Wednesday, 29 June 2011

Yondering Downunder: Art & the Vegie Bar in Melbourne (Day 3.2)

It's 5.52 pm right now in Melbourne, the sun has set and the sky is already a dark indigo. It amazes me firstly how early night falls in Australia, and more so how fast it does.

Below: Brunetti cafe, just before sunset, with St. Paul's cathedral in the background


I'm at this cafe called Brunetti, which is apparently quite famous and located right next to St. Paul's cathedral. Dina's on her way from work, so I'm just typing away on my iPad.

Today was a good day. Melbourne weather wasn't that moody and I got to catch up with a friend that I have not met in more than a decade. Priceless.

Ness is a primary school friend from Singapore, and we used to hang out quite a bit as kids. Her family then moved to Melbourne and I later moved to Sydney and we lost touch - completely.

Sometime last year, she found me on Facebook and we cyber re-connected. I learnt through FB that we both enjoyed Vinyasa yoga.

But that is not the most important part. What is more important is that we decided to get back in touch, and I'm thrilled about that.

It's wonderfully strange how it wasn't awkward when we first met - we bear hugged along the street, and immediately connected the way old friends do.

I am also grateful that Ness had the time to take me around and show me the lovely quaint side-streets and cafes of Melbourne city - basically for the whole day. I will blog about this tomorrow.

I have a bit of catching up to do, so I'll just dive right in...

Given that I'm limited in time, this post will focus on Day 3.2, or the second half of yesterday.

Day 3.2: After Lunch, the National Gallery of Victoria and the Vienna Art & Design Exhibition.

Below: The NGV. I find shadows in Melbourne enchanting. As long as there is no fog / rain, the light here casts incredibly distinct shadows, be it from tree branches to simple railings. It's beautiful. I'm pretty sure that the architects thought about this when they built buildings like the NGV.


This exhibition deserves a whole post on its own, and that will come, but probably when I get back to Singapore. I certainly have a good line-up of posts in my head.

For those of you who don't know, Art History was one of my majors in university and I've always been interested in the concept of imagery and how it can hold meaning and therefore capture history.

Since I moved back to Singapore, perhaps through a combination of entering the "grown-up" workforce, battling the new and/or maybe due to a lack of stimulus, I feel like I have neglected this part of my life and plain forgotten the passion for art. The simple pleasure of trying to interpret and understand imagery and maybe go into a frenzy reading into the history of some has been lost to me

This is such a pity because I realize now, more than ever, how it can stir thought and introspection. At least for me.

This is important for active and therefore healthy braincells I believe :P!

Besides, art is fun.

Every symbol, every image has a message(s), whether it is intentional and/or unintentional. Some messages are more subtle, diluted by the commonness of the everyday, others are more potent and spur thought that can lead to action.

Anyway, I am starting to yonder off course, and I don't have much time, so I need to get to the point. :P I'll save this discourse for later.

After lunch at World Cafe, I took a stroll down Yarra River towards the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV).

Devotion to art was already on the streets, with anonymous chalk drawings on the ground. All were classical art depictions. Beautiful and unreal given that they were created using chalk. I wanted to make a donation (it was written in chalk that donations were welcome) but there was no one to give these to.



There is something about art like this, art intentionally created to be temporary - like sand art - that intrigues me. It brings to surface the transient nature of our world and our existence and reminds us, or at least me, to stop and appreciate art/love/life while you can.



The walkway is getting busy as its lunchtime and I notice that - just like Sydney - there are a good number of people having lunchtime runs. Aussies are so healthy and outdoorsy :P.

I take a couple of photos along the Yarra River, here is one that I especially like because of that seagull perched on the streetlamp.



Eventually I make it to the NGV, but not before passing by The Arts Centre.



Unfortunately I have missed the 11am guided tour :(. I think about catching the ballet, but tickets are pretty pricy. Maybe another time.

Then I see this:



Ah huh! I have arrived at my destination.

