Guruji

My Ashtanga teacher is on his way to meet his Guru, and will be away for over a month. So I woke up early this morning and went to practice, to be with my teacher before he leaves. I wasn’t the only one, so the Ashtanga room was packed.

I found a tight space between two other yogis at the front of the room, just in front of the door. This is where students say Namaste to their teacher when they finish their practice.
Today it was a longer “ceremony” as everyone wanted to say another word or two. I know I should be focused on my practice and not listen to the conversation, but it was just overwhelming. His students come to him every day, and the relationship of a teacher/student is developed. It is a relationship with very littlie words exchanged; based on trust and compassion. New students who come to Ashtanga sometimes are pushed away by the stern guidance, and the strong adjustments. But surrendering to your teacher is an integral part of the practice. Not because of the teacher’s ego or power strives; but because if you learn to surrender “on the mat” you will also learn: “Isvara pranidhnad-va” (Yoga Sutra 1:23); Or (achieving Samadhi is also attainable) by devoted self-surrender to the Lord.

On our journey to Samadhi, Patanjali is giving us another very important tool, surrender to the Lord. This is probably one of the hardest one for us as Westerner’s to practice, we are so pride and full of ourselves, it is so hard for us to surrender. I grew up in a Jewish orthodox home and school, I then spent three years in the army. The lessons of following a discipline without the consent questioning is one of the most important lessons I was giving between the ages of 4 and 21. There is nothing wrong with surrender; it does not make you weaker.

Baddhakonasana is where I learned to surrender, while my teacher climbed my hips again and again, I resisted, pushing up and back, struggling with my pain. Only when I surrendered to my teacher, I could breathe into the Asana and surrender to the feet , touching my head to my feet as a symbol.

I was emotional throughout the practice today; a young student placed his hand on my teachers shoulder and said: “Have a great trip Christopher.” I suspect my teacher was shocked by this display of affection, I started crying.

Or (achieving Samadhi is also attainable) by devoted self-surrender to the Lord

At some point I would like to write more about the path of “Isvara pranidhnad-va” (Yoga Sutra 1:23) or Bhakti Yoga, the surrender to the Lord.

But for now I would like to bring this controversial but pretty story from the Gospel of Luke (courtesy of We, Like Sheep)

As Jesus and his disciples went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me." But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her."
(Luke 10:38-42)

The journey begins…

With great appreciation and gratitude to my teachers, for setting the direction.
Bowing down to the teachers of the past, present and future, and the biggest teacher, the guru within, Om Bolo Sat Guru, Bhagavan, Qi Jai

An officer and a Gentlewoman

My sister Noa finished the first part of her officer training! I am so proud of her!

Noa is someone that leaves the house without keys/money/cellphone. Gets stuck in the middle of an Arab village with no gas in the car. And now she is an officer in the IDF.

God, our army is in trouble!

Holding Out for a Hero

I am reposting but this time with this amazing performance of Ms. Tandi Iman Dupree, courtesy of Pop Muse.

This is a good practice of practical Karma. When someone does something to you that you dislike (like taking your Hummus) your initial reaction might be, “that hummus hog! I am going to steal his hummus AND pita!” or just steal someone else’s Hummus if he is too big to steal from (which might be the case if he eats a lot of Hummus)
When someone does something pleasant to you, like “back נעימי/Naimi,” which is a combination of scratching and petting your back, you might think to yourself: “MORE! MORE! MORE!”
Now practical karma practice would suggest this; if someone does something you dislike, A. don’t do it to someone else, B. do something quite the opposite to your friend.
And if someone does something nice to you, do the same to someone else, now that you know how nice it feels.
Every time I listen to this SO GAY song by Bonnie Tyler (it’s on my GYM playlist) I imagine myself at a club (I have the club mix version) having a crappy night, and just waiting for that hero to change it all! And then I think that if I am holding out for an hero, there is probably someone out there that is holding out for me, so instead of holding out for an hero, I try and be someone else’s hero. And no, just buying someone a drink does not count! So be a hero, tonight!

Look how the Arab world treated me. I sure didn't deserve that.

I always had this passion about Gazpacho soup, I never knew why until I saw Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios last night.
There were two main concerning facts about this event:
1. My BF said: “You will understand me better after you see this movie”
2. I saw it with a friend that just broke up with his BF, HE chose the movie.

It is one of those movies where you identify with more then one character throughout the movie which makes you feel you need therapy more then just once a week.

There is no doubt that Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown teaches us that to be passionate you have to be at least slightly insane.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from the movie:

Candela: Men keep taking advantage of me. I always realize it when it's too late. Look how the Arab world treated me. I sure didn't deserve that.

