MahaMondo

Enjoy the Silence : Finding Peace During Noisy Trips

Via the New York Times :

http://travel.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/travel/finding-peace-during-noisy-trips.html?ref=travel

There may be relief in sight from many a traveler's worst bete noire , the crying baby on a long haul flight.

 

 

 

Upton's : Natural Vegan Ashram Bowl

Discovery this week at Whole Foods Minneapolis & River North , Chicago : Upton's Vegan Ashram Bowl & Vegan BBQ Bowl.

The best thing about most SPG hotels I stay in is that they are almost always conveniently located near a Whole Foods Market. 

When you travel as much as I do , eating at restaurants starts getting old.

Read more about this very cool & tasty, only in the Mid-West available for now , vegan resource @ The Laziest Vegans .

 

Jorgen Christiansson : Ashtanga Yoga Workshop Stockholm

Jorgen Christiansson is the only certified Swedish Ashtanga Yoga teacher in the world. 

He studied with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois since 1988 and he runs Omkar108 yogashala in Los Angeles.

Join him if you will be in Stockholm , Sweden from February 4 to 8 , 2013 at the Elements Spa , Clarion Hotel.

For more information , please contact Jackie : jksoph@gmail.com

 

Happy Holidays : NOLA

I took this picture of the exterior of the festive New Orleans Temple prior to Tulasi Puja on an early Sunday evening.

NOLA aka New Orleans Louisiana was looking & feeling unseasonably wintery & festive a week ago.

It has been over a decade since I last visited NOLA. New Orleans , like Miami , feels like no other place in the United States. With its French & Spanish heritage & flavor.

Namaste : When Hari Got Married

Air Canada has the best in-flight entertainment system in terms of viewing options. I was able to catch this documentary of a taxi driver , Hari , from Dharamsala who is gearing up for his marriage to a girl he has never met. Namaste , which is used frequently , is translated simply as " Hello " , which is pretty apropos considering the New Agey permutations the greeting has taken on here in the US.

Miami : YogArt 2012 & Miami Yoga Magazine

I will be " Miami Dreaming " next week as I am going to be in snowy Calgary & chilly Vancouver.

If you are headed to Maya-mi for Art Basel , check out YogArt 2012 at the Wynwood Walls.

Vish & The Mayapuris will take you for a swim in the Ocen of Bhakti.

And while you are in South Beach , pick up a copy of Kino MacGregor 's new Miami Yoga Magazine.

Kino always has great & inspiring positive teacher's insights into the total journey of the Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga practice.

I am also intending to drop-in for AM Mysore at Vancouver's new yogashala , Babylon.

Parampara : Knowledge , Dharma & Surrender

As a traveling student , there is nothing like dropping-in at a traditional Ashtanga YogaShala & knowing that there will be a sense of sameness & continuity there ; wherever that " there " may be.

The image on the left is from the entryway of the AYRI Roma yogashala.

Being back in Los Angeles for the Thanksgiving break , I've been able to practice at my teacher's yogashala the past couple of days. During Led Class , I was on the receiving end of several " welcome back " adjustments , which initially reminded me that , yes , sitting in airplanes for etyended period of times is completely unnatural.

But most importantly , it also reminded me that my dharma as a student of the Ashtanga Vinyasa practice is to breathe through it & Surrender. Then everything makes sense & expansion happens.

From the KPJAYI website comes this new entry ( to me ) which distills parampara , the elements of knowledge , dharma & surrender intrinsic to it.

" Surrendering to parampara is like entering a river of teachings that has been flowing for thousands of years , a river that age-old masters have followed into an ocean of knowledge "

Hari Om Tat Sat !

Maya-mi : Just Be Thankful

Maya is illusion. Maya-mi , the land of illusion , where everything is seductive & sensual. Always happy to be back , to be able to walk on the beach & boardwalk after meetings & get to  practice at Miami Life Center's Mysore evening class.

Patrick is back from Mysore & is full of humor & good cheer. And I found street parking outside MLC prior to each class. South Beach karma.

Not so happy Saturday night as I had to fly to New York early Sunday morning & the party on the hotel roof deck is keeping me awake. Definitely not an illusion , hehe.

I am grateful this Thanksgiving that I received blessings from my Guru Maharaja on the occassion of his Vyasa Puja.

Happy that I had Thanksgiving lunch after artik at the LA Temple today with my teacher.

Led class tom.AM , Mysore class Sun. AM then the Tulasi & Salagrama Festival in the afternoon. Jaya !

AYRI : Roma

Grazie mille a Rosanna , Maria Paola & Sergio ( all primary students /teachers of Lino Miele ) for all the help , advise & adjustments while I was dropping in for the afternoon Mysore classes at AYRI Roma.

It is always a bit akward initially to be the     " lo straniero " or stranger in a shala. Usually , I can use my teacher , Jorgen C. , as a point of reference in a US or Canadian shala.

AYRI Roma has a very tight community of advanced & newbie Astangis , & I'd like to give them credit for being very Italian in their warmth & accomodation. Troppo gentile.

The teachers made an effort to communicate in English with me & were quite hands on , albeit I was just passing through.

The shala is located at Via Annia 54 , in the historic Celio district of Rome. It was an extremely mind blowing experience to emerge from the Metro stop & to be confronted by " Il Coloseo " , the Colosseum. Very convenient for me to take the Metro A at Piazzale Flaminio , by the hotel I was staying in.

I am not a fan of the Baroque era churches in Rome. One visit I did make time for before my last Mysore class was to the amazing Basilica San Clemente , several blocks away from the shala on Via Labicana.

I am heading out to Miami this coming weekend with the intention of practicing at MLC ; then onwards to NYC & hopefully a drop-in at AYNY the week after. Ci vediamo !

 

May The Longtime Sun : Happy Trails

Santa Monica has been home for me for over a decade now. The image on the left is of Palisades Park looking out towards Malibu.

I'm a 21st CE nomad. Ever since I was put on a plane alone & travelled by myself at the age of 7 , I knew I was destined to never be able to sit still , to commit to anything for an extended period of time.

So its ironic that I have manged to be based in SaMo for all this time ; the city which turned me on to yoga. Perhaps knowing that LAX is just down the road & having the ability to travel every other week for work has kept me here.

I will be going on hiatus for a while. Will be flying out to Dallas & Houston next week , then heading to Italy the following 2 weeks ( I am intending to drop-in at AYRI Roma ) , Chicago end of Oct. & then onwards to Maya-Mi 1st week Nov. ( evening Mysore at MLC South Beach , yes ! ).

" May the longtime sun shine upon you , all love surround you , and the pure light within you , guide your way on. " Sat Nam. Haribol. Jaya !