Archive for November, 2009
pay it forward & then take it slow
I haven’t actually seen the movie Pay It Forward, in which a young boy comes up with a plan for direct action and encourages people to do 3 good things for other people, creating a “charity pyramid scheme,” but I’m intrigued by the concept. So when I saw that Eco Yogini was inviting readers to participate in a blog version of the pay it forward philosophy, of course I wanted to get involved. I love memes and virtual connectivity, and I love crafts and mail!
Here’s the lowdown:
- I will make a handmade gift for the first three people who comment on this post.
- I technically have 365 days to do this
- What it will be and when it will arrive will be a total surprise
The catch for gift-receivers:
- You must have a blog to participate
- Before or after you comment here, you must do a write up of the pay it forward on your space and keep the “Good Karma” flowin’
You should know:
- I love crafting! You will receive something unique and marvelous and most likely knitted!
- I’m also a total procrastinator and leave everything til the last minute, so you might not receive it until November 2010
So if you want in, comment below! Be sure to include your email in the form (this will be private; only I, as the administrator, will have access to it) and I will follow up with a message.
These kinds of reciprocal actions are small, but I think they’re very powerful. Taking the time to make something and then mail it to somebody is a direct and active way to participate in the slow movement and craftivism. It’s also a way of engaging with “gift economy,” a grassroots alternative (based on social theories of traditional societies) to the dominant market economy where “valuable goods and services are regularly given without any explicit agreement for immediate or future rewards” (hmmm… sounds a lot like karma yoga, n’est-ce pas?).
And just in case you need more inspiration, check out this TED Talk with Carl Honoré, journalist and author of In Praise of Slow.
[ted id=73]
Do enough yoga & you'll feel like dancing like this all the time!
I dare to you to say that one 20 times in a row: “Yoga-a-go-go! Yoga-a-go-go!” It’s a tongue twister and a half! Tongue-twistasana…
So it must have something to do with the approaching holiday season and its accompanying stresses, but there are a whole whack of yoga events happening this weekend in Montréal and it just seemed wrong to not mention them. Here they are…
Embrace your inner Arjuna! This workshop gets the prize for best title: From Worrier to Warrior. Pretty catchy, eh? Learn how to battle the forces of fear and conquer insecurity and self-doubt with Su Halle, a certified yoga teacher, coach and neurolinguistic programming practitioner.
November 28, 2 – 4pm. Happy Tree Yoga Studio, 4010 Ste. Catherine St. West, Suite 200 (514.846.YOGA).
Learn to meditate! Discover how to develop a meditation practice and bring it into your daily life with the guidance of Sonia Osorio. Through lecture, body awareness exercises, and approaches based in Tibetan Buddhism, explore meditation as a sitting, walking and awakening practice.
November 29, 9am – 12pm. Naada Yoga Montreal, 5540 Casgrain Ave (514-510-3470 to register).
Open “below the water line”! Show some love towards your hips, hamstrings, calves and feet in a uplifting, ecstasy-inducing workshop with Canada’s 8th certified Anusara teacher, Tracey Peever.
November 29, 2 – 5pm. rad’a, 841 Gilford.
Pursue happy hips! Montréal is just one stop on Eoin Finn‘s Pursuit of Happy Hips tour (another contender for the best titled workshop this weekend). He’s bringing his blissed out West Coast style to la belle ville for back-to-back am/pm workshops.
November 29, 9am – 12pm and 2 – 5pm. Centre Luna Yoga, 231 St Paul West, Suite 200.
This headline in my newsfeed grabbed my attention: “Start-Up Asana Announces $9 Million in New Funding.” I had to do a double take (and click through, of course). What could that combination of words possibly mean?
What it means is that the yoga vocabulary has moved beyond healthy eating habits and casual clothes into the tech world. Asana is a new “workplace productivity software start-up founded by former Facebookers Dustin Moskovitz and Justin Rosenstein.” The young company has been around for just over a year and apparently their work is directed at “the very dull and unexciting but very large and problematic workplace collaboration and communications software market.”
An article on All Things Digital tried to explain the yoga connection:
In Sanskrit, “asana” means “sitting down” and refers to strong but relaxed postures in yoga–so presumably, Moskovitz and Rosenstein are trying to help frustrated workers achieve a digital form of nirvana.