Paulina Morales: You're weak,

Ivan. Iv·n: Yes, sweetheart.

Paulina Morales: Don't agree with me.

Iv·n: But you're right.

Paulina Morales: Sometimes I like to be wrong.

PolicÌa I: What's going on?

Pepa: Nothing. Just discussing the lady's dress.

Candela: [in tears] It's awful!

Carlos: It's only a dress.

Candela: But it's awful!

And of course:

Pepa: I'm sick of being good.

We can all hug Part II

These guys are huge on hugs.



And of course, Israel!

We can all hug Part I

This story is from the Washington Post

A gate-crasher’s change of heart - Gunman bursts into party, tastes cheese and wine, gets hug, then leaves

A grand feast of marinated steaks and jumbo shrimp was winding down, and a group of friends was sitting on the back patio of a Capitol Hill home, sipping red wine. Suddenly, a hooded man slid in through an open gate and put the barrel of a handgun to the head of a 14-year-old guest.
"Give me your money, or I'll start shooting," he demanded, according to D.C. police and witness accounts.
The five other guests, including the girls' parents, froze -- and then one spoke.
"We were just finishing dinner," Cristina "Cha Cha" Rowan, 43, blurted out. "Why don't you have a glass of wine with us?"
The intruder took a sip of their Chateau Malescot St-Exupéry and said, "Damn, that's good wine."
The girl's father, Michael Rabdau, 51, who described the harrowing evening in an interview, told the intruder, described as being in his 20s, to take the whole glass. Rowan offered him the bottle. The would-be robber, his hood now down, took another sip and had a bite of Camembert cheese that was on the table.
'Can I get a hug?'Then he tucked the gun into the pocket of his nylon sweatpants.
"I think I may have come to the wrong house," he said, looking around the patio of the home in the 1300 block of Constitution Avenue NE.
"I'm sorry," he told the group. "Can I get a hug?"
Rowan, who lives in Falls Church and works part time at her children's school, stood up and wrapped her arms around him. Then it was Rabdau's turn. Then his wife's. The other two guests complied.
"That's really good wine," the man said, taking another sip. He had a final request: "Can we have a group hug?"
The five adults surrounded him, arms out.
With that, the man walked out with a crystal wine glass in hand, filled with Chateau Malescot. No one was hurt, and nothing was stolen.
In the alley behind the home, investigators found the intruder's empty crystal wine glass on the ground, unbroken.

Hanuman Meets Ganesh

Michael is on the road again…



We drove from the Bhubaneswar train station directly to the Hospital. We were planning on spending one day at Puri beach to kind of acclimatize after the 24-hour train trip across India but Govinda told me Sunday was the busiest day at the hospital and we had several visiting doctors there for the day. We arrived after dark and the next morning the patients started to show up early. There were around 60 patients waiting in and around the hospital entrance and due to the visit of a gynecologist, Dr. Tappan, there were many female patients waiting.

There was an operation today at the hospital in Juanga that is worth noting. It was a 40-year-old woman from a village around 15-20 kms. Away! Her mother accompanied her to the hospital. She was suffering from an ovarian tumor. The family was extremely poor and her husband had abandoned the women with two children. The husband was a labor worker and just never came home. She moved back in with her widowed mother in the village of Galadhari. They are landless and get their food by one son who is doing labor work as well. Labor workers gets around 60 rupees a day (1.50 USD) and the rest of the family eat from this. It’s hardly enough to survive. So the mother was hesitant to seek medical attention for the growing tumor for fear of throwing the family into a debt that would ruin all their lives for at least this generation.

The tumor had grown to 4.2 kilos and needed to be removed for her to lead a tolerable life. The operation was a great success and everyone was amazed at the tumor sitting there outside the Operating theatre. But Dr. Tappan said he had seen far, far worse cases in these regions of persons living in poverty leaving them to extremely advanced stages.

