Posts from ‘daily life’
Humiliated offspring snatched this shot of father doing beach yoga (image via msn.com)
When you’re a teenager, pretty much everything your parents do is unbearably embarrassing. So when you’re on vacation with your family and your dad joins the beach yoga class, what do you do? Take a photo and post it on Reddit, of course.
The above image, posted as “i wasn’t going to join reddit but then my dad did yoga,” caused a minor sensation on the social news site, receiving over 600,000 views in two days. Certainly, the image of a middle aged guy in cargo shorts struggling in downward dog next to a trio of yoga babes is funny, I guess.
And certainly, I’m revealing my own uncoolness by stating that I think it’s awesome that he jumped in for some beach yoga. Go, awesome dad on vacation! But I’m also concerned about his bad form (put your hands shoulder-distance apart, dad! walk your feet in! lift your hips!) and the fact that the teacher is paying him no attention. Let’s hope she gave him an adjustment after the photo was snapped.
[via msn.com]
Hello, kittens. You’ve probably noticed that things have been a little quiet on IAYB lately.
To be honest, I’ve been a little quiet in general lately. I’ve been going through a spell of depression which makes writing, blogging and social media-ing very hard. I’ve also been broke and under-employed, and so I’ve had to shift what little energy I have from the blog to job searching. Which doesn’t help my depressive state. It’s hard to blog or “sell myself” to prospective employers when all I want to do is curl up in the fetal position and cry.
I’m not sure which came first: the powerlessness of unemployment/no money or the constant feelings of sadness. It doesn’t matter and it’s not worth analyzing. I prefer to blame capitalism. Continue Reading
Happy Thanksgiving, American friends! Up here in Canada, we ate turkey and felt gratitude last month, but I’m totally with you in spirit today. Giving thanks is one of my favourite things! And mindless consumerism is one of my least favourite things!
November 23 is Black Friday and, more importantly, Buy Nothing Day. While some yoga product retailers enable Black Friday spending:
… it’s my pleasure to disable your desire to shop. Be content with what you have. Stay home. Do yoga on a bare floor. Meditate. Sleep in. Make something. Cuddle.
This little video from the Story of Stuff people gives enough reason to avoid the malls, department stores and Internet sales tomorrow.
Lately, I’ve been seeing this quote all over the place:
Yoga is the practice of tolerating the consequences of being yourself. – The Bhagavad Gita
I’m no Gita scholar, but I’ve read a few translations and the language doesn’t sound like anything I’ve read in any of them. I can’t imagine Krishna giving Arjuna this advice as he steps on the battlefield and prepares to slaughter his extended family.
I posted this quote and my question on the IAYB Facebook page, where a hot little discussion ensued. A Montreal yoga teacher, Robin Golt, commented, “I questioned that one too, a while back – and suspect it might be someone’s take on 3:35, which is more commonly translated as ‘Better one’s own duty though deficient than the duty of another well performed. Better is death in one’s own duty; the duty of another invites danger’ (Winthrop Sargeant). Or ‘It is better to do your own dharma even imperfectly, than someone else’s dharma perfectly. Even better to die in your dharma than in another’s, which brings great fear’ (Satchidananda).” Continue Reading
Judith Hanson Lasater has made vast and essential contributions to yoga in North America. She has been teaching since 1971, is one of the founders of Yoga Journal, and writes extensively on the therapeutic and restorative applications of the practice.
Her asana-related work is highly regarded and esteemed. However, one of her most significant offerings to modern yoga is often overlooked. What We Say Matters: Practicing Nonviolent Communication (Rodmell Press, 2009) is a slim volume she co-authored with Ike K. Lasater. Nonviolent Communication (NVC) is a process of communication designed to improve compassionate connection to others. Developed by Marshall Rosenburg in the 1960s, NVC is based on self-empathy, empathy and honest self-expression.
What We Say Matters bridges the gap between some of the principles we learn in yoga – particularly satya (truth) and ahimsa (nonviolence) – and the real world application of these principles. I had the opportunity to ask Lasater about the key themes in the book, including how speech can be a spiritual practice, what happens when people’s needs are in conflict, and what to do when “the truth hurts.”
