Tripping

Taking a retreat is a popular thing to do. Sometimes we think we need to go somewhere exotic and foreign with a director planning our every minute. I just returned from my version of a retreat. I knew I just needed a serious break and wanted to feel supported and loved. I have several friends in Florida and my Yoga Guru's school is there.  Being on a super tight budget and having not left my Yoga studio alone in three years I knew I had to pick a place that was affordable and where I could be somewhat reachable on a daily basis. So running off to a far corner of the world was not going to work.
My Guru was offering a few short classes I thought would be supportive and relaxing and a friend had invited me to stay with her right on the  water Five,   four years ago?  I am bathed in sunlight. The day was my first graduation. Yoga Nidra training. t the beach,  so Florida it was. I first planned a big elaborate whirlwind of a tour of Florida that involved a friend flying in and going to the Keys. However fate stepped in and pared my plans down considerably. Thank God.
I stayed at the beach with my sweet friend for the first week. I didn't remember what it was like waking up to the sound of birds instead of an alarm. They are such healthy raw foodist and were such peaceful housemates. My body went into a detox shock by the fourth day. I was one of those unhealthy vegetarians who eats a bunch of rice and beans and other heavy foods. But the raw diet took care of that. My friend taught me to relax and how important it is to go to the beach everyday. I also got to see how peaceful and loving a relationship can be by witnessing her and her partner communicating with each other.
First Lesson Learned: Eat healthy and go to the beach often. Allow your partner to have their own space.
I left the beach for the forest. Having to rent a car at the last minute could have been very stressful. But my friend supported me and made sure I was off safely.  Arriving in the last town before the Ashram I explored and found a lovely unexpected French Restaurant that stayed open after lunch just for me and I treated myself to the most delicious cooked food. I love my food warm.  I had not been to the Yoga school in almost three years. It was like putting on a forgotten favorite coat from childhood. I let it envelop me. I could have stayed for half price since I arrived a day early by doing Seva service. But a dear friend told me before I left that I need to allow myself to receive and let go of always feeling like I need to do something. So I just let myself sink in. When I got my room assignment I was to stay in the Guru's house. I was lit up. I saw a CD pile laying at check in and asked about it, feeling like I should but didn't want to ask for any favors. I was told they had been giving them out and there was just a few left. I put it in my bag with gratitude and settled in my room. Yoga Nidra was at five.
There are some places we remember forever. The smell, the feeling,  the air quality is all imprinted in our memory.  The Darshan room at the Institute is permanently a part of the recesses of my being. So much transformation,  revelations,  awakening,  emotional catharsis has happened there and I'm just talking about me personally. Entering there for the first time in years is like reentering the womb. And I allow my self to just receive.
That night I debated about listening to the CD. Finally I slipped on the headphones. It's my Guru's daughter, Kamini. The words entrance me. It's like someone is pulling on a thread tied to something vaguely familiar. As she speaks about stepping into your presence a lightening storm explodes in my mind. I was there. I know those words she is speaking. My mind lights up in a 3d scene. I am again sitting in the room where this was recorded. Her words pierce my heart. Then a tsunami of feelings engulf my every fiber of being. I hear my voice speaking. It's trembling,  filed with emotions.  That day was the birth of my new life as a Yogi,  as my Guru's life student. That day was a precipice in my life and I hear it in my voice on the recording.

Then I remember my first graduation from Yoga Nidra training.  Seeing the world through foreign eyes. I would never be the same from that day forward. I feel a vacuum as if I traveled at the speed of light and am sucked back into the present moment.  I can't believe where I've come from to where I am now.
Lesson Two: You never know how far you've come until you go back. We think we're deciding to be at a certain place at a certain time never knowing that were being placed there for a reason.
The rest of the weekend is a blur of hearing my Guru's familiar teachings and friendly participants. I was really in shock. Back in Orlando I got to see my first meditation teacher Diane Ross. To me she is the definition of the word Ethereal. I am bonded to her in ways only my soul knows. She is the wise guide I needed to manifest so long ago who I can't imagine not having met. I had a very powerful and transformative meditation with her that was to intensely personal and revelatory for me to share here. Fueled by my experience at the Ashram having been the witness to the full circle of my life,  my session with Diane permanently placed my soul in residence in my heart center. I'll never be the same. I love her. I love myself.
Lesson Three: trust the sages in our lives. Reside in the heart, there is no where else.

The next week with my best friend was in fast forward.
Lesson Four: Holding hands and having a best friend is better than theme parks.

