Time for Change

I have been procrastinating about this for a long time -- and I have finally resigned my yoga class at IYI.

I have been teaching there for 5+ years and I have been thinking for at least a year that it's getting old for me. Although I am grateful for my training and teachers at IYI, and the opportunity to teach there, I think it is time to move on.

Maybe I will teach somewhere else. Maybe not. If so, I will put that information on this blog. I am thinking that I need to spend more time working on my own practice and less time teaching. If you want to contact me, you can email via this blog.

Vegetarianism and Veganism

There seems to be some confusion about what it means to be a vegetarian.

Simply put, it means you don't eat anything that has a beating heart. All animals, fish included, have a heart, a set of lungs, a brain ... just like you.

Veggie Paul McCartney once said "I don't eat anything that has a face" -- I think that sums it up.

Vegetarians : No fish, no beef, pork, lamb, chicken, goat, duck, buffalo, veal, venison, shrimp, mussels, clams, lobster, oysters.... you get the picture. However, dairy products such as milk, yoghurt, cheese, butter etc... are allowed. Eggs are iffy -- eggs can be considered a life-to-be. So some veggies won't eat them, others will. Veggies do not wear fur coats.

Vegans: No animal products whatsoever in daily life. No meats, fish, chicken, eggs, or seafoods. But also no dairy products - no milk, ice cream, cheese, butter etc-- because they come from animals. Vegans also do not use leather, silk or wool because these come from animals. Honey is not allowed because it comes from bees and bees are killed in the harvesting of honey. Hairbrushes or makeup brushes made from animal hair and not used. Vegans do not use down pillows, duvets or coats (feathers belong to ducks).

Veggies and Vegans do not use cosmetics that contain animal products e.g. hand lotion with lanolin, lip balms with beeswax.

By extension, neither vegans nor veggies use cosmetics from companies that continue with cruel animal testing. Look for cosmetics that dont test on animals.

Vegans do not use leather coats, shoes or bags. Vegans buy shoes made from canvas (espadrilles, sneakers) or synthetics. They do not wear wool so they wear fleece and microfibers in the winter. Vegans do not wear fur or down coats.

You can be vegan and still be ultra fashionable -- Stella McCartney is one designer who goes out of her way to make vegan shoes and accessories. Dior created vegan fashions for Natalie Portman to wear for their current advertising campaign.

There are lots of books on the benefits of vegetarianism. The China Study is one book that is often referred to as having comparative scientific information on the benefits of eating only plant products.

For those of you who are wondering where veggies get their protein -- all vegetables are full of protein !! But so are lentils, nuts, quinoa, beans, whole grains, dairy products, hemp seeds, soy products... there is no shortage of proteins. For vegans that dont use dairy, there is almond, hazelnut, hempseed milk ... all delicious and full of nutrients. Another benefit is that plants have no cholesterol and plant derived proteins are easy on your kidneys.

If the idea of going veggie is daunting -- then try one meal a day. Oatmeal with cashews, almonds, cinnamon and dried cranberries for breakfast instead of ham and eggs. A grilled veggie sandwich with mozzarella, fresh basil and olive oil on french baguette for lunch instead of a tuna sandwich. There is no deprivation in vegetarianism.

Eventually, try going veggie or vegan for a whole day or a whole weekend. Observe how you feel. You'll notice you feel better. And you'll find your taste changes -- it only takes about 2-3 weeks to change your tastes !

If you find you prefer the veggie lifestyle, dont be upset if you fall off the wagon from time to time -- you know, your mom makes the best fried chicken in the world and you couldnt resist -- it's ok, it happens. The world wont end. Just observe how your body feels after eating meat -- and get back to your veggie lifestyle.

Satsang on line

This website gives you access to satsang lectures by many wise masters.

They also give you the opportunity to sign up for their podcasts... and it's all FREE.

