Wednesday, November 18, 2009

WHICH CHUCKS TO CHUCK?



The mind has been very good about getting rid of many, many things, but for some reason it cannot decide which pair of Converse All-Stars to keep, and which to toss.

(It was even able to give up the pair of Adidas purchased in Nurnberg).

Should it be the older, old-school black ones on the right, or the newfangled black-and-pink model on the left?

They're about equally beat up and equally smelly.

Any advice?

Monday, November 16, 2009

REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE
...OR JUST TOSS IT OUT






On Saturday I made the annual trek to Wicker Park to sell my old books at Myopic ($65) and old clothes at the resale shops ($6). The clothes places are super-picky this year - either that or my second wave of castoff clothes is not as good as the first. Nonetheless it was still energizing to get money for my old things. I can use it to buy boxes for the move.

I took the leftovers to the Salvation Army dropoff center on Clybourn. The parking lot was PACKED, with people both dropping off and buying things at the store. Interesting economic times, these.

On Sunday I went through the closets, and filled two gigantic contractor bags with castoffs. (I had 92 boxes of stuff on my last move; my goal for this one is 70. Also the new apartment has only two closets, while the current place boasts four).

Today I called The Ark thrift store on Lincoln Avenue, to find out if they are still accepting donations. Last week I noticed several large "Liquidation" signs in the window.

My hunch was correct; they've closed the Lincoln Avenue location but are still taking items at 1302 N. Milwaukee.

Not exactly convenient.

But at least The Ark doesn't chase you down the street, forcing you to take back your stuff like these guys once did.

I also called the city's computer and hazardous waste recycling center to find out if they take old cassette tapes.

They do not, and recommended throwing them out.

Twenty years of mix tapes will wind up in a landfill, ouch.




To read my article on getting rid of stuff and how it fits into the yoga system, click here.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

THE BIG PICTURE





I've been busy transferring VHS tapes to DVD, using a machine that Gridlife loaned to me.

We made a lot of videos in the early 1990s, and there were a lot to transfer.

One of them was shot by me at a get-together before a Dead Can Dance concert, in December of 1990.

I was shooting the different guests, and asking them how the heat in their apartments was working.

Suddenly, the camera was turned on me (in black Louise Brooks hairdo, big black boots, miniskirt and perky hat from the Tweeds catalog). In those days, I was working for a local filmmaker, waiting tables, deejaying, making my own films and videos, and living in an illegal basement firetrap that rented for $295 a month.

Watching the video at home, for the first time in 19 years, I couldn't believe the things I heard coming out of my old self's mouth:

"Bla bla bla my landlord comes over unannounced bla bla bla I don't have any heat in my place, bla bla bla landlord bla bla freezing cold bla bla bla.

Two decades later later, nothing has changed....*

I may be slightly less obnoxious, but the exact same words are coming out of my mouth.

It was a sobering moment, to say the least.




------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


*Actually, I'm moving to a smaller, warmer place at the end of the month - and am desperately seeking cardboard boxes. If you have any, lemme know.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009


QUOTE OF THE DAY


from Wordsmith:


'Ask the experimenters why they experiment on animals, and the answer is: "Because the animals are like us." Ask the experimenters why it is morally OK to experiment on animals, and the answer is: "Because the animals are not like us." Animal experimentation rests on a logical contradiction.'

-Charles R. Magel, professor of philosophy

Thursday, November 05, 2009

THE SIX POISONS



Boodiba's current teacher recently mentioned something about the Six Poisons to her. The perimenopausal mind recalled learning about them at some point, but could not remember the specifics.

Then I found this:

The six poisons:

A vital aspect of internal purification that Pattabhi Jois teaches relates to the six poisons that surround the spiritual heart. In the yoga shastra it is said that God dwells in our heart in the form of light, but this light is covered by six poisons; kama, krodha, moha, lobha, matsarya, and mada. These are desire, anger, delusion, greed, envy and sloth. When yoga practice is sustained with great diligence and dedication over a long period of time, the heat generated from it burns away these poisons, and the light of our inner nature shines forth.




One hopes that by yoga, they mean all eight limbs - not just asana (the poses) - and/or yoga as taught in the Bhagavad Gita.

When it is just about asana practice - especially Mysore-style ashtanga - it can add to the poisons (desiring and being greedy for more poses, envy of those who are "ahead" in the practice, being angry at the teacher for not giving more poses, being deluded about the importance of the pose, and sleeping all afternoon because of the intense, early morning practice). At least in the beginning anyway. (That could explain why there are six series).

Sri Ramakrishna said the greatest obstacles to spiritual growth are "women" and "gold" (desire and greed).

My teacher mentions anger, lust and greed. (He also says that without Yama [ethical roots], there is no Yoga).