To sum it up plainly, the exhibition is awesome, and I will have to devote an entire post to it.

What I thought would be a quick one hour excursion ended up taking almost 3 hours.

This time I was lucky and managed to catch a free guided tour - which was wonderful. I now hold the architecture and art of Vienna with higher esteem and am a lot more curious about the history and ideology of the Vienna Secession movement.

I'll have to get into this in more detail another time. But bottom line is that I'm now a fan of modern Viennese design.

The NGV exhibition closes at 5pm, which is just in time for me to get back to Dina's apartment and prepare for dinner.

The moment I step out of NGV I notice that a fog has settled. It's much colder.

The walk back is a little strenuous and I get lost, but I manage to take some photos of this incredible fog. Moody Melbourne...






I'm looking forward to dinner - it'd be the first time in a long time that we get to catch up.

Dina takes me to the Vegie Bar, which is located in grungy Branswick.

It's dark but I somehow already know that I like the hip and alternative Branswick vibe.

The Vegie Bar epitomizes this - and I now get Dina when she speaks about Melbourne as being "quirky".



It is a very popular, even on a Tuesday, and it only serves vegetarian, with good vegan and gluton-free options.



I love it. I love the idea of it. I love its quirky alternative aura. I love its commitment to providing the perfect substitute to an otherwise typical meal out. I would recommend it.



But, be prepared for the wait (Dina and I had to wait over drinks at "the courtyard" for about 35 mins). Also be prepared for big Aussie servings. We most definitely overordered and there was a good deal of wastage.

Below: Dina and I at the Vegie Bar, Branswick:



This is what we ordered, together with the soup of the day which was pumpkin and sweet potato soup. Yummy!:



Their Mexican Burritos are famed, and both Dina and I order it as our mains.

Delicious, but huge.

We take the tram home, and it's freezing. Our breath forms mist as we speak, but I did manage to capture a couple more iPhone photos of quirky Branswick.

I love this blend of old and alternative personalities:





That's all for now folks!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Tuesday, 28 June 2011

Yondering Downunder - Day 3.1. Melbourne from Morning to Noon

I've come to Melbourne mostly to visit a good friend from college, Dina, who moved here about 2 years ago. I'm also going to be meeting a very very old primary school friend, Ness, whom I lost touch with years (more than a decade) ago but got back in touch with through Facebook.

Such is the marvel of technology, this includes BlogPress, which is allowing me to write this all out while on board a Star Bus airport shuttle to Dina's.

My first observation is that it is colder and it seems to be much foggier than Sydney, which has been blessed with crisp sunshine these last few winter days.

Just as I'm thinking this, the sun comes out, and by Melbourne winter standards, it is a lovely day. Strange, and a tad temperamental.

Below: iPhone picture taken alongside the Yarra River (Southbank). I like this picture because I think it somehow manages to capture the natural tension of Melbourne's weather.... sharp sunlight cast distinct shadows and the sky is clear blue, but you get the sense that something (maybe the fog?) is looming "somewhere beneath the surface". To me Melbourne feels moody.


It is as if the city has caught on, and, in tandem with the competitive spirit between both cities - like Sydney - Melbourne decides to bid me welcome. :)

The shuttle's radio is blaring and there is a heated debate over a public apology some young footie player made for a racist comment on the field. Radio here seems to have people constantly yelling at you or each other and between the ads and the commentary I feel like I'm stuck in a circus crossed with a fish market. I escape from this by looking out the window.


It has been years since I've last come to Melbourne but, like Sydney, it mostly looks and feels the same.

I think that that is the comfort of Australia for me. Her consistency.

Its her easy-going approach to change and the familiarity of her down-to-earth charm that remains (more or less) constant that comforts me.

I can't say the same about Singapore and its never-ending talk of upgrade. Not that it's anything bad, it's just different, and the two countries are at very different stages of their development / history / maturity.

