Backbends

Finally signed up for Iyengar yoga classes again. It's been a few months since I last attended. I signed up for 10 weeks. During this time, I will review what we went over. I rarely do this but this will help me with arrange practice sessions at home that aren't boring. I am proud to say that I attempted Headstand in the middle of the classroom. I have only been able to attempt this a handful of times in almost 10 years :)

Supta Baddha Konasana
(SOUP-tah BAH-dah cone-NAHS-anna)
Reclining Bound Angle

Adho Mukha Svanasana
(AH-doh MOO-kah shvah-NAHS-anna)
Downward Facing Dog

Adho Mukha Vrksasana
(ah-doh moo-kah vriks-SHAHS-anna)
Handstand
*We placed our butts to the wall while dropping our legs 90 degrees:
Urdhva Dandasana
Raised Staffed

Pincha Mayurasana
(pin-cha my-your-AHS-anna)
Feathered Peacock

Salamba Sirsasana
(sah-LOM-bah shear-SHAHS-anna)
Supported Headstand
with variations:
Eka Pada Sirsasana
One-Leg Headstand
Parivrttaikapada Sirsasana
Revolved Headstand



Viparita Dandasana
Inverted Staff Pose
*with and without head support
*Different ways of finding the tailbone



Kapotasana with support on a chair
King Pigeon Pose



Urdhva Dhanurasana
(OORD-vah don-your-AHS-anna)
Upward Bow Pose



Eka Pada Rajakapotasana
(aa-KAH pah-DAH rah-JAH-cop-poh-TAHS-anna)
One-Legged King Pigeon Pose

Eka Pada Rajakapotasana II
(A-kah pah-dah rah-jah-kah-poh-tahs-anna)
One-Legged King Pigeon Pose II



Ardha Bhekasana
Half Frog Pose

Supported Halasana
(hah-LAHS-anna)
Plow Pose

Finding the Middle Zone

The Middle Zone, I don't really know the exact word for it, but for me the Middle Zone is the calm and secure state of mind. It's not an extremist black and white outlook on life. That secure state of mind is what I bring to some areas of my life, my religious/spiritual views, my diet regime, and my minimalist lifestyle. Sure that took time going from white and then black, but eventually, I found the middle ground and am happy in that place. I feel no uncertainties in those journeys. Now, I am told to integrated that "calm" attitude in the areas of my life that I see as "insecure." For example, my constant search for the perfect career and dreaming of living in another city. These areas of my life are lethal, they bring about depression, anger, insecurity and frustration. I am unsure of how to go about this, searching for the middle zone in career and city, but perhaps I can integrate that thought into my daily yoga and Pranayama practice each morning saying to myself: "How can I find a balance in both my career and current city?" Maybe I pick and choose when to outweigh the negative consequences of certain choices. Of course, I don't do this in every area of my life, only a few. Why is that? Why those few?

Speaking of Pranayama, I was skimming through my older posts and was amazed that I wrote so much about my practice, I'll need to start writing about it again :) I stopped practicing yoga for a few months now, but am proud to say that I started practicing again. I have a schedule in which I have to practice Pranayama in the morning and am starting to read Richard Rosen's "The Yoga of Breath: A Step-by-Step Guide to Pranayama." From my last few days of practice, I can say that I am working with tension. I feel a headache after my practice and am unsure if it's just psychological tension or physical tension since I think my head isn't rested properly on the blankets. This will have to be another one of my journeys as I'll continue reading and figuring out a good daily practice in which I can finally work on relaxation and not stress about the breathing. There is emphasis in Pranayama that you must not push yourself too hard; this is a practice of patience and peace. I need to remind myself of that.



For more about Pranayama please visit my posts:

Pranayama

Pranayama Continued

Photography: Sorting Thru the Mess

Some images from a road trip I went on with my sister back in 2006. The images are from Arizona, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles.

Jung

I've been taking classes at the Jung Center which I find extremely helpful to my psychological and spiritual growth. This has me recently checking out a few basic books about Jung and Jungian Theory. It's so unfortunate to think how much I didn't know or either forgotten about his studies; they truly are helpful. I liked how he traveled and explored other areas unknown to him to fully realize the psyche. For example, he was interested in Buddhism. He liked that the goal of Buddhism is to attain an inner stage of enlightenment, detaching oneself from the the physical world and the endless chatter of the psyche. Some other points on Buddhism:
• It is up to each person to follow their own path to enlightenment - there is little emphasis upon dogma and faith.
• The answer to spiritual growth is seen as lying within - there is no external deity as such
• Jung disagreed with Buddhism's view on suffering as an illusion from which one can ultimately escape through attaining enlightenment. Jung thought suffering is real and unavoidable. We can only overcome by living through it. Also, withdrawal from life is in itself a form of repression.
I feel like Buddhism is a part of the "individuation" process - finding enlightenment can kind of be like finding yourself.