I'm challenged by all of them, but the biggies would be sloth and anger (although I haven't put a fist through a wall or window - or broken a phone - since I started practicing yoga.... knock wood now).

What are your biggies?

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

THE RETURN OF ROBERT FEDER

The former Sun-Times media critic started his new Vocalo blog on Monday.

He hit his stride today, with a salty piece on the demise of Chicago's hallmark radio station, WGN.

An excerpt:

Everything that’s gone wrong at WGN-AM (720) in the past year can be summed up in two words: “Pig Virus.”

No, we’re not talking H1N1 here. “Pig Virus” is the nickname Howard Stern gave long ago to Kevin Metheny, the man in charge of programming at the Tribune Co.-owned news/talk station since January.

Under Metheny, an acolyte of Tribune Co. operating boss Randy Michaels (and one of nearly two dozen Clear Channel alumni Michaels brought in with him), WGN has shown disdain or disregard for listeners who felt a unique bond with the station and its personalities.

There was the needlessly ham-fisted way Kathy O’Malley and Judy Markey were run off the air after a phenomenal 20 years as midday duo. (Since they’re still being paid every penny of their contracts, what was so urgent that WGN couldn’t let them finish out as they’d planned and retire this spring?) There was the hiring of morning host Greg Jarrett, a capable broadcaster but one who’d never worked a day in his life in Chicago, to step right into the No. 1 job in local radio. (Jarrett almost lost me for good his first day on the air when he mispronounced “Devon Avenue.”) And there have been numerous other personnel and programming moves — in afternoons and on weekends, especially — that simply boggle the mind.


Read the rest of the story here.

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

I LOVE MY (LITTLE) INDIA






My guide to Chicago's Little India neighborhood is now online.

You can read it here.







Some tips:

-The main drag is on Devon Avenue between Damen and Francisco.

-Most places open around 11, and are closed on Tuesdays (the sign will say "Tuesday Closed")






-There's a free parking lot (5-10 weekdays and 12-10 weekends) at St. Timothy's, on the corner of Rosemont and Washtenaw.

-The best selection of fabric can be found east of Western AVenue.






-Other types of ethnic goodies - kosher, Russian, Jewish, Georgian, Iraqi - can be found west of California Avenue





-The late-night mecca Delhi Darbar Kebab House recently reopened at 2916 W. Devon Avenue. They're open from 5pm to 4am, and the food is made per order - and inexpensive.








I already miss living in this neighborhood....








....and I haven't even moved yet.

Monday, November 02, 2009

SCARY!





On Halloween I did door duty at a friend's house.

The kids came in droves, between 5 and 7pm.

Princesses were big this year. And characters from "Scream." The best was a very original court jester, complete with over-the-top makeup. He was going it alone, too.

Most endearing were the kids who could barely get up the stairs, and could hardly form the worlds "Twick ow Tweat" - once they remembered what to say, that is. Sometimes the parents had to prompt them. So, so cute.

I was not a fan of those who came with two bags, saying, "One is for my little brother."

Indeed, a few tart things came out of the mouth - especially when big kids with no costumes (or just a mask) came around:


- "No trick-or-treating while talking on the cell phone!"

- "No smoking while trick-or-treating!"*




and my favorite, to a group of three very big "children" wearing hoodies and carrying pillowcases:


- "You're kind of old for this."

- "We're the last generation," they replied.



That one made my night.







*This reminds me of what came out of the mouth on my first trip to Mysore, when I saw a fellow AYRI student sucking on a cigarette - after hearing him brag ad nauseum about being a yoga instructor back home. "So, yoga teachers smoke now?" Suddenly, I was the only one left at the table.

Friday, October 30, 2009

ELVIS THE YOGI





from the motion picture "Easy Come, Easy Go" - which came out a year before Elvis's famous Comeback Special (His career had been considered by many to be artistically fallow since his return from the Army (1960), the subsequent Beatles invasion and a slew of mediocre motion pictures).

He seems pretty flexible to me.










“Yoga Is As Yoga Does” Lyrics

Well I can see that you and yoga will never do

Yoga is as yoga does there’s no in-between
Your either with it on the ball
or you’ve blown the scene
I can see lookin’ at you, you just can’t get settled
How can I even move, twisted like a pretzel

(Yoga is, yoga does)
(There’s no in-between)
(Your either with it all the way)
Or you’ve blown the scene
(Or you’ve blown the scene)

Come on come on, untwist my legs
Pull my arms a lot
How did I get so tied up
In this yoga knot
You tell me just how
I can take this yoga serious
When all it ever gives to me
is a pain in my posterious

(Yoga is, yoga does)
(There’s no in-between)
(Your either with it all the way)
Or you’ve blown the scene
(Or you’ve blown the scene)

Stand upside down on your head,
feet against the wall
A simple yoga exercise done by one and all
Now cross your eyes and hold your breath,
look just like a clown
Yoga’s sure to catch you if you come falling down

(Yoga is, yoga does)
(There’s no in-between)
(Your either with it all the way)
Or you’ve blown the scene
(Or you’ve blown the scene)

(Yoga is, yoga does)
(There’s no in-between)
(Your either with it all the way)
Or you’ve blown the scene
(Or you’ve blown the scene)










------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks to Shiva for the head's-up

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

IT'S BAA-ACK: THE RETURN OF THE WEST RIDGE POTHOLE!

