Revitalize, Simplify and Do It!

As you will immediately notice, if you've been here before that is, I've given the site a major face lift.  I've tried to simplify the available information, tried to streamline the navigation and, hopefully, by doing so have made it easier for me to keep a dynamic flow of new content.  Feel free to send me a comment or two about the new look and semi-new feel of the place.  Is it good?  Is it bad?  What do you think?

One of the newest features here on the site is the Daily Meditations linked at the left.  On that page, I'll drop some kind of inspirational thought or quote that can be used during meditation or just the odd noodling session during the day.  If you have any meditation worthy quotes or ideas, feel free to email them to me using the link at the bottom of the page.

One last note before I head for class, I am going to reissue the 30 Week Challenge on 1 January 2009.  If you feel that this is just too much of a commitment, feel free to make a smaller challenge for yourself but make sure that you share it with us and I'll put your goal up on the Challengers! page linked at the left.

Release The Hounds!

Shanna and I took the dogs to the shelter today.  I know, after months of agonizing over this, that we really had no other choice under the current circumstances, not if we really loved our dogs.  This was not as hard as putting our dear CC to sleep—she had feline distemper and was in terrible pain—but it still tears at my heart in an awful way.  Both the dogs, however, were very excited to meet all those nice people and see so many other dogs!  I'll post a link to their adoption pages once they are available.

After having given the prospect of returning to Wellsphere a great deal of thought, I won't be returning there.  The site is quite unwieldly.  The fact that it is still impossible to know whether content was created on the site or siphoned via news feed and the fact that my concern over the ownership issue was never directly addresses has all left me wanting to remain distanced from the site.  The great irony, if the Terms of Use had simply stated that by agreeing to allow them to publish my content that I was agreeing to give them ownership of a copy of my work, like a library, then there would have been no problem . . . well, except that they were linking to images on my sight and driving my bandwidth up without actually sending me viewiers.  I was told that they, Wellsphere, never remove content from their sight once it has been published unless it is deemed objectionable.  It doesn't matter because I already when through all my posts that landed on the Wellsphere and deleted the content.  Oh, just a reminder that it's likely that you have not yet read all of the posts from the past five days.

I am so looking forward to my practice tonight—I practice privately before class.  I have a number of issues to work out of my system tonight and I am very anxious to hit the mat!

Oh yeah, be sure to read about the 30 Week Challenge on 01 October 2008!

Namasté

The Building Flood

I haven't published to the web site for a couple of days even though I have been writing...tomorrow will see a flood of entries.  Tomorrow will also see another form of flood:  My wife, children and myself have come to the realization that we can't keep our two dogs, Zeke and Zoe.  No one plays with them, the neighbors tease them—Zeke is starting to act aggressively toward people on that side of the fence—and none of the family spends any time in the backyard anymore.  They need to be rescued from this situation before they are hurt emotionally or they hurt someone else.

Just teach the neighbors to not tease the dogs.  It is hard to teach children to not do what they see adults doing.  Spend more time with your dogs!  I've precious little time as it is and my wife and children will always come before any four legged, winged or scaly friend.  Surely your schedule is not that tight? 

Sunday:  Church meetings from 8:00 AM until about 5:00 PM.  Dinner and visiting family/neighbors until 8:00 PM.  Time with Shanna until about 9:30 PM and then bed.

Monday:  Wake at 4:00 AM, read scriptures with the family at 5:00 AM, work at 6:00 AM.  Home at 5:30 PM.  Homework with the kids, prepare for my Monday Yoga class and out the door by 7:15 PM.  Home at 10:00 PM, grab a bite to eat and straight to bed.

Tuesday:  See Monday until 5:30 PM.  Dinner and spend time with the family—yard work, gardening, homework—until 9:00 PM and off to bed.

Wednesday:  See Monday until 5:30 PM.  Meet with the Bishop from 6:15 to 7:30 PM, off to teach Yoga.  Home at 10PM, eat and sleep.

Thursday:  See Monday until 5:30 PM.  Snag a bite to eat, play games with the guys until 10:00 PM and off to bed.

Friday:  Sleep in until 6:30 AM, Yoga at 7:15 AM.  Workout with Shanna until about 10:30 AM.  Attend to projects I've neglected through the week until the kids come home at 3:30 PM.  Spend some time with the kids until about 9:00 PM and go to bed.