Good effort! But there could have been a little more research on the definition of asana. Anyway, even though I’m not really a fan of working, I’m all for making work more efficient, transparent and open. And from what I can gather from Asana’s website, they are doing their best to incorporate yoga-esque values into their small company, including: action in the face of fear, honesty & transparency, chill-ness, company as collective of peers (vs. command-and-control hierarchy), investing in people, and trust in wisdom over rules and incentives.
I’m willing to work for any company that values “chill-ness.” While Asana wants to keep their staff small and intimate, they’re also hiring. Check out their perks:
- Small company with respectful, rational, chill peers. We are as dedicated to building a great culture as we are to building a great product.
- Medical, dental, vision and life insurance coverage.
- In-house yoga. Every week we do yoga as a group, including +1s, with a private instructor. (Optional, but pretty awesome.)
- Organic homecooked meals twice a day.
- Three 30″ monitors. Actually, we let you spend up to $10K on your setup, however you think best.
Those perks are pretty similar to the perks of working at a yoga magazine. Except for the organic homecooked meals twice a day (though we did have Thursday Soup Days). And the 30″ monitors and $10K setup budget. Yikes! Anyway, I hope that the yogi incognitos behind Asana can put this $9 million to good techy use and live up to their values and ideals.
See also: yogourt-asana; the great asana taste test
I’m completely charmed by this short film by Japanese director, Kosai Sekine. Not only does it satisfy my deep love of Japan, Japanese convenience stores and eccentricity in general, but it has a subtle message about being your true self and finding where you belong in the world.
Okay, it’s Friday evening and I’ve got 3 social engagements to hit tonight, as well as laundry to fold, kitty litter to change, books to read… and my mind is racing with my weekend to-do list (prepare for interview, clean bathroom, read Bhagavad Gita, plan yoga class, buy groceries, go to goodbye party, decide between roller derby or slow dance party for Saturday evening entertainment) and even though none of it’s terribly important there’s this sense of urgency that I must do. it. all.
Or maybe not. Maybe I should just do… nothing. Which is what local yoga teacher Becky Todor is suggesting with her fun initiative, The Do Nothing Challenge. It’s simple: for the next month, between Nov 20 and Dec 20, Becky suggests that we schedule 20 minutes of nothing into our days. While I generally consider myself pretty lazy, I’m also really bad at doing nothing. So I had to ask Becky how do it.
What inspired you to initiate The Do Nothing Challenge?
Becky: After a busy fall, I decided to commit to doing a 20-minute savasana daily for 30 days. I wanted to share the idea with others because I find this is a time of year when we need to relax. Also, sometimes we just need someone to say it’s alright to do nothing!
What do you think it is about this time of year that causes people to overbook themselves/get too stressed out/do too much?
Becky: There’s a lot of momentum that happens in the fall. Even when you’re not in school, there’s that back-to-school feeling. New commitments are accepted – and then suddenly the holidays are here. Your calendar is stuffed with work commitments and parties. It’s all exciting and engaging, but at the same time nature is telling us to turn inward and prepare for winter hibernation. It’s easy to get carried away, but it’s a time of year when slowing down is the most nourishing.
What kind of “nothing” do you like to do? (It’s in quotations because it’s impossible to completely do nothing ~ we’re always breathing, thinking, digesting, etc.)
Becky: Restorative yoga – cozy blanket is a necessity. Riding the metro – instead of thinking about where I’m going, or things I have to do, I just enjoy the fact that I can’t “do” anything on the metro. Also, doing nothing while waiting in line at the grocery store; finding the patience to enjoy the wait. Staying in bed after waking up and savouring the warmth. Flopping over the edge of the couch. Drinking tea when my inbox is full – or a stack of dishes is waiting in the sink!
Whoa, that’s a lot of ways to do nothing! I did manage to do nothing on my metro ride this morning, and I stayed in bed after waking up (though that’s a long-standing habit of pure laziness, so I’m not sure if it counts ~ however, it is going to be my chosen practice for the next 30 days). I’m going to have to figure out how to set a goal for nothing into my day. As Becky reminds us, “Meeting your relaxation goal should not be stressful.” Indeed!
Now, I’m going to finish up my soba noodles and get dressed up for my night out on the town. I’ll do more nothing tomorrow, I promise!
Check out The Do Nothing Challenge Facebook event.
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