The shuttle is packed and it takes me longer than expected to reach Dina's apartment at Southbank.

She's waiting eagerly for me on the sidewalk, but with her usual good nature apologies that she doesn't have much time and has to rush back to work.

Briskly, we drop off my bags and immediately head off. Her apartment is centrally located and in a matter of moments we are walking alongside the famous Yarra River (Southbank).

She drops me off at a cafe called the World Cafe and I order my first coffee of the day as well as tapas for lunch. Dina rushes off, but promises to meet me at 5.30pm, after work.

It is truly a beautiful day and the sun gives the air a translucent quality.

Eating slowly, I people-watch and savor the opportunity of being able to just sit (comfortably, without getting sweaty) outside with coffee and food that I can just slowly appreciate.

When I feel like it, I continue to blog a little.

A couple walks past me and they leave their dog just outside, next to me, before entering the cafe. Both of them scratch behind its ear before leaving it, the lady even gives it a cuddle and kiss. I miss my dogs - terribly - and hope that doggie heaven has weather just like this all the time.

Below: A quick collage of images (taken using my iPhone) from my lunch in Melbourne. You can see the Southbank Yarra River footbridge - which is quite a pretty structure- against the Melbourne city skyline. I have not used any filters as I wanted to maintain the quality of the light.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Southbank,Australia

Monday, 27 June 2011

Yondering Downunder: The Lowdown (Days 1 and 2)

Just touched down in Sydney.

This is most definitely a "yonder post" as I have had no opportunity to practice yoga in Sydney.

Glorious glorious Aussie coffee.

Glorious glorious coffee. My love affair with coffee has been re-ignited; and I'm not sure how I am going to survive mornings when I get back to Singapore. Nothing beats a good frothy cuppa, with fresh Australian milk.

I've also been re-acquainted with "proper" food, and I now understand what a big breakfast really is. Just avocado and tomato on toast tastes so(ooooo.......) good. I've missed the fresh food here in Sydney, with its light and refreshing down-to-earth honesty. Sydney does the cafe so terribly well.

The "lady". Used to drive past her every time I went to back to high school. 

It was also good to visit Godsista's apartment - so many memories lie within those walls, and the good times I spent staying with her during uni all came back to my mind. *Smile*

Hello Mount Franklins water? AUD 3 a bottle now? How could you?!!

I've missed the magnificent view of the Harbour Bridge from her veranda, it never fails to take my breath away, especially on the crystal clear sunny day that was yesterday, the day that I arrived. Sydney has certainly welcomed me home! :D I have been away far too long - 3.5 years is just way too long.

View of Harbour Bridge from Godsista's apartment. Beautiful day!

It was also good to properly catch up with Nic. It's been some time since we've been able to hang out the way we have the last two days.

Cousin Nic & I. 

I'm on holiday now, so not really wanting to spend too much time blogging, so here's the lowdown.... in pictures mostly.

Day 1:

Thank you very much Kev for picking me up; I was slightly tired from the red-eye flight but the moment the crispy clear Sydney air and sunshine hit me, the adrenaline kicked in.

Off to Rose Bay and to Godsista's apartment. Boy, have I missed her place. I said hello to old friends of mine, "froggy stuffed thing" (as seen in the picture below :P haha) and a stuffed elephant. Memories of mucking around with GS...*another smile*. Too bad GS is in Ibiza, wish she were here.


This was followed by a cafe lunch in Rose Bay and my first, much awaited, skinny latte. Heaven. Pure heaven, accompanied by good old Australian scrambled eggs, ham, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, tomato and toast. Aussie cafe food - have I missed you!

Aussie cafe food. Yum!


Next up, Nic and I go to Bondi Beach, it's winter and it's cold, but it is still sunny and beautiful, with optimistic surfers dotting the shoreline.

Managed to bag a eel skin leather wallet at Bondi Beach Sunday markets too. It's a wonderful sky blue colour. When I get back to Singapore, it will remind me of the Sydney sea, sand and sky which I love. Score.

