Wonder

Peak pose : Pachimottanasana

Yesterday marked the final day of the first part of my Anusara yoga training. Unlike the immersions I've participated in, this week was truly focused on the nuts and bolts of teaching a yoga class, and subsequently, taking the seat of the teacher. It was overwhelming for sure, and I often found myself questioning my intentions throughout the week. Our final assignment was to teach a 45 minute class to a friend based on a lesson or inspiration we had during the week. I chose a theme based on the idea of "wonder." In yoga one can often become overwhelmed by a sequence or pose that may be unavailable or beyond their reach for that day. To wonder what a specific pose feels like, or for myself, to wonder how it will feel to be in the seat of the teacher one day, is truly empowering. Finding wonder within ones' self by using muscular energy to draw into inner awareness and organically extending out to further outwardly express oneself can ease that sense of being overwhelmed. The sequence I put together incorporated forward folds and supine twists to steady, and introvertly investigate with wonder the true self within the pose.

Here it is!

Surya NamaskaraA

Surya Namaskara B

Trikonasana

Parsvakonasana

Adrha Chandrasana

Parsvottanasana

Parivritta Parsvakonasana

Pavrita Ardha Chandrasana

Paschimottanasana

Janu Sirsasana

Ardha Matsyendrasana

Paschimottanasana

Savasana

Peppersauce

Family fallout shelter? Family fallout party!

 I was lucky enough to get out of the heat for a few hours this weekend to go hiking and cave exploring. I ran into a cow, chased some lizards, and stuck my head in a suspicious cavern. The whole experience got me thinking about bomb shelters.

What comes up missing?

Image from Teinosuke Kinugasa's 1926 film A Page of Madness

There are spans of time where things begin to fall short... Colors become subjugated from sensory tastes, and days fall as if they never existed to begin with. 

it ain't over

: till' it's over

Inspired Slump

I'm going to be honest, spending the past month in SWELTERING 110+ degree heat has been far from motivating. I've used the long hours of the day mostly trying to avoid the persistent glare of the sun, moving from overly air conditioned buildings via bicycle, to the poorly insulated box that is my studio. During the past few weeks I've taken solice from the weather by eating copious amounts of otter pops and discovering in a new found interest in bollywood videos of the 1960's and 1970's. I'm fascinated with the cinematography, set design, epic story lines, and of course, the dancing. I recently stumbled along Mughal-E-Azam (1960) not too long ago, and it has since manifested its way into a stem of research I'm doing for a new project. This film of epic proportions centers around the ill-fated love affair between the Mughal Crown Prince and his lovely court dancer. The intensity of their tabu relationship threatens to cause demise to the throne of the Mughal empire. Dancing ensues. I love everything about it.

Still shots from the court dancer's performance of Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya - Mughal-E-Azam

Psychonic Invisiblity

I found this ride in Santa Fe (image taken with pentacon.) It looks like something someone invisible would drive

How would you like to be invisible? To walk through the streets of a city unseen or unnoticed? To enter any building, mingle with any group and be completely unobserved? Impossible?

-Walter Delaney

Dads

It's hard to believe that a little over a year ago I was spending a whirlwind adventure with my pops over in Central Europe. After the disaster with the volcano, dad was able to get a ticket to see me instead of our failed London trip we had planned a month earlier. In a matter of five days we went to Prague, Budapest, Vienna, Bratislava, and back to Prague. I like to call the whole experience "Central Europe through the eyes of a Goulash Connoisseur." Regardless of the goulash, we took many long train rides to see the Prague Castle, Budapest Castle, Slavin, the opulent museum quarter square of Vienna, and haggled at many, many street markets. It was an experience that I will never forget, and a trip that I will probably never have the chance to take again, and for that I am forever grateful.

 My dad posing with an appropriate sign in front of an amazing Goulash restaurant in Prague

 On the Train to Budapest from Prague

 On the train to Vienna from Bratislava (I still have yet to figure out why dad was trying to read the Slovak news)

 

 

In front of a wall in Prague... Dad being a good model

At Slavin, a 15 min walk from my flat