Just in time for Halloween...




Apparently the metal plate wasn't fastened down.





Oops! So much for The City That Works.









Good thing the neighbors never put the pylon away.

Friday, October 23, 2009

YOU MAKE THE CALL











Funny?



Offensive?



Or neither?




(Sadly, this Far Side-inspired cartoon will not appear in an upcoming issue of Yoga Chicago magazine).

Monday, October 19, 2009

THINGS I MISS ABOUT JOURNALISM....




...include quotes like this:



Heene, a storm chaser and inventor, and his family have appeared on the reality show "Wife Swap." Alderden said the couple met in acting school in Hollywood. Richard Heene has described himself as an amateur scientist, but Alderden said Heene has only a high school education.

"He may be nutty, but he's not a professor," Alderden said.







It writes itself....

Friday, October 16, 2009

¡HAPPY DIWALI!



Saturday marks Diwali or Deepavali, the Hindu new year, also known as the festival of lights. It is also celebrated by Sikhs and Jains.

That would make today the final day in an annus horribilis; perhaps the computer dying today, and then getting caught in a bitter rainstorm while on the bicycle will serve as the final nails in the coffin of Hindu Saka Era 1930.



Diwali itself began nicely enough last night, with a wonderful Lakshmi puja at a nearby restaurant. The intimate event went on and on, and included a small homa (fire ceremony) at the end, as well as singing, spinning in circles and of course feasting. The crown of the head was vibrating by the end. The priest from the Balaji Temple in Aurora was wonderful, inclusive *and* funny, and seemed genuinely surprised when I said "wamabaga" and held out the left hand during the string-tying part of the ceremony. (The photo above shows how Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, looked after being bathed and dressed during the puja. She is on the left. Another version is below).




Saturday is a good day to buy Lakshmi coins, to ensure wealth of all kinds in the coming year. I usually buy an affordable silver one, after doing some comparison shopping. They can be purchased at jewelry shops on Devon Avenue; read about my favorite ones here.

Most local temples are holding events events on Saturday; click here for a listing. And on Sunday there's a Diwali puja and celebration at the (Hare) Krishna Temple in Rogers Park, starting at 5:30. For more, go here.

And have a happy, peaceful and prosperous new year.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

HOW TO SAVE THE WORLD BY NOT EATING MEAT





Sunday's New York Times magazine had a wonderfully thoughtful and non-dogmatic piece about going vegetarian for all the right reasons, by Jonathan Safron Foer, called "Against Meat."




An excerpt:

According to reports by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N. and others, factory farming has made animal agriculture the No. 1 contributor to global warming (it is significantly more destructive than transportation alone), and one of the Top 2 or 3 causes of all of the most serious environmental problems, both global and local: air and water pollution, deforestation, loss of biodiversity. . . . Eating factory-farmed animals — which is to say virtually every piece of meat sold in supermarkets and prepared in restaurants — is almost certainly the single worst thing that humans do to the environment.

Every factory-farmed animal is, as a practice, treated in ways that would be illegal if it were a dog or a cat. Turkeys have been so genetically modified they are incapable of natural reproduction. To acknowledge that these things matter is not sentimental. It is a confrontation with the facts about animals and ourselves. We know these things matter.

Meat and seafood are in no way necessary for my family — unlike some in the world, we have easy access to a wide variety of other foods. And we are healthier without it. So our choices aren’t constrained.

While the cultural uses of meat can be replaced — my mother and I now eat Italian, my father grills veggie burgers, my grandmother invented her own “vegetarian chopped liver” — there is still the question of pleasure. A vegetarian diet can be rich and fully enjoyable, but I couldn’t honestly argue, as many vegetarians try to, that it is as rich as a diet that includes meat. (Those who eat chimpanzee look at the Western diet as sadly deficient of a great pleasure.) I love calamari, I love roasted chicken, I love a good steak. But I don’t love them without limit.

This isn’t animal experimentation, where you can imagine some proportionate good at the other end of the suffering. This is what we feel like eating. Yet taste, the crudest of our senses, has been exempted from the ethical rules that govern our other senses. Why? Why doesn’t a horny person have as strong a claim to raping an animal as a hungry one does to confining, killing and eating it? It’s easy to dismiss that question but hard to respond to it. Try to imagine any end other than taste for which it would be justifiable to do what we do to farmed animals.