In a distance, the famous Kings Cross Coke sign.

Dinner and drinks at Hugos Lounge at Kings Cross (www.hugos.com.au) follow, and I get to meet some of Nic's friends. I'm in disbelief when I realise that Sunday nights (aka "Sneaky Sundays") at Hugos mean $5 cocktails and pizza all night. And it's not crap cocktails and pizza too - it's proper yummy stuff. I have a bellini and a frozen mango daiquiri.

Sneaky Sundays at Hugos Kings Cross. $5 cocktails & pizza! Here's the proof! 


Day 2:

The Art Gallery of NSW, on a really good day.

Nic and I head off to the Art Gallery of NSW (www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au) to catch the newly installed John Kaldor Family Collection. We had a pretty good time, us both being quite "artsy". It was a good exhibition (at least compared to what I'm used to in Singapore), with a few thought provoking pieces that sparked interest - I will have to blog about this another time, when there is more time.

The next stop is Bondi Junction Westfields where we have a good catch up over (another) coffee with Clare, an old college friend. She's bubbly and full of stories and optimism as usual, exactly the way I love her.

I then got a little extravagant and bought myself the most expensive pair of jeans I have ever bought in my entire life from General Pants, a pair of Nudie Jeans. These jeans deserve a whole post on their own. Again, I will get to that, hopefully soon. (Plenty to blog about now, I can't believe that when I started this blog I was worried that I would run out of topics!).

Later on, B and his twin brothers tell Nic and I that Nudie's is having a sale at their Oxford Street flagship store with up to 50% off and I'm completely exasperated by this. Ha!

Unfortunately, the sun set at 5pm. Unbelievable. It was completely dark by 6pm (?!?!!).

Korean BBQ in the city. Hearty meal with lots of fun and laughter.

The day ended beautifully with Korean dinner in the city (Chinatown area) with Nic, Mic, B and his twin brothers. Dinner was filled with good hearty Korean BBQ and lots of fun and laughter.

The clan! Minus Mic who accidentally got cut off! :(

It is 10pm now in Sydney, and Mic is teaching B how to play the piano while Nic and I play "Hanging with Friends" on our iPhones.

So, that's the end to a pretty good day. Tomorrow early morning, Melbourne here I come!

Sunday, 26 June 2011

Yondering Downunder & Losing My Ashtanga / A380 Virginity

NOTE: Before I begin, I'd like to include a disclaimer. This posting is more of a "yonder posting" than a "yoga posting" - so there's going to be less focus on yoga :P

BlogPress is pretty handy, and so far worth the USD 2.99 I paid, although, it seems to be on a different world clock setting as my previous post seems to be uploaded and logged according to US timing (I think) - i.e. often a day earlier. Oh well, please bear with me till I figure this out - if I can. It's cool though that I can still use it while on flight-mode, so it is not wholly data dependent.

This last week has certainly been incredibly unpredictable, in a good way, and right now I'm on-board my very first A380 flight bound for Sydney, Australia, thanks to a very good friend and Godsista.


Just last Wednesday I was chatting with her on Skype (she's based in London at the moment), basically living through her and her travel stories when she asked me why I'm not using this time I have in between jobs to travel. Very uncharacteristic she said, and I completely agree.

The truth, I told her, is that I'm on a little (okie, maybe not so little :P) bit of a tight budget. Her answer? Transferring her frequent flyer points to me as a birthday present. Godsista knows best!

GS, thank you so so very much and you are always always close to my heart. I love you.

Come Thursday my flights were booked and today (Saturday) I am on the red-eye flight, seated on the upper-deck with a window seat (again, seats selected by GS, the attention to detail! :D). Pure bliss and excitement!

