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You are here: Home / Archives for Humor

Humor

Good Shakti (Energy) at Bhakti Fest

September 21, 2011 by Raul Colon

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a place to let loose, beyond stretching your muscles and connective tissues. Bhakti Fest is a great way to exercise your spirituality.

This is not for everyone. The 2011 fall festival attracted about 4,000 serious yoga practitioners over the four-day weekend. These were not the ones that tune in to an online class or DVD, or hang out at a gym or yoga studio for weekly workout. These are the real yoginis that understand yoga is about much more than just twisting your body or standing on your head.  The four-day festival starts and ends with a puja (fire ceremony).

Many of the hatha and bhakti yoga enthusiasts welcome being close to nature, and Bhakti Fest is set in the high desert, about 20 minutes past Palm Springs. A large number of the attendees choose to camp out at the Joshua Tree facility which not only gives them a greater chance to receive prana, but it also allows them to soak in more of the 24-hour live music offerings.

While music is a major focus at Bhakti Fest, there are nearly 100 hours of yoga classes, 40 hours of workshops/lectures and about 60 hours of kirtan*, not including the many yoga classes that feature live bands.

Yoga practices clearly can be enhanced by connecting with the vital elements such as earth, sky and sun. So practicing outdoors in the hot desert air bothered few of the yoginis, and sleeping outdoors in a tent under the moonlit sky with faint sounds of drum beats, and periodic frenetic chanting, was also not only practical and inexpensive, but a treat. For those on an even tighter budget, Bhakti Fest offers work programs where attendees volunteer a certain number of hours before, during and/or after the festival.

Many of the Bhakti Fest attendees are repeat visitors. They come prepared with their chairs and blankets and set up their viewing areas by the main stage early on, and keep their spot for the entire four days of the festival. A few of the hard core folks sleep at the main stage area, as the bands never stop. This is considered the Woodstock for an alternative crowd, focused on self realization.

n the yoga community, much is said about love, in the broader sense of the word. Mark Whitwell, the founder of the The Heart of Yoga who has taught across the world for more than 20 years, spoke much about love prior to his yoga class. He referred to Jesus who said, “Love They Neighbor as Thy Self.” Whitwell then went on to explain how yoga helps one to love. “Love fails when we fail to love. You can’t be intimate with someone else until you’re intimate with yourself.” Since yoga is about union, it helps you to be intimate in your own life.

Bhakti means devotion, and bhakti yoga is the practice of devotion through kirtan and other related practices. It seems as if all the Bhakti Fest yoga teachers are bhakti practitioners and they all infuse a good amount of spiritual knowledge into the classes. Many have live kirtan bands performing in the background or on stages.

 

Kirtan is like gospel music. It is the language of the heart. It’s devotional and it begs the listener to participate, not just by singing along, but by pouring the body and spirit into it. Bhakti yoga is said to be the most direct and therefore essential of all the eight yoga branches. Practiced mostly in Sanskrit, it enters the soul.

At Bhakti Fest the music is not just the traditional harmonium accompanied call and response that may be the norm at ashrams. The kirtan bands here at the Joshua Tree resort range from fusions with soul, rock, gospel, Caribbean and funk.

Beyond the music in the yoga classes, there are two stages with live music, which are on a non-stop track. One stage entertains folks in the food court area. But the main stage is the big draw where some stake out their spots early the first morning, and spend the night in their sleeping bags as the music rolls on until about 5 a.m. The vendors surrounding the main stage seem to get into the beat, too. Most are still open well past midnight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The vegetarian food vendors in the food court area don’t close their doors after the traditional dinner hours, either. The all organic gluten free vegan menu items are plenty, as early as 8 a.m. until the wee hours of the morning. There are natural juices, smoothies, raw desserts and vegan burgers and curries.

Lydia’s prepares several styles of gluten free vegan crepes, among many other popular items ranging from kale chips to granola bars to cold curry salad and a raw quinoa burger on a blini rather than a bun.

The Krishna Kitchen serves up a bowl of vegetable curry with rice and a salad for seven dollars. They also serve samosas and fresh coconut milk. One of the exhibitors gives free samples of hot or cold Teecino, a coffee substitute, while another offers bottles of refreshing sugar free juice made out of plant proteins like spirulina and quinoa.

For those that may be looking to take a break from the sun, the workshops round out the days here. Perhaps one of the most interesting was one that validated why people feel so good, or replenished, after yoga, kirtan or deep breathing.

