks to be an adult. I finally feel like I can breath and see the light and that is good. I've scheduled acupuncture for tomorrow morning and am going to start preparing for my 3 week journey to the Middle East, I leave on Sunday!!!
5/5/2009 8:21:56 AM
Frabecca In Mysore
2006 to 2009

2nd Birthday +









2/15/2009 4:07:00 PM
Julie's Lotus Garden
It’s been a very long time!
I’m tired and going to bed soon, but I thought I should drop a line to say that I’m alive and well. Things have picked up since my last post… I should write about it later! But for now, I’ll just post a few pictures of Baby A., who’s growing more and more beautifully each [...]
12/17/2008 7:34:46 PM
The Big Squish
Wandering around in a fog
After consulting with the physician and nurses, the family decided to discontinue meds and mechanical life support of Dad. He wasn't making any improvement since being admitted, and as time passed, his chances of getting better were diminishing. My main concern was that he be in as little pain as possible and that we should not prolong his suffering needlessly. We all took our turns to say our goodbyes. I was feeling so many different emotions, but mostly, I was numb with shock.

Sometime before 4:30 pm, the nurses started "the process" of giving him morphine and taking him off the IVs and ventilator. His heart continued beating faintly and irregularly for about an hour, then his breathing completely stopped.

I think he was ready to go. His friends noticed that he was a little down during the last couple of weeks. His angiogram did not have great news and it was clear that he needed to have bypass surgery. He was likely thinking about how much he could tolerate the surgery itself and whether he was going to be really out of the danger zone afterwards. Little things he said lately made me think that he was preparing us for what might happen.

It's been good for the family to distract ourselves from the grief and focus the arrangements for the funeral service. I'm going to say a few things and get some help from a friend to work up a segment in formal Chinese (similar to what I did for my mom two and a half years ago).

It's going to be challenging to summarize this remarkable man's life. He was a hardworking entrepreneur who lived and pursued his dreams with intensity.
10/31/2008 12:00:00 PM
Living Mysore Magazine
Oct '08 Front Page
9/30/2008 2:38:00 AM
but I was alive
Of various and sundry things
I feel like it’s time to dust off the cobwebs over here and get back to it.  As for exactly what “it” is, I’m not entirely sure.  There have been a lot of changes, but not so much a lot of yoga. Let’s see, well, what used to be the hypothetical house is now a [...]
8/20/2008 1:19:11 PM
Yoga Spell
I am the Sun
You are The Sun Happiness, Content, Joy. The meanings for the Sun are fairly simple and consistent. Young, healthy, new, fresh. The brain is working, things that were muddled come clear, everything falls into place, and everything seems to go your way. The Sun is ruled by the Sun, of course. This is the light [...]
8/11/2008 3:53:10 PM
De Di In Diem
Mother Pain & God Trust
Today is a day for dealing with family stuff (mentally, I mean). I went to my homeopath* and somehow ended up on the topic of my mom. So much pain there. Over the past couple of years, I had come to the conclusion that endlessly analyzing my family situation and all the problems it brought, and [...]
6/10/2008 4:35:14 PM
Ashtanga Santa Barbara
Yogamind
(Note: This isn’t really a blog. These entries are more like chapters in a book I’m working on. I’m constantly adding parts and updating things. I haven’t really figured the order out yet, pick out any one you want. This one’s a good place to start; some of the others are simpler and probably easier [...]
5/20/2008 2:53:54 PM
Same Same Only Different
Peter Sanson workshops rule!
Peter Sanson was here for 4 days, doing a workshop. I had heard great things about him, and was interested to see what he was like.  Well for once, everyone is right.  He's wonderful.  If you ever get a chance, go study with him.  His Mysore classes were good, great adjustments, not too strong, just insightful. He would not let anyone away with sloppiness in practice, so would berate you in good humour. But it was the talk that he gave yesterday that really blew me away. I'll try and remember the gist of what he said, but this is just my recollection, so don't take it as gospel.
He started off by telling us how he first experienced ashtanga in Mysore.  Guruji took a look at him and told him that he would teach him privately, upsatirs above the old shala.  There was just Peter and one other Indian woman.  Guruji taught him very slowly.  First week was surya a.  second week, surya b. Then slowly the standing postures. Only when Guruji thought that Peter could get a good grasp on a posture was he moved on to the next posture. And that is how he learnt the forst 4 series.  Slowly, one posture at a time, from Guruji. Amazing. Peter was saying he now believes that it was a blessing to have learnt ashtanga this way, as it is a safe way for the body to open up. He believes that people are now racing through the series, grasping at postures.  That is why so many people are injured, or exhausted.  This is what really connected with me.  He described the practice as  a prana building exercise.  The whole time during your practice, you need to be aware of your prana/energy levels.  As soon as you feel your prana dipping, you need to stop.   Otherwise you won't be able to sustain this practice for life, you'll have to stop, as you can't do the rest of your life and an exhausting practice.  If you feel your prana building, than you know that you're on the right track.  He believes that 7 years per series is a good average. Feel steady and at ease in each posture before moving to the next. It really struck a cord with me. So today in practice, I made that my focus. Steady, deep breath.  Staying connected to my energy.  And you know, it worked. Usually by the time that I get to bakasana b I'm ready to collapse in a heap, find it hard to breathe. Not today.  Sure kapotasana could hardly be described as peaceful, but overall my energy was great.  It felt like a very different practice.  I  felt fantastic after.  Sometimes after doing practice, particularly once I started 2nd, I can feel almost jittery high.  All that nerve cleansing I guess. But today was just prana flowing through. Clear nadis. Fantastic.  
 Another point he made was that every day he's excited to start his practice.  Excited to see how his first sun salute will be. And that is how to approach your practice.  Don't be mentally racing ahead, thinking of what's coming. Start at the beginning.  Stay in the present, with the breath. And also he reminded us that the sun salutes are about  paying repect, a humbling practice.  So thank you Peter.  You've given me back the beauty of my practice
5/5/2008 9:51:00 AM
Ashtanga Diaries
Widening horizons or selling out?


