Samskaras (Getting Back Into The Groove)

Samskaras are grooves in the mind, body, and heart that are created by habitual repetitive action. In tantra, samskaras can be either limiting or beneficent.

This past weekend, my travel via the myriad buses and trains was easeful and without incident. No late arrivals, which also allowed me to get back into the groove of practicing asana. Friday I did a nice long hour and a half practice at Shinsaibashi, experimenting with some more advanced variations of poses I haven’t done in awhile, and my body gratefully stepped up to the challenge. Afterwards, my heart was soaring! I then walked to Namba-jinja for a nice little bit of meditation.

Saturday I listened to a new Paul teleconference on the Shanti mantra and the first sutra of the Shiva Sutras. I haven’t had any time to listen to or study any of this work since I arrived here. My mind and heart appreciated this dip into these exalted tantric teachings. I even made a new entry into my meditation journal, another luxury I had laid aside for a bit.

Sunday I did a short asana practice, because I spent a fair amount of time after my morning class with Aki and Tim, to iron out the details of the apartment I want to rent. When I returned home that night, Tim informed me that it looked good, and the rental company had agreed to my request for a November 6th move-in date. Sunday was also the last time my friend Leanne would be flying in via Air Canada, whom she works for, since they are discontinuing the Osaka run. It was lovely to have her presence in class again. Sometimes, there are grooves that shift or even dissolve on their own without any say on our part. Things naturally fall away, and this is just a process of life. Usually though, it is so something else can arise in its place that will serve us better. Leanne told me that she has spent the last two weekends saying good-bye and bestowing gifts upon the owners of establishments she has frequented over her many many years of coming here. Maybe for her it is a wonderful practice of saying good-bye.

Teaching has also begun to create some tiny grooves. As Tim and I were having a late lunch after our meeting with Aki, he commented that I seemed to be nailing the things I had taught in the previous week. I was very grateful for this feedback. I hope to keep building on each week, adding to my vocabulary, and interweaving the pieces together into new shapes and forms to stimulate the students. On this front, Kaeko, my “script supervisor”, said she would be delighted to continue translating the more complex things I wish to offer each week. I am humbled by her graciousness and support.

While many of my practices had to be put on a brief hiatus during these first two weeks here, the one constant has been my meditation practice. In that space of - to quote Paul - “frictionless flow”, there is an awareness that is slowly opening, like the eye of some great boundless being, and the view I am being gifted with has begun to bring life’s patterns into a slightly clearer focus (sputa in sanskrit). I observed this increased clarity in one other revitalized practice; that of studying the kanji. Friday morning I went over about 50 of them, and found I retained a pretty accurate recall of this small batch.

This weekend was a good reminder to keep revisiting the structures of knowledge I have built thus far in all of the arenas of my study and practice, to maintain and add to these matrices, and thus progressively widen the view I receive via mind, body and, most importantly, heart.

A Day Of Firsts

This afternoon I saw my first apartment, with the help of Keiko, the Kyoto studio manager. It is a very reasonable size for me, low cost, and located in a great little neighborhood with easy access to the Hankyuu train to Osaka. I asked Tim to check out the info on it, and he said it looks like a great deal. Tomorrow I will try to touch base with Keiko, and put in my bid for it.

I also took a break from my usual pulsation of study, practice, email, and blog to watch the first two episodes of the TV show House. It was very entertaining, and allowed my brain a brief respite from all of the information I have been processing. Before watching it I decided to take a quick ride down to the YaMaYa, a fancy food store in the Qanat, a huge underground food and sundries mall. I had a craving for a large bag of Garden of Eatin’ blue tortilla chips, and polished off the whole bag, along with a generous salad and a cup of chai, while viewing House.

Ippai (“full”) in my head. Ippai in my belly. Ippai in my heart.

Tomorrow, the next round of classes begins, and I hope to iron out the last few glitches in my script on the train ride in. Ganbatte!

Simple Lessons

I slept until 8:30am, which is late for me. Last night I attended two workshops taught by Lois Nesbitt, an Anusara teacher from New York, so I guess my body needed the rest.

