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.

Living in Paradox

Some uncomprehended law holds us at a point of contradiction where we have no choice, where we do not like that which we love, where good and bad are inseparable partners impossible to tell apart, and where we — heart-broken and ecstatic — can only resolve conflict by blindly taking it into our hearts. (Scott-Maxwell, 1983) 

Be patient toward all that is unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves…. Do not seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the question now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer. (Rilke, 1993)

Back Pain

Nah, not that I can do pasasana above. I just need a photo of a back for visual effects and found this impressive photo of Jon. 

Been experiencing back pain since two weeks ago when I arrived in Baguio. I thought it was just due to the long land travel without the benefit of going to the john plus dehydration because I knew I wouldn’t be going to the john in hours. 

Came back home but the pain was still on and off. Then I thought it could be the mattress…so I went to sleeping on a wooden bed to give my back a good stretch a la savasana. Didn’t work. Still there.

Pain has been particularly excruciating after spending hours on computer. So I started blaming my chair, the table, even my computer…but hey, I have been working with these things for years already. Couldn’t be the culprit.

Last night during practice, it took me a while to get into plough (photo still courtesy of Jon) in preparation for chakrasana. Waaaah! My back seemed to break!  

Today, pain is still there and it’s not the morning-after-yoga kind. So I searched for the psychological meaning of back pain, which ranges from the feeling of being not supported, to the experience of major changes in life, to denied depression.

Hmmm, let’s see. All I can do now is to wait for the my truth, and feelings, to reveal itself. Body dialogue isn’t working, at least not yet. My body is giving me a silent treatment, so to speak, he he.

For all I know, this could be due to lack of practice–I’m now down to twice a week, trying to get back to at least four times.

Oh well, the journey continues….

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!