Since I have not figured out how to caption on BlogPress; photo of my dented yet dependable Hostelling International Klean Kanteen. Bought while hostelling in San Francisco and accompanying me on yet another adventure, this time on my virgin A380 flight:


Now for my second bit of pleasant unpredictability. Driving to my usual Vinyasa class, two unlucky fellows in front of me got into a traffic accident. Thankfully no one was hurt, but it did mean that I was too late for Vinyasa.

Desperate for some mat action, I signed up for the next class: Ashtanga.

I've always meant to give Ashtanga a shot, but we tend to gravitate towards comfort.

Nicole taught the class, and the first thing that came to mind was that about 40% of the class was male.

Not that I'm a perv (although, some were sans shirt :P), but I think that it is safe to say that, at least in Singapore, yoga classes tend to be pretty female dominated (although, I admit that I have noticed this starting to change).

These dudes were pretty good too! Headstands and all!

I really should do more research on Ashtanga, but what I learnt was that it is closely related to Vinyasa, which is nice - lots and lots of chaturangas - be prepared.

A chaturanga flow following almostevery pose!:


Apparently Vinyasa is a derivative of Ashtanga, and that a lot of the more modern-day interpretations of Vinyasa ultimately derive from Ashtanga.

I would not be surprised. I found Ashtanga to be pretty systematic and a lot more structured, almost regimental, compared to the usual Vinyasa. The fact that all the regulars had memorised all the poses and their sequence seems to support this analogy of mine. It turned out to be a 90 min class and Nicole often defined different variants of poses as pose "A" or "B", speaking as though she was referring to some textbook theory.

It might just be a personal observation, but I'm under the impression that the more traditional forms of yoga tend to more or less strictly adhere to a specific sequence of poses.

This is probably so as to maintain / respect the genuinity / tradition of the practice and a good example, for example, is Bikram yoga, which strictly follows a sequence of 26 asanas and claims to be the original hot yoga.

A picture of the 26 basic asanas (poses) of Bikram yoga:


This was just my first impression of Ashtanga, although, it could well have very easily been Nicole's interpretation of the practice. I will have to attend a couple more Ashtanga classes to be able to make a proper conclusion through comparison.

The third lovely bit of unexpected luck I encountered was when I Whatsapped my Sydney-based cousin Nic to tell her that I would be coming over. As coincidence would have it, she, my other cousin and a whole bunch of other aunts, uncles and more cousins will be going to Thredbo next weekend to ski and I would have just made it! Awesome!

I don't know how to ski :S, but I'm very very thrilled given that the last time I planned to ski in Sapporo, a major earthquake hit Japan. It would also be good catch up time with my family in Sydney.

Very happy right now and looking forward to touching down in Sydney after 3.5 years of being away!

What an awesome few days, just goes to show that sometimes people in your life help to open doors that take you to wonderful places and on wonderful journeys. Always be grateful and be open to these graces, never taking these wonderful people around you for granted and hoping that one day you too will be granted with the gift and privilege of being able to open the door for someone else. This is the true circle of life, one should never live life alone and (wo)man is not an island.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone



Saturday, 25 June 2011

BlogPress & An Updog MasterChef on the Mat at Pure!

I recently downloaded (and actually paid for) the iPhone BlogPress App and I am currently testing it out. I hope that it will help me blog more regularly.

I have quite a bit to blog about and I will need to find the time to do so, but just quickly... Guess who I spied with my little eye at Tryphena's 5.30 pm Hot Hatha 1 class yesterday at Pure (Ngee Ann City), stretching out his tight hamstrings.

Drum role please....

None other than bleached blond celebrity MasterChef Emmanuel Stroobant.



I was surprised to see him and at first skeptical - but I memorized his tattoos and later cross-checked these online.

I knew that being an Art History Major would come in useful :P ! Haha.

Don't get any dirty ideas though. We can all get a glimpse of Emmanuel's tattoos online at www.updog-studio.com, the website for Updog Studio, a hot yoga studio based at East Coast Parkway's Big Splash that is part of the Emmanuel Stroobant Group.



