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Barje : A career woman and her yoga master
I am a career woman who have practiced yoga for a few years for pretty shallow reasons -"health and beauty".
I started private lessons 9 months ago with the only objective to learn to do the two poses I never managed to do - head stand and lotus. Never did I know then I was entering the "real" world of yoga which is not about what I can do with my body, but what I can do with my mind.
This blog is the journey of a materialistic business woman who begins to discover the world of yoga from her spiritual, calm, and disciplined yoga master. |
| 14.01.13 People who don't know they make beautiful pictures |
I recently came back from a trip to Rajasthan area in India. It was my first trip to India as a tourist and I have taken a lot of photos because there were so many things that fascinated me.
My yoga master saw some of the photos and asked me why I would take so many photos of the poor people. I was a little surprised by the question because to me, they are not "poor", they are real and I think they are just beautiful. They were working very hard putting 100% of themselves in what they were doing, they were hardly disturbed by me because they were so mindful. When I saw them, I just could not help but pressed the shutter because to me, they made the most beautiful pictures.
I find people who are so focused on what they do really attractive. No matter how much they have, and what they are doing, if they are doing it mindfully with all their hearts, they are beautiful. Look at these pictures and I hope you will agree with me. My 2013 resolution is - to be beautiful. |
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| 21.08.12 Plum Village, France Don't hate them, thank them for being here |
One afternoon at the Plum Village, I volunteered to trim a big bush of roses. After triming all the faded roses as specifically instructed by the sister, I found the brown leaves annoying because they destroyed the look of the beautiful roses. So I asked sister if I could also trim them off and she said yes. I was overjoyed and said "great, I hate them". She gave me an astonishing response with a smile, "don't hate them, thank them for being here." What a wonderful thought. A truly great reminder of how we should see everything in our lives. We should be thankful of everything, be they good or bad. They are here for us.
Thank you for being here, my mom, dad, brother and sister
Thank you for being here, all my friends and foes
Thank you for being here, all the mountains, oceans, rivers, trees and flowers
Thank you for being here, the sun, the moon, the wind, the rain, and the storm
Thank you for being here, all the animals on earth, birds in the sky, and creatures in the sea
Thank you for being here, all the bugs I dread
Thank you for being here, my yoga master |
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| 01.06.12 Plum Village, France My close encounter of the Zen Master |
Two weeks ago I went to the Plum Village in south of France to learn mindful living from the greatest Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. Before I went, I asked my yoga master if I would have the opportunity to speak to him, ask him a question, or take a picture with him. He told me that it is unlikely because nobody would disturb him.
So with no expectation, I flew to the Plum Village and checked into the New Hamlet for my one-week retreat. Everything was kind of meeting my humble expectations in terms of facilities and accommodation condition. But the level of mindfulness in the Hamlet and the cooking by the nuns far exceeded my expectations and I would talk about them next time.
During the week I was there, there were two days of programmes led by the Master personally. They started with mindful exercise and dharma talk by him, and then mindful walking and mindful eating (lunch) with him. Although I could stay as close as I wish to him in all of these activities, I could not speak to him because nobody would disturb him.
A week went by and to everyone's surprise, on the day I was to leave I talked to him and had a picture taken with him. The story behind this was kind of "one in a thousand chances" as described by the nuns. Here it is.
On the day of my departure, I was reading under a tent before lunch. I saw the Master travelled from the Lower Hamlet to the New Hamlet to see the doctor. As he left, he went to his car and "oops" guess what the car was locked! He was shocked and stood by the car 5 meters away from me with nothing to do while the nuns rushed to find the car key. I walked towards him and asked if I could ask him a question and he said yes. I asked him a question and he said "continue to live mindfully, when your mind is clear, you will know what to do". When the nuns returned, I asked if I could have a picture taken with him and he agreed. Just like that, I became the most envied person in the New Hamlet. |
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| 27.04.12 Being rather than Doing |
Master taught me to "watch the flame" 6 months ago as a "starter" for meditation. Since then, I have developed an interest in exploring meditation but at the same time struggling to understand what it is all about and "precisely" how it should be done.
With asana, at least I know what needs to be done and how well or badly I'm doing. With meditation, I have no clue what exactly needs to be done, and whether I am doing it rightly or wrongly - what's frustrating is nobody can tell me if I am truly "meditating" or not, nor do I know it myself.