When I arrived at the studio yesterday afternoon for the first session, my friend Yoko was there. I met Yoko at the first class I taught in Kyoto and Osaka in July, and we spoke at length afterwards. I learned that she teaches yoga in Kobe, and had lived and taught in New York for a little bit as well. That weekend, she graciously translated for me, when needed, at my two workshops. She is caring, sensitive, giving, and inquisitive. When I returned to Japan in September, we made plans for me to visit her next Thursday. Last evening, when I walked in, she said, “I heard you got lost on the way to Uehonmachi.” She then gave me an envelope. Inside, were four pages of neatly handwritten and hand drawn directions to navigate the trains and underground to the station where we would meet.

After the first workshop, Tomoko was waiting to speak with me. I was super-hungry though, so we agreed to meet a half hour before the next session to talk. The translator for Lois, Chiho, is also a good friend of Tomoko’s, and Miho, who I had met in SF when she visited right before I came here, was also at the workshops. The two of them helped translate for Tomoko and I as we dialogued. Tomoko began by mentioning the Saturday morning lateness, not to chastise me, but because she was concerned about the studio’s inability to contact me, and vice versa, because I have no cell phone yet. The conversation then branched into several areas, including acquiring my own place. I had thought that I would receive my first paycheck in October, but apparently I won’t receive it until November. This means I needed to ask Tim if I can stay longer. He has been the consummate host, both gracious and highly helpful in my transition from SF to here. I do not wish to impose on him for longer than necessary, and made this clear to Tomoko. Tomoko is primarily a teacher for Yoggy, but she performs many other “goodwill” functions, like making sure visiting teachers to Osaka and Kyoto are comfortable. She has a huge heart, and was a bit distressed at the miscommunication which seemed to be happening between LOHAS (the umbrella corporation that supports Yoggy), her, me, and Yoggy itself. She expressed her need for me to keep her in the loop, and immediately respond to any inquiries she emails me. I made it clear that I am here to serve the students and the Kansai community, to work with her and Yoggy to create the best possible outcome for all, and do all of that in the most luminous and intelligent way possible. Tomoko understood completely, and I think we both walked away from the meeting with a clearer understanding of one another.

That evening, I told Tim what had transpired, adding that I didn’t want to overstay my welcome in his home. He said it wasn’t a problem for me to be there until I got my first check, and even offered to lend me some cash if I needed. He is truly a blessing from the universe. He also suggested I begin to make a concerted effort to:

1. get my alien registration card
2. get a cell phone
3. open a bank account

I then checked my email, and apparently Yoko had caught wind of the meeting. She was worried about my living situation, and graciously offered me a place to stay at her Mom and Dad’s in Kobe. There are so many wonderfully supportive people here.

Insights gained:
- Be clearer in communication; the Japanese need an immediate response, and to know what is going on at all times - if there is a gap, even for a moment in this communication, it can be very distressing to them, so I need to be even more sensitive to this.

- Communication here is lightning quick through the chain of command, and response to anything out of the ordinary is just as fast; both the situation itself Saturday morning at Uehonmachi, and how it continues to resonate still, are perfect examples of that - I need to be aware that my actions may get communicated beyond my expected parameters in a relatively short time; this again speaks to shifting my patterns of logic and intuition to fit into this culture; this challenge is one of the reasons I relocated here, so it’s good to be reminded by the universe in these ways.

Another beautiful lesson for me. Thank you, Universe.

Atha Yoganushasanam

Now, begins the offering of the sacred art of yoga. ~ The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (I.1)

Friday

My first day was a 12:30am class at Uehonmachi, then an 8:15pm class at Shinsaibashi. From Tim’s house to either Osaka studio, it requires me to take the subway or bus into downtown Kyoto, then the Hankyuu train all the way to Umeda, then another underground trip as the final leg of the journey. This takes a total of about an hour and thirty to forty-five minutes.  

I met Chieko, the studio manager for both Osaka locations, at 10:30am, so she could guide me in navigating the trains to the studios. I had first met Chieko in July here. She is a lovely woman, who possesses a sweet vulnerability of the heart, yet a fiery core of strength and steadfastness. Because neither of us are fluent in the others language, our conversations last time would eventually hit a wall. However, I now have an electronic dictionary, and this enabled us to traverse those walls as we conversed on the train ride to Osaka.

