It hurts to grow up!

By Rocio Morales

During the holiday season, I had opportunity to visit and spend time with the youngsters in the family. Many of them are teenagers or in their early twenties now. I like to talk to them because they are full of energy, hopes and aspirations. Interestingly at different times they mentioned in the conversation “I didn’t know it hurts when you grow up!” or “I didn’t expect life to be hard when you grow up!”

I understood exactly what they were trying to say. When you are young, you depend mostly of your parents and the decisions they take for you whether you have a Tiger mom or a more slacking parent, you will mostly do what they say because they say so and more importantly you will learn from their actions that will have a heavier weight on you than the pep talks. At teenagers years, you don’t have this idealized idea of your parents and usually the teens try to break free from them acting up and looking for options that would make them unique and different.
At the late teens kids stop fighting with the authority figures and start accepting them for being just humans; at this moment if they are aware they will be able to see glimpses of those adults and their impact in their life; something that can be quite disturbing.

I guess the hurting comes from the realization that you are the creator of your life, regardless of the baggage; you are the one taking decisions and watching the consequences unfold.

Sages of all times have tried to answer the question how to live fully?

Here are some points that might help to anyone awakening to the human experience:

a) Recognize that life is impermanent
b) Be aware of you baggage, sort it out and let go of what you don’t need
c) Be objective yet compassionate with others and yourself
d) Become aware of the contents of your mind and how it reacts to daily events.
e) Learn to control your emotions and think twice before acting
f) Be humble, mistakes are part of the human experience, the more you learn from them the easiest will be to avoid them in the future
g) Ask for help when you need it. You are not alone. There are many who have experienced the same as you and found ways to overcome the challenges
h) Find someone who will inspire you by his/her actions and integrity and commitment to be better and leave a better world
i) Learn from the foolish actions that you or others make
j) Attune to life everyday by looking at the sunrise, the trees, the kid trying to walk and all that inspires you and opens your heart

In Yoga the purpose of the human experience is to be aware of who we are in many levels of our psyche and open up to Reality. That is really the purpose behind the poses, and twists and turns. When the mind is resting it is easier to pay attention to the miracle of Life.

Ayurveda Day in Austin

During the first week of October, a small group of people interested in Ayurveda got together to celebrate the first Ayurveda Day in Austin.

AAPNA (Association of Ayurvedic Professionals of North America) has declared that the first Monday of every October each year will be "Ayurveda Day". Ayurveda Day falls on the eve of the birth celebrations of Dhanwantari. Lord Dhanwantari is the creator of Ayurveda.

AAPNA started as a discussion amongst a group of Ayurvedic Professionals back in 2003 and officially incorporated in December of 2007 as a non-profit 501(c)(6) corporation in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, USA.

Ayurveda is one of the world's oldest medical systems. Like Yoga, the origins are traced back to India. The maing goal of Ayurveda is to integrate and balance the body, mind, and spirit using hebs, massage and yoga.

Narender Pati organized the Ayurveda Day bringing a paned of experts in Ayurveda and Joytish (Indian Astrology) to discussed health in the US and how Ayurveda can become a support system to the US as complementary medicine.

Kerry Meath an Ayurveda practitioner and now a Master degree student of Public Health mentioned that 28% or Texas residents are obese and 30% overweight. Also 10% of the population in Texas has diabetes and only 45% of youth get regular physical exercise. In terms of cost to the society, the cost of obesity is 5.4 million dollars.

She thinks that Ayurveda principle of understanding the seasons and what to eat depending on each person's dosha (body's constitution) could help to iprove quality of life and health.

Renu Namjoshi a joytish practitioner mentioned that Ayurveda along with Indian astrology can help people recover from illnesses and keep their body in balance. She mentioned that in India, many of the important actitivies of a person are established after consulting the joytish astrologer.

Rocco Bruno mentioned simple tips to improve health like avoiding eating late, exercise frequently, the importance of fresh air and sun's exposure, and cultivation of love.

Though the attendance to this event was modest, they were deeply interested in the subject and eager to learn more about these two sciences that have endured thousands of years.

For more pictures from the event click here.

For more information about this and other Ayurveda events in the area contact Narender Pati at aumayurveda@yahoo.com or visit www.iwfusa.org

Can yoga by donation really work?

Last week was an interesting and exciting week of events.
I had a chance to meet with a group of teachers and students in a new yoga collective called Seva Yoga. Seva is a Sanskrit word that means, service a work that is offered to the Divine. Seva yoga is innovative because it is a complete donation based studio in Austin that wants to showcase all styles of yoga. Part of the proceeds go to a charity designated by the teacher. Here is the link to watch the interview they gave to Yoga Sanga Seva Yoga interview

There was also the Rise Event in Austin. Rise organized for third year a week of activities where they included more than 150 sessions where entrepreneurs share their experience all around Austin to other entrepreneurs. It was amazing to be with this people full of expectations, hard work and enthusiasm to make their ideas work. I took classes in building, dance studios, art studios and conference rooms. Rise is a free event for the participants.

As for events this week you will find:

Austin: If you practice Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, David Williams will be in town. There will be a workshop on how to balance the solar and lunar centers and how to recharge with Kundalini.

Dallas: There will a free Kriya Yoga introduction, a restorative yoga workshop and how to learn adjustments to help and support your partner. Also a workshop on yogabhyasa (persistent practice)

Houston: Shiva shakti book club, Meditation workshop and a Journey for peace.

San Antonio: Continues with Kundalini foundation series and iRest meditation.

New Baunfels: How to approach safely arm balance poses

Don't miss the multimedia section, every other week we are giving away books, DVDs and at the end of March 2 itunes-downloads for a 45 min. practice! Just enroll in our e-mail list for free. Your information won't be sold or share with anyone else.

Check our Calendar of events, and see how alive and committed is the Yoga Community in Texas!

Share the journey and Namaste!

Rocio Morales

Photo courtesy of Julia Land. Golden-cheeked Warbler. Click on the picture to see more pictures.