You can lie in bed with your laptop and listen to words that will open your heart

www. Dharmaseed.org

"If you enter this world knowing you are loved and you leave this world knowing the same, then everything that happens in between can be dealt with.”
- Michael Jackson

"Do you think you are too small to make a difference ? Try sleeping with a mosquito." -- - Dalai Lama

Meatless Monday
The goal is not to make people become veggies but to cut the consumption of meat by 15% which is better for personal health and the health of the planet. It is a non-profit initiative in partnership with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

If you sign up on the website, they will email you weekly veggie recipes.
http://www.meatlessmonday.com/

Just $5.00 can give a girl access to education and medical care
I have always been hesitant to recommend books on this blog but I am reading the bestseller "Half the Sky" by Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl WuDunn. Mr. Kristoff is one of my favorite column writers for the New York Times, and he consistently writes about how unfairly societies, traditions and laws treat girls and women, especially in developing countries. In a lot of the world, women have no value and absolutely no legal standing -- and therefore no legal protection against brutality, violence, murder and no legal right to money or property. In many places, women d0n't even have a legal right to their own children. "Half the Sky" shows how a few very courageous women and girls have survived brutality, forced prostitution, starvation, scorn and abandonment and turned their energy to helping others get education, protection and medical care, with literally, just a few pennies.
Traditionally, parents have educated their male children before daughters. Studies are now showing that if you educate a girl, she contributes more to her community: she naturally educates her children, thereby reducing violence, child marriage, disease, sex trafficking, terrorism etc...
Read the book -- I highly recommend it. I believe they have a website too : http://www.halftheskymovement.org/

Today I found an article about GirlUp - which is a United Nations Foundation campaign to recruit young women in the US to support programs for girls in developing countries. Your gift of $5, called a High Five, can buy supplies a girl needs to attend school and provide medical care, which will boost her earning power and make her less vulnerable to child marriage and sexual violence. And the ripple effect is that her children will benefit from her education and a more stable home.
Here is the website: http://www.girlup.org/
Thank you.

Cruelty Free Cosmetics and Skin Care
There is this lovely cosmetic company from California called 100% Pure and they make vegan, cruelty free cosmetics. They color their makeup with fruit pigments so it is all natural (= no carcinogenic chemical dyes). None of their final products or basic ingredients are tested on animals -- so their products are truly cruelty free. Now available at Duane Reade !!
Check out their website : http://www.100percentpure.com/

Read the background on the company. Very cool stuff. Their mission is to help as many animals as possible and a portion of the company's money goes directly to helping animals in need.

You don't have to use natural fur makeup brushes since there are other lovely synthetic/vegan alternatives now. 100% Pure has their own brand of synthetic hair make up brushes. I buy my synthetic hair makeup brushes at Sephora and they're great. My point is, these vegan brushes are easily available and a painless way for you to be a conscious consumer.

My purpose is not to promote any particular cosmetic line -- my intention is to alert you to the idea that there are animal friendly and chemical free alternatives to traditional cosmetics /body products and that they are easily available. And the products are GOOD ! Just some small conscious changes in your life can make a huge difference.

Show your respect for animals. Namaste.

More affordable yoga
Here is an article from the NYT about how some studios are fighting back (at last !!!) against the commercialization of yoga. There are more yoga studios now that operate on a donation basis -- and they are spreading. They usually have a suggested donation of about $8-$10 per class-- but you can give more or less, depending on what you can afford. Some places let you buy unlimited yoga classes for a reasonable fee of about $100/month.
Also, check out the iPhone yoga or meditation apps. You Tube has yoga instruction too if you scroll around and some of the teachers are great.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/25/fashion/25yoga.html?pagewanted=1&ref=homepage&src=me

Veggie Restaurant
I went to a lovely Korean veggie restaurant with my accupuncturist friend, Melina Bilic. It's a wonderful place and the food is clean, healing and delicious !! You feel so good after eating here. It's also nice enough to go to on a date. I loved this restaurant!
Their website shows how gorgeous the place is: http://www.hangawirestaurant.com/

Over 200 posts ...
I have lots of postings on this blog. I hope you will scroll around to past postings and that you'll find some yoga information that is of interest to you.

