a space for pondering: sundays at green gulch (marin county, ca)

August 29, 2010 at 8:44 pm (life, meditation, practice, travel)

Part of the garden at Green Gulch

A few weeks ago,   I was going through an internal crisis and trying to prevent myself from wallowing in misery, so I asked my friends where they go when they need to escape from it all and just think.  One of my friends mentioned the Sunday morning program at the SF Zen Center’s Green Gulch Farm at Muir Beach, and when I looked at the website, I was quite curious. I grew up in a devoutly Christian family, and wasn’t exactly sure how I felt about hanging out at a Buddhist temple on a Sunday morning, but I figured that meditation and praying (regardless of who you’re praying to) can happen just about anywhere.

Enlisting the aid of  Tessa, one of my yogini girlfriends who had gone before, we got a bright and early start on Sunday morning and crossed over the Golden Gate towards our quest for enlightenment.  We arrived quite early and took some time to walk around the gardens.  There are many spaces to sit and relax in the garden, as well as beautifully manicured trees and flowers.  At 8:15 am, we were lead into the Green Dragon Temple and given a brief introduction to zazen (meditation practice).  We sat on cushions, facing the wall, and did a ten minute meditation, then had a break before the actual public meditation session was to begin.

The public meditation session was quite full.  Meditation and stillness has never been easy for me -  I have a serious tendency to look around and people-watch, but selecting a seat that gave me only a view of the white wall was exactly what I needed to knock myself into concentration mode.  I find that ten minutes is just about the limit of my ability to be still – then I start noticing that my foot is numb, or that I’m actually freezing cold (just a tip: wear socks and layer up, as the temple tends to be freezing cold at 9am), or that the person next to me has a stomach that is rumbling loudly.  The meditation lasts for maybe 30-40 minutes total, but it felt longer.  (Side note:  I realized that sometimes when your mind keeps drifting back to a specific subject even though you’re trying not to think about  it, the best way to clear it is to just deal with it head on and meditate on it until it dissipates.  I got 30 minutes or so of thinking about the one person who I was trying not to think about, but I feel good about it now.)

After the mediation session, the temple quickly filled up with people arriving for the Dharma lecture, so Tessa and I stayed on our cushions instead of leaving for a break.  Every Sunday at 10:15am, they bring in a speaker who talks about a subject relating to Zen practice, or life in general.  They don’t really put the subject of the Dharma talk on the website, but today’s topic (touching upon realizing our own remarkableness) was uplifting and helped me to feel a little less off-kilter, and a little more amazed.  (We all need reminding now and then.)

Once the Dharma talk is over, everyone is invited to stay for tea and muffins ($1 donation) and check out the produce for sale (all organic).  You can even stay for lunch (vegetarian, $8-10 donation).  Tessa and I stayed to sip our English Breakfast tea and enjoy the muffins (which were delicious) and stand around in the sun.  The entire experience is very special, as you can get a lot out of it if you’re open to it.  I highly recommend it to anyone seeking a new and relaxing experience, and I will most definitely be back again very soon.

Sunday Morning Program at SF Zen Center Green Gulch Farm – $5-10 donation for meditation session, $8-10 donation for vegetarian lunch.  Open to the public.  Located at 1601 Shoreline Highway, Muir Beach.

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eat, pray, love – the movie review.

August 24, 2010 at 3:25 pm (Entertainment, events, travel)

Ok, Dear Readers…I couldn’t let the summer pass by without a post about the movie “Eat, Pray, Love”.  I haven’t really been keeping up with how much hype this movie was getting, until I went to Cost Plus last weekend and was appalled by the entire “Eat, Pray, Love” merchandise section…pasta, yoga mat bags, prayer beads, and candles tagged with “EPL” labels.  (Oy vey.  What a cash cow.)  I didn’t read a single review about the movie before I went, because I really wanted to form my own opinion (and I wanted to LOVE it!).

I read the book when it first came out because I am a big fan of travel writing.  I read through the Peter Mayle “Provence”  books, a bunch of books on Italy, and a couple of books on Japan, and I enjoy the joys of armchair travel.  This book was covering Italy, India, and Indonesia – three places that always seemed very alluring to me – so I dove headfirst into Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir.  Even though I’m not a thirty-something divorcee, I felt her pain.  I understood the feeling of feeling broken, needing great change, seeking God.  It was actually this book that got into yoga again, and interested in meditation…but it served as a reminder that nothing is permanent, the Divine resides in each of us, and there is nothing to be gained by waiting for something to happen to you.

Long story short – I loved the book.  So, we went to watch the movie last night along with about 30 other women in the theater (and one lone guy, who we think may have lost a bet or done something really f**ked up to deserve 2.5 hours of a Julia Roberts chick flick).

The verdict?  Well…it is a beautiful film.  They managed to capture of romanticism of Roma, the hustle & bustle of India, and the lush, tropical sexiness of Bali.  But beyond the pretty backdrops, gorgeous Julia Roberts and a hunky Javier Bardem, I was disappointed.  So much of the book was Gilbert’s introspective voice, doing the entire movie in voice-over would be appropriate, but incredibly strange…but the attempt to capture her inward transformations were pretty weak.    They skimmed over details that were huge parts of the story.  If they wanted to include most of what was in the book, the movie would have needed to be released in parts (part 1: Italy), or made into a miniseries.  We see her break out a yoga mat all of ONCE on the entire journey, and though you do have a few scenes of Liz meditating, it seemed a bit contrived every time they cut to her sitting serenely in lotus pose.