Saturday:  See Friday and start projects that I will neglect all week until the next Friday.

I give Zeke a good scratch Monday and Wednesday nights as I return home and I'll try to find some time to throw a ball for the dogs on Fridays and Saturdays but I'm fairly sure that they deserve more than an hour of my time, if that, each week.  Even knowing that there just isn't the time to be a good dog owner, I am still beside myself thinking that this beautiful, loyal dog that has been part of my life for two years will be spending less than 24 more hours at my home.

Namasté

Class and Taught by Prophets

Class was very small today, only two students.  I figure that the drop in temperature—about 20 degrees Fahrenheit—and the steady rain had a bit to do with it.  Also, today marked the beginning of the Semi-Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and that could have had an impact on attendance as well.  I have been playing music in the background for the last few classes.  I think it has been a good addition.  Jr. Jazz basketball started last weekend and it begins at the same time as class does.  That is a bad addition.  Class went well, despite the buzzers and cheers of the parents which occasionally intruded into our space.  One student clearly didn't feel that we had covered enough poses and as I was wrapping up class, she did a couple of ardha matsyendrasana and baddha konasana.  That was great!  She was listening to her body and she followed through with what she needed.  I had to do something similar last week by practicing with my back to the instructor so I could remain in the balance poses without watching myself in the mirrors.  Watching my reflection, even my shadow, while trying to balance will topple this old tree every time!  Do you modify your practice when in a class or do you follow the instructor as best you can?  Why?

I cherish the first full weekend of April and of October every year for these weekends are respectively the Annual and Semi-Annual General Conferences of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  It is a grand opportunity to listen to God's living Prophet, to listen to the living Apostles of Jesus Christ and most importantly, to listen to the Spirit of God as he fits the counsel of these great men and others to me.  I have often wondered why other Christian denominations feel that there is no need for modern prophets, I would honestly feel that God must not love me as much as earlier peoples if I believed that there were no more prophets.  If God loved His children enough to send them prophets in times of old, then why not today?  Anyway, Shanna and I were discussing dress standards yesterday and not exactly seeing eye to eye.  Elder L. Tom Perry, addressed the very subject upon which Shanna and I had disagreed.  Apparently, we are not the only ones wanting some heavenly insight on the topic.  President Dieter F. Uchtdorf spoke during the Priesthood Session and answered a question that has been boiling in the back of my mind for quite some time now.  Stand close together and lift where you stand, was exactly what I needed to hear.

Some want empirical proof that God lives and others say such proof is impossible to obtain, I would disagree with that.  God says pay your tithing and I will protect you and your family.  I have always paid my tithing faithfully and, even when I was unemployed, my family has never wanted for food or shelter.  I have neighbors with similar and even more dramatic examples of this promised blessing being fulfilled.  I have been seeking earnestly for answers and I received them during Conference.  These were not flashes of inspiration that I can claim to have just made up on my own, both Elder Perry and President Uchtdorf specifically asked the questions I had asked and then gave specific answers to those questions.  One answer I already knew but now understood better but the other left me dumbfounded.  That answer also explained something that happened to me nearly twenty years ago, something I had not even connected with more recent events and yet the relation and reasoning was now as clear to me as if someone had opened the blinds in a darkened room to allow the sun to shine through the windows.  These things, however, are merely empirical proofs.  I have the more sure word of prophecy within my heart that proclaims loudly that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ and that He has called a Prophet to reveal his secrets.

Oddly enough, it is the Yoga community which is best equipped to understand why a feeling is stronger proof than any experiment can ever hope to be.  While practicing pratyahara and dharana, it is not uncommon for a yogi to experience deep and abiding calm.  This is an experience that I deeply enjoy but I found that calm first when I entered a temple of God and to this day I experience that same calm the moment I enter a temple.  As one practices dhyana and approaches samadhi, one feels bliss filling the soul.  This feeling is impossible to adequately describe so that one who has not experienced it can fully comprehend it.  It is happiness, joy, light, life . . . it is bliss that fills one completely from head to foot and yet it continues to grow until it fills the room, the world and the entire universe.  This same bliss consumed me as if in fire long before I began practicing Yoga.  It came in answer to simple questions:  God, are you real?  Is Jesus Christ your Son and the Savior of the World?  Are these men, these prophets and apostles, true messengers from you?  The answer is an overwhelming, undeniable YES! that fills me with such joy and happiness that at times I feel I must burst at the seams.  This is also why I feel so passionately about my personal Yoga practice, this is why I share so much of my religious beliefs here, this is why I am who I am.

