October Student Profile

Name: Michael Duffy
Age: 64
Occupation: Freelance editor, writer, media adviser

How long have you done yoga?
I started in late 2002, so to my surprise it’s seven years already.

What keeps you coming back to dys?
The place and the people: it is a quietly welcoming space which is an oasis of peace where you leave the day’s pressures behind and can truly focus on your practice; and the teachers are human beings who are continually developing their skills, who have high expectations of themselves and their students and who take you as far as you can go with incredible support and insight.

In what way has yoga affected your life?
It has played a significant role in improving my health and sense of well being. Over the years I’ve felt better and fitter for practicing yoga. But I have been plagued with high blood pressure for about 10 years and medication wasn’t working. I went to the therapy classes and learned a sequence of asanas for class (I try to do two a week – one regular class and one for my BP sequence) and a home sequence and my blood pressure has dropped to the point where I am consistently record readings that are well within acceptable limits. Through this I have discovered something Carole says in class: if you practice more than a couple of times a week regularly, you will feel better. And I do.

What is your greatest yoga challenge?
Keeping my focus.

Yoga in the West

http://www.findyoga.com.au/2009/03/yoga-in-west.html

Friends in Far Places

In early June Carole and I travelled to Jakarta to do a 2 day workshop. It was a quick trip for me with only 4 days away, so I left late on Sunday evening and flew to Denpasar to meet Carole and Rubiana who is one of our Bali friends.
It was great to see Rubiana again as I haven’t seen her since she was here visiting last year and we had plenty of time to catch up, our flight to Jakarta was delayed so we spent until 2.30am sitting and chatting in the airport. As the time passed we started to become a little anxious though realising our valuable sleep time before the workshop was whittling away. The workshop was due to start somewhere in Jakarta at 9.30am.
In keeping with a good travelling story, we arrived in Jakarta at 3.30am and then to find the hotel. Our driver sent by Riana the lovely teacher hosting the workshop took us to the area but then alas we could not find the hotel. Being my first trip to Jakarta it was interesting for me to see it at this hour. It was quiet with only a few people on the street cleaning, sweeping, taxi drivers chatting and only the occasional other car not at all what I had expected.
After several stops for directions we finally found our hotel and checked in… ughh it was very poor standard and smelt so bad of stale cigarettes and musty carpets. By now it was 5am and after several room changes looking for the elusive better room, well one where the door would close and the toilet worked anyway, we lay down for a few hours sleep.
Around 8am we checked out and headed for the yoga workshop, senior Iyengar teacher Faeq Biria was teaching I was so excited to be able to experience this and so close to home too. We arrived at the workshop with our bags in tow and one of the first people I met was Julia McDonald and her friend Nicole both expats living in Jakarta for many years. Julia when hearing of our story very generously offered to have us stay with her and from then everything changed. Staying with Julia and her family was very special and I felt blessed to be there.
We were embraced by not only Julia and Nicole but all the other students at the workshop. They had come from all over Indonesia for this special event and one of the first I met was Mariana from Sumatra we partnered together over the next few days and though her spoken English was a bit limited her love and dedication to yoga was clear.  I think the second thing she said to me after her name was that she just loved yoga so much. Over the two days the workshop was intense but my overall impression was one of unity and dedication from all these practitioners coming together to share in the practice and to honour Guruji’s teachings. Faeq’s antidotes and stories kept us laughing and as a group we came together regardless of our home country, language or background. The world seemed a much smaller place joined by the strong threads of friendship yoga creates. I met some wonderful people there and made some fabulous new friends. I cant wait to go again.

A Mt Bundy Experience

The day finally arrived after weeks of anticipation. The Mt Bundy retreat! I promised myself that I would finish work and get there early but I ended up running late as usual. The overflowing in-tray full of urgent jobs weighed heavily on my mind as I headed out the door and hit the road to Mt Bundy. I willed myself to let go and partly succeeded. I was eager to have a weekend of calm and contemplation instead of the usual chaos. I had read the program but wasn’t sure what the retreat was REALLY going to be like. My first thought was ‘Only two meals a day! I’ll starve.’ I was also concerned at the idea of trying to still my unquiet mind in regular bouts of meditation. Could I do it or would it be just too hard? There was only one way to find out.

