My head is filled with World Cup Football fever. Spain's 1-0 win over the Netherlands was quite the triumph for the country, who had never played in a World Cup final before. I watched the game with Craig and my parents. I love watching soccer and it was great to see today's match along side my dad who is a former competitive soccer player and coach.
The game was so fast and so inspiring. The Spanish team was brilliant, but the Netherlands certainly put up a good fight. I am particularly taken by the thought of how hard both teams needed to work to get to this point in the tournament, and then how strong, determined and energetic they were until the end. I also enjoyed watching the victorious Spanish fans celebrate on the streets of Madrid (as seen on tv) and on St Laurent Street in Montreal as seen from our car window. This was not just a football win, but the opportunity to unite a fragile country that has experienced so many inter-cultural divisions. It's really wonderful that each province of Spain was represented on the team.
Of course, this is all paralleled in my thoughts about my 108x108 project that is still ongoing, but well on its way to being complete. I do feel as though I'm coming to the end of a tournament of sorts. I wasn't trying to beat anyone else, but I am constantly in the process of battling my own insecurities, my mental distractions, my boredom, my tensions, and my feelings of solitude. There are also the judgments and criticisms of other yogis to contend with, which mostly revolve around questions of my yogi-ness. Once I've overcome one thing, I'm on to the next personal challenge and so on. It's a never ending process, but it's getting easier, as though there are less and less opposing forces.
I know I will finish my 108 days, but I still want to see a few things happen as result. I still want to bring the yoga traditions together so that we can all celebrate the power of our practice as one united community while promoting our unique diversity. The concept of Surya Namaskar, is to honour the sun, the single greatest force we all experience on Planet Earth. This transcends most yoga traditions, just as the game of football or soccer does for the international community. I also want to elevate the status of the female yogi, who for centuries was not accepted on par with her male counterparts, nor was she allowed to follow traditional studies. Because of this, there is a lack of information on how women can use yoga to embrace their femininity and fertility. Now, women dominate the practice, at least in North America. I want to see more female Gurus and more female instructors teaching their female students how to understand their ever changing bodies and enjoy their natural cycles. I also want to see more yoga teachers practicing what they preach FOR REAL.
Yoga can change the world, quite literally, but we yoga teachers and students need to come together as ONE. We are a highly sophisticated community, privileged to the ancient wisdom of our practice and capable of changing the world with our social and environmental teachings of understanding, self-healing, and respect. If we fearlessly work in collaboration with one another, we will attract more students to the practice, make a descent living, and improve quality of life on a massive scale.
Amen & namaste.
The game was so fast and so inspiring. The Spanish team was brilliant, but the Netherlands certainly put up a good fight. I am particularly taken by the thought of how hard both teams needed to work to get to this point in the tournament, and then how strong, determined and energetic they were until the end. I also enjoyed watching the victorious Spanish fans celebrate on the streets of Madrid (as seen on tv) and on St Laurent Street in Montreal as seen from our car window. This was not just a football win, but the opportunity to unite a fragile country that has experienced so many inter-cultural divisions. It's really wonderful that each province of Spain was represented on the team.Of course, this is all paralleled in my thoughts about my 108x108 project that is still ongoing, but well on its way to being complete. I do feel as though I'm coming to the end of a tournament of sorts. I wasn't trying to beat anyone else, but I am constantly in the process of battling my own insecurities, my mental distractions, my boredom, my tensions, and my feelings of solitude. There are also the judgments and criticisms of other yogis to contend with, which mostly revolve around questions of my yogi-ness. Once I've overcome one thing, I'm on to the next personal challenge and so on. It's a never ending process, but it's getting easier, as though there are less and less opposing forces.
I know I will finish my 108 days, but I still want to see a few things happen as result. I still want to bring the yoga traditions together so that we can all celebrate the power of our practice as one united community while promoting our unique diversity. The concept of Surya Namaskar, is to honour the sun, the single greatest force we all experience on Planet Earth. This transcends most yoga traditions, just as the game of football or soccer does for the international community. I also want to elevate the status of the female yogi, who for centuries was not accepted on par with her male counterparts, nor was she allowed to follow traditional studies. Because of this, there is a lack of information on how women can use yoga to embrace their femininity and fertility. Now, women dominate the practice, at least in North America. I want to see more female Gurus and more female instructors teaching their female students how to understand their ever changing bodies and enjoy their natural cycles. I also want to see more yoga teachers practicing what they preach FOR REAL.
Yoga can change the world, quite literally, but we yoga teachers and students need to come together as ONE. We are a highly sophisticated community, privileged to the ancient wisdom of our practice and capable of changing the world with our social and environmental teachings of understanding, self-healing, and respect. If we fearlessly work in collaboration with one another, we will attract more students to the practice, make a descent living, and improve quality of life on a massive scale.
Amen & namaste.
(All photos were taken and processed by Craig Bannerman. The former in my parents' living room, the latter while driving up St Laurent after the game. And in the spirit of honesty, Craig, using the marvels of modern technology, enhanced the first image with shots of the game from press photos.)
