Once a Jivamukti groupie, always a Jivamukti groupie! Here are some Jivamukti events I'm attending this June. Let's take them! Jivamukti classes at the Asia Yoga Conference in Hong Kong taught by Advanced Certified Jivamukti Yoga Teachers: June 6 08:00 - 10:00 The Yogi’s Soul Train: A Vinyasa Krama Workshop Giselle Mari June 6 17:30 - 19:30 Vinyasa Geared Towards Inversions Yogeswari June 7 08:00 - 10:00 Vinyasa for Forward Bends & Hip Opening Yogeswari June 7 08:00 - 10:00 Govinda Fly: High! High! High! Will Lau June 7 17:30 - 19:30 Forward Into the Past: Yoga and Sexuality Giselle Mari June 8 10:30 - 12:30 The Inner Light Bright: Chakra Tuning and Purification Giselle Mari June 8 17:00 - 19:00 Vinyasa Geared Towards Backbends Yogeswari June 9 14:30 - 16:30 Hot, Hip & Holy Giselle Mari June 9 17:00 - 19:00 Vinyasa Krama & the Practise of Ahimsa Yogeswari Closer to home, these are the Jivamukti classes that will be taught in Manila by Hong Kong-based Advanced Certified Jivamukti Yoga Teacher Will Lau. Interested to sign up? Email me at [email protected].
June 15 (Saturday) 08:30 - 12:30 Jivamukti Yoga Workshop: Heart of Compassion It is said that at the state of enlightenment, unconditional love shines forth automatically. As Sharon Gannon (co-founder of Jivamukti Yoga) says, "compassion is the most direct way to reach enlightenment." As true yoga practitioners, how do use our yoga to go beyond differences in sizes, shapes, and colors? We shall see kindred spirits in all beings that they yearn for the same comfort and wishes to avoid sufferings just as we humans do. This is a practice of loving all and serving all. Workshop fee: Php2,500 (if paid by May 31) / Php2,700 (regular rate) June 16 (Sunday) 14:30 - 18:30 Jivamukti Yoga Workshop: A-U-M is ONE, ONE is A-U-M This is a modified class paying tribute to the classic "Chakra Tuning" class that is done famously by Jivamukti co-founder Sharon Gannon. The seven chakras are seven doorways of perception of how we see the world "out-there out-there". Relationships that we have with ourselves and our surroundings are really karmas that we collect throughout our lives. By acknowledging the karma and all those that we have relationships with and by resolving those karmas represented by each of the seven chakras, we thereby tune our body for perfect reception to the universal frequency of A-U-M which is ONE! An in-depth discussion on chakra and its karmic relationships will be introduced prior to the class. Workshop fee: Php2,500 (if paid by May 31) / Php2,700 (regular rate) June 17 (Monday) 8:30 - 10:05 Jivamukti Yoga Master Class Samastitih means equal stance. This has a profound meaning into the relationship that we have with the planet, where we practice yoga on. How we stand directly reflects the kind of relationship we have with this planet. The yoga practice is not only about the physical asana, but also about our non-violent and compassionate stance to the planet and all its beings. Sharon Gannon always says it will be a good relationship when both sides mutually benefit from this relationship. Come practice this beautiful balancing class. Class fee: Php1,250 (if paid by May 31) / Php1,350 (regular rate) If you love the wholistic approach of Jivamukti, you're gonna love these! Open to all levels. Email me at [email protected] for questions and more information. Let's sign up!
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Yes, this post is about menstrual cups. If you don't want to read about menstrual cycles, you can stop right here and go back to whatever it is you're doing.
Still here? Okay. What is a menstrual cup anyway? It's an eco-friendly alternative to tampons. I am going to spare myself the agony of explaining what a menstrual cup is. Go ahead and read about what it is from the companies who make them: check out DivaCup and Mooncup. Why have I converted? I thought of all the waste that I contribute to every month that I use pads or tampons, and I was intrigued to find out there was another alternative. I decided to make the switch and after using it for two months now, I am quite happy with it. The good: Eco-friendly, needs to be emptied only about three times a day from my own experience, freedom to move, makes me forget I have my period. The awkward: Tricky to use during the first few times, you need access to water to clean your cup which means it is best you only empty it at home. Interested to get one? Email me at [email protected] and we can do a group order and save on shipping costs. You only need one and it supposedly lasts for years! My T-shirt has left its former life behind. The 2012 Jivamukti Tribe Gathering T-Shirt went from round neck to boat neck to sleeveless. In what may be its final incarnation, it is now a bag.
I love the print because it is Sharon-ji's commentary of Patanji's Yoga Sutra II.46 Sthira Sukham Asanam. It is one of the sutras Jivamukti TT graduates know by heart. It is also a sutra that is central to Jivamukti's teachings of environmentalism and veganism. We are reminded that the Earth does not belong to us. We belong to the Earth. Life is unfair. Fortunately the odds are tipped in my favor with this breakfast I just had. I had to pause for a moment and think: What good did I do to deserve this?
Pictures show grilled veggies with quinoa salad for my main dish, and crepes with two flavors of ice cream for my dessert. Both from Kitchen Revolution. Lest I forget, I thank the vegan connection for bringing vegan chef extraordinaire Marie into my life! Kitchen Revolution holds 100% plant-based cooking classes for both kids and adults. Kitchen Revolution also makes vice creams and desserts and sells them through Ritual, Corner Tree Cafe, and Edgy Veggie.
Get revolutionary! Go vegan! I love almonds. Can you tell? Almond milk, almond bar soap, almond liquid soap.