I returned to the forest for scripture weekend. I was reunited with sweet souls I had not seen in years. It was reaffirmed that I have a home there. An extended family. I was confirmed in my being that I am a Yogi. The knowledge my Guru shared is to vast to divulge here.
Lesson Five: When agendas are no longer useful people can love more. Find a living master and just love them.

I LOOK FORWARD TO SHARING AND SHARING AND SHARING.
Jai Bagwan

Self Management through Psychospiritual Techniques: Links - Yoga and Inter-disciplinary Research

Self Management through Psychospiritual Techniques: Links - Yoga and Inter-disciplinary Research: International Journal of Yoga and Allied Sciences   An Interdisciplinary Journal dedicated to Scientific and Literary Research in Yogic Sci...

Vision into Reality

The story:  Sun Salute Yoga was envisioned when Troy was listening to his Guru, Yogi Amrit Desai speak at the Amrit Yoga Institute during training.  Yogi Desai said that we are all like the rays of the sun, we express ourselves uniquely, but ultimately we come from the same place.  Troy instantly heard the words Sun Salute Yoga Studio in his mind.  On a break he checked online to see if the URL was available and it was.  Troy had no prior business owner experience nor knew the means to arrive at his vision.  Troy just had faith and trust and belief in this direction life pointed him in and go with his inner drive to make it a reality.  Within 12 months the means presented it in a much unexpected way.  The right people appeared and volunteered their time to rally around Troy’s vision of a taste of authentic Yoga in the center of South Orange County California.  Through much elbow grease and volunteer work the doors opened in March of 2010 to a ribbon cutting with the Mayor of Dana Point.  In the first two years of its conception Sun Salute Yoga was voted Best Yoga Studio of Dana Point by the community.  It continues to grow, find its niche as a boutique studio that offers one on one attention to its students and authentic Yoga.  The studio is the only location in Southern California that offers the Amrit Method of Yoga as well as a wide variety of styles in one location and takes pride in giving to each student the gift of union.  Vision into reality, Sun Salute Yoga brings a ray of light from the source that unifies us all.

The mission of Sun Salute Yoga Studio and Wisdom Center is to safely illuminate the path of the student’s life with the light of Yoga, allowing the student to shine their brightest while building a sense of union with a community of locals. We aim to make a positive difference in the lives of our students so they can reach their highest potential through encouragement, challenging experiences, and support.

We are an intimate studio with a limit of 20 students per class which provides personal attention and growth.  To provide a safe, warm loving studio environment and committed teachers that create relationships and safe yet deep experiences for the enrichment of their students’ lives.  We have a created a family of teachers who are knowledgeable and studied in Yogic arts and health, certified and continuing their education, caring and open to achieving excellence for themselves and safely guiding their students through life transforming experiences in each class.

At Sun Salute Yoga, we are dedicated to being the 'safest' Yoga Studio in Southern California.  ­­­We offer a non-harmful surface to practice on, saving undue wear and stress on joints caused by hard surfaces.  No hard wood, no sore joints and aching backs.  Our soft surface offers a core challenge in a safe environment.   We heat the Body, not the room.  Move, breathe, work, feel the natural heat of your body! No artificial heat here.

The Sun is a powerful metaphor for Yoga and the challenges we find on the mat.  The sun expresses its self in many rays of sun, yet, under it all, the sun is one. Just as we appear in many different forms and personalities on this planet and every day on our mat, yet underneath we are all one.