Namasté

Namasté, More Than Just A Word

Namasté is often assumed to mean I bow to the god(dess) in you.  This is not absolutely correct.  Namas means salutation or homage and comes from nam(ati) which means to bow or bend.  Te is a masculine plural third person pronoun, in other words it means they.  Literally namasté means I bow/bend/salute/give homage/respectful deference to them.  Yes, I bow to the god(dess) in you would be an acceptable translation of the intent of this word but so also would I respect you or I honor our mutual humanity.

One thing I have noticed is that in the Yoga community, namasté is usually first uttered by the instructor and then repeated by the student.  Why do I find this significant?  In Western society, it is common place for the commoners to throng around the noble in hopes of being noticed or recognized by this grand figure in some way.  A good stereotypical image of this is the rock star mobbed by swooning teenaged girls.  By the instructor first bowing and saying namasté, the instructor acknowledges that he is merely another commoner or, more correctly, avers that his students are just as noble as he.  Taken this way, this act of bowing and uttering namasté is a grand expression of humility.

So, what do I take this gesture to mean?  That depends upon the situation:  As an instructor, I acknowledge my fellow Children of God, my brothers and sisters.  I am also reminding myself that it has been my privilege to teach these students and that I must earn that privilege every time I teach.  Finally, I am reminding my students that they are each worth knowing, full of great potentials and that I care about each of them.  As a student, I feel I am expressing my gratitude that toward my instructor for the time spent teaching me and for what I have learned about myself during that class/session.  What if the instructor and I did not click or I found the class to be a waste of time?  I am still grateful for the instructor's time and for having learned, at the very least, something I should not do as an instructor.

With that in mind, it is with heartfelt gratitude that I say, Namasté.

Yoga for the Ages

I have previously said that Yoga was not the best way to lose weight, lower blood pressure nor improve cardiac health.  I've come to the conclusion that I need to revise that outlook a bit.  Yoga is not the fastest way to accomplish these things but it is a good long term way to improve one's body, mind and soul.  I've lost 20 pounds in 10 months doing little more than practicing Yoga.  My blood pressure is lower and my heart is healthier—although it's improve more dramatically since I started working on the treadmill at the center.  I read a great story about a 90 year old man who attributes his great health to daily Yoga practice.  I first read this on the Star-Telegram but the article is already off the site—it was first published on 22 September 2008—thankfully, I kept a copy of the article.

Yoga master, 90 next month, says discipline makes him feel one-fifth his age

By DAVID CASSTEVENS

dcasstevens@star-telegram.com

ARLINGTON—He spoke as if he were seated on an examining table, talking with his doctor.

“I am feeling very goood,” he declared.

Any pains?

“No headache. No fever. Never.”

Problem with medications?

Kantilal Talati smiled. “No med-i-ca-tion.”

The polite, gracious man from India, who turns 90 next month, summarized his well-being in economical English. “I never fall sick. Due to yoga only.”

Arpita Shah’s grandfather knelt on the living room carpet of an Arlington home where he has lived with his daughter and son-in-law since leaving Bombay, India, last summer. Limber as an Olympic gymnast, Talati curled his 5-foot, 125-pound frame into a tight ball, and using his head for balance, slowly raised both legs overhead until his inverted body punctuated the accomplishment, forming an exclamation point.

Then Talati lowered his bare feet, turning the soles inward until they met in a posture of prayer.

As he maintained the headstand—the king of yoga poses—his family watched with respect and admiration.

Daily devotion

Talati performs a variety of positions—asanas—as part of his disciplined daily yoga schedule.

“Never do I lapse,” he said proudly.

Yoga, an ancient Hindu practice, is aimed at achieving a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility. Postures and breathing techniques induce relaxation.

Talati devotes one hour every morning to pranayam (breathing exercises), followed by an hour of yoga.

After breakfast he gives yoga lessons to his hosts.

In the afternoon he does another session alone, performing more challenging yoga poses and movements that massage internal organs, enhance blood circulation and act on the joints, increasing strength and flexibility.

