Eric23

I read it laughed out loud Thanks for bringing a chuckle to my day.

My condolences to your family. Here is a poem I found somewhere out there in cyberspace Give up the world; give up self; finally, give up God. Find god in rhododendrons and rocks, passers-by, your cat. Pare your beliefs, your absolutes. Make it simple; make it clean. No carry-on luggage allowed. Examine all you have with a loving and critical eye, then throw away some more. Repeat. Repeat. Keep this and only this: what your heart beats loudly for what feels heavy and full in your gut. There will only be one or two things you will keep, and they will fit lightly in your pocket. ~ Sheri Hostetler ~

I'm starting to realize very favorable results from pawanmuktasana sequences. These are a set of dynamic stretching movements for the extremities. Ankles, legs, hips, wrists, fingers and shoulders all get worked in a gentle way. From Bernie Clark's Yinsights "Pawan means wind, mukta means release, asana,of course, means pose or posture. Thus the pawnmuktasana sequences are designed to release the flow of energy, and remove any blockages that prevent its free flow in the body, or in the mind." I'm convinced that getting some movement and flexibility to the fingers, wrists, toes, feet and ankles is critical to an overall practice. I did several chair Kundalini yoga classes where we did these sequences as a warm up sitting down. Very invigorating and they certainly got the chi moving. One thing I learned from the chair classes is that you can get a lot of good work done sitting. Perfect for those who are battling injuries, have some very real physical limitations or just have a few minutes while sitting on a nice bench. edit: Here's a link on the YinYoga site.

It's been several years since reading The Book. Like Unmike, it was my first exposure to non-dual thinking. The Book was my first Alan Watt book and have picked up several others along the way. All have been very helpful.

A slightly different twist on the last bit from Hamill's translation: Return to simplicity. The uncarved block is made useful into tools. The sage employs these means. Therefore the enduring master carves, but never hacks.

I have noticed the pervasive demand that society has forced on me in terms of schedule and time. Not that I have mastered wu wei (not even close), but there is an urge to live more in concert with natural rhythms and not someone's forced clock driven schedule. Being unemployed and enjoying "semi retirement" has given me a little taste of working with my own internal clock. Must say it agrees with me, too bad it doesn't pay the bills.

They thought they were getting a laptop in that briefcase, instead they got TTC and a copy of Roberto Belano's Savage Detectives. It probably got ditched in an ally somewhere, hopefully someone picked through and got some use out of the books.

A day late, I just placed my order on Amazon for Hamill's (sp) translation. I really enjoyed the poetic quality. My original got stolen, just not overly satisfied with the Feng/English version I picked up as a substitute.

I'm just a couple of years older. From a practical point of view, I find that I just have to approach physical practice more gently. When I was doing ZZ, just couldn't get into the deep horse stance without seriously damaging my knees. Now that yin yoga is my primary practice I hardly ever do the more advanced options on the postures. Can't get there without setting myself back several weeks. However I don't view it as a hindrance, it just happens that's where I'm at these days. My focus is more on the stillness anyway. On a more general view of getting older, I really enjoy mid age. I'm a much better grandpa than a father. I like to think that my approach is more circumspect, don't just dive in without thinking. These days I measure three times before cutting. And the brain farts, well they feel pretty good

Good for you! Just remember this isn't a post-graduate, immersion learning track. It's a journey. Like any other journey within yourself, do a little something every day, stick with it and then one day there will be a breakthrough.

You're going to give up that easy? How about this instead? Make a commitment to read through the I Ching without doing any casting of coins. Just read it to understand the underlying wisdom of the work. I know there are more preferred translations out there, but Wu Wei's is easy to read in English and has some very good introductory chapters on how to use the I Ching. You may find it speaks to you at a very profound level. Then just work with it, continue reading and the next thing you know, it's been 10 years.

I bought it several years ago and finally decided it wasn't for me as a regular reading companion. It's definitely harder to read than some of the other translations out there. Some of the metaphors and terminology that are literally translated were not obvious and required referencing the notes. However, it is a scholarly approach and includes good notes and supporting text. Will be interested in your opinion. Picked up Hamill's translation after Henricks that I really enjoyed reading. Unfortunately it got stolen along with my briefcase. The thieves didn't get the notebook computer they were looking for, instead they got Lao Tzu and a copy of Roberto Belano's Savage Detectives (a great read btw).