Its pretty well known that Sri Krisna Pattabhi Jois, the guruji of ashtanga yoga believes that asana practice is fundamental to the 'higher' practices of yoga - pranayama, pratyahara etc and that as a result of that he doesn't teach his students anything beyond asana until they have achieved proficiency in yoga chikitsa (the primary series) , nadi shodana (the intermediate series) and some of sthira bhaga (the four advanced series). He believes that the asana practice is necessary for the body to withstand the influx of prana that comes with pranayama.

Most authorities on yoga agree that asana is a precursor to pranayama and that it is the foundation of preparing the body for 'real' yoga, however they don't tend to be as dogmatic as Guruji. In most forms of hatha yoga, for instance, pranayama and meditation are taught alongside asana. In India, the majority of yoga practitioners don't do asana at all after they reach adulthood. Their yoga practice is pranayama, karma yoga, bhakti and so on....

OK.
Enough rambling.... time to get to the point.

By sticking to ashtanga and the precept of "practice, practice and all is coming", am I missing out on some of the other stuff that's so integral to yoga?

If, for example, I were to take a jivamukti class alongside my ashtanga practice would I be selling out? I'd get to study yoga philosophy, do kirtan and other forms of bhakti, pranayama, meditation, go to satsang.....

Tempting isn't it....
4/15/2008 1:33:00 PM
Ashtanga Yoga In My Days
Oh, February is gone
I must have had an overdose of blogging in January. Luckily not of yoga...!

I have more or less managed to keep up my minimum daily practice of at least sun salutations. If I am right, I have counted 4 or 5 missed days: busy Saturdays, one funeral, one sick leave.

There was almost a two-week break from the full practice due to influenza, but I did one Bodyflow class and praticed a little at home almost every day (see above). That seems to be sufficient to keep up the flexibility and the physical condition. Now I feel ok with the practice: almost zen, learning little by little NOT to have bad conscience of not practicing when tired/overloaded, and on the other hand, NOT to exhaust myself either.

I wonder if I am overdoing it the other way, me and my lazy ass...
3/4/2008 7:19:00 AM
Hanuman Tat Sat
The dust of my Satguru's lotus feet

Valentine's day arose with a half-moon in the eastern sky. An auspicious beginning to the day. Pranayam lite at the shala and then very loving singing to Hanuman. The darshan talk before practice was about love and manifesting it. The Improv practice with the satguru was full of love. One of the sweetest loving practices I have ever had at the shala. And at the end we sang again - Jaaya seeya Ramaa. I knew it was a day of destiny for me.


I had been thinking that I would touch the Satguru's feet soon. Perhaps next week near his birthday and the full moon eclipse, but Valentine's day practice was so sweet and so loving that how could it be any other time to do it? So I told him I was ready to do it and he said go ahead.


