You are currently browsing the monthly archive for August 2011.
The simplest and most difficult pose is Tadasana – mountain pose.
It has numberless instructions, also is beyond instruction.
Or simply said stand straight. Stand on mountain.
*
Mountain is under the archs of feet.
Medial side of big toes are touching each other.
Medial side of heels are touching each other.
Arches make hollow space, an imaginary mountain.
Soles form the foot of mountain, are couple cresent moon shapes.
See the top of mountain though narrow space between big toes and heels.
*
Toe mounts are wide, firmly on the Earth.
Soles are spreaded, firmly on the Earth.
Whole heels are even, firmly on the Earth.
Toes are extended towards horizon.
*
Then the mountain rises higher to sky. Earth enegy rise higher to the sky.
Firm body and mind.
*
Detail for Hallux vaglus is here.
At the end of practice I do Atmanjari Mudra – prayer every day.
*
Cross legs. Sit upright.
Sitting bone evenly on the floor.
Pelvis upright. Spine glows up.
Shoulders wide and down.
Crown towards sky.
*
Palms togather in front of heart center.
*
Palms meet at the middle, touching each other.
Fingers meet at the middle, touching each other.
Knuckles meet at the middle, touching each other.
Finger tips point to the sky.
*
Right side and left side are even, glowing up togather along the heart.
Feel the surface between palms and fingers. Feel the space between the palms.
Tranquillity, Gratitide, Loving kindness to the people and myself.
*
Photo by Wolfie at Jungle yoga
The last day of 2 years and half Iyengar teacher training course I brought mixed grains rice balls for my friends.
Every kind grains have another tastes and nutrition, are mixed into a ball.
Go togather very well!
Germinated rice and soak-over night-grains take long time to cook. After the meal, I devide the rest of rice into one meal amounts and freeze them.
Busy day I cook them into other dish.
Mixed grain porridge
Put freezed rice, salt with water in pot. Heat over middle flame. stir gently.
Serve in a bowl. Place seaweed.
Mixed grain risotto
Defrost freezed rice. Cut veges into small piece. Slice garlic.
Place garlic and olive oil in non-stick pan. Heat over medium flame.
When garlic turn into golden color, take out.
Add uncooked grain, veges. Stir for a while.
Add water just enough amount for covering the surface. Stir occasionally.
Keep adding water for covering food. Keep boiling like porridge.
When the grains and veges are nearly done, add defrosted rice, salt and pepper, bean card.
Serve on plate. Place veges and girlic on top.
*
Enjoy taste of each grain, taste of all togater, beautiful harmoney.
*
Grain trial pack has lotus seeds in it.
Lotus seeds stimulate digestion system for the people who are easy to diarrhea. It’s not for the people who tend to have constipaton.
Lotus seeds help mind be calm.
*
Sweet lotus seeds
Soak lotus seeds and some kinds of grains over night.
Put it with some rock sugar in small pot.
Simmer it for couples of hours till become soft.
Cool down. Cut lotus seeds. Take bud out. It’s bitter.
Place in a cup with black herbal jelly.
*
Take bitterness out. Absorb sweetness. Why not? Cool heavenly taste is here.
*
My friends give me various kinds of tea occasionally. I got spiced tea from India.
Cool rainy day, I enjoy making soy milk chai.
Put water 5mm depth in a pot. Heat over medium flame.
Add tea leaf. Boil it couple of minites, till the water becomes half amount.
Add soy milk and brown sugar. Boil again.
Keep eyes on and shaking roundly. Cleaning up boiling over takes longer time than making tea… as my experiences.
Tea change the color into brown.
Soy smell has gone. Sweet spicy smell comes.
Strain and pour into cup.
*
Sit down. Sip hot spicy tea.
Body gets warm. Mind gets calm. Lovely rain afternoon.
*
Bring smart phone, ipad all the time. Keep checking emails, social networks. Getting latest infomation. Must be up-dated person. Connect to friends.
Are you sure?
Being in non-stop cyberworld makes our existance to eyes and brain-only. It shows so attractive illusions, drawing mind, saying forget own body, the real people in front.
Elbows are bent. Neck is curved down. Head is drowning in display.
*
As long as drowning, can avoid watching own limitation, core problems.
Easy but no way out.
*
Extend elbows and spine. Release eyes from display.
Turn eyes on windows. There are outside world, other ways to be.
Close eyes. Relax in body sensations.
*
Is the display in my palms or in my mind?