Remember you are just starting After a week or so of practice you should have a good sense of the timing and you can quit counting. At that point following the sensation of air moving through your nostrils will help. You'll be surprised how thoughts will still creep in even when you are counting.

My yoga teacher taught us a very simple even breathing count that has worked well for me. Inhale for a count of 4, hold for a count of 2, exhale for a count of 4, hold for a count of 2, repeat. On the holds, just suspend breathing, it shouldn't require effort at all. The counting will give you something to come back to when the monkey mind starts acting up. Continue working with the sensation of air flowing through your nostrils. Once your breathing smooths out you could extend the holds to a count of 4. I agree that the space between the inhale and exhale is very profound and worth exploring.

I'm working my through The Yoga of Breath by Richard Rosen. In it he goes through a very good description of the spine itself. If you look carefully at the structure of the vertebrae, you will notice that the spinal cord itself is actually located much deeper in our torsos than we imagine.

Agree with Ulises on Daniel Odier. I learned a great deal from his books. He also wrote Tantric Quest, a nice intro in an easy to read format. There was a similar post in the Book sub-section and somebody recommended The Teacup and the Skullcup by Chogyam Trungpa. I'm getting a lot from it, however it's deep and probably not introduction material. He comes from a Tibetan buddhist/tantra linage. It seems as I seek stillness, these teachings are starting to resonate with more ah ha moments.

The moon was very bright here in the Desert. Reminds me a a poem by our old Taobum, Father Paul, now passed. The yellow moon Rests in My teacup

If you live in the Bay Area I would check out the Chi Nei Tsang institute in Oakland. http://www.chineitsang.com/cnti/Welcome.html I do a self-massage version of Chi Nei Tsang called Unwinding the Belly with very satisfactory results. I've read Gilles Marin's book and he has a very good grasp of both healing and qigong.

For almost my entire adult life I have been in the aerial photography/mapping business. I have a B.S.degree in Physical Geography, and took numerous courses in cartography and graphic arts. Shortly after getting out of school I took a job with a local mapping firm. I have done every phase of the process, almost always with a deadline. 40 hours a week, 31 years, tens of thousands of feet of film and a reputation within the industry as one of the best. Several years ago, the university called and needed someone to teach Air Photo Interpretation. I accepted the part time evening position and taught the course for 5 semesters. In preparing my notes and class presentation I learned that there was still much more to learn. It wasn't so much that I didn't know the information, it was getting what was intuitive and second nature into a presentable format. I also found that the students challenged me. Teaching will humble you, however the rewards are worth it.

Request sent on FB. Glad you're back.

For the legs and extremities, check out pawanmuktasana sequences. They do a wonderful job of opening up the ankles, wrists, elbows etc. The major meridians start at the toes or fingers and go from there. You'd be surprised at the "creaky ness" that could be lingering in those areas.

I've taken several Kundalini Yoga classes from a 3HO Yogi Bhajan center. Very yang, the first one injured my knees for a month or so (I am an old fart). I later started going to a chair class, developed for folks with injuries. Enjoyed the class, the teacher was a wonderful, mature woman who had been with the system for a long time. I took away some elements of the practice that are still with me today for which I am very grateful. Had I not lost my job that was located close to the ashram, I would have stuck around more. There is a fair amount of dogma associated with the 3HO version of Sikhism that I couldn't relate to that would have kept me from going in too deeply. Decided to stick with my Yin Yoga practice. The advice I've given to others asking the same question as you is to just find a yoga class nearby and get started. At the very least you'll learn the basics and how not to hurt yourself. Take what you've learned and start practicing at home between classes. Seeing that you live in Paris, there should be numerous yoga studios close by. Just do it.

This summer of unemployment gave me an opportunity to basically live in a continuous yoga retreat. I'm amazed how many people tell me how relaxed and happy I look. Of course I was fortunate to have a support system of my family that allowed me to take the time off. When a new job comes along and it's time to jump back in, hopefully the lessons will have been learned.

Thanks for the great link. Years ago I read Wayne Dwyer's Erroneous Zones. Saw where my thought processes were creating so much of my troubles.

Here's wishing all Tao Bums a cheerful Festivus In all sincerity, to all, may your holiday season be wonderful. Eric