Children confront us with our paradoxes and dishonesty, and we are exposed. You need to find an answer for every why — Why do we do this? Why don’t we do that? — and often there isn’t a good one. So you say, simply, because. Or you tell a story that you know isn’t true. And whether or not your face reddens, you blush. The shame of parenthood — which is a good shame — is that we want our children to be more whole than we are, to have satisfactory answers. My children not only inspired me to reconsider what kind of eating animal I would be, but also shamed me into reconsideration.

And then, one day, they will choose for themselves. I don’t know what my reaction will be if they decide to eat meat. (I don’t know what my reaction will be if they decide to renounce their Judaism, root for the Red Sox or register Republican.) I’m not as worried about what they will choose as much as my ability to make them conscious of the choices before them. I won’t measure my success as a parent by whether my children share my values, but by whether they act according to their own.


Read the whole thing here.

Learn how to eliminate meat from your diet here.




_______________________________________



NON SEQUITUR




In other news... a friend just called and said that my name was mentioned several times during Steve Dahl's podcast today (in relation to this). Thanks to Gridlife for the head's-up.

Friday, October 09, 2009

STRESS, PART DEUX






"How stressed were you?" you ask.

Well....

It seemed like arrows were coming from every direction.

It was exacerbated by the lead-up to the father's death-day.

But most of the stress came from without, and it made the mind very busy.

On Tuesday night I awakened at 2:30 with racing thoughts, and never went back to sleep.

I took some Melatonin on Wednesday night so I could get some sleep. I retired at 9:30.

I awakened at 12:30, and never went back to sleep.

I was so tired while getting ready to teach at 6am that I did a classic maneuver.

Just before leaving, I carelessly popped a Shatavari capsule into my mouth, in the hopes that it would regulate the hormones.

A few second later, I realized it was not Shatavari, but Melatonin.

NOOOOOOO!


I immediately stuck the fingers down the throat and tried to womit it up.

You have to stick the fingers down quite deep, and leave them there for awhile, before something happens. How the bulimics do it is beyond me.

Finally, I gagged - and some watery, citrus-y stuff came up.

I think it was the large cup of lemon water I'd had earlier, rather than the orange-flavored Melatonin tablet.

I stuck the fingers down there four more times, in the hopes of getting everything out.

All day long I had a sore throat, from the womiting, and worried that I was catching a cold.

All day long the body was exhausted and the mind was numb.

I was so tired in fact that on Thursday night I finally got some sleep.

And on Friday I awakened at the usual 4:30am, feeling like a brand-new person.










*The song above is by the late M.S. Subbulakshmi - one of the greatest Carnatic singers of our time. It's difficult to listen her music and remain depressed/anxious. She combined technical perfection with unwavering devotion to the Supreme, which is apparent in the video. She was the first musician ever to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor. Of course she was South Indian (from Madurai, Tamil Nadu).
OH, THE STRESS



When the stress level has been at an all-time high, the last thing you want is to see this - a health department sticker on the door of your favorite local comfort-food joint.

On the other hand, maybe it's for the best....


* * *

The good news is that I have been able to test and refine some of the stress-reduction techniques I'll be sharing at the November 14 Holiday Survival workshop at Yoga Trek.

Calm breathing, anyone?

Sunday, October 04, 2009

TINTARELLA DI LUNA


One of the many groups and solists performering at last night's 30th Anniversary of Link's Hall extravaganza did a quirky, 60's-ish dance with robotic elements to this 1959 song by the Italian pop singer Mina Mazzini, which has been stuck in the head ever since.

And now it's in yours....

The perfect song for a full moon day.*



* * *


Apparently Mina was Italy's first female rock singer, and a symbol of female emancipation. Read more here.

Local dance legend Asimina Chremos, who is sometimes known as "Mina," also performed at the festival - in the stairwell, after the main performance. The final performer and main-stage headliner was Link's Hall cofounder Bob Eisen - who accompanied me on my very first trip to India. More details soon.....


*Tintarella means "suntan."

Thursday, October 01, 2009

LATEX GALS' NEW INSTALLATION "ILL. WISHES" TO DEBUT AT RAVENSWOOD ART WALK






The Latex Gals' new interactive installation makes it debut at The Ravenswood Artwalk, which takes place this Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 6pm, and starts at 4256 N Ravenswood.

Called "Ill. Wishes," it will appear as part of a special one-time-only extravaganza called The Blago Project, which will feature work inspired by and about disgraced former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevic. The gallery is in his former office - the one that was wiretapped - at 4147 N. Ravenswood.


