I did it!

The women, with James, outside the shala poses after our last practice with teacher Arne

One of the greatest gifts I got within my birthday month was the opportunity to practice regularly at the shala with teacher Arne. What seemed to be one impossibility just actually culminated today. Yes! I practiced ashtanga everyday (with rest days of course) for 3 weeks and I have been so blessed.

Everything went well. Even when there were discomforts at times specially with my lower back, I felt generally stronger and more fluid compared to my previous practices. As I dealt with my body everytime, I discovered that breathing well mattered so much. I have also relearned to be more gentle to myself and by doing so, the teacher resonated  to the way I cared about my body.

I loved how the guru adjusted me. I appreciated how much he also had grown in his approach to us, his students. He didn't impose things to me. He allowed me to grab my ankles when I was deemed ready. He pointed things that could make my asanas better but at the end of the day, it was always me that would teach my body to do the poses.

My constant coming to the shala also expanded my circles. I have gained friendships without my noticing it. The energy from the practioners was contagious. Even if we came from different walks of life, there was yoga that made us one. 

I am grateful for after practice conversation over lunch. Even a simple chat right at the changing room is beautiful. I love the yogic smiles of men and women who share the same passion with me. I am sure I will be missing the routine. 

Since yoga is also all about non-attachment, I' m letting go naturally any feeling of longing or the desire to be with the same journey. I need to move on and continue with my practice. I am certain at some point, we will meet again physically. Right now, I am just very happy and grateful I practiced. 

There will be more to come. 

Om shanti, shanti, shanti.

With my Teacher Arne

Lunch with the ashtangis with the teachers, Arne and James

A random trip

the heaviness that I feel is getting more overwhelming each day but this self is grateful for despite the ordeal, I still find any chance that I can get to keep myself grounded. Aside from few asanas each time, I do not  forget to stay closer to nature. Nothing beats the joy when you're home.

Yesterday, I visited a nearby park and I was so happy just by being there. Meeting few good souls made me feel more safe. I am very grateful for Kuya Roger, one of the gardeners there who became my photographer and tour guide. You see, the world is still very beautiful, indeed.

Here are some of the photos from Rave Rainforest Park in Pasig. Namaste.

                                     

the world upside down

while headstanding. the dog on the sideline just patiently watched. 'twas a sight worth remembering. taken at White Castle Beach Resort, Calatagan, Batangas

 Life is not devoid of uncertainties. It is, on the contrary, so full of them. It is always a lesson learn the hard way for me. Nothing in this world is beyond our grasp-our future included. More than anything else, life is not lived in a linear kind of way. At times, we need to defy the usual pattern we are trudging in order for us to find our way back to where we are supposed to belong. Of course, this is rebellion in the real sense of the word. Doing the not so ordinary feat is above all--SCARY-- but it's worth it, I believe so.

The world upside down is no less than the world that I don't normally trod. I find it amusing that I can  defy gravity and still emerge solid. In a world where everything is laid before us ,with all its trappings, I can see that there is something beyond this state than the naked eyes can decipher. I figure that out when I bravely breathe and make detours on my own.Scary, yes, but life is not constant. Only those who dare truly live.

Yoga teaches me that there are other possibilities out there. All I need is take that leap, breathe, and let go.

Namaste!

Hello sun

I woke up earlier today to go to the public market. I decided to walk as I felt it a need . I have missed my early morning walks already. Since I did yoga, my moments with the sun and the fresh ground have been less.

Anyway, as I was heading to the market I couldn't help but be awed at the great sunrise. It was as if the sun told me something of great importance. It's the new year very soon and with it comes the bright shining ray of hope for a better and more productive year.

I am still certainly going to be alone this new year's eve. More prayers and reflections will happen, for sure.

I wish everyone a sun shiny day and year ahead.

Namaste!

The Road NOT Taken

from google images

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,



And sorry I could not travel both


And be one traveller, long I stood


And looked down one as far as I could


To where it bent in the undergrowth;






Then took the other, as just as fair,


And having perhaps the better claim,


Because it was grassy and wanted wear;


Though as for that the passing there


Had worn them really about the same,






And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.


Oh, I kept the first for another day!


Yet knowing how way leads on to way,


I doubted if I should ever come back.






I shall be telling this with a sigh


Somewhere ages and ages hence:


Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--


I took the one less traveled by,


And that has made all the difference



...Robert Frost
 
Making a difference is never an easy task to do specially when you know that the society where you live in has so much expectations of you.It is as if they already made a great plan of what would happen to your life at a certain point.I must admit I did have come to that moment when I was about to give in to what other people are expecting from me.It was by the sheer grace that I was able to decide that I am always a different person...so different that I havent  ever wanted to be put in a box.I want my own niche in this world.I am my own life.
 
