hump day heart

m. found this one - he's good at spotting them, isn't he?? found in the rocks at the south ballina peir during our christmas vacation...

for more hearts, go here

30 days of yoga

"instead of finding time to practice yoga, practice yoga all the time" - Bob Weisenberg

before recently, i hadn't practiced yoga in many months. not since moving to korea in march '09, in fact. the main reason for this was because my lifestyle changed (dramatically) and i could no longer find time for yoga.

at least not for the yoga i was used to...

for me, yoga meant at least 45 minutes of asana, followed by 10-15 minutes of relaxation in the morning. or it meant a 50-70 minute class in the afternoon after work, or on a saturday morning. this is pretty much how my yoga practice has always been.

but when me moved back to korea, in trying to balance my work (including subway commute), family life, creatice life, social life... well... yoga drew the short straw.

and i noticed.

and i missed it.

so, for the new year, as one way to honour the promise i made to myself to bring more balance into my life, i gifted myself a new yoga program and commited to 30 days of practice. the practice was designed for me by marianne of zen and the art of peacekeeping. i completed a questionnaire she gave me, and based on what she knew of my previous practice and my lifestyle, she wrote a practice that catered specifically to my needs. the 30 days began with the first new moon of the year, and here we are, almost done.

i have been journalling daily about my practice and differences that i've noticed since making yoga part of my day again. and while it was my intention to share my experiences on my blog more frequently - at least weekly - things didn't exactly work out that way. but i thought i would take a few moments now to talk about it...

before beginning the 30 days, at the recommendation of marianne, i meditated on sankalpa - intention for the practice. i already knew my intention for the practice. i wanted to practice regular yoga mindfully. i wanted to engage in asana, stretching and meditation WITHOUT thinking about everything else i need to do...

after just the first day i felt lighter. there was a marked change in my physical being very early on - i was more conscious of what i was putting into my body and wanted to feed it only good things. i started noticing when i was slouching and made effort to sit tall and straight. i love practicing in the morning - even if just a short sequence - before my classes. it makes my body feel more fluid and it prepares me for the day. i feel more centered and more present with the kids after practicing. i think that it will be easy to continue the practice because i'm not going to want to give up the way it makes me feel.

though my weeks have been hectic and busy, i've found myself making it a priority to fit yoga in. even on the busiest of days when usually i would just forget about it thinking "i can do it tomorrow" i made it a point to do just 10 minutes. i've been feeling pleased with myself for remaining committed. but i have also been gentle with myself, and on days when my body feels that it needs a rest i do some yummy laying meditation rather than pushing myself to continue with asana.

as for sankpala, it seems to have been more effective in my everyday life than actually in my yoga practice. for the first few weeks i found it quite difficult to practice without running a to-do list through my head. even now, i find myself thinking about not thinking about stuff rather than actually not thinking about it. you know? but in my everday life i have had moments of absolute center and bliss. more so than what i've been used to lately. it's been lovely to remember what that's like.

how has your 30 days been going?

friday's fablious five

1. all the love going out to haiti. so, so good.

2. my article and photos published in this months groove korea (see on the right hand side of the cover? international travel - australia? that's me).

3. my co-teachers. everyone has been wonderful all week, taking my classes for me while i've had no voice. thank-you!

4. wearing my charm bracelet as a necklace.

5. setting the date for our trip back to the states - getting ready to book tickets. finally. wahooooo!!

hope for haiti

while the first step towards meeting the needs of haiti has been to collect monetary donations, there are also some organisations who are accepting gifts-in-kind. in conjunction with one such organisation i am currently taking a collection of hygeine products to send to the devastated nation. gifts that will be accepted are as follows:

Shampoo
Body wash
Toothbrushes
Toothpaste
Washcloths
Deodorant
Blankets
Pillows
Tents
Nylon rope- 1/4"
Cooking oil
#12 Extension cords
Flashlights
Gloves
Dust masks
Powdered milk
Hand sanitizer
Bottled water
Antibacterial soap
Tarps
Nonperishable Food (specifically
foods high in protein)
Bandages & gauze (4 x 4)
Painkillers

donations can be delivered to me at the hannam branch of bambini, and will also be accepted at local fundraising event "hope for haiti" (sunday february 14 @ roofers in itaewan - organized and run by collette nickerson, pamela munoz and abigail flores). I will collect all donations at the end of february to send to "giving children hope", the organisation who will deliver goods to haiti.

‘Hope for Haiti,’ is a local fundraising event to help the rebuilding efforts in Haiti. The event will take place on Sunday, February 14th at Roofers in Itaewon, starting at 8pm, and will be inspired by the music and culture of Haiti and the Caribbean.