The centerpiece of "Ill. Wishes" is a wishing tree, upon which people may hang their hopes for the state of Illinois, post-Rod.





Here's some text from the installation...




The Tradition of the Wishing Tree

In Asian Buddhist tradition, it is believed that if you put your wish on a piece of paper and tie it to a tree, the wind will blow the words into the air and your wish will come true. In India, the kalpa or Wishing Tree is one of the celestial trees in the god Indra’s heaven. It grants whatever is asked and leads the aspirant liberation from the bondage of karma.

In the West, people have believed that certain trees contain spirits, and that you could make a wish by touching the trees (hence the term “touch wood”), or by walking around them three times in each direction. Sometimes, coins are offered - which can be effing golden.


***


In the spirit of hope for the future, what would you wish for the state of Illinois, post-Blagojevich?

Please write your wish on a leaf and tie it to the tree to bring it back to “life” - or write it in the green book.




* * *


Illinois Facts

Six Illinois Governors have been arrested or indicted since the state entered the union in 1818 (Seven if you count Gov. Joel Aldrich Matteson [1853-1857] and his shoebox full of money).

“Illinois” is an Algonquin word that means “tribe of superior men”

Some other famous Illinois men: Burl Ives, Melvin Van Peebles, Preston Sturges, Harrison Ford, Leopold & Loeb, John Paul Stevens, Ronald Reagan, Sam Shepard, Bill Murray, Quincy Jones, John Wayne Gacy, Richard Pryor, Miles Davis, Jimmy Connors, Raymond Chandler, Al Capone, Ray Bradbury, Harry A. Blackmun, Richard Speck, John Chancellor, Walt Disney, John Dos Passos, Wild Bill Hickok.






Sunday, September 27, 2009

THE HIPSTERS ARE RUINING OUR SCENE




Today's New York Times has a piece about how the hip new accessory in Williamsburg (Brooklyn) is the tender coconut.



Here's an excerpt of the article, by Sarah Maslin Nir:



Strolling down the Williamsburg street, Martin Mancusi, 30, a tourist from Barcelona, Spain, and his friend Alejandro Kaed, 33, stopped to examine the items: young peeled coconuts, waiting to be pierced by a straw and sipped tiki-style by someone young and fashionable, as they have been all summer.

Like banh mi sandwiches and sriracha chili sauce, the young coconut and its juice is the latest formerly humble food to be discovered by New York City’s style set, and elevated — if not quite to the level of a status symbol — at least to that of a prized accessory.

In the last few months, retailers in hipster hot spots like Williamsburg and the Lower East Side say they have sold unprecedented amounts of the fruit for streetside consumption.

“I think it’s stylish, it’s pretty,” said Zarifeh Saleh, who owns Bedford Avenue Fruits and Vegetables with her husband, Ayman Ismail. “You feel like you’re on the beach, but you’re not on the beach."

....Some say the public ritual is part of the drink’s allure.

“I don’t ever go and buy a bunch of coconuts and stock them and drink them at home,” said Jennifer Verdon, 30, a band manager who lives on the Lower East Side. Others, like Fiona Byrne, 32, a music journalist who said she averages two coconuts a week, insist they drink the juice — which is prized by raw foodists for its nutrients — purely for health reasons.

When a friend of Ms. Byrne’s became overheated at the Coachella music festival in Indio, Calif., last spring, she said the first-aid staff advised her to rehydrate by drinking a young coconut on sale at the festival....




Read the rest here.





Of course the tender young Brooklynites are probably paying $4 for the things - which are available for just $2 in Chicago at Fresh Farms, 2626 W. Devon Ave (where they are anything but a fashion accessory).



Learn how to open them yourself - sans machete - here.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

SAVE THE HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANIES





You can hear my 2006 public radio essay about living without health insurance - which I still don't have - here. Just click the link and scroll down to "living without insurance."






Thanks for QE for the video link.

Friday, September 25, 2009

SIGN “☮” THE TIMES



Or should I say SIGN "$" THE TIMES?

We find out next Friday whether Chicago gets the 2016 Olympics.

Look for President Obama Himself to make a surprise visit to the IOC session in Copenhagen, for some last-ditch lobbying.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Photo snapped 9/14 on Cicero Avenue near Midway Airport

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

POTHOLE UPDATE




I called Dreyfus on the way home from the airport last week.

He was not all that interested in my trip.

"Look at the pothole when you get home," he said. "Tell me what's going on!"

First, the bad news.

While I was gone, the pothole was covered up with a gigantic steel plate - a pretty lazy and anticlimactic solution, if you ask me.









The good news: they left behind the sign and the debris that filled the hole. It's right there on the curb, where people can still enjoy it.














Even better news: The Latex Gals (the women behind the pothole sign and its notoriety) are hard at work on their next project - another interactive urban installation.