In the center of the shala, in front of anyone who noticed, I bowed down, I touched the dust of my Satguru's lotus feet, and then I rubbed the dust on my eyes and ears. He put his hand on my back and the shakti pat was complete.


I found my way over to my spot near Hanuman to chant the Aditya Hrdayam. Tears were streaming down my cheeks. Tears of love for the moment. The moment that many have described to me. It is as told a humbling moment. A moment in time where time stands still and God's love is so overpowering that only tears can express the meaning. It is as if Surya is alive in your heart and your heart is Surya.


I bow down to my teacher and his teachers before him in the tradition of Ashtanga yoga. I am privileged to live a life such as this. Privileged to wake up every morning and do pranayam, yoga, and bodywork. I am humbled before God and in God. Tears fall now and fall short of being able to express the feeling of love.


Hari Om, tat sat.


Namaste, love, light, and shanti.
2/16/2008 3:09:00 PM
A Tamago Gohan Lover
WoYoPracMo Day 8:I have a prize! I have a prize!

-Mont Blanc

This is NOT macrobiotics. It contain a lot of suger and cream, but simply the taste is great. I have been taking a sweet class at a cooking school. This is my recent work. Baking cakes is my favorite thing to do beside doing yoga. I am obviously addicted sweets. As I am getting interested in macrobiotics, I decide to take a macrobiotics sweet class at the academy from April.

I had a good practice this morning I had had a terrible low back pain two days ago. Today, it was much better, I was able to do all primary series. It was a joy! I also did backbends. I normally do backbends 6 times but today I did 8 times. When I finished 6, Matt asked me to do 2 more. Oh, no... I did somehow. As a result, my legs were shaking. Apparently, I need more strength of my lower body. After that, I did dropbacks with Matt. I hardly stood by myself, so Matt had all my weight. I felt sorry for him.

I have been trying to walk my hands or legs in backbends. But I am worndering if I should walk in legs or hands or both? And my prior goal for backbends is standing up without any support. To do that, how should I practice? But for now, I need to straighten my arms more and more. There are tons of questions.

I thought it would be rash to say focsing on backbeds since I am a "low table" backbender. But now I realize it's really good. I found some struggled backbenders. I am not the only one person who is suffering from backbends! I was encouraged during the practice.

I have just checked the forum. I got a prize! Yay!
2/8/2008 8:41:00 AM
Road To Mysore
LA Bound
I'm currently at the Bangkok Airport waiting to board my plane back to LA. I can't believe this is the end of another amazing chapter of my journey. I'm not ready for it to end. My life in LA is boring compared to my life in India/Thailand...Thailand have become my second favorite city and will be flying through Bangkok whenever I head to Mysore. I left Mysore last Sunday. I hate leaving Mysore. I was having such a blast. I was suppose to leave last Thursday but begged my travel agent to book me in for Sunday instead. I was waited until Thursday morning which meant I still had to pack as if I was leaving on Thursday. I didn't know until 11AM that I was confirmed for Sunday. The extra 3 days helped me calm down a bit and got me ready to leave. This trip started slow and a bit boring but in the middle, it picked up some steam and in the last 4 weeks went 150 mph. It was crazy busy in a very good way. I really loved Narasima's meditation class and philosophy class. It put a lot of things in perspective. I appreciate more what I'm going through. It gave me the courage to tell my boss in my own words, "to fuck off". Which means I'm currently unemployed. I was a little worried about that in the beginning but I know that life has it's way of working things out by itself. I love Narasima's explanation of "detachment". i wish I wrote it down. i can't explain it but i understand the essence of it. It help me decide to make changes with my life. I wasn't planning on changing jobs this year but I knew that it would have to happen sooner or later. I guess it happened much sooner than I expected. The next few days is going to be spent getting my LA life back together...finding an apartment, going on interviews, pulling stuff out of storage, renewing my license...and shit, I'm short 2 or 3 hours of CPE and getting ready mentally and physically for work...that's assuming I'll find something. In other words...life is good...it's going to be fun. I said goodbye to Luke today. I told him I would see him in October, maybe even earlier. I haven't left Bangkok and I've decided to return already.
1/25/2008 3:30:55 AM
The Looking Bird
Mysore
It's been almost a year since I last blogged. I can't believe it but I leave for Mysore in 3 days. So, at the urging of those in my life who are worried about me traveling so far, those in my family that are scared I'm joining a cult and never coming back, and the ashtangis I practice with daily who can't make the trek yet themselves, I've decided to resurrect my blog and share my experiences. I don't know what to expect but I am thrilled to be making this journey. Of course none of this would be possible without the support of my husband and 3 children who have given me the gift of allowing me to step away from my life and responsibilities and travel to India to follow my passion. I am a lucky lady! It should be an interesting ride. Stay tuned . . .
1/14/2008 1:53:00 PM
Coming Home
Back to the mat
Most of the time between Thanksgiving and the holidays was deliberate rest period for me. My knee had become painful again and I thought rest would be a good experience, though I did breakdown and practice a few times during that period. I am now practicing sporadically again and have practiced 3 days in a [...]
12/30/2007 9:49:22 AM
Indian In America
Am I a star now ?
I'm thrilled that people read my blog and even posted comments. Its fun to interact with people this way. In the blog world , the blogger is like a celebrity, a star :).