Proceeds from the fundraiser will help a grassroots charity located in Haiti, Olive Tree Projects, established by Sarah Wallace, a 24-year old midwife who has been living and helping in Jacmel since 2008. The Olive Tree Projects (www.olivetreeprojects.com) is a charitable initiative focused on children in Haiti. Sarah has made it part of the organization’s mandate to also care for orphaned or abandoned children, provide prenatal care and education for women in the community, provide educational classes on issues such as hygiene, nutrition and the environment, as well as instill entrepreneurial thinking into the minds of those in the community.

*** thank you everyone!

hump day heart

this is the front cover of my new gift book, "hearts for haiti".

the first copy arrived in the post for me today. i'm not 100% happy with it yet, so it won't become available to you until i've made some changes and worked on it a bit. but when it's complete i will sell it on an ongoing basis with the proceeds going to olive tree projects, a charitable initiative focused on the children in Haiti.

for more hearts, go here.

it's culcha innit

if m and i have a free afternoon, or day, or weekend, we are more likely than not to spend it outside. we like to take drives, go hiking, stroll along the river, ride our bikes. we take vacations to beaches or mountains or rivers or lakes. m fishes, i read a book in our hammock. we sit by a fire, lie under the stars. we seek out waterfalls and pools and wander through wooded areas hunting abandoned cabins or their ruins. we float on the water on lilos. we dream of getting a boat. a camper. acerage in colorado.

but we enjoy city culture too. the perfect coffee at the perfect coffee shop. cafes, bars and restaurants with fabulous food and live music. antique shops. old buildings. art galleries. the aquarium.

and last weekend, for something different, we sought out a bit of the music culture here in seoul. we went to see NANTA. neither of us had seen it before, and though we both expected to enjoy it, neither of us expected it to knock our socks off. but it did. it was fabulous.

the show itself is something special - a percussion spectacular based in the kitchen of a restaurant that's catering for a wedding. the percussionists play bench tops, pots and pans, water bottles, brooms, rubbish bins - everything that makes a sound in the kitchen basically. they play with knives too - while they're actually chopping food. it's a lot of fun! and it was funny. that was the nice suprise. in other shows i've seen (jump and tokebi storm), humor is attempted, but the shows are good despite the attempt at humor - not because of it. during NANTA i head tears streaming down my face. even m. was having a chuckle. there are different casts for different shows, and perhaps we got a good one, but it was freaking hilarious. i so totally reccommend it to anyone who hasn't been. and if you have been, go again!

i decided to follow up this taste of culture in seoul with some more artful goodness this past weekend by finally getting my butt to the andy warhol exhibition at the seoul museum of art.

can you believe i've never been to the seoul museum of art before? the thought didn't occur to me until i arrived at city hall station and had no idea how to find the place. thankfully josh was with me and with his directions we made it there. eventually. the exhibit was suprisingly packed. we lined up to get in the door, then lined up again while we were in there. but it was the first time i've seen an exhibit of his, and i was impressed. to be honest, i don't "love" alot of his stuff, but i really find his connection between commercial art and fine art interesting. and i found myself really drawn to some of his techniques. i loved his mick jaggers, and his flowers too. thankfully the side of the ticket booth was decorated with said flowers - perfect photo opportunity.

not having had quite enough artful goodness, we backed up our andy warhol experience with 'beyond', a play by our friends about foreigners in a foreign land.

"beyond" was my first taste of experiential theatre and i was impressed. to be honest, i didn't know what to do for most of the time. the actors merged with the audience (participators??) and spoke with us. and i, for the life of me, didn't know if i was allowed to speak up. of course there was one girl who did - but that just made me wonder if perhaps she was part of the show... had i been told it was going to be like this i may have been nervous about going. too shy because i don't know enough about it. but it was completely unthreatening. we were given the opportunity to play along without ever feeling pressure or stress or like we "had" to play along. i loved it. from the beginning (a sweet little shadow puppet show) to the end. and, being part of the "in-crowd" and all, i was lucky enough to score a signed poster. hehehe.

and i just learned today that there's a monet to picasso exhibit in town at the moment, and basement JAXX are coming at the end of the month.... oh my!

friday's fablious five

1. pogoism. that is, painting with a pogo stick. oh, you didn't see the video? here it is again for you...

Pogoism - painting with pogo sticks! from artstartgrant on Vimeo.

2. henry's smell. i know that sounds a bit weird, you know, smelling my dog. but seriously, he has the best smell.

3. brunch on post. i know, weird again. i hardly ever go on post. and would rather not if i can help it, which i usually can. but we've been with friends for brunch these past two sundays and it's aweeesssooooommmmmmee. really.

4. NANTA. i've never seen it before. i went to jump in my first year in soko, and tokebi storm when my brother came to visit during my last tour. they were both good. but NANTA was so good. great percussion (and you know how i love percussion) and funny! even m laughed his batootie off :)

5. matt purbrick's remix of ice ice baby. check out the video - sweet scenery i his video clip too.... hehehe... totally fablious. all of it.