I Was Hungry. I Wanted to Pray. I Was in Love.

Last weekend my best blonde buddy K and I went on a date.  How romantic!  We treated ourselves to a tantalizing array of Lebanese delicacies (thank you, stretchy pants) and then spent the next 2 hours with our eyes glued to the ginormous theatre screen in front of us.  After finishing the book only days before, I saw Eat Pray Love.  My initial concern was that I would be dissapointed.  The story was so freshly-squeezed in my mind, I was worried about comparing every fraction of it and be upset if it wasn't an exact duplicate of the phenomenal pages that filled my eyes with glistening hope and my heart with inrrefutable passion.  But despite my fears, the film encompassed my soul with that very feeling of wonder that shot through me after having read the book.  K and I walked out of there with an ooey gooey feeling, like we were drowning in warm syrup.

The Eat made me hungry, despite the gluttonous feast we had indulged in only a few hours prior to the movie.  Though we didn't let our stomachs get the best of us, we did break down our guards and splurge on a delicious bottle of Quebec-disguised-as-Australian red wine.  We bought it at a gas station convenience store- accompanied with a 1 litre bottle of RC Cola for K's beau.  The attendant must have obviously thought we were classy ladies.  It may not have been as rich as the Italian red wine in the film, but it was good for us. 

The Pray made me even more excited to start my YTT and get into meditation.  It was portrayed as spiritually and as beautifully as it was written in the pages of the book.  It also made me want to go to India- I know, I know, one thing at a time!  It was my favourite part of the book, and it remains my favourite part in the film as well.  It also motivated me to get started on my yoga room at the house, so last night Vinny and I primed the walls to get them ready for the blue paint.  I say that by this time next week, it should all be set-up.  And yes, pictures will follow!

The Love...well, I can't very well say that it made me want to fall in love since I already have my love lobster Vinny.  So it made me thankful to have such a presence in my own life.  It also, however, made me daydream about Javier Bardem!  Funny how my initial excitement was about James Franco, and it quickly veered to Javier once he emerged in full handsomeness on the screen.  What an enchanting and brawny man.  Oh, and it also helped me discover a Brazilian guitarist/singer named Joao Gilberto.  I have been told that he is extremely popular, but this is my first encounter with his music.  I've proccured two of his albums already.  His voice and strings carry me away.

I lent my mom the book this week so she could read it and see the movie afterwards.  She read it within a day, and said she wants to re-read it.  And only then, she says, will she be prepared to watch it on the big screen.

Namaste,
Lady Lotus

The handsome Javier.

Joao in his younger days.

The Yoga Book Worm

There is something very exciting about purchasing a new book, or borrowing one from a friend.  Holding a bound clump of paper in my hands sends quite the hullabaloo of a feeling through me.  I mentioned it in a previous post but I was not always such an avid reader.  As a child my parents practically had to force me to get through a book.  Now, it's as though I can't get enough.  I have the habit of buying new books when I am not even half way through the current one I am enjoying, just so I don't have to have a day without one.  Now I don't read every single day, but just knowing that a new story is waiting for me is incredibly nourishing.  Yesterday I took a gander at Amazon- the power of my purse has met its match!  My Yoga Teacher Training starts in just over a month (yippe!) and I have already started compiling a small collection of required and suggested readings for the training.  I am happy to report that I was able to find 3 books that are far more affordable when ordered on-line than going into the store. 

The first is a required reading entitled The Anatomy of Movement by Blandine C. Germain.  I can't quite describe intensely enough how enthusiastic I am to dive into those pages.  The human body is such a marvel.  To gain an understanding on each twist, turn and bend of every limb and joint is something my mind is just screaming to eat up.  I may very well never look at a human body the same way- I intend on being flabbergasted!  I remember going to a physiotherapist a few years back for a sore neck.  She asked me to lie down on my back so she could feel around my neck.  My hands were resting on my belly, with my fingers intertwined into each other.  She told me to leave my hands flat because the tangling of my fingers may affect what she feels in my neck.  What!?  I was instantly amazed.

The second is a book that was not required, but suggested.  My FabTeach actually proposed this book to me before I even realized it was on the list.  It's entitled Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior by Chogyam Trungpa.  I have tried dabbling in mediation a little bit, but to be quite honest, I don't really know how to meditate.  Now is there really a way to lean how to meditate, or does it just appear from your heart and your breathing once you are in a state of calm?  There is the Shambhala Meditation Centre across the street from my original studio.  My FabTeach, again, suggested this place to me.  I went to visit during an open house a few months back and really felt comfortable there.  Everything was so pretty and so peaceful.  The people were friendly (everyone there is a volunteer), the rooms were welcoming, and the story behind it all was wonderful.  Once a month they organize Introduction Classes (free of charge, a simple donation is asked) to give interested individuals insight on how to begin their mediation process.  That way, you can meditate at home, at the Centre, or pretty much anywhere you can, and really know how to dive down into yourself to get the most out of the experience.  Unfortunately for myself, I have been unable to attend these classes.  My work schedule was always a factor.  I was offered a private class, but it seems that the schedules would again coincide with each other, and it became difficult to find a time to go.  Thankfully this little pocket book will help me get my feet (or should I say mind, body and soul) onto that path of meditation.