It's called Ill. Wishes, and it combines street art, biting humor and traditional Asian religious customs to comment on the many (seven) indicted / convicted governors of Illinois. Audience participation in the project is not just encouraged - it's required. Ill Wishes will be on display in ex-Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevic's former office October 3 and 4 as part The Blago Project at the Ravenswood Art Walk.

In other words, it will be on display in the very same office where the Guv was wiretapped.

It's an effing golden opportunity to put in your two cents about the sad state of affairs in Illinois.

Please come....

Monday, September 21, 2009

MAHA SADHANA ON SATURDAY




I'll be leading a Maha Sadhana (Dharma Mittra Workshop) Saturday from 2:30-5:30 at Yoga Trek Center in Oak Park. It's easy to get to from Chicago, as it's just off the CTA Blue Line and Eisenhower Expressway (at Austin).




Maha Sadhana means “The Great Practice”, and this intensive will include chanting, pranayama (breathing exercises), and meditation as well as direction toward the true goal of yoga. This intensive will include Psychic Development practice, a special series of mental exercises that help put power behind our thoughts and make it easier to achieve your goals and desires in life.


Dharma Mittra Yoga is a classical, flowing hatha style originated by New York City-based yogi Dharma Mittra, creator of the Master Yoga Chart of 908 Poses. Dharma’s energizing Shiva Namaskar sequence focuses on opening the hips, shoulders and upper back and includes variations for every level of student. Poses are repeated so that students may go deeper into them each time. Many options are given, so that all levels will feel challenged/comfortable. The emphasis is on practicing in a playful, relaxed manner.


The workshop is suitable for students who wish to deepen their yoga practice, and adapts well to all levels.







If you're thinking about signing up, please do so soon - in order to get the discount (and so we're sure the workshop will run).

More info here.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

LABOR DAY WEEKEND WITH DHARMA IN THE CATSKILLS



The retreat took place at a progressive Jewish summer camp that's run by the eldest children.









A lot of time was spent sweeping and mopping the floor of the massive dining room, where class was held. During class, it was packed. At one point I counted 75 yoga mats.







The altar. During satsang, Dharma would sit in the chair and answer all of our questions. If you look closely, you will see a stuffed "E.T." on the chair.












Our little, burrito-shaped tent. Little E and I were given the task of waking everyone up at 7:30am by ringing a bell and blowing the conch (which makes the head vibrate in a most pleasing way).








Faculty housing.









The wonderful food prep crew. All of the food at the retreat was live / raw / uncooked, to help purify the body.
















On Saturday afternoon, I taught the Level I class indoors, while Little E taught Level II on the lawn. It was an honor to be asked to teach. On Sunday afternoon, lovely Rebecca - who was in both trainings with us - taught the Level II class (above and below).












Alternate nostril breathing, as viewed through the log-thing.



NAVARATRI STARTS TODAY




The Devi Puja, or Celebration of the Divine Mother will take place at Chicago's Sivananda Vendanta Center over nine nights and one day, starting Saturday, September 19.

From their newsletter:

"The festival of Navaratri presents a great opportunity for spiritual uplift and renewal for all. We will celebrate with a series of nine "pujas", or ritual worship, each held in the evening on nine consecutive days. Through each puja we will honor a particular aspect of the Divine in the form of the Mother. The festival ends with a final puja in the morning of Vijayadasami, the "Day of Victory". Please see the words of Swami Sivananda below for a fuller description of the festival and its significance. A link to a detailed article by Swami Sivananda at the website of the Divine Life Society in Rishikesh is included at the end of this email.

"All are welcome to attend the pujas, at no charge. Donations to help cover costs, and donations of flowers or "prasad", offerings of sweets or fruit, are welcome. Help in preparation of the pujas is also welcome, please call if you can offer a little of your time or if you have any questions."


The puja schedule will be as follows:

Saturday, September 19th: 8pm (Durga)
Sunday, September 20th: 6:15pm (Durga)
Monday, September 21st: 9pm (Durga)
Tuesday, September 22nd: 9pm (Lakshmi)
Wednesday, September 23rd: 7:15pm (Lakshmi)
Thursday, September 24th: 9pm (Lakshmi)
Friday, September 25th: 9pm (Saraswati)
Saturday, September 26th: 8pm (Saraswati)
Sunday, September 27th: 6:15pm (Saraswati)
Monday, September 28th: 6am (Vijayadasami, Day of Victory)






Spirutual Significance of Navaratri
by Swami Sivananda


"During Navaratri, or the Nine Nights, the Divine in the form of the Mother is worshipped with great devotion. On the first three nights, Durga or the destructive aspect of the Mother is worshipped. On the succeeding three nights, it is the creative aspect or Lakshmi that is adored. And on the last three nights, the knowledge aspect or Saraswati is invoked. The tenth day is the Vijaya Dasami day or the Day of Victory.


