Journal Posts | iHanuman

iHanuman

Love, Service, Devotion, Yoga

Journal Posts

(Meditating with Asha is an ongoing sharing of my experiences sitting with Asha Greer. For an introduction to Asha and previous stories with her, please see Part 1andPart 2of this series.)

 

Beautiful Mess

Whenever I come home from sitting with Asha I usually share with my wife, Michelle, the things that Asha said that struck me as meaningful or insightful, and the many lessons that I was learning. Michelle was intrigued by her and decided that she would like to sit with us one morning. Her only reservation was that she doesn't practice seated meditation and, in her words, "œAn hour is a looooonnnggg time to sit still. She...

posted: 13 years 3 months ago
posted: 10/31/10
(This story is part of an ongoing sharing of my experiences sitting with Asha Greer. For an introduction to Asha, please see the previous post titled�Â� The House that Zen Built.) Cracks The routine the first few months sitting with Asha was that I would call the evening before to make sure it was okay for me to come sit with her the following morning. �Â� During one phone call she hesitated when I asked, started to say something, paused, and then just said, "Yes. Please come. I'll see you then."�Â�  I thought it was a little odd, but didn't think too much about it. The next morning we sat...
posted: 9/20/10
In my last post I wrote about the necessity of intentionally and consistently surrounding yourself with people and activities that feed your Spirit. Over the next couple months I'd like to share with you some short vignettes from something that I do personally that continues to nourish, challenge and inspire me: Meditating with Asha. First, I'd like to give you just a little background on Asha, who celebrated her 75th birthday this year. She was born in California and became the state's first female lifeguard, rescuing 19 people out of the ocean. In the late 1960's she helped found the Lama...
posted: 4/17/10
Support Your SpiritThis past winter I took a four month sabbatical to deepen my connection with myself and the world around me. During that time I learned one of the greatest practical lessons for maintaining energy and well-being:�Â� consistently and intentionally�Â� surround yourself with people and activities that feed your Spirit. This may seem obvious, but ask yourself how often you do things that you find meaningful and fulfilling at the deepest level. Daily? Weekly? Monthly? Never? And compare that to the amount of time spent on things that leave you feeling drained, or that you do...
posted: 4/6/10
We had such an amazing time in Costa Rica last year that many people are wanting to go again! So please join us January 8-15, 2011, for a week of blissful yoga, deep meditation, communion with nature, and fun with some of the best people on the planet, all at the tropical mountainside paradise of�Â� Pura Vida Retreat Center and Spa in Costa Rica! I will be teaching two yoga classes a day: a slow, blissful, feel-your-way-into-the-new-day class in the mornings and a sweaty, soulful vinyasa class in the evenings. There will also be group meditations, meditation instruction, yoga nidra (guided...
posted: 3/31/08
My wife, our two kids and I spent November and December in India. I had been once before, so this one was about exploring the mother land as a family. We went to museums in Delhi, took boat rides in Nainital, cable car and horse rides in Mussoorie, a jeep safari at Rajaji National Park, saw Agra Fort and, of course, the Taj Mahal. We also got to touch the spiritual heart of India: the Neem Karoli Baba Ashram in Kainchi, darshan with a Saint in Rishikesh, Arati at the Ganga. But the thing that we all agree touched us the most was being with the kids at Ramana's Garden School and Orphanage in...
posted: 10/24/07
Our son Texil was born while Michelle and I were working our way through college. Michelle had just completed an unpaid internship, and I was going to school during the day and working late nights and weekends at a smoky (and very illegal) Beach Bingo. When Kali was born, Michelle left her job to stay home with the kids for the first few months while I went to graduate school and taught freshman English as a graduate assistant. During both of these times money was very tight, and both times we took advantage of a federal food asistance program called WIC (Women, Infant...
posted: 4/17/07
This past Saturday I attended the Step It up 2007 rally here in Charlottesville, as part of the nationwide effort to raise awareness about global warming and to convince lawmakers to create legislation and policy changes to reduce greenhouse emissions 80% by 2050. Despite the rain, about 150 people showed up to hear speakers from engineers to city councilmen, from biodiesel enthusiasts to environmental lawyers. There is so much we can all do to make a difference in the health of our planet, and it's often easy to be overwhelmed, so the main thing is just to start somewhere. One small thing...
posted: 3/23/07
Michelle and I watched Born into Brothels last night, a moving documentary about a children living in Calcutta's red light district. Having seen first hand children living on the streets of India, and knowing how desperate and hopeless those situations typically are, I was even more inspired by the incredible work of Dr. Prabhavati and Ramana's Garden, a home and school for orphans and destitute children in the mountains of Northern India. Ramana's Garden houses 55 children, whom no one else would take in or care for, and provides an education to 138 children. It's amazing how much of a...
posted: 1/15/07
Last week, after class, one of my friends and students asked me if I had any recommendations on where to find good mens yoga pants. I told him that I have a couple pairs of Swadeshi Yoga pants that I really like, but didn't know if they made any long enough to fit his 6'5" frame. He sent the following email to them: Your line of men's yoga pants has been recommended to me by a dear friend and yoga instructor. My problem is, I am 6'5" tall with a 35" inseam. I always struggle with finding yoga pants that will fit such that I am not wearing capri pants! By any chance, do you have any pants that...
posted: 12/10/06
The idea of "monkeys building a bridge" comes from the Ramayana, one of India's two epic poems and one of its most loved stories. It tells of Rama, the prince of Ayodhya, and his wife, Sita, who is kidnapped by the demon king, Ravana, and carried across the ocean to his fortress city on the island of Lanka. The storyline then centers on Rama's efforts to find and rescue Sita. He is aided by his loyal brother, Lakshman, and an army of monkeys; foremost among them is Hanuman, a monkey with not only amazing powers and unbelievable strength but an intense devotion and love for Rama. Once they...

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