The individuation process in never complete. The spiral path takes us on a lifelong journey. As we travel we gradually unravel the conditioning imposed by our own parents and society and peel away what Jung calls the "false wrappings" of our persona. This frees us to meet our own shadow and acknowledge its power within us, so that we can try to stop projecting it onto others. Gradually, our psyche becomes more balanced and we are able to become much more whole and effective humans.

Choices, Choices, Choices

Here are some notes that I find beneficial to my spiritual/psychological growth from the book, "The Paradox of Choice What to Do About Choice: Why More is Less" by: Barry Schwartz

CHOOSE WHEN TO CHOOSE
• Reduce the number of options to consider before making a decision
• Focus on limited areas

BE A CHOOSER, NOT A PICKER
• Choosers reflect on what makes a decision important, whether even none of the options should be chosen, or a new option created, and the expressive value of a choice; pickers are passive selectors from what is available
• Shorten or eliminate fuss about unimportant decisions, use freed up time to reflect on what you want, think about what options would need to be created

SATISFICE MORE AND MAXIMIZE LESS
• Accept "good enough"

THINK ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY COSTS OF OPPORTUNITY COSTS
• Don't worry so much about "missing out"

MAKE YOUR DECISIONS NON-REVERSIBLE
• I’m simply not going there, I’ve made my decision so this option has nothing to do with me. I’m out of the market, so end of story
• You can pour your energy instead into improving the relationship, rather than second-guessing it

PRACTICE AN "ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE"
• The same experience can have delightful and disappointing aspects and its up to us what we focus on
• Before going to bed, write 5 things you are grateful for that happened that day

REGRET LESS
• Practice gratitude for what is good in a decision rather than focusing on bad
• Life is complex. It is rare that any single decision has the life transforming power we sometimes think.

ANTICIPATE ADAPTATION
• Develop realistic expectations about how experiences change with time and how we satisfied with only higher levels of experience over time
• Spend less time and energy researching and agonizing over decisions
• Spend less time looking for the perfect thing (maximizing), so that you won't have huge search cots to be "amortized" against the satisfaction you derive from what you actually choose.

CONTROL EXPECTATIONS
• Reduce the number of options you consider
• Be a satisficer rather than a maximizer
• Allow for serendipity

CURTAIL SOCIAL COMPARISON
• Learning that good enough is good enough will automatically reduce social comparison
• Focus on what makes you happy and what gives meaning to your life

LEARN TO LOVE CONSTRAINTS
• They can be liberating this choice overload context
• Following rules can free up time/energy for situations where rules don’t work

21-Day Habit

I skimmed through this book about self-confidence and stumbled upon this learning technique called, "The 21-Day Habit." Supposedly, it takes approximately twenty one days to break an old, destructive habit or form a new, positive habit. I haven't been writing in my blog for quite some time now and have struggled to find something to write about. I was writing about yoga for well over a year and then tried to write about motivation, health food obsession; I kind of drifted there for a minute, but now I think I find a meaningful subject to discuss: my 21-day psychological makeover. Today is the 19th of April making May 9th, Mother's Day, the last day of the 21-day habit makeover.

So, how do I start and continue to write about this? I've been going to some Jung workshops since I hate that I'm so indecisive and fear making any long-term decisions. I don't know where this stems from or what I can do about it and according to the book I was skimming, this is a trait of someone who lacks self-confidence. I've decided that I will work on this trait I dislike about myself and be a lot more conscience about my self-defeating habits and form more positive or middle zone views on myself. I'm consistently stuck in this uncertain role where I feel helpless and hopeless on my career choice and future. Apparently, I have low-self esteem and don't believe in myself to succeed in whatever I choose to follow. Then again, there is the possibility for failure, but that's life.

I'll start by answering some of the questions in the book for this blog:

A. What negative habits do you desire to replace? Well, I already stated that I would like to replace my indecisive, self-defeating habits, and complaining.

B. What positive habit or attitude will you develop to replace it? I would like to develop an attitude in which I at least try to follow through with "big-life" decisions. I also would like to focus my attention on having a more middle area look on life instead of seeing things as black or white. I would like to complain less and compliment more. If I have a compliment, I should just shut my mouth.

C. What actions will you take to replace your negative habits? Well, this blog is for starters. I'm kinda unsure of how to even go about this section of the blog. Should I jot down the times I was negative or positive? I'll need to focus on the things I love in life and start making efforts to following through with at least 1-3 items.

