Winter is definitely here

Two days.  That's how long the snow stayed last week.  After 48 hours, it melted and it just rained days after.

Winter is late this year in Finland.  The Levi World Cup in Lapland was canceled because there was no snow.

As I ride my bike every day, I can't help but be grateful for this experience.  I am in an environment where my both academic and yogic growth are supported.  In the midst of this impending darkness (I have been told that at the peak of Finnish winter, the sun comes out for only 4 hours a day), the mind is clear and the future looks bright.

***

This weekend, Astanga Jyväskylä had Magnus Appelberg as visiting teacher.  He had a similar aura with Paul.  The energy was light and he was always smiling.  I also stayed after practice to listen to him explain some practice points.  Although he spoke mostly in Finnish, Susanna was very helpful that she explained everything to me in English.

***

Yesterday, two more animals were released, the crocodile and the horse.  Today, the gate was opened and Nandi appeared.  And then the sleeping thunderbolt was awakened to welcome the 7 kings.


***


Went to our sunday meditation group and on my way back, the snow was 6 inches deep! I was ecstatic and began throwing snow balls at friends.  It was amazing.


Thank you Finland.


***


Today must be a very special day.  I completed the intermediate series, the UP Pep Squad represented the country in the 6th Cheerleading World Championships in Hong Kong and they won the bronze in the cheer mixed category, a first for the Philippines in this competition, and, I experienced my first true winter.


 

This heart has nothing but gratitude.

OM

The Correct Method

The Ashtanga Police
by: janbaggerudlarsen

We sometimes get too attached to the method that we become like the ashtanga police.

Traditionally, students from the East are taught to obey the teacher and follow whatever is being taught. 

Students from the West are taught to think independently and always ask why.

But time has changed.

In terms of achieving well-being, balance has always been advocated.

Yoga itself teaches balance, samatva (Bhagavad Gita II:48).

But how do we achieve balance?

Experience both extremes, I would say.

Learn and take the best from both worlds.

Somewhere along the way, the correct method will find you.

***

Gratitude to Bela Lipat for sharing this video on youtube.

Enjoy the journey

This photo was taken by Ben in 2008.

 

Ithaka 

Constantine Cavafy (1911)

As you set out for Ithaka

hope the voyage is a long one,

full of adventure, full of discovery.

Laistrygonians and Cyclops,

angry Poseidon- don't be afraid of them:

you'll never find things like that on your way

as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,

as long as a rare excitement

stirs your spirit and your body.

Laistrygonians and Cyclops,

wild Poseidon- you won't encounter them

unless you bring them along inside your soul,

unless your soul sets them up in front of you.

Hope the voyage is a long one.

May there be many a summer morning when,

with what pleasure, what joy,

you come into harbors seen for the first time;

may you stop at Phoenician trading stations

to buy fine things,

mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,

sensual perfume of every kind-

as many sensual perfumes as you can;

and may you visit many Egyptian cities

to gather stores of knowledge from their scholars.

Keep Ithaka always in your mind.

Arriving there is what you are destined for.

But do not hurry the journey at all.

Better if it lasts for years,

so you are old by the time you reach the island,

wealthy with all you have gained on the way,

not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.

Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.

Without her you would not have set out.

She has nothing left to give you now.

And if you find her poor, Ithaka won't have fooled you.

Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,

you will have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.

***

Translated by Edmund Keeley/ Phillip Sherrard

Source: http://www.greeka.com/ionian/ithaca/ithaca/ithaca-poem.htm

***

Many of us felt anxious about what was expected from us in our master's thesis.  Many have difficulty finding topics that interest them.  Some has already identified topics but realized that the possibility of pursuing it might be difficult because the faculty are not experts in those fields.  

One of our thesis supervisors shared parts of this poem during her presentation earlier this afternoon.  I thought it applies not only in finding a research topic but in life and our yogic journey as well.

 Keep Ithaka always in your mind.

Arriving there is what you are destined for.

But do not hurry the journey at all.

Achieving a certain pose is what most of us aim for in our asana practice.  But as the poem says, do not hurry.  One of these, we will get there.

Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,

you will have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.

Winter is coming

Indian Congee

After doing cartwheels, bridges, and handstands for one hour at the local high school gymnasium, I rode my bike in leisure on my way back to the flat.

No, I did not join the local cheerleading squad.  I did enroll in an acrobatic class though with an intention to learn the basics of arm balances from a non-yogic pedagogical perspective.  It's a bit difficult because I am asked to do handstands with the chin on the chest and gaze to the direction where the nose is pointing.  It's hard because I'm used to looking down at a point in between my hands and use the gaze as a counterbalance.  It's something new and I'm like a kid learning a new trick.


***

When the cup is empty, there is space for learning.

***

I had a huge lunch and wasn't really very hungry so I thought, "Hmnnn... I should make dhal."

Being Pinoy, I had to have some rice but I didn't want to cook it separately so the dhal came out as lugaw (rice porridge) and it's very tasty.

Here are the ingredients.

One clove garlic, minced.  1/2-1 white onion, chopped. 1 tbsp olive oil.  A teaspoon of Madras curry powder.  1 vegetable cube.  3/4 cup yellow dhal. 1/4 cup rice.  5-8 cups water.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Saute onion in olive oil for 1-2 minutes until translucent and fragrant over very low heat.  Add the garlic and saute for maybe 1 minute.  Add the curry powder and mix well.  Add the dhal and rice.  Mix well.  Add water.  Turn heat to high and wait until it boils.  (Don't leave the on high heat like I did otherwise it will come to a rigorous boil and the water will spill over the pan).  Once the water is boiling, turn the heat to the lowest and simmer for 15-20 minutes.  You may need to add more water in the process so have a pot of hot water ready.  Stir occasionally to make sure the rice or dhal doesn't still at the bottom of the pan.  When almost done, add the vegetable cube.  Once it's dissolved, mix well into the porridge.  Have a taste.  I added a few more dashes of salt.  And then it's ready.  Serve on a bowl and top with crispy fried onions.  I'm not sure if you can easily find a packed crispy fried onions in the Philippines.  I was first introduced to this crispy fried onions in Riyadh and I really like it.  Not very sattvic though.

I'm just finishing the last of the porridge as I type this entry.  This recipe can easily feed 2 hungry yoginis but in my case...

I think I just discovered my winter food.

Let me know if you're trying this and if you like it.

Terve!