The Flying Yogi

Flying yesterday was quiet a yoga challenge. I don't normally get up at 430 for any reason but I had to in order to catch my 830 flight.  I've been looking forward to this trip for quite a while now. Almost to the airport I receive the message my flight has been delayed. Arriving I find a long queue waiting to resolve their tickets. So I find the Starbucks nearby and grab some oatmeal and coffee knowing all have a long wait.
I joined the que, open up my oatmeal seed to practice some deep breathing while I eat and wait. The first thing I notice are what I call the recruiters. They are the people that feel they need to tell others about how much trouble they're being put through. They are recruiting others to commiserate with them and form a group. I know that this is the beginning of mob mentality. The only thing that a mob can lead to is trouble. I now need to practice 'allowing'. I allow other things, people, places and events to exist simultaneously while I remain relaxed. 
As I approach the line I notice how hard the airline employees are working and how each new person needs to explain what an inconvenience a three hour delay is for them. I decide to practice 'granting beingness'. This technique acknowledges that I am interacting with a human being not a worker bee. So I think the airline worker for all the hard work they are doing and how quickly the line has progressed. She pauses for a moment and looks at me and thanks me. This isn't in order to get the results I want but to have a human connection. After she reroute me through to Florida I make a joke about how it's better to get there later because it will be cooler we both laugh and share a moment.
I decided to treat myself to a chair massage since I know it's going to wind up being a very long day. After hunting through the entire airport for something not fast food to eat I make it to the terminal to board the plane. I can feel the tension of everyone on the plane as I find my seat. The guy sitting next to me sit down and I  imediately realize he is going to take over the arm rest next to me. He proceeds to speak through the seat to the gentleman in front of him about business during the entire boarding process. After an hour of contorting my body to accommodate him I try to find a way to claim my space so I can sit up straight. But he is doing the guy thing where he refuses to budge so I'm left with feeling as if I'm in some sort of battle over the inability to keep my body straight. I try tension and relaxation exercise and Ananda muscle stimulation exercise in my seat. But I can feel the lack of food and tiredness pervade my body and mind. I know I will have to work hard at letting go on this trip.
We finally land and I have 30 minutes to find something decent to eat which is nearly impossible in Dallas Airport. I settle on what I know will be a horrible salad and a quick glass of white wine. The guy who had been sitting next to me on the first flight comes in and gives me a judging look because I had said I had a quick connection and needed off the plane. I try practicing 3 part breathing.
By the time I board my second plane to Orlando I am glad I had the glass of wine. Sitting next to me is a small energetic girl and behind me and even smaller and more energetic boy and his older sister. The boy imediately begins kicking my seat while screaming at his sister and mother. I find my headphones and put on relaxing music to try and stay calm. By now the tiredness is really getting to my mind. The girl next to me gets out her laptop and I am not sure if I am more surprised that she has a laptop at 9 years old or that she knows to ask when the wifi is available. Once she decides I am not the ogre that I feel like I am she then proceeds to try and get my attention by squirming around to get in my peripheral vision and stare at me. I pray that they serve wine on this flight. I smile back at her with a crooked smile and look out of the corner of my eye at her to acknowledge I know she is there I am friendly but do not feel like playing.  In my mind I see a vision of  my guru and picture him making best friend with this little girl and getting her to laugh and play since her mother is ignoring her. But I dismiss the image knowing I don't have the energy. Somehow I manage to fall asleep. I wake up just in time for wine service and the boys behind me deciding that if he's really loud he will get whatever it is he wants. There is only Chardonnay my least favorite wine so I pass on to red wine and the steward tells me they only have merlot which I like even less then Chardonnay. So I roll my eyes at him put my headphones back on and try to read my book on meditation. A little while later I see a small bottle of Pinot Noir being handed to me with a glass and a knowing look from the kindly steward. I think God for the small gift.
Finally we arrive late to Orlando where my friend been waiting on me for a while. I allow a few trams stuffed full of people to go ahead of me. After the crowd thins I make my way to my friend. Her loving arms and sweet smile seem to take away the hours and miles. I know that although I feel beat up I saved myself a lot of mental anguish by being a flying yogi. I am so looking forward to this sabbatical of meditation and yoga. Hopefully it will help me on the flight home. I am thankful that I have learned to practice yoga off the mat.

Stick Shift Life Advice

Learning to drive a stick shift has been enlightening.  Today I learned how to manage stop and go traffic. I use the term manage loosely.
Basically I have been driving a stick before I really should. It's a challenging thing at first but I'm handling it.  It's even more challenging not reacting to stalling in stop and go traffic. People are in such a rush and not used to cars stalling out. They zoom up on you thinking your going to go and stop suddenly in your rear.  It's exhilarating. 
Today I realized I keep killing the car by slamming on my breaks instead of the clutch and the brake.   I then shift into neutral and pull the car to a stop.  Shift to first and go.  Any time I'm uncertain about what to do I remember my new mantra.  'Pause,  put it in neutral,  take it to first, make double sure it is in first,  breath, break if needed. '
After not realizing I was in third instead of first from takeoff and feeling like the engine was going to shoot out from under the hood I knew I needed a mantra.
Then I realised it was familiar.  Non reaction is a work in progress for me.   When I feel a reaction coming up in me to something that is creating a reaction now I tell my self to step back. Same thing as shifting, get out of gear into neutral. 
I'm going to merge the two,  stop,  get into neutral,  assess the situation,  when ready,  move forward.
Happily shifting forward,
Namaste,  Troy.

The world is F!#*ed up. .

