Yoga ~ Anne Nowell

As many of you know, it has taken me a number of years to have the freedom of schedule to return to India. At long last I have arrived in Chennai, in the state of Tamil Nadu, on the southeast lower corner of India.

Since many of you have not traveled to India, in this first post I will share photos of the people who are providing services to make life possible here. Indian business is very specialized. One shop will sell only batteries, another will sell only light bulbs; one vendor has only fruits, another only vegetables. This, then, provides more jobs for more people, but makes shopping rather time consuming. However in India, time (and the necessary patience to get things accomplished) is understood as infinite. There is no hurry!!

Enjoy the photos!! Please click back and forth for a larger view. Remember I would love to hear from any and all of you with your comments.

When surrounded by nature, it has been easy for me to appreciate fully the wonder of our physical BEING. The vistas afforded by the Sierras are awe inspiring indeed. In the following photos I have captured (minimally) some of the grandeur of the granite that rules the Sierra landscape. Please click back and forth for a larger viewing.

As a student of yoga and eastern philosophy, I would aspire to appreciate the wonder of our BEING in the midst of the concrete and steel of a modern metropolis. The gridlock traffic, the impatience fueled by caffeine, the pollution given off by millions of bodies and energy producing modalities…. these are a necessity of modern civilization. Finding the balance??

As I retire to study in India for the coming 6 months I would hope to deepen my appreciation of LIFE, be it natural beauty or man made havoc. Stay tuned for news from southern India. I would love to hear from you all during this sabbatical.  Namaste

Being in the mountains has many wonderful benefits not the least of which is exposure to the wildlife.  Watching the chipmunks grow from tiny to husky little creatures, in preparation for hibernation, has been a treat! The most famous animal in the Sierra’s is the black bear. All visitors are instructed to store food out of cars and in appropriate boxes at the hiking trials and in the cabins. Here are my photos of the bears I have encountered while hiking.  My sense of them is that they are gentle creatures and want to be left alone to forage. However with the enticing smells of potato chips and cookies they can become excited and therefore more aggressive in the search for food.

I have had several other chances to see bears here in Sequoia Park and I consider it a very real blessing. As I have mentioned in previous posts, to have the opportunity to live in the mountain forests is an extraordinary experience. My wish for all of you is that you will also have this opportunity at some future date.

Bear Hugs All Round !!

Photo Captions:  Click back and forth on photos for a larger view.
#1. Black Bear in the Lodgepole Campground
#2. Same bear. It is unusual for it to be out in the open in mid-day.
#3. Now this bear is lying at the log feeding on bees in the log.
#4. Black Bear in the Big Trees area. Look at the bottom edge of the tree.
#5. Same bear with his back to the camera at the edge of the tree.
#6. The most scary bear of all !!

Sequoia trees are recorded as the largest trees on Earth. These magnificent natural wonders are found ONLY in the Sierra Mountains of California. Elsewhere, there are other gigantic trees known as Redwoods, but the Sequoia grows only in the Sierra Mountains due to specific climate and soil conditions.

The inner core of the tree is protected by the outer layers, therefore, it is possible for a Sequoia to survive fire and other adverse conditions. Indeed, fire is necessary for the sprouting of its seedlings. Research suggests that some Sequoia trees have been growing for over 2000 years.

In the past seven weeks I have hiked among these Giants and can testify to their power and beauty. If trees could talk what stories could be told ? !! Surprisingly most of the other hikers I meet are from other countries.  Please!!  You owe it to yourself and your country to plan a trip to visit these beautiful national heroes!!

Photo Captions:  Please click back and forth for a full view.
#1. At dusk, a charred Sequoia growing on a boulder
#2. Hiking through a Tree Doorway
#3. Friend, Alexis, amid the Giants
#4. Stand of adolescent trees
#5. World’s Largest Tree, General Sherman
#6. Tree and boulder become one!
#7. Heavily burned but still growing
#8. Same tree looking through the burn
#9. Alexis and roots of a fallen tree

Camp Far Horizons was founded in 1954. One of the founders, G.V. Hull, was instrumental in helping to develop King’s Canyon in ways that have made this natural wonder more assessible for visitors. Partially as a result of his work, the Theosophical Society was awarded an extended lease on National Park land with provisions to develop and improve said land. The first buildings went up in 1955 , and many of these are still in use due to the skillfulness of Mr. Hull’s construction design.

