An Elegant Twist of Choice

新年快乐！

It is interesting to see the revolution of Lunar New Year over a couple of decades that i'd been involving in. I've never miss a year of the celebration, never! Somehow i always feel that i want to be with my family during this festival. No matter how much i enjoy traveling about, i'll schedule my presence for this spring time!

When i was  child, the candies and goodies were the focus. Red packets, not so much... when you don't have control over the financial part, money wasn't that important. $4, $6 $8, $10 or more.... they were the same to me. But the candies made a difference! Jellies, chocolate, gummies, cookies, fizzy drinks... party time!

When we grew older, we handle cash, we knew how to walk to the shop and make purchases; the the red packets was the big thing among us. We compared our collections with our school friends, we used the extra pocket money to fulfill our wish list.

As we grow older, maybe when I grow older, like now, i start to appreciate more of the relationships between relatives and families. Surprisingly, the food doesn't excite me as much ( except the lo hei ), the red packets doesn't lure me to peek how much they contain, i was excited to meet some of the relatives; having a big family dinner together, taking turns to be the hosting family. A little chatting up, playing games like how we used to be as little kids, how my grandmas's house was packed with relatives, noise and laughters. 

My personal favorite is the Lo Hei ( in cantonese) or commonly as Yu Sheng a symbol of abundance, vigor, prosperity. I've yet been to a Lo Hei as 'violent' as my family does. " Ready? 1, 2, 3.... Huat Ah!" And the crazy twirl of prosperity wishes bellowing from our mouths, as our hands are busy with tossing the Yu Sheng upwards! Chopsticks flying around, veggies raining down my arms. Who cares? We just keep going..! Whether the wishes is for others or for ourselves, the positive energy was all hype up. 

Its my favorite dish among all others! Its like Chinese Salad, love the crunchiness and juiciness of the mixture. For the 3 days, i'd done 5 times of Lo hei... more to come..;)!

At different stages of our growing up, we starts to appreciate things we used to grumble about. We learn to let go stuff that used to matter to us so much. Like many families, competitions happens among ourselves ( education & job level between cousins, house decoration & baking skills between the older generation...). Somehow every lunar new year gathering seems like a time we layout our report cards for the year, and starts pass judgement towards others. Who is doing better, who is not....

It is still happening, but i choose to turn that volume low on my side. Coming to understand that, no matter how related we are, each of us are still individual, fighting our own battle plan, sailing our own sail... Nothing much to compare, just enjoy the relationship together and appreciate one another' company:)!

Hereby, wishing you...

恭喜发财, 心想事成, 万事如意！
Prosperity and wealth, may all wishes comes true & smooth sailing in what you do for the whole year round!

Why the decision to practice yoga?

Every time when i meet people who keep going to their yoga class, i always have this urge to ask them... Why? Many of WHYs...

Why the decision to start yoga? Why the regularity of the practice? 
Why do it? Why not go do something else? Why not the other places? Why here?

I even ask these questions to myself, sometimes. And my reason keep changing at different stage of life,  or at different level of my personal practice and experiences. And at every of that moment, that reason was my truth. But as time passes, as we grow out of the past, the present reasons is my new truth. 

This evening, i attended a home group yoga practice, on & off since the very last bit of last year. I was pretty impressed seeing the same faces. They were still there, eagerly for the practice; love the positivity!

While walking back home with one of the guy, kevin; and my curiosity came knocking again.
Why of all activities, yoga? Why still appearing every week? And, we exchanged our experiences of how yoga practice helps to connect us with the people and with ourselves.

After we parted with that conversation, i recalled Sharath once sharing his view of foreigners flocking to Mysore, from all parts of the world, to the common foyer, just for the practice. Instead of how most of us are impressed by the work of the great indian teachers/ yogis, keeping the lineage and the torch of knowledge burning;

Sharath feels the effort of the foreigners' ( where we are not born in a culture of the tradition, not to a yogi family, not greatly influence by the practice/ knowledge of yoga) for coming into the practice, is already a great deal. With weak flame of curiosity for the spiritual knowledge to start off, there must be something ( that's what i always thought, but i couldn't figure it out) that leads them here. That can also means a simple act of stepping into a yoga class for that particular day.