 
My first class was an intimate group of five, including Emi, one of the Uehonmachi staff, and a student named Mayuki, both who had taken my classes in July. After the class they both told me my Japanese had improved since July. This was a wonderful kindness to receive in the very first class, and the perfect segueway into offering abundant praise for my Japanese tutor in SF, Atsuko Irisa. Without her teachings and encouragement, I wouldn’t be as coherent or confident as I am in my own teaching here. Thank you, Atsuko!

Chieko then promptly ushered me over to Shinsaibashi via taxi, to assist Yasushi in auditioning potential translators. There were seven candidates, to be tested one at a time. They had to first translate me teaching live to Tomoko, Chieko, and Eri, one of the Shinsaibashi staff, for about three minutes. Then, I read aloud a couple of paragraphs presenting the Anusara philosophy, as they followed with a translation line by line. It was fun, and interesting to experience the variety of personalities and abilities.

Yoggy Shisaibashi

The ladies of Yoggy Shinsaibashi; Tomoko, Mayumi, Eri, & Chieko

Afterwards, Chieko and I had a simple lunch at a place called Ichigo Ichie. I then went to the Namba-jinja, only a five minute walk from the studio. I wanted to meditate, and Eri had indicated this was the closest park or shrine. It was approaching dusk, a perfect time to sit in quiet. I entered the gates, and wandered around the walled-in sanctuary for a few minutes, then settled on a spot under a tree behind the main shrine, obscured from visitors. I had a wonderful meditation, feeling the wind gently blowing around me, vaguely registering the distant hum of activity outside, and sitting nestled in the base of an old, beautiful tree. I sat as the light retreated into the blossoming of night, until the elderly gatekeeper passed by me, calling out a firm omoishimarimasu yo, which translates as "We are closing!"

I returned to the studio in time for a chat with Tomoko before she left. She schooled me a little bit in the differing ben (“speech, tongue”) of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. For example, the all-purpose form of “to do, perform, carry out, practice, etc.” is very different for each area; suru in Tokyo, shiharu in Kyoto, and yaru in Osaka. So far, everyone here has been really supportive in my language usage, correcting me and giving me alternate or improved ways of saying things. I am so grateful for each of them.

Teaching at 8:15pm is a new experience for me, and it took all of my energy to keep the language and the asana coherent and fluid. I was tired and hungry afterwards, and thankful I had brought a nashi with me for the train ride home.

I went to bed exhausted, but content.

Saturday

I woke early to have plenty of time to get to my 10:30 class at Uehonmachi. I was excited, because a friend and fellow teacher from Vancouver, Leanne Kitteridge, had flown in the previous night, and would be attending the class. Leanne has a degree in Japanese studies, has lived in Japan extensively, now travels here frequently through her current job as a stewardess, and is fluent in Japanese.

I was on my own this morning, but confident I would be fine. I caught the bus to Kawaramachi station, and transitioned to the train with just enough time to get to class. However, I got off one station early. By the time I caught another train and reached Umeda it was 10:15. Once at Umeda, there is actually a 5-7 minute walk through the tunnels to the connecting subway, so by the time I was seated on the underground* train it was 10:25. I didn’t panic at all though. I closed my eyes, and an image of Leanne came to me with the thought, “She’ll start the class for me.” Then, after reaching the final exit in Uehonmachi, I stepped out of the station and didn’t recognize the area. Uh-oh. I was already 10 minutes late by then. By the time I found my way to the studio it was close to 11. Yikes.

* the underground railway in Japan is called the chikatestu - chi means "earth", ka is "under", and tetsu means "iron".

When I arrived, Leanne was leading them through sun salutations, just as I expected. With a brief but sincere apology to the class, I picked up where Leanne left off, and finished out the class. Afterwards, I stepped out of the yoga room right into the path of Chieko, who greeted me with, “What happened!?” With Leanne’s help, I explained and apologized profusely to Chieko and the rest of the staff, promising it would not happen again. Leanne graciously added in that what had occurred was an anomaly, as I hold my responsibilities as a teacher and the students in the highest regard. The studio gave passes for a free class to all of the students, but many remarked they felt extra-privileged to have had two teachers instead of one. To me, this whole experience was a perfect example of how the universe takes care of us. I really believe that Leanne was there to teach because I was going to be late, and Leanne echoed this thought when I mentioned it to her.

