Tasting the World in a Bite

06 Monday Apr 2015

Posted by Bahar Anooshahr in Health, Spirituality, Yoga

Tags

Elephant Journal, healthy-living, Mindful eating, Mindfulness, Rancho La Puerta, Spirituality, Yoga

We lined up outside the special dining room, 21 in total.

Rumors about the silent dinner were circulating, but none of us knew exactly what to expect. I chose to be there because I collect experiences. Besides, I had come to Rancho La Puerta to turn inward and find answers—so I welcomed silence whenever possible.

Phyllis, our spiritual teacher, led the way to Los Olivos, which sat above the main dining room. Once everybody entered, she pointed to the night’s menu perched on a table at the entryway. “We all get soup, salad and dessert,” she said in her perfect British accent. “You have a choice between two dishes for the main entrée followed by tea or coffee. If you want tea, choose the paper labeled hot water.”

I smiled when she showed us how to order our entrée: with a sprig of rosemary, the symbol of remembrance and love. A whole sprig indicated the vegetarian option, no sprig was non-vegetarian, and a broken one denoted the combination dinner.

Tables were arranged in a large square, each side hosting five of us. Phyllis invited all to stand, hold hands, and seal the silence before we took our seats. We connected skin to skin, felt each other’s…

http://www.elephantjournal.com/2015/04/tasting-the-world-in-a-bite/

The Little Death and The Big Reward

11 Friday Apr 2014

Posted by Bahar Anooshahr in Exercise, Spirituality, Yoga

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

compassion, fitness, Rowster's, Savasana, Spirituality, Yoga, Yoga Heat

Last Saturday morning, I went to yoga hoping to stretch those tight hip flexors. From the very start, I set an intention to make my practice as juicy as possible, something one of our other teachers had invited us to do before. However, having just held my first triple-decker plank that morning, or maybe because of last night’s insomnia, I had a high level of adrenaline. So, one intention was just not going to cut it. The class had started and I was still trying to narrow down my intentions. “Wait, one more. I also intend to learn off-the-mat lessons. There. Now let’s do this.”

Throughout the practice, I breathed better, moved slower, even tried to get deeper into the poses. In down dog, I really pushed my heart out. In headstand, I tightened my core to take the pressure off the neck. It all felt great, but my off-the-mat lessons were not coming and soon frustration began setting in. Of course every time I went into my head in search of a lesson, I lost presence.

This went on for a while. Her adjustments would bring me back to my breath and a few poses later, I’d get lost again.

Finally she asked us to come to Savasana. For my non-yoga readers, this is the rest pose at the end of class. You pretty much lie on your back.

My mind would not quiet down.

Me: Should I go to Rowster’s (coffee shop) after this? Ooh the Latin film festival is going on too.

Enlightened self: Shhh. Stop it. Let the thoughts go.

A few seconds of quiet. Then…

Me: What time is the movie again?

Enlightened self: Come on. This is your time, your slice of rest. Remember? Rest you crazy insomniac.

A few more seconds of quiet. Then again…

Maybe I can go to dinner after the movie.

Seeing that nothing was working, the now impatient enlightened self had a sudden association: Savasana means corpse pose, and suddenly:

Die! You are in corpse pose for God’s sake. Act like it.

I let out an audible giggle and thus my resting pose came to an end.

The life lesson did come. It just decided to show up at the end of the practice, perhaps to emphasize the value of patience.

You see, I have read there are three C’s in yoga: confidence, clarity, and compassion. I had the confidence to do the poses, at least for that day, plus the clarity to make them juicy. Yet, I lost sight of compassion. How can you have compassion for others if you don’t have it for yourself?

Naturally, the part that told me to die was not enlightened by any means. Ego comes in different shapes.

You can’t always be perfect. You aim high of course, but just like your instructor thanks you for “coming to class, for sharing your practice with me,” consider thanking yourself for showing up and doing the work. Now, add a dose of compassion for the wandering mind and, sometimes, uncooperative body.

After all it’s yoga practice, not yoga perfect.

Namaste friends.

Go With the Flow: the music of yoga

04 Friday Apr 2014

Posted by Bahar Anooshahr in Spirituality, Yoga

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Ben Rivet, breath, community, fitness, Go W/the Flow, Iyengar, Osho, Spirituality, Tori Reynolds, Yoga, Yoga Heat

Photo by Abbey Moore

”…The rhythm of the body, the melody of the mind, and the harmony of the soul create the symphony of life.”

Iyengar’s words sum up what we experienced in a yoga workshop, GO W/The Flow, last weekend. An improv duo of heart and soul led us. She guided our movement through words; he conducted our breath through music.

