Yoga on Horseback?

Is there no end to the fads of yoga-on-top-of-something-odd?

In sequence with my recent post about yoga on paddle board, today's news shared a story of a woman who teaches equine yoga, or yoga on horseback. Her yoga studio is her backyard.

A quick Google search led me to discover that this is not a thoroughly uncommon practice! See Desert Horse Equestrian Services yoga page .

While interesting, I think I will keep my practice on a mat. A mat on the ground, not somewhere crazy like on the wing of an airplane.

Yoga in the seat of a roller coaster! I totally just thought of a brilliant new market!

Can you attain bliss on a paddleboard?

So if you think you've already heard of all the latest yoga fads, check out this article in the Boston Herald about yoga on paddle boards.

There are some very cool pics of folks in asanas while also balancing on paddle boards in the middle of a lake. Talk about core strength!

I may have to try this the next time I attempt surfing...although now that I think about, it is probably not possible on ocean swells, which probably explains why they were on a lake!

Veggie Pizza, soooo good!

I did some grocery shopping today and picked up more veggies than I usually do, since I am trying to gradually replace meat dishes with vegetarian dishes. I looked up a few recipes and made a plan for the week's cooking.

This evening I made a veggie pizza with spinach, tomatoes, vidalia onions, and loads of garlic...

Garlic, and lots of it, is a key ingredient in lots of things that I make!

This pizza was sauce-less. I used olive oil, basil and parmesan (pesto) as the base, and piled it high with fresh spinach, veggies, a few sliced jalapenos, and crumbled feta cheese. It came out garlicky, cheesy, and delicious!

Suggestions for quick, easy, and cheap vegetarian meals?

The Significance of OM

Have you ever been in a yoga class where there is a led chanting of OM and thought that this was just another hippie-dippie method of making the class seem more "authentic"? I was a few years ago, when I was first starting to explore yoga, and that inspired me to do a little reading-up on the meaning of OM and of chanting in general.

Above you see one of the most popular tattoos of enlightenment-seeking, hybrid-driving westerners, the sacred and mystical syllable of Indian religions. But what makes it so sacred? And how can we find significance and importance in using this in chanting or meditation mantra?

OM is the origin of all sound, the cosmic vibration of the universe. If you are quiet enough, you can hear the hum of OM anywhere and everywhere, in everything you do. God manifests as OM and OM is what we take away from any spiritual experience, whether we know to label it as such or not. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1).

Carerra's commentary on the Yoga Sutras says the following:

"OM is the hum of the business of creation: the making, evolving, and dissolving of beings and objects. You can hear it in the roar of a fire, the deep rumble of the ocean, or the ground-shaking rush of a tornado's winds...It is always vibrating within us...This hum can be hears in deep meditation, when external sound is transcended and internal chatter stilled."

Om is comprised of three letters, A, U, and M and is usually pronounced as a tripthong, each syllable representing birth, life, and death; creation, evolution, and dissolution. There is a lot of energy manifested when one chants OM and so it is the origin of all mantras and the prefix to most mantras.

Yesterday, I spent the day on Plum Island, on a small nature reserve in northern Massachusetts. I was there to sun myself, play in the water, and relax in the sand. I succeeded in all of those things! But I also spent some time trying to listen for OM in the sound of the waves. It did not take too much time or effort to hear the rumble of a wave being born and rushing towards the shore, the crashing of that wave as it crested and fell, and the fizz as it died and retreated back into the ocean. This rhythm became clearer and more powerful the longer I sat there listening for it.

To try to symbolically recreate that sound, the sound of God at work in the world, with a simple chant, seems to fall short. I do know that mindless parroting of a sound has no power, but to be able to just start grasp the possible significance of the mantra, brings about a subtler perception and a moment of connection with the Self.

(sorry for the incredibly poor quality of this cellphone video!)

Where in the world have you heard OM? What have you experienced from the chanting of OM? 

My first no-meat day.

As I wrote about previously, I am planning on making a massive reduction in my meat consumption. I am starting this by gradually replacing my usual meals with vegetarian meals. Yesterday was my first day to purposefully go "meat-free"!

I certainly will not say that this was a perfect example of a well-balanced, nutritional, and completely animal/enviornmentally friendly, but it was a small step in the right direction.

Breakfast:
Cereal with Skim Milk
Organic Apple

Lunch:
Fresh Spinach Salad with
     olives, radishes, green onions, carrots

Snack:
Raw Almonds
Mozerella String Cheese

Dinner:
Whole Wheat Pasta with Spinach, Ricotta Cheese and Tomatoes

So, all in all, I didn't even notice that there was anything different about today's meals. I didn't experience any cravings or feel like I was lacking in any area!

I plan on doing a little more research on vegetarian meals and putting together some delicious recipes, but will update as things move along.

Know any great and easy "meat-free" recipes?

Am I really going to do this vegetarian thing?

I've been putting off even thinking about "going veggie" for awhile now. I am a foodie. I love food. And (surprise!), I love meat.

I love chicken wings, pork chops, bratwurst, cheddar stuffed bratwurst, spaghetti with meatballs, meatloaf (it's like a loaf of bread, but it's meat!), steak kabobs, steak tips, giant cuts of medium-rare sirloin steaks, filet mignon, and don't even get me started on the possibilities that come with bacon!