Yoggy Uehonmachi - Chieko, Leanne, Chigusa, Emi, & Akiho

Leanne and I then traveled over to the Shinsaibashi area for lunch at a kaiten sushi (self-serve sushi from a conveyer belt) restaurant. It was a wonderful lunch, my favorite dishes being katsuo (bonito) with a dollop of yuzu (Japanese lime) atop it, and large slices of unagi (eel) - oishikatta desu! Leanne and I parted ways after lunch, as she had a plane to catch, and needed to get back to her hotel in Umeda. We hugged, and she said, “This is going to make an interesting blog.” To see Leanne’s view, go to Wa Yo Yogi, at http://shibuiyogablog.wordpress.com/ Much Love to you, Leanne!

I went for another visit to the Namba-jinja, to take photos. 

Entrance torii.

The chouzuya ("wash basin") for the ritual cleansing. 

The freshly landscaped garden.

Shishi ("lion") guardians; they traditionally come in pairs as guardians of Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples.

The open mouth shishi symbolizes the first letter of the Japanese and sanskrit alphabet, "ah".

The closed mouth shishi symbolizes the last letter of the two alphabets, "un".

The kitsune ("fox") shrine. The fox is a staple of Japanese folklore, appearing as both kami ("a god, divine being") and demon.

The guardians.

The offerings box; toss coins in, pull the rope to sound the bell, then clap twice (though I have seen other variations as well).

The meditation tree.

Central haiden ("hall of worship")

Resplendent courtyard tree.

This 4:00pm class was the strongest yet. We did a few eyes-closed group balances that induced plenty of smiles, then a four-part vasishthasana sequence that put everyone up against their edge, ending with pranam. As everyone settled into gravity and their breath, it was beautiful to feel the thick and deep vibration they had created.

After class, I touched base with Tim, so I could meet up with him and his fiancee, Maya, at his friend Graham’s place for a little dinner party. I needed to take a different set of trains, then a 10 minute walk to meet him at an intersection. Tim has an uncanny talent for hand drawing extremely accurate maps, and for estimating travel time. He told me I would arrive at our designated meeting place at 7:30, and I was there about five minutes prior. His friend Graham lives with Jae, his girlfriend, originally from Taiwan, and Mei, his 11-year old daughter from a previous marriage to a Japanese woman. Mei is an extraordinary little girl. She competes in swimming, practices ballet, and is a budding artist. Her manner is outgoing and she is quick to laugh and smile. Jae had prepared a lovely meal, and I happily dug in. Also in attendance was Rebecca, a friend of Graham and Tim’s from Los Angeles. She made an absolutely scrumptious dessert of pecan-oatmeal bars with a layer of Trader Joe’s dark chocolate bar melted into the center. Heavenly!

Tim had biked, so Maya and I took the bus home. It was so nice to chat with her. We have just discovered both of us share a passion for the music of Jeff Buckley and Chris Cornell, so our conversation centered around their creations, and how they had affected us. Maya is an accomplished shamisen performer and vocalist, and I am looking forward to her next performance.

Sunday

Another 10:30am class, but thankfully in Kyoto. Again, like on Saturday, another one of those universal blessings popped up. A woman from Canada attended the class, and Tim just happened to take class too. So I had her set up next to Tim, so he could translate for her when needed. As I write this, it actually strikes me as fantastically giddy; a native English speaker, teaching in Japanese, and another native English speaker having to translate it into English in a Japanese yoga class. I love this life.

Yoggy Kyoto - note the shouji as the far wall

Who is this guy?

Tim and I went for onigiri after class, then I went to Starbucks (I know, but it’s the only place that serves a chai latte) since I had a little bit of time to kill before my 4:30pm class at Shinsaibashi. I read a little more Osho, and came across these lovely bits:

“That energy that is speaking in me is listening in you; it is not separate, it can’t be separate. It is one spectrum, it is one wavelength. It is the same wave that is speaking in me and that is hearing in you.”