Yoga to live music is very special, but these two added an extra uniqueness to it.

Rows of colorful mats nesting jovial students filled the room. While waiting cheerfully in anticipation, we safeguarded our personal space making sure we had enough room to practice without bumping into others. Ben and Tori introduced themselves and requested only our presence and breath for this practice. They also explained how rather than having a particular arrangement, they teach by simply feeling the energy of the room. There was no special song planned; yet the music he played was exactly the right one.

From the very start, she connected us foot to hip, hand to shoulder, palm to palm. Giggles emanated when toes rested on derrieres, but it didn’t take long to feel stability through community. Gone was the need to guard our spaces. In fact, when my hand didn’t reach my neighbor’s shoulder, I moved closer to her. Instantly our choppy breaths, the ones that are usually ripples on a pond, turned into a powerful ocean. As if coalesced, we inhaled and exhaled as one, one breath, one body, one life-force.

“If you can’t hear your neighbor,” she went on, “breathe for them. Let them know you are here.” Do for the other. We are all in this life together. Help out. Be there. A recent pilgrim to Grand Rapids, I had left my own community back at the East Coast. To soothe the hurt of losing friends, I had taken the who-needs-people-I-can-do-it-on-my-own attitude. This exercise nudged me awake. Community is what I’ve been missing.

The unified breath granted greater strength and flexibility. We folded deeper, held our poses longer, felt stronger. The room temperature rose. Sweat rained from our bodies, yet when we reached for towels, Tori interjected: “Don’t wipe off your sweat. It’s your karma. Let it fall away.”

Ben strummed and hummed, Tori directed, karmas fell to the wooden floor, and we gradually stepped into the heart. When she asked for a hard move, she quoted Osho: “Remember…The mind lives in doubt and the heart lives in trust. When you trust, suddenly you become centered.” Don’t think about it. Just go.

Right before the end, she instructed us to lock gazes with a classmate without exchanging words, so as to say your presence is enough. But perhaps also to say I am present to you. I see you. A teacher once told me people want to be witnessed.

The class ended in heartfelt embraces of old and new friends, the neighbors we had leaned on, and the teachers who had guided us. This barefoot pilgrim left the studio feeling much more grounded and incredibly grateful for the community she has found.

If you haven’t experienced a GO W/A FLOW class, put it on your bucket list. You have to meet Ben and Tori.

Namaste.

Love Your Body

28 Friday Mar 2014

Posted by Bahar Anooshahr in Exercise, Spirituality, Yoga

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

dancer's pose, fitness, naked yoga, namaste, plank, ragdoll, tree pose, Yoga

Recently, we had a fun discussion about an article in Daily Mail on naked yoga classes designed to make people love their bodies. Heated discussion ensued on FaceBook. Some people liked it. Others were disgusted by it. I personally welcome new experiences, so I would probably try it. Besides, to me the human form, with all its lumps and bumps, is beautiful.

As we moved through our vinyasas that day, I realized how much our body gives us to be grateful for.

Haven’t our feet been keeping us up or helping us balance? Think of the many dancer’s or tree or airplane poses we have asked them to do. And they did their best to deliver despite their cracked heels, scars, or tired arches. Haven’t the hips opened to the best of their abilities when we wanted them to? We have flipped our dogs, stretched in pigeon, and sunk in chair. Our body has consistently aimed to take us there. It has folded, twisted, and turned at our command, or better yet, invitation. When we were brave enough to let go, it’s melted deeper into poses. When we believed in its strength or gave it permission, it has surprised us.

How about the core? Hasn’t it showed up consistently for this month’s planks or helped us be the hotshots in our head or handstands?

Speaking of hands, haven’t hey found their way into binds, held us in those ninja balancing poses (as Angie calls them), always coming together just before we bowed to the light of others in Namaste.

And who can forget the heart, constantly inviting us to open up and connect?

The examples are endless. And that’s only in yoga.

Expand it to life. Think of the many ways our body serves us each day regardless of its imperfections, true or perceived. The lungs take in air, the heart never misses a beat, the liver continues to detoxify, feet carry, and hands accomplish. Since the moment we came into the world, this body has devoted its senses to give us the fullest experience of life and make sure we’ve had access to every taste, smell, texture, sound, and sight.

Don’t you think it deserves love?

See? Even clothed yoga makes us appreciate the body.

Now, let’s get naked. Shall we?

Namaste

Yoga Lessons: Let Go

14 Friday Mar 2014

Posted by Bahar Anooshahr in Exercise, Positive attitude, Spirituality, Yoga

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Change, Christmas, Holidays, Letting go, No judgement, Yoga, Yoga Heat

Panting, I reached for the door handle expecting it to resist me, since I was late as usual, but it pulled open. Thank god.

