How was it? I keep being asked?
It was one of the best weekends of my life! I had so much fun. I enjoyed the energy of the group, the practice, and was super surprised at the amount of info I carry with me. Good thing we do not need to buy more hard-drives for all that our mind holds. It would be nice to see my hard drives creating new cells within themselves when new info arrives.
Friday, October 24th, 12 participants and my self were sitting in a circle and meditating. Sitting tall sharing the same air, breathing in and out as the energies merge.
While creating the workshop, I tried to imagine the perfect workshop for me. What would I really want to see in a workshop? Weekend workshops always seem quick to me, and rarely do I feel we went deep enough.
So Friday night after a brief introduction of each other, and an intro to the weekend, we dived right in. Filling out an Ayurvedic body type questionnaire, and then a talk. I presented the Blissful Living approach I’ve been cultivating and working on for the past16 years. A lot of info was shared in a very relaxed way.
We finished class with half an hour of restorative Yoga, getting ready for a hot tub or sleep.
Since I wanted to give more “meat” to Friday, I offered an optional blissful Yoga class in the afternoon. And oh did we go deep!
Saturday we had two sessions during the day, 3 hours each. We practiced Pranayama, Asana (poses), and meditation and studied more about nutrition. It was a beautiful combination.
Saturday eve, as an optional gathering, we met for a free form dance session. ( I was the DJ….some 70’s, 80’s and electro music blend…)
An hour and a half of complete let go, just pure fun, completed with Savasana (the corpse pose).
Sunday was mostly Asana, and a closing circle.
We sat close, felt each other, just a weekend passed, but it felt very solid.
Words were thrown into the circle: “gratitude, calm, happy, dark leafy greens, courage, permission, love, MSM, balance…”
During the next day or two, I noticed how the participants were moving with awareness towards nutrition and a healthy life style; the food plates were colorful and had raw and greens, others went and bought some supplements, I saw herbal tea replacing coffee, sitting quietly outside and chewing food longer, drinking water with full attention, I see organic discussions happening in the lodge, talk about fermentation and raw dairy…
A feeling of joy, surrender and satisfaction comes over me. I have found my calling.
Teaching and sharing with others is the greatest gift I have received.
I now follow the footsteps of my parents, both educators. Both are people, who have had the idea of sharing, teaching and celebrating with others a mission.
Sing along at home with more people that can ever fit in (“if there is room in the heart there is room in the house”, they used to tell me), dancing down fifth Avenue in NY, my Mom led her folk dance group in the late 60’s, teaching in JCC’s and bringing tours to Israel, my Dad still has people who talk about him with great appreciation decades later.
It is the teaching with compassion, finding the middle way, and accepting change even within the teachings that is the light to my teachings.
Thank you all those that attended, those that shared their encouragement before the workshop, and those that inquired after.
Thank you all that made this possible, and those that help this carry on.
December 12 is my next weekend workshop.
May I always be of service to others.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
The meaning of Meaningful
(A half fiction situation with fiction names)
“I have a feeling that everything I do needs to be meaningful. When I am engaged in an activity I feel like it should serve some sort of purpose. Having spent the time in a useful manner”
I spoke these words with a group of friends, asking if anyone thinks there is a problem with that.
Looking deeper into what I just said, I realized that what I considered as meaningful is if the next day I would not have feelings of regret or guilt towards the time spent doing whatever it might be I was doing.
“I just went through a period in which I would wake up at 11:00am every day, do Yoga, and watch hours of TV. I felt that it was very meaningful as through that I managed to deal with the heartbreaking separation of the love of my life” said Heather.
Do we need to save the whales in order to be doing something meaningful?
“ I love to take long showers and just stare at the wall, that doesn’t seem meaningless to me, as I feel that it helps me with what ever bigger task I may have later.” “I love staring at the wall too” said another.
“I do meaningless things all the time. Just let me built a dirt bike and then drive it through the mountain paths” this gives me so much joy, what can be more meaningful than that?
Is it considered meaningful according to the outcome of the action or is the action itself what makes it meaningful?
If it is according to the outcome, Is it important that others benefit from it, or can it be meaningful even if the outcome is of benefit to me alone?
Doing something that brings me Joy, can be meaningful to me, as well as bring benefit to others by me being a source of joy to others. As long as I do not do anything that might hurt or harm anyone or anything else.