Just like the speaker who was caught between two diverging roads, I too have been into a lot of crossroads in my life.Choosing between staying single and getting married, doing theology or getting a postgraduate English degree, working abroad or staying in the Philippines for good, being with these friends or staying away from them, doing yoga or swimming....these are just some options that are equally good ones.At the end of the day though, I have to only pick one from each set of priorities. Most of the times though, my options prove to be the radical ones.I havent regretted them.
 
In this world, it is not always cool to be going with the flow of things.The choices that we make reveal the kind of persons that we are.Each option is a manifestation of the kind of values we have in life.Living the alternative life for me is what makes me a better person.It is by making a different route that I distinguish myself from the rest.
 
The road that Im taking now is not an extraordinary one.However, it is this path that makes all the difference.It is in this choice that I become what I feel the universe has wanted me to be.It is in here that I have found bliss...moreso...peace.

Thanks Father McKeating

The semester has ended and it still is very unexpected for me.We've missed a lot of classes due to the recent calamity that hit Manila and the neighboring provinces.Despite the uncertainties of life, I still find great joy for the opportunity of being in this course.Since day one of my meeting with the charming professor, my quest for knowledge and wisdom about what grace is really all about was so overwhelming.I must admit though that the first session was quite a blur to me.I needed a lot of unlearning to do so as to let new insights enter into my system.Lectures concerning grace, the evolution, human anatomy and what have you were indeed very comprehensive and worth reflecting for.There were painful truths too that hit me right there and then just like my notions of grace.I had a very naive understanding of this "sacrament" that when Father started to unfold what grace is actually all about,i had to really question myself as to where did i get such ideas..Anyway, my limited view about theology and even other human sciences was broadened with my enrolling in this course.It is just fitting that I should give credit to whom it is due.My professor deserves two thumbs up for being so cool and passionate in his teachings.I never even saw him showed any inch of burden in discussing the very delicate lessons.Because of him, I learn to accept my own limitations and started to be a better individual and a Christian of course.

If there were specific lessons that marked a special spot in my heart it would be Father McKeating's lecture on Ecology and Evolving Creation.I would like to stress though that every single discussion that he had imparted unto us were always significant.It is, however the above mentioned topic that made a great impact to my whole being.Because of the devastating effect of the recent storm Ondoy, I have come to rethink for the _nth time my role as a steward of God's creation.I was there when the water started to rise in almost all of the streets of Cubao and its neighboring areas.I saw with my naked eyes how people screamed while trying to save themselves from the raging current that snapped almost the entire surrounding at once.I did not only see this...I was one of those who literally had to swim just to find a place where I could hold on to breathe.I was with these people who were only trying to go to their respective destinations.I was just trying to go to school and be part of my Theology class but that calamity brought me somewhere else.I was stranded for almost 16 hours not anymore knowing where I would be the next day.I saw how dark the place was.I heard the silent prayers of my fellow bystanders.I saw how Ondoy wrecked the houses and the properties.I was there.It wasnt panicked that I felt actually but rage.Just few steps from where I stood rose the newly constructed condominium units that caused the water in that area to rise more than 12 feet.I was angry at the thought of how money could lead one to forget the popular need of the people that is SAFETY just for him to acquire that material security.I considered it that time selfishness.Right in the middle of the flood, I could only think of ways as to how I can help ease the situation of the people stranded without food and water.More than that, I was still angry.Perhaps my rage was also because of my being so tired of braving the storm but at that very moment too i remembered what we have discussed in our Creation and Grace class.
It was very clear to me that our professor was reminding us once more of the depletion of our ozone layer, the denuding of our forests, of global warming and the constant destruction of our ecosytem.With the advancement on science and technology, we basically exercise almost all the control over nature.This is called the instrumental cause.Because of our inordinate desire for power and domination, we tend to neglect the very essence of living and our moral obligation to really take care of mother nature.Our decisions most often than not are geared not really towards ecological balance but towards disharmony.I am not exempted from this error.Another cause for this crisis, is an ideological one which motivates or gives legitimacy to the desire to become masters over nature which then has led to the abuse and destruction of our natural resources.
It took me two days before I finally saw my own home.I was crying because of fatigue and depression after seing the entire scenario.It was so hearbreaking.More than that, I also felt sad that I had not done much to help.Until now, I am full of disappointment and even guilt.I am always part of the blame.Every single misery that ONDOY and even PEPING had inflicted on the humanity is for me a painful reminder of how we made nature bled so much.Being a member of GREEN PEACE I am more determined to make a stand about issues that gravely concern this world.I want so much to live in a world where there are still a lot of trees all around us.I want that my children and their children will enjoy what they deserve to have....A HEALTHY WORLD.
I am so grateful for the whole semester with you Father.Your passion has always inspired me to be a better Christian.I have learned so much from you.MY heart and my mind until now are still on the process of recovering after seing for the first time the terrible effect of the recent calamity.I am assuring you though that I would continue to be better in my being a Christian specially in my quest to help make this world more safe and liveable.
More power Father and keep on touching lives.