Yoga Online and on your iPhone !
There are lots of ways to get your yoga at home or on the road !! Here is just one of the internet sites to get you going ! You can even download to your iPhone , iPad or iPod. (and a lot of it is FREE!)
http://www.myyogaonline.com/

Free Guided Meditations Online
Try this website for many FREE guided audio visual meditations.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2078126/stress_relief_guided_meditation/

Yoga Documentary

Here is an indi movie that examines the good, the bad and the ugly about yoga. It will be showing in NYC in April. I hope you can make it !

http://enlightenupthefilm.com/in-theaters/

Kamaniya has a new CD
The Beautiful Kamaniya and Keshavacharya Das have just released an enchanting new CD and they are going on tour across the country to promote it ! It is called "Sweet Surrender"by Prema Hara. You can buy the CD at their website : http://www.premahara.com/ or next week, it will be available through iTunes. I wish them every success with their new venture.

Yoga Apps for iPhone
Erich Schiffman is a Master yoga teacher. He has a wesite where you can participate with his classes by audio or video -- and he has an Apple app for meditation!! It's called imeditatewitherich.app for your iphone !! So this is an easy way for you to do your yoga or meditation with one of the best teachers without leaving home.

Check out Erich's web: http://www.movingintostillness.com/index.html

Expansion and Contraction
I was talking to another yoga teacher the other day, and we were kind of discussing how hard it is to run a yoga studio, particularly because students tend to be a fickle bunch and switch yoga schools every few months. Makes it hard to pay studio rent.

Well, I thought about that vexing problem, mainly because I dream about having my own studio, and what would I do if all my students up and left me.... but the reality is that to learn yoga, to learn about yourself, sstudents have to leave and expand. It's not that you never come back to your favorite teacher, but sometimes you kind of reach a plateau and you need a new teacher to show you the same thing in a different light.... and then you get it. Sometimes it takes 10 years before the light goes off in your head, but it doesnt mean you dont keep slogging along, learning and expanding.

There is a concept in yoga about expansion and contraction. You should always be expanding -- and the best way to do this is to stretch yourself to your personal edge... physically, mentally and emotionally. If you do this on your mat, you feel brave that you survived, and you can take this confidence out into the world... you can be expansive in your life. If you are too afraid to try a new pose, or stretch into a pose you think you cant do, then you contract. Once, I was in a yoga class and the teacher told her class "make yourself big enough to receive God. God does not fit in small containers" and that affected me deeply. It means you have to grow to your full capacity, your full size. You have to step up and take your place. But, if you contract yourself, you make yourself small in your life. You dull your own brilliant light. And it follows that if you are with people who want to hold you back, then they are trying to make you small, to reduce your light.

So yoga is about expansion and learning. Every day even your most basic asana changes. Your body changes. There is much to observe and learn from those subtle changes. Just be mindful.

Yoga is about making yourself big. Not clinging to fear that you cant do a pose, or clinging to the idea that students will always stay in your class. Students flow back and forth like ocean waves and they go learn and they expand and they find out that there is joy in doing that pose that seemed impossible.

( and then they come back to my class and bring all their friends.! -- Just putting that out into the Universe : ) )

I have been thinking and procrastinating about this for a long time now --although I have not made it official with IYI, I think that I will stop teaching yoga at IYI sooner than later.
I have been teaching there for 5+ years and I have been thinking for at least a year that it's getting old for me. Although I am grateful for my training and teachers at IYI, and the opportunity to teach there, I think it is time to go on hiatus.
Maybe I will teach somewhere else. Maybe not. If so, I will put that information on this blog. I am thinking that I need to spend more time working on my own practice and less time teaching. If you want to contact me, you can email via this blog.

Yoga To The People

This is a studio that believes that yoga is for everyone, and that the commercialization of yoga is against the spirit of yoga. So, Yoga to the People offers vinyasa classes by donation ($10 suggested donation). They are pretty awesome yogis, and their classes are crowded. Check out their website and schedule at http://www.yogatothepeople.com/

I got this quote from their website. It is particularly applicable to me these days. :

Our Deepest Fear

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine.
We were born to make manifest the glory that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

Animals are capable of Love and Attachment
No news here to me but apparently, other people dont think that animals are capable to care about us or other animals.

Here is a new book on this very subject :
Animal Manifesto by Mark Beckoff, PhD - available at Amazon. He also wrote The Emotional Lives of Animals. Do check out these books. Our furry and feathered friends deserve our love and respect as individuals.

And here is an article on the subject from the NY Daily News:
http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/pets/2010/02/06/2010-02-06_more_than_puppy_love_animals_form_strong_love_bond_with_each_other_and_with_thei.html