Amazing Women – Barbara G.

Barbara G.

Barbara, one of my students, passed away a few weeks ago after a brief illness at age 88. I only knew her from exercise classes and as a gifted painter.  But others told me about the rest of her amazing life.

Barbara  was a veteran of WWII having served as a Sergeant in the US Marine Corps in their MAPS Division.

She was Chief technical illustrator for the Marine Technology Section of a major consulting company where among other projects she was involved in project TRIDENT for the U.S. Navy where she was responsible for all illustrations for technological reports which included antisubmarine warfare,sonar technology and oceanography. She was also involved with illustrations for the Lunar drill used during the Apollo moon landing.

Amazing Women: Tao Porchon Lynch

Tao Porchon-Lynch

Deepak Chopra used three words to describe 93-year-old yoga master Tao Porchon-Lynch: Satyam (truth), Shivam (goodness), and Sundaram (beauty). The Johnson & Johnson Health Channel features her in a new video.

Other YouTube videos include an interview about her life and philosophy, her 93rd birthday party and book signing, a panel discussion (including the Dalai Lama), and dancing the tango.

Her new book, Reflections The Yogic Journey of Life, is available on Amazon.com.

Yoga Terminology

Reposted from headfirstyoga.com
Friday, May 28, 2010

Most people who are interested in Yoga, sometimes find the terminologies used in describing the poses or the names of the poses confusing. The reason being, most of the words have their origin in Sanskrit, one of the oldest languages. If you do not belong to India and not able to follow the names of the poses, despair not, you are not alone, most people in India will also have difficulty in understanding the meanings.

I’m here to explain: some of the words and terminologies which are commonly used in Yoga. Once you understand the meaning of the words you would related to the pose more easily and would be able to remember the pose by its Sanskrit name. Remember that this is by no means an exhaustive list, but I am trying to include the words which are more commonly encountered.

1. Words used regarding the body parts

Hasta : Hand
Pada : Foot
Urdhava : Upward
Adho : Downward
Mukha : Mouth
Nadi : Nerve(s)
Angushta: Finger or toe
Janu : Knee
Sirsa : Head
Bhuja : Arm
Parsva : Back

2. Words related to Animals

Svan : Dog
Shashanka : Rabbit
Marjara : Cat
Simha : Lion
Mayur : Peacock
Baka : Crane
Kurma : Turtle
Makar : Crocodile
Bheka : Frog
Garuda : Eagle
Ushtra : Camel
Bhujanga : Snake
Sarpa : Snake
Shalbha : Locust
Go : Cow

3. Words related to Objects and Action

Padma : Lotus
Trikon : Triangle
Mala : Garland
Setu : Bridge
Nav : Boat
Salamba : Supported
Niralamba : Unsupported
Prasarita : Stretched or extended
Hala : Plough
Vira : Brave or Warrior
Tada : A type of Palm tree
Parvat : Mountain
Vriksha : Tree
Dhanur : Bow
Surya : Sun
Chandra : Moon
Ardh : Half
Purna : Full
Namaskar : Salutation with palms joined
Pranam : Respectful Salutation

Here is a additional list suggested by various people in comments. Thanks all for your suggestions:

Suggestions by Mike Fabro

Utthita : Extended
Sava : Corpse
Parivṛtta : Revolved
Supta : Supine or Reclining

As you can see from the above list, the poses in yoga are inspired by what is available in nature. Ancient yogis observed the nature closely and adopted the beneficial poses from various sources.

Most of the poses are named by adding the word Asana to the object or animal. For example Halasana means plough pose.

Sometime two or three words are joined together to form the name of the pose. As example look at the following : Adhomukha Svanasa = (Adho + Mukha) (Svana + Asana) => If you look at these word above you can derive like : (Adho + Mukha) (Svana + Asana) =>(Downward + Facing) (Dog + Pose), thus the meaning of this pose is Downward Facing Dog Pose. Now if you look at the pose you can related it with the object or animal it is associated with.

You can try out various combination and discover meaning of the various pose and gain new insight. Next time you hear a new name of a pose, I suggest that you try to break the name into smaller chunks and discover the meaning as well. Once you start doing this you find make your Yoga session even more fun.

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On my way to a yoga class last week, I caught a few minutes of an interview with Jane Fonda on the Diane Rehm Show (from WAMU).

In the interview, they discuss Fonda’s new book, Prime Time: Love, health, sex, fitness, friendship, spirit–making the most of all of your life.