And oh chocolates! I got Clif bars and I am particularly excited about the white chocolate one since I can't remember the last time I had it. All vegan. All from Healthy Options. I attended a one-hour group Vipassana meditation sit this evening. When I heard Goenka-ji's chanting, I realized how much I miss hearing his voice, despite never really having met my meditation teacher in person. I attended two ten-day Vipassana courses and both were profound experiences that I believe subtly and slowly turned my life towards a different direction. I thank Goenka-ji for that.
Not having meditated for more than 30 minutes at a time in the last year, the experience was uncomfortable, to say the least. As much as I wanted to sit with strong determination, my determination was nowhere to be found. I was distracted and I felt all sorts of aches and pains and itches in my body. Anger came up. Frustration came up. At one point, I felt that this must be what people feel like if they wanted to attack someone, because you absolutely cannot stand what is arising from within yourself. But I sat. And sat. And sat for what seemed like forever but was only one hour in reality. We experience in meditation that to be uncomfortable is the practice. Coincidentally, I received feedback this evening that some students were uncomfortable with a dharma talk that I gave back in April's "To Bury or To Burn" focus of the month. The vegan message was clear and direct in that talk, and yes, it brought up feelings of discomfort in some. It gave me something to think about. What is my role as a yoga teacher, to be specific, as a Jivamukti yoga teacher? As a Yogeeks T-shirt humorously says: What would Sharon do? Sharon-ji teaches us to speak to the highest in each student. David-ji teaches us to teach with the assumption that students who walk into class want enlightenment. Given this framework, where is the line I draw between doing my job as a Jivamukti yoga teacher and making students become receptive to the compassionate message? The agenda of Jivamukti to promote veganism, animal rights, environmentalism and social activism are not hidden. In fact, it is printed boldly and loudly in Jivamukti merchandise. A Jivamukti canvas bag that I own has the print "The most important part of your yoga practice is a strict adherence to a vegetarian diet". The path of Jivamukti is clear: enlightenment through compassion for all beings. I will continue to speak in behalf of animals in Jivamukti yoga classes no matter what. But of course, I want to be as effective as I can be. I strive to have a voice that is more relatable, but at the same time, I think: Isn't being uncomfortable part of the practice? If we always stayed comfortable, how would we grow? If we hung out in paschimottanasana without lengthening our spine to reach out or folding down to surrender, how can we go deeper into the pose? If we stayed exactly where we are because we do not want to be challenged, how can we attain yoga? I feel that if I have provoked students to think critically about their choices, or even just to feel uncomfortable, then I have done my job as a Jivamukti yoga teacher. Perhaps the manner in which the job is done is the debatable point. I am always striving to be better at what I do, but I also cannot please everyone, nor is it my aim to. I give students savasana massages to relax the body, but I refuse to massage the ego- that is the furthest thing that I want to do, and that quite frankly, misses the whole point of the yoga practice. I am grateful for the feedback, because it is also a test of my own discomfort. Can I sit with others' discomfort? For as long as the world is disconnected, a bold message about disconnection will always rock someone's boat. Can I live with the discomfort of others seeing me as the messenger of bad news? Can I let go of my own ego? Where is the boundary between the teacher's responsibility and the student's work? During my discomfort in Vipassana meditation, should I have asked for additional cushions to ease me into it? As a meditation student, does it make a difference that the discomfort is coming from my own reactions rather than what the teacher is asking me to do? In the case of the Jivamukti yoga class that I taught, does it make a difference if the student finds discomfort coming into an unfamiliar pose or hearing a truth that is unwelcome? Are we accountable for our message or are others accountable for their reactions? I leave the question open. I am grateful for the inspiration that Jivamukti yoga has given me. I am inspired by my teachers Sharon Gannon and David Life, and all of the teachers in this lineage. Whenever I see fellow Jivamukti teachers promoting their classes with a compassionate and enlightening message, I smile. Here we are, a small group of fighters spread all over the world, speaking the same language of compassion, causing a little trouble, creating ripples, and hopefully saving some animals. Yes, Jivas are peace warriors and some are not going to like it. But we continue to fight with our powerful weapons- the yoga mat and the mantra Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu. May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words, and actions of MY own life contribute in some way to that happiness and to that freedom for ALL. Sometimes when I order food at a restaurant, I'd be asked if part of my order is for takeout. And when I explain that everything is to be consumed there and then, I'd get a bit of a surprise reaction. Today at Dr. Tam's is one of those days. I had tao pao roll, sweet and sour vegan fish, and two cups of rice. For the record, the cups were tiny. Just so you know. To me, it really doesn't seem like a lot. Is it?
Dr. Tam's serves all vegan dishes. Located at 2nd Floor, Metrowalk, Meralco Avenue, Pasig. Open Sundays to Thursdays 9am to 5pm and Fridays 9am to 3pm. My favorite vegan options from Queens of Bollywood: papadum and vegetable jalfrezi. Most Indian restaurants like Queens have a wide selection of vegetarian options. To veganize, simply request no eggs and dairy. Just to be sure, enumerate all dairy products to be excluded such as butter, ghee, cheese, paneer, yogurt, milk, cream.
Queens of Bollywood is located at the 3rd floor Greenbelt 3 Mall in Makati. Open daily from noon to midnight.
Korea Garden's menu has a page full of veg options, many of which are vegan. Let the pictures speak for themselves.
Korea Garden is located at 128 Jupiter Street, Bel-Air, Makati. Open daily from 1130am to 230pm and 500pm to 1000pm.
Although I go to the Legazpi Sunday Market almost every week, once in a while I still notice new things, or at the very least, I still try things other than what I usually have.
This week I had mango sticky rice, turon, and veggie kuapao, checked out the veg options at an Indian food stall, bought tahini from Aeta Organics and facial wash from De Boer Organiques. That's it folks!
Love all beings. Choose veganism. |
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