“We live in a sea of life - we live into each other.”

In my evening class, there were two fellow Yoggy teachers, Miyuko and Rica, who attended. They were both very appreciative for the class, and it was nice to have them there. One of the things I intend to do soon is to take classes from my fellow teachers here, so I get to know them all better. It is something I was unable to accomplish in SF, but I think it will be easier here, as the community is much smaller. Rica lives in Kyoto, so we rode home together and had wonderful conversation about the yogic path (thank you, electronic jisho!).

I showed up at Tim’s just in time for a fantastic meal he and Maya had prepared. Tim made an English dish composed of rice, smoked fish, and hard boiled eggs. They had also made a miso soup with carrots and porcini, and an avocado and tomato salad, and Maya had pickled some nasu (eggplant) that evening. Being with the two of them, and sharing such a delicious meal made with such love, was the perfect way to end the weekend.

The Axis Mundi

It has been an amazing six days here. This week has been my “settling in week”. I have been non-stop corresponding via email, studying Japanese, reviewing my class for the first week, and doing all the things logistically one needs to do in a new place. In that time, the one stable grounding point has been my meditation practice. This exquisite gift that my teacher Paul has given me has become the axis mundi upon which my entire life revolves. It has been the source of the clarity of my awareness in all of my major decisions over the last year, and has put me in touch with the power of the divine in a way that I could not have predicted.

It really hit home this evening as I was corresponding with a fellow teacher, Dave Willocks. I wrote him, “I am flying high on the waves of grace, and it is the Divine Shakti blazing the path for me. I am forever indebted to her love and wisdom.” As I wrote “Divine Shakti,” I felt her expansive presence in my heart, and I was filled with a great love for this universe and all it holds. Sometimes the blessing that this life is stuns me into astonishment, and this was one of those times.

In my meditation this evening I experienced what Paul calls the “frictionless flow”. I felt my awareness being funneled into the great expanse of Life around me. My energetic body swelled with this presence, and I was filled with a heavy vibration. I settled into this state, and it seemed to last an eternity. Eventually, I consciously made the decision to move into savasana, and became still in that space. The fullness of consciousness then continued to increase, as if a great ocean was being poured into my being. I was filling up beyond the capacity of my body, yet holding this infinite space within the confines of my awareness. It was a paradoxical reversal of the meditation experience, as if awareness itself had turned inside out, like some sort of lotus flower, blossoming in two directions at once, with both blossoms containing the other.

I slowly sat up, took my seat, then chanted a lovely mantra Paul taught me that is for eliciting harmony and deep understanding between beings. As my tongue articulated the beautiful sanskrit vibrations, I felt the sounds emerging from another voice inside of my own. I was being sung, and bliss filled my heart and mind.

As I sit to write this, it feels like a low level electrical hum is resonating throughout the entire surface of my body, and within there is a quietude that is vast and silent to its depths. I feel acutely alive.

Tasmai Shri Gurave Namah!

Spanda Tattva (72 Hours Of Pulsation In Action)

Spanda means pulsation, and a tattva is a principle of nature. I haven’t had the time to put thoughts to blog until today, so I made it a practice by viewing the last three days as pulsation in action. It is like watching the waves of the ocean as it carries things in and carries things out. What imprint has been left on the shore of my experience, and what has been made more visible by the removal of some useless piece of flotsam and jetsam? As I pick through the driftwood, maybe I’ll find a jewel...

Sunday Evening
Tim teaches me three very valuable phrases: konomama and sonomama, which mean “like this, in this way” and “as it is”, and kouiufuuni, which means “of this kind, like this”. He said that the former two refer to what is more static, while the later one describes something with movement or flow. They are indispensable for indicating contrast. For example; sonomama dewa naku. konomama. (“Not like that. Like this.”), or kouiufuuni yokunai. kouiufuuni. (“Not like this. Like this.”) Handy phrases for teaching yoga, most definitely.