D. What is the easiest and most logical way to do this? Catching myself saying self-defeating things or complaining. Ugh, I really need to stop that. I should practice saying less...

Cooking...Healthy

Ever since I got laid off from work, I've been obsessed with cooking and learning healthier alternatives to food. I was a vegetarian for most of my like, 11+ years, and was vegan for 3-4 years. I decided a few months ago to stop being a vegetarian and start incorporating meat into my diet. I am asked why this is so and I think it's because of Anthony Bourdain, especially reading his book, "Kitchen Confidential." I was so memorized by his glorification of the entire food experience; the process of cooking, the flavors, the kitchens, and his travels. I immediately began to realize that I have not been living my "food experiences" the fullest. I really don't eat meat these days, I'll only have a bite maybe a handful times a month, if that. Sushi, though is something that I fell in love with and am so appreciative to have experienced. Instead of focusing on being vegan or vegetarian, now I'm embracing a new path, the "health foodie" path. I simply love healthy, real food. Real food is not diet food and it's about loving to eat food instead of being afraid of it and counting calories. Of course, I still love going out to eat and eating some processed food once in awhile, but overall I love food and I love it when its closer to its natural source. Real food and yoga go hand-in-hand. You have to take care of your mind, soul and body - so know what you are eating.

Koshas

I've been trying to evolve my yoga practice beyond the physical asana practice by reading more yoga philosophy. I came across an article about the confusion of defining oneself since there are multiple parts of ourselves like our physical identity, our beliefs and opinions, our job, our emotions, and our spiritual selves, just to name a few. The article identified this crisis with the 5 sheaths, or koshas of the soul. The term, koshas is found within the yoga philosophy. It states that these 5 layers encase the soul and function as a journey into the soul starting from the first kosha, the physical and most tangible aspect of ourselves to the last kosha, the spirit. According to yoga philosophy, any question of who you are or the meaning of life can be solved by exploring all of these layers of the self; physical, breath, mental, wisdom, and spirit. Once each kosha is fully understood and acknowledged, one can appropriately apply to areas of areas in one's life instead of focusing on a few layers, like the mental or the physical which is limiting. Understanding and acknowledging each of the koshas only gives you more control and enlightenment in your life.

Motivation

I haven't continued or started any major photography projects since I graduated college 4 years ago. I was really interested in street documentary and environmental portraits focusing on young artists. I loved to edit out the best 12-20 photographs and insert into a handmade book. I loved to create books by hand, cutting pages and binding them with thread and needle and using pen and ink to write the titles. I create a few books one of of my favorites being images of people isolated from each other using the backdrop of California. I miss those projects and think that I could expand on some of the subjects or create my own since my interests have narrowed to a few activities. I am sharing a few of my favorite photographs from college. I'll start off with a few photographs from two of my environmental portrait series which were all shot using a view camera and strobe lights. The first three are from my "Young Artist" series and the last ones are from my "Yiayia" series. Enjoy!

A Good Practice

What makes yoga so amazing? Is it because one realizes the mind, body, and spirit can finally connect and be one strong entity? Such were the thoughts from today's practice which was such an amazing practice. I took my time with my practice and was very patient in learning which is a lengthy process; today's practice took a total of 2 hours! I feel that I'm starting to put the pieces together, learning about my body not through what my teacher and peers tell me, but my listening and looking and feeling what my body needs or doesn't need. I can't say much else. Everything else in life seems incomplete and unsolved, but so did yoga. Maybe I have to put those pieces together, the yoga pieces, in order to put the pieces of my life together...

Another Float, Another Day

I just came back from another floating session, my third one in total with my friend Natasha. In comparison to my other floats, this floatation session was unpleasant and frustrating. More of a mental experience unlike the spiritual and body heavy experiences from the previous sessions. For starters, my body was constantly hitting up against the wall which is imperative to the whole "sensory depravation" experience. I found myself constantly touching the wall so that I wouldn't rotate as much and when I would finally let go, I would hit my arm, foot, and head against the wall. I feel that the moments and emotions leading up to the session are partially or perhaps entirely to blame. I was definitely not enthusiastic to go floating the day before and was even considering canceling. I am unsure as to why I felt that way, but I just felt that floating would be awkward this time around. Also, I had a long and an emotional conversation with a friend of mine minutes before starting my session. It also didn't help talking about the events that were bothering me in my life to this friend. If there was one thing I learned from the floating tank today, was that I need to love and trust myself. That I can attract these people who make me feel so awful. Even if I've been unknowingly rude in the past, that still bares no right to have the same done unto me. From the relaxation of tank, I've seen that these words used upon me, these cold, harsh words, made me feel so dreadful if I spoke the same to others who could have felt as I feel now.