Dearbhla Kelly has studied extensively how the brain reacts to the different branches of yoga. According to Kelly, when you chant, do pranayama or stand on your head, we release neuropeptides. Hormones are released during chanting or hatha yoga, basically endorphins. She gave the example of oxytocin that is released in your system when in a head stand, just as it is released during breastfeeding. This is also why women are told to focus on their breathing during labor, to release the endorphins.

So basically, a yoga practice, whether pranayama, bhakti yoga or hatha, all create bliss in the body as the natural endorphins in the body communicate with the internal organs, digestive, central nervous system and respiratory system. Maybe this is why yoga enthusiasts seem to have a different outlook on life, and traditionally abstain (or don’t need) alcohol or other drugs. Kelly callas all this “karma is chemistry.” It’s a natural pharmacopeia that enhances your whole life. Could be those natural drugs are what keeps the festival goers coming back each year.

*Kirtan is the practice of chanting mantra. In Sanskrit, kirtan means “to repeat”, and mantra means “to tune the mind.” Like yoga, kirtan is used to align the mind, and, spirit

Filed Under: Humor, Lifestyle Tagged With: vegan

The Vegetarian’s Latino Family Quandary: Why Vegetables Are Offensive

February 16, 2011 by Raul Colon

Like many bicultural kids, I have a strong connection with food. In my community, it is used to show respect, celebrate milestones and, in many ways, illustrate success. This is because you can communicate, show emotion, and send subtle messages through food.

The difference between serving roasted pork or shrimp during a dinner party is huge – and trust me, Latinos notice. At least the old school type. They won’t say anything to you directly. – that would be rude – but the peanut gallery will be buzzing with comments that, from an American perspective, are hysterical.

I will never forget the first I was indoctrinated into this part of my culture.  We went to a party where the host decided to serve “Americanized” healthy food. This included the very American dish of couscous and roasted vegetables. lol While delicious, she made the fatal flaw of not serving meat (gasp!), and not serving Latino food as an alternative. The old ladies went into a frenzy.

“Mija, esto parece comida para los animales.”

“Pero porque nos esta poniendo a dieta?”

“Voy a tener que comer otra vez cuando vuelva a casa. Esto es yerba.”

Now, from an American perspective this may seem odd, but from a Latino perspective it was really the modern Latina that failed here. How dare she invite people into her home and not serve proper food! Is this what her mother had taught her about hospitality?  (Can’t you just picture your grandmother saying something like this). It almost makes you think that vegetables are offensive. Of course, this is not the case, but when you invite someone to your home, offering special food with substances is quite important. The Latino food hierarchy goes something like this:

  • Lobster / Crab
  • Shrimp
  • Pork
  • Red Meat
  • Chicken
  • Tropical Vegetables
  • Turkey
  • American Vegetables

Of course, this affects me directly. As a practicing Buddhist, I am not even supposed to cook meat.  What in God’s name do I serve my family or, in that case, any Latino guest, without it seeming like its a slap in the face? What Latino dish, that is not an accompaniment, vegetarian friendly? Do I just give up on hosting family parties?

Any answers to the above questions will be appreciated. This is one vegetarian challenge I still have not been able to solve!

Veggie Pic Above: AttributionShare Alike Some rights reserved by comprock

Filed Under: Humor, Lifestyle

Which is sexier Vegetarian or Meat Eater?

February 1, 2011 by Raul Colon

Article originally published on raulcolon.net

On many occasions I see how the Meat industry and companies that survive of selling meat continuously use Sex driven ads to sell their products.

Like every year @PETA has decided to create their superbowl ad in hopes of having it banned but reaching many people (cost effective advertising). I follow the @peta twitter account and read the following re-tweet

[blackbirdpie url=”http://twitter.com/#!/HuffingtonPost/status/32146797740687360″]

This tweet includes an article by the @huffingtonpost including the video which simulates a porn movie casting (viewer discretion is advised).

Many of you might find the ad raunchy (honestly I have never seen vegetables handled that way)  but how much different is it from Paris Hilton eating a hamburger in the Carls Jr Burger ads.

When I hear people complaining about the ad I think they want to turn a blind eye and picture of how @peta’s real objective is to create awareness on other important subjects of animal rights.

I think they are experts at creating attention similar to the examples @jimkukral shared with us in his book Attention! This Book Will Make You Money: How to Use Attention-Getting Online Marketing to Increase Your Revenue (amazon affiliate link).

Do you think that @peta is able to create the adequate awareness with these ads?

What are your thoughts?

Filed Under: Humor Tagged With: Health, Vegetarians

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