Upkeep is a continuing consideration for any facility.  Landscaping and building maintenance are key concerns at Far Horizons, which functions as a camp only 3 out of 12 months a year and is heavily snowed in during winter months. Recently at Camp there was the necessity of removal of several large trees. These trees had become diseased by natural causes and were at risk of falling into buildings. In these photos I have captured the process of removing 100 + foot trees, which is not an easy task physically or psychologically. The team of arborist, Joel Bawcum, was exact in their duties and Camp is grateful to them for their expertise.

A famous Biblical quote acknowledges “To Everything There Is a Season”. These majestic trees had many ” seasons”. Moving forward, there is the certainty that many fledgling Camp trees will mature into their times as well.

For a complete view please click back and forth on the photos.

Photo captions:
#1.  Diseased kitchen tree, approximately 100 feet tall
#2.  Limb removal, note proximity to cabins
# 3. Almost done, sawing the base
#4. Dining Room Stump with volunteer beauties!
#5. Diseased tree, minimum 150 feet tall
#6. Note proximity to Sugar Pine Cabin
#7. Joel among the limbs
#8. On top, 100 feet up
#9. No top or limbs
#10. Debris at the base, note notch for felling
#11. Ready to fall
#12. After the fall, now a home for chipmunks

The hiking in King’s Canyon is superb! There are endless miles of hiking trails; some to lakes or waterfalls, some to the biggest trees on the planet, and others to fabulous view points high above the earth. One such viewpoint is the Buck Rock Lookout Post. At 8,500 feet it is a bit like being in an airplane. The post is used as a lookout for fires and the park employees sleep there. Check out these photos and click back and forth for a larger view. I was clinging to the railing to be sure!!

Photo Captions:
#1  The lookout from ground level; click for full view.
#2  Halfway up the steps
#3  At the railing of the lookout
#4  Close up, check out the bird feeder behind my pigtail.
#5  At 8,500 feet this hummingbird was inches from my camera!
#6  Back at the base with Smokey the Bear, ambassador of fire safety.

At 7,200 feet in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California, Far Horizons is a camp established in the 1950’s by members of the Theosophical Society. The word “Camp” implies outdoors- close to nature-away from civilization. At Far Horizons there is no electricity, no cellular, no internet access, which means no Facebook!!  I can hear the gasps; for some of us this is beyond comprehension!

It is very necessary to slow down and to disconnect in order to reconnect with the rhythm of  Nature. In these photos I will introduce you to the camp. Please click back and forth for a larger view. In the coming weeks  I hope to share with you something of my journey as I rediscover  my connection to Spirit within Nature.

You are all welcome to visit me here at Camp.  For additional info, go to www.farhorizons.org

Kumbaya!!

Photo Captions:

Photo 1:  Welcome to Camp!
Photo 2:  Mountain Woman
Photo 3:  Outdoor Classroom
Photo 4:  Dining Hall
Photo 5:  My Cabin, note St Francis in the right foliage
Photo 6:  My luxury accommodations!
Photo 7:  Camp Director, Karla with husband Phil
Photo 8:  Creek bed hiking, watch out for mosquitoes!
Photo 9:  Civilization is 5 miles away, and yes, they have wireless.

On Saturday June 28,  I returned to Yoganic Studio to work with a group of friends and students in developing the theme of personal practice. One of my observations as an instructor and studio owner is that as our lives become busy with children, job, and social responsibilities, our yoga practice is often abandoned. If we change our definition of practice to include short sequences, or lifestyle routines, which include some breathing and moving, possibly we can find 5, 10, or 20 minutes a day to call yoga. By allowing ourselves to adapt our yoga to accommodate our lifestyles, there is the potential of maintaining consistency. Eventually we realize that the practice of yoga is the living of life, moment to moment and breath to breath.

