Finding Home

Devotion A one-word intention to nurture, nourish, show tenderness to heal the places long buried and those that can be seen in the full light of day to listen to the body and heed what it needs-- to rest when it needs to to move when it must to let it breathe, to let it breathe to allow the mind's dust to settle fully to gravity to let its nature come into fullness to not resist, to not impede knowing full well everything is passing to hear the heart's beat to open it and see the beauty as it is, it's story of pain, of bravery, of fear, of love of surrender to welcome it into an embrace of healing transformative, redemptive Devotion, an intention, one word, yet an honoring of multitudes of body of mind of  heart of this given and gifted life. January 29, 2023, Sunday  In 2023, my one word intention for the year was devotion. Everyday, I reminded myself of it. Especially when the times became quite rough and even breathing was hard to do, I brought to mind my intention, and

  "Find your drishti," teachers say when we execute standing balance poses. Finding a fixed point helps the body's vestibular system to stabilise. What is my fixed point? What holds me together when even the world as I know it is falling apart? I asked myself these questions as I did my personal practice today. I took my time in going through the steps of the Tree pose, Bhagirathasana, planting my foot firmly onto the mat, activating my entire leg, all the while going into a self-inquiry on my own anchor. I could not find immediate answers. Eventually it emerged. My grounding force, my fixed point has always been my Mother's prayers. Always has been. Always will be. Even beyond the grave. I placed my foot onto the inner thigh of my other leg and situated my hands in Anjali Mudra, prayer hands, embodying my mother's fervent prayers for me, slowly lifting my prayer hands overhead for the full expression. And I held my center for the longest time since I began the

  Clouds, palm leaves Bamboo stems, song Wind, wood Energy, heat Ribs, hips Knee, thigh Arms to sky Feet to ground Heart to crown Spine long Breath Breathe, nostrils Mouth, tongue, roof Release Laughter from the core Up, down, around Love simply But deeply Then laugh some more.  I was inspired to write this poem after attending a class with Wanna, a certified Embodied Flow teacher at Lotus Shores Siargao in October 2018. It was the first time I attended a class that I found easy-going and filled with laughter. Wanna made me rethink the practice. That inward work shouldn't have to be so serious and somber. Instead, a little bit of laughter makes the ride so much richer and more enjoyable. This life is too short to just dwell on the darker side of things after all.  

Utthita Trikonasana or Extended Triangle Pose is one of the most memorable and significant poses for me. It was the pose where a teacher, four years ago did something so simple yet compelling enough to make me still remember it to the day and remind me how to guide others as well when I am teaching. She cued me to shift my bottom hand to move further up my knee instead of reaching down to my foot, allowing my upper body to open, emphasizing the lateral stretch whilst keeping the spine in safe alignment. At the time, I didn't have the flexibility to do the full expression of the pose. It was a simple adjustment but it was powerful enough to evoke insights that have been my constant guide in my own personal practice on and off the mat. This particular teaching moment and without question my 200-hour teacher training with Santosha Yoga Institute.  First, to understand what the pose is for. What is its primary intention? This refers to the anatomical / physiological goal of the pos

In this heat Be here Breathe Exit doors may be open or there might not be any Still, Be here We might plead for rain to fall So we won't have to feel it all or at all But we are not in control Nothing is in our control  So all that is left to do is  be still, say yes surrender thinking feel everything Nowhere to go but here Maybe even no one to be with in this  So, Be here Do not forget,  we are built for this The door that is for us is right here where our life beats.  Enter here In this heat Be here Breathe. “So even if the hot loneliness is there, and for 1.6 seconds we sit with that restlessness when yesterday we couldn't sit for even one, that's the journey of the warrior.”                                                                                                                    ― Pema Chödrön Thank you for the practice, Melissa. 🙏

        At the beginning of the school year 2020-2021, I was disconcerted with the thought of how there would be no physical classes and therefore no students in the school given the precarious situation of the Covid-19 pandemic.   My mind raced. What would happen to my role as a Guidance Counselor if I had no kids to interact with? If I had no parents to engage with, as this was elemental in my work before the pandemic. For a moment there, I lost my bearings and felt useless. But then I looked more deeply and observed more closely what was still present minus the physical presence of the students and parents. It was there that I saw and realized how the very human beings who have taken on the task of nurturing the students, who have willingly taken on the role as second mothers and fathers of the children I have worked with, are with the full force of their entire being, present and still fighting the good fight.             So since Week 1 up to the present of this first year of On

"Uses of Yoga Attire: Panglaba ( Laundry), Pang-ilis ug Ponda (Replacing Sofa Covers) ug Uban Pa (Many More)..."      I jokingly post in my social media stories how I do house chores in a Yoga tank and pants. Some viewers get a kick out of it with the "haha" sign. Some press that thumbs up sign. Some don't care. All is good. Everybody moves on to the next person's story.  Joking aside, for these past few weeks my practice in Yoga and Meditation has been here, there and everywhere. Unfortunately, most of the times it is a combination of all three.  The hours are occupied with home chores-- laundry, dishes, changing sheets, changing curtains making the bed, sweeping floors, wiping windows, more chores and attending to my boys. Transitioning into this kind of normal since the home quarantine started has been a slow process in that I am still trying to find balance in establishing a personal time and housekeeping. Some days, I am able to follow a consistent

Throw caution to the wind. The Universe will answer for as long as your heart is clear and soul resolute. She will move you to places you only dreamed of. My experience in Siargao for half a fortnight has been filled with awakening, revelation and a stripping away of the unnecessary and a cloaking of what is.  And for this I am eternally grateful. While I believe that each place has its own beauty and soul, at the end of every experience, it is always whether or not it speaks to one's spirit.  The morning, quiet. Their voices, quiet. Their dog, quieter. One dances in the corner. And I am just waking up.   October 5th 2017 Lotus Shores     October 5 was Harvest moon. October, the changing of the seasons, the dying, changing, transitions. I was born in the middle of October. And I wonder why most of my life is spent on "in-betweens", neither here nor there, floating, floating like a runaway kite on a full moon night. Harvest Mouth closed