Spring And an Attempt at Dropping from Head Stand - Pretty Fail
UPDATE: I meant Hand Stand, not head stand, thanks V for pointing that out...
Will Blogger let me keep it if the post is pretty?
Blues and purples bleeding from the mat and into the nails
A path showered in pink from the Cherry blossoms
oh stop it! you did not!
Love this bench, it is so romantic
tulips
Uttitha Hasta by the Hudson, how could you not?
And the living is easy, the yoga practice is another thing
Trying to see if I will ever dare to start thinking about wondering if I will ever go about a drop from a headstand, hand stand. I.e.: much a do about nothing. Funny that as a kid I did not really much care for it, and it was easyyyyy
Anonymous, NOO!!!! I did not delete it, GOOGLE DELETED IT... can you believe it? they did... and they deleted all posts of all people in the world from Thrusday... so we are all n the same boat.. pretty annoying ha?
YYogini thank you, I think I am no where near that either, I just like to play sometimes :-)
Hi Claudia, I am an Indian living in India and I am a great fan of your blog ever since I started practising yoga which is quite recently. I admire your enthusiasm for yoga and I hope it gets revived in the country of its birth, India. Keep up the good work. Now coming to your question about gayatri mantra, it is true that hindu men in India, who belong to the brahmin caste have had the privilege of chanting the gayatri mantra since ages.The brahmin caste was(and still is) supposed to be the most superior caste and enjoyed certain prerogatives the other castes were denied of some of them being,learning of the vedas and upanishads and attaining priesthood.The reason is rooted in the patriarchal tradition and the brahminical dominance over the lower castes. A hindu brahmin male, at a young age is initiated into the study of vedas in a ceremony called Upanayam or the sacred thread ceremony. An important part of this ceremony is where the father of the boy recites the gayatri mantra in the boy's ear several times so that he learns it by heart. Far from reciting the mantra, females are not even supposed to hear it. As a young girl, when I went to the upanyam of a cousin and asked my mom to tell me the secret mantra that was being recited in my cousin's ear, I was told that women should not chant the mantra even if they know it. Yoga asanas and especially the Surya Namaskara was also traditionally practised only by brahmin males. Though this privilege is not explicitly mentioned in any of the scriptures as far as I know(I may be wrong), the only explantion that I have(as someone who has done a little research on the history of patriarchy in India) is that the brahmins suppressed the lower castes and did not want them to know the powerful mantras and ways to attain salvation. In the same way upper caste brahmin men kept their women oppressed and deprived them of many of their rights. Even today in India, women are considered inferior to men in many ways. Although the caste equations in India have undergone a huge change over the years, the deep rooted patriarchy that expects women to be subservient to men has not seen a significant change and leaves a lot to be desired. Anjana
Anjana, I really appreciate you took the time to share with me this personal story. Being that you come from being inmersed in the actual culture I am grateful that you shared.
I guess if you love cooking and being married and managing a home then India is a great place to be but if women wanted complete independence having their own life etc, it seems a little harder because of the culture pressures. So I can relate, even growing up in Buenos Aires, which is avery multicultural city I felt, growing up, a tendency towards patriarchy, big time, and I believe that perhaps deep inside that is what made me move to America...
I first heard about the mantra in the context of Ashtanga Yoga and learned it, funny enough, because I "had to" for a test at the teacher training. Eventually I loved the melodious sound of it, and how it helped me quiet down, be more focused. These days it is part of my life.
Perhaps chanting it as a woman may be a good way to get started on the faith element of reaching equality everywhere in the world and reviving the Divine Mother's energy which our planet so dearly needs.
Hi Daydreamingmel, I thought I had replied to your comment.... hmmm Google!! Blogger!!! grrrr.... thanks!, it is actually quite terrible as I am supposed to come up with both feet together... but you know what, I will take the compliment! I am honored that you liked it ;-) thank you! your back bend in the beach is looking pretty nice there
did u delete your previous post on gayatri mantra?
ReplyDeleteNice uttitha hasta! Good luck with dropping from headstand! I'm nowhere near there yet :P
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, NOO!!!! I did not delete it, GOOGLE DELETED IT... can you believe it? they did... and they deleted all posts of all people in the world from Thrusday... so we are all n the same boat.. pretty annoying ha?
ReplyDeleteYYogini thank you, I think I am no where near that either, I just like to play sometimes :-)
Hi Claudia,
ReplyDeleteI am an Indian living in India and I am a great fan of your blog ever since I started practising yoga which is quite recently. I admire your enthusiasm for yoga and I hope it gets revived in the country of its birth, India. Keep up the good work.
Now coming to your question about gayatri mantra, it is true that hindu men in India, who belong to the brahmin caste have had the privilege of chanting the gayatri mantra since ages.The brahmin caste was(and still is) supposed to be the most superior caste and enjoyed certain prerogatives the other castes were denied of some of them being,learning of the vedas and upanishads and attaining priesthood.The reason is rooted in the patriarchal tradition and the brahminical dominance over the lower castes. A hindu brahmin male, at a young age is initiated into the study of vedas in a ceremony called Upanayam or the sacred thread ceremony. An important part of this ceremony is where the father of the boy recites the gayatri mantra in the boy's ear several times so that he learns it by heart. Far from reciting the mantra, females are not even supposed to hear it. As a young girl, when I went to the upanyam of a cousin and asked my mom to tell me the secret mantra that was being recited in my cousin's ear, I was told that women should not chant the mantra even if they know it. Yoga asanas and especially the Surya Namaskara was also traditionally practised only by brahmin males. Though this privilege is not explicitly mentioned in any of the scriptures as far as I know(I may be wrong), the only explantion that I have(as someone who has done a little research on the history of patriarchy in India) is that the brahmins suppressed the lower castes and did not want them to know the powerful mantras and ways to attain salvation. In the same way upper caste brahmin men kept their women oppressed and deprived them of many of their rights. Even today in India, women are considered inferior to men in many ways. Although the caste equations in India have undergone a huge change over the years, the deep rooted patriarchy that expects women to be subservient to men has not seen a significant change and leaves a lot to be desired.
Anjana
Anjana, I really appreciate you took the time to share with me this personal story. Being that you come from being inmersed in the actual culture I am grateful that you shared.
ReplyDeleteI guess if you love cooking and being married and managing a home then India is a great place to be but if women wanted complete independence having their own life etc, it seems a little harder because of the culture pressures. So I can relate, even growing up in Buenos Aires, which is avery multicultural city I felt, growing up, a tendency towards patriarchy, big time, and I believe that perhaps deep inside that is what made me move to America...
I first heard about the mantra in the context of Ashtanga Yoga and learned it, funny enough, because I "had to" for a test at the teacher training. Eventually I loved the melodious sound of it, and how it helped me quiet down, be more focused. These days it is part of my life.
Perhaps chanting it as a woman may be a good way to get started on the faith element of reaching equality everywhere in the world and reviving the Divine Mother's energy which our planet so dearly needs.
Thanks for your kind words about the blog.
Claudia, that's a handstand not a headstand :-)
ReplyDeleteGood point V how did I mske that mistake?? Mind must have been somewhere else... Hm. Note to self : must pay attention when writing titles ;)
ReplyDeletewow look at the way you just hop up into handstand! I can only dream of doing such a thing!!
ReplyDeleteHi Daydreamingmel, I thought I had replied to your comment.... hmmm Google!! Blogger!!! grrrr.... thanks!, it is actually quite terrible as I am supposed to come up with both feet together... but you know what, I will take the compliment! I am honored that you liked it ;-) thank you! your back bend in the beach is looking pretty nice there
ReplyDelete