Thank you to Yoganic Studio and to friends in San Diego!!

Please click on the flier for a full view.

Our beloved teacher, aka Guru, has passed on. With sorrow in our hearts at saying goodbye, there is also the joy of knowing he is free from the suffering of the body, and of his reunion with Love beyond the physical.

I first met Pattabhi Jois in 1986 during his summer intensive at the White Lotus Foundation in Santa Barbara. At that time John Friend and I were “buddies” and as John was participating in the intensive, he invited me to visit for the weekend.  I was living in LA and teaching at Samata International, therefore it was an easy trip. Since Guruji was virtually unknown, many of his early students were there and it was fun to be involved. I was immersed in Viniyoga training at that time and I did not reconnect with Guruji’s practice until 1988 on Maui, Hawaii.  From then on it was the love of Ashtanga that kept me moving between Encinitas, Hawaii, and Mysore, India.

Although I was not one of his “very” close students I was so fortunate to be with him at the time when he was strong and virile, and when there were only 12 students on the mat at the old Mysore Shala.  I have always been amazed at his capacity for being there when you needed him, and for his memory of who you were and where you were in your practice.  He was indeed one of a kind!

In 1995 when I was in Mysore and attended Guruji’s birthday celebration in July, I was heavy of heart from a broken romance.  Going through a punk rock phase (you know the 90’s grunge scene!) I was practicing very fast and furious and everyone thought I was nuts, except Guruji.  He loved me and would say “Briskly Do, Briskly Do”.  He was allowing for my need to work off my angst.

The last time I saw him was in 2005 on the Encinitas phase of his tour.  By then there were 100’s of students and he was getting the allocade and wealth that he deserved.  He still had the memory of “Annie” aka me, as the “bad lady” that I am,  and he would give me that little squeeze from behind to show his love and approval.

Many things have been said and written about Pattabhi Jois, much of it true, some of it opinion.  One thing is for certain, there will never be another to totally fill his sandals!  Guruji, you will always be in our hearts!

Mount Madonna, under the guidance of Baba Hari Das, is known for being a proponent of Karma Yoga. Karma Yoga generally refers to the practice of offering one’s work efforts as a form of prayer/devotion without attachment to the results. This is easy to say, but we all like to receive a desired result for our efforts, be it the paycheck, the allocades, or the fulfillment of “do good” tendencies.  It takes practice to develop non-attachment to the outcome of our efforts. As in any form of yoga, and in the words of our beloved Ashtanga teacher, Pattabhi Jois, “Practice and all will come.”  In the following photos we get a view of some of the Karma Yoga opportunities at the Mount Madonna Center. For a larger view please click back and forth.

Line 1
A position called Field Staff involves setting up, cleaning, and breaking down conference rooms. The conferences can be from 15 to 100+ people. In the first two photos, Ivan from New York, Jennifer from Vancouver, and I (yes, this is my new hairdo!!) set off for work.  With the cart we transport chairs, tables, meditation cushions, and yoga props. In the third photo, Mary from Wisconsin, and Glenda from Canada, load the recycling truck.

Line 2
Kitchen duty!  Shakar from Canada, who is also a Celtic musician;  Ashley from Idaho and Mary Craig from Tennessee peeling avocadoes for dinner; Kranti, long time resident of Mount Madonna, with the pasta sauce.

Line 3
With Mary mopping up after dinner; tortilla frisbee with Shakar ; In the dishwashing room, sometimes as many as 200 meals to clean up with many pots and pans. The red dot on my forehead is called a tilak.  In Hinduism it represents a protection to the mind against negative outside influences.

Line 4
Mary and I at tea service with Nasrat from Afghanistan; 3 days per week Baba Hari Das offers British/ Indian afternoon tea for his guests. We serve chai and herb tea, cookies, and open faced petite sandwiches.
In the kitchen with the happy karma yogis, Mary Craig and Ashley.

Yes, there are many great people and we have lots of fun.  Lessons in community living include dealing with the personalities of many strangers in close quarters and all sorts of attitudes regarding the practices of yoga.  I highly recommend Mount Madonna as an incredible learning experience!