Anyways life is very busy now. Boss thinks I need to do more and more to have a strong footing in the company. I kind of agree with him. In this IT industry or perhaps even in other industries in America the corporate philosophy in broad terms is "Perform or perish". Nobody is spared. It does not matter how many years experience you have or how much good work you did in the past. Its always the "NOW" factor. No living in past glory ..Sorry.

I havent been able to practice Yoga for the past couple of days.Lethargy for sure.

Okay folks , keep the comments coming.I really enjoy them.
12/2/2007 5:58:00 PM
Mind Tides
over the edge
I was on the mat but feeling a bit like a bird with a broken wing this morning. No flying for this bird today… Just slow and steady and very very gentle… soft. Pain in a few moments, and an immediate … Continue reading
11/21/2007 11:22:37 PM
Liz In Question
Feel like writing



Hi, I feel like I should introduce myself. Hi, I'm Liz. It has been a very long while since I've written. Sorry blogosphere- life just got hectic and crazy.

Brief update, got married to my wonderful Husband(turned out perfect- so much fun), went to Bali (good and bad times both), hurt my knee practicing yoga in bali and still can't do lotus, got back in August, found out I was preggers, got a job... now getting big (already at 27 weeks), and so stoked to have our kid. She is a busy little girl, she has been kicking non stop since yesterday morning and kept me up all night. I guess this is good practice for the upcoming sleepless nights.

I am having an easy pregnancy. I am so lucky. Due date is Feb. 4. Crazy lucky to be having a baby, I have so many friends struggling to get pregnant. Not at all pleasant for them.

My ribs are being pushed out by this little spud, it hurts!

Here's some honeymoon photos for your viewing pleasure
11/8/2007 3:30:00 PM
Vegan Ashtangi
My first yoga class
I taught my first yoga class ever last Saturday morning. I wasn’t sure if it was right for me to do it and was quite nervous before starting. I felt a great sense of responsibility for being the person who’ll provide a bunch of people with their first contact with yoga. Let me say that [...]
10/22/2007 2:40:46 AM
Ashtanga Traveler
The week before...
... the workshop weekend is all coming together.... Peter Sanson is coming across to my little island to give a 4 day Mysore Style workshop.... I am just so excited. It is spring and I am looking forward to 4 days of class in a row (I have done about 4 classes in the past 6 months so I am ready for my teachcer to be there). But it is a little daunting to have a big list of names in front of me, some I know some who I do not know, people flying in from other parts of NZ to attend..... the island will cater to all I know that...it is a wee paradise.... I just hope I am able to keep on top of the lttle things I need to without stressing too much.... I tend to do that. I also just got booking for two privates in less than 20 minutes.... what is going on? And they were unrelated as well... so that will be fun. Plus my own yoga for the past 2 days has been well, really great. It is all just a little bit wierd. Of course if I was to suddenly be able to lift up from karandavasana...well I would pinch myself... not in this life.... well I guess I should not say that.... and I am not drinking coffee... and no headache ... okay it has only been a day but still.
10/8/2007 9:05:58 PM
Sounds of Clouds
is that egg on my face?

nope, it's just slobber.

she has mastered savasana, and of course down dog (doggie style). her twisting skills are solid. admittedly, it's hard for her to breathe with her mouth closed...

next on the list? learning that it's never a good idea to put chicken bones from the street in your mouth. she quickly learned that licking broken glass never comes to a good end... and that eating bicycle seats (though chewy) and cell phones (though crunchy) and books (though they smell so good) does not lead to a happy mom. so i think she'll catch on quickly.
8/29/2007 5:49:00 PM
1 Percent Productions
Too experienced?
Ok so I am really pissed off today! Not only did I gain back that 10 pounds I lost on the Master Cleanse (whoever said sperm has no calories was WRONG WRONG WRONG) AND I've been fired from my teaching job! Yes, apparently some old bag complained to managment that I wasn't 'experienced enough' as a teacher for her. She told management she wanted someone with more 'life experience; and possibly kids. Like she would know an experienced yoga teacher if one jumped up and did Kappalabhati breathing all over her! Bitch!

