Moments to Remember

Autumn. That's when this city is at its best. The humidity is gone, the air is (slightly) more fresh and everything just seems a little bit more clear, a little bit more in focus. So why haven't I been feeling too great lately? The past couple of weeks I've had a couple arthritis attacks :'( , a bout of food poisoning (or just tummy reacting terribly to yummy Indian curry) and humming lower back pain.

Fortunately, I have been able to continue with my yoga practice, which nourishes not only the physical but also the spiritual. My one-on-one classes with instructor Lawrence are getting more and more enjoyable and fascinating because the body and mind is constantly being tested. Each breath and each move is filled with awareness and purpose, and the vocabulary he uses helps to bring so much colour to the practice it often feels like I've been on a journey by the end of a session. I'd practised to the sound of raindrops and noises of the busy city. These are rich, poetic moments that I shall always remember. And today, I "got" (fluked?) one pose that I thought was not possible, which is just a very, very satisfying bonus.

Another Classic

Stevie Wonder's Lately. This is the live version (which is just incredible) ... I came across the original video (on YouTube) several weeks ago but can no longer find it :o( Anyway, this is a super great song. Heart breakingly sad, with a melody that has stayed with me the past three (?) decades ... It is about a bloke (Wonder himself?) who suspects his wife having an affair.

"Well I'm a man of many wishes
  I hope my premonition misses ..."

My Lovin'

Never Gonna Get It!

Before Destiny's Child and other female R n B groups, there was En Vogue ...



Check out the choreography ... so THIS is what the Koreans have been trying to copy, only not as good...

A Master

When I saw the girl in the right row start doing her Cirque du Soleil routine, I knew something was not quite right. The yoga session I booked  myself into this evening was supposed to be a basic Hatha class, with this female instructor who once put me to sleep during a practice (I had no choice cos the Perfect Human Specimen is away) so when this renowned Indian master walked into the studio I was, frankly, in awe. I heard his classes are tough and I thought/feared I was about to go into another session of thigh slapping (see my earlier post Smack! Smack! Smack!).

Well, the Master's instructions were certainly very different from what I am used to; so half the time I just followed the Cirque du Soleil girl who obviously was more clued-up than me on what was going on, but it wasn't unmanageable. And in that typical Indian style of yoga training (yes, it really felt more like drilling than practising) we had to repeat the same sequence, holding each pose a bit longer. However, the Master turned out to be very humorous and charismatic in his own, stern ways. And at the end of the class, he gave us some really useful tips. And when he dismissed the class, I clapped (not sure we were supposed to do that) but I really felt I'd learnt something new tonight.

So, what I thought was a mistake turned out to be a valuable lesson.

Aches All Over

Now, here is an interesting article that I found after I googled "Weather and Human Body":

http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/weather/78827

Cosmic Power, Power Cosmic ...
Whatever ...

So I didn't dream it up. It's true, my body is left to the mercy of our weather. This week has been particularly stormy and, therefore, bad. For the entire week I've been feeling tired and having pains in the joints: left knee and both shoulders. And having not practised yoga for a few days, I couldn't even lift myself into a headstand in a class on Thursday. Instead, I almost fell down as I tried to push my body up (which never happened before). Then last night, I woke up with a nagging pain in my left knee - it was raining heavily outside. A dull pain in the lower neck and both shoulders also droned in the background throughout the entire day today. It feels like my body is totally exposed to the temperature, humidity, air pressure -- and it is -- and that the skin is unable to block out these "external" elements. It is as if I have become, like, transparent ... invisible. Does that make us humans totally vulnerable and fragile? I'm also wondering if I'm also affected by, like, the Cosmic Power ...

Speaking of which, haven't consulted Cassandra astrologer Sue Millar for awhile so I just checked out her website and here is this month's prediction ... in, well, three words: Money, Sex, and Power.

Bring it on, man ...