Boy is he expanding! From place mats to yoga mats!

Here is a glimpse of his "empire". I never knew! Picotin and Brusselsprouts too?! Wow.
He has his own website! www.emmanuelstroobant.com
I learnt about Updog studio from a friend that practices there, but I've personally never tried the studio. Let me know if you have! I'm always curious about new studios and styles.

I was then again reminded of the studio by Reebonz City, which is currently hosting an Updog Studio bargain online.





I did contemplate it, I like trying new studios, but the location is a little out of the way for me and I am trying to engage in the impossible act of saving money :P.

I did think that it was an incredible coincidence that I was just a few mats away from him in class. If anything I do think that they have been pretty good at marketing themselves!

So there you go. A little tiny bit of spice added to my day!

Namaste to all and keep sweating it out on the mat Emmanuel!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Thursday, 23 June 2011

Rebooting Your Mind, Meditation & Sharvasana, the "Dead Man's Pose"

I know that I promised a review comparing Pure Yoga and True Yoga, but I had a bit of a chat with a close friend last night and I thought that I would share a little bit of insight from our discussion.

My friend is having a bit of a hard time. Relationships can be difficult, for some - very sadly - it can be much harder than for others. As much as some refuse to admit it, many hopes, dreams and therefore expectations are loaded onto relationships. Like loads of any kind, these can turn out to be precious cargo which you can capitalise on or glut stock which is defunct and irrelevant - weighing you down and ending up as what we in modern slag call "baggage".

Figuring out what to do with all this loot and trying to sift out the valuable cargo from the useless stock can be incredibly taxing and I'm sure that many of us can relate to this.

My friend is going through a lot, and her mind is in constant turmoil as her thoughts undergo a constant stream of "maybes" / "what ifs" and persistent thoughts of how to "get over this" / "deal with this" / "solve this" / "figure this out" / "understand this" / "make sense of this" / "forget this" / "move on from this" etc. which of course ends up moving back to a not-so-brand-new cycle of "maybes" (e.g. "maybe if I do / did this etc.") and "what ifs" (e.g. "what if I did this / didn't do this / had done this etc."). The cycle goes on and on and for her it has been going on for quite awhile. Anxiety increases, the thinking goes into over-drive as the mind, soul and eventually the physical being quite simply over-heats and wears down.

The Thinker is a bronze and marble sculpture by Auguste Rodin, whose first cast, of 1902,
is now in the Musée Rodin in Paris; there are some twenty other original castings
as well as various other versions, studies, and posthumous castings.
It depicts a man in sober meditation battling with a powerful internal struggle.
It is often used to represent philosophy.

The saying goes that there are "two sides to every coin" and I believe that with human thought there is no exception. Good and bad thoughts are naturally connected as the "yin and yang"of human thought that has allowed a self-conscious human existence.

Our ability to evaluate and to contemplate is a gift from God. Many agree that human thought and how it can supersede basic primal instinct is what differentiates us from other living species and has enabled us to claim dominance over our eco-system.

But as with all gifts, a lot depends on how you use it and cultivate it. Human thought, capable of so much good, is also capable of so much darkness - fear, obsession, arrogance, greed, anger and sadness. These dark emotions are all linked to and result from thought, just the like the brilliance of courage, passion, pride, generosity, compassion and happiness. 

I am writing all this, but I promise you that I am no angel, no expert. I struggle between the balance of good and bad thoughts, everyday, all the time, and many times the coin that is my thought falls flat, struggling to get back up and maintain the balance it needs to roll on ahead. There are times when I am consumed by fear or anger, unable to move forward and get back on track, there are other times that I am influenced by a sense of false hope and impulsive naivety and move backwards instead of forward.

But why am I going on about human thought in the first place, I realise that I am rambling on, getting distracted by my thoughts. Then again, this is why I am writing (or typing) a blog and not an essay.