Finally, the 3rd book I splurged on (although it was not a splurge at all- very cheap actually!) is Yoga Body Buddha Mind by Cyndi Lee.  Wouldn't you know, another suggested reading that FabTeach mentioned I should pick up before I noticed it on the list.  Since I cannot go to my original studio as often as I'd like as a result of work and the big move to the Burbs, FabTeach offered a book I should read to help me with my home practice (by the way, the yoga room is slowly coming together- almost ready to paint!)  The book seems great.  There are different sequences you can try, depending what it is you are looking for and feeling on that particular day.  I am slowly learning which positions flow appropriately with others (another thing I am just so giddy about expanding with the YTT) so this book will support me in deepening this understanding.  I will now officially get the most of an at-home experience.

There are other books associated with the training that I am very excited to get my hands on.  It seems like this book worm will definitely have a sufficient amount of reading to get lost in- and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Namaste,
Lady Lotus

Atti Prayaa Rati

Alright, so I may be a little late in picking up the book, but I have finally started reading Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.  Prehaps I was exhausted by people telling me "What??  You haven't read it yet!?" with a similar tone of voice as though they were saying "What?  You've never tasted chocolate before!?"  The fact that I hadn't once perused the pages of this book seemed beyond belief to so many.  They would all say "Oh you are going to love it, you have to read it.  It's right up your alley."  I played around with the idea of getting myself a copy, but never got around to it.  Truth be told, I have only recently become an avid bookworm.  But now the movie is coming out, and I want to go see it.  If there is one thing I try to do as little as possible it's going to see a film that is based on a book, before having read the book itself.  I love going to the theatre and sitting in front of that giant screen, already feeling a connection to the characters who I feel I have met before.  Chances are I will be seeing Eat Pray Love opening weekend.  Besides, I can't deprive myself too long of seeing James Franco on the big screen- he's so yummy.  But let me get back on track here- as much as I would love to write about how much I love James Franco (he is also guest starring on GH lately- double whammy!) my pionnering inspiration for this post goes beyond him and how excited I am to see him in this adaptation.

So yes, I have started reading Eat Pray Love and though I'm only about 60 pages into it, I am loving it.  Her writing is so easy to get engulfed in.  I speak for myself but am confident enough to assume that others may agree, but in her words I see a little piece of myself present.  Maybe it's because I am slowly becoming more in touch with the little voice inside me everyday, but so far this book has inspired me to want to connect with myself even more- to devote myself bountifully to embracing life.  It's funny but since this book has become so popular and full of hype, I asked myself am I possibly just too easily giving in to the words on the pages and becoming enveloped in what may be just a load of mumbo jumbo turned into a Julia Roberts Hollywood flick?  Well, nope.  I think that whatever I take from this book, whether it be inspiration or no, I have found a closeness, and it feels great.  There is one passage in particular that I would like to share with you here.  She writes about how she met a guru who, in essence, is the underlying awakening responsible for her remarkable journey.  After handing her a drawing of a person with four legs, a tree growing from their head and a face on their heart, he told her-
"To find the balance you want, you must keep your feet grounded so firmly on the earth that it's like you have four legs, instead of two.  That way, you can stay in the world.  But you must stop looking at the world with your head.  You must look through your heart instead."
Reading this part only 15 pages into the book, I was hooked.  I pictured myself in Tree Pose, visualizing the roots coming from down by my feet, making their way to the top of my head, with a smile on my lips, resonating all the way down to my heart.  Yeap, this is going to be a good read.

Namaste,
Lady Lotus

Ok, just one more James Franco moment...ahhh.

Cat Yoga

I just had to share this with all of you. I was perusing an on-line bookstore in search of a specific book I need for my Yoga Teacher Training (which begins shortly, I am so excited!) when I stumbled across a book entitled “Cat Yoga”.

Of course, being a lover of yoga and fuzzy animals, my curiosity immediately got the best of me. The book is comprised of various yoga positions, completely demonstrated by our furry feline friends. Now, the left side of my brain said “Don’t do it, do you really need a book that has pictures of cats doing yoga?” Then the right side chimed in with an “Oh come on, you know you want to. How cute is that?!” The right side always seems to triumph- I’m such a pushover. Before I knew it I had placed my order. Within 2 days, voila! My book arrived.
Honestly, it is an absolutely adorable read. There are cats and kittens doing hundreds of different poses, with an explanation of each pose as it relates to cats! Silly, I know, but it makes for a good chuckle when you
are in need of one.  However, what was initially a ridiculous purchase has now grown into something else. I will eventually want to explore teaching yoga to children. I hope that this book will aid me with my first potential student: my beautiful 5 years old niece. With Red-Head Bro and Sistah in Law's permission, I want to introduce their little girl to yoga, and what better way than to start off by showing her kitties in the poses? It hooked me line and sinker, and I am cruious if it will do the same for her.

Namaste,
Lady Lotus