Some Greens, a Packet of Chocolate Biscuits, and Me

29 March , 2010. Denise Ferguson

There are lemons, kiwifruit and organic apples in the fruit bowl. The staples are stocked in the cupboards; whole grains, lentils and cold pressed olive oil. The fridge crisper drawer is filled with green leafy and bright coloured veg and a slab of salmon is on the top shelf just waiting to be cooked. Of course there are tomatoes, rocket, and various herbs growing in the garden outside. Everyone needs their vices, so there is ground coffee, creamy bleu brie and parmesan cheese in the fridge, some red wine on the bench-top and a chunk of chocolate ready to be opened at whim.

We know that yoga isn’t the only way to stay healthy and diet is a multi-million dollar industry. I strive to use food as my medicine, health regime and source of pleasure and I enjoy discovering which foods of health are the ones that I love. I believe that we can enjoy food more by introducing delicious foods into our diet that can aid our health, rather than eradicate all the foods that are said to be of detriment. The foods I do not eat are the ones I don’t like the taste or texture of, are too processed (eww), or anything (except fish) that used to have a face. I eat many healthy foods and that only leaves a little room for the treats that I don’t want to live without. I enjoy them in moderation whenever I feel the need and on occasion throw caution to the wind and forget about moderation too. I’m no stranger to extended sittings with a packet of chocolate biscuits. Bah, so what... I believe toxic thoughts of guilt are much worse than the act of indulgence itself.

I’m not suggesting you add over-eating to your health regime, but our bodies are designed to eliminate the waste and toxins from foods which are not of benefit to us. If we are healthy and we don’t overdo it, they will be eliminated naturally. It is only when we consistently overload our body with the wrong foods, load it with guilt when we eat them, or deny it of the good ones that it will become an issue. Eat up! Food is one of the greatest health remedies known to man.

An Ayurveda Winter

23 March , 2010. Denise Ferguson

Brrrrr, summer is over and I’m starting to hunker down in preparation for winter. In terms of Ayurveda, as the seasons change, so do we and small lifestyle adjustments can be made to make the winter a pleasurable experience.

I recall one of the colder days I have experienced. It was 20 F below (about 30 C below) and I was walking home from yoga through downtown Denver. It was cooooold and everything was frozen. When I arrived home feeling like a little snowflake, I cursed the beautiful picture windows looking out onto the CBD. They were letting the wind whistle through them as the aged central heating churned out a concerted and flailing effort to keep the old loft warm. No matter how new the refurbished pad was on the inside, on the chillier days the real age of the building was apparent. On this day it was rather breezy in the Denver apartment, however without the howling wind it was usually quite snug and winters in the Rockies were about just that, being warm. We’d eat oatmeal, soups and curries to warm ourselves from the inside out and we’d spend evenings in with hot tea or smooth red wine. We’d bundle up and walk through the snowy Aspen streets all cosy under our layers, and hike through the mountains in fur boots.

You can take the girl out of New Zealand but you cannot take New Zealand out of the girl and it took me a wee while to learn how to adjust to the cold. The first snowfall I got caught in jandals and socks (don’t ask) and ended up with near frostbite on my feet. I dug the car out of the snow one morning and poured water over the windscreen to melt the ice only to have it instantly freeze in a thicker blanket of frost and I once stopped traffic (but not in a good way) by slipping over in front of a bus on Main Street after trying to run on ice in high heeled boots. I learned later that’s called ice skating and you go to an ice rink for that.

Even though it is much warmer in NZ, I still like to honour the seasons and compliment my Yoga lifestyle with Yoga’s sister, Ayurveda. I don’t hibernate like the bears in Aspen, but I do adjust. I exercise to keep the endorphins pumping and stave off any depressed winter slump. I eat warmer, stodgier, yummier foods. I drink richer teas, milkier drinks and heavier wine. I still go out, but I put myself under warm warm faux fur lined coats and boots and when I’m indoors, the house is warm. Winter is about indulgence, but not about letting go of discipline and routine and life ticks on as usual. Oops gotta go, the man is here to install the new heat pump.