"There is a special significance in this arrangement. When the Devi is worshipped by a devotee in this order, as Durga She first destroys the evil propensities that lurk in the mind. Then, as Lakshmi, She implants therein the divine qualities conducive to spiritual unfoldment. Then as Saraswati She bestows true knowledge on the aspirant.

"The tenth day commemorates the victory of knowledge over ignorance, or goodness over evil. Aspirants are initiated on this day. On this day the carpenter, the tailor, the mason, the artist, the songster, the typist and all technical workers do puja for their instruments and implements. This is Ayudha Puja. They behold and recognise the Sakti or Power behind those instruments and worship the Devi for their success, prosperity and peace."


Read more here.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

LADIES COUPE



During my first free trips to Mysore, I read every book I could find about India. I was especially interested in those written by Indians and those that were about women.

One of the books I devoured was Anita Nair's Ladies Coupe, a novel about the relationships that develop in a women-only train carriage (a segregated, second-class sleeper car found on most overnight Indian trains until 1998) as it made its way from Bangalore to Kanyakumari(both places that I've visited). It explores the roles and duties of women in India, and focues on Akhila, a 45-year-old unmarried eldest daughter who finally decides to do something for herself.

It begins with the line, "This is the way it has always been: the smell of a railway platform at night fills Akhila with a sense of escape."


Oh, how I miss it....



* * *



LADIES SPECIAL





Yesterday's New York Times has an article by Jim Yardley about India's new women's-only trains, which have been launched in a few big cities so that the women swelling the ranks of the country's workforce can travel to and from work without being "Eve Teased" - ie, groped, fondled, ogled, yelled at or otherwise harassed. As someone whose been pinched and/or fondled on a bus, while crossing the street, and in a temple (yes, a temple), I think it's a wonderful idea. Whenever I took the train alone, I always tried to sit with other women. There's safety in numbers.

Of course the men are up in arms over these women-only trains.



An excerpt:


'....The problems of taunting and harassment, known as eve teasing, are so persistent that in recent months the government has decided to simply remove men altogether. In a pilot program, eight new commuter trains exclusively for female passengers have been introduced in India’s four largest cities: New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Calcutta.

'The trains are known as Ladies Specials, and on one recent round trip in which a male reporter got permission to board, the women commuting between the industrial town of Palwal and New Delhi were very pleased.

'“It’s so nice here,” said a teacher, Kiran Khas, who has commuted by train for 17 years. Ms. Khas said the regular trains were thronged with vegetable sellers, pickpockets, beggars and lots of men. “Here on this train,” she said, as if describing a miracle, “you can board anywhere and sit freely.”

'India would seem to be a country where women have shattered the glass ceiling. The country’s most powerful politician, Sonia Gandhi, president of the Congress Party, is a woman. The country’s current president, a somewhat ceremonial position, is a woman. So are the foreign secretary and the chief minister of the country’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, and the new minister of railways. India’s Constitution guarantees equal rights for women, while Indian law stipulates equal pay and punishment for sexual harassment.

'But the reality is very different for the average working woman, many analysts say.

'Since India began economic reforms in the early 1990s, women have entered the urban work force, initially as government office workers, but now increasingly as employees in the booming services sector or in professional jobs. Over all, the number of working women has roughly doubled in 15 years.

'But violence against women has also increased, according to national statistics. Between 2003 and 2007, rape cases rose by more than 30 percent, kidnapping or abduction cases rose by more than 50 percent, while torture and molestation also jumped sharply....'







Read the rest here.


And thanks to Catesy for the head's-up.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

KNACKERED




I'm finally back "home," after 11 days in New York and lovely Raleigh, NC.

The jaunt included a Labor Day weekend live food and yoga retreat with Dharma Mittra in the Catskill Mountains, hanging out with Little E in Long Island, traveling to NYC to take classes at Dharma's studio, hanging with Catesey in Park Slope and Bobeisennow in Grammercy, and a weekend Maha Sadhana intensive (and more live food) with my dear teacher Chandra Om.

Yesterday I was so tired I could hardly speak, in part due to:

-Teaching three classes before getting on the plane to Islip on Thursday, September 3.

-Taking Little E's Level I class that night.

-The Labor Day Weekend retreat with Dharma, which started the next day (and was a four hour drive away). It was cold in the Catskills, and we slept in a tent. Plus each class began with kapalabhati jumping jacks and lots of fast sun salutations. Also Little E and I were in charge of waking everyone up in the morning, so we got up extra early in order to use the shower and sit beforehand.