But I am also a human with a conscious. I feel the weight of responsibility of being at the top of the food chain and being the species that is in control of our planet and its resources. Also I luuuuuurv me some living animals too! Furry, feathery, cuddly or not, I have pets and I love them.

As a student of yoga, I cannot ignore the yama, or ethical aim, of ahimsa, or non-violence. This includes non-violence towards any living creature.  There are some monks who wear masks over their mouths to prevent the accidental inhalation of bugs and carry brooms at all times to sweep away bugs that might be about to be under their feet. I know that I will never take it to that extreme. There are so many more reasons why I am interested in making this change other than merely a love and respect for all animals. I could write a whole other blog just on the environmental impacts of raising cattle. Check out 49 Good Reasons For Being a Vegetarian.

It will also be a challenge to find a way to eat that is healthy and well-rounded, imagine the damage I can do with macaroni & cheese, cake, and nachos! I read a great blog on Elephant recently about just such a dilemma, Why vegetarian does not equal healthy.

I may not ever cut meat out of my diet completely. I plan to continue to eat seafood as well as dairy products, but I do intend to cut back drastically on my meat intake. Everything I've read so far recommends taking it slow; having one or two meat-free days per week, slowly building a vegetarian recipe collection, and using meat substitutes when I'm having a craving. So that is my plan, beginning with this week. For the month of August, while I am attending the yoga teacher training, all of my meals prepared on-site by the chef will be vegetarian. That will be my first true test!

Could you ever go meat-less? If you are a vegetarian, how did you make the change?

Don't you have to be like a Yoga master or something to become a teacher?

I hope not, because that does not describe me! When I hear "yoga master" I think of the the gurus of India who are wise beyond comprehension, flexible as any circus contortionist, with the strength of  a strongman competitor. I might even conjure up an image something like this:

Will that ever be me? Unlikely, though my possibilities, I believe, are unbounded.

Here are the qualities I believe are needed, and indeed I expect, in a yoga teacher:

• A passion for yoga
• The desire to explore and expand yourself spiritually
• The ability to give clear, precise and accurate instructions
• The capability to give appropriate and safe adjustments
• A willingness to prod students to see yoga as more than just asanas (poses), and to inspire further exploration.

What do you expect from your yoga instructors?

Seeking the Change

A quick explanation of the name of this blog... (Please read my previous post for an introduction)

A well known and popular quotation of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi,

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world".

Ghandi was, of course, the pioneer of resisting tyranny through mass civil disobedience, a principle developed from the limb Yama of the eight-limbed yoga tree. Yama are the ethical aims we should try to live by, including  Ahimsa or non-violence.

This blog centers around the idea of change. My desire for change has been a driving force in my life for some time. Mukunda Stiles stated that yoga is indeed alchemy. The self transforms into the Self. The word yoga itself means "yolking" or union of the self to the true Self.

In the yoga culture, the true Self or Supreme Self is often represented by the image of a swan. Everyone knows the story of The Ugly Duckling, right?

A homely duckling born in a barnyard transforms into a graceful and beautiful swan to the surprise of himself and others around him:

Guess what is hiding inside of all of us, just waiting to be discovered so that it can take flight?

So, in other words, here is the change/liberation that I am seeking!:

What change are you seeking?

Lemme introduce you to crazy idea I had awhile back...

So it has now been 6 (six!) years since college graduation, and since the start of what I thought would be an exciting and adventurous life.  Oh, the plans I had made for myself at that time! Traveling and exploring the world, meeting fascinating people, and hoping to make a difference in the lives of the people I served in my work. The dreams of any inspired youth... Blame this guy:

Fast forward through six years of struggles with finances, busted romances, bosses I wanted to strangle (some co-workers who I wanted to strangle even more), adventures in anti-depressants, one move across the country, and here I am: sitting at my work computer 8 hours a day, churning out stacks of government paperwork and feeling over-worked, underpaid and under appreciated. Did I mention the hour-long, mind-numbing, life-sucking commute through greater Boston? I have become the average yuppie (Young Urban Professional for those of you that missed the 80's) that I never wanted to become!

Don't get me wrong, there have been a smattering of good times and good things happen to me. I have had some incredible friends, with whom I have had some incredible times. The music festivals and concerts, restaurants and favorite bars, mountain climbing and beach dozing, discovering and practicing yoga have all certainly brought a level of sanity to my life. And for most people, those smatterings are what get them through at the end of the day. But for me it has never been enough.

Yogic philosophy speaks of an inner longing for freedom inside all of us. The problem in life is that we tend to seek the desires and wishes that we think will bring us happiness, when it is freedom from those desires and wishes only that can bring us the permanent happiness that comes with true liberation.

So here I am about to quit my job, in the middle of the biggest and scariest recession of my lifetime, to seek that true liberation! I am deepening my yoga study and practice, and I will be attending a Yoga Teacher Training later this summer. I hope that this blog will be a place where I can share that adventure with you. I'm sure there will be a lot of new things that I will learn that I will want to share with you along with the many new successes and failures that I am bound to encounter!