Doing something that leads me to become a better person, either physically, mentally, emotionally or intellectually is meaningful to me, as again it will lead me to be joyful and of service to others.
Meaningful is very individual. Indeed there are some social codes of what is meaningful (like saving the whales or getting another degree) yet on an every day life, the meaning of time spent in a certain way is dependent on how one feels during, after and long after the time spent. (One might enjoy drinking with friends tonight but have a hang over the next day. If done very often, may even lead to great liver issues years later). Is the outcome of the time spent meaningful in a sustainable way? Benefit for now, tomorrow and further…
It can be an action or a non-doing.
After struggling with this questions for six months now, I realize that I participate in many activities, including sitting still and doing nothing. Yet even this is done with an intention to just be, not hang out as to pass time, but be here and now, with out relation to time and space.
Joy, gaining knowledge, practicing self-realization and maintaining a healthy body and mind are all of substance to me. I can reflect back and feel that my day was worth living. Not another day, or time that passed by. A meaningful day, a day that when `lying in bed before sleep, makes me smile and feel content.
What is a meaningful way for you to pass time?
“I have a feeling that everything I do needs to be meaningful. When I am engaged in an activity I feel like it should serve some sort of purpose. Having spent the time in a useful manner”
I spoke these words with a group of friends, asking if anyone thinks there is a problem with that.
Looking deeper into what I just said, I realized that what I considered as meaningful is if the next day I would not have feelings of regret or guilt towards the time spent doing whatever it might be I was doing.
“I just went through a period in which I would wake up at 11:00am every day, do Yoga, and watch hours of TV. I felt that it was very meaningful as through that I managed to deal with the heartbreaking separation of the love of my life” said Heather.
Do we need to save the whales in order to be doing something meaningful?
“ I love to take long showers and just stare at the wall, that doesn’t seem meaningless to me, as I feel that it helps me with what ever bigger task I may have later.” “I love staring at the wall too” said another.
“I do meaningless things all the time. Just let me built a dirt bike and then drive it through the mountain paths” this gives me so much joy, what can be more meaningful than that?
Is it considered meaningful according to the outcome of the action or is the action itself what makes it meaningful?
If it is according to the outcome, Is it important that others benefit from it, or can it be meaningful even if the outcome is of benefit to me alone?
Doing something that brings me Joy, can be meaningful to me, as well as bring benefit to others by me being a source of joy to others. As long as I do not do anything that might hurt or harm anyone or anything else.
Doing something that leads me to become a better person, either physically, mentally, emotionally or intellectually is meaningful to me, as again it will lead me to be joyful and of service to others.
Meaningful is very individual. Indeed there are some social codes of what is meaningful (like saving the whales or getting another degree) yet on an every day life, the meaning of time spent in a certain way is dependent on how one feels during, after and long after the time spent. (One might enjoy drinking with friends tonight but have a hang over the next day. If done very often, may even lead to great liver issues years later). Is the outcome of the time spent meaningful in a sustainable way? Benefit for now, tomorrow and further…
It can be an action or a non-doing.
After struggling with this questions for six months now, I realize that I participate in many activities, including sitting still and doing nothing. Yet even this is done with an intention to just be, not hang out as to pass time, but be here and now, with out relation to time and space.
Joy, gaining knowledge, practicing self-realization and maintaining a healthy body and mind are all of substance to me. I can reflect back and feel that my day was worth living. Not another day, or time that passed by. A meaningful day, a day that when `lying in bed before sleep, makes me smile and feel content.
What is a meaningful way for you to pass time?
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Wednesday, October 1st, Esalen life
4:45, I open my eyes to see sparkling stars within the darkness. The days are shorter, and the mornings are dark. The skylight reveals a clear sky, probably a sunny day ahead.
I prepare quietly as my roommate sleeps below, hop on my black Suzuki Katana (motorcycle), and head to the main property a mile down the road.
I peek into Huxley, the room where I’ll be teaching later to make sure it looks OK.
Down to the tubs, soaking in darkness with a vast dark sky above.
I take a quick cold shower and walk up to Huxley, the large room where my Yoga class is held.
I prepare the room, and then do my own practice till 7:15. Students arrive slowly and join me in meditation. By 7:30 the class begins. Blissful Yoga.
