Hi & Bye! #operationshanti #joannemdm #shirlymdm #2016

Among many hi(s) and bye(s), i guess nothing can be as uplifting on arrival & emotional on departure with the kids of Operation Shanti.

Today marked the last visit of Operation Shanti of my two buddies-- Jo & Shirly. 

While i still have 2 more months to burn with them, witnessing their farewell wasn't easy for me too. Every season, we sink deeper, and it is getting more tricky to pull out. We are more involved with their engagements & activities.
 
Over the years, we watched them changes as much as they observed our changes.

We know they are growing up and doing well when the older kids finally pronounced our names pitch-perfect!

Jo- Han ---> Joanne 
Jelly ---> Shirly
ABC mdm ---> Adeline 

Personally, i could never imagine completely what they are going through inside.
Probably with the older kids, when sometimes they would express their thoughts during proper conversations.

Of course, vice versa, they would throw us with many innocent questions about our life back home. And could never imagine the bigger world beyond their reach ( at the moment).

With the awesome tuition teachers

 This evening, sitting at a corner watching them rushing up & down preparing for their tuition classes, Shirly & I thought, " I wonder how will they be like in 10 years time....."

" Happy journey to Singapore Joanne mdm & Shirly mdm"
Today they had the longest goodbye to Jo & Shirly.

" No drama, no crying."
* That didn't happen as planned.

" Happy journey to Gokulam Adeline mdm, see you next year ( 2017)"
* They are really cheeky & tricky!

See you 2017 kiddos, let's finish up the painting together!


 

Do you oil bath?

Oil bath.
An activity that highly recommended as part of the routine with the Ashtanga practice.
I put it as an activity, because, it takes time & effort to go through the whole process.

Yesterday in the conference, Sharath did mentioned about oil bath again.
Good for muscles soreness.
" Just apply, don't massage" he emphasized.

I've been oil-bathing myself couple of times with coconut oil.
And i love it. Its relaxes my muscles.
Who don't enjoy warm oil on skin, on a tired body? ( though i know friends who don't enjoy putting oil on skin)

So, I've also heard enough tales about using castor oil.
Thicker than most other oil, therefore more effort needed in the application step.

No soap is good enough to completely clean off the oil. Rather a dual mix of herbal powder is recommended for cleaning.

And the final thing i heard about the effect: You will feel tired, so get some rest after castor oil bath.
 

So, today is a good day. No practice.
I decided to give castor oil bath a try, since i already have what is needed in the house.

Warm up the oil. Prepared the herbal mix for cleaning later.
The thick oil does not spread on the skin easily, it takes just a little more time.
I excluded my hair, I'm not ready for it yet.

Wait for 15 mins.
( I practically remain standing and walking around in the room. )

Ah! Time to wash!

Warm water shower using the herbal mix.
Clean & scrub the bathroom floor as the herbal mix was splattered everywhere.
( and got stuck on the tiles)

How do i feel?
My skin feels good though, soft and smooth.

Do i feel tired?
Yes, a little.
But am not sure was it the direct
effect from the castor oil bath, or from too much washing after the oil bath... or maybe, its my nap time!

For a regular oil bath, i will still prefer using coconut oil.
For a once-in-a-blue-moon oil bath, i will go for castor oil!

[ > ] [ II ] [ > ]

  Happy to be back in Mysore, as always:)

Weather is getting more cooling; taking my time to daze off & people watch;

And Uber ride is everywhere!

 

[ > ] [ II ]  [ > ]

I didn’t feel as relax as my previous trips; rather I feel more grounded than before. 

My mind is still hyperactive, body filled up with accumulated tension and my patience wasn’t too ready to be patient.

But I have to say; I am enjoying quality sleep, without having to battle with the alarm clock at least!

 My current read: [Un- Train Your Brain] by Mike Weeks. 

Last night, flipping through pages, he highlighted a question

[What’s so good about being right all the time?]

I stopped at this page and ponder for a while… maybe not a while, overnight.

Putting this idea into context, haven’t we been around with people,

Constantly trying to be right about everything?

It is a social standard.

It is a security driven statement.

It is narcissistic.

It is a full- stop.

It is a denial.

It is rigidity.

Of course, I do catch myself in situations and debates of trying to be right, just for the sake of saving my ego. And thinking back, it was just so silly!

So then, what’s NOT so good about being right all the time?

Well…. Self- limitation kicks in.

We become less willing to understand or check out other options. We stop to discover alternatives & new ideas.

And this, by shutting the door of being right, it is already a losing game.

Sometimes, it is good to [pause] for a while, just to understand how our      

“ Responsive mechanic” works inside us.

And maybe, we get to discover better ideas than just being right?