According to a yoga philosophy, it’s not the number of years that determines a person’s age but rather the suppleness of the spine.

Talati credits his 30-year regimen for his good health and longevity.

“I am very young now,” Talati said. “If someone asks me 'How old are you?’ I always say, 'I am 18 years!’”

Amused by his own statement, the man born Oct. 25, 1918, broke into a high-pitched staccato laugh..

“My grandfather,” said Arpita Shah, a 33-year-old nutritionist, “is my hero.”

Crisis spurs change

A native of Bharuch, a seaside city in the state of Gujarat in western India, Talati worked as a project developer for the government-operated Western Railway. As a young man he smoked heavily.

“Four packs a day,” he said.

“What!” his granddaughter said in disbelief at this revelation.

After Talati suffered a heart attack at age 44, he made a commitment to dramatically change his lifestyle. He learned relaxation and meditation techniques, and yoga poses from famed guru Acharya Swami Krupalvaanandji and, after he retired, began teaching the discipline at schools, temples and public gardens.

Talati is registered with the Yoga Alliance to teach at the 500-hour level, the highest level available.

“He is a jewel, the perfect testimony for yoga,” said Marinda Hollar, owner of the Arlington Yoga Center. “It’s not only his physical prowess, but his kindness. Humility. Authenticity. He’s not trying to get money or attention. He cares about others. That’s what a yogi is.”

Talati hopes to open a yoga studio next year. For now, his daughter and granddaughter are his regular students.

Arpita Shah’s stamina has improved, but she has yet to master the headstand.

“My grandfather won’t let me use a wall to help balance,” she said. “He tells me, 'There are no shortcuts.’ He says I must learn the right way. No matter how long it takes. I am so lucky. I have found my teacher in him.”

A simple life

Talati lives simply, modestly, happily, at peace with himself and the world.

He sleeps in a small guest room furnished with a rattan bed and a dresser.

A photograph on one wall pictures the woman to whom he was married for 66 years.

After Padmavati Talati died last year at age 85, her husband left his homeland to live with family in Texas.

“I prefer it here,” Talati said. “The climate is better. The atmosphere. The air.”

Rising before dawn, the yogi bows before a brightly colored painting of a Hindu deity and then begins his regimented day with a body-cleansing cup of hot water with lemon juice and honey.

A vegetarian, he has whole-wheat toast, with egg whites, juice and Indian tea for breakfast.

He doesn’t require naps and spends hours each day reading and writing about yoga.

Before retiring at 10:30 p.m. he walks about two miles.

“He wants to start jogging,” his granddaughter said.

How long will he live?

The question appeared to surprise and amuse the elderly man.

“As long as God gives me that bonus,” he said, smiling. “It is not in my hand. I want to die healthy. That is always my prayer.”

DAVID CASSTEVENS, 817-390-7436

Namasté

A Challenge and a Response

First, the challenge:  I've read in a number of places that it takes 30—or a number very similar to that—days to form a habit.  I would have to say that 30 days of repeated activity creates only the seed of a habit and with that in mind, I am issuing a challenge to you, my dear readers, to set a goal to practice Yoga for not 30 days but 30 weeks.  You can do it, I can do it and we can do it together.  In order to make my own challenge goal easier to track, I will begin counting from the 6^th of October.  If you are taking up the challenge, leave a comment on this entry with your start date and goal and I'll add it to my Challengers page.  My own Challenge Goal is to practice a minimum of 1 hour six days a week for 30 weeks.

Yesterday I wrote about my concerns over the Wellsphere Terms of Use laying claim to ownership to all content published on their site whether posted there directly or gathered via RSS feeds.  Well, I received a response from Mr. Geoffrey Rutledge last night.  My concern was specifically about the claim of ownership by Wellsphere but that is the one topic not mentioned in the response.  Mr Rutledge went so far as to give me his office phone number with an invitation to review my concerns directly.  As I have already removed my Everyday Yoga Blog entries from the Wellsphere site, I am going to give myself a few days to mull over his response before taking any further action.  My gut reaction, however, is to just avoid the situation completely.  I am going to hold back on publishing the next few days' worth of entries until I am sure that Wellsphere is no longer siphoning content via my RSS feed and to give me time to meditate upon what course of action I should take.

Namasté