Last night, speaking to my friend, in quite an unexpected impromptu manner I found myself telling her to give meditation a shot. I'm no mediation guru - trust me - I still find myself getting distracted by beads of sweat rolling into my eyes and ears when arriving at the meditation phase of each yoga practice, and it took me some time to not feel like some sort of spiritually pretentious idiot chanting "Ommm" three times at the start of a class. It was probably only last night that I came to the realisation that I do actually believe in meditation instead of thinking of it as an opportunity for a quick snooze before jumping up, getting showered and getting on with my day after each yoga session.

So thank you my friend, "The (a little) Weird One" - in this way you have enlightened me.

Driving home from dropping her off, I found myself thinking about my own experience with meditation. Why had I gotten the sudden urge to encourage her to clear her mind and to stop thinking for a bit. Where had I even gotten that idea from? I realised that it had come from yoga.

It's not that I am sitting on some rock somewhere with my eyes closed, legs crossed and facing a windy ocean. No, I'm just an everyday yoga novice, that has certainly not been my experience with mediation. Thinking back, I realise that a good amount of my exposure to mediation comes from the often welcomed "dead man's pose" or "Shavasana" that comes at the end of every practice.

It's a very simple pose. Basically, you lie flat down on your back, hands and legs apart - yes - like a dead man; close your eyes and clear your mind. Very simple you say, yes, in the beginning it very much is; but then, I think, it gets harder before it (hopefully) gets easier.

The Shavasana or "Dead Man's Pose" / "Corpse Pose"

You see, thinking back to my yoga practice, I think that my relationship with the Sharvasana has, unbeknownst to me, developed quite substantially.

In the beginning I saw it as a welcome relief from all the physical work I had done from my practice session. You see, when I first started yoga, physically, it was a lot of work for me - and the Sharvasana basically ended up as a pose where I recovered physically and grabbed the opportunity to doze off for a couple of minutes. This is the part when the pose feels easy. As with anything, when you're just scratching the surface, it all seems simplistic and quite straight forward. Afterall, I was not really completely engaging in the pose - what I was really doing was sleeping.

The next stage, I realise, is when I started getting a little frustrated with the pose. I had gotten more confident with the physical side of yoga, I knew what to expect. This is especially because when I first started yoga, I practiced at Fitness First, and the yoga classes there, by nature of the fact that FF is a multi-level generic gym, were pretty standard and repetitive. Which is not a bad thing, it helps you practice, but it also meant for a good 2 years I was basically going through the motions.

At this stage Sharvasana, as simple as it is physically, was a pain for me. Instead of conking out into sleep as I had done in the past, all I could think of was what a waste of time this pose was. Lying here, doing nothing. My mind wondered, from how much work I had to catch up on, to what I should do on the weekend, to how pissed of I was at this situation or that situation or this person or that person, or, commonly, how irritated I was that sweat was rolling into my ear. The list goes on.

For fear of being rude to the yoga instructor, I usually stuck it out. But a few times, I simply got up, rolled up my mat and left. I have things to do, don't I?! I'm a busy woman! I have deadlines to meet!

This went on for some time. But somewhere along the line, and I'm not sure why - it could have been something one of my yoga instructors said, or perhaps my unconscious mind plain getting fed up at being fed up of not being able to "utilise my time" in the Sharvasana - I started to take the pose more seriously. Just like I had trained my body to understand the various yoga poses, I sub-consciously started to train my mind to do the same thing.

Many times, yoga instructors tell you to "clear your mind". But what does that mean? And is that even possible?

To meditate. What does that mean? Often you hear people say: "mediate on this for a bit". Huh? On Wiki it is defined as: "Meditation refers to any of a family of practices in which the practitioner trains his or her mind or self-induces a mode of consciousness in order to realize some benefit."