When I left the movie, I was bummed that I didn’t absolutely love it.  I checked out some other reviews, and realized that I wasn’t alone in my opinion.  Basically, if you loved the book, you might be a little disappointed that the movie skips a lot of the rich detail that Gilbert provides on her daily experiences in each location, but you’ll get it.  If you’ve never read the book, you might enjoy the film, but you might not connect with Liz Gilbert all that well.  All in all, it’s a beautifully shot movie with a respectable and believable leading lady, that carries a good message.  But you may want to save it for your Netflix queue, I’m just saying.

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a taste of honolulu yoga.

February 13, 2010 at 3:13 am (classes, practice, Studios, travel, yoga)

photo courtesy of lululemon athletica via flickr

I had every intention of taking as many yoga classes as possible while here on vacation, but alas, schedules got in the way and I ended up only taking classes at two studios from two different teachers.  Going into a brand new studio can be intimidating, especially when one is very accustomed to a certain style.  In the spirit of stepping out of my comfort zone, I just went for it and headed into my first Honolulu class.

I signed up for a Vinyasa Flow class at Open Space Yoga – Monsarrat.  The drop in rate for kama’aina (or, locals) is only $10 for this particular mid-afternoon class, taught by Stacey Webb.  The space at this location of Open Space Yoga is really quite lovely – a view of Diamond Head crater, paired with a lot of natural light and soothing colors.  The only drawback is that Monsarrat Ave. is a really busy thoroughfare, and it can be rather noisy with the traffic below.  (It’s a good exercise in tuning out everything else around you.)  The class itself is a rather easy class, so beginners will feel comfortable here.  I was hoping for a more heart-pumping vinyasa-based practice, but instead, settled for a more restorative style.  I may try and head back to Open Space again for one more class before I leave.

The next class I took was a Vinyasa Flow class at Yoga Hawaii.  I had dropped into the lululemon athletica store at the Ala Moana Shopping Center to see if they had any input on the local yoga scene – and they said that the class I was headed to would be more along the lines of what I was looking for.  I got to the studio just as the previous class was ending.  The studio is quite spacious, and they have a great big “Om” mural on the front wall in vibrant colors.  I was surprised that there weren’t more people in the class, but then, I realized, I’m not in San Francisco (land of the packed 6pm yoga class).  There were a total of three students, which lent itself to lots of personal attention from the instructor.  Taught by Sarah Van deVanter, this class got me sweating!  She had us doing sun salutations, a healthy dose of chaturangas, and even some arm balances (I love me some bakasana).  She later told me she felt she taught this particular class at a “medium” pace, and if I wanted more of a challenge, to try and attend her Monday night class.  I really liked her class and would definitely be a regular if I were here in Hawaii more often!

It’s 1:00am here, and I’m thinking I should try and get some shuteye.  Maybe a few sun salutations in the morning to kick off the weekend?

Namaste.

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stressed out in paradise.

February 10, 2010 at 11:28 pm (struggle, travel, yoga)

 

photo courtesy of Odysseyfx via Flickr

I was driving to yoga class this afternoon, through the back roads of Kaimuki, around the base of Diamond Head crater – a very pretty and quite uneventful drive, really.  Pulling into a parking spot on the side of the road, I was really early to class, and ended up sitting on the benches in front of the yoga studio just taking in the view and the sky, and trying to read a book.  When I was little, you couldn’t tear me away from an interesting book.  My mom would catch me reading next to my night light and yell at me to go to bed.  Today, however, I found that I had the worst case of “cannot concentrate” I have ever had in my life.

This completely baffles me.  I’m in Hawaii, on vacation, with relatively little responsibility or obligation, and I can’t help but find myself completely stressed out.   I’m worried about things that are awaiting me upon my return to San Francisco (work, volunteer stuff, etc).  I also feel like there are a number of things that I’d planned to accomplish while I’m here (I had made a list before I got here) and I haven’t done any of them.  And lastly, I’m checking my iPhone every five minutes to check email, text messages, Facebook…deathly afraid of being out of touch while I’m here for a mere 11 days.

If ever there was a time to practice “being in the moment”, it should be now.  How is it possible that I’m in one of the most beautiful places ever, and I’m feeling just the same as if I had to go to work today?

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an OmGirl aloha.

February 8, 2010 at 1:53 am (meditation, practice, travel, yoga)

Shark's Cove, North Shore, O'ahu

Aloha, everyone!

I have finally made it to my long awaited (and much needed) vacation here in sunny Honolulu, Hawaii – not a bad place to call my hometown.  Upon landing, I felt myself exhale a huge portion of stress and tension right out of my body.  Sometimes all it takes is a change of location to start the process of recharging and resetting!

Thought I traveled primarily to visit my family, I did want to squeeze a little bit of yoga into my schedule, so I’ve purchased a ticket for a class at Yoga Hawaii.  It seems I’ve arrived at a time where many of the Vinyasa classes are “suspended”, so I may be forced to try something new and unexpected (!).  My motto for my vacation is to just go with life as it unrolls, and I really haven’t planned much of anything, save for a brunch here and there, and attending a Club Charm mini-workshop on Tuesday evening.  Stay tuned for more notes from The Rock – and a review of Yoga Hawaii to come soon!

~OmGirl SF

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