*
Bhikkuni Ani Zamba, Tibetan nun, gave several Dharmma talks. I luckily listened some of them.
She has lively strong eyes and voice, survived hard life with smiles on her lips.
World is not rigid, keep moving. Our view of world is filtered by our receptions, twisted by our thought, is just our illusions.
We are riding on the waves of the illusions and keep judging good and bad, feeling happiness and sadness, like a fishing float on the surface of water.
The float with anchor moves just up and down, is in the same place.
The float which losts anchor goes somewhere.
*
Stand staright.
Step feet apart into wide stance.
Turn leg and feet.
Extend arms horizontally.
Extend torso to one side.
Turn torso. Look up.
Utthita Trikonasana, triangle pose.
*
All through these movements, watch the center of gravity, right under heart center.
As long as I keep firm anchor, my soles and legs, the center of gravity and my heart move togather.
As center is still, mind is still.
*
Whatever wave comes, she smiles. Great!
*
Lower photo by Kalen Lee
One day I found a pack of various grains in super market. It said ‘Rejuvenating concoction’ Wow! Is it?
It is for cooking togather with 4 liter water into soup. In stead decocting magic remedy, I examine their taste one by one.
The pack has11 kinds of grains and seeds in it.
*
Upper from left, red rice(B), white rice(B), brown rice(A)
Middle, brown sticky rice(A), job’s tears(A), barley(A), sorghum(A)
Lower, wheat germ(C), black sesame powder(C), oats(C), lotus seed(A)
A group need to be soaked with water over night.
B group no need to be soaked but cooked from cold water.
C group can be cooked in short time.
*
I cooked grains individually with germinated rice as experiments.
Job’s tear – Luk Diei, 鳩麦
It is much bigger than rice. After soaking over night I need to put in food proceccer, crush it till similar size with rice.
Rich in vitamin C, calcium, iron. Stimurate digestion. Restrain tumor.
Simple wild taste.
*
Barley – khao Balei 大麦
Size is pretty similar with rice. Rich in dietary fiber, calcium and poyassium.
Smooth taste.
*
Sorghum – khao fang うるちもろこし
It is much smaller than rice. After cook it pops, show black inside. Rich in lysine, tannin, has anti-cancer effects.
Poping taste.
*
Wheat germ – Jamuk khao sali and oats add flavor and nutrition to rice.
I prefer add into rice porridge or soup. If you don’t like brown rice, it might be helpful to add into white rice.
*
My favorite is barley. I love many kinds of grains togather in my small bowl.
Eat daily with gratitude. That is my ‘Rejuvenating concoction’.
*
Here is the most famous and the easest Japanese dish.
Temaki sushi – self roll sushi.
For 4-5 person, cook 2cup Japanese rice in rice cooker with 6cm length dried Konbu kelp and 1Tbs Sake. (If you have Thai rice only, mix some sticky rice in normal rice.)
In a small cup, mix 1.5Tbs sugar, 0.5 Tbs salt and 50cc vineger. Mix well and leave it.
When the rice is cooked, take the kelp out. Pour the vinegar like thin line all over rice. With spatura mix it well from the bottom under fan.
When rice absorb vinegar and turn shiny, remove from cooker into bowl. Cover with wet cloth. Leave until cool down.
Blanch veges and prawn. Cook egg. Pepare veges, fish, whatever you like.
Place Yaki nori-unflavored nori seaweed on you plate.
Put a bit rice and favorites. You might add black sesame or mayonnaise.
Dip in soy sauce mixed with some Wasabi – Japanese ginger.
Be creative. Enjoy life!
*
Photos by Mei
When I finished all of the breast cancer treatment, the first thing I thought was ‘Oh! I no need to decide heavy issues.’ I was really released.
*
We occasionally must decide important issues by ourselves.
Be given many different advices, find thouthands of imformations. Conditions are not same. Can’t copy. Get headache. Fall into confusing.
Love ones encouragements are very impotant. But they are not me.
Need to find own decision.
I see omen, when I stop thinking important issue. I see some normal thing but can’t withdraw my eyes. The meaning come up to my mind. Many times the meanings are unpleasant.
*
It is not super nature.
By thinking a lot, I know the answer at the depths in my mind but don’t want to accept.
The omen is just reflection. I see it and realize my answer.
*
Can ignore. Can accept. But can’t get away from myself.
*
Instead of seeing omen,
Sit down upright. Close eyes. Breath calmly. Stop thinking.
Then the answer might be there.
*
Photo by Joseph
A summer day in the city of Angels 