Recently I read Anita Moorjani wrote in her book "Dying to be Me" : life is all about being, and not doing, it strikes me that may be I have been trying too hard on "doing" mediation rather than "being". I now have to forget about "doing" meditation but "being" myself, "being" focused, and "being" in the moment. But at the end of the day, who can tell me if I am really "meditating"? |
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| 28.02.12 Walking meditation |
Ever since I have my "mindfulness" New Year resolution set, I have been trying to find the strategy to achieve it. With the encouragement of my yoga master (through sharing of his books and being my mindfulness bell), I have chosen to start with being mindful in walking.
"Hurried steps print anxiety and sorrow on the Earth", said Thich Nhat Hanh, the great master of mindful living. I was "godsmacked" when I read this statement. I feel so sorry that I have done so much damage to the Earth in the past and I vowed that I will try my best not to do it again. Thich Nhat Hanh preaches walking meditation and he has created many methods to make it easier for us. He advises us to always walk as if we are kissing the earth with our feet -with each step imagine a gentle wind blows, and with another step imagine a flower blossoms. It doesn't seem difficult, does it? I have been trying this for a week and believe me, it is NOT easy at all. But I will keep trying. Would you like to give it a try too? |
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| 13.01.12 Each day lived well equals a life lived well |
New Year time, resolution time. I would like to take one of my yoga master's motto as my resolution for this year - "Each day lived well equals a life lived well". So I asked master what is a day lived well to him, he said for him it is feeling enlightened, positive, and fulfilled. To make it easier for myself, I think I will start with "each moment lived well equals a day lived well."
I think the feelings of enlightenment, positivity, and fulfillment are there in my everyday life too, but am I "in the moment" to notice it and enjoy it? I believe not too often. So I have to start reminding myself to live "in the moment" to feel enlightened, positive, and fulfilled. Whenever the feeling is there, I don't want to miss it only because I'm "not there".
Life unfolds in the present. But so often, we let the present slip away. I have let too many present moments slipped away in the past, and my resolution for this year is to learn to "be present". I will try to live each moment well which leads to a day well lived and leads to a year well lived and eventually leads to a life well lived.
What is your New Year Resolution? |
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| 19.12.11 Sometimes things are not to be understood, they are to be accepted.... |
Back to the Mantra I vowed to memorise for life. I found learning it challenging without knowing the meaning of each and every word. So I asked my yoga master to explain to me the meaning of each word and he told me that I don't have to understand every single word, I just have to know the meaning of the phrases. But I was not satisfied, I had to know it word by word as that is my preferred way to learn. Finally he said to me, "don't try to understand everything, because sometimes things are not to be understood, they are to be accepted, they are to be felt." Isn't it also true for many things in life? Life could be happier and easier just like that. But sadly my mind is not trained to accept things as is, and my heart is not freed to feel. It will be a long journey for me and I hope yoga will help me get there.
Today master played another mantra, I asked him what the mantra was saying. He reminded me that it is more important to "feel" the mantra rather than trying to intellectualise it. So he asked me to repeatedly say to myself - don't try to intellectualise it, feel it. And so I did….don't try to intellectualise it, feel it…don't try to intellectualise it, feel it….don't try to intellectualise it, feel it…..don't try to intellectualise it, feel it…..don't try to intellectualise it, feel it……
Merry Christmas to you all who read my blog. |
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| 27.11.11 A Mantra to Memorise for Life |
Om Sahana Vavatu (may the lord nourish us)
Sahanau Bhunaktu (may the lord protect us)
Saha Viryam Karvavahai (let us put our efforts together)
Tejas Vinav Dhitamastu (may our efforts bring light to the world)
Maa Vidvishav Hai (may we never quarrel with each other)
I swore to myself that I will never forget this mantra and its meanings, for the feeling of letting someone down is unbearable.
It all started on a Sunday morning when this mantra was sung at the beginning of the class as always. Master had explained to the class numerous times the meaning of the mantra line by line before, and very often he would also ask us to do so. That Sunday he asked us one after the other to explain the meanings to the class, and when he asked me to I failed. I felt so very bad on the spot and was angry at myself for many days. To end the commotion, I decided to put it on my blog to ensure that I will never forget it. |
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The views expressed in this weblog are those of the author and do not
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