To hear the complete interview or read the transcript go to» http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2011-08-11/jane-fonda-prime-time

REHM: But it does seem to me that for a great many people, getting older is tough. There are illnesses. There are problems with family. There is loss of a job. There’s lack of money. People have tons of problems to get through. But you have lots of advantages. You’re healthy. You’re athletic. You’ve kept your body strong. You’ve kept your mind going and you’ve got plenty of money.

FONDA: Let me say two things about that, Diane. That is all true and yet there’s been studies done. There was one, a very large study done of 350,000 Americans from very young age to very old age and what it showed is that most people over 50 tend to be happier, less hostile, less stressed, less anxious. The scientists don’t entirely understand why, but they postulate certain things that make sense to me.

 

 
Fonda also uses a metaphor from Mary Catherine Bateson’s recent book Composing a Further Life: The Age of Active Wisdom. “We have not added decades to life expectancy by simply extending old age; instead, we have opened up a new space partway through the life course, a second and different kind of adulthood that precedes old age, and as a result every stage of life is undergoing change.”

The Sacred Cow Blog

By Karen Macklin on July 16th, 2011

We practice yoga and meditation for many reasons, one of which is to let go of our attachments to emotions, relationships, and habitual patterns and addictions. But what if we start to develop an attachment to our practice? And how do we know if it’s an attachment—or if it’s discipline?

Read More on Pranamaya’s The Sacred Cow Blog »»

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While looking online for some information on Mindfulness Meditation, I came across the video of a wonderful 2005 lecture by Jon Kabat-Zinn that I wanted to share.

Renowned mindfulness meditation teacher and best-selling author Jon Kabat-Zinn speaks at UCSD Medical Center in 2005 on the topic of “Coming to Our Senses”, which is also the name of his book, subtitled “Healing Ourselves and the World Through Mindfulness”. A pioneer in the application of ancient Buddhist practices to healing in modern medical settings, Kabat-Zinn expounds upon the value of “resting in awareness” not only to facilitate clarity in ourselves, but also as a means of relating to and healing the “dis-ease” in politics, society and the world.

First Aired on UCSD Television: 4/28/2005

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 Reprinted from HHS Healthbeat (August 1, 2011)

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A study indicates yoga can ease stress in women getting radiation treatment for breast cancer.

At the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Lorenzo Cohen saw this in women who did yoga or stretching. He says the stretching group reported feeling less tired, but the yoga group got this plus less stress and lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

Dr. Cohen says it’s best to do yoga regularly:

“It’s constantly exposing yourself to the positive benefits and the relaxation that we feel after a mind-body practice that can be quite useful.’’

The study presented at a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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The question comes up regularly – in classes and in the media. Is yoga a religion? Is yoga Hindu?

Swami Nirmalananda, the founder of Svaroopa® yoga, recently posted a blog entry which may help answer that question.

“… there’s a lot of difference between Hinduism and yoga, which is completely dependent on your purpose:  if you are practicing it (yoga or Hinduism) for the purpose of being prettier, younger, stronger, healthier, happier, wealthier, smarter, etc – it’s religion, or worse – just another way of trying to manipulate your body and your life.  If you are practicing it (yoga or Hinduism) for the purpose of knowing Truth / God / Reality within yourself, it’s yoga.”

“… at the same time there is very little difference between yoga and Hinduism.  They use common terminology (Sanskrit terms), are based in shared texts, are looking at the same realities, and have the same foundational understanding…”

Read Swamiji’s complete commentary on the Svaroopa® Vidya Ashram blog»

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A small yet growing body of research suggests that a slower, more thoughtful way of eating could help with weight problems and maybe steer some people away from processed food and unhealthy choices.

This alternative approach has been dubbed “mindful eating.” It’s based on the Buddhist concept of mindfulness, which involves being fully aware of what is happening within and around you at the moment.

Read the article Mindful eating may help with weight loss – Harvard Health Publications.»

Clearing

The most popular posts on this blog was Spring Cleaning — 50 Things to Throw Out. If you loved that post, I have a poem that you may love as well.

I picked it a few months ago for my meditation reading for the week’s yoga classes. And by some quirk of the universe, several friends and several students that week mentioned their need to clear out things that were no longer needed, to clean closets, to reorganize their lives.

There is a logic to clearing drawers
throwing out papers, used and forgotten.

There is a reason to clear desks and files
putting aside what has already given of itself;

There is a purpose, there is a logic
there is a reason for everything…

We clear out minds, our hearts, our souls
we give ourselves a chance to start again
we accept the unacceptables
cast aside the imponderables
it is good business, it is life and it is growth.

The poem titled “Clearing” is by Barbara Paul-Emile and appears in her book The Dance of Life – Poems for the Spirit. The book was a serendipitous find at the Library books sale.