6 days of "Ashtangis gone wild"

In that one of the studio along the ales of Pure Yoga, gathered 23 people from different part of the world, different reasons with a common interest. For the practice, or the knowledge..or just to see David Swenson. 

say " Panneer!"

A man that once see only by streaming the YouTube... a topic that shirly and i used to talk about, and now.. right in front of us.  When i got to know about him coming to town, got all so excited, looking forward and counting my days.  A humble man with great vibes and energy, humorous and loves to share his days his guruji, late sri k pattabi jois.

with David Swenson.

" by the end of the course, everybody should be able to know the various adjustments and alternatives for the 72 poses in primary series"--- and the mission was set.

Quoted from sri pattabi jois, " Yoga... is not easy. Teaching yoga is not Easy..." i concur.

 Tania was here too!

    Oscar coming from Phnom Penh and Geoffery.

with teaching partner, shirly.

" surya namaskara A, surya namaskara B, padangusthasana, padanghastasana....." it has sort of become a mantra we used daily. This mantra has been running in my head even when in my dream. The course came to an end today, in a blink! I thought we just introduced ourselves yesterday?

David wrapped the course sweetly with " Though its just 6 days, the intensity felt like we've known one another for longtime. And we've now explored the Language of Teaching." 

Maché

 We each have a destination, we move in different direction, and touch one another lives in some point in the journey. There's this mystical energy brings people from different part of the world, at different stage of their live together at one point for a purpose. Every ending creates a new beginning. And our journey continue... and i'm sure we'll bump into one another again, because Its A Small Small World.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

I am busy beautifying my outside and walking at the brim of fashion,

because youth stays with us only for a short while,

and it'll go in a blink. Beauty is flickering.

Oh... I am busy beautifying my inside,

 like building a lego empire,

one brick at a time and i see that beauty do last;

as long as i want it to be.

I loves those high-heels! I must wear them to work, they boost my confidence level.

Blisters, soreness and toes cramps, who cares?

i'll deal with them later.

I feel like a cave man,

barefooted at work. Some says its sloppy.

Flip-flops and slippers, who cares?

i say i feel good in bare!

There's no deal at all.

 " Beauty is in the eye of the be holder", well said.

Indeed, some believe beauty is short-term, and they look for the short-terms.

Some see beauty is lasting and they create and let it grow from a seed.

In a week, i've met both--- well docorated empty boxes, and  plain looking boxes filled with rainbows.

Quest or Question?

We are a container of questions and answers;
In the midst of mess, we conned ourselves into questions,
After all those struggles, we fused the answers ourselves and in turn became a quest to move on.
And this is Confusion.

Questions are created because of the answers. It was unknown, and later known.
Before asking questions,  we already knew the answers.
Others help to open the door for us to enter, that's all.
The final picture has been created in the mind before it is painted.

From others we learn to see ourselves better,
and from our self, we learn to see others better.
And the inner truth reveals.

* a thinker from attending TTC, master posted a question " Are you living a Quest or Question?"

A string of wordless meanings.

The reason that keeps us living is the reason that bring us death.

The reason to be in love is the reason for hate to grow.

The reason to be in, the same reason to be out.

Why choose a reason to do something or go somewhere?

Any choice will not be a good choice.

Because it is tagged with terms and conditions.

Be choice-less.

Even choosing to be choice-less itself is a choice.

Do we exist because of the inhales or exhales? No.

We exist only between each breath. The connecting bridge.

If we fail to hold it, we've ceased our existence.

Be choice- less, but not desperate.

Like the flowing river,

let it happen.

 Recently, a song caught my interest " Hymne a l'amour" by elain piage.

as it goes... " If you love me, really love me... let whatever happen, i don't care."

Forever Young!

What's one bonus practices yoga brings...is youth! Though aging is one unavoidable natural process we must take on physically, regular practices S....L...O....W the process D...O..W...N.
Isn't that wonderful? Maybe when i reach 40, my body runs like a 30.

I still remember when i used to work for 9 hours daily, and at the end of the day, i was flat. 10 hours of sleep was not enough to keep me fresh.
Recently, i notice that i can operate on an average of 12 hours, with some good amount of energy level remains. I learnt to end my day and start my day proper for quality rest.

The secret lies in the spine.
Physical practices involves forward & back bend, lateral & twists, inversions.
Which keeps the our nervous system active and sensitive. And a saying goes, " We are only as young as our spine is flexible"
And Pranayama or vital energy expansion practices teaches us to reserve those energy within.

Last week, i got to know that a 75 year old enrolled himself into a Teacher Training Course. He was definitely youthful!

Let's grow mentally and be forever young...!

If you don't want to change, i don't care!

If you don't want to change, no one is going to do the work for you. Only when you stand up from your practice seat, that's when the real practice really begins.

There are so many times we murmured under our own little breath that we want a change. We want to put a stop to all struggles inside out, from physical to mental to emotions. But, didn't really happen.

If we're hungry enough, only if we are hungry enough for that change for a better....

In any change, there bound to be struggles. Short-term. This short-term intensive struggling for a better change, pull us out of the cycle of life-time struggles. 

As the verse in the yoga sutra goes:

2.46 sthira sukham asanam

From effort to effortless, and this is how we can slowly move deeper into practice. Bringing the physical practice, into inner practice and made up a part of our character. Initially, we may fall and struggle, with full effort, and later, it become effortless.... and eventually into unity.

Any changes we decided to take on, its a very personal relationship between we and ourselves. Not even our parents can understand; which makes it challenging to move forward. Its a communication between ourselves, unspoken yet with full understanding.

Never depend on others to do any changes for you, because they'll never do a good job. And never try to change others, because we'll too never do a good job. Only we know how the changes should be done. It has to grow inside us, come through with an intention and make it come naturally. And then, union happens.

I was surely hungry for a change of the usual routine. Following my schedule religiously for the couple of months. Being stagnant and complacent is probably one thing want it off my list. I felt it, and decided to cut the cycle. As always, i look forward to sitting into master's TTC. Its tiring but very fulfilling!

Whether to assist in the practice, getting into discussion or chit chat, every moment there's always something for me to learn. Master may not know it, I've learn countless invaluable life lesson from this living example. 

Moving inwards, a word-less experience

I've always find it amusing, seeing how Theresa tried to describe how she felt after a short meditation.

" How do you feel?" i asked.
It took them a while to pull themselves out from the sea of calmness; after a good 15 minutes of practice.

Theresa would go, " i felt very calm... it is like...." gazing up as if trying to pluck some words in the mid air.
" you know what i mean.... i feel so...".
And Ped would nod in agreement, " something more... more than just peace" he added.

" i know what you mean!" i said.  And we laughed for no word can describe exactly how they'd felt.

It's not the words that are important; it is the ability to communicate without word that make everything meaningful and personal.
They had broken the barrier of languages, and allow whatever they are experiencing to flow smoothly without interrogation and judgement.

" As words disappear, meaning reveals"

" Papa, where's the diamond?"

One day, standing  in front of the garden;
the father said, " son, there is a diamond hidden in this piece of small land. If you dig enough, you'll find it."

At first, the son started digging extensively. From one spot to another, and found nothing.
Later, he decided to choose a spot and dig it intensively. He kept digging deeper with full effort and focus; as he himself too went deeper into the soil. The son asked, " papa, where's the diamond?"

The father smiled and replied, " there you see! the diamond is in the hole!"

Go deeper, keep digging.... realising oneself, is the greatest treasure we can find.