Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Patent what????

Yes, I am freaking out!!! A friend told me that someone is trying to patent the names Hatha Yoga and Ashtanga Yoga in Turkey! That is B.S. and big time with capitals! Who can think that they have such a right?!!! And I Google searched for this person’s name and it is a GYM in Ankara!!! They don’t even have Yoga classes! Even if they did, it does not matter! How can they do such a thing! I still cannot believe! I am so frustrated, fired up at this point! And you might ask how this friend knew about this… Well that is another thing because he is trying to patent the names Power Yoga and also I think Vinyasa Yoga… and we see how things get distorted in some places… oohh there is some yoga began happening in Turkey finally and happily but, there has to be a but unfortunately, suddenly all these people see the right to own it for themselves and without forgetting to try inhibit it for others! To those out there who do not realize it That is NOT Yogic at all! Moreover, “you might be a true yogi but sorry this is real life” crap does not cut it for me either. First of all, I am not true anything, I do not even imagine to being close to a yogi… and second of all even Pattabhi Jois did not patent Ashtanga Yoga, he says yoga is for everyone,he says "it is universal, not one man's property", so who are they to patent it!... I wish an end to this foolishness!

I even called Yoga Sala, the other school where they also teach Ashtanga Yoga. So, hopefully, we will be able to prevent such thing! The owner of YS will do some research… and he guesses if we object, then they cannot get the patent! Please cross all the fingers for us!

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Writing for clarity...

Time to write… Time to write to be clearer. As I write things usually became clearer, and they either dissolve or they become more solid.

By the way, happy moon day! Yeah very much needed moon day! Yesterday, I was pretty dizzy in the beginning of my practice, a bit heavy, felt like new moon, lazy energy. In the days I feel sluggish, after I begin the sitting positions, I usually recover from the dizziness and low energy… but standing postures makes me feel like uhum what am I doing? Well, still I was feeling a bit tired after practice while teaching and I had to teach another class after the Mysore class… which in fact helped me lift my energy. Surprisinging for myself, I was clear and precise … as oppose to being all over the place which can be expected during those low energy, low motivation days. Expect the unexpected, always? Well, actually the day turned out to be a full on day. After my class, I saw David who came from the hospital. They had a baby boy! He asked me if I wanted to go back to the hospital with him to see the baby and Zeynep and of course I could not say no since I wanted to very much! Yes, the baby is beautiful, and pretty grown up! We say Masallah in Turkey.

Afterwards, in the evening, there was a talk by Godfrey Deveruex on Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. He is a very smart and has interesting interpretations… At the end of his talk, I thought that they all give the same message, tell the same thing, “Everything is perfect, you are perfect, we are perfect, just relax and realize this fact…” Yes, Osho also always tells this… To be honest, Osho is the one who touches me the most with his speech. Anyways… so it was a night of getting together and listening to a Yoga master. I got terribly sleepy because of the heaviness I felt all day, not really because of waking up early, because I have late Friday nights usually and I feel okey. It is the new moon laziness, I am telling. And this morning my left eye feels like swollen, or a bit closed. I donnu why but the first thing came to my mind was feminine issues are crying out, maybe need for love which I do not acknowledge. Well love is all around us, we only need to recognize it, so I need to recognize! I really liked the way Godfrey explained how intimacy is in the nature; for example, the oxygen which penetrates to our cells all day long, how intimate that is…

What else… yes, travel plans already! I know I am an ambitious one when it comes to making travel plans for my studying… I guess we, ashtangis, are all a bit like that. I was thinking what if I go to India directly after the Colorado trip. Can I get an Indian Visa when I am there? I looked up, it seems like I can apply through mail in the States. Therefore, during the training, I can just send my passport and get it back until the training ends… and then fly to India straight from the States instead of getting back to Turkey and then flying to India. This also might mean that I can rent my apartment for a straight out period beginning from the time I leave for Colorado. Is this good thinking or too ambitious? I think it can be considered.

Lets not forget New Moon wishes!
Happy resting and happy practices tomorrow!

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Want to write...