-Two two-hour master classes with Dharma on Wednesday and Thursday, plus two more classes on Wednesday evening. (Not to mention the 1.5 hour train trip into Manhattan, on the Long Island Railroad, Wednesday's fitful night of sleep in noisy Brooklyn, and Thursday's return trip on the LIRR, followed by Little E's Level I class).

-Friday's Flight to North Carolina

-A 2.5 hour Maha Sadhana that night with Lakshmi

-Two very brisk "walks" through the forest with the pit bull puppy Daya and her fast-walking owner.

-Two three-hour Maha Sadhanas with Chandra, followed by 2.5 hour satsangs / sitting classes.

-Sunday night's slow dog-walk with Aspen and friends and impromptu back-care seminar, after feasting on avocados and Mana Bread.

-Padma's 1.5-hour class on Monday morning.

-The flight back to Midway a short time later.




Today, I began to recover. And do laundry. (But the diet is still good, ie; mostly raw and no chai. So far. And the bliss is still there. So far).

Interestingly, all of the back and wrist and shoulder pain that had been plaguing the body slowly evaporated during the visit. In fact, the classes were like experiencing a taste of heaven

Interestingly, the body seemed to develop a brand-new allergy the minute I returned "home." The throat is itchy, the right eye is red and swollen and there's lots of sneezing.

Maybe Someone is trying to tell me something.....









--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Photo shows last Tuesday's Long Island sunset.

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

CK'S FALL EVENTS CALENDAR



There are so many upcoming yoga and India-related events, I thought I'd put them all in one place. Due to time constraints, I've mostly just copied the press releases:





September 12, 8pm, Kirtan with Amy and the Ananda Bliss Tribe at YogaNow Gold Coast
. More info here






September 19 and 20, 9-5, Eastern Philosophy and Ancient Texts Workshop with A.G. Mohan at YogaNow.


Eastern Philosophy and Ancient Texts: Upanishads, Samkhya, Yoga, Dhammapada

In this 2-day intensive we will start from the oldest texts—the Upanishads—and the most ancient philosophy—Samkhya. The Upanishads are inspirational insights of sages, recorded in Sanskrit, often in verse, from thousands of years in the past. Samkhya is the first systematic Eastern philosophy from which all others, including the teachings of the Buddha, take their origin.

From here we will move on to yoga psychology, based on the most definitive work on yoga, the Yogasutras of Patanjali. Finally, we will delve into the connections of the Dhammapada, the iconic text encapsulating the teachings of the Buddha, with the Yogasutras and Samkhya. More info here and here.






September 20, 3PM: Freedom Symphony: Dr L. Subramaniam & Kavita K. at Harris Theater'

"The Paganini of the Indian Classical Music” Dr. L. Subramaniam with the Chicago Global Orchestra conducted by Maestro Michael Koehler, and renowned Indian Vocalist Kavita Krishnamurti Subramaniam will come together to perform the “Freedom Symphony”.

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to witness Dr. Subramaniam’s strong melodic and heroic symphonic composition, which uses text from four different Indian languages and will be sung. The Freedom Symphony will feature music favored by Mahatma Gandhi - “Vaishnavo Janatho” and Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s patriotic “Song of Freedom”, among other moving texts. The concert will start with the “Bach & Mendelssohn Symphony” and “Nada Priya” renderings by the Orchestra and Dr. Subramaniam. Ambi Subramaniam will also be featured in this performance. More info here.







September 23, 12pm, Rhythms of Rajasthan at Millennium Park
. Free! More info here.






September 24, 12 and 1pm, Rahim Alhaj and the Aditya Prakash Ensemble at Millennium Park. Free! More info here.







September 26, 7:30pm, Kirtan with Devi 2000 at Moksha River West
. More info here.







September 26, 9pm, Qwaali master Imran Aziz Mian
at the Ramada Inn, 780 E. North Avenue in Glendale Heights. For more info call 630-942-9500 or 630-674-1771.








October 10, 8pm, Dandiya 2009 featuring Falguni Pathak in Concert at the Odeum Expo Center, 1033 N. Village Avenue in Villa Park. Celebrate the Durga holiday Navratri and dance the Garba with India's most popular Dandiya singer. From my 2006 Reader review: "Of the estimated 125,000 Indian immigrants living in the Chicago area, approximately half hail from the western state of Gujarat. To celebrate the autumn Hindu festivals of Navratri and Dussehra, Gujaratis perform a dandiya raas, or "dance of swords," in which actors use wooden sticks to re-create the battle between goddess Durga and demon Mahishasura. The dance is generally performed to upbeat folk music dominated by traditional percussion instruments like the dhol, but Falguni Pathak has become India's "dandiya queen" by adding Western instruments. She and her band, Ta-Thaiya, perform both dandiya music and pop songs, a mix that has attracted massive crowds to her live shows in Mumbai. Her dandiya events are part concert, part dance party." For more info, call 773-552-6083.