Monday Morning
In the first chapter of Osho’s Zen:The Path Of Paradox, he speaks of konomama and sonomama. Another meaning of these words is “as things are, as one is,” or the “basic is-ness” of something. This morning is my first time reading Osho (Thanks, Jeff!). I don’t agree with everything he says, but here are some quotes I liked:

“Man is responsible for himself and for the world he lives in. If there is suffering, you are responsible; there is nobody else to look to. You cannot throw off your responsibility. If the world is ugly and is in pain, we are responsible; there is nobody else. If we are not growing we cannot throw the responsibility on anyone else’s shoulders. We have to take the responsibility.”

“The word God is not God, the concept “God” is not God. Neither is the concept “love” love, nor is the word food food. Zen says a very simple thing. It says: remember that the menu is not the food. And don’t start eating the menu.”

“The Zen seeker looks into reality to find the beautiful...in the songs of the birds, in the trees, in the dance of a peacock, in the clouds, in the lightning, in the sea, in the sands. It tries to look for the beautiful.”

Food for thought (but don’t eat the menu).

Monday Afternoon
A lot of Japanese language study, including memorization of what I wish to say in my first class I teach this Friday. Because of my rudimentary grasp of the language, I now have to prep for each class. By the hand of grace, I have been gifted with Kaeko*, a woman from Tokyo who has graciously volunteered to translate what I wish to say. Keeping in mind that there is only so much I can memorize, I have to keep it to a minimum. Basically, I have to weed out the superfluous chatter, and cut my words to that which is most concise and eloquent. It makes for a fantastic practice, and keeps the theme simple and grounded.

* Many of the names for women end in ko, which means “a child”. The kanji even looks like the pictograph of a child with his/her arms open: 子

Monday Evening
I have been revamping my site. Or rather, Noam has been revamping my site according to my very particular instructions. He is always the consummate professional, and I am very appreciative of his patience and ability to work with whatever request I give him. I sent an update, but forgot to attach the photos, then spent an hour trying to get gmail to send the darned things, with no such luck. Then, remembering my teleconference the following morning, I tried to set up skype for the call. An hour later I gave this up too. The universe wanted me off the computer.

Tuesday Morning
I was able to email the photos and set up the skype account. Whoo-hoo!
Even though I skyped in about 20 minutes late for the teleconference with Paul, I was just in time for a dharana (“focus, concentration”) practice. It was very simple and sweet, but the mantras he recited were exquisite. I could almost smell the rich earthy ancientness of these mantras. Our eyes were closed throughout, and I had a vision of the sounds as a string of clean, white bones suspended in the air that dissolved into the ether as each mantra was completed. I felt completely rooted to the spot, as solid as stone in my body, but my awareness kept expanding like rippling waves on the surface of a pond from the center.
Right after the teleconference the doorbell rings, and it is the Postal Service with a delivery of four of my eight boxes, including the one with food and toiletries. Yes!

Tuesday Afternoon
I left the house for downtown. On the subway, I chose the wrong side of the platform, and wound up going the opposite direction to the terminus, which was only the next stop. Once I did get downtown, I went to Shinsei Bank to open an account, but no one there spoke any English. Then I went to Studio Yoggy to take a class, and it was cancelled due to an all-day training. I decided that I best head home, and forgot to stop at another bank to exchange my dollars for yen, leaving me with not even enough for a subway ride for tomorrow. But, I had a fresh loaf of yummy raisin walnut bread. I had a slice with avocado, and immediately felt better about the whole afternoon ordeal.

Tuesday Evening
Tim offers me some more necessary yoga words - johanshin and kahanshin; jo uses the kanji for “up” (上), han means “half”, and shin is the onyomi (“Chinese pronunciation”) for “body”, or “upper body”, and ka(下)hanshin is - you guessed it - “lower body”. He also then refines my understanding of some other words as well. I am very privileged to have his language acumen at my disposal.

Wednesday Morning
I was supposed to meet Tomoko (there it is again) at the Kyoto studio at 2pm, but there was a message last night from her saying she would meet me just before 10am. I arrive at the studio at quarter of and wait. I have a lovely chat with Reiko (hat trick!), whose English is quite good, but no Tomoko. I wait until quarter after downstairs, then its off to the Kyoto bank to finally change my dollars to yen. I am thankful I can now pay Tim back for his generous loans. I stop at the onigiri stand Tim introduced me to, and for under $3 I have a take home lunch that is filling, tasty, and homemade.