Yes, yes I want to write… I want write but I hate to be complaining or kind of wining when I am writing. Ohh god but now there is this Elvis song playing in the radio and even complaining seems fun, I think the songs name is Viva Las Vegas… such fun song... I should get up and dance, wait a second, I am … ohh well the song ended as soon as I got up but I danced to the next one. The best cure for my achy shoulders is dancing meditation.. so then Kundalani meditation should be what I do but these days I am a bit tired so I do more sitting ones… Last nite, I went to David’s pranayama and meditation class for the second. I really like them. We do simple pranayama in the first half, counted ujjayyi and nadi shodhana, and then we sit for the last part of the class. Yes, I like it, and I like living so close to the shala so now I can go whenever and attend some classes ☺ Also Godfrey Devereux just began his workshops, he will be here for about a week. I will attend the one which is tomorrow afternoon! Lets see how I like him. He is the primary teacher of Zeynep and David.

Okay, what is the problem? Yes, I can still not do bakasana B and jump into handstand with two feet. Well achy shoulders are the result of my attempts, ohh also I woke up with my left wrist really achy this morning, I should be careful… But these are not issues anymore, at all… it is something else, I have been writing about it but I am not sure if I should post it… so I keep it to myself.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Full moon day, some good news, some vrittis...

Couple of my friends got authorization from Sharat! I had to mention this before I dwell on other things. I am utterly happy and excited for them. Super exciting!!!

Well what else… uhummm, I find myself panicking again this morning about Bakasana B (!?) as I write these lines I realize how weird it sounds to panic about this… It is full moon today so no practice; on the other hand, I am so anxious to try Bakasana B as I read tips&advices and watch videos on the internet. I am resisting the urge because I believe my wrists need the rest; they have been kind of achy from trying to jump into B.B. zillions of times everyday. As I panic, I also realize that there is no need to panic, this is part of my work now, trying to learn jumping into this asana, making use of everything I have learned during these past 5 months and teaching it to myself.

Good luck to me and let me have serene mind and heart as I work on it!
Let me be fearless, let me be compassionate, let me be tranquil, let me be as light as a feather, let me be innocent as a child…

Happy full moon to all!

Saturday, March 07, 2009

Strength within and within...

Back to the real life… I began teaching last Sunday with a led class. My friend’s teacher trainees are coming to my classes and they are lovely. They are very eager to learn, to practice… They really immerse themselves. I am really enjoying teaching them and I really enjoy the full room. Also, living close to the shala is so convenient. I wake up just before 4 o’clock; I go to the shala to do my own practice before they start dropping in one by one around 7 AM. My practice is too long, so I do my finishing postures after I finish teaching, which is not so illogical, kind of logical. Still, I had to cut it a bit shorter for the last few days, I skipped last few postures of the primary, so I could go on and work on the problematic second series postures of mine, especially the famous Bakasana B! By the way, since I came back, handstands are not frustrating and scary, I can at least again kick with one foot up the wall which became impossible when I was in Goa (all mind issues). Moreover, now I found this new thing: from handstands I bend the knees and begin drawing my knees to my chest, trying to balance, kind of coming to Bakasana B, trying to get the feeling… not bad ha! Starting to get innovative, I guess I can say that I am doing some work.
Besides Mysore classes, I also teach beginners and intermediate led ashtanga classes 3 times a week. Those are nice to have as well, especially beginner’s class, so I can introduce new students to Mysore classes through it…

But of course I have some issues… the one I have to deal with now is making myself clear, believing in myself, in my own opinions, not constantly compromising, and having integrity towards myself... It is obvious, very obvious that I let myself led by others way too much, more than I am actually comfortable with. It is again the strength issue like the one I have with my handstands, Bakasana B. I have to learn to say no. This has been an issue since last year and actually the year before. It is not with everyone of course, it is with certain characters… first it was my sister, still she is some of the times too much, then now with another friend. It is for sure with people I really love, I care about; therefore, it is much more difficult to be definite with what I want. Well, I can also be strong and controlling. It seems like I swing between the two ends of pendulum. Ohh life let me grow and shine with strength, truth, honesty and big heart.