I mean come on! I've been practising yoga for nearly a year now, how much more experience could you want? Some of these other so-called yoga teacher ho's have taken one or two classes, max. So it's a career choice for yummy mummies who haven't got anything better to do? I'm so NOT going to be a yoga teacher... I mean I love getting up there all buff and toned and tanned and telling everyone what to do and shit, but once everyone starts in on the gig. FORGET IT!

Mind you, people do hit on you, men, women, old guys, you name it, they all love a hottie in Prana...

So maybe I won't give up just yet.

My ticket is booked to Mysore. I fly out of here 1st class on 1st May. I didn't write a letter. Fuck that shit. I'm going to walk in there and just say "do you know who I am?"
Kidding. I wrote the letter and am hoping to stay in some dive called The Southern Star. If anyone has stayed there recently, let me know, I'm not going to end up in some godforsaken flea pit in downtown Gokulum... I want hot water, I want fluffy towels, I want vintage Beavis and Butthead on cable...





BL
4/23/2007 1:45:00 PM
The Body Electric
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle!
Stoked. The Teach added Kurmasana and Supta Kurm. Been having up and down practices with some hip pain moving around. Got the accupuncture and It seems to be fading away, leading to the rockin practice today. Floating, flowing. Went to my frind Thomas' class on Sunday with my friend Lady Kat M. It was great to see Thom. We used to study together at the Monkey Shala, and He has been teaching at Yoga Mandala for 3+ years. His class was definately his own. He has been studying Tantra, and definately infused it in the class. He even talked about noticing the subtle energies of the body electric. Well Class this morn was definately a flow of energy. I didn't actually eat that much yesterday, which really helped this morn. My clasp has come back for Mari D on the right, and the left was a few inches away. The teach added the tortise, and I am no where near. I gotta start using a strap. Went to Santa Cruz with Lady Cat after practice. Ate some Brazilian Food and laid on the beach for a few hours. It was a beautiful sunny day and a great pleasure to lay around with a beautiful lady, bare feet in the sand. Taught a private lesson last night in the city. That was a cool experience. Brought me back to the beginners body. Student T was tall, skinny, and very unflexibe. Updog was a challenge. As was the lunge forward to Warrior 1. Long legs made for new geometry challenges. Really Enjoyed it.
2/20/2007 12:10:51 PM
Saysasana
Nothing but good news! Seriously, I am so waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Practice has been great. Grabbing heels in kapo, still landing Bakasana B but I'm still a little afraid and dragging my tail bcs of it. My students have been gifting me with kick ass CD's to play in class, Prana yoga pants, electronic japanese buddha thingys... Classes have been big and I have a workshop coming up and I'm going to Shiva Rea on Sat. w/ some of my girls. One of my teachers even added a 9am ashtanga improv on Mondays. I get to sleep in on Mondays! Om namah Shivayah!

Tom and I even had the best "date day" on Sunday. After my classes we ate Vietnamese food, got lit, walked around the Spectrum, got caramel apples, rode the ferris wheel, had a cocktail, watched a dumb movie, and did it. I mean really, isn't that AWESOME???It was so fun.

The rest of my life is rolling along. I mean I still have to get insurance and file for bankruptcy as I will never pay off my past hospital bills. {Grand Total exceeds $100,000} But I look forward to a clean slate, especially since I feel more in sync with my health. The second series and my wierd doctor are really bringing things together on the inside. It's quite amazing.

AND I have TOOL tickets!!!