After the procedure was over, I entered the office and the discussion of payment between Govinda (the Managing Trustee), Dr. Tappan, and a few other staff. This same procedure would have cost the family around 20,000 rupees (500.00 USD) in any other nursing home or hospital in the nearest cities. But do to the visiting Specialists charge and the rate of medicines we would usually have to charge at least 5,500 rupees (137.00 USD) But due to knowing her condition and after a long heated discussion about villagers having to pay something for the work, we all agreed on charging her 500 rupees (12.50 USD). Most village women, out of pride, wear a sari that was gifted to them at a wedding and tucked away in their mud huts in a plastic bag as a prized possession, only to be worn when they need to enter an official engagement like a government interaction or a hospital visit. This old frail women, dressed in nothing more then a tired thread bare sari, reached for a knot and small lump in the cloth holding all the money they could borrow to visit the hospital. I watched her hands trembling and the anguish on her face as she desperately untied the knot to reveal the waded up bills hidden in her sari. She handed the 500 rupees to the clerk in the office and then sat curled up on the bench in the entrance hall, quietly with a blank stare. I found this very unusual since her daughter was just operated on and Indian villagers can’t bare to be alone or leave others alone, especially at times of crisis. I knew what weighed on her mind was that even the 500 rupees would place an incredible burden on the families future and stability. I went up to my room and took out 300 rupees (7.50 USD) and reached around the corner and tapped her on the knee. She looked up and I handed her the rolled up notes and she gave back both combination of a smile, a look of shock and confusion. I placed my finger over my mouth and gestured for her not to tell anyone. She peered around to see if anyone was looking, then turned back to me and shook her head in agreement with a more confident smile.

I realize why the hospital wanted the patient to pay at least some of the costs. We can’t possibly afford to give everyone free care (presently, we barely raise enough funds for salaries). Also in some cases, villagers need to feel responsible for their care and take their medicines properly and understand what we tell them they need to do to get well. Many times if they pay something they are more apt to do this. But I do feel in the future it would be good to have some funds available for just such cases as this when they arise. As it is, I don’t know how Govinda and the staff deal with and function in such a poverty-stricken region and continue to maintain a stable healthcare for the villagers.

Photos by Hinda W.

My friend Hinda is showing her photography in a new art exhibit in Tel Aviv, here are some of the photos:

Do your work, then step back

Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill.
Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt.
Chase after money and security and your heart will never enclench.
Care about other people's approval and you will be their prisoner.
Do your work, then step back.
The only path to serenity.
--Lao-tzu, Tao Te Ching, ch. 9

Patanjali teaches us in the Yoga Sutra The 8 Limb Yoga, or Ashtanga Yoga. I tend to get stuck at the Yama (first limb) or Asana (third limb) and skip नियम Niyama, the second limb, which is translated at “the observances” or “the Do’s.”
The second Niyama after Shaucha: purity or cleanliness is Santosha: contentment or peacefulness. I find this “do” hard to practice. We live in a world where we are thought to want more and more, and honestly I find this quality attractive. And still, how can we progress with out contentment? The Buddha said: “I teach only one thing- there is suffering and there is an end of suffering.” It is as simple as that. But for us to be happy, to remove suffering to come, we must first be happy with what we have. Our lives are wonderful, they are full with glory!
So for this birthday, I take upon myself to practice contentment; I will fill my bowl only to the point that I need, I will sharpen my knife only so it is sharp, I will not chase money or security and I will not depend on people’s approval. I will do my work, every day, practice, practice, practice and I will step back.

Carpe Diem! Seize the day, lads! Make your lives extraordinary!

A traveler came to the gates of a new city and asked the gatekeeper, “What kind of people live here?” The gatekeeper answered with a question of his own, “What kind of people lived in the city you came from?” The traveler replied, “They were mostly a cantankerous lot, greedy and self-centered.” The gatekeeper answer, “I expect you will find the people here just the same.” Soon after, another traveler met the gatekeeper and asked the same question. Again the gatekeeper asked, “How did you find the residents of the city you visited last?” The traveler answered enthusiastically, “They were warn and hospitable, truly a fine group of people.” The gatekeeper responded, “I expect you to find these folk just the same.”

For many years I was afraid (yes, afraid) of going to the Pines at Fire Island. I expected a nonstop party scene, drugs and alcohol. My friends kept on telling me that “Fire Island is what you make of it.” Last summer and this summer I learned that truth. I have been lucky to spend my days in Fire Island in the company of good friends, honest people, great yogis and remarkable personalities. I get to be close to Mother Earth, eat her offerings made by my company and not some stranger in a restaurant, practice Ashtanga Yoga in the company of great practitioners, discover over and over again how amazing, kind and smart my younger brother Amos is. And also see old loves, or people I might have felt anger to in the past, to them I come with a clean, simple and calm slate.

“Being present does not imply that we erase our past and the impact it has had upon us. Being present invites us to allow the memories and the stories rooted in the past to be just whispers in our minds that we no longer solidify with unwise attention. We free ourselves to turn a whole-hearted attention to this moment.”
--Buddhist Path to Simplicity

“Carpe Diem” Or “Seize the day” is not only “Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die,” is it also Live This Day Like Never Before. See each day as an opportunity to re-experience the world we live in, you might find it more beautiful then you have expected.





































Photos by the wonderful person