Top of the Morning to yer, Saint Patrick

17 March , 2010. Denise Ferguson

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! If you choose to celebrate the St. Patrick’s tradition and rush off to the pub this evening, you may borrow my late Irish grandfather’s saying. “Run, run, and if ya faal over don’t stap to pick yerrself up”. Nana’s Catholic rosary, Grandpa’s love of beer (in my case it’s wine), pale skin and an Irish foreign birth certificate are really the only parts of me that feel very Irish, and I wonder if Irish tradition and Yoga tradition could be set any further apart. As it happens tradition is tradition and no matter what our roots, I believe it can add meaning to life. It is the ritual in my day that keeps me grounded and centred and places blessedness in simplicity. My posse of ‘girls’ whom I have known since childhood have just reintroduced our monthly tradition of getting together under the responsibility of one woman of the group each month. This ritual is about finding sanctity in a friendship that has spanned about 25 years. Weekly, on a Tuesday morning I pay the bills and invoices due and during this ritual I feel gratitude for the money I have to pay them, and the services which are provided for me and the Yoga Sanctuary. My daily morning ritual is a time for contemplation, appreciation and the drinking of good coffee. Placing importance on the simple things in life is finding elegance in every moment and helps me stay present and real. My small daily, weekly and monthly rituals and traditions anchor me at all times in a state of Yoga, finding the sacredness in life.

May the saddest day of the future be no worse....

Than the happiest day of your past.

An Irish Blessing

Yoga - Religious?

4 March , 2010. Denise Ferguson

I had a discussion at dinner the other night about religion. I mentioned that Easter eggs had appeared in the shops, and that if they are traditionally meant to be eaten after Easter, and if chocolate is perishable (and meltable), then isn’t it too early? We then discussed the notion of religion becoming obsolete and how it has received a bad reputation over the years. My dinner partner suggested that there may be a slight rejection of religion now and although some are balking at it, it will probably settle down and take on a new meaning. Could it be possible one day to have our own individual religious beliefs? Discussions on whether yoga is a religion can be delicate. I have heard people say that yoga is their ‘religion’. I’m no religious expert, but I understand it to be not about the belief of an individual, but about devotion to a group who subscribe to the same beliefs, usually involving worship of a deity, or leader. Yoga officially is not a religion because you can hold any religious belief and still practice, however it does involve philosophical and spiritual teachings and sometimes devotion and worship. So is yoga a religion? In today’s sense of the word, it is not.

I recall a time I assured a Catholic woman that she could hold her beliefs and still practice yoga. I said we may put our palms together at our heart’s centre but if she didn’t want to, she didn’t have to. She was a bit nervous and I encouraged her to try it and see for herself. She came to class that evening. Midway through the class a chant by Krishna Das came onto my MP3 player. ‘Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Krishna’ are the only words on the entire track. Oh dear. She asked me to turn off the music. I obliged. She never came back.

I felt disappointed that she didn’t feel comfortable and I certainly hadn’t intended for that particular track to come on but I realised that it just wasn’t her time. People of many religions and cultures practice yoga and either enjoy the spiritual teachings, or let them go. Perhaps it is the absence of the worship of a single deity that separates it from religion. The meaning of religion according to the Merriam Webster online dictionary is this: a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardour and faith. Perhaps it is because you can practice yoga and not have faith in the spiritual teachings that makes it a non-religious practice. What if you do have faith in the philosophy? I do. Is yoga my religion then? I do not think of it that way, but I wonder if one day religion will take on a new meaning. I do know this; yoga is about having faith in oneself. I like that.

Dancing like a white girl

1 March , 2010. Denise Ferguson

I have a friend who tells me that I dance like a white girl. ‘I’m white’, I quite dryly reply. When I bust out my crumping routine in an effort to show that I can in fact dance, he very kindly repeats that I dance, and try to crump like a white girl. My girlfriend (who is also white) has more rhythm than Beyonce and she doesn’t get the same comments from our friend.  She is however equipped with a J -Lo booty so I think it might be something to do with that.   She tried to teach me how to crump on Friday night, however mid crump I began to get stares from the other people on the dance floor and....... well it became embarrassing. Someone pointed out a mirror for me to look in – I think they thought that if I saw how bad I looked, I’d put everyone else out of their misery. I ended up reverting to the ‘step to the left then step to the right’ routine after being put in my place by my friends and laughed at by total strangers.

The very next morning I was invited to attend a special yoga class by a guest teacher named Mark Whitwell. It was a beautiful dance like Vinyasa Yoga class with emphasis on the pranayama technique of Vinyasa and Ashtanga yoga called Ujjay (oo jay ee) breathing. For the entire class I was in the zone. I didn’t see or feel anyone around me as I breathed and moved almost continuously through yoga poses in a dance like fashion. After class the teacher told me I was ‘very good’. Yee ha! Mama got her rhythm back! I did however feel very humble in the presence of such a great teacher. I think I stammered when he asked me for my name.

I feel confident practicing and teaching yoga, and in many other things I do but I always remain a humble and hungry student. I am also humble knowing that I'll never have all of the answers, and some things I may never be good at. I find that the combination of confidence and humility is a good one. It helps me to rest in a powerful place, without feeling the need to be or do it all or to prove anything to anyone (including myself).