I drove into Mt Bundy on Friday afternoon, excited but with an underlying sense of trepidation. This feeling receded with the warm welcome I received. Hands were willingly offered to help with the unpacking of the car and soon I joined the small group for our own yoga practice on the enclosed veranda overlooking the tranquil pond. This is where the anxiety levels rose again. What were we supposed to do? Carole was leaving us to do our own thing. “I’ll follow you”, said the woman next to me. Right….and I’ll look at the person on the other side of me!

This was the beginning of a journey into developing our own practice, finding out what we already knew and building a deeper understanding about the asanas, as well as delving into mediation and the bigger ‘yoga’ picture. It was also a weekend spent in the company of interesting people, of good food and conversation as well as time out with a book or in the pool for a swim. It was time away from ‘real life’, surrounded by what was supposed to be peace and quiet, but which was often gabbling geese and horses whinnying at the door.

For me the highlights of the weekend included an opportunity to try out some of the yoga props I hadn’t encountered in class as well as building a deeper knowledge of some of the yoga postures. I came away refreshed, calmer and ‘radiant’ (in the words of a colleague the next day), despite the aching muscles from an intensity of yoga practice I hadn’t experienced before. All in all, it was an enjoyable and illuminating few days.

Guruji’s Birthday Celebrations

What can you say about our visit to Guruji’s birthday celebrations in Pune last December , other than it was a profound experience for all of us? Looking back on the photos I took during my first ever time in India (hundreds!) I have very strong memories of Pune and then Auroville, where I went later. One day we went to the Ramamami Iyengar Memorial Centre for one of the feature events of the celebrations – a lecture by Geetaji on the Bhagavad-Gita, one of a series she does for her students. Her exploration of the dense text put meaning into our experience of the discipline and a very simple message came through: it doesn’t matter particularly why you do yoga because its real meaning comes to you as you practice and reflect on your practice. Towards the end of the 90 minute lecture I became aware of some kids outside in animated conversation with an adult, who was obviously enjoying their company. It was Guruji and his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, all come to Pune for the celebrations like the rest of us.

As people came out of the lecture, there he was in a chair in the shade. I took this picture as people queued to kneel at his feet for a blessing, which he freely and humbly gave. The second picture is Carole, Leisa and I outside our hotel on Pune before heading off in yet another noisy smelly motor rickshaw to the big birthday dinner, which was attended by more than two thousand people. It was the highlight of a week of celebrations, which included the Leap of Faith DVD launch, an exhibition of art work reflecting Guruji’s life as seen by his students, a bansura (Indian flute) concert by Pandit Chaurasia and a yoga display by schoolchildren from Mumbai. Carole and Leisa continued with the Mysore-Bengalura leg of the celebrations, which included a visit to Guruji’s home village of Bellur. I sought some quiet time at the eastern costal community of Auroville, founded on the teachings of Sri Aurobindo. One of my closest friends from school days in England ended up there in the early 1970s and designed and built some of the earliest buildings to be erected there. The community is founded on principles of cooperation, non-competitiveness and living in harmony with the social and physical environment. With these principles in mind, what was an eroded wasteland has been turned into lush tropical forest and bountiful market gardens. My daily breakfast there was local organically-grown fruit and fresh-baked bread with home-made cumquat marmalade.

Ayurveda for Self Healing

This discussion is dedicated to Ayurveda! A place to share your experiences of it, recipes and thoughts.

And the recipe we have all been waiting for Martins Chickpea Chocolate Cake.

2 cups cooked chickpeas.
5 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 orange
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/4 teaspoon bicarb
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup walnuts
1/2 cup cocoa
1 cup dark cooking chocolate,grated.

Get the zest of one orange.
juice the rest of the fruit.
In a blender  blend eggs first then chickpeas.
Add the juice.
Blend again until very smooth.
Add sugar, cocoa, bicarb baking powder, vanilla and chocolate.
Blend again.
Mix walnuts carefully into the mixture and the orange zest.
Poor in a round ,greased baking tin .
Bless your cake.

bake in a preheated oven at 175 C.(160 C in a fan forced oven )for one hour.
test with a knife . If the knife comes out clean it is done. If not bake longer.
This is a very moist cake so it can take up to 1 1/2 hours depending on oven and baking dish.
Cool the cake in a fridge completly down before cutting.

ENJOY