So, I'm sure a fish will die soon, or I'll get really bad pms, or something to restore the energetic balance in my life. But until then....

rock on lil' pirates!
2/12/2007 12:26:00 PM
Tartan Yogi
Idling
I have just received my copy of How to be Free by Tom Hodgkinson, the man who also wrote How to be Idle. The idea being that you can spend your time doing things you actually want to do rather than toiling away at the 9 to 5 of work. Thus forming in my mind a great plan where I only work three days a week and do yoga or assist yoga classes the rest of the time, with time off for the drinking of wine and lying around on the floor. It is good to have dreams. As a small start of my plan to be able to afford to work part time I think I am going to get rid of my mobile phone. It will save me £50 a month and won't go off in relaxation noisily when I have fogotten to turn it off (rare, but it has happened on particularly stressful days). Maybe I am turning into a hippie. I blame my parents. In other news had a good practice yesterday, although my headstands are still rubbish. Well balancing is OK, but getting up with straight legs is challenging on a wood floor. When I do them at home I am fine so it must be the carpet and mat combo cushioning my head that makes it easier. I am going to do some more observation next week too, hopefully some more assisting too, we will see how it goes. Am also excited because the centre has just introduced an intro to second series which I am going to at the weekend. Tonight I shall practice and then fashion myself an idler's corner near the window where I can read. The husband thinks I have gone mad as I have decided I want to get rid of the TV. He doesn't agree so it will stay. But once I have my idlers corner all will be well as it will be TV free. There is a temp sitting across from me at work today. She has spent all day practically pummelling her keyboard, hitting her desk and talking to herself. This was after announcing to the whole room that she had just landed a plum job with her own office (insinuating obviously that really all this temping malarkey was way beneath her and that we are all plebs). If I ever temp anywhere I will remember her performance and try to be a bit less mad. Maybe temping drives you insane? On the up-side I bought a bag of dried cranberries at lunchtime, mmmmm cranberries.
2/8/2007 9:57:41 AM
Crash Test Ashtangi
The story of a crash test ashtangi
I’m a 28 year old nursing student who has been doing ashtanga periodically since 2003. In between these great periods of doing ashtanga, I’ve also been practicing the fine arts of drinking heaps of red wine and smoking cigarettes. Closing in on the venerable age of thirty, I decided it was time to kick the [...]
1/24/2007 1:45:54 PM
Mysore Bum
Some advice from the Mysore yogis

Today J and I left Mysore for Bangalore. Last night we had a very yummy dosa party at Anu's, her's are the best in town. She made my favorite deserts as well so I was totally spoilt once again! I went to kirtan with a few people to hear Ganesh play tabla one last time and L sing. Then to the Metropole for drinks and chats. We all said goodbye this morning at the coconut stand over chai. I had a few quiet little tears to myself there, it was hard to leave Anu, Ganesh, and my little gang of special people, you know who you are, love you all. We will all see each other again though. I'll see AJ next tuesday for a start.

In Bangalore J and I went for lunch at the palace, and lazed around there chatting about our trip and our favorite Mysore moments. Tomorrow we leave India. As always I expect going back to be more of a culture shock than going, and it's going to be cooooold! I will come back to Mysore I'm quite sure, as you know from my blog I've had a great time there.

For this last post I wanted to put together all of the advice and tips that I gathered from Mysore yogis in the hope that it might help some of you who intend to come here for a while and are new to the experience as I was.

  • Don't worry about coming alone, you will make friends easily as long as you are friendly
  • The food is very good, you won't go back emaciated, and you are unlikely to get dysentry or something like that as long as you stick to the good eating stops.
  • Don't bring loads of stuff, you can find pretty much everything in Mysore.
  • Tell someone if you have a problem, Ganesh can take you to a docs or sort out most things for you, and other students usually have a lot of good advice.
  • If this is your first time abroad you may well feel a little rattled by the experience at first, it takes a few days sometimes to get over the culture shock. You might feel unsettled for a few days but this is quite normal. It's not a mystical "Mysore thing", it would happen anywhere.
  • Don't recreate the busy schedule you left behind at home by filling your days with classes. Leave yourself some time to chill out and do nothing. It's ok to do nothing, you're not at work or having to deal with the responsabilities you have at home.
  • There is no such thing as "being ready for Mysore". You go and bring your practice to the shala wherever and however it is whether you have been practising 20 years or 2 weeks. Beginners are warmly welcomed, what a great place to begin.
  • Don't even start to think about where you will be stopped or if you will be stopped. You came to learn and they will take care of it, at the end of the day you pay the institute to teach you so you don't need to worry about it, let them do that for you.
  • Don't even begin to try to understand why some people get stopped at different places. If you can't bind in Mari D and get stopped there and someone else can't either and can go on...that's just the way it is. They have their reasons.
  • You don't need to be able to do everything perfectly.
  • Don't come to Mysore as a "Yoga tourist", come with a deep respect of the shala and the teaching which you recieve there.
  • It can be hard if you're not used to practising 6 days a week but it gets easier. The early start also becomes a habit, you might even start to enjoy it.
  • Ladies cover your shoulders and legs or you'll get some unwanted attention.
  • It's good to respect ladies holiday (Guruji advocates it and you're in his shala after all, so even if you don't usually respect it maybe give it a chance). It's also good to miss practice if you are injured or unwell.
  • It's ok to stop your practice early if you need to for whatever reason, just let Sharath, Saraswathi ot Guruji know. It's not a crime!
  • Take the time to chat to the locals, like your rickshaw driver for example, they are very friendly people. Guru who owns the coconut stand is one of my favorite people for example, and Lokesh my rickshaw man.
  • It can be hard but the best thing is to come with no expectations.
  • Smile. If you can't laugh at yourself you're taking your practice too seriously. It's meant to enrich your life.
  • Don't obsess about the yoga.
There are many more but those are the main ones that were often repeated during my stay.