Which further allows me to recall, an event, even much earlier--- during the first class of my yoga training. My teacher, Master Paalu did also mention that, there must be a reason why we are on the mat, in this particular class, with these particular people. Because we were all related in some way. Sometimes, our conscious mind and our sense organs are too limited to be able to comprehend what is going on to the external arrangement.
But as the time mature, the reasons behind all these arrangement will reveals.

If we happen to meet in a class, and if i start to ask too many whys.... please share with me your stories:)!

Why do we start from the 3rd limb: Asana or Physical Practice?

For the past weeks, i'll been thinking about a verse from the Yoga Sutra on the 9 obstacles which obstruct the progression of being at peace. Which also came in line to a question i asked Sharath during one of the conference in Mysore, on why people break away from practices after sometimes, and what should we do?

Or maybe i should say, i've been thinking about Sharath's reply, then the verse from the sutra appear. Along the way in my little personal quest, a chiropractor friend, Gary, mentioned something that kind of offered a missing piece. He said, ' Find the point of at ease'. He probably said many other stuff, but i just heard this line louder.

With all the information digestion going on for a week, this morning, the picture got clearer.
Sharath's answer to my question was the lack of rootedness in the practice. That we have to be in touch with our practice, so much that none can shake us, or uproot us. "Be very very grounded in your practice." Further explained that when our physical daily practice becomes stable and grounded ( a well- functioned physical health) naturally our mental achieved focus and clarity ( optimal mental health) for making good decision. Ground the practice is important, be grounded. 
In the 1.30 verse of the yoga sutra, listed down the 9 obstacles that may be affecting our progression in life.

Physical:
1) Disease
2) mental laziness
3) doubts, indecision

Mental:
4) inattentiveness
5) idleness
6) lacking in moderation, sense gratification

Intellectual:
7) living in delusion

Spiritual:
8) lack of perseverance
9) inability to maintain progress due to pride or stagnation.

Of which, i'm sure that at any one point, we are either one or more of these obstacles. And everyday, we're either living, or fighting them. I am too, that is what keeping me busy whole day!

Coming to Gary's " Finding the point of at ease". To my understanding of sourcing out the root problem, having it align to the right point, and the rest of the problems will dissolves by itself.
We are always busy putting out fire, but fail to see what cause the fire to rage. Because, the main problem is always so deep rooted by many distractions that we are too busy entertaining them. At the end of the day, we are tired and burnt, still the problem is not solve.

How should we go about it? Where should we start?
Get physical!

Also in the 8 limbs of Ashtanga yoga, Sri K Pattabhi Jois suggested to enter from the 3rd limbs: Asana or physical practice. Referring back to the yoga sutra, we starts to handle the physical obstacles. And later then we build upon the mental and the other aspect of the practice.

Reason being is that we can get external help and guidance from the teacher, when we do physical practice. The teacher will be able to make physical adjustment, provide instruction and correction. As for the other non- physical practices, little instructions, almost very little or none adjustment is possible from the teacher.

That's why Sharath mentioned the importance of a grounded physical practice; which also leads to a healthy spiritual growth eventually.

Just like a tree, if the root is not deep enough, the frail tree may not survive well enough in harsh environment. It falls, and may cause danger to others.

If the root of the tree is well- taken care of, slowly but surely, the tree will grow strong with thick trunk, deep rooted in the ground; when it grow, it can provide protection to others.

Never a yoga practitioner i've met mentioned that yoga is easy. Because it is not. 
But why do they still do it? There must be a reason, that physical pain is not as important as to know that seed of blissfulness is growing within. 


With reference to: BKS IYENGAR, Light On the Yoga Sutra Of Patanjali
                                  Foreword by: Yehudi Menuhin