Odds and Ends

Had been having numb pain on my left arm…until last Tuesday when I sneaked in Avril’s led class for beginners to do mysore (Thanks, Avril, for accommodating the pasaway me, ha ha!). She adjusted my Prasarita C by pushing my arms down the floor, as pictured below. 

Ouch! My left arm REALLY hurt. I could resist…or persist. I chose the latter. Up to my last breath. And as I did my last exhalation, I heard (or felt?) popping, running from my left upper arm down to my wrist. Wow! I felt something had just been released! It made a big difference in my practice that night. That’s for the physical part anyway; the psycho-emotional part is yet to be revealed. 

That experience led me to ask when it is right to surrender and let go (like I did that night) and when to protect oneself and resist. Not only in yoga asanas but in life in general.

*****

I was surprised to find vegetarian options at the Apartment 1B. For appetizer, I had baked samosa–not the typical Indian samosa though. Fillings were made of mushrooms and spinach, and the thinly-made wrap was crunchy, almost like the pastry layers of croissant. Not too flaky, just right. Not greasy, too, since it was baked. Yummy!

Gruyere cheese added a twist in their French onion soup. For entree, I had three cheese (ricotta, parmesan, and cheddar) vegetable lasagna. Yummy, yummy! Even my carnivore friends liked it.

vegetarian lasagna

Another nice thing about this resto is that even the meat dishes come with a generous serving of vegetables (carrots and broccoli). Two thumbs up!   

The flourless chocolate fudge and brewed coffee were equally wonderful.

*****

Early last year, I wrote in this post about my four-month-old (then) niece who effortlessly did cobra cum locust pose. Now she has advanced to Eka Pada Adho Mukha Svanasana!

She’d get into the pose and ask my sister, “What am I doing?” To which my sister would always reply “yoga!” Then she’d giggle! Nah, I couldn’t claim credit for that–my sister did Iyengar for four years while a cousin of my brother-in-law is a yoga teacher.

Three Years and a Few Lessons After

I was inspired, er, reminded by my friends’ FB status which said “Exactly 10 years ago, I did this and did that….” Now, my turn.

Exactly three years ago, I attended my very first yoga class, vinyasa/flow yoga, under Pio Baquiran at the Vinyasa Yoga Center. Now I do ashtanga in Yoga Manila under Jon Cagas (most of the time) and over this period I had tried other yoga styles in different studios, including Pulse Yoga and Iyengar Yoga Center Manila. And over this period, too, I had learned some life  lessons:

Yoga starts the moment one steps out of the mat.

The root of chaos is one’s sense of entitlement, regardless whether it is rightful or not.

Respect space–physical and psychological, one’s own and others’.

Know your place.  

Some days you can, other days you can’t. And life goes on.

Life becomes so much fun when one stops trying and starts breathing instead.

Brands don’t matter; discipline and dedication do.   

Life is about relationships, not transactions.

Growth is a painful process. It hurts. So what?

Thank you all who have been part of my yoga life–my teachers and classmates–who taught me these lessons. And I welcome those who will be part of it as this journey continues.

And I pray for my teachers, and their teachers, and all those who come before them. I pray for their blessing of light, life, and love. I thank the Lord for the beauty and benefits of yoga and I pray for the grace to use them for the service, love, and glory of the Lord, and for the good of mankind. Om.

My Practice Tonight

The sound of running water…

and flapping of birds’ wings…

The cold night’s breeze…

And humming of my own breath.

All these…ONLY these.

Ah, serenity!

Peaceful practice.

Om.

Paradise Island, Davao

 

And banana split after, YUM!

SMS Exchange #5…and Some More

Me: Inshallah! “No matter how noble your goal in life is (and how good your plans are, if I may add), it can never be a substitute to God’s holy will.” (I quote Arch. Gerry Esquivel in his speech to the Graduates of Ateneo High School Batch 2008.)

X: That line is often abused to justify not taking action. Plan. Take action. Leave the rest to the universe.

Me: But the surfer only waits for the wave and simply catches it when it comes.

X:  But the surfer paddles to the point where he can see the wave as it comes so he can catch it.

My thought bubble: Ambot! Planning is over rated.

 

Siargao, Surigao del Norte

 

 

Planning. Responding.

Strength. Flexibility.

Linearity. Flow.

 

I am linear when it comes to my yoga practice…flowing when it comes to life, which is my nature as a water person.

I guess at the end of the day, it’s all about balance.

 

“Many people, in heeding the guidance of their souls, find themselves contemplating goals that seem outrageous or unattainable. In the mind’s eye, these individuals stand at the edge of a precipice and look out over the abyss at the fruit of their ambition. Some resist the urge to jump, paralyzed by the gap between their current circumstances and the life of their dreams. Others make a leap of faith into the unknown, unsure of what they will encounter but certain that they will gain more in their attempts than they would bowing to self-protective instincts. This leap can be exceedingly difficult for individuals with control issues because the act of embracing uncertainty requires them to trust that surrender will net them the rewards they seek. 

“If your mind and heart resist, you can dampen this resistance by building a bridge of knowledge. The more you know about the leap you are poised to take, the smaller the gap between “here” and “there” will appear to be. Your courageous leap of faith can lead you into uncharted territory, enabling you to build a new, more adventurous life. Though you may anticipate that fear will be your guide on your journey across the abyss, you will likely discover that exhilaration is your constant companion.” - from Daily Om

Conquering My Greatest Fear in Yoga

Nah. It’s not about falling or hurting myself. My greatest fear in practice is working without my contact lenses and in ashtanga, wearing eyeglasses is simply unimaginable to me, what with all the jumps and inversions. With uncorrected vision, I only see blurred images with my right eye and with my left, I sometimes am able to identify people. That bad. And why would I have to practice without my lenses? I don’t know but I just dread that day.

And that day came last week. I had eye irritation that prevented me from wearing my contacts…but I felt I had to practice, even just at home. The urge was much stronger than my fear so I hit  the mat.

Like what science says, one sense/body part/organ compensates the weakness of another. I think in this particular case, my sensory faculty compensated for my vision so much so that my arms became very present to me!  All of a sudden the jump forward (see Jon’s photos below) and jump through became more of an arm than a leg work…and I started feeling the shifting of weight as I did the routine. 

So subtle this change my seem, but  YT noticed during our session today that there were times I was able to hang my legs in jumps (tsamba moments!). You see, he taught me the preps for the straight leg jump through weeks ago (and that explains my weird vinyasa recently). “Do you feel your banddha stronger?” YT asked. “Er, what banddha? I just feel the shifting of weight to my arms now.”

Sometimes, what we fear is exactly what we need.

Om.

P.S. I chanced upon this blog on doing straight leg jump through blindfolded. I think I should stop wearing my contacts from now on. But watching the videos of Lino Miele and John Scott in this post makes me think, “Hmmm, must be moon day when YT taught me the preps. Does he really expect me to eventually be able to do straight leg jump through? In this lifetime?”