“Hello, I’m Angie.”

Without hesitation I answered: “Hi. Please make me normal again.”

My whole body buzzed with tension. Oh whom am I kidding? It was frank anger. I wanted to get away from it all. I needed space. It was in that spirit that I rolled out my mat and waited for Angie’s instructions.

“For today’s class I want you to think of the lesson you learned during the holidays.”

Lesson? What lesson? I think back to our holidays, my first with my boyfriend and his kids. We had intended to start our own tradition with the girls, but it turned out to be a bust from the beginning. Cut your own Christmas tree fell on an 18-degree day. It only brought about complaints and wishing they were at mom’s house with the fake tree. Decorating the tree? I had elegant silver/white ornaments; the girls wanted color. Presents: we addressed their needs more than their wants. More clothes, less toys. On Christmas day, they joined us for lunch. We prepared a savory lunch; they wanted sweets. I had had it with the holidays. My lesson was to skip it altogether for next year.

“I learned that change is good,” Angie interrupted my thoughts.

Wait a minute? That’s a good one. First Christmas with a new family is a change, certainly challenging. I’ll go with that.

“Let’s start by coming to the front of the mat…”

But midway through class, as I went from tree to dancer’s pose, something happened. I inhaled, felt a drop of sweat travel down my neck, and on the exhale recited let go. I felt the tension leave. I felt stronger. That was it. Letting go was my lesson, not change. Let go of wanting to be perfect. Let go of pleasing everyone. Let go of expectations. Let go and be free. Breath by breath, drop by drop, I let go. When I did, space opened. In that space there was room for everyone. In that space, kids could be kids and complain if they needed to. And I didn’t have to take it all so seriously. Instead, I could see this new little family as a source of love not fear.

Class neared its end. Through tears, I came to seated meditation.
“I hope you are ready to face the challenges of the day ahead. Perhaps you learned to let go.”

Ah, she knew.

I smiled.

Namaste.”

Find Your Center

27 Friday Jan 2012

Posted by Bahar Anooshahr in Spirituality

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Buddhism, calm, center, communion, facebook, light, peace, prayer, Spirituality

Finger pads touch, palms gently resting against each other, beads draped around our fingers, gazes focused as we chant. And before long, voices harmonize, hearts soften. The mood in the room is different now. As time passes by, the women tend to become more aware of each other’s well-being whether or not they know one another. Mrs. G, 80 years old, gets out of her seat and without a word returns with a glass of water for the person who is leading the chant. Lynne places food offering on the altar and lights the candles. We immerse ourselves in the chant for two hours.

My thoughts also change from a list of what I wish for to encompass others: family, friends, other women, and all of humanity. Don’t get me wrong I am notorious for wandering thoughts, but I try to come back to the present moment as I catch myself drift off to the list of tasks that need to get done for today, tomorrow, etc.

In the end the brave ones share their internal experiences. Jayne, a lover of outdoors, feels the natural elements more vividly the deeper she gets into her chanting. For me it’s all about light. Beams, globes, rays, or showers of light. That’s what I send out to you.

When I think to my past, I remember spirituality always existed in my own family and those years that I set my cockiness and dogmatic mind and made time for practicing I had more peace and focus in life.

Our fast paced lives have managed to put our cores, the part that we really need, on the back burner. It’s a life of noise and action. We are busy with work, TV, exercise, etc. The external stimuli have drowned our interior voice.

You don’t have to chant. Find what works for you. If you have time for Facebook, then you’ll have time for you. Spend ten minutes less on Facebook and enjoy your own heart. Just be. See what happens. Over time you start finding your own answers because rest inside you and just need a little trust to be heard.

Some of us have grown up watching our parents and grandparents practice. Think of when they communed with whatever they believed in. Remember how unwavering they became in the face of calamities? It was as if they had roots in the ground or hearts in the sky. Either way there was a sense of strength about them. My grandmother had two sons fighting in the Iran/Iraq war and I never saw her fall apart. She’d look up at the sky and speak to her divine with such conviction and purity that if I were God, I would personally grant her whatever she wanted. That’s what years of practice does, though.

Yet today, some woman takes our spot at the gym and it sets us off. Or, in my case, I have an article rejected and the first thing that comes to my mind is: “I can’t chant today. Need sugar.”

We feed our body, exercise to be physically healthy. But there are more dimensions to us. Let’s take care of them too.

Besides, according to an article in US News: “spiritual acts appear to lengthen life expectancy, strengthen immunity, improve the body’s response to stress, and boost other measures of physical health.”

Here’s to sensing calm amidst calamity.