My personal advice would be to come with a love for the practice and enjoy it. With the right attitude you can have a very good time indeed. So... go and write your letter to Guruji.

The Mysore Anthem has been voted "Respect" by Aretha Franklin, because there's a lot of that in Mysore, and you need a lot of it too (suggested by Rew).

12/2/2006 7:09:00 AM
Peacock Feather
Moon Days
What to do on a moon day? Go to the beach of course. I was a bit hesitant to do asana on a moon day, but could not resist. The Fire Island waves were big, choppy and erratic, no doubt due to the high energy.  So the question is, should one practice on a moon day or [...]
11/10/2006 12:36:47 PM
Gypsy Sister
Aloha!
Greetings from Maui! I have returned to this magical isle where my troubles just seem to melt away! Of course some have been replaced by others but in general I'm relaxing and taking a much needed rest from teaching. I'm practicing with my teacher, and ironically it's not as intense as it is in Taipei. Maybe I'm not working as hard, maybe it just feels easier, I'm not sure but I'm still enjoying myself. The thing about having one of the originals as your teacher you hear a lot of the bull shit that goes on in and around the world of ashtanga. As Guruji ages there is a distinct line being drawn between "new school" and "old school" ashtanga, who's teaching the "correct" method, Guruji vs Sharath. It is very unsettling for, as my friend Stephen calls us "young pups" and very confusing! I'm being taught one thing in Taipei and another thing here. I guess it's down to respecting the teacher in the room and doing what they ask you to do, seeing if it works for you, and then incorporating what does into your personal practice and getting rid of the rest. It amazes me though the ego that gets involved and the things that these senior teachers are saying about eachother.....can you imagine what they would be like if they didn't practice yoga? Or are they still practicing "yoga" or only "asana"? Something to ponder....I'm off to practice. 12:00 Back from practice. It was a good one! Really trying to work moola bandha throughout the whole practice and it's getting easier to do. Still not maintained throughout the whole thing but I am using it more. Got my toes to my head in vrishikasana (which Nancy keeps in intermediate) but I'm still not moving my hands in the jump out of pincha. Mayurasana is a nightmare! But it's slowly, slowly coming. I can bounce both feet off the floor but I can't stay up yet. Nacrasana I can do 5 bounces - gonna try to add one a week to get up to the required 10. Should be interesting. The rest is fine until I get to supta urdhva pada vajrasana where I cannot bind and roll without feeling like I will break my back! One day maybe....Not taking my ankles here yet in kapot or backbends. Hopefully by Wednesday they will feel comfortable enough to take me there. Merritt took me there last week but I'm not allowed to practice with him anymore ( we got into trouble!) so here's hoping the girls will do it! I think I will just tell them to be more forceful with me. Or I'll just relax and enjoy the break from intense practice! But I did work up some heat today which was good, and balance is pincha was good. I gotta get some body work done here on my shoulder and lower back so I'm off to make an appointment. Hope all is well. Until next time...
10/30/2006 3:02:02 PM
Self Practice
Vinyasa is so much fun!
How does Yoga work without vinyasa? Its so much fun anyways, I don't think I could dispense with it. The temp of the room I practiced in this afternoon was 64, but I still worked up a pretty good sweat by navasana. Progressing into handstand with navasana is slow going still, but seems like I am unlocking some secrets. It IS a strength thing, partially, but a lot of it has to do with how you use the breath and pivoting forward, etc. Well, jumpthroughs are progressing along, too. I have started pausing during some jumpthroughs for fun and to work a little strength. On the jumpbacks, I've started pausing and really extending the exhale once I land the feet, in chataranga. I feel like that really builds good strength and good form, too (it becomes obvious when you hold something that you must have good form). I have lost sight of mula bandha as hardcore as I had a hold of it a few weeks ago. I don't know why this has left. Perhaps I need to more consciously engage it, although it doesn't really affect my practice as far as I can tell. I also think its time to start working on dwi pada, but I am pretty comfortable with my practice as it is now. Perhaps thats all the more reason to add on some mayhem.
10/20/2006 1:18:51 PM
Note To Self
Um Yeah…
Dear Purusha, I have a bug up my ass and it’s from this comment we got the other day: “Who told you that “There is only here and now”… “I am” sense ? The sense of presence ? It is just sound.. bzzzzzz, nothing else.” There is no here and there is no now. There is no [...]
10/5/2006 8:00:03 AM
Ashtanga OZ
Assisted Dropbacks
I was introduced to dropbacks this morning and "Oh my God! How amazing are they!!!!". Up to today I was doing 3 or 4 rounds of 5-8 breaths each of standard Urdhva Dhanurasana. My teacher asked when was I going to try dropbacks, so I said how bout now, so we did. When going back for the first time I got all of these memories from when I was learning backflips at gymnastics when I was younger, it was unreal! I felt like my heart was opening to the universe and all of this loving energy was pulsating through every cell in my body, making me feel so alive and relaxed and uplifted. It makes sense that backbends are so intense because of the spinal cord and nerve roots. I kind of get a similar feeling in the Marichasanas but with back bending I get the extra rush of being inverted too. The thrill of dropping back and coming back up is so addictive.
The rest of my practice went well despite struggling to get out of bed and feeling tired when I hit the mat. I've really been struggling to get up in the mornings of late. My energy levels have been lower than normal first thing in the morning. Funny though because I had a lot more energy for practice than I thought.
Can't think of what else to write as I'm still riding this euphoric wave of dropback bliss. Happy bending people!
6/29/2006 11:17:00 AM
Chatvari
DO we ever learn?

