Anemia - Week 15 "Guruji's reminder: be more like birdies"

The weekend was great-I was ready to brace the cold weather (20s and lower) in PA and do some cross country skiing on the frozen lake. To prepare myself, I did some Dien Cham followed by gentle yoga using ujai breath which heated my body from the inside; I did not want the slightest cold to have a chance this time, thus dressed in layers and took it easy once on the skis.  Inhaling through the nose which warmed the air kept kept me from getting any cold air into my lungs, which I also wanted to avoid at all costs.  This meant I could not do any sprints which I sometimes do to challenge myself a bit; over exerting means opening the mouth to get extra air.  
By the end of the weekend after having skied twice for about an hour - the third day, we just explored the lake by foot - I felt very fit, healthy, and rejuvenated. 

The week was a bit hectic but I had time to do my protocol once a day, I dropped the cough protocol but continued to use the others to keep strengthening my immune system.  

Hearty but healthy soups, lots of teas are still staples. 

I have been trying to go to bed earlier (11pm is ideal) but it has been challenging. I was reminded to keep trying at a lecture I went to at the Angel Orensanz Foundation (http://www.orensanz.org/foundation.html, a synagogue built in 1847 which was turned into a cultural center in 1992.  



Can you imagine the energy? It is an amazing space to be in and I was looking forward to being there.  The evening began with a Kundalini yoga class taught by Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa, owner of Golden Bridge Yoga.  I found it very challenging, but intriguing, this was my second Kundalini class.  

Swami Chidanand Saraswati is the founder of India Heritage Research Foundation.  My friend D. invited me to go and I invited R.  I do not think I have ever heard of Swami Chidanand Saraswati  before.  It is an amazing experience to be in the presence of very spiritual human beings (I experienced the Dalai Lama from afar in Central Park)- hearing their voices, the soft gestures, and the shine and twinkle in their eyes if you are lucky to be close enough as we were this time.  And the messages are often very clear and simple but come to life seasoned by a dose of their personality and are reminders about what we innately know already.   

His message on how to be happy, healthy and holy was to follow Dr. Diet, Dr. Quiet, Dr. Laughter, Dr. Sunshine (instead of indulging in pill popping as we tend to do in the West), to be more like "birdies"; they get enough rest, they don't get sick, and they are happy; they are up at sunrise. (I was thinking of my mother; she goes to bed with the chickens as we used to say - my family made quite a bit fun of her, I often think about it these days as I try to go to bed earlier.)  Naturally, it is easier to be on birdies/chicken schedule if you do not live in a city that never sleeps.  However, my reflexology teacher managed to do it.

The message was clear, be more in tune with nature. Another one was, say you are happy (that is what we all want and all the advertising is about selling happiness - even in form of a soap) and you will be much happier despite the ups and downs of life's ocean waves, anchoring the vessel you are in that's being tossed sans end by the waves.  Thank you for the reminder.

While Dien Cham, a yoga practice, exercise, etc. etc. do support us, 1 hour, 2 hours of good habits are not enough, the day after all has 24 hours and our birthright is to be happy, guruji (sanskrit for guru) stressed. "Getting ourselves set" just like everything else (the closets, the drawers, the kitchen etc.) is the key - pizza is okay, but not the entire dough, guruji said literally.  Obviously, he had a great sense of humor and on the way out we and others kept listing the four doctors as to not forget, but of course it is all ingrained in our genes.  But just in case my genes do no communicate with me, here it is in writing.  Let's be more like birdies and spend the evening more at home with our "honeys".