I have thought about this, and I am still thinking about this. I think that I will be thinking about this for some time. I am human afterall. :P But to me, I think that mediation really is about "clearing your mind". It is not about sleep, and I don't really think you can "meditate" on something because that certainly means that your mind is not clear of thoughts. Right now, I think meditation is about rebooting your mind, releasing thoughts - and therefore giving your soul, and eventually your physical self, and opportunity to refresh and rejuvenate.

Maybe a silly analogy, but perhaps, just like the usage of many iPhone apps are linked to each other,
our thoughts are constantly linked to each other.
Have too many apps running at the same time and your battery is eventually going to run flat a lot faster.

This is probably why it is called the "dead man's pose", because us living human beings are not used to switching off. We can be good at resting, sleeping, engaging in recreation and of course, thinking - but we're never really able to power-off until we die.

As with the rules of physics, with wear there is tear and sometimes, I think, the best we can do for our minds, bodies and souls is to reboot. Hopefully with that reboot, that "restart", our minds and our souls, better rested, can be a little clearer...a little freer from all the "legacy code" and all the glut and baggage we carry through the thoughts, the thought-provoked emotions and the memories that shape our individual human existence as we know it.

I believe that with this new clarity and rejuvenated strength, we will have the bandwidth to understand ourselves and our world better, and with that maybe we can pave our way towards being more responsible thinkers and from that small step hopefully become more responsible human beings.

I am going to prepare for yoga practice now, but today I know that I will take Sharvasana much more seriously - as I continue the human struggle to maintain balance through my thoughts and from there, ultimately through my actions.

Wednesday, 22 June 2011

Hello - I'm back! Finally.

Last night I watched the movie Julie & Julia and was reminded of what a bum of a blogger I am. I can't believe that it is already mid-June and I'm still on two posts.

So, I'm back; but first, let me explain about why I stopped blogging for sometime:

Firstly, and most importantly, I got lazy. I have to get used to this whole blogging thing. It appears to be more of a commitment than I first anticipated. Hopefully it becomes more like yoga soon. I.E. once you get into a routine, it gets easier.

Secondly, the initial feedback that I have been getting from my blog (aka. two pretty pathetic posts) is that (a) there are no pictures, it is just blocks of text; it's boring. Hence the second posting with lots of pictures about girls in Karen Millen dresses and ASOS. (b) Following which, the feedback was "Huh? Where is the yoga in this whole equation. What a drastic shift from the wellness of yoga to the consumerist desire and guilty addiction for online shopping and Chanel bags!" So you see, you already have some idea about the confused internal dichotomy that makes up me.

So here I am, in some small way stepping towards improvement. I've gotten off my butt / mat and started blogging and here is a picture for you to break up the blocks of text...to kick start this blog entry lets start with a digital "Ommmmmm....."


UPDATE!!:
Thank you very much to my good friend, very fondly known as
"The (a little) Weird One" for introducing me to the HTML tab.
We now have pictures. Cyber Ommmmmm.....!

Damn it. I have literally spent the last 30 mins trying to upload a picture using my Mac and I have not been successful. I need a few Omms myself now. If anyone has any advice, please let me know.  (What the !!!!!@@£$T%%% !!!!) 


Till I figure things out; we'll just have to deal with blocks of boring text for now. 


"Ommmmmmmm...." 


Anyway, the good news is that I have been practicing yoga. Quite a lot of it. At least an hour session everyday, if not two or three 60 min sessions a day except for when I went for an awesome four day family holiday to Club Med Bintan; where I found a new hobby: circus training, and in particular the flying trapeze. My yoga practice certainly came in useful on the trapeze in terms of strength and flexibility; both of which I still need tons more of. My adventures on the trapeze will be another post; with videos and all - if I can somehow figure out a way to get videos on my blog as well given that I can't even get %$@@ pictures on my blog.

Damn it. I wish that I could blog more right now but I have to go pick up a friend from the train station; so hold that thought - next up: Pure Yoga or True Yoga (I'm a member at both), so you'll be getting a little bit of insight into that soon. 

I promise you, I will be writing about yoga very soon....