I attended a Sally Kempton workshop in Berkeley last Sunday and she ended it with the funniest line.
The workshop was based on the Gita, one of my favorite Yoga texts.  Heck, I named my cat Arjuna. None of the information was new but she presented it in a new way to me.  She used four challenges presented to Arjuna as the basis of the course. 
It was interesting, but I love her book on meditation and thought the talk was going to be based on that subject plus the air in the studio was so stuffy and everyone seemed so serious.  My Guru is funny and gets us to laugh a bit but the people here were not laughing at Sallys jokes.
Then she hit us with what I call a wake up.  If your a presenter and you feel everyone is drifting or becoming comatose a good tool is to change the tone.  So out it came from this sweet mediator:
"The world is Fucked up so just do the best you can".
I'm going to have to steal that line.
Doing the best I can is my personal mantra.  I have a critic mind. People tease me for always changing my environs,  What they don't know is its because my mind is consistently telling me how things, including myself and others can be better.  It's very frustrating.  Meditation had helped a little.  Now when it points out this about Me I counter with "The world is Fd and I'm doing the best I can".
See you on the mat,
Troy

Soul Adventurer

The best thing about traveling is seeing what I'm missing at home. Walking around Rockridge last night,  a lovely little village slipped in between Berkley and Oakland my mind was doing little back flips.  All the diversity of Manhattan but at a laid back California pace.  Had a fresh made to order garlic free Samosa to go from an authentic,  super clean walk up then around the corner a Greek yogurt soup and Baklava. 
Ok,  in list of places to live goes Rickridge. Off to meditate with Sally Kempton.

an Yoga Keep a Person Healthy?

Can Yoga Keep a Person Healthy?  http://www.sunsaluteyoga.com

Staying healthy and fit is a desire many people have, and those who practice yoga are no different. However, there is a premise that yoga alone can maintain good health, which may seem like more of a marketing gimmick than a viable, exercise conclusion. However, yoga is far more than an exercise or sport. It represents and incorporates a fundamental balance of physical and mental performance. So there’s a viable possibility that yoga can be very effective in improving and maintaining good health.
Fitness in general is a vague term used to define people being healthy and capable of performing the physical feats they want to on a regular basis. This includes being able to physical move and exercise without pain, delay, loss of breath, strength and similar. Traditionally, many use cardiovascular exercise and weightlifting or resistance to develop a state of fitness. However, yoga can do the same as well.
Yoga helps improve health in four different ways:

• Cardiovascular performance
• Strength-building
• Flexibility
• Improved body composition

Cardio
Many of yoga’s forms, movements and exercises uniquely designed to settle, strengthen and improve cardiovascular performance. The ability to breathe better and stronger is improved over time through coordinated breathing exercises will holding positions, stretches and more. That, over time, helps create a stronger internal system for bringing oxygen into the body. It also helps reduce heart problems, cholesterol buildup, and weak blood vessels. The more pressure the body pushes through the cardiovascular system, the stronger the heart and related blood vessels become as a result.
Strength
Clearly, long-term yoga redefines the body and its ability to hold positions, weight, angles and forms. Using the body’s own weight as resistance, the entire body from the core to the legs and arms build up capacity. That in turn provides strength to do more and more, even when a person grows older. Pulled muscles, strains and sprains, and ligament twists don’t happen near as much, even when active, because regular yoga provides consistent stretching and strength-building year round. The muscle-building also helps a person burn more calories everyday as well, reducing or preventing weight gain with a good diet.
Better Flexibility
Yoga is well known for developing good flexibility in practitioners, especially in the back, core, and limbs. This type of stretching and position-holding helps people perform better without tissue or ligament tears that become common with older age. Increased stretching also allows the body’s muscles to handle greater strain without weakness as they can be stretched farther without damage.
Overall Body Makeup
Yoga provides a comprehensive approach to body development and balance. As a result, it will, over time, change a person’s body composition to perform better. This includes increased muscle mass, better flexibility, better breathing and reduced fat. It also helps of course to adjust one’s diet and not engaging in damage behavior such as smoking. That said, yoga can definitely create a far better physical makeup with consistent practice and application. That, in turn, improves mental confidence and capacity, which improves mental outlook as well. The two become a circle of improvement, moving a person to a better and better stage overall.
In Summary
Yoga isn't a perfect solution for overall health maintenance. People still get sick, catch viruses and grow older. However, the activity can definitely improve a person's overall health, which in turn creates long-term benefits. These improvements do contribute to a less sedentary lifestyle and a better physical maintenance of the body. That also helps contribute to enjoying life more, staying healthier, and a better mental outlook. When so much of being fit and healthy involves balance of the body and mind, yoga is definitely an approach worth looking into for long-term health.

Birthday Party Saturday

My Birthday Party

How To

How to decide what's right and what's wrong? Who's right and who's wrong? Am I living by what I believe our someone else's programming.
Who's to say what balance is? Should I do a little abstaining and a little indulging, or one or the other?
How to decide?