Friends

I love that so many of my friends are finding their creative energy. This is the invitation a friend designed for his birthday bash, which I thought was pretty impressive. 

The theme is the Rocky Sound of Oz Fever. Yes its fancy dress and there is so much choice with characters from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Sound of Music, The Wizard of Oz or Saturday Night Fever.  Simply something for everyone!

Downtime

I’ve just been through the inconvenience of losing my telephone and internet connection.  Its really quite silly and interesting how we are now a society who relies so heavily on cyberspace, especially since I remember the latest in modern technology was a clunky rotary dial phone fixed to your kitchen wall. Message bank and mobile phones were unheard of; you just called back later.

Everything has sped up creating bigger and faster downloads, wireless connections and handheld devices that do it all. Since I started studying again, I made the decision to connect with the biggest monopoly in the telecommunications market, purely for reliability.  Many a time I have logged on at midnight or 5am in a desperate bid to squeeze in a bit more research for my latest paper. I didn’t and don’t want to have to waste time with ‘busy’ periods and being booted out of the system.  But I think that in our busy, bigger and faster world that these days are now gone.  So many more services are available, many of them quite reliable and considerably cheaper.

When I reported the fault with my provider there had been some strong winds so I assumed this was the cause for losing my connection. Perhaps it was the reason but there was never any definitive answer or logical explanation given.  Additionally, I had to wait 24 hours before a technician would even take a look at it and I was promptly told that if the error was due to a hardware fault I would be charged a fee. The customer service was, not surprisingly, lacking. Ok, it wasn’t dire circumstances. I do have a paper due next week and I am currently two weeks behind my course work.  My problem – granted, but I do expect to have a reliable connection so that I can get on with it, at least thats what I pay for. 

The whole experience was quite frustrating. I became irritable, annoyed and lost my patience. I disliked the way I had become so reliant on modern technology and the way this experience made me feel. The reality is that this is how we live, these are the ways of modern society and technology in the twenty first century. If we don't keep up we just get left behind with constant updates and changes.  I could end with a cliche and suggest becoming a hermit on top of a mountain somewhere but I think even the reality of this is becoming less of a possibility.

Acceptance

Tonight my yoga teacher talked about acceptance. He relayed a story about a student who had expressed their concern by a recent weight gain. Most of us practitioners tend to think that with regular time spent in the hot room you will lose weight. The teacher suggested that perhaps this increase in weight was natures course for this individual. By trying to lose the added weight it might be going against the natural course of the body. Obviously this person did not have a serious weight condition or he would not have suggested this, but it made a lot of sense. 

For many of us, we can achieve the ‘ideal’ body weight or image so often displayed on the cover of magazines or flaunted by models and movie stars.  To do so, requires us to put our bodies under the stress of the gym junkie lifestyle - continuously working out, dieting and comparing.  We are constantly trying to be something we are not. Why can’t we just be? Why can’t we be happy with who we are?

The yogic breath teaches us to stop and be entirely in the moment.  The vinyasa flow of movement along with the breath creates heat from within the body and a still mind. Through regular yoga practice the body will develop its shape and strength naturally.  Acceptance.  If I accept who I am then others will accept me, embrace me, it’s a natural path to happiness.  

Salvador Dali

Archaeological Reminiscence of Millet's Angelus, 1935

The Persistence of Memory, 1931

Very recently I had the pleasure of viewing an extraordinary exhibition by Salvador Dali. Throughout my years of studying art I have always admired his remarkable talent but have never had the opportunity to see so much of his work.  He truly was a creative force. We all know Dali as the Surrealist and his unusual paintings, particularly The Persistence of Memory, 1931 which reminds me of my teenage years listening to Pink Floyd’s album Dark Side of the Moon and the psychedelic movie The Wall. 

But there really was so much more to this man - artist, painter, designer, sculptor, jeweller and film maker. Not only did he live a long and interesting life, he mastered every medium and creative task he undertook.  I have a new found respect for yet another great master.

Letting it flow

Medicine (1901)

Gustav Klimt

I have a demanding job.  I love to practice yoga. Normally, the vinyasa and meditation provide balance and peace.  Except that I have the added challenge of trying to complete a degree as well. 

The first half of this calendar year was exhausting and it eventually got to the point where there was no balance in my life.  I only just passed my end of term exam by one and a half marks. I spent so much time at work that I simply was not prepared.  Luckily for me, I worked pretty hard throughout the term to get good grades on my papers so managed to achieve an overall credit. 

I found the only way I could switch off from work, come home and write papers, was to have a glass of wine.  Except, it wasn’t just one glass but two or three – almost every night. The less often I practiced yoga, my breath and vinyasa, the more alcohol I consumed. This certainly is not a habit I want to fall into each term but hey, the results were there so I really can’t complain. But most students I know drink whilst writing papers.  

Maybe this is a cultural manifestation society has created.  I mean, if you look at many creditable artists or writers they all spent most of their time out of it. During Paris in the early 1900s, Impressionists, Fauvists and Dadists hung out in cafes and bars drinking for days only to go home and create some great masterpiece.  And then of course there are the extremists like Jackson Pollock who spent most of his life in a drunken stupor. 

Clearly there is something to be said for alcohol and mind altering substances to release creativity. Its a little bit sad that we live in such crazy and busy times that we need assistance to get in touch with our emotions and let the creativity flow. 

Release

The last few weeks have taken me on an emotional roller coaster.  I think it is just life's way of reminding me that it can't always be a bed of roses, so to speak. Funnily enough, I have never thought my life was easy with everything falling into place but I have finally felt as though I was comfortable where I knew what I wanted and which direction I was headed. Its only taken me thirty something years to get here but I can honestly say I am happy.  No sense in a good thing going on for too long now is there!

When I suffer emotional turmoil, I especially feel it in my hips - as do many women.  The hips is the emotional store house and mine just ache. My first yoga class after a few days off was difficult.  A class that I normally breeze through and hold my poses with strength and integrity became weak and overwhelming.  This is a good, it means all that stuff is releasing, freeing me from my angst.  By the end of that class I felt so much more open, not just in my hips but in my heart as well. The next few classes I went to all seemed to have a lot of emphasis on hip opening stretches and boy did I feel it - that horse is a killer! But there are so many fantastic hip opening poses in yoga like frog or half pigeon.

Yoga has so many benefits.  I first started to attend Bikram classes after four months in physio from a running injury. It was the nearest adrenaline rush to a good run.  But now, I love the mental aspect, the meditation, as well as the health benefits and strength that naturally develops. 

Recently, a chiropractor suggested I have some x-rays of my spine which revealed some damage from a fall I had about twenty years ago.  So it seems the running injury was just an offset from my spine damage. In a way, its nice to finally know that all these years of discomfort was real and not in my head.  I'm not a crazy lady! The scary part is that no-one bothered to investigate before now.  Luckily for me, its just a matter of re-educating my spine to limber up in certain areas. Yoga is now a way of life.