WASHINGTON - A Republican gubernatorial candidate's call for creation of a forced labor camp for illegal immigrants drew rebukes Friday from two GOP lawmakers, who labeled it a low point in the immigration debate.
ADVERTISEMENT

Don Goldwater, nephew of the late Sen. Barry Goldwater, caused an international stir this week when EFE, a national news agency of Spain, quoted him as saying he wanted to hold undocumented immigrants in camps to use them "as labor in the construction of a wall and to clean the areas of the Arizona desert that they're polluting."

The article described Goldwater's plan as a "concentration camp" for migrants.

Goldwater, a candidate for governor in Arizona, said in a statement Friday that his comments were taken out of context. He said he was calling for a work program for convicted nonviolent felons, similar to "tried and tested, effective and accepted practices" used by state and local jails.

But two Republicans, Arizona Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record) and Rep. Jim Kolbe (news, bio, voting record), called Goldwater's comments "deeply offensive" and asked state Republicans to reject his candidacy in the Sept. 12 primary.

"That Mr. Goldwater is either unaware of or indifferent to the loaded symbolism, injustice and un-Americanism of his 'plan' to address the many serious issues caused by illegal immigration reveals his flaws as a candidate and a stunning lack of respect for the basic values of a generous and decent society," McCain said in a statement.

Kolbe said that if the comments are true, Goldwater "has demonstrated his complete unworthiness for public office, and I am confident he will be soundly rejected by Republicans from the party of Barry Goldwater, who consistently demonstrated his compassion and respect for all people. This is a sad day in the national debate on immigration policy."

McCain and Kolbe favor a guest-worker program for illegal immigrants.

Goldwater made a similar comment at an April anti-immigration rally.

"Build us that wall — now!" Goldwater said, referring to a proposal to add 700 miles of fences along the U.S.-Mexico border. He promised then that if elected, he would put illegal immigrants in a tent city on the border and use their labor to build the wall.

Barry Goldwater, the former Arizona senator, was the Republican presidential nominee in 1964.

6/24/2006 3:28:14 PM

      

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