“People probably don’t realize it, but I was raised a Buddhist, and I actively practiced my faith from childhood until I drifted away from it in recent years, Buddhism teaches that a craving for things outside ourselves causes an unhappy and pointless search for security. It teaches me to stop following every impulse and to learn restraint. Obviously, I lost track of what I was taught.” - Tiger Woods
As spiritual practitioners we need to have some curiosity about the unknown. When unexplored territory frightens us, we need to ask ourselves, ‘Where’s our sense of adventure?’ ” - Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel
I've read and heard from several "older" yoga teachers, those who began yoga in the 1960s and 70s, lament that yoga has gotten harder and faster over the years. The "old school" yoga which first came to America was quite gentle and used minimal poses in a class.
This week I did an "old school" yoga class and was pleasantly surprised how limber I felt after the 75 minute class. As we did the session, I admit thinking "this is far too gentle for me". However, when I walked out of the studio to my car I clearly noticed my body was more open, supple and moved with greater ease that when I went into the class. Here's what we did for the 75 minutes - minimal postures but really effective:
Actor Richard Gere, Hollywood's earliest and most prominent supporter of Buddhism and Tibetan Independence, was recently married. The 68 year old actor was wed to Alejandra Silva, 35, in a private civil ceremony recently. A few days later, the newly married couple invited family and friends to celebrate at Gere's New York State home.
Present were several Tibetan Buddhist monks. Gere, who used his 1993 Oscar speech calling for the liberation of Tibet from China. Silva is Buddhist as well, telling ABC newspaper in 2015, “I was born Catholic, but converted to Buddhism two years ago. I think it was already inside of me. I believe in reincarnation so that’s why I think I was Buddhist before realizing it.” Speaking about his marriage, Richard said: 'I have found the quiet and happy life that I have always sought.' In order to maintain it's tight grip over Tibet, China has been has been involved in identifying reincarnated lamas. It's apparent the Chinese government will eventually attempt to do the same following the death of the current Dalai Lama.
However, in a strong gesture of support for religious freedoms in Tibet, the US Senate has affirmed the right of the Tibetan people to choose the next incarnation of the Dalai Lama for themselves.The resolution, which passed on April 25, coincides and commemorates “the 59th anniversary of Tibet’s 1959 uprising as ‘Tibetan Rights Day’” on March 10. It also marks “the 10th anniversary of a series of protests in Lhasa, which spread across Tibet, and which were violently suppressed by Chinese forces. At the center of the bill’s intent is a defense of Tibetan Buddhists’ right to choose tulkus, the reincarnations of spiritual leaders, whose selection process is supposed to proceed on religious, not political, lines. The bill states that the Senate “expresses its sense that the identification and installation of Tibetan Buddhist religious leaders, including a future 15th Dalai Lama, is a matter that should be determined solely within the Tibetan Buddhist faith community, in accordance with the inalienable right to religious freedom.” No matter how much you read, how many talks you hear, or how many websites you visit, there is no guarantee that there will be any real benefit. It is good to accumulate knowledge, but it is better to let that knowledge transform you. - Judy Lief
American women have come a long way through hard-won ideological battles and changes in our educational and legal systems. All these efforts have significantly altered the way we live, and have increased possibilities for women. There’s a lot more work to be done. - Helen Tworkov
Authentic teachers from India know nothing of hot yoga, the style popularized by Bikram. Many recent studies confirm that there's no significant benefit for doing yoga in a room heated to 104 degrees and infused with humidity. So, how did Bikram come up with hot yoga?
During the early 1970s, Bikram was teaching yoga in Japan where saunas are very popular. This inspired yoga teacher to begin experimenting with heated yoga rooms. When Bikram came to the United States, he brought this "hot" yoga style with him. However, when he first started, his rooms were only heated to 82 degrees. As the popularity of his classes increased, so did the temperatures to the current 104 degrees. There are issues with this style of yoga and one who has addressed them is Dr. John Douillard, an Ayurvedic specialist. Among the issues he cites are these:
An eleven year old girl wearing yoga pants experienced 2nd degree burns while undergoing an MRI. Lululemon and many other athletic leisure wear companies, use metallic fibers in their clothing. There is a significant risk that these fibers become heated and can cause skin burn when worn in an MRI scanner.
These tiny metal threads keep odor and bacteria from building up in clothes as people do yoga. Hospitals, on the other hand, want to prevent the smell of burning. Warning signs—some mentioning the popular yoga clothing brand Lululemon Athletica—are plastered in radiologist offices across the country. “These fibers can burn you if worn in the MRI scanner,” one reads. A selection of Lululemon’s products are created with “Silverescent” technology, a fabric that incorporates silver-bonded threads to inhibit the growth of odor-causing bacteria on the garment, a company spokesperson said. Waiting and hoping are not enough: good outcomes require good actions. - Chuck Norris
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Victor M. Parachin ...is aVedic educator, yoga instructor, Buddhist meditation teacher and author of a dozen books. Buy his books at amazon or your local bookstore. Archives
July 2024
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