Words to Live (and Practice) By - Seane Corn

"The sign of an advanced practice is not strength or flexibility. It has everything to do with breath and intention.  If you're a beginner, and you find yourself in an advanced class, remember your sense of humor. Look around and learn. Breathe. How you react to a difficult situation might be a reflection of how you react to many things in your life..."

-Seane Corn at the New York Yoga Journal 2011 Conference 

Via HuffPo's Erica Heinz 

Click here to see a clip of Sean Corn in Miami Beach this past March 2011

Sunset at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health

I know - I've hardly been posting since arriving at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health. Here is a shot of the sunset yesterday down by the lake. The immersion has been pretty intense - 6:30 am to 9 pm with an hour for lunch and an hour and a half for dinner. Also, it's been nice to "unplug" from the cell phones and computers for a while.

We'll be here at Kripalu until Thursday and then we're off to Boston for the weekend before heading back to Miami. Plan to see some uploads in the next week to see all of the Kripalu/Dharma Mittra content.

In the meantime, you can enjoy this video. Love must have been in the air for the frogs here - they were singing like crazy last night. Namaste.

(Turn up volume if you don't hear the frogs.)

Bienvenido a Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health

Bienvenido a Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health

We arrived midday on Sunday to Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health - it was a bit of a journey getting here. After flying into New York and staying for a few days, we hopped the Peter Pan Bus to Lenox, where Kripalu had a shuttle waiting.

There are 22 people in the Dharma Yoga - Life of a Yogi, 200-hr Yoga Alliance RYT. We were surprised when we arrived on Sunday that Dharma Mittra won't be arriving to the program until this Thursday - until then we are taking classes from some of (what I'm guess are) his main devotees.

So far the program has been led by Kim Jeblick and Lorie Bebber. They are doing a great job getting everyone ready for Dharma's arrival. At first we were a little bummed he wouldn't be here until later in the week, but can completely see why he sends some of his students to do the dirty work to prep for his arrival. Tomorrow Adam Frei will be arriving and conducting most of the day's programs.

So far we've broken down the Dharma Level 1 sequence and taken a few higher-level classes (led by Kim and Lorie). We've gone over adjusting and assisting the first sequence and tomorrow will be the first "Master Practice" with Adam.

In the spirit of retreat, the cell phone and computer are off as much as possible (and pre-arrival we received very clear email with instructions not to take photos or video during any of the course - cell phone policies are strictly enforced here, which we have to admit is pretty nice). We'll try to post mid-retreat with some photos and possibly some video. Namaste.

Namaste New York!

Namaste New York! We arrived to NYC late Friday night/early Saturday morning and cabbed it straight to the apartment we were staying at.

Saturday was spent strolling through Central Park and The Metropolitan Museum of Art (see slide show below for some shots of the day).

Last night we had an AMAZING dinner at Amma - even though the place was packed we got in right away and sat at one of the best tables in the house. We barely made it through the whole tasting menu to the. best. desserts we have ever tasted. HIGHLY recommend Amma.

Now, we're sitting on the Peter Pan Bus en route to Kripalu Center for a 10-day Life of a Yogi immersion with Dharma Mittra.

Ghandi Was Gay? You Learn Something New Everyday

Just came across an interesting post at Elephant Journal via Gawker and Wall Street Journal, regarding Mahatma Ghandi and his sexuality (two things I thought would never cross paths in my mind).

According to the articles, Ghandi was in love with a German body builder named Hermann (via WSJ):

"... because the love of his life was a German-Jewish architect and bodybuilder, Hermann Kallenbach, for whom Gandhi left his wife in 1908. "Your portrait (the only one) stands on my mantelpiece in my bedroom," he wrote to Kallenbach. "The mantelpiece is opposite to the bed."

Here is a picture of the happy couple (via Wikipedia):

H2cOconut: Is Coconut Water Good for You?

Agua de Coco - Straight from the source.

I've always wondered about coconut water. It's a little too hyped for me to totally jump on board and when I saw that my (former) favorite brand of coconut water, Zico, was backed by Coca-Cola, Inc. it really left a really bad taste in my mouth.

So, I started doing a little research and found out right away that I wasn't the only one asking this question.

Time Magazine touts coconut water as "Nature's Hangover Cure".

I have a lot of experience in attempting to cure hangovers, and I have to agree. It IS a delicious way to help cure a hangover.

Not everyone agrees - Inc. Magazine describes the taste as "sock water". (They were talking about Vita Coco, and I have to agree there. Vita Coco is my least favorite brand). Good Morning America has a nice exposé on the liquid gold (it's a multi-million dollar industry) pouring out of young coconuts.

Huffington Post (who recently sold out to AOL for $315mil)  asks the question "Coconut Water: Myth or Miracle?" and raises a question I've asked myself:

"At $2-3 for a typical 11 fl. ounce tetra pack (equivalent to about 10 sips), is it really worth paying top dollar for, well, top water?"

All of this brings me back to a small, hot yoga studio in Philadelphia. (I am going somewhere with this, I promise). I was there last year for a wedding and I picked up the studio's brand, Real Coconut Water/Pulp from Taste Nirvana. Upon popping open the cap and taking a chug, I did indeed taste Nirvana. As I entered the gates of coconut water heaven, I knew I found my brand. Sold.

The only place I've been able to find the Taste Nirvana brand is in Apple A Day Market in Miami Beach (why are they so mean there?). I buy it by the case and it's totally worth it.

Update** Ewww - on a related note, we just received a tip that O.N.E. Coconut water is being recalled due to mold.