random pics I took... leading to the death of an armadillo

cool little sunday crew marching down mott st. with flags from all over the world

scene from 'Bananas' circa 1971

Sound healing

If we look back into several Eastern schools of spiritual thought, one will find the appearance of sound healing in almost all of them. In my yoga classes we always end and begin with an Om session, it's amazing the ring I feel through my body, the connection and energy it brings to the entire room is so refreshing, as if it rejuvenated us into a state where we can go out into the chaos of the world again clean, able to take on new challenges without being so easily overwhelmed. Below are some interesting sound practices used by the Tao which can be helpful as well.

Lung/Large Intestine - Metal - Autumn - White - Pungent - Sadness to Joy, Courage - Sound is SSSSSSS. . . (tongue behind teeth).

Kidney/Urinary Bladder - Water - Winter - Dark Blue - Salty - Fear to Peace, Gentleness - Sound is WOOOOOO. . . (lips as when blowing out a candle).

Liver/Gall Bladder - Wood - Green - Sour - Anger to Tolerance, Kindness. The Sound is SHHHHHH. . . (tongue near palate).

Heart/Small Intestine - Fire - Red - Bitter - Hate, Impatience to Love, Compassion. The Sound is HAAAAAA. . . (mouth wide open).

Spleen/Pancreas/Stomach - Earth - Harvest time - Yellow - Sweet or Bland - Worry to Fairness, Singing. the Sound is WHOOOOO. . . (from throat, guttural).

Pericardium/Triple Warmer - Fire - All Seasons. The Sound is HEEEEEE. . .
P/TW correspond to the fire element, but the sound is usually done as the sixth, since TW's function is to balance, especially the temperature of the upper, middle and the lower burner of the body.

The Practice.

Lung/LI: Look up and breathe in as you raise the arms and turn the palms upwards. On SSSSSS. . . sound let your arms float slowly back to their original position. Breathe normally.

Kidney/UB: Breathe in as you bend your back and bring your hands to lock around your knees. Your neck straight to avoid unnecessary tension, push the abdominal muscles against the kidneys with a WOOOOO. . sound until the air in your lungs is spent. Breathing normally let the arms float back to rest on your lap.

Liver/GB: Breathe in as you make a large circle with your arms to lock the thumbs above your head and lean slightly to your left. On SHHHHHHH. . sound let the arms float back along the circle back to your lap.

Heart/SI: Breathe in as you make a large circle with your arms to lock the thumbs above your head and lean slightly to your right. On HAAAAAA. . sound let the arms float back along the circle back to your lap.

Spleen/ST: Breathe in as you make a circle with your arms and bring your fingertips under the left ribcage (stomach area). Breathe out on WHOOOOOO. . sound as you press as deep as feels comfortable to you. Breathe normally as you float your arms along the circle back to your lap.

PC/TW: Lean back in your chair keeping the neck straight but relaxed. Or lie on your back. Breathe in as you spread the arms and bring your hands above the head. On HEEEEEEE. . sound glide your hands just above the body to rest on your lap.(This sound, done with movements at bedtime can help you to have a deep sleep).

Russian And Turkish Bathhouse in East Village

    Today I, along with my best friend and her boy friend, my roomies, rode our bikes to a Russian bathhouse in East Village, on 268 East 10th Street in New York, the place is called the Russian and Turkish Bathhouse and it's the oldest Manhattan bathhouse in the area, it was established in 1892 by Jewish immigrants.
     We locked our bikes outside, checked our belongings and stripped into our bathing suits. Outside the locker rooms there are shelves with stacked towels and robes which you may use and replace several times over. As we descend the long staircase to the main heat rooms women and men pass us by covered in mud.

    We started in one of the steam rooms where you can put eucalyptus and various other oils in to mix with the steam of the room. After that we went into the 'Turkish Sauna" which provided more of a dry heat and a little shower at the door used for cooling down in the middle of session if you get too hot. We followed that with the 'Russian Room' which was pretty amazing. It's a room of hot stone, as if you were in a little human oven but inside theres a large wood enclosed pool with extremely cool running water and buckets which you fill with the water once you feel you've gotten too toasty, the contrast of temperature is amazing, it leaves you with an almost euphoric feeling.
     Inside these rooms some people chatted, some stretched and did yoga, and I actually heard a few doing some meditative chanting which sounded rather soothing. We ended the evening with some peppermint tea on the sun deck, where we stretched out and looked at the stars. 

Talk about making the best out of a bad situation...