Photographer Robert Sturman captured these amazing images of 93-year-old yoga teacher Tao Porchon Lynch in her element. Don’t you want to be as strong, vibrant and full of life when you’re 93?
It’s been 18 days since surgery and I’m itching to go back to the studio. I’ve been practicing at home, yes, but I miss the energy and excitement that comes with attending class. I take in the good vibes my fellow yogis and our teachers send out and carry them with me long after practice.
As much as I’d like to rejoin the vibtant and energetic community of committed yogis, my body is still not ready for a rigorous flow practice. I’m taking it slow because, even as the external wounds have healed, my internal organs are still smarting from the recent invasion.
So I’d have to listen to my body and wait a little longer. It will tell me what to do. In the meantime, I’d have to be content with reading yoga blogs and books, and watching yoga videos to keep me inspired.
I was sidelined by a health issue in the last few weeks but I’m back on my feet again and good as new. 
I credit my fast-tracked healing and overall relaxed demeanor throughout the whole process to yoga. I was calm. There wasn’t much pain and soreness, and I was able to move about quickly. I had to protect my core area so I used my legs and arms to get out of bed, pick up stuff on the floor or carry things. I was generally in good health before the surgical procedure I had, so recovery was fast and fuss-free. I’ve also started practicing yoga at home and it’s been good, so far. I can’t do backbends and twists yet but standing poses and supported inversions are fine. Vinyasa flow classes would have to wait as I still tire easily, but I hope to be back to the usual practice soon.
Mentally, I was prepared for any eventuality. Remember my previous entry on surrender? Ha, what a way to learn it! When you’re in hospital, your life is in other people’s (and God’s) hands. When you go under, you just have to trust that you’ll wake up and everything will be all right. Nothing is within your control and you have to be OK with that.
I therefore conclude that yoga TRULY rocks!
Photo by: Diego Dacal
Something to think about today.
(I learned that the man who cleans our office aircon, Mang Lot, died last Friday of a heart attack. A few weeks ago, he went to our house to clean our clogged aircon and he did a wonderful job, prompting me to think he so was grateful to make a decent living that it showed in his work. He was last in the office last week but I didn’t get the chance to talk to him. I was too busy to say hello. “The next time he comes, I’ll say hi,” I thought. Well, it turns out there won’t be a next time.
To many, he was just someone who dropped by the office once in a while, most of the time unnoticed. But he’s someone’s father, husband and friend. And he was a damn good aircon cleaner who happily did his work to feed his family. I want to honor him and the nameless, faceless people like him who come into our world and leave it without fuss.)
Photo by: Geoffrey Plauche
Yesterday, something pleasantly unusual happened to me: All day I was filled with this wonderfully calm and serene feeling akin to happiness — but for no reason at all. (Those who experience this on a regular basis need not pity me; I’m doing OK, really. Haha!) When I get a positive feeling like that, it’s usually because of an event (a new job, attention from someone I’m attracted to, a pat on the back from an authority figure). So, yesterday’s levity was new to me. Being happy over nothing. Whoa.
This leads me to think that maybe happiness comes to people in different forms. For some, it could be a stream — a continuously steady and consistent flow. For others, like me, it could be a geyser that shoots up magnificently and forcefully without warning, which makes it hard to ignore and unforgettable. I’m quite sure it’ll happen again.
How does happiness come to you?
In the last couple of days, I came across some pretty disturbing news about a certain yoga school. I realized that no community is immune to controversy and that people will be people. We make mistakes. We get so high and then we crash. We spread unverified information that sparks a wildfire.
Photo by Grand Velas Riviera Maya