“Beautiful” I say as I see someone that cannot flex deeply but tries to go deeper with her breath. Breathing in, she lengthens and opens just a tiny bit more, but for her, the sky has opened.
After the silent and powerful Savasana (corpse pose where all are laying and resting), I put mats and props away, give hugs, exchange gratitude and get breakfast. It’s Wednesday and Sheila made her raw Muesli. Yum!
Before 10:00 I walk on the little bridge over the creek and head to the dance dome. Dancing with Vin Marti - Soul Motion, a seven-day dance workshop. What joy to move so freely, to connect so intimately with others, to be alive and grateful for this body.
“Feel your feet, where are you now. Feel your hands, your sky dancers. Your breath, how are you breathing now? See the space around you. Soft gaze.”
Vin has this remarkable way of connecting the dance with awareness, with being in the present “what is happening now? Right now?”
We are 45 dancers of all ages, moving flowing alone and with each other.
At times dancing with a guided instruction, maybe with someone else or a group, at times dancing, just moving, inside with an awareness of the space, of the canvas we dance in.
12:30 I head back, get a quick lunch and into the kitchen. It’s my Chef night at Esalen. I am still in training, but really, get to be the Chef.
Wednesdays are fish nights at Esalen, and as a fish lover, I feel fortunate to serve the community healthy delicious meals.
Local fresh sea bass brought over by the fisherman himself is served with a maple ginger tamari glaze, topped with fennel. A kabucha (Japanese squash) miso soup, greens wilted in a warm Dijon vinaigrette, and brown Basmati rice with scallions accompany the fish. Tofu with the same glaze topped with red bell pepper julienne and sunflower sprouts is the veggie option.
Running the kitchen while preparing the food fills m heart with a sense of service. As people are enjoying dinner I peak out to the lodge and smile. Gordon Wheeler the CEO and president of Esalen, comes in to the kitchen to thank and compliment me.
Wednesday October 1st, thank you for so much opportunity.
I prepare quietly as my roommate sleeps below, hop on my black Suzuki Katana (motorcycle), and head to the main property a mile down the road.
I peek into Huxley, the room where I’ll be teaching later to make sure it looks OK.
Down to the tubs, soaking in darkness with a vast dark sky above.
I take a quick cold shower and walk up to Huxley, the large room where my Yoga class is held.
I prepare the room, and then do my own practice till 7:15. Students arrive slowly and join me in meditation. By 7:30 the class begins. Blissful Yoga.
“Beautiful” I say as I see someone that cannot flex deeply but tries to go deeper with her breath. Breathing in, she lengthens and opens just a tiny bit more, but for her, the sky has opened.
After the silent and powerful Savasana (corpse pose where all are laying and resting), I put mats and props away, give hugs, exchange gratitude and get breakfast. It’s Wednesday and Sheila made her raw Muesli. Yum!
Before 10:00 I walk on the little bridge over the creek and head to the dance dome. Dancing with Vin Marti - Soul Motion, a seven-day dance workshop. What joy to move so freely, to connect so intimately with others, to be alive and grateful for this body.
“Feel your feet, where are you now. Feel your hands, your sky dancers. Your breath, how are you breathing now? See the space around you. Soft gaze.”
Vin has this remarkable way of connecting the dance with awareness, with being in the present “what is happening now? Right now?”
We are 45 dancers of all ages, moving flowing alone and with each other.
At times dancing with a guided instruction, maybe with someone else or a group, at times dancing, just moving, inside with an awareness of the space, of the canvas we dance in.
12:30 I head back, get a quick lunch and into the kitchen. It’s my Chef night at Esalen. I am still in training, but really, get to be the Chef.
Wednesdays are fish nights at Esalen, and as a fish lover, I feel fortunate to serve the community healthy delicious meals.
Local fresh sea bass brought over by the fisherman himself is served with a maple ginger tamari glaze, topped with fennel. A kabucha (Japanese squash) miso soup, greens wilted in a warm Dijon vinaigrette, and brown Basmati rice with scallions accompany the fish. Tofu with the same glaze topped with red bell pepper julienne and sunflower sprouts is the veggie option.
Running the kitchen while preparing the food fills m heart with a sense of service. As people are enjoying dinner I peak out to the lodge and smile. Gordon Wheeler the CEO and president of Esalen, comes in to the kitchen to thank and compliment me.
Wednesday October 1st, thank you for so much opportunity.
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