Wednesday Afternoon
At Tim’s house, I blaze through my emails, sending and replying with focus and speed. I receive two deliveries from the Postal Service, and now have all of my boxes (the USPS rocks!).
A call comes around 2pm, and I have the ominous feeling that it was Tomoko. A half an hour later, an email pops up in my inbox from her. Apparently, the phone message we received last night was from last Saturday evening! Oops.

Wednesday Evening
Tim has just left Tomoko a message, explaining the whole mix up. She has been going above and beyond for me here, even putting together a folder of potential apartments for me to rent. I want her to receive an apology from me directly. With Tim's help, I fire off an email to her, and in the process learn what Tim calls, "a golden phrase": osewani narimasu. This translates into "I am always asking for your help./I am always in your debt."

It seems to me that my practice here in Kyoto is one of working patiently with each dilemma that presents itself, of opening myself to the ebb and flow of each moment, of not allowing myself to get pulled into any one story or scene. This is always the challenge; to balance the pulsation, be clear its articulation, and act from that place of harmony.

Wednesday afternoon I walked around Tim’s neighborhood, and took a few photos of some of the lovely houses in this rather idyllic area. Enjoy.


Note the swastika on the right - this is the symbol for jinja, or shrine.


A very modern addition to the area, complete with French greeting plaque.


A more traditional house, with a fantastic outer decor.


These are mostly dried flower arrangements.


Chez Medlock


Tim’s garden.

Bicycle Bicycle Bicycle

Last night, after a simple dinner, Tim and I went to a sento ("public bathhouse") about a five minute walk from his house. It was a cute little place with the hugest koi I have ever seen, swimming around in a small rock-walled pond set in front of the entrance doorways. Though the establishment was small, there were three hot tubs, a cold pool, and a sauna, and the decor in the tub area was colorful and inviting. It was good to relax so deeply in my body, and afterwards I was ready for a restful sleep.

This morning, I had decided to accompany Tim to Yasushi's hand balancing workshop at Studio Yoggy. As we left the house, Tim said, "We'll take the bikes." I thought he meant for the short ride to Matsugasaki station, where we could catch the subway to downtown. As we got underway, Tim immediately set off in the opposite direction. When I questioned him, he replied, "No, we're riding all the way to the studio." What a treat! I haven't been on a bike in almost six years, and it was delightful to feel the wind flow around me as we sped towards Shijo Dori, Kyoto's main shopping street. As we rode, Tim shared that he enjoys exploring the many ways to bike from his place to downtown. I was treated to an idyllic ride through the narrow back streets crammed with quaint little homes, and a nice bit along the Kamogawa, one of the main rivers in Kyoto. I felt like a kid on vacation. 

Mark with his trusty jitensha in the park encompassing the Shimogamo-jinja. Tim informed me that a jinja ("shrine") is always surrounded by forests, but a temple doesn't have to be.

At Studio Yoggy, there were many reunions with teachers and students I had seen in June, and Yasushi's workshop was fun. He is charismatic, and has a deep appreciation for his students that shows in his teaching.

After the workshop, we all chatted for a bit in the lounge, then Tim and I set out for a snack before biking home. Tim guided me to a tiny little homemade onigiri (rice balls wrapped in seaweed with various fillings) stand not far from the studio. We each bought two of the hefty snacks, and sat in a nearby temple to eat them. They were tasty and filling, perfect fuel after the class we had done. 

By the time we returned home though, we were both hungry again, so we took a short walk to Les bles d'or, a lovely little pastry and bread shop, then stopped at the Kyoto Co-op to shop for dinner. Once home, we snacked on chai and strawberry tarts. A couple of hours later Tim prepared a fantastic meal of mashed potatoes with a touch of horseradish, salmon, komatsu ("little pine", a thin leafy green with a sharp tang to it), and shiitake in an onion-mushroom-white wine sauce. The fresh loaf of sesame bread we had picked up from the bakery was perfect for sopping the sauce up with.

The clouds have been offering light sprinklings here and there throughout the day, but have just now decided to unleash a full on rain. The sound of the drops plip-plopping in the garden is creating a melodic rhythm that is very soothing. I'm off for some meditation and well-earned sleep.